A new neuroprotective bakkenolide from the rhizome of Peatasites tatewakianus

Constituents of the fruits of Peatasites tatewakianus were investigated. A new compound, namely bakkenolide-VI (1), was isolated. The structures was elucidated on the basis of 1D, 2D NMR, TOF-MS and ESI-MS techniques, and physicochemical properties. The neuroprotective activity of the new compound was assayed with primary cultured neurons exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation and oxidative insults.     

Evaluation of analgesic effect of Datura fastuosa leaves and seed extracts

The aqueous extracts of Datura fastuosa leaves and seeds were evaluated for the analgesic effect on acetic acid-induced writhing and hot plate reaction in mice. According to the results, D. fastuosa leaves and seeds extracts at oral doses of 400 and 800 mg/kg are effective as analgesic. The analgesic activity of leaf extract is reduced by naloxone but not that of seed extract.     

Forest Fires and Prevention Strategies in Northwestern Region of China

The paper described the natural conditions and forest types in Northwestern Region of China. Most forests in the region are distributed in subalpine areas. It is important to protect the existent forests in the region for maintaining ecological balance. According to the statistics results of 1991~2000, the paper analyzes the forest fires distribution and fire severity. Annually the numbers of forest fires range from 52 to 240. The incidence rate of forest fires in Northwestern Region is under 0.33 per ten thousand ha. There are 0.67-64.4 ha burned area per ten thousand ha forest. The main reasons for forest fires lie in the dry weather conditions, many firebrands, and high fuel loading. The strategies of fire management in the region are to stress the fire education in forest regions, strength the firebrands' management, emphasize the fuel management, and improve the fire monitoring and fire control ability.     

Dielectric properties of copper-ethanolamine treated Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata Hook.)

In order to clarify the interaction between copper and wood substances in wood treated with copper containing water-borne wood preservatives, the dielectric constant ε′ and dielectric loss factor ε″ of untreated wood and wood treated with four concentration levels of copper-ethanolamine (Cu-EA) solutions were determined within a temperature range from –100 to 40°C and a frequency range from 100 to 1 MHz. Three dielectric relaxation processes were observed in the ε″ spectrum; among them R-I is based on the reorientation of methylol groups in the amorphous region of wood cell walls and R-II is related to wood extractives. R-III appeared in Cu-EA treated wood, and its magnitude decreases with the concentration of Cu-EA solutions used in this experiment. This relaxation process was considered to be based on the reorientation of copper-ethanolamine-wood complexes in wood cell walls. At low copper retention, the hydrogen in the complex can form hydrogen bonding with adjacent hydroxyl groups, which results in a strong bonding state between copper and wood; at high copper retention, the numerous copper-ethanolamine complexes not only hinder them from forming hydrogen bonding with adjacent wood molecules due to steric hindrance, but also weaken the interaction between wood molecules themselves, which corresponds to reducing ε″ values of both R-I and R-III processes. The results explain the fact of in-creasing copper leaching in wood treated with high concentration copper-based water-borne preservatives.     

中国南部热带植物区系的特点与亲缘

中国南部热带植物区系主要以云南南部、广西西南部和海南热带植物区系为代表 .该文简要分析了它们植物区系的组成特征和地理成分 ,比较研究了云南南部和海南热带植物区系与东南亚的马来半岛和文莱热带植物区系的关系 ,得出以下结论 :(1)中国南部植物区系主要由热带植物区系成分组成 ,热带分布的科和属分别占总科和属数的 6 0 %和 80 %多 ,在热带分布属中 ,又具体以热带亚洲成分占优势 ,显示该植物区系是热带性质的植物区系 ,具有热带亚洲亲缘 ;(2 )中国南部热带植物区系中多于 70 %的科和多于 5 0 %的属与马来西亚植物区系共有 ,并且其优势科中大多数也为马来西亚植物区系的优势科 ,意味着在植物区系分区上它属于热带亚洲或印度 马来西亚植物区系的一部分 ;(3)由于位于东南亚热带北缘 ,中国南部热带植物区系中以边缘热带成分为主 ,是印度 马来西亚植物区系的热带北缘类型 ;(4)中国南部植物区系的热带亚洲亲缘可以从东南亚的地质演化历史解释     

Axial and radial water flow in the trunks of oak trees: a quantitative and qualitative analysis

Axial water flow in the trunks of mature oak trees (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. and Q. robur L.) was studied by four independent techniques: water absorption from a cut trunk, sap flowmeters, heat pulse velocity (HPV) and thermoimaging. Estimation of the total water flow with sap flowmeters, HPV and water absorption yielded comparable results. We concluded from dye colorations, thermograms and axial profiles of sap flow and heat pulse velocity that, in intact trunks, most of the flow occurred in the current-year ring, where early-wood vessels in the outermost ring were still functional. Nevertheless, there was significant flow in the older rings of the xylem. Total water flow through the trunk was only slightly reduced when air embolisms were artificially induced in early-wood vessels, probably because there was little change in hydraulic conductance in the root-leaf sap pathway. Embolization of the current-year vessels reactivated transport in the older rings.     

HPLC quantification of coumarin in bastard balm (Melittis melissophyllum L., Lamiaceae)

Coumarin occurs in many plants used as flavoring and is known to possess hepatotoxic effects. Despite in the EFSA ‘Compendium of botanicals containing toxic substances’ coumarin is reported to be present in Melittis melissophyllum (bastard balm), a plant traditionally used as beverage in Italy and Serbia, to the best of our knowledge quantitative data has never been reported. Thus, the amount of coumarin in bastard balm leaves and its variation during the annual phenological cycle were determined. The subsp. melissophyllum resulted to contain high levels of coumarin (14,392 mg/kg), mainly in the early stages of the plant cycle, suggesting prudence in its use as beverage. Furthermore, coumarin was found to be useful as marker compound to differentiate the bastard balm subspecies occurring in Italy, since the subsp. albida contained a much lower content of this molecule (19–34 mg/kg).     

Protein phosphatases 1 and 2A and the regulation of calcium uptake and pollen tube development in Picea wilsonii

To investigate the roles of protein phosphatases 1 and 2A in the development of pollen tubes of Picea wilsonii Mast., pollen grains were cultured in standard medium in the presence and absence of the protein phosphatase inhibitors okadaic acid and calyculin A. At nanomolar concentrations, these compounds blocked pollen tube growth, causing abnormal morphologies of the pollen tubes. Studies with Fluo-3 revealed that the inhibitors reduced the pollen-tube tip-to-base cytoplasmic calcium (Ca(2+)) gradient and arrested extracellular Ca(2+) uptake. The transmission electron microscope observations indicated that the fusion of paramural bodies with plasma membranes occurred frequently in the tip and sub-tip regions of control pollen tubes, but fusion rarely occurred in inhibitor-treated pollen tubes. Staining with aniline blue showed that callose accumulated in the tip regions of inhibitor-treated pollen tubes. Immunolabeling of pollen tubes revealed that acidic pectin epitopes recognized by the monoclonal antibody JIM5 were present in the tip region and on the flanks of the sub-tip in normal pollen tubes. In inhibitor-treated pollen tubes, these epitopes existed only in the extreme tip region and at higher concentrations than in control pollen tubes. The esterified pectin recognized by JIM7 was located preferentially at the extreme tip region in normal pollen tubes, but at basal sites in inhibitor-treated tubes. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis further confirmed the changes in acidic and esterified pectin distributions and their relative contents. These results suggest that protein phosphatase 1 or 2A, or both, are involved in the regulation of Ca(2+) uptake across the plasma membrane, in exocytotic activity and in the biosynthesis of cell wall components, all processes that occur in the tip region of pollen tubes and that control pollen tube development.     

新西兰辐射松根朽病与温度、湿度关系的数量模型*

新西兰辐射松根朽病与温度、湿度关系的数量模型束庆龙，宋淑梅，赵卫中，Ｎ．Ｍ．Ｓｅｌｆ关键词辐射松根朽病，温度，降雨量，土壤湿度，数量模型早在１９３０年，新西兰就有关于４年生辐射松ＰｉｎｕｓｒａｄｉａｔａＤ．Ｄｏｎ幼树受根朽病危害致死的报道［１］。６０...     

Organogenic responses of Pinus pinea cotyledons to hormonal treatments: BA metabolism and cytokinin content

Isolated cotyledons from mature Pinus pinea L. embryos were cultured in vitro in a factorial combination of 4.4, 10 and 44.4 microM N6-benzyladenine (BA) for 2, 4, 8, 16 and 35 days to optimize shoot regeneration. Incubation of explants in 44.4 microM BA for 4 days, in place of the standard incubation in 4.4 microM BA for 35 days, reduced the entire culture period to 4 weeks. Shortening the culture period had no significant effect on the caulogenic response or the number of buds formed per cotyledon. To establish the relationship between key moments in the caulogenic process induced by 4.4 microM BA and the endogenous concentrations of the active forms of BA and other isoprenoid-type cytokinins (CKs), we examined uptake, metabolism and amount of BA, as well as the amounts of zeatin, dihydrozeatin and their ribosides in P. pinea cotyledons after 1, 2, 6, 12 and 24 h, and 2, 4, 8, 16 and 35 days of exposure to 8-[14C]BA. Uptake and release of BA were associated with water movement between explants and the medium during the first 8 days of culture. The interconvertible forms of BA were the main metabolites formed in the tissues. Inactivation of BA as a result of conjugation or oxidation was insignificant. The endogenous concentration of BA + N6-benzyladenosine was 20-fold higher than the exogenously applied BA during the competence acquisition phase (Days 0-3). The concentration of isoprenoid-type CKs also increased 16-fold and then decreased during this time. Induction of shoot buds (Days 4-8) was characterized by a second peak of BA uptake by explants that triggered the synthesis of N6-benzyladenosine-5 -monophosphate and by the maintenance of isoprenoid-type CKs. Reestablishment of CK homeostasis marked the shift from the induction phase to the shoot development phase in this organogenic process (Days 8-12).