Urban meadows as an alternative to short mown grassland: effects of composition and height on biodiversity.

There are increasing calls to provide greenspace in urban areas, yet the ecological quality, as well as quantity, of greenspace is important. Short mown grassland designed for recreational use is the dominant form of urban greenspace in temperate regions but requires considerable maintenance and typically provides limited habitat value for most taxa. Alternatives are increasingly proposed, but the biodiversity potential of these is not well understood.

Cortisol concentrations in post competition horse urine: a French and British survey.

The purpose of the present report was to estimate the population parameters of cortisol concentrations in urine, an endogenous hormone used as a 'doping' agent and for which an international threshold (1.0 micrograms/ml) has been proposed. Two data bases (French and UK) corresponding to 112 and 142 samples, respectively were considered.

A sampling device for septum-sealed blood containers.

The device described replaces the sampling probe of any automatic diluter. It enables septum-sealed blood vials to be sampled without exposing the blood to the atmosphere, and dispenses the blood into sealed reaction vials. The advantages are that loss of volatiles in the sample and exposure of operators to open blood containers are eliminated.