Evaluation of decay and termite resistance of wood treated with copper in combination with boron and N′-N-(1, 8-naphthalyl) hydroxylamine (NHA-Na)

This study evaluated the relative ability of various combinations of copper sulfate with either boric acid or calcium-precipitating agent, N′-N-(1, 8-naphthalyl) hydroxylamine (NHA-Na), to inhibit fungal degradation and attack by Formosan subterranean termites (Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki). Wood specimens were treated with either 1%, 0.5%, or 0.1% concentrations of copper sulfate, boric acid, NHA-Na, copper sulfate + boric acid, or copper sulfate + NHA-Na mixtures. Treated specimens were subjected to laboratory decay-resistance tests by using petri dishes inoculated with the Basidiomycetes fungi Tyromyces palustris and Trametes versicolor for 12 weeks. Treated wood specimens were also subjected to termite-resistance tests under laboratory conditions. Increased efficacy of copper sulfate against the brown-rot fungus T. palustris was observed when either boric acid or NHA-Na was added. The most effective treatments against the fungi tested were NHA-Na only treatments at 1% and 0.5% concentration levels. Boric acid treatments were not able to protect wood against decay after leaching because of excessive leaching of boron. Similar results were obtained in termite-resistance tests in comparison with decay-resistance tests. These results indicate that the efficacy of the treatments in preventing fungal and termite attack is a function of the type of preservative.     

Flavonoids from Rhamnus pallasii

A new dihydroflavonol, pallasiin, together with kaempferol, quercetin, isorhamnetin, mearnsetin, aromadendrin, eriodictyol and taxifolin, has been isolated from the bark of Rhamnus pallasii and its structure elucidated as 2,3-dihydromyricetin 4′-O-methyl ether.     

Influence of neurophysin residues 1-8 on the optical activity of neurophysin-peptide complexes. Direct evidence that the 1-8 sequence alters the environment of bound peptide

Circular dichroism was used to compare the environment of peptides bound to native and des 1-8 neurophysin in order to further elucidate the role of the neurophysin 1-8 sequence in peptide-binding. A very large positive ellipticity (approximately 6000 deg cm2 dmol-1), shown earlier to be induced in tyrosine at position 2 of peptides bound to the native protein, was determined by the present study to be paralleled by similar induced changes in tyrosine at peptide position 1. Deletion of the neurophysin 1-8 sequence led to loss of half of the induced optical activity at peptide positions 1 and 2 and changes in binding-induced optical activity in the protein, the latter partially assignable to protein disulfides. In the mononitrated native and des 1-8 proteins, the optical activity of neurophysin Tyr-49, a residue at the peptide-binding site, was reduced by 80% in complexes of the des 1-8 protein relative to those of the native protein. The results suggest a role for neurophysin Arg-8 in modulating the optical activity at the binding site by directly placing a charge proximal to the binding site and/or by altering binding site conformation. The data provide the first unambiguous evidence of a difference in the environment of bound peptide between the native and des 1-8 proteins.     

发现于贵州的中国新记录科—极蚊科并记述一新种：（双翅目：长角亚目）

双翅目长角亚目的极蚊科(Axymyiidae)为中国新记录科,是极罕见的昆虫,世界只记载过5种;现报道贵州梵净山的1个新种,模式标本藏北京农业大学昆虫标本室。 极蚊体型中等,粗壮而色暗,外貌象毛蚊类,Coquillett(1909)曾将北美种包括在毛蚊科的Eupeitenus属内。McAtee(1921)建立了Axymia furcata新属种,同时由Shannon(1921)讨论了其分类地位,作为殊蚊科(Anisopodida=Rhyphidae)的1个新     

Salmonella serotype typhimurium phage typing. A critical evaluation

Of 12,930 Salmonella serotype typhimurium strains, phage typed during 1985-1988, 45.68% were "nontypable" by Anderson's set; the percent of typable strains decreased from 54.17 in 1986 to 30.54 in 1988. Of 90 phage patterns of sensitivity, 22 were currently encountered. Phage types 1, 18 and 104 were most frequent to strain of both human and non-human origin. In food generating S. typhimurium outbreaks, phage types 1 and 36 were prevalent. Except lysotypes 198 and 95, isolated from "single cases" in man only, all other phage types were common in man and animals, too. Introducing other typing methods to serotype typhimurium "nontypable" strains (by Anderson's set) was considered necessary for epidemiological purposes.     

Protective Effect of Nigella sativa and Nigella damascena Fixed Oils Against Aflatoxin Induced Mutagenicity in the Classical and Modified Ames Test

The antioxidant and mutagenic/antimutagenic activities of the fixed oils from Nigella sativa (NSO) and Nigella damascena (NDO) seeds, obtained by cold press-extraction from the cultivar samples, were comparatively investigated for the first time. The antimutagenicity test was carried out using classical and modified Ames tests. The fatty acid composition of the fixed oils was characterized by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) while the quantification of thymoquinone in the fixed oils was determined by UPC². The main components of the NSO and NDO were found to be linoleic acid, oleic acid, and palmitic acid. The results of the Ames test confirmed the safety of NSO and NDO from the viewpoint of mutagenicity. The results of the three antioxidant test methods were correlated with each other, indicating NDO as having a superior antioxidant activity, when compared to the NSO. Both NSO and NDO exhibited a significant protective effect against the mutagenicity induced by aflatoxin B1 in Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA100 strains. When microsomal metabolism was terminated after metabolic activation of the mycotoxin, a significant increase in antimutagenic activity was observed, suggesting that the degradation of aflatoxin B1 epoxides by these oils may be a possible antimutagenic mechanism. It is worthy to note that this is the first study to assess the mutagenicity of NSO and NDO according to the OECD 471 guideline and to investigate antimutagenicity of NDO in comparison to NSO against aflatoxin.     

绿瘦蛇捕食鳄蜥的现象

鳄蜥(Shinisauruscrocodilurus)是濒危的孑遗物种,生存遭受多方威胁。除人为猎杀和生境受到破坏之外,天敌也是其致命的威胁之一,但目前关于其被天敌捕食的研究非常匮乏。本文报道了绿瘦蛇(Ahaetullaprasina)捕食鳄蜥的现象,以全事件记录法观察了这一行为过程。鳄蜥面对的被捕食风险可能较广。除蛇外,鳄蜥的天敌也可能是鸟类等动物。在饲养繁育中,要注意加强防范举措,以免鳄蜥被天敌侵害。