The colloid osmotic pressures of invertebrate body fluids.

Colloid osmotic pressures of the body fluids of twenty invertebrate species were measured directly. The results, which are generally lower than predicted values for the same species, pertain to several physiological questions: (1) they do not quantitatively explain the frequently observed hyperosmoticity of body fluids in species believed to be osmoconformers, indicating that the condition cannot be merely a consequence of a Gibbs-Donnan equilibrium; (2) the excess of hydrostatic over colloid osmotic pressure is very small. This result supports the hypothesis that the oxygen transport function of bloods with extracellular haemocyanins and haem proteins is limited by their colligative properties; (3) the pressure relationships and the absence of colloid osmotic activity in urine indicates that filtration contributes to urine formation in several species.     

The evolution of body size in birds. II. The role of reproductive power

Given that body mass evolves non-randomly in birds, it is important to ask what factors might be responsible. One suggestion is that the rate at which individuals turn resources into offspring, termed reproductive power, might explain this non-randomness. This is because, in mammals, the body mass with the highest reproductive power is the most common (modal) one. Reproductive power was estimated for birds from data on energetic content of eggs and population productivity. According to the formulation of Brown et al. (1993), reproductive power is composed of two component processes: acquisition (acquiring resources and storing them in reproductive biomass) and conversion (converting reproductive biomass into offspring). As with mammals, estimates of reproductive power indicate that the most common body mass in birds is also the body mass that maximizes reproductive power. The relationship between reproductive power and diversity is different for species smaller than this modal body mass when compared to those that are larger. The relationship of body mass and reproductive power is different between birds and mammals in two ways: (1) the body mass that maximizes reproductive power is smaller in birds (33g) than in mammals (100g), and (2) mammals generate more reproductive power than an equivalent-sized bird. Reproductive power is determined primarily by acquisition in small birds and mammals, while it is determined by conversion in the largest birds and mammals. It is likely that reproductive power is closely tied to the evolution and diversification of body masses because it constrains the ways in which traits affecting fitness can evolve.     

The body wall of cheilostome Bryozoa. II. Interzoidal communication organs

Communication organs (septulae) of cheilostome Bryozoa are more complex than perviously believed. Annuli, present only in lateral septulae, are thickenings of the intercalary cuticle. Each communication pore is filled with a ring-like “pore cincture,” through which project a pair of “special cells.” Septulae of all species examined (10 species from 6 families) can be considered modifications of the same structure, varying only in degree of calcification and number of communication pores. External walls, including basal and lateral walls, are best defined as reinforcements of the ectocyst, which is derived by intussusception from the primary cuticle of the ancestrula. The lateral ectocyst must be considered a double layer formed by invagination of the distal ectocyst. Internal walls are developed by apposition from inner parts of the ectocyst; they include pore plates and transverse walls. External walls are laid down first. Lenticular masses develop unilaterally on the uncalcified lateral ectocyst; the pore plate develops by apposition from the interior part of the ectocyst. Depending on the species, the pore plate may or may not be calcified at the time of its formation. Communication pores are formed when the developing pore plate abuts against embryonic special cells. The septular ectocyst never calcifies; it breaks down when the pore plate is complete. Some ascophorans undergo “reparative budding,” in which new zoids are formed within dead zoecia. Hollow, ectocyst-covered buds lined with blastemic epithelia are produced from septulae of live zoids; adjacent buds may fuse. These findings are consistent with the view that lateral septulae are aborted zoids and that pore plates represent transverse walls.     

The role of agouti-related protein in regulating body weight.

Defects in signaling by leptin, a hormone produced primarily by adipose tissue that informs the brain of the body's energy reserves, result in obesity in mice and humans. However, the majority of obese humans do not have abnormalities in leptin or its receptor but instead exhibit leptin resistance that could result from defects in downstream mediators of leptin action. Recently, two potential downstream mediators, agouti-related protein (Agrp) and its receptor, the melanocortin-4 receptor (Mc4r), have been identified. Agrp and Mc4r are excellent candidates for human disorders of body weight regulation and represent promising targets for pharmacological intervention in the treatment of these disorders.     

The Sertoli cell membrane body in the skink.

The structure of the Sertoli cell and its physical relationship with the germ cells was studied in laboratory maintained skinks, Eumeces laticeps (Schneider) in January, and September, corresponding to the periods of prenuptial and postnuptial spermatogenesis respectively. Light micrographs obtained using 1 micron thick plastic sections, show the Sertoli cell to have a large polymorphic nucleus located in the basal portion of the cell, and a darkly staining juxtanuclear body. In ultrathin sections, this body consists of a complex array of thin, electron dense membranous structures resembling the endoplasmic reticulum. The lumina of these membranous channels appear empty. Between the channels, there are structures that resemble the expanded cisternae of the endoplasmic reticulum. In some sections, these dilated cisternae are confluent with the channels, indicating that the channels and the cisternae are parts of the same structure. Three organelles, namely, mitochondria, lysosomes and microfilaments are found among the elements of the membrane body. There is no structural modification of the channels where they come in contact with mitochondria, but they are dilated in proximity to lysosomes. In some sections bundles of microfilaments are clearly visible within the diamond shaped region of contact between two channels, suggesting that these organelles are involved in structural or functional organization of the membrane body.     

The relative body weights of Bornean and Sumatran orangutans.

Although original field data suggested that the average Bornean orangutan weighed twice as much as the Sumatran ones, this is shown to be an error. The only statistically significant difference in weight is between males and females, regardless of geographical area or data source.     

The role of serotonergic system in body temperature regulation.

Results indicate that vascular responses to temperature stimulation are predominantly impaired in animals with 5-HT deprivation. A hypothesis is therefore raised that the 5-HT system participates in body temperature regulation in such a way as to link the regulatory output with vasomotor pathways. The 5-HT system in the spinal cord has been shown to inhibit the afferent transmission of temperature signals. Therefore, depletion of 5-HT does not prevent sensory transmission, at least at the spinal cord level.     

The influence of genetic and environmental factors in estimations of current body size, desired body size, and body dissatisfaction.

The objective was to investigate the genetic epidemiology of figural stimuli. Standard figural stimuli were available from 5,325 complete twin pairs: 1,751 (32.9%) were monozygotic females, 1,068 (20.1%) were dizygotic females, 752 (14.1%) were monozygotic males, 495 (9.3%) were dizygotic males, and 1,259 (23.6%) were dizygotic male-female pairs. Univariate twin analyses were used to examine the influences on the individual variation in current body size and ideal body size. These data were analysed separately for men and women in each of five age groups. A factorial analysis of variance, with polychoric correlations between twin pairs as the dependent variable, and age, sex, zygosity, and the three interaction terms (age x sex, age x zygosity, sex x zygosity) as independent variables, was used to examine trends across the whole data set. Results showed genetic influences had the largest impact on the individual variation in current body size measures, whereas non-shared environmental influences were associated with the majority of individual variation in ideal body size. There was a significant main effect of zygosity (heritability) in predicting polychoric correlations for current body size and body dissatisfaction. There was a significant main effect of gender and zygosity in predicting ideal body size, with a gender x zygosity interaction. In common with BMI, heritability is important in influencing the estimation of current body size. Selection of desired body size for both men and women is more strongly influenced by environmental factors.     

The coiled body

The coiled body is a nuclear organelle that contains snRNPs involved in splicing, the non-snRNP splicing factor U2AF and the nucleolar protein fibrillarin. It is highly conserved in evolution and is present in both animal and plant cells. The coiled body is a dynamic structure that can undergo regulated cycles of assembly and disassembly during interphase and mitosis and it may represent a distinct metabolic compartment within the nucleus.     

The Cajal body

The Cajal body, originally identified over 100 years ago as a nucleolar accessory body in neurons, has come to be identified with nucleoplasmic structures, often quite tiny, that contain coiled threads of the marker protein, coilin. The interaction of coilin with other proteins appears to increase the efficiency of several nuclear processes by concentrating their components in the Cajal body. The best-known of these processes is the modification and assembly of U snRNPs, some of which eventually form the RNA splicing machinery, or spliceosome. Over the last 10 years, research into the function of Cajal bodies has been greatly stimulated by the discovery that SMN, the protein deficient in the inherited neuromuscular disease, spinal muscular atrophy, is a Cajal body component and has an essential role in the assembly of spliceosomal U snRNPs in the cytoplasm and their delivery to the Cajal body in the nucleus.