Merging concepts: The role of self-assembly in the development of pollen wall structure

In this article, we analyse established details of exine development from a perspective that favours the integration of self-assembly. We isolate those intervals in development in which genomic control is exercised and offer a number of scenarios, which show how self-assembly can build upon a genetic basis to give rise to the fundamental pollen exine structure. This paper is a synthesis of a new concept and a detailed review of achievements in the field of developmental palynology. It seeks to link what is known regarding development with the liquid crystal realm of colloid chemistry.     

Determination of fetal biparietal diameter without the use of ultrasound in squirrel monkeys

This study evaluated manual caliper measurement of fetal BPD in Saimiri through the abdomen of the dam (TBPD) for correlation with paired ultrasound measurements, prediction of delivery date, subspecies variation, prediction of pregnancy outcome, and correlation between postpartum BPD and TBPD. Regression analysis revealed a close relationship between TBPD measurements and those obtained by ultrasound (P < 0.001). TBPD for Saimiri boliviensis boliviensis increased from a mean of 14.8 ± 0.3 mm for 11 weeks prepartum to a delivery week measurement of 33.2 ± 0.2mm. Delivery-week TBPD of Saimiri boliviensis peruviensis were significantly smaller than Saimiri sciureus sciureus (P < .05). Delivery week TBPD had a correlation coefficient of 0.64 with paired post-patrum measurements. No complications were associated with the technique. Delivery date could be predicted within two weeks. TBPD is an inexpensive, safe, rapid method of approximating fetal growth during the last half of pregnancy in Saimiri.     

Lipid changes during development of Blastocladiella emersonii

The lipid composition of swimming spores, cysts and five hour germlings was established. Spores utilized triglycerides first, then phospholipids. Upon encystment all glycolipid components decreased, while in germlings the phospholipids, monoglycerides and sterol esters exhibited a marked increase.     

Les Pseudholaster (Echinoidea,Holasteroida) du Crétacé de France

In the order of Holasteroida, the fossil record highlights a contradiction between the genus Pseudholaster that appears in the Aptian, whose plastron is prostostern close to the Jurassic ancestors and the genus Holaster, which appears in the Valanginian, whose meridostern plastron appears more derived. This inconsistency can be explained by the ignorance of the plastronal architecture on the part of the early authors. A review of the species of Pseudholaster from the Cretaceous period of France was therefore carried out. The objective was to statistically determine the discriminating morphological characters, and to study the modifications of the architecture of the interambulacrum 5 of the French species belonging to this genus, as well as to the species included in the genus Holaster incorrectly by earlier authors. This review of the species of the genus Pseudholaster begins with a study of the ontogeny of the species Holaster intermedius Münster in Goldfuss, 1826–1833, first representative of the genus Pseudholaster, which appears in the Hauterivian in the Parisian and Rhodano-vocontian basins. The modifications during growth concern the overall shape, but also the plastron architecture: the number of plastron plates increases while the number of plates located between the peristome and the periproct remains fixed. The plastron of this species is protosternal and not meridosternal as Lambert pointed out. The labrum is cupuliform in contact with the second sternal 5a2 by a narrow digitation. However, this arrangement differs from that observed on a protosternal breastplate. This apomorphism of the plastron plate pattern, called “labrotaxienne”, is found in all the Pseudholaster studied, and the study of the architecture of the interambulacrum 5 also reveals a gradual decrease in the number of preanal plates between the oldest (Hauterivian) and the younger (Cenomanian-Lower Turonian) species studied. Most of the French species have been revised, with some synonyms. A new species, P. neraudeaui, is the last known Pseudholaster dated from the upper Cenomanian and lower Turonian of southwestern France. Our study illustrates the evolution of the genus Pseudholaster between the Hauterivian and the early Turonian in France. The interest of the study is to show that the appearance of the genus Pseudholaster is older than that of the genus Holaster. Pseuholaster intermedius, of Hauterivian age, possesses a derived protostern plastron called here “labrotaxien” and not meridostern as defined historically by Lambert, and to reveal that the number of preanals decreases over geological time. This data is essential for future phylogenetic studies. On a palaeobiogeographical level, the study reveals the expansion of the genus Pseudholaster during early Cretaceous in western Europe, with diversification during the Albian, its disappearance during late Cenomanian in the Paris basin while it still persists in the Aquitain basin, its predilection for circalitoral environments.     

Glutamine-dependent signaling controls pluripotent stem cell fate

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Variability of cross-tissue X-chromosome inactivation characterizes timing of human embryonic lineage specification events

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The role of oxygen availability in the embryonation of Heterakis gallinarum eggs.

The importance of oxygen availability in the embryonation of the infective egg stages of the gastrointestinal nematode parasite Heterakis gallinarum was studied in the laboratory. Unembryonated H. gallinarum eggs were kept under either aerobic conditions by gassing with oxygen, or anaerobic conditions by gassing with the inert gas nitrogen, under a range of constant temperatures. Oxygenated eggs embryonated at a rate influenced by temperature. Conversely, eggs treated with nitrogen showed no embryonation although when these eggs were transferred from nitrogen to oxygen gas after 60 days of treatment, embryonation occurred. This demonstrated that oxygen is an essential requirement for H. gallinarum egg development, although undeveloped eggs remain viable, even after 60 days in low oxygen conditions. The effects of climate on the biology of free-living stages studied under constant laboratory conditions cannot be applied directly to the field where climatic factors exhibit daily cycles. The effect of fluctuating temperature on development was investigated by including an additional temperature group in which H. gallinarum eggs were kept under daily temperature cycles between 12 and 22°C. Cycles caused eggs to develop significantly earlier than those in the constant mean cycle temperature, 17°C, but significantly slower than those in constant 22°C suggesting that daily temperature cycles had an accelerating effect on H. gallinarum egg embryonation but did not accelerate to the higher temperature. These results suggest that daily fluctuations in temperature influence development of the free-living stages and so development cannot be accurately predicted on the basis of constant temperature culture.     

Development of the hand and wrist bones in chimpanzees

Skeletal developmental of chimpanzees was studied cross-sectionally. By application of the TW2 method, we described the skeletal development of chimpanzees and compared their skeletal development with humans'. A development pattern of chimpanzees repeated accelerations and decelerations displaying “early-juvenile trough,” “pre-adolescent peak,” “mid-adolescent trough,” and “post-adolescent peak” in incremental curves. Sex differences in skeletal development are slower development in males during infant and early juvenile phases, and greater increment around the adolescent phase in males. Females are fully mature at younger ages than males, e.g. about one and a half years. In comparison with chimpanzees, humans have such characteristics as a longer slower period of juvenile development and a shorter spurt-like adolescent fast period which ends with full maturity.     

Morphometry and composition of aragonite and vaterite otoliths of deformed laboratory reared juvenile herring from two populations

Vaterite otoliths were sampled from two reared populations (Celtic and Clyde Seas) of juvenile herring Clupea harengus. The crystallography, elemental composition and morphometry were analysed and compared with those of normal aragonite otoliths. The incidence of vaterite otoliths in the juveniles sampled (n = 601) ranged from 7·8% in the Clyde population to 13·9% in the Celtic Sea population, and was 5·5% in the small sample (n = 36) of wild adults examined. In all but one case fish had only one vaterite otolith; the corresponding otolith of the pair was completely aragonite. Although the majority of the juveniles sampled showed craniofacial deformities, there was no link between the skull or jaw malformation and the incidence of vaterite otoliths. All vaterite otoliths had an aragonite inner area, and vaterite deposition began sometime after the age of 90 days. The vaterite otoliths were larger and lighter than their corresponding aragonite partners, and were less dense as a consequence of the vaterite crystal structure. The vaterite areas of the otoliths were depleted in Sr, Na and K. Concentrations of Mn were higher in the vaterite areas. The transition between the aragonite inner areas and the vaterite areas was sharply delineated. Within a small spatial scale (20 μm³) in the vaterite areas, however, there was co‐precipitation of both vaterite and aragonite. The composition of the aragonite cores in the vaterite otoliths was the same as in the cores of the normal aragonite otoliths indicating that the composition of the aragonite cores did not seed the shift to vaterite. Vaterite is less dense than aragonite, yet the concentrations of Ca analysed with wavelength‐dispersive spectrometry (WDS) were the same between the two polymorphs, indicating that Ca concentrations measured with WDS are not a good indicator of hypermineralized zones with high mineral density. The asymmetry in density and size of the otoliths may cause disruptions of hearing and pressure sensitivity for individual fish with one vaterite otolith, however, the presence of vaterite otoliths did not seem to affect the growth of these laboratory reared juvenile herring.