Axonal ultrastructural changes induced by three Vinca alkaloids, vincristine, vinblastine, and desacetyl vinblastine amide, were studied in vitro at concentrations of 0.01, 0.05, and 0.1 mM in the cat vagus nerve. Disruption of microtubules, appearance of paracrystalline structures, and increase in neurofilaments were induced by all three agents at 0.1 mM. A new type of paracrystal with an elec...

This paper reports on the vinca alkaloid produced by a novel Nigrospora sphaerica isolated from Catharanthus roseus. Through liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS), only the crude mycelia extract of this fungus was positive for determination of vinblastine. This vinca alkaloid was then purified by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and tested for cytotoxicity activity u...

Raising end-user’s programmability is a promising way to ensure more flexible and higher-quality information provision and utilization, and to better cope with spontaneous business requirements as well. This paper presents the state-of-the-art developments of the end-user service composition language VINCA and its corresponding approach to developing end-user programmable applications on the ba...

Recovery of degraded reefs is dependent on the settlement of coral larvae into habitats typically dominated by benthic algae, so that benthic algae may play pivotal roles in coral settlement and reef recovery. Here we demonstrate that waterborne influences of macroalgae could affect coral settlement before larvae contact reef substrata and that such effects vary between macroalgae. We tested fo...

Un articolo scritto in stile ibrido, fra il paper scientifico e i l saggio, per descrivere le necessità e le suggestioni che hanno dato vita ad un nuovo tipo di corso su temi attinenti alla “digital literacy” insieme ai risultati ottenuti su una vasta e variegata popolazione studentesca nel corso degli ultimi quattro semestri. Si descrivono le caratteristiche di una nuova “classe a pareti sotti...

Uptake and depuration kinetics of dissolved silver were determined in the brown alga Lobophora variegata, using radiotracer techniques. Results indicate that this widely distributed alga could be a useful bioindicator species for surveying silver contamination in tropical environments. Indeed, results showed that the alga readily concentrates silver (algal concentration of silver was 7,000 time...

Intestinal helminths are reported from four species of scincid lizards from southern Africa: Mabuya occidentalis, Mabuya spilogaster, Mabuya striata and Mabuya variegata. The helminth fauna consisted of one species of Cestoda, Oochoristica truncata and five species of Nematoda, Abbreviata paradoxa, Maxvachonia dimorpha, Parapharyngodon rotundatus, Spauligodon petersi and Thubunaea fitzsimonsi. ...

Recently it was demonstrated that holographic interferometry could be used to quantify minute displacements of a mature Stapelia variegata Linn. The previously unobtainable measurements revealed that the short term response of the stapelia was regular enough so that the dynamics could be evaluated through the use of a highly damped mass, spring, dashpot model. Such a model is derived explicitly...

Endophytes from an unexplored plant such as Spatterdock (SD) Nuphar lutea variegata could be a dependable producer of novel secondary metabolites active against drug resistance organisms. This study explored the diversity fungal endophytes mid-rib (MR) and leaf blade (LB) well antimicrobial antioxidant potentials their metabolites. Morphological features observed showed four species were isolat...