Dietary Docosahexaenoic Acid and Eicosapentaenoic Acid Influence Liver Triacylglycerol and Insulin Resistance in Rats Fed a High-Fructose Diet

This study aimed to examine the benefits of different amounts of omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids from fish oil (FO) on lipid metabolism, insulin resistance and gene expression in rats fed a high-fructose diet. Male Wistar rats were separated into two groups: Control (C, n = 6) and Fructose (Fr, n = 32), the latter receiving a diet containing 63% by weight fructose for 60 days. After this period, 24 animals from Fr group were allocated to three groups: FrFO2 (n = 8) receiving 63% fructose and 2% FO plus 5% soybean oil; FrFO5 (n = 8) receiving 63% fructose and 5% FO plus 2% soybean oil; and FrFO7 (n = 8) receiving 63% fructose and 7% FO. Animals were fed these diets for 30 days. Fructose led to an increase in liver weight, hepatic and serum triacylglycerol, serum alanine aminotransferase and HOMA1-IR index. These alterations were reversed by 5% and 7% FO. FO had a dose-dependent effect on expression of genes related to hepatic β-oxidation (increased) and hepatic lipogenesis (decreased). The group receiving the highest FO amount had increased markers of oxidative stress. It is concluded that n-3 fatty acids may be able to reverse the adverse metabolic effects induced by a high fructose diet.     

SCAR markers: A potential tool for authentication of herbal drugs

Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) is easy to develop and simple molecular marker, but lack of reproducibility makes it less reliable for authentication of herbal drugs. Besides RAPD, other popular PCR and non-PCR based markers like AFLP, ISSR, SSR and RFLP are also used for authentication. However, these also have disadvantages like use of radioactive isotopes, high cost and absolute requirement of sequence information. Therefore, it is a better option to improve the reproducibility of RAPD by converting RAPD amplicons into Sequence Characterized Amplified Region (SCAR) markers. SCAR markers are easy, reliable and reproducible thus, have an advantage over RAPD markers for authentication of medicinal herbs used in the preparation of traditional medicines. These markers however, have been developed for only a few medicinal herbs. This review is an attempt to evaluate critically the role of SCAR markers in authentication of medicinal herbs used in traditional formulations.     

播种预处理对苦楝种子萌发的影响

在孟加拉Khulna大学森林和木材技术学科苗圃,调查了预处理的苦楝种子的萌发情况。成熟的苦楝种子采自国家植物园内的健康植株,对种子进行了5 种处理(对照,冷水浸泡,热水浸泡,砂纸破皮和浓硫酸浸泡)。结果表明,除了冷水浸泡外,其它播种预处理的种子萌发率显著高于对照种子。砂纸破皮处理的种子萌发率最高(80%),浓硫酸浸泡和热水浸泡的种子萌发率分别是74%和69%。苦楝种子在第8～11天开始萌发,萌发周期是20～21天。方差分析表明,预处理显著影响种子萌发率,但对萌发周期没有显著影响。推荐用热水浸泡处理种植在孟加拉农村的苦楝种子促进萌发。图2表2参30。     

Ancient genetic bottleneck and Plio-Pleistocene climatic changes imprinted the phylobiogeography of European Black Pine populations

The historical changes in European Black Pine population size across the whole natural distribution in Europe and Asia Minor were analyzed facing the Plio-Pleistocene climatic fluctuations. Thirteen chloroplast SSRs and SNPs markers have been studied under the assumptions of “neutral evolution.” Populations and meta-populations had different histories of migration routes, and they were strongly affected by complex patterns of isolation, fragmentation, speciation, expansion (1.88–4.28 Ma), purification selection (2.09–21.41 Ma) and bottleneck (1.85–21.76 Ma). A significant number of populations (min. 29–41%) were in equilibrium for very long periods. Generally, the bottleneck revealed by chloroplast DNA is weaker than the bottleneck revealed by nuclear DNA. The N _e immediately after the bottleneck reaches between 1820 and 3640 individuals. Generally, the historical effective population sizes shrink significantly for the Tertiary period from 10–15 up to 2.5 Ma in Western Europe (by 82%), followed by Asia Minor (69%) and the Balkan Peninsula (28%), likely resulting from important climatic changes. The rates and frequencies of stepwise westwards migration waves have been not sufficient to prevent isolation between the meta-populations and to suppress “sympatric speciation.” The migration was weak for the Pliocene, but was maximal for the Pleistocene, and finally silent for the present interglacial period, namely the Holocene.     

Methods in Microbial Biodiscovery

This review presents an account of the microbial biodiscovery methodology developed and applied in our laboratory at The University of Queensland, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, with examples drawn from our experiences studying natural products produced by Australian marine-derived (and terrestrial) fungi and bacteria.     

Using remote sensing to evaluate the spatial variability of evapotranspiration and crop coefficient in the lower Rio Grande Valley,New Mexico

Pecan is a major crop in the lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV), New Mexico. Currently, about 11,000 ha of pecan orchards at various stages of growth are consuming about 40% of irrigation water in the area. Pecan evapotranspiration (ET) varies with age, canopy cover, soil type and method of water management. There is a need for better quantification of pecan ET for the purpose of water rights adjudication, watershed management and agronomical practices. This paper describes a process where remote sensing information from Landsat-5 and Landsat-7 were combined with ground level measurements to estimate pecan ET and field scale actual crop coefficient (K _c) for the LRGV. The results showed that annual pecan water use for 279 fields ranged from 498 to 1,259 mm with an average water use of 1,054 mm. For fields with NDVI > 0.6 (normalized difference vegetation index), which represented mature orchards (total of 232 fields), the annual water use ranged from 771 to 1,259 mm with an average water use of 1,077 mm. The results from remote sensing model compared reasonably well with ground level ET values determined by an eddy covariance system in a mature pecan orchard with an average error of 4% and the standard error of estimate (SEE) ranging from 0.91 to 1.06 mm/day. A small fraction (5%) of the pecan fields were within the range of maximum ET and K _c.     

The Impact of Various Contaminants on the Trace Metal Content of Compost

The trace metal content of municipal solid waste (MSW) compost affects the quality and potential end uses of the finished product. The impact of typical contaminants found in the organic fraction of MSW on the trace metal content of compost was investigated. Contaminants including alkaline batteries, galvanized nails, zinc-plated screws, copper wires, and electronic cables were exposed to a thermophilic composting process for three weeks. The increase in trace metal content in the compost product was measured at the end of the composting process. The results showed that low-quality alkaline batteries, galvanized nails, zinc-plated nails, and copper wires had a significant impact on the zinc, copper, arsenic, lead, and cobalt contents of compost. Copper wires showed the highest impact on copper content, which was 52% of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) Category A limit in the final compost. Galvanized nails contributed to final levels of zinc reaching 30% of the CCME Category A limit. To ensure that CCME Category A criteria can be achieved, it is recommended that contaminants made from bare copper or coated with zinc be removed from the composting feedstock.     

Nitrogen transport in plants,with an emphasis on the regulation of fluxes to match plant demand

Physiological methods, especially the use of isotopes of N, have allowed for the detailed characterizations of the several putative transport systems for nitrate and ammonium in roots of higher plants. In the last decade, the cloning of genes that appear to encode both high- and low-affinity transporters represent major advances, as well as substantiating the inferences based on earlier physiological methods. Nevertheless, the unexpected plethora of genes that have been identified now presents even greater challenges, to resolve their individual functions and to attempt to place these functions in a whole plant/environmental context.