Baicalein improves behavioral dysfunction induced by Alzheimer's disease in rats.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is considered to be a neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by increased oxidative stress. Medicinal plants, with their antioxidant properties, have been used to cure several human diseases. The aim of the current study was to explore the protective and therapeutic effect of baicalein on AD-induced rats.

[Physiological effects of air temperature and sink-source volume at milk-filling stage of rice on its grain quality].

This paper studied the grain quality and Q-enzyme activity of three rice varieties and their combinations as affected by air temperature and sink-source volume. The results showed that at the early stage of milk filling, the grains of fully milk filling under high temperature had a higher chalkiness, lower transparency, and lower rate of white rice. Compared with the grain of early-rice, that of late rice had higher gel consistency and transparency, and higher rate of white rice.

[Effects of transgenes insertion on pollen vigor and hybrid seed set of rice].

In this paper, the effects of transgenes insertion on the outcross potentiality of rice varieties were assessed by pollen vigor and hybrid seed set. The in vitro pollen germination rates of five transgenic rice lines transformed respectively with bar, crylAb, BADH and Xa21 gene were investigated, and compared with their relative receptor rice varieties. The results showed that there existed a significant difference in in vitro pollen germination rates between receptor rice varieties, but no significant difference was found between transgenic rice varieties and their relative receptors.