We synthesized a series of fluorinated compounds and tested them in an easy assay for their repellent activity against the ant Myrmica rubra. Depending on their chain length and pattern of fluorination these molecules are efficient repellents for this ant. Fluorinated compounds are stronger repellents than their unfluorinated analogs. 1,1,1-Trifluorotridecan-2-one (4) is an even better repellen...

Festuca rubra subsp. pruinosa is a grass that grows on coastal cliffs along the Atlantic coast of Europe. Asymptomatic plants of this species are systemically infected by the fungal endophyte Epichloë festucae. It is not known whether the alkaloids ergovaline and peramine are produced by the endophyte in Festuca rubra subsp. pruinosa. Plants from four populations were collected from the norther...

No aspect of speciation is as controversial as the view that new species can evolve sympatrically, among populations in close physical contact. Social parasitism has been suggested to yield necessary disruptive selection for sympatric speciation. Recently, mitochondrial DNA phylogeography has shown that the ant Myrmica microrubra is closely related to its host, Myrmica rubra, leading to the sug...

Plumeria rubra (Apocynaceae) is frequently used in folk medicine for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders, hepatitis, and tracheitis, among other infirmities. The aim of this study was to investigate the gastroprotective potential of a protein fraction isolated from the latex of Plumeria rubra (PrLP) against ethanol-induced gastric lesions and describe the underlying mechanisms. In a dos...

Pityriasis rubra pilaris is an uncommon inflammatory dermatosis that is well recognized across the globe. Erythroderma is a common presentation. A precise diagnosis of pityriasis rubra pilaris is based on morphologic features and is classified into 6 types: classic adult onset (type I), atypical adult (type II), classic juvenile (type III), circumscribed juvenile (type IV), atypical juvenile (t...

Seed and seedling predation may differentially affect competitively superior tree species to increase the relative recruitment success of poor competitors and contribute to the coexistence of tree species. We examined the effect of seed and seedling predation on the seedling recruitment of three tree species, Acer rubrum (red maple), Liriodendron tulipifera (yellow poplar), and Quercus rubra (n...

Cell-mediated cytotoxicity against syngeneic MC104 fibrosarcoma cells was detected in C57BL/6N mice 7 days after tumor inoculation in the hind foot. This cytotoxicity was undetectable by Day 14 in the Winn test using spleen and draining popliteal lymph node (DPLN) cells. Similar results were obtained with the 51Cr release assay following in vitro activation of these lymphoid cells with mitomyci...

The first investigation of the chemical constituents and bioactivities of Diospyros rubra Lec. is reported. D. rubra extracts were screened for antimicrobial, antimalarial and cytotoxic activities. They were only shown to be active antimalarials. The extracts with good antimalarial activity were isolated and extensively purified to give lupeol (1), lupenone (2), betulin (3), lupeol acetate (4),...