In the last years, studies on captive greater flamingos have increased. Research on zoo animals is important to improve the knowledge on these species and to improve their ex-situ and in-situ conservation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the parental behaviour of a captive colony of greater flamingo hosted at Parco Natura Viva, an Italian zoological garden, to improve the knowle...

A procedure for cryogenic storage of alkaloid producing cell lines of periwinkle, Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don., has been developed. The procedure differs from established cryopreservation protocols in several aspects. Specifically, 4-day-old suspension subcultures of three cell lines were precultured in nutrient media supplemented with 1 molar sorbitol for 6 to 20 hours. The cells were then...

We observed the classical T Tauri star TW Hya with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board theHubble Space Telescope (HST) using the E140M grating, from 1150 to 1700 Å, with the E230M grating, from 2200 to 2900 Å, and with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer from 900 to 1180 Å. Emission in 146 Lyman-band H2 lines, representing 19 progressions, dominates the spectral region from...

Background Fungi colonize the human gut and might play a key role in the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis (UC). However, studies on the fungal composition in the gut (especially adhering to the intestinal mucosa) of UC patients is limited. Results The number of fungi decreased significantly in inflamed mucosa compared with that in HS mucosa. Fifteen major genera were examined, among which W...

Since the genus Itersonilia was established as a fourth genus in the family Sporobolomycetaceae by DERx (1), three species have been described. The type species is I. perplexans Derx, which was first isolated from an infected leaf of Althea rosea (1). A second species, I. pyriformis Nyland was isolated from leaves of Acer macrophyllum (2). A third species, I. pastinacae Channon was reported (3)...

The monoterpenoid indole alkaloids (MIAs) of Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) continue to be the most important source of natural drugs in chemotherapy treatments for a range of human cancers. These anticancer drugs are derived from the coupling of catharanthine and vindoline to yield powerful dimeric MIAs that prevent cell division. However the precise mechanisms for their assembly ...

Two closely related thermophilic bacterial strains, designated YIM 78023T and YIM 78058, were isolated from samples collected from two alkaline hot springs in Tengchong county, Yunnan province, south-west China. The novel isolates were Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, aerobic ovoid- to coccoid-shaped and non-spore-forming. Strain YIM 78023T grew at 20-60 ºC and pH 6.0-9.0 with optimal growth ob...

Observations of submillimeter lines of CO, HCO, HCN and their isotopes from circumstellar disks around low mass pre-main sequence stars are presented. CO lines up to J=6→5, and HCO and HCN lines up to J=4→3, are detected from the disks around LkCa 15 and TW Hya. These lines originate from levels with higher excitation temperatures and critical densities than studied before. Combined with interf...

Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don is a herbal plant traditionally used by local populations in India, South Africa, China and Malaysia to treat diabetes. The present study reports the in vitro antioxidant and antidiabetic activities of the major alkaloids isolated from Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don leaves extract. Four alkaloids--vindoline I, vindolidine II, vindolicine III and vindolinine IV--...