Aphid semiochemicals - A review, and recent advances on the sex pheromone.

The alarm pheromones are known for many species of aphids, and methods of using the synthetic pheromone to improve control of aphids by contact insecticides and biological agents have been devised. Highly active analogs have been prepared and plant-derived synergists identified. Laboratory studies on compounds obtained by chemical modification of the alarm pheromone and antifeedants derived from non-host plants have led to successful field trials against aphid-borne virus diseases in crops.

Factors influencing the outcome of balloon aortic valvuloplasty in the elderly.

This study describes the short- and long-term outcome of 44 consecutive percutaneous balloon aortic valvuloplasty procedures performed in 42 elderly patients (age 77.8 +/- 7 years) with calcific aortic stenosis. The initial success rate was 95%, with the peak aortic valve pressure gradient declining from a mean of 82 +/- 32 mm Hg to 44 +/- 23 mm Hg and aortic valve area increasing from a mean of 0.

Convenient synthesis of mosquito oviposition pheromone and a highly fluorinated analog retaining biological activity.

A simple three-step synthesis is described for 6-acetoxy-5-hexadecanolide, the oviposition pheromone of the mosquitoCulex quinquefasciatus Say and others in that genus. An aldol condensation between 1-trimethylsilyloxycyclopent-1-ene and undecanal, followed by Baeyer-Villiger ring expansion and acetylation, gave the required compound as a 1∶1 mixture of diastereoisomers in high overall yield (>80%). This synthetic approach is readily adapted for synthesis of analogs.

Evaluation of two applanation tonometers in horses.

Comparisons were made of measurements obtained in horses, using 2 applanation tonometers in vivo and in vitro. In vitro comparisons indicated that although neither instrument accurately recorded intraocular pressure (IOP), compared with manometric measurements, results of both instruments indicated linear digression from manometric IOP values that could readily be corrected, thereby accurately estimating IOP in horses. For tonometer 1 (MacKay-Marg), calculated actual IOP = 1.

Comparison of serum and plasma taurine values in Bengal tigers with values in taurine-sufficient and -deficient domestic cats.

A white Bengal tiger was determined to have a central retinal lesion and a central visual defect. Because of the known association between feline central retinal degeneration (CRD) and taurine deficiency in domestic cats, plasma concentrations of taurine were measured in this tiger. Serum concentrations of taurine, methionine, and cystine also were measured in white Bengal tigers, orange Bengal tigers, taurine-sufficient domestic cats, and taurine-deprived and tissue-taurine-depleted visually impaired cats with CRD.

Management of facial injuries.

Because of the excellent blood supply to the head region, superficial lacerations to the soft tissue structures of the head generally heal rapidly without treatment. Lacerations of the equine tongue frequently go unnoticed because difficulty in eating usually is not apparent. The majority of lacerations heal if left untreated, with no loss in function.

Pseudallescheria boydii keratomycosis in a horse.

The fungal organism Pseudallescheria boydii was isolated from the cornea of a Quarter Horse with ulcerative keratitis. Despite aggressive hourly medication through a subpalpebral lavage system, with drugs including miconazole and natamycin, the cornea developed a stromal abscess. Orbital exenteration was performed after 3 weeks.

Dural lacerations and thoracolumbar fractures.

In the pre-CT era, Miller et al. reported the presence of dural lacerations (DL) and herniations of the cauda equina in a group of patients with thoracolumbar fractures that involved separation of the pedicles, as detailed on plain radiographs. Recently, these injuries have been well characterized on CT scan.

Zygomatic salivary gland mucocele in a ferret.

A zygomatic salivary gland mucocele was diagnosed in a 1-year-old female domestic ferret with exophthalmos. A T-shaped incision from near the lateral canthus to the base of the ear and continuing ventrally to the level of the commissure of the mouth was made to expose the mucocele. Surgical removal was complicated by the large open orbit of the ferret, adjacent cellulitis, extension ventromedial to the globe, and difficulty in identifying important motor nerves.

Activity of quassinoids as antifeedants against aphids.

A series of quassinoids was tested for antifeedant activity against the aphidMyzus persicae (Hemiptera, Aphididae). Isobrucein B, brucein B and C, glaucarubinone, and quassin decreased feeding at concentrations down to 0.05% and isobrucein A was effective at 0.

AAEE case report #16: Botulism.

Botulinal toxin causes a marked reduction in the number of quanta released by autonomic and motor nerve terminals. As a result it causes blurred vision, inability to move the eyes, weakness of other cranial nerve-innervated muscles, dyspnea progressing to apnea, and generalized weakness. Electrodiagnostic findings in severe botulism can be relatively nonspecific, with low amplitude and short duration motor unit action potentials and small M wave amplitudes.

Effects of routine pupillary dilation on functional daylight vision.

The visual acuity of 100 patients between the ages of 16 and 66 years, seen for routine ophthalmologic examination, was measured before and after dilation. All patients had a predilation visual acuity of 20/40 or better. Postdilation binocular visual acuity using the patients' usual correction was measured first in the office and then outdoors, both with the patient's back to and the patient facing the sun, with and without the aid of postmydriatic sunglasses.

Activity of drimane antifeedants and related compounds against aphids, and comparative biological effects and chemical reactivity of (-)- and (+)-polygodial.

A series of natural drimanes and related synthetic compounds was tested for antifeedant activity against aphids. Polygodial and warburganal were the most active. The synthetic compounds methyl 9α-hydroxydrimenoate and 9α-hydroxydrimenal, although active against lepidopteran larvae, were inactive against aphids.

Insulin improves rat soleus axon function by increasing glucose transport.

The effect of varying glucose and insulin concentration on neuromuscular transmission was investigated in rat soleus and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) nerve-muscle preparations using conventional microelectrode techniques. Soleus and EDL axons were similar in that both failed after approximately 70 min of glucose deprivation and often did not recover from glucose deprivation. Soleus and EDL axons differed in the following ways: 1) soleus axons required greater than 7.

Plant-derived synergists of alarm pheromone from turnip aphid,Lipaphis (Hyadaphis) erysimi (Homoptera, Aphididae).

The turnip aphid,Lipaphis (Hyadaphis) erysimi, responds weakly to (E)-β-farnesene, the main component of the alarm pheromone, but the response is substantially increased by incorporating plant-derived isothiocyanates, identified in aphid volatiles by coupled gas chromatography-single-cell recording.

Burst and transition cues to voicing perception for spoken initial stops by impaired- and normal-hearing listeners.

The use of cues to voicing perception of initial stop consonants in multiple spoken syllables was studied for moderately/severely hearing-impaired (n = 43) and normal-hearing listeners (n = 12). The test stimuli were ten utterances each of the syllables/baed, gaed, daed, paed, kaed, taed/. The utterances were analyzed acoustically to confirm the presence of certain cues to initial-stop voicing, namely, differences in voice onset time (VOT), aspiration, and vowel-onset values of the first formant and of fundamental frequency (fo).

Speech-cue enhancement for the hearing impaired: amplification of burst/murmur cues for improved perception of final stop voicing.

A further study is reported from a program of research exploring the improvement of speech perception by hearing-impaired persons via enhancement of acoustic features of consonants (10,11). Enhancements were applied to certain acoustic segments of consonants, segments known to be useful in consonant perception by normal-hearing persons but often not for persons with severe/profound hearing losses. The consonants were /k/, /t/, /g/, and /d/ located as the final phoneme in /baeC/ words; the voicing feature difference of /k/ versus /g/ and /t/ versus /d/ was the focus of study.

Arthritis and panuveitis as manifestations of Borrelia burgdorferi infection in a Wisconsin pony.

Infection with Borrelia burgdorferi caused panuveitis and arthritis in a pony. Spirochetes were detected by direct immunofluorescence in the anterior chamber of the eye. The carpal joints had severe degenerative joint disease, with synovial proliferation.

Speech cue enhancement for the hearing impaired: I. Altered vowel durations for perception of final fricative voicing.

Hearing-impaired persons with reduced voicing perception for final fricatives were studied for improvement in perception via training or enhancement of the vowel duration cue. Ten utterances each of the syllables /baef, baes, baev, baez/ composed three stimulus sets that were graded for the magnitude of the vowel duration cue. These sets were used differentially among 25 hearing-impaired listeners to train and test voicing perception.

Cations decrease specific [3H]-spiroperidol binding in human prefrontal cortex.

Ligand binding at many physiologically relevant receptors is regulated by divalent cations. To determine whether [3H]-spiroperidol binding sites in prefrontal cortex might be physiologically relevant receptors, we examined the effect of ions on the binding of this ligand in postmortem human prefrontal cortex. Our results indicate that several cations decreased [3H]-spiroperidol binding in a dose-dependent fashion.