Identification and quantification of coumarins in Peucedanum ostruthium (L.) Koch by HPLC-DAD and HPLC-DAD-MS

The rhizomes of Peucedanum ostruthium (L.) Koch (masterwort) are traditionally used in the alpine region as ingredient of liqueurs and bitters, and as a herbal drug. A sensitive and specific high-performance liquid chromatography-diode-array detection-mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-MS) method has been developed for the simultaneous identification and quantification of its main coumarins, oxypeucedanin hydrate, oxypeucedanin, ostruthol, imperatorin, osthole, isoimperatorin, and ostruthin. Fast HPLC separation could be achieved on an Acclaim C18 column (150 mm × 2.1 mm i.d., 3 μm) using a mobile phase gradient of acetonitrile-water modified with 0.01% acetic acid. The quantification by HPLC-DAD was performed with imperatorin as external standard and validated to demonstrate selectivity, linearity, precision, and accuracy. The content of the main coumarins was quantitated in various batches of commercial and field-collected rhizomes of Peucedanum ostruthium, as well as in beverages prepared thereof.     

Antagonists induce a conformational change in cIAP1 that promotes autoubiquitination

Inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins are negative regulators of cell death. IAP family members contain RING domains that impart E3 ubiquitin ligase activity. Binding of endogenous or small-molecule antagonists to select baculovirus IAP repeat (BIR) domains within cellular IAP (cIAP) proteins promotes autoubiquitination and proteasomal degradation and so releases inhibition of apoptosis mediated by cIAP. Although the molecular details of antagonist-BIR domain interactions are well understood, it is not clear how this binding event influences the activity of the RING domain. Here biochemical and structural studies reveal that the unliganded, multidomain cIAP1 sequesters the RING domain within a compact, monomeric structure that prevents RING dimerization. Antagonist binding induces conformational rearrangements that enable RING dimerization and formation of the active E3 ligase.     

The incidence of strongyle nematodes in sheep viscera received at animal health laboratories in New Zealand

Extract

Although the economic importance of mixed strongly infections in sheep in New Zealand appears to be generally recognized, little is known of the incidence and geographic distribution of the various constituent species.     

Do vaccination interventions have effects? A study on how poultry vaccination interventions change smallholder farmer knowledge,attitudes, and practice in villages in Kenya and Tanzania

Poultry are important for many poor households in developing countries, but there are many constraints to poultry production, including disease. One of the most important diseases of chickens is Newcastle disease (ND). Even though there are effective vaccines against this disease available in most countries, uptake by small-scale poultry keepers is often low. In this study, two areas in Kenya and Tanzania were studied, where some villages had received additional support to get vaccination and other villages had not. In Kenya, 320 households from 10 villages were interviewed, of which half of the villages had active promotion of vaccination through village-based advisors. In Tanzania, 457 households were interviewed, of which 241 came from villages that have had active support through either a project or government extension services. Knowledge about vaccines and the attitudes towards vaccinating against ND was evaluated using mixed multivariable logistic models. Results indicate that in Kenya, the most important determinants for understanding the function of a vaccine were having had support in the village and to have knowledge about ND signs, while in Tanzania gender and previous vaccine use were important in addition to having had support. Attitudes towards vaccination were mainly determined by knowledge, where more knowledge about how vaccines work in general or about ND contributed to more positive attitudes. Among Kenyan farmers that had never used the vaccine before, the amount of birds they lost to disease and predators also influenced attitudes. In conclusion, this study supports the notion that knowledge is a very important component of extension support and that simply making vaccines available may not be sufficient for high levels of uptake.

     

Individual contribution of grain outer layers and their cell wall structure to the mechanical properties of wheat bran

The mechanical properties of wheat bran and the contribution of each constitutive tissue on overall bran properties were determined on a hard wheat (cv. Baroudeur) and a soft wheat (cv. Scipion). Manual dissection allowed three different layers to be separated from wheat bran, according to radial and longitudinal grain orientations, which were identified by confocal laser scanning microscopy as outer pericarp, an intermediate strip (comprising inner pericarp, testa, and nucellar tissue), and aleurone layer, respectively. Tissue microstructure and cell wall composition were determined. Submitted to traction tests, whole bran, intermediate, and aleurone layers demonstrated elastoplastic behavior, whereas pericarp exhibited elastic behavior. By longitudinal orientation, pericarp governed 50% bran elasticity (elastic strength and rigidity), whereas, in the opposite orientation, bran elastic properties were mostly influenced by the other tissues. Regardless of test orientation, the linear force required to bran rupture corresponded to the sum of intermediate and aleurone layer strengths. According to radial orientation, the intermediate strip governed bran extensibility, but according to longitudinal orientation, all tissues contributed until bran disruption. Tissues from both wheat cultivars behaved similarly. A structural model of wheat bran layers illustrated the detachment of pericarp from intermediate layer within radial bran strips.     

Differential effects of potassium and molybdenum deficiency and fertilization on nitrogen metabolism in Norway spruce (Picea abies)

A field study on mineral nutrition of 12 year old Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) was carried out on a Lower Triassic region in the Eifel mountains in a plantation where the juvenile trees exhibited marked visual differences on adjacent plots, thus indicating a patchy pattern concerning the fertility status of the soil. This was confirmed by geological, pedological and chemical analyses, including X-ray diffraction analyses of the clay minerals and soil water as well as needle element analyses. A combined K and N deficiency was diagnosed for those trees, which exhibited growth retardation and small, rigid, and yellowish-green needles. Chlorophyll and protein content and glutamine synthetase activity were reduced while triphenyltetrazoliumchloride (TTC) reduction was enhanced in the sick trees as compared to adjacent healthy looking trees of the same age and provenance. A diagnostic fertilization treatment with K and Mo, respectively, yielded the following results. One year after administration of Mo a marked increase in total N content of the needles was observed, due to an increase of the storage pools for soluble (nonprotein) nitrogen, namely the basic amino acids arginine, histidine and lysine and also of ornithine. Yet, no visual recovery of the trees was observed. On the other hand, K fertilization caused an improvement of all biochemical parameters, except protein content and soluble N storage pools. The relationships between Mo dependent nitrate reduction, potassium content and nitrogen metabolism are discussed.     

Disentangling the effect of size and competition: a growth model for Aucoumea klaineana

• Context Okoume (Aucoumea klaineana) is the most important timber species in Gabon, while being classified as vulnerable in the IUCN red list. Thousands of growth measurements for this species have been performed since the 1950s but, because of a lack of integrated analysis, did not bring a consistent view on its growth pattern.
• Aims This study aims at disentangling the effects of tree size and local competition on tree growth.
• Methods A growth model was fitted for okoume, using data from seven sites in Gabon and Congo. The growth model was designed to be useful for forest management, which means that it relied on variables that could be computed using forest inventory data.
• Results A lognormal growth model with a negative response to stand basal area was selected. A significant residual site effect on growth was found, with a slower growth in the sites near the border of the natural range of okoume than in the sites far from it.
• Conclusion Growth strongly responded to local stand attributes such as tree density and basal area. Growth decrease with stand age in monodominant okoume stands was correctly predicted, although tree age was not incorporated into the model.

     

Relationships between muscle growth potential,intramuscular fat content and different indicators of muscle fibre types in young Charolais bulls

Genetic selection in favor of muscle growth at the expense of fat should affect characteristics of muscles, and therefore beef quality. This study was conducted with two extreme groups of six animals selected among 64 Charolais young bulls ranked according to their genetic potential for muscle growth. Muscle characteristics were assessed in Rectus abdominis (RA, slow oxidative) and Semitendinosus (ST, fast glycolytic) muscles. Intramuscular fat content and proportions of myosin heavy chains I (slow) and IIA (fast oxido‐glycolytic) and certain indicators of oxidative metabolism (activities of citrate synthase (CS), isocitrate dehydrogenase and cytochrome‐c oxidase (COX); expression of H‐fatty acid binding protein (FABP)) were higher in RA than in ST muscle. Genetic selection for muscle growth reduced intramuscular fat content and the activities of some oxidative metabolism indicators (namely CS, COX only). The positive correlation between muscle triacylglycerol content and A‐FABP messenger RNA level (a marker of adipocyte differentiation) (r = 0.53, P < 0.05) suggests that A‐FABP may be a good marker of the ability of bovines to deposit intramuscular fat. In conclusion, the metabolic muscle characteristics which respond to the selection process in favor of muscle growth clearly differ from the muscle characteristics which allow muscle types to be differentiated.     

Congenital duplex gallbladder and biliary mucocele associated with partial hepatic cholestasis and cholelithiasis in a cat

A 6-year-old neutered male domestic shorthair cat was presented for acute onset of vomiting. Exploratory laparotomy identified a duplex gallbladder and left cholecystectomy was performed. Histopathology confirmed biliary mucocele and hepatic cholestasis. While rare, biliary mucoceles should be considered as a differential diagnosis for feline extrahepatic bile duct obstruction.