Concentrations of plasma luteinising hormone,prolactin, progesterone and androgens during the ovulatory cycle of the Turkey

1. Changes in the concentrations of plasma luteinising hormone (LH), prolactin, androgen and progesterone were measured during the ovulatory cycle of the turkey.

2. Single pre‐ovulatory peaks of plasma LH, androgen and progesterone were observed which took 8, 8 and 12 h respectively, to increase and return to base‐line values. The concentration of plasma prolactin tended to be elevated between 6 h before and 6 h after the LH peak with the maximum values occurring after the peak.

3. The changes in the concentrations of plasma LH and progesterone were 3‐ and 7‐fold respectively while 2‐fold changes were observed in the concentrations of plasma androgen and prolactin.

4. The pre‐ovulatory concentration of plasma progesterone and prolactin began to decrease 4 and 6 h respectively, after the pre‐ovulatory peak of LH.

5. Ovulation and oviposition occurred 6 to 8 h and 36.10+ 0.57 h (SEM) ( n= 11) respectively after the pre‐ovulatory peak of LH.

6. In birds kept on 14 h light/d, pre‐ovulatory peaks of LH were initiated only during a 10 to 11‐h period starting within 2 h after the onset of darkness.

7. A comparison between these data and those from the fowl suggest that the egg is retained in the turkey's oviduct for about 3 to 4 h longer than in the fowl.     

Deformational mass transport and invasive processes in soil evolution

Soils are differentiated vertically by coupled chemical, mechanical, and biological transport processes. Soil properties vary with depth, depending on the subsurface stresses, the extent of mixing, and the balance between mass removal in solution or suspension and mass accumulation near the surface. Channels left by decayed roots and burrowing animals allow organic and inorganic detritus and precipitates to move through the soil from above. Accumulation occurs at depths where small pores restrict further passage. Consecutive phases of translocation and root growth stir the soil; these processes constitute an invasive dilatational process that leads to positive cumulative strains. In contrast, below the depth of root penetration and mass additions, mineral dissolution by descending organic acids leads to internal collapse under overburden load. This softened and condensed precursor horizon is transformed into soil by biological activity, which stirs and expands the evolving residuum by invasion by roots and macropore networks that allows mixing of materials from above.     

Determination of phospholipid- and lipopolysaccharide-derived fatty acids as an estimate of microbial biomass and community structures in soils

Several soils subject to different cultivation and management practices were examined by analysis of fatty acid profiles derived from phospholipids and lipopolysaccharides, using an improved sequential method which is capable of measuring ester-linked and non-ester-linked phospholipid fatty acids (EL-PLFA, NEL-PLFA, respectively) and the hydroxy fatty acids in lipopolysaccharides. A good correlation was obtained (r>0.90) between the soil biomass and total EL-PLFA in the soils investigated, which ranged from forest soils to a variety of agricultural soils. Elucidation of the composition of the community structure was an additional task. Eukaryotes can be differentiated from bacteria by the presence of polyunsaturated and -hydroxy fatty acids, both of which were much more abundant in the OF layer of the forest soil than in the remaining samples. A relatively low proportion of monomethyl branched-chain saturated fatty acids was obtained in the forest OF horizon, these being indicators for Gram-positive bacteria and actinomycetes. Various subclasses of proteobacteria produce and mid-chain hydroxy fatty acids, which occur primarily in agricultural soils. The ratios between monounsaturated fatty acids and saturated fatty acids seem to be very useful parameters of soil environmental conditions. In addition, on the basis of the differences in composition of the NEL-PLFA and hydroxy fatty acids of lipopolysaccharides, clear indications for the community structure of various soils were obtained. In the forest soils much more abundant anaerobic micro-organisms and relatively less abundant proteobacteria were present than in the other soils. In the cultivated soils, however, the proportion of Gram-negative bacteria was considerably higher. Furthermore, eukaryotes appeared to be pre-dominant in the soils once used for a manure deposit site.     

Effectiveness of the (+)-trans-chrysanthemic acid ester of (±)-allethrolone (bioallethrin) against four insect species

The activity of the (+)-trans-chrysanthemic acid ester of (±)-allethrolone (Bio-allethrin) is shown to be superior to that of the (±)-cis, trans-isomers (allethrin), against houseflies, two species of grain beetle and larvae of the yellow fever mosquito. The efficiency of the (+)-trans-isomer compares favourably with that of pyrethrins when each is used alone or with piperonyl butoxide.     

Cross-resistance to pyrethroids and other insecticides in Aedes aegypti

Two substrains of Aedes aegypti, already resistant to DDT and pyrethroids, were further selected using either DDT or permethrin by mass exposure of the females only. DDT selection over 14 generations raised the resistance to DDT so far that no accurate LC₅₀ values could be determined. Selection with permethrin raised the tolerance to an irregular plateau 7–10 times the original. DDT selection in the adults raised the DDT resistance of the larvae, but this could be partly overcome using a dehydrochlorinase inhibitor. The resistance to pyrethroids was increased but tolerance of dieldrin, malathion and propoxur compounds was little changed. Permethrin selection of the adults raised resistance to pyrethroids more than DDT selection but also increased DDT resistance. Similar patterns were found for the larval insects. A strain from Demerara in Guyana showed both DDT and pyrethroid resistance, including strong resistance to pyrethrins together with dieldrin and propoxur. It was concluded that two major independent resistance mechanisms existed in the selected strains, a dehydrochlorinase affecting DDT alone, and an unknown mechanism, probably nerve insensitivity (kdr) affecting both DDT and pyrethroids.     

Cockroach control in sewers in Singapore using bioresmethrin and piperonyl butoxide as a thermal fog

Cockroaches have considerable importance as vectors of disease. In tropical areas, large populations of Periplaneta americana may be found in sewers and the refuse chutes of large apartment blocks. These cockroach populations are not accessible to residual insecticide treatment with sprays but may be controlled with thermal fogs of pyrethroids. An experiment on the use of bioresmethrin (5-benzyI-3-furyimethyl-(+)-trans chrysanthemate) as 0.15% and 0.25% w/v solutions with equal amounts of synergist in kerosene discharged from a TIFA fog generator was made at Toa Payoh in Singapore. Effective control was obtained with 0.15% bioresmethrin plus 0.55% piperonyl butoxide in kerosene blown into the sewers and waste chutes initially, at four weeks, at eight weeks later and then followed by treatment every two months.     

Fecal incontinence and spinal cord abnormalities in seven dogs

Seven dogs with fecal incontinence and abnormal gaits were evaluated. Fecal incontinence was characterized as defecation of normal stools without posturing. Duration of clinical signs prior to evaluation ranged from 5 months to 3 years. Five dogs had upper motor neuron (UMN) paraparesis, and 2 dogs had UMN tetraparesis. With magnetic resonance imaging, spinal cord abnormalities primarily involving the dorsal aspect of the spinal cord were identified in all dogs. Five dogs had focal abnormalities, and 2 dogs had diffuse abnormalities of the spinal cord. Of the dogs with focal spinal cord lesions, 4 had cystic spinal cord abnormalities and 1 had a meningioma. Surgery was performed on all dogs with focal lesions; 4 of the 5 dogs had resolution of fecal incontinence after surgery. Results in these dogs suggest that fecal incontinence can be associated with spinal cord abnormalities and, depending on the characteristics of the lesion, can resolve after surgical treatment of the abnormality.     

Fast variability of tera-electron volt gamma rays from the radio galaxy M87

The detection of fast variations of the tera-electron volt (TeV) (10(12) eV) gamma-ray flux, on time scales of days, from the nearby radio galaxy M87 is reported. These variations are about 10 times as fast as those observed in any other wave band and imply a very compact emission region with a dimension similar to the Schwarzschild radius of the central black hole. We thus can exclude several other sites and processes of the gamma-ray production. The observations confirm that TeV gamma rays are emitted by extragalactic sources other than blazars, where jets are not relativistically beamed toward the observer.