Kaolin exogenous application boosts antioxidant capacity and phenolic content in berries and leaves of grapevine under summer stress.

Heat waves, high light intensities and water deficit are becoming important threats in many important viticultural areas worldwide, so the implementation of efficient and cost-effective mitigation strategies is crucial for the production of premium wines while maintaining productivity. In this context, the foliar application of kaolin, a chemically inert mineral with excellent reflective properties, is being developed and experimented as a strategy to reduce the impact of heat and drought in Douro vineyards (Northern Portugal), already revealing promising results. In the present study we investigated if an improved antioxidant capacity is part of the beneficial effects of kaolin, by studying changes in the enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidant system in leaves and berries (cv Touriga Nacional). Results showed that mature grape berries contained higher amounts of total phenols (40%), flavonoids (24%), anthocyanins (32%) and vitamin C (12%) than fruits from control vines, and important changes were also measured in leaves. In parallel, kaolin application improved the antioxidant capacity in berries, which was correlated with the observed increased content in secondary metabolites. Kaolin application also regulated secondary metabolism at the transcriptional level through the increase in the transcript abundance of genes encoding phenylalanine ammonia lyase and chalcone synthase.

Prenatal exposure to phthalates is associated with decreased anogenital distance and penile size in male newborns.

Reproductive effects from phthalate exposure have been documented mostly in animal studies. This study explored the association between prenatal exposure to phthalate metabolites, anogenital distance and penile measurements in male newborns in Toluca, State of Mexico. A total of 174 pregnant women provided urine samples for phthalate analysis during their last prenatal visit, and the 73 who gave birth to male infants were included in the study. The 73 male newborns were weighed and measured using standardized methods after delivery. After adjusting for creatinine and supine length at birth, significant inverse associations were observed between an index of prenatal exposure to total phthalate exposure and the distance from the anus to anterior base of the penis (ß = -0.191 mm per 1 µg/l, P = 0.037), penile width (ß = -0.0414, P = 0.050) and stretched length (ß = -0.2137, P = 0.034); prenatal exposure to mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate exposure was associated with a reduction in the stretched length of the penis (ß = -0.2604, P = 0.050). Human exposure to phthalates is a public health concern, and the system most vulnerable to its potential effects seems to be the immature male reproductive tract.

Bilateral agenesis of the internal carotid artery associated with basilar artery aneurysm treated via the endovascular route. A case report.

Bilateral agenesis of the internal carotid artery is a rare anomaly of embryonic development frequently associated with intracranial aneurysm. We describe a case involving an aneurysm that burst in the third middle of the basilar artery and exhibited a bilateral agenesis of the internal carotid artery. The aneurysm was treated via an endovascular route using detachable coils.

Ecology of Increasing Diseases: Population Growth and Environmental Degradation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and other organizations report that the prevalence of human diseases during the past decade is rapidly increasing. Population growth and the pollution of water, air, and soil are contributing to the increasing number of human diseases worldwide. Currently an estimated 40% of world deaths are due to environmental degradation. The ecology of increasing diseases has complex factors of environmental degradation, population growth, and the current malnutrition of about 3.7 billion people in the world.

Unusual penetrating orbit injury.

Penetrating head and face injuries can cause hemorrhages, neurological lesions, visual acuity loss, fractures and facial deformities. This report discusses an injury caused by a knife that penetrated the left orbit and reached the skull base without damaging any important structures. The knife was removed through the entrance wound and no complications were observed either during or after surgery.

Ethical issues of global corporatization: agriculture and beyond.

The world food supply has become inadequate for more than half the world population, as evidenced by a recent report of the World Health Organization that indicated that more than 3 billion people are malnourished. This is the largest number of malnourished ever reported. Per capita food production, especially cereal grains, has been declining for nearly 2 decades, despite new biotechnology and other agricultural technologies. Rapid human population growth, compounded by diminishing availability of fertile cropland, freshwater, and fossil fuels, is intensifying the emerging problems in all food production systems. Numerous ethical issues are related to the problem of malnutrition, including global corporatization.

Reactive oxygen species mediate amplitude-dependent hypertrophic and apoptotic responses to mechanical stretch in cardiac myocytes.

Oxidative stress stimulates both growth and apoptosis in cardiac myocytes in vitro. We investigated whether oxidative stress mediates hypertrophy and apoptosis in cyclically stretched ventricular myocytes. Neonatal rat ventricular myocytes cultured on laminin-coated silastic membranes were stretched cyclically (1 Hz) at low (nominal 5%) and high (nominal 25%) amplitudes for 24 hours. Stretch caused a graded increase in superoxide anion production as assessed by superoxide dismutase (SOD)-inhibitable cytochrome c reduction or electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. The role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was assessed using the cell-permeable SOD/catalase mimetics Mn(II/III)tetrakis(1-methyl-4-peridyl) (MnTMPyP) and EUK-8. Stretch-induced increases in protein synthesis ((3)H-leucine incorporation) and cellular protein content were completely inhibited by MnTMPyP (0.05 mmol/L) at both low and high amplitudes of stretch. In contrast, while MnTMPyP inhibited basal atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) mRNA expression, the stretch-induced increase in ANF mRNA expression was not inhibited by MnTMPyP. In contrast to hypertrophy, only high-amplitude stretch increased myocyte apoptosis, as reflected by increased DNA fragmentation on gel electrophoresis and an approximately 3-fold increase in the number of TUNEL-positive myocytes. Similarly, only high-amplitude stretch increased the expression of bax mRNA. Myocyte apoptosis and bax expression stimulated by high-amplitude stretch were inhibited by MnTMPyP. Both low- and high-amplitude stretch caused rapid phosphorylation of ERK1/2, while high-, but not low-, amplitude stretch caused phosphorylation of JNKs. Activation of both ERK1/2 and JNKs was ROS-dependent. Thus, cyclic strain causes an amplitude-related increase in ROS, associated with differential activation of kinases and induction of hypertrophic and apoptotic phenotypes.

The importance of leaf- and litter-feeding invertebrates as sources of animal protein for the Amazonian Amerindians.

At least 32 Amerindian groups in the Amazon basin use terrestrial invertebrates as food. Leaf- and litter-consuming invertebrates provide the more important, underestimated food sources for many Amerindian groups. Further, litter-consuming earthworms are also an important food resource for the Ye'Kuana (also known as Makiritare) in the Alto Orinoco (Amazonas, Venezuela). By selecting these small invertebrates the Amerindians are choosing their animal food from those food webs in the rainforest which have the highest energy flow and which constitute the greatest renewable stock of readily available nutrients. Here we show that the consumption of leaf- and litter-feeding invertebrates as a means of recovering protein, fat and vitamins by the forest-living peoples offers a new perspective for the development of sustainable animal food production within the paradigm of biodiversity maintenance.

Norepinephrine stimulates apoptosis in adult rat ventricular myocytes by activation of the beta-adrenergic pathway.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial sympathetic activity is increased in heart failure. We tested the hypothesis that norepinephrine (NE) stimulates apoptosis in adult rat ventricular myocytes in vitro. METHODS AND RESULTS: Myocytes were exposed to NE alone (10 micromol/L), NE+propranolol (2 micromol/L), NE+prazosin (0.1 micromol/L), or isoproterenol (ISO, 10 micromol/L) for 24 hours. NE and ISO decreased the number of viable myocytes by approximately 35%. This effect was completely blocked by the beta-adrenergic antagonist propranolol but was not affected by the alpha1-adrenergic antagonist prazosin. NE increased DNA laddering on agarose gel electrophoresis and increased the percentage of cells that were stained by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end-labeling from 5.8+/-1. 0% to 21.0+/-2.3% (P<0.01; n=4). NE likewise increased the percentage of apoptotic cells with hypodiploid DNA content as assessed by flow cytometry from 7.8+/-0.7% to 16.7+/-2.2% (P<0.01; n=6), and this effect was abolished by propranolol but not prazosin. ISO and forskolin (10 micromol/L) mimicked the effect of NE, increasing the percentage of apoptotic cells to 14.7+/-1.9% and 14. 4+/-2.2%, respectively. NE-stimulated apoptosis was abolished by the protein kinase A inhibitor H-89 (20 micromol/L) or the voltage-dependent calcium channel blockers diltiazem and nifedipine. CONCLUSIONS: NE, acting via the ss-adrenergic pathway, stimulates apoptosis in adult rat cardiac myocytes in vitro. This effect is mediated by protein kinase A and requires calcium entry via voltage-dependent calcium channels. NE-stimulated apoptosis of cardiac myocytes may contribute to the progression of myocardial failure.

In situ assessment of pesticide genotoxicity in an integrated pest management program I--Tradescantia micronucleus assay.

The genotoxicity induced by pesticides applied in an integrated pest management (IPM) program was evaluated with the Tradescantia micronucleus assay (Trad-MCN). Three pesticide application rates were prescribed as follows: (a) Low, no field pesticide spray; (b) Medium, IPM test rate: banded cyanazine plus metolachlor (2.7 kg a.i. and 2.3 l a.i./ha of herbicides, respectively); and (c) High, a preventative pesticide application program: broadcast cyanazine plus metolachlor (same application rates as above) plus chlorpyrifos (1 kg a.i./ha of insecticide). The Trad-MCN was employed for the assessment of (a) the formulated compounds, singly and in combinations; (b) pesticide residues extracted from soils sampled before and after application, and (c) in situ exposures (14-h exposure to pesticide-sprayed field). All pesticides showed clastogenic potency at doses between 10 and 50 ppm. Aqueous extracts of the two pesticide-sprayed soils were clastogenic, but the unsprayed soil extracts were not. Plants exposed in situ to pesticide-sprayed soils (inside a chamber receiving vapors from the soil) also showed significant increases in micronuclei frequency in relation to controls exposed to unsprayed soil. In general, there was no significant reduction in the genotoxic effects from the High to the Medium treatment levels of the IPM program. This suggests that the reduction in pesticide application rates attained with the implementation of the proposed IPM program was not sufficient to abate the genotoxicity of the pesticides, as perceived with the sensitive assays employed. The results indicate that replacing genotoxic compounds may be the only effective remediation measure to eliminate the risks imposed by mutagenic compounds in the agricultural environment.

In situ assessment of pesticide genotoxicity in an integrated pest management program: II. Maize waxy mutation assay.

The mutagenicity induced by pesticides applied in an integrated pest management (IPM) program was evaluated in situ with the maize forward waxy mutation bioassay. Three pesticide application rates were prescribed as follows: (1) Low--no field pesticide spray; (2) Medium--IPM test rate: banded cyanazine plus metolachlor (2.7 kg a.i. and 2.3 l a.i./ha of herbicides, respectively); and (3) High--a preventative pesticide application program: broadcast cyanazine plus metolachlor (same application rates as above) plus chlorpyrifos (1 kg a.i./ha of insecticide). In general, there was no significant reduction in the genotoxic effects from the high to the medium treatment levels of the IPM program. This suggests that the reduction in pesticide application rates attained with the implementation of the proposed IPM program was not sufficient to abate the genotoxicity of the pesticides. The results indicate that replacing genotoxic compounds may be the only effective remediation measure if concern about environmental mutagenesis were to result in changes in agricultural management.

Sustainable development.

Perspectives on Global Change: The TARGETS Approach edited by Jan Rotmans and Bert de Vries Cambridge University Press, 1997. £40.00/$69.95 hbk (xv+463 pages) ISBN 0 521 62176 3.

[A retrospective assessment of spinocellular carcinomas of the lip treated by roentgenotherapy]. / Avaliação retrospectiva dos carcinomas espinho-celulares do lábio tratados por roentgenterapia.

From December 1965 to December 1987 (22 years), 279 patients with histologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma of the lip were treated in this Department with roentgenotherapy. All the patients that had completed the treatment were evaluated with a follow-up time of 5 years (n = 255). Distribution by age, sex, occupation, residence, evolution time of the lesion, localization (upper lip, lower lip and commissure), tumor size and histological grade were analysed. In what concerns technical conditions and fractionation, we evaluated the type of acute reactions and the dose of radiation which elicited them as well as the results of radiotherapy (local and cosmetic control). A relation is made between the size of the lesion and outcome after treatment. The survival rate at 3 years was 76.6% and at 5 years (the usual follow-up period for these patients) 66%. Disease-free survival rate at 3 years was 79% and at 5 years 77.6%.

[A retrospective assessment of spinocellular carcinomas of the lip treated by roentgenotherapy]. / Avaliação retrospectiva dos carcinomas espinho-celulares do lábio tratados por roentgenterapia.

From December 1965 to December 1987 (22 years), 279 patients with histologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma of the lip were treated in this Department with roentgenotherapy. All the patients that had completed the treatment were evaluated with a follow-up time of 5 years (n=255). Distribution by age, sex, occupation, residence, evolution time of the lesion, localization (upper lip, lower lip and commissure), tumoral size and histological grade were analysed. Concerning technical conditions and fractionation, we evaluated the type and which dose of radiation elicit acute reactions as well as the results of radiotherapy (local and cosmetic control). A relation is made between the size of the lesion and outcome after treatment. The survival rate at 3 years was 76,6% and at 5 years (the usual follow-up period for these patients) was 66%. Disease-free survival rate at 3 years was 79% and at 5 years was 77,6%.