Search results for "Vertebrate"

The ins and outs of cholesterol in the vertebrate retina

2010

Thematic Review Series: Lipids and Lipid Metabolism in the Eye; International audience; The vertebrate retina has multiple demands for utilization of cholesterol and must meet those demands either by synthesizing its own supply of cholesterol or by importing cholesterol from extraretinal sources, or both. Unlike the blood-brain barrier, the blood-retina barrier allows uptake of cholesterol from the circulation via a lipoprotein-based/receptor-mediated mechanism. Under normal conditions, cholesterol homeostasis is tightly regulated; also, cholesterol exists in the neural retina overwhelmingly in unesterified form, and sterol intermediates are present in minimal to negligible quantities. Howe…

Vertebrate biological events and Pleistocene biogeographic history of Sicily

2009

Bio-chronology of pleistocene vertebrate faunas of sicily and correlation of vertebrate bearing deposits with marine deposits

2003

The rich Pleistocene fossil record of Sicily allowed the construction of a fairly detailed bio-chronological frame that is dated by correlation of vertebrate bearing deposits with marine deposits by geochemical and radiometric dating too. Actually, an important category of deposits is representative of transitional and neritic environments, frequently associated with a lagoon or swamp. Limnic deposits related to small freshwater basins also occur, often in relation to coastal and fully marine deposits. Numerous relationships have been found between the vertebrate bearing deposits and marine deposits, which can be correlated with the δ18O isotopic record and the main palaeogeographic events …

Residential Exposure to Outdoor Air Pollution during Pregnancy and Anthropometric Measures at Birth in a Multicenter Cohort in Spain

2011

Background: A growing body of research suggests that prenatal exposure to air pollution may be harmful to fetal development. We assessed the association between exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and anthropometric measures at birth in four areas within the Spanish Children’s Health and Environment (INMA) mother and child cohort study. Methods: Exposure to ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and benzene was estimated for the residence of each woman (n = 2,337) for each trimester and for the entire pregnancy. Outcomes included birth weight, length, and head circumference. The association between residential outdoor air pollution exposure and birth outcomes was assessed with linear regress…

Predicting the stream macroinvertebrate fauna across regional scales: influence of geographical extent on model performance

2008

AbstractPredictive modeling is used increasingly often in freshwater bioassessment. These models are routinely applied across broad geographical areas, yet the influence of spatial extent on model performance has not been assessed directly. We examined the influence of changing geographical extent on the performance of River InVertebrate Prediction and Classification System (RIVPACS)–type predictive models of benthic macroinvertebrates in boreal headwater streams representative of reference conditions. Separate models were constructed for 2 hierarchical extents: within ecoregions (middle boreal and north boreal) and across ecoregions. We assessed the accuracy and precision of the models usi…

Vertical transmission of naturally occurring Bunyamwera and insect-specific flavivirus infections in mosquitoes from islands and mainland shores of L…

2018

Background Many arboviruses transmitted by mosquitoes have been implicated as causative agents of both human and animal illnesses in East Africa. Although epidemics of arboviral emerging infectious diseases have risen in frequency in recent years, the extent to which mosquitoes maintain pathogens in circulation during inter-epidemic periods is still poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate whether arboviruses may be maintained by vertical transmission via immature life stages of different mosquito vector species. Methodology We collected immature mosquitoes (egg, larva, pupa) on the shores and islands of Lake Baringo and Lake Victoria in western Kenya and reared them to adults. Mo…

Investigation of superspreading COVID-19 outbreak events in meat and poultry processing plants in Germany: A cross-sectional study.

2020

Since May 2020, several COVID-19 outbreaks have occurred in the German meat industry despite various protective measures, and temperature and ventilation conditions were considered as possible high-risk factors. This cross-sectional study examined meat and poultry plants to examine possible risk factors. Companies completed a self-administered questionnaire on the work environment and protective measures taken to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection. Multivariable logistic regression analysis adjusted for the possibility to distance at least 1.5 meters, break rules, and employment status was performed to identify risk factors associated with COVID-19 cases. Twenty-two meat and poultry plants with 1…

Evolutionary plasticity of SH3 domain binding by Nef proteins of the HIV-1/SIVcpz lentiviral lineage

2021

The accessory protein Nef of human and simian immunodeficiency viruses (HIV and SIV) is an important pathogenicity factor known to interact with cellular protein kinases and other signaling proteins. A canonical SH3 domain binding motif in Nef is required for most of these interactions. For example, HIV-1 Nef activates the tyrosine kinase Hck by tightly binding to its SH3 domain. An archetypal contact between a negatively charged SH3 residue and a highly conserved arginine in Nef (Arg77) plays a key role here. Combining structural analyses with functional assays, we here show that Nef proteins have also developed a distinct structural strategy—termed the "R-clamp”—that favors the formation …

Early Cambrian origin of modern food webs: evidence from predator arrow worms.

2007

7 pages; International audience; Although palaeontological evidence from exceptional biota demonstrates the existence of diverse marine communities in the Early Cambrian (approx. 540-520 Myr ago), little is known concerning the functioning of the marine ecosystem, especially its trophic structure and the full range of ecological niches colonized by the fauna. The presence of a diverse zooplankton in Early Cambrian oceans is still an open issue. Here we provide compelling evidence that chaetognaths, an important element of modern zooplankton, were present in the Early Cambrian Chengjiang biota with morphologies almost identical to Recent forms. New information obtained from the lowermost Cam…

Diversity of vertebrate remains from the Lower Gogolin Beds (Anisian) of southern Poland

2020

Middle Triassic (Muschelkalk) limestones and dolostones of southern Poland contain vertebrate remains, which can be used for palaeoecological and palaeogeographical analyses. The results presented concern vertebrate remains uncovered at four localities in Upper Silesia and one on Opole Silesia, a region representing the south-eastern margin of the Germanic Basin in Middle Triassic times. The most abundant remains in this assemblage are fish remains, comprising mostly actinopterygian teeth and scales. Chondrichthyan and sauropsid remains are less common. Reptilian finds include vertebrae, teeth and fragments of long bones, belonging to aquatic or semi-aquatic reptiles, such as nothosaurids, …