Early Branching Research Articles

Effects of Altering Carbohydrate Supply to Fruit during Development on the Carpometric and Qualitative Characteristics of “Feminello Zagara Bianca” Lemon

In this study, the effects of altering carbohydrate supply, carried out through branch girdling, on the carpometric and qualitative characteristics of the Feminello Zagara Bianca variety lemon fruits were evaluated. Four girdling times (70, 100, 130, 160 days) were compared with a control. The results showed important effects of alteration times of the supply of carbohydrates to fruit sinks on many carpometric and qualitative characteristics of lemons. Fruits from trees with early girdled branches (70 and 100 DAFB) showed higher weights and juice contents than those with later girdled branches (130 and 160 DAFB) and from ungirdled trees. The increased availability of carbohydrates for fruit in the initial period of the cell enlargement phase allowed the lemons of the trees girdled at 70 and 100 DAFB to anticipate the degreening process of the peel and pulp and ripening process. The advancement of the ripening process determined that the fruits of trees with early girdled branches had a lower acidity content compared with those harvested after the catabolism of citric acid. The knowledge acquired with this study provides new information on factors affecting the growth and ripening of lemons, the improvement of fruit quality, and the anticipation of harvest time.

Water lily research: Past, present, and future

The water lily order Nymphaeales includes ~100 species and all grow into aquatic herbs. Most of them are not only economic crops but have, for thousands of years, been regarded as cultural symbols, especially in Buddhism and Hinduism. Water lily order forms an early angiosperm branch, occupying vital roles in evolutionary biology. With the advent and rapid development of omic techniques and bioinformatic software, the research on water lily biology has achieved unprecedented success. In this review, we summarized a series of recent and important findings in water lily research. Genomic analyses of water lilies provide insights into details of their evolutionary history and ecological adaptation. The genomes also provide rich resources for genetic studies and molecular breeding. The opening and closing rhythm of flowering is controlled by auxin and the candidate genes are proposed. Part of the genes responsible for floral scents and floral colors in <italic>Nymphaea colorata</italic> have been studied in-depth for their functions. Metabolomic profiling reveals the anthocyanins responsible for the floral color formation and the volatile organic compounds as floral scent molecules. Phenotypic studies surveyed the diverse traits from flowers to leaves and bulb roots, and some of these studies reveal the link between genes and phenotypes. However, genes responsible for some critical traits such as the growth of water lily plants, such as the stem, bulb formation, and the initiation of vivipary are still unknown. Finally, we propose potential future research of water lilies, including genetics, breeding, and industrialization.

Gamma irradiation effects on seed germination, growth and morphological traits of kemiri sunan (Reutialis trisperma(Blanco) Airy Shaw)

Kemiri Sunan is a biodiesel producing tree that has an ecological function as a reforestation plant since it can adapt to the marginal, dry and ex-mining land. It is necessary to increase the genetic diversity of kemiri sunan through mutation in order to support its breeding program. Dried seeds of Karmindo1 and M03 varieties were exposed to gamma sources with doses ranging from 50 to 1000 Gy to evaluate the effect of gamma irradiation on the germination and growth of kemiri sunan seeds. The percentage of germination, as well as physiological parameters of seedlings (shoot length and number of leaves) decreased with increasing irradiation doses. However, the two varieties showed a difference in sensitivity responses to gamma rays. The recommendation doses for the two varieties are 100 – 200 Gy and 50 – 100 Gy for Karmindo1 and M03 respectively. No morphological variation was found in seedlings except for one mutant with early branch formation. The development of this plant is important, not only as an alternative source of renewable energy, but also as one of the crops that can adapt to the threat of global climate change such as drought.

Early Branching of Bilateral Renal Arteries with Bilateral Accessory Renal Arteries: A Case Report of a Live-Related Donor Transplantation

Comprehensive preoperative evaluation of potential donors is crucial for selecting the right donor, with adequately functioning kidneys, and the best surgical approach for harvesting the organs to prevent donor-related complications and to assure good recipient graft function. Multidetector computed tomography is the choice of imaging in the preoperative evaluation of living renal donors with an accuracy of 95%–100%. The donor must retain one normal kidney. The left kidney is preferred for living donor nephrectomy because it has a longer renal vein and it is technically easier to remove. It is always preferable to choose kidneys with a single artery because both donor and recipient surgeries are less complicated and there is less risk for arterial thrombosis. We report in a case of successful transplantation wherein the donor had an early division of the main renal artery bilaterally as well as bilateral accessory renal arteries.

Computed Tomography Angiographic Evaluation of Anatomical Variations of Renal Arteries at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano-Nigeria

Background: Knowledge of renal arteries anatomical variations is important for different laparoscopic surgeries, kidney transplantation, oncologic resections and radiological interventional procedures in the abdomen. Aim and Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of anatomical variations of renal arteries using C.T. angiograms at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano, to associate the variations with gender and ethnicity and to compare the results with the available findings in the literature. Materials and Method: The computed tomographic renal angiograms of 378 subjects comprising 204 males (54%) and 174 females (46%) with a M: F ratio of 1.2:1 were prospectively obtained from November, 2018 to August, 2019 at the Radiology Department of AKTH. They were then analyzed using SPSS software version 22.0 for the presence of potential anatomical variations. Results: Among the 378 subjects studied, 246 (65.1%) had normal renal artery supply while there were anatomical variations of the renal arteries in 132 (34.9%) subjects but no side preponderance was observed. Early branching of the renal artery was observed in 47 (12.4%) subjects while the presence of at least one accessory renal artery was observed in 85 (22.5%) subjects. The most frequently observed renal anomaly in this study was accessory hilar artery found in 40 kidneys (5.3%). Bilateral renal vasculature variation was detected in 8 (2.1%) subjects. The variations were more frequently seen in males (p &gt; 0.05). Conclusion: The study showed significant prevalence of anatomical variations of renal arteries (34.9%).

The GEN-ERA toolbox: unified and reproducible workflows for research in microbial genomics.

Microbial culture collections play a key role in taxonomy by studying the diversity of their strains and providing well-characterized biological material to the scientific community for fundamental and applied research. These microbial resource centers thus need to implement new standards in species delineation, including whole-genome sequencing and phylogenomics. In this context, the genomic needs of the Belgian Coordinated Collections of Microorganisms were studied, resulting in the GEN-ERA toolbox. The latter is a unified cluster of bioinformatic workflows dedicated to both bacteria and small eukaryotes (e.g., yeasts). This public toolbox allows researchers without a specific training in bioinformatics to perform robust phylogenomic analyses. Hence, it facilitates all steps from genome downloading and quality assessment, including genomic contamination estimation, to tree reconstruction. It also offers workflows for average nucleotide identity comparisons and metabolic modeling. Nextflow workflows are launched by a single command and are available on the GEN-ERA GitHub repository (https://github.com/Lcornet/GENERA). All the workflows are based on Singularity containers to increase reproducibility. The toolbox was developed for a diversity of microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi. It was further tested on an empirical dataset of 18 (meta)genomes of early branching Cyanobacteria, providing the most up-to-date phylogenomic analysis of the Gloeobacterales order, the first group to diverge in the evolutionary tree of Cyanobacteria. The GEN-ERA toolbox can be used to infer completely reproducible comparative genomic and metabolic analyses on prokaryotes and small eukaryotes. Although designed for routine bioinformatics of culture collections, it can also be used by all researchers interested in microbial taxonomy, as exemplified by our case study on Gloeobacterales.

Alternative neural systems: What is a neuron? (Ctenophores, sponges and placozoans).

How to make a neuron, a synapse, and a neural circuit? Is there only one 'design' for a neural architecture with a universally shared genomic blueprint across species? The brief answer is "No." Four early divergent lineages from the nerveless common ancestor of all animals independently evolved distinct neuroid-type integrative systems. One of these is a subset of neural nets in comb jellies with unique synapses; the second lineage is the well-known Cnidaria + Bilateria; the two others are non-synaptic neuroid systems in sponges and placozoans. By integrating scRNA-seq and microscopy data, we revise the definition of neurons as synaptically-coupled polarized and highly heterogenous secretory cells at the top of behavioral hierarchies with learning capabilities. This physiological (not phylogenetic) definition separates 'true' neurons from non-synaptically and gap junction-coupled integrative systems executing more stereotyped behaviors. Growing evidence supports the hypothesis of multiple origins of neurons and synapses. Thus, many non-bilaterian and bilaterian neuronal classes, circuits or systems are considered functional rather than genetic categories, composed of non-homologous cell types. In summary, little-explored examples of convergent neuronal evolution in representatives of early branching metazoans provide conceptually novel microanatomical and physiological architectures of behavioral controls in animals with prospects of neuro-engineering and synthetic biology.

Uncovering a 500 million year old history and evidence of pseudogenization for TLR15.

Toll like receptors (TLRs) are at the front line of pathogen recognition and host immune response. Many TLR genes have been described to date with some being found across metazoans while others are restricted to specific lineages. A cryptic member of the TLR gene family, TLR15, has a unique phylogenetic distribution. Initially described in extant species of birds and reptiles, an ortholog has been reported for cartilaginous fish. Here, we significantly expanded the evolutionary analysis of TLR15 gene evolution, taking advantage of large genomic and transcriptomic resources available from different lineages of vertebrates. Additionally, we objectively search for TLR15 in lobe-finned and ray-finned fish, as well as in cartilaginous fish and jawless vertebrates. We confirm the presence of TLR15 in early branching jawed vertebrates - the cartilaginous fish, as well as in basal Sarcopterygii - in lungfish. However, within cartilaginous fish, the gene is present in Holocephalans (all three families) but not in Elasmobranchs (its sister-lineage). Holocephalans have long TLR15 protein sequences that disrupt the typical TLR structure, and some species display a pseudogene sequence due to the presence of frameshift mutations and early stop codons. Additionally, TLR15 has low expression levels in holocephalans when compared with other TLR genes. In turn, lungfish also have long TLR15 protein sequences but the protein structure is not compromised. Finally, TLR15 presents several sites under negative selection. Overall, these results suggest that TLR15 is an ancient TLR gene and is experiencing ongoing pseudogenization in early-branching vertebrates.

Peri-hilar branching pattern and variations of the renal artery among Indian kidney donors using pre-operative computed tomography angiography: an anatomical study and review.

The peri-hilar branching pattern of renal arteries and variations such as accessory renal artery and early branching of the renal artery are important factors to be evaluated preoperatively to minimise potential complications during renal transplantation and renal surgeries. The present study was done to assess the peri hilar branching pattern of the renal artery and its variation among the renal donors in India. One hundred ninety eight kidneys from 99 donors were analysed using pre-operative computed tomography renal angiograms prospectively, over 1 year 2 months. Based on the branching pattern of primary and secondary branches of renal arteries, we identified 8 cardinal and 10 minor peri-hilar branching patterns. Type I (duplicated fork) peri-hilar branching pattern was the most frequently found (70.2%) among 198 kidneys, followed by type II (triplicated fork) (19.2%) and type III (ladder) (10.6%). Duplicated fork pattern was common in both the right renal artery (75.7%) and left renal artery (64.6%), respectively. The prevalence of accessory renal artery was 39.4% with hilar artery at 21.2% and polar artery at 18.2%, and the prevalence of early division of renal artery was 20.2%. No significant association was found between gender and laterality in the prevalence of both early division and accessory renal artery (p > 0.05). Early division of renal artery was more frequent in females (28%) whilst accessory renal arteries were more common in males (40.7%). The present study showed a consistent peri-hilar branching pattern with high individual variability among Indian renal donors. The knowledge about the peri-hilar branching pattern as well as renal artery variations conferred by this study would greatly compliment urological surgeons during renal transplant surgeries.

Double-Cuff Bidirectional Branch in Endovascular Aortic Repair: A New Way of Increasing the Flexibility of Inner Branch Endografting

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to describe the design and implantation of a branched stent-graft during endovascular aortic repair incorporating double-cuff bidirectional inner branch. Technique: A new double-cuff bidirectional antegrade and retrograde inner branched stent-graft with large diamond-shaped fenestration was designed for incorporation of a splenic artery. The inner cuffs of the branch were accessible using brachial and/or femoral access. The splenic artery was originating from an aortic segment with narrow inner aortic luminal diameter in a patient with extent IV thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm with bilobed configuration. The retrograde, more distal inner cuff of the branch was extended into the splenic artery using a self-expandable bridging stent-graft from the femoral approach, whereas the antegrade, more proximal inner cuff of the branch was intentionally occluded using an endovascular plug. The recovery was uneventful and a computed tomography angiography 30 days postoperatively showed patency of all the target vessels without signs of endoleaks. Conclusion: This is the first design of a double-cuff bidirectional inner branched stent-graft. The technique can potentially expand the applications of directional branches to patients with more difficult anatomy in the thoracoabdominal or aortic arch segments. Potential indications are patients with target arteries that are not ideally suited for caudally-oriented branches, patients with accessory vessels, or targets with early branch bifurcations. Clinical Impact This report describes the use of a branched endograft with a new double-cuff bidirectional branch that can potentially address many of the limitations of current BEVAR solutions, such as early bifurcations, double arteries with adjacent origins and arteries with less favorable trajectories for the traditional caudally-oriented branches.

Phylogeographic history of mitochondrial haplogroup J in Scandinavia.

Mitochondrial DNA haplogroup J is the third most frequent haplogroup in modern-day Scandinavia, although it did not originate there. To infer the genetic history of haplogroup J in Scandinavia, we examined worldwide mitogenome sequences using a maximum-likelihood phylogenetic approach. Haplogroup J mitogenome sequences were gathered from GenBank (n= 2245) and aligned against the ancestral Reconstructed Sapiens Reference Sequence. We also analyzed haplogroup J Viking Age sequences from the European Nucleotide Archive (n= 54). Genetic distances were estimated from these data and projected onto a maximum likelihood rooted phylogenetic tree to analyze clustering and branching dates. Haplogroup J originated approximately 42.6 kya (95% CI: 30.0-64.7), with several of its earliest branches being found within the Arabian Peninsula and Northern Africa. J1b was found most frequently in the Near East and Arabian Peninsula, while J1c occurred most frequently in Europe. Based on phylogenetic dating, subhaplogroup J1c has its early roots in the Mediterranean and Western Balkans. Otherwise, the majority of the branches found in Scandinavia are younger than those seen elsewhere, indicating that haplogroup J dispersed relatively recently into Northern Europe, most plausibly with Neolithic farmers. Haplogroup J appeared when Scandinavia was transitioning to agriculture over 6 kya, with J1c being the most common lineage there today. Changes in the distribution of haplogroup J mtDNAs were likely driven by the expansion of farming from West Asia into Southern Europe, followed by a later expansion into Scandinavia, with other J subhaplogroups appearing among Scandinavian groups as early as the Viking Age.

An ancestral Wnt-Brachyury feedback loop in axial patterning and recruitment of mesoderm-determining target genes.

Transcription factors are crucial drivers of cellular differentiation during animal development and often share ancient evolutionary origins. The T-box transcription factor Brachyury plays a pivotal role as an early mesoderm determinant and neural repressor in vertebrates; yet, the ancestral function and key evolutionary transitions of the role of this transcription factor remain obscure. Here, we present a genome-wide target-gene screen using chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, an early branching non-bilaterian, and the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, a representative of the sister lineage of chordates. Our analysis reveals an ancestral gene regulatory feedback loop connecting Brachyury, FoxA and canonical Wnt signalling involved in axial patterning that predates the cnidarian-bilaterian split about 700 million years ago. Surprisingly, we also found that part of the gene regulatory network controlling the fate of neuromesodermal progenitors in vertebrates was already present in the common ancestor of cnidarians and bilaterians. However, while several endodermal and neuronal Brachyury target genes are ancestrally shared, hardly any of the key mesodermal downstream targets in vertebrates are found in the sea anemone or the sea urchin. Our study suggests that a limited number of target genes involved in mesoderm formation were newly acquired in the vertebrate lineage, leading to a dramatic shift in the function of this ancestral developmental regulator.

Semi-HFL: semi-supervised federated learning for heterogeneous devices

In the vanilla federated learning (FL) framework, the central server distributes a globally unified model to each client and uses labeled samples for training. However, in most cases, clients are equipped with different devices and are exposed to a variety of situations. There are great differences between clients in storage, computing, communication, and other resources, which makes unified deep models used in traditional FL cannot fit clients’ personalized resource conditions. Furthermore, a great deal of labeled data is needed in traditional FL, whereas data labeling requires a great investment of time and resources, which is hard to do for individual clients. As a result, clients only have a vast amount of unlabeled data, which goes against the federated learning needs. To address the aforementioned two issues, we propose Semi-HFL, a semi-supervised federated learning approach for heterogeneous devices, which divides a deep model into a series of small submodels by inserting early exit branches to meet the resource requirements of different devices. Furthermore, considering the availability of labeled data, Semi-HFL introduces semi-supervised techniques for training in the above heterogeneous learning process. Specifically, two training phases are included in the semi-supervised learning process, unsupervised learning on clients and supervised learning on the server, which makes full use of clients’ unlabeled data. Through image classification, text classification, next-word prediction, and multi-task FL experiments based on five kinds of datasets, it is verified that compared with the traditional homogeneous learning method, Semi-HFL not only achieves higher accuracies but also significantly reduces the global resource overhead.

Reconstructing the neuromuscular ground pattern of phylactolaemate bryozoans: new data from the Lophopodidae

BackgroundThe solely freshwater inhabiting Phylactolaemata is a sister taxon to all other bryozoans. Among phylactolaemates, Lophopodidae represents an early branching clade that is therefore crucial for ground pattern reconstruction. While more recent morphological data of most phylactolaemate families are present, data of lophopodids are scarce. The genus Asajirella especially, which was previously assigned to the family Pectinatellidae, lacks any detailed analysis with more recent morphological methods.ResultsThis study provides the first morphological analyses of three lophopodid species using serial-sectioning histology and 3D reconstruction, but also immunocytochemical stainings and confocal laserscanning microscopy. There are several lophopodid-specific traits in the nervous system such as the large ganglion with extensive lumen and two prominent protrusions referred to as epistomial horns. The epistome in all lophopodids is rather small and dome-shaped. Contrary to previous reports, we can confirm that duplicature bands insert at the tentacle sheath rather than the diaphragmatic sphincter in all phylactolaemates. The morphology of the digestive tract of lophopodids is identical to other phylactolaemates and possesses exclusively circular muscles.ConclusionsAltogether, this study fills significant gaps in our knowledge on phylactolaemate neuromuscular systems and general morphology. It shows that the insertion of the duplicature bands at the tentacle sheath and the circular musculature of the digestive tract to be the ground pattern in phylactolaemates. In addition, we found apomorphic characters for lophopodids such as the dome-shaped epistome with its musculature and the voluminous ganglion with its epistomial horns, which aid in defining and delineating the family.

VEGFR3 modulates brain microvessel branching in a mouse model of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.

The loss of a single copy of &lt;i&gt;TBX1&lt;/i&gt; accounts for most of the clinical signs and symptoms of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, a common genetic disorder that is characterized by multiple congenital anomalies and brain-related clinical problems, some of which likely have vascular origins. &lt;i&gt;Tbx1&lt;/i&gt; mutant mice have brain vascular anomalies, thus making them a useful model to gain insights into the human disease. Here, we found that the main morphogenetic function of TBX1 in the mouse brain is to suppress vessel branching morphogenesis through regulation of &lt;i&gt;Vegfr3&lt;/i&gt; We demonstrate that inactivating &lt;i&gt;Vegfr3&lt;/i&gt; in the &lt;i&gt;Tbx1&lt;/i&gt; expression domain on a &lt;i&gt;Tbx1&lt;/i&gt; mutant background enhances brain vessel branching and filopodia formation, whereas increasing &lt;i&gt;Vegfr3&lt;/i&gt; expression in this domain fully rescued these phenotypes. Similar results were obtained using an in vitro model of endothelial tubulogenesis. Overall, the results of this study provide genetic evidence that &lt;i&gt;VEGFR3&lt;/i&gt; is a regulator of early vessel branching and filopodia formation in the mouse brain and is a likely mediator of the brain vascular phenotype caused by &lt;i&gt;Tbx1&lt;/i&gt; loss of function.

S1666 Hepatolithiasis Caused by Right Hepatic Artery Branches Forming an Arterial Ring Compressing the Common Hepatic Duct

Introduction: Anatomic variants of the hepatic artery are common, but are generally of no physiologic significance. We present a patient with an early branching of the right hepatic artery (RHA), wherein the right anterior and right posterior sectoral arteries encircled and compressed the CHD, resulting in proximal hepatolithiasis. Case Description/Methods: A healthy 51-year-old male presented with abdominal pain, jaundice and fever. Computed tomography of the abdomen showed bilateral intrahepatic duct stones and a focal CHD stricture near its bifurcation. At endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, the stricture was dilated and a plastic biliary stent was inserted. Since the hepatolithiasis could not be cleared endoscopically, surgical common bile duct exploration was performed (Figure). At laparotomy, we identified an early bifurcation of the RHA. The right anterior artery crossed anterior to the CHD, whereas the right posterior artery coursed posterior to the CHD. These arterial branches were densely adherent to and circumferentially constricting the CHD. We performed an arterial divestment to release the anterior and posterior RHA branches from the CHD. We transected the CHD 1cm distal to its bifurcation and transposed the anterior RHA branch posterior to the CHD. We used Spyglass cholangioscopy to guide clearance of the hepatolithiasis and to evaluate the biliary epithelium. The CHD was reconstructed in an end-to-end fashion over plastic biliary stents. The patient had an uneventful postoperative course. Post operative ERCP demonstrated no evidence of stones or biliary stricture. The patient remains asymptomatic to date. Discussion: This case illustrates a rare but clinically important phenomenon of CHD compression within an arterial ring formed by the anterior and posterior sectoral branches of an early branching RHA. Tsuchiya et al. reported the first case of CHD compression caused by an anterior-crossing RHA, and coined this entity the “right hepatic artery syndrome”. Since then, 10 additional cases of CHD compression caused by topographical variants of the hepatic artery have been described. Most patients underwent surgery for bile duct exploration and bilioenteric drainage, or to release the artery from the CHD. Both surgical approaches provide a high rate of durable symptom resolution. In recent years, there have been reports describing purely endoscopic management of this condition using ERCP or direct cholangioscopy to clear intrahepatic stones.Figure 1.: Relationship between the common hepatic duct (asterisk) and the mobilized anterior (solid arrow) and posterior (dotted arrow) right hepatic artery branches.

Transplantation in a Recipient with Crossed Renal Ectopia and Donor with Early Branching of the Left Renal Artery - A Case Report

Comprehensive preoperative evaluation of potential donors is crucial for selecting the right donor. Early segmentary arterial branching is present in 10%–12% of cases. Expert surgeons require at least 1 cm of main donor renal artery to clamp and properly anastomose the artery in the recipient. We report a case of live-related renal transplantation wherein the recipient had a crossed renal ectopia and the donor had early branching of the left renal artery (&lt;5 mm from the aorta).

The characterization of novel monomeric creatine kinases in the early branching Alveolata species, Perkinsus marinus: Implications for phosphagen kinase evolution.

The genome of the unicellular molluscan parasite Perkinsus marinus contains at least five genes coding for putative creatine kinases (CK), a phosphoryl transfer enzyme which plays a key role in cellular energy transactions. Expression and kinetic analyses of three of the P. marinus CKs revealed them to be true CKs with catalytic properties in the range of typical metazoan CKs. A sequence comparison of the P. marinus CKs with a range of CK dimers and other dimeric phosphoryl transfer enzymes in this family (phosphagen kinases) showed that the P. marinus CKs lacked some of the critical residues involved in dimer stabilization, a trait all previously characterized CKs share. Size exclusion chromatography of all three expressed P. marinus CK constructs indicated they are monomeric, consistent with the observed lack of some critical dimer stabilizing residues. Phylogenetic analyses of the P. marinus CKs and putative dinoflagellate CKs with a broad range of monomeric and dimeric phosphagen kinases revealed that the Perkinsus CKs form a distinct, well-supported clade with dinoflagellate CKs which also lack the dimer stabilizing residues. Analysis of the genomic data for P. marinus showed the presence of putative genes for the two enzymes associated with creatine biosynthesis. CK in higher organisms plays a critical role in energy buffering in cell types displaying high and variable rates of ATP turnover. The presence of multiple CKs and the creatine biosynthetic pathway in P. marinus indicates that this unicellular parasite has the full complement of molecular machinery for CK-mediated energy buffering.

Usefulness of Orbitocranial Approach in Neck Clipping of Aneurysms Arising from Middle Cerebral Artery Proximal to the Limen Insulae: A Case Series

Neck clipping of the aneurysms arising from the middle cerebral artery (MCA) proximal to the limen insulae is often difficult because of difficulties in securing a bright and wide operative field to observe the aneurysms and surrounding structures, such as the anterior perforated substance, lenticulostriate arteries, and early frontal branch. Our objective was to determine the usefulness of the orbitocranial approach in neck clipping of the aneurysms arising from the MCA proximal to the limen insulae. This prospective study included 7 patients who underwent neck clipping of aneurysms arising from the MCA proximal to the limen insulae through the orbitocranial approach. In addition to conventional pterional craniotomy, the superiolateral orbital rim was resected with a 1-piece fashion. Its procedures, complications, and outcomes were reviewed. Removal of the superolateral orbital rim facilitated a bright and wide observation from the skull base side. It was much easier to identify the anterior perforated substance, lenticulostriate arteries, and early frontal branch around the aneurysm through the orbitocranial approach than through the conventional pterional approach. Neck clipping could be performed completely and safely in all cases. The orbitocranial approach to aneurysms arising from the MCA proximal to the limen insulae provides us a bright and wide operative field compared with the conventional pterional approach, which is useful to secure complete and safe neck clipping by avoiding cerebral contusion and unexpected obstruction of the early frontal branch.

Forebrain nuclei linked to woodpecker territorial drum displays mirror those that enable vocal learning in songbirds.

Vocal learning is thought to have evolved in 3 orders of birds (songbirds, parrots, and hummingbirds), with each showing similar brain regions that have comparable gene expression specializations relative to the surrounding forebrain motor circuitry. Here, we searched for signatures of these same gene expression specializations in previously uncharacterized brains of 7 assumed vocal non-learning bird lineages across the early branches of the avian family tree. Our findings using a conserved marker for the song system found little evidence of specializations in these taxa, except for woodpeckers. Instead, woodpeckers possessed forebrain regions that were anatomically similar to the pallial song nuclei of vocal learning birds. Field studies of free-living downy woodpeckers revealed that these brain nuclei showed increased expression of immediate early genes (IEGs) when males produce their iconic drum displays, the elaborate bill-hammering behavior that individuals use to compete for territories, much like birdsong. However, these specialized areas did not show increased IEG expression with vocalization or flight. We further confirmed that other woodpecker species contain these brain nuclei, suggesting that these brain regions are a common feature of the woodpecker brain. We therefore hypothesize that ancient forebrain nuclei for refined motor control may have given rise to not only the song control systems of vocal learning birds, but also the drumming system of woodpeckers.