Orientation of agents of wound myiasis to hosts and artificial stimuli in Hungary

Abstract. The orientation of adults of the myiasis species Wohlfahrtia magnified and Lucilia sericata to artificial visual stimuli (cloth targets) and olfactory stimuli ('swormlure-4', a potent screwworm attractant), was studied in sheep pastures near to Sarbogard in Hungary. Experiments with odour-baited cloth targets, enclosed in electrocuting grids, demonstrated that colour was an important factor influencing catches on targets: a black target caught most flies of both species, with other colours in the following order of effectiveness, blue > white > yellow. Wohlfahrtia magnified did not respond to swormlure-4 in the strong manner that L. sericata did. The sex ratios of W. magnifica caught on targets (67.2% males) and hand-netted from fence posts (68.8% males) were similar and biased towards males, whereas that of L. sericata on targets was strongly biased towards females (15.6% males), indicating a fundamental difference in the response of these two myiasis species towards the swormlure-baited targets. The orientation of these two species towards hosts was also recorded together with that of a third species, Phormia regina . Electric nets placed beside infested sheep caught significantly more flies of all three species than those placed beside uninfested sheep or in the absence of sheep. The sex ratio of W. magnified caught around infested sheep was the reverse of that on targets, with 68.5% females. Wohlfahrtia magnifica responded more strongly to healthy, uninfested sheep than did L. sericata and P. regina . The potential for use of targets both for population monitoring and control is discussed.     

The use of visual cues in host evaluation by aphidiid wasps

We examined host evaluation behaviour in three species of aphid parasitoids, Ephedrus californicus Baker, Monoctonus paulensis (Ashmead), and Praon pequodorum Viereck (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae). Mated females were provided with pairwise choices among three kinds of hosts in the laboratory: (green) pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), and a green and a pink colour morph of alfalfa aphid, Macrosiphum creelii Davis. Patterns of attack and host acceptance were species-specific. Females of E. californicus did not respond to the presence of aphids prior to making antennal contact. Variations in rates of parasitization (pea aphid>green alfalfa aphid>pink alfalfa aphid) were consistent with differences in aphid defensive behaviours; no ‘preference’ for any host type was evident when aphids were anaesthetized with carbon dioxide. In M. paulensis, the order of preference (pea aphid>green alfalfa aphid>pink alfalfa aphid) did not vary when aphids were immobilized, or presented in the dark, or both. Host movement did not influence the rate of attack by M. paulensis. In contrast, the ranked order of preference in P. pequodorum varied with circumstance. In the light, females attacked pea aphid and green alfalfa aphid with equal frequency, but parasitized significantly more of the former; both kinds of aphids were attacked and parasitized at higher rates than pink alfalfa aphid. In the dark, P. pequodorum females parasitized green and pink alfalfa aphids equally and at higher rates than pea aphids. Whereas E. californicus was more successful ovipositing in immobilized hosts, P. pequodorum females attacked and laid more eggs in normal than anaesthetized aphids. Patterns of host recognition and evaluation are compared across six species representing four genera in the family Aphidiidae.     

Traveling Waves and the Processing of Weakly Tuned Inputs in a Cortical Network Module

Recent studies have shown that local cortical feedback can havean important effect on the response of neurons in primary visualcortex to the orientation of visual stimuli. In this work, westudy the role of the cortical feedback in shaping thespatiotemporal patterns of activity in cortex. Two questionsare addressed: one, what are the limitations on the ability ofcortical neurons to lock their activity to rotatingoriented stimuli within a single receptive field? Two, can thelocal architecture of visual cortex lead to the generation ofspontaneous traveling pulses of activity? We study theseissues analytically by a population-dynamic model of ahypercolumn in visual cortex. The order parameter thatdescribes the macroscopic behavior of the network is thetime-dependent population vector of the network. We firststudy the network dynamics under the influence of a weakly tunedinput that slowly rotates within the receptive field. We showthat if the cortical interactions have strong spatialmodulation, the network generates a sharply tuned activityprofile that propagates across the hypercolumn in a path thatis completely locked to the stimulus rotation. The resultantrotating population vector maintains a constant angular lagrelative to the stimulus, the magnitude of which grows with thestimulus rotation frequency. Beyond a critical frequency thepopulation vector does not lock to the stimulus but executes aquasi-periodic motion with an average frequency that is smallerthan that of the stimulus. In the second part we consider thestable intrinsic state of the cortex under the influence of isotropic stimulation. We show that if the local inhibitoryfeedback is sufficiently strong, the network does not settleinto a stationary state but develops spontaneous travelingpulses of activity. Unlike recent models of wave propagation incortical networks, the connectivity pattern in our model isspatially symmetric, hence the direction of propagation ofthese waves is arbitrary. The interaction of these waves withan external-oriented stimulus is studied. It is shown that thesystem can lock to a weakly tuned rotating stimulus if thestimulus frequency is close to the frequency of the intrinsic wave.     

海马内生长抑素与γ－氨基丁酸在大鼠穿梭箱主动回避反应中的作用

本实验以大鼠穿梭箱主动回避反应（ＡＡＲ）的习得和消退为学习记忆的指标,研究了海马内生长抑素（ＳＳ）和γ－氨基丁酸（ＧＡＢＡ）在学习记忆中的作用。结果如下：（１）经训练而建立了ＡＡＲ的大鼠,其海马内ＳＳ较对照组显著增高,而海马内ＧＡＢＡ含量却明显降低;（２）海马内注入ＳＳ的耗竭剂半胱胺（Ｃｙｓ,２０ｇ／Ｌ）使大鼠ＡＡＲ的习得受到明显损害,ＡＡＲ的消退显著加速,海马内ＳＳ明显降低,而ＧＡＢＡ含量却显著升高;（３）海马内注入ＧＡＢＡ（２００ｇ／Ｌ）使大鼠ＡＡＲ的消退显著加速的同时,其海马内ＳＳ含量亦显著降低。由此表明,海马内ＳＳ可能有促进学习记忆的作用,而海马内ＧＡＢＡ升高则有相反的效应;二者在海马调控学习记忆过程中具有重要作用。     

光刺激参数控制器

本文介绍一种能准确而迅速改变光刺激器光学参数(波长、强度等)的远距控制装置。将具有不同光学参数的滤光片(或孔径)置于转盘的不同位置,并对其编码。通过对编码值与预置值的比较,驱动步进马达带动转盘到所需的位置。仪器操作简便,有良好的重复性。     

Sensory interaction during trap-finding by female onion flies: implications for ovipositional host-plant finding

Using various three-dimensional traps alone and in combination with the onion volatile, dipropyl-disulphide (Pr₂S₂), we found that visual behaviour of female onion flies, Delia antiqua (Meigen), varied with the visual context (background composition and trap spacing) in which traps were presented and the females' reproductive state (mated vs. unmated). Against a background of real onions, females alighted more frequently on spherical than cylindrical traps, and white than green spheres, but females responded equally to white and green cylinders. In an onion field, baiting traps with Pr₂S₂ significantly increased female response to white over green traps, but had no influence on their response to trap shape. When traps were spaced 10 m apart and against a background of bare soil, females orienting to Pr₂S₂ baits alighted more frequently on vertical than horizontal traps, but shape and spectral reflectance were insignificant. However, when traps were spaced 0.25 m apart, females orienting to Pr₂S₂ baits alighted more frequently on cylinders than spheres. Mated females alighted more frequently on green than white cylinders, but unmated females responded to cylinders independent of spectral reflectance. When located 20 m downwind from Pr₂S₂ baits, mated females alighted on green cylinders significantly more often than unmated females. Response to traps mimicking onion plants suggests that ovipositional host-finding in female onion flies is dominated by olfactory responses at long range (several metres) and by visual cues at short-range (ca. 1 m). The view that host location by female onion flies is a hierarchical response pattern mediated by multiple sensory modalities and modified by resource level (habitat) and reproductive status, is discussed.     

In Vitro Release of Endogenous β- Alanine, GABA, and Glutamate, and Electrophysiological Effect of β-Alanine in Pigeon Optic Tectum

The efflux of 20 amino acids, induced by either high K+ concentration or veratrine, was determined in pigeon tectal slices. Ca2+-dependent, K+-induced release of beta-alanine, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and glutamate was observed. Veratrine caused release of the same amino acids plus glycine in a tetrodotoxin-sensitive manner. beta-Alanine had a strong inhibitory effect on the activity of tectal neurons which was blocked by strychnine but not by bicuculline. The results indicated a transmitter function for beta-alanine in the optic tectum, and were consistent with the previously proposed transmitter role of GABA and glutamate in this structure.     

Axonal Transport of the Ca2+-Dependent Protein Modulator of 3'':5''-Cyclic-AMP Phosphodiesterase in the Rabbit Visual System

Water-soluble proteins were extracted from individual retinas, optic nerves, combined optic tracts and lateral geniculate bodies, and superior colliculi of rabbits at 1, 3, and 18 days after injection of [3H]leucine into the right eye. The Ca2+-dependent protein modulator of 3':5'-cyclic-AMP phosphodiesterase (calmodulin) was isolated from these samples by a two-step polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis procedure. An analysis of the radioactivity incorporated into the total soluble proteins and the calmodulin revealed that most of the calmodulin was axonally transported at a slow rate (2--4 mm/day) and represented about 0.45% of the total transported soluble protein.     

Tonic effects of stationary luminous slits on the discharge rates of some locust visual interneurones

The presence of an illuminated slit in the visual field of a locust compound eye produced changes in the tonic discharge rate of the DCMD and three other visual interneurones, recorded in a connective. The DCMD discharge peaked initially in the range of low slit subtenses, but over a period of minutes of exposure its character changed so that there was a rise at high subtenses also. When the luminance of a slit of fixed subtense was increased in steps, there was an initial rise then a sharp fall in discharge, indicating an abrupt onset of inhibition. Lateral spread of inhibition could account for the peak in response to slits, at a subtense falling well within the acceptance angle of a single ommatidium. The results show the ability of some visual interneurones to maintain a changed level of discharge in the presence of a stationary object in the visual field of the eye.     

The first optic ganglion of the bee

Summary The arrangement of first and second order neurons in an optic cartridge and the topographical relationships of the second order neurons within a cartridge and to groups of surrounding cartridges have been analyzed in the visual system of the bee, Apis mellifera, from light and electron microscope studies on Golgi preparations. At the level of the monopolar cell body layer, the nine retinula cell fibres of each ommatidium, the six short visual fibres arranged in a circle surrounding the three long visual fibres, become cartridges as a consequence of the appearance of the second order neurons (L-fibres) which join the R-fibre bundles. Two of the four different L-fibre types, L-1 and L-2, remain together in the centre of the cartridge throughout the lamina. The axons of the L-3 and L-4 fibres, however, have their position integrated into the circle formed by the endings of the short visual fibres. On the basis of further examination of light and especially electron microscopical Golgi material, the different L-fibres can be classified into four types which appear in each cartridge. The clear stratification in the first synaptic region (A, B and C) seems to be the best criterion for a morphological classification since such a classification necessarily also includes a functional basis. According to a naming system based on the position of the lateral processes, L-fibres with side branches in strata A, B and C are called L-1 fibres. Fibres with lateral processes in strata A and B are L-2 fibres; monopolar cell fibres with branches only in the second stratum B are L-fibres of type 3; and all monopolar cells with branches only in stratum C are called L-4 fibres. In addition to the branching pattern covering only the parent cartridge, two of the four fibre types (L-2 and L-4) have long collaterals reaching neighbouring cartridges: L-2 in stratum A and L-4 in stratum C. These collaterals presumably form a substrate for lateral interactions.