USE OF A BARIUM/GELATIN MIXTURE TO STUDY EQUINE VASCULATURE WITH POTENTIAL APPLICATION IN FREE-FLAP TRANSFER

The purposes of this study were: 1) to evaluate a barium (30%) and gelatin (4%) solution as an intravascular radiographic contrast medium when perfused into intact equine cadavers, 2) to determine the most appropriate skin site to harvest a flap with direct cutaneous vasculature, and 3) to identify potential recipent vessels for free-flap transfer.
Heparinized, aspirin-treated horses were euthanatized, exsanguinated, and perfused with the contrast media. After 24 hours refrigeration, the cadvers were dissected and radiographed. The contrast medium remained solid for the duration of studies (approximately 4 hours), and provided excellent visualization of the arterial vasculature and smaller venous vessls, but did not adequately fill large veins. Due to its location and consistent vascular supply, the skin perfused by branches of the cudal superficial epigastric artery and vein is an appropriate skin-flap donor site. Multiple potential recipent vessels were identified.     

Observations of solar irradiance variability

High-precision measurements of total solar irradiance, made by the active cavity radiometer irradiance monitor on the Solar Maximum Mission satellite, show the irradiance to have been variable throughout the first 153 days of observations. The corrected data resolve orbit-to-orbit variations with uncertainties as small as 0.001 percent. Irradiance fluctuations are typical of a band-limited noise spectrum with high-frequency cutoff near 0.15 day(-1) their amplitudes about the mean value of 1368.31 watts per square meter approach +/- 0.05 percent. Two large decreases in irrradiance of up to 0.2 percent lasting about 1 week are highly correlated with the development of sunspot groups. The magnitude and time scale of the irradiance variability suggest that considerable energy storage occurs within the convection zone in solar active regions.     

Favism-inducing toxins in broad beans (Vicia faba): Estimation of the vicine contents of broad bean and other legume samples

A method for the estimation of vicine in leguminous seeds and related material has been developed. It involves the extraction and isolation of mixed pyrimidine bases, thin layer chromatography and spectrophotometry. Results obtained withVicia faba (broad bean) samples from various sources are recorded and reference made to data obtained from some other leguminous crops.     

Favism-inducing toxins in broad beans (Vicia faba) examination of bean extracts for pyrimidine glucosides

Methods for the isolation and identification of the pyrimidine glucoside, vicine, in extracts of broad beans, are described, By thin-layer chromatography, five fluorescing or fluorescencequenching components of the extracts are identifiable. One of them, which has been isolated from the mixture, is identified as vicine, 2:4-diamino-5:6-dihydroxypyrimidine-5-(-D-glucopyranoside).     

Comparison of soil carbon stocks in Scottish soils between 1978 and 2009

The change in soil carbon (C) stock over a 19–31‐year period (mean 25 years) has been measured at 179 sites on a 20‐km grid across Scotland. Sampling was by horizon from a profile pit. Although soil bulk density determinations were absent at the first sampling time, we used bulk density values from the second sampling time calibrated against NIR spectra to predict the missing values. There was no detectable change in overall total soil C stock (mean ± standard error, to a depth of 100 cm), which was 266 ± 15 and 270 ± 15 t C ha^?1 for the first and second sampling times, respectively, or generally in C stock within specific vegetation or soil types. The exception was for soils under woodland, excluding those on deep peat, which exhibited a significant (P = 0.05) gain of 1.0 t C ha^?1 year^?1. Soils under woodland (mainly coniferous plantation) also showed a significant (P = 0.04) increase in C content (g kg^?1), a significant decrease in bulk density (P = 0.006) and an increase in the thickness of the Litter‐Fermentation‐Humus (LFH) layer (P = 0.06). Recalculating the C stock to a depth of 15 cm showed a significant increase in overall C stock (when deep peat sites were excluded) as well as specifically in moorland and woodland soils, suggesting that had we sampled only to 15 cm, we would have reached a different conclusion. Both improved grassland soils and those initially under arable cultivation showed a significant decrease in C content. However, the mean thickness of Ap horizons increased from 29 to 32 cm, with a concomitant decrease in C content and a slight increase in bulk density; this we ascribe to deeper ploughing between the sample periods. In the context of possible soil C losses, we can be 95% confident that the mean loss does not exceed 0.2% year^?1 and 99% confident that it does not exceed 0.4% year^?1.     

The use of a T-maze to measure cognitive–motor function in cats (Felis catus)

Few tests have been developed to evaluate the cognitive and motor capabilities of domestic cats, despite the suitability of cats for specific studies of neuroanatomy, infectious diseases, development, aging, and behavior. The present study evaluated a T-maze apparatus as a sensitive and reliable measure of cognition and motor function in cats. Eighteen purpose-bred, specific pathogen-free, male, neutered domestic short-haired cats (Felis catus), 1-2 years of age, were trained and tested to a T-maze protocol using food rewards. The test protocol consisted of positional discrimination training (left arm or right arm) to reach a predetermined criterion, followed by 2 discrimination reversal tests. The 2 reversal tests documented the ability of the subjects to respond to a new reward location by switching arms of the T-maze. Data were collected on side preference, number of correct responses, and latency of the responses by the subjects. Aided by a customized computer program (CanCog Technologies), data were recorded electronically as each cat progressed from the start box to the reward arm. The protocol facilitated rapid training to a high and consistent level of performance during the discrimination training. This learning was associated with a decrease in the latency to traverse the maze to a mean of 4.80 ± 0.87 seconds, indicating strong motivation and consistent performance. When the rewarded side was reversed in the test phase, the cats required more trials to reach the criterion, as expected, but again showed reliable learning. The latency to the reward in the first session of reversal increased 86% from the first to the last trial, indicating that it may provide a useful index of cognitive processing. Latencies subsequently decreased as the new reversal paradigm was learned. This paradigm provides a relatively rapid and reliable test of cognitive–motor performance that can be used in various settings for the evaluation of feline cognitive and motor function.