Relationships between urbanization and the oak resource of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan area from 1991 to 1998

Urbanization was associated with loss and transformation of the oak forest in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) metropolitan area (TCMA) over a recent 7-year interval. Between 1991 and 1998, urbanization increased based on several indicators: population density, area of developed land, and area of impervious surface—total impervious area and area within three classes of increasing degree of imperviousness (protected, affected, and degraded). We quantified relationships between changes in urbanization and changes in several parameters describing the oak forest at the scale of ecological subsection. Increased total and affected impervious area were strongly correlated with decreased area of oak forest when changes of the urbanization indicators and oak were expressed as percentages of the subsection area. Relationships were reversed when changes were expressed as percentages of the 1991 values. Increased population density was strongly correlated with increased loss in numbers and increased isolation of oak patches, but weakly correlated with loss of oak forest area. This is the first study to quantify relationships between changes in urbanization and changes in a specific forest cover type. Our results demonstrate complexities of urbanization impacts on a metropolitan forest resource, and highlight the importance of selected variables, spatial and temporal scales, and expressions of change when quantifying these relationships.     

GC/MS分析鸡毛松枝精油的化学成分

为了促进罗汉松科植物鸡毛松在医药、农药和精细化工等领域中的应用,本研究利用水蒸气蒸馏法提取鸡毛松枝精油,进一步采用气相色谱-质谱联用(GC/MS)方法对其化学成分进行分析,分离鉴定出18种化学成分,主要有β 石竹烯(2 03%)、大根香叶烯(61 39%)、γ 榄香烯(12 14%)、β 杜松烯(2 14%)和rimuene(7 66%)。已鉴定化合物占总离子流出峰面积的92 69%,其中大部分是萜烯类化合物。     

Induced Defensive Response of Myrtle Oak to Foliar Insect Herbivory in Ambient and Elevated Co2

The rising level of atmospheric CO2 has stimulated several recent studies attempting to predict the effects of increased CO2 on ecological communities. However, most of these studies have been conducted in the benign conditions of the laboratory and in the absence of herbivores. In the current study, we utilized large octagonal chambers, which enclosed portions of an intact scrub-oak community to investigate the interactive effects of CO2 and insect herbivory on myrtle oak, Quercus myrtifolia. Specifically, we assessed the effects of ambient and elevated CO2 (2x current concentrations) on percent foliar nitrogen, C:N ratio, total relative foliar tannin content, and the presence of leaf damage caused by leaf mining and leaf chewing insects that feed on myrtle oak. Total foliar N declined and C:N ratios increased significantly in oaks in elevated CO2 chambers. The percentages of leaves damaged by either leafminers or leaf chewers tended to be lower in elevated compared to ambient chambers, but they co-occurred on leaves less than expected, regardless of CO2 treatment. Leaves that had been either mined or chewed exhibited a similar wounding or defensive response; they had an average of 25 and 21% higher protein binding ability, which is correlated with tannin concentration, compared to nondamaged control leaves, respectively. While the protein-binding ability (expressed as total percent tannin) of leaves from elevated CO2 was slightly higher than from leaves grown in ambient chambers, this difference was not significant.     

不同热风干燥温度对乌天麻干燥特性及品质变化的影响

为研究不同热风干燥温度对乌天麻的干燥特性及品质的变化,以新鲜的乌天麻为原料,比较分析了不同热风干燥温度（恒温、升温、降温）对乌天麻干燥特性（干燥时间、含水量、折干比）和品质（浸出物、多糖、天麻素、对羟基苯甲醇）的影响。结果表明：不同干燥温度对乌天麻干燥特性和品质的影响变化明显,且不同指标的变化多呈相反趋势,70℃恒温、40～70℃缓慢升温干燥对乌天麻的干燥时间、浸出物、天麻素含量具有显著影响（P<0.05）,50℃恒温、70～40℃快速降温干燥对折干比、多糖和对羟基苯甲醇的影响优势显著（P<0.05）。综合考虑干燥特性和品质,40～70℃缓慢升温干燥在保证干燥特性（干燥时间9 d、含水量5.98%）优势前提下也保证了有效成分含量（浸出物21.81 g/100 g、多糖22.92 g/100 g、天麻素和对羟基苯甲醇总量6.04 mg/g）,该研究为乌天麻初加工提供科学的理论依据,指导产地乌天麻初加工标准化。     

An evaluation of extracts of five traditional medicinal plants from Iran on the inhibition of mushroom tyrosinase activity and scavenging of free radicals

This study aimed to evaluate the free radical scavenging and inhibition properties of five medicinal plants, including Quercus infectoria Olive., Terminalia chebula Retz. , Lavendula stoechas L., Mentha longifolia L., Rheum palmatum L., toward the activity of mushroom tyrosinase using l -tyrosine and l -3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine ( l -DOPA) as the substrate. The methanol extracts of Q. infectoria and T. chebula showed strong radical scavenging effect in 2,2'-dipheny l -1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay (IC₅₀ = 15.3 and 82.2 μg mL⁻¹ respectively). These plants also showed inhibitory effects against the activity of mushroom tyrosinase in hydroxylation of l -tyrosine (85.9% and 82.2% inhibition, respectively). These two plants also inhibited the oxidation of l -DOPA similar to kojic acid as positive control (IC₅₀ = 102.8 and 192.6 μg mL⁻¹ respectively). In general Q. infectoria and T. chebula significantly inhibited tyrosinase activity and DPPH radical. Both activities were concentration-dependant but not in linear manner. It is needed to study the cytotoxicity of these plant extracts in pigment cell culture before further evaluation and moving to in vivo conditions.     

Analysis of phenolic compounds in cork from Quercus suber L. by HPLC–DAD/ESI–MS

The aim of the present work was to identify the extractable phenolic compounds present in cork from Quercus suber L. The structures of thirty three compounds were tentatively identified by liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (HPLC–DAD/ESI–MS). The majority of those compounds were gallic acid derivatives, in the form of either galloyl esters of glucose (gallotannins), combinations of galloyl and hexahydroxydiphenoyl esters of glucose (ellagitannins), dehydrated tergallic-C-glucosides or ellagic acid derivatives. Others were found to correspond to low molecular weight phenolic compounds, like acids and aldehydes. Mongolicain, a flavanoellagitannin in which hydrolysable tannin and flavan-3-ol moieties are connected through a carbon–carbon linkage, was also detected in cork from Q. suber L. The results illustrate the rich array of phenolic compounds present in cork.     

天然抗氧化剂的筛选

对７００余种中药和香辛料的抗氧化活性进行了大规模的筛选，发现有６４种植物有明显的抗氧化活性，２４种植物的抗氧化活性很强。其中有几种植物的抗氧化活性的筛选和研究，如荔枝草，降真香，紫草，血竭是以前未见报道过的。     

Thermal deactivation and inhibition of D‐Amino acid oxidase in permeabilized cells of the yeast Trigonopsis variabilis

The inhibition of D ‐amino acid oxidase contained in permeabilized cells of the yeast Trigonopsis variabilis by α‐keto acids (pyruvic acid, phenylpyruvic acid and 4‐methylthio‐2‐oxobutanoic acid), products of the transformation of the corresponding D ‐amino acids, was studied. In all cases, inhibition was of the mixed type and significant differences with respect to the inhibition shown by the enzyme from other sources such as pig kidney or the yeast Rhodotorula gracilis were observed. A study was also made of the thermal deactivation of the enzyme contained in permeabilized cells of T variabilis in the temperature range 30–50 °C in sodium phosphate and Tris hydroxylmethyl aminomethane + CaCl₂ buffers. A deactivation mechanism with two steps in series is proposed to account for the variation in activity with time. The results suggest that the enzyme shows greater stability in phosphate buffer, with half‐lives between 7.6 days at 30 °C and 8.6 h at 50 °C. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry