Evolutionary origins of ultrasonic hearing and laryngeal echolocation in bats inferred from morphological analyses of the inner ear

PMCID: PMC3598973This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Normalizing the peritoneal dialysis dose-have we got it right?

How the dialysis dose is normalized is just one of several assumptions that clinicians need to take into account when prescribing peritoneal dialysis. El-Kateb et al. confirm that estimating the volume of urea distribution is associated with significant error and show that energy expenditure is not linearly related to volume, such that there is a potential need for a higher dialysis prescription in smaller, more active individuals

Renewed management system and provisions for South Africa's sub-Antarctic islands

A novel environmental management plan (EMP) produced for the Prince Edward Islands provides a systematic and comprehensive set of provisions for the management of the islands' biodiversity and historical estate. The plan addresses four major management goals: administration, conservation management, historical conservation and waste management. The EMP serves both an information-provision and a management-support function within a framework of continual improvement

Inhibitory Synapse Formation at the Axon Initial Segment

The axon initial segment (AIS) is the site of action potential (AP) initiation in most neurons and is thus a critical site in the regulation of neuronal excitability. Normal function within the discrete AIS compartment requires intricate molecular machinery to ensure the proper concentration and organization of voltage-gated and ligand-gated ion channels; in humans, dysfunction at the AIS due to channel mutations is commonly associated with epileptic disorders. In this review, we will examine the molecular mechanisms underlying the formation of the only synapses found at the AIS: synapses containing γ-aminobutyric type A receptors (GABAARs). GABAARs are heteropentamers assembled from 19 possible subunits and are the primary mediators of fast synaptic inhibition in the brain. Although the total GABAAR population is incredibly heterogeneous, only one specific GABAAR subtype—the α2-containing receptor—is enriched at the AIS. These AIS synapses are innervated by GABAergic chandelier cells, and this inhibitory signaling is thought to contribute to the tight control of AP firing. Here, we will summarize the progress made in understanding the regulation of GABAAR synapse formation, concentrating on post-translational modifications of subunits and on interactions with intracellular proteins. We will then discuss subtype-specific synapse formation, with a focus on synapses found at the AIS, and how these synapses influence neuronal excitation

Local solutions save young lives.

Peritoneal dialysis has many advantages over haemodialysis in the treatment of acute kidney injury (AKI) in low-resource settings. One limitation, however, is the availability of commercial dialysis fluid. Following the International Society of Peritoneal Dialysis AKI guidelines, a frontline hospital in Cameroon now shows that locally prepared fluids are safe and effective

Light-Cone Quantization and Hadron Structure

In this talk, I review the use of the light-cone Fock expansion as a tractable and consistent description of relativistic many-body systems and bound states in quantum field theory and as a frame-independent representation of the physics of the QCD parton model. Nonperturbative methods for computing the spectrum and LC wavefunctions are briefly discussed. The light-cone Fock state representation of hadrons also describes quantum fluctuations containing intrinsic gluons, strangeness, and charm, and, in the case of nuclei, "hidden color". Fock state components of hadrons with small transverse size, such as those which dominate hard exclusive reactions, have small color dipole moments and thus diminished hadronic interactions; i.e., "color transparency". The use of light-cone Fock methods to compute loop amplitudes is illustrated by the example of the electron anomalous moment in QED. In other applications, such as the computation of the axial, magnetic, and quadrupole moments of light nuclei, the QCD relativistic Fock state description provides new insights which go well beyond the usual assumptions of traditional hadronic and nuclear physics.Comment: LaTex 36 pages, 3 figures. To obtain a copy, send e-mail to [email protected]

Effects of dietary β-(1,3)(1,6)-D-glucan supplementation on growth performance, intestinal morphology and haemato-immunological profile of mirror carp (Cyprinus carpio L.).

In recent years, aquaculture research has focused on probiotics, prebiotics, and β-glucans, in order to improve health status and growth performance. Information regarding the effects of β-glucan on growth performance and intestinal immunity of mirror carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) is scarce. An experiment was therefore conducted to investigate the effects of a yeast β-glucan preparation (MacroGard(®) ) on growth performance, intestinal morphology and haemato-immunological indices of mirror carp. Carp (initial weight 11.1 ± 0.0 g) were fed highly purified diets supplemented with 0% (control), 0.1%, 1% or 2% MacroGard(®) for 8 weeks. Fish fed diets containing 1% and 2% MacroGard(®) showed significant improvements in weight gain, specific growth rate and feed conversion ratio compared to fish fed both the control and the 0.1% MacroGard(®) containing diet. Histological appraisal of the intestine showed a significantly higher infiltration of leucocytes into the epithelial layer of fish fed diets supplemented with 1% and 2% MacroGard(®) in the anterior intestine compared to fish fed the control and 0.1% MacroGard(®) diet. This effect was not observed in the posterior intestine. There were no significant differences in the intestinal absorptive surface area and number of goblet cells in either intestinal region. At the end of the experiment, the haematological status of the fish was examined. Compared to control fed fish, the haematocrit value was significantly elevated in fish fed the 2% MacroGard(®) diet. Furthermore, the blood monocyte fraction was significantly higher in fish fed the 1% and 2% MacroGard(®) diets. No significant changes were observed in the other blood parameters assessed. The present study shows that high dietary β-glucan inclusion increases growth performance without detrimental effects on the health indicators assessed. Increased intraepithelial leucocytes in the anterior intestine may indicate a localized immune response; no detrimental effects on intestinal morphology were observed