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The present note records for the first time the tropical gobiid fish Evorthodus lyricus (Girard, 1858) from Patos-Mirim Lagoon System, state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Considering the known distribution of the species,and unpublished data obtained from fish collections, the present record widens the distribution of E. lyricus in 300 kmsouthwards, and is the first occurrence of the species for freshwater conditions in southern Brazil.

The present note records for the first time the gobiid fish Ctenogobius stigmaticus (Poey, 1860) at Patos Lagoonstuary, state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. The known distribution of this species is therefore extended 600 kmsouthwards.

We present here the record of Dormitator maculatus (Bloch, 1792) to the Patos-Mirim lagoon system, RioGrande do Sul, Brazil. This is also the southernmost occurrence in South America, extending species range ca. 150 km fromthe previously known localities.

We monitored the attendance and activity of Cory's Shearwater Calonectris diomedea on Berlenga Island, Portugal, during the breeding season. To achieve this, we developed a novel logging technique to record the date and time of entrances and departures from the burrows, as well as the identity of each member of a pair. The technique enabled nonintrusive assessment of the activity of burrow-nesting animals over prolonged periods and provided very reliable information. Our study showed that males attended the nests more frequently than females during the pre-laying and chick-rearing periods. We did not find such differences during the incubation period, and both members spent similar amounts of time incubating the eggs. An index of activity (denned as number of entrances plus exits from the nest) achieved higher scores during the pre-laying and incubation periods, but the activity decreased significantly during the chick-rearing period. We did not find any effect of moonlight on the levels of activity, hour of arrival at the colony or time spent inside the burrows in breeding birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We measured the breeding performance, body condition, time budgets and foraging ranges of Kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla at Sumburgh Head, Shetland, in two years of contrasting food availability. Kittiwakes in Shetland generally feed their young almost entirely on sandeels, and fisheries data indicated that stocks of sandeels in Shetland waters were at least ten times higher in 1991 than in 1990. Fledging success of Kittiwakes was nil in 1990 and 68% of eggs laid in 1991, although clutch-size and hatching success were no different between years. Post-hatching foraging trips in 1991 were of comparable duration to those recorded at other colonies in conditions of good food supply (2-3 h), while trips recorded during incubation or post-hatching in 1990 were approximately three times longer on average than at corresponding stages of the breeding season in 1991. Radio-tracking data indicated that adults generally stayed within 5 km of the colony in 1991 but flew more than 40 km from the colony on each trip in 1990. Eggs were apparently not left unattended in either year, despite the fact that this required adults to incubate for periods in excess of 44 h in 1990. The extent to which adults were able to increase trip durations, foraging ranges and incubation shift lengths between years, while maintaining hatching success, indicates the degree to which Kittiwakes are normally buffered against adverse feeding conditions during incubation. Reduced nest attendance and lower body-condition of adults post-hatching in 1990, in conjunction with complete post-hatching breeding failure, indicate that adults were beyond the limits of their buffering capacity during chick-rearing in 1990. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A semi-automated method, using a graphic digitizing tablet, for analysing the the tracks of cells taken from time-lapse film is described and illustrated with sample data. Three film sequences of neutrophil leucocytes moving on protein-coated substrata are analysed, and in one of these the cells are moving in a non-random fashion. The randomness of the tracks is tested by an objective method. Cells in the non-random (directed) sequence move faster and make smaller angled turns. No correlation between step length and turning angle could be shown for the random sequences. The method described here should make it possible to undertake visual analyses of cell locomotion with considerably less effort.

This paper describes the operation and construction of an electromechanical device designed to make measurements on oscillograph recordings of nerve or muscle potentials for subsequent computer analysis. The device consists of a motor-driven shaft which moves the record past a fixed cursor, and an electronic counter which records the movements of the shaft, thereby providing a cumulative tally of the distance of the current position of the cursor from some arbitrary origin on the record. When the device is connected to a paper tape punch, the operator can punch the distance measurement associated with potential along the record onto the tape. The format of data on the tape readily allows further analysis by computer.

Four clinical trials evaluating arbaprostil's effects on the human uterus are reported. The initial two trials measured intrauterine pressures in nonpregnant and pregnant human females following arbaprostil doses of 10, 25, and/or 50 mcg. No statistical differences were found at any dosage level in either study for average uterine resting pressures, average peak pressures, the number of contractions or Montevideo units. Subsequently, two trials determined the abortifacient potential of arbaprostil in pregnant women during the first trimester. The first utilized total daily doses of 400 and 800 mcgs. while the second used total daily doses of 1200 and 1600 mcgs. Vaginal spotting was noted in one woman receiving 400 mcgs, three receiving 1200 mcgs. and in two receiving 1600 mcgs. One episode of moderate bleeding was seen in the latter study. Based on these studies, arbaprostil exhibits little potential for inducing abortifacient activity at these dosages in these patient populations.