Behavioural response and winter survival of mated and unmated diapausing females of the Tetranychus atlanticus-urticae complex (Acari, Tetranychidae)

Behavioural responses were studied in mated and unmated females of a Dutch strain of the spider mite Tetranychus urticae which were destined to enter diapause. Observations were confined to the period between acquirement of the winter coloration by the females (a few days after the last moult) and their entering of artificial hibernation sites offered to the mites on the host leaves. Unmated females were found to stay longer on the leaf surface than mated females; they entered the hibernation sites significantly later than mated females. The delay in the search for hibernation sites shown by unmated females may be seen as a behavioural adaptation to enhance the chance of being fertilized before hibernation. Winter survival of mated and unmated diapausing females of the same strain of mites was studied both in the laboratory at a constant temperature of 2±1°C and outdoors under natural climatic conditions in Amsterdam during the winter of 1990–1991. Survival was high under both conditions for mated as well as unmated females; no significant differences in survival were found between both types of female. Observations on post-diapause females of Tetranychus atlanticus (a mite belonging to the T. urticae complex) sampled from strawberry fields near Moscow in spring, showed that at most 10% of the females of this natural spider mite population were unmated. Both mated and unmated females had survived winter temperatures of -28 to -30°C.     

Photoprotection in the lichen Parmelia sulcata: the origins of desiccation-induced fluorescence quenching

Lichens, a symbiotic relationship between a fungus (mycobiont) and a photosynthetic green algae or cyanobacteria (photobiont), belong to an elite group of survivalist organisms termed resurrection species. When lichens are desiccated, they are photosynthetically inactive, but upon rehydration they can perform photosynthesis within seconds. Desiccation is correlated with both a loss of variable chlorophyll a fluorescence and a decrease in overall fluorescence yield. The fluorescence quenching likely reflects photoprotection mechanisms that may be based on desiccation-induced changes in lichen structure that limit light exposure to the photobiont (sunshade effect) and/or active quenching of excitation energy absorbed by the photosynthetic apparatus. To separate and quantify these possible mechanisms, we have investigated the origins of fluorescence quenching in desiccated lichens with steady-state, low temperature, and time-resolved chlorophyll fluorescence spectroscopy. We found the most dramatic target of quenching to be photosystem II (PSII), which produces negligible levels of fluorescence in desiccated lichens. We show that fluorescence decay in desiccated lichens was dominated by a short lifetime, long-wavelength component energetically coupled to PSII. Remaining fluorescence was primarily from PSI and although diminished in amplitude, PSI decay kinetics were unaffected by desiccation. The long-wavelength-quenching species was responsible for most (about 80%) of the fluorescence quenching observed in desiccated lichens; the rest of the quenching was attributed to the sunshade effect induced by structural changes in the lichen thallus.     

Prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in Canadians 55 to 74 years of age: results from the Canadian Heart Health Surveys, 1986-1992

BACKGROUND: By 2016, the proportion of Canadians older than 65 years of age will increase to 16%, and there will be an increase in the absolute number of cases of cardiovascular disease in older Canadians. The Canadian Heart Health Surveys database provides information about this population upon which health policy related to cardiovascular disease can be based. This paper presents for the first time population-based data on the risk factors for cardiovascular disease in older Canadians. METHODS: Canadians from all 10 provinces participated in surveys of cardiovascular risk factors; health insurance registries were used as sampling frames. In each province, probability samples of 2200 adults 18 to 74 years old not living in institutions, on reserves or in military camps were asked to participate in interviews and to undergo testing at clinics for major risk factors for cardiovascular disease. RESULTS: A total of 2739 men (response rate 70%) and 2617 women (response rate 66%) aged 55 to 74 years participated in the survey and also provided follow-up clinical measurements at the clinic. Overall, 52% of participants were hypertensive, 26% had isolated systolic hypertension, and 30% had a total blood cholesterol level of 6.2 mmol/L or greater. Rates of current smoking were lower in women than men (17% v. 22%). Overall, 87% of men and 78% of women who were current smokers smoked at least 10 cigarettes per day. Only slightly more than half of participants exercised at least once a week for at least 15 minutes, and almost half had a body mass index of 27 or greater. In only 4% was no major risk factor for cardiovascular disease detected. INTERPRETATION: Significant numbers of older Canadians have one or more major risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Many of these risk factors are amenable to modification.     

Enzyme models: design and selection

There are two approaches to the discovery of enzyme mimics, that is identifying molecules that are able to bind substrate(s) and then catalyze reactions. The first approach, often inspired by enzymes themselves, utilises chemical knowledge and experience to design the catalyst. The other approach is to create a library and select the best host of a transition state analogue of the required reaction.     

Specific RNA Interference in Caenorhabditis elegans by Ingested dsRNA Expressed in Bacillus subtilis

In nematodes, genome-wide RNAi-screening has been widely used as a rapid and efficient method to identify genes involved in the aging processes. By far the easiest way of inducing RNA interference (RNAi) in Caenorhabditis elegans is by feeding Escherichia coli that expresses specific double stranded RNA (dsRNA) to knockdown translation of targeted mRNAs. However, it has been shown that E. coli is mildly pathogenic to C. elegans and this pathogenicity might influence aging and the accuracy of the RNAi-screening during aging may as well be affected. Here, we describe a novel system that utilizes the non-pathogenic bacterium Bacillus subtilis, to express dsRNA and therefore eliminates the effects of bacterial pathogenicity from the genetic analysis of aging.     

Lymphocyte capping and lymphocyte migration as associated events in the in vivo antigen trapping process. an electron-microscopic autoradiographic study in the spleen of mice

The fate of 125I labeled antigen-antibody complexes in the first two hours after intravenous injection was followed in the spleen of mice by light and electron microscopic autoradiography. It appeared that AAC were phagocytized by granulocytes and by macrophages in the marginal zone and were present over the surface of lymphocytes in that area. By rinsing the spleen before fixation it could be shown that AAC were indeed bound to the lymphocyte membrane and not merely present in the blood plasma between the cells. The label was present in a spotty fashion or over a so-called uropod. The majority of labeled uropods (13 out of 17) pointed away from the follicle. From this it was inferred that these lymphocytes moved to and most probably into, the follicles. Inside the follicles, at 1 hour post injectionem, most of the label was associated with interfaces between lymphocytes. At 2 hours post injectionem there was a preferential localization over interfaces between lymphocytes and dendritic reticulum cells. It is conceivable that antigen that is introduced into the circulation is ultimately presented to dendritic reticulum cells in a complexed form with antibody, probably with complement, and with the B-cell receptor, since receptor shedding is a normal event following capping.