Spermiogenesis in the amphilinidean cestode Amphilina foliacea (Rudolphi, 1819) was examined using transmission electron microscopy. The orthogonal development of the two flagella is followed by a flagellar rotation and their proximodistal fusion with the median cytoplasmic process. This process is accompanied by extension of both the mitochondrion and nucleus into the median cytoplasmic process. The two pairs of electron-dense attachment zones mark the lines where the proximodistal fusion of the median cytoplasmic process with the two flagella takes place. The intercentriolar body, previously undetermined in A. foliacea, is composed of three electron-dense and two electron-lucent plates. Also new for this species is the finding of electron-dense material in the apical region of the differentiation zone at the early stage of spermiogenesis, and the fact that two arching membranes appear at the base of the differentiation zone only when the two flagella rotate towards the median cytoplasmic process. The present data add more evidence for a close relationship between the Amphilinidea and the Eucestoda.
A controlled growth chamber experiment was conducted to investigate the short-term water use and photosynthetic responses of 30-d-old carrot seedlings to the combined effects of CO2 concentration (50-1 050 µmol mol-1) and moisture deficits (-5, -30, -55, and -70 kPa). The photosynthetic response data was fitted to a non-rectangular hyperbola model. The estimated parameters were compared for effects of moisture deficit and elevated CO2 concentration (EC). The carboxylation efficiency (α) increased in response to mild moisture stress (-30 kPa) under EC when compared to the unstressed control. However, moderate (-55 kPa) and extreme (-70 kPa) moisture deficits reduced α under EC. Maximum net photosynthetic rate (PNmax) did not differ between mild water deficit and unstressed controls under EC. Moderate and extreme moisture deficits reduced PNmax by nearly 85 % compared to controls. Dark respiration rate (RD) showed no consistent response to moisture deficit. The CO2 compensation concentration (Γ) was 324 µmol mol-1 for -75 kPa and ranged 63-93 µmol mol-1 for other moisture regimes. Interaction between moisture deficit and EC was noticed for PN, ratio of intercellular and ambient CO2 concentration (Ci/Ca), stomatal conductance (gs), and transpiration rate (E). PN was maximum and Ci/Ca was minimum at -30 kPa moisture deficit and at C a of 350 µmol mol-1. The gs and E showed an inverse relationship at all moisture deficit regimes and EC. Water use efficiency (WUE) increased with moisture deficit up to -55 kPa and declined thereafter. EC showed a positive influence towards sustaining PN and increasing WUE only under mild moisture stress, and no beneficial effects of EC were noticed at moderate or extreme moisture deficits. and A. Thiagarajan, R. R. Lada.
Non linear and multidimensional models of an interdisciplinary nature are needed to study a broad spectrum of tasks related to design of mechanical engineering systems. Oversimplified and therefore inapplicable results are frequently obtained as the final result of model development. A human way of making decisions is not based on numbers but on common-sense reasoning. Qualitative modeling brings additional options in the modeling of complex systems. Qualitative variables are quantified using three values only - positive (increasing), zero (constant) and negative (decreasing). The classical quantitative tools cannot deal with such variables. Typical areas suitable for qualitative modeling are design related tasks with a large number of variables. A presented case study an optimization of a solar collector, is given in details. and Obsahuje seznam literatury
The vitellogenesis of Paraechinophallus japonicus (Yamaguti, 1934), the first pseudophyllidean tapeworm of the family Echinophallidae studied using transmission electron microscope, is described on the basis of ultrastructural observations of specimens from the benthopelagic fish Psenopsis anomala (Temminck et Schlegel, 1844) (Perciformes: Centrolophidae). The process of vitellogenesis in P. japonicus follows the same general pattern observed in other tapeworms. Five stages of vitellocyte development have been distinguished. The first stage corresponds to immature cells containing ribosomes and mitochondria. The second stage of development is characterized by the appearance of granular endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi complexes, formation of shell globules and lipid droplets at the periphery of the cell cytoplasm. Vitellocyte of the third stage presents accumulation of shell globules and lipid droplets. During the fourth stage, shell globule clusters are formed, and lipid droplets and rosettes of α-glycogen are accumulated. Mature vitelline cells are characterized by a great number of lipid droplets with glycogen in the centre of the cytoplasm, whereas shell globule clusters are situated more peripherally. The interstitial tissue of vitelline follicles of P. japonicus is syncytial with long cytoplasmic projections extending between vitelline cells. The presence of a large amount of lipid droplets in the vitelline cytoplasm within the eggs of P. japonicus may be related to egg accumulation in the uterine sac.