Effect of carbon and nitrogen sources on in vitro flower and fruit formation and withanolides production in Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal.

We studied the influence of sucrose and nitrogen concentration on in vitro flowering and fruit setting in elongated shoots of Withania somnifera. BA (1.5 mg/l) and IAA (0.3 mg/l) on MS medium supplemented with 4% sucrose showed 67% of in vitro flower induction frequency, 9 flowers/shoot, 4 fruits/shoot and 11 seeds/fruit in elongated-shoots. Different concentrations of nitrogen sources (L-glutamine, adenine sulphate, ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate and sodium nitrate 5-25 mg/l) were tested in combination with 4% sucrose and BA at 1.5 mg/l and IAA at 0.3 mg/l. Highest number of flowers (20 flowers/shoot; 2.2-fold) and fruits (16 fruits/shoot; 3.39-fold), fruit setting (12 seeds/fruit; 1.08-fold) at a higher frequency (88 %) were achieved on MS medium augmented with 15 mg/l adenine sulphate with same PGRs and sucrose concentration. The maximum production of withanolide A (0.68 mg/g DW) and withanolide B (0.77 mg/g DW) was recorded in in vitro fruits. Highest accumulation of withaferin A (2 mg/g DW) was quantified from in vitro flowers, whereas, it was low in in vitro fruits (0.49 mg/g DW withaferin A). However, withanone (0.23 mg/g DW) was found accumulated uniformly in both in vitro flowers and fruits compared to control.

O discurso do excesso sexual como marca da brasilidade: revisitando o pensamento social brasileiro das décadas de 1920 e 1930 / The discourse of sexual excess as a hallmark of Brazilianness: revisiting Brazilian social thinking in the 1920s and 1930s

O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar o discurso do excesso sexual produzido pelo pensamento social brasileiro das décadas de 1920 e 1930 na sua interlocução com o discurso médico da época. De inspiração foucaultiana, o texto inscreve-se no campo da história dos saberes e está subsidiado por documentos sociológicos e médicos do período de referência. No quadro da recodificação vintecentista sobre o imaginário da brasilidade, o tema do excesso sexual foi revisitado pelo pensamento sociológico local, forjando-o ora como um perturbador do projeto civilizatório nacional, ora como um traço que deveria ser positivado por ter sido a condição de possibilidade da hibridização cultural de suas matrizes identitárias.

The objective of this article is to analyze the discourse of sexual excess produced by Brazilian social thinking in the 1920s and 1930s and its dialog with the medical discourse at the time. Inspired by Foucault, it is within the field of the history of knowledge and is supported by sociology and medical documents from the period in question.Within the framework of the twentieth century re-codification of the imagery of Brazilianness, the topic of sexual excess was revisited by local thinkers in the field of sociology and seen either as disturbing the national civilizing project, or as a trait that should be seen in a positive light because it permitted the cultural hybridization of its sources of identity.

In Vitro Maintenance of Clonorchis sinensis Adult Worms

Clonorchis sinensis is a biological carcinogen inducing human cholangiocarcinoma, and clonorchiasis is one of the important endemic infectious diseases in East Asia. The present study investigated survival longevity of C. sinensis adult worms in various in vitro conditions to find the best way of keeping the worms longer. The worms were maintained in 0.85% NaCl, 1xPBS, 1xLocke's solution, RPMI-1640, DMEM, and IMDM media, and in 1xLocke's solution with different supplements. All of the worms died within 3 and 7 days in 0.85% NaCl and 1xPBS, respectively, but survived up to 57 days in 1xLocke's solution. The worms lived for 106 days in DMEM, and 114 days in both RPMI-1640 and IMDM media. The survival rate in RPMI-1640 medium was the highest (50%) compared to that in DMEM (20+/-10%) and in IMDM (33.3+/-25.2%) after 3 months. The 1xLocke's solution with 0.005% bovine bile supplement showed increased duration of maximum survival from 42 days to 70 days. Higher concentration of bile supplements than 0.005% or addition of glucose were disadvantageous for the worm survival. The worms died rapidly in solutions containing L-aspartic acid, L-glutamic acid, and adenine compared to L-arginine, L-serine, and L-tryptophan. In conclusion, the 1xLocke's solution best supports the worms alive among inorganic solutions for 57 days, and the RPMI-1640 medium maintains living C. sinensis adults better and longer up to 114 days in vitro than other media.

In vitro regeneration and genetic fidelity of Tigridia pavonia (L. f.) DC

Plants of Tigridia pavonia (L.f.) DC were regenerated from twin-scaling explants cultured on Murashige and Skoog and N6 basal medium. The highest formation of shoots per responding explant was obtained on N6 medium supplemented with 4.5 uM 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid in combination with 2.2 uM benzylaminopurine. Shoots rooted readily on N6 basal medium supplemented with 1 g I-1 activated charcoal and 2.6 uM naphtalenacetic acid. The rooted shoots achieved 100 percent survival. Inter Simple Sequence Repeat analysis was carried out to check for possible genetic alterations in plants obtained after two consecutive subcultures. The results revealed that the recovered plants did not exhibit any type of polymorphism.