On the visually evoked head nystagmus of Tenebrio molitor and other beetles

Head movements of different species of walking beetles elicited by rotating stripe patterns have been investigated. They are of the usual type in contrast to an inverted nystagmus reported forTenebrio molitor in similar experimental situations. Reexamination of theTenebrio records revealed that the sign of the stimulus was interchanged by a mistake while plotting the results. Thus, the head nystagmus inTenebrio is also of the usual type, consisting of a smooth pursuit head movement followed by a faster returning phase.     

Head movements of the mealworm beetle Tenebrio molitor

Tethered walking imagines of the mealworm beetle Tenebrio molitor wave their heads in random fashion. If a periodic pattern of vertical black and white stripes is rotated around the animal a regular nystagmic head movement is superimposed upon the random waving, the frequency of the latter equals the contrast frequency within large ranges of the angular velocity of the pattern. The nystagmus is inverted: After a short period of tracking, during which the angular velocity of the head is the same as that of the panorama, the head returns slowly toward its normal position according to an exponential-like function. Resting animals do not wave their heads. However, if the above panorama is rotated, the beetle turns its head in the direction of the movement of the panorama and holds it in a side-way position, as long as the rotation is maintained. The angular position reached depends in the same manner on the angular velocity of the panorama as the turning tendency of walking animals established in open loop experiments using the spherical Y-maze method.     

Revisiting the use of Iprodione and Trichoderma in the integrated management of onion white rot

The biocontrol properties of Trichoderma species are well documented, but their effectiveness in antagonism of the problematic Sclerotium cepivorum, the causal agent of white rot in Allium species, appears limited with reports of significant control only relating to deliberately-mutated strains of Trichoderma. Our previous studies have indicated the possibility of using selected naturally-occurring strains of the antagonist in the suppression of other diseases; now in vitro and controlled environment in vivo studies have indicated that a degree of control of Onion White Rot is possible, and that the selected antagonist strains can be used in integrated treatments with Iprodione to good effect. The possible value of such treatments is considered in light of other approaches to the suppression of this continuing problem.     

Genotoxicity of streptozotocin

Streptozotocin (Streptozocin, STZ, CAS No. 18883-66-4) is a monofunctional nitrosourea derivative isolated from Streptomyces achromogenes. It has broad spectrum antibiotic activity and antineoplastic properties and is often used to induce diabetes mellitus in experimental animals through its toxic effects on pancreatic beta cells. STZ is a potent alkylating agent known to directly methylate DNA and is highly genotoxic, producing DNA strand breaks, alkali-labile sites, unscheduled DNA synthesis, DNA adducts, chromosomal aberrations, micronuclei, sister chromatid exchanges, and cell death. This antibiotic was found to be mutagenic in bacterial assays and eukaryotic cells. STZ is also carcinogenic; a single administration induces tumors in rat kidney, liver, and pancreas. Several lines of evidence indicate that free radicals are involved in the production of DNA and chromosome damage by this compound. Because of the use of STZ as an antineoplastic agent, the study of its genotoxicity has considerable practical significance. The purpose of this review is to present our current knowledge regarding the genotoxicity of STZ.     

A web server to locate periodicities in a sequence

Summary : FT is a tool written in C++, which implements the Fourier analysis method to locate periodicities in aminoacid or DNA sequences. It is provided for free public use on a WWW server with a Java interface. Availability : The server address is http://o2.db. uoa.gr/FT Contact : shamodr@atlas.uoa.gr      

Habitat use of the endangered butterfly Euphydryas maturna and forestry in Central Europe

The knowledge of ecological requirements of declining butterflies of European woodlands remains limited, which hinders conservation management of their localities. This also applies for continentally threatened scarce fritillary Euphydryas maturna . On the basis of the largest data set on its habitat use ever collected in Central Europe, we analyse habitat requirements of its populations in Austria (A), the Czech Republic (Cz) and Germany (D). All studied populations inhabit open-canopy sites within woodlands, but larval survival decreases under full sun and preferred sites are relatively humid and sheltered. Nests of pre-hibernation larvae occur at terminal branches of Fraxinus excelsior , 1.5–3 m above the ground. Pre-hibernation mortality reaches 70% (Cz, D). Another limiting factor is quality of woodland vegetation: post-hibernation larvae consume a wide range of herbs and shrubs, and adult distribution is linked to nectar availability. The butterfly thus depends on highly heterogeneous early successional stages of deciduous woods, historically maintained by coppicing (Cz, D) and forest pasture (A). Restoration of these traditional methods offers the only chance for survival of E. maturna in Central Europe, and the butterfly may become a flagship for other threatened organisms of open-canopy woodlands.     

Targeted Ablation of the Pde6h Gene in Mice Reveals Cross-species Differences in Cone and Rod Phototransduction Protein Isoform Inventory

Phosphodiesterase-6 (PDE6) is a multisubunit enzyme that plays a key role in the visual transduction cascade in rod and cone photoreceptors. Each type of photoreceptor utilizes discrete catalytic and inhibitory PDE6 subunits to fulfill its physiological tasks, i.e. the degradation of cyclic guanosine-3′,5′-monophosphate at specifically tuned rates and kinetics. Recently, the human PDE6H gene was identified as a novel locus for autosomal recessive (incomplete) color blindness. However, the three different classes of cones were not affected to the same extent. Short wave cone function was more preserved than middle and long wave cone function indicating that some basic regulation of the PDE6 multisubunit enzyme was maintained albeit by a unknown mechanism. To study normal and disease-related functions of cone Pde6h in vivo, we generated Pde6h knock-out (Pde6h^−/−) mice. Expression of PDE6H in murine eyes was restricted to both outer segments and synaptic terminals of short and long/middle cone photoreceptors, whereas Pde6h^−/− retinae remained PDE6H-negative. Combined in vivo assessment of retinal morphology with histomorphological analyses revealed a normal overall integrity of the retinal organization and an unaltered distribution of the different cone photoreceptor subtypes upon Pde6h ablation. In contrast to human patients, our electroretinographic examinations of Pde6h^−/− mice suggest no defects in cone/rod-driven retinal signaling and therefore preserved visual functions. To this end, we were able to demonstrate the presence of rod PDE6G in cones indicating functional substitution of PDE6. The disparities between human and murine phenotypes caused by mutant Pde6h/PDE6H suggest species-to-species differences in the vulnerability of biochemical and neurosensory pathways of the visual signal transduction system.     

Design and dosimetric analysis of a 385 MHz TETRA head exposure system for use in human provocation studies

A new head exposure system for double‐blind provocation studies investigating possible effects of terrestrial trunked radio (TETRA)‐like exposure (385 MHz) on central nervous processes was developed and dosimetrically analyzed. The exposure system allows localized exposure in the temporal brain, similar to the case of operating a TETRA handset at the ear. The system and antenna concept enables exposure during wake and sleep states while an electroencephalogram (EEG) is recorded. The dosimetric assessment and uncertainty analysis yield high efficiency of 14 W/kg per Watt of accepted antenna input power due to an optimized antenna directly worn on the subject's head. Beside sham exposure, high and low exposure at 6 and 1.5 W/kg (in terms of maxSAR10g in the head) were implemented. Double‐blind control and monitoring of exposure is enabled by easy‐to‐use control software. Exposure uncertainty was rigorously evaluated using finite‐difference time‐domain (FDTD)‐based computations, taking into account anatomical differences of the head, the physiological range of the dielectric tissue properties including effects of sweating on the antenna, possible influences of the EEG electrodes and cables, variations in antenna input reflection coefficients, and effects on the specific absorption rate (SAR) distribution due to unavoidable small variations in the antenna position. This analysis yielded a reasonable uncertainty of <±45% (max to min ratio of 4.2 dB) in terms of maxSAR10g in the head and a variability of <±60% (max to min ratio of 6 dB) in terms of mass‐averaged SAR in different brain regions, as demonstrated by a brain region‐specific absorption analysis. Bioelectromagnetics 33:594–603, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.