New species of Polystomoides (Monogenoidea: Polystomatidae) parasitizing the urinary bladder of a freshwater turtle in Brazil.

Trachemys dorbigni is the most abundant freshwater turtle species in Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Chelonians are known to host a wide variety of pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, hemoparasites and helminths. Among these, nine genera of polystomatid flatworms (Monogenoidea; Polystomatidae) infect freshwater turtles: Apaloneotrema, Aussietrema, Fornixtrema, Manotrema, Pleurodirotrema, Polystomoidella, Polystomoides, Uropolystomoides and Uteropolystomoides. However, little is known about the biology of these parasites in the Neotropical Realm. Through investigative cystoscopy, specimens of Polystomatidae were located inside the urinary bladder of the host T. dorbigni. Retrieved specimens were fixed and stained whole mounts prepared for taxonomic identification. In the present paper, a new species of Polystomoides (Monogenoidea: Polystomatidae) parasitizing the urinary bladder of a freshwater turtle of the species T. dorbigni in Brazil is described. Polystomoides santamariensis n. sp. differs from the congeneric species on the length of the genital spines, which are longer. Given the enormous diversity of freshwater turtles around the world, it is likely that a large number of chelonian polystomatids are still unknown.

Thermal Pest Control in 'Tannat' grapes: Effect on anthocyanins, sensory and color of one-year-old wines.

Thermal pest control (TPC) is a technology that applies heated air in the vineyard to reduce pests. However, it can also alter grape anthocyanin synthesis in answer to temperature stress. The aim of this work was to determine the impact of TPC in 'Tannat' grape vineyards on wine quality. The major makers of quality considered in this study were the wine anthocyanin characterization by HPLC-PDA-MSn, beverage's sensory evaluation by descriptive analysis, and color parameters by instrumental analysis. A total of three experiments were performed in different harvesting years. In 2011/12 (Experiment I), four applications were performed from the flowering to fruiting. For the second experiment (2012/13), five applications were used only during fruiting. TPC treatment performed in 2013/14 (Experiment III) had a total of 19 applications from the flowering to harvesting. In the first experiment, TPC had increased wine pigments, color, and sensorial descriptors for visual (translucence) and gustatory (woody and body) perceptions. However, in the second experiment none of the evaluated wine quality parameters was affected by TPC (p≤0.05). In the last and longest experiment (19 applications), TPC has significantly increased some wine pigments content. Nonetheless, wine sensorial parameters were not affected. Since the climate was different among the years, it seems that TPC effect does not depend on the applications number and vegetable cycle period only, but also it can be affected by the weather conditions in which the vine is being cultivated. However, when TPC treatment has resulted in the greatest anthocyanin increment (Experiment I) some wine sensory descriptors were also improved.

Resposta biológica de ratos alimentados com resíduo da fermentação de batata (Solanumtuberosum L.) / Biological response of rats fed with the fermentation of potato residue (Solanumtuberosum L.)

O presente trabalho teve por objetivo determinar a composição centesimal do tubérculo de batata in natura a ser utilizado no processo de destilação para a produção de etanol e do resíduo sólido resultante da fermentação deste tubérculo. Com base na composição do resíduo, avaliou-se o efeito da sua utilização na substituição de diferentes teores de fibra alimentar de uma dieta padrão, na resposta biológica de ratos. Para a avaliação dos efeitos biológicos, foram utilizados 32 ratos Wistar divididos em quatro grupos. Um dos grupos de animais recebeu a dieta padrão para ratos em crescimento, e os demais grupos receberam esta dieta com substituição de 25, 50 ou 100 por cento de sua fibra alimentar pela fibra do resíduo. Durante o período experimental (23 dias), foram avaliados o consumo, o ganho de peso, o coeficiente de eficiência alimentar (CEA), a produção de fezes secas e úmidas, pH e excreção de nitrogênio fecal. No final do ensaio, foram avaliados o peso do fígado e da gordura epididimal, níveis sanguíneos de triglicerídeos, colesterol total, colesterol HDL e proteínas totais. O resíduo apresentou uma composição centesimal de 8,2 por cento de proteína, 16,7 por cento de fibra alimentar, 62,8 por cento de carboidratos e 288Kcal. Os resultados obtidos no ensaio biológico sugerem que o resíduo sólido da fermentação de tubérculos de batata pode ser empregado como fonte de nutrientes, com base na substituição da fração fibra de uma dieta padrão AIN-93, sem comprometer o desenvolvimento dos ratos e os parâmetros bioquímicos analisados.

The present research had the objectives of determining the in natura potato tuber centesimal composition in the distilling process in order to produce ethanol and to verify the solid residues resulting from this tuber fermentation process. Based on the residue composition, it was evaluated the effect of its use in the substitution of different dietary fiber content of a standard diet observing the rats biological response to this diet. In order to evaluate the biological effect, 32 Wistar rats were used divided into four groups. One group was given the standard diet for growing rats, according to recommendations of the American Institute of Nutrition (AIN-93), and the other three groups were given this diet substituting 25, 50 or 100 percent of residue by dietary fiber. Throughout the experimental period (23 days), consumption, weight gain, food efficiency ratio (FER), dry and moist feces production, pH and nitrogen fecal excretion were evaluated. At the end of the experiment, liver and epididimal fat weights, triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and total protein levels were evaluated. The residue presented centesimal composition of 8.2 percent protein, 16.7 percent of dietary fiber, 62.8 percent of carbohydrates and 288 Kcal. The results obtained in the biological assay suggest that the solid residue resulting from potato tuber fermentation can be employed as a source of nutrients having as basis the exchange of fiber fraction of an AIN-93 standard diet without endangering rats' growth and the analyzed biochemical parameters.