Semisynthesis and pharmacological investigation of lipo-alkaloids prepared from aconitine

Processed aconite drugs are widely used in Eastern medicine as painkillers and antirheumatic agents. It is known that the traditional processing of aconite drugs increases the amount of lipo-alkaloids. In order to obtain information about the pharmacological potential of these compounds, semisynthesis of 9 aconitine-derived lipo-alkaloids was carried out and their COX-1, COX-2 and LTB₄ formation inhibitory activities were investigated. It was found that compounds esterified with unsaturated fatty acids demonstrated significant COX-2 inhibitory effects, while in the COX-1 assay only 14-benzoylaconine-8-O-eicosapentaenoate exerted remarkable activity. The inhibition of LTB₄ formation was pronounced in cases of long chain fatty acid derivatives.     

Management of bacterial spot of tomato with phosphorous acid salts

Phosphorous acid salts (PASs) were evaluated alone or in combination with other products for managing bacterial spot of tomato in greenhouse and field experiments in Florida during a 3-year period. Field treatments included a weekly schedule of PAS alone, PAS combined with standard copper-bactericide at full rate or half rate, PAS alternated with a standard copper-bactericide, and PAS every week plus biweekly applications of acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM). Field data showed that disease control with PAS combined with standard copper-bactericide full rate, PAS alternated with a standard copper-bactericide, and PAS every week plus biweekly applications of ASM was similar to that obtained using the standard copper-bactericide program. In greenhouse experiments PAS alone had a similar level of disease compared to the standard program, whereas PAS combined with standard copper-bactericide full rate was significantly better than the standard program. Yields in the field experiments were not affected by any of these treatments. Phytotoxicity was observed when PAS was applied to the foliage of tomato seedlings under greenhouse conditions. These data suggest that PAS combined with standard copper-bactericide full rate and PAS plus ASM could be used for managing bacterial spot of tomato in the field in Florida. The mode of action of PAS is still unclear, as it only slightly affected multiplication of Xanthomonas perforans in vitro, and was also ineffective as a plant activator.     

Relationships between co-infection with cowpea aphid-borne and cucumber mosaic viruses and yield of cowpea lines with varying resistance to these viruses

The effect of mixed infection of cowpea aphid-borne mosaic (CAMV) and cucumber mosaic (CMV) viruses on cowpea yield varied with the resistance levels of cowpea lines, since there was a strong interaction between the latter and virus infection types atP ≤ 0.01. In cowpea line TVu 3629, with low resistance to both viruses, mixed infection significantly(P ≤ 0.05) reduced most yield components as compared with single infections and uninoculated controls. However, in line TVu 15656, which is highly resistant to both viruses, the effect of mixed infections was not significantly different from that of single infections or from the control. Between these two extremes were cowpea lines TVu 13683 and TVu 410, which were mildly resistant to CMV and CAMV, respectively; single infections significantly reduced the yield components relative to control, although these were generally not different from mixed infections. CMV, hitherto considered to be not economically important in cowpea in Nigeria, could induce severe yield losses when present in mixed infection with CAMV in cowpea lines with low resistance to both viruses. However, since mixed infection did not affect the yield of the highly doubly-resistant TVu 15656 cowpea line, it may be possible to breed for combined resistance to both viruses.     

Non-destructive Method of Frog (Rana esculenta L.) Skeleton Elemental Analysis Used During Environmental Assessment

Amphibians, particularly frogs, are increasingly used as bioindicators of contaminant accumulation in pollution studies. Their use for field scientific purposes is limited because most frog species are endangered and protected in most countries; killing of specimens are not allowed. The aim of our study was to work out and assess a method by which the elemental contents of frog bones could be estimated effectively based on the toe bones. For this purpose, Rana esculenta L. individuals were collected from an urban pond in Debrecen city (Hungary). The following large bones were also analysed: skull, spinal, femur, tibia–fibula, tarsal bones, metatarsus, humerus and digits from front and hind limbs. In the bones, P, Ca, Mg, Mn, Na, S and Zn elements were measured. The elemental contents of large bones were significantly correlated with bones weight in the case of each element. The elemental contents of phalanges were also estimated based on the large bones. The measured and the estimated elemental contents of phalanges were not different significantly based on the tibia–fibula, metatarsalis bones, front and hind limb digits. Elemental analysis based on phalanges adds a further way of use of phalanges. Frogs using their phalanges could be useful indicators in the assessment of environmental contamination.     

Local early induced resistance of plants as the first line of defence against bacteria

This paper is an overview of a non-specific local early induced resistance (EIR) mechanism, distinct from the incompatible-specific hypersensitive reaction (HR). We have shown that the local induced resistance (LIR) described earlier is not a single and uniform response to pathogen infection, because an early (EIR) and a late form can be distinguished. EIR operates from 3-6 h post-inoculation (hpi) until about 20 hpi, and is inhibited by a short heat-shock or the eukaryotic protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide. In contrast, LIR, which corresponds to the induced resistance forms discovered earlier, requires more time (about 24 h) and intensive illumination to develop, and is effective for a longer period. EIR develops parallel with HR and is sometimes able to prevent it when the induction time of HR is longer than the time required for the development of EIR. It seems that EIR inhibits the metabolism of bacteria and the activity of hrp genes which otherwise are required for the induction of HR. In a compatible host-pathogen relationship the effect of EIR fails to take place. The rapid development of EIR is greatly influenced by temperature and the physiological state of the plant. EIR activates the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide at the bacterial attachment, expressing new peroxidase isoenzymes in the initiated plant tissue. It seems that this is a native general local defence mechanism which can localise foreign organisms even at the penetration site.     

Effects of high dietary molybdenum in rabbits

To study the effects of high dietary molybdenum (Mo) content, rabbits were fed with commercial pellets and carrots containing 39 mg Mo/kg dry matter (DM) [Experiment 1] and with a commercial diet supplemented with 40 mg Mo/kg DM [Experiment 2] for 14 days. The high dietary Mo contents failed to reduce the growth performance of rabbits. Moreover, supplemental Mo given in a dose of 40 mg/kg non-significantly decreased the apparent digestibility of crude protein (CP) and crude fibre (CF) compared to the control (73.63 +/- 2.49 and 18.56 +/- 5.10 vs. 74.31 +/- 3.03 and 21.38 +/- 6.48, respectively). Molybdenum ingested with feeds was mainly excreted (57%) via the urine. The highest Mo levels were found in kidney and liver samples (3.464 +/- 0.872; 5.27 +/- 0.95 mg/kg DM [Experiment 1] and 1.878 +/- 0.283; 1.62 +/- 0.16 mg/kg DM [Experiment 2], respectively), and Mo could also be detected in limb meat (0.336 +/- 0.205 mg/kg DM). It was stated that the testes were more sensitive to Mo exposure than the female reproductive organs because the number of germ cells was reduced. Due to the high dietary Mo intake free radicals could be generated, resulting in a marked increase of creatine kinase (CK) activity.     

Utilization of BNF Technology Supplementing Urea N for Sustainable Rice Production

The critical nitrogen (N) requirement of rice crops for maximum yields is well known. To overcome acute N deficiency in rice soils as a result of an increasing yield per unit area in the past 50 years of almost three-fold, this element has been usually supplied to the rice crop as the chemical fertilizer ‘urea’. Unfortunately a substantial amount of the urea-N is lost through different mechanisms, causing environmental pollution problems. In principle, utilization of biological nitrogen fixation technology can supplement the use of urea-N, reducing the environmental problems to a considerable extent by improving nitrogen use efficiency. Different biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) systems have different potentials to provide an N supplement. It is necessary to design appropriate strategies to obtain more sustainable N supply to the rice crop. This paper reviews research to evaluate the potential of different BNF systems to supply N for the rice crop, assessing the current information.     

Improving the fertility of sandy soils in the temperate region by combined biochar and microbial inoculant treatments

Achieving a sustainable increase in the fertility of sandy soils is a major problem. The application of biochar (BC) is a relatively new method, but results for a temperate climate are scarce. This work investigates various combined doses of BC and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria inoculants on the fertility of acidic and calcareous sandy soils, hypothesising that joint application could have a synergistic impact. The effects were followed by measuring chemical (pH, organic matter, nutrient availability) and microbiological properties of the soil and maize biomass. 30 t ha^?1 BC increased both pH (by 1 unit) and nitrification in acidic soil (causing a 60% drop in NH₄-N concentration), and the phosphorus and potassium availability (by 53 and 80%, respectively) in both soils. Substrate-induced respiration increased by up to 100% and 50% in acidic and calcareous soil, respectively, in treatments involving both BC and inoculant. In acidic soil a BC dose of 3 t ha^?1 resulted in a 70% decrease in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal infection. Changes in maize grain yield were not significant, but the increase in above-ground biomass indicated that the combined application of BC and inoculant is more beneficial than separate application of these yield-increasing agents, primarily on acidic sand.     

Evaluation of the length of competitive life in Hungarian sport horses

The aim of this study was to analyse the duration of the competitive life of jumping horses in Hungary to assess the potential for genetic evaluation and to get information about the risk factors affecting jumping performance of sport horses. The data set included lifetime performance in jumping competitions for 8475 horses born from 1992 onwards with records between 1996 and 2011 (32.7% were right‐censored). Longevity was measured as the number of years spent in the competition. Discrete time survival model included fixed effects of gender, age at first competition, and the time‐dependent effect of competition level. All fixed effects were highly significant (p < 0.001). The highest risk of ending the race career was estimated for horses competing in the lowest level (category 1) events. The smallest risk was found in horses competing in the highest category. The culling risk for stallions was 15% higher, for geldings 20% lower when compared to mares. As the age at the first competition result increased, the risk ratio also increased. Risk ratios of horses starting as 8 years old or older were 56% higher than those of 5‐year‐old horses. The longest time in sport tracks belonged to horses starting their career as 4 years old. Their culling risk was 20% lower than those of 5‐year‐old horses. The heritability of the length of competitive life was 0.17. Breeding values were predicted for each animals, and 47 showed an accuracy greater than 0.60. The clear benefit of the analysis was shown by comparison of offspring to extreme stallion groups.