Impact of different irrigation strategies on grapes and wine quality of four grapevine cultivars (Vitis sp.) in cool climate conditions. An investigation into the relationships among ABA, water status, grape cultivar and wine quality

Niagara Peninsula of Ontario is the largest viticultural area in Canada. Although it is considered to be a cool and wet region, in the last decade many water stress events occurred during the growing seasons with negative effects on grape and wine quality. This study was initiated to understand and develop the best strategies for water management in vineyards and those that might contribute to grape maturity advancement. The irrigation trials investigated the impact of time of initiation (fruit set, lag phase and veraison), water replacement level based on theoretical loss through crop evapotranspiration (ETc; 100,50 and 25%) and different irrigation strategies [partial root zone drying (PRD) versus regulated deficit irrigation (RD!)] on grape composition and wine sensory profiles. The irrigation experiments were conducted in a commercial vineyard (Lambert Vineyards Inc.) located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, from 2005 through 2009. The two experiments that tested the combination of different water regimes and irrigation time initiation were set up in a randomized block design as follows: Baco noir - three replicates x 10 treatments [(25%, 50% and 100% of ETc) x (initiation at fruit set, lag phase and veraison) + control]; Chardonnay - three replicates x seven treatments [(25%, 50% and 100% of ETc) x (initiation at fruit set and veraison) + control]. The experiments that tested different irrigation strategies were set up on two cultivars as follows: Sauvignon blanc - four replicates x four treatments [control, fully irrigated (100% ETc), PRD (100% ETc) and RDI (25% ETc)]; Cabemet Sauvignon - four replicates x five treatments [control, fully irrigated (100% ETc), PRD (100% ETc), RDI (50% ETc) and RDI (25% ETc)]. The controls in each experiment were nonirrigated. The irrigation treatments were compared for many variables related to soil water status, vine physiology, berry composition, wine sensory profile, and hormone composition [(abscisic acid (ABA) and its catabolites]. Soil moisture profile was mostly affected by irrigation treatments between 20 and 60 em depth depending on the grapevine cultivar and the regime of water applied. Overall soil moisture was consistently higher throughout the season in 100 and 50% ETc compare to the control. Transpiration rates and leaf temperature as well as shoot growth rate were the most sensitive variables to soil water status. Drip irrigation associated with RDI treatments (50% ETc and 25% ETc) had the most beneficial effects on vine physiology, fruit composition and wine varietal typicity, mainly by maintaining a balance between vegetative and reproductive parts of the vine. Neither the control nor the 100 ETc had overall a positive effect on grape composition and wine sensory typicity. The time of irrigation initiation affected the vine physiology and grape quality, the most positive effect was found in treatments initiated at lag phase and veraison. RDI treatments were overall more consistent in their positive effect on grape composition and wine varietal typicity comparing to PRD treatment. The greatest difference between non-irrigated and irrigated vines in most of the variables studied was found in 2007, the driest and hottest season of the experimental period. Soil water status had a greater and more consistent effect on red grapevine cultivars rather than on white winegrape cultivars. To understand the relationships among soil and plant water status, plant physiology and the hormonal profiles associated with it, abscisic acid (ABA) and its catabolites [phaseic acid (PA), dihydrophaseic acid (DPA), 7-hydroxy-ABA (TOH-ABA), 8' -hydroxy-ABA, neophaseic acid and abscisic acid glucose ester (ABA-GE)] were analyzed in leaves and berries from the Baco noir and Chardonnay irrigation trials over two growing seasons. ABA and some of its catabolites accurately described the water status in the vines. Endogenous ABA and some of its catabolites were strongly affected in Baco noir and Chardonnay by both the water regime (i.e. ET level) and timing of irrigation initiation. Chardonnay grapevines produced less ABA in both leaves and berries compared to Baco noir, which indicated that ABA synthesis is also cultivar dependant. ABA-GE was the main catabolite in treatments with high water deficits, while PA and DPA were higher in treatments with high water status, suggesting that the vine produced more ABA-GE under water deficits to maintain rapid control of the stomata. These differences between irrigation treatments with respect to ABA and catabolites were particularly noticeable in the dry 2007 season. Two trials using exogenous ABA investigated the effect of different concentrations of ABA and organs targeted for spraying, on grape maturation and berry composition of Cabemet Sauvignon grapevines, in two cool and wet seasons (2008-2009). The fIrst experiment consisted of three replicates x three treatments [(150 and 300 mg/L, both applications only on clusters) + untreated control] while the second experiment consisted in three replicates x four treatments [(full canopy, only clusters, and only leaves sprayed with 300 ppm ABA) + untreated control]. Exogenous ABA was effective in hastening veraison, and improving the composition of Cabemet Sauvignon. Ability of ABA to control the timing of grape berry maturation was dependant on both solution concentration and the target organ. ABA affected not only fruit composition but also yield components. Berries treated with ABA had lower weight and higher skin dry mass, which constitutes qualitative aspects desired in the wine grapes. Temporal advancement of ripening through hormonal control can lead to earlier fruit maturation, which is a distinct advantage in cooler areas or areas with a high risk of early frost occurrence. Exogenous ABA could provide considerable benefits to wine industry in terms of grape composition, wine style and schedule activities in the winery, particularly in wet and cool years. These trials provide the ftrst comprehensive data in eastern North America on the response of important hybrid and Vitis vinifera winegrape cultivars to irrigation management. Results from this study additionally might be a forward step in understanding the ABA metabolism, and its relationship with water status. Future research should be focused on ftnding the ABA threshold required to trigger the ripening process, and how this process could be controlled in cool climates.

Chemical analysis of the essential oil extracted from the seeds of Licaria puchury-major

The essential oil from seeds of Licaria puchury-major was isolated by hydrodistillation. The chemical composition of the oil was analyzed by GC and GUMS. Sixteen compounds were identified, representing 91.4% of the total oil. The major components were safrole (58.4%), dodecanoic acid (13.7%) and alpha-terpineol (8.4%). Oxygenated monoterpenoids were the main group of compounds.

Caracterização e quantificação de marcadores químicos do extrato hidroetanólico das folhas de Kalanchoe brasiliensis Cambess

Kalanchoe brasiliensis Cambess (Crassulaceae), commonly known as saião , coirama branca , folha grossa , is originally from Brazil and commonly found in São Paulo to Bahia, mainly in the coastal zone. Regarding of biological activities, most preclinical studies were found in the literature, mainly about the anti-inflammatory activity of extracts obtained from leaves and / or aerial parts of K. brasiliensis. As regards the chemical constitution, it has been reported mainly the presence of flavonoids in the leaves of the species, but until this moment did not knows which are the active compounds. Although it is a species widely used in traditional medicine in Brazil, there is no monograph about the quality parameters of the plant drug. In this context, this study aims to characterize and quantify the chemical markers of hydroethanolic extract (HE) from the leaves of K. brasiliensis, which can be used in quality control of plant drug and derivatives obtained from this species. The methodology was divided into two parts: i. Phytochemical study: to fractionate, isolate and characterizate of the chemical (s) marker (s) of the HE from the leaves of K. brasiliensis; ii. To Developed validate of analytical method by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)-diode array detector (DAD) to quantify the chemical (s) marker (s) of the EH. i. The EH 50% was prepared by turbo extraction method. It was then submitted to liquid-liquid partition, obtaining dichloromethane, n-butanol and ethyl acetate (AcOEt) fractions. The AcOEt fraction was selected to continue the fractionation process, because it has a chemical profile rich in flavonoids. The acOEt fraction was submitted to column chromatography using different systems for obtaining the compound Kb1. To identify this compound, it was submitted to UV analysis ii. For quantitative analysis, the EH was analyzed by HPLC, using different methods. After selecting the most appropriate method, which showed satisfactory resolution and symmetrical peaks, it was validated according to parameters in the RE 899/2003. As result, it was obtained from the AcOEt fraction the compound Kb1 (2.7 mg). Until this moment, the basic nucleus was characterized by UV analysis using shift reagents. The partial chemical structure of the compound Kb1 was identified as a flavonol, containing hydroxyls in 3 , 4 position (ring A), 5 and 7 free (ring B) and a replacement of the C3 hydroxyl by a sugar. As the analysis were performed in the HPLC coupled to a DAD, we observed that the UV spectrum of the major peaks of EH from K. brasiliensis shown similar UV spectrum. According to the literature, it has been reported the presence of patuletin glycosydes derivatives in the leaves of this species. Therefore, it is suggested that the compound Kb1 is glycosylated patuletin derivative. Probably the sugar (s) unit(s) are linked in the C3 in the C ring. . Regarding the development of HPLC analytical method, the system used consists of phase A: water: formic acid (99,7:0,3, v / v) and phase B: methanol: formic acid (99,7:0,3, v / v), elution gradient of 40% B - 58% B in 50 minutes, ccolumn (Hichrom ®) C18 (250x4, 0 mm, 5 μm), flow rate 0.8 mL / min, UV detection at 370 nm, temperature 25 ° C. In the analysis performed with the co-injection of thecompound Kb1 + HE of K. brasiliensis was observed that it is one of the major compounds with a retention time of 12.47 minutes and had a content of 15.3% in EH of leaves from K. brasiliensis. The method proved to be linear, precise, accurate and reproducible. According to these results, it was observed that compound Kb1 can be used as a chemical marker of EH from leaves of K. brasiliensis, to assist in quality control of drug plant and its derivatives

Discoloration process modeling by neural network

The photo-oxidation of acid orange 52 dye was performed in the presence of H2O2, utilizing UV light, aiming the discoloration process modeling and the process variable influence characterization. The discoloration process was modeled by the use of feedforward neural network. Each sample was characterized by five independent variables (dye concentration, pH, hydrogen peroxide volume, temperature and time of operation) and a dependent variable (absorbance). The neural model has also provided, through Garson Partition coefficients and the Pertubation method, the independent variable influence order determination. The results indicated that the time of operation was the predominant variable and reaction mean temperature was the lesser influent variable. The neural model obtained presented coefficients of correlation on the order 0.98, for sets of trainability, validation and testing, indicating the power of prediction of the model and its character of generalization. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Extração e análise da fração lipídica da microalga monoraphidium sp., síntese e caracterização do seu biodiesel

The cultivation of microalgae biomass in order to produce biodiesel arises as an extremely promising aspect, in that the microalgae culture includes short cycle of reproduction, smaller areas for planting and residual biomass rich in protein content. The present dissertation evaluates the performance and features, through spectrometry in the region of infrared with transformed Fourier (FTIR) and spectrometry in the region of UVvisible (UV-Vis), of the extracted lipid material (LM) using different techniques of cell wall disruption (mechanical agitation at low and at high spin and agitation associated with cavitation). The technique of gas chromatography (GC) brought to light the success of alkaline transesterification in the conversion of oil into methyl monoesters (MME), which was also analyzed by spectroscopic techniques (FTIR, proton magnetic resonance (1H NMR) and carbon (13C NMR). Through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were analyzed the lipid material (LM), biodiesel and the microalgae biomass. The method which provided the best results concerning the efficiency in extraction of the LP of Monoraphidium sp. (12,51%) was by mechanical agitation at high spin (14 000 rpm), for 2 hours being the ideal time, as shown by the t test. The spectroscopic techniques (1H NMR, 13C NMR and FTIR) confirmed that the structure of methyl monoesters and the chromatographic data (CG) revealed a high content of saturated fatty acid esters (about 70%) being the major constituent eicosanoic acid (33,7%), which justifies the high thermal stability of microalgae biodiesel. The TGA also ratified the conversion rate (96%) of LM into MME, pointing out the quantitative results compatible with the values obtained through GC (about 98%) and confirmed the efficiency of the extraction methods used, showing that may be a good technique to confirm the extraction of these materials. The content of LM microalgae obtained (12,51%) indicates good potential for using such material as a raw material for biodiesel production, when compared to oil content which can be obtained from traditional oil for this use, since the productivity of microalgae per hectare is much larger and requires an extremely reduced period to renew its cultivation

Seasonal influence on biochemical profile and serum protein electrophoresis for Boa constrictor amarali in captivity

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Perfil bioquímico das galinhas poedeiras na região de Araçatuba-SP

The establishment of reference values is extremely important for successful diagnosis and treatament. Considering that in most species the serum chemistry profile is influenced by race, climate and management, we decided to determine the values of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), uric acid, creatinine, creatine kinase (CK), phosphatase alkaline (ALP), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), total protein (TP) and albumin of Dekalb hens in the region of Aracatuba - SP. All samples were processed soon after harvesting in an automatic biochemical analyzer calibrated and monitored with control serum levels I and II. The following confidence intervals were obtained: 44-65,5 U / L (AST); 18,4-21,2 U / L (ALT), 2.1-2.5 mg / dL (uric acid); 1.7 to 5.7 U / L (CK); CI 1.2-2.2 mg / dL (creatinine), 1276-1506 U / L (FA); 18-23,4 U / L (GGT); 27.12 to 29 g / L (PT), from 11.4 to 12.16 g / L (albumin).

Shortening of primary dentin etching time and its implication on bond strength

Objective. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of shortening the etching time on the bond strength of a conventional and a self-etching primer adhesive system used in primary tooth dentin.Methods. Flat dentin surfaces were obtained from 24 primary molars, randomly assigned to 4 experimental groups. The adhesive systems Single Bond and Clearfil SE Bond were applied in two groups according to the manufacturers' recommendations. In the other two groups, the adhesives were applied after half-time of acid etching, 7 s for Single Bond and 10 s for Clearfil SE Primer. Resin crowns were built up and after 24 h storage in water at 37 ° C, the teeth were sectioned to produce beams with cross-sectional area of approximately 0.49 mm(2). Specimens were tested in tension at 0.5 mm/min until failure. Fractured specimens were analyzed to determine the failure mode.Results. Tensile bond strengths for Single Bond in primary dentin were higher than for Clearfil SE Bond. Shortening of acid etching time improved bond strength only for Single Bond, while no statistically significant difference was observed for Clearfil SE Bond when both etching times were compared.Significance. No detrimental effect on bond strength was observed when the time of acid etching was shortened in 50%. Shortening the time for a procedure in a small child without compromising the quality of the work is a very important finding for the practicing pediatric dentist. © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Diffusion analysis of one photosensitizer in bovine teeth using fluorescence optical imaging

Some photosensitizers (PSs) used for PACT (Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy) show an affinity for bacterial walls and can be photo-activated to cause the desired damage. However, on dentine bacterias may be less susceptible to PACT as a result of limited penetration of the PS. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diffusion of one PS based on hematoporphyrin on dentine structures. Twelve bovine incisors were used. Class III cavities (3 x 3 x 1 mm) were prepared on the mesial or distal surfaces using a diamond bur. Photogem (R) solution at 1 mg/mL (10 uL for each cavity) was used. The experimental Groups were divided according to thickness of dentine remaining and etched or no-etched before the PS application. The fluorescence excitation source was a VelScope (R) system. For image capture a scientific CCD color camera PixelFly (R) was coupled to VelScope. For image acquisition and processing, a computational routine was developed at Matlab (R). Fick's Law was used to obtain the average diffusion coefficient of PS. Differences were found between all Groups. The longitudinal temporal diffusion was influenced by the different times, thickness and acid etching.

Structural and functional characterization of an acidic platelet aggregation inhibitor and hypotensive phospholipase A(2) from Bothrops jararacussu snake venom

An acidic (pI similar to 4.5) phospholipase A(2) (BthA-I-PLA(2)) was isolated from Bothrops jararacussu snake venom by ion-exchange chromatography on a CM-Sepharose column followed by reverse phase chromatography on an RP-HPLC C-18 column. It is an similar to13.7 kDa single chain Asp49 PLA(2) with approximately 122 amino acid residues, 7 disulfide bridges, and the following N-terminal sequence: 'SLWQFGKMINYVMJGESGVLQYLSYGCYCGLGGQGQPTDATDRCCFVHDCC(51). Crystals of this acidic protein diffracted beyond 2.0 Angstrom resolution. These crystals are monoclinic and have unit cell dimensions of a = 33.9, b = 63.8, c = 49.1 Angstrom, and beta = 104.0degrees. Although not myotoxic, cytotoxic, or lethal, the protein was catalytically 3-4 tithes more active than BthTX-II, a basic D49 myotoxic PLA(2) from the same venom and other Bothrops venoms. Although it showed no toxic activity, it was able to induce time-independent edema, this activity being inhibited by EDTA. In addition, BthA-I-PLA(2) caused a hypotensive response in the rat and inhibited platelet aggregation, Catalytic, antiplatelet and other activities were abolished by chemical modification with 4-bromophenacyl bromide, which is known to covalently bind to His48 of the catalytic site. Antibodies raised against crude B. jararacussu venom recognized this acidic PLA(2), while anti-Asp49-BthTX-II recognized it weakly and anti-Lys49-BthTX-I showed the least cross-reaction. These data confirm that myotoxicity does not necessarily correlate with catalytic activity in native PLA(2) homologues and that either of these two activities may exist alone. BthA-I-PLA(2), in addition to representing a relevant molecular model of catalytic activity, is also a promising hypotensive agent and platelet aggregation inhibitor for further studies. (C) 2002 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of Baccharis dracunculifolia DC (Asteraeeae) extracts and its isolated compounds on macrophage activation

Baccharis dracunculifolia D.C. (Asteraceae), a shrub which grows wild in Brazil, is the main botanical source of Brazilian green propolis. Since Brazilian propolis shows an immunomodulatory activity, the goal of this work was to evaluate the action of B. dracunculifolia extracts and some of its isolated compounds on reactive oxygen intermediate (H2O2) production by macrophages obtained from male BALB/c mice. The results showed that the leaf (Bd-L) (25, 50, and 100 mu g mL(-1)), leaf rinse (Bd-LR) (25 mu g mL(-1)), and the root (Bd-R) (25 mu g mL(-1)) extracts enhanced H2O2 release by macrophages. A phytochemical study of the root and leaves of B. dracunculifolia was carried out. The chromatographic fractionation of Bd-R, using several techniques, afforded the isolation of baccharis oxide (1), friedelanol (2), viscidone (11), 11-hydroxy-10,11-dihydro-euparin (12), and 6-hydroxy-tremetona (13), while Bd-LR gave the following isolated compounds: baccharis oxide (1), friedelanol (2), isosakuranetin (3), aromadendrin-4'-methyl ether (4), dihydrocumaric acid (5), baccharin (6), hautriwaic acid lactone (7), hautriwaic acid acetate (8), drupanin (9), and cumaric acid (10). Among the isolated compounds, baccharis oxide (1) and friedelanol (2) increased H2O2 production at a concentration of 1001,M. This is the first time that the presence of compounds 7, 8, 12, and 13 in B. dracunculifolia has been reported. Based on these results it is suggested that the crude extracts and some isolated compounds from B. dracunculifolia display an immunomodulatory action.

New sources of oilseeds from Latin American native fruits

Three Latin American oilseeds obtained from native fruits: nopal (tuna) (Opuntia ficus-indica), cherimoya (chirimoya) (Annona cherimola), and papaya, Chilean variety (Carica pubescens or C. candamarcensis) were studied for their fatty acid composition and bioactive compounds, such as tocols and phytosterols, looking for new sources of special oilseeds for this region. The results indicated that each species represents an interesting possibility. Nopal oilseed is a good source of linoleic acid (62%), with a good balance between SFA and MUFA (1: 1.3). Cherimoya oilseed presents quite a different composition, with 24% SFA, 43% MUFA and 33% PUFA. Palmitic and stearic acids (15% and 7.6%, respectively) are the main SFA. A good balance between oleic acid (42.7%) and linoleic acid (31%) was observed. Papaya oilseed is a highly MUFA oil (72% with 71% oleic acid), with a very interesting composition, according to the new nutritional and technological recommendations.With respect to bioactive compounds, the main tocol in these three oilseeds was gamma-tocopherol, with 136, 300 and 317 mg/kg for cherimoya, papaya and nopal oilseeds, respectively. According to the total tocol content, papaya oilseed presented the highest value with 384 mg/kg. The total amount and distribution of phytosterols was different, with values of 3092, 3554 and 5474 mg/kg for nopal, cherimoya and papaya oilseeds, respectively, with beta-sitosterol forming 47.6%, 65.0 % and 78.7% of the total phytosterol fractions, respectively. From the results obtained, Chilean papaya oilseed can be considered as a very promising new source of special plant oil for different applications, followed by cherimoya and nopal oilseeds.

Development of an HPLC-UV/Vis method for the determination of dyes in a gasoline sample employing different pre-treatments

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Vegetable-origin foam employed in dye extraction in tanning and leather processing facilities

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Biodisponibilidade de fontes orgânicas e inorgânicas de zinco em ovinos

This research was done to compare the effects of different zinc sources and doses in the Santa Ines sheep diet. Forty lambs at weaning, with 18,4kg BW were randomly allotted and fed 10 treatments: 1- base diet without zinc supplementation; 2- base diet + 200mg Zn/kg of DM as zinc oxide; 3- base diet + 400mg Zn/kg of DM as zinc oxide; 4- base diet + 600mg Zn/kg of DM as zinc oxide; 5- base diet + 200mg Zn/kg of DM as amino acid zinc; 6- base diet + 400mg Zn/kg of DM as amino acid zinc; 7- base diet + 600mg Zn/kg of DM as amino acid zinc; 8- base diet + 200mg Zn/kg of DM as proteinato zinc; 9- base diet + 400mg Zn/kg of DM as proteinato zinc; 10- base diet + 600mg Zn/kg of DM as proteinato zinc. The animals were weighed and sampled for blood zinc analysis, phosphatase alkaline analysis and immunoglobulins G and M analysis. At the end of the experiment liver samples were collected to study the zinc hepatic levels. There was no difference in phosphatase alkaline levels, hepatic zinc levels and weight gain (P>0,05) but differences (P<0,05) in plasmatic zinc levels and in IgG and IgM levels were observed. Based on liver tissue uptake, estimates of the zinc bioavailability, through the regression equations showed that the organic and inorganic sources of zinc did not differ.