QUANTITATIVE HEPATOBILIARY SCINTIGRAPHY USING 99mTC-DISIDA IN THE DOG

Quantitative hepatobiliary scintigraphy using ^99mTc-2,6 diisopropylphenylcarbamoylmethyl iminodiacetic acid (DISIDA) was performed in normal dogs. ^99mTc-DISIDA is excreted by the hepatocyte into the biliary tract. Hepatic blood flow from arterial and portal venous sources was measured as the hepatic perfusion index. The hepatic clearance of the radiopharmaceutical was used to assess hepatocyte function and parenchymal biliary transport. Biliary ejection was evaluated using synthetic cholecystokinin infusion. The procedure should be useful in evaluating dogs with hepatic and biliary disease.     

A Comparison of Cell Grown and Bare-rooted Oak and Beech Seedlings One Season after Outplanting

With the increased availability of cell grown broadleaved plantingstock on the UK market there has been a need to evaluate itsplace in amenity and forestry planting. The results of threeexperiments using oak and beech seedlings grown in three typesof modular cell or as undercut bare-rooted stock are described.Plants were subjected to poor plant handling, planting outsidethe normal season, cold storage and different planting methods. The results demonstrate that, one season after outplanting,cell grown stock was more resistant to poor standards of planthandling, and being planted outside the normal planting season,compared with bare-rooted stock. On the other hand, there wereno significant differences between the stock types due to coldstorage or planting method. The difficulties of conducting trials between stock types arediscussed. The development of a Plant Quality Index which describesthe morphological and physiological features of good plantingstock, and the assessment of complete establishment systemsis advocated as a better approach.     

Growth and provenance of Norway maple (Acer platanoides) in lowland Britain

The results of an experiment to investigate the early growthand form of ten different provenances of Norway maple (Acerplatanoides L.) are described. Two sites were planted and after8 years survival was 88 per cent and 95 per cent and heightincrement was 402 cm and 201 cm; confirmmg the potential ofNorway maple to be a productive forest tree. Provenances thatperformed well were from Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark andYugoslavia; exact locations were not known for all seed collections.A provenance from Russia was included, material from this fareast has rarely been tested in Britain. However, as expected,its performance was relatively poor. The main constraint tofurther planting of Norway maple is the palatability of thebark to grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis Gmelin.). However,it is a useful tree for high pH and heavy soils and as an alternativespecies to sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus L.).     

Plasmids in Pseudomonas syringae pv. pisi carry genes for pathogenicity

All strains tested which are pathogenic to peas and which react with antiserum to Pseudomonas syringae pv. pisi contain two to four plasmids; non-pathogens contain none. Two plasmids from a pathogenic strain were transferred individually to a non-pathogenic recipient strain of Pseudomonas syringae: both plasmids converted the recipient to a pathogen on peas and from hypersensitivity negative to hypersensitivity positive on tobacco. Neither plasmid encoded homoserine catabolism.