Endemic goiter and cretinism in Alps: evolution of science and treatments, transformation of the pathology and its representations

Why speak still today about endemic goiter and cretinism in the Alps? because thyroid pathology represents the discovery paradigm of endocrinology, the first explanatory and curative anatomo-clinic schema of endocrinology. Great figures, naturalists, physicians, biologists, surgeons, many of which issued from the French (Fodéré, 1792), Swiss (Kocher, Nobel prize in 1910), Austrian (Wagner-Jauregg, Nobel prize in 1927) and Italian Alps (Malacarne, 1780) contributed to these discoveries though the centuries and deserve for this reason to be honored. The present work is a historical and iconographic review, which relates the evolution of this pathology and it's representations, from Antoquity to the present days. These representations have beeon described in several monographs, among which Merke's (1984) extraordinary “History and Iconography of Endemic Goiter and Cretinism”, but also in literary works with Balzac's “Le médecin de campagne”. It's only in the beginning of the XX century that the inclusion of iodized salt in the diet has radically transformed the disease and its consequences. But this pathology has left painful traces in the collective imagination of Alpine people. Finally the anxiety provoked by the crossing of Tchernobyl “radioactive cloud” over France's South-Est, in 1986, expresses today's concerns about thyroid problems, which are represented by the augmentation, real or imaginary, of the number of cases of thyroid cancer.     

Experimentation, communication and patronage: a perspective on René-Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur (1683-1757)

Historians of science have neglected the French Academician Réaumur, whose work is emblematic of a modern conception of science that joins together technology, science, and society. Réaumur practised rigorous experimentation on organisms, and uncovered industrial and utilitarian secrets which he communicated to the public. His patronage was essential in boosting the generation of young naturalists of the 1740s who advanced further the experimental approach to the study of nature. For Réaumur, his work was not separate from his mission to disclose and communicate previously restricted knowledge for the benefits of science and society.     

A Resurgence in Field Research is Essential to Better Understand the Diversity,Ecology, and Evolution of Microbial Eukaryotes

The discovery and characterization of protist communities from diverse environments are crucial for understanding the overall evolutionary history of life on earth. However, major questions about the diversity, ecology, and evolutionary history of protists remain unanswered, notably because data obtained from natural protist communities, especially of heterotrophic species, remain limited. In this review, we discuss the challenges associated with “field protistology”, defined here as the exploration, characterization, and interpretation of microbial eukaryotic diversity within the context of natural environments or field experiments, and provide suggestions to help fill this important gap in knowledge. We also argue that increased efforts in field studies that combine molecular and microscopical methods offer the most promising path toward (1) the discovery of new lineages that expand the tree of eukaryotes; (2) the recognition of novel evolutionary patterns and processes; (3) the untangling of ecological interactions and functions, and their roles in larger ecosystem processes; and (4) the evaluation of protist adaptations to a changing climate.     

Peripheral vision: science and creole patriotism in eighteenth-century Spanish America

This article examines the study of natural history on the imperial periphery in late colonial Spanish America. It considers the problems that afflicted peripheral naturalists—lack of books, instruments, scholarly companionship, and skilled technicians. It discusses how these deprivations impacted upon their self-confidence and credibility as men of science and it examines the strategies adopted by peripheral naturalists to boost their scientific credibility. The article argues that Spanish American savants, deprived of the most up-to-date books and sophisticated instruments, emphasised instead their sustained experience of local nature and their familiarity with indigenous knowledge. It details how some creole naturalists, such as the Mexican José Antonio Alzate, questioned the applicability of European classificatory systems to American fauna and flora, and it analyses the complex relationship between natural science and creole patriotism.     

Naked in the Old and the New World: Differences and Analogies in Descriptions of European and American <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">herbae nudae</Emphasis> in the Sixteenth Century

The sixteenth century could be understand as a period of renaissance of interest in nature and as a period of development of natural history as a discipline. The spreading of the printing press was connected to the preparation of new editions of Classical texts and to the act of correcting and commenting on these texts. This forced scholars to confront texts with living nature and to subject it to more careful investigation. The discovery of America uncovered new horizons and brought new natural products, which were exotic and unknown to Classical tradition. The aim of this study is to compare strategies and categories, which were used in describing plants of the Old and the New World. Attention will be paid to the first reactions to the new flora, to the methods of naming and describing plants, to the ways of gaining knowledge about plants from local sources or by means of one’s own observation. The confrontation with novelty puts naturalists in the Old World and in the New World in a similar situation. It reveals the limits of traditional knowledge based on Classical authorities. A closer investigation, however, brings to light not only the sometimes unexpected similarities, but also the differences which were due to the radical otherness of American plants.     

Patterns of species discovery in the Western Ghats,a megadiversity hot spot in India

Even since Linnaeus, naturalists and taxonomists have been systematically describing species new to science. Besides indicating gaps in taxonomic effort, understanding the temporal patterns of species discovery could help in identifying drivers that determine discovery. In this study we report the patterns of discovery of eight taxa — birds, butterflies, frogs, tiger beetles, grasses, asters, ferns and orchids — in the Western Ghats, a megadiversity centre in India. Our results indicate that the discovery curves for birds and butterflies have been saturated while those for frogs and grasses continue to increase. Within each taxon, the major drivers of discovery were commonness of the species and their size. The average years taken for discovery across taxa were directly related to the per cent endemicity and species richness of the taxa. We discuss the trajectories of discovery with respect to rarity or endemicity of the species and life history features, and the implications these might have for strategizing the discovery process in India.     

An electron microscope study of nuclear and cell division in a dinoflagellate

Summary Light microscopical observations on the cell division of the small dinoflagellate Woloszynskia micra are correlated for the first time with an electron microscopical study. In prophase, whilst the nucleus enlarges and becomes pearshaped, the chromosomes divide to give pairs of chromatids. This process starts at one end and works to the other giving Y- and V-shaped chromosomes as it occurs. Cytoplasmic invaginations pass through the nucleus and by the end of prophase these are seen to contain a number of microtubules of about 180 Å diameter. There is no connection between the microtubules in the nuclear in vagination and either the flagellar bases or the chromosomes. At anaphase the nucleus expands laterally and the sister chromatids move towards opposite ends. The cell hypocone is now partially divided and the two longitudinal flagella well separate. The nucleus completes its division into two daughter nuclei and for a time portions of the cytoplasmic invaginations remain visible. Cell cleavage is completed by the division of the epicone. The nuclear membrane remains intact throughout division and the nucleolus does not break down.The mitotic division in this organism, which is unusual in comparison with the mitosis of higher organisms, is discussed in the light of other types of mitosis which have been reported and of earlier light microscopical observations on dinoflagellates.     

Air and the origin of the experimental plant physiology.

It is well known that oxygen and carbon dioxide are two chemicals which enter the plant metabolism as nutrients. The bases of this nowadays obvious statement were placed in the 18th century by means of the works of ingenious naturalists such as Robert Boyle, Stephen Hales, Joseph Priestley, Jam Ingenhousz, Lazzaro Spallanzani and Theodore De Saussure. Till the end of the 17th century, the atmospheric air was considered as an ineffable spirit, the function of which was of physical nature. Boyle was the first naturalist to admit the possibility that respiration were an exchange of vapours occurring in the blood. Stephen Hales realised that air could be fixed by plants under the influence of solar light. Priestley showed that plants could regenerate the bad air making it breathable. Ingenhousz demonstrated that the green parts of plants performed the complete purification of air only under the influence of the light. Spallanzani discovered that plants respire and guessed that the good air (oxygen) originated from the fixed air (carbon dioxide). Finally, Theodore De Saussure showed that plants were able to adsorb carbon dioxide and to release oxygen in a proportional air. All these discoveries benefited of the results coming from investigations of scholars of the so-called "pneumatic chemistry" (Boyle himself, George Ernst Stahl, Joseph Black, Priestley himself, and many more others. But among all the eminent scientists above mentioned stands out the genius of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, who revolutionised the chemistry of the 18th century ferrying it towards the modern chemistry.     

When Pasteurian Science Went to Sea: The Birth of Marine Microbiology

In the late nineteenth century, French naturalists were global leaders in microbial research. Louis Pasteur advanced sterilization techniques and demonstrated that dust particles in the air could contaminate a putrefiable liquid. Pasteur’s discoveries prompted a new research program for the naturalists of the Talisman and Travailleur expeditions: to recover uncontaminated water and mud samples from the deep sea. French naturalists Adrien Certes and Paul Regnard both independently conducted experiments to address the question of whether microorganisms inhabited the oceans and whether organic material in the deep sea was subject to decomposition. The experiments of Certes and Regnard have largely been omitted from histories of microbiology and marine science. However, an examination of their work is crucial for understanding the context in which marine microbiology first developed. At the end of the nineteenth century, marine microbiology emerged from the disciplinary melding of terrestrial microbial ecology, experimental physiology, and the then-nascent field of deep-sea biology.     

Development of microbodies in Candida tropicalis during incubation in a n-alkane medium

Development of microbodies in Candida tropicalis pK 233 was studied mainly by electron microscopical observation. The yeast cells, precultured on malt extract, scarcely contained microbodies and showed very low catalase activity. When the precultured cells were transferred to a n-alkane medium and incubated with shaking, the number of microbodies increased and concomitantly the activity of catalase was enhanced. That is, both the area ratio of microbodies in the cell and the ratio of microbodies to cytoplasm in area increased significantly during the utilization of n-alkanes for 8 hrs. Localization of catalase in the microbodies was demonstrated cytochemically by use of 3,3'-diaminobenzidine, but other organella in the cell, except for vacuoles appearing in the early growth phase and mitochondria, were not stained with this reagent. Microbodies seemed to grow by division. Biogenesis of microbodies in the yeast cells is also discussed.     

Physics-based gene identification: proof of concept for Plasmodium falciparum

The ab initio prediction of new genes in eukaryotic genomes represents a difficult task, notably for the identification of complex split genes. A Physics-Based Gene Identification (PBGI) method was formulated recently (Yeramian, Gene, 255, 139-150, 151-168, 2000a,b) to address this problem, taking as a model the Plasmodium falciparum genome. Here, the predictive power of this method is put under experimental test for this genome. The presented results demonstrate the usefulness of the PBGI as a gene-identification tool for P. falciparum, notably for the discovery of new genes with no homology to known genes. Perspectives opened by this new method for other eukaryotic genomes are also mentioned.     

Utility of immunohistochemical markers in differentiating benign from malignant follicular-derived thyroid nodules

In virtual microscopy, a sequential process of captures of microscopical fields, allows to construct a virtual slide which is visualized using a specialized software, called the virtual microscopy viewer. This tool allows useful exploration of images, composed of thousands of microscopical fields of view at different levels of magnification, emulating an actual microscopical examination. The aim of this study was to establish the main pathologist's navigation patterns when exploring virtual microscopy slides, using a graphical user interface, adapted to the pathologist's workflow. Four pathologists with a similar level of experience, graduated from the same pathology program, navigated six virtual slides. Different issues were evaluated, namely, the percentage of common visited image regions, the time spent at each and its coincidence level, that is to say, the region of interest location. In addition, navigation patterns were also assessed, i.e., mouse movement velocities and linearity of the diagnostic paths. Results suggest that regions of interest are determined by a complex combination of the visited area, the time spent at each visit and the coincidence level among pathologists. Additionally, linear trajectories and particular velocity patterns were found for the registered diagnostic paths.     

A taxonomic revision of the genus Mesa Saussure, 1892 from China,with a key to the Oriental species (Hymenoptera: Tiphiidae: Myzininae)

In this study, a total of eight fossorial aculeate wasps of the tiphiid genus Mesa Saussure, 1892 from China are revised, including two new species, viz., Mesa hongchibaensis sp. nov., and Mesa glaber sp. nov.. The following species Mesa dimidiata (Guérin-Méneville, 1837) and Mesa nursei (Turner, 1909) are newly recorded from China. The male specimen of Mesa formosensis Tsuneki (1986) is firstly found. In addition, an updated key to the Oriental species of the genus is provided.     

The "Point of no Return" Concept in Cell Division. The Effects of Some Metabolic Inhibitors on Synchronized Chlorella pyrenoidosa

The coarse of growth and cell division in synchronized cultures of Chlorella pyrenoidosa was studied after the addition of metabolic inhibitors at differing times during the cell cycle (14 h light - 10 h darkness with nitrate as nitrogen source. 12 h light: 12 h darkness with urea as nitrogen source). Dinitrophenol (DNP) added to a final concentration of 0.3 mM at any time in the synchronization cycle, the compound remaining in the suspension from the time of addition to the end of the dark period, inhibited spore formation completely. Growth measured as increase in cell volume was less sensitive to the action of the inhibitor. Chloramphenicol (CAP) added dining the 0–5 h interval to a final concentration of 0.1 mM resulted in 80 per cent inhibition of cell division. Similar treatment started at successive times thereafter resulted in a gradual decrease of the inhibition. Treatment at the 14th hour and during the dark period did not affect the sporulation. Similar experiments with 0.9 mM puromycin added at various times during the illumination period gave almost complete inhibition of cell division, while the growth was reduced by only 25 per cent. para-Fluorophenylalanine (p-FPhe) at 3.3 × 10^?2 mM stopped cell division nearly completely irrespective of addition time in the light period. Addition during the dark period also prevented an increase in the number of tree cells. In this case about half of the cells produced spores which were not released. It is concluded that DNP inhibits all stages of preparation for cell division, as well as the division process itself. With CAP a genuine transition point of preparation for cell division was observed, although its interpretation as related to protein synthesis is somewhat uncertain. With puromycin and p-FPhe no transitions were observed.     

Portrait of His Majesty the King

There are major contextural differences between the two bird forms carved on the pillars of the Acosta reconstruction of the Quetzalpapalotl courtyard. The frontal bird on the west side and its distinctive border decorations suggest differences of meaning from the profile bird representation which occupies the remaining three sides. Séjourné's argument that the carvings represent two views of the same bird is refuted in the light of careful visual comparisons of the forms and ornithological examination. Other iconographic research on bird meaning in the context of Teotihuacán culture is discussed followed by an interpretation of the meaning of the two bird images.     

Ultrastructural aspects of the myxosporean Henneguya astyanax n. sp. (Myxozoa: Myxobolidae), a parasite of the Amazonian teleost Astyanax keithi (Characidae)

This study reports light and electron microscopical aspects of a myxosporean found in the gills of the freshwater teleost Astyanax keithi Géry, Planquete & Le Bail, 1996 (family Characidae), collected from the estuarine region of the Amazon River, near Belém, Brazil. The prevalence of infection was 23%. In interlamellar spaces of the gills, ellipsoidal whitish cyst-like plasmodia structures were present, which contained spores. The spores had a spermatozoa-like appearance (47.8 +/- 0.71 microm in total length) with a fusiform body (15.2 +/- 0.77 pm in length, 5.7 +/- 0.71 microm in width and 4.2 +/- 0.31 microm in thickness), and each of the 2 valves presented a tapering tail (32.6 +/- 1.11 microm in length). The valves surrounded a binucleate sporoplasm cell and 2 polar capsules (5.0 +/- 0.13 microm in length, 1.5 +/- 0.07 microm in width) that contained 8 to 9 coils of the polar filament. In the sporoplasm, several unique sporoplasmosomes were visible. A synoptic table of spore measurements of known Brazilian Henneguya species is presented. The spores differed from those of previously described species. Based on spore morphology, it is concluded that this species belongs to the family Myxobolidae, genus Henneguya, and that it constitutes a new species: H. astyanax n. sp.     

Cellular growth of host and symbiont in a cnidarian-zooxanthellar symbiosis

The hydroid Myrionema ambionense, a fast-growing cnidarian (doubling time = 8 days) found in shallow water on tropical back-reefs, lives in symbiosis with symbiotic dinoflagellates of the genus Symbiodinium (hereafter also referred to as zooxanthellae). The symbionts live in vacuoles near the base of host digestive cells, whereas unhealthy looking zooxanthellae are generally located closer to the apical end of the host cell. Cytokinesis of zooxanthellae occurred at night, with a peak in number of symbionts with division furrows (mitotic index, MI = 12%-20%) observed at dawn. The MI of zooxanthellae decreased to near zero by the middle of the afternoon and remained there until the middle of the next night. Densities of live zooxanthellae living inside of host digestive cells peaked following cytokinesis, whereas densities of unhealthy looking symbionts were highest just before the division peak. Mitosis of host digestive cells was highest in the evening, also preceding the peak in zooxanthellar MI. This is the first study relating phased host cell division to diel zooxanthellar division in marine cnidarians. Food vacuoles were prevalent inside of digestive cells of field-collected hydroids within a few hours after sunset and throughout the night, coinciding with digestion of captured demersal plankton. Laboratory experiments showed that food vacuoles appeared in digestive cell cytoplasm within 2 h of feeding with nauplii of Artemia. The number and size of food vacuoles per digestive cell and the percentage of digestive cells with food vacuoles all decreased 5-7 h following feeding in laboratory experiments, and by mid-day in field-collected hydroids. Light and external food supply were important in maintaining phased division of the symbionts, with a lag in response time to both parameters of 11-36 h. Altering light and feeding during the night did not influence the level of the peak MI the next morning, though in one experiment the absence of light slowed final separation of daughter cells at the end of cytokinesis. In another experiment, hydroids starved for 3-7 d and "pulse-fed" Artemia nauplii for 1 h at the beginning of the dark period showed continued low symbiont division (< 5%) after 11 h, whether maintained in constant light or darkness, implying that most algal division is set more than 24 h prior to actual cytokinesis. Transferred to a 14:10 h light:dark cycle for another 24 h (36 h after feeding), the same hydroids exhibited a "normal" peak MI (ca. 15%) at dawn, but zooxanthellae from hydroids kept in constant darkness still showed a low MI. These results show that mitosis of symbiotic dinoflagellates requires three factors: external food; a minimum period of time following feeding (11-36 h), presumably for digestion; and a period of light following feeding, presumably to provide carbon skeletons necessary for completing cytokinesis.     

High resolution tracking of adult horseshoe crabs Limulus polyphemus in a New Hampshire estuary using fixed array ultrasonic telemetry

1 Introduction The American horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus has long served as a source of delight and inspiration to a broad cross-section of scientists - from naturalists to neuroscientists. Periodically, for the last hundred years or so, new discoveries have been made about this ancient creature that both enlighten scientists and reinforce the importance of conserving this ancient species.     

Analysis of the schedule of DNA replication in heat-synchronized Tetrahymena

The temporal schedule of DNA replication in heat-synchronized Tetrahymena was studied by autoradiographic and cytofluorometric methods. It was shown that some cells, which were synchronized by selection of individual dividing cells or by temporary thymidine starvation, incorporated [³H]thymidine into macronuclei in a periodic fashion during the heat-shock treatment. It was concluded that supernumerary S periods occurred while cell division was blocked by high temperature. The proportion of cells which initiated supernumerary S periods was found to be dependent on the duration of the heat-shock treatment and on the cell cycle stage when the first heat shock was applied. Cytofluorometric measurements of Feulgen-stained macronuclei during the heat-shock treatment indicated that the DNA complement of these cells was substantially increased and probably duplicated during the course of each S period. Estimates of DNA content also suggested that the rate of DNA synthesis progressively declined during long heat-shock treatments. These results indicate that the mechanism which brings about heat-induced division synchrony is not an interruption of the process of DNA replication. Further experiments were concerned with the regulation of DNA synthesis during the first synchronized division cycle. It was shown that participation in DNA synthesis at this time increased as more cells were able to conclude the terminal S period during the preceding heat-shock treatment. It is suggested that a discrete period of time is necessary after the completion of DNA synthesis before another round of DNA synthesis can be initiated.     

Cytolocalization of ion-channel antagonist binding sites in sunflower protoplasts during the early steps of culture

Summary A fluorescently labeled phenylalkylamine (PAA), DM-Bodipy PAA, was used as a probe for in vivo labeling of PAA binding sites in sunflower hypocotyl protoplasts in culture. Verapamil, a PAA known as a calcium channel antagonist in plants, lowers the division rate of sunflower protoplasts in culture. The binding specificity of DM-Bodipy PAA was established at various culture times by competition experiments with (–)bepridil. Studies on the Cytolocalization of DM-Bodipy PAA binding sites by confocal imaging showed that in freshly isolated protoplasts PAA receptors were organized into clusters uniformly distributed over the cell surface. During protoplast culture, the fluorescence labeling pattern evolved from peripheral to cytoplasmic. After a few days of culture, PAA binding sites were present inside the cell, along cytoplasmic strands, on the membrane of vesicles and vacuoles, and were highly concentrated around the nucleus. After protoplast division, the labeling was mainly restricted to a zone close to the new cell wall. On symmetrical division, binding sites were uniformly distributed on both sides of the new cell wall. With asymmetrical division, binding sites were concentrated in a ring surrounding the new cell plate.Abbreviations PAA phenylalkylamine - DHP dihydropyridine - FDA fluorescein diacetate