The supplementation of Korean mistletoe water extracts reduces hot flushes,dyslipidemia, hepatic steatosis,and muscle loss in ovariectomized rats

Since Korean mistletoe (Viscum album) has been used for alleviating metabolic diseases, it may also prevent the impairment of energy, glucose, lipid, and bone metabolisms in an estrogen-deficient animal model. We determined that long-term consumption of Korean mistletoe water extract (KME) can alleviate menopausal symptoms such as hot flush, increased abdominal fat mass, dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, and decreased bone mineral density in ovariectomized (OVX) rats fed a high-fat diet, and explored the mechanisms of the effects. OVX rats were divided into four groups and fed high-fat diets supplemented with either 0.6% dextrin (control), 0.2% lyophilized KME + 0.4% dextrin (KME-L), or 0.6% lyophilized KME (KME-H). Sham rats were fed with the high-fat diets with 0.6% dextrin as a normal-control without estrogen deficiency. After eight weeks, OVX rats exhibited impaired energy, glucose and lipid metabolism, and decreased uterine and bone masses. KME-L did not alleviate energy dysfunction. However, KME-H lowered serum levels of total-, LDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides and elevated serum HDL-cholesterol levels in OVX rats with dyslipidemia, to similar levels as normal-control rats. Furthermore, KME-H improved HOMA-IR, an indicator of insulin resistance, in OVX rats. Surprisingly, KME-H fed rats had greater lean mass in the abdomen and leg without differences in fat mass but neither dosage of KME altered bone mineral density in the lumbar spine and femur. The increased lean mass was related to greater phosphorylation of mTOR and eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E-binding protein 1 (4E-BP1) in the quadriceps muscles. Hepatic triglyceride contents were lowered with KME-H in OVX rats by increasing carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 (CPT-1) expression and decreasing fatty acid synthase (FAS) and sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) expression. In conclusion, KME may be useful for preventing some menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, dyslipidemia, hepatic steatosis, and loss of muscle mass in post-menopausal women.     

Effect of increased concentration of soil CO2 on intermittent flushes of seed germination in Echinochloa crus-galli var. crus-galli

Soil-buried seeds of barnyardgrass ( Echinochloa crus-galli var. crus-galli ) germinated from April to June in three intermittent flushes. The later two flushes of germination occurred after heavy rainfall. Carbon dioxide concentration in soil air transiently increased to 30 dm³ m^–3 after the rainfall, probably due to the increase in soil temperature and water potential. Germination of exhumed seeds was stimulated by exposure to CO₂ at 30 dm³ m^–3. Fluctuating temperature, light, water, ethylene, and nitrate are known to promote seed germination in many species. However, of these environmental factors, within ranges found in the field, only CO₂ was effective in enhancing the germination of barnyardgrass seeds. We conclude that soil CO₂ is responsible for causing intermittent flushes of germination. Detection of vegetation gaps may be explained by the responsiveness of buried seeds to CO₂.     

Corrections of the periodic boundary conditions with rectangular simulation boxes on the diffusion coefficient,general aspects

It is generally known that the effect of the periodic boundary conditions using cubic boxes manifests itself as the underestimation for the self-diffusion coefficient and the difference between the experimental value and the simulation is proportional to the reciprocal of system size. Rather than the cubic boxes, the effect of the rectangular boxes, which has been normally ignored, however, exhibits some distinct features, according to the hydrodynamics theory on molecular diffusion. In particular, the diffusion coefficient along the direction of the short side length of the box is always larger than that along the larger side length. What’s unusual is that some components or even all three components of the diffusion coefficient may exceed that of an infinite system. Through the comparisons of the flow patterns excited by the diffusing particles, we find that the positive and negative corrections are linked to the local and global vortex of fluid, respectively. It appears that the box shape affects the diffusion by modifying the flow pattern. The theoretical predictions are further tested by molecular dynamics simulations.     

Cation transport in nanopores

Using periodic boundary conditions and external electric potential field, we have simulated an ion current flow through a flexible nanopore using cations and an explicit extended simple point charge (SPC/E) water with molecular dynamics simulation. The simulation voltages range goes beyond the usual ionic channel measurements ( ± 1 V) and yields useful information about density profiles, current density distribution and current–voltage (I–V) characteristics.     

洗胃法与剖胃法在四种蛙食性分析中的对比

在动物的食性研究中,剖胃法因要杀死动物,会产生一系列的生态学影响和伦理学问题,在国际上招致了越来越多的反对,而在我国仍广泛使用。尽管洗胃法已用于食性研究,它的效果却从来没有研究过。我们应用洗胃法研究了浙江宁波郭巨镇四种蛙(黑斑蛙、泽蛙、金线蛙和中华蟾蜍)的食性,并与剖胃法所获得的食性结果进行比较。结果显示:尽管洗胃法在四种蛙胃内食物量的总洗出率(在94.50%以上)和食物个体数的洗出率上(均大于93.46%)略低于剖胃法,但胃内未洗出的与洗出的平均食物个体大小间无差异(所有P>0.3061),两种方法获得的四种蛙的平均食物量和食物个体数也无差异(对食物量所有P>0.8680,对食物个体数所有P>0.7923)。结果表明,洗胃法是比较精确的,在动物的食性研究中,应广泛地推广洗胃法,摒弃剖胃法     

Microbial biomass and bacteria in two pasture soils: An assessment of measurement procedures,temporal variations,and the influence of P fertility status

The reliability of three methods (microbial C and mineral-N flush by fumigation-incubation, and ATP) for measuring soil microbial biomass was assessed on two silt-loam soils of different P fertility status under grazed perennial pastures. The mineral-N flush and ATP methods provided a reasonably reliable index of microbial biomass, but the fumigation-incubation procedure for CO₂-C flush, using preincubated samples and an unfumigated 0–10 day control, was inappropriate for these soils. The numbers of bacteria (direct microscopy) and the percentage metabolically active were also measured. Generally, in both soils, total microbial biomass and the numbers, mass and metabolic activity of bacteria were influenced more by temporal factors in samples taken monthly than by the fertility status. Temporal fluctuations were greater in the high-fertility (Waikanae) soil, but no consistent seasonal trends in mineral-N flush and ATP values were apparent. In both soils, numbers and biomass of bacteria were at a minimum in spring. Values of two biomass indices (mineral-N flush and ATP contents) were similar in the high- and low-fertility (Pomare) soil, and comprised similar percentages of organic-matter contents. The percentages of metabolically active bacteria, however, tended to be higher in Pomare than in Waikanae soil, and, therefore, did not reflect soil fertility status. Methodological and field aspects of these results are discussed.     

Postfire nitrogen balance of Mediterranean shrublands: Direct combustion losses versus gaseous and leaching losses from the postfire soil mineral nitrogen flush

Fire is a major factor controlling global carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling. While direct C and N losses caused by combustion have been comparably well established, important knowledge gaps remain on postfire N losses. Here, we quantified both direct C and N combustion losses as well as postfire gaseous losses (N₂O, NO and N₂) and N leaching after a high‐intensity experimental fire in an old shrubland in central Spain. Combustion losses of C and N were 9.4 Mg C/ha and 129 kg N/ha, respectively, representing 66% and 58% of initial aboveground vegetation and litter stocks. Moreover, fire strongly increased soil mineral N concentrations by several magnitudes to a maximum of 44 kg N/ha 2 months after the fire, with N largely originating from dead soil microbes. Postfire soil emissions increased from 5.4 to 10.1 kg N ha^?1 year^?1 for N₂, from 1.1 to 1.9 kg N ha^?1 year^?1 for NO and from 0.05 to 0.2 kg N ha^?1 year^?1 for N₂O. Maximal leaching losses occurred 2 months after peak soil mineral N concentrations, but remained with 0.1 kg N ha^?1 year^?1 of minor importance for the postfire N mass balance. ¹⁵N stable isotope labelling revealed that 33% of the mineral N produced by fire was incorporated in stable soil N pools, while the remainder was lost. Overall, our work reveals significant postfire N losses dominated by emissions of N₂ that need to be considered when assessing fire effects on ecosystem N cycling and mass balance. We propose indirect N gas emissions factors for the first postfire year, equalling to 7.7% (N₂‐N), 2.7% (NO‐N) and 5.0% (N₂O‐N) of the direct fire combustion losses of the respective N gas species.     

Cytokinins from terminal buds of Euphoria longana during different growth stages

The presence of endogenous cytokinins were detected in the terminal buds of longan ( Euphoria longana Lam.) after purification by ion exchange and Sephadex LH-20 chromatography, and bioassay, enzymic degradation, high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Permethylated derivatives of two highly active cytokinin glucoside compounds from dormant buds were: 6-(4-O-β-D-glucosyl-3-methyl-but-2-enylamino) purine (zeatin-O-glucoside) and 9-β-D-ribofuranosyl-6-(4-hydroxy-3-methyl-but-2-enylamino) purine (zeatin riboside-O-glucoside). Simultaneously, four active cytokinins from buds at the stages of leaf flush and flower bud initiation were identified as 6-(4-hydroxy-3-methyl-but- trans -2-enylamino) purine (zeatin), zeatin-9-β-D-ribofuranosylpurine (zeatin riboside), 6-(3-methyl-2-butenyl) aminopurine (isopentenyladenosine, 2iPA) and N-(3-methyl-2-butenyl) adenine (isopentenyladenine, 2iP). The total cytokinin levels were low at leaf flush, with the zeatin and zeatin riboside in the buds about 70% of the total. In the transition of the terminal bud from leaf flush to dormancy, the principal cytokinins were zeatin-O-glucoside and zeatin riboside-O-glucoside. However, significant decreases in the levels of zeatin-O-glucoside and zeatin riboside-O-glucoside and increases in those of zeatin, zeatin riboside, 2iPA and 2iP were observed at flower bud initiation. It is suggested that in longan, the cytokinins that are translocated to the shoots are accumulated in the buds at the dormant stage, and that later there is a considerable increase in free cytokinins during flower bud initiation, leading to the promotion of flower bud development.     

Recursive Residuals on a Rectangular Lattice

A set of independent N(O, ρ²) recursive residuals is obtained for a model proposed by GLEESON and McGILCHRIST (1980) to describe spatial dependence among observations on a rectangular lattice. These residuals can be used to test model adequacy in a similar fashion to Box-Jenkins techniques for time series models.