Arterial imaging with computerized fluoroscopy

Computerized fluoroscopy (CF) allows visualization of any segment of the arterial vascular system with intravenous injection of small volumes of standard iodinated contrast media. Because it avoids the risk of arterial puncture and the need for hospitalization, this technique is safer and more economical than standard arteriography. Because of these advantages, CF is likely to expand the role of arteriography in the clinical management of vascular disease. Computerized arteriographic imaging requires an intravenous power injection of 40 to 60 cc of iodinated contrast media. Immediately after injection, six to ten fluoroscopic images (1/15 sec duration) are obtained at 1.5-sec intervals. The first image serves as a mask from which subsequent images are serially subtracted by means of a digital video image processor. The sequence of different images is contrast enhanced and stored on a video disk. Video images are converted to hard copy arteriography with a standard multiformat camera. Technical failures (<5%) may result from patient motion, inadequate peripheral venous access, or extravasation of contrast media. Nearly 600 computerized intravenous arteriograms have been performed in 240 patients with peripheral vascular disease. Qualitative com-parisons with standard arteriograms suggest a close correlation between these two imaging techniques. Computerized fluoroscopy allows the identification of atheromatous plaque ulceration, stenoses, occlusions, and aneurysms. This method has been used to visualize the aortic arch and its branches, the cervical and intracranial vessels, the abdominal aorta, and arteries of the extremities. Computerized fluoroscopy has great potential as a method for safe, simple diagnostic screening and assessment of the postoperative patient.     

Temperature as a control over ecosystem CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> fluxes in a high-elevation,subalpine forest

We evaluated the hypothesis that CO(2) uptake by a subalpine, coniferous forest is limited by cool temperature during the growing season. Using the eddy covariance approach we conducted observations of net ecosystem CO(2) exchange (NEE) across two growing seasons. When pooled for the entire growing season during both years, light-saturated net ecosystem CO(2) exchange (NEE(sat)) exhibited a temperature optimum within the range 7-12 degrees C. Ecosystem respiration rate ( R(e)), calculated as the y-intercept of the NEE versus photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) relationship, increased with increasing temperature, causing a 15% reduction in net CO(2) uptake capacity for this ecosystem as temperatures increased from typical early season temperatures of 7 degrees C to typical mid-season temperatures of 18 degrees C. The ecosystem quantum yield and the ecosystem PPFD compensation point, which are measures of light-utilization efficiency, were highest during the cool temperatures of the early season, and decreased later in the season at higher temperatures. Branch-level measurements revealed that net photosynthesis in all three of the dominant conifer tree species exhibited a temperature optimum near 10 degrees C early in the season and 15 degrees C later in the season. Using path analysis, we statistically isolated temperature as a seasonal variable, and identified the dynamic role that temperature exhibits in controlling ecosystem fluxes early and late in the season. During the spring, an increase in temperature has a positive effect on NEE, because daytime temperatures progress from near freezing to near the photosynthetic temperature optimum, and R(e )values remain low. During the middle of the summer an increase in temperature has a negative effect on NEE, because inhibition of net photosynthesis and increases in R(e). When taken together, the results demonstrate that in this high-elevation forest ecosystem CO(2) uptake is not limited by cool-temperature constraints on photosynthetic processes during the growing-season, as suggested by some previous ecophysiological studies at the branch and needle levels. Rather, it is warm temperatures in the mid-summer, and their effect on ecosystem respiration, that cause the greatest reduction in the potential for forest carbon sequestration.     

The use of relaxed eddy accumulation to measure biosphere-atmosphere exchange of isoprene and other biological trace gases

The micrometeorological flux measurement technique known as relaxed eddy accumulation (REA) holds promise as a powerful new tool for ecologists. The more popular eddy covariance (eddy correlation) technique requires the use of sensors that can respond at fast rates (10 Hz), and these are unavailable for many ecologically relevant compounds. In contrast, the use of REA allows flux measurement with sensors that have much slower response time, such as gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. In this review, relevant micrometeorological details underlying REA are presented, and critical analytical and system design details are discussed, with the goal of introducing the technique and its potential applications to ecologists. The validity of REA for measuring fluxes of isoprene, a photochemically reactive hydrocarbon emitted by several plant species, was tested with measurements over an oak-hickory forest in the Walker Branch Watershed in eastern Tennessee. Concurrent eddy covariance measurements of isoprene flux were made using a newly available chemiluminesence instrument. Excellent agreement was obtained between the two techniques (r ² = 0.974, n = 62), providing the first direct comparison between REA and eddy covariance for measuring the flux rate of a reactive compound. The influence of a bias in vertical wind velocity on the accuracy of REA was examined. This bias has been thought to be a source of significant error in the past. Measurements of normalized bias () alone would lead us to think that a large potential error exists at this site. However, with our isoprene data and through simulations of REA with fast-response H₂O and CO₂ data, we conclude that accurate REA flux measurements can be made even in the presence of a bias in w. Received: 26 March 1997 / Accepted: 14 April 1998     

The qSD12 locus controls offspring tissue-imposed seed dormancy in rice

Seed component structures were grouped into maternal and offspring (embryo and endosperm) tissues to characterize a dormancy quantitative trait locus (QTL) for tissue-specific function using a marker-assisted genetic approach. The approach was devised to test if genotypic/allelic frequencies of a marker tightly linked to the QTL deviate from Mendelian expectations in germinated and nongerminated subpopulations derived from a segregation population of partially after-ripened seeds and was applied to the dormancy QTL qSD12 and qSD7-1 in a nearly isogenic background of rice. Experimental results unambiguously demonstrated that qSD12 functions in the offspring tissue(s) and suggested that qSD7-1 may control dormancy through the maternal tissues. These experiments also provide the first solid evidence that an offspring tissue-imposed dormancy gene contributes to the segregation distortion in a mapping population developed from partially after-ripened seeds and, in part, to the germination heterogeneity of seeds from hybrid plants. Offspring and maternal tissue-imposed dormancy genes express in very early and late stages of the life cycle, respectively, and interact to provide the species with complementary adaptation strategies. The qSD12 locus was narrowed to the region of approximately 600 kbp on a high-resolution map to facilitate cloning and marker-assisted selection of the major dormancy gene.     

Analysis of veterinary drug residues in shrimp: a multi-class method by liquid chromatography-quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometry

A liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method was developed to screen and confirm veterinary drug residues in raw shrimp meat. This method simultaneously monitors 18 drugs of different classes, including oxytetracycline (OTC), sulfonamides, quinolones, cationic dyes, and toltrazuril sulfone (TOLS). The homogenized shrimp meat is extracted with 5% trichloroacetic acid. The extract is further cleaned using polymer-based SPE. A 50 mm phenyl column separates the analytes, prior to analysis with an ion trap mass spectrometer interfaced with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization source. This method is able to confirm oxytetracycline residues at 200 ng/g, toltrazuril sulfone at 50 ng/g, sulfaquinoxaline at 20 ng/g, and the other 15 drugs at 10 ng/g or lower levels. An estimate of the level of residues can also be made so that only confirmed samples above action levels will be sent for quantitation. The method is validated with both fortified and incurred samples, using multiple shrimp species as well. This multi-class method can provide a means to simultaneously monitor for a wide range of illegal drug residues in shrimp.     

Trigonelline in mature seeds and developing seedlings of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Glycine max</Emphasis>

Trigonelline (TRG) is known as a compatible solute in response to stress as well as a cell cycle regulator, and is more concentrated in legumes than other non-legume dicots. Four Glycine max L. genotypes (Essex, ExF 67, Forrest and Stressland) were used to examine TRG concentration in seeds and seedlings exposed to 30 or 100 mM NaCl, and to determine the association of TRG concentrations in seedlings with seedling growth. Seed germination across genotypes was inhibited by elevated salinity (71–91 %) in ExF 67 and Forrest and by accelerated aging (77–92 %) in Forrest. Length of seedlings in most genotypes stressed with NaCl apparently decreased. The TRG content in mature seeds of four genotypes was 44.4–74.6 μg g⁻¹(d.m.). TRG content significantly increased during early young seedling development, but remained or significantly reduced in some genotypes stressed with NaCl.     

Diversity in mussel beds at deep-sea hydrothermal vents and cold seeps

Remarkably little is known about fundamental distinctions (or similarities) between the faunas of deep‐sea hydrothermal vents and seeps. Low species richness at vents has been attributed to the transient nature of vent habitats and to toxic effects of hydrogen sulphide and heavy metals in vent effluents. Seeps are arguably more stable and more chemically benign than vents. They have also been regarded as more diverse, but until now there has not been a rigorous test of this hypothesis. We evaluated diversity indices for invertebrates associated with mussel beds at six vents and two seeps and found that invertebrate diversity was significantly higher at seeps than vents, although some vent mussel beds supported nearly the same diversity as seep mussel beds. Lower diversity at vents may be a consequence of a greater physiological barrier to invasion at vents than at seeps. Diversity was lowest where spacing between vents was greatest, suggesting that risks of extinction as a result of dispersal‐related processes may contribute to the pattern of diversity observed at vents.     

Activity of selected neonicotinoids and dicrotophos on nontarget arthropods in cotton: implications in insect management

Certain neonicotinoids are used in cotton, Gossypium hirsutum (L.), to control various piercing-sucking pests. We conducted field studies using three neonicotinoids (acetamiprid, thiamethoxam, and imidacloprid) and an organophosphate (dicrotophos) to assess the activity of these insecticides against nontarget arthropods, particularly predators, and to determine the potential economic consequences of such activity. Mortality among populations of the big-eyed bug, Geocoris punctipes (Say), and the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, was highest after thiamethoxam and dicrotophos treatments. Numbers of arachnids were consistently lower after dicrotophos treatments, whereas none of the neonicotinoids caused appreciable mortality. Total predators in pooled data from five separate studies revealed that numbers, compared with untreated plots, were reduced by -75% in dicrotophos, 55-60% in thiamethoxam, and only 30% in both acetamiprid and imidacloprid plots. Acetamiprid and thiamethoxam exhibited significant mortality against field-deposited eggs of bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie). Both thiamethoxam and dicrotophos plots exhibited bollworm numbers that were approximately three times higher than treatment thresholds (three per 100 plants), whereas numbers in untreated plots were below threshold levels. In one study on Bt cotton, a significant negative correlation was observed between numbers of predators and bollworm larvae. Results demonstrated that neonicotinoids differ in activity against predaceous arthropods and bollworm eggs and that high predator mortality can result in resurgence of bollworm larvae and additional insecticide costs.     

Egg Predation by the Introduced Lady Beetle,Coccinella septempunctata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Lowers Mortality but Raises Relative Risk for the Native Lady Beetle,Coccinella novemnotata

Populations of the native ninespotted lady beetle, Coccinella novemnotata Herbst, have undergone precipitous declines in North America following the establishment of the exotic sevenspotted lady beetle, Coccinella septempunctata L. Recent volunteer efforts have made it possible to establish colonies of the now-rare C. novemnotata and test mechanisms contributing to its decline. We evaluated the relative frequencies of intraguild predation and cannibalism of eggs between these two species. A single C. novemnotata or C. septempunctata adult was exposed to conspecific and heterospecific eggs in either the presence or absence of pea aphids. The study revealed two expected results: 1) eggs of C. novemnotata were consumed more frequently than eggs of C. septempunctata by both species, and 2) egg consumption was higher when aphids were absent, independent of predator and egg species. There were also two unexpected results from the study: 1) the asymmetry between egg predation rates was higher when aphids were present, and 2) higher predation rates on C. novemnotata eggs in the absence of alternate prey was due to a relatively higher rate of intraspecific cannibalism. This implies that C. novemnotata would have suffered higher egg mortality rates before the invasion of C. septempunctata, but even though the aggregate rate of egg predation on C. novemnotata eggs is lower post-invasion, it is still significantly higher than the aggregate rate of predation of C. septempunctata eggs. This differential pattern of asymmetric predation could contribute to habitat compression and the overall decline of C. novemnotata.