Inhibitory effect of hot-water extract from dried fruit of Crataegus pinnatifida on low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation in cell and cell-free systems

The dried fruit of Crataegus pinnatifida, a local soft drink material and medical herb, was found to possess potential against oxidative stress. In the preliminary study, the antioxidant potential of a hot-water extract obtained from the dried fruit of C. pinnatifida (CF-H) was evaluated in terms of its capacity of quenching 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radicals (EC(50) = 0.118 mg/mL). After content analysis, it was found that CF-H is mainly composed of polyphenols including flavonoids (6.9%), procyanidins (2.2%), (+)-catechin (0.5%), and (-)-epicatechin (0.2%). The antioxidative bioactivity of CF-H had been assess previously using the models of CuSO(4) as cell-free system and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) plus macrophage RAW 264.7 cells as cell system to induce human low-density lipoprotein oxidation. CF-H was found to inhibit relative electrophoretic mobility and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances at the concentration of 0.5-1.0 mg/mL in the cell-free system and at 0.01-0.10 mg/mL in the cell system. Furthermore, it was found that CF-H decreased the SNP-induced cell lipid peroxidation and reduced glutathione depletion.     

Pharmacokinetics of carprofen and firocoxib for medication control in racing greyhounds

Animals used in sport should be treated as required to ensure animal welfare but any such use of medication should also be controlled to ensure integrity. Pharmacokinetic studies on groups of six greyhounds were performed to measure plasma and urine levels of carprofen and firocoxib to inform medication control advice. Using the standard methodology for medication control the Irrelevant Plasma Concentration was determined as 20 and 2 ng/mL for carprofen and firocoxib, respectively. The Irrelevant Urine Concentration was also determined as 0.3 and 2 ng/mL for carprofen and firocoxib, respectively. These Irrelevant Plasma and Urine Concentrations will allow laboratory Screening Limits, Detection Times and Withdrawal Time advice to be determined and publicised by regulators of greyhound racing. The Screening Limits will also inform Recommended Limits of Detection if meat-containing residues of these medications are fed to greyhounds.     

小麦条锈病、叶锈病和白粉病在田间混生时的流行过程

 1986-1988年在田间小区经人工接种，观察比较了小麦条锈病、叶锈病和白粉病单独及混合发生时的流行过程。结果经统计分析表明，在病害混生初期、病情较轻时，病害间没有明显的负相关性，随着病情的加重，病害间的负相关性逐渐增强，表现出明显的相互抑制现象。将不同病害的病情指数经重叠侵染公式转换后进一步分析证明，病害间在高病指下表现的抑制作用除病害间的重叠侵染外，还有拮抗作用存在。该文还对研究多种病虫害相互关系的方法进行了讨论。     

Successful sterlet, Acipenser ruthenus L., propagation with synthetic LH-RH hormone

Abstract. The synthetic LH-RH (luliberine) has proved to be successful in inducing the ovulation of sterlet, Acipenser ruthenus L. Three dosages of LH-RH 50, along with carp pituitary, and 100 and 300 μg/kg of body weight were administered, and 100 and 300 μg of LH-RH/kg body weight were found to be successful in ovulation. Spawners were kept at low temperature (9–12°C). Forty-two hours after treatment the eggs entered ovulation in the ovary and became suitable for stripping. The ripening ratio for spawners varied between 75 and 83%. The eggs that could be obtained by opening the abdominal wall were fertilized with milt diluted with pond water to avoid polyspermism. The fertility of the stripped eggs was 89–90%. Despite a reduced number of subjects (12 treated, 2 control females), as a result of the favourable fertilization percentage, approximately 55 000 fingerlings were reared in tanks to approximately 5–7cm in size.     

Genetic Diversity Among Brazilian Cultivars and Landraces of Tomato Lycopersicon Esculentum Mill. Revealed by RAPD Markers

Random amplified polymorphic DNA markers (RAPD) were used to estimate the variability of 35 tomato accessions (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). A total of 257 reproducibly scorable bands were obtained from 20 primers, 78.6% of which were polymorphic. The percentage distribution of RAPD markers shows a bimodal distribution, and the frequency of rare alleles is similar in commercial and landrace accessions. Genetic distances among accessions were calculated and a dendrogram showing the genetic relationships among them was constructed allowing for the separation of four groups. Twenty out of 23 Brazilian landraces fell within one group, whereas commercial cultivars were distributed in the four groups. AMOVA analysis of RAPD data showed that, despite the high within Brazilian landraces and commercial cultivars variation, these two groups are significantly different, indicating that landraces can be a source of variation for breeding programs.