Effect of L-carnitine against acute mitoxantrone toxicity in mice

Various experiments were performed in our laboratory to define a possible role for carnitine derivatives in mitoxantrone (MX) therapy. We report here the results of the effect of L-carnitine (LCAR) on the lethal toxicity of MX in mice. MX was administered intravenously at doses of 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 or 17 mg kg⁻¹ either alone or in combination with LCAR at a single intravenous dose of 200 mg kg⁻¹. The dependence of the probability of death on various doses was evaluated for the MX-LCAR combination compared to MX alone. From these experiments, the following lethal dose fifty (LD₅₀) values were calculated: LD₅₀ for MX alone was 15.2 mg kg⁻¹, whereas in combination with LCAR it increases to 21.8 mg kg⁻¹. The relative toxicity given as the ratio of the LD50 of both MX alone and the combination of MX-LCAR was 69.7%. The results of our experiments unequivocally show the effect of LCAR on acute toxic doses of MX.     

The genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dentipratulum</Emphasis> (Russulales,Auriscalpiaceae): comparative morphology and SEM imaging spore ornamentation split one into three species

The family Auriscalpiaceae (Russulales) includes species forming pileate, stipitate-pileate, effused-reflexed, and resupinate basidiomata. The resupinate basidiomata are characteristic only for the genus Dentipratulum, described to accommodate Dentipratulum bialoviesense, found in the Bia?owie?a Primeval Forest in Poland and later reported from several locations in Eurasia. The materials assigned to this genus were revised and three distinct morphospecies were detected, including Dentipratulum bialoviesense s. str. and two new species, Dentipratulum khuranae from India and Dentipratulum crystallinum from the Kuril Islands and France. The concept of the genus Dentipratulum is emended to include characters omitted in the original diagnosis (stem-like base of spines, rudimentary subiculum) and found in the novel species (presence of naked or encrusted leptocystidia). All Dentipratulum species are illustrated with pictures of basidiomata, line drawings of micro-morphological characters, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs of basidiospores. A key to the genus is provided.     

A new Ruscinian site in Europe: Baza-1 (Baza basin,Andalusia, Spain)

The Guadix–Baza depression (southeastern Spain) preserves one of the best continental Plio-Pleistocene records of the European continent. The new site, Baza-1, is the first Ruscinian locality with fauna of large vertebrates known in the basin. During the summer seasons of 2001, 2002, 2015 and 2016, systematic excavations were undertaken in the site over an area of 25 m², which provided > 400 fossil remains of Ruscinian mammals. The faunal assemblage is diverse, comprising 17 genera. Rodentia are represented by Ruscinomys sp., Apocricetus barrierei, Debruijnimys julii, Apodemus gorafensis, Castillomys gracilis, Occitanomys cf. brailloni, Paraethomys meini, Paraethomys aff. abaigari, Stephanomys cordii, Trilophomys cf. castroi and Eliomys aff. intermedius. Large mammals are represented by two proboscideans, Anancus arvernensis and Mammut borsoni, the rhino Stephanorhinus sp. cf. S. jeanvireti, the equid cf. Hipparion sp., two bovids, a large sized Alephis sp. and a small-to-middle sized Bovidae indet. (cf. Antilope sp.), and a middle sized deer, Cervinae indet. This record is completed by the presence of a chelonid, Testudinae indet. Biostratigraphic data from micro and macromammals suggest an age for the assemblage between 4 and 4.5 Ma.     

植物内源茉莉酸类物质的生物合成途径及其生物学意义

茉莉酸类物质(JAs)是新确认的一类广泛存在于植物体内的内源激素, 在植物的生长发育、应激反应和次生代谢过程中起着重要的调控作用。该文主要概述了植物中茉莉酸类物质的生物合成途径、各关键酶的生理作用及其在植物次生代谢工程等方面的研究进展, 并探讨了茉莉酸类物质的潜在应用价值。     

Social relations in family-groups of wood miceApodemus sylvaticus under laboratory and enclosure conditions

Two family-groups of wood miceApodemus sylvaticus (Linnaeus, 1758) were observed: one in the laboratory (terrarium 100 × 60 × 60 cm) and the other under enclosure conditions (outdoor enclosure 200 × 100 × 100 cm). Three consecutive periods in the social relations of the family-groups were described: the linear hierarchy, the multidirectional social relations, and the variable dominance-subordination relations. The linear social hierarchy was reflected in the subordination behaviour of family members in relation to the dominant male, the father of the family. During the period of coexistence of a pair of parents with two litters of juveniles, both in the laboratory and under enclosure conditions, amicable relations between individuals occurred. Advanced forms of social care (paternal care, allomaternal lactation, transportation and licking by relatives) were also observed. In the laboratory, agonistic interactions were lacking during the linear hierarchy period, but the attainment of sexual maturity by individuals of the first two litters, accompanied by an increase in the number of mice, resulted in aggression between mature males and competition for dominance. Further, under increasingly crowded conditions, agonistic behaviour prevailed over other types of social interaction, and the survival rate of juveniles decreased. Under enclosure conditions a seasonal variation in agonistic interaction between mature individuals was recorded, similar to that observed in the wild. Despite the systematic increase in population density, no attacks by mature males on juveniles were observed.