α-Amylase in the Barley Grain Influenced by the Auxin-Cytokinin Interaction in the Coleoptile

Two phases are distinguished in the α-amylase production in barley (Hordeum vulgare) grains. There is an increase in activity extended to the third or fourth day of germination, then a slight decrease follows. This decrease is accelerated by kinetin while it is prevented by IAA applied at the top of the embryo coleoptile. IAA reverses partially the kinetin action. IAA applied in the germination medium has practically no effect. Removal of the coleoptile stops further increase in α-amylase activity and induces complete insensitivity to hormone treatment. The results indicate that auxin metabolism in the coleoptile participates in the control of α-amylase evolution in the barley grain and that kinetin could act through auxin metabolism in this coleoptile.     

Peroxidase activity in the brown alga Laminaria digitata

Cell-free extracts of the brown alga Laminaria digitata catalyse the oxidation of o-dianisidine and of iodide, as well as the formation of iodoamino acids. The enzyme(s) requires hydrogen peroxide for these activities, which are strongly inhibited by cyanide and azide. It is suggested that the activity may be due to a haem-containing peroxidase which, in extracts, is strongly bound, possibly to alginate.     

Small-scale spatial distribution of marine meiobenthos: the effects of decaying macrofauna

Summary To evaluate the effects of decaying animals on small-scale horizontal distribution of meiobenthos in muddy habitats, a laboratory experiment was performed at the Askö Laboratory in the northwestern Baltic Sea. A microcosm (35×55×28 cm) containing a ca. 7-cm thick layer of sieved (0.5 mm) sublittoral mud was established in June 1990. Three months later specimens of the bivalve Macoma balthica were collected and killed in boiling water. The sediment inside the microcosm was implanted with empty shell, empty shell and dead animal or left alone. At the end of the experiment (17 days) visual examination of the microcosm revealed black spots at the sediment surface where dead animals had been implanted. The densities of nematodes, the most abundant group (98%), were not significantly different between areas. However total non-nematode fauna was found in much lower numbers (P<0.01) in the black spot areas. A multivariate analysis (detrended correspondence ordination) of nematode species abundance data separated samples from the black spot areas from the others. Of the 25 nematode species recorded in the microcosm, there was a significant difference between areas for four species. The decaying animals clearly attracted Monhystera disjuncta which was almost 6 times as abundant in the black spot areas compared to control and shell areas. Both the overall dominant species, Leptolaimus elegans and Calomicrolaimus honestus were found in lower numbers in the areas of dead Macoma than in control and shell areas. Sabatieria pulchra was found in lower numbers in the control areas compared to shell and dead animal areas. The overall structure of the nematode assemblage indicated a shift to lower dominance in the dead animal areas and it is speculated that decomposing animal tissue may be of primary importance regarding spatial distribution of meiobenthos.     

Factors predicting drop‐out in community mental health centres

This study aimed to identify treatment, therapist and patient factors associated with dropping out of treatment in four outpatient mental health services. The experimental group comprised all 789 individuals who attended for the first time the mental health services during one year and dropped out of treatment in the same year or during the two following ones. The control group consisted of the same number of individuals, chosen at random from patients who, in the same year, attended for the first time the services and did not subsequently drop out of treatment. The overall drop-out rate was 33.2%. According to logistic regression analysis, the predictive factors of dropping out were: being treated in a particular centre, the involvement of more than one therapist in treatment, having no previous history of psychiatric disorders, being young and being male.     

AUSWIRKUNGEN VON INSEKTIZIDBEHANDLUNGEN AUF DIE EPIGÄISCHEN RAUBARTHROPODEN IN GETREIDEFELDERN,INSBESONDERE DIE LAUFKÄFER (COLEOPTERA,CARABIDAE)

Zusammenfassung Die Ergebnisse wurden mit Bodenfallen in Getreidefeldern erarbeitet. Fenitrothion beeinflußte bei Flugzeugausbringung in normaler Dosierung (600 g/ha in 40 1 Wasser) nur die Populationsdichte von Pterostichus vulgaris und P. niger vorübergehend. Eine Spritzung mit erhöhter Dosierung (900 g/ha in 350 1 Wasser) wirkte sehr stark auf die fünf häufigsten Carabidenarten ein. Parathion-äthyl beeinflußte in normaler Dosierung (125 g/ha in 300 1 Wasser) bei einer Behandlung Anfang Juni besonders einschneidend die Frühlingstiere, Ende Juni stark die Frühlings- und die Herbsttiere. In doppelter Dosierung reduzierte es alle wichtigen Prädatorengruppen sehr deutlich. Parathion-methyl (Staub) wirkte bei Ausbringung auf feuchte Pflanzen (200 g/ha) nicht stark auf die epigäischen Räuber. Nur kletternde Arten (Staphyliniden und Agonum dorsale) wurden geschädigt. Methoxychlor wirkte als Spritzmittel (600 g/ha in 300 1 Wasser) stark auf die großen Carabiden, während die kleinen Laufkäferarten, die Staphyliniden und Spinnen nicht beeinflußt wurden. Methoxychlor-Staub, auf die feuchten Pflanzen ausgebracht (1000 g/ha), beeinflußte die epigäischen Räuber nicht. Eine Randbehandlung eines Winterrapsfeldes mit Methoxychlor-Staub störte die Besiedlung des Feldes durch Carabiden und Staphyliniden nicht.

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Summary The influence of some insecticides often used in agriculture upon the terrestrial predaceous arthropods was investigated by pitfall trapping on cereal fields of about 10 hectares each, half the area of which was treated.Fenitrothion, sprayed by aeroplane at the normal dosage (600 g/ha in 40 1 water) influenced the abundance of Pterostichus vulgaris and P. niger only, for a short period. Spraying fenitrothion at a higher dosage (900 g/ha in 350 1 water) killed a high percentage of the five most common carabid species.Parathion-ethyl at the normal dosage (125 g/ha in 300 1 water), sprayed at the beginning of June reduced numbers of spring breeders especially (e.g. Pterostichus cupreus). Sprayed at the end of June, it influenced both spring and autumn breeders (e.g. P. vulgaris). Rain, falling one day after the insecticide treatment, did not alter its effect upon the terrestrial predators. At a higher dosage (250 g/ha) parathion-ethyl reduced numbers of all predators to a large extent, but not very much more than at the normal dosage.Parathion-methyl dust, applied to moist plants (200 g a.i./ha), did not influence all terrestrial predators, but only those species which also climb up the plants (some staphylinids and Agonum dorsale).Methoxychlor emulsion, sprayed at a dosage of 600 g/ha in 300 1 water, killed the bigger ground beetles only (Carabus spp. and P. vulgaris), but not the smaller ones (Agonum dorsale and Bembidion lampros), the staphylinids and the spiders. Methoxychlor, dust, applied to moist plants (1000 g a.i./ha) did not influence the terrestrial predators. Treating the edge only (ca. 20 m) of a winter-rape field with methoxychlor dust did not prevent the colonization of the field by carabids and staphylinids. It is recommended, therefore, to treat the field edges only, which should control most cereal pests.

     

Culture,cultural factors and psychiatric diagnosis: review and projections

This paper aims to provide conceptual justifications for the inclusion of culture and cultural factors in psychiatric diagnosis, and logistic suggestions as to the content and use of this approach. A discussion of the scope and limitations of current diagnostic practice, criticisms from different quarters, and the role and relevance of culture in the diagnostic encounter, precede the examination of advantages and disadvantages of the approach. The cultural content of psychiatric diagnosis should include the main, well-recognized cultural variables, adequate family data, explanatory models, and strengths and weaknesses of every individual patient. The practical aspects include the acceptance of “cultural discordances” as a component of an updated definition of mental disorder, and the use of a refurbished cultural formulation. Clinical “telescoping” strategies to obtain relevant cultural data during the diagnostic interview, and areas of future research (including field trials on the cultural formulation and on “culture bound syndromes”), are outlined.