Concentrations of plasma luteinising hormone,prolactin, progesterone and androgens during the ovulatory cycle of the Turkey

1. Changes in the concentrations of plasma luteinising hormone (LH), prolactin, androgen and progesterone were measured during the ovulatory cycle of the turkey.

2. Single pre‐ovulatory peaks of plasma LH, androgen and progesterone were observed which took 8, 8 and 12 h respectively, to increase and return to base‐line values. The concentration of plasma prolactin tended to be elevated between 6 h before and 6 h after the LH peak with the maximum values occurring after the peak.

3. The changes in the concentrations of plasma LH and progesterone were 3‐ and 7‐fold respectively while 2‐fold changes were observed in the concentrations of plasma androgen and prolactin.

4. The pre‐ovulatory concentration of plasma progesterone and prolactin began to decrease 4 and 6 h respectively, after the pre‐ovulatory peak of LH.

5. Ovulation and oviposition occurred 6 to 8 h and 36.10+ 0.57 h (SEM) ( n= 11) respectively after the pre‐ovulatory peak of LH.

6. In birds kept on 14 h light/d, pre‐ovulatory peaks of LH were initiated only during a 10 to 11‐h period starting within 2 h after the onset of darkness.

7. A comparison between these data and those from the fowl suggest that the egg is retained in the turkey's oviduct for about 3 to 4 h longer than in the fowl.     

Dirofilaria immitis in cats from inner Sydney

Two hundred feral cats from the inner suburbs of Sydney were examined post mortem for adult Dirofilaria immitis and circulating microfilariae, and 101 of these cats were tested for heartworm antigens by an ELISA. Only 2 cats (1%) had adult heartworms, the blood sample from another cat contained a single microfilaria. The blood of a further three cats contained small amounts of D immitis antigen. Although D immitis occurs in cats in Sydney, the prevalence is not high enough to warrant prophylactic treatment.     

Deformational mass transport and invasive processes in soil evolution

Soils are differentiated vertically by coupled chemical, mechanical, and biological transport processes. Soil properties vary with depth, depending on the subsurface stresses, the extent of mixing, and the balance between mass removal in solution or suspension and mass accumulation near the surface. Channels left by decayed roots and burrowing animals allow organic and inorganic detritus and precipitates to move through the soil from above. Accumulation occurs at depths where small pores restrict further passage. Consecutive phases of translocation and root growth stir the soil; these processes constitute an invasive dilatational process that leads to positive cumulative strains. In contrast, below the depth of root penetration and mass additions, mineral dissolution by descending organic acids leads to internal collapse under overburden load. This softened and condensed precursor horizon is transformed into soil by biological activity, which stirs and expands the evolving residuum by invasion by roots and macropore networks that allows mixing of materials from above.     

Predatory Dinosaurs from the Sahara and Late Cretaceous Faunal Differentiation

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) fossils discovered in the Kem Kem region of Morocco include large predatory dinosaurs that inhabited Africa as it drifted into geographic isolation. One, represented by a skull approximately 1.6 meters in length, is an advanced allosauroid referable to the African genus Carcharodontosaurus. Another, represented by a partial skeleton with slender proportions, is a new basal coelurosaur closely resembling the Egyptian genus Bahariasaurus. Comparisons with Cretaceous theropods from other continents reveal a previously unrecognized global radiation of carcharodontosaurid predators. Substantial geographic differentiation of dinosaurian faunas in response to continental drift appears to have arisen abruptly at the beginning of the Late Cretaceous.     

Determination of phospholipid- and lipopolysaccharide-derived fatty acids as an estimate of microbial biomass and community structures in soils

Several soils subject to different cultivation and management practices were examined by analysis of fatty acid profiles derived from phospholipids and lipopolysaccharides, using an improved sequential method which is capable of measuring ester-linked and non-ester-linked phospholipid fatty acids (EL-PLFA, NEL-PLFA, respectively) and the hydroxy fatty acids in lipopolysaccharides. A good correlation was obtained (r>0.90) between the soil biomass and total EL-PLFA in the soils investigated, which ranged from forest soils to a variety of agricultural soils. Elucidation of the composition of the community structure was an additional task. Eukaryotes can be differentiated from bacteria by the presence of polyunsaturated and -hydroxy fatty acids, both of which were much more abundant in the OF layer of the forest soil than in the remaining samples. A relatively low proportion of monomethyl branched-chain saturated fatty acids was obtained in the forest OF horizon, these being indicators for Gram-positive bacteria and actinomycetes. Various subclasses of proteobacteria produce and mid-chain hydroxy fatty acids, which occur primarily in agricultural soils. The ratios between monounsaturated fatty acids and saturated fatty acids seem to be very useful parameters of soil environmental conditions. In addition, on the basis of the differences in composition of the NEL-PLFA and hydroxy fatty acids of lipopolysaccharides, clear indications for the community structure of various soils were obtained. In the forest soils much more abundant anaerobic micro-organisms and relatively less abundant proteobacteria were present than in the other soils. In the cultivated soils, however, the proportion of Gram-negative bacteria was considerably higher. Furthermore, eukaryotes appeared to be pre-dominant in the soils once used for a manure deposit site.