Fate of endosulfan in rats and toxicological considerations of apolar metabolites

[¹⁴C]Endosulfan, α or β isomers separately, was administered to rats as a single oral dose and as a dietary supplement for 14 days. No appreciable differences were observed in the fate of the two isomers. Five days after the single dose, 75% of the dose had been voided in the feces and 13% in the urine. Of the total radiocarbon consumed in the diet after 14 days, 56% had been eliminated in the feces and 8% in the urine. Bile collection studies showed that up to 47% of a single oral dose was eliminated from the liver via this route; enterohepatic circulation was not apparent. Maximum [¹⁴C]endosulfan equivalents in body tissue occurred in the kidney and liver, 3 and 1 ppm, respectively, after 14 days of feeding 5 ppm of endosulfan. Apolar metabolites in the excreta and/or tissues were a minor portion of the total residues and consisted of the sulfate, diol, α-hydroxy ether, lactone, and ether derivatives of endosulfan. The sulfate was slightly more toxic to mice than endosulfan, while the other products were less toxic. Neither endosulfan nor its metabolites were active in the Salmonella mutagenicity test. Endosulfan in the diet of rats for 28 days at 50 ppm did not induce liver oxidase enzymes, alter liver or kidney weights, or influence the rate of weight gain of the animals.     

Morphology,cytochemical staining and ultrastructural characteristics of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) leukocytes

Peripheral blood smears from four adult reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) were examined after staining with Romanowsky's stain and cytochemical stains, including alpha-napthyl butyrate esterase (alpha-NBE), Sudan black B (SBB), chloroacetate esterase (CAE) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Romanowsky-stained eosinophils, neutrophils, lymphocytes and monocytes resembled those of cattle, sheep and goats. Basophils had two different staining patterns with Romanowsky's stain. Basophils that we termed "grey basophils" were similar in appearance to grey eosinophils in Greyhound dogs, with medium blue-grey to lavender-grey cytoplasm containing varying numbers of clear vacuoles or granules and variable numbers of small, intensely basophilic, perinuclear granules. The second basophil staining pattern was more typical of ruminant basophils, with uniform, pale to dark basophilic cytoplasmic granules. Basophils stained positive for alpha-NBE, SBB, CAE, and ALP. Eosinophils stained positive for SBB, and were negative for alpha-NBE, CAE, and ALP. Neutrophils were negative for SBB, CAE, and ALP. Monocytes stained positive for alpha-NBE, were rarely positive for CAE and SBB, and were negative for ALP. Transmission electron microscopy revealed matrix within all granulocytes granules, including those of basophils.     

Current Status and Bottle Neck of Octopod Aquaculture: The Case of American Species

The increasing market demand for cephalopods and the experiences obtained with different species has boosted the interest in developing their culture in Latin America. In 2008, an international workshop was held in Puerto Montt, Chile, with 14 experts in experimental cephalopods aquaculture from Brazil, Chile, Spain, and Mexico. Several topics were approached within the holobenthic species Octopus maya and the merobenthic species Enteroctopus megalocyathus, Octopus vulgaris, and Robsonella fontaniana. Part of the conclusions demonstrated that the two greatest difficulties for their production were survival of paralarvae for merobenthic species, and survival of early juveniles for holobenthic species. Besides, there is a need to study the endogenous and exogenous factors affecting health and nutritional status of embryos, paralarvae, and juveniles. These stages, which may limit the culture, should be extensively studied in order to develop the appropriate environmental conditions and culture systems for the physiological and behavioral requirements, from egg incubation up to juveniles to reach a grow‐out phase.     

Waldwirtschast und Forstrecht im nationalsozialistischen Staate

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Black spruce family growth performance under ambient and elevated atmospheric CO2

Seedlings from 20 families of black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.), representing a large range in field productivity, were subjected to a greenhouse retrospective test under ambient (409 ppm – year 1, 384 ppm – year 2) and high (686 ppm – year 1, 711 ppm – year 2) atmospheric CO₂ environments. After one and two growth cycles, seedling height and diameter growth significantly increased under elevated CO₂. At the end of the experiment, seedlings grown under high CO₂ had a mean above-ground dry weight of 48.77 g as compared to 26.36 g for seedlings grown under ambient atmospheric CO₂. Families were a significant source of variation for all growth parameters. Although the family × CO₂ environment interaction was not a statistically significant source of variation in the analysis of variance, the correlation between greenhouse and 15-year field height growth was weaker (r = 0.29, p = 0.2177) under elevated CO₂ compared to ambient CO₂ (r = 0.51, p = 0.0223) following the first growth cycle. However, following the second growth cycle, greenhouse-field correlations were similar between the two CO₂ environments (ambient CO₂: r = 0.55, p = 0.0115; elevated CO₂: r = 0.56, p = 0.0101). Thus, with this set of families, growth performance ranking after two years appears relatively stable under ambient and elevated CO₂.