Acaricidal properties of the essential oil from Aristolochia trilobata and its major constituents against the two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae)

Tetranychus urticae Koch is a polyphagous pest that is widely distributed throughout the world and causes considerable damage to crops in northeastern Brazil. The effects of the essential oil from Aristolochia trilobata L., selected constituents, and an artificial mixture (sulcatyl acetate, limonene, linalool, and p-cymene) on T. urticae in terms of fumigant action, residual contact, and fecundity were investigated under laboratory conditions. The results were compared with eugenol, Azamax®, and Ortus® as positive controls. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis of the oil revealed a predominance of monoterpenes, with sulcatyl acetate (24.57% ± 0.40%) as the major component, followed by linalool (10.80% ± 0.27%). Toxicity varied with the method employed. Through fumigation, the A. trilobata oil was about 2.18-fold more toxic than the artificial mixture, whereas no significant difference between the two products was found with regard to residual contact. Regarding the selected compounds, the mite was most susceptible to linalool and p-cymene by fumigation and residual contact, respectively. The plant-based (Azamax®) and synthetic (Ortus®) acaricidal agents were more toxic than the products tested. Moreover, low concentrations of the products investigated herein had no effect on mite survival, but a significant effect was found on the quantity of eggs laid by females. The A. trilobata oil and artificial mixture are promising natural acaricidal agents that have more than one mode of action (fumigation and residual contact) and exert an effect on fecundity. However, further studies are needed to evaluate the cost–benefit ratio for use on organic crops and protected environments in northeastern Brazil.

Accuracy in quantitative phase analysis of mixtures with large amorphous contents. The case of zircon-rich sanitary-ware glazes

The accuracy of quantitative phase analysis (QPA) of samples with dominant amorphous content, reproducing zircon-rich sanitary-ware glazes, has been investigated. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) methods were applied using both conventional Cu Kα radiation and high-resolution synchrotron data. In this work, a combination of the reference intensity ratio (RIR) and Rietveld methods was applied to an artificial mixture (90 wt% glass, 10 wt% zircon), taking into account some of the most common effects that may affect the accuracy in amorphous quantification, such as the degree of crystallinity of the phases, microabsorption and sample preparation. Certified NIST SRM 676a (α-Al2O3) [Cline, Von Dreele, Winburn, Stephens & Filliben (2011).Acta Cryst.A67, 357–367] was used to quantify the amorphous content in zircon and in the different internal standards commonly used when a certified standard is not available or not applicable: the results show that all of the phases invariably contain amorphous material in the range 2.0–15.0 wt%. If the amorphous content of the standard is taken into account, the accuracy of the QPA of the artificial mixture is improved. It was observed that the Brindley correction for microabsorption does not significantly improve the results. Care must be applied if grinding time is increased, since this may increase the amorphous content in the sample. Finally, the sensitivity of the RIR–Rietveld method to the addition of a small amount of zircon (∼1 wt%) has been considered, showing that accurate results can be achieved if great care is taken in the sample preparation and refinement strategy.

The Aramaic Dialect(s) of the Toldot Yeshu Fragments

The Aramaic fragments of the Toldot Yeshu have long been recognized as the oldest version of this polemical tradition which was translated, and elaborated, into many other languages, and transmitted throughout the centuries after its inception. The Aramaic dialect of these fragments has been described as an artificial mixture of Palestinian and Babylonian Aramaic. A grammatical analysis of each of these fragments reveals that they display the signs of an incomplete dialectal translation from Western to Eastern Aramaic, with conspicuous Western Aramaic morphemes in one fragment. On the other hand, the vast majority of the text of the other fragments is written in a blend of two Eastern Aramaic stocks, one literary type Aramaic which resembles that of Onqelos, and one more colloquial dialect which comes very close to Talmudic Aramaic. Finally, the hybrid construction of the agreement pronoun attached to the nota objecti, followed by the direct object marked by, suggests that the text received further linguistic updating in the West at a relatively late stage in the textual history of this tradition.