This study delineates normal intrathoracic aortic diameters for helical computed tomography, including relationships with sex and age. Pathologic dimensions of the aorta should preferably be provided as percentiles or z scores.

The carbon isotope composition of C4 grasses has the potential to be used as an indicator of changes in the isotopic composition and concentration of atmospheric CO2, especially for climate reconstruction. The usefulness of C4 grasses for this purpose hinges on the assumption that their photosynthetic discrimination against 13C remains constant in a wide range of environmental conditions. We tested this assumption by examining the effects of light and water stress on the carbon isotope composition of C4 grasses using different biochemical subtypes (NADP‐ME, NAD‐ME, PCK) in glasshouse experiments. We grew 14 different C4 grass species in four treatments: sun‐watered, sun‐drought, shade‐watered and shade‐drought. Carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) rarely remained constant. In general, Δ values were lowest in sun‐watered grasses, greater for sun‐drought plants and even higher for plants of the shade‐watered treatment. The highest Δ values were generally found in the most stressed grasses, the shade‐drought plants. Grasses of the NADP‐ME subtype were the least influenced by a change in environmental variables, followed by PCK and NAD‐ME subtypes. Water availability affected the carbon isotope discrimination less than light limitation in PCK and NAD‐ME subtypes, but similarly in NADP‐ME subtypes. In another experiment, we studied the effect of increasing light levels (150 to 1500 μmol photons m−2 s−1) on the Δ values of 18 well‐watered C4 grass species. Carbon isotope discrimination remained constant until photon flux density (PFD) was less than 700 μmol photons m−2 s−1. Below this light level, Δ values increased with decreasing irradiance for all biochemical subtypes. The change in A was less pronounced in NADP‐ME and PCK than in NAD‐ME grasses. Grasses grown in the field and in the glasshouse showed a similar pattern. Thus, caution should be exercised when using C4 plants under varying environmental conditions to monitor the concentration or carbon isotopic composition of atmospheric CO2 in field/glasshouse studies or climate reconstruction.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is an inherited blinding disease characterized by progressive loss of retinal photo-receptors. There are numerous rodent models of retinal degeneration, but most are poor platforms for interventions that will translate into clinical practice. The rabbit possesses a number of desirable qualities for a model of retinal disease including a large eye and an existing and substantial knowledge base in retinal circuitry, anatomy, and ophthalmology. We have analyzed degeneration, remodeling, and reprogramming in a rabbit model of retinal degeneration, expressing a rhodopsin proline 347 to leucine transgene in a TgP347L rabbit as a powerful model to study the pathophysiology and treatment of retinal degeneration. We show that disease progression in the TgP347L rabbit closely tracks human cone-sparing RP, including the cone-associated preservation of bipolar cell signaling and triggering of reprogramming. The relatively fast disease progression makes the TgP347L rabbit an excellent model for gene therapy, cell biological intervention, progenitor cell transplantation, surgical interventions, and bionic prosthetic studies.

In the retina, amacrine cells modulate the transfer of information from bipolar to ganglion cells. The nature of the modulation depends on the synaptic input and the membrane properties of the cells. In the retina of white bass, we identified a class of bistratified, wide‐field amacrine cell characterized by immunopositive labelling for GABA and calmodulin. In isolation, the cells presented resting membrane potentials averaging ‐69 mV although some cells settled at more depolarized values (‐30 mV). Injection of depolarizing current pulses induced oscillatory membrane responses. When elicited from depolarized cells, the oscillations were short‐lived (< 40 ms). For the most part, the oscillatory potentials of hyperpolarized cells remained unattenuated throughout the depolarizing pulse. The frequency of the oscillations increased logarithmically with mean membrane potential, ranging from 74 to 140 Hz. Cells exhibiting depolarized membrane potentials oscillated at twice that rate. When the membrane potential of these cells was hyperpolarized to ‐70 mV, the oscillations became unattenuated and slowed. We found the cells expressed voltage‐gated sodium, potassium and calcium currents and calcium‐dependent potassium currents. We demonstrate that the oscillatory potentials arose as a result of the interplay between calcium and potassium currents. The cells responded to local application of GABA and glycine, both of which modulate the oscillatory potentials. Glutamate and its analogues depolarized the cell and induced oscillatory potentials. Our results indicate that oscillatory responses of a type of wide‐field amacrine cell are an intrinsic feature of the cell and not due to circuit properties.