scholarly journals Living in the dark does not mean a blind life: bird and mammal visual communication in dim light

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1717) ◽  
pp. 20160064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Penteriani ◽  
María del Mar Delgado
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
Visual Communication ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Visual Signal ◽  
Chemical Signalling ◽  
Coloration Pattern ◽  
Dim Light ◽  
Visual Signalling ◽  
Review Current

For many years, it was believed that bird and mammal communication ‘in the dark of the night’ relied exclusively on vocal and chemical signalling. However, in recent decades, several case studies have conveyed the idea that the nocturnal world is rich in visual information. Clearly, a visual signal needs a source of light to work, but diurnal light (twilight included, i.e. any light directly dependent on the sun) is not the only source of luminosity on this planet. Actually, moonlight represents a powerful source of illumination that cannot be neglected from the perspective of visual communication. White patches of feathers and fur on a dark background have the potential to be used to communicate with conspecifics and heterospecifics in dim light across different contexts and for a variety of reasons. Here: (i) we review current knowledge on visual signalling in crepuscular and nocturnal birds and mammals; and (ii) we also present some possible cases of birds and mammals that, due to the characteristics of their feather and fur coloration pattern, might use visual signals in dim light. Visual signalling in nocturnal animals is still an emerging field and, to date, it has received less attention than many other means of communication, including visual communication under daylight. For this reason, many questions remain unanswered and, sometimes, even unasked. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Vision in dim light’.

scholarly journals Modulation of the vesicle code transmitting the visual signal in the retina

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Moya-Díaz ◽  
Ben James ◽  
Leon Lagnado
Keyword(s):  
Substance P ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Calcium Influx ◽  
Calcium Transient ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Visual Signal ◽  
Temporal Precision ◽  
Low Pass ◽  
Presynaptic Calcium

SummaryMultivesicular release (MVR) allows retinal bipolar cells to transmit visual signals as changes in both the rate and amplitude of synaptic events. How do neuromodulators reguate this vesicle code? By imaging larval zebrafish, we find that the variability of calcium influx is a major source of synaptic noise. Dopamine increases synaptic gain up to 15-fold while Substance P reduces it 7-fold, both by acting on the presynaptic calcium transient to alter the distribution of amplitudes of multivesicular events. An increase in gain is accompanied by a decrease in the temporal precision of transmission and a reduction in the efficiency with which vesicles transfer visual information. The decrease in gain caused by Substance P was also associated with a shift in temporal filtering from band-pass to low-pass. This study demonstrates how neuromodulators act on the synaptic transformation of the visual signal to alter the way information is coded with vesicles.

scholarly journals Cord Blood-Based Approach to Assess Candidate Vaccine Adjuvants Designed for Neonates and Infants

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 95
Author(s):  
Daisuke Tokuhara ◽  
Norikatsu Hikita
Keyword(s):  
Cord Blood ◽  
Protective Immunity ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Current System ◽  
Innate Immune ◽  
Vaccine Adjuvants ◽  
Adult Humans ◽  
Neonates And Infants ◽  
Induced Immunity ◽  
Review Current

Neonates and infants are particularly susceptible to infections, for which outcomes tend to be severe. Vaccination is a key strategy for preventing infectious diseases, but the protective immunity achieved through vaccination typically is weaker in infants than in healthy adults. One possible explanation for the poor acquisition of vaccine-induced immunity in infants is that their innate immune response, represented by toll-like receptors, is immature. The current system for developing pediatric vaccines relies on the confirmation of their safety and effectiveness in studies involving the use of mature animals or adult humans. However, creating vaccines for neonates and infants requires an understanding of their uniquely immature innate immunity. Here we review current knowledge regarding the innate immune system of neonates and infants and challenges in developing vaccine adjuvants for those children through analyses of cord blood.

scholarly journals Tibetan Macaques with Higher Social Centrality and More Relatives Emit More Frequent Visual Communication in Collective Decision-Making

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 876
Author(s):  
Zifei Tang ◽  
Xi Wang ◽  
Mingyang Wu ◽  
Shiwang Chen ◽  
Jinhua Li
Keyword(s):  
Visual Communication ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Communication Process ◽  
Tobit Regression ◽  
Communication Behaviors ◽  
Group Cooperation ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Group Sex ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Social Centrality

Animals on the move often communicate with each other through some specific postures. Previous studies have shown that social interaction plays a role in communication process. However, it is not clear whether the affinity of group members can affect visual communication. We studied a group of free-ranging Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) at Huangshan Mountain, China, and answered whether and how social centrality or relatives matter in visual signals during group movement using Tobit regression modeling. All individuals emitted the signals of back-glances and pauses in collective movement. The emission of two signals decreased with the number of participants increased. The back-glance and pause signals emitted by the participating individuals were stronger as the position moved backward in the group. Sex, age, and rank had no significant influence on back-glance and pause signals. Individuals with higher social centrality would emit more pause signals, but social centrality had no effect on the back-glance signal. Individuals with more relatives in the group had more back-glance signals, but this had no effect on the pause signal. This study verifies that social centrality and the number of relatives have effects on visual signals in Tibetan macaques. We provide insights into the relationship between communication behaviors and group cooperation in social animals.

scholarly journals Meteorite Orbits from Observations by Camera Networks

1983 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 399-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Halliday ◽  
Arthur A. Griffin ◽  
Alan T. Blackwell
Keyword(s):  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Great Difficulty ◽  
Camera Networks ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Lost City ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Physically Identical ◽  
Review Current ◽  
Visual Observations

Camera networks for the study of bright fireballs now have a history approaching two decades• It was hoped that the networks would produce a statistically significant group of recovered meteorites with accurate orbits. Due to the great difficulty in locating the meteorites from a photographed event, there are still only three meteorites with orbits determined from suitable photographs; Pribram, Lost City and Innisfree (Ceplecha I96I, McCrosky et al. 1971, Halliday et al. 1978, respectively). Networks do, however, provide an alternative approach to the problem. Instead of determining approximate orbits from visual observations of recovered meteorite falls, it is now preferable to use reliable orbits from the camera networks for fireballs which are believed to have dropped meteorites that could not be located, or, that are believed to have been physically identical to meteorites, although no appreciable mass survived the atmospheric flight. This paper will review current knowledge based on this approach to the problem.

Visual Anticipatory Information Modulates Multisensory Interactions of Artificial Audiovisual Stimuli

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 1583-1596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Vroomen ◽  
Jeroen J. Stekelenburg
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
Speech Sound ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Visual Signal ◽  
Multisensory Interactions ◽  
Temporal Occurrence ◽  
Audiovisual Stimuli ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Integrative Processing ◽  
Audiovisual Interaction

The neural activity of speech sound processing (the N1 component of the auditory ERP) can be suppressed if a speech sound is accompanied by concordant lip movements. Here we demonstrate that this audiovisual interaction is neither speech specific nor linked to humanlike actions but can be observed with artificial stimuli if their timing is made predictable. In Experiment 1, a pure tone synchronized with a deformation of a rectangle induced a smaller auditory N1 than auditory-only presentations if the temporal occurrence of this audiovisual event was made predictable by two moving disks that touched the rectangle. Local autoregressive average source estimation indicated that this audiovisual interaction may be related to integrative processing in auditory areas. When the moving disks did not precede the audiovisual stimulus—making the onset unpredictable—there was no N1 reduction. In Experiment 2, the predictability of the leading visual signal was manipulated by introducing a temporal asynchrony between the audiovisual event and the collision of moving disks. Audiovisual events occurred either at the moment, before (too “early”), or after (too “late”) the disks collided on the rectangle. When asynchronies varied from trial to trial—rendering the moving disks unreliable temporal predictors of the audiovisual event—the N1 reduction was abolished. These results demonstrate that the N1 suppression is induced by visual information that both precedes and reliably predicts audiovisual onset, without a necessary link to human action-related neural mechanisms.

scholarly journals New trends in botulinum toxin use in dermatology

2018 ◽  
pp. 277-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania Guida ◽  
Francesca Farnetani ◽  
Steven P. Nisticò ◽  
Caterina Giorgio Mariarosaria ◽  
Graziella Babino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Botulinum Toxin ◽  
Botulinum Neurotoxin ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Hypertrophic Scars ◽  
Skin Disorders ◽  
Facial Flushing ◽  
Cutaneous Lesions ◽  
Raynaud Phenomenon ◽  
Skin Conditions ◽  
Review Current

Background: Recent studies have highlighted new botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) applications in the field of dermatology. Objective: To review current knowledge of BoNT use in dermatology. Methods: The literature of the last 5 years has been reviewed. Results: We describe interesting protocols of BoNT treatment for hyperhidrosis (HH), hypertrophic scars and keloids, Raynaud phenomenon, facial flushing, oily skin, psoriasis, Hailey-Hailey disease, and cutaneous lesions like painful lesions and periorbital syringomas. Conclusions: Several skin conditions eligible for BoNT treatment have been described. After the wide application for HH treatment, scars as well as vascular and inflammatory skin disorders, oily skin and cutaneous lesions represent fields of application of BoNT.

scholarly journals Synthetic protocell biology: from reproduction to computation

2007 ◽  
Vol 362 (1486) ◽  
pp. 1727-1739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricard V Solé ◽  
Andreea Munteanu ◽  
Carlos Rodriguez-Caso ◽  
Javier Macía
Keyword(s):  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Biochemical Networks ◽  
Cellular Structures ◽  
Biological Complexity ◽  
Artificial Cell ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Cooperative Dynamics ◽  
The Origin Of Life ◽  
Review Current

Cells are the building blocks of biological complexity. They are complex systems sustained by the coordinated cooperative dynamics of several biochemical networks. Their replication, adaptation and computational features emerge as a consequence of appropriate molecular feedbacks that somehow define what life is. As the last decades have brought the transition from the description-driven biology to the synthesis-driven biology, one great challenge shared by both the fields of bioengineering and the origin of life is to find the appropriate conditions under which living cellular structures can effectively emerge and persist. Here, we review current knowledge (both theoretical and experimental) on possible scenarios of artificial cell design and their future challenges.

scholarly journals Lung Interstitial Macrophages: Past, Present, and Future

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joey Schyns ◽  
Fabrice Bureau ◽  
Thomas Marichal
Keyword(s):  
Dendritic Cells ◽  
Alveolar Macrophages ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Allergic Airway Inflammation ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Immune Mediated ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Review Current

For a long time, investigations about the lung myeloid compartment have been mainly limited to the macrophages located within the airways, that is, the well-known alveolar macrophages specialized in recycling of surfactant molecules and removal of debris. However, a growing number of reports have highlighted the complexity of the lung myeloid compartment, which also encompass different subsets of dendritic cells, tissue monocytes, and nonalveolar macrophages, called interstitial macrophages (IM). Recent evidence supports that, in mice, IM perform important immune functions, including the maintenance of lung homeostasis and prevention of immune-mediated allergic airway inflammation. In this article, we describe lung IM from a historical perspective and we review current knowledge on their characteristics, ontogeny, and functions, mostly in rodents. Finally, we emphasize some important future challenges for the field.

scholarly journals HYPOXIA AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH: The presence and role of hypoxia in the endometrium

Reproduction ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 161 (1) ◽  
pp. F1-F17
Author(s):  
Rocío Martínez-Aguilar ◽  
Lucy E Kershaw ◽  
Jane J Reavey ◽  
Hilary O D Critchley ◽  
Jacqueline A Maybin
Keyword(s):  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Abnormal Uterine Bleeding ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Hypoxic Episode ◽  
Optimal Function ◽  
Pros And Cons ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Review Current

The endometrium is a multicellular tissue that is exquisitely responsive to the ovarian hormones. The local mechanisms of endometrial regulation to ensure optimal function are less well characterised. Transient physiological hypoxia has been proposed as a critical regulator of endometrial function. Herein, we review the literature on hypoxia in the non-pregnant endometrium. We discuss the pros and cons of animal models, human laboratory studies and novel in vivo imaging for the study of endometrial hypoxia. These research tools provide mounting evidence of a transient hypoxic episode in the menstrual endometrium and suggest that endometrial hypoxia may be present at the time of implantation. This local hypoxia may modify the inflammatory environment, influence vascular remodelling and modulate endometrial proliferation to optimise endometrial function. Finally, we review current knowledge of the impact of this hypoxia on endometrial pathologies, with a focus on abnormal uterine bleeding. Throughout the manuscript areas for future research are highlighted with the aim of concentrating research efforts to maximise future benefits for women and society.

scholarly journals Oral iron administration in suckling piglets – a review

2018 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Svoboda ◽  
Karolína Píšťková
Keyword(s):  
Iron Deficiency ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Oral Iron ◽  
Iron Dextran ◽  
Iron Chelates ◽  
Iron Administration ◽  
Iron Salts ◽  
Pig Farms ◽  
Suckling Piglets ◽  
Review Current

Iron deficiency is presently a serious problem in suckling piglets on pig farms. The most often used method of anaemia prevention in piglets is parenteral administration of iron dextran. Oral iron represents an alternative to this method. The goal of this article is to review current knowledge on oral iron administration in suckling piglets. The substances that can be used for this purpose include iron dextran, iron salts, iron chelates, carbonyl iron, an iron polymaltose complex and iron microparticles. The different methods of oral iron administration in piglets are discussed.

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