Anticomplement and antitussive activities of major compound extracted from Chimonanthus nitens Oliv. leaf

Chimonanthus nitens Oliv. leaf (CNOL), as a traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used for the treatment of influenza and colds over a long history. However, the mechanism of colds related to the effects of CNOL have been little studied. In this study, the anticomplement and antitussive activities of different polarity extracts of CNOL were evaluated. Ethyl acetate extract (EAE) among different extracts not only significantly decreased cough times by 21–58% (P < 0.01), but also had anticomplement effects demonstrated by the CH₅₀ values of 0.100 mg/ml. A total of 28 constituents (10 coumarins, 13 flavonoids and five phenolics) were identified in EAE based on the ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry technique. Eight compounds in EAE were evaluated by an ammonia-induced cough model to reveal the antitussive mechanisms and classical anticomplement pathway. The results indicated that the antitussive effects of scopoletin, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside and kaempferol may depend on central mechanisms and that flavonoids such as compounds of kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside and kaempferol have better anticomplementary activity than coumarins like compounds of scopolin, scopoletin and isofraxidin. Taken together, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside and kaempferol could be important chemical markers in the present study that might be used to evaluate the quality and biological activity of CNOL.     

Strictly chordal graphs are leaf powers

A fundamental problem in computational biology is the phylogeny reconstruction for a set of specific organisms. One of the graph theoretical approaches is to construct a similarity graph on the set of organisms where adjacency indicates evolutionary closeness, and then to reconstruct a phylogeny by computing a tree interconnecting the organisms such that leaves in the tree are labeled by the organisms and every organism appears as a leaf in the tree. The similarity graph is simple and undirected. For any pair of adjacent organisms in the similarity graph, their distance in the output tree, which is measured by the number of edges on the path connecting them, must be less than some pre-specified bound. This is known as the problem of recognizing leaf powers and computing leaf roots. Graphs that are leaf powers are known to be chordal. It is shown in this paper that all strictly chordal graphs are leaf powers and a linear time algorithm is presented to compute a leaf root for any given strictly chordal graph. An intermediate root-and-power problem, the Steiner root problem, is also examined.     

k-Subdomination in graphs

For a positive integer k, a k-subdominating function of a graph G=(V,E) is a function f : V→{−1,1} such that ∑_uNG[v]f(u)1 for at least k vertices v of G. The k-subdomination number of G, denoted by γ_ks(G), is the minimum of ∑_vVf(v) taken over all k-subdominating functions f of G. In this article, we prove a conjecture for k-subdomination on trees proposed by Cockayne and Mynhardt. We also give a lower bound for γ_ks(G) in terms of the degree sequence of G. This generalizes some known results on the k-subdomination number γ_ks(G), the signed domination number γ_s(G) and the majority domination number γ_maj(G).     

近红外光谱技术在天然草地植被管理中的应用

植被是监测草地健康和生产力的主要依据,其变化是草地生态系统退化和恢复状况的最直接体现。及时掌握草地植被的变化信息是防止草地退化、实现草地生态系统可持续发展的首要条件。近红外光谱技术以其简便、快捷等优越性广泛应用于不同领域,在草地资源管理中有巨大的应用潜力和前景。文章介绍了近红外光谱技术的原理、特点及其在草地植被物种组成、草地植物茎叶比、凋落物及牧草品质测定等方面的应用特点,综合阐述了近红外光谱技术在草地植被管理中的应用现状,并对其应用前景进行了展望。     

胶束增敏分光光度法测定大豆根茎叶中的镧

首次了二溴基偶氮比例中表面活性剂曲通Ｘ－１００和β环糊精存在下与Ｌａ（Ⅲ）的显色反应。在强酸介质中与Ｌａ（Ⅲ）形成稳定的配合物,最大吸收波长在６３８ｎｍ处,配合物的表观魔鬼洋吸光系数为１．５０×１０＾５Ｌ·ｍｏｌ＾－１·ｃｍ＾－１,比献「１」中的灵敏度高２７％。该法已用于大 奶、茎、叶中镧的测定。     

2-氨基-1,3,4-噻二唑的抗水稻白叶枯病机制的探讨

药师寺国人等于1971年发现2-氨基-1,3,4-噻二唑(ATDA)具有优越的抗水稻白叶枯病菌的性能,并发现这种性能可被烟酰胺抵消.一般认为,ATDA的作用与细菌细胞中烟酰胺的代谢有关.为了探明ATDA的活性与结构的关系,并从中找出有效的同类化合物,进一步了解这个药剂的抗病机制,我们合成了几类新的噻二唑化合物,连同以前报导的     

Leaf protein from ammonia-treated dwarf elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) schum cv. mott)

Proteins can be an excellent by product of the biorefining of lignocellulosic materials. In this work, extraction conditions for the white leaf proteins (cytoplasmic) of ammonia-treated dwarf elephant grass were established to obtain a protein juice suitable for the production of leaf protein concentrates. A calcium hydroxide solution was used as extracting agent, at several solid-liquid ratios, pHs, temperatures, and times. Extractions were carried out in Erlenmeyer flasks containing 5 g (dry basis) of forage with constant agitation (100 rpm). The soluble protein content was determined by the Lowry method. Optimal extraction conditions for the ammonia-treated forage were 12.60 pH, 1:10 solid-liquid ratio, 90°C, and 30 min extraction time, resulting in 52.65% extraction yield. The ammonia treatment significantly increased (p<0.05) the release of proteins from the fibrous matrix, facilitating their extraction.     

Total internal reflection Raman spectroscopy of barley leaf epicuticular waxes in vivo

The use of total internal reflection (TIR)-Raman spectroscopy to examine cuticular wax layers in vivo at the surface of barley leaves (Hordeum vulgare L. cultivar Pastoral) is demonstrated. The limited penetration depth (40 nm) of the evanescent wave compared to the thickness of the wax layer eliminates problems arising from fluorescence from underlying pigments. Epicuticular wax crystals are observed to be more crystalline than the amorphous wax layer, which is analysed after removal of the wax crystals by cellulose acetate stripping. Carotenoids are detected as trace species in the cuticular waxes.     

Adsorption of Chromium (VI) on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Azadirachta Indica</Emphasis> (Neem) Leaf Powder

A novel adsorbent was developed from mature leaves of the Neem tree (Azadirachta Indica) for removing metal ions from water. The adsorbent, in the form of fine powder, was found to be very effective in removing chromium (VI) from aqueous solution. The adsorption was carried out in a batch process taking different concentrations of the metal ion in aqueous solution with variation in adsorbent amount, pH, agitation time and temperature. The suitability of the adsorbent was tested with Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms and with various equilibrium kinetic data. A small amount of the Neem Leaf Powder (NLP) (1.6 g dm^–3) could remove as much as 87% of Cr (VI) in 300 min from a solution of concentration 14.1 mg dm^–3 at 300 K. The optimum range of pH for the adsorption process was 4.5–7.5 and since the natural pH of the Cr (VI) solution was 5.5, no addition of acid or alkali was necessary for achieving maximum adsorption. The adsorption coefficients indicated a high potentiality for the NLP to be used as an adsorbent for removing Cr (VI) from water.     

基于叶片光学属性的作物叶片水分含量反演模型研究

叶片含水量是反映作物生理特性的一个重要参数,对生态环境的研究具有重要意义。采用小波分析方法,分析叶片含水量对反射率的影响特征,建立综合利用多波段信息的作物叶片水分含量反演模型。基于PROSPECT模型的辐射传输理论,推导出由叶片反射率光谱的小波系数反演叶片水分含量C_W的理论模型。利用六种常用的小波函数,对叶片组分水、干物质和白化基本层的吸收光谱进行小波分解。选取对水分变化最敏感,同时对其他组分不敏感的分解尺度和波段位置,找到能稳定突出水的光谱特征的小波系数。结果表明：bior1.5小波函数在尺度为200 nm,波段位置为1 405和1 488 nm的小波系数具有上述特征。建立由叶片反射率光谱的bior1.5小波系数反演叶片水分含量C_W的反演模型,模型有两个转换系数a和Δ都受叶片结构参数N的影响。利用PROSPECT模型生成模拟光谱数据集,校正建立的叶片水分含量反演模型中的两个转换系数a和Δ,并与LOPEX93实验光谱数据集结合验证反演模型。结果表明：反演模型不仅比传统基于植被指数的统计模型在精度上有提高(反演值与实测值的R2最高达到0.987),而且更加稳定,普适性更高。研究表明,小波分析方法在利用高光谱数据反演作物叶片水分含量方面具有独特的优势。