The hair of the common hare (Lepus europaeus Pall.) and of the common vole (Microtus arvalis Pall.) as indicator of the environmental pollution

We made the INAA of hair of the common hare (Lepus europaeus Pall.) and of the common vole (Microtus arvalis Pall.) living in the emission zones. Both the hare and the vole are almost exclusively herbivores; they consume relatively large amounts of contaminated food and mirror reliably the contamination degree of the respective ecosystem. The use of free-living animals for the control of the environmental quality may complete effectively the information obtained by examination of habitants. Though the free-living animals lead a rather different way of existence it has been found that the analyses of their hair correlate very well with the analyses of human hair. It may be expected that the changes of concentrations of heavy metals will manifest themselves earlier in animals than in men, because the animals are strictly tied to the local food sources. The hair samples of hares contained increased concentrations of Sm, La, Au, As, Se, Cr, Sc, Fe, Ce, Th and Co. The hair of voles showed increased concentrations of Sm, La, Zn, As, Se, Cr, Sc, Fe, Sb, Ce, Cs and Co. A conspicuous trend towards the cumulation in hair was observed in the following elements: As, Se, Sc and Fe. The increase of their concentrations in the hair of animals from the emission regions amounted as such as to 10(3)%.     

Arbovirological survey in Silica plateau area, Roznava District, Czechoslovakia

The serosurveys conducted in the Silica plateau area of the Slovak karst region revealed the presence of specific neutralizing antibody against tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus in 18% of local inhabitants (33 examined, mostly goats and sheep farmers), 54% of goats (26 examined), 18% of sheep (120 examined) and 13% of cattle (60 examined), against Lipovník (LIP) virus in 30% of inhabitants, 88% of goats, 55% of sheep and 45% of cattle, and against Bhanja (BHA) virus in 27% of inhabitants, 46% of goats, 29% of sheep and 23% of cattle. The results of hemagglutination-inhibition tests with TBE and BHA antigens were analogous. A detailed analysis of these serologic data points to a recent enhancement of the circulation of LIP and BHA viruses and to a very low TBE virus activity in this natural focus of arboviral infections. The immunological surveys of the 32 former "Roznava disease" patients, conducted 25 years after an extensive epidemic of a TBE virus infection that originated in Roznava in 1951, revealed the presence of neutralizing (and also hemagglutination-inhibiting) antibodies against TBE virus in as many as 78% of cases. Antibodies against LIP and BHA viruses were also detectable in the sera of 16% and 9%, respectively, of these individuals. Populations of the ectoparasites examined for the presence of arbovirus comprised 231 Ixodes ricinus, 806 Dermacentor marginatus and 204 Haemaphysalis punctata ticks and 117 specimens of the louse-flies Melophagus ovinus. Two strains of arbivirus that were antigenically related to Lipovník and Tribec viruses belonging to a group of Kemerovo viruses were isolated from male and female I. ricinus ticks collected from cattle.     

Solid-state conformation of some basic sequential polypeptides

We have studied the structure of solid films obtained by x-ray diffraction, from several basic polypeptides with a defined sequence. The alterating polypeptides poly(Ala-Lys), poly(Leu-Lys), poly(Val-Lys), and poly(Arg-Leu) all show a cross-β-structure in which layers of hydrophilic side chains alternate with layers containing hydrophobic side chains. The other polypeptides studied are not in the β-conformation and appear to be in the α-helical conformation. The helices obtained from poly(Lys-Ala-Ala) and poly(Lys-Ala-Ala-Lys) appear to be packed in an unusual fashion, which favors interaction between alanine side chains. Such behavior is not found in poly(Lys-Leu-Ala).     

Microhabitat utilization by two leptodactylid frogs in the Andes of central Chile

Summary Some basic parameters of the life history of Alsodes montanus and Alsodes tumultuosus (Anura-Leptodactylidae), were studied from 1977 to 1980 by periodic field observations at Farellones and La Parva (33–34° south lat.; 2,700–3,000 m above sea level). Special attention was paid to strategies of resource partitioning in relation to gross features of the environment. The latter was unstable with a relative short period favorable for activity of the animals. Physical environmental differences between the first and second season of this study, resulted in a decrease in total number of active adults, a reduction in the duration of larval activity and a shift in microhabitat preferences of larvae.During the favorable season, October to May, adults of both species showed spatial and temporal segregation, related to different physical features of the environment; larvae did not show temporal segregation. Larvae of both species were found in seven different microhabitats; only in one of these did they show significant difference in microhabitat preference, A. tumultuosus was found more often in crevices. Microhabitat dimensions were more important than time and food resources in the separation of the niches of the two species. The segregation of niche dimensions, microhabitat, diel and annual activity and food were not complementary.Coexistence was therefore observed with the species tending to use different resources. When the same resource was used, it was not limiting.     

Onychomycosis due to saprophytic fungi

Twenty five cases of onychomycosis due to filamentous saprophytic agents were diagnosed within the period 1981–1982 in two mycology laboratories in Medellín, Colombia. These cases represented 4.5% and 9.5% respectively of the total fungal nail lesions (FNL) seen at those institutions. No explanation was found for the high frequencies, which sharply contrast with the previous local experience with the disease (0.4% of FNL). The responsible agents belonged to the following genera in decreasing order of frequency: Fusarium, Aspergillus, Scopulariopsis, Penicillium and Lasiodiplodia; two patients were infected with unidentified dematiaceous fungi and two more had the association of a saprophyte and a dermatophyte. In every case direct KOH preparations revealed septate hyphae, associated in 14 patients (56%) with chlamydoconidia. The only predisposing factors that were common to all these patients were age above 20 years and the use of footwear.     

Protoplast forming ability in the genusBrevibacterium

Formation of protoplasts and their reversion were followed in 7 strains of brevibacteria. The formation of protoplasts and their reversion differed both between various species of brevibacteria and between various mutant strains of the same species.     

Intergeneric hybrids of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Zygosaccharomyces fermentati obtained by protoplast fusion

To obtain strains that are able to efficiently produce ethanol from different carbohydrates, mainly cellulose hydrolysates, several species of the genus Candida and a Zygosaccharomyces fermentati strain were examined for their ability to utilize cellobiose and produce ethanol, as well as for their thermotolerance and the possibility of genetic manipulation. Candida obtusa and Zygosaccharomyces fermentati tolerated the maximal temperature for growth, possessed the highest cellobiase activity, and offered the possibility of genetic manipulation, although neither of them proved to be a good producer of ethanol. Intergeneric hybrids of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Z. fermentati were obtained after protoplast fusion. They were selected as prototrophic strains, after isolation of auxotrophic mutants from Z. fermentati and fusion with an S. cerevisiae strain which was also auxotrophic. The hybrids, which appeared at a frequency of 2 X 10(-7), presented characteristics of both parents, such as resistance to certain drugs and the ability to grow with either cellobiose or lactic acid as the sole carbon source; they were very stable, even under nonselective conditions. These hybrids may have important industrial applications as good fermenting strains.