Collard greens and chicory intercropping efficiency as a function of chicory (Cichorium intybus) transplant time

Vegetable intercropping has advantages over single cultivation in terms of less environmental impact. However, to convince farmers to adopt this production system, it is necessary to prove greater efficiency in the production of more food per unit area and therefore an increase in productivity. An experiment was carried out aiming to evaluate the effect of the chicory transplant time in intercrops with collard greens on crop yields and land use efficiency index (LUE). The experimental design was a randomized block, with nine treatments in a 2 × 4 + 1 factorial scheme, and four replications. Crop systems (intercrop and monoculture) and chicory transplant time (0, 14, 28 and 42 days after transplant (DAT) of collard greens) were evaluated. The collard greens yield increased as the chicory transplant time was delayed. The total and per harvest yields of chicory were not influenced by its transplant time. Regardless of chicory transplant time, collard greens and chicory intercropping provided greater LUE than their monocultures and reached the maximum value (52% higher) when the chicory was transplanted 42 days after collard greens. Highlights: The collard green yield increased by 11 kg ha-1 for each day of delay in the chicory transplant (0 to 42 days). The total and per harvest chicory yields were not influenced by its transplant time in relation to collard green transplant. The collard green and chicory intercropping provided 52% higher land use efficiency than their monocultures when the chicory was transplanted 42 days after collard green.Vegetable intercropping has advantages over single cultivation in terms of less environmental impact. However, to convince farmers to adopt this production system, it is necessary to prove greater efficiency in the production of more food per unit area and therefore an increase in productivity. An experiment was carried out aiming to evaluate the effect of the chicory transplant time in intercrops with collard greens on crop yields and land use efficiency index (LUE). The experimental design was a randomized block, with nine treatments in a 2 × 4 + 1 factorial scheme, and four replications. Crop systems (intercrop and monoculture) and chicory transplant time (0, 14, 28 and 42 days after transplant (DAT) of collard greens) were evaluated. The collard greens yield increased as the chicory transplant time was delayed. The total and per harvest yields of chicory were not influenced by its transplant time. Regardless of chicory transplant time, collard greens and chicory intercropping provided greater LUE than their monocultures and reached the maximum value (52% higher) when the chicory was transplanted 42 days after collard greens. Highlights: The collard green yield increased by 11 kg ha-1 for each day of delay in the chicory transplant (0 to 42 days). The total and per harvest chicory yields were not influenced by its transplant time in relation to collard green transplant. The collard green and chicory intercropping provided 52% higher land use efficiency than their monocultures when the chicory was transplanted 42 days after collard green

Roles of Nitric Oxide and Prostaglandins in the Sustained Antihypertensive Effects of Acanthospermum hispidum

Although Acanthospermum hispidum is used in Brazilian folk medicine as an antihypertensive, no study evaluated its effects on a renovascular hypertension and ovariectomy model. So, this study investigated the mechanisms involved in the antihypertensive effects of an ethanol-soluble fraction obtained from A. hispidum (ESAH) using two-kidney-one-clip hypertension in ovariectomized rats (2K1C plus OVT). ESAH was orally administered at doses of 30, 100, and 300 mg/kg, daily, for 28 days, after 5 weeks of surgery. Enalapril (15 mg/kg) and hydrochlorothiazide (25 mg/kg) were used as standard drugs. Diuretic activity was evaluated on days 1, 7, 14, 21, and 28. Systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressure and heart rate were recorded. Serum creatinine, urea, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, nitrosamine, nitrite, aldosterone, vasopressin levels, and ACE activity were measured. The vascular reactivity and the role of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandins (PG) in the vasodilator response of ESAH on the mesenteric vascular bed (MVB) were also investigated. ESAH treatment induced an important saluretic and antihypertensive response, therefore recovering vascular reactivity in 2K1C plus OVT-rats. This effect was associated with a reduction of oxidative and nitrosative stress with a possible increase in the NO bioavailability. Additionally, a NO and PG-dependent vasodilator effect was observed on the MEV

Immunogenicity of a Whole-Cell Pertussis Vaccine with Low Lipopolysaccharide Content in Infants▿

The lack of a clear correlation between the levels of antibody to pertussis antigens and protection against disease lends credence to the possibility that cell-mediated immunity provides primary protection against disease. This phase I comparative trial had the aim of comparing the in vitro cellular immune response and anti-pertussis toxin (anti-PT) immunoglobulin G (IgG) titers induced by a cellular pertussis vaccine with low lipopolysaccharide (LPS) content (wPlow vaccine) with those induced by the conventional whole-cell pertussis (wP) vaccine. A total of 234 infants were vaccinated at 2, 4, and 6 months with the conventional wP vaccine or the wPlow vaccine. Proliferation of CD3+ T cells was evaluated by flow cytometry after 6 days of peripheral blood mononuclear cell culture with stimulation with heat-killed Bordetella pertussis or phytohemagglutinin (PHA). CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and T-cell receptor γδ-positive (γδ+) cells were identified in the gate of blast lymphocytes. Gamma interferon, tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-4 (IL-4), and IL-10 levels in supernatants and serum anti-PT IgG levels were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The net percentage of CD3+ blasts in cultures with B. pertussis in the group vaccinated with wP was higher than that in the group vaccinated with the wPlow vaccine (medians of 6.2% for the wP vaccine and 3.9% for the wPlow vaccine; P = 0.029). The frequencies of proliferating CD4+, CD8+, and γδ+ cells, cytokine concentrations in supernatants, and the geometric mean titers of anti-PT IgG were similar for the two vaccination groups. There was a significant difference between the T-cell subpopulations for B. pertussis and PHA cultures, with a higher percentage of γδ+ cells in the B. pertussis cultures (P < 0.001). The overall data did suggest that wP vaccination resulted in modestly better specific CD3+ cell proliferation, and γδ+ cell expansions were similar with the two vaccines

Relações entre o teor de fenóis totais e o ciclo das galhas de Cecidomyiida e em Aspidosperm a spruceanum Müll. Arg. (Apocynaceae) Relationships between phenolic contents and a Cecidomyiidae gall cycle in Aspidosperma spruceanum Müll. Arg. (Apocynaceae)

Alterações morfológicas detectadas em diversas espécies vegetais em função da indução de galhas são comumente acompanhadas de mudanças químicas importantes para o estabelecimento e manutenção do sistema galhador-planta hospedeira. O estudo da variação do teor de fenóis totais e sua relação com o desenvolvimento das galhas no sistema Aspidosperma spruceanum-Cecidomyiidae foi realizado ao longo de um ano, no qual foram detectados pelo menos dois ciclos de vida dos insetos indutores. O nível de infestação foliar foi alto, atingindo 87%, e os Cecidomyiidae tiveram a região internervural como sítio preferencial de oviposição. A variação sazonal no conteúdo de fenóis totais nas amostras de folhas sadias e galhadas foi primariamente relacionada às condições abióticas e muito embora este teor tenha atingido o máximo de 10 mg EAT g-1, indicando um ambiente químico celular não favorável à indução e a sua sobrevivência, o indutor de A. spruceanum supera esta barreira química, podendo ainda ser favorecido pela proteção contra inimigos naturais propiciada pelos fenólicos.<br>Morphological alterations detected in several plant species due to gall induction are commonly followed by chemical changes fundamental to the establishment and maintenance of the host plant-gall maker system. The study of phenolic contents variation and its relation to gall development in Aspidosperma spruceanum-Cecidomyiidae system through a year-time detected two insect life cycles. The level of infestation was high, getting up to 87%, and the Cecidomyiidae preferentially oviposited in internervural region. Seasonal variation in phenolic contents in healthy and galled leaves detected in A. spruceanum was primarily related to abiotic conditions. Even though the levels of phenolic contents might get a maximum of 10 mg EAT g-1, which indicated a non stimulating cell chemical environment to gall induction and herbivore survivorship, A. spruceanum gall maker surpassed this chemical barrier, and might also be favored by the chemical protection against its natural enemies, that phenolic contents might confer