Collar Width Research Articles

Developmental loss of NT‐3 in vivo results in reduced levels of myelin‐specific proteins, a reduced extent of myelination and increased apoptosis of Schwann cells

This work investigates the role of NT-3 in peripheral myelination. Recent articles, based in vitro, propose that NT-3 acting through its high-affinity receptor TrkC may act to inhibit myelin formation by enhancing Schwann cell motility and/or migration. Here, we investigate this hypothesis in vivo by examining myelination formation in NT-3 mutant mice. On the day of birth, soon after the onset of myelination, axons showed normal ensheathment by Schwann cells, no change in the proportion of axons which had begun to myelinate, and no change in either myelin thickness or number of myelin lamellae. However in postnatal day 21 mice, when myelination is substantially complete, we observed an unexpected reduction in mRNA and protein levels for MAG and P(0), and in myelin thickness. This is the opposite result to that predicted from previous in vitro studies, where removal of an inhibitory NT-3 signal would have been expected to enhance myelination. These results suggest that, in vivo, the importance of NT-3 as a major support factor for Schwann cells (Meier et al., (1999) J Neurosci 19:3847-3859) over-rides its potential role as an myelin inhibitor, with the net effect that loss of NT-3 results in degradation of Schwann cell functions, including myelination. In support of this idea, Schwann cells of NT-3 null mutants showed increased expression of activated caspase-3. Finally, we observed significant reduction in width of the Schwann cell periaxonal collar in NT-3 mutant animals suggesting that loss of NT-3 and resulting reduction in MAG levels may alter signaling at the axon-glial interface.

Petasiger islandicus n. sp. (Digenea: Echinostomatidae) in the horned grebe Podiceps auritus (L.) (Aves: Podicipedidae) from Iceland

Petasiger islandicus n. sp. is described and figured from a demographically isolated population of the horned grebe Podiceps auritus auritus (L.) in Lake Mývatn (Iceland). This new species belongs to the group of species with 19 collar spines which possess a large elongate-oval cirrus-sac, well-developed pars prostatica and massive bulb-like cirrus. Within this group, P. islandicus appears most similar to P. oschmarini Kostadinova & Gibson, 1998, a form with similar body dimensions described from the same host, but differs in having a larger head collar, collar spines, oral sucker, pharynx, testes and sucker-width ratio, and a smaller cirrus-sac, cirrus and eggs. Two Nearctic species resemble P. islandicus in general morphology but differ as follows: P. pseudoneocomense Bravo-Hollis, 1969 has a larger body and collar width, notably shorter collar spines, smaller testes and sucker-width ratio, and a shorter but much wider cirrus-sac which is also smaller relative to the ventral sucker and almost entirely anterior to it; and P. caribbensis Nassi, 1980 has a smaller body, shorter collar spines and a seminal vesicle which is small in relation to the cirrus-sac, vitelline fields reaching anteriorly to the level of the genital pore and the intestinal bifurcation is located more anteriorly.

Formulation of Flowering Index, Morphological Relationships, and Yield Prediction System in True Garlic Aerial Seed Bulbil Production

The phenomenon of flowering and aerial bulbil production in Asiatic garlic was observed under long photoperiodic conditions of Ladakh, India. Flowers were sterile and the bulbils produced on the umbel were true to type. Observations on a large number of flowering and nonflowering plants have led to the formulation of a precise flowering index (FI) in garlic. Plants with a minimum leaf number of 7, height 25 cm, collar width 0.6 cm, bulb diameter 3.7 cm, bulb weight 22.5 g, and functional leaf area of 182.4 cm2 had only shown the flowering. The flowering index formulated was a product of leaf number, plant height, functional leaf area, and bulb weight. For flowering, FI should be more than 788, and availability of a minimum photoperiod of 4020 hours during a growth period of 11 months was another prerequisite. Nonfulfillment of any one of the factors of flowering, although FI and photoperiod were satisfactory, led to nonflowering. Garlic aerial bulbil yield was positively correlated with leaf number, plant height, bulb weight, bulb diameter, length of flower stalk, 100 seed weight, and head diameter. Following the multiple regression model y = –11.9 – (0.00031 × number of bulbils) + (0.147 × 100 bulbil weight) + (4.95 × head diameter) + (0.0460 × length of flower stalk), aerial bulbil yield prediction was possible at a mean accuracy of 87%.

A survey of the southernmost representatives of the tricolor species group, genus Phalotris (Serpentes, Colubridae)

A survey of the southernmost representatives of the tricolor species group, genus Phalotris (Serpentes, Colubridae). Colubrid snakes of the South American genus Phalotris are difficult to detect because of their secretive habits, and thus they are poorly represented in collections. The species Phalotris cuyanus and P. tricolor, the southernmost representatives of the tricolor species group, were studied to determine the limits of intraspecific variation of P. cuyanus and to consolidate the taxonomic relationship between both species, the phenetically and geographically closest members in the group. The distribution of selected external characters (cephalic, ventral and subcaudal scales), coloration pattern, width of white and black collars, and hemipenis morphology were analyzed. Comparative data on the other members of the group, P. mertensi and P. matogrossensis, are briefly discussed. Males of P. cuyanus have a higher number of ventral scales than males of P. tricolor (mean of 220.3 vs. 204.6). Cephalic melanism varies among individuals and does not have discriminant or geographic value for this species group. The white nuchal collar may partially cover the parietal scales in the four species. The black collar is moderately narrow in P. cuyanus, but it can be up to 12 scales wide in P. tricolor. Vertebral dotting is neither constant nor exclusive of any species. The four species of the group are well characterized by combinations of character states for each one. We suggest considering to P. cuyanus as an evolutionary species typical of the Monte biogeographic province.

A Note on Collars of Simple Closed Geodesics

For compact hyperbolic Riemann surfaces, the collar theorem gives a lower bound on the distance between a simple closed geodesic and all other simple closed geodesics that do not intersect the initial geodesic. Here it is shown that there are two possible configurations, and in each configuration there is a natural collar width associated to a simple closed geodesic. If one extends the natural collar of a simple closed geodesic α by e >0, then the extended collar contains an infinity of simple closed geodesics that do not intersect α.

A quantitative approach to the evaluation of the morphological variability of two echinostomes, Echinostoma miyagawai Ishii, 1932 and E. revolutum (Frölich, 1802), from Europe

A comparative morphometric analysis was conducted on two European species of Echinostoma in order to examine the degree of the variability in the metrical characteristics of the adults and to assess their value in discriminating species. Adult E. miyagawai and E. revolutum, obtained experimentally, were compared using univariate and multivariate statistical analyses of 35 and 25 metrical characters, respectively. All subsets of worms of different ages represented homogeneous samples with respect to their morphometric characteristics; however, univariate analyses revealed significant differences in 22 and 23 variables between the corresponding age subsets of the two species, and it was found that the different allometric growth patterns contribute to this. The variables, body width at the posterior border of the ventral sucker, pharynx length and width, ovary length, testes length and width and length of the pre-ovarian region, exhibited isometric or positive allometric growth in E. miyagawai and negative allometry in E. revolutum. A cluster analysis based on 61 specimens and 25 variables separated E. revolutum and E. miyagawai unambiguously, producing an exact ordering of the specimens with respect to their identity and age. A forward stepwise discriminant analysis identified five variables (body width at the posterior border of ventral sucker, head collar width, length of oesophagus, width of ventral sucker and length of the pre-ovarian region) which yielded a 100% accurate classification of the two species. We suggest, therefore, that the morphometric characteristics of the adult worms should be used in studies attempting the identification of species or isolates of Echinostoma spp. More comparative data need to be gathered in order that the species boundaries within the 'revolutum' group be defined more accurately.