Comparison of Chemical Composition and Biological Properties of Essential Oils Obtained by Hydrodistillation and Steam Distillation of Laurus nobilis L.

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - The purpose of this study was to compare the yield, chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of essential oils isolated from leaves of Laurus...     

Zur Raturgefchichte des Fuchfes

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Risk factors and control of intestinal parasite infections in sled dogs in Poland

Training and racing constitute serious challenges for working sled dogs. Attainment of the highest levels of stamina and speed are possible only by completely healthy dogs. Infections with nematodes as whipworm Trichuris sp. or hookworms Uncinaria/Ancylostoma can significantly reduce the fitness of working dogs leading to anemia or even to death. In the middle of the racing season, between December 2009 and April 2010, 108 individual fecal samples were collected from 25 sled dog kennels situated in different regions of Poland. Saturated salt flotation was performed for helminth egg detection. The immunofluorescent assay MeriFluor Cryptosporidium/Giardia and nested PCRs on 18S rRNA (Cryptosporidium spp.) and TPI gene (Giardia spp.) were carried out for detection of intestinal protozoa. Overall prevalence of 6 species of intestinal parasites was 68% in sled dogs (73/108). In 51 samples the eggs of a single species of helminth were detected (47%), two nematode species were detected in 13%, three species of nematodes were found in two dogs. The most prevalent helminths were the hookworms Uncinaria/Ancylostoma-identified in 36% of kennels, and in 34% of sled dogs. Toxocara eggs were detected in 36% of kennels, in 17% of dogs. Trichuris sp. eggs were found in 20% of kennels (5/25), in 13% of dogs. Cysts/oocysts of intestinal protozoa were detected in 31% of sled dogs. The most prevalent was Giardia spp. infection-in 54% of kennels [13/24], in 28% of dogs. Cryptosporidium spp. infections were identified in 37.5% of kennels [9/24], in 13% of dogs. Two sequenced Giardia isolates presented 100% homology with G. intestinalis Assemblage C isolate (AY228641.1), specific for dogs. A range of factors was shown to affect the prevalence of intestinal parasites in sled dogs. The highest prevalence of parasites was found among dogs from large kennels (housing >3 dogs), in dogs less than 2 years old, and in kennels, where prophylactic treatment was carried out 1-4 times a year. The present study has demonstrated a high prevalence of intestinal parasites in working sled dogs in Poland, including the zoonotic human pathogens Toxocara or Cryptosporidium.     

Structure and organization of the living mitotic spindle of Haemanthus endosperm

New details of mitotic spindle structures in the endosperm of Haemanthus katherinae (Bak) have been demonstrated by differential interference microscopy. Spindle fibers are clearly seen in the living spindle extending from the kinetochores to the polar region. Individual spindle fibers consist of a bundle of smaller filaments which diverge slightly from the kinetochore and intermingle with filaments from other spindle fibers as they approach the polar region. The degree of intermingling increases during metaphase and anaphase. The chromosomes stop moving when the spindle fibers are still 5 to 10microns long; then the fibers disappear. These observations explain some aspects of spindle movements which were difficult to reconcile with earlier concepts of spindle organization.     

Geochemical tools for the stratigraphic correlation of floodplain deposits of the Morava River in Strážnické Pomoraví, Czech Republic from the last millennium

The floodplain of the Morava River in Strá?nické Pomoraví, south-east Moravia, Czech Republic contains a very valuable record of regional environmental change, which goes back to several thousand years. Its interpretation has been limited by poor stratigraphic correlation and dating of the sediments. We present a geochemical solution to this challenge. We studied 8 outcrops of floodplain deposits from 4 localities along a 6 km long part of the current meander belt of the Morava River in Strá?nické Pomoraví using geochemical proxy analyses, magnetic susceptibility measurements, ¹⁴C dating of wood remnants, and sediment micromorphology. The proxy methods are based on elemental analysis (EDXRF) and analysis of the cation exchange capacity of clay minerals; granulometric analyses provided the basis for lithological and facies assignment of the sediments. Our geochemical and mineralogical interpretations have further been tested by microstratigraphically studying the optical properties of the fine fraction. Horizons older than about 3 centuries were ¹⁴C dated using wood remnants and the age of deposits from the last century was determined on the base of several proxies reflecting their industrial contamination by heavy metals and magnetic particles. The mean depositional rate over the period from about 1000 to about 1900 AD ranged from 0.2 to 0.6 mm y^− 1, depending on the sedimentary facies. The coeval lithological change in the majority of the studied sections indicated a change of the meander belt structure at between ~ 1200 AD and ~ 1600 AD probably as a consequence of changes of channel structure. The alluvial deposition in the 20th century was strongly affected by the river regulation.