On the faculty of absorption of coloured substances by the cuticle of Caecospaeroma burgundum Dollfus, Isopod Crustacean of underground waters., 1967, Graf François, Marvillet Claude

The discovery, in certain subterranean waters, of "pigmented," brown or black Caecosphaeroma burgundum, led to the systematic study of the action of pigmented substances on these crustaceans. The results of these experiments demonstrate that the colorations thus obtained or observed in nature are due to the agglutination of coloured substances on the surface of the carapace and, in certain cases, to an impregnation of the cuticle itself.

The cuticular surfaces of the gnathopods of two Amphipod Crustaceans: Niphargus (hypogean Gammarid) and Gammarus (epigean Gammarid)., 1972, Sellem Evelyne

Niphargus virei and N. schellenbergi (hypogean Gammarids) as also Gammarus pulex pulex (epigean Gammarid) show on the Gn1 and Gn2 of both sexes ornamented areas which were studied with a scanning electron microscope. The ornamentations are built up of teeth. These are simple in Gammarus pulex pulex and present a sexual dimorphism on the meropodite. In N. schellenbergi and N. virei they are as often as not grouped by three. In Orchestia (Talitrid) the teeth have their bases fusioned which forms pectinate scales showing a sexual dimorphism. Outside these areas, the gnathopod cuticle of N. virei, N. schellenbergi and Gammarus pulex pulex is ornamented with ovoid papilla, each of them surmounted by a finger-like process covering over a depression.

The cuticular surfaces of the gnathopods of two Amphipod Crustaceans: Niphargus (hypogean Gammarid) and Gammarus (epigean Gammarid)., 1972, Sellem Evelyne

Niphargus virei and N. schellenbergi (hypogean Gammarids) as also Gammarus pulex pulex (epigean Gammarid) show on the Gn1 and Gn2 of both sexes ornamented areas which were studied with a scanning electron microscope. The ornamentations are built up of teeth. These are simple in Gammarus pulex pulex and present a sexual dimorphism on the meropodite. In N. schellenbergi and N. virei they are as often as not grouped by three. In Orchestia (Talitrid) the teeth have their bases fusioned which forms pectinate scales showing a sexual dimorphism. Outside these areas, the gnathopod cuticle of N. virei, N. schellenbergi and Gammarus pulex pulex is ornamented with ovoid papilla, each of them surmounted by a finger-like process covering over a depression.

The sensoral outfit of subterranean Trechinae. II. Ultrastructure of the Elytral trichobothria., 1978, Juberthie Christian, Piquemal Francoise

The ultrastructure of trichobothria (Tm2, Tr2, Tr4) of the elytra has been studied in the troglobitic Coleoptera Geotrechus vulcanus and Aphaenops cerberus. Two bipolar neurons innervate these trichobothria. The first ends at the level of the hair base, and its distal segment contains a tubular body, characteristic of mechanoreceptive bristles. The other does not possess a tubular body, and its distal segment ends in the bristle canal; its function is unknown. The trichobothria possess one glial enveloping cell, one trichogen cell, and one tormogen cell; the latter two show an apical, common, large, receptor lymph cavity. The small trichobothria are innervated by a large mechanoreceptor neuron, and by 4 smaller neurons; its function is unknown. The trichobothria of blind Trechinae are highly specialized. A cuticular cup enshrines the hair base; hair and cup move together. The large amplitude swaying movements of the hair are controlled by a spongious tissue around the cup. The trichobothrià of Trechinae and Periplaneta have the same type of cuticular dome-shaped structure, and differ from trichobothria that arise from a cavity in the cuticle.

Current issues and uncertainties in the measurement and modelling of air-vegetation exchange and within-plant processing of POPs, 2004, Barber Jl, Thomas Go, Kerstiens G, Jones Kc,

Air-vegetation exchange of POPs is an important process controlling the entry of POPs into terrestrial food chains, and may also have a significant effect on the global movement of these compounds. Many factors affect the air-vegetation transfer including: the physicochemical properties of the compounds of interest; environmental factors such as temperature, wind speed, humidity and light conditions; and plant characteristics such as functional type, leaf surface area, cuticular structure, and leaf longevity. The purpose of this review is to quantify the effects these differences might have on air/plant exchange of POPs, and to point out the major gaps in the knowledge of this subject that require further research. Uptake mechanisms are complicated, with the role of each factor in controlling partitioning, fate and behaviour process still not fully understood. Consequently, current models of air-vegetation exchange do not incorporate variability in these factors, with the exception of temperature. These models instead rely on using average values for a number of environmental factors (e.g. plant lipid content, surface area), ignoring the large variations in these values. The available models suggest that boundary layer conductance is of key importance in the uptake of POPs, although large uncertainties in the cuticular pathway prevents confirmation of this with any degree of certainty, and experimental data seems to show plant-side resistance to be important. Models are usually based on the assumption that POP uptake occurs through the lipophilic cuticle which covers aerial surfaces of plants. However, some authors have recently attached greater importance to the stomatal route of entry into the leaf for gas phase compounds. There is a need for greater mechanistic understanding of air-plant exchange and the 'scaling' of factors affecting it. The review also suggests a number of key variables that researchers should measure in their experiments to allow comparisons to be made between studies in order to improve our understanding of what causes any differences in measured data between sites. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved