The impacts of forest fragmentation on both reproductive biology and genetic diversity of native plant species is hardly understood, despite some studies have analyzed this current worldwide problem. Since this constitutes one of the main threats to seasonal semi-deciduous forests in Southeastern Brazil, we investigated the reproductive success and the genetic diversity of a distylous, understo...

BACKGROUND Rhoicissus tridentata lignotubers are widely used in southern African traditional pregnancy-related remedies. OBJECTIVES To determine the seasonal variation in contractile activity of extracts from different parts of the plant. METHODS Isolated rat uterus tissue was used to compare the contractile activity of crude aqueous extracts of R. tridentata made from plant material harves...

Plant physiologists and others interested in the periodic accumulation and depletion of the reserve carbohydrates in plants have long recognized the need for a rapid method for the estimation of the readily available carbohydrate fraction. This is especially true in applied studies such as those concerned with the efficient management of pasturage or forage plants. Undoubtedly, many worth while...

A model of the within-season growth of terrestrial orchids is presented. The model predicts the size of the tubers of Dactylorhiza majalis and Dactylorhiza fuchsii. Therefore, destructive methods can be avoided when sampling these rare orchids. The correlation coefficient and the slope of the relation between two consecutive measurements of leaf area early in the season are good indicators of p...

This paper describes the seasonal phytochemical variation and the antimicrobial potential of V. zizanioides roots collected in Brazil. Considering the high levels of chemical constituents and their biological activity in dichloromethane fraction, the plants were grown in different seasons and the respective dichloromethane fractions were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The ant...

In plants, seasonal changes in day length are perceived in leaves, which initiate long-distance signaling that induces flowering at the shoot apex. The identity of the long-distance signal has yet to be determined. In Arabidopsis, activation of FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) transcription in leaf vascular tissue (phloem) induces flowering. We found that FT messenger RNA is required only transiently in ...

Bumblebees have economical importance in most of wild and cultivated plants. They can be abundant in suitable habitats and have a broad flower choice. Bombus terrestris was collected at intervals during 2002 and 2003 from various flora and ecosystems of east Mediterranean region of Turkey. In this study, plants visited by Bombus terrestris, seasonal activities, distribution and altitudes were d...

Considering their health effects and potential future regulations, it is critical to understand the formation and control of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in source waters and drinking water treatment plants (WTPs), and to develop strategies for the removal of its precursors. Furthermore, the impacts of various temporal and climatic events (e.g., drought periods, run offs or major rains, algae ...

The conversion efficiency of geothermal power developments is generally lower than that of conventional thermal power plants. Confusion can be found in literature concerning the estimation of this conversion efficiency. Geothermal power plants conversion efficiency estimates that is based on the enthalpy of the produced geothermal fluid can be the most desirable for use during the first estimat...

The seasonal production of fruit and seeds is akin to opening a feeding station, such as a restaurant. Agents coming to feed on the fruit are like customers attending the restaurant; they arrive at a certain rate and get served at a certain rate following some appropriate processes. The same applies to birds and animals visiting and feeding on ripe fruit produced by plants such as the strawberr...