Separation of the pineal vesicle from the wall of the third ventricle during the post-hatching development of the chicken

Summary According to light- and electron-microscopic observations the pineal organ of the 3-day-old chicken consists of a prominent end vesicle and a tapering parenchymal stalk. During this stage the pineal lumen is in open communication with the third ventricle. However, in the 40-day-old chicken, which still possesses a well-developed end vesicle, the proximal portion of the pineal stalk displays regressive changes leading to local fragmentation. At this stage the pineal stalk is reduced, and the pineal lumen is missing. In 1-year-old chickens the parenchyma of the proximal portion of the stalk is further diminished, and in 3-year-old domestic fowl is completely displaced by bundles of collagenous fibers, only some nerve fibers being present. This post-hatching pineal development may reflect the sequence of changes leading from pineal sense organs to pineal glands.This work was supported by a grant-in-aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan     

国产利妥昔单抗治疗弥漫大B细胞淋巴瘤的疗效及安全性

摘要 目的：探讨弥漫大B细胞淋巴瘤患者采用国产利妥昔单抗为基础的化疗方案的疗效及安全性。方法：回顾性分析2020年3月至2022年5月份在安徽省第二人民医院血液内科诊治的弥漫大B淋巴瘤患者31例,均接受国产利妥昔单抗为基础的联合方案化疗,其中非生发中心来源的弥漫大B细胞淋巴瘤患者25例,生发中心来源的弥漫大B细胞淋巴瘤患者6例。21~28 d为一个疗程,这些患者至少接受2~8个疗程的联合化疗,并且2个疗程以后进行疗效评估及不良反应监测。结果：①本研究31例弥漫大B细胞淋巴瘤患者接受利妥昔单抗为基础的联合化疗方案治疗后,疗效评估为完全缓解CR 16例（51.6%）,部分缓解PR 10例（32.3%）,疾病稳定SD 2例（6.5%）,疾病进展PD 3例（9.7%）,总体反应率ORR 83.9%。②31例弥漫大B细胞淋巴瘤患者接受国产利妥昔单抗治疗后,常见的不良反应发生率依次为：血液学毒性29.0%（9/31）,包括中性粒细胞减少、血小板减少等等。其次为感染19.4%（6/31）、消化道症状16.1%（5/31）,包括腹痛、腹泻、便秘等等。所有常见不良反应经过对症处理后均可好转。仅有1例患者发生过敏反应3.2%（1/31）,1例患者因病情严重而死亡。结论：国产利妥昔单抗在弥漫大B细胞淋巴瘤患者的治疗中具有良好的临床疗效及安全性,不良反应较少,值得进一步探讨和应用。     

System-specific distribution of zinc in the chick brain

Summary The brain of young domestic chicks was investigated using a Timm sulfide silver method. Serial Vibratome sections were analyzed under the light microscope, and the localization of zinc-positive structures in selected areas was determined at the ultrastructural level. Both strong and differential staining was visible in the avian telencephalon whereas most subtelencephalic structures showed a pale reaction. The highest staining intensity was found in the nonprimary sensory regions of the telencephalon such as the hyperstriatum dorsale, hyperstriatum ventrale, hippocampus, palaeostriatum augmentatum, lobus parolfactorius and caudal parts of neostriatum. There was an overall gradient of staining intensity in neostriatal areas from rostral to caudal with the heaviest zinc deposits in the caudal neostriatum. Primary sensory projection areas, such as the ectostriatum (visual), hyperstriatum intercalatum superius (visual), nucleus basalis (beak representation), the input layer L₂ of the auditory field L and the somatosensory area rostral to field L were selectively left unstained. Fiber tracts throughout the brain were free of zinc deposits except for glial cells. In electron micrographs of stained regions, silver grains were localized in some presynaptic boutons of asymmetric synapses (Gray type I), within the cytoplasm of neuronal somata and sporadically in the nucleus. The possible involvement of zinc in synaptic transmission and other processes is discussed.Abbreviations for Anatomical Structures used in the Text and Figures Ac Nucleus accumbens - Ad Archistriatum dorsale - Ai Archistriatum intermedium - Am Archistriatum mediale - Ap Archistriatum posterior - APH Area parahippocampalis - BAS Nucleus basalis - BO Bulbus olfactorius - Cb Cerebellum; - CbI Nucleus cerebellaris internus - CbM Nucleus cerebellaris intermedius - CDL Area corticoidea dorsolateralis - CPi Cortex piriformis - CT Commissura tectalis - DMP Nucleus dorsomedialis posterior thalami - E Ectostriatum - H Hyperstriatum - HA Hyperstriatum accessorium - HD Hyperstriatum dorsale - HIS Hyperstriatum intercalatum superius - Hp Hippocampus - HV Hyperstriatum ventrale - ICo Nucleus intercollicularis - Ipc Nucleus isthmi, pars parvocellularis - L Lingula - L _{1, 2, 3} Field L - La Nucleus laminaris - LFM Lamina frontalis suprema - LFS Lamina frontalis superior - LH Lamina hyperstriatica - LMD Lamina medullaris dorsalis - LNH Rostrolateral neostriatum/Hyperstriatum ventrale - LPO Lobus parolfactorius - M Medulla - MLd Nucleus mesencephalicus lateralis, pars dorsalis - MNH Rostromedial neostriatum/Hyperstriatum ventrale - N Neostriatum - NC Neostriatum caudale - NEB Nucleus of ectostriatal belt - NHA Nucleus of HA - PA Palaeostriatum augmentatum - Pap Nucleus papillioformis - PL Nucleus pontis lateralis - PP Palaeostriatum primitivum - RP Nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis - Rt Nucleus rotundus - S Nucleus septalis - SS Somatosensory area - TeO Tectum opticum - Tn Nucleus taeniae - TPO Area temporoparieto-occipitalis - V Ventricle - Va Vallecula     

Motile cells in the mucosa of the cloacal urodaeum and proctodaeum of the hen

Summary Motile cells (mast cells, granulocytes, lymphoid cells) are described in the mucosa of the cloacal urodaeum and proctodaeum of the female domestic fowl. Diffuse lymphoid tissue with lymphatic nodules occurs in the urodaeum at the ureteral ostium. Small local aggregations of lymphoid tissue can be observed in the mucosa of the proctodaeum. Cells originating from these sites penetrate the basal lamina of the epithelium and are then found between the epithelial cells.In the subepithelial layers the motile cells sometimes are in contact with each other. Mast cells (tissue basophils) form contact zones, resembling desmosomes or half desmosomes, with smooth muscle cells. In the mast cells three types of granules can be distinguished. Their ultrastructure is discussed in comparison with that in similar cells of the guinea pig.Dedicated to Professor Dr. med. M. Watzka in honor of his 75th birthday     

Adapting to the human world: Dogs’ responsiveness to our social cues

Dogs are more skilful than a host of other species at tasks which require they respond to human communicative gestures in order to locate hidden food. Four basic interpretations for this proficiency surface from distilling the research findings. One possibility is that dogs simply have more opportunity than other species to learn to be responsive to human social cues. A different analysis suggests that the domestication process provided an opening for dogs to apply general cognitive problem-solving skills to a novel social niche. Some researchers go beyond this account and propose that dogs’ co-evolution with humans equipped them with a theory of mind for social exchanges. Finally, a more prudent approach suggests that sensitivity to the behaviours of both humans and conspecifics would be particularly advantageous for a social scavenger like the dog. A predisposition to attend to human actions allows for rapid early learning of the association between gestures and the availability of food.     

Communication between domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) and humans: Dogs are good learners

Communication involves a wide range of behaviours that animals emit in their daily lives and can take place between different species, as is the case of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) and humans. Dogs have shown to be successful at following human cues to solve the object choice task. The question is what are the mechanisms involved in these communicative abilities. This article presents a review of studies about the communicative capacities of domestic dogs emphasizing the ones that considered the effect of associative learning upon these skills. In addition, evidence about differences in dogs’ performance in following physical or social cues is summarized and two studies where both signals compete are presented here. The obtained results suggest that the training of a colour cue reverses the dogs’ preference for the social one. These results are discussed in light of the findings that gave importance to the learning effect, concluding that the dogs fundamentally follow those cues that allowed them to obtain reinforcers in their previous learning history.     

Land use planning in Ireland—a life cycle energy analysis of recent residential development in the Greater Dublin Area

Background, aim, and scope  One third of the total housing stock in the Republic of Ireland has been built in 10 years up to and including 2006 and of this approximately 34% was built in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA). Much of the housing was low-density with poor public transport links leading to doubts over its sustainability—particularly in terms of energy use. Although the country is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 13% above 1990 levels by the period 2008–2012, by 2005, emissions were already 25.4% higher than the baseline and current projections are that this figure will rise to 37% over the period. The residential sector is estimated to contribute to approximately 24.5% of energy-related CO₂ emissions. This paper estimates total emissions from residential developments in the GDA constructed between 1997 and 2006. Materials and methods  Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂) emissions are estimated using a life cycle assessment approach over a 100-year building lifespan and employing process, input–output and hybrid energy techniques. Life cycle stages include: construction, operation, transport, maintenance and demolition. The main data sources include: national population and industry census data, household travel survey data, residential energy performance surveys and national accounts. The GDA was split into four zones each encompassing development at increasing radii from Dublin’s city centre, namely: city centre, suburbs, exurbs and commuter towns. Results  Per capita CO₂ life cycle emissions in the GDA were found to be approximately 50–55% greater in the exurbs and commuter towns than in the city centre. Of the five life cycle stages studied, operational energy requirements (predominantly space heating and hot water, but including power) contributed most significantly to emissions (68%), followed by transport (17%), construction (9%) and maintenance/renovation (6%). Discussion  Operating emissions from dwellings in the commuter town and extra-urban zones were almost twice those in the city centre both due to larger dwelling sizes and the predominance of detached and semi-detached dwellings (with large amounts of exposed walls) in the former and the prevalence of smaller apartments in the latter. Car use was most pronounced in the zones furthest from the city centre where per capita emissions were almost twice those of residents in the city centre. Despite their smaller size, the per capita construction CO₂ emissions of apartments were approximately one third greater than for low-rise dwellings due to the greater energy intensity of the structure. However, this difference was more than compensated for by the significantly lower operational emissions referred to above. Conclusions  In 2006, recurrent CO₂ emissions (operational, transport and maintenance) from dwellings built in the GDA over the ten preceding years were 2,108 kt while construction-related emissions in that year were 1,325 kt giving a total contribution from the residential sector of 3,434 kt CO₂/annum—representing 4.9% of national emissions for that year. Had the development policy prescribed ‘city centre’-type development and transport modes, then emissions for the year 2006 would have been 2,892 kt CO₂—a reduction of almost 16% over the actual figure. However, in this scenario recurrent emissions would have been reduced to 1,417 kt CO₂—a reduction of 33% over actual levels. Recommendations and perspectives  This study supports Irish and international governments’ policies aimed at curbing CO₂ emissions from the domestic sector which focus primarily on reducing operational emissions from new and existing housing through design and construction improvements. However, it demonstrates that significant reductions in operational emissions are associated with high-density residential development with modest floor areas. Furthermore, it highlights the scope for transport emissions’ reductions through better spatial planning leading to reduced car travel.     

Do more sociable dogs gaze longer to the human face than less sociable ones?

Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) are especially skillful in communicating with humans, and they rely on special abilities to do that. One of these skills involves gazing at human faces in cases of uncertainty or when seeking for something out of reach. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between dogs' sociability level and the ability to learn to gaze in a situation with food in sight but out of their reach. Thirty-nine adult dogs were tested in two procedures: (1) a sociability test that involved interacting with an unknown person, and (2) a learning task that consisted of training trials in which gazing at the experimenter's face was food reinforced, followed by extinction trials in which gazing was not followed by food. A significant positive correlation was found between the duration of physical contact with the unknown person in the sociability test and gaze duration during extinction. Moreover, high sociability dogs gazed significantly longer at humans during extinction trials. We discuss the possibility that, more sociable animals, such as those who pay more attention to the person in our sociability test, may be more persistent in their communicative attempts because the presence of the human is intrinsically reinforcing to them. Finally, we comment on the importance of these findings for training purposes.