Morphological differences of the fallopian tube ampoule in young and old age

Работа основана на морфологическом исследовании ампул маточных труб 130 рожавших женщин молодого и старческого возраста. Применены макрометрический, гистологический, иммуногистохимический и микрометрический методы исследования. Выявлены закономерности возрастной морфологической изменчивости ампулы маточной трубы, проявляющиеся в уменьшении параметров их длины, а также наружных диаметров в середине ампулы и в местах перехода перешейка в ампулу и ампулы в воронку от молодого возраста к старческому возрасту. Гистоархитектоника ампул маточных труб у женщин в старческом возрасте характеризуется уплощением эпителия слизистой оболочки, образующей обилие близлежащих утолщенных складок, формирующих неравномерное сужение просвета ампулы. Определяется истончение мышечной оболочки с разрастанием вместо нее соединительной ткани и скоплением адипоцитов в подсерозной основе. В старческом возрасте отмечается более выраженная экспрессия виментина, прослеживающаяся не только в эндотелии и субэндотелиальном слое кровеносных сосудов, включая капилляры, но и в отдельных фибробластах. Установлено, что особенности микрометрических характеристик ампул маточных труб заключаются в уменьшении внутреннего периметра эпителиальной выстилки и площади просвета, наряду с увеличением площади их стенки при срединном сечении, в старческом возрасте в сравнении с молодым. The work is based on a morphological study of ampoules of the fallopian tubes of 130 young and senile women who gave birth. Macrometric, histological, immunohistochemical and micrometric methods of investigation were applied. The regularities of age-related morphological variability of the fallopian tube ampoule are revealed, which are manifested in a decrease in the parameters of their length, as well as external diameters in the middle of the ampoule and at the places of transition of the isthmus into the ampoule and ampoule into the funnel from young age to old age. Histoarchitectonics of ampoules of the fallopian tubes in women in old age is characterized by flattening of the epithelium of the mucous membrane, which forms an abundance of nearby thickened folds that form an uneven narrowing of the lumen of the ampoule. The thinning of the muscle membrane is determined with the growth of connective tissue instead of it and the accumulation of adipocytes in the subserose base. In old age, there is a more pronounced expression of vimentin, which can be traced not only in the endothelium and subendothelial layer of blood vessels, including capillaries, but also in individual fibroblasts. It was found that the features of the micrometric characteristics of the fallopian tube ampoules consist in a decrease in the inner perimeter of the epithelial lining and the lumen area, along with an increase in the area of their wall at the median cross-section in old age compared with young age.

Description of Cryptaphelenchus recticaudatus n. sp. (Aphelenchoidea: Ektaphelenchinae) in Pinus elliottii from the USA

Summary Cryptaphelenchus recticaudatus n. sp. is described and illustrated in Pinus elliottii from the USA. The new species is characterised by the female body 310-431 μm long with distinctly annulated cuticle, lateral fields with four lines, lip region separated from the body by a shallow depression, delicate stylet with small knobs, post-vulval uterine sac short, and rectum and anus invisible. Males are 228-314 μm long, spicules 9.8-12.4 μm long with a well-developed and broad condylus, and seven caudal papillae arranged as a single (P1) and pair (P2) of precloacal papillae plus two pairs of postcloacal papillae. Based upon the general female morphology, the new species most closely resembles C. baujardi and C. iranicus. The morphological differences with the aforementioned species and other species of the genus are discussed. The phylogenetic analyses based on small (SSU) and large subunit (LSU) D2-D3 expansion segments of ribosomal DNA of different individuals of the new species revealed that the new species fell into the Cryptaphelenchus clade in both SSU and LSU trees. The monophyly of the genus was retained after adding newly generated sequences of the new species.

Morphological and molecular analysis of Ornithodoros hasei and Ornithodoros sp. cf. O. mimon (Acari: Argasidae) from northeastern Argentina

In this study two species of soft ticks belonging to the genus Ornithodoros were recorded in three areas in the province of Corrientes, Argentina. Four larvae were identified as Ornithodoros hasei (Schulze, 1935) on Molossus molossus (Molossidae) in Paraje Tres Cerros (Department of San Martín), while 56 larvae were identified as Ornithodoros sp. cf. O. mimon Kohls, Clifford & Jones, 1969 on Eptesicus furinalis and Myotis levis (Vespertilionidae) in Paraje Galarza (Department of Santo Tomé) and Colonia Carlos Pellegrini (Department of San Martín). These last two locations are found within the Esteros del Iberá eco-region. The known distribution range of O. hasei and O. cf. O. mimon is expanded to include the province of Corrientes. Two new ectoparasite-host associations were recorded for Argentina between O. hasei on M. molossus and O. cf. O. mimon on M. levis. The morphological differences together with the results of the phylogenetic analysis show that O. hasei presents genetic similarity with specimens from Brazil, and in Argentina, with ticks from Santa Fe. Instead, Ornithodoros sp. cf. O. mimon recorded in Corrientes and Uruguay belong to a different taxon than the O. mimon recorded in Brazil and Santa Fe, Argentina. Based on this, O. mimon should be considered a complex of species in which the specimens from Corrientes are provisionally considered as Ornithodoros sp. cf. O. mimon until their taxonomic status can be determined.

Taxonomic notes on the Piper pedicellatum C. DC. (Piperaceae)

Based on the evidence from morphology, literature survey and specimen examination, Piper curtipedunculum (Piperaceae) is recognized as independent species which is used to be a synonym of Piper pedicellatum. Piper boehmeriifolium var. glabricaule, Piper terminaliflorum and Piper yunnanense are considered as new synonyms of P. pedicellatum to which they are similar by a series of morphological characters. And the morphological differences, similarities and geographical ranges of these plant are clarified.

­Redescription of Panonychus caglei Mellott, 1968, with ontogenetic development (Acari: Tetranychidae)

A redescription of the adult stages of Panonychus caglei Mellott, 1968 (Acari: Tetranychidae), is presented based on new material collected from Japan, and type specimens (holotype and paratypes). Morphological differences in the setation of legs have been reported and measurements of taxonomic characters are added. We also have described the ontogenetic development of the juvenile stages. The ventral idiosomal chaetotaxy in larval stage lacks pregenital and genital setae which are added consecutively through development. The pregenital pair of setae appears in the protonymphs while the first pair of genital setae is firstly observed in the deutonymphal stage.

Effects of COVID-19 on the human central olfactory system: a natural pre-post experiment

Reduced olfactory function is the symptom with the highest prevalence in COVID-19 with nearly 70% of individuals with COVID-19 experiencing partial or total loss of their sense of smell at some point during the disease. The exact cause is not known but beyond peripheral damage, studies have demonstrated insults to both the olfactory bulb and central olfactory brain areas. However, these studies often lack both baseline pre-COVID-19 assessments and a control group and could therefore simply reflect preexisting risk factors. Right before the COVID-19 outbreak, we completed an olfactory focused study including structural MR brain images and a full clinical olfactory test. Opportunistically, we invited participants back one year later, including 9 participants who had experienced mild to medium COVID-19 (C19+) and 12 that had not (C19-), thereby creating a pre-post controlled natural experiment with a control group. Despite C19+ participants reporting subjective olfactory dysfunction, few showed signs of objectively altered function one year later. Critically, all but one individual in the C19+ group had reduced olfactory bulb volume with an average volume reduction of 14.3%, but this did not amount to a significant between group difference compared to the control group (2.3% reduction) using inference statistics. No morphological differences in cerebral olfactory areas were found but we found stronger functional connectivity between olfactory brain areas in the C19+ croup at the post measure. Taken together, these data suggest that COVID-19 might cause a long-term reduction in olfactory bulb volume but with no discernible differences in cerebral olfactory regions.

The Impact of Different Periods of Walking Experience on Kinematic Gait Parameters in Toddlers

This study aimed to analyse the kinematic differences in gait between three groups of toddlers who differed in their weeks of independent walking (IW) experience, but not in anthropometrical characteristics, to determine the relationship between walking experience without the side effect of morphological differences on gait parameters. Twenty-six toddlers participated in this study. Depending on the week of their IW, toddlers were divided into three groups: Group 1 (1–5 weeks of IW), Group 2 (6–10 weeks of IW), and Group 3 (11–15 weeks of IW). Each toddler walked barefooted over a 2-m long pathway, and 3D kinematic data were obtained. A decrease in the upper limb position, hip flexion, and step width, i.e., changes towards the adult gait pattern, were observed in Group 3. Less experienced walkers exhibited a wider step width despite no statistically significant difference in body mass and height between groups. Results of this study show no statistically significant difference in step length between groups, suggesting that step length is more related to height than to the walking experience. The increased step length in more experienced walkers reported in previous studies may therefore be a result of different heights and not walking experience.

Molecular taxonomy and description of a new species of Limnodrilus (Naididae, Clitellata, Annelida) in China

The freshwater annelid worm genus Limnodrilus, including the widely distributed L. claparedianus Ratzel, 1868, is common in Chinese freshwater ecosystems. One species, previously recognized as morphologically intermediate between L. claparedianus and the North American taxon L. cervix Brinkhurst, 1963, is here described as a new species, L. paraclaparedianus Zhou & Cui n. sp., using both molecular and traditional taxonomy. Comparisons of sequences of the Cytochrome Oxidase subunit I (COI) mtDNA in a sample of Limnodrilus species showed that the distances between species were generally higher than the divergences within them. Phylogenetic analysis of COI as well as 16S mtDNA and Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (ITS2) nDNA confirmed that the new species is an independent lineage. Moreover, morphological differences in the prostomium, characteristics of the chaetae and internal genitalia support the separation of the species.

Effects of milking, over-milking and vacuum levels on front and rear quarter teats in dairy cows

Mechanical forces to the teat and vacuum during milking negatively affect teat condition and may result in increased mastitis risk. We compared vacuum levels during milking and over-milking as well as teat condition before and after milking between front and rear teats. We expected that the lower milk yield of the front quarters would result in a longer over-milking and higher vacuum levels in front teats, resulting in morphological differences. The study comprised 540 dairy cows in 41 Austrian dairy farms with conventional milking systems. Before and after milking teats were visually assessed (colour, swelling, rings, hyperkeratosis) and teat dimensions (length, diameter, wall thickness, teat canal length) were measured manually and ultrasonographically. Vacuum measurements were taken using a vacuum measurement device attached to the cluster (short milk tube, pulsation tube and mouth-piece chamber). These various measurements of front and rear teats were compared and a multivariable analysis with backward stepwise procedure was used for inclusion or exclusion from the model. Front teats showed a poorer teat condition and were over-milked for longer in comparison to the rear teats. However, during milking and over-milking the vacuum levels in the mouthpiece chamber were significantly higher at the rear teats. The changes in front teat morphology were only partially caused by milking, over-milking and vacuum levels, with approximately 70% of the variation due to other, undetermined variables. Milking, over-milking and vacuum levels had no or very limited impact on the morphological changes of the rear teats.

A new species of Delphinium L. (Ranunculaceae) from Dagestan (Eastern Caucasus)

The new species Delphinium samurense Murtazaliev et Luferov (sect. Diedropetala Huth) is described from the Eastern Caucasus. The novelty is endemic to southern Dagestan (Rutul district). Its morphological differences from the closely related species D. macropogon Prokh. are shown. Distribution and ecology of the new species are characterized.