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The COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt is a part of the worldwide global crisis of coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The contagious life-threatening condition causes acute respiratory syndrome. The present study aimed to assess the compounds identified by LC-MS of the methanolic leaves extracts from three conifers trees cultivated in Egypt (Araucaria bidwillii, Araucaria. cunninghamii and Araucaria heterophylla) via docking technique as potential inhibitor of COVID-19 virus on multiple targets; viral main protease (Mpro, 6LU7), non-structural protein-16 which is a methyl transferase (nsp16, 6W4H) and RNA dependent RNA polymerase (nsp12, 7BV2). Among the three targets, nsp16 was the best target recognized by the tested compounds as can be deduced from docking studies. Moreover, the methanolic extract of A. cunninghamii showed the highest radical-scavenging activity using (DPPH test) with 53.7 µg/mL comparable to ascorbic acid with IC50 = 46 µg/mL The anti-inflammatory potential carried using enzyme linked immunoassay showed the highest activity for A. cunninghamii and A. bidwillii followed by A. heterophylla with IC50 = 23.20 ± 1.17 µg/mL, 82.83 ± 3.21 µg/mL and 221.13 ± 6.7 µg/mL, respectively (Celecoxib was used as a standard drug with IC50 = 141.92 ± 4.52 µg/mL). Moreover, a molecular docking study was carried for the LC-MS annotated metabolites to validate their anti-inflammatory inhibitory effect using Celecoxib as a reference compound and showed a high docking score (-7.7 kcal/mol) for Octadecyl (E) P-coumarate and (-7.3 kcal/mol) for secoisolariciresinol rhamnoside. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Acanthococcus mokanae González, Ramos & Caballero sp. nov. is described from specimens associated with Hibiscus sp. (Malvaceae) and Capsicum sp. (Solanaceae), in the departments of Atlántico and Córdoba (Colombia, South America). Uhleria araucariae (Maskell) is recorded for the first time in Colombia in association with Araucaria heterophylla (Salisb.) (Araucariaceae) and Cryptomeria japonica (Thunb. Ex L.f.) (Cupressaceae). A taxonomic key for eriococcids recorded from Colombia based on the external morphology of the adult female is provided. Key words: Araucariaceae, Cupressaceae, Felt scales, Malvaceae, Neotropics, Solanaceae

The current research work was keen to examine the corrosion inhibition efficiency of mild steel (MS) in presence of aqueous extract of Araucaria heterophylla Gum (AHG) in 1 M H2SO4 medium. ...

A new vagrant eriophyoid mite species of the archaic genus Pentasetacus (Schliesske 1985), P. novozelandicus n. sp., is described with the aid of conventional microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. It was found on Araucaria heterophylla, which is an araucarian that is endemic to Norfolk Island and introduced to New Zealand. Partial sequences of mitochondrial barcode COI gene and D1–D2 domains of nuclear rDNA of two pentasetacid mites, P. araucariae (MK903025 and MK898944) and P. novozelandicus n. sp. (MK903024 and MK898943) are provided. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of full-length D1–D2 eriophyoid sequences, including GenBank sequences and newly generated sequences of pentasetacids, confirmed the monophyly of Pentasetacidae but failed to resolve the basal phylogeny of Eriophyoidea. This may be because the D1–D2 domains of 28S are hypervariable in Eriophyoidea. Moreover, in pentasetacids D1–D2 sequences are about 20% shorter than in other eriophyoids, and thus harder to align. Two types of anal lobes are described in Eriophyoidea: (1) Eriophyidae s.l. and Phytoptidae s.l. have bilaterally symmetric lobes; (2) pentasetacids have non-divided lobes. The presence of an anal secretory apparatus, comprising internal structures that have previously been described in Eriophyidae s.l. and Phytoptidae s.l., is confirmed in pentasetacid genera. The phylogeny of pentasetacids is also discussed in the context of the paleobiography of Araucariaceae.

The present study deals with the formulation of oral sustained-release tablets using natural gum Araucaria heterophylla gum, and the results were compared the formulations with existing polymers. The gum was isolated from the bark exudates of Araucaria heterophylla tree Sustain release matrix tablets of aceclofenac as a model drug were prepared with the proportions 15%, 20%, 25% and 30% of Araucaria heterophylla gum by direct compression method. The results were compared with sustain release matrix tablets formulated from similar proportions of Guar gum and HPMC K4M. The tablets were evaluated for their physical characteristics. The formulation with 30% concentration of the gum showed a release of -91.68±0.72% whereas the formulation with 30% guar gum showed a drug at release 91.26±0.41% after 8 hrs, while HPMC at 30% concentration gave a drug release of 86.26±0.61after 8 hrs. The other parameters are satisfactory and are within the Pharmacopoeial limits. The stability studies carried out under accelerated conditions as per ICH guidelines infer that the gum is chemically stable, compatible and maintain its physical and in vitro characteristics throughout the shelf life of the formulations.

Metal nanoparticles found its application in most fields because of its different physiochemical properties. Although there are several methods for synthesis of nanoparticles, where green and biological synthesis of nanoparticles reduces the toxicity. These metal nanoparticles are not properly disposed to the environment. Thus, this study was focussed to evaluate the effects of Araucaria heterophylla mediated green synthesised silver nanoparticles on various in vivo models such as earth worm—Eudrilus eugeniae and zebra fish—Danio rerio. Even the biologically synthesised nanoparticles were showing negative impacts on these models. Silver nanoparticles was found to cause epithelial erosion and lipofucshin deposits on Eudrilus eugeniae, where it was causing erosion and structure deformation in guts of Danio rerio.

The effects of cutting position (tip, middle and basal) and concentration of indole butyric acid (IBA) (0, 5, 7.5 and 11 g/L) on root and shoot growth of Araucaria heterophylla were evaluated to develop a method for vegetative propagation for this tree species. Leaf number, number of adventitious roots, root length and survival rates were measured. These parameters were significantly influenced by the interactive effect of cutting position and hormonal concentration. Tip cuttings with the11 g/L IBA treatment showed higher root number, leaf number and root length whereas the other treatment combinations showed no root or shoot growth. Further, plant death was observed for the 5 and 7.5 g/L IBA treatments. Key words: Araucaria heterophylla, cutting position, hormonal concentration, vegetative propagation.

Canker and needle blight of Araucaria heterophylla (Norfolk Island pine) trees were observed during the surveys conducted in Addis Ababa and Adama cities (Ethiopia) from November to December 2016. The main objective of this study was to investigate fungal pathogens that cause diseases on Araucaria heterophylla trees. Six localities with Araucaria heterophylla plantings were purposively surveyed for disease symptoms. Samples from symptomatic parts of trees were collected, surface sterilized, cultured on PDA and morphologically identified for genus and species. A total of 36 isolates of fungi were identified. Based on macro- and microscopic morphological features of the colonies, the fungal isolates were found to be the genus Diplodia and species Lasiodiplodia theobromae (Pat.) Griffon & Maubl (syn. Botryodiplodia theobromae), the anamorph of Botryosphaeria rhodina (Berk. & M.A. Curtis) Arx. The pathogenicity test showed that the isolates of Lasiodiplodia theobromae, caused stem canker and needle blight on Araucaria heterophylla. This finding is important in the study of management options for future prevention and control of diseases in the country.

For the first time, Araucaria heterophylla needles were used as a biomonitor to assess the concentration of metals in urban areas. The samples were collected in the Andean city Quito, in Ecuador, from sites with high, moderate and low vehicular traffic intensity. Then, the concentrations of Ca, K, Mg, Mn, Fe, Al, Ba, Zn, Cu, Cr, Pb and Co were measured by using an Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Source apportionment was studied employing Principal Component (PCA) and Pearson analyses. Ca, K, and Mg were identified to come from natural sources, showing the highest levels. On the other hand, Mn, Fe and Al were related to both natural and road traffic emissions, while Ba, Zn, Cu, Cr, Pb and Co were only related to road traffic emissions. The decelerating activities were identified as the main source for vehicle non-exhaust emissions in the area of study. Areas with the highest vulnerability in metal emissions from vehicular traffic in the city of Quito were also identified through Geographic Information System. Alarming concentrations of traffic-related metals near a pediatric hospital were revealed. It was observed that streets located near a green area such as urban park, even with high or moderate traffic intensity, may experience reduced concentrations of pollutants. This work showed that Araucaria heterophylla needles are suitable for monitoring metals associated with road traffic emissions in areas with different vehicular traffic intensity.

Surface engineering of super paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) favor the tagging of any molecule or compound onto it, encapsulating them with a biopolymer make them biocompatible and favor slow release of loaded molecules. Recovery of SPIONs is easier as they obey to external magnetic field. In this study, SPIONS were used for mosquito larvicidal activity after surface engineered with oleic acid to favor the tagging of Cyfluthrin (mosquito larvicidal agent), it was then encapsulated with gum polysaccharide derived from Azadirachta indica and Araucaria heterophylla. Every stage of coreshell formation was microscopically and spectroscopically characterized. The coreshell SPIONs produced using Azadirachta indica and Araucaria heterophylla gum derived polysaccharide encapsulation were found to be the size around 80 nm. Thus, prepared coreshell SPIONs was subjected for mosquito larvicidal activity against Culex sp. The coreshell SPIONs was efficiently killing the mosquito larva and its impact was studied by percentage mortality studies.

The reliability of Araucaria heterophylla needles as a biomonitor was evaluated by analyzing the concentration of metals in PM10 filters and in Araucaria heterophylla needles. The sampling campaign was carried out at two sites in the city of Quito, Ecuador, in 2017–2019. Concentrations of Cr, Cu, K, Mn, Pb, Zn, Ca, Fe, Al and Mg were determined in PM10 filters and in Araucaria heterophylla needles using an Inductively Coupled Plasma – Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The annual mean concentrations of PM10 ranged between 24.9 and 26.3 μg m−3, exceeding the limit established by the World Health Organization (20 μg m−3). Statistical analyses, performed for the PM10 filters, showed that dust resuspension and anthropogenic activities were important sources for PM10 emissions in the city. Metals related to natural emissions (Ca, Mg, K, Al and Fe) dominated in both types of samples, while the minor metals were those related to anthropogenic emissions (Zn, Cu, Cr and Pb). The former were positively associated with the needle samples, while the latter were associated with PM10 filters. This work not only improved scientific knowledge on the concentrations of PM10 and metals in the Andean city of Quito, but also greatly contributed to the progress of research on the use of Araucaria heterophylla needles as a biomonitor.

Araucaria heterophylla tree has been used in traditional medicine for several purposes. The essential oil (EO) of the resin is poorly studied, and up to our knowledge, the EO of the resin of the Egyptian ecospecies of A. heterophylla was not explored. In this study, the resin EO of A. heterophylla was analyzed via GC–MS. The correlation of the chemical composition of the EO with those reported in other ecospecies of A. heterophylla was evaluated via Principal Components Analysis (PCA). The in vivo inflammation inhibition and antipyretic activities in a carrageenan-induced rat model were evaluated for both crude EO and its nanoemulsion. Thirty-nine compounds were characterized in the EO. Monoterpenes (66.53 %) represented the main components followed by sesquiterpenes (30.85 %). α-Pinene (44.88 %), germacrene-D (10.25 %), α-copaene (4.72 %) and sabinene (4.44 %) were identified as major constituents of the EO. The PCA analysis showed more correlation of EO of the resin from the present study with that from the leaves of both Egyptian and Australian ecospecies, while it was negatively correlated with the EO from the leaves or resin of the Indian ecospecies. These variations could be ascribed to the environmental, climatic or genetic factors. The EO (100 mg/kg) administration in the rat paw edema and rectal temperature exhibited a significant difference (P

© 2014, Springer Science+Business Media New York. Rainbow lorikeets (Trichoglossus haematodus) have successfully adapted to urban environments and are today abundant in many Australian cities. Here they often form noisy communal roosts and may damage infrastructure. While extensive studies on problem birds (mainly passeriforms) and their roosts have been conducted in other parts of the world, no detailed studies exist in Australia, where non-passeriform birds (e.g. parrots) can cause problems. This study investigates the roosting preferences of rainbow lorikeets in Sydney (Australia) and establishes the site characteristics that typify these roosts. Lorikeets preferred three exotic tree species, namely the plane tree (Platanus spp. including Platanus x hybrida), Canary Island palm (Phoenix canariensis) and Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria heterophylla). They were also common in brush boxes (Lophostemon confertus), a tree native to Queensland, Australia. Rainbow lorikeets commonly roosted in tall trees with thick trunks and medium density foliage and the trees next to their roost trees were of the same species. Roosting trees were often in areas of high anthropogenic disturbance and close to streetlights.

The stability of trees in storms and high winds was assessed with newly developed tilt instruments that measure the structural properties of tree root plates and their anchorage strength in the ground. Tree root plates flex slightly in the ground when strong winds blow and the tilt instruments measure this flexure continuously. Tilt accuracy of 0.01° was measured at 20 samples per second, which is sufficient to record the dynamic response of the tree in high winds. The instrument has battery power for up to 20 days recording and is simply connected to a computer via a USB cable. Five Norfolk Island pines (Araucaria heterophylla) at Burnie, Tasmania were monitored during a period of high winds. Each tree had one tilt sensor attached to the trunk at ground level and another approximately 3 m above the ground. Tilt data during high winds for the five trees are presented. Tree 5 recorded maximum tilt of 0.40°, which was higher than nearby trees (0.10–0.15°) but is still within acceptable limits that are consi...

Recently, because of the growing importance of issues such as global warming and the heat island effect, maintenance of trees and the design of planting on green land have become increasingly significant. This article focuses on variation in sap flow in, and transpiration of, Araucaria heterophylla in Tainan Park. In order to understand the relationship between the allocation of plantings and the physiological functions of trees, the influence of cover conditions and meteorological conditions related to insolation were taken into consideration. First, under the same allocating conditions, the amount of transpiration was affected by differences on the ground (grassy and sandy). The differences in cover conditions have a lot to do with the water physiology of the tree. In addition, other factors such as insolation and changes in the speed of sap flow during a day are positively correlated. The results of this study are the main factors for evaluating the allocation and density of tree plantings and also for analysing the relationship between microclimatic environments and the physiological characteristics of trees. [Formula: see text]

Canker and decline of Araucaria heterophylla (Norfolk Island pine) trees were observed during surveys conducted in the costal suburbs of Perth in 2009 and 2010. Samples from symptomatic and asymptomatic parts of trees were collected and morphological characteristics of the consistently isolated fungus analysed. The isolated fungus was identified as Neofusicoccum parvum using phylogenetic analysis of combined sequence data from the internal transcribed spacer of the rDNA (ITS), the translation elongation factor 1α, β-tubulin and RNA polymerase subunit II. N. parvum isolates were pathogenic when inoculated on excised branches of Norfolk Island pine. This species has been recorded on A. heterophylla in New Zealand, but this is the first report of this species causing decline and cankers of Norfolk Island pine in Australia and worldwide.

Bio-chemical and physiological parameters of plants have been employed in the screening of suitable bio - monitors via the estimation of air pollution tolerance index (APTI) and anticipated performance index (API). In the present study, five plant species, Elaesis guineensis, Mangifera indica, Terminate catappa, Musa spp and Araucaria heterophylla within high concentrated industrial areas of Ota industrial estate were evaluated based on these two indices. APTI for all plant species ranged from 3.43 to 10.1 signifying their bio-monitoring status. Out of five species, Terminate catappa was identified as the most sensitive. Following API classification, Mangifera indica was graded as a good performer while Elaesis guineensis and Terminate catappa were grouped as moderate performers for green belt development. Further evaluation of screened trees for high grade tolerant species and carbon sequestration potential is recommended.

Stratigraphically well-documented seed-cone scales belonging to the conifer genus Araucaria have recently been collected from marine upper Maastrichtian (uppermost Cretaceous) limestones in the type area of the Maastrichtian Stage (NE Belgium, SE Netherlands). These fossils document the youngest known occurrences of the Monkey Puzzle family (Araucariaceae) in Europe, extending the last appearance datum (LAD) for Europe ‘upwards’ in time for c. 18 million years. The cone scales can barely be distinguished from those of the extant Araucaria heterophylla , today confined to Australia. Together with an equally close similarity to an Early Jurassic scale from North America, these finds illustrate the great antiquity and constancy of seed-cone morphology within Araucaria section Eutacta . Climate change and competition with angiosperms, rather than the impact of a large extraterrestrial body (Cretaceous/Paleocene boundary event), led to the demise of Araucaria in the Maastrichtian type area.

Traditional timber cutting, recovery and installation processes used by loggers and builders on Norfolk Island are a major impediment to the continued and sustainable restoration and maintenance of historic buildings at the southern tip of the island. Sustainable restoration and maintenance is likely to be a contributing factor in the expected decision by UNESCO about whether the island is included on the World Heritage List.

International audience; The Araucariaceae is an iconic tree family. Once globally important, the Araucariaceae declined dramatically over the Cenozoic period. Increasing aridity is thought to be responsible for extinction and range contraction of Araucariaceae in Australia, yet little is known about how these trees respond to water stress. We examined the response to water stress of the recently discovered tree Wollemia nobilis Jones, W.G., Hill, K.D. & Allen, J.M. (Araucariaceae) and two closely related and widespread tree species, Araucaria bidwillii Hook. and Araucaria cunninghamii Mudie, and the island-endemic species, Araucaria heterophylla (Salisb.) Franco. Leaf water potential in all Araucaria spp. remained remarkably unchanged during both dehydration and rehydration, indicating strong isohydry. The xylem tensions at which shoot and stem hydraulic conductances were reduced to 50% (P50shoot and P50stem) were closely correlated in all species. Among the four species, W. nobilis exhibited greater resistance to xylem hydraulic dysfunction during water stress (as indicated by P50shoot and P50stem). Unexpectedly, W. nobilis also experienced the highest levels of crown mortality in response to dehydration, suggesting that this was the most drought-sensitive species in this study. Our results highlight that single traits (e.g., P50) should not be used in isolation to predict drought survival. Further, we found no clear correlation between species’ P50 and rainfall across their distributional range. Diversity in drought response among these closely related Araucariaceae species was surprisingly high, considering their reputation as a functionally conservative family.

This paper contains a description of the only known non-banded bark in the geologic record. The bark is attached to a branch of the Araucarioxylon arizonicum tree that was found recently in the Late Triassic Chinle Formation (~ 220 Mya) in Arizona. In the fossil the vascular cylinder is almost totally enclosed in rough bark 2–11 mm in thickness. The inner bark is less than 1 mm thick and comprises a very narrow zone of presumed phloem containing infrequent fibers. The outer bark varies in thickness up to 10 mm, and consists of curving lenses of sequent periderm free of both dilation tissue and resin canals but is quite unlike the banded bark of Araucaria heterophylla. Wide zones of very thin-walled rectangular parenchyma cells arranged in radial files and groups of thin-walled spongy parenchyma, and small clusters as well as solitary sclerenchyma occur in the rhytidome. The vascular cambium contains 1–4 fusiform cells per radial file. Uniseriate rays are common in the secondary xylem and extend to the cambial zone. Small (1 mm in diameter), simple tunnels in the bark and wood indicate that the branch was attacked by phytophagous insects. A possible petrified beetle larva similar in form and size to Anobium is associated with these tunnels.

A large number of vegetative and fertile branching systems of Thucydia mahoningensis provide data for interpreting the growth architecture and life‐history pattern of a primitive Paleozoic conifer. Internal anatomy is similar to modern conifers, indicating an arborescent life‐history pattern. Three categories of vegetative plagiotropic branching systems are recognized, and these resemble developmental variations among lateral branching systems in juvenile trees of the extant conifer Araucaria heterophylla (Salisb.) Franco. Thucydia mahoningensis is considered to be a small tree on the basis of the size and branching pattern of the stem and lateral branching systems and on the basis of internal anatomy. Growth architecture of T. mahoningensis conforms to Massart’s model, but fertile remains reveal interesting differences from living species. The T. mahoningensis tree has an orthotropic stem that bears two orders of plagiotropic vegetative shoots. Fertile shoots have a compound ovulate fertile zone and lack...

Determining the species source of logs and planks suspected of being Araucaria araucana (Molina) K.Koch (CITES Appendix I) using traditional wood anatomy has been difficult, because its anatomical features are not diagnostic. Additionally, anatomical studies of Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze, Araucaria heterophylla (Salisb.) Franco, Agathis australis (D.Don) Lindl., and Wollemia nobilis W.G.Jones, K.D.Hill & J.M.Allen have reported that these taxa have similar and indistinguishable anatomical characters from A. araucana. Transnational shipments of illegal timber obscure their geographic provenance, and therefore identification using wood anatomy alone is insufficient in a criminal proceeding. In this study we examine the macroscopic appearance of selected members of the Araucariaceae and investigate whether analysis of heartwood chemotypes using Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART) Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (TOFMS) is useful for making species determinations. DART TOFMS data were collected from 5 species (n =75 spectra). The spectra were analyzsed statistically using supervised and unsupervised classification algorithms. Results indicate that A. araucana can be distinguished from the look-alike taxa. Another statistical inference of the data suggests that Wollemia nobilis is more similar and within the same clade as Agathis australis. We conclude that DART TOFMS spectra can help in making species determination of the Araucariaceae even when the geographic provenance is unknown. Fil: Evans, Philip D.. University of British Columbia; Canadá Fil: Mundo, Ignacio Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; Argentina Fil: Wiemann, Michael C.. Center For Wood Anatomy Research; Estados Unidos Fil: Chavarria, Gabriela D.. United States Fish And Wildlife Service; Estados Unidos Fil: McClure, Pamela J.. United States Fish And Wildlife Service; Estados Unidos Fil: Voin, Doina. United States Fish And Wildlife Service; Estados Unidos Fil: Espinoza, Edgard O.. United States Fish And Wildlife Service; Estados Unidos

It is generally accepted that various physiological, morphological and gene expression phenomena are under the control of a circadian clock, and that this time keeping mechanism is universally present. Although such endogenously regulated phenomena have first been documented in plants more than 250 years ago and much work has been accumulated particularly in the past 70 years, it was not obvious from the literature whether such time keeping mechanisms exist in gymnosperms. Two prominent parameters were investigated in several gymnosperm species which have been demonstrated to be under the control of a circadian clock in many plants: (i) leaf movement and (ii) stomata movement. In young plants of Pinus sylvestris, Picea abies, Taxus baccata, Araucaria angustifolia, Araucaria heterophylla and Ginkgo biloba leaf oscillations could be recorded for about 5 days. However, compared to angiosperm plants, the amplitude was small. The period length under free running conditions (constant temperature and continuous ...