The Journal of animal behavior.

v. 7 (1917)

The Journal of animal behavior.

v. 3 (1913)

The Journal of animal behavior.

v. 5 (1915)

The Journal of animal behavior.

v. 4 (1914)

The Journal of animal behavior.

v. 6 (1916)

Alterações cutâneas do cão no Kala-Azar sul-americano

According to E. Chagas (1938), South-American Kala Azar is a widespread disease from the jungle, several cases being reported from North Brazil (Estado do Pará: Marajó Island, Tocantins and Gurupi river valleys; Estados do Piauí and Ceará: coast and hinterland). Other cases were found in Northeast Brazil (Estados de Pernambuco, Alagôas and Sergipe: coast and hinterland; Estado da Bahia: hinterland). A few cases were described from Estado de Mato-Grosso (Brazil), Provincia de Salta and Território do Chaco (Argentine), and Zona contestada do Chaco (Paraguai-Bolívia). A well defined secondary anemia associated with enlargement of the liver and spleen are the chief symptoms. Death usually occurs in cachexia and with symptoms of heart failure. Half the patients were children aged less than ten years (CHAGAS, CASTRO & FERREIRA, 1937). Quite exhaustive epidemiological researches performed by CHAGAS, FERREIRA, DEANE, DEANE & GUIMARÃES (1938) in Municipio de Abaeté (Estado do Pará, Brazil) gave the incidence of 1.48% for the natural infection in human, 4.49% in dogs, and 2.63% in cats. The infection was arcribed (CUNHA & CHAGAS, 1937) to a new species of Leishmania (L. chagasi). Latter CUNHA (1938) state, that it is identical to L. infantum. ADLER (1940) found that so far it has been impossible to distinguish L. chagasi from L. infantum by any laboratory test but a final judgment must be reserved until further experiments with different species of sandflies have been carried out. Skin changes in canine Kala Azar were signaled by many workers, and their importance as regards the transmission of the disease is recognized by some of them (ADLER & THEODOR, 1931, 2. CUNHA, 1933). Cutaneous ulcers in naturally infected dogs are referred by CRITIEN (1911) in Malta, by CHODUKIN & SCHEVTSCHENKO (1928) in Taschkent, by DONATIEN & LESTOCQUARD (1929) and by LESTOCQUARD & PARROT (1929) in Algeria, and by BLANC & CAMINOPETROS (1931) in Greece. Depilation is signaled by YAKIMOFF & KOHL-YAKIMOFF (1911) in Tunis, by YAKIMOFF (1915) in Turkestan. Eczematous areas or a condition described as "eczema furfurace" is sometimes noted in the areas of depilation (DONATIEN & LESTOCQUARD). The skin changes noticed by ADLER & THEODOR (1932) in dogs naturally infected with Mediterranean Kala Azar can be briefly summarized as a selective infiltration of macrophages around hair follicles including the sebaceous glands and the presence of infected macrophages in normal dermis. The latter phenomenon in the complete absence of secondary infiltration of round cells and plasma cells is the most striking characteristic of canine Kala Azar and differentiates it from L. tropica. In the more advanced stages the dermis is more cellular than that of normal dogs and may even contain a few small dense areas of infiltration with macrophages and some round cells and polymorphs. The external changes, i. e., seborrhea and depilation are roughly proportional to the number of affected hair follicles. In dogs experimentally infected with South-American Kala Azar the parasites were regularly found in blocks of skin removed from the living animal every fortnight (CUNHA, 1938). The changes noticed by CUNHA, besides the presence of Leishmania, were perivascular and diffuse infiltration of the cutis with mononuclears sometimes more marked near hair follicles, as well as depilation, seborrhea and ulceration. The parasites were first discovered and very numerous in the paws. Our material was obtained from dogs experimentally infected by Dr. A. MARQUES DA CUNHA< and they were the subject of a previous paper by CUNHA (1938). In this study, however, several animals were discarded as it was found that they did develop a superimposed infection by Demodex canis. This paper deals with the changes found in 88 blocks of skin removed from five dogs, two infected with two different canine strains, and three with two distinct human strains of South-American Kala Azar. CUNHA'S valuable material affords serial observations of the cutaneous changes in Kala Azar as most of the blocks of skin were taken every fortnight. The following conclusions were drawn after a careful microscopic study. (1) Skin changes directly induced in the dog by the parasites of South-American Kala Azar may b described as an infiltration of the corium (pars papillaris and upper portion of the reticular layer) by histocytes. Parasites are scanty, at first, latter becoming very numerous in the cytoplasm of such cells. Sometimes the histocytes either embedding or not leishman bodies appear as distinct nodes of infiltration or cell aggregations (histocytic granuloma, Figs. 8 and 22) having a perivascular distribution. The capillary loops in the papillae, the vessels of the sweat glands, the subpapillary plexus, the vertical twigs connecting the superficial and deep plexuses are the ordinary seats of the histocytic Kala Azar granulomata. (2) Some of the cutaneous changes are transient, and show spontaneous tendency to heal. A gradual transformation of the histocytes either containing or not leishman bodies into fixed connective tissue cells or fibroblasts occut and accounts for the natural regression just mentioned. Figs. 3, 5, 18, 19 and 20 are good illustrations of such fibroblastic transformation of the histocytic Kala Azar granulomata. (3) Skin changes induced by the causative organism of South-American Kala Azar are neither uniform nor simultaneous. The same stage may be found in the same dog in different periods of the disease, and not the same changes take place when pieces from several regions are examined in the same moment. The fibroblastic transformation of the histocytic granulomata marking the beginning of the process of repair, e. g., was recognised in dog C, in the 196th as well as in the 213rd (Fig. 18) and 231st (Fig. 19) days after the inoculation. (4) The connective tissue of the skin in dogs experimentally infected with South-American Kala Azar is overflowed by blood cells (monocytes and lymphocytes) besides the proliferation in situ of undifferentiated mesenchymal cells. A marked increase in the number of cells specially the "ruhende Wanderzellen" (Figs. 4 and 15) is noticed even during the first weeks after inoculation (prodomal stage) when no leishman bodies are yet found in the skin. Latter a massive infiltration by amoeboid wandering cells similar to typical blood monocytes (Fig. 21) associated to a small number of lymphocytes and plasma cells (Figs. 9, 17, 21, and 24) indicates that the emigration of blood cells...

Biometal muscle to restore atrial transport function in a permanent atrial fibrillation animal model: a potential tool in the treatment of end-stage heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Half of the patients with end-stage heart failure suffer from persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). Atrial kick (AK) accounts for 10-15% of the ejection fraction. A device restoring AK should significantly improve cardiac output (CO) and possibly delay ventricular assist device (VAD) implantation. This study has been designed to assess the mechanical effects of a motorless pump on the right chambers of the heart in an animal model. METHODS: Atripump is a dome-shaped biometal actuator electrically driven by a pacemaker-like control unit. In eight sheep, the device was sutured onto the right atrium (RA). AF was simulated with rapid atrial pacing. RA ejection fraction (EF) was assessed with intracardiac ultrasound (ICUS) in baseline, AF and assisted-AF status. In two animals, the pump was left in place for 4 weeks and then explanted. Histology examination was carried out. The mean values for single measurement per animal with +/-SD were analysed. RESULTS: The contraction rate of the device was 60 per min. RA EF was 41% in baseline, 7% in AF and 21% in assisted-AF conditions. CO was 7+/-0.5 l min(-1) in baseline, 6.2+/-0.5 l min(-1) in AF and 6.7+/-0.5 l min(-1) in assisted-AF status (p<0.01). Histology of the atrium in the chronic group showed chronic tissue inflammation and no sign of tissue necrosis. CONCLUSIONS: The artificial muscle restores the AK and improves CO. In patients with end-stage cardiac failure and permanent AF, if implanted on both sides, it would improve CO and possibly delay or even avoid complex surgical treatment such as VAD implantation.

Genome Biology and Evolution of the Animal Kingdom

Estudi realitzat a partir d’una estada a la Institut J.W. Jenkinson Laboratory for Evolution and Development of the University of Oxford, Regne Unit, entre 2010 i 2012. He estat membre del laboratori del Professor Peter W.H. Holland com a becari post-doctoral Beatriu de Pinós des de setembre de 2010 al setembre de 2012. El nostre projecte de recerca se centra en l'anàlisi genòmic comparatiu del Regne Animal, tot explorant el contingut dels genomes a través de totes les branques de l'arbre dels animals. Totes les referències a les meves publicacions durant aquest post-doc es poden trobar a http://about.me/jordi_paps. Crec que el nombre i la qualitat dels resultats del meu post-doc, un total de 8 publicacions incloent dos articles a la prestigiosa revista Nature, són prova de l'èxit d'aquest post-doc. Prof Peter W. H. Holland (Departament de Zoologia de la Universitat d'Oxford) i jo som coautors de tres articles de genòmica comparativa, resultats directes d'aquest projecte: 1) comparació de families gèniques entre vertebrats invertebrats (Briefings in Functional Genomics), 2) el genoma de l'ostra (publicat a la revista Nature), i 3) els genomes de 6 platihelmints paràsits (acceptat també a Nature). A més, tenim altres 2 treballs en preparació. Un d'ells analitza l'evolució, expressió i funció dels gens Hox al a la tènia Hymenolepis. El perfil fi d'aquests gens clau del desenvolupament esclareix els canvis d'estil de vida dels organismes. A més, durant aquest últim post-doc he participat en diverses col•laboracions, incloent anàlisi de gens d'envelliment a cucs plans, un estudi sobre la filogènia del grup Gastrotricha, una revisió de l'evolució phylum Platyhelminthes, així com un capítol d'un llibre sobre l'evolució dels animals bilaterals. Finalment, gràcies a la beca Beatriu de Pinós, el Prof. Peter W.H. Holland m'ha convidat a formar part del seu equip com un investigador post-doctoral en el seu projecte ERC Advance actual sobre duplicacions genòmiques.

Nematode selenoproteome: the use of the selenocysteine insertion system to decode one codon in an animal genome?

Selenocysteine (Sec) is co-translationally inserted into selenoproteins in response to codon UGA with the help of the selenocysteine insertion sequence (SECIS) element. The number of selenoproteins in animals varies, with humans having 25 and mice having 24 selenoproteins. To date, however, only one selenoprotein, thioredoxin reductase, has been detected in Caenorhabditis elegans, and this enzyme contains only one Sec. Here, we characterize the selenoproteomes of C.elegans and Caenorhabditis briggsae with three independent algorithms, one searching for pairs of homologous nematode SECIS elements, another searching for Cys- or Sec-containing homologs of potential nematode selenoprotein genes and the third identifying Sec-containing homologs of annotated nematode proteins. These methods suggest that thioredoxin reductase is the only Sec-containing protein in the C.elegans and C.briggsae genomes. In contrast, we identified additional selenoproteins in other nematodes. Assuming that Sec insertion mechanisms are conserved between nematodes and other eukaryotes, the data suggest that nematode selenoproteomes were reduced during evolution, and that in an extreme reduction case Sec insertion systems probably decode only a single UGA codon in C.elegans and C.briggsae genomes. In addition, all detected genes had a rare form of SECIS element containing a guanosine in place of a conserved adenosine present in most other SECIS structures, suggesting that in organisms with small selenoproteomes SECIS elements may change rapidly.

MRI visualized neo-intimal dissection and co-localization of novel apoptotic markers apolipoprotein C-1, ceramide and caspase-3 in a Watanabe hyperlipidemic rabbit model

PURPOSE: Apoptotic arterial wall vascular smooth muscle cell death is known to contribute to plaque vulnerability and rupture. Novel apoptotic markers like apolipoprotein C-I have been implicated in apoptotic human vascular smooth muscle cell death via recruiting a neutral sphingomyelinase (N-SMase)-ceramide pathway. In vivo relevance of these observations in an animal model of plaque rupture has not been shown. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using Watanabe rabbits, we investigated three different groups (group 1, three normal Watanabe rabbits; group 2, six Watanabe rabbits fed with high cholesterol diet for 3 months; group 3, five Watanabe rabbits with similar diet but additional endothelial denudation). We followed progression of atherosclerosis to pharmacologically induced plaque rupture non-invasively using novel 3D magnetic resonance Fast-Field-Echo angiography (TR=7.2, TE=3.6 ms, matrix=512 x 512) and Fast-Spin-Echo vessel wall imaging methods (TR=3 heart beats, TE=10.5 ms, matrix=304 x 304) on 1.5 T MRI. MRI provided excellent image quality with good MRI versus histology vessel wall thickness correlation (r=0.8). In six animals of group 2/3 MRI detected neo-intimal dissection in the abdominal aorta which was accompanied by immuno-histochemical demonstration of concomitant aforementioned novel apoptotic markers, previously implicated in the apoptotic smooth muscle cell death in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: Our studies suggest a potential role for the signal transduction pathway involving apolipoprotein C-I for in vivo apoptosis and atherosclerotic plaque rupture visualized by MRI.

The hourglass and the early conservation models--co-existing patterns of developmental constraints in vertebrates.

Developmental constraints have been postulated to limit the space of feasible phenotypes and thus shape animal evolution. These constraints have been suggested to be the strongest during either early or mid-embryogenesis, which corresponds to the early conservation model or the hourglass model, respectively. Conflicting results have been reported, but in recent studies of animal transcriptomes the hourglass model has been favored. Studies usually report descriptive statistics calculated for all genes over all developmental time points. This introduces dependencies between the sets of compared genes and may lead to biased results. Here we overcome this problem using an alternative modular analysis. We used the Iterative Signature Algorithm to identify distinct modules of genes co-expressed specifically in consecutive stages of zebrafish development. We then performed a detailed comparison of several gene properties between modules, allowing for a less biased and more powerful analysis. Notably, our analysis corroborated the hourglass pattern at the regulatory level, with sequences of regulatory regions being most conserved for genes expressed in mid-development but not at the level of gene sequence, age, or expression, in contrast to some previous studies. The early conservation model was supported with gene duplication and birth that were the most rare for genes expressed in early development. Finally, for all gene properties, we observed the least conservation for genes expressed in late development or adult, consistent with both models. Overall, with the modular approach, we showed that different levels of molecular evolution follow different patterns of developmental constraints. Thus both models are valid, but with respect to different genomic features.

Assessment of the levels of degradation in fat co- and by-products for feed uses and their relationships with some lipid composition parameters

This paper discusses the levels of degradation of some co- and byproducts of the food chain intended for feed uses. As the first part of a research project, 'Feeding Fats Safety', financed by the sixth Framework Programme-EC, a total of 123 samples were collected from 10 European countries, corresponding to fat co- and byproducts such as animal fats, fish oils, acid oils from refining, recycled cooking oils, and other. Several composition and degradation parameters (moisture, acid value, diacylglycerols and monoacylglycerols, peroxides, secondary oxidation products, polymers of triacylglycerols, fatty acid composition, tocopherols, and tocotrienols) were evaluated. These findings led to the conclusion that some fat by- and coproducts, such as fish oils, lecithins, and acid oils, show poor, nonstandardized quality and that production processes need to be greatly improved. Conclusions are also put forward about the applicability and utility of each analytical parameter for characterization and quality control.