Abciximab for thrombolysis during intracranial aneurysm coiling

INTRODUCTION: Thrombotic events are a common and severe complication of endovascular aneurysm treatment with significant impact on patients' outcome. This study evaluates risk factors for thrombus formation and assesses the efficacy and safety of abciximab for clot dissolution. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All patients treated with abciximab during (41 patients) or shortly after (22 patients) intracranial aneurysm coil embolisation were retrieved from the institutional database (2000 to 2007, 1,250 patients). Sixty-three patients (mean age, 55.3 years, +/-12.8) had received either intra-arterial or intravenous abciximab. Risk factors for clot formation were assessed and the angiographic and clinical outcome evaluated. RESULTS: No aneurysm rupture occurred during or after abciximab application. The intra-procedural rate of total recanalisation was 68.3%. Thromboembolic complications were frequently found in aneurysms of the Acom complex and of the basilar artery, whilst internal carotid artery aneurysms were underrepresented. Two patients died of treatment-related intracranial haemorrhages into preexisting cerebral infarcts. Two patients developed a symptomatic groin haematoma. CONCLUSIONS: Abciximab is efficacious and safe for thrombolysis during and after endovascular intracranial aneurysm treatment in the absence of preexisting ischaemic stroke.

Locomotor activity of two sympatric slugs: implication for the invasion success of terrestrial invertebrates.

A central focus of invasion biology is to identify the traits that predict which introduced species will become invasive. Behavioral traits related to locomotor activity most likely play a pivotal role in determining a species’invasion success but have rarely been studied, particularly in terrestrial invertebrates. Here, we experimentally investigated the small-scale locomotor activity of two slug species with divergent invasion success in Europe, the highly invasive slug, Arion lusitanicus, and the closely related, non-invasive and native slug, Arion rufus. To do so, we used a multi-state capture-mark-recapture approach, and hypothesized that the invasive slug has a higher moving rate (keeps on moving) and leaving rate (leaves more frequently known places). A total of 221 invasive and 241 non-invasive slugs were individually marked using magnetic transponders and released in three study sites differing in habitat type. The slugs were recaptured using shelter traps, and moving and leaving rates were estimated. Both rates were significantly higher for the invasive slug, demonstrating a higher locomotor activity which might partly explain its invasion success. Our results provide evidence for the recently suggested idea that locomotor activity might be an important trait underlying animal invasions using for the first time terrestrial invertebrates.

Wild pollinators enhance fruit set of crops regardless of honey bee abundance.

The diversity and abundance of wild insect pollinators have declined in many agricultural landscapes. Whether such declines reduce crop yields, or are mitigated by managed pollinators such as honey bees, is unclear. We found universally positive associations of fruit set with flower visitation by wild insects in 41 crop systems worldwide. In contrast, fruit set increased significantly with flower visitation by honey bees in only 14% of the systems surveyed. Overall, wild insects pollinated crops more effectively; an increase in wild insect visitation enhanced fruit set by twice as much as an equivalent increase in honey bee visitation. Visitation by wild insects and honey bees promoted fruit set independently, so pollination by managed honey bees supplemented, rather than substituted for, pollination by wild insects. Our results suggest that new practices for integrated management of both honey bees and diverse wild insect assemblages will enhance global crop yields.

Raum – Perspektive – Medium 2: Wahrnehmung im Blick. reflex: Tübinger Kunstgeschichte zum Bildwissen

Im zweiten Workshop zum Thema „Raum – Perspektive – Medium“, der im Februar 2009 am Kunsthistorischen Institut der Universität Tübingen stattfand, kristallisierten sich zwei zentrale Thesen heraus, die im nun folgenden Band aus interdisziplinärer Perspektive beleuchtet werden: Erstens die Frage nach dem Anteil des Betrachters am Bildprozess und zweitens eine damit einhergehende Bewertung des Medienbegriffs. In reflex 2 sind nun die Texte versammelt, die aus dem Workshop „Raum – Perspektive – Medium 2“ hervorgegangen sind.

Development and characterization of novel microsatellite markers for Arion slug species

Seventeen polymorphic microsatellite markers were isolated and characterized in Arion vulgaris/lusitanicus, which belongs to the worst European slug pests with serious economic and ecological impact. These markers were tested on 23 individuals collected in a population in Switzerland. Numbers of alleles ranged from 2 to 14 per locus, observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.174 to 0.87, and from 0.162 to 0.903, respectively. These loci were also successfully amplified and were polymorphic in the closely related species A. rufus and A. ater. These loci represent the first highly polymorphic nuclear markers described for A. vulgaris and pave the way for population genetics and molecular ecology research of the important Arion pest slugs.