Studies on auxin protector substances, IAA-oxidase and peroxidase in cotyledons of Pharbitis nil

The nature of macromolecular "auxin protector substances" causinglag periods rather than inhibition in the rate of IAA oxidationwas reinvestigated. Three different peaks were separated bySephadex gel filtration; each was then examined by means ofenzymatic (IAA oxidase, peroxidase) and electrophoretic techniquesand correlated with the activities of both enzymes and withzymogram patters. The auxin protector activity of the high molecularweight fractions increased after high temperature treatment.On the basis of experiments involving dialysis and chromatographybefore and after heating, auxin protectors appear to be complexesof macromolecules with small molecules. (Received May 18, 1971; )     

Lithium-induced Hypersensitivity to Foot Shock in Rats and the Role of 5-Hydroxytryptophan

REPORTS of the behavioural effects of lithium salts on animals mainly seem to have dealt with depressant effects on spontaneous activities or with toxic symptoms (weight loss, polyuria, polydipsia, diarrhoea and so on). After prolonged lithium treatment, changes in brain 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT) metabolism have been found to occur; 5HT turnover is decreased either in the whole brain¹ or in specific areas such as brainstem and hypothalamus^{1, 2}, where the levels are also decreased². When levels of 5HT are reduced in the whole brain of rats either by lesions³ or by parachlorophenylalanine (PCPA)⁴, an inhibitor of 5HT synthesis, motor responsiveness of rats to electrical stimulation of the feet has been found to increase. We have observed that rats treated with lithium for a few days struggle more than controls when the skin is punctured in the course of injections and after 2 weeks of treatment with lithium chloride (LiCl), foot shock “jump response” thresholds are reduced by about 10 and 25% with doses of 1 and 2 mequiv./kg respectively. With larger doses, sensitivity to foot shock is not increased further, but may even decline as toxic effects appear; after 2 weeks of administration of 3 mequiv/kg LiCl, toxic effects appeared in nearly all our rats and about 10% of animals died. Sheard⁵ has found that treatment for 5 days with a high dose of LiCl (5 mequiv/kg) had no effect on motor responsiveness to foot shock, although shock-induced aggressive behaviour decreased; no toxic effects were reported.     

Effect of waterlogging yam vines on vegetative growth and tuber yield

The effect of waterlogging the vines of two yam varieties for 24, 48 and 72 hours at two stages of growth, with or without fertiliser application, was studied in the field. Waterlogging caused a progressive degeneration of the leaf starting with the development of fresh lesions on the lower leaf surface, through necrotic spots or portions, to complete leaf necrosis. The degree of leaf damage was greater with Um 680 (Dioscorea alata) than with Obiaoturugo (D. rotundata). Waterlogging also caused the breakdown of the apical buds of the vines. The degree of damage increased with the duration of waterlogging. Younger plants suffered more damage than older plants, and plants treated with fertiliser suffered more than plants without fertiliser. Waterlogging ultimately hastened the final senescence of the yam vine. Waterlogging vines for 24 h had no effect on tuber yield, while waterlogging for 48 and 72 h reduced tuber yield by 32.4% and 43.2% respectively (P< 0.01). Waterlogging vines at the early growth stage produced 47.6% (P <0.01) less yield than waterlogging at a later stage. It is suggested that short-term or long-term waterlogging of the yam vine, or parts thereof, is the main cause of reduced leaf area and low yield in unstaked compared with staked yarn crops. Waterlogging may also be a predisposing factor to disease infection of yam vines by soil-borne micro-organisms.     

Limbs vs. Jaws: Can They Be Compared?

Current experimental research on mammalian limb muscle structureand function is compared to that on mammalian jaw muscles. Twomajor areas of comparison are stressed: structural and functional.Comparisons of limbs and jaws are made from the point of viewof the impact of recent studies on simple mechanical modelsof limb/jaw muscle function. Limb muscle structure is comparedto jaw muscles at the level of muscle architecture, muscle histochemicaland motor unit properties, and the organization of motor unitsinto neuromuscular compartments. Such comparisons reveal thatalthough limb muscles and jaw muscles might be organized insimilar ways, fundamental differences exist, both in terms ofmuscle structure and the functional conclusions which have beenbased on studies of muscle structure. The comparisons also demonstratethat much recent evidence from structural studies have had littledirect impact on simple models of muscle function but a muchlarger influence on the assumptions of the models. Comparisonsof limb/jaw muscle function from kinematic and EMG studies,indicate that many masticatory strategies are used by differentmammals but the basic problems of posture and locomotion havebeen met with essentially similar solutions, even among diversemammalian groups. The results of such comparisons demonstratethat both limb and jaw muscle function are sufficiently complexthat new or re-vitalized models are needed if the relationshipbetween structure and function are ever to be understood.     

Population Responses to Environmental Change: Life History Variation, Individual-based Models, and the Population Dynamics of Short-lived Organisms

SYNOPSIS. We review two potentially important approaches topredicting the consequences of environmental change for populationsof short-lived organisms. First, we examine the concepts of"feasible life histories" and "feasible demographies" and presentthe results of a set of simulations in which the effects onpopulation growth rate of varying one of the demographic variables(average nest survival, average juvenile survival rates, averageannual adult survival rates, or age-specific fecundity) overa broad range of values while the others are maintained at long-termpopulation average values for the Grapevine Hills, Texas populationof the short-lived lizard Sceloporus merriami. The results ofthese simulations are compared to an analogous set of simulationsfor a Michigan population of the relatively long-lived snappingturtle (Chelydra serpentina, Congdon et al., 1994). The implicationsof differences in feasible demographies and life histories suchas described for these two species are discussed. We also discuss the approach of using individual-based, physiologicallystructured models to predict population response to environmentalvariation and present the results of simulations using a modeldeveloped for predicting population-level effects of operativeenvironmental variation in the lizard S. merriami under twodifferent climate change scenarios. This individual-based, physiologicallystructured model incorporates population-specific data on ecologicalenergetics, thermal and size dependence of digestive physiologyand metabolic rates, energetics of individual growth, allometricrelationships, social structure and mating system, and the dependenceof mortality rates on age, size, and social status of individuals.The data necessary to such models of population response toenvironmental variation can come only from detailed long-termstudies of individual populations.     

Blepharisma seculum, sp. nov., a Member of the Subgenus (Compactum)

SYNOPSIS. Blepharisma seculum sp. nov. is described as a small-sized blepharisma with a compact, spheroid macronucleus and a distinct curvature of the body anteriorly. A comparison of this form with other species of the genus Blepharisma subgenus ( Compactum ) is given.     

Effects of root nodules and taproots on survival and abundance of Sitona hispidulus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) on Medicago sativa

ABSTRACT.

• 1 The effects of food resources on populations of larvae of Sitona hispidulus (F.), a root and nodule herbivore of Medicago sativa L., were investigated in 1983 and 1984.
• 2 Density-dependent mortality among first-instar larvae indicated that a lack of available root nodules, the primary resource for first instars, contributed to the 66.2±5.2% and 80.7±4.1% mortalities of first-instar larvae in 1983 and 1984, respectively. Initial densities of larvae entering the soil were 31.7±2.4 and 15.6±1.3 per soil sample (10.5 cm diam. ×15 cm deep) in 1983 and 1984, respectively (±SEM).
• 3 Survivorship and number of first-instar larvae per soil core sample were significantly related to number and biomass of nodules per soil sample. Percentage soil moisture was not consistently correlated with survivorship and number of larvae per soil sample.
• 4 Numbers of second- and third-instar larvae were not consistently correlated with either nodule or taproot biomass.
• 5 Numbers of fourth-instar larvae were associated with taproot biomass, suggesting that taproot surface area may also limit population levels of S.hispidulus. No correlations were found between taproot and nodule biomass on any sampling date indicating that high numbers of fourth-instar larvae associated with larger taproots were not merely due to a greater survival of first instars associated with larger taproots.
• 6 The study suggests that population levels of nodule-herbivores are controlled by the availability of root nodules. A sparse distribution of nodules results in high levels of mortality among nodule-herbivores of Medicago sativa.