Striped mice, Rhabdomys pumilio, and other murid rodents as hosts for immature ixodid ticks as in the Eastern Cape Province.

Striped mice, Rhabdomys pumilio, were trapped over a period of 17 months in the Thomas Baines Nature Reserve, and placed in cages, over water, until all the ticks they harboured had detached. The mice were then returned to the reserve. Four ixodid tick species were recovered from the mice of which the larvae and nymphs of Rhipicephalus follis and Rhipicephalus simus were the most numerous. Most larvae of R. follis detached from mice trapped from March to July, and most nymphs in March and from June to September. Most larvae of R. simus detached from mice trapped from December to March, and most nymphs from January to March and during May and June. Seven ixodid tick species were collected from striped mice, house rats, Rattus rattus, vlei rats, Otomys spp. and Praomys sp. captured in the vicinity of human dwellings or animal holding facilities in the Grahamstown district. The striped mice captured in the Thomas Baines Reserve harboured considerably larger numbers of ticks than any of the rodent species in the more urbanized localities.

The host status of the striped mouse, Rhabdomys pumilio, in relation to the tick vectors of heartwater in South Africa.

Striped mice, Rhabdomys pumilio, were trapped over a 17 month period in the Thomas Baines Nature Reserve in the eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Captured mice were placed in cages, over water, and naturally detaching ticks were collected. Only 5 larvae and 1 nymph of Amblyomma hebraeum were recovered from the mice. These represented less than 0.1% of the total number of ticks recovered. No Amblyomma marmoreum were recovered. As the vegetation and large mammals and tortoises in the Thomas Baines Nature Reserve abound in larvae of both these vectors of heartwater the low infestation rates of R. pumilio indicate that it is either unsuitable or inaccessible for these ticks. R. pumilio is therefore unlikely to play a role in the epidemiology of heartwater.

The accurate determination of bismuth in lead concentrates and other non-ferrous materials by AAS after separation and preconcentration of the bismuth with mercaptoacetic acid.

A method for determining 0.0001% and upwards of bismuth in lead, zinc or copper concentrates, metals or alloys and other smelter residues is described. Bismuth is separated from lead, iron and gangue materials with mercaptoacetic acid after reduction of the iron with hydrazine. Large quantities of tin can be removed during the dissolution. An additional separation is made for materials high in copper and/or sulphate. The separated and concentrated bismuth is determined by atomic-absorption spectrometry using the Bi line at 223.1 nm. The proposed method also allows the simultaneous separation and determination of silver.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus gastroenteritis associated with international travel.

Food-borne gastroenteritis due to Vibrio parahaemolyticus is becoming of increasing world importance. This paper describes the clinical presentations and laboratory investigations of four cases of gastroenteritis due to V. parahaemolyticus among passengers returning to Australia on international aircraft from South-East Asia.

Feeding adaptations in the hairs and tongues of nectar-feeding bats.

Scales on the hairs of pollinating bats spread out at an angle to the main hair shaft. In contrast, the hairs of most bats not associated with plants are relatively smooth. Both megachiropteran and microchiropteran flower-feeding bats show this divaricate scale structure which may aid in the collection of a heavy coating of pollen. Some of the pollen is transferred to subsequent flowers, but most is groomed from the fur and ingested as the only reliable nitrogen source for the bat. The tongues of nectar-feeding bats also show structural modifications which allow efficient uptake of the carbohydrate fraction of the diet. Structural specializations of the hiars and tongue are analogous to those seen in other nectar-feeding animals.

Responses to cold in the midbrain sonar center of hibernating and tropical bats.

The central gray matter of the bat midbrain, when electrically stimulated, causes the animal to produce a string of species-specific biosonar cries. Changes in this response with progressive cooling were studied in tropical homeothermic bats and in temperate hibernating bats. The species of hibernators chosen often move between hibernacula in the winter, flying and echolocating at low body temperatures (Tb). It was found that the midbrain "sonar center" exhibits a differential response to cooling that depends on the thermal propensities of the animal and its natural environment. Tropical bats followed a Q10 similar to that reported for other nonhibernating mammals and ceased responding at Tb 14-15 degrees C. Temperate zone-hibernating bat brains showed a relative insensitivity to temperature change and still responded at Tb 4-5 degrees C. Individual sonar cries within a string showed that duration was correlated with temperature but amplitude was unaffected. The study provides data for the functional separation of some parameters of biosonar and gives further evidence for differential nervous function in eurythermal versus stenothermal animals.