Operations on large arteries; application of recent advances

With the use of anticoagulants to prevent recurrence of thrombosis it is now possible to open a major artery which has been occluded by a thrombus, remove the thickened lining with the clot and restore the continuity of the vessel. Free vein grafts have been used successfully to replace arterial segments in the extremities. Vein inlay grafts are preferred in dealing with aneurysms of the abdominal aorta. The aneurysmal wall can be used to support the venous segments. It has been possible to by-pass aneurysms of the abdominal aorta by anastomosing the splenic artery to the left iliac artery. The use of the left superficial femoral artery as a by-pass to supply blood to the right leg is described.     

The Ordovician-Silurian boundary stratotype: consequences of its approval by the IUGS

Lespérance, Pierre J., Barnes, Christopher R., Berry, William B. N., Boucot, Arthur J. & Mu En-zhi 1987 07 15: The Ordovician-Silurian boundary stratotype: consequences of its approval by the IUGS.
The Ordovician-Silurian stratotype at Dob's Linn, Scotland is the second systemic boundary approved by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). A review of the internationally accepted criteria required of a stratotype shows that few of these are possessed by the Dob's Linn section. The strongest attribute of the section is the presence of zonal graptolites, although the boundary is recognized primarily on a single biological event (base of acuminatus Zone) for which the evolutionary relationships of the taxa are not established. In approving this boundary proposal in 1985, which received only simple majority support within the Ordovician-Silurian Boundary Working Group (OSBWG) and which fails to meet most of the accepted prerequisites for a stratotype, the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) and the IUGS have established an unfortunate precedent. It follows that future systemic boundaries need not meet the accepted standards. It raises serious questions on the assessment and voting procedures of the International Commission on Stratigraphy and on the credence accorded the recommendations developed by the International Subcommission on Stratigraphic Classification of IUGS.     

Estimates of gene flow, genetic substructure and population heterogeneity in bracken (Pteridium aquilinum)

Bracken [ Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn] is a cosmopolitan species and is a noxious weed in many areas. Because of its abundance, particularly in Britain, bracken affords an ideal system for investigating various aspects of population genetics and evolution. High mobility of dispersal units (spores) suggests that rates of gene flow among distant populations should be high. Gene flow is a major evolutionary force that influences the genetic structure of populations. To examine the effects of gene flow on population heterogeneity and population substructuring in bracken, starch gel electrophoresis of enzymes was used to provide the necessary genetic database. Allele frequency data at 21 loci were obtained for seven British populations, one Majorcan and one from the eastern United States. A model was employed to estimate the amount of gene flow ( Nm ) at several levels. Gene flow among British populations was extremely high ( Nm = 36.51), one of the highest estimates reported for plants. Among eight European populations gene flow was lower (but still considered high) at Nm = 2.47. Trans-Atlantic gene flow was low ( Nm = 0.0926).
F -statistics were used to assess population heterogeneity and substructuring. The data indicate that, compared with other species, there is very little genetic differentiation among British populations of bracken. Indeed, it appears that the whole island is behaving as a single randommating population. This result is consistent with high levels of gene flow. Only one population (on the Isle of Arran) showed statistically significant genetic substructuring. Habitat heterogeneity on the island and age structure are hypothesized as possible causes of this result.
The data reported here support previous studies demonstrating that bracken is genetically polymorphic and is an outcrossing species.     

A survey of angiosperm species to detect hypodermal Gasparian bands. I. Roots with a uniseriate hypodermis and epidermis

PERUMALLA, C. J., PETERSON, C. A. & ENSTONE, D. E., 1990. A survey of angiosperm species to detect hypodermal Casparian bands. I. Roots with a uniseriate hypodermis and epidermis. Roots of 181 species from 53 families were surveyed to determine the frequency of Casparian bands in hypodermal layers. For six species, inconclusive data were obtained. The roots of the remaining 175 species were divided into three categories on the basis of this survey. In the first, a hypodermis is absent (12 species): no wall modifications were observed in the outer cortex and this region was permeable to the apoplastic dye Cellufluor. In the second, a hypodermis is present, but a hypodermal Casparian band is absent (seven species). In roots of six species, no wall modifications were detected in the hypodermis; the one remaining species had lignified phi thickenings which were permeable to Cellufluor. In the third, both a hypodermis and a hypodermal Casparian band are present (156 species). These Casparian bands consisted of suberin deposits throughout the width of the anticlinal walls of the hypodermis. The tangential walls of the hypodermis were also suberized, indicating that suberin lamellae were probably also present. Hypodermal Casparian bands were found in roots of hydrophytic, mesophytic and xerophytic species and in members of primitive as well as advanced families. The widespread occurrence of these bands (in 89% of the species surveyed) suggests that they were present in the type ancestral to the flowering plants and that this feature has been retained by many species in this group. The epidermal cell walls of the majority of species examined were suberized but were permeable to Cellufluor.     

The development of an Early Ordovician hard ground community in response to rapid sea-floor calcite precipitation

The Kanosh Shale (Upper Arenig, Lower Ordovician) of west-central Utah. USA. contains abundant carbonate hardgrounds and one of the earliest diverse hardground communities. The hardgrounds were formed through a combination of processes including the development of early digenetic nodules in clay sediments which were exhumed and concentrated as lags by storms. These cobble deposits. together with plentiful biogenic metrical. were cemented by inorganically precipitated calcite on the sea floor. forming intraformational conglomerate hardgrounds. Echinoderms may have -played a critical role in the development of hardground faunas since their disarticulated calcite ossicles were rapidly cemented by syntaxial overgrowths. forming additional cobbles and hardgrounds. The echinoderms thus may have taphonomically facilitated the development of some of the hard substrates they required. A significant portion of the hardground cements may have been derived from the early dissolution of aragonitic mollusk shells. Kanosh hardground species include the earliest bryozoans recorded on hardgrounds and large numbers of stemmed echinoderms. primarily rhipidocystid cocrinoids. Bryozoans and echinoderms covered nearly equal areas of the hardground surfaces. and there was a distinct polarization between species which preferred the upper. exposed portions of the hardgrounds and others which were most common on undercut. overhang surfaces. The Kanosh Shale hardground fossils combine elements of Late Cambrian assemblages and Middle Ordovician faunas, thus confirming predicted trends in hardground community evolution. especially the replacement of cocrinoids by bryozoans and. to a lesser extent, by other stemmed echinoderms, especially crinoids. The Kanosh community marks the transition from the Cambrian Fauna to The Paleozoic Fauna in The hardground ecosystem. *Carbonate hardgrounds, aragonite dissolution, calcite cement, Echinodermara, Trepostomata, Nicholsonclla. Dianulites. Porifpra. taphonomic facilitation, Utah. Pogonip Group, Kanosh Shale. Ordovician.     

Spatial sampling to detect slug abundance in an arable field

Overuse of molluscicides by farmers in arable systems can lead to environmental and product contamination. Here we assess a simple and inexpensive surface trapping method for monitoring populations of slugs (Deroceras reticulatum and Arion intermedius). This method was biased against small slugs, and against A. intermedius, when compared to direct soil sampling. Regression was used to model the relationship between the results of surface trapping and soil sampling methods. Spatial Analysis by Distance IndicEs (SADIE) algorithms were used to describe the spatial relationships between the two sets of samples. Using both traditional statistical methods and spatial statistics, the spatial information collected from surface traps was sufficient to identify patches and gaps in slug numbers and possibly to allow the spot application of slug control, and thus provide land managers who experience slug damage with a way of reducing molluscicides use, whilst maintaining slug control. Further improvements and applications of the model are discussed.     

Abundance and distribution within a guild of benthic stream fishes: local processes and regional patterns

1. Spatial patterns at regional and local scales were examined for evidence that species interactions can influence distribution and abundance within a guild of benthic fishes in upland streams of Oklahoma, U.S.A. Three groups of community patterns were examined: the species–area relationship, species–habitat associations, and interspecific associations.
2. The species–area relationship for riffle habitats was compared to a null species–area model based on random placement. The observed species–area curve was steeper resulting in less species per unit area in small streams than predicted by the null model.
3. Small, species-poor streams had summed fish densities at least as high as larger, species-rich streams, suggesting density compensation.
4. Several significant patterns of negative covariation were found among species at the regional scale, before and after statistically accounting for effects due to measured habitat variables.
5. For two of these negatively covarying taxa ( Cottus carolinae and Etheostoma spectabile ), the influence of each species on the distribution of the other was evaluated experimentally in field enclosures varying in depth and current velocity. The sculpin C . carolinae caused a shift in habitat use by the darter E . spectabile , but no reciprocal shift was found.
6. These results indicate an agreement between local and regional patterns of distribution for C . carolinae and E . spectabile and suggest that biotic interactions can influence regional patterns of distribution for species within this guild.