Two new mexicanolides, named xylomexicanolides A and B, were isolated from the seeds of an Indian mangrove, Xylocarpus moluccensis, together with four known limonoids, khayasin, angolensic acid methyl ester, khayasin T, and 2'S-methylbutanoylproceranolide. The structures of these limonoids were established on the basis of spectroscopic data. The (13)C-NMR data of khayasin were reported for the ...

BACKGROUND It is energetically expensive to synthesize certain amino acids. The proteins (spidroins) of spider major ampullate (MA) silk, MaSp1 and MaSp2, differ in amino acid composition. Glutamine and proline are prevalent in MaSp2 and are expensive to synthesize. Since most orb web spiders express high proline silk they might preferentially attain the amino acids needed for silk from food an...

The present study was carried out for microbiological analysis to assess the quality of raw fish sold in the Fishing harbour of Visakhapatnam, East Coast of India. The study was performed during the period of April 2012 to March 2013. Three commonly edible fishes were selected for the microbial analysis to evaluate the quality of fish samples in terms of microbial content, the samples were inoc...

Predation and competition are critical processes influencing the ecology of organisms, and can play an integral role in shaping coral reef fish communities. This study compared the relative and interacting effects of competition and predation on two competing species of coral reef fish, Pomacentrus amboinensis and P. moluccensis (Pomacentridae), using a multifactorial experiment. Fish were subj...

This paper examines the relationship between Dascyllus aruanus and Pomacentrus moluccensis, two species of damselfish which commonly form mixed colonies on the reef flat of Heron Island, in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. D. aruanus, commonly known as the Humbug Damselfish, has been extensively studied. They defend their territory (consisting of branched coral) and form both conspecific and bis...

To investigate the cytotoxic effect of some Bangladeshi medicinal plant extracts, 16 Bangladeshi medicinal plants were successively extracted with n-hexane, dichloromethane, methanol and water. The methanolic and aqueous extracts were screened for cytotoxic activity against healthy mouse fibroblasts (NIH3T3) and three human cancer-cell lines (gastric: AGS; colon: HT-29; and breast: MDA-MB-435S)...

The threat of predation, and the prey's response, are important drivers of community dynamics. Yet environmental temperature can have a significant effect on predation avoidance techniques such as fast-start performance observed in marine fishes. While it is known that temperature increases can influence performance and behaviour in the short-term, little is known about how species respond to e...

Diarrhoea is a common disease which causes pain and may be deadly, especially in developing countries. In Bangladesh, diarrhoeal diseases affect thousands of people every year, and children are especially vulnerable. Bacterial toxins or viral infections are the most common cause of the disease. The diarrhoea outbreaks are often associated with flood affected areas with contaminated drinking wat...

The ability of two common, site-attached coral-reef fishes to return to their home corals after displacement was investigated in a series of field experiments at One Tree Island, southern Great Barrier Reef. The humbug Dascyllus aruanus was displaced up to 250 m, with 42% of individuals returning home, irrespective of body size, displacement, direction (up or across currents) and route complexi...