Application of infrared thermography to the study of behavioural fever in the desert locust

Infrared (IR) thermography is used increasingly to estimate body temperature in small ectotherms such as insects. We used the thermal behaviour of an agricultural pest, the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria, as a case study to demonstrate the application of this method to thermal biology. During microbial infection, the desert locust uses environmentally derived heat to elevate its body temperature. This ‘behavioural fever’ delays onset of disease caused by a fungal biopesticide. Understanding the thermal biology of S. gregaria is therefore a prerequisite for the development of a more effective mycoinsecticide. To accurately use IR thermography as a method of temperature measurement, IR data must first be calibrated with body temperature. Here, we identify two major factors which affect the IR data output and hence need to be incorporated into a camera calibration: (1) emissivity, predominantly determined by colour, and (2) the internal temperature of the camera. We demonstrate the limitations of thermocouple-based methods of temperature measurement in comparison to IR thermography. The detail provided by the large data sets revealed for the first time an early onset of fever in S. gregaria during infection with Metarhizium acridum viz. 20–25 h post-inoculation in comparison to the 48 h demonstrated previously.     

A coumarin from Perezia coerulescens

The roots of Perezia coerulescens contain ψ-taraxasteryl acetate, β-amyrin acetate, 8-hydroxypereflorin, pereflorin B and a new compound identified as 3,4,8-trimethoxy-5-formyl coumarin.     

Pulmonary vascular effects of Leu5-enkephalin in conscious newborn lambs

Anatomic evidence suggests that leu5-enkephalin (Leu5-enk) may be involved in the physiologic control of pulmonary vascular tone. Information regarding its pulmonary vascular effect is limited; we therefore studied its effect on the immature pulmonary circulation. Normoxic and hypoxic unsedated newborn lambs with chronically implanted flow probes around the right and left pulmonary arteries were used. Leu5-enk was injected into one pulmonary artery only, so that any direct effect of the peptide on the pulmonary vessels could be determined by measuring changes in the ratio of blood flow to the injected versus the non-injected lung. Leu5-enk caused a small but significant increase in pulmonary artery pressure without increasing cardiac output or left atrial pressure (threshold = 1 microgram/kg); it is therefore a pulmonary vasoconstrictor. At a dose of 10 micrograms/kg, Leu5-enk also raised pulmonary artery pressure (20.6 mmHg to 23.9 mmHg; F(8,36) = 15.1 p less than 0.001) and calculated PAR (14.6 to 16.1 units; NS). However, the ratio of blood flow to the two lungs did not change; thus, Leu5-enk does not appear to directly act on pulmonary vessels, but rather through an intermediary to produce pulmonary vasoconstriction. This indirect pulmonary vasoconstriction was blocked by pretreatment with naloxone (3 mg/kg). We conclude that Leu5-enk is a pulmonary vasoconstrictor, albeit a weak one, in the lamb and may therefore play a role in pulmonary vascular homeostasis. This vasoconstriction does not seem to be due to a direct effect on pulmonary vessels by Leu5-enk, but may be effected through a neural or hormonal intermediary.     

Cadmium inhibits plasma membrane calcium transport

Summary The interaction of Cd²⁺ with the plasma membrane Ca²⁺-transporting ATPase of fish gills was studied. ATP-driven Ca²⁺-transport in basolateral membrane (BLM) vesicles was inhibited by Cd²⁺ with anI ₅₀ value of 3.0nm at 0.25 m free Ca²⁺ using EGTA, HEEDTA and NTA to buffer Ca²⁺ and Cd²⁺ concentrations. The inhibition was competitive in nature since theK _0.5 value for Ca²⁺ increased linearly with increasing Cd²⁺ concentrations while theV _max remained unchanged. The Ca²⁺ pump appeared to be calmodulin dependent, but we conclude that the inhibition by Cd²⁺ occurs directly on the Ca²⁺ binding site of the Ca²⁺-transporting ATPase and not via the Ca²⁺-binding sites of calmodulin. It is suggested that Cd²⁺-induced inhibition of Ca²⁺-transporting enzymes is the primary effect in the Cd²⁺ toxicity towards cells followed by several secondary effects due to a disturbed cellular Ca²⁺ metabolism. Our data illustrate that apparent stimulatory effects of low concentrations of Cd²⁺ on Ca²⁺-dependent enzymes may derive from increased free-Ca²⁺ levels when Cd²⁺ supersedes Ca²⁺ on the ligands.     

Fluxes of CO2, CH4 and N2O from a Welsh peatland following simulation of water table draw-down: Potential feedback to climatic change

A potential effect of climatic change was simulated by manipulating the water table height within intact peat monoliths. The treatment decreased methane flux (maximum –80%) and increased both carbon dioxide flux (maximum 146%) and nitrous oxide flux maximum 936%). Returning the water table height to its original level caused both nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide flux to rapidly return to control levels. However, methane flux remained at its experimentally induced low levels.     

Mechanisms to Evade the Phagocyte Respiratory Burst Arose by Convergent Evolution in Typhoidal Salmonella Serovars

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NMDA Receptors in Rat Cerebellum and Forebrain: Subtle Differences in Pharmacology and Modulation

Abstract: Binding of [³H]glutamate, [³H]glycine, and the glutamate antagonist [³H]CGS-19755 to NMDA-type glutamate receptors was examined in homogenates of rat forebrain and cerebellum. Most glutamate agonists had a higher affinity at the [³H]glutamate binding site of cerebellar NMDA receptors as compared with forebrain, whereas all the glutamate antagonists examined showed the reverse relationship. The [³H]glycine binding site of forebrain and cerebellar NMDA receptors showed a similar pharmacology in both brain regions. In the cerebellum, however, [³H]glycine bound to a second site with a 10-fold lower affinity and with a pharmacology that resembled that of the glycine/strychnine chloride channel. [³H]Glutamate binding was not affected by glycine agonists or antagonists, nor was [³H]glycine binding affected by glutamate agonists in either forebrain or cerebellum. Both CGS-19755 and 3-(2-carboxypiperazin-4-yl)propyl-1-phosphonic acid, glutamate antagonists, reduced [³H]glycine binding in cerebellum, whereas only CGS-19755 was effective in forebrain. Glycine agonists and antagonists modulated [³H]CGS-19755 binding in forebrain and cerebellum to different extents in the two brain regions. From these studies we conclude that the cerebellar NMDA receptor has a different pattern of modulation at glutamate and glycine sites and that glycine may play a more important role in the control of NMDA function in the cerebellum as compared with forebrain.     

Tris(1-methylcytosine-N3)ammineplatinum(II) perchlorate monohydrate,a model for simultaneous binding of three nucleobases to a single metal ion

A Pt(II) complex containing three 1-methylcytosine ligands (C), [Pt(NH₃)C₃] (CIO₄)₂· H₂], has been prepared starting with cis-Pt(NH₃)₂Cl₂, and its crystal structure has been determined. The title compound represents a model of a hypothetical interaction of cis.Pt(II) with three biomolecules which proceeds via an intermediate monochloro complex, cis-[Pt(NH₃)₂CCl]Cl, and loss of ammonia from this compound. [Pt(NH₃)C₃](ClO₄)₂·H₂O crystallizes in space group P2₁/c (No. 14) with a = 15.296(3), b = 4.666(3), c = 14.025(2) Å, β = 122.61(1)° and has 4 formula units in the unit cell. Data were collected with use of a Syntex P2₁ diffractometer and MoKα radiation. The crystal structure was determined by standard methods and refined to R₁ = 0.043 and R₂ = 0.056 based on 2925 independent reflections. The compound contains the three 1-methylcytosine ligands bound through N(3) with the three ligands almost perpendicular to the Pt coordination plane. The two C ligands trans to each other have identical orientations with respect to the platinum square plane whereas the cytosine trans to NH₃ has the opposite orientation. Bond lengths and angles are normal.     

Vegetative morphology and anatomy of Maundia (Maundiaceae: Alismatales) and patterns of peripheral bundle orientation in angiosperm leaves with three‐dimensional venation

Collateral bundles with external position of the phloem characterize the stem vasculature of most seed plants. An earlier study highlighted the occurrence of inverted peripheral bundles in the leafless inflorescence peduncle of the rare Australian aquatic Maundia triglochinoides. This unusual feature and other morphological and molecular data supported the recognition of the monogeneric Maundiaceae, but the anatomy of the leaves, rhizomes and roots of Maundia remained unknown and is studied here. Maundia has an iterative sympodial growth with all shoots bearing five tubular cataphylls splitting longitudinally and simulating open sheaths at maturity and two (or three) linear foliage leaves without a conspicuous basal sheath. This morphology distinguishes Maundiaceae from all other Alismatales. The rhizome has an atactostele with collateral bundles of normal orientation; peripheral bundles are absent. Cataphylls have a series of normally oriented bundles. Foliage leaves are thick, bifacial, semi‐elliptical in cross‐section, with a thin subepidermal layer of chlorenchyma on both sides, accompanied by peripheral bundles with xylem facing outwards (thus abaxial peripheral bundles are inverted) and central large bundles of normal orientation. Strong anatomical similarity between leaves and peduncles is related to their shared function as assimilatory organs. As in angiosperm succulents, the three‐dimensional leaf venation in thick aquatic and helophyte leaves of Alismatales serves to reduce transport distances between veins and photosynthetic cells. In both cases, the patterns of orientation of peripheral bundles (with inverted adaxial or abaxial bundles) are unstable in large clades. These slender bundles cannot be used for the identification of unifacial leaves. Some anatomical characters express homoplastic similarities between Maundiaceae and Aponogetonaceae.     

The effects of haloalkene cysteine conjugates on cytosolic free calcium levels in suspensions of rat renal proximal tubules

Disturbances in intracellular calcium homeostasis may play a role in the injury induced by various haloalkene cysteine conjugates. The effects of S-(1,2,3,4,4-pentachloro-1,3-butadienyl)-L-cysteine (PCBC), S-(1,2-dichlorovinyl)-L-cysteine (DCVC), and S-(1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethyl)-L-cysteine (TFEC) on cytosolic free calcium levels were examined in suspensions of rat renal proximal tubules. Cytosolic free calcium levels, measured with fura 2, in control tubules, were 112 +/- 3 nM and increased more than 200% within 1 minute after exposure to the calcium ionophore ionomycin (0.005 mM). PCBC (0.1 mM) increased cytosolic free calcium levels 18% after 5 minutes, while tubular oxygen consumption was unaffected. DCVC (1 mM) did not alter tubular cytosolic free calcium levels or oxygen consumption under similar conditions. TFEC (1 mM) increased cytosolic free calcium levels 36%, had no effect on basal oxygen consumption, and decreased nystatin-stimulated oxygen consumption 30% after 5 minutes. TFEC increased cytosolic free calcium levels in tubules incubated in a nominally calcium-free buffer but not in a calcium containing buffer in the presence of EGTA. The data suggest that the TFEC-induced increase in cytosolic free calcium levels may result from an influx of extracellular calcium or from inhibition of calcium efflux. The increase in cytosolic free calcium levels preceded changes in basal oxygen consumption in tubules exposed to PCBC and TFEC. This study shows that an increase in cytosolic free calcium levels is an early event following PCBC and TFEC but not DCVC exposure.