Radiant solar energy and the function of black homeotherm pigmentation: an hypothesis.

White zebra finches exposed to artificial sunlight used an average of 22.9 percent less energy after they were dyed black. The hypothesis that black homeotherm coloration functions primarily to maximize absorption of radiant solar energy is suggested. This hypothesis may explain the dark skin pigmentation of certain human populations.

Infant carrying by male chacma baboons.

Male chacma baboons, Papio ursinus, carry their offspring during confrontations with higher ranking immigrant males, who are a threat to the infants' lives. The infants sometimes initiate these confrontations by approaching and provoking immigrant males when protective males are close by. Mothers rarely interfere during these interactions.

Copulatory vocalizations of chacma baboons (Papio ursinus), gibbons (Hylobates hoolock), and humans.

The copulatory vocalizations of female baboons (Papio ursinus) are more complex than those of female gibbons (Hylobates hoolock) or human females. Adult males of all these species begin calling later than the female, but subordinate baboon males do not call. Copulatory vocalizations may serve to mutually stimulate the mating partners or to incite male competition.

Fog catchment sand trenches constructed by tenebrionid beetles, lepidochora, from the namib desert.

Three species of coastal Namib Desert tenebrionid beetles (Lepidochora) build trenches on desert sand dunes. Trenches are constructed perpendicular to fog winds and concentrate moisture during fogs. The beetles return along the ridges of the trenches extracting water from them. The water content of a population of these beetles increased by 13.9 percent during one fog.

Disproportionate loss of CA4 parvalbumin-immunoreactive interneurons in patients with Ammon's horn sclerosis.

We studied differences in the number and morphology of parvalbumin-immunoreactive (PV-IR) interneurons in 43 hippocampal specimens from patients with classical Ammon's horn sclerosis (AHS) who underwent anterior temporal lobectomy, as compared with 14 autopsy and non-AHS surgical control specimens. PV-IR neuronal loss in the AHS specimens varied significantly from that expected based on overall AHS-associated pyramidal and granule neuron loss. Most striking was the loss of PV-IR interneurons in CA4 of the AHS specimens, which was 12 times greater than AHS-associated pyramidal neuron loss, and significantly exceeded the PV-IR interneuron loss observed in the other sectors of the hippocampus. In addition, the PV-IR interneurons in the AHS specimens had markedly smaller and less defined cell bodies and shortened and simplified dendritic arbors compared with the PV-IR interneurons in the control specimens. Other differences noted in the AHS specimens included prominent dendritic varicosities; the loss or interruption of a band formed by PV-IR terminals in the dentate gyrus; and the virtual absence of a small, intensely staining PV-IR interneuron with a short, exuberant dendritic arbor that was readily identified in the autopsy specimens. We discuss these findings in relationship to the development of classical AHS and complex partial seizures (CPS).

Corpora amylacea and heat shock protein 27 in Ammon's horn sclerosis.

Increased numbers of corpora amylacea have been observed in the resected mesial temporal lobe of many patients with complex partial seizures (CPS) and Ammon's horn sclerosis (AHS). Several heat shock proteins (HSPs) are induced by seizures and have been suggested as an etiologic factor in the formation corpora amylacea. We quantified corpora amylacea and HSP27-immunoreactive astrocytes in temporal lobe specimens from patients with CPS (28 AHS; 10 non-AHS) and in 5 autopsy controls. Corpora amylacea were increased in each sector of Ammon's horn in the AHS group, significantly so in CA1 and CA3 (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.0097, respectively), compared with the non-AHS group, although there was considerable variability among the specimens. We found HSP27 to be significantly but nonspecifically increased in the resected temporal lobe specimens from all patients with CPS, regardless of the underlying pathology. HSP27 was not, however, expressed within the corpora amylacea, and did not correlate with the number of corpora amylacea in any of the 9 mesial and lateral temporal lobe areas examined.

The clinical significance of extracellular matrix in gangliogliomas.

Based on in vitro studies which demonstrate that collagen IV and laminin inhibit the proliferation and invasiveness of glioma cells, we investigated the clinical significance of these extracellular matrix proteins (ECM) in patients with gangliogliomas, tumors in which ECM is often a prominent feature. Our study compared the relative presence and deposition pattern of collagen IV and laminin in 19 gangliogliomas and in 18 gliomas without ganglion cell differentiation (8 low-grade astrocytomas, 7 anaplastic astrocytomas, and 3 anaplastic mixed gliomas). We also examined whether the presence of collagen IV and laminin correlated with other features often observed in gangliogliomas, including perivascular lymphocytic inflammation, granular bodies, microcalcification, and subarachnoid extension, and whether any of these features were associated with the patient's clinical course. Significant deposition of collagen IV and laminin was found in 9 gangliogliomas (47%), but in none of the other gliomas. The presence of these extracellular proteins in gangliogliomas correlated with both perivascular inflammation (P = 0.003), and involvement of the leptomeninges by tumor (P = 0.008). The duration of symptoms prior to surgical resection was significantly longer for patients whose tumors showed extracellular deposition of collagen IV and laminin than for patients whose tumors lacked deposition of these proteins (mean 13.7 vs 5.1 years; P = 0.02). In addition, the duration of symptoms was significantly longer for patients whose tumors exhibited perivascular inflammation than for patients whose tumors displayed little or no perivascular inflammation (mean 14.8 vs 4.8 years; P = 0.01). These findings suggests that collagen IV and laminin and perivascular inflammation are related to the indolent behavior of gangliogliomas.

Anosognosia for hemiplegia: somatosensory evoked potential studies.

Somatosensory evoked potential studies in nine patients with anosognosia for left hemiplegia and in one patient with anosognosia for right hemiplegia revealed an absence of response over either hemisphere on stimulation of the median nerve on the hemiplegic side. This apparent lack of cortical processing may underlie the impaired awareness of the hemiplegic side, manifested as anosognosia.

Irreversible neurologic complications of metrizamide myelography.

Metrizamide, a major contrast agent for myelographic procedures, has rarely been reported to cause irreversible neurologic complications. The major transient neurologic alterations include neuropsychological reactions, generalized tonic-clonic seizures, and headaches. Two cases of irreversible spinal neurologic deficits resulting from metrizamide myelography are reported, and the factors that may increase the risks of complications in metrizamide myelographic studies are discussed, including preexisting dehydration, patient positioning, and the concentration of contrast agent.

Dentifrice detergent: its effect on human enamel.

A scanning and transmission electron microscope study has shown that human enamel specimens treated with a mild detergent solution exhibit etching of the enamel surface. The tooth surfaces subsequently show a greater susceptibility to the acid attack than samples treated with mineral acid alone. The evidence suggests that reevaluation of sodium dodecyl sulfate and similar detergents as components of commercially available dentifrice products may be necessary.

Treatment approaches in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome.

The neurological disorder Gilles de la Tourette syndrome is most often treated with the receptor blocker haloperidol, which also produces multiple side-effects, including the risk for tardive dyskinesia. In placebo control double-blind studies, two other neuroleptic drugs, fluphenazine and trifluoperazine, were found to be as efficaceous as haloperidol, but with fewer side-effects. In other studies, clonidine was shown to be equally efficaceous with haloperidol, but did not produce adverse central nervous system side-effects. To treat the extrapyramidal side-effects accompanying the treatment of Tourette syndrome with neuroleptic agents, amantadine and benztropine were compared in a crossover study. It was demonstrated that amantadine is a superior agent in treating the side effects of haloperidol treatment in Tourette syndrome. The use of lithium was without significant action upon lessening the tics of Tourette syndrome.

Outcome after stereotactic thalamotomy for dystonia and hemiballismus.

The outcome after single or staged stereotactic thalamotomies in 17 patients with dystonia and 2 patients with hemiballismus is reviewed. All patients were severely disabled by their movement disorders despite optimal pharmacological therapies. Eight of the patients with dystonia (47%) showed moderate improvement immediately after the procedures. Six of these eight patients maintained their improvement, and two other patients with dystonia improved significantly, during the follow-up period (mean, 37.6 mo). The long-term outcome was better in patients with secondary dystonia (50% moderately or markedly improved at a mean of 41.0 mo) than in patients with primary dystonia (43% moderately or markedly improved at a mean of 32.9 mo). Excellent control was achieved in both of the patients who underwent thalamotomies for hemiballismus.

Outcome after stereotactic thalamotomy for parkinsonian, essential, and other types of tremor.

A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying movement disorders, coupled with refinements in surgical technique, has led to a resurgence of interest in the surgical treatment of patients with tremor. We retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of 60 patients (62 patient sides) with medically intractable tremor who underwent stereotactic thalamotomy. Of these 60 patients, 42 had Parkinson's disease (of whom 2 patients underwent bilateral surgery for a total of 44 patient sides), 6 had essential tremor, 6 had cerebellar tremor, and 6 had post-traumatic tremor. The patients received follow-up for as long as 13 years (mean, 53.4 mo) after their operations. At the most recent follow-up visit, 86% of the patients with Parkinson's disease, 83% of the patients with essential tremor, 67% of the patients with cerebellar tremor, and 50% of the patients with post-traumatic tremor had cessation of or moderate-to-marked improvement in their contralateral tremor, with a concomitant improvement in function. The mean daily dose of levodopa for those patients preoperatively taking levodopa (n = 35) was reduced by approximately 156 mg at a mean of 53.4 months after thalamotomy. Immediate postoperative complications were common, occurring in 58% of patients. The most common complications were contralateral weakness (34%), dysarthria (29%), and confusion (23%). These complications generally resolved rapidly during the postoperative period.

Comparison of thalamotomy and pallidotomy for the treatment of dystonia.

OBJECTIVE: Thalamotomy and, more recently, pallidotomy have been used to treat selected patients with intractable dystonia, although few studies have compared the effectiveness of these two surgical procedures. In this study, we compare our results using thalamotomy and pallidotomy to treat patients with different forms of dystonia, and we discuss our results in the context of other published series. METHODS: Thirty-two patients with intractable dystonia underwent thalamotomy (n = 18) or pallidotomy (n = 14). Dystonia was classified according to cause and distribution, and each patient was evaluated postoperatively at two or more time points, using a global outcome scale. RESULTS: Although comparisons are limited by differences between the two surgical groups, including longer follow-up periods for the thalamotomy group, differences in symptom distribution, and more bilateral procedures for the pallidotomy group, patients with primary dystonia who underwent pallidotomies demonstrated significantly better long-term outcomes than did patients who underwent thalamotomies (P = 0.0467). Patients with secondary dystonia experienced more modest improvements after either procedure, with little or no difference in outcomes between the two procedures. CONCLUSION: For patients with primary dystonia, pallidotomy seems to result in better outcomes than does thalamotomy.

Fishing baboons at desert waterholes.

Live fish capture by wild chacma baboons is described. Fish were captured from drying desert pools and then covered with sand to immobilize active fish or to facilitate handling. Possible reasons omnivorous primates elsewhere do not capture live fish are considered.

Dictyocaulus infection in farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus).

Post mortem examination of red deer calves on a deer farm situated on hill ground in north-east Scotland revealed infection by a lungworm morphologically similar to Dictyocaulus viviparus. Trials were conducted to monitor the natural development of D viviparus infection in red deer, to investigate the value of a commercial lungworm vaccine and to evaluate methods of treating clinical cases. The findings indicate that the syndrome may be less apparent in red deer than it is in cattle, protection might be gained by vaccination and that housing and medication provide useful therapy. The extent of clinical disease is likely to depend on the general health, bodily condition and nutritional status of the animals versus the weight of infection acquired from the pasture. However, various factors can affect both sides in this confrontation.

Disbudding of red deer stag calves to prevent antler growth.

Red deer stag calves aged five to seven months were disbudded with a standard cattle disbudding iron as a means of preventing antler growth and development. Two sizes of iron, one 2.2 cm in diameter and one 1.5 cm in diameter, were compared at disbudding in November or January. Disbudding in November and January with the 2.2 cm iron had success rates of 97 per cent and 92 per cent, respectively. Treatment with the 1.5 cm iron was less effective at both times. There was no significant difference between the liveweights of the treated groups and a non-disbudded control group at turnout in the spring or at slaughter in November when the stags were 16 months of age.

Diagnosis of pregnancy and prediction of fetal age in red deer by real-time ultrasonic scanning.

Sixteen pregnant red deer hinds were scanned using real-time ultra sound at regular intervals during the first 150 days of pregnancy. In the early stages of pregnancy, an intra-rectal linear array transducer was used but later in pregnancy the hinds were scanned externally with a sector scanner. Pregnancy was determined from 30 days of gestation by intra-rectal scanning, and from 50 days by external scanning. With advancing age the size of the fetus increased, and linear regressions of size on age gave residual standard deviations of 0.508 days for head diameter and 0.506 days for trunk diameter. It is concluded that this technique can be used to determine pregnancy with a high degree of accuracy from 30 days of gestation and to predict calving date from fetal measurements within the range 1.5 cm to 7 cm for head diameter or 0.5 cm to 8 cm for trunk diameter, corresponding to a fetal age range of 35 to 150 days.