Studies on Antiviral and Immuno-Regulation Activity of Low Molecular Weight Fucoidan from Laminaria japonica

The antiviral activity in vitro and in vivo and the effect of the immune system of two fucoidan fractions with low molecular weight and different sulfate content from Laminaria japonica(LMW fucoidans) were investigated in order to examine the possible mechanism. In vitro, I-type influenza virus, adenovirus and Parainfluenza virus I were used to infect Hep-2, Hela and MDCK cells, respectively. And 50% tissue culture infective dose was calculated to detect the antiviral activity of two LMW fucoidans. The results indicated that compared with the control group, 2 kinds of LMW fucoidans had remarkable antiviral activity in vitro in middle and high doses, while at low doses, the antiviral activity of 2 kinds of LMW fucoidans was not statistically different from that in the blank control group. And there was no statistically difference between two LMW fucoidans in antiviral activity. In vivo, LMW fucoidans could prolong the survival time of virus-infected mice, and could improve the lung index of virus-infected mice significantly, which have statistical differences with the control group significantly(p < 0.01). However, the survival time of the two LMW fucoidans was not statistically significant(p > 0.05). In this study, it was shown that both of two LMW fucoidans(LF1, LF2) could increase the thymus index, spleen index, phagocytic index, phagocytosis coefficient and half hemolysin value in middle and high doses, which suggested that LMW fucoidans could play an antiviral role by improving the quality of immune organs, improving immune cell phagocytosis and humoral immunity.

Fitting and evaluation of height-diameter models for Alnus japonica in La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines

The study was conducted to develop height-diameter at breast height(HT-DBH) models for Alnus japonica in La Trinidad, Benguet,Philippines and evaluate their predictive capability.The six widely used nonlinear growth models that were selected in this study were the ChapmanRichards, Schnute, Modified logistic, Korf/Lundqvist,Weibull and Exponential. A total of 208 Alnus japonica trees were measured using standard diameter tape for DBH(1.3 m above the ground) and Vertex and transponder was used for the total height measurement. The performance of the developed models were evaluated using the fit statistics including coefficient of determination(R^2), root mean square error(RMSE), mean bias(ē), absolute mean difference(AMD), and Akaike Information Criterion(AIC). The lack-of-fit statistics was also performed for further evaluation of the performance of the models.Based on the evaluation criteria, all six models were able to determine the DBH-height relationships and fitted the data well. Using the rank analysis, the Weibull HT-DBH model had the best performance among the six commonly used nonlinear growth models. The results of this study will help forest managers especially in La Trinidad, Benguet to easily predict the total height using the Weibull model for Alnus japonica utilizing the DBH as the predicting variable.

Effect of an escape vent in accordion-shaped traps on the catch and size of Asian paddle crabs Charybdis japonica in an artificial reef area

Accordion-shaped traps are widely used in China to catch the Asian paddle crab C harybdis japonica but traps of conventional design often catch juvenile crabs. A new type of accordion-shaped trap with an escape vent(L×W=4.3 cm×3.0 cm) was designed and a comparative study between the newly designed and conventional traps was performed in the artifi cial reef area of Zhuwang, Laizhou Bay, China from June to August 2012. The mean catch per unit effort(CPUE) of undersized crabs was signifi cantly lower in the vented traps than in the conventional traps(paired t-test, n =30, P <0.001), while the CPUE of marketable crabs was signifi cantly higher in the vented traps(paired t-test, n =30, P <0.001). The mean size of crabs(carapace length) caught in the vented traps was signifi cantly larger than in conventional traps(paired t-test, n =29, P <0.001). The ratio of undersized crabs was 35.05%±2.57% in conventional traps and 12.53%±0.69% in vented traps(signifi cantly lower, paired t-test, n =29, P <0.001). Therefore, a 4.3 cm×3.0 cm escape vent was considered appropriate for C. japonica fi shing in the artifi cial reef area. This fi nding will assist the development of more sustainable and effi cient crab fi shing methods using accordion-shaped traps.

丢失的东西

一天晚上,我从街上卖梨的摊子中间走过。突然,脚下一滑,我赶紧扶住旁边一个装梨的木箱子才没摔倒,就在我扶住木箱时,顺手抓了一个梨。当时,我不禁耳热心跳,回头一看,幸好没人看见,便拿着走了。走了一会儿,我感觉这梨就是我的,只见它黄澄澄的,散发出一股诱人的梨香。又走了一段路,我心里开始感觉不踏实。手里的梨怎么办呢?吃了,有点不好意思,扔了吧,又舍不得,怎么办?怎么办……这样边走边想,不知不觉就到了家。

Effects of ultrahigh pressure extraction on yield and antioxidant activity of chlorogenic acid and cynaroside extracted from flower buds of Lonicera japonica

The present study was designed to establish and optimize a new method for extracting chlorogenic acid and cynaroside from Lonicera japonica Thunb. through orthogonal experimental designl. A new ultrahigh pressure extraction （UPE） technology was applied to extract chlorogenic acid and cynaroside from L. japonica. The influential factors, including solvent type, ethanol concentration, extraction pressure, time, and temperature, and the solid/liquid ratio, have been studied to optimize the extraction process, The optimal conditions for the UPE were developed by quantitative analysis of the extraction products by HPLC-DAD in comparison with standard samples. In addition, the microstructures of the medicinal materials before and after extraction were studied by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. Furthermore, the extraction efficiency of different extraction methods and the 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl （DPPH） radical scavenging activities of the extracts were investigated. The optimal conditions for extracting chlorogenic acid and cynaroside were as follows： ethanol concentration, 60%; extraction pressure, 400 MPa; extraction time, 2 rain; extraction temperature, 30 ℃; and the solid/liquid ratio, 1 ： 50. Under these conditions, the yields of chlorogenic acid and cynaroside were raised to 4.863% and 0.080%, respectively. Compared with other extraction methods, such as heat reflux extraction （HRE）, ultrasonic extraction （UE）, and Sohxlet extraction （SE）, the UPE method showed several advantages, including higher extraction yield, shorter extraction time, lower energy consumption, and higher purity of the extracts. This study could help better utilize L. japonica flower buds as a readily accessible source of natural antioxidants in food and pharmaceutical industries.