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The vascular flora of Capel Glacial Drift Hill Prairie Natural Area, Shelby County, Illinois was studied during the 2009 and 2010 growing seasons. The 1.10 ha glacial drift hill prairie is located on a southwest-facing slope associated with Lake Shelbyville, Wolf Creek State Park 4 km east of Findley, Illinois. Plant community structure was determined using m2 square quadrats located at one-meter intervals along two randomly located transect lines. Frequency, mean cover, relative frequency, relative cover, and importance value (I. V. total = 200) were determined from the data collected. A total of 106 vascular plant taxa were observed on the site, with 39 encountered in the plots. Andropogon gerardii (big bluestem) had the highest importance value followed by Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem), Echinacea pallida (pale coneflower), and Dalea purpurea (purple prairie clover). Exotic species were represented by six taxa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presently, five taxa of Scleria (nut rush, Cyperaceae) have been reported for Illinois [S. muehlenbergii, S. oligantha, S. pauciflora var. pauciflora, S. triglomerata, S. verticillata]. Of these taxa, S. triglomerata is common, being found scattered throughout the state, while S. verticillata is fairly common in northeastern Illinois and in the sand areas in the Illinois River Valley. Scleria muehlenbergii, in contrast, is known from a few dozen collections in the wind-blown sand deposits of Cass, Kankakee, and Lee counties, while S. oligantha is known from a single poor quality collection from Hardin County. Scleria pauciflora is relatively rare in Illinois with a few specimens from wind-blown sand deposits in the northern part of Illinois and some from dry woodlands and prairies in the extreme southern part. It is difficult to separate the two varieties (var. pauciflora and var. caroliniana), as the major character difference is the abundance and length of the hairs on the leaf surfaces. This trait is somewhat variable in the Illinois specimens examined, but at the present time we have been unable to verify the existence of S. pauciflora var. caroliniana for Illinois. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We searched for records of 310 native Illinois vascular plant taxa that we considered very uncommon, rare, or possibly extirpated from the state. Most of the state herbaria and some of the major herbaria from surrounding states were searched. We searched the literature, records in the Illinois Natural Heritage Database, and contacted many local botanists and biologists. Also, authors of the "Flora of North America" were contacted concerning recent records. Of the 117 taxa discussed in this article, 87 are possibly extirpated from Illinois, while for 30 a voucher specimen was either absent or misidentified, or for other reasons not useable. Of the 87 species that are probably extirpated, most have not been seen in the state for more than 50 years, and some have not been seen since the mid 1800's. The species that lack a voucher specimen for Illinois are mostly based on misidentification, the perpetuation of earlier mistakes, listed species for which there is insufficient or misinterpreted data, the voucher was a cultivated plant, or the names used are now considered synonyms of common species. Presumably most of these 30 taxa were never part of the Illinois flora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vegetation of five prairie restorations at Rock Springs Environmental Center was examined during the 1999 to 2001 growing seasons. At this site, five tracts, totaling 12.1 ha, were developed as prairie restorations of varying ages on former farmland starting in 1977. Within these five restorations, 164 plant species were documented, 133 of which were native to Illinois. Andropogon gerardii had the highest importance value for all tracts combined with a total of 42.7 (out of 200) followed by Schizachrium scoparium (31.8), Solidago spp. (26.4), Sorghastrum nutans (16.9), Chamaechrista fasciculata (14.5) and Securigera varia (12.7). Sorensen's Index of Similarity between the tracts ranged from 53.97 to 72.97 while the Floristic Quality Index (FQI) ranged from 18.6 to 25.8; the overall FQI for all tracts combined was 32.3. An analysis of invasive species showed that Securigera varia had a significant negative impact on both species richness and diversity. According to Sorensen's Index of Similarity and cluster diagrams, the tracts are becoming more similar. In addition, based on the FQI, the quality of the flora in the prairie restorations increases with the tract age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vascular flora of a 2 ha gravel prairie reconstruction in Lawrence County, Illinois, was studied during the growing season of 2001. Frequency (%), average cover (%), and importance value (IV = 200) of the taxa were determined using randomly located quadrats along a line transect. A total of 181 taxa were observed on the site: 1 fern, 1 gymnosperm, 49 monocots and 130 dicots, of which 16 were woody taxa and 49 introduced exotics. A total of 181 taxa were encountered in the sample plots. Heterotheca camporum (Greene) Shinners (golden aster) had the highest importance value (39.1), followed by Sporobolus asper (Michx.) Kunth. (northern dropseed), Andropogon gerardii Vitman (big bluestem), Melilotus sp. (sweet clover), Opuntia humifusa (Raf.) Raf (prickly pear), and Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx.) Nash (little bluestem). The state endangered Silene regia Sims (royal catchfly) also occurs on the site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of new 3-(imidazol-4(5)-ylmethylene)-2,3-dihydrobenzo[ b ]furan-2-ones 8 - 10 and 3-(3,5-dimethylpyrrol-2-ylmethylene)-2,3-dihydrobenzo[ b ]furan-2-one 11 , analogues of SU-5416, as potential inhibitors of angiogenesis, are reported. Compounds 8 and 11 were prepared by a Knoevenagel reaction starting from 2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid 2 and 4-formylimidazole 5 or 2-formyl-3,5-dimethylpyrrole 7 , followed by acid-catalysed cyclodehydration. For compounds 9 and 10 , an alternative method was used; it consisted in carrying out the Knoevenagel reaction with the 2,3-dihydrobenzo[ b ]furan-2-ones 3 and 4 . The antiangiogenic activity of these compounds was evaluated in the three-dimensional in vitro rat aortic rings test at 1 μM. At this concentration, compound 11 induced a decrease of angiogenesis comparable to that observed with SU-5416; the vascular density index at 1 μM of 11 and SU-5416 were 30±10 and 22±4% of control, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents abstracts of articles on pediatric dentistry published in journals other than the 'International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry.' Prevention of temporomandibular disorder-related signs and symptoms in orthodontically treated adolescents; Caries development in flouridated and non-fluoridated deciduous and permanent enamel; Cleaning power and abrasivity of toothpastes in Europe.