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SUMMARY:The sensory basis of the behavior of cuttlefish towards basket traps explains in part the mechanism of capture by the gear. Previous studies have shown that the reaction of cuttlefish Sepia esculenta to basket traps is mediated mainly by vision. In this study, visual factors that attract cuttlefish to basket traps were examined in the laboratory. The reaction of cuttlefish was divided into three processes of recognition, approach, and entry; the frequency and the duration of each process indicated the strength of the reaction. Cuttlefish were most attracted to a basket trap that contrasted most strongly with the background. When the dismantled components of the basket trap were presented as visual targets to cuttlefish, all the components were approached by the cuttlefish, which remained in the internal space. Cuttlefish have a habit of occupying the internal space of a structure and this habit seems to be the main motivation for entry into a trap. Another experiment was carried out to examine the social attraction between individuals inside and outside a trap. Social interference between males and females seems to be part of the mechanism of capture of cuttlefish by basket traps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The location of a small lesion must be precisely identified during laparoscopic surgery. A gamma probe that is usually used for navigating sentinel lymph nodes was evaluated for its usefulness in locating small gastrointestinal lesions (14 gastric and 10 colonic). A total of 2 mCi of a Tc(99m)-labeled rhenium colloid was injected endoscopically around a tumor 16 h prior to surgery. During operation, the abdominal cavity was scanned using a handheld gamma probe (Navigator GPS, Tyco HealthCare, Norwalk, CT, USA). In all cases, the injection site was identified as the highest spot in the abdominal cavity, with 2585 counts per second on average (range, 910-8800 counts per second). The highest count in a lymph node was 637 per second on average. The gamma probe is a useful tool for identifying small gastrointestinal lesions during open and laparoscopic operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]