Rana

Injection of venom into bullfrogs caused a loss if integrity of the epithelium of Bowman’s capsules and of the capillaries of the glomeruli in the kidneys. The kidney tubules were unaffected. Cottonmouth venom had a more severe effect on the kidney than did copperhead venom. Venom of neither snake caused any in vivo effect on the livers of bullfrogs. However, liver slices cultured in vitro with cottonmouth venom showed deterioration of the nuclei above the levels of autolysis in controls. The extent of denucleation was proportional to venom dose. Cottonmouth venom had a greater effect on the nuclei of liver slices than did copperhead venom.

Artykuł jest interpretacją wybranych utworów Thomasa Bernharda w kontekście twórczości Witolda Gombrowicza. W moim przekonaniu zagadkowa aluzja do polskiego pisarza w powieści Zaburzenie jest nie tylko efektem lektury, ale i artystycznej inspiracji. Bernharda i Gombrowicza łączyłoby uwrażliwienie na międzyludzki aspekt egzystencji i jego kulturowe uwarunkowania. Rodzinę, szkołę postrzegali jako opresywne instytucje uwikłane w symboliczną i realną przemoc. Podstawową strategią obronną bohaterów jest afekt wstrętu.

Herpetofauna were sampled during the 1991 pilot project phase at aquatic habitats within US territory of the Stikine River basin, Southeast Alaska (USFS Stikine Area, Stikine-Le Conte Wilderness), and outlying areas for the purposes of determining the distribution of herpetofauna in the region, habitats used for breeding, phenology, to gather baseline data on abundance/occurrence, to establish permanent monitoring stations, and to establish a frozen tissue collection of herpetofauna from the study area. Working definitions of aquatic habitats, based on qualitative geomorphic features, were developed. The aquatic habitats were ranked in order of least to most suitable (favorable to amphibian breeding) using the criteria of hydrologic stability and water temperature to gauge whether amphibian abundance/occurrence correlate. Five amphibian species were previously reported from the Stikine Area. A sixth species, the Northwestern Salamander (Ambystoma gracile) is reported for the first time. A previous report of the Valley Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) in the Stikine River basin was not confirmed despite three months of fieldwork in areas that appeared to be excellent summer foraging habitat. The six herpetofauna species known to occur in the Stikine Area, the Western Toad (Bufo boreas), Spotted frog (Rana pretiosa), Wood frog (Rana sylvatica), Northwestern Salamander (Ambystoma gracile), Long-Toed Salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum), and Rough-Skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa) depend on aquatic habitat to reproduce. Out of a total of 18,413 amphibian observations, 82 percent of the observations (eggmasses, larvae, and adults) were of the Western Toad and 17 percent were of the Spotted Frog. The remaining 1 percent were comprised of the Rough-Skinned Newt (the majority) and the Northwestern Salamander. Long-Toed Salamanders were not observed in the field despite previous reports of their being observed from Twin Lakes in mid-Summer. They were observed at Mallard Slough prior to my arrival in the study area by a reliable observer (I saw the living specimens). Suitable aquatic habitat appears to be the critical limiting factor affecting all amphibian species in the Stikine River basin. Data from 86 sites show that amphibians seasonally occur throughout the Stikine River basin but are locally abundant in only a few areas possibly due to the scarcity of suitable breeding habitat. Aquatic habitats, ranked in order of least to most suitable (favorable to amphibian breeding) based on the criteria of hydrologic stability and water temperature are: Stikine River (least suitable), streams, backwater slough, mountain lake, backwater lake, beaver pond, muskeg, and outwash pond (most suitable). Breeding activity and amphibian occurrence appear to correlate with this ranking of habitats, with no breeding activity observed in the most hydrologically active and coldest habitats.