Isolation of fatty acids and aromatics from cell suspension cultures of Lavandula angustifolia.

Cell suspension cultures of Lavandula angustifolia Mill. ssp. angustifolia (syn.: L. officinalis Chaix.) afforded a fatty acid composition, cis and trans p-coumaric acids (=p-hydroxy cinnamic acids), and beta-sitosterol. The fatty acid composition was analyzed by GC-MS, and the structures of the isolated three compounds were determined by 1H- and 13C-NMR, and MS spectroscopic techniques.

N-(jasmonoyl)tyrosine-derived compounds from flowers of broad beans (Vicia faba).

Two new amide-linked conjugates of jasmonic acid, N-[(3R,7R)-(-)-jasmonoyl]-(S)-dopa (3) and N-[(3R,7R)-(-)-jasmonoyl]-dopamine (5), were isolated in addition to the known compound N-[(3R,7R)-(-)-jasmonoyl]-(S)-tyrosine (2) from the methanolic extract of flowers of broad bean (Vicia faba). Their structures were proposed on the basis of spectroscopic data (LC-MS/MS) and chromatographic properties on reversed and chiral phases and confirmed by partial syntheses. Furthermore, tyrosine conjugates of two cucurbic acid isomers (7, 8) were detected and characterized by LC-MS. Crude enzyme preparations from flowers of V. faba hydroxylated both (+/-)-2 and N-[(3R,7R/3S,7S)-(-)-jasmonoyl]tyramine [(+/-)-4] to (+/-)-3 and (+/-)-5, respectively, suggesting a possible biosynthetic relationship. In addition, a commercial tyrosinase (mushroom) and a tyrosinase-containing extract from hairy roots of red beet exhibited the same catalytic properties, but with different substrate specificities. The conjugates (+/-)-2, (+/-)-3, (+/-)-4, and (+/-)-5 exhibited in a bioassay low activity to elicit alkaloid formation in comparison to free (+/-)-jasmonic acid [(+/-)-1].

Coronalon: a powerful tool in plant stress physiology.

Coronalon, a synthetic 6-ethyl indanoyl isoleucine conjugate, has been designed as a highly active mimic of octadecanoid phytohormones that are involved in insect and disease resistance. The spectrum of biological activities that is affected by coronalon was investigated in nine different plant systems specifically responding to jasmonates and/or 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid. In all bioassays analyzed, coronalon demonstrated a general strong activity at low micromolar concentrations. The results obtained showed the induction of (i) defense-related secondary metabolite accumulation in both cell cultures and plant tissues, (ii) specific abiotic and biotic stress-related gene expression, and (iii) root growth retardation. The general activity of coronalon in the induction of plant stress responses together with its simple and efficient synthesis suggests that this compound might serve as a valuable tool in the examination of various aspects in plant stress physiology. Moreover, coronalon might become employed in agriculture to elicit plant resistance against various aggressors.

Evaluation of health information systems-problems and challenges.

OBJECTIVES: Information technology (IT) is emerging in health care. A rigorous evaluation of this technology is recommended and of high importance for decision makers and users. However, many authors report problems during the evaluation of information technology in health care. In this paper, we discuss some of these problems, and propose possible solutions for these problems. METHODS: Based on own experience and backed up by a literature review, some important problems during IT evaluation in health care together with their reasons, consequences and possible solutions are presented and structured. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: We define three main problem areas-the complexity of the evaluation object, the complexity of an evaluation project, and the motivation for evaluation. Many evaluation problems can be subsumed under those three problem areas. A broadly accepted framework for evaluation of IT in healthcare seems desirable to address those problems. Such a framework should help to formulate relevant questions, to find adequate methods and tools, and to apply them in a sensible way.