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At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources

PubMed1985

Plasma concentrations of chloramphenicol in snakes.

Plasma chloramphenicol concentrations after a subcutaneous injection were studied in 87 snakes of 16 different species. The biological half-life of chloramphenicol varied from 3.3 hours in the indigo snake (Drymarchon corais couperi) to 22.1 hours in the midland water snake (Nerodia sipedon). A single dosage of 50 mg of chloramphenicol/kg of body weight produced plasma concentrations greater than 5 micrograms/ml for nearly 72 hours in 2 species of water snakes (Nerodia erythrogaster, Nerodia sipedon), for 24 hours in the Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus), and for less than 12 hours in the gray rat snake, Indigo snake, and eastern king snake (Elaphe obsoleta spiloides, Drymarchon coraise couperi, and Lampropeltis getulus getulus). A dosage of 50 mg/kg administered to water snakes every 72 hours for 18 days maintained a minimum plasma concentration of chloramphenicol between 2 and 5 micrograms/ml.

Animals↗

PubMed1980

A study on the reservoir status of Q-fever in avifauna, wild mammals and poikilotherms in Uttar Pradesh (India).

Fifteen species of free-living birds (pigeon, mynah, house-sparrow, crow, vulture, owl, swallow, parrot, heron, duck, guinea fowl, hawk, kite, dove and peacock), 11 species of small/large wild mammals (rat, bandicoot, house mouse, shrew, bat, mongoose, ant eater, Jackal wild cat, chinkara and tiger) and 5 species of poikilotherms (snakes, python, tortoise, monitor and eel) were screened for evidence of Q-fever infection by the capillary agglutination test on sera to detect antibodies and/or by attempts to demonstrate Coxiella burnetii in samples of visceral organs. Sero-reactors were observed among mynah (19/69), owlet (1/6), pigeon (1/11), swallow (6/200), parrot (13/56), rat (3/21), shrew (1/24), bat (2/14) and snake (7/23). Eleven strains of the organism comprising 3 from mynah, 2 from rats, and 1 each from parrot, crow, swallow, bandicoot, chinkara and python were isolated. This appears to be the first record of natural Q-fever infection in free-living birds in India. C. burnetii was also recovered in 1 of 12 water samples processed from ponds. Possibility of contamination of ponds with C. burnetii from infected water-fauna has been discussed.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[A new serovar of Salmonella: S. IIIb 35: 1, z13: e, n, x, z15].

The authors describe briefly the protocol for isolating a new serovar of Salmonella from the stools and the sand of a cage-shield of a python (Python regius (Shaw, 1802), kept as pet animal by a family in Messina. Such a finding is considered within the complex and wide investigation programme which we have been carrying out for years in our Institute of Veterinary Infectious Diseases, and within the problems rising from the Health and Hygiene field for the ever increasing diffusion of Enterobacteriaceae, by now limited to the ones collected and belonging to the Genus Salmonella.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Immunoreactivity against choline acetyltransferase, gamma-aminobutyric acid, histamine, octopamine, and serotonin in the larval chemosensory system of Dosophila melanogaster.

We have studied the distribution of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), histamine, octopamine and serotonin in the larval chemosensory system of Drosophila melanogaster. Colocalization at the confocal level with green fluorescent protein (GFP) or Tau-GFP reporters, expressed in selected P[GAL4] enhancer trap lines, was used to identify the cells making up these neurotransmitters. As in the adult fly, larval olfactory afferents project into the (larval) antennal lobe (LAL), where they synapse onto local interneurons and projection neurons, whereas gustatory afferents terminate essentially in the tritocerebral-subesophageal (TR-SOG) region. We demonstrate that the neuropils of the LAL and the TR-SOG are immunoreactive to ChAT and GABA. In addition, serotonin- and octopamine-immunoreactive fibers are present in the LAL. ChAT immunostaining is localized in subsets of olfactory and gustatory afferents and in many of the projection neurons. In contrast, GABA is expressed in most, and perhaps all, of the local interneurons. Serotonin immunoreactivity in the LAL derives from a single neuron that is situated close to the LAL and projects to additional neuropil regions. Taken together, these findings resemble the situation in the adult fly. Hence, given the highly reduced numbers of odorant receptor neurons in the larva, as shown in a previous study (Python and Stocker [2002] J. Comp. Neurol. 445:374-387), the larval system may become an attractive model system for studying the roles of neurotransmitters in olfactory processing.

Animals↗

PubMed2025

Using Prime Editing Guide Generator (PEGG) for high-throughput generation of prime editing sensor libraries.

Prime editing enables the generation of nearly any small genetic variant. However, the process of prime editing guide RNA (pegRNA) design is challenging and requires automated computational design tools. We developed Prime Editing Guide Generator (PEGG), a fast, flexible, and user-friendly Python package that enables the rapid generation of pegRNA and pegRNA-sensor libraries. Here, we describe the installation and use of PEGG (https://pegg.readthedocs.io) to rapidly generate custom pegRNA-sensor libraries for use in high-throughput prime editing screens.

Gene Editing↗

PubMed1998

Sleeping sites, sleeping places, and presleep behavior of gibbons (Hylobates lar).

The sleeping habits of wild white-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar) were investigated to assess the risk of predation and predation-avoidance behavior. Sleeping sites were distributed throughout home ranges, including areas where they overlapped with neighbors, and appeared to be selected independently of habitat characteristics. Individuals did not build night nests or otherwise manipulate the vegetation around the sleeping place but slept on open branches. Group members usually slept in separate trees, and, except for females with infants, they never shared a sleeping place. Sleeping trees were entered several hours before dusk and were used for about 14-17 h. The majority of sleeping trees were used only once, and fewer were selected repeatedly by the same or other group members. Usually females with infants went into a sleeping tree first, then juveniles, and last were mostly subadult and adult males. Intragroup competition over access to a sleeping place was observed once. Average time difference between the first and last group member to enter a sleeping tree was 13 min. The sequence of departure from sleeping trees was more variable. Gibbon sleeping habits seem to primarily reflect adaptations to minimize predation risk. The predation-risk hypothesis was indirectly supported by observations of mobbing pythons, alarm calls given in response to birdes of prey flying low over the canopy, and more importantly by 1) the predominant use of large sleeping trees, which were among the tallest trees available, particularly by adult females with small infants and juveniles, 2) an unpredictable long-term pattern of reuse of sleeping places, and 3) inconspicuous presleep behavior.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Developmental mechanisms of vertebrate limb evolution.

Over the past few years, our understanding of the evolution of limbs has been improved by important new discoveries in the fossil record. Additionally, rapid progress has been made in identifying the molecular basis of vertebrate limb development. It is now possible to integrate these two areas of research in order to identify the molecular developmental mechanisms underlying the evolution of paired appendages in vertebrates. After the origin of paired appendages, several vertebrate lineages reduced or eliminated fins and limbs and returned to the limbless condition. Examples include eels, caecilians, snakes, slow worms and several marine mammals. Analyses of fossil and extant vertebrates show that evolution of limblessness frequently occurred together with elongation of the trunk and loss of clear morphological boundaries in the vertebral column. This may be suggestive of a common developmental mechanism linking these two processes. We have addressed this question by analysing python embryonic development at tissue, cellular and molecular levels, and we have identified a developmental mechanism which may account for evolution of limb loss in these animals.

Animals↗

PubMed1982

Afferent connections of the cerebellum in various types of reptiles.

The origin of cerebellar afferents was studied in various types of reptiles, viz., the turtles Pseudemys scripta elegans and Testudo hermanni, the lizard Varanus exanthematicus, and the snake Python regius, with retrograde tracers (the enzyme horseradish peroxidase and the fluorescent tracer "Fast Blue"). Projections to the cerebellum were demonstrated from the nucleus of the basal optic root, the interstitial nucleus of the fasciculus longitudinalis medialis, the vestibular ganglion, and the vestibular nuclear complex, two somatosensory nuclei, viz., the descending nucleus of the trigeminal nerve and the nucleus of the dorsal funiculus, the nucleus of the solitary tract, the reticular formation, and throughout the spinal cord. A distinct bilateral projection to the cerebellum was found to arise in a nucleus previously called nucleus parvocellularis medialis (Ebbesson, '67). In the present study this cell mass is termed the perihypoglossal nuclear complex, considering its comparable position and fiber connections to the perihypoglossal nuclei in mammals. In all reptilian species studied a contralateral cerebellar projection of a cell mass located in the caudal brainstem adjacent to the nucleus raphes inferior was observed. It seems likely that this cell mass represents the reptilian homologue of the mammalian inferior olive. Most of the spinocerebellar fibers appeared to arise in neurons located in area VII-VIII of the gray matter. In this respect the origin of the spinocerebellar projection in reptiles resembles the origin of the rostral and ventral spinocerebellar tracts in mammals. No indications for the existence of a column of Clarke or a central cervical nucleus in the reptilian spinal cord were obtained. On comparison of the cerebellum afferents in reptiles with the known connections of the cerebellum in amphibians, birds, and mammals, a basic pattern of cerebellar afferent projections appears to exist in these vertebrate classes, including retinal, vestibular, precerebellar, somatosensory, and spinal afferents.

Afferent Pathways↗

PubMed1991

Comparative aspects of the basal ganglia-tectal pathways in reptiles.

To determine how the basal ganglia in reptiles may influence visuomotor behavior, the connections from the basal ganglia to the tectum of the midbrain were studied in several species of reptiles. Immunohistochemical studies by means of antibodies against Leu-enkephalin (LENK) as well as experimental hodological studies with anterograde (PHA-L) and retrograde (HRP, Fluorogold, Cholera toxin) tracers were carried out. The results indicate that within the class of Reptilia, two different patterns occur: one in which information from the basal ganglia is relayed to the tectum via the substantia nigra as well as via a pretectal, enkephalinergic cell group, and another one in which only the ventral route, via the substantia nigra, is present. The former pattern is found in turtles, crocodiles, and the lacertid lizards Podarcis and Gallotia, and the latter pattern in the gekkonid lizards Gekko and Eublepharis, in Varanus, and in the snakes Python and Thamnophis. The presence or absence of the pretectal relay center is reflected in the laminar distribution of LENK immunoreactivity in the tectum. The apparent lack of a pretectal relay in nocturnal gekkonids and in snakes underlines the hypothesis (Reiner et al., '84: T.I.N.S. 7:320-325) that a de-emphasis of visual-basal ganglia mechanisms has occurred during the evolution of ancestral reptiles to modern mammals.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Inference for magnitudes and delays of responses in the FIAC data using BRAINSTAT/FMRISTAT.

We used straightforward linear mixed effects models as described in Worsley et al. together with recent advances in smoothing to control the degrees of freedom, and random field theory based on discrete local maxima. This has been implemented in BRAINSTAT, a Python version of FMRISTAT. Our main novelty is voxel-wise inference for both magnitude and delay (latency) of the hemodynamic response. Our analysis appears to be more sensitive than that of Dehaene-Lambertz et al. Our main findings are greater magnitude (1.08% +/- 0.17%) and delay (0.153 +/- 0.035 s) for different sentences compared to same sentences, together with a smaller but still significantly greater magnitude for different speaker compared to same speaker (0.47% +/- 0.08%).

Algorithms↗

PubMed2003

nMoldyn: a program package for a neutron scattering oriented analysis of molecular dynamics simulations.

We present a new implementation of the program nMoldyn, which has been developed for the computation and decomposition of neutron scattering intensities from Molecular Dynamics trajectories (Comp. Phys. Commun 1995, 91, 191-214). The new implementation extends the functionality of the original version, provides a much more convenient user interface (both graphical/interactive and batch), and can be used as a tool set for implementing new analysis modules. This was made possible by the use of a high-level language, Python, and of modern object-oriented programming techniques. The quantities that can be calculated by nMoldyn are the mean-square displacement, the velocity autocorrelation function as well as its Fourier transform (the density of states) and its memory function, the angular velocity autocorrelation function and its Fourier transform, the reorientational correlation function, and several functions specific to neutron scattering: the coherent and incoherent intermediate scattering functions with their Fourier transforms, the memory function of the coherent scattering function, and the elastic incoherent structure factor. The possibility to compute memory function is a new and powerful feature that allows to relate simulation results to theoretical studies.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2005

MDSIMAID: automatic parameter optimization in fast electrostatic algorithms.

MDSIMAID is a recommender system that optimizes parallel Particle Mesh Ewald (PME) and both sequential and parallel multigrid (MG) summation fast electrostatic solvers. MDSIMAID optimizes the running time or parallel scalability of these methods within a given error tolerance. MDSIMAID performs a run time constrained search on the parameter space of each method starting from semiempirical performance models. Recommended parameters are presented to the user. MDSIMAID's optimization of MG leads to configurations that are up to 14 times faster or 17 times more accurate than published recommendations. Optimization of PME can improve its parallel scalability, making it run twice as fast in parallel in our tests. MDSIMAID and its Python source code are accessible through a Web portal located at http://mdsimaid.cse.nd.edu.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2001

Phylogenetic distribution of apolipoproteins A-I and E in vertebrates as determined by Western blot analysis.

A putative apolipoprotein E (apoE) has been identified in the HDL and VHDL fractions of the turtle. This observation is of particular interest considering apoE has been reported absent in the domestic hen (Hermier et al., '95; Biochim Biophys Acta: 105-118, 1995) and thus presumed absent in nonmammalian vertebrates altogether. As a result, partial amino acid sequencing of this protein was performed and revealed that one fragment shared 41% sequence identity to human apoE. Western blot analysis using antisera to apoE demonstrated cross-reactivity to a 34-kDa protein (putative apoE) in turtle plasma. Further investigation using anti-apoE antibody in Western blot analysis detected immunoreactive apoE in the plasma of lamprey, spiny dogfish, skate, and alligator, but not in flounder, newt or python; its absence in several species of birds was confirmed. Using anti-apoA-I antibody, apoA-I was detected in all vertebrate groups except a representative teleost (flounder). Apo-A-I antibody cross-reacted weakly with some putative apoE proteins (chicken, spiny dogfish and skate) and the reverse was true for anti-apoE, which cross-reacted with putative apoA-I in birds, reptiles, and elasmobranchs, confirming the molecular similarity and phylogenetic relatedness of these two proteins.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Retinal photoreceptors and visual pigments in Boa constrictor imperator.

The photoreceptors of Boa constrictor, a boid snake of the subfamily Boinae, were examined with scanning electron microscopy and microspectrophotometry. The retina of B. constrictor is duplex but highly dominated by rods, cones comprising 11% of the photoreceptor population. The rather tightly packed rods have relatively long outer segments with proximal ends that are somewhat tapered. There are two morphologically distinct, single cones. The most common cone by far has a large inner segment and a relatively stout outer segment. The second cone, seen only infrequently, has a substantially smaller inner segment and a finer outer segment. The visual pigments of B. constrictor are virtually identical to those of the pythonine boid, Python regius. Three different visual pigments are present, all based on vitamin A(1.) The visual pigment of the rods has a wavelength of peak absorbance (lambda(max)) at 495 +/- 2 nm. The visual pigment of the more common, large cone has a lambda(max) at 549 +/- 1 nm. The small, rare cone contains a visual pigment with lambda(max) at 357 +/- 2 nm, providing the snake with sensitivity in the ultraviolet. We suggest that B. constrictor might employ UV sensitivity to locate conspecifics and/or to improve hunting efficiency. The data indicate that wavelength discrimination above 430 nm would not be possible without some input from the rods.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Plasma levels and renal handling of endogenous amino acids in snakes: a comparative study.

Plasma levels of 22 endogenous amino acids were measured by ion-exchange chromatography in four species of snakes: Thamnophis sirtalis, T. radix, Aipysurus laevis, and Python molurus. Despite considerable interspecific variation in the amino acid composition, all species showed relatively high plasma concentrations of histidine, a feature apparently unique to reptiles. The renal handling of these amino acids was studied by renal clearance methods. As in other vertebrates, net tubular absorption of filtered amino acids predominated. However, net tubular secretion of taurine, cysteic acid and/or phosphoserine and beta-alanine was observed, with taurine being the predominant amino acid secreted. The percentage reabsorption of the total amino acids filtered by the snake kidneys ranged from 79 to 95%. Evidence for the postrenal absorption of amino acids in these reptiles is presented. In species that normally undergo hibernation (Thamnophis spp.), the ability of the kidney to reabsorb amino acids was depressed by cold acclimation. Cold acclimation significantly decreased plasma levels of all amino acids except taurine, whose concentration increased. The increase in plasma taurine level may have resulted from cellular osmoregulation. Under these conditions, renal excretion of taurine increased concomitantly with the increase in plasma taurine concentration.

Amino Acids↗

PubMed2003

Epidermal differentiation during ontogeny and after hatching in the snake Liasis fuscus (Pythonidae, Serpentes, Reptilia), with emphasis on the formation of the shedding complex.

Differentiation and localization of keratin in the epidermis during embryonic development and up to 3 months posthatching in the Australian water python, Liasis fuscus, was studied by ultrastructural and immunocytochemical methods. Scales arise from dome-like folds in the skin that produce tightly imbricating scales. The dermis of these scales is completely differentiated before any epidermal differentiation begins, with a loose dermis made of mesenchymal cells beneath the differentiating outer scale surface. At this stage (33) the embryo is still unpigmented and two layers of suprabasal cells contain abundant glycogen. At Stage 34 (beginning of pigmentation) the first layers of cells beneath the bilayered periderm (presumptive clear and oberhautchen layers) have not yet formed a shedding complex, within which prehatching shedding takes place. At Stage 35 the shedding complex, consisting of the clear and oberhautchen layers, is discernible. The clear layer contains a fine fibrous network that faces the underlying oberhautchen, where the spinulae initially contain a core of fibrous material and small beta-keratin packets. Differentiation continues at Stage 36 when the beta-layer forms and beta-keratin packets are deposited both on the fibrous core of the oberhautchen and within beta-cells. Mesos cells are produced from the germinal layer but remain undifferentiated. At Stage 37, before hatching, the beta-layer is compact, the mesos layer contains mesos granules, and cells of the alpha-layer are present but are not yet keratinized. They are still only partially differentiated a few hours after hatching, when a new shedding complex is forming underneath. Using antibodies against chick scale beta-keratin resolved at high magnification with immunofluorescent or immunogold conjugates, we offer the first molecular confirmation that in snakes only the oberhautchen component of the shedding complex and the underlying beta cells contain beta-keratin. Initially, there is little immunoreactivity in the small beta-packets of the oberhautchen, but it increases after fusion with the underlying cells to produce the syncytial beta layer. The beta-keratin packets coalesce with the tonofilaments, including those attached to desmosomes, which rapidly disappear in both oberhautchen and beta-cells as differentiation progresses. The labeling is low to absent in forming mesos-cells beneath the beta-layer. This study further supports the hypothesis that the shedding complex in lepidosaurian reptiles evolved after there was a segregation between alpha-keratogenic cells from beta-keratogenic cells during epidermal renewal.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Characterization of bradykinin-related peptides generated in the plasma of six sarcopterygian species (African lungfish, amphiuma, coachwhip, bullsnake, gila monster, and Gray's monitor).

Incubation of heat-denatured plasma from six species occupying different evolutionary positions within the Sarcopterygian lineage [the dipnoan, Protopterus annectens (African lungfish); the urodele, Amphiuma tridactylum (three-toed amphiuma); the colubrid snakes, Pituophis melanoleucus sayi (bullsnake) and Masticophis flagellum (coachwhip); and the lizards Heloderma suspectum (Gila monster) and Varanus Grayi (Gray's monitor)] with trypsin generated bradykinin-related peptides that were detected by radioimmunoassay using an antiserum raised against mammalian bradykinin (BK). The peptides were purified by HPLC and their primary structures were established as lungfish [Tyr1,Gly2,Ala7,Pro8]BK, amphiuma [Phe1,Ile2, Leu5]BK, bullsnake and coachwhip [Val1,Thr6]BK, Gila monster [Leu2, Thr6]BK, and Gray's monitor [Thr6]BK. Monitor BK is identical to the peptide generated in turtle and alligator plasma and coachwhip/bullsnake BK shows one amino acid substitution (Ala1 --> Val) compared with the peptide generated in the plasma of the python. The data provide further evidence for the widespread occurrence of a kallikrein-kininogen system in nonmammalian vertebrates but indicate that the primary structure of BK has been poorly conserved during evolution.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2001

Semi-automated icosahedral particle reconstruction at sub-nanometer resolution.

Electron cryomicroscopy of large macromolecular complexes is becoming an increasingly powerful tool for revealing three-dimensional structures without the need for crystallization. The execution of image processing, however, requires experience and is error-prone due to the need for a human operator to carry out interactive and repetitive processes. We have designed an approach which is intended to make image processing simple and rapid, both for experts and for novice users. We demonstrate this approach using the well-established reconstruction scheme for icosahedral particles. Finally, we implement semi-automated virus reconstruction (SAVR), an expert system that integrates the most CPU intensive and iterative steps using the scripting language Python. SAVR is portable across platforms and has been parallelized to run on both shared and distributed memory platforms. SAVR also allows the incorporation of new algorithms and facilitates the management of the increasingly large data sets needed to achieve higher resolution reconstructions. The package has been successfully applied to several data sets and shown capable of generating icosahedral reconstructions to sub-nanometer resolutions (7-10 A ).

Automation↗