The anatomy of the bill tip of kiwi and associated somatosensory regions of the brain : comparisons with shorebirds

Three families of probe-foraging birds, Scolopacidae (sandpipers and snipes), Apterygidae (kiwi), and Threskiornithidae (ibises, including spoonbills) have independently evolved long, narrow bills containing clusters of vibration-sensitive mechanoreceptors (Herbst corpuscles) within pits in the bill-tip. These ‘bill-tip organs’ allow birds to detect buried or submerged prey via substrate-borne vibrations and/or interstitial pressure gradients. Shorebirds, kiwi and ibises are only distantly related, with the phylogenetic divide between kiwi and the other two taxa being particularly deep. We compared the bill-tip structure and associated somatosensory regions in the brains of kiwi and shorebirds to understand the degree of convergence of these systems between the two taxa. For comparison, we also included data from other taxa including waterfowl (Anatidae) and parrots (Psittaculidae and Cacatuidae), non-apterygid ratites, and other probe-foraging and non probe-foraging birds including non-scolopacid shorebirds (Charadriidae, Haematopodidae, Recurvirostridae and Sternidae). We show that the bill-tip organ structure was broadly similar between the Apterygidae and Scolopacidae, however some inter-specific variation was found in the number, shape and orientation of sensory pits between the two groups. Kiwi, scolopacid shorebirds, waterfowl and parrots all shared hypertrophy or near-hypertrophy of the principal sensory trigeminal nucleus. Hypertrophy of the nucleus basorostralis, however, occurred only in waterfowl, kiwi, three of the scolopacid species examined and a species of oystercatcher (Charadriiformes: Haematopodidae). Hypertrophy of the principal sensory trigeminal nucleus in kiwi, Scolopacidae, and other tactile specialists appears to have co-evolved alongside bill-tip specializations, whereas hypertrophy of nucleus basorostralis may be influenced to a greater extent by other sensory inputs. We suggest that similarities between kiwi and scolopacid bill-tip organs and associated somatosensory brain regions are likely a result of similar ecological selective pressures, with inter-specific variations reflecting finer-scale niche differentiation.

Inner-ear morphology of the New Zealand Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) suggests high-frequency specialization

The sensory systems of the New Zealand kiwi appear to be uniquely adapted to occupy a nocturnal ground-dwelling niche. In addition to well-developed tactile and olfactory systems, the auditory system shows specializations of the ear, which are maintained along the central nervous system. Here, we provide a detailed description of the auditory nerve, hair cells, and stereovillar bundle orientation of the hair cells in the North Island brown kiwi. The auditory nerve of the kiwi contained about 8,000 fibers. Using the number of hair cells and innervating nerve fibers to calculate a ratio of average innervation density showed that the afferent innervation ratio in kiwi was denser than in most other birds examined. The average diameters of cochlear afferent axons in kiwi showed the typical gradient across the tonotopic axis. The kiwi basilar papilla showed a clear differentiation of tall and short hair cells. The proportion of short hair cells was higher than in the emu and likely reflects a bias towards higher frequencies represented on the kiwi basilar papilla. The orientation of the stereovillar bundles in the kiwi basilar papilla showed a pattern similar to that in most other birds but was most similar to that of the emu. Overall, many features of the auditory nerve, hair cells, and stereovilli bundle orientation in the kiwi are typical of most birds examined. Some features of the kiwi auditory system do, however, support a high-frequency specialization, specifically the innervation density and generally small size of hair-cell somata, whereas others showed the presumed ancestral condition similar to that found in the emu.

Kiwi Forego Vision in the Guidance of Their Nocturnal Activities

Background In vision, there is a trade-off between sensitivity and resolution, and any eye which maximises information gain at low light levels needs to be large. This imposes exacting constraints upon vision in nocturnal flying birds. Eyes are essentially heavy, fluid-filled chambers, and in flying birds their increased size is countered by selection for both reduced body mass and the distribution of mass towards the body core. Freed from these mass constraints, it would be predicted that in flightless birds nocturnality should favour the evolution of large eyes and reliance upon visual cues for the guidance of activity. Methodology/Principal Findings We show that in Kiwi (Apterygidae), flightlessness and nocturnality have, in fact, resulted in the opposite outcome. Kiwi show minimal reliance upon vision indicated by eye structure, visual field topography, and brain structures, and increased reliance upon tactile and olfactory information. Conclusions/Significance This lack of reliance upon vision and increased reliance upon tactile and olfactory information in Kiwi is markedly similar to the situation in nocturnal mammals that exploit the forest floor. That Kiwi and mammals evolved to exploit these habitats quite independently provides evidence for convergent evolution in their sensory capacities that are tuned to a common set of perceptual challenges found in forest floor habitats at night and which cannot be met by the vertebrate visual system. We propose that the Kiwi visual system has undergone adaptive regressive evolution driven by the trade-off between the relatively low rate of gain of visual information that is possible at low light levels, and the metabolic costs of extracting that information.

Intimate Transactions Stage 4

A telepresence-based interactive installation allowing people at three sites (The National Art Museum of China, Beijing; The Imperial City Art Museum, Beijing; CalPoly University, California, USA) to interact simultaneously using only their bodies. Each participant used a physical interface called a ‘Bodyshelf’ and wore a sound vibration transmission device called a ‘haptic pendant’ around their necks. By gently moving their bodies and engaging through this ‘smart furniture’, they instigated ‘intimate transactions’, which influenced an evolving computationally-generated ‘world’ created from digital imagery, multichannel sound and tactile feedback. Intimate Transactions (Version 4) was the culmination of a long-term interdisciplinary research project developed in four distinct stages. It was launched in in 2008 and subsequently acquired on invitation by Professor Peter Weibel for the ZKM Media Art History Museum Karlsruhe in 2012.

Collaborative Design in a Virtual Learning Environment : Three Design Experiments in Textile Teacher Education

The aim of the study was to analyze and facilitate collaborative design in a virtual learning environment (VLE). Discussions of virtual design in design education have typically focused on technological or communication issues, not on pedagogical issues. Yet in order to facilitate collaborative design, it is also necessary to address the pedagogical issues related to the virtual design process. In this study, the progressive inquiry model of collaborative designing was used to give a structural level of facilitation to students working in the VLE. According to this model, all aspects of inquiry, such as creating the design context, constructing a design idea, evaluating the idea, and searching for new information, can be shared in a design community. The study consists of three design projects: 1) designing clothes for premature babies, 2) designing conference bags for an international conference, and 3) designing tactile books for visually impaired children. These design projects constituted a continuum of design experiments, each of which highlighted certain perspectives on collaborative designing. The design experiments were organized so that the participants worked in design teams, both face-to-face and virtually. The first design experiment focused on peer collaboration among textile teacher students in the VLE. The second design experiment took into consideration end-users needs by using a participatory design approach. The third design experiment intensified computer-supported collaboration between students and domain experts. The virtual learning environments, in these design experiments, were designed to support knowledge-building pedagogy and progressive inquiry learning. These environments enabled a detailed recording of all computer-mediated interactions and data related to virtual designing. The data analysis was based on qualitative content analysis of design statements in the VLE. This study indicated four crucial issues concerning collaborative design in the VLE in craft and design education. Firstly, using the collaborative design process in craft and design education gives rise to special challenges of building learning communities, creating appropriate design tasks for them, and providing tools for collaborative activities. Secondly, the progressive inquiry model of collaborative designing can be used as a scaffold support for design thinking and for reflection on the design process. Thirdly, participation and distributed expertise can be facilitated by considering the key stakeholders who are related to the design task or design context, and getting them to participate in virtual designing. Fourthly, in the collaborative design process, it is important that team members create and improve visual and technical ideas together, not just agree or disagree about proposed ideas. Therefore, viewing the VLE as a medium for collaborative construction of the design objects appears crucial in order to understand and facilitate the complex processes in collaborative designing.

Haptiisit ja hapteemit : tapaustutkimus kuurosokean henkilön kosketukseen perustuvan kommunikaation kehityksestä

Haptices and haptemes: A case study of developmental process in touch-based communication of acquired deafblind people This research is the first systematic, longitudinal process and development description of communication using touch and body with an acquired deafblind person. The research consists of observational and analysed written and video materials mainly from two informants´ experiences during period of 14 years. The research describes the adaptation of Social-Haptic methods between a couple, and other informants´ experiences, which have been collated from biographies and through giving national and international courses. When the hearing and sight deteriorates due to having an acquired deafblind condition, communication consists of multi-systematic and adaptive methods. A person`s expressive language, spoken or Sign Language, usually remains unchanged, but the methods of receiving information could change many times during a person s lifetime. Haptices are made from haptemes that determines which regulations are analysed. When defining haptemes the definition, classification and varied meanings of touch were discovered. Haptices include sharing a personal body space, meaning of touch-contact, context and using different communication channels. Communication distances are classified as exact distance, estimated distance and touch distance. Physical distance can be termed as very long, long, medium or very close. Social body space includes the body areas involved in sending and receiving haptices and applying different types of contacts. One or two hands can produce messages by using different hand shapes and orientations. This research classifies how the body can be identified into different areas such as body orientation, varied body postures, body position levels, social actions and which side of the body is used. Spatial body space includes environmental and situational elements. Haptemes of movements are recognised as the direction of movements, change of directions on the body, directions between people, pressure, speed, frequency, size, length, duration, pause, change of rhythm, shape, macro and micro movements. Haptices share multidimensional meanings and emotions. Research describes haptices in different situations enhancing sensory information and functioning also as an independent language. Haptices includes social-haptic confirmation system, social quick messages, body drawing, contact to the people and the environment, guiding and sharing art experiences through movements. Five stages of emotional differentiation were identified as very light, light, medium, heavy and very heavy touch. Haptices give the possibility to share different art, hobby and game experiences. A new communication system development based on the analysis of the research data is classified into different phases. These are experimental initiation, social deconstruction, developing the description of Social-Haptic communication and generalisation of the theory as well as finding and conceptualising the haptices and haptemes. The use and description of haptices is a social innovation, which illustrates the adaptive function of the body and perceptual senses that can be taught to a third party. Keywords: deafblindness, hapteme, haptic, haptices, movement, social-haptic communication, social-haptic confirmation system, tactile, touch

Analyzing multiple spike trains with nonparametric granger causality

Simultaneous recordings of spike trains from multiple single neurons are becoming commonplace. Understanding the interaction patterns among these spike trains remains a key research area. A question of interest is the evaluation of information flow between neurons through the analysis of whether one spike train exerts causal influence on another. For continuous-valued time series data, Granger causality has proven an effective method for this purpose. However, the basis for Granger causality estimation is autoregressive data modeling, which is not directly applicable to spike trains. Various filtering options distort the properties of spike trains as point processes. Here we propose a new nonparametric approach to estimate Granger causality directly from the Fourier transforms of spike train data. We validate the method on synthetic spike trains generated by model networks of neurons with known connectivity patterns and then apply it to neurons limultaneously recorded from the thalamus and the primary somatosensory cortex of a squirrel monkey undergoing tactile stimulation.

Brain imaging of chronic pain

Acute pain has substantial survival value because of its protective function in the everyday environment. Instead, chronic pain lacks survival and adaptive function, causes great amount of individual suffering, and consumes the resources of the society due to the treatment costs and loss of production. The treatment of chronic pain has remained challenging because of inadequate understanding of mechanisms working at different levels of the nervous system in the development, modulation, and maintenance of chronic pain. Especially in unclear chronic pain conditions the treatment may be suboptimal because it can not be targeted to the underlying mechanisms. Noninvasive neuroimaging techniques have greatly contributed to our understanding of brain activity associated with pain in healthy individuals. Many previous studies, focusing on brain activations to acute experimental pain in healthy individuals, have consistently demonstrated a widely-distributed network of brain regions that participate in the processing of acute pain. The aim of the present thesis was to employ non-invasive brain imaging to better understand the brain mechanisms in patients suffering from chronic pain. In Study I, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to measure cortical responses to painful laser stimulation in healthy individuals for optimization of the stimulus parameters for patient studies. In Studies II and III, we monitored with MEG the cortical processing of touch and acute pain in patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). We found persisting plastic changes in the hand representation area of the primary somatosensory (SI) cortex, suggesting that chronic pain causes cortical reorganization. Responses in the posterior parietal cortex to both tactile and painful laser stimulation were attenuated, which could be associated with neglect-like symptoms of the patients. The primary motor cortex reactivity to acute pain was reduced in patients who had stronger spontaneous pain and weaker grip strength in the painful hand. The tight coupling between spontaneous pain and motor dysfunction supports the idea that motor rehabilitation is important in CRPS. In Studies IV and V we used MEG and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the central processing of touch and acute pain in patients who suffered from recurrent herpes simplex virus infections and from chronic widespread pain in one side of the body. With MEG, we found plastic changes in the SI cortex, suggesting that many different types of chronic pain may be associated with similar cortical reorganization. With fMRI, we found functional and morphological changes in the central pain circuitry, as an indication of central contribution for the pain. These results show that chronic pain is associated with morphological and functional changes in the brain, and that such changes can be measured with functional imaging.

Les fleuves dans l'œuvre romanesque de Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio

Relying on Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of perception and on Mircea Eliade's works on the Sacred and the Profane, this study explores the river as a perceptual space and as the sacred Center in a cosmic vision of the world in twelve of Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio's fictional works, from The Interrogation (1963) to Revolutions (2003). In the first chapter, after introducing the field of study, I discuss the relation between the radical subjectivity and the evasiveness of perceiving subjects in Le Clézio's fiction. Next are some thoughts on the relation between Merleau-Ponty's and Le Clézio's ideas. The second chapter studies the river as an experience in the text, first as a topographical space, then as a sound world. The investigations move on to its water as a visual and a tactile phenomenon. Then follows the human use of the river, the (absence of) baths, and the river as a traveling space. The chapter closes with the study of the metaphorical use of the word, occurring mainly in urban space and for phenomena in the sky. The third chapter is organized around the river as the Center of the world in a religious cosmogony, where the river represents the origin of the world and of the human race. The core analysis shows how the middle of the river is a symbolic space of a new beginning. As a sacred space, the river abolishes time as the object of contemplation and as relative immobility from the point of view of a person drifting downstream. The functions of a new beginning and of abolition of time are combined in the symbolic immersions in the water. Finally, the dissertation explores other symbolical spaces, such as the unknown destination of the drift, and the river as the Center of a utopia. The chapter closes with the existential agony as a result of the elimination of the Center in the urban environment. In the final chapter, the river is compared to other watercourses : the creek, the brook and the rapids. The river is more of a spatial entity, whereas the actual water is more important in the smaller watercourses. The river is more common than the other watercourses as a topographical element in the landscape, whereas the minor watercourses invite the characters to a closer contact with their element, in immersions and in drinking their water. Finally, the work situates the rivers in a broader context of different fictional spaces in Le Clézio's text.

A study on fear memory retrieval and REM sleep in maternal separation and isolation stressed rats

As rapid brain development occurs during the neonatal period, environmental manipulation during this period may have a significant impact on sleep and memory functions. Moreover, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep plays an important role in integrating new information with the previously stored emotional experience. Hence, the impact of early maternal separation and isolation stress (MS) during the stress hyporesponsive period (SHRP) on fear memory retention and sleep in rats were studied. The neonatal rats were subjected to maternal separation and isolation stress during postnatal days 5-7 (6 h daily/3 d). Polysomnographic recordings and differential fear conditioning was carried out in two different sets of rats aged 2 months. The neuronal replay during REM sleep was analyzed using different parameters. MS rats showed increased time in REM stage and total sleep period also increased. MS rats showed fear generalization with increased fear memory retention than normal control (NC). The detailed analysis of the local field potentials across different time periods of REM sleep showed increased theta oscillations in the hippocampus, amygdala and cortical circuits. Our findings suggest that stress during SHRP has sensitized the hippocampus amygdala cortical loops which could be due to increased release of corticosterone that generally occurs during REM sleep. These rats when subjected to fear conditioning exhibit increased fear memory and increased, fear generalization. The development of helplessness, anxiety and sleep changes in human patients, thus, could be related to the reduced thermal, tactile and social stimulation during SHRP on brain plasticity and fear memory functions. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Estimation and inference for grasping and manipulation tasks using vision and kinesthetic sensors

This thesis presents a novel framework for state estimation in the context of robotic grasping and manipulation. The overall estimation approach is based on fusing various visual cues for manipulator tracking, namely appearance and feature-based, shape-based, and silhouette-based visual cues. Similarly, a framework is developed to fuse the above visual cues, but also kinesthetic cues such as force-torque and tactile measurements, for in-hand object pose estimation. The cues are extracted from multiple sensor modalities and are fused in a variety of Kalman filters.

A hybrid estimator is developed to estimate both a continuous state (robot and object states) and discrete states, called contact modes, which specify how each finger contacts a particular object surface. A static multiple model estimator is used to compute and maintain this mode probability. The thesis also develops an estimation framework for estimating model parameters associated with object grasping. Dual and joint state-parameter estimation is explored for parameter estimation of a grasped object's mass and center of mass. Experimental results demonstrate simultaneous object localization and center of mass estimation.

Dual-arm estimation is developed for two arm robotic manipulation tasks. Two types of filters are explored; the first is an augmented filter that contains both arms in the state vector while the second runs two filters in parallel, one for each arm. These two frameworks and their performance is compared in a dual-arm task of removing a wheel from a hub.

This thesis also presents a new method for action selection involving touch. This next best touch method selects an available action for interacting with an object that will gain the most information. The algorithm employs information theory to compute an information gain metric that is based on a probabilistic belief suitable for the task. An estimation framework is used to maintain this belief over time. Kinesthetic measurements such as contact and tactile measurements are used to update the state belief after every interactive action. Simulation and experimental results are demonstrated using next best touch for object localization, specifically a door handle on a door. The next best touch theory is extended for model parameter determination. Since many objects within a particular object category share the same rough shape, principle component analysis may be used to parametrize the object mesh models. These parameters can be estimated using the action selection technique that selects the touching action which best both localizes and estimates these parameters. Simulation results are then presented involving localizing and determining a parameter of a screwdriver.

Lastly, the next best touch theory is further extended to model classes. Instead of estimating parameters, object class determination is incorporated into the information gain metric calculation. The best touching action is selected in order to best discern between the possible model classes. Simulation results are presented to validate the theory.

Reprodutibilidade de um índice para diagnóstico e avaliação da atividade de lesões de cárie dentária na dentição decídua

O objetivo do presente estudo clínico é verificar a reprodutibilidade intra e interexaminadores de um critério de diagnóstico de cárie dentária (Nyvad et al. 1999) aplicado na dentição decídua, e avaliar o tempo médio necessário para a realização do exame clínico utilizando o referido critério. O mesmo é baseado na combinação de métodos visuais e táteis e propõe a diferenciação entre lesões ativas e inativas, tanto para lesões cavitadas quanto para não cavitadas. A amostra total consistiu de 80 crianças de três a sete anos de idade, de ambos os sexos, estudantes do Centro Educacional Terra Santa (Petrópolis/ RJ). Os responsáveis assinaram um termo de consentimento livre e esclarecido e o trabalho foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa do HUPE-UERJ. Os exames foram realizados após escovação supervisionada, em consultório odontológico sob iluminação artificial, após 3-5s de secagem com ar comprimido, por dois examinadores treinados pelas autoras do índice e calibrados. As concordâncias intra e interexaminadores foram avaliadas pelo percentual de concordância (%) e pelo teste kappa (k), considerando a superfície dentária como unidade de análise e os seguintes pontos de corte: 1) hígida versus cariada; 2) ativa versus inativa; 3) descontinuidade versus hígida; e 4) cavitada versus hígida. O % e o valor de k para confiabilidade interexaminadores para cada ponto de corte foram: 1) % = 0,97 e k = 0,82 (IC: 0,80 - 0,85); 2) % = 0,98 e k = 0,80 (IC: 0,76 - 0,83); 3) % = 0,99 e k = 0,90 (IC: 0,88 - 0,93); 4) % = 99,0 e k = 0,95 (IC: 0,92 - 0,97). O % e o valor de k para confiabilidade intraexaminador para cada ponto de corte foram: 1) % = 0,98 e k = 0,86 (IC: 0,84 - 0,86); 2) % = 0,99 e k = 0,86 (IC: 0,83 - 0,89); 3) % = 0,99 e k = 0,94 (IC: 0,92 - 0,96); 4) % = 0,99 e k = 0,98 (IC: 0,96 - 0,99). O maior % de discordância (65,3% - 158/242) concentrou-se na diferenciação entre supefícies hígidas e lesões não cavitadas: 33,5% (81/242) entre superfície hígida e lesão não cavitada inativa; 26,0% (63/242), entre superfície hígida e lesão não cavitada ativa; e 5,8% (14/242), entre lesão não cavitada ativa e lesão não cavitada inativa. O tempo necessário para realização do exame clínico foi em média 226,5s (128,53). Conclui-se que o índice apresentou reprodutibilidade variando de substancial à quase perfeita e um tempo de exame viável, mostrando-se consistente e reproduzível para a realização de estudos clínicos de cárie dentária na dentição decídua.

Tecnologias não-invasivas de cuidado de enfermagem obstétrica no suporte físico à parturiente: critérios e efeitos esperados

Este estudo buscou identificar os critérios utilizados pelas enfermeiras obstétricas para empregar as tecnologias não-invasivas de cuidado no suporte físico à parturiente e quais são seus efeitos esperados. Para tanto, se realizou uma pesquisa quantitativa exploratória do tipo survey, que abordou as práticas/cuidados fornecidas pelas enfermeiras obstétrica durante a assistência ás parturientes que tinham relação com o suporte físico. Estas foram agrupadas em: suporte relacionado ao ambiente; suporte ao posicionamento (livre movimentação e adoção de posturas verticais, deambulação, movimentos pélvicos, posição de cócoras, e posição de quatro apoios); suporte aos estímulos táteis (massagens, compressas frias/mornas, banho morno de aspersão e imersão); e suporte energético (oferta de alimento). Para tanto, utilizou-se um questionário, que foi disponibilizado via internet, após a criação de um domínio e web site próprio para tal finalidade. A população-alvo constituiu-se de enfermeiras obstétricas que atuam no cuidado da parturiente em território nacional, sendo que estas foram convidadas a participar, entre os meses de julho e setembro de 2009, através de e-mails survey individuais ou coletivos. Participaram do estudo120 profissionais, sendo que 45,8% foram excluídos automaticamente pelo sistema, pois não possuíam os critérios de inclusão. Dos participantes elegíveis (65), 33,8% responderam somente o teste de elegibilidade, 4,6% responderam parcialmente e 61,6% responderam completamente o questionário. Os resultados demonstraram que alguns aspectos relacionados ao conceito ainda encontram-se pouco compreendidos pelas profissionais da área, entretanto este não é um entrave para que práticas/cuidados relacionados a esta nova terminologia sejam utilizadas durante a assistência à parturiente. De acordo com os objetivos propostos, conseguiu-se determinar os critérios e efeitos esperados pelas enfermeiras obstétricas ao utilizarem as tecnologias não-invasivas de cuidado estudadas, entretanto também se evidenciou brechas no conhecimento científico. Assim conclui-se que as enfermeiras obstétricas utilizam práticas/cuidados relacionadas as tecnologias não-invasivas de cuidado de enfermagem obstétrica no suporte físico à parturiente, pautadas em critérios e efeitos esperados que em sua maioria possuem bases científicas que os comprove. Considera-se que a utilização destas são uma ferramenta importante para a desmedicalização do processo de parto e consequentemente, para a diminuição dos índices de morbimortalidade materna e neonatall. Portanto, é necessário estimular à assistência ao parto por enfermeiras obstétricas, de modo a suplantar o modelo de assistência tecnocrático, ainda hegemônico no país.

O comportamento em campo aberto como modelo para avaliar a recuperação funcional após lesão unilateral dos barris do córtex somatossensorial

Em roedores, as vibrissas são detectores táteis que desempenham papel importante na exploração espacial do ambiente e na discriminação de texturas. No córtex somatosensorial, os campos receptivos de cada uma das vibrissas estão organizados no hemisfério contralateral em colunas discretas denominadas barris. A lesão unilateral dos barris produz um comportamento assimétrico caracterizado pela redução no uso da vibrissa contralateral à lesão na exploração do ambiente, assimetria esta que diminui progressivamente na medida em que os animais são repetidamente testados. Em ratos, este comportamento, normalmente medido pelo número de vezes que os animais encostam as vibrissas na parede de um campo aberto, tem se mostrado uma ferramenta importante em estudos de plasticidade e recuperação funcional após lesões corticais. Contudo, em camundongos com lesões unilaterais dos barris, o registro dos toques das vibrissas na parede tem levado a resultados contraditórios. Esse trabalho tem por objetivo principal o estabelecimento de um modelo comportamental para avaliação da recuperação funcional após lesões unilaterais dos barris do córtex somatosensorial em camundongos. Para tanto, o sentido dos deslocamentos realizados próximos às quinas do campo aberto foi registrado em camundongos Suíços machos submetidos à criolesão unilateral dos barris foi avaliado em três estudos independentes. No primeiro estudo, demonstramos que no grupo Criolesado houve um predomínio dos deslocamentos em sentido contralateral na primeira vez em que foram testados no campo aberto e este resultado foi independente do fato de na primeira sessão ter sido realizada um ou nove dias após a cirurgia. Além disso, demonstramos que o predomínio de deslocamentos em sentido contralateral foi diminuindo na medida em que os animais eram repetidamente testados no campo aberto. No segundo estudo, demonstramos que os animais do grupo Criolesado que foram previamente submetidos a cinco sessões experimentais no campo aberto não apresentaram, após a cirurgia, diferenças entre os deslocamentos realizados em sentido ipsolateral e contralateral à lesão. Já no terceiro estudo, demonstramos que os animais do grupo Criolesado que não foram previamente testados no campo aberto apresentam um predomínio de deslocamentos em sentido contralateral, mesmo quando o teste foi realizado 48 dias após a lesão unilateral dos barris. Nossos dados sugerem que o sentido dos deslocamentos próximo às quinas do campo aberto pode ser uma ferramenta importante para avaliar a recuperação das lesões unilaterais nos barris do córtex somatosensorial. Além disso, para avaliar a recuperação funcional após a lesão unilateral dos barris do córtex somatossensorial, sem o viés da habituação à situação do teste, os animais devem ser testados apenas uma vez

Soft Flesh in Sablefish, Anoplopoma fimbria, of Southeastern Alaska: Relationships with Depth, Season, and Biochemistry

The condition of soft-textured flesh in commercially harvested sablefish, Anoplopoma fimbria, from southeastern Alaska was investigated by National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) scientists from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s Auke Bay Laboratories (ABL) in Alaska and the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, Wash. Sablefish were sampled by longline, pot, and trawl at five sites around Chichagof Island at depths of 259–988 m in the summer of 1985 and at depths of 259–913 m in the winter of 1986. At the time of capture and data collection, sablefish were categorized as being “firm” or “soft” by visual and tactile examination, individually weighed, measured for length, and sexed. Subsamples of the fish were analyzed and linear regressions and analyses of variance were performed on both the summer (n = 242) and winter (n = 439) data for combinations of chemical and physical analyses, depth of capture, weight vs. length, flesh condition, gonad condition, and sex. We successfully identified and selected sablefish with firm- and soft-textured flesh by tactile and visual methods. Abundance of firm fish in catches varied by season: 67% in winter and 40% in summer. Winter catches may give a higher yield than summer catches. Abundance of firm fish catches also varied with depth. Firm fish were routinely found shallower than soft fish. The highest percentage of firm fish were found at depths less than 365 m in summer and at 365–730 m in winter, whereas soft fish were usually more abundant at depths greater than 731 m. Catches of firm fish declined with increasing depth. More than 80% of the fish caught during winter at depths between 365 and 730 m had firm flesh, but this declined to 48% at these depths in summer. Longlines and pots caught similar proportions of firm and soft fish with both gears catching more firm than soft fish. Trawls caught a higher proportion of soft fish compared to longlines and pots in winter. Chemical composition of “firm” and “soft” fish differed. On average “soft” fish had 14% less protein, 12% more lipid, and 3% less ash than firm fish. Cooked yields from sablefish with soft-textured flesh were 31% less than cooked yields from firm fish. Sablefish flesh quality (firmness) related significantly to the biochemistry of white muscle with respect to 11 variables. Summer fish of all flesh conditions averaged 6% heavier than winter fish. Regulating depth of fishing could increase the yield from catches, but the feasibility and benefits from this action will require further evaluation and study. Results of this study provide a basis for reducing the harvest of sablefish with soft flesh and may stimulate further research into the cause and effect relationship of the sablefish soft-flesh phenomenon.