Darting and marking techniques for an arboreal forest monkey,Cercopithecus ascanius

Techniques are described for capturing and marking redtail monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius). An air-powered darting rifle and syringe darts loaded with a Ketamine-Rompun mixture were used for capture. Ketamine was used for maintaining anesthesia. Monkeys were darted 48 times and captured 27 times. In 24 of the 27 captures, the monkeys were released unharmed. Adult males were marked with radiotransmitters attached to collars of nylon webbing. Females received nylon webbing collars with colorcoded plastic washers for identification.     

Radioiodinated surface proteins of separated cell types from rabbit endometrium in relation to the time of implantation

To investigate changes in surface proteins of uterine cells in relation to the time of implantation, epithelial and stromal cells were isolated from rabbit endometrium and maintained in primary culture for 3 days. Surface-iodination of intact cells was carried out before and after culture, using immobilized Iodogen catalyst. The labeled proteins were analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, followed by autoradiography; peak areas were quantitated by scanning densitometry. Different gestational ages showed no marked qualitative differences in the surface-iodination patterns either of epithelial or stromal cells before or after culture. Quantitative differences between the surface-iodination pattern of epithelial cells from days 4 to 6.5 of pregnancy were revealed by canonical variate analysis of labeled peak areas. Values for individual rabbits clustered according to gestational age, with significant (p less than 0.05) separation of the clusters, although the discrimination was less pronounced for cultured than for freshly isolated cells. Changes involving increases in labeling of a protein of 38000 Mr in fresh cells, and decreases in a protein of 42000 Mr in cultured cells, were evident between day 4 and day 6.5. Thus changes in the surface-labeling pattern of uterine epithelial cells in relation to the time of receptivity for ovoimplantation can be distinguished. The functional significance of these changes remains to be elucidated.     

Potential Toxicological Problems Associated with Antioxidants in Plastics and Rubber Consumables

Antioxidants and stabilisers are of critical importance in the manufacture and use of polymer artifacts. Most conventional additives are readily leached from plastics or rubbers by foodstuffs or body fluids with consequent danger associated with the potential toxicity in the body. Strategy for the development of biologically “safe” stabilisation systems for polymers are discussed and it is concluded that the attachment of the appropriate reactive functional group to the polymer backbone by “reactive processing” provides the best means of immobilising the functional group to leaching fluids without sacrificing its protective action.     

Growth characteristics of a thermotolerant methylotrophic Bacillus sp. (NCIB 12522) in batch culture

Summary This contribution deals with problems associated with the culture of a thermotolerant methylotrophic Bacillus sp. The results reported clearly demonstrate why conventional enrichment/isolation procedures have, in the past, failed to allow such microbes to assert themselves. The catastrophic effect of carbon substrate (methanol) exhaustion on such cultures is clearly evidenced, but the effects of other nutrient exhaustion or limitations are demonstrated to be markedly less stringent. The failure of such cultures to complete the sporulation process when growing on methanol has important consequences with respect to their survival characteristics.     

The presence or absence of light during flotation restricted environmental stimulation: Effects on plasma cortisol,blood pressure,and mood

This study examined the effect of light on relaxation associated with flotation restricted environmental stimulation therapy (REST), as measured by plasma cortisol, mean arterial pressure, and psychometric parameters. Twenty-one subjects were paired by baseline cortisol levels into two groups: one experiencing flotation REST in the presence of light (REST-L) and one experiencing flotation REST in the absence of light (REST-D). Subjects were 15 male and 6 female students aged 22–28 in normal health who had not experienced REST. Repeated flotation REST (8 sessions) either with light or without light was associated with a decrease in plasma cortisol and a decrease in mean arterial pressure, with no differences in effectiveness between groups. The psychometric assessment of mood, using the POMS scale, before and after sessions 1 and 8 revealed mood state improvement in both REST-L and REST-D groups. These data suggest that the presence of light did not compromise the flotation REST experience, as evidenced by the lack of difference between REST-L and REST-D groups.