Colorimetric change of assai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) after preservation and thermal processing of the fruit.

Amazonian areas is far from the consumer center. Those characteristics promote a decline in visual quality of the fruit at the time of commercialization and consequently of the beverage processed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the assai fruit conservation and heat treatment, usually applied before its transformation into a pulp or beverage by artisan processing. Assai fruits were collected in 2013 in Mazagão, Brazil, packed in polypropylene bags, vacuum sealed and refrigerated (8-10°C) during four days. The treatments consisted of i.) fruits packed under vacuum (T1), ii.) fruits softening with potable water at 45°C for 20 minutes before bleaching (T2), ii.) fruits which have not been softened before bleaching (T3), iii.) fruits bleached at 80°C for 10 seconds (T4) (Rogez et al., 1996) and iv.) packaged fruit pulps prepared in the presence (T5) and iv). absence of vacuum (T6). The instrumental color of fruits and pulps was evaluated by colorimeter CR- 400 Konica Minolta. Fruit pulp preserved in vacuum (T5) showed the darkest luminosity (L*29.39), well as a more reddish color (a*8.51) and also more blue (b*-4.10). Considering ?E 12.55, there was a significant difference between vacuum packed fruit (T1) and without vacuum fruit pulps (T6). Otherwise, pulps from vacuum packed fruits (T5) and ones with absence of vacuum packed fruits (T6) also presented statistical difference (?E 7.80). The highest value C* was observed in vacuum packed pulps (T5) (9.45), which presented with a brighter and stronger color than the fruit pulp without vacuum (T6) (C*7.01). Regarding H°hue, the pulp from fruits without vacuum (T6) showed higher values (H°78.36) when compared to the pulp from fruits under vacuum (T5) (H°73.84). Compared to thermal processing, bleaching was not statistically influenced by purity of the color (C*) of softened fruit pulps (T2) (C*8.50) and fruit pulps that were not softening (T3) (C*8.00). The highest total color difference was observed in the bleached pulps that were previously softened (T4) (?E12.85). Assai fruits vacuum packed retain the best attributes of drink produced. Softening of the fruit before bleaching also influences the change in color of the drink, which may represent significant quality loss for the product and value for the merchant and consumers.UP371

One-note samba: the biogeographical history of the relict Brazilian butterfly Elkalyce cogina

[Aim] Biogeographically puzzling taxa represent an opportunity to understand the processes that have shaped current species distributions. The systematic placement and biogeographical history of Elkalyce cogina, a small lycaenid butterfly endemic to Brazil and neighbouring Argentina, are long-standing puzzles. We use molecular tools and novel biogeographical and life history data to clarify the taxonomy and distribution of this butterfly.[Location] South America, with emphasis on the Atlantic Rain Forest and Cerrado biomes (Brazil and Argentina).[Methods] We gathered a data set of 71 Polyommatini (Lycaenidae) samples, including representatives of all described subtribes and/or sections. Among these, we contributed new sequences for E. cogina and four additional relevant taxa in the target subtribes Everina, Lycaenopsina and Polyommatina. We inferred a molecular phylogeny based on three mitochondrial genes and four nuclear markers to assess the systematic position and time of divergence of E. cogina. Ancestral geographical ranges were estimated with the R package BioGeoBEARS. To investigate heterogeneity in clade diversification rates, we used Bayesian analysis of macroevolutionary mixtures (bamm).[Results] Our results confirm the hypothesis that E. cogina belongs to the subtribe Everina and not Lycaenopsina, but unexpectedly recovered it as the sister group to the rest of Everina, with an estimated divergence time of approximately 10 Ma. Ancestral geographical range reconstruction points to an old colonization from Asia, the centre of diversity for the Everina, to the New World. The Neotropical Polyommatina lineage diversified to produce almost 100 species in multiple genera, whereas the E. cogina lineage did not diversify at all. Such lack of diversification is unique among the seven Everina/Polyommatina lineages that colonized the New World. We also show that the larvae of E. cogina feed on Fabaceae, supporting the identification of this host-plant family as the ancestral state for the whole group.[Main conclusions] The age and biogeographical reconstruction of the Elkalyce lineage are similar to those of the Neotropical lineage of Polyommatina and suggest that both travelled via the route proposed by Vladimir Nabokov (Asia-Beringia-North America-South America). This coincidence suggests that the climatic conditions at c. 10 Ma favoured dispersal from Asia to the Neotropics and that later events may have erased traces of these butterfly lineages in North America.Funding was provided by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (project CGL2013-48277-P). G.T. is supported by the grant BP-A00275 (AGAUR-Generalitat de Catalunya), Marie Curie Actions FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IOF (project 622716) and the grant 1.50.1617.2013 at Saint Petersburg State University; L.A.K. was supported by CAPES (3200-14-0); A.V.L.F. thanks ICMBio for research permits (SISBIO no. 10802-5), CNPq (fellowship 302585/2011-7 and grant 564954/2010-1), RedeLep-SISBIOTA-Brasil/CNPq (563332/2010-7), the National Science Foundation (DEB-1256742), BR-BoL (MCT/CNPq/FNDCT 50/2010) and FAPESP (grant 2012/50260-6 and BIOTA-FAPESP Programs 2011/50225-3 and 2013/50297-0).Peer Reviewe

Visser's Massive Gravity Bimetric Theory Revisited

A massive gravity theory was proposed by Visser in the late nineties. This theory, based on a backgroung metric $b_{\alpha \beta}$ and on an usual dynamical metric $g_{\alpha \beta}$ has the advantage of being free of ghosts as well as discontinuities present in other massive theories proposed in the past. In the present investigation, the equations of Visser's theory are revisited with a particular care on the related conservation laws.\ It will be shown that a multiplicative factor is missing in the graviton tensor originally derived by Visser, which has no incidence on the weak field approach but becomes important in the strong field regime when, for instance, cosmological applications are considered. In this case, contrary to some previous claims found in the literature, we conclude that a non-static background metric is required in order to obtain a solution able to mimic the $\Lambda$CDM cosmology.Comment: 10 pages - Accepted for publication in Physical Review

Aplicabilidade de marcadores SSR em estudos genéticos em Gossypium Mustelinun Miers.

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Peritoneal fluid modulates the sperm acrosomal exocytosis induced by N-acetylglucosaminyl neoglycoprotein

The effect of peritoneal fluid (PF) on the human sperm acrosome reaction (AR) was tested. Sperm was pre-incubated with PF and the AR was induced by calcium ionophore A23187 and a neoglycoprotein bearing N-acetylglycosamine residues (NGP). The AR induced by calcium ionophore was inhibited 40% by PF from controls (PFc) and 50% by PF from the endometriosis (PFe) group, but not by PF from infertile patients without endometriosis (PFi). No significant differences were found in the spontaneous AR. When the AR was induced by NGP, pre-incubation with PFc reduced (60%) the percentage of AR, while PFe and PFi caused no significant differences. The average rates of acrosome reactions obtained in control, NGP- and ionophore-treated sperm showed that NGP-induced exocytosis differed significantly between the PFc (11%) and PFe/PFi groups (17%), and the ionophore-induced AR was higher for PFi (33%) than PFc/PFe (25%). The incidence of the NGP-induced AR was reduced in the first hour of pre-incubation with PFc and remained nearly constant throughout 4 h of incubation. The present data indicate that PF possesses a protective factor which prevents premature AR.Hospital de Clínicas de Porto AlegreUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)UNIFESPSciEL