Discriminant analysis on cells from developing squamous cancer of the respiratory tract

Cytologic preparations made from the tracheobronchial tree taken by the Schreiber catheter have been scanned by three color microphotometry. The digitized cell images were processed by the analytical cytodiagnostic programs of the TICAS system. Cells were sorted into two control groups and five groups of increasing atypia ranging from normal epithelium to invasive squamous cell carcinoma. Standard statistical tests, including Wilk's Lambda, Rao's V, and the Kruskal-Wallis tests are performed on these subsets of cell image features. This study demonstrates that discriminant analyses permit differentiation between normal cells and those from marked atypia or carcinoma and that the classification achieves a high degree of agreement with visual assignment.     

Stimulation of cellular RNA synthesis in mouse-kidney cell cultures infected with SV40 virus

In confluent primary mouse-kidney cell cultures, abortive infection with SV40 has been demonstrated to cause an increase in the bulk of cellular RNA (mainly rRNA). However, the increase in the rate of rRNA synthesis is not involved in the initiation of the virus-induced cellular DNA replication since after actinomycin D treatment (0.05 μg/ml, from 6 to 9 h p.i.) the onset of cellular DNA replication takes place at a time when the rate of rRNA synthesis is still depressed.     

Production of rats in synchronised batches.

Successful synchronisation of copulations and births for the 1st parity permit continued synchrony of parturitions in subsequent parities. Foetal implantation after post-partum copulation was delayed by multiples of the oestrous cycle; both season and number of sucking neonates influenced the time of implantation. Post-weaning matings gave a high conception rate with a parturition spread of 36 hours for 94% of the original group.     

First signs of anaphylaxis

A prospective study of 208 patients treated for up to 12 months with isoniazid (INH^®) for tuberculosis prophylaxis was made. Levels of serum glutamic oxaloacetic acid transaminase (SGOT) became elevated in 20 percent of the adults followed and in 30 percent predominantly nonspecific symptoms developed, in 11 percent simultaneously with SGOT elevation; SGOT levels became elevated in two of 33 children and 1 was symptomatic. Mild SGOT elevations in asymptomatic adults were self-limited; however, a small percentage of symptomatic adults showed prolonged SGOT elevation for months after INH was completed. Results of liver biopsy studies in the early stages of SGOT elevation generally showed portal and periportal lymphocytic infiltrations with lesser numbers of plasma cells, neutrophils and eosinophils.     

Relationships Between Tolerance and Resistance to Meloidogyne incognita in Cotton

The southern root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, is the most damaging pathogen of cotton in the United States, and both resistance and tolerance to M. incognita could be valuable management approaches. Our objectives were to evaluate advanced cotton breeding lines for resistance and tolerance to M. incognita and to determine if a relationship between resistance and tolerance exists. Reproduction of M. incognita was evaluated on 17 breeding lines, a susceptible control (Delta and Pine Land DP5415), and a resistant control (M-120) in two greenhouse trials with six replications in a randomized complete block design. Two-week-old seedlings were inoculated with 8,000 M. incognita eggs and assessed for egg production 8 weeks later. Reproduction on the resistant control was only 10% of that on the susceptible control. Eight breeding lines supported 45% to 57% less (P <= 0.05) nematode reproduction than the susceptible control, and none of them were as resistant as M-120. Yield was determined in 2001 and 2002 in fumigated (1,3-dichloropropene at 56 liters/ha) and nonfumigated plots in a strip-plot design with three replications in a field naturally infested with M. incognita. Yield suppression caused by nematode infection differed among genotypes (P ≤ 0.05 for genotype × fumigation interaction). Six genotypes in 2001 and nine in 2002 were tolerant to M. incognita based on no difference in yield between the fumigated and nonfumigated plots (P ≥ 0.10). However, only three genotypes had no significant yield suppression in both years, of which two also were resistant to M. incognita. Regression analysis indicated that yield suppression decreased linearly as nematode resistance increased.     

Comparative bacterial clearances of muscle and skin/subcutaneous tissues with and without dead bone: a laboratory study

Seventeen New Zealand White rabbits underwent implantation of three different concentrations of bacteria and a sterile saline control solution with and without dead autologous bone in eight separate muscular and eight separate subcutaneous sites. Following a period of 1 week, each site was surgically explored and samples of tissue were taken for histology and quantitative culture. Results reveal that final bacterial concentrations in the subcutaneous sites were significantly lower than in the muscle sites (p less than or equal to 0.0001) for each concentration of bacteria, with and without dead bone. Dead bone resulted in very significantly greater bacterial concentrations in both subcutaneous and muscle sites. Clinically, these results indicate that a thorough bony wound debridement is more important than the type of tissue used to close the wound. Flap tissue should be selected with regard to the perfusion, contour, and appearance of the recipient site.     

Erratum to: Synthesis and Anticancer Activity of Functionalized Thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine Compounds and Their Triazinyl and Tetrazinyl Derivatives

Russian Journal of Bioorganic Chemistry - erratum     

A dead giveaway: Foraging vultures and other avian scavengers respond to auditory cues

Carrion represents an unpredictable and widely distributed primary food source for vultures and other avian scavengers. Avian scavengers in African savanna ecosystems are reported to rely exclusively on visual stimuli to locate carcasses. However, carnivores’ predation of large mammalian herbivores and subsequent competition for access to the carcass can result in considerable noise, often audible over long distances and for prolonged periods. Vultures and other avian scavengers may therefore detect and respond to these auditory cues, as do the mammalian carnivores alongside which vultures have coevolved, but this has not been investigated to date. Working in the Serengeti ecosystem, Tanzania, we used diurnal auditory broadcasts to simulate predation and competitive carnivore feeding interactions. Based on the current understanding of avian scavenger ecology, we hypothesized that avian responses to call‐in stations would be evoked exclusively by visual, rather than auditory, cues. We therefore predicted that (a) the arrival of avian scavengers at call‐in stations should be preceded and facilitated by mammalian carnivores and that (b) the arrival of avian scavengers would be positively correlated with the number of mammalian scavengers present, which would increase detectability. We recorded 482 birds during 122 separate playback events. In 22% of these instances, avian scavengers arrived first, ruling out responses based exclusively on visual observations of mammalian carnivores, thereby contradicting our first prediction. Furthermore, the first avian arrivals at survey sessions were inversely related to the number of hyenas and jackals present, contradicting our second prediction. Since no bait or carcasses were used during the experiments, these responses are indicative of the birds’ ability to detect and respond to audio stimuli. Our findings challenge the current consensus of sensory perception and foraging in these species and provide evidence that avian scavengers have the ability to use sound to locate food resources.