A new brachylophosaurin (Dinosauria: Hadrosauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous Menefee Formation of New Mexico

Brachylophosaurini is a clade of hadrosaurid dinosaurs from the Campanian of western North America. Although well-known from northern localities in Montana and Alberta, including abundant material of Brachylophosaurus canadensis and Maiasaura peeblesorum and the holotypes of Acristavus gagslarsoni and Probrachylophosaurus bergei, material from southern localities in Utah and Colorado is restricted to a partial skull referred to A. gagslarsoni and several indeterminate specimens. Here we describe Ornatops incantatus gen. et sp. nov., a new brachylophosaurin known from a partial skeleton from the Allison Member of the Menefee Formation in New Mexico. Ornatops is the first brachylophosaurin reported from New Mexico and the southernmost occurrence of the clade. Ornatops shares with Probrachylophosaurus and Brachylophosaurus a caudally expanded nasofrontal suture on the frontals, but also exhibits an autapomorphic nasofrontal suture morphology, with a horizontal rostral region and elevated caudal region with two prominent parasagittal bumps, which is different from other brachylophosaurin specimens, including juvenile and adult Brachylophosaurus. A phylogenetic analysis places Ornatops in a trichotomy with Probrachylophosaurus and Brachylophosaurus, with Maiasaura and Acristavus as successive outgroups.

Filamentous fungi occurrence on Molossus molossus (Pallas, 1766) (Chiroptera: Molossidae) present in an Atlantic Forest remnant in Southern Brazil

The bats usually inhabit shelters with favorable conditions for fungal proliferation, including pathogenic and opportunistic species. The fungal diversity present on bats is little known and the studies are scarce in Brazil, which only a work has been performed in Cerrado and Pantanal biomes. Therefore, the objective of this study was evaluating the occurrence of filamentous fungi on the rostral region of Molossus molossus in an Atlantic Forest remnant of Brazil. The bats were captured with mist nets installed outside a shelter located in the municipality of Treviso, (28°29'23”S and 49°31'23”W), south region of state Santa Catarina. With a swab sterile moistened in saline solution, samples from the rostral region were obtained from all captured M. molossus individuals. The samples were taken to the laboratory for analysis and isolation in different culture media, followed of identification of fungal through the microculture technique. In total, 15 individuals were captured, which five fungal genus and 19 taxa were identified. Among the taxa registered, Aspergillioides sp.2, (47%), Penicillium sp.1 (33%), Chrysonilia sp. (33%), Cladosporium sp. (27%) were classified as little constant. In terms of abundance, Penicillium sp.1 (34%), Aspergillioides sp.2 (21%) and Aspergillus sp.2 (11%) were the most abundant in the samples. The results showed the occurrence of high diversity fungal in the rostral region of M. molossus in the Atlantic Forest, which is higher than observed in others Brazilian biomes. Some fungal genera found may harbor pathogenic and opportunistic species that need to be identified for preventing potential disease well as for bat conservation projects.

Distributed Motor Control of Limb Movements in Rat Motor and Somatosensory Cortex: The Sensorimotor Amalgam Revisited

Which areas of the neocortex are involved in the control of movement, and how is motor cortex organized across species? Recent studies using long-train intracortical microstimulation demonstrate that in addition to M1, movements can be elicited from somatosensory regions in multiple species. In the rat, M1 hindlimb and forelimb movement representations have long been thought to overlap with somatosensory representations of the hindlimb and forelimb in S1, forming a partial sensorimotor amalgam. Here we use long-train intracortical microstimulation to characterize the movements elicited across frontal and parietal cortex. We found that movements of the hindlimb, forelimb, and face can be elicited from both M1 and histologically defined S1 and that representations of limb movement types are different in these two areas. Stimulation of S1 generates retraction of the contralateral forelimb, while stimulation of M1 evokes forelimb elevation movements that are often bilateral, including a rostral region of digit grasping. Hindlimb movement representations include distinct regions of hip flexion and hindlimb retraction evoked from S1 and hip extension evoked from M1. Our data indicate that both S1 and M1 are involved in the generation of movement types exhibited during natural behavior. We draw on these results to reconsider how sensorimotor cortex evolved.

Maternal Obesity Modulates Expression of Satb2 in Hypothalamic VMN of Female Offspring

Maternal obesity during pregnancy is associated with a greater risk of poor health outcomes in offspring, including obesity, metabolic disorders, and anxiety, however the incidence of these diseases differs for males and females. Similarly, animal models of maternal obesity have reported sex differences in offspring, for both metabolic outcomes and anxiety-like behaviors. The ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMN) is a brain region known to be involved in the regulation of both metabolism and anxiety, and is well documented to be sexually dimorphic. As the VMN is largely composed of glutamatergic neurons, which are important for its functions in modulating metabolism and anxiety, we hypothesized that maternal obesity may alter the number of glutamatergic neurons in the offspring VMN. We used a mouse model of a maternal high-fat diet (mHFD), to examine mRNA expression of the glutamatergic neuronal marker Satb2 in the mediobasal hypothalamus of control and mHFD offspring at GD17.5. We found sex differences in Satb2 expression, with mHFD-induced upregulation of Satb2 mRNA in the mediobasal hypothalamus of female offspring, compared to controls, but not males. Using immunohistochemistry, we found an increase in the number of SATB2-positive cells in female mHFD offspring VMN, compared to controls, which was localized to the rostral region of the nucleus. These data provide evidence that maternal nutrition during gestation alters the developing VMN, possibly increasing its glutamatergic drive of offspring in a sex-specific manner, which may contribute to sexual dimorphism in offspring health outcomes later in life.

Rostral Middle Frontal Volumetric Differences in Bipolar Offspring versus Community Controls Offspring

Neuroanatomical findings in the anterior limbic network in bipolar disorder (BD) adults have not been replicated in other populations such as bipolar offspring (BO). The aim of this study was to compare some brain areas volumes between BO with and without a lifetime affective disorder (AD) to a group of community control offspring (CCO). Methods: A descriptive observational cross-sectional study was carried out, with multiple comparison groups. Seven subjects (11-17 years old) from the BO with AD group were compared to seven subjects from the BO without AD group and seven subjects from the CCO group (match by age, gender and Tanner stage). Magnetic resonance imaging was performed with a Philips 3 Teslas device and volumetric segmentation was performed with the Freesurfer image analysis suite. Results: A larger size was found in the right middle frontal rostral region in the BO with AD group compared to the other two groups (p = 0.041). A higher volume was also found in BO with AD group in the left pars opercularis (Cohen d = 0.63) and in the right cingulate isthmus (d = 0.53) when compared with BO without AD group, and in the right hippocampus (d = 0.53) when compared to CCO group. A smaller volume was found in the BO without AD group versus CCO group in the left anterior caudate (d = 0.6). The BO groups (with and without AD) compared to CCO have a higher volume in the right frontal pole (d = 0.52). These volumetric differences can be attributed to the condition of BO with AD.

A new record of yellowmargin triggerfish (Pseudobalistes flavimarginatus) (Tetraodontiformes: Balistidae) from the Bay of Bengal of Bangladesh proximity

Pseudobalistes flavimarginatus (Ruppell, 1829) is a triggerfish species belonging to the Family Balistidae under the Order Tetraodontiformes. It was reported at the very first time from the region proximal to the south patches fishing ground of the Bay of Bengal (Bangladesh). The fish is known as Yellowmargin triggerfish due to the presence of body colour, yellow and gray. The total length of the voucher fish is 39.95 cm (Standard length 32.5 cm) and 1540 g by weight. It has a deep, moderately compressed body with inconspicuous lateral lines, encased in very thick and hard skin with large boney scales (except rostral region). The fish body bears two dorsal fins with three visible spines. Dorsal, anal and pectoral-fin rays are soft and branched. The taxonomic formula for the species is D III/27; A 0/25; P 15; V I/7; C 15; Lt. 35-36. Gill openings are moderately short, vertical to oblique slit in front of pectoral-fin base. Concerning distribution, the species is not reported before in Bangladesh and not even recorded from other maritime Bay of Bengal localities of Eastern India and Sri Lanka; whereas it was already reported in other bio-geographical regions (detailed in article). The voucher specimen is preserved at the Marine Fisheries Academy Museum, Bangladesh for further reference use.J. Biodivers. Conserv. Bioresour. Manag. 2017, 3(2): 85-90

Arterial Vascularization of the Base of the Brain in Galea (Galea spixii)

Background: Galea (Galea spixii) are rodents which are especially distributed in the northeastern region of Brazil, and have economic importance as their meat is used as a source of protein by the regional population. Currently, they have received attention from researchers in studies involving their morphology. Thus, seeking to contribute information that supports their sanitary management in addition to the lack of literature on their nervous system, our objective was to describe the arterial vascularization of the base of the brain in this species, in order to identify the arterial pattern and arterial circuit behavior, as well as possible variations in these vessels.Materials, Methods & Results: Brains were obtained from 20 animals (10 males and 10 females) aged between 11 and 12 months, obtained from the Wild Animal Multiplication Center (CEMAS) of the Federal Rural Semi-Arid University (UFERSA), under the approval of CEUA/UFERSA (case number 23.091.000653/2014-26 and opinion number 15/2014), euthanized according to anesthetic protocol recommended for rodents (resolution number 714/2002 of the CFMV/ UFERSA) and preserved frozen in a freezer for an average period of 30 days. The animals were thawed and a longitudinal incision was performed in the thoracic region to allow exposure of the aortic arch. Next, they were cannulated in the cranial direction and injected with Noprene Latex “650” stained with water-based white or red pigment. The animals were subsequently fixed in 3.7% aqueous formaldehyde solution for 48 h, and soon after the brain skull cap was dissected and removed, which was then analyzed, photographed and sketched. Of the 20 animals evaluated, 100% presented vertebrobasilar system responsible for encephalic irrigation of the rostral and caudal regions, and anastomosis of the left internal carotid artery was found in only one case (female) (5%), irrigating the rostral region of the encephalon together with the vertebro-basilar system. In the most frequently found arrangement, the unpaired main arteries present at the base of the brain included: ventral spinal, basilar, medial branch of the rostrais cerebral arteries, medial rostral inter-hemisphere; and the pairs: vertebral, cerebellar caudal, middle cerebellar, trigeminal, rostral cerebellar, rostral tectal, caudal cerebral, pituitary, internal ophthalmic, middle cerebral, rostral cerebral, lateral olfactory bulb and internal ethmoid. Arterial circuit formation was observed as being geometrically similar to a complete, closed and elongated hexagon in the caudal-rostral direction, bypassing the mammillary body, the cinereous tuft and the optic chiasm.Discussion: The study of the nervous system, especially on identification of the arteries responsible for supplying the brain is relevant, especially when it comes to a wild species such as in galea considering that little is known about their morphology, and also because it can be used as a model in clinical and surgical studies related to the nervous system. Based on the analyzed animals, we conclude that the arterial vascularization of the base of the brain in galea is type III, similar to the findings in other species of rodents such as in otters and porcupines; and differing from those described for agoutis and mice-moles. The arterial circuit of galea is complete and closed like those described for the agouti and the European beaver, yet differing from that observed for otters and chinchillas which have an open circuit.

Morphological, morphometric and histochemical aspects of the labial salivary glands of dogs

The knowledge regarding labial salivary glands is becoming progressively more important, as their application in autologous transplantion, to promote ocular surface lubrication, are an ever-increasing procedure in veterinary medicine. In this study the labial salivary gland was collected, as a single piece, along with the oral mucosa from 10 adult dog cadavers. The sample was removed from the left lower lip marked by the second premolar tooth and extended until the distal edge of the second molar. Morphological, morphometric and histochemical evalutations were performed in the rostral, medial and caudal regions of the sample. The study revealed exocrine, compound, tubuloacinar, mixed and predominantly mucous glands with the presence of serous demilunes associated with a few mucous secreting units, and a duct system formed by intralobular intercalated and striated ducts, interlobular ducts, and a main excretory duct. In the rostral region, there was a lower amount of parenchyma compared to other areas, and the diameter of the acini unvaried in all regions. All three regions of the sample were PAS and Alcian blue positive, demonstrating the presence of neutral, carboxylated, and sulphated mucins. Serous demilunes reacted positively to Xylidine Ponceau staining indicating the presence of proteins.

Validation experiments on finite element models of an ostrich (Struthio camelus) cranium

The first finite element (FE) validation of a complete avian cranium was performed on an extant palaeognath, the ostrich (Struthio camelus).Ex-vivostrains were collected from the cranial bone and rhamphotheca. These experimental strains were then compared to convergence tested, specimen-specific finite element (FE) models. The FE models contained segmented cortical and trabecular bone, sutures and the keratinous rhamphotheca as identified from micro-CT scan data. Each of these individual materials was assigned isotropic material properties either from the literature or from nanoindentation, and the FE models compared to theex-vivoresults. The FE models generally replicate the location of peak strains and reflect the correct mode of deformation in the rostral region. The models are too stiff in regions of experimentally recorded high strain and too elastic in regions of low experimentally recorded low strain. The mode of deformation in the low strain neurocranial region is not replicated by the FE models, and although the models replicate strain orientations to within 10° in some regions, in most regions the correlation is not strong. Cranial sutures, as has previously been found in other taxa, are important for modifying both strain magnitude and strain patterns across the entire skull, but especially between opposing the sutural junctions. Experimentally, we find that the strains on the surface of the rhamphotheca are much lower than those found on nearby bone. The FE models produce much higher principal strains despite similar strain ratios across the entirety of the rhamphotheca. This study emphasises the importance of attempting to validate FE models, modelling sutures and rhamphothecae in birds, and shows that whilst location of peak strain and patterns of deformation can be modelled, replicating experimental data in digital models of avian crania remains problematic.

The Parapineal Is Incorporated into the Habenula during Ontogenesis in the Medaka Fish

The parapineal is present in many teleost families, while it is absent in several others. To find out why the parapineal is absent at adult stages in the latter families, the development of the epithalamus was examined in the medaka fish (Oryzias latipes). For this purpose, a green fluorescent protein-transgenic medaka line, in which the pineal complex (pineal and parapineal) is visible fluorescently, was used. We found that a distinct parapineal was present in the roof plate at early developmental stages. Subsequently, however, the parapineal and the associated roof plate began to be incorporated into the habenula between embryonic stages 28 and 29. Between embryonic stages 29 and 30, the entire parapineal was incorporated into the habenula. That is, the parapineal became a small caudomedial region (termed the ‘parapineal domain') within the left habenula in the majority of embryos, resulting in the left-sided asymmetry of the epithalamus. Thereby the left habenula became larger and more complex than its right counterpart. In the minority of embryos, the parapineal was incorporated into the right habenula or into the habenulae on both sides. In the majority of embryos, the parapineal domain projected a fiber bundle to a subnucleus (termed the ‘rostromedial subnucleus') in the left habenula. The rostromedial subnucleus sent axons, through the left fasciculus retroflexus, to the rostral region of the left half of the interpeduncular nucleus. We further found that the ratio of the left-sided phenotype was temperature dependent and decreased in embryos raised at a high temperature. The present study is the first demonstration that the supposed lack of a distinct parapineal in adult teleost fishes is due to ontogenetic incorporation into the habenula.