Treatment of burns casualties after fire at Bradford City football ground.

On 11 May 1985 the main stand of Bradford City Football Club caught fire. Within four minutes the stand was alight from end to end. Fifty three people were burnt to death and about 250 injured; 83 required admission to hospital, and 55 of these were treated by primary excision of their burns and skin grafting. In such disasters the help of staff from other hospitals and areas is essential. Patients should be assessed to see whether they have burns that will ultimately be fatal; if they have they should not be sent to regional burns units, where they would take up beds that could be used for patients with treatable burns. All districts should ensure that their plans for accidents in which burns injuries predominate are adequate.     

Alteration of surfactant protein A expression in renal cell carcinoma

Surfactant protein-A (SP-A) belongs to a family of collagen-containing C-type lectins called collectins. SP-A is expressed by renal tubule epithelial cells. We investigated the distribution of SP-A in renal cell carcinomas (RCC) using immunohistochemical techniques and western blotting. We used 35 formalin fixed, paraffin embedded (FFPE) RCC tissue samples. We compared results with clinico-pathological parameters of RCC including age, sex, Fuhrman grade, tumor volume, tumor node metastasis (TNM) and clinical stage. SP-A was localized in the glomerulus and renal tubule epithelium in nontumor tissue and strong SP-A immunoreactivity was observed in tumor tissue. SP-A was expressed in the RCC tumor cells (64%) and nontumor cells (34%) in males and RCC tumor cells (90%) and nontumor cells (30%) in females. There was a significant correlation between SP-A immunoreactivity in tumor cells and gender, age, tumor diameter, Fuhrman grade and tumor diameter. Western blot analysis supported the immunohistochemical findings. We present evidence for involvement of SP-A in RCC and suggest that increased SP-A expression in RCC is associated with favorable prognosis.     

Palatability and feeding preferences of Uresiphita maorialis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) for three Sophora species

In a three-hour bioassay, we tested the palatability and feeding preferences of Uresiphita maorialis (kōwhai moth) for Sophora tetraptera, Sophora microphylla and Sophora prostrata. Palatability tests showed no differences among the Sophora species. Feeding preferences, on the other hand, showed that S. tetraptera and S. microphylla leaves are preferred over S. prostrata leaves. Our results support our field observations in Wellington city parks and gardens showing that S. tetraptera and S. microphylla plants frequently have higher densities of larvae than S. prostrata.     

The taxonomic identity and physiological ecology of Chlamydomonas hedleyi sp. nov. algal flagellate symbiont from the foraminifer Archaias angulatus

The fine structure of the symbiotic alga isolated from the formainiferan Archaias angulatus (Fichtel et Moll) DeMontfort is typical of the Chlorophyceae of the volvocalean and chlorococcalean lines. Spherical non-motile cells, 10–14 μm in diameter, characterise the dominant life cycle phase. Long oval motile forms with truncated apices are present 3–5 days after transfer to fresh medium. The pyrenoids are embedded anteriorly in the singly bilobed chloroplast and are surrounded by a sheath of starch platelets. In spite of the non-motile state of cells in older cultures (which is perhaps a reflection of its normally symbiotic condition), the alga is identified as a species of the volvocalean genus Chlamydomonas and is named C. hedleyi sp. nov.

The symbiont has no vitamin or organic requirements but growth is increased threefold in the presence of thiamine, and twofold in the presence of 1 μm glutamic acid, histidine and methionine. Urea was the best nitrogen source tested. Purines and pyrimidines did not serve as nitrogen sources. Chlamydomonas hedleyi grows well in a salinity range of 6->52‰. and a pH range of 6–8·5, 7·04 × 10^-7 m carbon h^-1 g^-1 was fixed by the symbiont, 57% being released into the medium as a chromatographically homogeneous organic molecule provisionally identified as mannitol.     

Population genetics reveals bidirectional fish movement across the Continental Divide via an interbasin water transfer

Interbasin water transfers are becoming an increasingly common tool to satisfy municipal and agricultural water demand, but their impacts on movement and gene flow of aquatic organisms are poorly understood. The Grand Ditch is an interbasin water transfer that diverts water from tributaries of the upper Colorado River on the west side of the Continental Divide to the upper Cache la Poudre River on the east side of the Continental Divide. We used single nucleotide polymorphisms to characterize population genetic structure in cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii) and determine if fish utilize the Grand Ditch as a movement corridor. Samples were collected from two sites on the west side and three sites on the east side of the Continental Divide. We identified two or three genetic clusters, and relative migration rates and spatial distributions of admixed individuals indicated that the Grand Ditch facilitated bidirectional fish movement across the Continental Divide, a major biogeographic barrier. Previous studies have demonstrated ecological impacts of interbasin water transfers, but our study is one of the first to use genetics to understand how interbasin water transfers affect connectivity between previously isolated watersheds. We also discuss implications on native trout management and balancing water demand and biodiversity conservation.

     

Effects of acclimation temperature on enzymatic capacities and mitochondrial membranes from the body wall of the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris

Many ectotherms respond to low temperature by adjusting capacities of enzymes from energy metabolism, restructuring membrane phospholipids and modulating membrane fluidity. Although much is known about the temperature biology of earthworms, it is not known to what extent earthworms employ compensatory changes in enzymatic capacities and membrane physical properties after exposure to low temperature. We examined activities of enzymes from glycolysis and central oxidative pathways as well as fluidity and phospholipid fatty acid composition of mitochondrial membranes prepared from the body wall of the temperate oligochaete Lumbricus terrestris after a one month acclimation to 5 degrees and 15 degrees C. No compensation occurs in central pathways of oxidative metabolism since activities of cytochrome-c oxidase and citrate synthase, when measured at a common temperature, are similar for 5 degrees C and 15 degrees C-acclimated animals. In contrast, activity of pyruvate kinase is elevated 1.3-fold after acclimation to 5 degrees C. Mitochondrial membranes display inverse compensation with respect to temperature (membranes from 5 degrees C animals are more ordered than membranes from 15 degrees C animals). Our results, in combination with earlier reports, indicate that routine metabolism in L. terrestris may be maintained at reduced temperatures with little or no change in enzymatic capacities and inverse compensation of mitochondrial membranes.     

Cold acclimation strategy is highly variable among the sunfishes (Centrarchidae)

We tested the hypothesis that the physiological strategy for acclimating to low body temperature is similar among closely related fish. Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus), bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus), black crappie (Pomonix nigromaculatus), and white crappie (Pomonix annularis), all members of the family Centrarchidae, were acclimated to 5 degrees and 25 degrees C. Morphometric variables (total mass, total length, organ masses) and enzyme activities (hexokinase; lactate dehydrogenase; and cytochrome oxidase in heart, liver, and muscle) were measured in 5 degrees C- and 25 degrees C-acclimated fish at 5 degrees and 25 degrees C assay temperatures. Each species displayed a distinct physiological response to cold acclimation that differed among tissues. These data suggest that the response to cold acclimation is highly variable within families. Our findings are consistent with other studies suggesting that acclimation responses are labile and may evolve independently even among closely related species.