Preliminary spatiotemporal analysis of the association between socio-environmental factors and suicide

Background: The seasonality of suicide has long been recognised. However, little is known about the relative importance of socio-environmental factors in the occurrence of suicide in different geographical areas. This study examined the association of climate, socioeconomic and demographic factors with suicide in Queensland, Australia, using a spatiotemporal approach. Methods: Seasonal data on suicide, demographic variables and socioeconomic indexes for areas in each Local Government Area (LGA) between 1999 and 2003 were acquired from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Climate data were supplied by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. A multivariable generalized estimating equation model was used to examine the impact of socio-environmental factors on suicide. Results: The preliminary data analyses show that far north Queensland had the highest suicide incidence (e.g., Cook and Mornington Shires), while the south-western areas had the lowest incidence (e.g., Barcoo and Bauhinia Shires) in all the seasons. Maximum temperature, unemployment rate, the proportion of Indigenous population and the proportion of population with low individual income were statistically significantly and positively associated with suicide. There were weaker but not significant associations for other variables. Conclusions: Maximum temperature, the proportion of Indigenous population and unemployment rate appeared to be major determinants of suicide at a LGA level in Queensland.

Spatial distribution of suicide in Queensland, Australia

Background: There has been a lack of investigation into the spatial distribution and clustering of suicide in Australia, where the population density is lower than many countries and varies dramatically among urban, rural and remote areas. This study aims to examine the spatial distribution of suicide at a Local Governmental Area (LGA) level and identify the LGAs with a high relative risk of suicide in Queensland, Australia, using geographical information system (GIS) techniques.---------- Methods: Data on suicide and demographic variables in each LGA between 1999 and 2003 were acquired from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. An age standardised mortality (ASM) rate for suicide was calculated at the LGA level. GIS techniques were used to examine the geographical difference of suicide across different areas.---------- Results: Far north and north-eastern Queensland (i.e., Cook and Mornington Shires) had the highest suicide incidence in both genders, while the south-western areas (i.e., Barcoo and Bauhinia Shires) had the lowest incidence in both genders. In different age groups (≤24 years, 25 to 44 years, 45 to 64 years, and ≥65 years), ASM rates of suicide varied with gender at the LGA level. Mornington and six other LGAs with low socioeconomic status in the upper Southeast had significant spatial clusters of high suicide risk.---------- Conclusions: There was a notable difference in ASM rates of suicide at the LGA level in Queensland. Some LGAs had significant spatial clusters of high suicide risk. The determinants of the geographical difference of suicide should be addressed in future research.

Protection of a Static Frequency Converter fed traction network, a case study

Aurizon, Australia's largest rail freight operator, is introducing the Static Frequency Converter (SFC) technology into its electric railway network as part of the Bauhinia Electrification Project. The introduction of SFCs has significant implications on the protection systems of the 50kV traction network. The traditional distance protection calculation method does not work in this configuration because of the effect that the SFC in combination with the remote grid has on the apparent impedance, and was substantially reviewed. The standard overcurrent (OC) protection scheme is not suitable due to the minimum fault level being below the maximum load level and was revised to incorporate directionality and under-voltage inhibit. Delta protection was reviewed to improve sensitivity. A new protection function was introduced to prevent back-feeding faults in the transmission network through the grid connection. Protection inter-tripping was included to ensure selectivity between the SFC protection and the system downstream.

Evaluación de la capacidad de rebrotes de dos especies arbóreas en el bosque tropical seco en Nandarola, Pacifico Sur

El estudio tuvo como objetivo evaluar el comportamiento de la sobrevivencia en los árboles con los cuales se estableció el estudio, conocer la capacidad de rebrotes y el incremento en diámetro y altura de los mismos en las especies: Lonchocarpus minimiflorus y Casearia corymbosa después de la aplicación de tres tratamientos silviculturales. La metodología utilizada consistió en seleccionar 25 árboles por especie de forma aleatoria dentro del bosque, los cuales se podaron a una altura de 1.30 mts, dividiéndose posteriormente estos en tres grupos de 8, 9 y 8 individuos por grupo. Después de que los tocones rebrotaron se procedió a la aplicación de los tratamientos: al primer grupo se les dejó un eje/árbol, al segundo grupo 2 eje/ árbol y al tercer grupo 3 eje/árbol. Los resultados demuestran que la especie Lonchocarpus minimiflorus obtuvo el mayor porcentaje de sobrevivencia al final del estudio (84%), en comparación con la especie Casearia corymbosa (44%), así como también en la producción de rebrotes con 18.09 ejes por árbol en el primer registro y 9.90 en el segundo registro mientras que Casearia corymbosa obtuvo 8.13 y 8.82 ejes respectivamente. En cuanto a las variables diámetro y altura, los mayores resultados los alcanzó la especie Casearia corymbosa en el primer tratamiento, mientras que Lonchocarpus minimiflorus alcanzó los mayores diámetros en el tratamiento 3 y las mayores alturas en el tratamiento 2. Es importante señalar que en esta última especie, la relación de estas dos variables no es directa; esto quiere decir que en el tratamiento donde se presentó el mayor incremento diamétrico, también se presentó el menor incremento longitudinal.

Comportamento germinativo de espécies rupícolas de inselbergs do Morro da Urca, Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Inselbergs são afloramentos rochosos isolados que emergem abruptamente acima das planícies que os circundam, formados principalmente por afloramentos de rochas graníticas e gnáissicas. São lugares com alta diversidade e endemismo, e caracterizados por alto grau de insolação, temperaturas do ar e do solo, com ventos fortes e solos com baixa retenção de água. Sementes de três espécies típicas dos inselbergs (Alcantarea glaziouana, Barbacenia purpurea e Tibouchina corymbosa) foram estudadas para avaliar o efeito das temperaturas constantes (15 a 40C) e alternada (20-30C), o estresse hídrico (Ψw = 0,0 a -1,2 MPa) promovido por soluções de polietileno glicol 6000 (PEG) e a qualidade da luz sob diferente valores de razão vermelho: vermelho extremo (V:VE), na porcentagem final e velocidade de germinação. Os resultados mostraram que todas as espécies têm sementes muito leves, variando entre 0,005 - 0,04 g. As três espécies apresentaram alta germinação sob temperaturas entre 20C e 30C, e não germinaram a 40C, exceto A. glaziouana. A máxima germinação foi obtida em água destilada (0 MPa) e as diferentes condições de estresse hídrico reduziram a percentagem e a velocidade de germinação de todas as espécies estudadas. A. glaziouana foi a espécie menos sensível a redução do potencial hídrico. As sementes de todas as espécies necessitam de exposição a luz para a máxima germinação (fotoblásticas positivas) e a porcentagem final de germinação foi inibida sob baixos valores de V:VE. A razão V:VE que resultou em 50% da máxima germinação variou entre as espécies. Estes resultados demonstram que a germinação pode limitar a capacidade das espécies em colonizar tanto novas áreas como área perturbadas, além de contribuir para a distribuição das espécies nos inselbergs.

Local Frustration Determines Molecular and Macroscopic Helix Structures

The effect of displaying cytochromes from an amyloid fibre is modelled as perturbation of -strands in a bilayer of helical -sheets, thereby explaining the spiral morphology of decorated amyloid and the dynamic response of morphology to cytochrome conformation. The morphology of the modelled fibre, which consists of minimal energy assemblies of rigid building blocks containing two anisotropic interacting units, depends primarily on the rigid constraints between units rather than the soft interactions between them. The framework is a discrete version of the bilayered frustration principle that drives morphology in Bauhinia seedpods. We show that self-assembly of frustrated long range structures can occur if the building blocks themselves are internally frustrated, e.g. amyloid morphology is governed by the conformation of the misfolded protein nucleating the fibre. Our model supports the idea that any peptide sequence can form amyloid if bilayers can form first, albeit stabilised by additional material such as chaperones or cytochromes. Analysis of experimentally derived amyloid structures supports our conclusions and suggests a range of frustration effects, which natural amyloid fibres may exploit. From this viewpoint, amyloid appears as a molecular example of a more general universal bilayered frustration principle, which may have profound implications for materials design using fibrous systems. Our model provides quantitative guidance for such applications. The relevance to longer length scales was proved by designing the morphology of a series of macroscopic magnetic stacks. Finally, this work leads to the idea of mixing controlled morphologically defined species to generate higher-order assembly and complex functional behaviour. The systematic kinking of decorated fibres and the nested frustration of the Bauhinia seed pod are two outstanding examples.

三种豆科灌木对干旱胁迫的响应与适应

干旱胁迫是全球范围内影响植物生存、生长和分布的重要环境因子。岷江上游干旱河谷区，由于生态环境的脆弱性和长期人类活动的干扰和过度利用，导致植被严重退化，水土流失加剧，山地灾害频繁，干旱化和荒漠化趋势明显。这种趋势若不能遏制，将严重阻碍区域社会经济的快速协调发展，并且威胁成都平原地区的发展和长江中下游地区的生态安全。因而开展干旱河谷生态恢复研究成为解决这些问题的关键。水分匮乏是限制干旱河谷生态恢复的关键因子，在全球气候变化的背景下，干旱胁迫在区域尺度上可能会更加严重，并使干旱河谷的生态环境更加恶化。因此，深入研究干旱河谷乡土植物对干旱胁迫的响应和适应机理，具有非常重要的理论和实践意义。 本论文以岷江上游干旱河谷的三种乡土豆科灌木，白刺花（Sophora davidii）、小马鞍羊蹄甲（Bauhinia faberi var. microphylla）和小雀花（Campylotropics polyantha）理论和实践意义。为研究对象，在人工控制条件下设计了4-5个连续性干旱胁迫处理，系统地研究了灌木幼苗的生长、生物量积累和水分利用效率（WUE）、形态结构和生理过程等对干旱胁迫的反应，揭示了幼苗的干旱适应能力及种间差异。主要研究结论如下： 1) 灌木生长和繁殖对干旱胁迫的反应 在干旱胁迫下，幼苗生长速率显著减小，叶片衰老和脱落比率增大，这些变化随着胁迫强度的增加具有累积效应。叶片比茎对干旱胁迫的反应更敏感。在严重干旱胁迫下，幼苗的有性繁殖被限制，但在中等程度干旱胁迫下，幼苗的有性繁殖能力被提高。 2) 灌木生物量积累及其分配和WUE对干旱胁迫的反应 在干旱胁迫下，灌木各器官的生物量都显著减小，但是生物量的分配侧重于地下部分，使得根茎比在干旱条件下增大。幼苗的耗水量（WU）随着干旱胁迫的增加而显著减少。白刺花和小马鞍羊蹄甲WUE在干旱胁迫下降低；小雀花的WUE在中等干旱胁迫下升高。 3) 灌木叶片结构特征对干旱胁迫反应 白刺花叶片具有较为典型的旱生型结构，而小马鞍羊蹄甲和小雀花则为中生型结构。在1至2年的干旱胁迫下，灌木叶片结构组成未发生本质性的改变，主要是细胞大小的变化。在中等和严重干旱胁迫下，叶肉组织厚度明显减小；并且气孔和表皮细胞面积也显著减小，气孔和表皮细胞密度显著增大；叶肉细胞层数、P/S值、表皮厚度等无显著变化。 4) 灌木对干旱胁迫的生理响应 气体交换参数和叶片相对含水量（RWC）在中等干旱胁迫下发生了明显的改变，而叶绿素荧光参数和光合色素含量在严重干旱胁迫下才发生显著变化。在干旱胁迫下，净光合作用速率（Pn）、气孔导度（gs）和RWC呈下降趋势，而叶片温度（Tl）呈增加趋势，蒸腾速率（Tr）的变化不明显。除了日最大Pn减小以外，干旱胁迫对气体交换参数的日变化无显著影响，但是对光合-光响应曲线有显著的影响，使有效光合时间缩短。在严重干旱胁迫下光系统受到损害而代谢减弱，PSⅡ中心的内禀光能转换效率（Fv/Fm）、量子产量（Yield）、光化学淬灭参数（qP）显著降低，而非光化学淬灭参数（NPQ）明显增加。气孔限制和非气孔限制对Pn的影响与干旱胁迫强度有关。在中度胁迫下，气孔限制起主导作用，在严重胁迫下非气孔限制起主导作用，40% FC水分条件可能是灌木由气孔限制向非气孔限制的转折点。 5) 灌木对干旱胁迫的适应能力及其种间差异 三种灌木对干旱胁迫具有较好的适应能力，即使在20% FC，幼苗未因干旱胁迫III而死亡；80% FC适宜于幼苗生长。白刺花生长速率慢，耗水量较少，具有较强的耐旱和耐贫瘠能力，并具有干旱忍受机制，能够在较干旱的环境中定居和生长。小马鞍羊蹄甲和小雀花，生长快，水分消耗量较大，尤其是小雀花，对干旱胁迫的忍受能力较弱，具有干旱回避机制，因而适宜于在较为湿润的生境中生长。综合分析表明，生长速率较慢的物种抗旱能力较强，其更适宜于作为干旱地区植被恢复物种。 Drought is often a key factor limiting plant establishment, growth and distribution inmany regions of the world. The harsh environmental conditions and long-termanthropogenic disturbance had resulted in habitat destruction in the dry valley ofMinjiang river, southwest China. Recently, it tended to be more severe on the vegetationdegradation, soil erosion and water loss, natural disaster, as well as desertification, whichimpact on regional booming economy and harmonious development, and would be verydangerous to the environmental security in the middle and lower reaches of Yangzi River.Therefore, ecological restoration in the dry valley is one of the vital tasks in China. Waterdeficit is known to affect adversely vegetation restoration in this place. Moreover, in thecontext of climate change, an increased frequency of drought stress might occur at aregional scale in the dry valleys of Minjiang River. The selection of appropriate plantingspecies for vegetation restoration in regard to regional conditions is an important issue atpresent and in further. The research on responses of indigenous species to drought stresscould provide insights into the improvement of the vegetation restoration in the dry valleys of Minjiang River. In this paper, the responses of three indigenous leguminous shrubs, Sophora davidii,Bauhinia faberi var. microphylla and Campylotropics polyantha, to various soil watersupplies were studied in order to assess drought tolerance of seedlings, and to compare interspecific differences in seedlings’ responses to drought stress. The results were as follows: 1 Growth and reproduction of shrubs in response to drought stress Seedling growth reduced significantly while leaf senescence accelerated underdrought stress, the cumulative responses to prolonged drought were found. The capacityfor reproduction was limited by severe drought stress, and improved by moderate droughtstress. Leaf responses were more sensitive than shoot to various water supplies. 2 WUE, biomass production and its partitioning of shrubs in response to drought stress Drought stress reduced significantly the total dry mass and their components ofseedlings, and altered more biomass allocation to root system, showing higher R/S ratiounder drought. Water use (WU) and water-use efficiency (WUE) of both S. davidii and B.faberi var. microphylla declined strongly with drought stress. The WU C. polyantha ofalso declined with drought stress, but WUE improved under moderate drought stress. 3 Anatomical characteristics and ultrastructures of leaves in response to drought stress There were xeromorphic for S. davidii leaves and mesomorphic for B. faberi var.microphylla and C. polyantha at the all water supplies. The foundational changes in leafstructures were not found with drought stress. However, mesophyll thickness, the areas ofstomatal and epidermis reduced slightly while the densities of stomatal and epidermisincreased under severe drought stress. Variations in these parameters could mainly be duoto cell size. Other structures did not displayed significant changes with drought stress. 4 Physiological responses of shrubs to drought stress The gas exchange parameters and leaf relative water content (RWC) were affectedby moderate stress, while chlorophyll fluorescence and chlorophyll content were onlyaffected by severe stress. Drought stress decreased net photosynthesis rate (Pn), stomatalconductance, light-use efficiency and RWC, and increased leaf temperature. Therespiration rates (Tr) were kept within a narrower range than Pn, resulting in aprogressively increased instantaneous water use effiecency (WUEi) under drought stress.Moreover, drought stress also affected the response curve of Pn to RAR, there was adepression light saturation point (Lsat) and maximum Pn (Pnmax) for moderate andsevere stressed seedling. However, diurnal changes of gas exchange parameters did notdiffer among water supplies although maximum daily Pn declined under severe stress.VISevere stress reduced Fv/Fm, Yield and qP while increased NPQ and chlorophyll content.Photosynthetic activity decreased during drought stress period due to stomatal andnon-stomatal limitations. The relative contribution of these limitations was associatedwith the severity of stress. The limitation to Pn was caused mainly by stomatal limitationunder moderate drought stress, and by the predominance of non-stomatal limitation undersevere stress. In this case, 40% FC water supply may be a non-stomatal limitation 5 Interspecific differences in drought tolerance of shrubs Three shrubs exhibited good performance throughout the experiment process, evenif at 20% FC treatment there were no any seedlings died, 80% FC water supply wassuitable for their establishment and growth. S. davidii minimized their water loss byreducing total leaf area and growth rate, as well as maintained higher RWC and Pncompared to the other two species under drought stress, thus they might be more tolerantto the drought stress than the other two species. On the contrary, it was found that C.polyantha and B. faberi var. microphylla had higher water loss because of their stomatalconductance and higher leaf area ratios. They reduced water loss with shedding theirleaves and changing leaf orientation under drought stress. Based on their responses, thestudied species could be categorized into two: (1) S. davidii with a tolerance mechanismin response to drought stress; (2) C. polyantha and B. faberi var. microphylla withdrought avoidance mechanism. These results indicated that slow-growing shrub speciesare better adapted to drought stress than intermediate or fast-growing species in present orpredicted drought conditions. Therefore, selecting rapid-growing species might leavethese seedlings relatively at a risk of extreme drought.

水分梯度上不同灌木生长对干旱河谷土壤理化和生物学性质的影响

岷江上游干旱河谷区水土流失强烈，地质灾害频繁，生态环境十分脆弱，而土壤条件恶劣（水分不足和养分缺乏）是阻碍该区植被恢复的关键因子，因此研究水分和乡土灌木生长对土壤的影响对该区的生态恢复具有指导意义。本文通过定点模拟实验，选取三种优势豆科灌木为研究对象，分别是白刺花（Sophora davidii）、小马鞍羊蹄甲（Bauhinia faberi var. microphylla）和小雀花（Campylotropics polyantha），设置5 个水分梯度，分别为100%、80%、60%、40%和20%田间持水量（FC），对栽种植物与不种植物下土壤理化性质和酶活性进行测定分析，系统比较和研究了不同水分条件和不同乡土灌木生长对干旱河谷区土壤结构、养分循环、酶活性以及微生物量的影响。主要结果如下：1. 无论生长植物与否，土壤的毛管持水量和毛管孔隙度都随着水分含量的减少而降低，最大持水量、总孔隙度和容重变化不大，相应地，土壤中的非毛管孔隙随含水量的减少而升高。各水分条件下，种植植物的毛管持水量和毛管孔隙度低于无植物生长的土壤，非毛管孔隙度相应地高于无植物土壤。土壤含水量在100%－40% FC 时，三种豆科灌木的毛管持水量和毛管孔隙度存在差异，而20% FC 条件下，三种豆科灌木土壤的物理性质基本相同。2. 水分胁迫影响土壤中养分的矿化和积累，主要表现在降低了水溶性碳和铵态氮的含量，中等程度胁迫时（60% FC）促进了有机碳和硝态氮的富集，对速效钾和有效磷没有明显作用。种植豆科灌木后各水分梯度上都增加了有机碳、铵态氮、速效钾和有效磷的积累。增加程度上三种豆科灌木间有一定差异，对于土壤有机碳总量，种植白刺花和小马鞍羊蹄甲明显高于小雀花，同样的情况还出现在铵态氮和速效钾上，但是对于有效磷，种植小雀花后的增加程度则明显高于白刺花和小马鞍羊蹄甲。种植豆科灌木不仅增加了土壤养分的相对含量，也改变了其在水分梯度上的变化趋势及其变化幅度，这种作用主要体现在碳元素和氮元素上。3. 无植物生长时脲酶活性随水分含量的减少而升高，水分胁迫对磷酸酶和过氧化氢酶的作用不显著，蔗糖酶也保持在相对较高的水平。种植植物后，蔗糖酶、磷酸酶活性与无植物时相比有较大幅度的提高，种植白刺花的脲酶活性也升高，其升高的程度在不同水分含量时不同。种植植物还降低了酶活性在水分梯度上的变幅，使之在水分梯度间的差异显著性降低。脲酶活性在指示土壤性质改变方面是较敏感的指标，其它三种酶在不同植物间的差异不明显。4. 在无植物生长时，中等程度的水分胁迫（60% FC）提高了土壤微生物量碳含量，过高或过低的土壤水分均不利于微生物碳的积累。种植小马鞍羊蹄甲后微生物量碳在水分梯度上的变化趋势与无植物生长时一致，而种植白刺花和小雀花后微生物量碳随着水分含量的减少而降低。不同种类植物的微生物量碳在水分梯度上的变化特征也不同，100% FC 条件下三种植物间没有差异，80%和60% FC 条件下小马鞍羊蹄甲显著高于白刺花和小雀花，40%和20% FC 条件下白刺花和小马鞍羊蹄甲也显著高于小雀花，说明不同种类植物随着干旱胁迫程度的加深微生物量碳的降低幅度不同，在极度干旱时，白刺花和小马鞍羊蹄甲土壤依然保持了较高的微生物活性，而小雀花土壤微生物量则明显下降。The dry valley of the upper reaches of the Minjiang River is seriously degradedmountain ecosystem. It was endangered by extremely soil lost and frequentlygeological disaster. Previous studies showed that short of water and nutrients in soilwas the principal limiting factors of vegetation restoration in this area. The typical soiland three dominant leguminous shrubs Sophora davidii, Bauhinia faberi var.microphylla and Campylotropics polyantha in upper reaches of arid Minjiang Rivervalley were considered as experimental material. Two-month old seedlings of eachspecies were exposed to five water supplies (100%, 80%, 60%, 40% and 20% waterfield capacity (FC)) in a temperature and light-controlled greenhouse. Afterthree-month water treatment, soil physiochemical variables and soil microbialactivities were determined by conventional methods. The main results showed that:1. Soil capillary capacity and capillary porosity decreased along water supplyregimes in all treatments, while saturated water capacity, total porosity and bulkdensity kept in a relatively stable level, as a result, the non-capillary porosity andcapacity increased with decrease of water supply. Compared to non-planted soil, theplant-soil systems had a higher non-capillary porosity and capacity, suggestingappropriate oxygen was present in soil to maintain the living of microorganism. Soilof three type shrub species shared the same capillary capacity and capillary porosityunder 20% FC.2. Water soluble carbon and NH4+-N decreased in response to water stress, whiletotal organic carbon and NO3--N promoted by moderate water stress and inhibited by 100% and 20% FC. Total organic carbon, NH4+-N, rapidly available K and availableP increased after the planting of leguminous shrubs in five water supply regimescompared to non-planted soil. For TOC, NH4+-N and rapidly available K, thepromotion effect was higher in S. davidii and B. faberi var. microphylla than C.polyantha planted soil, while available P displayed the opposite side. The planting ofshrubs also reduced the variance of observed traits along water supply gradients.3. Drought stress increased urease activity in non-planted soil, while insignificantdifferences were observed in phosphatase and catalase activity among five watersupply regimes. The planting of leguminous shrubs facilitated the β-glucosidase andphosphatase activity compared to the non-planted soil. It also reduced the variance ofenzyme activity along water supply gradients. Urease was more sensitive to waterstress than other three enzymes.4. Soil water content significantly affected microbial biomass carbon andCmic:Corg. S. davidii and B. faberi var. microphylla showed more drought toleranceability than C. polyantha, attributing not only to their relatively smaller variance ofmicrobial biomass carbon along soil water supply gradients, but also to the highlevel of microbial activity under severe water stress. S. davidii and B. faberi var.microphylla benefited reproduction of soil microorganism at 60%-80% FC, whilesevere drought limited it due to the competition of water and nutrients between plantand soil microorganism.

A Fitoterapia como tratamento complementar na Diabetes mellitus

Projeto de Pós-Graduação/Dissertação apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciências Farmacêuticas

Comparative analysis by protocol and key of seed storage behaviour of sixty Vietnamese tree species

Seed storage behaviour of 5 1 native and 9 introduced tree species in Vietnam was investigated using a brief protocol developed to aid biodiversity conservation in circumstances where little is known about the seeds. Of the 60 species, 34 appeared to show orthodox (Acacia auriculaeformis, Adenanthera pavonina, Afzelia xylocarpa, Bauhinia purpurea, Callistemon lanceolatus, Cananga odorata, Canarium nigrum, Cassia fistula, Cassia javanica, Cassia splendida, Chukrasia tabularis, Dalbergia bariaensis, Dialium cochinchinensis, Diospyros mollis, Diospyros mun, Dracuntomelon duperreanum, Erythrophleum fordii, Khaya senegalensis, Lagerstroemia speciosa, Leucaena leucocephala, Livistona cochinchinensis, Markhamia stipulata, Melaleuca cajuputi, Millettia ichthyotona, Peltophorum pterocarpum, Peltophorum tonkinensis, Pinus khasya, Pinus massoniana, Pinus merkusii, Pterocarpus macrocarpus, Sindora siamensis, Sophora tonkinense, Sterculia foetida, Swietenia macrophylla), 13 recalcitrant (Avicennia alba, Beilschmiedia roxburghiana, Caryota mitis, Dimocarpus sp., Diospyros malabarica, Dipterocarpus chartaceus, Dypsis pinnatifrons, Hopea odorata, Lithocarpus gigantophylla, Machilus odoratissimus, Melanorrhoea laccifera, Melanorrhea usitata, Syzygium cinereum) and 13 intermediate (Anisoptera cochinchinensis, Aphanamixis polystachya, Averrhoa carambola, Carissa carandas, Chrysopylum cainito, Cinnamomum camphora, Citrofortunella microcarpa, Citrus grandis var. grandis, Elaeis guineensis, Hydnocarpus anthelmintica, Madhuca floribunda, Manilkara achras, Mimusops elengi) seed storage behaviour. A double-criteria key to estimate likely seed storage behaviour showed good agreement with the above: the key can reduce the workload of seed storage behaviour identification considerably.

Effect of plant neutrophil elastase inhibitor on leucocyte migration, adhesion and cytokine release in inflammatory conditions

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The serine and cysteine peptidase inhibitor, BbCI, isolated from Bauhinia bauhinioides seeds, is similar to the classical plant Kunitz inhibitor, STI, but lacks disulphide bridges and methionine residues. BbCI blocks activity of the serine peptidases, elastase (K(iapp) 5.3 nM) and cathepsin G (K(iapp) 160.0 nM), and the cysteine peptidase cathepsin L (K(iapp) 0.2 nM). These three peptidases play important roles in the inflammatory process. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH We measured the effects of BbCI on paw oedema and on leucocyte accumulation in pleurisy, both induced by carrageenan. Leucocyte-endothelial cell interactions in scrotal microvasculature in Wistar rats were investigated using intravital microscopy. Cytokine levels in pleural exudate and serum were measured by ELISA. KEY RESULTS Pretreatment of the animals with BbCI (2.5 mg.kg(-1)), 30 min before carrageenan-induced inflammation, effectively reduced paw oedema and bradykinin release, neutrophil migration into the pleural cavity. The number of rolling, adhered and migrated leucocytes at the spermatic fascia microcirculation following carrageenan injection into the scrotum were reduced by BbCI pretreatment. Furthermore, levels of the rat chemokine cytokine-induced neutrophil chemo-attractant-1 were significantly reduced in both pleural exudates and serum from animals pretreated with BbCI. Levels of interleukin-1 beta or tumour necrosis factor-alpha, however, did not change. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Taken together, our data suggest that the anti-inflammatory properties of BbCI may be useful in investigations of other pathological processes in which human neutrophil elastase, cathepsin G and cathepsin L play important roles.

The effect of sixteen medicinal plants used in the Brazilian pharmacopoeia on the expression and activity of glutathione S-transferase in hepatocytes and leukemia cells

Glutathione S-transferase (GST) is a family of enzymes involved in the detoxification of electrophilic compounds. Different classes of GST are expressed in various organs, such as liver, lungs, stomach and others. Expression of GST can be modulated by diet components and plant-derived compounds. The importance of controlling GST expression is twofold: increasing levels of GST are beneficial to prevent deleterious effects of toxic and carcinogenic compounds, while inhibition of GST in tumor cells may help overcoming tumor resistance to chemotherapy. A screening of 16 plants used in the Brazilian pharmacopoeia tested their effects on GST expression in hepatocytes and Jurkat (leukemia) T-cells. The methanol extracts of five plants inhibited GST expression in hepatocytes. Three plants significantly inhibited and four others induced GST expression in Jurkat cells. Among these, the extracts of Bauhinia forficata Link. (Leguminosae) and Cecropia pachystachya Trec. (Urticaceae) inhibited GST expression at relatively low concentrations. With the exception of B. forficata, all plants were cytotoxic when administered to Jurkat cells at high doses (1 mg/mL) and some extracts were considerably cytotoxic even at lower concentrations.

The defensive functions of plant inhibitors are not restricted to insect enzyme inhibition

Three plant proteinase inhibitors BbKI (kallikrein inhibitor) and BbCI (cruzipain inhibitor) from Bauhinia bouhinioides, and a BrTI (trypsin inhibitor) from B. rufa, were examined for other effects in Callosobruchus maculatus development; of these only BrTI affected bruchid emergence. BrTI and BbKI share 81% identities in their primary sequences and the major differences between them are the regions comprising the RGD and RGE motifs in BrTI. These sequences were shown to be essential for BrTI insecticidal activity, since a modified BbKI [that is a recombinant form (BbKIm) with some amino acid residues replaced by those found in BrTI sequence] also strongly inhibited insect development. By using synthetic peptides related to the BrTI sequence, YLEAPVARGDGGLA-NH(2) (RGE) and IVYYPDRGETGL-NH(2) (RGE), it was found that the peptide with an RGE sequence was able to block normal development of C. maculatus larvae (ED(50) 0.16% and LD(50) 0.09%), this being even more effective than the native protein. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Florística e fitossociologia de área de cerrado S.S. no município de Patrocínio Paulista, nordeste do Estado de São Paulo

A necessidade de se conhecer mais sobre o Bioma Cerrado torna-se cada vez mais urgente, devido à sua destruição acelerada. Este trabalho realizou o levantamento florístico-fitossociológico de uma área de cerrado sensu stricto na Fazenda Santa Cecília, município de Patrocínio Paulista, nordeste do Estado de São Paulo (20º 46' 2 S e 47º 14' 24 W, 836 m de altitude e Neossolo Quartzarênico). em 30 parcelas de 10 x 10 m, foram amostrados 511 indivíduos arbustivo-arbóreos de PAP > 15 cm, pertencentes a 30 famílias, 38 gêneros e 53 espécies. As famílias com maior riqueza específica foram Fabaceae (sete espécies), Myrtaceae (cinco espécies), Vochysiaceae (quatro espécies), Annonaceae (três espécies) e Caesalpiniaceae (três espécies), totalizando 45% das espécies. As espécies de maior valor de importância (IVI) foram: Qualea grandiflora (62,38), Dalbergia miscolobium (22,24), Styrax camporum (21,86), Ocotea corymbosa (18,02), Qualea parviflora (14,97) e Qualea multiflora (11,46). A comunidade arbórea apresentou densidade de 1.703 indivíduos por hectare, índice de Shannon (H') de 3,05 e índice de similaridade de Jaccard (ISj) de 45% quando comparado com área próxima de cerrado.