Deserts and semi-deserts, such as the Sahara-Sahel region in North Africa, are exposed environments with restricted vegetation coverage. Due to limited physical surface structures, these open areas provide a promising ecosystem to understand selection for crypsis. Here, we review knowledge on camouflage adaptation in the Sahara-Sahel rodent community, which represents one of the best documented cases of phenotype-environment convergence comprising a marked taxonomic diversity. Through their evolutionary history, several rodent species from the Sahara-Sahel have repeatedly evolved an accurate background matching against visually-guided predators. Top-down selection by predators is therefore assumed to drive the evolution of a generalist, or compromise, camouflage strategy in these rodents. Spanning a large biogeographic extent and surviving repeated climatic shifts, the community faces extreme and heterogeneous selective pressures, allowing formulation of testable ecological hypotheses. Consequently, Sahara-Sahel rodents poses an exceptional system to investigate which adaptations facilitate species persistence in a mosaic of habitats undergoing climatic change. Studies of these widely distributed communities permits general conclusions about the processes driving adaptation and can give insights into how diversity evolves.
A new harpactorine reduviid, Camptibia obscura, gen. et sp. n., from China is described. A key to related genera is provided. The functional morphology of the fore legs of this species is discussed.
The claim by many authors that Spinitectus inermis (Zeder, 1800), a narrowly specific parasite of European eels Anguilla anguilla (L.), is a rare species is considered at three levels: its geographical range, its frequency of occurrence compared to other eel parasites and its relative abundance in component communities. The parasite is widely distributed in freshwater throughout the European range of the eel but its occurrence is erratic and unpredictable, being known from only 8 countries. Surveys of eel parasites in the United Kingdom and in Continental Europe show that it is present in only 13% of British and 29% of continental localities. This satisfies one of the criteria for rarity. When present, its prevalence ranges from 1.8% to 43.3%, so it can be considered rare in some localities but in a few it may be common and on occasion it may be the dominant species in the gastro-intestinal community. Populations of S. inermis are almost always characterised by high levels of overdispersion, even at low prevalence. The species also displays an ability to colonise a locality following introduction there. Overall it meets many of the criteria of a rare species including a restricted distribution and a low frequency of occurrence and so it can be considered to exhibit diffusive rarity.
Safranal and crocin are biologically active compounds isolated from Crocus sativus L., commonly known as saffron. Clinical trials confirm that saffron has antidepressant effect, thus being a potential valuable alternative in the treatment of depression. The aim of the present study was to determine, whether systemic administration of safranal and crocin can influence the metabolic activity of CYP3A, CYP2C11, CYP2B, and CYP2A in rat liver microsomes (RLM). The experiments were carried out on male Wistar albino rats intragastrically administered with safranal (4, 20, and 100 mg/kg/day) or with intraperitoneal injections of crocin (4, 20, and 100 mg/kg/day). Our results demonstrate the ability of safranal and crocin to increase the total protein content and to change the metabolic activity of several CYP enzymes assessed as CYP specific hydroxylations of testosterone in RLM. Crocin significantly decreased the metabolic activity of all selected CYP enzymes, while safranal significantly increased the metabolic activity of CYP2B, CYP2C11 and CYP3A enzymes. Therefore, both substances could increase the risk of interactions with co-administered substances metabolized by cytochrome P450 enzymes., G. Dovrtělová, K. Nosková, J. Juřica, M. Turjap, O. Zendulka., and Obsahuje bibliografii
After a brief discussion of Creative reasoning modelling significance
for transportation reliability modelling this páper continues by a discussion of-the known applicable techniques of creativity modelling. Because tlie most significant one seems to be analogical and associative reasoning, a unified model of analogical and associative reasoning is presented. Dne to its real-time capabilities, the model enables to model reasoning under the condition of a processing capacity limitation (and concluding the increase of producing mistaking reactions).
The aim of this work was to use standardized digital cartography of vegetation coverage to test whether or not the predicted range of habitat suitability for wild boar in Bulgaria coincides with the georeferenced/presence records of this species. The predicted range of habitat suitability based on potential biological resources in Bulgaria encompasses 13 land uses from the CORINE program, being “Broad-leaved forests” (23432 km2) the most representative. The total potential resources for wild boar correspond to 57.54 % of the country area. A high level of correlation (0.86) was found between inverse distance of wild boars presence and habitat suitability areas. A significant level of correlation (0.71, p < 0.0001) per Bulgarian region between area of habitat suitability category 2 (resources suitable for use as both food and shelter) and number of wild boar was also found.Suitable wild boar habitat on borders appeared
as the most relevant parameter for evaluating the risk of introduction of diseases by wild boar into the European Union from neighbouring countries. Despite being the longest (608 km), the Bulgaria-Romania border did not
represent the most important corridor for wild boar since only 12.78 % of its surface is suitable habitat; the percentage of the importance of this border edges the passage of wild boar is 20.63 %. The Bulgaria-Macedonia (FYROM) border must be regarded as the most
important passageway for wild boar (96.88 %), with 148 km of border and 12.34 % of its surface area of suitable habitat. Our findings could be highly useful for developing adequate strategies for wildlife management practices on large spatial scales, as well as for the control of wildlife and its habitats (territorial integration and spatial planning according to the casuistry of the zone), and relationships between wildlife and other human interests.
Haloperidol when applied intraperitoneally to cold-exposed febrile rabbits induces a strong hypothermic effect. This effect is due to the downward shift of the threshold central temperature for induction of cold thermogenesis and vasomotion. The shift occurs during the early phase of the fever and is less prominent during the late phase of the fever. The hypothermic effect of high doses of haloperidol can eliminate the increase of body temperature in febrile individuals.