A Comparison of the Efficacy of Nuclear Polyhedrosis and Granulosis Viruses in Spray and Bait Formulations for the Control of Agrotis segetum (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Maize

Agrotis segetum nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AsNPV) and granulosis virus (AsGV), propagated in laboratory cultures of A. segetum in England and A. ipsilon in Spain, respectively, were applied to plots of maize plants at the one‐ to four‐leaf stage of growth. Plots were arranged in a 6 x 6 Latin square design and infested with second‐instar A. segetum larvae (the common cutworm). Each virus was applied in separate treatments by two application methods; as an aqueous spray containing 0.1% Agral as a wetting agent, and as a bran bait. The NPV was applied at a rate of 4 X 10¹² polyhedra/ha, and the GV at 4 X 10¹³ granules/ha. Soil and plants were sampled for larvae on three occasions following virus treatment: 24 h, 4 days and 11 days. The larvae were reared on diet in the laboratory, until death or pupation, to examine the rate and level of viral infection. Infection data showed 87.5% and 91% NPV infection and 12.5% and 55% GV infection in spray and bait treatments, respectively, in larvae sampled 24 h after treatment. In larvae sampled 4 days after treatment, the results were 78% and 100% NPV infection, and 13% and 6% GV infection. A total of only six larvae were retrieved on day 11. In both treatments larvae infected with AsNPV died significantly more rapidly and at an earlier instar than those infected with AsGV, indicating that AsNPV appears to have better potential as a control agent for A. segetum.     

Glomerular lesions in Aleutian disease of mink (Mustela vison): a morphological and differential morphometrical study.

A morphological and morphometrical study has been carried out on glomerular lesions in mink with spontaneous Aleutian disease, using the WHO classification for Systemic Lupus Erytematous Nefritis. 154 renal samples from sick animals and 10 samples from uninfected mink were processed by routine histopathological techniques and metacrylate inclusions. The samples were studied quantitatively with an automatic image analyzer. 5 forms of glomerulonephritis (GN) were identified: mesangial glomerulonephritis (n = 13), focal and segmental GN (n = 10), diffuse GN (n = 99), membranous GN (n = 12) and advanced sclerosing GN (n = 10) and were associated with the degree of interstitial plasmocytosis. Glomerule morphometry was shown to be an excellent method for identifying the type of lesion, while it quantified the participation of various glomerular elements in the lesion.     

Inhibition of Ca2+-dependent K+ channels by lead in one-step inside-out vesicles from human red cell membranes

Pb2+ modified the apparent threshold sensitivity to Ca2+ of individual K+ channels with a biphasic time-course. At first, the sensitivity to Ca2+ was lowered with the result of a decrease of the fraction of activated vesicles at a given Ca2+ concentration. Later, Pb2+ increased the sensitivity to Ca2+ and the fraction of activated vesicles. The increase of Pb2+ concentration increased the extent of the initial inhibition but decreased its duration. The inhibitory effect was not observed when the addition of Ca2+ preceded the addition of Pb2+. The presence of Mg2+ in the incubation medium was also required. In the absence of Mg2+, Pb2+ decreased the rate of uptake of 86Rb, but no decrease in the fraction of activated vesicles could be demonstrated.     

Genetic coadaptation in the chromosomal polymorphism of Drosophila subobscura II. Changes of gametic disequilibrium in experimental populations

Experimental populations were examined for temporal changes of gametic disequilibria between allozyme loci (Lap and Pept-1) and gene arrangements of the O chromosome of Drosophila subobscura (O _st and O ₃₊₄₊₇) under several environmental conditions. In the foundation of the experimental populations a genetic perturbation was carried out in order to test the relevance of the current hypotheses used to explain the allozyme-inversion associations observed in natural populations. Differential changes of gametic disequilibria were detected over generations under the different environmental conditions. Mere mechanical or stochastic factors cannot explain the results and natural selection is probably the major agent generating the detected gametic associations. The observations are interpreted as a proof of coadaptation of D. subobscura inversions.     

Screening of white-rot fungi on (14C)lignin-labelled and (14C)whole-labelled wheat straw

Summary 74 Basidiomycetes have been tested for ligninolytic capability on (¹⁴C)lignin-labelled wheat straw. Fifteen strains were selected and rested more accurately for ligninolytic activity and the capacity to degrade wheat straw. The asymptote, inflexion point and degradation rate were determined using a model approach. The fungi exhibited very different responses with respect to lignin biodegradation: high asymptote for Pleurotus ostreatus (77%), low inflexion points for Sporotrichum pulverulentum Nov. (6.1 days) and Pycnoporus spp. (2.7 to 4.7 days) with high and slow degradation rates, respectively (0.91% and 0.45% of ¹⁴CO₂ release/day). Degradation values for (¹⁴C)whole-labelled wheat straw exhibited less variation. Finally, the strains Pleurotus ostreatus, Dichomitus squalens and Bjerkandera adusta showed the highest selectivity of lignin removal.     

Incorporation of [3H]thymidine into DNA and of [35S]sulfate into sulfatides of oligodendroglial cells during development: Effect of malnutrition

Incorporation of [³H]thymidine into DNA and of [³⁵S]sulfate into sulfatides of oligodendroglial cells isolated from brain slices incubated with the radioactive precursor was studied in normal and malnourished rats at different ages. The pattern and the values of incorporation of [³H]thymidine into DNA were similar in both groups of animals. The maximum value of incorporation was observed at 7 days of age decreasing rapidly thereafter and leveling off between 18–21 days. In both groups of animals labeling of sulfatides attained a maximum at 18 days of age, showing similar values of incorporation up to that age. However, at 21 days of age; the values corresponding to malnourished rats were found to be 40% lower in comparison to controls. The results suggest that (a) proliferation of oligodendroglial cells stops at similar ages in normal and malnourished rats, (b) expression of sulfatide synthesis by oligodendroglial cells is similar in both groups of animals up to 18 days, and (c) the starved rats seem to be unable to maintain normal synthesis of these galactolipids throughout the entire period of active myelinogenesis.     

Neonatal malnutrition in the rat affects the delivery of sulfatides from microsomes and their entry into myelin

Brain slices from 18 day old normal and malnourished rats were incubated in the presence of [³⁵S]sulfate to explore its incorporation into sulfatides of a total brain homogenate and the appearance of labeled sulfatides in different subcellular fractions. While the incorporation of label into sulfatides of the total homogenate was similar in both groups of animals, in subcellular fractions separated on a linear sucrose density gradient, labeling of sulfatides in malnourished animals was relatively higher in the region corresponding to the microsomal fraction. Time course incorporation and pulse-chase experiments were carried out to explore the kinetics of labeling of microsomal and myelin sulfatides. In pulse-chase experiments, normal controls showed a decrease in the specific radioactivity of sulfatides in the microsomal fraction after the chase, which was not observed in malnourished animals, while the appearance of labeled sulfatides in the myelin fraction of the latter group of animals was found to be lower than in normals. These results suggest that in neonatal malnutrition there is a defect in the transport of de novo synthesized sulfatides towards myelin or/and a problem in the assembly of these lipids into the myelin membrane.     

Effect of topically applied steroidal and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents on skin repair and regeneration

We studied the effects of topically applied steroidal and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents on dermal and epidermal wound healing. Superficial wounds (0.3 mm deep) on the skin of domestic pigs were treated daily with either 0.1% triamcinolone acetonide (TA), 1% hydrocortisone (HC), 1% nandrolone decanoate (ND), 1% ND + 0.1% TA, 10 mg ibuprofen, 10 mg meclofenamate sodium, 3 mg indomethacin, vehicle (USP petrolatum or 70% ethanol), or control (untreated). Wounds were excised on days 2-7 after wounding and the epidermis was separated from the dermis. The dermis was assayed for collagen biosynthesis and the epidermis was evaluated for reepithelialization. A significant decrease (P less than 0.01) in relative collagen synthesis was observed in the wounded dermis in both HC- and TA-treated groups on day 3 after wounding, but there were no significant differences on days 4-7. Depressed collagen and noncollagenous protein production was also noted in vehicle-treated wounds on day 3. Topical application of ND did not affect collagen synthesis, but when combined with TA it eliminated the inhibitory effect observed as a result of TA alone. Topical ND accelerated wound reepithelialization by 12.5% compared with vehicle and by 26% compared with untreated controls. TA delayed epidermal resurfacing by 22%, but when combined with ND (ND + TA) the rate of reepithelialization was similar to vehicle-treated wounds. HC enhanced resurfacing when compared with untreated wounds but did not differ markedly from its vehicle. The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs when topically applied markedly reduced inflammation (erythema, heat, and edema) but did not influence the healing process.     

Insulin regulation of insulin-like growth factor action in rat hepatoma cells

We have reported previously that insulin causes a complete but reversible desensitization to insulin action in rat hepatoma HTC cells in tissue culture, and that this insulin resistance is mediated by postbinding mechanisms rather than receptor down-regulation (Heaton, J. H., and Gelehrter, T. D. (1981) J. Biol. Chem. 256, 12257-12262). We report here that insulin causes a similar desensitization to the induction of tyrosine aminotransferase by the insulin-like growth factors IGF-I and IGF-II isolated from human plasma, and by multiplication-stimulating activity, the rat homologue of IGF-II. The results of both competition-binding studies and affinity cross-linking experiments indicate that insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) bind primarily to IGF receptors rather than to insulin receptors. The low concentrations at which these factors induce transaminase is consistent with their acting primarily via IGF receptors. This is confirmed by experiments utilizing anti-insulin receptor antibody which both inhibits 125I-insulin binding and shifts the concentration dependence of insulin induction of tyrosine aminotransferase to the right. This same immunoglobulin does not inhibit 125I-multiplication-stimulating activity binding and only minimally inhibits 125I-IGF-I binding. Anti-insulin receptor antibody also does not significantly shift the concentration dependence for the IGFs, suggesting that IGFs induce transaminase by acting via IGF receptors. Although insulin down regulates insulin receptors, it does not decrease IGF-I or IGF-II binding. We conclude that insulin causes desensitization of HTC cells to IGFs by affecting a postbinding step in IGF action, which may be common to the actions of both insulin and insulin-like growth factors.