Peloid is a natural product developed during the maturation process between a clay material and water and is used in health and wellness centres due to its mineralogical, physiochemical and biological properties. However, the potential therapeutic value of clays in Portugal has not been fully investigated. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to identify the effects of two mineralized waters: thermo-mineral water (sulphurous and hydroxylated water abundant in chloride ions, sodium and calcium) and seawater, on three residual soils from Alentejo, from a morphological, mineralogical and chemical perspective. The peloids morphology is more homogeneous than the residual soils, and the particle size decreases during the maturation process. Thermo-mineral water enriched the peloids in smectite (58-76 %), while seawater newly formed Na-minerals (decreasing smectite contents to 39-54 %). Smectite is essentially montmorillonite, although there is nontronite and beidelite. The residual soils and peloids have a silicilastic composition (32.23-52.85 %), between 14.22 and 20.53 % of Al2O3, and besides smectite, the mineralogical composition is composed of salts (only in seawater peloids), feldspars, iron oxides, carbonates, and quartz. Morphology and mineralogy enhance the influence of waters in peloids properties and suggest that this samples have potential therapeutic value. Furthermore, physicalchemical, rheological, thermal and biological analysis are needed to support these findings.

The growing preference for 'Hass' avocado on a worldwide scale has encouraged the release of new cultivars as well as their evaluation under different soil and climatic conditions. The cultivar 'Carmen Hass', resulting from a spontaneous mutation, achieved excellent performance in Mexico and South Africa, producing fruits earlier than 'Hass' trees and allowing commercialization during periods of high market prices. The objective of this research was to compare the performance of 'Hass' and 'Carmen Hass' avocado trees under the soil and climate conditions of southeast region Brazil. The climate of region is subtropical humid with dry winter. Between the fourth and fifth year after planting, plants were evaluated for flowering (panicles branch-1, percentage of determinate and indeterminate inflorescences), fruit maturation (dry matter content), yield (kg plant-1, fruits plant-1), yield efficiency (kg m-3), morphological characteristics of fruit (weight, length, diameter, length/diameter ratio), and postharvest quality (pulp firmness, occurrence of pulp discoloration, chilling injury, vascular browning, lenticel damage, and skin color change). Fruit size, shape, and postharvest quality were also evaluated in the sixth year after planting. 'Carmen Hass' is a promising alternative for producing 'Hass'-type avocados, reaching physiological maturity sooner and allowing harvesting 15 days earlier than 'Hass'. Its higher proportion of indeterminate inflorescences contributed to greater yields, although resulting in smaller fruits, and no off-blooming was observed under the conditions of this study. Postharvest performance was comparable between cultivars, with 'Carmen Hass' maintaining firmer flesh after 21 days and showing reduced vascular browning after 28 days of storage.

Chlorothalonil (CTL) is widely used in agricultural production and antifoulant additive globally due to its broad spectrum and non-systemic properties, resulting in its widespread existence in foods, soil and water. Extensive evidence demonstrated that exposure to CTL induced adverse effects on organisms and in particular its reproductive toxicity has been attracted public concern. However, the influences of CTL on oocyte maturation is mysterious so far. In this study, we documented the toxic effects of CTL on oocyte in vitro maturation and the related underlying mechanisms. Exposure to CTL caused continuous activation of spindle assembly checkpoints (SAC) which in turn compromised meiotic maturation in mouse oocyte, featured by the attenuation of polar body extrusion (PBE). Detection of cytoskeletal dynamics demonstrated that CTL exposure weakened the acetylation level of alpha-tubulin and impaired meiotic spindle apparatus, which was responsible for the aberrant state of SAC. Meanwhile, exposure to CTL damaged the function of mitochondria, inducing the decline of ATP content and the elevation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which thereby induced early apoptosis and DNA damage in mouse oocytes. In addition, exposure to CTL caused the alteration of the level of histone H3 methylation, indicative of the harmful effects of CTL on epigenetic modifications in oocytes. Further, the CTL-induced oxidative stress activated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway and injured the maturation of oocytes. In summary, exposure to CTL damaged mouse oocyte in vitro maturation via destroying spindle assembly, inducing oxidative stress and triggering MAPK pathway activation.