Furthermore, this specific

peak is not symmetrical and no

Furthermore, this specific

peak is not symmetrical and not well resolved. These data confirm the efficiency of the specified flow and composition gradients of the mobile phase to separate carotenes and tocopherols. Previous studies performed by Rodrigues et al. (2010) and Costa et al. (2010) were not able to quantify tocotrienols, nor distinguish β- and γ-tocopherols. Samples with standard concentrations of α-, β-, γ- and δ-tocopherols in hexane ranging from 2.50 to 37.50 mg L−1 and samples of β-carotene in hexane Bcl2 inhibitor ranging from 0.05 to 10.00 mg L−1 were used to construct the calibration curves. Results for the six different sequences of tocopherols standard samples performed in triplicate on different days using the fluorescence detector are shown in Table 1. The relationship between tocopherol concentrations and the peak areas was described by the linear regression equations, and in all equations x is the tocopherol homologue concentration in mg L−1 and y is the chromatogram peak area divided by 1 × 105. All R2 obtained were higher than 0.9810. At the upper limit of quantification (i.e. 37.50 mg L−1) the percentage deviation and the inter-run variability values were less

than 4.10%, an appropriate value according to the literature ( Marin et al., 2007, Shah Selleckchem GSK2118436 et al., 2000 and USDHHS, 2001). For all the other tocopherol concentrations, excluding the LOQ (2.5 mg L−1), the percent deviation and the inter run variability values were less than 13.30%. Data of the same six sequences of tocopherol standard samples run in triplicate on different days, obtained using the PDA detector set at 292 nm, are also shown in Table 1. The relationship between each tocopherol concentration and peak area (divided by 1 × 105) was described by linear

regressions in the same way as for the fluorescence detector. All R2 values obtained were higher than 0.9970. At the upper limit of quantification (i.e. 37.50 mg L−1) the percent deviation and the inter-run variability values were less than 4.60%. For all the other concentrations of tocopherols, excluding the LOQ (2.5 mg L−1), the percent deviation and the inter run variability values were Protein kinase N1 also less than 13.50%. Data of the six different sequences of β-carotene standard samples performed in triplicate on different days, using the PDA detector set at 455 nm, are show in Table 2. R2 value was higher than 0.9940. At the upper limit of quantification (i.e. 10.00 mg L−1) the percent deviation and the inter-run variability values were less than 2.00%. For all the other concentrations of β-carotene, excluding the LOQ (0.10 mg L−1), the percent deviation and the inter run variability values were less than 11.10%. Reproducibility of the method was evaluated by analysing replicates of tocopherol quality control samples at concentrations of 5.00 (LOQ), 15.00 and 35.

22 μm PTFE syringe filter For the stationary phase, a monomeric

22 μm PTFE syringe filter. For the stationary phase, a monomeric C18 ODS2, 5 μm, 4.6 × 150 mm (Waters Spherisorb®, Wilmington, USA) was used. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile (containing 0.05% of triethylamine), methanol and ethyl acetate. A concave Selleck Capmatinib gradient was used for C. moschata ‘Menina Brasileira’ from 95:5:0 to 60:20:20 for 20 min, maintaining this proportion until the end of the run. For the C. maxima ‘Exposição’, a gradient from 98:2:0 to 60:20:20 for 20 min was used. Reequilibration took 15 min in both cases. The flow rate was 0.5 ml/min and column temperature was kept at 35 °C. The identification of the carotenoids was performed

considering (a) the combined information from chromatographic parameters (retention time and elution order), (b) UV–visible spectrum parameters (λmax and spectral fine structure % III/II) compared to standards and to data available in literature, (c) co-chromatography with standards and (d) chemical reactions to verify the type Tofacitinib mw and position of the

substituents in the xanthophylls ( Pfander et al., 1994 and Schiedt and Liaaen-Jense, 1995). The chemical reactions were acetylation of secondary hydroxyl groups with acetic anhydride, methylation of hydroxyl groups in allylic position with acidified methanol, iodine catalysed isomerisation and epoxide-furanoxide rearrangement (5,6-epoxide–5,8-epoxide) with dilute HCl ( Rodriguez-Amaya, 1999). The major carotenoids in each sample were quantified by using calibration curves prepared from standards,

and the results were expressed as μg/g of sample. Standard curves were constructed with five different concentrations for each carotenoid, each point in duplicate, with lines passing by origin and coefficients of co-relation greater than or similar to 0.95. Violaxanthin was quantified with the standard curve of lutein, and the cis-isomers of β-carotene with the standard curve of all-trans isomer ( Assunção & Mercadante, 2003). Due to the difficulty of isolating the ζ-carotene standard, its quantification was performed DNA ligase through the standard curve of the all-trans-β-carotene. The standards used in this work were isolated from other plant species, such as carrots and green vegetables, by using open column chromatography (OCC), according to Kimura and Rodriguez-Amaya (2002), with a glass column of 2.5 × 25 cm packed with MgO:Hyflosupercel (1:1), activated for 2 h at 110 °C and developed with petroleum ether containing varying quantities of acetone and ethyl ether. Concentrations of the standard solutions were determined through a spectrophotometer (Hitachi, U-1800, Tokyo, Japan) and corrected according to their purity through HPLC, considering 90% as minimum purity to be used as standard. Many studies that propose to investigate retention of carotenoids in processed foods do not take into account the gain or loss of weight during processing through incorporation or through loss of water or water soluble solids.

In previous studies carried out in our laboratory, the fungus The

In previous studies carried out in our laboratory, the fungus Thermomucor indicae-seudaticae N31, isolated by our group,

produced a protease that specifically hydrolysed κ-casein during milk clotting ( Merheb-Dini, Gomes, Boscolo, & da Silva, selleck compound 2010). This led us to develop studies with this enzyme using it as a coagulant for Prato cheese making. The properties of the resultant cheeses during ripening were compared with cheeses manufactured with a traditional commercial coagulant, since after a cheese is made, some of the coagulant remains in the cheese block and its activity contributes to the proteolysis that takes place during ripening ( Guinee & Wilkinson, 1992). The fungus, T. indicae-seudaticae N31, obtained from the Laboratory of Applied Biochemistry and Microbiology – IBILCE – UNESP, was maintained in Sabouraud dextrose agar medium (Oxoid) and prior to use it was inoculated in 250 ml Erlenmeyer flasks containing Sabouraud with 0.2% casein and incubated at 45 °C for 2 days for complete growth. Enzyme production was carried out according to Merheb-Dini et al.

(2010) using wheat bran as substrate and a fermentation period of 24 h. After extraction, 1.116 ml of enzymatic extract was concentrated to 112 ml through ultrafiltration for use in cheese making. Cheeses Protein Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor were made from 15 l of pasteurised cow’s milk (Laticínio Saboroso, São José do Rio Preto-SP): the milk was warmed to 32 °C before adding 7.5 ml of 50% calcium chloride, 12 ml of starter (LL50 A, composed of strains Lactococcus lactis ssp lactis and Lactococcus lactis ssp cremoris), 1.05 ml urucum colourant, sorbic acid (1.8 g in 90 ml of distilled water), and finally coagulant Ha-la (Chr. Hansen)

– process H or coagulant from T. indicae-seudaticae N31 – process T (the amount of coagulant added was standardised to equal milk-clotting activity of approximately 45 min). After coagulation (45 min for both treatments), the curd was cut into 0.3–0.5 cm3 cubes which 5-Fluoracil supplier were then submitted to slow continuous mixing for 15 min (1st mixing), followed by removal of part of the whey (30%) and further heating of the curd to 38 °C with the addition of 80 °C water (17%). The curd was mixed again for another 15 min (2nd mixing) followed by complete whey removal then placed in plastic moulds and pressed. The cheeses were turned upside down after the first 30 min and then pressed for 24 h in a vertical press, with stainless steel weights. Cheeses were then removed from the press and from the moulds and were placed in 18% (NaCl) brine solution for 5 h at 4 °C. Finally, they were dried at 9 °C/24 h, weighed, sealed under vacuum in heat-shrinkable plastic bags and stored at 9 °C/80% relative humidity for 60 days. Two processes were carried out, one using the commercial coagulant (control) and the other substituting the commercial coagulant for the protease from T. indicae-seudaticae N31.

, 2013), a pressing need remains to quantify the consequences of

, 2013), a pressing need remains to quantify the consequences of elevated atmospheric CO2 (eCO2), not only for our climate, but also to account for its impact to the global spread of plant systems sequestering CO2 via photosynthesis. Elevated CO2 has been considered a possible future driver of increased productivity in some plant systems globally via a “CO2 fertilization” effect (Fisher et al., 2013). This effect provides a mechanism whereby some climatic impacts of increasing atmospheric CO2 may be buffered by plants and ecosystems. Possible evidence for a large-scale fertilization and sequestration effect comes from the striking mismatch between the rate of increase

of anthropogenic CO2 emissions and slower check details observed changes in atmospheric concentrations, suggesting that a terrestrial “carbon sink” may be buffering CO2 increases and limiting global warming (Field, 2001). Despite the importance of this phenomenon, this sink has been poorly characterized by either experimental or modeling approaches (Norby and Zak, 2011). Hence, the specific ecosystems and ecophysiological interactions responsible are largely uncertain. Identifying the underlying mechanisms remains an international, yet elusive, research priority, particularly as the capacity for such a sink to continue to sequester additional

C is unknown (Luo et al., 2006 and Luyssaert et al., 2007). The limits of terrestrial ecosystem Cediranib (AZD2171) CDK inhibitor drugs CO2 sequestration are determined by the C dynamics of individual plant communities, particularly, rates of net primary productivity (NPP) and below-ground C transfer integrating with soil characteristics. In turn, plant productivity may be constrained by nutrient dynamics and various abiotic factors that limit growth.

These include variations in soil macro-nutrients such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) (Reich et al., 2006 and Langley and Megonigal, 2010), which differ in soil availability considerably at the global scale. Considerable uncertainties exist, therefore, in quantifying the limits of ongoing eCO2 uptake via long-term increases in plant productivity from CO2 fertilization (Karnosky, 2003). The most direct basis on which to predict such responses, however, is through eCO2 experimentation (Korner, 2006). This approach also allows key factors (such as soil nutrient characteristics) to be considered, either by exploiting differences due to spatial variability, or by direct manipulation of such factors under experimental conditions. Experimental manipulation also allows research questions to be targeted at the most appropriate ecosystems. However, field experimentation examining eCO2 effects on ecosystems has declined significantly owing to funding reductions in this area of ecology, potentially leaving important gaps in our understanding of terrestrial C dynamics and how these relate to an eCO2 future.

However, a new interruption task was used that allowed a manipula

However, a new interruption task was used that allowed a manipulation of response-selection demands. For these interruption trials, initially an empty stimulus box (6° side length) appeared on the screen. After 1000 ms, an arrow (4.8° length) appeared that pointed to one of the four corners of the box and was colored red, blue, green, or yellow. Depending on condition, subjects responded

with their right-hand index finger by pressing keys on the numerical keypad that corresponded to the corners of the square (2, 3, 5, or 6). Subjects in the low-control condition were instructed to press the key that was compatible with the arrow high throughput screening direction. The color dimension was not explicitly mentioned to these subjects. For subjects in the high-control condition the correct key was indicated through arbitrary color-key assignments (red = upper left, green = upper right, yellow = lower left, blue = lower right). Arrow direction and the key indicated by the color were in conflict on 50% of interruption trials. Transitions between the primary task and AZD6244 the interruption task occurred with probability p = .2. As in the critical experimental conditions of the preceding

experiments, subjects alternated between pure endogenous and pure exogenous control blocks. The only difference was that we extended the length of blocks to 100 trials per block. Half of the subjects worked exclusively with the low-control interruption task, the other half with the high-control interruption task. We used the same trial exclusion criteria as in the previous experiments. In this experiment relevant error results were obtained and will be reported alongside with RT results. The mean RTs for the low-demand interruption task was 501 ms (SD = 63). Mean RTs for the high-demand interruption task were 714 ms (SD = 114) for compatible and 816 ms (SD = 169) for incompatible trials.

Corresponding Florfenicol error percentages were 0.7% (SD = .64), 1.4% (SD = 2.2) and 5.9% (SD = 3.0%). Thus, with these interruption tasks, we implemented a strong variation in control demands. Fig. 6 presents RT and error results for the primary tasks as a function of task, interruption, and conflict, separately for the low-demand and the high-demand interruption conditions. As apparent, across all conditions the qualitative RT data pattern was largely similar to the one obtained for the corresponding conditions from the previous experiments. For the analysis, we added as additional factor whether or not the last interruption episode was short (i.e., ⩽2 trial) vs. long (>2 trials). With this categorization of interruption episodes, there was an about equal number of observations in each category. The switch-cost asymmetry, that is the Task × Interruption interaction was highly significant, F(1, 38) = 29.33, MSE = 19629.69, p < .001, and this effect was not modulated by the type of interruption, F(1, 38) = .07. Also, the cost-asymmetry was modulated by conflict, F(1, 38) = 5.63, MSE = 13918.91, p < .03.

Moreover, the stock change method for a permanent sample design m

Moreover, the stock change method for a permanent sample design minimizes the risk of double counting and makes it straightforward to gauge the accuracy of estimates. We expected that the use of paired samples (permanent design) would be the Selleck Verteporfin most efficient method for estimating changes. This was verified by our results; the sample standard error when an independent sample design was used to mimic a NFI based on temporary sample plots was about twice that for a paired sample design. A lower sample

error was also expected for estimates based on BiEqs compared to BEFs combined with volume. Again, the results supported this, but the differences seemed to be largely dependent on design rather than estimator. For all estimates, it should also be borne in mind that selleck kinase inhibitor the influence of potentially incorrectly specified models was not considered. It is evident that an increasing number of countries are using permanent design in their NFIs (Tomppo et al., 2010). Data inventoried by the NFIs are also frequently used as a basis when reporting changes in the carbon

pool of living biomass under the UNFCCC/KP. We concur with this use and believe it is important to derive national representative biomass equations for individual species/groups of species. This study supports the hypothesis that there is a risk of bias when estimating changes in living biomass using BEFs derived from standing stock data. BEFs derived for change in stock may be unbiased but vary substantially over time, which is undesirable. For countries with no representative biomass equations, age-dependent BEFs may be suitable alternatives. The highest accuracy was obtained when estimating changes in living biomass using individual tree representative biomass equations per tree fraction. The equations were applied to a permanent sample based approach combined with the stock change method. Many countries Decitabine solubility dmso have adopted the same or similar approach when reporting under the UNFCCC/KP and underlying data are normally obtained from a NFI. The authors thank the MISTRA FutureForests program for part-funding this work. “
“The changes to the regression coefficients

in Table 5 resulted from an error discovered in the original Flakaliden stem mass data for one sample year that has been corrected. These changes will result in minor differences in Fig. 4A and B panels where the Wirth et al. (2004) and Lehtonen et al. (2004) stem mass estimates are somewhat closer to the 1:1 line at stem mass greater than 40 Mg ha−1, but still do not overlap it. The changes do not, however, affect our conclusions. “
“Timber plantations have been widely established across Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes (Zerbe, 2002 and Yamagawa et al., 2010) with plantation forests now making up 14% of total forest area in western European countries (Forest Europe, 2011) and about 70% of total forest area in Britain (Brockerhoff et al., 2008).

Therefore, each drug by itself or in combination was tested at an

Therefore, each drug by itself or in combination was tested at an equipotency ratio based on its corresponding IC50 value. The interaction degree between glucoevatromonoside and acyclovir was calculated through combination index (CI) equation, based on the median-effect principle of the mass-action law, using Calcusyn software (version 2.1,

Biosoft). According to the CI theorem, CI values <1, =1, and >1 indicate synergism, additive effect, and antagonism, respectively. This assay followed the procedures described earlier (Hu et al., 2009). Adenosine 5′-triphosphatase (NKATPase) activity assay was determined using a Quantichrom ATPase/GTPase assay kit (Bioassay, Hayward, CA, USA), according to the manufacture’s instructions. The initial screening of 65 cardenolide derivatives for anti-HSV activity was performed only with HSV-1(KOS strain) using a plaque reduction assay. Following the same strategy selleck proposed by Su et al. (2008), we decided that compounds showing IC50 values ⩽1 μM would be chosen to proceed another screening for anti-HSV-1 (29R strain) and anti-HSV-2 (333 strain) activity. Among the 65 tested compounds, 16 were found to possess antiherpes activity

with IC50 values ⩽1 μM, and a natural compound, glucoevatromonoside, isolated from a Brazilian cultivar of Digitalis lanata ( Braga et al., 1996) was chosen for further evaluation of its mode of action ( Table 1) due to its high SI and lower IC50, when compared to acyclovir, and also because there was enough quantity DAPT ic50 to perform all designed assays necessary Pembrolizumab chemical structure for this purpose. Digoxigenin showed an IC50 ⩾1 μM, but it was tested in the second screening because it is the aglycone of some tested cardenolide derivatives and showed antiherpes effects in a previous work ( Su et al., 2008). As shown in Table 1, HSV-1 (29R strain, resistant to acyclovir) was highly sensitive to the treatment with the tested cardenolides, which implicates that the targets of these compounds are probably different

from those of acyclovir. Hence, they might represent a novel group of drugs with distinct antiviral mechanism from those of conventional drugs. Firstly, in order to compare the potency of glucoevatromonoside antiherpes activity, at different MOI, a yield reduction assay was conducted. As shown in Fig. 2, both concentrations of glucoevatromonoside were able to inhibit HSV-1 replication at all tested conditions, even at the MOI 0.4 which is thousand times higher than that used in the initial screening. At the higher tested MOI, the glucoevatromonoside at 0.26 μM, which is two times higher than its IC50 value, showed a reduction of 5.1 Log, in comparison with viral controls. Remarkably, this reduction was higher than that obtained with acyclovir (2.5 Log) at the same conditions Since this antiviral potency is not commonly observed for other antiviral agents, this compound holds a clear advantage over them (Talarico and Damonte, 2007).

Interestingly, when parental and CDV-resistant cells produced an

Interestingly, when parental and CDV-resistant cells produced an equivalent size of xenografts (i.e. 3 and 5 weeks post cell-inoculation),

the amount of neutrophils, macrophages, NK cells and inflammatory cytokines was significantly higher in the animals inoculated with the parental cells compared to those that received the CDV-resistant cells. Our data obtained by whole genome gene expression profiling of normal versus immortalized cells exposed to CDV supports the use of CDV for the treatment of non-viral induced neoplasias. Furthermore, a few reports sustain this hypothesis. For instance, CDV proved effective in reducing the growth of melanoma B16 in an experimental model in mice ( Redondo et al., 2000). The most effective treatment in this model was subcutaneous administration of 67 mg/kg on alternative days three times weekly that resulted in 90% inhibition LDN-193189 ic50 of tumor growth. When CDV antiproliferative effects were evaluated against a series of nine HPV-negative cells, the 50% cytostatic concentrations of the drug following

7 days of incubation varied between 1.4 μg/ml (for the cervical carcinoma cell line C33A) and 43 μg/ml (for the breast carcinoma cell line BT-20) compared to 0.7–2.0 μg/ml for four different HPV-positive cell lines [SiHa and CaSki (HPV-16), HeLa (HPV-18) and CK-1 (HPV-33) (Andrei et al., 1998a). When ODE-CDV was compared to CDV, ODE-CDV proved more potent than the parent compound against the HPV-positive Talazoparib supplier cell carcinoma cell lines HeLa, CaSki, Me-180 (HPV-68) and the C33A cervical carcinoma cells lacking HPV (Hostetler et al., 2006). Liekens et al. have demonstrated the inhibitory effects of CDV on the development of virus-independent vascular tumors originated by basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF2)-overexpressing endothelial cells (FGF2-T-MAE). The in vivo antitumor efficacy of CDV was attributed to specific induction of apoptosis in this model ( Liekens et al., 2007). ADAMTS5 In addition, CDV treatment of FGF2-T-MAE cells resulted in a pronounced up-regulation of the tumor suppressor protein p53. However, the expression of

Bax (pro-apoptotic) and Bcl-2 (anti-apoptotic) proteins remained unchanged, and CDV did not induce the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria. Therefore CDV appeared to inhibit the growth of FGF2-T-MAE cells via inhibition of FGF2 expression and signalling ( Liekens et al., 2007). Recently, it was shown that CDV possesses potent antineoplastic activity against both HCMV positive and negative glioblastomas (Hadaczek et al., 2013). While this activity was associated with inhibition of HCMV expression and with activation of cellular apoptosis in HCMV-positive glioblastomas, CDV was also demonstrated to induce cell death in the absence of HCMV. CDV incorporated into tumor cell DNA promoting double-strand DNA breaks and apoptosis.

fMRI studies, and assessments of learning deficits in Parkinson’s

fMRI studies, and assessments of learning deficits in Parkinson’s patients, support a functional dissociation of

declarative or observational learning from non-declarative, procedural learning http://www.selleckchem.com/products/Adrucil(Fluorouracil).html (Ostlund and Balleine, 2007, Poldrack et al., 2001 and Shohamy et al., 2004). Furthermore, while explicit knowledge acquisition may be subject to distraction by other motivations, implicit learning of action-outcome associations may be less vulnerable to distraction (Neumann, 1990). From these considerations it is reasonable to predict superior learning through action than through observation. In this study, our aim was to make a controlled comparison between active and observational learning in the context of human probabilistic value learning. Thus, we implemented a learning task where individuals learnt either by active sampling (with associated reward and punishment) or by passive observation. We learn more assessed learning efficacy as shown by goal-directed choices and individuals’ explicit estimates of value. All aspects of the

tasks, save for the critical factor of self versus other choice, were matched across two modes of value learning. Specifically, differences in attention and information were controlled, as participants could track the same sequences of outcomes in both learning conditions, as was motivation to learn, since participants earned money according to learning performance in both conditions. In this first experiment we recruited 17 healthy participants, screened for neurological or psychological disorders. Participants

failing to reach a criterion of 60% accuracy by the end of each session, when choosing between the 80/20 probability of winning pair, were excluded from further analysis, given a performance level barely exceeding chance (i.e. 50% accuracy) and was considered as a failure to engage sufficiently with the task. This was the Buspirone HCl case only for one participant, leaving 16 participants for the full analysis (nine female, mean age 23.8 yrs, SD 3.0). Participants provided informed consent, according to UCL Research Ethics Committee approved procedures. Participants completed two sessions on consecutive days. In the first (the ‘actor session’), participants made choices between four stimuli (letters from Agathodaimon font), presented in different pairs on each trial, while concurrently attempting to learn the probability of winning from each. Participants were made aware that each stimulus was associated with a discrete and constant probability of winning (pwin), and outcomes of each stimulus were drawn independently on every trial. Outcomes of chosen and unchosen stimuli were then shown sequentially, with yellow and red boxes indicating winning and losing outcomes, respectively. Critically, these outcomes directly influenced participant’s earnings for the actor session (with £1 awarded for each chosen win from 10 randomly selected trials).

This seasonal flow regulation largely favors water consumption in

This seasonal flow regulation largely favors water consumption in non-flood seasons, primarily for farming irrigation. In non-flood season, the difference between average daily water discharge at Huayuankou and Lijin

results mainly from water consumption loss. This value increased in a step-wise manner from 26 m3/s in 1950–1968 to 242 m3/s in 1969–1986 Selleckchem SP600125 and 421 m3/s in 1987–1999, respectively, followed by a slight decrease of 384 m3/s in 2000–2011 (Table 2). This pattern can be explained by increasing water use favored by strengthening runoff regulations. The construction of large dams on the Huanghe has largely controlled the frequent floods on the lower reaches that are ded by monsoon rains. Long-term (1950–2011) buy Venetoclax observations of daily water discharge at Lijin reveal that peak flow > 6000 m3/s decreased dramatically from a total 155 days during 1950–1968 to 17 days during 1969–1986, and vanish completely since 1987 (Table 3). Even smaller flood peaks (4000–6000 m3/s) could not be observed after the construction of Xiaolangdi reservoir in 1999. Since 2000, low flow (<2000 m3/s) dominates the discharge pattern of the lower reaches most of the year, and flow >2000 m3/s is mainly concentrated within the annual WSM (often less than 20 days) when the released floodwater

is confined to <4000 m3/s. Huayuankou station recorded a similar trend, as shown in Table Methisazone 3. Here, we select representative years (1954, 1988, 2003) to show the stepwise

drops in the amplitude of flood peaks recorded at Lijin and Huayuankou over time (Fig. 2). Both the Lijin and Huayuankou records show a similar pattern, with the amplitudes of flood peaks dramatically decreasing. At Huayuankou station, pre-dam discharge levels (1950–1960) show several flood peaks during the flood season, with extreme peaks approaching ∼17,000 m3/s (e.g. 1954, Fig. 2A). In 1988 smaller flood peaks (<7000 m3/s) could be observed (Fig. 2B). In 2003 (after Xiaolangdi Reservoir was constructed), flood peaks >4000 m3/s become non-existent, e.g. in 2003 (Fig. 2C). Since 1950, no catastrophic flooding has occurred in the lower reaches of the Huanghe, owing to the effect of the dams. Sediment sequestration is a common problem in many large reservoirs. This problem is particularly severe for the Huanghe owing to the high suspended sediment concentration. Spatially, the Longyangxia and Liujiaxia reservoirs have a minor effect in trapping sediment, since only a small fraction of the Huanghe sediment is sourced from its upper reaches. The Liujiaxia and Longyangxia annually trap only 0.53 × 108 m3 (average 1968–1997 level) and 0.16 × 108 m3 (average 1986–1997 level) of sediment, respectively (Peng and Chen, 2009). The Sanmenxia and Xiaolangdi reservoirs in the lower middle reaches have trapped large amounts of sediment since their operation. The Sanmenxia Reservoir, in particular, had lost 45.