Search results for "SNAKES"
showing 10 items of 16 documents
Names of Snakes in Latvian Texts of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
2020
Names of Snakes in Latvian Texts of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries This article analyses the naming of snakes in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Latvian texts which are taken from the Corpus of Early Written Latvian Texts, containing the first Latvian dictionaries, religious texts, and some secular texts. The objective of the paper is to try to determine how precisely the translators of religious texts rendered names of snakes, and to ascertain whether any semantic changes have taken place, or whether religious texts show specific use. The study also aims to find out if taboo of dangerous animals, snakes in particular, and related euphemisation is reflected in early Latvian text…
Conformation and concerted dynamics of the integrin-binding site and the C-terminal region of echistatin revealed by homonuclear NMR
2005
Copyright © by Portland Press. The final version of record is available at http://www.biochemj.org/bj/default.htm
Protective coloration of European vipers throughout the predation sequence
2020
Antipredator adaptations in the form of animal coloration are common and often multifunctional. European vipers (genus Vipera) have a characteristic dorsal zigzag pattern, which has been shown to serve as a warning signal to potential predators. At the same time, it has been suggested to decrease detection risk, and to cause a motion dazzle or flicker-fusion effect during movement. We tested these hypotheses by asking whether (1) the zigzag pattern decreases detection risk and (2) the detection is dependent on the base coloration (grey or brown) or the snake's posture (coiled, basking form or S-shaped, active form). Additionally, (3) we measured the fleeing speed of adders, Vipera berus, an…
Snake venom disintegrins: evolution of structure and function.
2005
Disintegrins represent a family of polypeptides present in the venoms of various vipers that selectively block the function of integrin receptors. Here, we review our current view and hypothesis on the emergence and the structural and functional diversification of disintegrins by accelerated evolution and the selective loss of disulfide bonds of duplicated genes. Research on disintegrins is relevant for understanding the biology of viper venom toxins, but also provides information on new structural determinants involved in integrin recognition that may be useful in basic and clinical research. The role of the composition, conformation, and dynamics of the integrin inhibitory loop acting in …
Monitoring the reproductive activity in captive bred female ball pythons (P. regius) by ultrasound evaluation and noninvasive analysis of faecal repr…
2018
The royal python (Python regius) is commonly bred in captivity. To have a successful breeding season, accurate monitoring of the reproductive activity is necessary. The use of non-invasive monitoring methods in exotics is important in order to minimize stress. For this purpose ultrasound has been anecdotally used to monitor royal python reproductive activity. However, there is limited information regarding the reproductive cycle of this species. The aim of the present study is to monitor the female reproductive cycle of the royal python using ultrasonography and gonadal steroid metabolite measurements in the faeces. The reproductive activity of one hundred twenty-nine adult female P. regius…
El «apareamiento oral» (oris coitus) de las serpientes y su simbología en la literatura emblemática neolatina
2009
Este artículo trata del denominado «apareamiento por la boca» (oriscoitus) de las serpientes y su simbología en los libros de emblemas latinos de los siglos XVI y XVII, revisando las diferentes interpretaciones que los autores ofrecen de este ancestral argumento e identificando las fuentes (literarias y gráficas) clásicas, medievales y renacentistas. Asimismo, se establecen las curiosas imbricaciones que presenta tal metáfora con arquetipos míticos. This paper is about the so called «oral mating» (oris coitus) of the serpents and its symbolism in the books of Latin emblems of the XVIth and XVIIth century, revising the different interpretations that the authors offer of this ancient argument…
L’ASPIDE SANGUINARIA: ESEGESI DI UN PASSO DEI THERIAKÁ DI NICANDRO (vv. 157-89)
2015
In a passage of Nicander’s Theriaká on the snake called aspis the adjective ἀμυδρότατον is attested (Th. 158). The aim of this paper is to define the meaning of this adjective. Ancient and modern scholars have variously interpreted it: some of them referred ἀμυδρότατον to the laziness and sluggishness of the animal, others to its perniciousness. However, both these meanings are quite atypical: ἀμυδρός usually means ‘weak, faint, obscure’. Here I suggest that the value of the adjective ἀμυδρότατον in Th. 158 should be related to its original meaning.
Formation and function of a complement-activating enzyme generated from factors of guinea pig serum and cobra venom
1971
An enzymatic complex can be formed by factors from guinea pig serum and cobra venom, which is able to activate C3 bypassing C1, C4 and C2. Formation and action of the enzyme are described. The action on C3 results in an activation of the terminal complement components and in membrane destruction provided suitable membrane receptors are available.
Species- and Subtype-Specific Recognition by Antibody WF6 of a Sequence Segment Forming an α-Bungarotoxin Binding Site on the Nicotinic Acetylcholine…
1992
The monoclonal antibody WF6 competes with acetylcholine and alpha-bungarotoxin (alpha-BGT) for binding to the Torpedo nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) alpha 1 subunit. Using synthetic peptides corresponding to the complete Torpedo nAChR alpha 1 subunit, we previously mapped a continuous epitope recognized by WF6, and the prototope for alpha-BGT, to the sequence segment alpha 1(181-200). Single amino acid substitution analogs have been used as an initial approach to determine the critical amino acids for WF6 and alpha-BGT binding. In the present study, we continue our analysis of the structural features of the WF6 epitope by comparing its cross-reactivity with synthetic peptides corr…
The "olfactostriatum" of snakes: a basal ganglia vomeronasal structure in tetrapods.
2005
The olfactostriatum is a portion of the basal ganglia of snakes situated ventromedially to the nucleus accumbens proper. It receives a major vomeronasal input from the nucleus sphericus, the primary target of accessory olfactory bulb efferents. Recently, the ophidian olfactostriatum has been characterized on the basis of chemoarchitecture (distribution of serotonin, neuropeptide Y and tyrosine hydroxylase) and hodology (afferent and efferent connections). In contrast to the nucleus accumbens proper, the olfactostriatum is densely immunoreactive for serotonin and neuropeptide Y and sparsely immunoreactive for tyrosine hydroxylase. The nucleus accumbens proper and the olfactostriatum share mo…