Effect of pruning strategy on 'Syrah' bud necrosis and fruitfulness in Brazilian subtropical Southeast

The change of wine grape harvest from wet season (summer) to dry season (winter) by changing the pruning management has improved quality of wines produced in the Brazilian Southeast. However, the vines need to be spur pruned twice a year, i.e. with a 1st pruning in August (winter pruning) for a vegetative cycle during the hot and wet summer, and a 2nd pruning in January (summer pruning) for a productive cycle during the cold and dry season. This double pruning strategy is made necessary by the fact that latent buds developed during the dry season cycle are not fruitful to support a productive cycle in the following year. This histological study, performed in the South of Minas Gerais State (Brazil), showed that annual single pruning done in the wet season (in January) displayed a high rate of necrosis on primary and secondary buds (bud necrosis – BN). In April, 99 days after summer pruning (DASP), the rates of BN were 40 % and 50 % at basal and apical node positions, respectively, reaching 80 % of BN in December (322 DASP). As a consequence of BN, bud potential fertility was drastically reduced from 0.5 inflorescence primordial (IP) per bud (in July) to 0.06 (in December) and bud burst in the next cycle from secondary and tertiary bud axes. Vines managed by double pruning system (submitted to summer and winter pruning) displayed a much higher fruitfulness potential, i.e. 1.46 IP per bud in December (112 days after winter pruning) and limited BN occurrence (20 %). On single pruned vines, we also observed a significant decrease of starch content in canes, trunks and roots. Internal bud anatomy showed that a random cell breakdown started 70 days DASP. At 211 DASP, all buds showed a large starch granule concentration, raphides and crystals of calcium oxalate inside idioblasts of leaf primordia and also in cortical parenchyma of the vegetative axis. The bud starch content was increased and a positive correlation between necrosis and starch accumulation was observed. The impact of carbohydrate availability on bud necrosis development was discussed. This study showed that the necrosis development towards secondary and tertiary axis of the dry season buds is the main reason of unfruitfulness in the vineyards managed by single pruning in the wet season, making the double pruning compulsory

Use of Box–Behnken design for optimization of compounded medication: acyclovir capsules report

Campus compounding pharmacies play an important role in public health. Herpes simplex is one of the most common viral diseases in humans, which generates a great demand for acyclovir capsules in compounding pharmacy. It is well known that the formulation's components influence the effectiveness of the drug. The objective of this study is to show the applicability of Box-Behnken design in optimization of a compounded formulation and to evaluate the effect of excipients on dissolution and drug content in acyclovir 200 mg capsules produced at UFF´s University Pharmacy (FAU). The formulations were prepared and evaluated for average weight test, uniformity of dosage units and in vitro dissolution, while meeting pharmacopoeial specifications. A statistical analysis showed that sodium starch glycolate, Aerosil®, influences drug content and dissolution results. Magnesium stearate shows no influence on the dissolution at different concentrations but influences the assay results. A numerical optimization was applied to adjust the formulation variables based on the foresaid responses, accomplishing the best formulation that will be prepared and dispensed at FAU upon medical prescription

Soil and climate effects on winter wine produced under the tropical environmental conditions of southeastern Brazil

Southeastern Brazil is an emergent region in terms of the production of high-quality fine wines. To contribute to typicity assessment, the soils (morphology, mineralogy, chemical and physical analyses), parent material (geologic maps and portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry) and climate (temperature and precipitation) were characterized in seven vineyards located in the state of Minas Gerais and São Paulo, Brazil, by carrying out state-of-the-art terroir analysis and assessing the environmental variations of the study sites. A soil profile was described and sampled in the central part of each vineyard. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) biplots were used to analyze the relationships between these factors and the composition of wines (2016, 2017 and 2018 harvests) produced from Syrah in commercial vineyards in different municipalities of Três Corações (TC), Cordislândia (COR), Andradas (AND), São Sebastião do Paraíso (SSP), Três Pontas (TP), Espírito Santo do Pinhal (PIN) and Itobí (ITO). The vineyards were grouped according to soil and climate characteristics. Group A was composed of COR, AND and PIN vineyards, which exhibited the highest correlation with soil Al3+ content and accumulated rainfall. The group’s wines had the lowest ash alkalinity, total polyphenol index (TPI) and pH values and the highest fixed acidity. Group B consisted of the TP and TC vineyards, which had the highest soil organic matter and boron contents and the highest thermal amplitude with similar values (15.4 °C in TC and 15.2 °C in TP); their wines showed average composition. Group C comprised ITO alone, which was characterized by the shallowest and least developed soils. Its wine had the highest flavonol content and high dry extract, color intensity, TPI, alcohol content and sugar values. Group D contained the SSP vineyard, in which the soil subsurface horizons were correlated with the highest wine pH. Late harvest in this vineyard caused the most dehydration of grapes and consequent concentration of most wine compounds (human effect on terroir). The terroir information produced in this study adds substantial value to the wines produced under the tropical environmental conditions of southeastern Brazil, for which such studies are very rare. By characterizing the natural factors (soil, soil parent material and climate) and human factors (vineyard management and wine characteristics) related to terroir, this study can also provide historical information about the wine from this emergent region (the historical factors). In addition, its results can be used to guide producers in their choice of vineyard cultivation sites according to preference in wine composition

Molecular characterization of group A rotavirus isolates obtained from hospitalized children in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

Rotavirus is a major cause of infectious diarrhea in infants and young children. The objective of this study was to characterize the genotypes of Human Rotavirus found in children hospitalized with acute diarrhea in the Pediatric Hospital Prof. Hosannah de Oliveira of the UFBA in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, during the years of 1999, 2000 and 2002. Fecal samples were analyzed (n=358) by methods EIARA and SDS-PAGE for detection of Rotavirus. Positive samples of one or two of these methods (n=168) were submitted to RT-PCR and Multiplex-Nested PCR to determine genotypes G and P. A hundred sixty-eight (46.9%) samples were positive and 190 (53.1%) negative. Only 17 (4.7%) samples had divergent results. The distribution of genotypes G during the first year, showed that the genotype G9 was present in 96,8% of the analyzed samples, in the second year, it was responsible for 96% and in the third year, 88,1%. The characterization of genotypes P demonstrated that the genotype P1A[8] was the most outstanding in all years. In this study we discuss the benefit to control the genotypes of Rotavirus through the molecular characterization for the development of potential vaccines

Monitoramento da Paisagem Acústica Submarina da Bacia de Santos (PMPAS-BS): uma iniciativa brasileira em monitoramento acústico oceânico

Este artigo apresenta o Projeto de Monitoramento da Paisagem Acústica Submarina da Bacia de Santos (PMPAS-BS), exigência   no processo de licenciamento ambiental federal, conduzido pelo IBAMA, dos projetos de produção e escoamento de petróleo e gás da Bacia de Santos, tendo por objetivos principais quantificar e caracterizar os ruídos hidroacústicos de origem antropogênica associados às atividades de Exploração e Produção (E&P) da PETROBRAS na região. O escopo de levantamento de dados do PMPAS-BS compreende três componentes principais: monitoramento móvel,  realizado através de equipamentos  autônomos como gliders e perfiladores acústicos de livre deriva; monitoramento fixo costeiro, realizado através de observatórios submarinos (OS) rasos instalados em regiões costeiras da Bacia de Santos; e monitoramento fixo oceânico, realizado através de linhas de fundeio instrumentadas (LFI) próximas a unidades de produção, rotas de navegação e em áreas com menor intensidade de atividades de E&P. Foi incluída também uma componente de modelagem numérica do ruído acústico submarino, muito utilizada em diversos países do mundo, e que após validada, permitirá complementar e substituir parte do esforço amostral. O PMPAS-BS tem uma magnitude de medições acústicas oceânicas que é pioneira na América Latina e com poucos similares no mundo, sendo feito o monitoramento de uma extensa área (36.000 km2) por meio de diversos equipamentos com distintos métodos e sensores de aquisição acústica. Seus resultados permitem estabelecer os atuais níveis de ruído acústico submarino em extensa região do Oceano Atlântico Sul, tanto em regiões prístinas como impactadas por atividades antropogênicas (navegação e indústria de óleo e gás)