Effects of Saponin from Trigonella Foenum-Graecum Seeds on Dyslipidemia.

Background: Saponins identified from fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) seeds are reported effective on dyslipidemia. However, the definite mechanism is still not elucidated systematically. In this study, we evaluate the effects of saponin extract on cholesterol absorption, metabolism, synthesis, and reverse cholesterol transport in vivo.

Responses of benthic foraminifera to the 2011 oil spill in the Bohai Sea, PR China.

The 2011 oil spill in the Bohai Sea was the largest spill event in China. Nine sediment cores were taken near the spill site and environmental factors including Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAHs), oils, sulfides, organic carbon were measured 6 months later. Benthic foraminifera were separated into >150 μm (large) and 63-150 μm (small) size fractions for 2-cm depth interval of each sediment core.

Distributions and biomass of benthic ciliates, foraminifera and amoeboid protists in marine, brackish, and freshwater sediments.

The quantitative importance of ciliates, foraminifers, and amoebae was investigated in marine, brackish, and freshwater sediments from 15 littoral stations. Total protozoan communities were usually dominated by ciliates in term of abundance, while amoebae often dominated in terms of biomass. Applying the biomass-metabolic rate equation, ciliates, amoebae, and foraminifera were estimated to contribute 66% of the total abundance and 33% of the biomass, but up to 55% of the combined metabolic rate to the micro- and meiobenthos in the 15 sediments.

[Standing crop and spatial distribution of meiofauna in Yellow Sea at late stage of Enteromorpha prolifera bloom in 2008].

An investigation was made on the standing crop, spatial distribution, sediment environment of meiofauna at 33 stations (including 22 stations in cold water mass area and 9 stations in Enteromorpha prolifera bloom area) in the Yellow Sea at the late stage of E. prolifera bloom in summer 2008. In this southern Yellow Sea area which was seriously impacted by the green algal bloom, the silt and clay contents in the sediments in 2008 had an obvious increase, compared with those in 2007, and the sediment chlorophyll-a and phaeophytin a contents in 2008 did not show obvious changes in cold water mass area but distinctly decreased in southern Jiangsu inshore area and Yangtze River estuary.