Effect of asynchronous transfer and oestrogen administration on survival and development of porcine embryos.

Results indicate that recovery of embryos on Days 11 and 13 of pregnancy was reduced for Day 5 embryos transferred to recipients on Day 6 of their oestrous cycle and was greatly reduced when embryos were transferred to recipients on Day 7 of the cycle (P less than 0.01). Administration of oestradiol-17 beta on Day 11 of the recipient's cycle did not appear to affect embryo development on Day 13. Day 6 embryos transferred to recipients on Day 8 of the oestrous cycle deteriorated rapidly within 24 h of transfer; there was no recovery of embryos from the uterus after 36 h. Treatment of pregnant gilts with 1 mg oestradiol-17 beta (i.v.) on Day 10.5 resulted in total embryonic loss by Day 23, but pregnancy rates of gilts treated with oestradiol-17 beta on Day 12 were similar to those of vehicle-treated gilts (60.6 vs. 71.4%).     

Canopy transpiration and water fluxes in the xylem of the trunk of Larix and Picea trees — a comparison of xylem flow,porometer and cuvette measurements

Summary Leaf gas exchange, transpiration, water potential and xylem water flow measurements were used in order to investigate the daily water balance of intact, naturally growing, adult Larix and Picea trees without major injury. The total daily water use of the tree was very similar when measured as xylem water flow at breast height or at the trunk top below the shade branches, or as canopy transpiration by a porometer or gas exchange chamber at different crown positions. The average canopy transpiration is about 12% lower than the transpiration of a single twig in the sun crown of Larix and Picea. Despite the similarity in daily total water flows there are larger differences in the actual daily course. Transpiration started 2 to 3 h earlier than the xylem water flow and decreased at noon before the maximum xylem water flow was reached, and stopped in the evening 2 to 3 h earlier than the water flow though the stem. The daily course of the xylem water flow was very similar at the trunk base and top below the lowest branches with shade needles. The difference in water efflux from the crown via transpiration and the water influx from the trunk is caused by the use of stored water. The specific capacitance of the crown wood was estimated to be 4.7 x 10^-8 and 6.3 x 10^-8 kg kg^-1 Pa^-1 and the total amount of available water storage was 17.8 and 8.7 kg, which is 24% and 14% of the total daily transpiration in Larix and Picea respectively. Very little water was used from the main tree trunk. With increasing transpiration and use of stored water from wood in the crown, the water potential in the foliage decreases. Plant water status recovers with the decrease of transpiration and the refilling of the water storage sites. The liquid flow conductance in the trunk was 0.45 x 10^-9 and 0.36 x 10^-9 mol m^-2s^-1 Pa^-1 in Larix and Picea respectively. The role of stomata and their control by environmental and internal plant factors is discussed.     

Flow-cytometric detection of surface membrane alterations and concomitant changes in the cytoskeletal actin status of activated platelets.

Occlusive vascular diseases are promoted by a "prethrombotic state" with increased platelet activity. Polymerization of cytoskeletal proteins and exposure of subcellular structures or rebinding of secreted proteins have been characterized as early reactions after platelet activation preceding adhesion and aggregation. Here, we demonstrate the kinetic increase in specific binding of monoclonal antibodies to thrombospondin (P10) and to platelet membrane activation markers CD63 (GP53, a 53 kD lysosomal protein) and CD62 (GMP140, a 140 kD alpha granule protein) by using a flow-cytometric bio-assay and the related change in the actin status by using the DNase-I inhibition assay after stimulation of normal human platelets with 0.2 U/ml thrombin. F-actin was raised from 41% to 51% of total platelet actin content 30 s after stimulation and remained thereafter constant (50% at 60 s). Simultaneously, the percentage of P10, CD63, and CD62 positive platelets was elevated from 5.4%, 24.4%, and 9.1% to 67.4%, 80.2%, and 82.3% respectively. The mean number of P10, CD63, and CD62 antibody binding sites increased from 3,300, 1,715, and 2,146 to 6,400, 6,800, and 9,016 per platelet. Conclusively, changes in the organization of the cytoskeletal protein "actin" and exposure of subcellular structures indicating platelet secretion can be regarded as markers of early platelet activation. Thus, the parallel response in both analytical systems provides further support for the diagnostic concept of flow-cytometric detection of preactivated platelets in the peripheral blood by using fluochrome staining procedures detecting activation dependent structural alterations directly at the cellular level.     

Exchange of reduced sulfur gases between lichens and the atmosphere

Fourteen lichens, 10 green algal lichens and four cyanolichens, as well as a cyanobacterium emitted significant quantities of H₂S (0.01–0.04 pmol g dw^–1 s^–1) and DMS (0.005–0.025 pmol g dw^–1 s^–1) but were sinks for COS (0.015–0.14 pmol g dw^–1 s^–1). In contrast, exchange of CH₃SH and CS₂ were sporatic and inconsistent. Although some interspecific variation occurred for the first three gases, exchange rates were relatively uniform and were not influenced by irradiance conditions. In contrast to DMS and H₂S emission, COS uptake was strongly influenced by degree of thallus hydration. Because lichen dominated systems cover extensive terrestrial habitats, COS uptake is potentially important in the world's sulfur budget.     

Ein Beitrag zur Morphologie der labellaren Marginalborste der Fliegen Calliphora und Phormia

Zusammenfassung Die Marginalborste auf der Marginalleiste der Rüsselscheibe von Calliphora und Phormia ist bei adulten Tieren und reifen Puppen lichtmikroskopisch untersucht worden. Sie besteht aus einer zweilumigen Borste, unter der sich ein Sack mit Sinneszellen und akzessorischen Zellen befindet. Der Sack baut sich aus zwei Hüllen auf, deren innere aus bindegewebigem Perilemm gebildet wird. Distal grenzt das Perilemm an die Basalmembran, proximal zieht es von der Basis des Sackes aus als Nervenscheide in das Labellum, wo es sich mit den Nervenscheiden anderer Marginalborsten vereinigt und an der Basis des Labellums in die Nervenscheide des Labialnerven mündet. Die äußere Hülle des Sackes besteht aus granuliertem Septum, das distal 2–25 unterhalb der Basalmembran endet und proximal die Nervenscheide etwa bis zur Mitte des Labellums eng anliegend überzieht. Dort löst es sich von der Nervenscheide und zieht unter die Basalmembran, unter der es auch im Haustellum und Rostrum vorkommt. Die trichogene Zelle der Marginalborste verschließt den Sack in Höhe der Basalmembran wie ein zugespitzter Korken. Die Membran ihrer Zelle im intrakutikulären Bereich wird beschrieben. Ein Scolops zieht als Fortsetzung vom engen Lumen der Borste durch die trichogene Zelle hindurch in den Sack hinein, wo sein freies Ende distale Nervenfortsätze aufnimmt. Zur Anzahl und Art der Zellen im Sack wird Stellung genommen. Ein Netz aus Fibrillen unbekannter Art um den Kern der Sinneszellen und der Verlauf einer mechanorezeptorischen Faser werden beschrieben. In den Nervenscheiden kommen biund tripolare Zellen mit kurzen Fasern vor, die für Perilemmzellen gehalten werden. Nach Berechnungen über die Anzahl der Sinneszellen je Labellum und nach Querschnitten durch den Labialnerven in Höhe des Haustellums besteht eine Reduktion der afferenten Axone von etwa 1000 Sinneszellen zu rund 250, was einer Reduktion von vier Axonen zu einem einzigen entspricht.Herrn Prof. Dr. R. Stämpfli danke ich sehr für sein großes Interesse und seine Anregungen, Herrn Prof. Dr. B. Hassenstein (Direktor des Instituts für Zoologie der Universität Freiburg) für die kritische Durchsicht des Manuskripts.     

Water use by perennial plants in the transition zone between river oasis and desert in NW China

The study aimed at establishing the role of two possible water sources (inundation, ground water) for the water supply to the perennial plant species Alhagi sparsifolia, Calligonum caput-medusae, Populus euphratica and Tamarix ramosissima growing in the transition zone between a river oasis and the open desert at the southern fringe of the Taklamakan desert (Xinjiang province, NW China). The basic hypothesis was that inundations, which normally occur in summer when rivers from a nearby mountain range carry high water, contribute significantly to the plants’ water supply. When, in the first summer, inundations did not occur, four sites, each of which covered by a relatively dense stand of one species, were artificially flooded. Soil and plant water relations as well as meteorological variables were measured during two growing seasons. Water use efficiency of production (WUE_P) was calculated by relating biomass production, which was determined using allometric regressions, to water use.The effects of artificial flooding on the plant water relations were negligible. Water use was relatively high, especially in the A. sparsifolia and the P. euphratica stands and in a dense stand of T. ramosissima (up to approx. 500 kgH₂O m⁻² year⁻¹). Using the total above-ground biomass in the calculation, WUE_P was highest in C. caput-medusae and P. euphratica, and lowest, in A. sparsifolia. From soil and plant water relations, and against the background of the climate and the productivity of the vegetation, it is concluded that all perennial plants in the transition zone between oases and desert in that region must have sufficient access to ground water to ensure long-term survival. Management of ground water such that it remains continuously accessible to the perennial plants is a prerequisite for the conservation and sustainable use of the vegetation in the transition zone.     

Evaluation of synthetic sex pheromone for monitoring and management of raspberry crown borer Pennisetia marginata (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae)

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Phenylacetaldehyde attracts male and female apple clearwing moths,Synanthedon myopaeformis,to inflorescences of showy milkweed,Asclepias speciosa

Synanthedon myopaeformis Borkhausen (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) is a diurnal clearwing moth native to Eurasia that was recently introduced into British Columbia (BC) and Ontario, Canada, where it has become a serious pest in apple orchards. In BC, these moths commonly feed on nectar of inflorescences, particularly that of showy milkweed, Asclepias speciosa Torrey (Apocynaceae). We investigated the relative importance of visual and olfactory cues, and the key floral semiochemical(s) mediating attraction of S. myopaeformis to A. speciosa. In field experiments, inflorescences left exposed or enclosed in cheesecloth bags dyed green induced similar visitation rates by moths, indicating that olfactory cues are attractive. Among the >10 floral odourants that elicited responses from moth antennae in coupled gas chromatographic‐electroantennographic detection analyses, phenylacetaldehyde induced the most frequent proboscis extension reflexes of male and female moths. Among eight floral odourants that were field‐tested singly, phenylacetaldehyde attracted 35 times more male and female moths than any other candidate semiochemical. Attractiveness of phenylacetaldehyde could not be enhanced by admixture with other floral odourants at the ratios or concentrations tested indicating that it alone may mediate attraction of S. myopaeformis to the inflorescences of A. speciosa. The potential use of phenylacetaldehyde as bait to monitor or mass‐trap populations of male and female S. myopaeformis should be investigated.     

Horizontal transmission of the microbial symbionts Enterobacter cloacae and Mycotypha microspora to their firebrat host

The firebrat, Thermobia domestica (Packard) (Thysanura: Lepismatidae), aggregates in response to the faeces of conspecifics. This aggregation response is mediated by two microbial symbionts, the bacterium Enterobacter cloacae (Jordan) Hormaeche & Edwards (Enterobacteriaceae) and the fungus Mycotypha microspora Fenner (Mucorales). Our objective was to determine how these microbes are transmitted between firebrats. We produced fluorescently labelled E. cloacae and M. microspora and presented them to firebrats. Firebrats consumed large quantities of these labelled microbes and deposited them with their faeces where they proliferated rapidly. Firebrats did not harbour E. cloacae or M. microspora within their ovarioles or eggs, and thus cannot transmit them transovarially. Instead, firebrats acquired them horizontally whenever they fed on microbe‐contaminated material, such as faeces, faeces‐contaminated paper, or egg surfaces. Firebrats moult throughout their life, and with each moult they shed the cuticular lining of their digestive tract and likely any microbes residing therein. Because firebrats remain in close contact and live in groups of mixed age and gender, newly moulted individuals can readily re‐acquire E. cloacae or M. microspora from group members. This ensures the perpetuation of their microbial aggregation and arrestment signal.     

Female false black widow spiders,Steatoda grossa,recognize webs based on physical and chemical cues

Females of the false black widow, Steatoda grossa CL Koch (Araneae: Theridiidae), invest significant energy and time weaving cobwebs. We tested the hypothesis that S. grossa females select sites for their webs based, in part, on the presence of con‐ or heterospecific webs, sensing both physical and chemical web cues. In bioassays, we offered female S. grossa a choice between an empty control frame and a frame bearing the web of a conspecific female or that of a female common house spider, Parasteatoda tepidarium CL Koch (Araneae: Theridiidae), recording (1) the time she spent, and (2) the time she spent inactive (a proxy for settling behaviour) on each frame. We also tested the effect of (1) silk micro‐ and macrostructure (wrapped‐up silk or intact web, each semiochemical‐deprived), (2) plastic webs, and (3) silk semiochemical extract on the responses of S. grossa females. Females settled on both con‐ and heterospecific webs and chose test stimuli based on their chemical and physical characteristics. Even plastic webs in cobweb‐like arrangement readily prompted settling behaviour by females. Our results suggest that web architecture, rather than web silk, mediates settling responses by female S. grossa on pre‐existing webs which may provide structural support for a new web and indicate habitat suitability.