Search results for "Vertebrate"

Molecular evolution: Evidence for the monophyletic origin of multicellular animals

1995

Ecology and Diversity of Urban Pine Forest Soil Invertebrates in Rīga, Latvia / Augsnes Bezmugurkaulnieku Bioloģiskā Daudzveidība Urbānajos Priežu Me…

2015

Abstract A study on ecology and diversity of soil invertebrates of urban pine and mixed pine forests was carried out in seven different sampling plots in Rīga during 2014. Ninety eight soil samples were processed and in total, 40 426 specimens were extracted (of them, 25 237 specimens were identified to species level and 15 189 to order level). Indices (abundance, community similarity etc.) characterising faunal diversity and species communities of Rīga city soil fauna were estimated. The most numerous soil invertebrate groups were Collembola, Oribatida and Mesostigmata, accounting for 95% of all collected animals. There was rather high diversity of soil invertebrates in the disturbed urban…

Vertebrate Hedgehog is secreted on two types of extracellular vesicles with different signaling properties

2014

Hedgehog (Hh) is a secreted morphogen that elicits differentiation and patterning in developing tissues. Multiple proposed mechanisms to regulate Hh dispersion includes lipoprotein particles and exosomes. Here we report that vertebrate Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) is secreted on two types of extracellular-vesicles/exosomes, from human cell lines and primary chick notochord cells. Although largely overlapping in size as estimated from electron micrographs, the two exosomal fractions exhibited distinct protein and RNA composition. We have probed the functional properties of these vesicles using cell-based assays of Hh-elicited gene expression. Our results suggest that while both Shh-containing exo-ve…

Preliminary Studies on Microbial Biomass and the Microarthropod Community as Soil Health and Quality Indicators in Urban Grasslands, Rīga as an Examp…

2015

Antropogēnais piesārņojums tiek uzskatīts par vienu no galvenajiem faktoriem, kas ietekmē augsni pilsētās. 2014. gadā uzsākts pētījums par augsnes kvalitāti urbānajos zālājos Rīgā. Pētījuma mērķis bija noteikt augsnes mikrobiālo biomasu un augsnes sīkposmkāju kopienu dažādu zālāju augsnēs Rīgā un izvērtēt iespējas tos izmantot kā pilsētvides augsnes veselības un kvalitātes rādītājus. Rīgā atšķirīgos pilsētas rajonos tika izvēlēti seši dažāda lieluma parauglaukumi ar atšķirīgām vietas apbūves īpatnībām, ielu un dzelzceļu tīkla blīvumu un transporta noslogojumu, vidi piesārņojošo objektu iespējamo ietekmi, kā arī citām, urbānu vidi raksturojošām īpatnībām. Substrāta izraisītas elpošanas metod…

Serological prevalence of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women in Luanda (Angola): Geospatial distribution and its association with socio-demographic and …

2020

We report a study on toxoplasmosis in pregnant women in Luanda, Angola, determining the seroprevalence, geospatial distribution and its association with socio-economic features, dietary habits and hygiene and health conditions. Anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG and IgM were quantified in serum samples of women attended at the Lucrecia Paim Maternity Hospital between May 2016 and August 2017. The IgG avidity test and qPCR assay were used for dating the primary infection. Data were collected by questionnaire after written consent, and spatial distribution was assessed through a Kernel Density Function. The potential risk factors associated with Toxoplasma infection were evaluated using bivariate and…

An extended Benthic Quality Index for assessment of lake profundal macroinvertebrates: addition of indicator taxa by multivariate ordination and weig…

2014

AbstractThe chironomid Benthic Quality Index (BQI) is a widely used metric in assessments of lake status. The BQI is based on 7 indicator taxa, which like most profundal fauna, often occur sporadically in low densities. Hence, a major weakness of the index is that it cannot be calculated when indicator taxa are not captured. Thus, an extension of the BQI that incorporates more macroinvertebrate taxa is desirable. We used 2 statistical approaches (Detrended Correspondence Analysis and Weighted Averaging) to estimate new benthic quality indicator scores for profundal macroinvertebrate taxa and to construct modified BQIs called Profundal Invertebrate Community Metrics (PICMs). We calibrated th…

Expectations, experiences and attitudes of patients and primary care health professionals regarding online psychotherapeutic interventions for depres…

2013

Abstract Background In the year 2020, depression will cause the second highest amount of disability worldwide. One quarter of the population will suffer from depression symptoms at some point in their lives. Mental health services in Western countries are overburdened. Therefore, cost-effective interventions that do not involve mental health services, such as online psychotherapy programs, have been proposed. These programs demonstrate satisfactory outcomes, but the completion rate for patients is low. Health professionals’ attitudes towards this type of psychotherapy are more negative than the attitudes of depressed patients themselves. The aim of this study is to describe the profile of d…

Voila, a New Drosophila Courtship Variant that Affects the Nervous System: Behavioral, Neural, and Genetic Characterization

1998

InDrosophila melanogaster, a specificPGAL4transposon induces theVoila1genetic variant and produces multiple phenotypes. HomozygousVoila1/1flies rarely reach adulthood, whereas heterozygousVoila1/+adult males show strong bisexual behavior. Males with a single copy ofVoila1driving the feminizing transgeneUAS-transformershow very reduced sexual activity but no overall effect on their behavior.Voila1is specifically expressed in the nervous system. In the CNS, it is expressed mainly in the mushroom bodies and, to a lesser extent, in the antennal lobes. In the peripheral nervous system, GAL4 expression is almost entirely restricted to the gustatory sensilla. Using chromosomal deficiencies, the be…

Neuroglobin and Other Nerve Haemoglobins

2008

The nervous system of animals requires huge amounts of metabolic energy and thus oxygen. Intracellular haemoglobins sporadically occur in glial cells and neurons of various invertebrate taxa, including Annelida, Arthropoda, Echiura, Mollusca, Nematoda and Nemertea. At least some of these respiratory proteins sustain the aerobic metabolism and thus the excitability of the nervous system. Recently, we have identified neuroglobin as an oxygen-binding protein of vertebrate neurons. The physiological role of neuroglobin, which is apparently present in much lower amounts than many invertebrate nerve haemoglobins, is less well established. Phylogenetic analyses have shown that neuroglobin is ortho…

Expression analysis of jagged genes in zebrafish embryos

2005

The interaction of transmembrane Delta and Jagged/Serrate ligands with Notch receptors on neighboring cells is critically involved in cell specification during development. In zebrafish, the early expression of delta but not of jagged genes has been investigated in some detail. We have analyzed the sequence and embryonic expression pattern of the three zebrafish genes jagged1a, jagged1b, and jagged2. These genes, whose transcripts are detectable by in situ hybridization from early somitogenesis, are widely and dynamically expressed in embryos. Coexpression is limited, however, to the notochord and lens (jagged1a and jagged1b) and to the otic vesicle and pronephros (jagged1b and jagged2). Co…