TRAP CATCHES OF MUSCA VETUSTISSIMA WALKER (DIPTERA: MUSCIDAE) AND OTHER ARTHROPODS ASSOCIATED WITH CATTLE DUNG IN RELATION TO HEIGHT ABOVE GROUND LEVEL

Abstract
Catches of male and female Musca vetustissima in isolated fly traps located up to 3 m above ground were inversely related to height, but sex ratios and female age-distributions were similar for catches at all heights. Since the effect of height on log catch was highly significant, traps must be operated at a standard height to obtain estimates of fly abundance that are comparable between sampling occasions. Seasonal variation in log catch in relation to height was also highly significant, but was small in comparison to the effects of height. Catches of other dung-frequenting arthropods in pitfall traps were highest at ground level. Very few arthropods were caught in traps located 2 m or more above ground.     

A genetic study of the human low-voltage electroencephalogram

Summary The studied phenotype, the low-voltage electroencephalogram (LVEEG), is characterized by the absence of an alpha rhythm from the resting EEG. In previous studies, evidence was found for a simple autosomal-dominant mode of inheritance of the LVEEG. Such a polymorphism in brain function can be used as a research model for the stepwise elucidation of the molecular mechanism involved in those aspects of neuronal activity that are reflected in the EEG. Linkage with the variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) marker CMM6 (D20S19) and localization of an LVEEG (EEGV1) gene on 20q have previously been reported, and genetic heterogeneity has been demonstrated. This latter result has been corroborated by studing new marker (MS214). The phenotype of the LVEEG is described here in greater detail. Its main characteristic is the absence of rhythmic alpha activity, especially in occipital leads, whereas other wave forms such as beta or theta waves may be present. Analysis of 17 new families (some of them large), together with 60 previously described nuclear families, supports the genetic hypothesis of an autosomal-dominant mode of inheritance. Problems connected with the analysis of linkage heterogeneity, exclusion mapping, and the study of multipoint linkage are discussed. A possible explanation of the localization of LVEEG in the close vicinity of another gene influencing synchronization of the normal EEG, the gene for benign neonatal epilepsie, is given.     

Single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis of exon 11 of the CFTR gene reliably detects more than one third of non-ΔF508 mutations in German cystic fibrosis patients

Summary In Central Europe, the F508 deletion accounts for approximately 75% of mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene causing cystic fibrosis. The remainder comprise a large number of individually infrequent mutations whose detection requires a disproportionately large effort. However, a sizeable proportion of non-F508 mutations have been found to cluster within exon 11. We have taken advantage of this clustering to detect a total of five previously described point mutations present on 26/72 (36%) non-F508 chromosomes by polymerase chain reaction/direct sequencing of exon 11. These exon 11 mutations were then subjected to single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis, which was shown (i) to discriminate reliably between mutant and wildtype alleles and (ii) to generate reproducible mutation-specific band patterns. This analysis thus represents the first attempt to assess SSCP analysis retrospectively, and serves to illustrate the potential of this screening technique in diagnostic medicine.     

Inhibition of early steps of de novo fatty-acid biosynthesis by different xenobiotica

The importance of the early steps of de novo fatty-acid biosynthesis is discussed in terms of rate-limiting enzymic reactions with respect to their inhibition by xenobiotics. The inhibitory spectra of allicin as an inhibitor of the acetyl-CoA-synthase, two classes of graminicides (cyclohexane-1,3-diones and aryloxyphenoxypropionic acids) as inhibitors of acetyl-CoA-carboxylase, and the two antibiotics cerulenin and thiolactomycin, which affect the condensing step in fatty-acid biosynthesis, are compared.     

In vivo pH measurement in the xylem of broad-leaved trees using ion-sensitive field-effect transistors

Summary A new method of in vivo pH determination in the xylem of broad-leaved trees using ion-sensitive field effect transistors is developed and its suitability for use is studied. In the first few hours after the sensor had been implanted in the xylem signals could be detected which were generated in response to mechanical damage; particularly strong signal changes are detectable in Populus balsamifera L., Tilia cordata Mill, and Aesculus hippocastanum L. The pH values of the xylem sap extracted from branches corresponded to the values measured by the in vivo method only at certain times. Due to sensor drift the measuring accuracy of long-term experiments lasting up to 3 weeks is restricted. The in vivo measurement of pH in the xylem of poplar branches revealed the ability of the living xylem to buffer the pH of the sap to its own characteristic value.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. O. L. Lange to his 65th birthday     

Human impact as registered in the pollen record: some results from the western Lake Constance region,Southern Germany

Pollen analytical results from a littoral profile taken in Lake Constance compared with pollen profiles from small kettle holes nearby form the basis for conclusions concerning human population density, the economy and environment from the Neolithic period to the Middle Ages. Early Neolithic human impact is implicated in a lime decline and also the expansion of beech. The late Neolithic lakeshore settlements caused a decline of elm, beech and lime and, by shifting cultivation, considerably changed the forest cover. The settlements were abandoned after less than 100 years. There were long periods without distinct human impact in the middle and towards the end of the late Neolithic period. Since at least the Late Bronze Age there has been permanent habitation in the region. Human impact was greatest in the High Medieval period and later, and was also substantial in the late La Tène and Roman periods. Distinct declines in human impact can be observed between the La Tène and Roman periods and in the Migration and Merovingian periods. In these intervals, open land and grazed oak forest were replaced by birch and later on by beech forests. The decreases in human impact are not of the same intensity in all diagrams.     

Rat model of the human "Triton" tumor: direct genetic evidence for the myogenic differentiation capacity of schwannoma cells using the mutant neu gene as a cell lineage marker

Spontaneous myogenic differentiation was observed in 2 out of 15 cases when cells from schwannomas induced in the offspring of BDIX rats by transplacental exposure to N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (EtNU) were grown in monolayer culture following fluorescence-activated cell sorting with monoclonal antibody (Mab) 217c. Myotubes and numerous mononucleated cells no longer expressed the Schwann cell antigens 217c and S-100 protein, but rather revealed the presence of desmin, the alpha-sarcomeric form (alpha-sr) of actin, and the cell surface antigen specified by Mab RB21-7, a 250 kD glycoprotein sharing an epitope with the neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM). Subcutaneous reimplantation of such cells into syngeneic animals led to the appearance of tumors composed of both S-100 positive Schwann cells and desmin and alpha-sr-actin positive rhabdomyoblasts, thus closely resembling the human "Triton" tumor. With the use of the polymerase chain reaction and allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridization, DNA isolated from individual myotubes was analyzed for the presence of a T----A transversion mutation at nucleotide 2012 of the neu gene, which is diagnostic of EtNU-induced rat schwannomas. All of the amplified DNA isolates contained the mutant neu allele, thus providing direct genetic proof for the capacity of mammalian neuroectodermal cells for myogenic differentiation.