Lignin chemistry—past,present and future

Summary Some pertinent results and views from the earlier history of lignin chemistry, pointing to the importance of the arylpropane skeleton, are outlined. Later development, beginning with the dehydrogenation theory and experimental studies on the dehydrogenative polymerization of p-hydroxycinnamyl alcohols, is then reviewed. Finally, recent degradative work resulting in a detailed picture of lignin structure is discussed.     

Looking beyond the horizon: An early warning system to keep marine mammal information relevant for conservation

1. Important marine mammal areas (IMMAs) are discrete portions of habitat, important to marine mammal species, that have the potential to be delineated and managed for conservation. Although IMMAs are not a blueprint for marine protected areas or other conservation designations, they are useful for providing a foundation for marine spatial planning and systematic conservation planning that can then lead to protected areas or special spatial regulations. To be most useful for supporting management and conservation, however, the information coming out of IMMAs needs to reflect current conditions.
2. An ‘early warning system’ is proposed with a generic set of indicators to flag when marine mammal species in IMMAs require management interventions due to changing distributions or decreasing populations. Rather than signifying that quantitative thresholds have been reached, these indicators comprise alerting information derived from visual or acoustic census, satellite imagery analysis, whale‐watching logs, or increases in mortality reported by stranding networks that can trigger additional targeted research.
3. Although it is possible that in some regions data will be sufficient to provide quantifiable indicators, the system is meant to rely on existing data sources, and be adaptable to the circumstances of each region.
4. Regional expert groups can utilize early warning system information and feed it into IMMA‐related spatial planning in two ways: by nominating additional areas of interest, and by providing a scientific rationale for revising IMMA boundaries, to be considered at the next decadal IMMA regional expert workshop.
5. IMMA‐driven consolidation of information that is as current as possible will prove valuable for enhancing regional cooperation to conserve marine mammals, and will be useful as countries implement new protected areas to conserve marine mammals and other marine biodiversity.

     

Art- und Gattungsgrenzen bei höheren Discomyceten,IV

Zusammenfassung Vergleichende Discomyceten-Studien der letzten Jahre haben gezeigt, daß strittige Arten oft nur durch Heranziehung lebender Exemplare geklärt werden können, da Exsikkate einen Teil ihrer makroskopischen Merkmale verloren haben und dadurch leicht Fehlschlüsse entstehen. Einige Beispiele der GattungHelvella L. ex. Fr. ss. str. werden kritisch erörtert,H. pithyophila Boud. undH. sulcata Afz. ex. Fr. als wohlbegründete Arten bestätigt undH. platycephala Bx. nov. spec. erstmalig beschrieben.Ein Nachtrag zur Gliederung der Discinaceen (cf. Kulturpflanze 17) unterscheidet in der GattungParadiscina Bx. zwei neue Sektionen (Leucoxanthae Bx. nov. sect. —Melaleucae Bx. nov. sect.) und vervollständigt sie durch 3 Umkombinationen. Für die europäischen Discinaceen ist ein Artenschlüssel hinzugefügt.

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Specific and generic limits within higherDiscomycetes, IV

Summary For the last years comparative studies on higherDiscomycetes pointed out, that uncertain species may only be proved by employment of fresh specimens, because the dried ones mostly lost some of their macroscopic criteria and easily produce errors. Some examples of the genusHelvella L. ex Fr. ss. str. are critically discussed, wherebyH. pithyophila Boud. andH. sulcata Afz. ex Fr. are confirmed as well-founded species, andH. platycephala Bx. nov. spec. is described for the first time.A supplement to theDiscinaceae (cf. Kulturpflanze17) divides the genusParadiscina Bx. into the new sectionsLeucoxanthae Bx. nov. sect. andMelaleucae Bx. nov. sect. and completes this genus by 3 new combinations. A key to European species ofDiscinaceae is added.

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, IV

, . , . Helvella L. ex Fr. s. str.;H. pithyophila Boud. H. sulcata Afz. ex Fr. ; H. platycephala Bx. nov. spec. Discinaceae (. . 17) Paradiscina Bx. (Leucoxanthae Bx. nov. sect. Melaleucae Bx. nov. sect.) . .

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Teil I in Kulturpflanze10, S. 359–371; Teil II in Kulturpflanze14, S. 359 bis 379; Teil III in Kulturpflanze17, S. 253–284.     

Effect of a Bowman-Birk proteinase inhibitor from Phaseolus coccineus on Hypothenemus hampei gut proteinases in vitro

The coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari), is an important devastating coffee pest worldwide. Both trypsin and chymotrypsin enzyme activities from H. hampei larval midgut can be inactivated by proteinaceous enzyme-inhibitors. A serine proteinase inhibitor belonging to the Bowman-Birk class was purified from a wild accession of Phaseolus coccineus L. seeds. The inhibitor (PcBBI1) is a cysteine-rich protein that is heat-stable at alkaline pH. MALDI-TOF/MS analysis showed that PcBBI1 occurs in seeds as a monomer (8689 Da) or dimer (17,378 Da). Using in vitro inhibition assays, it was found that PcBBI1 has a high inhibitory activity against H. hampei trypsin-like enzymes, bovine pancreatic chymotrypsin, and trypsin. According to this, PcBBI1 could be a promising tool to make genetically modified coffee with resistance to coffee berry borer.     

Phosphorus availability to corn from wood ash-amended soils

Wood ash is a residual material produced during biomass burning. In the northeastern United States up to 80 % of the ash is spread on agricultural lands as a liming amendment with the remainder being disposed of in landfills. As well as raising soil pH, wood ash also adds plant nutrients to soil. This study is an examination of the plant availability of the P in 8 different soils amended with one wood ash. Plant availability was assessed by measuring the biomass and P concentration of corn (Zea mays) L.) plants grown in the greenhouse for 28 d in soil amended with either CaCO₃ (control), wood ash to supply 200 mg kg^?1 total P, or monocalcium phosphate (MCP) to supply 200 mg kg^?1 total P and CaCO₃. Both corn growth and P uptake were highest in the MCP treatments, intermediate in the wood ash treatments, and lowest in the controls for all soil types. The soil property which seemed to have the greatest influence on P availability was pH buffer capacity. The soils with the greatest capacity to buffer OH additions also tended to exhibit the greatest absolute P uptake from wood ash-amended soils and the greatest P uptake relative to that from MCP-amended soils. The ability of soil test extractants to predict uptake of P in the three soil treatments was examined. A buffered ammonium acetate extradant overestimated P availability in the ash-amended soils relative to the MCP-amended soils. An unbuffered, acid, fluoride-containing extract provided a measure of P levels that was consistent with P uptake from all soil treatments. In this study the predictive relationship was as follows: P uptake = 0.017× (Bray P, mg kg^?1) + 1.19; r = 0.81.     

Antioxidative properties of the essential oil from Pinus mugo

The essential oil from Pinus mugo (PMEO) was tested on its antioxidative capacity. For this purpose, several biochemical test systems were chosen (e.g., the Fenton System, the xanthine oxidase assay, or the copper-induced oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL)). The results show that there is moderate or weak antioxidative activity when tested in aqueous environments, like in the Fenton system, xanthine oxidase induced superoxide radical formation, or in the HOCl driven fragmentation of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC). In contrast, when tested in more lipophilic environments (e.g., the ACC-cleavage by activated neutrophils in whole blood) the PMEO exhibits good antioxidative activity. PMEO does also show good antioxidative capacity in another lipophilic test system (i.e., the copper induced oxidation of LDL). Some components of PMEO (i.e., Delta(3)-carene, camphene, alpha-pinene, (+)-limonene and terpinolene) were also tested. As the PMEO, they showed weak or no antioxidant activity in aqueous environments, but some of them were effective antioxidants regarding ACC-cleavage by activated neutrophils in whole blood or copper-induced LDL-oxidation. Terpinolene, a minor component of PMEO, exhibited remarkable protection against LDL-oxidation.