Environmental factors affecting chemical variability of essential oils in Thymus piperella L.

Environmental factors affecting essential oils variability in Thymus piperella L. are studied. The relationship between the bioclimatics index and edaphic factors with three chemotypes is determined through the application of multivariate analysis (CANOCO) and other statistical processes to both ecological and the essential oil data set components. Chemotype p-cymene γ-terpinene carvacrol shows a positive relationship with the aridity index (I_a) and Altitude. The p-cymene thymol chemotype is related to factors affecting water balance in both the soils and plants. The influence of climatic factors over p-cymene carvacrol is less evident. The compound p-cymene, common to the three chemical groups and the most abundant of all, presents positive correlation with the organic matter in the soil.     

Spore Dimorphism in a Microsporidan Isolate*

A microsporidan isolate currently considered to represent a mixed infection of Nosema necatrix Kramer, 1965 and Thelohania diazoma Kramer, 1965 was subjected to cultivation in hosts held at various temperatures. The ratio of the Nosema (monospore) to the Thelohania (octospore) forms at these temperatures was found to vary from 1:1 at 16 C to 1:0 at 32 C. Isolation technics using mechanical, temperature and temporal methods separated monosporous from octosporous forms for inoculation purposes. However, microscopic examination of hosts receiving these inocula revealed the presence of both monospores and octospores. Electrophoretic analysis of monospores and monospore-octospore mixtures indicated equivalent hydrophobic protein spectra. These observations suggest that this isolate has the ability to produce either single spores or spores in groups of eight. This microsporidan was not considered a member of the genus Stempellia since spores in groups of 2 or 4 were not observed. Retention of the name Nosema necatrix Kramer is suggested.     

Volatile Cucumis melo components: Identification of additional compounds and effects of storage conditions

Additional volatile compounds were isolated from muskmelon fruit by means of a water recycling apparatus, separated by GLC, and identified principally by MS and GLC retention data. Compounds reported for the first time as melon components are: n-hexanol, 1-octen-3-ol, cis-3-nonen-1-ol, n-butyl acetate, isobutyl acetate, 2-methylbutyl acetate, n-hexyl acetate, ethyl n-butyrate, ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, benzyl acetate, β-phenethyl acetate, and γ-phenylpropyl acetate. Muskmelon fruit stored frozen prior to steam distillation-extraction yielded an essence which, when compared with that obtained from freshly harvested fruit, contained considerably larger amounts of trans-2-nonenal, n-nonanol, cis-3-nonen-1-ol, cis-6-nonen-1-ol, and the methyl and ethyl esters of linoleic and linolenic acids. Marked decreases in the relative amounts of benzyl acetate, β-phenethyl acetate, and γ-phenylpropyl acetate resulted from freezing. All 21 compounds examined were present in the essences prepared from fresh, refrigerated, and frozen fruit.     

Age and growth of the endemic Xingu River stingray Potamotrygon leopoldi validated using fluorescent dyes

Between 2003 and 2005, vertebrae of 151 Xingu River Potamotrygon leopoldi (Potamotrygonidae) (75 males and 76 females) were analysed to derive a growth curve for this species. The disc width (W _D) was significantly different between sexes, with females measuring 149–700 mm W _D and males 109–500 mm W _D. The average percentage error for vertebrae readings of the whole sample was 2·7%. The marginal increment ratio (R _MI) showed an increasing trend with the highest value in November, decreasing from December on. The majority of vertebrae displaying R _MI zero, occurred in September, but the annual periodicity of ring deposition throughout the year was not conclusive. Tetracycline (TCN) injected specimens were held in captivity for 13 months and displayed a fluorescent mark in vertebrae confirming a yearly periodicity of band pair formation with the translucent ring deposited in September–October. The Akaike information criterion (AIC) showed that, among the seven models considered, the best fit was obtained for the von Bertalanffy modified with W ₀ (where W ₀ = W _D at birth) for both sexes. Growth parameters for females were: W ₀ = 149 mm; W _∞ = 763·06 mm; k = 0·12 year^{– 1}, whereas for males: W ₀ = 109 mm; W _∞ = 536·4 and k = 0·22 year^?1. Maximal ages were 7·2 years in males and 14·3 years in females. The species shows sexual dimorphism expressed in the growth pattern, size at maturity, longevity and asymptotic sizes. Concern for sustainability is raised due to the construction of the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Power Plant (2015 and 2016) in the State of Pará causing changes to the habitat of this species, which is endemic to the Xingu River and two of its tributaries.     

Design,synthesis and evaluation of pterostilbene β-amino alcohol derivatives as multifunctional agents for Alzheimer's disease treatment

A series of pterostilbene β-amino alcohol derivatives were designed, synthesized and evaluated as multifunctional agents for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In vitro assays demonstrated that most of the derivatives were selective acetylacholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors with moderate multifunctional properties. Among them, compound 5f exhibited the best inhibitory activity for EeAChE (IC₅₀ = 24.04 μM), that was better than pterostilbene under our experimental condition. In addition, compound 5f displayed reasonable antioxidant activity and could confer significant neuroprotective effect against H₂O₂-induced PC-12 cell injury. Moreover, 5f also showed self-induced Aβ_1-42 aggregation inhibitory potency and displayed high BBB permeability in vitro. These multifunctional properties highlight 5f as a promising candidate for further studies directed to the development of novel drugs against AD.     

土地利用碳排放效应及其低碳管理研究进展

土地利用是造成全球温室气体排放量迅猛增长的重要因素,但由于土地利用的碳排放在时间和空间上受社会经济活动与自然过程的共同作用,相对自然生态系统碳排放的过程和机制更加复杂,因此,其研究也越来越多地受到包括学者、政府决策者、企业、非政府组织等利益相关者的关注,并被诸多能源与生态环境领域的国内外重大科学研究计划列为核心内容。通过对土地利用的直接和间接碳排放效应及其低碳管理的国内外研究进展进行综述,较全面地对上述研究中已取得的成果以及尚存在的不足与挑战进行了总结,并对未来研究应如何完善现有研究的不足提出了几点展望,以期为科学编制低碳目标导向的土地利用规划提供理论基础和实践管理经验,从而全面引导城市的低碳发展。     

Telomere length reveals cumulative individual and transgenerational inbreeding effects in a passerine bird

Inbreeding results in more homozygous offspring that should suffer reduced fitness, but it can be difficult to quantify these costs for several reasons. First, inbreeding depression may vary with ecological or physiological stress and only be detectable over long time periods. Second, parental homozygosity may indirectly affect offspring fitness, thus confounding analyses that consider offspring homozygosity alone. Finally, measurement of inbreeding coefficients, survival and reproductive success may often be too crude to detect inbreeding costs in wild populations. Telomere length provides a more precise measure of somatic costs, predicts survival in many species and should reflect differences in somatic condition that result from varying ability to cope with environmental stressors. We studied relative telomere length in a wild population of Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis) to assess the lifelong relationship between individual homozygosity, which reflects genome‐wide inbreeding in this species, and telomere length. In juveniles, individual homozygosity was negatively associated with telomere length in poor seasons. In adults, individual homozygosity was consistently negatively related to telomere length, suggesting the accumulation of inbreeding depression during life. Maternal homozygosity also negatively predicted offspring telomere length. Our results show that somatic inbreeding costs are environmentally dependent at certain life stages but may accumulate throughout life.     

Interactions among ecosystem stressors and their importance in conservation

Interactions between multiple ecosystem stressors are expected to jeopardize biological processes, functions and biodiversity. The scientific community has declared stressor interactions—notably synergies—a key issue for conservation and management. Here, we review ecological literature over the past four decades to evaluate trends in the reporting of ecological interactions (synergies, antagonisms and additive effects) and highlight the implications and importance to conservation. Despite increasing popularity, and ever-finer terminologies, we find that synergies are (still) not the most prevalent type of interaction, and that conservation practitioners need to appreciate and manage for all interaction outcomes, including antagonistic and additive effects. However, it will not be possible to identify the effect of every interaction on every organism''s physiology and every ecosystem function because the number of stressors, and their potential interactions, are growing rapidly. Predicting the type of interactions may be possible in the near-future, using meta-analyses, conservation-oriented experiments and adaptive monitoring. Pending a general framework for predicting interactions, conservation management should enact interventions that are robust to uncertainty in interaction type and that continue to bolster biological resilience in a stressful world.