Ultrastructural Evidence for the Presence of Bacteria,Viral-like Particles,and Mycoplasma-like Organisms Associated with Giardia spp.1

ABSTRACT. Giardia trophozoites and cysts, isolated from mammalian and avian hosts, were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and by fluorescent light microscopy for the presence of microbial symbionts. Mycoplasma-like organisms were observed on the surfaces of trophozoites isolated from the prairie vole, laboratory rat, and beaver. Intracellular bacteria were observed by TEM in the trophozoites and cysts of G. microti and by fluorescence microscopy in trophozoites and cysts of Giardia spp. isolated from beaver, muskrat, great-blue heron, and the green heron. Trophozoites of G. muris from rat small intestine contained viral-like particles measuring 60 nm in diameter. These observations suggest that biological associations between Giardia spp. and diverse microbes may be more common than formerly appreciated. It also raises the possibility of transmission of these apparent symbionts, via the Giardia cyst, to other mammalian hosts including man.     

The Release of Nitrite from Barley Roots in Response to Metabolic Inhibitors, Uncoupling Agents, and Anoxia

When excised sterile barley roots, from plants which had beengrown in the presence of nitrate, were placed under low oxygentensions, nitrite was released into the external solution. Themaximum leakage of nitrite occurred under completely anaerobicconditions. Nitrite was also released from barley roots underaerobic conditions when uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation(DNP, CCCP¹, pentachlorophenol) or certain simple organic acidswere supplied. Inhibitors of the Krebs cycle, or of respiratoryelectron transport, were much less effective in causing theloss of nitrite, possibly because these compounds did not ingeneral inhibit root respiration severely. Nitrite release, in response to any of the above treatments,was accompanied by an accumulation of nitrite within the tissue.It was concluded that an increase in membrane permeability,and a decrease in ATP synthesis, were contributory causes ofthis phenomenon, although neither could explain the experimentalobservations completely. There was however no evidence thatthe pentose phosphate pathway, which is regarded as the sourceof reducing power for nitrite reduction, was inhibited underconditions which favoured nitrite release.     

Effects of reproductive timing and colony size on the survival, offspring colony size and drone production in the honey bee (Apis mellifera)

ABSTRACT. 1. The effects of colony size and time of reproduction on the survival and size of offspring colonies and on drone production were examined for honey bees, Apis mellifera L. Drone and worker production and survival of parental and offspring colonies were monitored following swarming. Also, the temporal patterns of drone emergence and availability of unmated queens were examined.
2. Colony size at swarming was positively correlated with the number of workers invested in offspring colonies and the number of queens produced. However, colony size at swarming was not correlated with the number of offspring colonies produced.
3. Swarm size was positively correlated with drone and worker production after swarms were hived. Worker production of hived swarms was positively correlated with colony survival. Offspring queens which inherited a parental nest survived longer than queens in either primary swarms or afterswarms, presumably due to the advantage of inheriting a nest.
4. Drone emergence peaked just prior to swarming, the time when unmated queens were available. High drone production by colonies initiated by swarms probably reflected an attempt to reproduce prior to winter. The probabilities of a second swarming cycle within the same year and of surviving the winter were low for colonies initiated from swarms.     

The Characterization of a Cerebroside Sulfate from the Mycelia of Glomerella cingulata

A sulfur-containing lipid with chromatographic properties in several systems equal to the commercial sulfolipid (extracted from bovine spinal cord, Applied Science) has been isolated in 0.6 % yield (dry weight basis) from the mycelia of Glomerella cingulata. About 35 % of exogenous Na³⁵SO₄ incubated with the mycelial medium for 72 hours was recovered in the cerebroside sulfate fraction, with only traces of ³⁵S activities in other lipid fractions.     

Heterochronic evolution in the Heliolites interstinctus-decipiens lineage of the Chaleur Bay region, eastern Canada

A study of the Heliolites interstinctus-decipiens lineage from the Silurian of the Chalcur Bay region, eastern Canada, indicates that most morphological characters of this lineage, including tabularium diameter, coenenchymal tubule diameter and corallite spacing, remain relatively invariate through a Llandovery to Pridoli interval of about 20 million years. In contrast, septal development and corallite wall erenulation show pronounced evolutionary changes due to heterochrony, as shown by comparison of astogenies throughout the lineage. The reduction of septa and the replacement of crenulate corallites by smooth ones in the 'decipiens' type descendent appear to have been by paedomorphosis from the 'interstinctus' type ancestor. The problems of speciation in this lineage are discussed including the alternative hypotheses of a speciation event in the early Ludlow or a phyletic trend within a single species whose longevity is due in part to the stabilization processes of niche separation.     

HEDONIC R-INDEX MEASUREMENT OF TEMPERATURE PREFERENCES FOR DRINKING BLACK COFFEE

R-index measures were obtained from judges who ranked black coffees for preferred drinking temperature. Preferred temperatures were above thermal pain and thermal damage thresholds. The least preferred temperature was below the oral thermal pain threshold. Similar results were obtained with a ranking for temperatures that judges felt were most likely to be served in a coffee shop. Observations of customers in coffee shops indicated that they began sipping coffee at similar high temperatures.