Novel preparation for studying excitation-secretion coupling in the isolated single cell

Cellular mechanisms of secretion in exocrine and endocrine glands are technically difficult to study. We present here a model which offers fundamental advantages for studying excitation-secretion coupling at the level of the isolated single cell. The salivary gland of the leech Haementeria ghilianii possesses a unique combination of unusual properties which greatly facilitate research in this area. Its cells are exceptionally large (up to 1 mm in diameter), clearly visible and easy to penetrate with microelectrodes. They do not form a homogeneous population but consist of five distinct histochemical types, secreting a number of identified products such as the fibrinolytic enzyme hementin (for which there is a sensitive assay). The cells generate overshooting calcium-dependent action potentials up to 90 mV in amplitude and with a duration of 200-1,000 ms. One of their most useful and unusual features is a lack of electrical coupling which means that individual cells can be studied in an intact gland without interference from neighbouring cells.     

Surprisingly complex community discovered in the mid-Devonian fossil forest at Gilboa

The origin of trees by the mid-Devonian epoch (398-385 million years ago) signals a major change in terrestrial ecosystems with potential long-term consequences including increased weathering, drop in atmospheric CO(2), modified climate, changes in sedimentation patterns and mass extinction. However, little is known about the ecology of early forests or how changes in early terrestrial ecosystems influenced global processes. One of the most famous palaeontological records for this time is the 'oldest fossil forest' at Riverside Quarry, Gilboa, New York, USA, discovered in the 1920s. Hundreds of large Eospermatopteris sandstone casts, now thought to represent the bases of standing cladoxylopsid trees, were recovered from a horizon that was originally interpreted as a muddy swamp. After quarry operations ceased, relatively minor outcrops of similar fossils at nearby localities have provided limited opportunities to evaluate this pervasive view using modern methods. In 2010, removal of the quarry backfill enabled reappraisal of the palaeoecology of this important site. Here we describe a 1,200?m(2) map showing numerous Eospermatopteris root systems in life position within a mixed-age stand of trees. Unexpectedly, large woody rhizomes with adventitious roots and aerial branch systems identified as aneurophytalean progymnosperms run between, and probably climb into, Eospermatopteris trees. We describe the overall habit for these surprisingly large aneurophytaleans, the earliest fossil group having wood produced by a bifacial vascular cambium. The site also provides evidence for arborescence within lycopsids, extending the North American range for trees in this ecologically critical group. The rooting horizon is a dark grey sandy mudstone showing limited root penetration. Although clearly belonging to a wetland coastal plain environment, the forest was probably limited in duration and subject to periodic disturbance. These observations provide fundamental clarification of the palaeoecology of this mixed-group early forest, with important implications for interpreting coeval assemblage data worldwide.     

中国农作物秸秆资源量及其“五料化”利用现状

 农作物秸秆是十分宝贵的生物资源,资源丰富,秸秆"用则利,弃则害"。秸秆的高效综合利用能有效解决秸秆利用率低、转化率低、经济效益低、环境污染严重这"三低一重"的问题,对中国现代农业的可持续发展起重要的作用。本文分析了中国农作物秸秆资源数量及分布,介绍了秸秆资源综合利用技术的最新进展,包括肥料化、燃料化、饲料化、原料化和基料化（"五料化"）这些重点领域的应用。集约、循环、高效、充分利用秸秆资源是保护生态环境、节约可再生资源的需要,也是促进中国农业和农村社会经济实现可持续发展的必然要求。     

Nervous and behavioral responses to light in colonies of the free-living bryozoan,Selenaria maculata (Busk)

Summary Bursts of electrical impulses which spread throughout the entire colony were recorded from individual zooids ofSelenaria. Strong illumination caused a rapid increase in the frequency of bursts and also caused the colonies to start moving, usually towards the light the recorded electrical activity may act to trigger locomotor behavior.We are grateful to Dr P. Arnold (James Cook University, Townsville) for his assistance in collecting the live material ofS. maculata, to Miss P. L. Cook and Mr P. J. Chimonides (British Museum (Natural History) for their helpful discussions, and to Dr J.P. Thorpe (University of Liverpool) for suggesting the topic. We thank also the Science and Engineering Research Council for financial support (grant No. GR/A71578).     

A quantitative investigation of the response to injury of the central nervous system of rats treated with ACTH and triiodothyronine

Résumé Une êtude quantitative des effets de ACTH et T3 sur la réaction des cellules gliales dans le corpus callosum, après incision, a montré que ces 2 hormones n'ont aucun effet sur, cette réaction. Ainsi, on ne peut plus soutenir l'idée généralement acceptée que ces hormones provoquent une régégnération partielle de l'axone central du système nerveux, en modifiant la cicatrice gliale.

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Acknowledgements. The authors are indebted to Mr.R. Morris at the Women's Hospital, Birmingham for the assay of corticosterone and to Mrs.S. Buckley for preparing the many slides for histological examination.     

Electrotonic synapses in the visceral ganglion of Planorbis

Summary In the visceral ganglion of Planorbis the postsynaptic neurones of the characterized dopamine neurone are connected by non-rectifying electrotonic junctions. The coupling, which is reduced by stimulation of the dopamine neurone and by applied dopamine, may be important in the generation of burst activity. Specialized areas of close apposition of membranes in the neuropile are considered to be the morphological correlate of electrotonic coupling.This work was supported by grants from the S. R. C. and M. R. C. to Dr G. A. Cottrell, whose help is gratefully acknowledged.     

Antarctic climate cooling and terrestrial ecosystem response.

The average air temperature at the Earth's surface has increased by 0.06 degrees C per decade during the 20th century, and by 0.19 degrees C per decade from 1979 to 1998. Climate models generally predict amplified warming in polar regions, as observed in Antarctica's peninsula region over the second half of the 20th century. Although previous reports suggest slight recent continental warming, our spatial analysis of Antarctic meteorological data demonstrates a net cooling on the Antarctic continent between 1966 and 2000, particularly during summer and autumn. The McMurdo Dry Valleys have cooled by 0.7 degrees C per decade between 1986 and 2000, with similar pronounced seasonal trends. Summer cooling is particularly important to Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems that are poised at the interface of ice and water. Here we present data from the dry valleys representing evidence of rapid terrestrial ecosystem response to climate cooling in Antarctica, including decreased primary productivity of lakes (6-9% per year) and declining numbers of soil invertebrates (more than 10% per year). Continental Antarctic cooling, especially the seasonality of cooling, poses challenges to models of climate and ecosystem change.     

Anticipation of moving stimuli by the retina

A flash of light evokes neural activity in the brain with a delay of 30-100 milliseconds, much of which is due to the slow process of visual transduction in photoreceptors. A moving object can cover a considerable distance in this time, and should therefore be seen noticeably behind its actual location. As this conflicts with everyday experience, it has been suggested that the visual cortex uses the delayed visual data from the eye to extrapolate the trajectory of a moving object, so that it is perceived at its actual location. Here we report that such anticipation of moving stimuli begins in the retina. A moving bar elicits a moving wave of spiking activity in the population of retinal ganglion cells. Rather than lagging behind the visual image, the population activity travels near the leading edge of the moving bar. This response is observed over a wide range of speeds and apparently compensates for the visual response latency. We show how this anticipation follows from known mechanisms of retinal processing.