scholarly journals The growth rate of sensory nerve fibres in the mammalian embryo

Development ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 100 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.M. Davies

I have used a novel quantitative electron microscopic method to determine the rate at which nerve fibres grow towards their targets during development. The rate of recruitment of nerve fibres to the maxillary nerve of the mouse embryo was determined by counting the number of axon profiles in the nerve sectioned close to its emergence from the trigeminal ganglion at closely staged intervals throughout its early development. The rate of change of fibre number with distance along this nerve was determined by counting the number of axon profiles at intervals along the nerve at stages during the period that fibres are growing to their targets. From these two parameters, both of which were linear functions during the midperiod of fibre recruitment to the nerve, it has been possible to calculate that embryonic sensory nerve fibres grow to their peripheral targets at the surprisingly slow rate of just over 20 micron h-1.

Electrolytic destruction of whisker follicles in mice on the day of birth has been found to cause degeneration in the sensory nerve fibres supply­ing the follicles. The severity of the degeneration has been assessed in animals between 2 and 20 days old by counting the total number of myelinated fibres in the maxillary nerves on both normal and lesioned sides. The degeneration is apparent after 2 days and by 20 days the nerve on the lesioned side contains only 38% of the normal fibre content. This degeneration has also been shown to involve the trigeminal root, central to the ganglion. In addition, the lesioning procedure modifies the terminations of thalamocortical fibres in the barrel region of the sensory cortex. These terminations are normally in clusters, each corresponding to a barrel, but, after lesioning the follicles, the terminals appear to be evenly distributed in layer IV and cortical barrel structures no longer develop. In postnatal mice, electrolytic destruction of whisker follicles had less effect upon maxillary nerve fibres and cortical barrels. The number of myelinated axons surviving until day 20 increased progressively with later lesioning to reach nearly 80% of the control level when lesions were made on day 10. Cortical barrels became secure earlier than the maxillary nerve, for a normal number of cortical barrels was present at day 12 when follicles were destroyed on day 4. The implications of these results for the formation of cortical barrels is discussed.


2005 ◽  
Vol 36 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 423-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Jakobson ◽  
H. Ohvril ◽  
O. Okulov ◽  
N. Laulainen

The total mass of columnar water vapour (precipitable water, W) is an important parameter of atmospheric thermodynamic and radiative models. In this work more than 60 000 radiosonde observations from 17 aerological stations in the Baltic region over 14 years, 1989–2002, were used to examine the variability of precipitable water. A table of monthly and annual means of W for the stations is given. Seasonal means of W are expressed as linear functions of the geographical latitude degree. A linear formula is also derived for parametrisation of precipitable water as a function of two parameters – geographical latitude and surface water vapour pressure.


1987 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Delain ◽  
M Barrav ◽  
J Tapon-Bretaudière ◽  
F Pochon ◽  
F Van Leuven

Electron microscopy is a very convenient method to localize the epitopes of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) at the surface of macromolecules for studying their tree-dimensional organization.We applied this immuno-electron microscopic method to human ct2-macroglobulin (ct2M). 29 anti-α2M mAbs have been tested with the four different forms of a2M : native and chymotrypsin-transformed tetramers, and the corresponding dimers, obtained by dissociation with divalent cations. These mAbs can be classified in three types : those which are specific for 1) the H-like transformed molecules, 2) the native molecules, and 3) those which can react with both forms of α2M.1) Among the H-like α2M specific mAbs, several react with the 20 kD-domain which is recognized by the cellular receptor of transformed a2M. This domain is located at the carboxyterminal end of each monomer. One IgG binds to the end of two adjacent tips of the H-like form.The other mAbs of this type bind to the α2M tips at non-terminal positions. Intermolecular connections built polymers of alternating α2M and IgG molecules.2) Among the native a2M-specific mAbs some are able to inhibit the protease-induced transformation of the native α2M. The binding sites of these mAbs are demonstrated on the native half-molecules. One of these mAbs was also able to react with transformed dimers, in a region corresponding very likely to an inaccessible epitope in the tetrameric transformed α2M molecule.3) Among the mAbs of this type, only two were able to inhibit the protease-induced transformation of α2M. Obviously, their epitopes should be close to the bait region of α2M. The other mAbs reacting with both α2M forms did not inhibit the α2M transformation.All these mAbs can be distinguished by the structure of the immune complexes formed with all forms of α2M. The epitopes are more easily located on the dimers and on the H-like transformed α2M than on the native molecules.From these observations, we propose a new model of the tree-dimensional organization of the human α2M in its native and transformed configurations, and of its protease-induced transformation.


1994 ◽  
Vol 47 (9) ◽  
pp. 1771 ◽  
Author(s):  
PK Kipkemboi ◽  
AJ Easteal

The empirical solvent polarity parameters ENR and ET for the solvatochromic compounds Nile Red (1) and pyridinium-N-phenoxide betaine (2), respectively, have been determined as a function of composition for water+t -butyl alcohol and water+t-butylamine binary mixtures, over the whole composition range at 298 K. For both systems the two parameters vary with composition in a strongly non-linear fashion, and the polarity of the mixture decreases with increasing proportion of the organic cosolvent. The non-linear variation of the polarity parameters is attributed to water-cosolvent hydrophobic interactions at low cosolvent contents, and hydrogen-bonding interactions at higher cosolvent contents. Permittivity and refractive index have also been measured at 298 K for both systems, and both properties are strongly non-linear functions of composition.


1967 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-84
Author(s):  
K. M. CHAPMAN ◽  
J. H. PANKHURST

1. Conduction velocities of individual afferent nerve fibres from tactile spines and proprioceptive campaniform sensilla have been measured in situ over the temperature range 5-42° C., in leg preparations of the cockroach Periplaneta americana. 2. Conduction velocities at 20° C. (u20) averaged 3.3±1.4 m./sec., ranging from 1.6 to 11.0 m./sec. 3. Temperature coefficients, expressed as Q10 for the interval 20-30° C., averaged 1.7±0.24, ranging from 1.3 to 2.6. 4. The length of the propagated disturbance is about 2-3 mm., and is nearly temperature-independent. 5. Fibre diameters, estimated from conduction velocity, must be about 10 µ. 6. There is no correlation between conduction velocity and distance from the sensillum to the thoracic ganglion. Conduction delays in fibres conducting within one standard deviation of mean u20 range from about 2 to 15 msec., from the most proximal to the most distal tactile spines. 7. The effect of conduction delay on temporal and spatial sensory encoding is probably unimportant from a behavioural point of view. It contributes a factor of the form exp(-sd/u) to the sensory transfer function, and may be appreciable at upper physiological frequencies of impulse frequency modulation.


2009 ◽  
Vol 137 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 130-133
Author(s):  
Ivan Stefanovic ◽  
Ivan Marjanovic ◽  
Gordana Vlajkovic

Introduction. The ultrasound diagnostics of the optic nerve includes the analysis of the optic nerve disc (PNO) and measuring of its retrobulbar diameter. With B-scan, by Schraeder's method, it is possible to measure very precisely the optic nerve, the pial diameter, the normal values for the pial diameter being 2.8-4.1 mm. In glaucoma, the disease that is most frequently associated with higher intraocular pressure, there comes the destruction of nerve fibres, which can be visualized as the excavation of the optic nerve disc. Objective. In this paper, we were interested in finding whether in glaucoma, and in what phase of the disease, the optic nerve starts growing thinner. Aware of many forms of this very complex disease, we were interested in knowing if the visualization of excavation on the optic nerve disc is related to diminishing of the pial diameter of the retrobulbar nerve part. Methods. There were treated the patients who had already had the diagnosis of glaucoma and the visualized excavation of the optic disc of various dimensions. Echographically, there was measured the thickness of the retrobulbar part of the optic nerve and the finding compared in relation to the excavation of the optic disc. Results. In all eyes with glaucoma, a normal size of the retrobulbar part of the optic nerve was measured, ranging from 3.01 to 3.91 mm with the median of 3.36 mm. Also, by testing the correlation between the thickness of the optic nerve and the excavation of the PNO, by Pearson test, we found that there was no correlation between these two parameters (r=0.109; p>0.05). Conclusion. In the patients with glaucoma, the retrobulbar part of the optic nerve is not thinner (it has normal values), even not in the cases with a totally excavated optic disc. There is no connection between the size of the PNO excavation and the thickness of the retrobulbar part of the optic nerve.


1986 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-130
Author(s):  
M. SAKURAI

Sympathetic nerve fibres innervating the sweat glands in the skin are known to accompany sensory nerve fibres closely. Examination of sudorific function, therefore, is a useful aid in making a diagnosis of severed peripheral nerve and also provides valuable information on nerve function in the recovery stage following injury and surgery such as neurorrhaphy. Among the many methods which have been used clinically, the one employing bromphenol blue is thought to be the most simple and accurate.


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