The role of neighborhood relations in maintenance of the spatial–ethological structure of local settlements as exemplified by the water vole (<Emphasis Type=Italic>Arvicola amphibius</Emphasis>)

Adult males of the water vole have been found experimentally to recognize their neighbors and react to them differently depending on the degree of spatial proximity in nature. Most tensions (estimated by the number of aggressive acts in the encounters) were observed between distant neighbors (from neighboring settlements), which did not belong to the same groups with established hierarchy and a relatively reduced aggression. These are probably perceived as the most likely competitors (because of their spatial proximity). At the same time, male voles kept away from the obviously unfamiliar ones, though they do not express any apparent aggression.     

Functional Changes in Blood Microcirculation in the Skin of the Foot during Heating Tests in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus

The paper shows the possibility of using the laser Doppler flowmetry method for the assessment of system of blood microcirculation in the lower limbs of patients with diabetes mellitus. A series of experimental studies involving 76 patients with diabetes mellitus and 46 healthy volunteers was carried out. The state of peripheral blood flow was assessed during the local heating tests with different temperature regimes. The wavelet analysis of LDF-grams was used to evaluate the adaptive changes of microcirculation during the temperature tests. The data show that the proposed methodology in the form of heating tests and the use of the wavelet transform in the analysis of LDF-grams allows the evaluation of adaptation processes in the microcirculatory bed during thermal tests and the detection of the preclinical stage of trophic disorders.     

Amblyomma sculptum: genetic diversity and rickettsias in the Brazilian Cerrado biome

Amblyomma sculptum (Ixodida: Ixodidae) Berlese, 1888 is the most important tick vector in Brazil, transmitting the bioagent of the most severe form of spotted fever (SF) in part of the Cerrado (in the states of Minas Gerais and São Paulo). In another part of the Cerrado (Central‐West region of Brazil), a milder form of SF has been recorded. However, neither the rickettsia nor the vector involved have been characterized. The aim of the current study was to analyse genetic variation and the presence of rickettsia in A. sculptum in Cerrado, from silent areas and with the milder form of SF. Samples were subjected to DNA extraction, amplification and sequencing of 12S rDNA, cytochrome oxidase subunit II and D‐loop mitochondrial genes (for tick population analyses), and gltA, htrA, ompA and gene D (sca4) genes for rickettsia researches. Exclusive haplotypes with low frequencies, high haplotype diversity and low nucleotide diversity, star‐shaped networks and significant results in neutrality tests indicate A. sculptum population expansions in some areas. Rickettsia amblyommatis, Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae and Rickettsia felis were detected. The A. sculptum diversity is not geographically, or biome delimited, pointing to a different potential in vector capacity, possibly associated with differing tick genetic profiles.     

Nonsense Mutations in Eukaryotes

Biochemistry (Moscow) - Nonsense mutations are a type of mutations which results in a premature termination codon occurrence. In general, these mutations have been considered to be among the most...     

The Tongue Structure in Scaly-Tailed Squirrels (Rodentia,Anomaluridae)

Biology Bulletin - Five of the seven modern species of the family Anomaluridae have been studied. Significant intergeneric differences in the structure of the tongue between Anomalurus and Idiurus...