Getting a grip on the intertidal: flow microhabitat and substratum type determine the dislodgement of the crab Pachygrapsus crassipes (Randall) on rocky shores and in estuaries

Hydrodynamic forces can affect survival as well as limit the movement of motile benthic animals. An animal's danger of dislodgement depends on the hydrodynamic forces it experiences in its microhabitat relative to the force required to dislodge it (tenacity) from the substratum. We measured water flow and substratum characteristics in two different habitats of the shore crab Pachygrapsus crassipes: a wave-swept rocky shore and an intertidal mudflat. The maximum water velocities and accelerations in the microhabitats of the crabs at the wave-swept site were three times and two times greater, respectively, than at the mudflat site. In the laboratory, we measured the tenacity of crabs of various sizes on different substrata, and also measured their drag, lift and added-mass coefficients. Using these data, we calculated the flow conditions under which crabs would be overturned or sheared off the substratum in their two habitats. The net horizontal force (drag plus acceleration reaction) required to dislodge a crab on a rugose rock substratum was an order of magnitude greater than on smooth rock and two orders of magnitude greater than on mud. Our calculations indicate that, under non-storm conditions, crabs will not be dislodged from the substratum in either the mudflat or the wave-swept habitat when grasping the substratum with maximum tenacity. Moving crabs have lower tenacity and our calculations predict that hydrodynamic forces will restrict the mobility of large crabs more than that of small ones on smooth, but not on rugose rock.     

Orientation and Shape Discrimination in Juveniles and Adults of the Mangrove Crab Aratus pisonii (H. Milne Edwards, 1837): Effect of Predator and Chemical Cues

Behavioral responses of juveniles and adults of the mangrove crab Aratus pisonii (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) to black geometric shapes of equal surface area was measured. Crabs were tested either in presence or absence of chemicals generated from two common predator species, the portunid crab Callinectes ornatus Ordway, and the soapfish Haemulon aurolineatum Cuvier, 1830. The present study tested the hypothesis that A. pisonii (1) has the capacity to orient to visual cues; (2) it discriminates between different visual objects based on a combination of chemical and visual information and (3) this behavior changes with age. When presented with single black targets in background water, juveniles oriented toward all shapes. This behavioral response was interpreted as visual orientation toward potential shelter. Among shapes, juveniles showed preference for the vertical rectangle, probably due to the recognition of natural visual elements like mangrove roots. In predator conditioned water, juveniles exhibited a stronger response than in background water. Thus, juveniles were able to detect by odor the potential presence of predators. Change in responsiveness between adults and juveniles was also demonstrated.     

Is there modal opponency in the thermal senses?

1. 1.The sensations evoked by pairs of distinct thermal stimuli applied to the back of the hand were studied in 17 volunteer subjects. Four stimulus combinations were used; neutral-cold (NC), neutral-neutral (NN), neutral-warm (NW), and cold-warm (CW).

2. 2.The subjects were first asked to estimate the magnitude of the thermal sensations evoked by the thermal stimuli. On average, the four pairs were reported as increasing magnitude in the following order: NC, CW, NN, and NW, seeming to suggest that the subjects experienced the cold-warm combination as a composite sensation of cold and warmth intermediate between pure cold and pure warmth.

3. 3.When asked only to detect the presence of a cold stimulus, the subjects performed as well for the CW combination as for the CN combination. This second result indicates that the reported composite magnitude of CW does not result from a true opponency of cold and warmth but from a cognitive combination of distinct sensations of cold and warmth.

Dissociation of fibrinogen and fibronectin binding from transglutaminase-mediated cross-linking at the hepatocyte surface

The interaction of fibrinogen and fibronectin with hepatocytes has been dissociated into distinct binding and cross-linking steps. Binding and cross-linking of 125I-labeled ligands were both decreased by transglutaminase inhibitors, but not by heparin or hirudin. Transglutaminase activity was manifest by Ca2+-dependent incorporation of [14C]putrescine into cells. Preferential cross-linking of fibrinogen A alpha over gamma chains, and lack of inhibition by heparin or hirudin indicates the involvement of tissue transglutaminase, and not Factor XIIIa. Hepatic transglutaminase activity, as well as binding and cross-linking of fibrinogen and fibronectin, were maximally supported by Ca2+, partially supported by Mn2+ and Sr2+, and markedly decreased by Mg2+ and Ba2+. In contrast, Co2+ supported binding but not cross-linking or transglutaminase activity, indicating that binding and cross-linking are dissociable events. This conclusion was corroborated by the finding that fibrinogen fragments D95 and D78 both inhibited Ca2+-dependent fibrinogen binding without being cross-linked themselves. Ligand binding in the presence of either cation was localized to the cell surface as evidenced by its trypsin sensitivity. Thus, fibrinogen and fibronectin binding to hepatocytes is independent of transglutaminase activity, whereas cross-linking of these adhesive macromolecules requires an enzymatically active cellular transglutaminase. In addition, fibrinogen binding appears to be mediated by molecular determinants present in fragment D78.     

Myofibroblasts in human palatal mucosa

Myofibroblasts in human osseous palatal mucosa are described. They appear as fusiform or ramified cells, rich in homogeneous 60- to 70-Angstr?m-thick microfilaments, rough endoplasmic reticulum cisternae, and abundant pinocytotic vesicles in relation with the plasma membrane. On the surface of these cells there are small areas covered by basal lamina. Contacts between myofibroblast processes and other tissue elements are described. Small clusters of oxytalan fibers appear in the vicinity of these cells.     

Management of a harem breeding colony of rhesus monkeys to reduce trauma-related morbidity and mortality

A management procedure was developed for a harem breeding colony of rhesus monkeys to reduce trauma-related injuries and deaths resulting from the periodic removal of pregnant monkeys for research and their subsequent return to the population. Lower morbidity and mortality rates, a reduced mean conception interval, and a higher mean conception rate occurred when monkeys were maintained in permanent harems to which returning females were reintroduced compared to new social groups formed from aggregates of unfamiliar animals.