scholarly journals Magnitude integration in the Archerfish

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tali Leibovich-Raveh ◽  
Ashael Raveh ◽  
Dana Vilker ◽  
Shai Gabay

AbstractWe make magnitude-related decisions every day, for example, to choose the shortest queue at the grocery store. When making such decisions, which magnitudes do we consider? The dominant theory suggests that our focus is on numerical quantity, i.e., the number of items in a set. This theory leads to quantity-focused research suggesting that discriminating quantities is automatic, innate, and is the basis for mathematical abilities in humans. Another theory suggests, instead, that non-numerical magnitudes, such as the total area of the compared items, are usually what humans rely on, and numerical quantity is used only when required. Since wild animals must make quick magnitude-related decisions to eat, seek shelter, survive, and procreate, studying which magnitudes animals spontaneously use in magnitude-related decisions is a good way to study the relative primacy of numerical quantity versus non-numerical magnitudes. We asked whether, in an animal model, the influence of non-numerical magnitudes on performance in a spontaneous magnitude comparison task is modulated by the number of non-numerical magnitudes that positively correlate with numerical quantity. Our animal model was the Archerfish, a fish that, in the wild, hunts insects by shooting a jet of water at them. These fish were trained to shoot water at artificial targets presented on a computer screen above the water tank. We tested the Archerfish's performance in spontaneous, untrained two-choice magnitude decisions. We found that the fish tended to select the group containing larger non-numerical magnitudes and smaller quantities of dots. The fish selected the group containing more dots mostly when the quantity of the dots was positively correlated with all five different non-numerical magnitudes. The current study adds to the body of studies providing direct evidence that in some cases animals’ magnitude-related decisions are more affected by non-numerical magnitudes than by numerical quantity, putting doubt on the claims that numerical quantity perception is the most basic building block of mathematical abilities.

Development ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 115 (1) ◽  
pp. 319-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Jerka-Dziadosz ◽  
N. Garreau de Loubresse ◽  
J. Beisson

kin241 is a monogenic nuclear recessive mutation producing highly pleiotropic effects on cell size and shape, generation time, thermosensitivity, nuclear reorganization and cortical organization. We have analyzed the nature of the cortical disorders and their development during division, using various specific antibodies labelling either one of the cortical cytoskeleton components, as was previously done for analysis of cortical pattern formation in the wild type. Several abnormalities in basal body properties were consistently observed, although with a variable frequency: extra microtubules in either the triplets or in the lumen; nucleation of a second kinetodesmal fiber; abnormal orientation of the newly formed basal body with respect to the mother one. The latter effect seems to account for the major observed cortical disorders (reversal, intercalation of supplementary ciliary rows). The second major effect of the mutation concerns the spatiotemporal map of cortical reorganization during division. Excess basal body proliferation occurs and is correlated with modified boundaries of some of the cortical domains identified in the wild type on the basis of their basal body duplication pattern. This is the first mutant described in a ciliate in which both the structure and duplication of basal bodies and the body plan are affected. The data support the conclusion that the mutation does not alter the nature of the morphogenetic signal(s) which pervade the dividing cell, nor the competence of cytoskeletal structures to respond to signalling, but affects the local interpretation of the signals.


Author(s):  
Ana L. Ibáñez ◽  
Diana Y. Montero

This study documents the presence of crypsis in Mugil curema juveniles under laboratory culture. Initially, the juveniles were located in one brown tank (BT1), later almost half of the individuals were placed in a white tank (WT) where they showed a pigmentation change to white. After being moved to another brown tank (BT2), the juveniles changed to their brown original colour, but kept a few small white spots on the dorsal axis of the body. The ventral head melanophore pattern also changed in the white specimens. Temperature (°C), oxygen (mg l−1) and Illuminance light (Lux m−2), total length (mm) and total weight (g) were determined by tank. Chromaticity was measured in L*(relative luminance) a*(measurement relating to the redness or greenness of the light) b*(measurement relating to the yellowness or blueness of the light) coordinates where all three values are required to completely describe an object’s colour. One-way ANOVA showed no differences for temperature, oxygen and illuminance light among tanks. Length and weight were similar for BT1 and WT but both were different from BT2. The white juveniles depicted similar L* as the WT background as well as the dorsal area of the brown pigmentation and converted juveniles to the brown tanks BT1 and BT2, respectively. Therefore, the fish's body relative luminance matches the background. To our knowledge this behaviour has not been reported before for any fish mullet either cultured or living in the wild.


Author(s):  
Donald Worster

In the wild garden of an early America there coiled and crawled the devil’s own plenty of poisonous vipers—cottonmouths, copperheads, coral snakes, the whole nasty family of rattlers and sidewinders. A naturalist roaming far from the settlements regularly ran the risk of a fatal snake bite. Fortunately, he was reassured by the field experts of the day, the deadly reptile always furnishes its own antidote. It conceals itself in the very plants whose roots can counteract its poison, plants like the so-called “Indian snakeroot.” As the viper sank its sharp fangs into your leg, you simply pulled up the roots of that plant, quickly chewed them down, and laughed in the viper’s face. You were instantly immune. How many backwoods naturalists and hunters died from believing that bit of advice is not known. Science, ever improving its hypotheses, now suggests carrying a snakebite kit in your pack or calling in a helicopter. But before we dismiss the old advice as completely foolish, we might ask whether it might not have had some useful, genuine logic in it. Sometimes the remedy for wounds does indeed lie near at hand among the shrubs and weeds in which the reptile lives; and sometimes dangerous forces do indeed suggest, or even contain, their own antidote. Take, for instance, the case of North America’s continuing environmental degradation. What we humans have done over the past five hundred years to maim this continent and tear apart its fabric of life is in large degree the consequence of the Judeo-Christian religious ethos and its modern secular offspring—science, industrial capitalism, and technology. I would put almost all the blame on the modern secular offspring, but I have to agree that religion too has been a deadly viper that has left its marks on the body of nature. Paradoxically, I would add what no one else seems to have noticed: an Indian snakeroot for this venom has appeared in the reptile’s own nest. The antidote for environmental destruction has been a movement called environmentalism and that movement has, in the United States, owed much of its program, temperament, and drive to the influence of Protestantism.


Author(s):  
J. Eric Ahlskog

Case example: Mrs. H. feels lightheaded intermittently during the day. This happens exclusively when she is up and about. Sometimes she notes graying of vision with these episodes. The feeling is not spinning (i.e., not vertigo). She has fainted twice when standing in line at the grocery store. If she sits, she feels much better. It is worse in the morning but may recur any time of the day. She feels fine while lying in bed at night. Older adults often worry about high blood pressure (BP), yet the opposite problem, low BP, is common among those with DLB or PDD. This is because the Lewy neurodegenerative process impairs the autonomic nervous system. The specific condition that may afflict those with DLB or PDD is orthostatic hypotension. The term orthostatic implies the upright position (i.e., standing); hypotension translates into low BP. Thus, the low BP occurring in these Lewy disorders develops in the upright position; conversely, it is normal or even high when lying down. When standing or walking, the BP may drop so low that fainting occurs. Among people with orthostatic hypotension, the BP is normal when sitting, although in severe cases, even the sitting BP is low. Whereas most people with DLB or PDD do not experience symptoms of orthostatic hypotension, it is sufficiently frequent to deserve attention. It often goes undiagnosed, even when fainting occurs. Unrecognized orthostatic hypotension may limit activities and impair the person’s quality of life. The first half of this chapter provides further background, with focus on BP measurement and recognition of orthostatic hypotension. The last half addresses treatment. The normal autonomic nervous system senses the position of our body with respect to the pull of gravity. It is able to reflexively counter gravity’s downward pull on the blood volume when standing (gravity tends to draw blood toward our feet when standing). An important mechanism for countering gravity’s pull is the constriction of blood vessel diameter in the lower half of the body. These vessels reflexively constrict during standing, in effect forcing blood up to the brain. The autonomic nervous system mediates these and other reflexive changes to stabilize BP.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 301 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. R. Paton ◽  
M. H. Cake ◽  
D. J. Bird ◽  
I. C. Potter

The anadromous Geotria australis, one of only three lamprey species representing the early agnathan (jawless) stage of vertebrate evolution in Australia and New Zealand, is declining in abundance. Its adults were caught soon after they had entered rivers on their non-trophic upstream migration and maintained in laboratory tanks for 13–15 months through to spawning. As adult G. australis are susceptible to haemorrhagic septicaemia, they were treated prophylactically and maintained in 3-m3 aquaria supplied with a flow-through charcoal filtration system and UV steriliser. Air temperature and the light:dark regime were constantly adjusted to parallel those in the environment. Males developed the very large suctorial disc and gular pouch characteristic of maturity and both sexes matured at the same time as in the wild. While males frequently showed aggressive behaviour towards each other, the same male and female mated on several occasions. The male coiled around the female and, with his urogenital papilla close to the female’s cloaca, twisted and vibrated, leading to egg release. These eggs formed coagulated clusters as in the wild, with many progressing through to the eight-cell stage. Remarkably, numerous G. australis were still alive 95–392 days after the end of the short spawning period, and one male after a further 119 days. Postspawning survival would be facilitated inter alia by extensive proteolysis, reflected in a shortening of the body. The data in this paper emphasise that G. australis is a highly atypical lamprey and provides invaluable information for conserving this declining species.


2004 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 2267-2273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Neyts ◽  
Pieter Leyssen ◽  
Erik Verbeken ◽  
Erik De Clercq

ABSTRACT An animal model that mimics progressive disseminated vaccinia was elaborated. To this end nude (athymic) mice were inoculated intracutaneously with vaccinia virus in the lumbosacral area. Viral replication (DNA) in the skin was detected as early as day 2 postinfection (p.i.). Mice developed typical vaccinia lesions at the site of inoculation by day 4 to 6 p.i. By about 2 weeks p.i., the infection had spread all over the body, a situation reminiscent of disseminated vaccinia in humans. The infection resulted in viremia and spread of the virus to visceral organs, as well as to the brain. Topical treatment with cidofovir, initiated at the day of infection or at day 1 p.i., completely protected against virus-induced cutaneous lesions and against associated mortality. When treatment was initiated at a later time (day 2 to 5 p.i.), a partial but marked protective effect was noted, which can be explained by the fact that by that time, the virus had spread from the skin to the visceral organs. Next, infected animals were left untreated until the time (∼2 weeks p.i.) at which disseminated vaccinia had developed. When systemic treatment with cidofovir was initiated at that time, it caused lesions to heal and regress. In most of these animals, lesions had completely (or almost completely) disappeared by day 10 to 15 after the start of therapy. The observation that cidofovir is able to cause healing of disseminated vaccinia lesions in animals should have implications for the therapy of complications of vaccination against smallpox.


1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Baker

Free-living development of Rhabdias americanus and Rhabdias ranae was heterogonic and development of infective larvae was by matricidal endotoky. Both species were experimentally transmitted by skin penetration. Development of R. americanus in Bufo americanus and R. ranae in Rana sylvatica was similar. Growth of third- and fourth-stage larvae occurred in fascia and muscle tissue of the host during migration to the body cavity. Adult worms were recovered only from the body cavity and lungs; larvae were never observed in these locations. Worms probably entered the lungs by direct penetration. Gravid nematodes were observed only in the lungs. Both R. americanus and R. ranae were transmitted to toad and frog tadpoles, respectively, and worms developed to adulthood in tadpoles. Terrestrial snails (Oxyloma decampi Tryon and Discus cronkhitei Newcomb) were demonstrated as possible paratenic hosts for R. americanus. Rhabdias americanus, which does not occur in frogs, and R. ranae, which does not occur in toads in the wild at Guelph, were experimentally cross-transmitted to these amphibians and developed successfully to adults. Infective larvae of these species, however, did not as readily penetrate into the unusual host as the usual host. It is suggested that ecological barriers have prevented cross infections in the wild.


2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 1203-1209
Author(s):  
Bok-Nam Park ◽  
Tae Sung Lim ◽  
Joon-Kee Yoon ◽  
Young-Sil An

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate how intravenously injected bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) are distributed in the body of an Alzheimer’s disease (AD) animal model. Methods: Stem cells were collected from bone marrow of mice and labeled with Indium-111 (111In). The 111In-labeled BMSCs were infused intravenously into 3×Tg-AD mice in the AD group and non-transgenic mice (B6129SF2/J) as controls. Biodistribution was evaluated with a gamma counter and gamma camera 24 and 48 h after injecting the stem cells. Results: A gamma count of the brain showed a higher distribution of labeled cells in the AD model than in the control group at 24 (p = .0004) and 48 h (p = .0016) after injection of the BMSCs. Similar results were observed by gamma camera imaging (i.e., brain uptake in the AD model was significantly higher than that in the control group). Among the other organs, uptake by the spleen was the highest in both groups. More BMSCs were found in the lungs of the control group than in those of the AD group. Conclusions: These results suggest that more intravenously infused BMSCs reached the brain in the AD model than in the control group, but the numbers of stem cells reaching the brain was very small.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-188
Author(s):  
Anna Surgean Veterini ◽  
Nancy Margarita Rehatta ◽  
Hamzah Hamzah ◽  
Widijiati Widijiati ◽  
Sarmanu Sarmanu ◽  
...  

Research about sepsis in animal model is interesting to get the right therapeutic method for human being. We did the research to study about the value of body temperature in mice’s various body area in order to get the important information if we are going to do the translational research in animal model about sepsis. One clinical signs of the sepsis mice model is changes in body temperature. An easy way to examine body temperature is using infrared non-contact thermometer. This study aimed to compare the body temperature using infrared non-contact thermometer at the abdomen and anal area. We used male mice, weighing 25–30 g, divided into two groups (control and treatment groups). The control group injected with NaCl 0.9% solution, with the amount of NaCl 0.9% volume equal to Lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In the treatment group injected with 2.5 mg/kg BW of LPS intraperitoneally. Body temperature was measured in abdomen (tabd) and ananl (tan) area at 8th and 24th hour after treatment. Body temperature value tabd was higher than tan. Lipopolysaccharide injection increase body temperature but was not significant when compared to the control group (8th and 24th hour). The mean difference between tabd and tan in 8th control groups were 2.12oC respectively. The mean difference between tabd and tan in 24th hour control groups 4.6oC. The mean difference in treatment groups (8th hour) was 4.66oC, while it was 4.77oC in the 24th groups. Giving 2.5 mg/kg BW LPS intraperitoneally did not rise the body temperature significantly as compare to control groups. But, body temperature at anus area using non-contact infrared thermometer after treatment showed lower results as compared to that of at abdomen significantly.


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