No description available.

Parity status is a supplemental element of the biological profile in forensic anthropology. The pelvis is thought to exhibit alterations to the bone from pregnancy. Two features of the pelvis have been studied for signs of parturition or past pregnancy. The features have been studied with varying results. They include the pubic bone (Bergfelder and Herrmann, 1980, Cox and Scott, 1992) and the preauricular sulcus (Houghton, 1974, Dee, 1981). Maass and Friedling (2014) also looked at the interosseous groove and the iliac tuberosity. This study was modeled on Snodgrass and Galloway (2003) that investigated whether or not parity status can be determined by analyzing several areas of the pubic bone for different traits. Snodgrass and Galloway assessed the dorsal surface of the pubic bone for pitting and measured the height of the pubic tubercle. They also rearticulated the pelves of each subject and measured the arcuate angle. For the current study, a sample of 75 females from the William M. Bass Skeletal Collection at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville was examined. The height of the pubic tubercle and its distance from the symphyseal face was measured bilaterally for each individual. Also, the dorsal surface of each pubic bone was visually assessed for the presence or absence of pitting. Data analysis was then conducted comparing each of these features with parity status. BMI was also calculated for each individual and compared with the three features listed above. There were no correlations found between height of the pubic tubercle, distance of the pubic tubercle, dorsal pitting and parity status. The lack of a correlation between any of the features and parity status make them unusable in forensic applications.

Female mice exhibit a hardwired preference to investigate pheromones released by male conspecifics. The neural pathways that convey pheromonal inputs to brain regions controlling motivated behaviors remain largely unknown. One brain region known to process pheromonal information conveyed via main- and accessory olfactory bulb inputs is the Medial Amygdala (Me), a limbic structure comprised of anterior (MeA) and posterior (MeP) subdivisions. Electrolytic lesions of the MeP blocked the normal preference of estrous female mice to investigate urinary odors emitted from breeding as opposed to castrated males whereas lesions of either the MeA or MeP significantly reduced females' display of the receptive lordosis posture in response to male mounts. Quantitative analysis of synaptic puncta in the efferent projection targets of these two amygdaloid subregions, visualized using fluorescent anterograde tract tracing techniques, revealed that the MeA and MeP differentially innervate several forebrain regions. The medial olfactory tubercle (mOT; a component of the ventral striatum) receives dense monosynaptic input from the MeA and responds selectively to breeding male (but not female) soiled bedding volatiles, indexed by augmented FOS expression. Using injections of the retrograde tracer, cholera toxin B (CTb), neurons were identified in the MeA and ventral tegmental area (VTA) that projected to the mOT in female mice and which also co-expressed FOS after exposure to breeding male, but not female, soiled bedding/urinary volatiles. This suggests that the MeA and VTA convey opposite-sex (male) pheromonal information to the mOT. Bilateral dopaminergic lesions of the anteromedial VS (a region which includes the mOT) eliminated females' preference for breeding male vs. female urinary pheromones, suggesting that dopaminergic modulation in the VS is necessary for the display of these behaviors. Lastly, bilateral silencing of mOT neuronal firing by the activation of the inhibitory DREADD receptor, hM4Di, induced by intraperitoneal injection of its ligand (CNO), also disrupted females' preference to investigate urinary odors from breeding males; this deficit was reversed when saline was administered instead of CNO. The Me, VTA, and mOT are essential segments of a neural reward circuit that motivates estrous female mice to seek out male pheromones, thereby facilitating mate recognition and reproductive success.

The thesis describes the anatomical study, which has been taken place at Orthopedic Clinic of the 1st Faculty of Medicine, Motol University Hospital and at Institute of Anatomy 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague from 2002 till 2009. The study was focused on the area of the upper part of the humerus in order to measure spatial relationships among anatomical structures, especially attachments of rotator cuff muscles to optimize implantation arthroplasty of shoulder joint. Clinico-anatomical study, which results were published in 2010, was also based at measuring angular relations of structures proximal humerus. The proximal humerus was marked by 29 points on the cortical bone, which defined the position of the medial margin of the greater tubercle, the lateral margin of the lesser tubercle, bicipital groove, the crest of greater tubercle and to define position of the proximal humeral metaphyseal axis and anatomical neck. Measurements were carried out in the transversal planes and the measurement method was developed on the reconstruction and the spatial definition of basic axes (axis of humeral head and axis of proximal humeral shaft) with the optimized number of reference points of anatomical neck and cortical bone of proximal humeral shaft. Angles between the axis of the head...

The thesis describes the anatomical study, which has been taken place at Orthopedic Clinic of the 1st Faculty of Medicine, Motol University Hospital and at Institute of Anatomy 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague from 2002 till 2009. The study was focused on the area of the upper part of the humerus in order to measure spatial relationships among anatomical structures, especially attachments of rotator cuff muscles to optimize implantation arthroplasty of shoulder joint. Clinico-anatomical study, which results were published in 2010, was also based at measuring angular relations of structures proximal humerus. The proximal humerus was marked by 29 points on the cortical bone, which defined the position of the medial margin of the greater tubercle, the lateral margin of the lesser tubercle, bicipital groove, the crest of greater tubercle and to define position of the proximal humeral metaphyseal axis and anatomical neck. Measurements were carried out in the transversal planes and the measurement method was developed on the reconstruction and the spatial definition of basic axes (axis of humeral head and axis of proximal humeral shaft) with the optimized number of reference points of anatomical neck and cortical bone of proximal humeral shaft. Angles between the axis of the head...

No description available.

A área tegmental ventral (VTA) contém neurônios dopaminérgicos do grupamento A10 e envia projeções muito densas para o estriado ventral. Esta circuitaria está crucialmente envolvida em mecanismos de recompensa. Recentemente, a organização destas projeções foi reexaminada por Ikemoto S. (Brain Res. Rev., 56:27-78, 2007), em um estudo de rastreamento retrógrado minucioso, sendo proposto a subdivisão destas projeções em um sistema dopaminérgico mesoestriatal ventromedial que inerva a concha medial do accumbens e o tubérculo olfatório medial, e um sistema dopaminérgico mesoestriatal ventrolateral que inerva o cerne e a concha lateral do accumbens e o tubéculo olfatório lateral. Afim de complementar o conhecimento destas projeções, no presente estudo elas foram examinadas com a técnica anterógrada da leucoaglutinina do Phaseolus vulgaris. Nossos resultados indicam que há um extenso embricamento dos campos terminais estriatais inervados por diferentes setores/núcleos da VTA e reforçam a noção de que as eferências da VTA podem ser subdivididas em um sistema mesoestriatal ventromedial e um sistema mesoestriatal ventrolateral. Eles revelam ainda que as projeções da VTA para o estriado ventral têm uma organização topográfica médio-lateral mais complexa do que previamente reconhecido, a faixa médio-lateral do estriado ventral inervada depende de uma combinação da região médio-lateral e dorsoventral da VTA. Assim, as regiões mais ventrais e mediais da VTA (correspondendo ao núcleo interfascicular) inervam os distritos mais mediais do estriado ventral (a concha dorsomedial do accumbens e a extremidade medial do tubérculo olfatório), e as regiões mais dorsais e laterais da VTA (correspondendo à região dorsolateral do núcleo parabraquial pigmentoso) se projetam para os distritos mais laterais do estriado ventral (o cerne lateral e a concha lateral do accumbens, o caudado-putâmen ventral e o tubérculo olfatório lateral). Por outro lado, as projeções da VTA para o estriado ventral não possuem uma organização topográfica rostrocaudal. Outro fato a ser destacado é que a organização das projeções mesoestriatais da VTA lembra o padrão das projeções córticoestriatais, sendo observado no estriado, além de um campo terminal principal, pequenos focos isolados de marcação. / The ventral tegmental area (VTA) contains dopaminergic neurons of the A10 group and sends dense projections to the ventral striatum. This circuitry is critically involved in reward mechanisms. Recently, the organization of these projections was reexamined by Ikemoto S. (Brain Res. Rev., 56:27-78, 2007) in a detailed retrograde tracing study, being proposed that these projections can be subdivided into two main systems, a ventromedial mesostriatal dopaminergic system that innervates the medial shell of the accumbens and medial olfactory tubercle, and a ventrolateral mesostriatal dopaminergic system that targets the core and lateral shell of the accumbens and lateral olfactory tubercle. In order to complement these data, in the present study the VTA mesostriatal projections were examined with a sensitive anterograde tracing technique using the Phaseolus vulgaris leucoaglutinin. Our results indicate that there is an extensive overlap of terminal fields innervated by different sectors / nuclei of the VTA and reinforce the notion that VTA efferents can be subdivided into a ventromedial and a ventrolateral mesostriatal system. They also show that the VTA projections to the ventral striatum have a mediolateral topographical organization more complex than previously acknowledged. In fact, projections along the mediolateral dimension of the ventral striatum depends on a combination of the mediolateral and dorsoventral axis of the VTA. In other words, the most ventral and medial parts of the VTA (corresponding to the interfascicular nucleus) innervates the most medial districts of the ventral striatum (corresponding to the dorsomedial shell of the accumbens and medial tip of the olfactory tubercle), and the most dorsal and lateral parts of the VTA (corresponding to the dorsolateral region of the parabrachial pigmented nucleus) project to the most lateral districts of the ventral striatum (lateral core and lateral shell of the accumbens, ventral caudate-putamen and lateral olfactory tubercle). Moreover, VTA projections to the ventral striatum do not seem to have a rostrocaudal topographical organization. It is also of note that the organization of the VTA mesostriatal projections shares features with cortico-striatal projections, in the sense that both fiber systems have a main terminal field and also give rise to small, scattered isolated foci of terminal labeling.

Submitted by (edna.saturno@ufrpe.br) on 2016-10-18T14:38:31Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Maico Henrique Barbosa dos Santos.pdf: 4000294 bytes, checksum: ed9102943f624957caceccb5608ad097 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-18T14:38:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maico Henrique Barbosa dos Santos.pdf: 4000294 bytes, checksum: ed9102943f624957caceccb5608ad097 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-04-12 / In this work the objective was to identify the fetal sex in pregnant uterus, between 5 and 10 weeks, of goats and ewes obtained in slaughterhouse. The sex was defined taking into consideration the localization of the GT and visualization of external genitalia. The uterus of goats (n = 108) and ewes (n = 64) were examined after immersion in a water containing recipient, with 6.0 and 8.0 MHz linear transducer. In single pregnancies, the correct fetal determination was 85.7% (48/56) in goats and 94.7% (36/38) in ewes and in twin pregnancies was 76.9% (40/52) in goats and 84.6% (22/26) in ewes. There is no mistake in fetal quantification and the accuracy from the all fetuses scanned was 81.5% (88/108) in goats and 90.6% (58/64) in ewes, being not observed difference (P > 0.05) between species, by analyse of standard errors of the difference among proportions. The results allow to conclude that the ultrasonography is efficient to identify previously the fetal sex in small ruminants and that the experience of operator is important to reduce and even eliminate the failures in diagnose. / Neste trabalho teve-se o objetivo de definir o melhor período para diagnosticar o sexo fetal nas espécies ovina e caprina pela ultra-sonografia em tempo real utilizando-se transdutor linear (6 e 8 MHz) por via transretal e convexo (5 e 7,5 MHz) por via transabdominal. Foram examinados 298 fetos de 223 ovelhas e 532 fetos de 334 cabras de diferentes raças, oriundos de monta natural e de transferência de embriões. No primeiro experimento foram examinados 64 úteros de ovinos e 108 de caprinos imersos em recipiente contendo água, obtendo-se acurácia de 90,6% na sexagem dos fetos ovinos e de 81,5% nos caprinos. Quanto à migração do tubérculo genital (TG) nos experimentos relativos à espécie ovina constatou-se que nos fetos originados de monta natural ocorre entre os dias 37 e 46 (42 ± 2,0) de gestação na raça Santa Inês, 38 a 51 (45,0 ± 3,0) dias na raça Damara, 36 a 45 (39,2 ± 2,3) dias nos mestiços ¾ Damara-Santa Inês, 36 a 46 (39,5 ± 2,9) dias na raça Morada Nova e de 38 a 48 (43,0 ± 2,8) dias na raça Dorper. Nos fetos provenientes de transferência de embriões congelados, a migração do TG ocorre entre os dias 42 e 52 (48,5 ± 3,3) de gestação na raça Morada Nova e de 36 a 58 (46,1 ± 4,7) dias na raça Dorper, registrandose que a migração do TG desses fetos é mais tardia (P < 0,05) do que naqueles de monta natural. Na espécie caprina, a migração do TG ocorre ente os dias 44 e 49 (46,2 ± 1,3) de gestação nos fetos da raça Anglo-nubiana, entre o 43º e o 54º (47,4 ± 6,5) dia nos da raça Boer, entre os dias 48 e 53 (50,5 ± 1,54) nos mestiços, entre os dias 41 e 51 (46,4 ± 2,1) nos da raça Alpina Americana e entre os dias 45 e 55 (48,9 ± 1,8) nos da raça Saanen. A comparação efetuada entre as duas últimas raças evidenciou que a migração do TG é mais precoce (P < 0,05) nos fetos da Alpina Americana. A acurácia da sexagem fetal dos exames repetidos, seja a intervalos de 12, 24 ou 48 horas, nas gestações simples foi de 100% em todas as raças caprinas avaliadas e de 100% em ovinos da raça Santa Inês, Damara, ¾ Damara-Santa Inês, e Dorper, sendo de 92,3% em fetos da raça Morada Nova provenientes de TE. Nas gestações múltiplas dos ovinos, a acurácia variou de 83% (dupla) a 100% (tripla) na raça Santa Inês, 50% (dupla proveniente de TE) a 92,9% (dupla proveniente de MN) na raça Morada Nova, sendo de 83% na raça Damara, 100% nos mestiços ¾ Damara-Santa Inês e 88,9% na raça Dorper,. Nos caprinos variou de 66,6% (tríplices) a 100% (duplas) na raça Anglo-nubiana, de 96,9% (duplas) a 100% (tríplices) na raça Boer, de 66,7% (tríplices) a 87,5% (duplas) na raça Alpina Americana, de 50% (quádrupla) a 80,9% (dupla) na raça Saanen, sendo de 75% nas gestações duplas dos fetos mestiços. Quanto ao exame único, a acurácia nas gestações simples, nos ovinos, foi de 100% nas raças Santa Inês, Morada Nova e Dorper. Nos caprinos foi de 100% na raça Anglo-nubiana, de 94,4% na raça Boer, de 85,7% na raça Alpina Americana, de 100% na raça Saanen e de 72% nas gestações dos fetos mestiços. Nas gestações múltiplas dos ovinos, somente a raça Santa Inês foi submetida a exame único, obtendo-se a acurácia de 85,7%. Já nos caprinos variou de 63% (tríplices) a 82,5% (duplas) na raça Anglo-nubiana, de 80,8% (duplas) a 100% (tríplices) na raça Boer, de 66,7% (tríplices) a 72,7% (duplas) na raça Saanen, sendo de 80% (duplas) na raça Alpina Americana. Nos fetos mestiços submetidos a exame único, a acurácia nas gestações duplas foi de 80% pela via transretal e de 55,3% pela via transabdominal. Os resultados permitem concluir que o método ultra-sonográfico de identificação do sexo de fetos caprinos e ovinos, visualizando o TG e a genitália externa, é eficiente a partir do 50° dia de gestação nos fetos ovinos originados de monta natural e a partir do 55º dia naqueles provenientes de transferência de embriões congelados, bem como nos fetos caprinos oriundos de monta natural. É também possível concluir que, nem sempre, a repetição de exames aumenta a acurácia da sexagem, seja porque o feto não se posiciona adequadamente para permitir a visualização das estruturas responsáveis pela sexagem ou porque não é possível identificar, principalmente nas gestações múltiplas, o sexo de todos os fetos no mesmo exame. Finalizando, ainda é possível concluir que as gestações múltiplas comprometem geralmente a acurácia da sexagem fetal e que a experiência do operador é fundamental para minimizar e até mesmo eliminar a emissão de diagnósticos equivocados.

A área tegmental ventral (VTA) contém neurônios dopaminérgicos do grupamento A10 e envia projeções muito densas para o estriado ventral. Esta circuitaria está crucialmente envolvida em mecanismos de recompensa. Recentemente, a organização destas projeções foi reexaminada por Ikemoto S. (Brain Res. Rev., 56:27-78, 2007), em um estudo de rastreamento retrógrado minucioso, sendo proposto a subdivisão destas projeções em um sistema dopaminérgico mesoestriatal ventromedial que inerva a concha medial do accumbens e o tubérculo olfatório medial, e um sistema dopaminérgico mesoestriatal ventrolateral que inerva o cerne e a concha lateral do accumbens e o tubéculo olfatório lateral. Afim de complementar o conhecimento destas projeções, no presente estudo elas foram examinadas com a técnica anterógrada da leucoaglutinina do Phaseolus vulgaris. Nossos resultados indicam que há um extenso embricamento dos campos terminais estriatais inervados por diferentes setores/núcleos da VTA e reforçam a noção de que as eferências da VTA podem ser subdivididas em um sistema mesoestriatal ventromedial e um sistema mesoestriatal ventrolateral. Eles revelam ainda que as projeções da VTA para o estriado ventral têm uma organização topográfica médio-lateral mais complexa do que previamente reconhecido, a faixa médio-lateral do estriado ventral inervada depende de uma combinação da região médio-lateral e dorsoventral da VTA. Assim, as regiões mais ventrais e mediais da VTA (correspondendo ao núcleo interfascicular) inervam os distritos mais mediais do estriado ventral (a concha dorsomedial do accumbens e a extremidade medial do tubérculo olfatório), e as regiões mais dorsais e laterais da VTA (correspondendo à região dorsolateral do núcleo parabraquial pigmentoso) se projetam para os distritos mais laterais do estriado ventral (o cerne lateral e a concha lateral do accumbens, o caudado-putâmen ventral e o tubérculo olfatório lateral). Por outro lado, as projeções da VTA para o estriado ventral não possuem uma organização topográfica rostrocaudal. Outro fato a ser destacado é que a organização das projeções mesoestriatais da VTA lembra o padrão das projeções córticoestriatais, sendo observado no estriado, além de um campo terminal principal, pequenos focos isolados de marcação. / The ventral tegmental area (VTA) contains dopaminergic neurons of the A10 group and sends dense projections to the ventral striatum. This circuitry is critically involved in reward mechanisms. Recently, the organization of these projections was reexamined by Ikemoto S. (Brain Res. Rev., 56:27-78, 2007) in a detailed retrograde tracing study, being proposed that these projections can be subdivided into two main systems, a ventromedial mesostriatal dopaminergic system that innervates the medial shell of the accumbens and medial olfactory tubercle, and a ventrolateral mesostriatal dopaminergic system that targets the core and lateral shell of the accumbens and lateral olfactory tubercle. In order to complement these data, in the present study the VTA mesostriatal projections were examined with a sensitive anterograde tracing technique using the Phaseolus vulgaris leucoaglutinin. Our results indicate that there is an extensive overlap of terminal fields innervated by different sectors / nuclei of the VTA and reinforce the notion that VTA efferents can be subdivided into a ventromedial and a ventrolateral mesostriatal system. They also show that the VTA projections to the ventral striatum have a mediolateral topographical organization more complex than previously acknowledged. In fact, projections along the mediolateral dimension of the ventral striatum depends on a combination of the mediolateral and dorsoventral axis of the VTA. In other words, the most ventral and medial parts of the VTA (corresponding to the interfascicular nucleus) innervates the most medial districts of the ventral striatum (corresponding to the dorsomedial shell of the accumbens and medial tip of the olfactory tubercle), and the most dorsal and lateral parts of the VTA (corresponding to the dorsolateral region of the parabrachial pigmented nucleus) project to the most lateral districts of the ventral striatum (lateral core and lateral shell of the accumbens, ventral caudate-putamen and lateral olfactory tubercle). Moreover, VTA projections to the ventral striatum do not seem to have a rostrocaudal topographical organization. It is also of note that the organization of the VTA mesostriatal projections shares features with cortico-striatal projections, in the sense that both fiber systems have a main terminal field and also give rise to small, scattered isolated foci of terminal labeling.

Magister Scientiae (Biodiversity and Conservation Biology) / Land-based abalone aquaculture in South Africa started in the early 1990s and is based on the local species Haliotis midae. This industry expanded with great success over the last decade. In 2006 abalone exhibiting typical clinical signs of tubercle mycosis was discovered for the first time in South African abalone culture facilities,posing a significant threat to the industry. Halioticida noduliformans, a fungus belonging to the Peronosporomycetes (formerly Oomycetes), has been identified as the causative agent of abalone tubercle mycosis (ATM). While diagnoses of this disease are currently done by gross observation and histopathology, these methods fail to be sensitive enough to identify the causative agent accurately and reliably.Molecular confirmation could provide for quicker more accurate diagnostic information. The aim of this study was to develop a DNA based molecular diagnostic test. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been used to rapidly detect, characterise and identify a variety of organisms. Nucleotide sequences of the smalland large-subunit ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit II (cox2) genes of H. noduliformans were compared with closely related Peronosporomycete gene sequences to identify potential PCR primer sites. H. noduliformans specific real-time quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) primer sets were designed and optimised for each of the selected genes. Results indicate that, although all tested primers sets could amplify fungal DNA, only the LSU and cox2 primer sets - v -demonstrated no cross-amplification with the closely related Peronosporomycete and non-fungal DNA tested in the present study. The H. noduliformans specific LSU primer set was chosen for further analysis and used for all subsequent real-time PCR assays. The lowest detection limit for the LSU primer set was evaluated by running Q-PCR on serial dilutions of known quantities of extracted H. noduliformans DNA.Serial dilutions were made in PCR grade water as well as in an abalone tissue matrix.The sensitivity of the Q-PCR reaction was determined to be 266 pg of H.noduliformans DNA per 25 μL reaction volume. However, inclusion of a nested PCR step, utilising universal fungal outer primers, followed by Q-PCR with the H.noduliformans LSU specific primers improved sensitivity to 0.266 pg of H.noduliformans DNA per 25 μL reaction volume. This equates to approximately 2.4spores per 25 μL reaction volume. DNA extraction protocols were optimised to ensure efficient and repeatable extraction of high quality fungal DNA from pure fungus and tissue samples spiked with known quantities of fungal DNA. PCR amplification efficiency and potential inhibition were examined for each extraction method. Results suggest that real-time PCR has great potential in monitoring and quantifying H. noduliformans on abalone culture facilities in South Africa.