Biological Activities of Chickpea in Human Health (Cicer arietinum L.). A Review

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - Chickpea is one of the most consumed legumes worldwide. Among their benefits are the high protein concentration that reflects not only at the nutritional level but...     

Effects of Cocoa-Derived Polyphenols on Cognitive Function in Humans. Systematic Review and Analysis of Methodological Aspects

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - The effects of cocoa-derived polyphenols on cognitive functions have been analyzed through numerous studies using different interventions (doses, vehicles, time...     

Transformation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Campanula</Emphasis> by wild type <Emphasis Type="Italic">Agrobacterium rhizogenes</Emphasis>

Compact growth is an important quality criterion in horticulture. Many Campanula species and cultivars exhibit elongated growth which is suppressed by chemical retardation and cultural practice during production to accommodate to the consumer’s desire. The production of compact plants via transformation with wild type Agrobacterium rhizogenes is an approach with great potential to produce plants that are non-GMO. Efficient transformation and regeneration procedures vary widely among both plant genera and species. Here we present a transformation protocol for Campanula. Hairy roots were produced on 26–90% of the petioles that were used for transformation of C. portenschlagiana (Cp), a C. takesimana × C. punctata hybrid (Chybr) and C. glomerata (Cg). Isolated hairy roots grew autonomously and vigorously without added hormones. The Cg hairy roots produced chlorophyll and generated plantlets in response to treatments with cytokinin (42 µM 2iP) and auxin (0.67 µM NAA). In contrast, regeneration attempts of transformed Cp and Chybr roots lead neither to the production of chlorophyll nor to the regeneration of shoots. Agropine A. rhizogenes strains integrate split T-DNA in T_L- and T_R-DNA fragments into the plant genome. In this study, regenerated plants of Cg did not contain T_R-DNA, indicating that a selective pressure against this T-DNA fragment may exist in Campanula.     

FDI in Space Revisited: The Role of Spillovers on Foreign Direct Investment within the European Union

We estimate a spatial econometric interaction model for bilateral aggregate FDI stock data between 25 European Union member countries in 2010. We find evidence for spatial spillovers of foreign direct investment for three different types of spatial dependence. Our results document FDI spillovers between neighboring countries of FDI origin countries, neighboring countries of FDI destination countries as well as between neighboring countries of both FDI origin and destination countries. Relying on recently developed methods, we provide the first model‐consistent interpretation of marginal effects of market size (measured by GDP) as well as GDP per capita on bilateral FDI activity. Our research highlights the importance of taking into account spatial lags when estimating bilateral FDI gravity models.     

How does water and salt stress affect the germination and initial growth of Brazilian soya bean cultivars?

The effects of water and salt stress on rate of germination and seedling growth were investigated under laboratory conditions in 46 soya bean genotypes from Central-West region of Brazil to verify how these stresses may limit crop establishment during the initial growth stage and also to identify the most tolerant genotypes to drought and salinity. Mild water and salt stresses were imposed by seed exposure to –0.20 MPa iso-osmotic solutions with polyethylene glycol—PEG 6000 (119.57 g/L) or NaCl (2.357 g/L) for 12 days at 25°C. The germination percentage, seedling length and seedling dry matter were measured, and then, salt or drought tolerance indexes were calculated. The “NS 5909 RG,” “NS 7000 IPRO,” “NS 7338IPRO,” “FPS Solimões RR,” “NS 5151 IPRO,” “SYN 13610 IPRO,” “LG 60177 IPRO,” “NS 6909 IPRO” and “BMX Desafio RR” were identified as the most drought-tolerant genotypes, whereas under salinity conditions, the genotypes “5D 615 RR,” “BMX Desafio RR,” “5D 6215 IPRO” and “BMX Ponta IPRO” were identified as tolerant. The “BMX Desafio RR” is the genotype most adapted to both stress conditions and, therefore, should be used under conditions of water shortage and excess salt in the soil at sowing time.     

Cultivation of Pen Shells: An Example with Atrina maura in Northwestern Mexico

Pen shells are economically important and most are threatened by overexploitation and habitat degradation. Cultivation represents an alternative for preserving the resource and increasing the production. Atrina maura was cultivated in a suspension system which was followed by a bottom phase. Samples of pen shells and tissues were collected monthly to measure absolute growth, shell height increase, and an adductor muscle index. After the trials, adults shell height was 195 ± 10 mm, total weight was 223 ± 28 g, and mean shell height increase was 0.81 cm/mo. Protective devices were vital to avoid predation by crabs and fish; survival was 90% in the suspension phase and 70% in the bottom phase. Variations in the muscle index were apparently related to reproduction, suggesting activity (partial spawning) from August 2008 to April 2009 in juveniles and a major spawning in adults during August 2009. Adductor muscles reached a mean of 21 g after 20 mo of cultivation, but muscle weights decreased significantly after reproduction (August to November 2009). Results indicated that A. maura is suitable for aquaculture and the cultivation system adopted here should be tested in pilot‐scale ventures. This system may work with other species of pen shells.     

Relationship between Polyamines and Other Cold‐induced Response Mechanisms in Different Cereal Species

To find a connection between polyamines and various protective effectors involved in the development of cold tolerance, eight different cereal genotypes, including wheat, barley and oat species, were investigated during the acclimation phase to low temperature. Exposure to low temperature induced different changes in the levels of polyamines, and other signalling molecules, such as salicylic acid and abscisic acid, and of other protective compounds, namely flavonols, sugars and antioxidant enzyme activity, and in the lipid composition of certain membrane factions. The most remarkable differences were observed in the oat varieties compared to the other cereal genotypes, which was manifested in the lack of spermidine accumulation and of decrease in trans‐Δ³‐hexadecanoic acid content, in lower initial and not cold‐inducible abscisic acid content and guaiacol peroxidase activity after cold treatment. Correlation analysis revealed that spermidine shows strong positive relationship with flavonols, abscisic acid and ascorbate peroxidase, while was in negative relationship with trans‐Δ³‐hexadecanoic acid. These results suggest that spermidine may have a crucial role in the cold acclimation signalling processes in cereals.     

Histopathological findings in farmed rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) naturally infected with 3 different Aeromonas species

This study describes the macroscopic and microscopic lesions in farmed rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) naturally infected with genetically identified Aeromonas salmonicida, A. hydrophila, and A. veronii species. The genus Aeromonas includes bacteria that naturally inhabit both waterways and organisms. At least 27 Aeromonas species have been identified to date, some of which can cause significant economic losses in aquaculture. As up to 68.8% of Aeromonas isolates may be misidentified in routine biochemical and phenotypic tests, however, reported cases of Aeromonas infection in fish may be wrongly identified. Our findings confirmed that the 3 Aeromonas species studied are associated with septicemia and dermal lesions in rainbow trout.