Reduced adenosine deaminase activity in the CNS of spontaneously-hypertensive rats

The activity of adenosine deaminase (ADA) has been measured in the hypothalamus, pons medulla and cerebral cortex from 30-day-old and 100-day-old spontaneously-hypertensive rats (SHR) and age-matched WKY controls. At 100 days there was a significant reduction in ADA activity in the hypothalamus (18.0%), pons medulla (20.6%) and cerebral cortex (14.7%). In 30-day-old SHR animals (prior to the development of significant hypertension) no significant changes were seen in the cerebral cortex or pons medulla but there was a small but significant reduction in ADA activity in the hypothalamus (9.2%). There was no significant reduction in the ADA activity in heart or kidney. Extracts of 100-day-old pons medulla which had been briefly heated to destroy endogenous ADA activity did not differentially affect the activity of exogenous purified ADA.     

Southern Hemisphere biodiversity and global change: Data gaps and strategies

Long‐term datasets needed to detect the impacts of global change on southern biodiversity are still scarce and often incomplete, challenging adaptation planning and conservation management. Biological data are probably most limited in arid countries and from the oceans, where natural environmental variability (‘noise’) means that long time series are required to detect the ‘signal’ of directional change. Significant national and international investment and collaboration are needed for most southern nations to reliably track biodiversity trends and improve conservation adaptation to rapid climate change. Emerging early warning systems for biodiversity, incorporating regional environmental change drivers, citizen science and regional partnerships, can all help to compensate for existing information gaps and contribute to adaptation planning.     

Nature of thermal transitions of native and acid-hydrolysed pea starch: Does gelatinization really happen?

Thermal transitions of native and acid-hydrolysed starch were investigated for the first time by employing differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in combination with field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) to examine morphological changes in the starch after hydrothermal treatment in the DSC pans. The characteristic, well-defined endothermic transition was observed in the DSC traces for native starch and starch after one day of acid hydrolysis, but after two days of hydrolysis the endothermic transition became broad and undefined. After heating in DSC pans, native starch was observed visually and with SEM to have formed a gel, whereas starch granules hydrolysed for one day appeared to have undergone only limited swelling and coalescence. Starch that had been hydrolysed for two or more days appeared powdery and SEM images revealed that the granules had undergone very little swelling. The thermal transitions of native and acid-hydrolysed starch are interpreted in terms of the theory of polymer swelling and dissolution. Native granules and granules with only minimal acid damage are able to swell within the constraints of the water-limited conditions of DSC, but as acid hydrolysis progresses the capacity of the granules to swell is decreased and endothermic transitions are increasingly due to dissolution of polymer chains. An exothermic transition that followed the main endothermic transition is proposed to be due to the condensation of water vapour on the lid of the DSC pan.     

Enhanced disease and pulmonary eosinophilia associated with formalin-inactivated respiratory syncytial virus vaccination are linked to G glycoprotein CX3C-CX3CR1 interaction and expression of substance P

Vaccination with formalin-inactivated respiratory syncytial virus (FI-RSV) vaccine or RSV G glycoprotein results in enhanced pulmonary disease after live RSV infection. Enhanced pulmonary disease is characterized by pulmonary eosinophilia and is associated with a substantial inflammatory response. We show that the absence of the G glycoprotein or G glycoprotein CX3C motif during FI-RSV vaccination or RSV challenge of FI-RSV-vaccinated mice, or treatment with anti-substance P or anti-CX3CR1 antibodies, reduces or eliminates enhanced pulmonary disease, modifies T-cell receptor Vbeta usage, and alters CC and CXC chemokine expression. These data suggest that the G glycoprotein, and in particular the G glycoprotein CX3C motif, is key in the enhanced inflammatory response to FI-RSV vaccination, possibly through the induction of substance P.     

Structural Properties of the Myelin-Associated Glycoprotein Ectodomain

Abstract: Myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) has been proposed to mediate adhesive interactions during myelin development. We have used the baculovirus expression system to produce a truncated form of this molecule [soluble extracellular domain of MAG (sMAG)] consisting of the complete extracellular ectodomain. Spectroscopic studies indicate a high β-sheet content, consistent with the prediction of Ig-like structure. Hydrodynamic studies indicate an asymmetric monomer, with a Stokes radius of 4.1–4.6 nm, a sedimentation coefficient of 3.6S, and a frictional ratio of ∼1.6. We postulate that the outer two Ig-like domains form a unit that folds back over the rest of the molecule. Fluorescence quenching studies indicate that sMAG interacts with divalent cations and may have a functional lectin domain.     

Assessing the Ecological Impacts of Bioenergy Projects

One of the major objectives of the current expansion in bioenergy cropping is to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions for environmental benefit. The cultivation of bioenergy and biofuel crops also affects biodiversity more directly, both positively and negatively. Ecological impact assessment methods for bioenergy projects (including changes to policy and land use) should address not simply changes to species abundance at field level, but include larger scale issues, including changes to landscape diversity, potential impacts to primary and secondary habitats and potential impacts on climate change. Such assessments require a correspondingly broad range of scientific methods, including modelling of climate and land use as well as the observation of biodiversity and landscape indicators. It is also possible to adopt evidence-based guidelines for good practice for situations where comprehensive assessments are not available. These might include favouring projects and policies that avoid gene flow to wild relatives of crops in centres of diversity, that do not result in invasion by the crop into other habitats, that enhance field-scale biodiversity, that increase landscape diversity, that do not threaten valued habitats within the local landscape, that promote the sustainable management of biodiverse habitats, that do not increase the risk of loss of primary habitats and that result in a proportionately large reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.     

Suppression of populations of Australian sheep blowfly, Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), with a novel blowfly trap

The Australian sheep blowfly, Lucilia cuprina , initiates more than 85% of fly strikes on sheep in Australia with an estimated average annual cost of A$280 million to the Australian sheep industry. LuciTrap^® is a commercially available, selective trap for L. cuprina consisting of a plastic bucket with multiple fly entry cones and a synthetic attractant. The impact of LuciTrap on populations of L. cuprina on sheep properties in five Australian states was evaluated by comparing L. cuprina populations on paired properties with and without LuciTraps over seasons when significant fly populations could be expected. Twenty-four comparisons (trials) were conducted over 4 years. During times of 'higher fly density' (when the 48 h geometric mean of trap catches on the control property was greater than five L. cuprina ), the overall geometric mean trap catches for control and trapped properties differed significantly ( P  < 0.001) with mean trap catches of 19.4 and 7.74 L. cuprina , respectively. The selectivity of the LuciTrap was confirmed with 59% of all trapped flies being L. cuprina . Chrysomya spp. and Calliphora spp. constituted 9.3% and 1.1% of the catches with a variety of other flies (mainly Sarcophagidae and Muscidae ) providing the remainder (31%). Lucilia sericata was only trapped in Tasmania and made up 7.7% of the Lucilia spp. catch in that state. Seventy-two per cent of the trapped L. cuprina were female. The deployment of LuciTrap on sheep properties at one trap per 100 sheep from the beginning of the anticipated fly season suppressed the populations of L. cuprina by 60% compared with matched control properties. The LuciTrap is a selective and easy to use fly trap and constitutes an effective, non-insecticidal tool for use in integrated management programs for L. cuprina .     

Effects of aluminium on canola roots

There is little information on the effects of aluminium (Al) on canola (Brassica napus var. napus L.), which is a commercially important crop species in many parts of the world. In this report, we describe the effects of Al on roots of canola seedlings grown hydroponically in a nutrient solution at pH 4.5. The morphological and ultrastructural changes that accompanied these growth effects were examined. Additions to the nutrient solution of Al at concentrations below 40 μM stimulated root growth of canola seedlings, increasing both the size and number of central cap cells. The stimulation of root growth did not appear to be due to the alleviation of a proton toxicity at the root surface. At concentrations of Al above 60 μM, root growth was strongly inhibited, with cellular damage being observed primarily in peripheral root cap cells. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.