Genital morphology of the male South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis) and biological implications

Male capacity for spreading genes to a great number of descendents and to determine population dynamics depend directly on the genital organs. Morphological studies in pinnipeds are scarce and the functional meaning of some characteristics has never been discussed. We hypothesized that Arctocephalus australis (A. australis) shows morphophysiological adaptations in order to guarantee the perpetuation of the species in the unique annual mating season. Seven males, dead from natural causes, had their genital organs collected and fixed for morphological description. Some features differ from other described mammalian males and are closely related to the biology and reproductive cycle of this species, as the scrotal epidermis, absence of glandular portion in the ductus deferens and spermatogenic epithelium suggest a recrudescent testis period. The corona glandis exhibits a singular arrangement: its erectile border looks like a formation of petals and its association with the os penis gives a "lily-flower" form to this region. We propose the name margo petaliformis to this particular erectile border of the corona glandis because of its similarity to a flower corola. The male genital organs of A. australis show morphological features compatible with adaptation to environment requirements and reproductive efficiency.

Molecular architecture of fur binding to iron-induced and - repressed genes in Helicobacter pylori

The ferric uptake regulator protein Fur regulates iron-dependent gene expression in bacteria. In the human pathogen Helicobacter pylori, Fur has been shown to regulate iron-induced and iron-repressed genes. Herein we investigate the molecular mechanisms that control this differential iron-responsive Fur regulation. Hydroxyl radical footprinting showed that Fur has different binding architectures, which characterize distinct operator typologies. On operators recognized with higher affinity by holo-Fur, the protein binds to a continuous AT-rich stretch of about 20 bp, displaying an extended protection pattern. This is indicative of protein wrapping around the DNA helix. DNA binding interference assays with the minor groove binding drug distamycin A, point out that the recognition of the holo-operators occurs through the minor groove of the DNA. By contrast, on the apo-operators, Fur binds primarily to thymine dimers within a newly identified TCATTn10TT consensus element, indicative of Fur binding to one side of the DNA, in the major groove of the double helix. Reconstitution of the TCATTn10TT motif within a holo-operator results in a feature binding swap from an holo-Fur- to an apo-Fur-recognized operator, affecting both affinity and binding architecture of Fur, and conferring apo-Fur repression features in vivo. Size exclusion chromatography indicated that Fur is a dimer in solution. However, in the presence of divalent metal ions the protein is able to multimerize. Accordingly, apo-Fur binds DNA as a dimer in gel shift assays, while in presence of iron, higher order complexes are formed. Stoichiometric Ferguson analysis indicates that these complexes correspond to one or two Fur tetramers, each bound to an operator element. Together these data suggest that the apo- and holo-Fur repression mechanisms apparently rely on two distinctive modes of operator-recognition, involving respectively the readout of a specific nucleotide consensus motif in the major groove for apo-operators, and the recognition of AT-rich stretches in the minor groove for holo-operators, whereas the iron-responsive binding affinity is controlled through metal-dependent shaping of the protein structure in order to match preferentially the major or the minor groove.

Three Shades of Embeddedness, State Capitalism as the Informal Economy, Emic Notions of the Anti-Market, and Counterfeit Garments in the Mauritian Export Processing Zone

Purpose This paper furthers the analysis of patterns regulating capitalist accumulation based on a historical anthropology of economic activities revolving around and within the Mauritian Export Processing Zone (EPZ). Design/methodology/approach This paper uses fieldwork in Mauritius to interrogate and critique two important concepts in contemporary social theory – “embeddedness” and “the informal economy.” These are viewed in the wider frame of social anthropology’s engagement with (neoliberal) capitalism. Findings A process-oriented revision of Polanyi’s work on embeddedness and the “double movement” is proposed to help us situate EPZs within ongoing power struggles found throughout the history of capitalism. This helps us to challenge the notion of economic informality as supplied by Hart and others. Social implications Scholars and policymakers have tended to see economic informality as a force from below, able to disrupt the legal-rational nature of capitalism as practiced from on high. Similarly, there is a view that a precapitalist embeddedness, a “human economy,” has many good things to offer. However, this paper shows that the practices of the state and multinational capitalism, in EPZs and elsewhere, exactly match the practices that are envisioned as the cure to the pitfalls of capitalism. Value of the paper Setting aside the formal-informal distinction in favor of a process-oriented analysis of embeddedness allows us better to understand the shifting struggles among the state, capital, and labor.

Seliḥot shel kol ha-shanah : bi-leshon Ashkenaz ke-seder u-minhag k.k. Franḳfurṭ ...

asher ḥiber ṿe-tiḳen ... Elyaḳim ben ... Yaʿaḳov ...

Sēder qînôt miṭ ṭaiṭš : ke-minhag q"q aškenazzîm weil ich hob gizehn doś di (qines) di mir an (Tišaʿ be-Av) ṭun zogn zain ... šwer tzu fur šṭin ...

Digitalisat der Ausg. Amśṭrdm, [1717/18]

Baba-buch : doś klug hachṭig fur nuchḷich un fur sṭondlichi gišichṭnis Baba ; ein goṭś fuchṭigr feršṭ un grofi ein lerung onṭr weizung droiz tzu merkn ...

Digitalisat der Ausg. Prag, [1766/67]

Minhagim : fun ali minhagim in Ashkenaz durkh daz gontsi yor, bi-fraṭ ṿi man zikh hir tsu ḳ. ḳ. Franḳfurṭ ...

[Isaak aus Tyrnau]

Dos rikhṭige beshraybung fun dem frommen Roṭhshild oys Frankfurṭ-am-Mayn : (ṿos iz geshṭorben be-... 5. Shevat 661) ; oych dos beshraybung fun di yudishe Franḳfurṭer "Gheṭe" ...

ferfasṭ durkh D. B. Ṭ.

Ms. Heb. 4°1092 - Sefer ha-zikhronot le-bet ha-keneset he-ḥadash poh ḳ.ḳ. Franḳfurṭ de-Mayn

Aus dem Bestand der Israelischen Nationalbibliothek, Signatur: Ms. Heb. 4°1092.

Haʿavarat ʿatsamot mi-shte bate ʿalmin bi-kfar Griezheym : ʿal-yede ḥevrot ha-ḳedoshim de-ḳ. ḳ. Franḳfurṭ de-Mayn

[von Isak Mainz]

(Table 1) Prey species identified from the scats of Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) on Bouvet Island

Intraspecific differences in the diets of many species of pinnipeds are to be expected in view of the great differences in morphology, life history and foraging behaviour between the sexes of many species. We examined the diet of the Antarctic fur seal population at Bouvetøya, Southern Ocean, to assess intersexual differences. This was made possible by the analysis of prey remains extracted from scats and regurgitations collected in areas used primarily by one or the other sex. The results indicate that both males and females feed primarily on Antarctic krill Euphausia superba with several species of fish and squid being taken, likely opportunistically given their prevalence. Significant differences were identified in the frequency of occurrence of otoliths in scats and the percentage numerical abundance of the major fish prey species in the diet. Adult males ate a smaller quantity of fish overall, but ate significantly more of the larger fish species. The greater diving capabilities of males and the fact that they are not limited in the extent of their foraging area by having to return regularly to feed dependant offspring may play a role in the differences found between the diets of males and females. Additionally, females might be more selective, favouring myctophids because they are richer in energy than krill. The absence of major differences in the diet between the sexes at this location is likely due to the high overall abundance of prey at Bouvetøya.

Volum, e recopilacio de tots los furs, y actes de Cort, que tracten dels negocis, y affers respectants a la Casa de la Deputacio y Generalitat de la Ciutat, y Regne de Valencia : en execucio del Fur 83 de les Corts del Any M.DC.III

En colofón añade como editor:"A despeses de la Deputacio, y la Generalitat de dita Ciutat, y Regne ..."

Ectopic expression of the agouti gene in transgenic mice causes obesity, features of type II diabetes, and yellow fur.

Mice that carry the lethal yellow (Ay) or viable yellow (Avy) mutation, two dominant mutations of the agouti (a) gene in mouse chromosome 2, exhibit a phenotype that includes yellow fur, marked obesity, a form of type II diabetes associated with insulin resistance, and an increased susceptibility to tumor development. Molecular analyses of these and several other dominant "obese yellow" a-locus mutations suggested that ectopic expression of the normal agouti protein gives rise to this complex pleiotropic phenotype. We have now tested this hypothesis directly by generating transgenic mice that ectopically express an agouti cDNA clone encoding the normal agouti protein in all tissues examined. Transgenic mice of both sexes have yellow fur, become obese, and develop hyperinsulinemia. In addition, male transgenic mice develop hyperglycemia by 12-20 weeks of age. These results demonstrate conclusively that the ectopic agouti expression is responsible for most, if not all, of the phenotypic traits of the dominant, obese yellow mutants.