Increased cardiovascular reactivity to agiotensin caused by renin

After a short period of tachyphylaxis, there is a marked and sustained enhancement of pressor re sponses to renin and angiotensin during chronic administration of renin.     

Common sequence variants in the LOXL1 gene confer susceptibility to exfoliation glaucoma

Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness. A genome-wide search yielded multiple single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 15q24.1 region associated with glaucoma. Further investigation revealed that the association is confined to exfoliation glaucoma (XFG). Two nonsynonymous SNPs in exon 1 of the gene LOXL1 explain the association, and the data suggest that they confer risk of XFG mainly through exfoliation syndrome (XFS). About 25% of the general population is homozygous for the highest-risk haplotype, and their risk of suffering from XFG is more than 100 times that of individuals carrying only low-risk haplotypes. The population-attributable risk is more than 99%. The product of LOXL1 catalyzes the formation of elastin fibers found to be a major component of the lesions in XFG.     

Cut-flower life of dry transported carnations as influenced by different silver form pre-treatments

Twenty-four hours of pre-treatment with AgNO₃ increased the vase-life of flowers from 3 to 4 days for carnations kept in water or in preservative solutions after simulated transport conditions. A mixture of AgNO₃ with sodium thiosulphate or with EDTA was considerably better than AgNO₃, while such complexing agents as CDTA, EDDHA and EDPA were less effective. Determination of radioactive silver (Ag) in dissected carnation parts treated with different Ag complexes showed a positive correlation between vase-life and the amount of tracer Ag in the plants.     

Rabies oral vaccination of foxes during the summer with the VRG vaccine bait

The vaccination of foxes by distributing vaccine baits in the environment was initiated in France in 1986. Two campaigns per year were carried out: one in the spring and one in the autumn. After the spring campaigns, only 22-52% of fox cubs consumed vaccine baits compared to 75% of the adults and 70-80% of the adults or fox cubs after autumn campaigns. In order to reduce the period of time during which fox cubs do not have access to baits and are not immunised, a vaccination campaign was organised during the summer of 1992 over a contaminated area of 25,748 km2 where vaccines had never previously been given. Vaccine bait stability was assessed during the same summer in the field and their appetence tested on captive foxes. The efficacy of the campaign was evaluated by the relative decrease in rabies incidence and the rate of bait uptake by foxes compared to those from neighbouring areas vaccinated for the first time with the same vaccine during the spring or autumn. Summer vaccination significantly increased (P < 0.01) bait uptake by fox cubs (71%) compared with spring vaccination (39%), but no significant difference was observed for adult foxes. Moreover, the decrease in rabies incidence, measured during the 6-month period following the campaigns was less pronounced after summer vaccination (49% decrease) than when the first vaccination was carried out during the spring or autumn (79 and 72% decrease, respectively). Three campaigns led to an apparent elimination of rabies when the first campaign was performed in the spring or autumn, but only to a 76% decrease in rabies incidence density index when the first campaign was performed during the summer. The high thermostability of the Raboral VRG bait permits its use during the summer for an emergency campaign. For routine vaccination plans, however, the classical calendar of spring and autumn vaccination campaigns should continue to be preferred.     

Reactivity of particulate element concentrations: apportionment assessment of suspended particulate matter sources in the Upper Rhône River,France

Journal of Soils and Sediments - Suspended particulate matter (SPM) transport through rivers is a major vector of nutrients and pollutants to continental shelf areas. To develop efficient sediment...     

Attraction of the parasitic mite varroa to the drone larvae of honey bees by simple aliphatic esters

An important parasitic threat to honey bees, the mite Varroa jacobsoni, is attracted to its major prey, drone larvae, by methyl and ethyl esters of straight-chain fatty acids, in particular methyl palmitate. These esters were extracted from drone larvae with n-hexane and were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Their behavioral effect was evaluated with the use of a four-arm airflow olfactometer.     

Tomographic evidence for localized lithospheric shear along the altyn tagh fault

Seismic tomography across the Altyn Tagh fault, at the north edge of the Tibetan Plateau, reveals a low P-wave velocity anomaly below the fault down to 140 kilometers. This anomaly probably reflects strike-slip shear in the lithosphere. Slip-partitioning may also induce a wedge of crust from the Tarim Basin to plunge into the mantle.     

Comparison of Open Digestion Methods for the Determination of Rare Earth Elements in Plant Samples by ICP-MS

An analytical procedure for the reliable determination of rare earth elements (REEs) in plant samples by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was developed. The influence of the main matrix elements was investigated first. It was established that moderate amounts (0.1–1.0%) of dissolved solids decreased the REEs signals significantly. Internal standardization with indium proved to be useful for obtaining correct results. Various digestion procedures were next applied to converting various solid plant samples to aqueous solution, namely dry-ashing, dry-ashing including a hydrofluoric acid (HF) step, and wet digestion using hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and nitric acid (HNO₃). Obtained results showed that the simple dry-ashing procedure was sufficient for plants. A certified reference material (BCR-670, aquatic plant) was used to validate the accuracy of the method. Relative standard deviations varied from 1% (holmium, gadolinium) to 4% (europium). Detection limits between 13 (lanthanum) and 0.02 ng L^?1 (lutetium) were achieved.