Cytotoxic Natural Products from (Thunb. ex L.) D.Don.

is a commercially important tree native to Japan. The tree belongs to the ancient genus and has found important uses as a medicinal plant, as well as a main source of timber in Japan. In recent years, there has been an increased interest in discovering extended uses of as a source of novel bioactive natural products with potential applications as lead compounds for active principles of future drugs.

Cytotoxic Natural Products from the Jurassic Relict L.

The Jurassic relict Royal fern, L., is widely distributed across temperate zones in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Even though this species has been utilised for centuries as a medicinal plant, its phytochemical composition mainly remains unknown.

Cytotoxic Natural Products Isolated from (L.) R. Br.

Parsley fern, , is a common fern in arctic-alpine regions, and even though this species has been known since ancient times and has been presumed to cause the poisoning of horses, its natural products have not previously been investigated. Here, we characterise 15 natural products isolated from the aerial parts of , including the previously undescribed compound 3-malonyl pteroside D. The structure determinations were based on several advanced 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic techniques, Circular Dichroism spectroscopy and high-resolution mass spectrometry.

Natural Products from Leaves of the Ancient Iranian Medicinal Plant Fisch. & C. A. Mey.

For several millennia, leaves of Fisch. & C. A.

Detecting destabilizing species in the phylogenetic backbone of (Rosaceae) using low-copy nuclear markers.

The genus (Rosaceae) has been subjected to several phylogenetic studies, but resolving its evolutionary history has proven challenging. Previous analyses recovered six, informally named, groups: the Argentea, Ivesioid, Fragarioides, Reptans, Alba and Anserina clades, but the relationships among some of these clades differ between data sets. The Reptans clade, which includes the type species of , has been noticed to shift position between plastid and nuclear ribosomal data sets.

The genus (lichenised ascomycetae) in the Southern Hemisphere.

The species of recorded and described from the Southern Hemisphere are revised and it is shown that only one is present; which is widespread, with populations in Australia and New Zealand that differ from the South American populations, but at present best regarded as part of the variation of that species. Records from this hemisphere of all other species placed in the genus are incorrect. The type species, , is restricted to the Northern Hemisphere.

A novel poly-oxygenated flavone glucoside from aerial parts of the Brazilian plant (Bromeliaceae).

is endemic to northeastern Brazil. The drought resistant plant produces edible fruits and is used as a fibre plant by rural communities in the Caatinga region where a variety of products are made from the white, soft and flexible fibres. Extracts of have been reported to be of low toxicity and to exhibit antinociceptive effect, photoprotective potential, antioxidant effect, gastroprotective effects and antibacterial effect against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, however, the chemical constituents of this species are mainly unknown.

Molecular Evidence of Apatococcus, including A. fuscideae sp. nov., as Photobiont in the Genus Fuscidea.

The knowledge of the taxonomy and classification of algae (including lichenized) has recently increased rapidly, but there are still many gaps. We aimed to 1) identify the Fuscidea photobionts by locating their taxonomic positions in the green algal classification, and 2) to resolve their interspecific relationships. The lichenized algae were examined based on morphological observations of axenic isolates as well as molecular studies of 18S and ITS nrDNA sequences.

The association between generalized joint hypermobility and active horizontal shoulder abduction in 10-15 year old competitive swimmers.

Background: Increased shoulder mobility and Generalised Joint Hypermobility (GJH) are assumed to be predisposing risk factors for shoulder injuries. The association between GJH and shoulder mobility among competitive swimmers is unknown. The aim was to study the association between GJH and active horizontal shoulder abduction (AHSA) in young, competitive swimmers and to describe normative values of AHSA in this group.

Growing with dinosaurs: natural products from the Cretaceous relict Hu & Cheng-a molecular reservoir from the ancient world with potential in modern medicine.

After the sensational rediscovery of living exemplars of the Cretaceous relict -a tree previously known exclusively from fossils from various locations in the northern hemisphere, there has been an increasing interest in discovery of novel natural products from this unique plant source. This article includes the first complete compilation of natural products reported from during the entire period in which the tree has been investigated (1954-2014) with main focus on the compounds specific to this plant source. Studies on the biological activity of pure compounds and extracts derived from are reviewed for the first time.

A prospective, randomized, crossover, multicenter study comparing quality of life using compact versus standard catheters for intermittent self-catheterization.

Purpose: Intermittent catheterization is the recommended standard treatment for neurogenic bladder dysfunction. However, standard intermittent catheters can be unwieldy, difficult to use and carry discreetly. This can influence patient ability to perform catheterization efficiently, discreetly and privately, therefore, affecting patient quality of life.

The limitations of ancestral state reconstruction and the evolution of the ascus in the Lecanorales (lichenized Ascomycota).

Ancestral state reconstructions of morphological or ecological traits on molecular phylogenies are becoming increasingly frequent. They rely on constancy of character state change rates over trees, a correlation between neutral genetic change and phenotypic change, as well as on adequate likelihood models and (for Bayesian methods) prior distributions. This investigation explored the outcomes of a variety of methods for reconstructing discrete ancestral state in the ascus apex of the Lecanorales, a group containing the majority of lichen-forming ascomycetes.

Size of myocardial infarction induced by ischaemia/reperfusion is unaltered in rats with metabolic syndrome.

Obesity is associated with metabolic syndrome and increased incidence of and mortality from myocardial infarction. The aim of the present study was to develop an animal model with metabolic syndrome and examine how that influences size of myocardial infarcts induced by occlusion and reperfusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 105) were fed either LF (low-fat) or MHF (moderately high-fat) diets for 13 weeks before coronary occlusion for 45 min, followed by reperfusion for 60 min.

Disintegration of the Micareaceae (lichenized Ascomycota): a molecular phylogeny based on mitochondrial rDNA sequences.

The phylogeny of the family Micareaceae and the genus Micarea was studied using mitochondrial small subunit ribosomal DNA sequences. Phylogenetic reconstructions were performed using Bayesian MCMC tree sampling and a maximum likelihood approach. The Micareaceae in its current sense is highly heterogeneous, and Helocarpon, Psilolechia, and Scutula, all thought to be close relatives of Micarea, are shown to be only distantly related.