The casemoth, Liothula omnivoa (Psychidae : lepidoptera) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Zoology at Massey University

Liothula omnivora, one of the two known casemoths endemic to New Zealand, belongs to the Lepidopteran family Psychidae. It is distributed throughout the country, and can be found on a large number of host plants (see later). The other N.Z. casemoth, Orophora concolor, has been found on Wild Irishman and cassinias in the river beds of the South Island (Miller, 1955). L. omnivora was first described by Fereday in 1878, but Meyrick (1890) transferred it to the genus Oiketicus (Guilding, 1827) mis-spelling it Oeceticus. Dr. Allan Watson (1967, pers. comm.) of the British Museum (Natural History) considers that this species should belong in the genus Liothula and the writer has adopted Watson's view in calling it L. omnivora. The type of L. omnivora is in the Canterbury Museum, Christchurch (Entomologische Beihefte 4, Horn and Kahle, 1937). Descriptions of the external morphology of the adult male and female have been made by Fereday (1878), Meyrick (1890) and Hudson (1928). Fereday and Hudson also described the larva, the pupa has been described by Hudson and Quail (1901), and the appearance of the egg briefly noted by Hudson

Intimal and medial contributions to the hydraulic resistance of the arterial wall at different pressures: a combined computational and experimental study

The hydraulic resistances of the intima and media determine water flux and the advection of macromolecules into and across the arterial wall. Despite several experimental and computational studies, these transport processes and their dependence on transmural pressure remain incompletely understood. Here, we use a combination of experimental and computational methods to ascertain how the hydraulic permeability of the rat abdominal aorta depends on these two layers and how it is affected by structural rearrangement of the media under pressure. Ex vivo experiments determined the conductance of the whole wall, the thickness of the media and the geometry of medial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and extracellular matrix (ECM). Numerical methods were used to compute water flux through the media. Intimal values were obtained by subtraction. A mechanism was identified that modulates pressure-induced changes in medial transport properties: compaction of the ECM leading to spatial reorganization of SMCs. This is summarized in an empirical constitutive law for permeability and volumetric strain. It led to the physiologically interesting observation that, as a consequence of the changes in medial microstructure, the relative contributions of the intima and media to the hydraulic resistance of the wall depend on the applied pressure; medial resistance dominated at pressures above approximately 93 mmHg in this vessel

Role of endothelial permeability hotspots and endothelial mitosis in determining age-related patterns of macromolecule uptake by the rabbit aortic wall near branch points

AbstractBackground and aimsTransport of macromolecules between plasma and the arterial wall plays a key role in atherogenesis. Scattered hotspots of elevated endothelial permeability to macromolecules occur in the aorta; a fraction of them are associated with dividing cells. Hotspots occur particularly frequently downstream of branch points, where lesions develop in young rabbits and children. However, the pattern of lesions varies with age, and can be explained by similar variation in the pattern of macromolecule uptake. We investigated whether patterns of hotspots and mitosis also change with age.MethodsEvans’ Blue dye-labeled albumin was injected intravenously into immature or mature rabbits and its subsequent distribution in the aortic wall around intercostal branch ostia examined by confocal microscopy and automated image analysis. Mitosis was detected by immunofluorescence after adding 5-bromo-2-deoxiuridine to drinking water.ResultsHotspots were most frequent downstream of branches in immature rabbits, but a novel distribution was observed in mature rabbits. Neither pattern was explained by mitosis. Hotspot uptake correlated spatially with the much greater non-hotspot uptake (p < 0.05), and the same pattern was seen when only the largest hotspots were considered.ConclusionsThe pattern of hotspots changes with age. The data are consistent with there being a continuum of local permeabilities rather than two distinct mechanisms. The distribution of the dye, which binds to elastin and collagen, was similar to that of non-binding tracers and to lesions apart from a paucity at the lateral margins of branches that can be explained by lower levels of fibrous proteins in those regions

Bionomics Of Aedes Aegypti And Aedes Albopictus In Relation To Dengue Incidence On Penang Island And The Application Of Sequential Sampling In The Control Of Dengue Vectors

Satu kajian telah dijalankan untuk menentukan taburan dua jenis vektor denggi, Aedes aegypti dan Aedes albopictus di Kampung Paya Teluk Kumbar A study was carried out to determine the distribution of two dengue vectors, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in Kampung Paya Teluk Kumba

Regression Analysis Of Column Ozone And Selected Atmospheric Parameters In Peninsular Malaysia From Sciamachy Data

Ozon (O3) adalah unik di kalangan bahan-bahan pencemar kerana terhasil daripada tindak balas kimia yang kompleks di atmosfera, kerana ia tidak dilepaskan secara terus ke udara. Kedudukan ozon di atmosfera memberi kesan yang berlainan terhadap kehidupan di muka bumi (sama ada bahaya atau melindungi). Ini merupakan sebab utama O3 menyebabkan masalah alam sekitar yang serius . Malah masalah ini adalah susah dikawal dan diramal. Ozone (O3) is unique among pollutants because it is not emitted directly into the air, and its results from complex chemical reactions in the atmosphere. O3 can bring different effects for all the living on earth (either harm or protect), depending on where O3 resides. This is the main reason why O3 is such a serious environmental problem that is difficult to control and predict

A Study On A Velogenic Viscerotropic Newscastle Disease Virus In Vitro And In Vivo

The velogenic viscerotropic Newcastle disease virus or the Asiatic strain has been considered the most virulent strain of Newcastle disease virus. It is commonly found in Southeast Asia and it has been known to cause 100\ mortality in susceptible flocks. In spite of this, very little research has been conducted on it as many countries prohibit the handling of this strain of virus. In view of this, a project has been undertaken at Universiti Pertanian Malaysia to study the biological properties, cytopathogenicity and morphogenesis of a locally isolated velogenic viscerotropic Newcastle disease virus and to determine its effects on the trachea of nonvaccinated and vaccinated chickens. The in vitro study has shown that this virus has a mean death time of 66 hours, and an intracerebral pathogenicity index of 1.90 . Polykaryocytosis is the principal form of cytopathic effect it produces in chick embryo fibroblasts and cells infected by it haemadsorp red blood cells. This virus plaques in cell culture. Negatively stained virus particles have diameters ranging from 100 to 600 nanometers. Electron microscopy demonstrated that the virus replicates in the cytoplasm of infected cells and aggregates of nucleocapsids are found in the cytoplasm. The virus matures at the cell membrane and is released by budding

Kajian Juzuk Kimia Dan Ketoksinan Ke Atas Ekstrak Polar Buah Bruguiera Cylindrica

Suatu kajian fitokimia ke atas ekstrak polar buah Bruguiera cylindrical telah dilakukan. Buah-buah tersebut dihancurkan dan direflukskan dengan kloroform dan methanol secara berturutan. Ekstrak methanol dipartisikan dengan pelarut etilasetat dan seterusnya dipisahkan kepada bahagian neutral dan bahagian berasid