Sociality and the telencephalic distribution of corticotrophin‐releasing factor,urocortin 3, and binding sites for CRF type 1 and type 2 receptors: A comparative study of eusocial naked mole‐rats and solitary Cape mole‐rats

Various aspects of social behavior are influenced by the highly conserved corticotrophin‐releasing factor (CRF) family of peptides and receptors in the mammalian telencephalon. This study has mapped and compared the telencephalic distribution of the CRF receptors, CRF₁ and CRF₂, and two of their ligands, CRF and urocortin 3, respectively, in African mole‐rat species with diametrically opposed social behavior. Naked mole‐rats live in large eusocial colonies that are characterized by exceptional levels of social cohesion, tolerance, and cooperation in burrowing, foraging, defense, and alloparental care for the offspring of the single reproductive female. Cape mole‐rats are solitary; they tolerate conspecifics only fleetingly during the breeding season. The telencephalic sites at which the level of CRF₁ binding in naked mole‐rats exceeds that in Cape mole‐rats include the basolateral amygdaloid nucleus, hippocampal CA3 subfield, and dentate gyrus; in contrast, the level is greater in Cape mole‐rats in the shell of the nucleus accumbens and medial habenular nucleus. For CRF₂ binding, the sites with a greater level in naked mole‐rats include the basolateral amygdaloid nucleus and dentate gyrus, but the septohippocampal nucleus, lateral septal nuclei, amygdalostriatal transition area, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and medial habenular nucleus display a greater level in Cape mole‐rats. The results are discussed with reference to neuroanatomical and behavioral studies of various species, including monogamous and promiscuous voles. By analogy with findings in those species, we speculate that the abundance of CRF₁ binding in the nucleus accumbens of Cape mole‐rats reflects their lack of affiliative behavior. J. Comp. Neurol. 523:2344–2371, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Morphological Study of the Lingual Papillae in Mellivora capensis Tongue

Background： The present study was conducted on the three Mellivora tongues, and the tongue was divided into three portions, apex, body and base. The tongue was tapered at the apex, wider in the middle and had elevation at the base, which termed torus linguae. The tongue is triangular in shape, and the length of tongue ranged between 58-60 mm. The dorsum linguae of this wild animal were characterized by presence of median groove. Methods： After killing, the Mellivora capensis were skinned and the heads were dissected to approach the tongue. The tongues were prepared for morphometric and morphological studies. Results： The morphological study revealed five types of lingual papillae （filiform, conical, fungiform, circumvallate and foliate）. The filiform were numerous and scattered on the entire dorsal and lateral surfaces. They were thread like projections, and found in different forms （single, bifurcated, trifurcated and serrated end）. The conical papillae were found among the filiform papillae with rounded ends. The fungiform papillae have dome or mushroom-shapes and distributed at the apex of the tongue. The circumvallate papillae were globular or circular shapes and surrounded by trench and located at posterior of tongue between the end of body and torus linguae. The foliate papillae were found on the posterio-lateral surface of the tongue, ridges-shaped and were separated by grooves. Conclusion： The present study showed five types of dorsal lingual papillae： filiform, conical, fungiform, cicumvallate and foliate.     

Rickettsia spp. in Seabird Ticks from Western Indian Ocean Islands, 2011–2012

We found a diversity of Rickettsia spp. in seabird ticks from 6 tropical islands. The bacteria showed strong host specificity and sequence similarity with strains in other regions. Seabird ticks may be key reservoirs for pathogenic Rickettsia spp., and bird hosts may have a role in dispersing ticks and tick-associated infectious agents over large distances.     

中药凌霄花的鉴定研究

本文对中药凌霄花及其混淆品共5种药材进行了性状和显微鉴定研究。在显微鉴定中,还用扫描电子显微镜对其花粉粒进行了观察,找出了它们的鉴别点。全文附药材外形和扫描电镜下花粉粒的照片及花各部表面制片的主要显微特征图。     

Distinct transmission cycles of Leishmania tropica in 2 adjacent foci, Northern Israel

Transmission of Leishmania tropica was studied in 2 adjacent foci in Israel where vector populations differ. Only Phlebotomus sergenti was found infected with L. tropica in the southern focus; P. arabicus was the main vector in the northern focus. Rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis) were incriminated as reservoir hosts in both foci. L. tropica strains from the northern focus isolated from sand flies, cutaneous leishmaniasis cases, and rock hyraxes were antigenically similar to L. major, and strains from the southern focus were typically L. tropica. Laboratory studies showed that P. arabicus is a competent vector of L. tropica, and P. sergenti is essentially refractory to L. tropica from the northern focus. Susceptibility of P. arabicus may be mediated by O glycoproteins on the luminal surface of its midgut. The 2 foci differ with respect to parasites and vectors, but increasing peridomestic rock hyrax populations are probably responsible for emergence of cutaneous leishmaniasis in both foci.     

硬骨凌霄叶对伤口愈合的促进作用(英文)

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the potential wound healing activity of Tecomaria capensis leaves extract (TCLE) using different models in rats. (a) Excision wound model, (b) Incision wound model and (c) Dead space wound model. TCLE (100, 300, 1 000 and 2 000 mg·kg-1) was given to rats to observe acute toxicity. No toxicity was found in animals till 14 days. TCLE 5% and 10% ointment were applied topically in excision wound model and incision wound model. TCLE 200 and 400 mg·kg-1 were given orally in dead space wound model. It improved healing in excision wound model, increased breaking strength of tissue in incision wound model, and increased granuloma breaking strength and hydroxyproline content in dead space wound model. These results showed that TCLE presents significant wound healing activity.     

Antimicrobial and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Pleurostylia Capensis Turcz (Loes) (Celastraceae)

Background

Pleurostylia capensis is a large tree that can reach the maximum height of 20 m long, and it have been traditionally used as cosmetic, for steam bath, ritual body wash, and as a purgative to treat symptoms of witchcraft. Using ethanol, chloroform, dichloromethane (DCM), ethyl acetate (EA), and water extracts, leaves, bark and roots of Pleurostylia capensis were investigated scientifically for their effectiveness in antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities using standard methods

Materials and Methods

The extracts were evaluated for antimicrobial activity against Gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, and Mycobacterium smegmatis), Gram negative (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Klebsiella oxytoca, Streptococcus pyogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhimurium), and Candida albicans. The antioxidant activity was investigated using 2, 2-diphenlyl-1-picrylhadrazyl (DPPH), free radical scavenging assay. The anti-inflammatory activity of P. capensis extracts was evaluated against both cyclooxygenase enzymes (COX 1 and 2).

Results

The ethyl acetate extracts of P. capensis showed a strong antimicrobial activity against B. cereus, K. pneumonia, S. pyogenes, and M. smegmatis with MIC value of 0.39 and 0.78 mg/ml. While the ethanol bark extract was most active against M. smegmatis with MIC value of 0.78 mg/ml; the least potent activity was observed with dichloromethane, chloroform and water extracts, with an MIC value ranging from 1.56 mg/ml to 50.0 mg/ml. The plant extracts proved to be good antioxidant agent, whereas extracts of ethanol were the most active, with IC50 ranging from 1.00 to 1.74 µg/ml, which is lower, and in close range to Vitamin C (1.40 µg/ml).

Conclusions

Its moderation to potent inhibitory activity was observed in all extracts. Ethanol and dichloromethane extracts were among the most potent when compared to water and petroleum ether extracts. The water extracts showed to be nontoxic on the Hek cell line with an IC50 value of 204.0, and 207.3 µg/ml (roots and bark) respectively. The dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, chloroform and ethanol extracts showed to be toxic on the Hek cell, with IC50 range from 5.94 to 42.91µg/ml. The results obtained indicate the effectiveness of these plants.     

Telencephalic binding sites for oxytocin and social organization: A comparative study of eusocial naked mole‐rats and solitary cape mole‐rats

African mole‐rats provide a unique taxonomic group for investigating the evolution and neurobiology of sociality. The two species investigated here display extreme differences in social organization and reproductive strategy. Naked mole‐rats (NMRs) live in colonies, dominated by a queen and her consorts; most members remain nonreproductive throughout life but cooperate in burrowing, foraging, and caring for pups, for which they are not biological parents (alloparenting). In contrast, Cape mole‐rats (CMRs) are solitary and intolerant of conspecifics, except during fleeting seasonal copulation or minimal maternal behavior. Research on other mammals suggests that oxytocin receptors at various telencephalic sites regulate social recognition, monogamous pair bonding, and maternal/allomaternal behavior. Current paradigms in this field derive from monogamous and polygamous species of New World voles, which are evolutionarily remote from Old World mole‐rats. The present findings indicate that NMRs exhibit a considerably greater level of oxytocin receptor (OTR) binding than CMRs in the: nucleus accumbens; indusium griseum; central, medial, and cortical amygdaloid nuclei; bed nucleus of the stria terminalis; and CA1 hippocampal subfield. In contrast, OTR binding in the piriform cortex is intense in CMRs but undetectable in NMRs. We speculate that the abundance of OTR binding and oxytocin‐neurophysin‐immunoreactive processes in the nucleus accumbens of NMRs reflects their sociality, alloparenting behavior, and potential for reproductive attachments. In contrast, the paucity of oxytocin and its receptors at this site in CMRs may reflect a paucity of prosocial behaviors. Whether similarities in OTR expression between eusocial mole‐rats and monogamous voles are due to gene conservation or convergent evolution remains to be determined. J. Comp. Neurol. 518:1792–1813, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Anti-plasmodial activity of some Kenyan medicinal plant extracts singly and in combination with chloroquine

Sixty organic and aqueous extracts of eleven plants used for the control of malaria by local communities in Kisii District, Kenya were screened for in vitro anti-plasmodial activity. The plants selection was based on existing ethnobotanical information and interviews with local communities. The extracts were tested against chloroquine sensitive and resistant laboratory adapted strains of Plasmodium falciparum. The study revealed that 63.6% of the plants were active (IC50 < or = 100 microg/mL). Extracts of four plants, Ekebergia capensis, Stephania abyssinica, Ajuga remota and Clerodendrum myricoides gave IC50 values below 30 microg/mL against both chloroquine sensitive and resistant P. falciparum strains. Combination of extracts of E. capensis and C. myricoides with chloroquine against the multi-drug resistant P. falciparum isolate (V1/S) revealed synergistic effect. The plants which showed activity may be useful as sources for novel anti-plasmodial compounds.