Barium impregnated polyethylene spheres (BIPS) are radiopaque markers used for investigation of a variety of gastrointestinal disorders. One proposed use of the small (1.5 mm) marker is quantitative assessment of solid-phase gastric emptying, which may offer a simple, inexpensive alternative to nuclear medicine studies. In this study the rate and pattern of gastric emptying of a radiolabeled meal containing 30 small BIPS was evaluated in normal dogs by simultaneous comparison of the radiopaque marker method and a scintigraphic method. Serial scintigraphic images and radiographs were obtained for 8 hours or until 95% of the markers had left the stomach. Emptying curves were constructed and statistical analyses performed. There were significant differences in gastric emptying times and lag phase characteristics between the BIPS and scintigraphic studies. These results indicate that in normal dogs there are differences in both the rate and the pattern of solid-phase gastric emptying of a radiolabeled meal as assessed by scintigraphy and the gastric emptying of small BIPS.

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An inventory of the Gulf of Mexico sturgeon (Acipenser o:.yrinchus de sotoi) population in the Suwannee River was conducted from 1986 to 1997. Sturgeon were collected using gill nets as the fish migrated from the ocean into the river during their annual spring migrations. The average population size for sturgeon was estimated at 3,152 ± 369 individuals using the Jolly-Seber capture-recapture model for open populations. Annual population estimates ranged from 2,097 to 5,312 individuals over a 10-yr period. The Suwannee River sturgeon population may represent one of the last viable populations of the species and may require special management. Habitat restoration, protection, and establishment of a population augmentation and replenishment program for the species is advocated.