On the influence of prenatal hypoxia on formation of the orexinergic system and sleep–wake cycle in early ontogenesis of rats

The role of orexin in the organization of the sleep–wake cycle (SWC) is well known. The aim of this study was to examine the timing of the orexinergic system formation in rat postnatal ontogenesis and to assess the role of orexin A in the SWC organization under normal conditions and after prenatal hypoxia undergone on days 14 and 19 of embryogenesis. The SWC was investigated in 30-day-old rats with electrodes implanted into the somatosensory and occipital cortex. Immunoreactivity within the orexigenic structures of the lateral hypothalamus was analyzed. It was shown that in control 14-day-old animals the orexinergic structures were in their formative stage, whereas in 30-day-old rats they were already as formed as in adults. In 14-day-old rats, prenatal hypoxia evoked retarded formation of the orexinergic system. In 30-day-old animals, hypoxia undergone in the prenatal period increased the activity of the orexinergic system, which was higher in animals exposed to hypoxia on day 19 than on day 14 of gestation. In 30-day-old rats, these changes were reflected in the SWC formation in the form of shorter slow-wave sleep, more fitful sleep and increased number of transitions from slow- to fast-wave sleep. The results obtained are discussed in the light of the adaptive-compensatory role of the orexigenic system in postnatal ontogenesis after prenatal damage to the central nervous system.     

Stages in the development of Parkinson’s disease-related pathology

The synucleinopathy, idiopathic Parkinsons disease, is a multisystem disorder that involves only a few predisposed nerve cell types in specific regions of the human nervous system. The intracerebral formation of abnormal proteinaceous Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites begins at defined induction sites and advances in a topographically predictable sequence. As the disease progresses, components of the autonomic, limbic, and somatomotor systems become particularly badly damaged. During presymptomatic stages 1–2, inclusion body pathology is confined to the medulla oblongata/pontine tegmentum and olfactory bulb/anterior olfactory nucleus. In stages 3–4, the substantia nigra and other nuclear grays of the midbrain and forebrain become the focus of initially slight and, then, severe pathological changes. At this point, most individuals probably cross the threshold to the symptomatic phase of the illness. In the end-stages 5–6, the process enters the mature neocortex, and the disease manifests itself in all of its clinical dimensions.Funding for this project was made available by the German Research Council (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)     

Neurophysiological aspects of the regulation of the head’s position in the normal state and left- and right-sided forms of spasmodic torticollis

We have studied the spatiotemporal distribution of coherent EEG links in 10 healthy right-handed subjects under the conditions of comfortable wakefulness with a straight position of the head and with the head voluntarily turned to fixed left and right positions. The computations were made separately in each standard range of EEG frequencies (Δ, θ, α, and β). The results were compared with the data obtained during studies of right-handed patients with right-sided (RS, n = 9) and left-sided (LS; n = 8) forms of spasmodic torticollis (ST). It has been shown that, upon a voluntary right turn of the head, the number of strong and moderate coherent EEG links in healthy subjects increases considerably more than upon a left turn. This may be accounted for by the greater functional importance of the control of the right part of the visual space as the area of manipulation of the dominant hand. In patients with RS ST, the number of intra- and interhemispheric strong and moderate coherent EEG links increased in all four frequency ranges, as compared to healthy subjects, upon the right turn of the head. In patients with LS ST, the spatial structure of the bioelectric potential field of the brain is less reorganized upon the voluntary left turn of the head as compared to the level of coherent EEG links in healthy subjects. Presumably, this phenomenon reflects a stronger insufficiency of neurophysiological mechanisms of postural control and compensation for its disturbances in patients with the LS form of ST, which results in a more severe disability as compared to patients with right-sided ST.     

Seasonal effects on the sleep–wake cycle,the rest–activity rhythm and quality of life for Japanese and Thai older people

Background: The sleep-wake cycle and the rest–activity rhythm are known to change with aging, and such changes have been implicated in higher levels of depression as well as an increased incidence of dementia. However, information supporting seasonal changes in the sleep–wake cycle, the rest–activity rhythm and quality of life in older community-dwelling people remains insufficient. The aim of the present study was to prospectively investigate seasonal effects on the sleep–wake cycle, the rest–activity rhythm and quality of life among older people living in areas of Japan or Thailand with different climate classifications.

Method: The survey was conducted from March 2016 to May 2017, and 109 participants were recruited from Japan and Thailand: 47 older people living in Akita prefecture, Japan, and 62 older people living in Chiang Mai or Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. According to the Köppen–Geiger classification of Asian climates comprising tropical, desert, steppe, temperate and subarctic climates, Akita prefecture, which is located in northern Japan, is classified as a humid subarctic climate, while the Thai study areas are classified as tropical savanna. To monitor parameters of the sleep–wake cycle during nighttime (e.g. total sleep time, sleep latency, sleep efficiency, awaking time and frequency of sleep interruptions) and to calculate parameters of the rest–activity rhythm over the 24 h profile (e.g., interdaily stability, intradaily variability, relative amplitude, mean of least active 5 h period and mean of most active 10 h period), all the participants from both countries wore an Actiwatch 2 device on their nondominant wrist continuously for 7 days during each local season. The World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) was also assessed during each local season.

Results: The final sample size was 37 older people living in Akita prefecture, Japan, and 44 older people living in Thailand; these subjects completed the data collections during each local season. The dropout rates were 21% in Japan and 29% in Thailand. The results for the Japanese subjects showed a significantly shorter sleep time with higher levels of activity during the nighttime on summer (p < 0.001) and a fragmented rest–activity rhythm over the 24 h profile on winter (p < 0.001). The older Thai participants exhibited a poor state of night sleeping year-round, and a significant relationship was observed between seasonal variations in motor activity and the social domain of WHOQOL-BREF for each Thai season (|r| = 0.4, p < 0.01).

Conclusion: These findings provide new and important information regarding seasonal effects on the sleep–wake cycle, the rest–activity rhythm and quality of life in older community-dwelling people living in two different Asian climates. Consequently, clinical preventions targeting such seasonal variations might be useful for improving the quality of life of older Japanese and Thai individuals.     

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913): the forgotten co-founder of the Neo-Darwinian theory of biological evolution

The British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913), who had to leave school aged 14 and never attended university, did extensive fieldwork, first in the Amazon River basin (1848–1852) and then in Southeast Asia (1854–1862). Based on this experience, and after reading the corresponding scientific literature, Wallace postulated that species were not created, but are modified descendants of pre-existing varieties (Sarawak Law paper, 1855). Evolution is brought about by a struggle for existence via natural selection, which results in the adaptation of those individuals in variable populations who survive and reproduce (Ternate essay, 1858). In his monograph Darwinism (1889), and in subsequent publications, Wallace extended the contents of Darwin’s Origin of Species (1859) into the Neo-Darwinian theory of biological evolution, with reference to the work of August Weismann (1834–1914). Wallace also became the (co)-founder of biogeography, biodiversity research, astrobiology and evolutionary anthropology. Moreover, he envisioned what was later called the anthropocene (i.e., the age of human environmental destructiveness). However, since Wallace believed in atheistic spiritualism and mixed up scientific facts and supernatural speculations in some of his writings, he remains a controversial figure in the history of biology.     

Evolutionary dynamics of cycle length in pearl millet: the role of farmer��s practices and gene flow

In the Sahel of Africa, farmers often modify their cultivation practices to adapt to environmental changes. How these changes shape the agro-biodiversity is a question of primary interest for the conservation of plant genetic resources. We addressed this question in a case study on pearl millet in south western Niger where farmers used to cultivate landraces with different cycle length in order to cope with rain uncertainty. Early and late landraces were previously grown on distant fields. Nowadays, mostly because of human population pressure and soil impoverishment, it happens that the two types of landraces are grown on adjacent fields, opening the question whether gene flow between them may occur. This question was tackled through a comparative study among contrasting situations pertaining to the spatial distribution of early and late landraces. Observations of flowering periods showed that pollen flow between the two landraces is possible and has a preferential direction from early to late populations.     

Dead Media Objects and the Experience of the (Once) Modern. Ethnographic Perspectives from the Living Rooms of Kinshasa’s Old Aged

ABSTRACT

This article departs from the observation that in many living rooms of elderly Kinois (inhabitants of Kinshasa), old and defunctive radio and television sets are put on display. When their primary function, to inform, has been rendered obsolete, we are faced with the question why people continue to display these objects, often next to newer models, in their living rooms. The main argument is that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) commodities, old and new, defective and repaired, are primarily social objects that are embedded in complex webs of practices and expectations which unsettle the taken-for-granted associations between technology and time. ICT objects are shown to be metonyms of dynamics in social relationships between owners of these ICT goods and others; and, although seemingly paradoxically, these same objects, even when damaged, inhabit promises for a better future. The article thus offers an alternative perspective on electronic modernity, and in particular, the role of Africa therein.     

Gene expression of proteins of the vesicle cycle in dopaminergic neurons in modeling of Parkinson’s disease

It is assumed that one of the causes of the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons is the dysregulation of the vesicle cycle, which is ensured by a number of proteins including syntaxin I, synaptotagmin I, complexins I and II, and Rab5. It was shown that there is a compensatory increase in gene expression of proteins responsible for exocytosis at the preclinical stage of Parkinson’s disease (PD) in the in substantia nigra (SN) in mice. Conversely, in the model of the clinical stage of PD, the decreases of gene expression of proteins responsible for exocytosis, endocytosis, and neuronal survival, which may be among the triggers of motor dysfunctions.     

Comparison of the Higher-Severity Fire Regime in Historical (A.D. 1800s) and Modern (A.D. 1984–2009) Montane Forests Across 624,156?ha of the Colorado Front Range

There are concerns that recent fires, following a century of land uses, are burning in dry western forests in an uncharacteristic manner with large patches of higher-severity fire affecting long-term ecosystem dynamics. For example, it is well documented that a mixed-severity fire regime predominated over montane forests of the Colorado Front Range. However, much about the historical fire regime is unknown including the size, frequency, and distribution of higher-severity fires. We addressed these questions utilizing data from the original land surveyors who recorded locations of burned timber along survey lines resulting in a coarse-scale transect of fire occurrence across 624,156?ha. We reconstructed higher-severity burn patches, size distribution, and fire rotation for the 1800s (A.D. 1809–1883) and compared to the characteristics of modern fires over a recent 26-year period (A.D. 1984–2009) taken from remotely sensed data. We found the historical geometric mean higher-severity patch was 170.9?ha and the maximum patch size was 8,331?ha; the higher-severity fire rotation was 248.7?years. In addition, we confirmed that higher-severity fires were historically less common at elevations below 2,200?m. Modern fires had a geometric mean patch size of 90.0?ha (patches >20?ha) and a maximum size of 5,183?ha; the higher-severity fire rotation was 431?years. The distributions of higher-severity patches were only 63.5% similar, as the historical distribution had fewer small patches and more large patches. The mixed-severity fire regime, historically, included a significant portion of higher-severity fire and large burn patches; modern fires appear to be within the range of historical variability.     

Dufour’s gland possible role in the evolution of sting morphology and function in hover wasps (Hymenoptera Stenogastrinae)

The sting is the most effective defense of social Hymenoptera against vertebrate predators but in the hover wasps (subfamily Stenogastrinae) it is scarcely used. In these wasps a quite enlarged Dufour’s gland and the extensive use of its secretion in the peculiar rearing of the larvae and defense determined important morphological modifications of the sting structure. Connecting anatomical and morphological data with behavioral observations we determined that in these wasps the Dufour’s gland secretion is attached to the egg during oviposition but can be also channeled to the outside via the sting when it is collected by adult females for larval rearing or construction of the nest ant guards. The anatomical modifications of the sting reduced the function of the sting as a defensive weapon in hover wasps.     

R. J. Gordon’s Discovery of the Spotted Hyena’s Extraordinary Genitalia in 1777

In the history of zoology the English anatomist Morrison Watson (1845–1885) is considered to be the discoverer of the masculinized sexual organs of the spotted hyena. Beginning in 1877, Watson had published a series of anatomical studies on the spotted hyena (Watson, 1877, 1878, 1881, Watson and Young, 1879), in which he, in which he for the first time made public the anatomical peculiarities of the female spotted hyena’s genitalia. This scientific achievement is well documented. But now we can also state that a hundred years before Watson the Dutch amateur zoologist Robert Jacob Gordon (1743–1795), while serving in the Scots Brigades at the Cape of Good Hope, had already made the same discovery and merely unfortunate personal circumstances prevented publication. During his stay at the Cape, Gordon had studied spotted hyenas intensively and recorded his observations in accurate drawings and comments. These drawings have been preserved as part of a large collection of animal drawings entitled Gordon Atlas. With his discovery, Gordon actually was the first to provide empirical evidence of a “curious and inexplicable case of dimorphism” (Darwin on a beetle) in mammalians, long before étienne Geoffrey Saint-Hilaire (Cours de l’histoire naturelle des mammifères, 1829) started examining masculinized sexual organs in the mole or Darwin recognized the importance of sexual dimorphism (Descent of Man, 1871). In this paper we reproduce for the first time all hyena drawings from the Gordon Atlas, including Gordon’s handwritten notes in the margins in the original Dutch and in translation. Additionally, we briefly delineate the knowledge about the South African spotted hyena in Gordon’s time and indicate that we doubt Watson’s explanation for the age-old confusion about the hyena.     

Hormonal state influences aspects of female mate choice in the Túngara Frog (Physalaemus pustulosus)

Females alter their mate choices as they transition through different reproductive stages; however, the proximal mechanisms for such behavioral fluctuation are unclear. In many taxa, as females transition through different reproductive stages, there is an associated change in hormone levels; therefore, we examined whether fluctuation in hormone levels serves as a proximal mechanism for within-individual variation in mate choice in female túngara frogs (Physalaemus pustulosus). We manipulated hormone levels of females by administering 0, 10, 100, 500 or 1,000 IU of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), which is a ligand for luteinizing hormone (LH) receptors and will therefore cause increased gonadal hormone production. Phonotaxis assays were conducted to measure three aspects of mate choice behavior before and after HCG administration; receptivity (response to a conspecific mate signal), permissiveness (response to a signal that is less attractive than conspecific signals) and discrimination (ability to discern signal differences). The probability of response to a conspecific and an artificial hybrid signal significantly increased at the highest HCG doses. The difference in mean response time between pre- and post-HCG tests was significantly different for both the receptivity and permissiveness tests among the five doses. Increased permissiveness, however, was not due to decreased discrimination because females could discriminate between calls even at the highest HCG doses. These hormonal manipulations caused the same behavioral pattern we reported in females as they transitioned through different reproductive stages (Lynch, K.S., Rand, A.S., Ryan, M.J., Wilczynski, W., 2005. Plasticity in female mate choice associated with changing reproductive states. Anim. Behav. 69, 689-699), suggesting that changes in hormone levels can influence the female's mate choice behavior.     

Targeting G Protein-Coupled Receptors in the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized in part by the deterioration of dopaminergic neurons which leads to motor impairment. Although there is no cure for PD, the motor symptoms can be treated using dopamine replacement therapies including the dopamine precursor L-DOPA, which has been in use since the 1960s. However, neurodegeneration in PD is not limited to dopaminergic neurons, and many patients experience non-motor symptoms including cognitive impairment or neuropsychiatric disturbances, for which there are limited treatment options. Moreover, there are currently no treatments able to alter the progression of neurodegeneration. There are many therapeutic strategies being investigated for PD, including alternatives to L-DOPA for the treatment of motor impairment, symptomatic treatments for non-motor symptoms, and neuroprotective or disease-modifying agents. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which include the dopamine receptors, are highly druggable cell surface proteins which can regulate numerous intracellular signaling pathways and thereby modulate the function of neuronal circuits affected by PD. This review will describe the treatment strategies being investigated for PD that target GPCRs and their downstream signaling mechanisms. First, we discuss new developments in dopaminergic agents for alleviating PD motor impairment, the role of dopamine receptors in L-DOPA induced dyskinesia, as well as agents targeting non-dopamine GPCRs which could augment or replace traditional dopaminergic treatments. We then discuss GPCRs as prospective treatments for neuropsychiatric and cognitive symptoms in PD. Finally, we discuss the evidence pertaining to ghrelin receptors, β-adrenergic receptors, angiotensin receptors and glucagon-like peptide 1 receptors, which have been proposed as disease modifying targets with potential neuroprotective effects in PD.     

Molecular phylogenetics and morphological evolution of St. John’s wort (Hypericum; Hypericaceae)

Phylogenetic hypotheses for the large cosmopolitan genus Hypericum (St. John’s wort) have previously been based on morphology, and molecular studies have thus far included only a few species. In this study, we used 360 sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) for 206 species representing Hypericum (incl. Triadenum and Thornea) and three other genera of Hypericaceae to generate an explicit phylogenetic hypothesis for the genus using parsimony and model-based methods. The results indicate that the small genus Triadenum is nested in a clade within Hypericum containing most of the New World species. Sister to Hypericum is Thornea from Central America. Within Hypericum, three large clades and two smaller grades were found; these are based on their general morphology, especially characters used previously in taxonomy of the genus. Relative to the most recent classification, around 60% of the sections of Hypericum were monophyletic. We used a Bayesian approach to reconstruct ancestral states of selected morphological characters, which resulted in recognition of characters that support major clades within the genus and a revised interpretation of morphological evolution in Hypericum. The shrubby habit represents the plesiomorphic state from which herbs evolved several times. Arborescent species have radiated convergently in high-elevation habitats in tropical Africa and South America.     

Chromosomal Evolution of Sibling Species of the Drosophila willistoni Group. I. Chromosomal Arm IIR (Muller’s Element B)

The phylogenetic relationships among nine entities of Drosophila belonging to the D. willistoni subgroup were investigated by establishing the homologous chromosomal segments of IIR chromosome, Muller’s element B (equivalent to chromosome 2L of D. melanogaster). The sibling species of the D. willistoni group investigated include D. willistoni, D. tropicalis tropicalis, D. tropicalis cubana, D. equinoxialis, D. insularis and four semispecies of the D. paulistorum complex. The phylogenetic relationships were based on the existence of segments in different triads of species, which could only be produced by overlapping inversions. Polytene banding similarity maps and break points of inversions between species are presented. The implications of the chromosomal data for the phylogeny of the species and comparisons with molecular data are discussed. The aim of this study is to produce phylogenetic trees depicting accurately the sequence of natural events that have occurred in the evolution of these sibling species. Claudia Rohde, Ana Cristina Lauer Garcia: These authors contributed equally to this work     

Partial sequencing of Reissner’s fiber glycoprotein I (RF-Gly I)

The bulk of the secretion of the subcommissural organ is formed by glycoproteins that appear to be derived from two precursor forms of 540 and 320 kDa. Upon release into the ventricle, these glycoproteins aggregate to form Reissner’s fiber. We report the isolation of three cDNA clones from a cDNA library prepared from bovine subcommissural organ RNA, by using an anti-Reissner’s fiber serum for immunoscreening. Inserts of 0.7, 1.2, and 2.5 kb were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction, subcloned into pUC18 vector, and sequenced. Although restriction mapping of the three inserts initially suggested that all of them were derived from the same mRNA, sequence analysis showed that a short non-homologous region was present in the 0.7-kb insert when compared with the 1.2-kb and 2.5-kb inserts, suggesting that they corresponded to two different, although highly homologous, mRNAs. Northern analyses showed a single mRNA species of approximately 9.5 kb present in the subcommissural organ and missing in the choroid plexus, brain cortex, and liver. In situ hybridization confirmed that the expression of the RNA was restricted to cells of the bovine subcommissural organ. Polyclonal antibodies raised against a synthetic peptide, whose amino-acid sequence was deduced from the 2.5-kb cDNA, reacted specifically with the bovine and rat subcommissural organ-Reissner’s fiber complex. In immunoblots of bovine subcommissural organ, this antibody revealed the precursor 540-kDa form and its putative processed form of 450 kDa. It is concluded that the cloned cDNA encodes for the major constitutive glycoprotein of Reissner’s fiber, here designated as RF-Gly I. The sequenced region of RF-Gly I displays a high degree of homology with some regions of the von Willebrand factor and certain mucins; it also displays two motifs homologous with repeats present in proteins of the spondin family and other proteins. A core sequence of the RF-Gly I repeats suggests that this molecule displays protein-binding properties.