Colours are common stimuli in signalling systems. Requirements to function well as a signal sometimes conflict between different signallers, and the same colour stimulus is used to convey completely different messages to the same receiver. Fruits and aposematic insects both use red coloration as a signal, in the former case to signal profitability and in the latter case as a warning signal. In ...

Local knowledge of biodiversity has been applied in support of research focused on utilizing and management of natural resources and promotion of conservation. Among these resources, Pequi (Caryocar brasiliense Cambess.) is important as a source of income and food for communities living in the Cerrado biome. In Pontinha, a "quilombola" community, which is located in the central region of State ...

The postharvest quality of tomato fruit harvested at the pink stage and dipped in 3 different concentrations of CaCl2 for different dip times (30, 20 and 10 minutes) were studied. Tomato fruits dipped in 6% CaCl2 for 30 and 20 minutes retained significantly (P < 0.05) higher level of firmness, titrable acidity and vitamin C than fruits dipped in 2% CaCl2 and the control. The calcium chloride tr...

Polyethylene glycol (PEG 4000), Browse Plus (BP), wood ash (WA) and boiling water were evaluated as tannin deactivation methods on tannins in Acacia nilotica fruits. Twenty four Matebele goats of mean body mass, 38.7 ± 3.12 kg, were used in a digestibility and nitrogen balance trial. A completely randomized design was used, and the initial weight was used as a covariate in data analysis. The go...

Olive scale (Parlatoria oleae (Colvée)) is a common pest in Mediterranean olive orchards which primarily causes damage on olive fruits. The quality of virgin olive oil is strongly related to the health status of the olive fruits from which is extracted. In this paper the effects of olive scale (Parlatoria oleae (Colvée)) attack on the oil yield, chemical and sensorial quality, as well as on the...

While many factors explain the colour of fleshy fruits, it is thought that black and red fruits are common in part because frugivorous birds prefer these colours. We examined this still controversial hypothesis at a tropical Asian field site, using artificial fruits, fresh fruits, four wild-caught resident frugivorous bird species, and hand-raised naïve birds from three of the same species. We ...

To examine the biochemical metabolism of aroma volatiles derived from fatty acids, pear fruits were incubated in vitro with metabolic precursors of these compounds. Aroma volatiles, especially esters, were significantly increased, both qualitatively and quantitatively, in pear fruits fed on fatty acid metabolic precursors. Cultivars having different flavor characteristics had distinctly differe...

OBJECTIVE To examine the relation of dietary and physical activity (PA) patterns with the body mass index (BMI), and the associations between these patterns among children. METHODS A representative sample of 21 111 school students aged 6-18 years was selected by multistage random cluster sampling from 23 provinces in the Islamic Republic of Iran. PA and dietary pattern were assessed by self-a...

liver injury induced by viruses, chemicals and drugs can be protected by different medicinal plants. Feijoa sellowiana (Myrtaceae) is an evergreen bush native to southern areas of South America, as well as Iran where the fruits are very popular. Feijoa has shown a potent antimicrobial effect. Morever, the antioxidant activity of total Feijoa extract has also been reported. MDMA or ecstasy is a ...

Variations in leaf nitrogen concentration per unit mass (Nm) and per unit area (Na), mass-to-area ratio (Ma), total nonstructural carbohydrates (Ta), and photosynthetic capacity (maximum carboxylation rate, electron transport capacity, rate of phosphate release in triose phosphate utilization and dark respiration rate) were studied within the digitized crowns of two 3-year-old mango trees (Mang...