Expression and Evolution of Short Wavelength Sensitive Opsins in Colugos: a Nocturnal Lineage That Informs Debate on Primate Origins
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Can Mammalian Vision Be Restored Following Optic Nerve Degeneration?
Journal name: Journal of Neurorestoratology Article Designation: REVIEW Year: 2016 Volume: 4 Journal of Neurorestoratology Dovepress Running head verso: Kuffler Running head recto: Restoring vision following an optic nerve injury open access to scientific and medical research DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/JN.S109523 Open Access Full Text Article REVIEW Can mammalian vision be restored following optic nerve degeneration? Damien P Kuffler Abstract: For most adult vertebrates, glaucoma, trauma, and tumors close to retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) result in their neuron death and no possibility of vision reestablishment. For more Institute of Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico, distant traumas, RGCs survive, but their axons do not regenerate into the distal nerve stump San Juan, Puerto Rico due to regeneration-inhibiting factors and absence of regeneration-promoting factors. The annual clinical incidence of blindness in the United States is 1:28 (4%) for persons >40 years, with the total number of blind people approaching 1.6 million. Thus, failure of optic nerves to regenerate is a significant problem. However, following transection of the optic nerve of adult amphibians and fish, the RGCs survive and their axons regenerate through the distal optic nerve stump and reestablish appropriate functional retinotopic connections and fully functional For personal use only. vision. This is because they lack factors that inhibit axon regeneration and possess factors that promote regeneration. The axon regeneration in lower vertebrates has led to extensive studies by using them as models in studies that attempt to understand the mechanisms by which axon regeneration is promoted, so that these mechanisms might be applied to higher vertebrates for restoring vision. -
Musculoskeletal Morphing from Human to Mouse
Procedia IUTAM Procedia IUTAM 00 (2011) 1–9 2011 Symposium on Human Body Dynamics Musculoskeletal Morphing from Human to Mouse Yoshihiko Nakamuraa,∗, Yosuke Ikegamia, Akihiro Yoshimatsua, Ko Ayusawaa, Hirotaka Imagawaa, and Satoshi Ootab aDepartment of Mechano-Informatics, Graduate School of Information and Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan bBioresource Center, Riken, 3-1-1 Takanodai, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaragi, Japan Abstract The analysis of movement provides various insights of human body such as biomechanical property of muscles, function of neural systems, physiology of sensory-motor system, skills of athletic movements, and more. Biomechan- ical modeling and robotics computation have been integrated to extend the applications of musculoskeletal analysis of human movements. The analysis would also provide valuable means for the other mammalian animals. One of current approaches of post-genomic research focuses to find connections between the phenotype and the genotype. The former means the visible morphological or behavioral expression of an animal, while the latter implies its genetic expression. Knockout mice allows to study the developmental pathway from the genetic disorders to the behavioral disorders. Would musculoskeletal analysis of mice also offer scientific means for such study? This paper reports our recent technological development to build the musculoskeletal model of a laboratory mouse. We propose mapping the musculoskeletal model of human to a laboratory mouse based on the morphological similarity between the two mammals. Although the model will need fine adjustment based on the CT data or else, we can still use the mapped musculoskeletal model as an approximate model of the mouse’s musculoskeletal system. -
TRPV1 and Endocannabinoids: Emerging Molecular Signals That Modulate Mammalian Vision
Cells 2014, 3, 914-938; doi:10.3390/cells3030914 OPEN ACCESS cells ISSN 2073-4409 www.mdpi.com/journal/cells Review TRPV1 and Endocannabinoids: Emerging Molecular Signals that Modulate Mammalian Vision 1,2,†, 1,2,† 1,† 1,2,3,4, Daniel A. Ryskamp *, Sarah Redmon , Andrew O. Jo and David Križaj * 1 Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Moran Eye Institute, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA; E-Mails: [email protected] (S.R.); [email protected] (A.O.J.) 2 Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA 3 Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA 4 Center for Translational Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA † Those authors contributed equally to this work. * Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mails: [email protected] (D.A.R.); [email protected] (D.K.); Tel.: +1-801-213-2777 (D.K.); Fax: +1-801-587-8314 (D.K.). Received: 1 July 2014; in revised form: 27 August 2014 / Accepted: 5 September 2014 / Published: 12 September 2014 Abstract: Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) subunits form a polymodal cation channel responsive to capsaicin, heat, acidity and endogenous metabolites of polyunsaturated fatty acids. While originally reported to serve as a pain and heat detector in the peripheral nervous system, TRPV1 has been implicated in the modulation of blood flow and osmoregulation but also neurotransmission, postsynaptic neuronal excitability and synaptic plasticity within the central nervous system. -
Aspects of Tree Shrew Consolidated Sleep Structure Resemble Human Sleep
ARTICLE https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-02234-7 OPEN Aspects of tree shrew consolidated sleep structure resemble human sleep Marta M. Dimanico1,4, Arndt-Lukas Klaassen1,2,4, Jing Wang1,3, Melanie Kaeser1, Michael Harvey1, ✉ Björn Rasch 2 & Gregor Rainer 1 Understanding human sleep requires appropriate animal models. Sleep has been extensively studied in rodents, although rodent sleep differs substantially from human sleep. Here we investigate sleep in tree shrews, small diurnal mammals phylogenetically close to primates, and compare it to sleep in rats and humans using electrophysiological recordings from frontal cortex of each species. Tree shrews exhibited consolidated sleep, with a sleep bout duration 1234567890():,; parameter, τ, uncharacteristically high for a small mammal, and differing substantially from the sleep of rodents that is often punctuated by wakefulness. Two NREM sleep stages were observed in tree shrews: NREM, characterized by high delta waves and spindles, and an intermediate stage (IS-NREM) occurring on NREM to REM transitions and consisting of intermediate delta waves with concomitant theta-alpha activity. While IS-NREM activity was reliable in tree shrews, we could also detect it in human EEG data, on a subset of transitions. Finally, coupling events between sleep spindles and slow waves clustered near the beginning of the sleep period in tree shrews, paralleling humans, whereas they were more evenly distributed in rats. Our results suggest considerable homology of sleep structure between humans and tree shrews despite the large difference in body mass between these species. 1 Department of Neuroscience and Movement Sciences, Section of Medicine, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland. -
2 a Critique of Pure Vision' Patricia S
Large-Scale Neuronal Theories of the Brain 2 A Critique of Pure Vision' Patricia S. Churchland, V. S. Ramachandran, and Terrence J. Sejnowski edited by Christof Koch and Joel L. Davis INTRODUCTION Any domain of scientific research has its sustaining orthodoxy. That is, research on a problem, whether in astronomy, physics, or biology, is con- ducted against a backdrop of broadly shared assumptions. It is these as- sumptions that guide inquiry and provide the canon of what is reasonable-- of what "makes sense." And it is these shared assumptions that constitute a framework for the interpretation of research results. Research on the problem of how we see is likewise sustained by broadly shared assump- tions, where the current orthodoxy embraces the very general idea that the business of the visual system is to create a detailed replica of the visual world, and that it accomplishes its business via hierarchical organization and by operating essentially independently of other sensory modalities as well as independently of previous learning, goals, motor planning, and motor execution. We shall begin by briefly presenting, in its most extreme version, the conventional wisdom. For convenience, we shall refer to this wisdom as the Theory of Pure Vision. We then outline an alternative approach, which, having lurked on the scientific fringes as a theoretical possibility, is now acquiring robust experimental infrastructure (see, e.g., Adrian 1935; Sperry 1952; Bartlett 1958; Spark and Jay 1986; Arbib 1989). Our charac- terization of this alternative, to wit, interactive vision, is avowedly sketchy and inadequate. Part of the inadequacy is owed to the nonexistence of an appropriate vocabulary to express what might be involved in interactive vision. -
The Phylogenetic Roots of Human Lethal Violence José María Gómez1,2, Miguel Verdú3, Adela González-Megías4 & Marcos Méndez5
LETTER doi:10.1038/nature19758 The phylogenetic roots of human lethal violence José María Gómez1,2, Miguel Verdú3, Adela González-Megías4 & Marcos Méndez5 The psychological, sociological and evolutionary roots of 600 human populations, ranging from the Palaeolithic era to the present conspecific violence in humans are still debated, despite attracting (Supplementary Information section 9c). The level of lethal violence the attention of intellectuals for over two millennia1–11. Here we was defined as the probability of dying from intraspecific violence propose a conceptual approach towards understanding these roots compared to all other causes. More specifically, we calculated the level based on the assumption that aggression in mammals, including of lethal violence as the percentage, with respect to all documented humans, has a significant phylogenetic component. By compiling sources of mortality, of total deaths due to conspecifics (these sources of mortality from a comprehensive sample of mammals, were infanticide, cannibalism, inter-group aggression and any other we assessed the percentage of deaths due to conspecifics and, type of intraspecific killings in non-human mammals; war, homicide, using phylogenetic comparative tools, predicted this value for infanticide, execution, and any other kind of intentional conspecific humans. The proportion of human deaths phylogenetically killing in humans). predicted to be caused by interpersonal violence stood at 2%. Lethal violence is reported for almost 40% of the studied mammal This value was similar to the one phylogenetically inferred for species (Supplementary Information section 9a). This is probably the evolutionary ancestor of primates and apes, indicating that a an underestimation, because information is not available for many certain level of lethal violence arises owing to our position within species. -
Sectional Geometry in a Simulated Fine Branch Niche
JOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY 276:759–765 (2015) Mouse Hallucal Metatarsal Cross-Sectional Geometry in a Simulated Fine Branch Niche Craig D. Byron,1* Anthony Herrel,2,3 Elin Pauwels,4 Amelie De Muynck,4 and Biren A. Patel5,6 1Department of Biology, Mercer University, Macon, Georgia 2Departement d’Ecologie et de Gestion de la Biodiversite, CNRS/MNHN, Paris, France 3Department of Vertebrate Evolutionary Morphology, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium 4Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ghent University, UGCT, Ghent, Belgium 5Department of Cell and Neurobiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 6Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California ABSTRACT Mice raised in experimental habitats con- arboreal substrates (Le Gros Clark, 1959; Cart- taining an artificial network of narrow “arboreal” sup- mill, 1972; Szalay and Drawhorn, 1980; Sussman, ports frequently use hallucal grasps during locomotion. 1991; Schmitt and Lemelin, 2002; Bloch et al., Therefore, mice in these experiments can be used to 2007; Sargis et al., 2007). There are also examples model a rudimentary form of arboreal locomotion in an of rodent (Orkin and Pontzer, 2011), carnivoran animal without other morphological specializations for using a fine branch niche. This model would prove use- (Fabre et al., 2013), marsupial (Lemelin and ful to better understand the origins of arboreal behav- Schmitt, 2007; Shapiro et al., 2014), and nonmam- iors in mammals like primates. In this study, we malian vertebrates including frogs, lizards, and examined if locomotion on these substrates influences birds (Herrel et al., 2013; Sustaita et al., 2013) the mid-diaphyseal cross-sectional geometry of mouse that are effective in this niche without primate- metatarsals. -
Creating Animal Models, Why Not Use the Chinese Tree Shrew (Tupaia Belangeri Chinensis)?
ZOOLOGICAL RESEARCH Creating animal models, why not use the Chinese tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri chinensis)? Yong-Gang Yao1,2,* 1 Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming Yunnan 650223, China 2 Kunming Primate Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming Yunnan 650223, China ABSTRACT the spot light as a viable animal model for investigating the basis of many different human diseases. The Chinese tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri chinensis), a squirrel-like and rat-sized mammal, has a wide Keywords: Chinese tree shrew; Genome biology; distribution in Southeast Asia, South and Southwest Animal model; Gene editing; Innate immunity China and has many unique characteristics that 1 make it suitable for use as an experimental animal. INTRODUCTION There have been many studies using the tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri) aimed at increasing our As human beings, our knowledge about ourselves, especially understanding of fundamental biological mechanisms about how our brain works, how a disease develops, and the and for the modeling of human diseases and discovery of many efficient therapeutic agents, has largely therapeutic responses. The recent release of a come from studies using animals. The higher the similarity publicly available annotated genome sequence of between an animal species and the human, the more we can the Chinese tree shrew and its genome database obtain helpful and precise information concerning the (www.treeshrewdb.org) has offered a solid base fundamental biology, disease mechanism, and safety, efficiency from which it is possible to elucidate the basic and predictability of therapeutic agents (Franco, 2013; biological properties and create animal models using McGonigle & Ruggeri, 2014). -
Ecological Consequences Artificial Night Lighting
Rich Longcore ECOLOGY Advance praise for Ecological Consequences of Artificial Night Lighting E c Ecological Consequences “As a kid, I spent many a night under streetlamps looking for toads and bugs, or o l simply watching the bats. The two dozen experts who wrote this text still do. This o of isis aa definitive,definitive, readable,readable, comprehensivecomprehensive reviewreview ofof howhow artificialartificial nightnight lightinglighting affectsaffects g animals and plants. The reader learns about possible and definite effects of i animals and plants. The reader learns about possible and definite effects of c Artificial Night Lighting photopollution, illustrated with important examples of how to mitigate these effects a on species ranging from sea turtles to moths. Each section is introduced by a l delightful vignette that sends you rushing back to your own nighttime adventures, C be they chasing fireflies or grabbing frogs.” o n —JOHN M. MARZLUFF,, DenmanDenman ProfessorProfessor ofof SustainableSustainable ResourceResource Sciences,Sciences, s College of Forest Resources, University of Washington e q “This book is that rare phenomenon, one that provides us with a unique, relevant, and u seminal contribution to our knowledge, examining the physiological, behavioral, e n reproductive, community,community, and other ecological effectseffects of light pollution. It will c enhance our ability to mitigate this ominous envirenvironmentalonmental alteration thrthroughough mormoree e conscious and effective design of the built environment.” -
Eye Size and Investment in Frogs And
Eye size and investment in frogs and royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rspb toads correlate with adult habitat, activity pattern and breeding ecology Kate N. Thomas1, David J. Gower1, Rayna C. Bell2,3, Matthew K. Fujita4, Research Ryan K. Schott2 and Jeffrey W. Streicher1 Cite this article: Thomas KN, Gower DJ, Bell 1Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK RC, Fujita MK, Schott RK, Streicher JW. 2020 2Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, Eye size and investment in frogs and toads DC 20560-0162, USA 3Department of Herpetology, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA correlate with adult habitat, activity pattern 4Department of Biology, Amphibian and Reptile Diversity Research Center, The University of Texas at Arlington, and breeding ecology. Proc. R. Soc. B 287: Arlington, TX 76019, USA 20201393. KNT, 0000-0003-2712-2481; DJG, 0000-0002-1725-8863; RCB, 0000-0002-0123-8833; http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.1393 RKS, 0000-0002-4015-3955; JWS, 0000-0002-3738-4162 Frogs and toads (Amphibia: Anura) display diverse ecologies and behaviours, which are often correlated with visual capacity in other vertebrates. Addition- Received: 12 June 2020 ally, anurans exhibit a broad range of relative eye sizes, which have not Accepted: 28 August 2020 previously been linked to ecological factors in this group. We measured rela- tive investment in eye size and corneal size for 220 species of anurans representing all 55 currently recognized families and tested whether they were correlated with six natural history traits hypothesized to be associated with the evolution of eye size. -
YALE Environmental NEWS
yale environmental n e w s The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, and the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies spring 2008 · vol. 13, no. 2 Greetings from New YIBS Director Jeffrey Park see page 2 News from the Director of YIBS By Jeffrey Park RoseRita Riccitelli I was honored last autumn to be asked to serve as the Director of Yale’s faculty positions in Ecology & Evolutionary search for extraterrestrial life. An interdepart- at present, and a substantial public outreach Institute for Biospheric Studies by President Richard Levin and Provost Biology, and each year awards Gaylord mental hiring initiative in the broad field of effort has been proposed for the center. The Donnelley environmental postdoctoral fellow- microbiology has been presented to the Dean final form of the proposed institute is subject Andrew Hamilton. ships to researchers in the biodiversity of both of Yale College and the Provost. Establishing a to many uncertainties. At this stage of plan- our present world and in the geologic past. multi-departmental faculty cluster in the newly ning, however, one thing is clear: YIBS will play I have had the great benefit of succeeding That was 2004. This is 2008 and the stakes we YIBS seeded a faculty position in Geology acquired laboratories of Yale’s West Campus is an important role if the Yale Climate Institute Derek Briggs, whose able leadership of YIBS face are larger. The twin pressures on global & Geophysics, maintaining Yale’s leading one possible outcome of this effort. becomes a reality. has given me momentum and guidance for agriculture exerted by the developing world’s scholarship in how climate and atmospheric Biospheric studies at Yale serves broadly The Winter/Spring 2008 semester has the future. -
Profile on Environmental and Social Considerations in Philippines
Profile on Environmental and Social Considerations in Philippines ANNEX September 2011 Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) CRE CR(5) 11-014 Table of Contents IUCN Red List of the Philippines (2007) Red List of the Philippine Red Data Book,1997 Threatened Species by the National Laws Philippine Fauna and Flora under CITES APPENDIX, 2011 Protected Areas under the NIPAS Act in the Philippines (as of June, 2011) Environmental Standards CDM Projects in the Philippines (as of March 31, 2011) Project Grouping Matrix for Determination of EIA Report Type EIA Coverage & Requirements Screening Checklists Outlines of Required Documents by PEISS IUCN Red List of the Philippines ,2007 IUCN Red List of the Philippines (2007) # Scientific Name Common Name Category Mammals 1 Acerodon jubatus GOLDEN-CAPPED FRUIT BAT EN 2 Acerodon leucotis PALAWAN FRUIT BAT VU 3 Alionycteris paucidentata MINDANAO PYGMY FRUIT BAT VU 4 Anonymomys mindorensis MINDORO CLIMBING RAT VU 5 Apomys sacobianus LONG-NOSED LUZON FOREST MOUSE VU 6 Apomys gracilirostris LARGE MINDORO FOREST MOUSE VU 7 Archboldomys luzonensis MT ISAROG SHREW-MOUSE EN 8 Axis calamianensis CALAMANIAN DEER EN 9 Bubalus mindorensis MINDORO DWARF BUFFALO CR 10 Cervus alfredi PHILLIPINE SPOTTED DEER EN 11 Chrotomys gonzalesi ISAROG STRIPED SHREW-RAT, CR 12 Chrotomys whiteheadi LUZON STRIPED RAT VU 13 Crateromys australis DINAGAT BUSHY-TAILED CLOUD RAT EN 14 Crateromys schadenbergi GIANT BUSHY-TAILED CLOUD RAT VU 15 Crateromys paulus OILIN BUSHY-TAILED CLOUD RAT CR 16 Crateromys heaneyi PANAY BUSHY-TAILED