Previous research has demonstrated that distinct, gender-related differences exist in the morphology of the rat lacrimal gland. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether this sexual dimorphism is unique to the rat, or extends as well to other species. Lacrimal glands were collected from adult male and female rats, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits and humans (biopsies). Tissues were pr...

The morphology of mitochondria can inform about their functional state and, thus, about cell vitality. For example, fragmentation of the mitochondrial network is associated with many diseases. Recent advances in neuronal imaging have enabled the observation of mitochondria in live brains for long periods of time, enabling the study of their dynamics in animal models of diseases. To aid these st...

PURPOSE The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rat is the most extensively studied animal model for understanding the molecular pathology in inherited retinal degeneration, such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the pharmacologic effects of several Ca(2+) antagonists on the retinal degeneration of RCS rats. METHODS Several Ca(2+) antagonists, diltiaze...

Angiosperm diversification has resulted in a vast array of plant morphologies. Only recently has it been appreciated that diversification might have proceeded quite differently for the two key diagnostic structures of this clade, flowers and fruits. These structures are hypothesized to have experienced different selective pressures via their interactions with animals in dispersal mutualisms, re...

INTRODUCTION To assess an effect of cochleostomy on hearing threshold in guinea pigs. MATERIAL AND METHODS The authors performed animal experiments using five 3-month-old guinea pigs. Before experiment hearing threshold were evaluated. Surgery involved access to the temporal bone by a post-auricular incision. After a wide opening of the bulla cochleostomy was created (10,000 turn/min, diamond...

epidemiological features of some of several foci of cutaneous leishmaniasis (cl), such as bushehr province, had not been detected in iran. this study was carried out for detection and characterization of epidemiological features of cl in these regions, from oct. 1998 to oct. 1999. all of the primary school children aged 7-14 years and total populations of 14 villages were examined for the prese...

The variation in animal coloration patterns has evolved in response to different visual strategies for reducing the risk of predation. However, the perception of animal coloration by enemies is affected by a variety of factors, including morphology and habitat. We use the diversity of Australian chrysomeline leaf beetles to explore relationships of visual ecology to beetle morphology and color ...

Numerous studies have reported widespread synaptic dysfunction or loss in early stages of both Alzheimer disease (AD) patients and animal models; it is widely accepted that synapse loss is the major structural correlate of cognitive dysfunction. Elucidation of the changes that may affect synapses is crucial for understanding the pathogenic mechanisms underlying AD, but ultrastructural preservat...

The adult mammalian olfactory bulb (OB) is continuously supplied with adult-born neurons. While some new neurons die shortly after arrival into the OB, others persist throughout the life of the animal. Here we followed the long-term morphological changes in adult-born periglomerular neurons and granule cells from the mouse OB well after they mature. We present a dataset of dendritic morphology ...

Manuscript 2 Abstract Many neurological disorders accompanied by cognitive deficits, including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Down syndrome, exhibit abnormal dendritic spine morphology. Actin-based cytoskeletal network dynamics are critical for regulation of spine morphology and function. Recent experimental data from an AD animal model reveal that defects in intracellular signaling cascades rela...