A low-threshold test ban is feasible

At present, nuclear explosions are limited by treaty to underground testing with yields of no more than 150 kilotons, and recently there have been renewed calls for further test restrictions. As part of these discussions, the U.S. Congress is considering bills that would legislate new limits to testing,whereas the Reagan Administration opposes such constraints. The editors of Science have asked two groups of participants in the debate to present their arguments for or against new limits to testing. Feiveson, Paine, and von Hippel argue for a treaty of indefinite duration between the United States and the Soviet Union, which includes the following provisions: (i) a ban on all testing outside a desiqnated site having known seismic properties; (ii)verification by means of on-site inspection and in-country seismic monitoring; (iii) unlimited testing below 1 kiloton at the special site; and (iv) an average of one test per year with a yield of up to 15 kilotons for ensuring reliability of the nuclear stockpile. MiUer, Brown, and Nordyke argue that a lowering of the present 150-kiloton threshold would be undesirable, and that new test bans would divert attention from a comprehensive approach to negotiated reductions in the nuclear and conventional arsenals of the United States and the Soviet Union.     

MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING AND PATHOLOGIC FINDINGS ASSOCIATED WITH NECROTIZING ENCEPHALITIS IN TWO YORKSHIRE TERRIERS

Two young adult Yorkshire terriers had neurologic signs consistent with forebrain and brainstem involvement or forebrain involvement alone. On magnetic resonance imaging studies there were asymmetric bilateral lesions mainly in the cerebral cortex, and in the diencephalon. These areas were hyperintense on T2-weighted and FLAIR images, but hypointense or isointense on T1-weighted images. Lesions had a varying degree of contrast enhancement. Areas which were isointense on T1-weighted images had no contrast enhancement or only foci of contrast enhancement. Lesions with hypointensity in T1-weighted images had no enhancement or more frequently ring-like enhancement around the lesion. Necrotizing encephalitis was confirmed pathohistologically in both dogs. The degree of contrast enhancement appeared to be related to the degree of lymphohistiocytic inflammation on histologic examination.     

Radioactive wastes: a comparison of u.s. Military and civilian inventories

Contrary to widespread belief, the accumulated inventory of fission products generated by the still small U.S. civilian nuclear power industry may already be comparable to that generated in the past by U.S. military nuclear programs. Although the volumes of the military wastes are very large, they are on the average almost 100 times more dilute than projected commercial high-level wastes.     

Phänotyp und Futterqualitat einschliefilich Konservierungseigenschaften bei Grasern

Phenotype and forage value, including conservation properties, of grasses The phenotype of grasses can be influenced by the date of harvest as well as by breeding programs. In contrast to dicotyledons, the stems of grasses are younger than the leaves, although the grass leaves are usually considered to have a higher nutritional value than the stems. In a field experiment, Lolium multiflorum Lam. ssp. gaudini (Parl.) Schinz et Kell. was grown as a model-plant in order to study effects of ploidy-level, N-fertilization, stage of development, and growth time on the main aspects of nutritional value and conservation properties in relation to the phenotype. As regards the nutritional value, the interactions of ploidy × plant organ (=stem or leaf) and of ploidy × N-input were not significant. Hence, the results for leaf and stem can be generahzed. Until the emergence of the inflorescence, EC 49, the stem showed a significant higher net energy content than the leaf; at later stages of development this relationship changed. The evaluation of the net energy content of leaf and stem was significantly influenced by the method of estimation. In vitro methods with rumen liquor may show the best approximation to the real value. The crude protein/energy ratio of the stem as compared to the leaf better meets the nutritional requirements of ruminants; on the other hand the leaf was more valuable than the stem in relation to the nitrate content, especially when the whole plant showed an increased nitrate level. The general relationship between the mineral content and the phenotype was not evident. The investigation indicated significant differences between stem and leaf in relation to their conservation properties. The leaf showed more favourable drying properties than the stem but ensilability was better for the stem than for the leaf. As a result of this investigation it is assumed that, in the past, the nutritional value of young stem has been underestimated whereas the value of the leaf has been overemphasized. This may also be due to the criteria and determination methods of the nutritional value.