<p>It is widely known that orexin A and B peptides as well as their receptors are expressed in the hypothalamus and distributed throughout the central nervous system, but there have been few studies regarding its presences in other parts of the body. There is now evidence that orexin (ORX) and its receptors (ORXR1/2) are present in the avian liver; however, their regulation under different environmental conditions is still unknown. In the current study, we sought to determine the effects of heat and oxidative stress using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) on the hepatic expression of ORX and ORXR1/2 in the avian species. Overall, heat stress significantly down regulated the expression of ORX, and ORXR1/2 mRNA and pro1tein in quail liver and LMH cells. LMH cells treated with H2O2 had decreased ORX protein and increased ORX mRNA levels (P < 0.05). There was a biphasic effect of 4-HNE on the expression of ORX and ORXR1/2 in LMH cells. There was a significant upregulation at low doses (10 and 20 ?M) and significant down-regulation at a high dose (30?M) of 4-HNE. In light of the current data, the hepatic expression of orexin could serve as a molecular signature in the heat and oxidative stress response.

<p> The Illinois Chorus Frog (<i>Pseudacris illinoensis</i>) is a state-threatened species that has been impacted by development. <i> Pseudacris illinoensis</i> is found in nine counties in Illinois, predominately along the Illinois River, however, there is an isolated population in Madison County. The population once spanned 15 km², into Granite City and South Roxana, but is now is limited to one isolated population near a mitigation site that was purchased in 1996 for the development of Interstate 255. The last population estimate was in 2002 and was estimated to be 245 individuals and the current status is unknown. This study was conducted to help to preserve a future for this population by evaluating population demography, population range, road mortality, and locating breeding habitat. Mobile Road Surveys were conducted in the Spring of 2015, 2016, and 2018. Four ponds were seined in 2016 to check for successful reproduction. Coordinates were taken for all sightings, choruses, and road mortalities. Maps were created using ArcMap to compare range and areas frogs are most likely to cross the road. Minimum Convex Polygon was used to compare historical range versus present range. Population was unable to be estimated during this study due to lack of recaptures. Females had significantly greater body mass but nonsignificant snout-vent lengths when compared to males. Using Kruskal-Wallis, a segmented survey map showed a significant difference of frogs in the road, with the most near the mitigation site. Minimum Convex polygon showed that there has been a 61% reduction of the range in Madison County. Seining confirmed fish in every pond except one site. It is important that this population be monitored continuously because there is development in the immediate area (less than 0.025 miles from the mitigation site). Future studies should include a population estimate and locations of travel corridors using PIT tags and radio telemetry. Breeding habitat and travel corridors are important land acquisitions to consider. </p><p>

<p> Paleoanthropological facial approximation (also known as hominid facial reconstruction) refers to the results and investigations undertaken to determine and represent the life appearance of the earliest humans. Integrating skeletal, biomechanical, behavioral and environmental data, each approximation takes us on a journey through time, embodies decades of research and archaeological discovery, and tells the unique story of a species in anatomic detail. Despite its utility in connecting scientific and public audiences, facial approximation remains hindered by two factors: the first, a lack of methodological standardization and testing within the field, and the second a lack of facial thickness data for non-human primates. </p><p> This study presents a novel application of craniofacial superimposition as a noninvasive way to measure facial soft tissue depth in great apes. Three-dimensional skull models and corresponding ante-mortem images of six adult male mountain gorillas (<i>Gorilla beringei beringei</i>) are overlaid in a computer-automated superimposition, and the point-to-point distances between skull surfaces and outer facial envelopes measured. A series of statistical analyses assess variation in measurements due to the type of software and number of images used. Further comparisons are drawn between mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans in facial tissue thickness. Results support craniofacial superimposition as a measurement approach. However further study is needed to determine the technical limits that may occur in practice and improve methods for use in facial approximation and paleoanthropology.</p><p>

<p> Aposematic prey animals use conspicuous, high contrast color patterns to warn potential predators that they possess a defense mechanism. Avian predators show an innate phobia of bold, contrasting color patterns, and can readily learn to avoid a prey item displaying bold warning coloration. Signal uniformity is important to promote predator learning and memory retention; however, there is documented variation in the aposematic pattern of many species, including the striped skunk (<i>Mephitis mephitis</i>). Most of the literature on aposematism refers to studies using avian predators and insect prey &ndash; we know relatively little about how mammalian predators learn about and interact with aposematic prey, despite the recognized influence of predation on the evolution of aposematism in mammals. This study examined the behavior of coyote (<i>Canis latrans</i>) subjects during interactions with baited black-and-white models that were able to spray a dilute skunk oil solution. Coyotes are the most common mammalian predator of striped skunks. To test their ability to generalize, after being sprayed coyotes were introduced to a variant model design based on natural documented variation in striped skunk pelage. The results demonstrate that coyotes show innate wariness of a black-and-white striped model, and most can effectively learn to avoid the model after being sprayed. Variants with proportionately more white incited more avoidance behaviors than darker patterns, although they did not allow for greater signaling power than the diagnostic black-and-white striped pattern. </p>

Equine laminitis is a devastating condition that results in the failure of the tissue responsible for suspending the skeleton within the hoof capsule. The digital laminae is composed of two interdigitated layers, the dermal lamellae surrounding the distal pedal bone, and the epidermal lamellae, which interfaces with the hoof wall. During laminitis, these layers separate, allowing for rotation and sinking of the pedal bone. While there are multiple diseases and physiological conditions associated with the development of laminitis, including sepsis, metabolic syndrome, and unequal weight bearing, the exact cause remains elusive. Prior work by our research group identified the metalloprotease ADAMTS-4 as a potential early instigator of disease. The data presented herein catalogs the distribution of the substrates of this enzyme, aggrecan and versican, the ramifications of ADAMTS-4-mediated versican loss in the laminae, and further expands into the repression of the canonical wnt signaling pathway and potential additional metalloprotease (MMP) involvement in disease, utilizing a model of acute, carbohydrate-induced laminitis. Additionally, samples from other models of laminitis induction and clinical samples were screened for differential expression of relevant gene markers, including versican, members of the canonical wnt signaling pathway, and MMP-1 and -13. Together, these data provide a characterization of laminar pathology in the carbohydrate-induced model, as well as highlighting key similarities and differences amongst multiple methods of disease development, and lay important groundwork for developing clinical therapeutic interventions.

Laminitis is a crippling disease of horses resulting from faiure of the digital laminae, which suspend the distal pedal bone and hence the axial skeleton within the hoof capsule. This disease affects about 2% of all horses in US and there is no effective therapeutic agent. Failure of the laminae results from detachment of the epidermal and demal layers of the tissue which allows the distal phalanx to rotate and sink within the hoof capsule. These layers are joined at a basement membrane which is anchored to epithelial cells of the epidermal tissue by integrins. My studies focus on laminitis associated changes in this junctionl complex. The experimental model for my research is healthy horses administered a pro-laminitis gastric bolus of corn starch/wood flour gruel (CHO). Here, I have shown that: (i) In the laminae of healthy horses laminar basal epithelial cells are packed with the metalloproteinase ADAMTS-4 and its proteoglycan substrates versican and aggrecan. Suprabasal epithelial cells are also packed with aggrecan but not versican, making versican a specific basal epithelial cell differentiation antigen; (ii) A pro-laminitis bolus of starch gruel elevates ADAMTS-4 gene and protein expression in the laminae leading to the elevated cleavage of versican; (iii) in the laminae of horses with acute laminitis versican is depleted from the basal epithelial cells by elevated ADAMTS-4 cleavage and suppressed versican gene expression, which is significantly and positively correlated with a decline in β-catenin and integrin β4 gene expression, and (iv) decline in β-catenin gene and protein expression in laminitic laminae results from depressed canonical Wnt signaling, manifest as a reduced expression of positive regulators (Wnt 4, FzD4, LRP6, PP1, Akt2 and β-catenin) and the up-regulation of negative regulators (Axin1, CKIαand GSK3β). Taken together, the studies show that suppressed canonical Wnt signaling in laminitic horses results in loss of β-catenin and integrin β4, which respectively are required components of adherens junctions and hemidesmosomes, leading to the detachment of the laminar basal epithelial cells from each other and from the basement membrane and thus, destabilizing the epidermal:dermal junction.