Search

A parapineal organ was found to be present in 21 teleost fishes belonging to 20 different families, but was absent in poecilids and cyprinodontids. The parapineal organ was situated on the left side of the brain and sent a nerve tract to the left habenular nucleus, except in Gadus, where a "parapineal organ" appeared to send a nerve tract into the pineal stalk. The parapineal organ of adult Gasterosteus consisted of glial elements and parapinealocytes. The latter were small neurons which sent off the unmyelinated axons that formed the parapineal tract. A single photoreceptor cell was found in a stickleback parapineal organ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Specific, fluorescent, subependymal perikarya were found in the pars anterior of the paraventricular organ (PVOpa), in the nucleus recessus lateralis (NRL) and in the nucleus recessus posterioris (NRP). No fluorescent perikarya were present in the nucleus lateralis tuberis (NLT). Fluorescent nerve tracts connect the PVOpa and the NRL with the NRP, and interconnect the paired NRP. The nucleus preopticus (NPO) and the NLT receive a large input of aminergic nerve fibers. The monoaminergic nuclei are well vascularized, and their vascular plexes seem to be connected. A capillary plexus is situated dorsal to the NRP and exhibits no contact with the pituitary. It is surrounded by the prominent fluorescent tracts connecting the aminergic nuclei. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin)- and opsin-immunoreactive sites were studied in the developing pineal complex of the stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L., by use of light-microscopic indirect immunoperoxidase techniques. 5-HT immunoreactivity first occurs in the pineal organ at the age of 80 h after fertilization and appears to be localized in cells of the photoreceptor type. The outer segments of a few pineal photosensory cells exhibit opsin immunoreactivity at the age of 84 h after fertilization. The number of cells seems to increase until the pineal organ is completely developed. The increase in the number of 5-HT immunoreactive perikarya runs parallel in time to that of the opsinimmunoreactive outer segments. The cells of the parapineal organ show neither opsin nor 5-HT immunoreactivity. The retina of the embryonic stickleback does not display opsin immunoreactivity until after hatching, which takes place about 144 h after fertilization. These results suggest, in the three-spined stickleback, an earlier light-perception capacity for the developing pineal organ than for the retina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparing two objects falling together is a small-scale version of Galileo’s classical experiment, demonstrating the equivalence between gravitational and inertial mass. We present here investigations by a group of ten-year-olds, who used iPads to record the drops. The movie recordings were essential in the follow-up discussions, enabling the students to compare the different situations and to discern situations where air resistance was essential and where it could be neglected. By considering a number of familiar situations and simple investigations that can be performed, e.g., on a playground, students may come closer to an appreciation of the deep significance of the non-influence of mass on motion under gravity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interfacing electronics with neural tissue is crucial for understanding complex biological functions, but conventional bioelectronics consist of rigid electrodes fundamentally incompatible with living systems. The difference between static solid-state electronics and dynamic biological matter makes seamless integration of the two challenging. To address this incompatibility, we developed a method to dynamically create soft substrate-free conducting materials within the biological environment. We demonstrate in vivo electrode formation in zebrafish and leech models, using endogenous metabolites to trigger enzymatic polymerization of organic precursors within an injectable gel, thereby forming conducting polymer gels with long-range conductivity. This approach can be used to target specific biological substructures and is suitable for nerve stimulation, paving the way for fully integrated, in vivo-fabricated electronics within the nervous system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Atmospheric air samples were taken within 3km from power plants encompassing five different distances and wind directions. Samples were taken between 2002 and 2005 aiming to evaluate the environmental 14C enrichment due to the operation of Brazilian nuclear power plants. The sampling system consisted of a pump connected to a trapping column filled with a 3M NaOH solution. The trapped CO2 was analyzed for 14C by using a single stage accelerator mass spectrometry (SSAMS). All sampling sites revealed measurable 14C excess values. The maximum excesses were of 15 and 14mBq/m3 for sampling sites placed at NE of the power plants, which is the main wind direction in the area. The mean excesses values were 12mBq/m3 to the NE direction, 8mBq/m3 to the E, 10mBq/m3 to the N, 8mBq/m3 to the WNW and 7mBq/m3 to the W direction (increasing distances from NE to W). Compared to other Light Water Reactors (LWR) data, these means'' values are significantly higher than the average worldwide reported value of 3mBq/m3. Available data indicate that the observed values are not related to 14C emission by the power plants vent stack. Other factors, such as topography, seem to have an important role because it affects wind dispersion thus favoring 14C accumulation in the sampled area. Moreover, the high elevations around the power plants enhance the chances to measure high values of 14C since the plume can be intercepted before it is drawn to the ground. Modeling of the plume has shown that its dispersion does not follow a Gaussian model and that agreement between atmospheric CO2 and vegetation 14C activities occurs only for sampling sites placed at NE of the power plants. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Without intervention, cardiac arrhythmias pose a risk of fatality. However, timely intervention can be challenging in environments where transporting a large, heavy defibrillator is impractical, or emergency surgery to implant cardiac stimulation devices is not feasible. Here, we introduce an injectable cardiac stimulator, a syringe loaded with a nanoparticle solution comprising a conductive polymer and a monomer that, upon injection, forms a conductive structure around the heart for cardiac stimulation. Following treatment, the electrode is cleared from the body, eliminating the need for surgical extraction. The mixture adheres to the beating heart in vivo without disrupting its normal rhythm. The electrofunctionalized injectable cardiac stimulator demonstrates a tissue-compatible Young's modulus of 21 kPa and a high conductivity of 55 S/cm. The injected electrode facilitates electrocardiogram measurements, regulates heartbeat in vivo, and rectifies arrhythmia. Conductive functionality is maintained for five consecutive days, and no toxicity is observed at the organism, organ, or cellular levels., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Bioelectronics can potentially complement classical therapies in nonchronic treatments, such as immunotherapy and cancer. In addition to functionality, minimally invasive implantation methods and bioresorbable materials are central to nonchronic treatments. The latter avoids the need for surgical removal after disease relief. Self-organizing substrate-free organic electrodes meet these criteria and integrate seamlessly into dynamic biological systems in ways difficult for classical rigid solid-state electronics. Here we place bioresorbable electrodes with a brain-matched shear modulus-made from water-dispersed nanoparticles in the brain-in the targeted area using a capillary thinner than a human hair. Thereafter, we show that an optional auxiliary module grows dendrites from the installed conductive structure to seamlessly embed neurons and modify the electrode's volume properties. We demonstrate that these soft electrodes set off a controlled cellular response in the brain when relaying external stimuli and that the biocompatible materials show no tissue damage after bioresorption. These findings encourage further investigation of temporary organic bioelectronics for nonchronic treatments assembled in vivo., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Injectable bioelectronics could become an alternative or a complement to traditional drug treatments. To this end, a new self-doped p-type conducting PEDOT-S copolymer ( A5 ) was synthesized. This copolymer formed highly water-dispersed nanoparticles and aggregated into a mixed ion-electron conducting hydrogel when injected into a tissue model. First, we synthetically repeated most of the published methods for PEDOT-S at the lab scale. Surprisingly, analysis using high-resolution matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-mass spectroscopy showed that almost all the methods generated PEDOT-S derivatives with the same polymer lengths (i.e., oligomers, seven to eight monomers in average); thus, the polymer length cannot account for the differences in the conductivities reported earlier. The main difference, however, was that some methods generated an unintentional copolymer P(EDOT-S/EDOT-OH) that is more prone to aggregate and display higher conductivities in general than the PEDOT-S homopolymer. Based on this, we synthesized the PEDOT-S derivative A5 , that displayed the highest film conductivity (33 S cm -1 ) among all PEDOT-S derivatives synthesized. Injecting A5 nanoparticles into the agarose gel cast with a physiological buffer generated a stable and highly conductive hydrogel (1-5 S cm -1 ), where no conductive structures were seen in agarose with the other PEDOT-S derivatives. Furthermore, the ion-treated A5 hydrogel remained stable and maintained initial conductivities for 7 months (the longest period tested) in pure water, and A5 mixed with Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles generated a magnetoconductive relay device in water. Thus, we have successfully synthesized a water-processable, syringe-injectable, and self-doped PEDOT-S polymer capable of forming a conductive hydrogel in tissue mimics, thereby paving a way for future applications within in vivo electronics., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Box jellyfish (Cubomedusae) possess a unique visual system comprising 24 eyes of four morphological types. Moreover, box jellyfish display several visually guided behaviours, including obstacle avoidance and light-shaft attractance. It is largely unknown what kind of visual information box jellyfish use for carrying out these behaviours. Brightness contrast is almost certainly involved, but it is also possible that box jellyfish extract colour information from their surroundings. The possible presence of colour vision in box jellyfish has previously been investigated using behavioural, electrophysiological and immunohistochemical methods. However, the results from these studies are to some degree conflicting and inconclusive. Here, we present results from an investigation into the visual system of the box jellyfish Chiropsella bronzie, using microspectrophotometry and immunohistochemistry. Our results strongly indicate that only one type of visual pigment is present in the upper and lower lens eyes with a peak absorbance of approximately 510 nm. Additionally, the visual pigment appears to undergo bleaching, similar to that of vertebrate visual pigments.

Pineal evolution is envisaged as a gradual transformation of pinealocytes (a gradual regression of pinealocyte sensory capacity within a particular cell line), the so-called sensory cell line of the pineal organ. In most non-mammals the pineal organ is a directly photosensory organ, while the pineal organ of mammals (epiphysis cerebri) is a non-sensory neuroendocrine organ under photoperiod control. The phylogenetic transformation of the pineal organ is reflected in the morphology and physiology of the main parenchymal cell type, the pinealocyte. In anamniotes, pinealocytes with retinal cone photoreceptor-like characteristics predominate, whereas in sauropsids so-called rudimentary photoreceptors predominate. These have well-developed secretory characteristics, and have been interpreted as intermediaries between the anamniote pineal photoreceptors and the mammalian non-sensory pinealocytes. We have re-examined the original studies on which the gradual transformation hypothesis of pineal evolution is based, and found that the evidence for this model of pineal evolution is ambiguous. In the light of recent advances in the understanding of neural development mechanisms, we propose a new hypothesis of pineal evolution, in which the old notion 'gradual regression within the sensory cell line' should be replaced with 'changes in fate restriction within the neural lineage of the pineal field'.

In order to understand the development of retinal cells, we have studied the temporal expression of HuC/D protein in embryonic, postnatal and adult rat retina. During development and in the adult retina, practically all cell somata in the ganglion cell layer and the vast majority of conventional amacrine cells in the inner nuclear layer displayed HuC/D immunoreactivity. Most but not all ganglion cells expressed HuC/D at embryonic day 15, suggesting a delay between final mitosis and the initiation of HuC/D expression. Immunoreactivity for HuC/D was also evident in developing but not mature horizontal cells. Combined immunohistochemical visualization of HuC/D protein and the growth-associated protein (GAP-43) showed a distinct localization of GAP-43 in a specific compartment close to the somato-dendritic region of developing HuC/D-positive cell somata. The localization of GAP-43 immunoreactivity to a specific soma compartment became less evident during maturation. Immunoreactivity for HuC/D and GAP-43 was also discernible in horizontal cells at postnatal day 14. In the adult retina, most GAP-43 immunoreactivity was seen in the inner plexiform layer. Detailed analysis showed that HuC/D and GAP-43 expression is restricted to subsets of retinal neurons during development and in the mature retina. Thus, GAP-43 appears to be correlated with initial steps of differentiation and outgrowth of dendritic processes in HuC/D-positive ganglion and amacrine cells.