Comparison of various extraction methods for identification and determination of volatile metabolites from the brown alga Dictyopteris membranacea

Three different methods: hydrodistillation (HD), focused microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (FMAHD) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) have been applied, for the first time together, for the extraction of volatile metabolites of the brown alga Dictyopteris membranacea. The oils obtained were analyzed by GC-MS (identification and determination of metabolites) and the results were compared. The main chemical classes of compounds identified were C11 hydrocarbons for HD method, sesquiterpenes for FMAHD method and sulphur compounds for SFE method.     

Integrability of the Rucklidge system

We study the Darboux and the analytic integrability of the Rucklidge system.     

On the Darboux integrability of a three–dimensional forced–damped differential system

In 2011 Pehlivan proposed a three–dimensional forced–damped autonomous differential system which can display simultaneously unbounded and chaotic solutions. This untypical phenomenon has been studied recently by several authors. In this paper we study the opposite to its chaotic motion, i.e. its integrability, mainly the existence of polynomial, rational and Darboux first integrals through the analysis of its invariant algebraic surfaces and its exponential factors.     

Darboux polynomials,balances and Painlevé property

For a given polynomial differential system we provide different necessary conditions for the existence of Darboux polynomials using the balances of the system and the Painlevé property. As far as we know, these are the first results which relate the Darboux theory of integrability, first, to the Painlevé property and, second, to the Kovalevskaya exponents. The relation of these last two notions to the general integrability has been intensively studied over these last years.     

Two polydimethylsiloxane rod extraction methods for the sensitive determination of phenolic compounds in water samples

Simple, precise, and low‐cost methods for the simultaneous determination of phenolic endocrine disrupting compounds such as bisphenol A, trichlorophenol, pentachlorophenol, 4‐nonylphenol, and 4‐octylphenol in water samples were developed. The Direct, in situ derivatization methods are based on polydimethylsiloxane rod extraction followed by liquid desorption and chromatographic analysis by liquid chromatography and diode array detection. Several parameters affecting the extraction and desorption of the phenolic compounds and their acetylated derivates were studied, as well as the chromatographic and detection conditions. For the direct method, determination coefficients (r²) > 0.990 and LODs in the 0.6–2 μg/L range were obtained for all compounds except bisphenol A (9.5 μg/L). With the derivatization‐based method, based on in situ acetylation, lower limits of detection (0.3–0.9 μg/L) were obtained for all the compounds with r² > 0.988 and RSDs in the 2–9% range. The developed methods were applied to the analysis of spiked water samples obtaining recoveries of between 60.2 and 131.7% for the direct method, and of between 76.6 and 108.2% for the derivatization‐based method. The results demonstrate the feasibility of using these two methods for determining bisphenol A, trichlorophenol, pentachlorophenol, 4‐nonylphenol, and 4‐octylphenol in water.     

VOCs Are Relevant Biomarkers of Elicitor-Induced Defences in Grapevine

Grapevine is susceptible to fungal diseases generally controlled by numerous chemical fungicides. Elicitors of plant defence are a way of reducing the use of these chemicals, but still provide inconsistent efficiency. Easy-to-analyse markers of grapevine responses to elicitors are needed to determine the best conditions for their efficiency and position them in protection strategies. We previously reported that the elicitor sulphated laminarin induced the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by grapevine leaves. The present study was conducted to characterise and compare VOC emissions in response to other elicitors. Bastid^® was first used to test the conditions of VOC collection and analysis. Using SBSE-GC-MS, we detected several VOCs, including the sesquiterpene α-farnesene, in a time-dependent manner. This was correlated with the induction of farnesene synthase gene expression, in parallel with stilbene synthesis (another defence response), and associated to resistance against downy mildew. The other elicitors (Redeli^®, Romeo^®, Bion^®, chitosan, and an oligogalacturonide) induced VOC emission, but with qualitative and quantitative differences. VOC emission thus constitutes a response of grapevine to elicitors of various chemical structures. Therefore, VOC analysis is relevant for studying the impact of environmental factors on grapevine defence responses and optimising the performance of elicitors in vineyards.