The control of Aphis fabae Scop, on spring-sown field beans (Vicia faba L.)

Disulfoton or phorate granules or demeton-S-methyl, menazon and vamidothion sprays, applied once in early June as preventive treatments before heavy aphid colonies developed, gave good control of Aphis fabae Scop, on field beans. Phosalone gave relatively poor results and DDT was ineffective. Applications in June to crops sown in February and early March were made with minimal wheel damage to the crop and are known to be less harmful to bees than sprays at flowering time. Eradicant treatments with demeton-S-methyl and dimethoate sprays or with disulfoton or phorate granules on heavily infested plants during flowering were also effective, but menazon was less satisfactory. These eradicant sprays are likely to be harmful to bees, and wheel damage in late June reduced yield by 1–2 cwt/acre (125–250 kg/ha). Peak populations of 3000 aphids/plant in early July reduced yield by 6 cwt/acre (750 kg/ha) in one trial.     

Collagen biosynthesis; tissue culture experiments to ascertain the role of ascorbic acid in collagen formation

Quantitative studies of collagen formation by chick embryonic lung tissue grown in media deficient in, or completely lacking, ascorbic acid have been carried out. Cell growth and collagen formation in such cultures can proceed almost normally in media lacking ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid in combination with whole embryo extract, dialyzed media, or synthetic mixture number 703 was found to have no appreciable effect on cell growth or total collagen formation. This is in marked contrast to the almost total failure of collagen formation in scorbutic animals and suggests that for slow collagen biosynthesis as distinct from more prolific collagen-producing systems, ascorbic acid plays an indirect role.     

Evaluation of GABA Production and Probiotic Activities of Enterococcus faecium BS5

Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins - Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a principal inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system and is produced by irreversible decarboxylation of...     

Repetitive flanking sequences (ReFS): novel molecular markers from microsatellite families

Although microsatellite markers have become exceedingly popular in molecular studies of wild organisms, their development in some taxonomic groups is challenging. This is partly because of repetitive flanking sequences, which lead to the simultaneous amplification of alleles from multiple loci. Until now, these microsatellite DNA families have been considered unsuitable for population genetics studies, but here we describe our development of these repetitive flanking sequences (ReFS) as novel molecular markers. We illustrate the utility of these markers by using them to address an outstanding taxonomic question in the moth genus Schrankia.     

Effect of Heliothis subflexa herbivory on fruit abscission by Physalis species: the roles of mechanical damage and chemical factors

1. Insect oral secretions are important for the induction of a number of plant responses, but the relative role of mechanical damage in the induction of these responses is often not well understood. Damage from the frugivore Heliothis subflexa, a specialist on Physalis species, causes herbivore‐induced fruit abscission. In this field study, we examined the separate and combined effects of mechanical damage and H. subflexa oral secretions on Physalis fruit abscission. 2. To determine the relative role of mechanical and chemical factors, the following treatments were administered to fruit: (1) three levels of mechanical damage, (2) natural herbivore damage by control larvae and by larvae surgically treated to inhibit saliva secretion, and (3) injection of H.subflexa oral secretions and a water control. Abscission of mechanically damaged fruit with and without the addition of oral secretions was also compared. 3. Mechanical damage was sufficient to cause fruit abscission, and the addition of oral secretions to mechanically damaged fruit did not cause an increase in fruit abscission. Normal caterpillars and those treated to inhibit saliva secretion caused similar abscission rates. 4. Though most studies examining the effects of insect oral secretions on induced plant responses find these chemical stimuli to be important or essential, the results of the present study showed that oral secretions are not necessary for fruit abscission. Future work is needed to determine the relative importance of mechanical damage in herbivore‐induced plant responses in other systems.     

Monolayer formation of human osteoblastic cells on vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotube scaffolds

Monolayer formation of SaOS‐2 (human osteoblast‐like cells) was observed on VACNT (vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes) scaffolds without purification or functionalization. The VACNT were produced by a microwave plasma chemical vapour deposition on titanium surfaces with nickel or iron as catalyst. Cell viability and morphology studies were evaluated by LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) release assay and SEM (scanning electron microscopy), respectively. The non‐toxicity and the flat spreading with monolayer formation of the SaOs‐2 on VACNT scaffolds surface indicate that they can be used for biomedical applications.     

Constraint and the square snail: life at the limits of a covariance set. The normal teratology of Cerion disforme

Two major developmental constraints, identified and assessed by the covariance structure of ontogenetic measures, strongly influence the form and variation of Cerion in every study I have ever undertaken on this protean genus: the jigsaw constraint of large-and few vs small-and-many whorls for shells reaching a similar final size; and the compensatory constraint of later heights balancing juvenile widths to bring adult shells into a limited range of final proportions.
This study explores a set of taxa (the Cerion dimidiatum complex of eastern Cuba) growing at one extreme of the compensatory constraint–maximally flat juvenile shells followed by abrupt allometric transition to orthogonal adult whorls. I show that the most curious of all Cerion taxa, the teratologously uncoiling C. disforme , owes its unique and distinctive form to growth at an extreme of the compensatory constraint: the juvenile cross-section goes beyond mere flatness to actual concavity; and the adult shell, after maximally abrupt allometric transition to downward growth, loses contact with the juvenile whorls and begins to unwind in teratologic fashion. I present several categories of evidence to demonstrate that C. disforme is the extreme in a morphocline of taxa, whose correlated features express increasing discordance (and correlated sequelae of size and shape) under the compensatory constraint: C. geophilus – C. dimidiatum – C. alberli – C.disforme. I provide data for clines in morphology, in amount and character of variation, and in mode of growth. This genre of constraint–Darwin's old "correlations of growth"–must be given equal weight with immediate adaptation in a unified explanation of growth and form.