Feasible mechanisms for algal digestion in the king angelfish

To determine the ability of the king angelfish Holacanthus passer to digest algae, three algal species were immersed in acidic conditions similar to that found in the stomach of fish. Only one of them was not susceptible to acidic lysis; two were affected after 40 and 60 min at pH 2·0. King angelfish have an expanded region of the intestine called here the hindgut chamber (HC) containing populations of micro-organisms. Some of these micro-organisms have the capacity to grow in cellulose, agar, and alginic acid; the main components of algal cell walls. Micro-organisms grew in carboxymethylcellulose cultures under aerobic and micro-aerobic conditions. The HC is highly vascularized, which could increase absorptive efficiency of material digested in it.     

Using FTA® cards to store avian blood samples for genetic studies. Their application in sex determination

FTA® cards were used for long‐term storage of avian blood samples. Blood DNA was extracted by a simple method and used in PCR for sex identification of adult and nestling Great Grey Shrikes Lanius excubitor.     

Iron metabolism in iron-deficient male quail

1. Male quails submitted 20 and 120 days to a low iron diet (7 ppm) were compared to female laying quails, exposed for 30 days to the same low iron regime, in order to compare the response of the iron metabolic control under a single (erythropoiesis) or a doubled (erythropoiesis and egg formation) iron demand. 2. Iron deposit in storage organs, the classical hematology and the intestinal iron absorption were analyzed in these animals. 3. In males, after 120 days, the iron deposits were reduced 50 and 75%, but hematological values (hematocrit and hemoglobin concentration) were normal, although in laying quails, after 30 days, an anemic condition was evident in both blood parameters and iron deposits, provoking an iron deficient erythropoiesis. 4. The enhancement of the intestinal iron uptake, confirms the anemic character of these birds.     

Temperature influences the expression of fimbriae and flagella in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Hafnia alvei</Emphasis> strains: an immunofluorescence study

Hafnia alvei, a Gram negative bacillus related to the Enterobacteriaceae family, is considered an opportunistic pathogen of several animal species and humans. In this communication, we describe fimbrial-like structures from different strains of H. alvei that cannot be easily ascribed to any of the previously reported fimbrial types in this species (type I or type III). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunofluorescence assays were carried out to study fimbriae and flagella in H. alvei strains isolated from different sources. No correlation between the results obtained by PCR and those obtained by phenotypic methods were found, and the antibodies used gave cross or different recognition patterns of the surface structures present in these strains. We report as well that strain and growth temperature influence fimbriation and expression of flagella in human and animal isolates of H. alvei. This study also indicates that the absence of fimbriae have a significant positive influence on the initial adhesion of H. alvei to human epithelial cells.     

Impact of the Arundo scale Rhizaspidiotus donacis (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) on the weight of Arundo donax (Poaceae: Arundinoideae) rhizomes in Languedoc southern France and Mediterranean Spain

Arundo donax L. (Poaceae) is native to Mediterranean Europe and invasive in the Rio Grande Basin of North America. Rhizomes from nine sites in France and Spain infested with a candidate control agent, the armoured scale Rhizaspidiotus donacis (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) weighed 50% less than those from nine sites without scale.     

Halobacterial megaplasmids are negatively supercoiled

Several covalently closed circular halobacterial megaplasmids (up to more than 500 kb) from different strains of Halolerax mediterranei, have been resolved by orthogonal-field alternating gel electro-phoresis (OFAGE). These molecules seem to be negatively supercoiled in vivo, as deduced from the effect of intercalating agents affecting their topology and, therefore, their electrophoretic mobility. It has also been demonstrated that the topolsomerase II Inhibitor novobiocin affects the native topological state of halobacterial megaplasmids impeding their migration in OFAGE under standard conditions for resolution of large supercoiled molecules.     

From Regional to National Clouds: TV Coverage in the Czech Republic

Media, and particularly TV media, have a great impact on the general public. In recent years, spatial patterns of information and the relevance of intangible geographies have become increasingly important. Gatekeeping plays a critical role in the selection of information that is transformed into media. Therefore, gatekeeping, through national media, also co-forms the generation of mental maps. In this paper, correspondence analysis (a statistical method) combined with cloud lines (a new visual analytics technique) is used to analyze how individual major regional events in one of the post-communist countries, the Czech Republic, penetrate into the media on a national scale. Although national news should minimize distortions about regions, this assumption has not been verified by our research. Impressions presented by the media of selected regions that were markedly influenced by one or several events in those regions demonstrate that gatekeepers, especially news reporters, functioned as a filter by selecting only a few specific, and in many cases, unusual events for dissemination.