Bioactive cembranoids from the soft coral Sinularia crassa

Eight new cembranoids, crassarines A-H (1-8) were isolated from the Formosan soft coral Sinularia crassa. Compounds 1-3 represent the rare cembranoids with a 1,12-oxa-bridged tetrahydrofuran ring, while 4 and 5 are the firstly discovered 1,11-oxa-bridged tetrahydropyranocembranoids. The absolute configuration of 6 was determined using the Mosher's method. Compounds 6 and 8 were found to significantly inhibit the expression of both pro-inflammatory iNOS and COX-2 proteins at 10 μM, respectively, while compounds 4-8 were found to be non-cytotoxic toward the selected human liver cancer cells.     

Efficacy of gamma irradiation for protection against postharvest insect damage and microbial contamination of adlay

This study examines the protective effects of gamma irradiation against postharvest insect damage and microbial contamination and its effect on the nutritive value of adlay (Coix lacryma-jobi L.). Adlay was treated with doses of 0–20 kGy gamma irradiation and subsequently stored at ambient temperature. The number of insects, microbial quality and chemical properties of irradiated and non-irradiated adlay were evaluated immediately after treatment and after 6 months of storage. Before irradiation, total aerobic microbial counts ranged from 5.6 × 10² to 1.4 × 10⁵ CFU g⁻¹ and the mean total number of insects was 3.2 ± 2.1 per 100 g of polished kernel. Two kilograys was the lowest dose that provided 100% insect control. A radiation-resistant bacterium, Deinococcus radiodurans RC1, was found in 2 of 10 adlay samples. Four kilograys was a sufficient dose for Enterobacteriaceae inactivation, and 6 kGy was a sufficient dose for yeast and fungi inactivation. Twenty and 8 kGy sufficed for the inactivation of all mesophilic microbes in samples with and without D. radiodurans, separately. Moreover the moisture, ash, crude fiber, crude fat, crude protein and riboflavin content all remained constant. However, 8 kGy irradiation reduced vitamin B1 concentration by 24.2%, but did not measurably reduce the amount of amino acids, except methionine and cysteine. Fatty acid contents did not alter after 8 kGy irradiation, but changes were observed after the 6 months of storage. These changes caused by irradiation were no greater than those caused by the 6-month storage. Irradiation up to 8 kGy did not markedly increase the acid value, but did increase the peroxide value to 13% of the initial value right after irradiation. However, significant changes in acid value and peroxide value were noted after 6 months of storage both in non-irradiated and post-irradiated storage samples. Additionally, 8 kGy irradiation did not significantly change the adlay appearance. The improvement in the hygiene of this vital food source compensates for the small loss of some nutritional constituents. Hence 8 kGy of gamma irradiation can be used in cold decontamination of adlay to prolong shelf-life, to improve postharvest quality, and to reduce the risk of food-borne disease.     

湿地松引种家系的个体育种值评价

湿地松Pinus elliottii是引进树种,遗传基础变窄是高世代育种面临的严重问题,需要不断补充新的基因资源.研究对二十世纪90年代从美国引进的126个全同胞家系、32个自由授粉家系湿地松种子营建的基因资源林进行了生长量调查分析,结果显示,与一代种子园和改良种子园生产的子代相比,个体树高、胸径、材积的最大值和最小值...     

模糊数学在草原害虫药剂防治效果评判中的应用研究

草原害虫药剂防治受多种环境因子的影响,以单一的害虫死亡率所反映的试验结果在实际应用中多受限制。本文以牧草害虫——白茨粗角萤叶甲为防治对象,以植被、害虫、天敌、成本四大方面的影响效应选取8项评判指标,采用综合评判、加权海明距离等模糊数学方法,对5种农药12项处理的防治效果进行评判。结果表明,采用2.5％敌杀死,5毫升/亩;40％双效菊酯,5毫升/亩;20％杀灭菊酯,10毫升/亩进行超低容量喷雾,具有较好的综合效果。     

四川武隆山区马铃薯晚疫病流行规律及品种抗病力的观察

武隆山区,位于四川盆地东南边缘,与贵州接壤。马铃薯晚疫病历年的流行在这一山区的不同海拔高度上有显著的差异(表1)。同一地区历年中心病株出现的迟早和流行速度是气候条件、特别是降雨和相对湿度所决定的。通常在高山地区,中心病株出现较迟。这首先与马铃薯出苗期和发育速度有关(表2)。马铃薯生育期与中心病株出现日期的关系也从同一地区的不同品种中表现出来(表3)。我们几年来在地势、土壤、海拔高度等条件大致相同的情况下对不同马铃薯品种进行观察的结果发现田间抗病力有显著差异,抗病力强的品种     

Therapeutic potential of amniotic fluid stem cells to treat bilateral ovarian dystrophy in dairy cows in a subtropical region

Amniotic fluid is a rich source of multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Amniotic fluid stem cells (AFSCs) have become a new source of stem cells; they have low immunogenicity and are easily harvested. For this reason, they may be useful in clinical tissue engineering. Moreover, AFSCs have anti‐inflammatory properties and can repair tissues. This study evaluated the utility of AFSC injection to treat bilateral ovarian dystrophy in Holstein‐Friesian cows. Bovine AFSCs (BAFSCs) were collected at slaughter from Holstein‐Friesian cows during the third or fourth month of pregnancy and cultured in vitro. The BAFSCs began to show a fibroblast‐like morphology. They were positive for β‐integrin, CD44, CD73, CD106 and Oct4 and negative for CD34 and CD45. After induction, the cells differentiated into mesodermal lineages. Bilateral ovarian dystrophy was confirmed by ultrasonography in 16 lactating cows. The subsequent experiment lasted 15 weeks. Serum was collected weekly to analyse progesterone concentrations, and weekly ultrasonography recorded ovarian changes. Each cow was equipped with an automatic heat detection system to facilitate oestrus observation and breeding records. The progesterone concentration of two cows in the treatment group (25%) significantly increased during weeks 10–15. On ultrasonography, the treatment group demonstrated mature follicles after BAFSCs injection, and foetuses were visualized approximately 40 days after artificial insemination (AI). Oestrus rates in the control and treatment groups were 0% (0/8) and 50% (4/8), respectively; pregnancy rates were 0% (0/8) and 25% (2/8), respectively. Calves were successfully delivered in both cases of pregnancy. These results show that BAFSCs can alleviate bovine ovarian dystrophy and restore fertility.     

宁夏黄土丘陵区杏树栽培技术研究

本文从园地选择与规划、育苗、品种选择、土肥水管理、整形修剪、花果管理、病虫害防治、灾害天气预防、果实采收等方面介绍了适宜于宁夏黄土丘陵区仁用杏、鲜食杏及加工杏的规范化栽培技术。     

Vegetation recovery monitoring and assessment at landslides caused by earthquake in Central Taiwan

Massive landslides, caused by the catastrophic Chi-Chi earthquake in 1999, occurred at the Jou-Jou Mountain area in the Wu-Chi basin, Taiwan. Multi-temporal satellite images and digital elevation models coupled with GIS were used to process the vegetation index analysis for identifying landslide sites and calculating the vegetation recovery rate (VRR). Topographic information for these areas was extracted. Eight hundred twenty-nine hectares of landslide area was extracted from multi-date NDVI images by combining the image differencing method with the change detection threshold. Over 2 years of monitoring and assessing, the vegetation recovery rate reached 58.93% original vegetation regeneration in the landslide areas. Soil moisture is one of the most important environmental factors for vegetation recovery in the landslide sites. The analyzed results provide very useful information for decision making and policy planning in the landslide area.     

DECIDUOUS AND DECIDUOUS-EVERGREEN FORESTS IN NORTHEAST CHINA

Two types of forests in Northeast China is divided in this paper,that is,the decidu-ous forests in the northern part and the deciduous-evergreen forests in the eastern part.Both distri-butions of the two types of forests have also been pre sented.Meanwhile,the development and suc-cession as well as components of forests have been studied in detail.in the end,the vertical distribu-tion of the deciduous forests have been shown,in which,the near-temperate cold temperate decidu-ous coniferous forests are distributing in the low elevation area between 450m—600m from the northto the south,the typical siberian cold temperate deciduous coniferous forests are widely distributingfrom 450m—820m in the north to 600m—1050m in the south, the humid cold temperate deciduousconiferous forests can only be found in high elevation area from 820m—1100m in the north to1050m—1380m in the south,the cold temperate deciduous coniferous open forests can seldom ap-pear at the top of a few peaks.