Some Biochemical Abnormalities Caused by Cypermethrin in Adults of Tribolium castaneum (Herbst.)

Biochemical effects of sub lethal doses LC₁₀ and LC₂₀ of cypermethrin were studied on some enzymes and macromolecule activities of adult beetles of Tribolium castaneum (Herbst.). Cypermethrin caused disturbances in levels of all biochemical components under study. The dose of 0.78 ppm caused abnormalities in α‐amylase and FAA by increasing their activities i.e., 45.45% and 21.97% significantly. The higher sub lethal dose of 2.62 ppm disturbed all the parameters (AcP, α‐amylase, soluble protein and FAA) except AkP, which was decreased by 93.06%. Moreover, sub lethal doses either increased or decreased the levels of all parameters non‐significantly except AkP and FAA which were effected significantly by 87.92% and 14.29% at lower and higher doses, respectively. In the present studies, cypermethrin significantly enhanced the activity of AkP in both susceptible and resistant strains of T. castaneum adult beetles while FAA contents were increased significantly in resistant strain only. The activity of α‐amylase was significantly lowered in susceptible strain only.     

USE OF SENSORY EVALUATION FOR MEASURING DEODORIZING EFFECTS OF AN AIR CONDITIONER

The application of sensory methodology for measuring deodorizing effect of an air conditioner equipped with electric plasma was introduced. Deodorizing effect was measured using chemical and sensory methods at different time (0, 30 and 60 min) and mode (control, blowing and cooling) of an air conditioner. Smoke from a roll of cigarette in a closed room was used as a source of odor and the concentrations of acetic acid and ammonia were measured as odorous chemical components. As one of the sensory methods triangle test was used and as a first step to obtain deodorizing effects by triangle test, the threshold of each panelist was obtained as the log dilution ratio of odor concentration at which the difference from odorless air was detected. The odor concentration at each time and mode was calculated using the threshold of the panel and the deodorizing effect was obtained on the basis of the odor concentration. In addition to a triangle test, scaling methods such as category scaling or magnitude estimation were used to measure deodorizing effect of an air conditioner. Deodorizing effects by scaling methods were calculated based on odor intensity with time at each mode. The regression analysis was done between the efficacy of deodorizing effect by sensory test and those by acetic acid and ammonia, the R² values of the regression equations for triangle test, category scale, and magnitude estimation were 0.84, 0.72 and 0.69, respectively. Deodorizing effect by triangle test explained the decrease of acetic acid and ammonia better than those by category scaling or magnitude estimation while high cost and time consuming labor involved in triangle tests reduced the merit. The results of this study demonstrated that various sensory methods could be used to measure deodorizing effect of air conditioners and further researches on fast and reliable methods are needed to establish the official procedures.     

A Role for Ecdysteroids in the Induction and Maintenance of the Pharate First Instar Diapause of the Gypsy Moth,Lymantria dispar

Several lines of evidence suggest a novel regulatory mechanism for diapause regulation in the gypsy moth. We propose that ecdysteroids play a role in the induction and maintenance of the pharate first instar larval diapause in this species. A 55 kDa gut protein that is indicative of diapause is expressed in intact and neck-ligated pharate larvae but is not expressed when a ligature is placed posterior to the prothorax, site of the prothoracic gland. Guts cultured in vitro for 12 h cease to synthesize the 55 kDa protein, but synthesis of the protein resumes if the culture medium is enriched with a prothorax extract from pharate larvae or a prothoracic gland extract from fifth instar larvae. Injection of 20-hydroxyecdysone or the ecdysteroid agonist, RH-5992, into isolated abdomens stimulates synthesis of the diapause-specific 55 kDa protein, suggesting that the essential factor from the prothorax is an ecdysteroid. KK-42, an imidazole derivative known to inhibit ecdysteroid biosynthesis, averts diapause when applied to prediapausing pharate first instar larvae, but this effect can be countered by application of 20-hydroxyecdysone or RH-5992, i.e. KK-42 treated pharate larvae that are exposed to an ecdysteroid or RH-5992 readily enter diapause. A chilling period (120 days at 5 degrees C) is normally adequate to prompt an immediate termination of diapause when pharate larvae are transferred to 25 degrees C, but if such larvae are held in hanging drop cultures with ecdysteroids they fail to terminate diapause. Together, these results suggest that ecdysteroids are essential for the induction and maintenance of diapause and imply that a drop in the ecdysteroid titer is essential for diapause termination. Copyright 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved     

Statural growth in known-age African elephants (Loxodonta africana)

The shoulder heights of 224 females and 170 males, and hindfoot length of 236 female and 217 male known-age African elephants ( Loxodonta africana ) were measured, and growth curves constructed for each measure of size. A linear relationship between foot length and shoulder height was confirmed in simultaneous measures of 97 males and 110 females. Growth curves demonstrated the typical sexual dimorphism in both foot length and shoulder height, with males growing more rapidly than females from birth onwards. The size dimorphism in foot length and shoulder height becomes marked by the age of 10 years, with males on average being 60–70 cm taller than females at 65 years. This size dimorphism is produced through faster growth which continues for longer than does that of females. The variance in growth rates is slightly greater for females than for males. It is proposed that female growth after puberty is affected by a trade-off between growth and reproduction, while males who deviate markedly from typical patterns of growth may be subject either to mortality or energetic constraints limiting their potential variance.     

A multivariate approach to the selection of biological reserves

Multivariate analysis provides an effective context for the examination of some significant aspects of biodiversity and conservation. The framework is a multidimensional space that integrates sample sites, taxa and environments. This approach enables terms such as representativeness, complementarity and irreplaceability to be integrated within an intuitive and practical framework for reserve design. Cluster analysis is proposed to determine what is there by defining a set of complementary clusters. These clusters are sampled in a representative manner; from the core outward. The degree of irreplaceability of a site is defined as the multivariate distance of each potential reserve site to its nearest neighbour.     

库蠓属的两个新种(双翅目:蠓科)

1982年在四川省采集吸血蠓时,发现库蠓属(culicoides)两个新种。现记述如下。新种模式标本分别保藏于四川省成都铁路局中心卫生防疫站和中国科学院动物研究所。     

Structure and Process in the Interpretation of South American Myth: The Arawak Dog Spirit People

Recent work on oral narrative has emphasized differences in textual and performative approaches, which in turn has tended to widen the distinction between two fundamental categories of anthropological thought: structure and process. This paper argues that, at least for the interpretation of South American myth, an integrated approach is essential. After reviewing the epistemological basis of current problems in myth studies, the paper attempts a structural analysis of myths with the theme of a metamorphic conjugal union between human and nonhuman. Processual considerations are introduced in the form of syncretic myth, and the argument is advanced that there exist syncretic transformations of a structural nature. Identifying these provides the beginnings of a bridge between structure and process, and leads to an examination of the performative context of the subject myth. Other narrative genres, dealing with explicitly ethnic concepts, are implicated in the processual sequence of the telling and interpretation of the tale. The attempted synthesis of structure and process in narrative analysis leads to an engagement with two difficult problems: the relationship between ethnicity and kinship; and the transition from myth to history. [myth, structure, process, ethnicity, kinship]     

Taxonomy and Description of Vibrio fluvialis sp. nov. (Synonym Group F Vibrios, Group EF6)

A numerical taxonomic study has been carried out to establish the relationship of group F to other biochemically similar organisms within the family Vibrionaceae. A total of 154 strains were examined including 59 of group F. Out of 114 characters determined for each strain 100 were used to compute average Euclidean distances between strains. Four methods of clustering were used, all of which gave very similar results.
Strains resembling Vibrio anguillarum fell into clusters corresponding to V. anguillarum, Beneckea nereida and a previously unrecognized group, phenon 5. Strains of the Aeromonas hydrophila/punctata group formed a heterogenous phenon within which certain subdivisions, perhaps artificial, could be discerned.
Group F strains all fell in one closely-knit cluster distinct from all the species of Vibrio, Aeromonas, Plesiomonas and Photobacteriwn studied. Group F strains could be divided into two biovars, I and II. Both biovars are present in aquatic, particularly estuarine, environments throughout the world but biovar I strains have also been isolated from humans with diarrhoea. It is concluded that group F is a synonym of group EF6 and that the strains within these groups should be classified in a new species named Vibrio fluvialis. The type strain is NCTC 11327.