Quadrupedal Walking with the Skin: The Ambulatory Flaps in "Walking" Cuttlefish (Paintpot Cuttlefish, ).

AbstractThe locomotion strategy of cephalopods is an important factor that influences their ability to exploit various oceanic environments. Particularly, cuttlefish have a unique locomotion strategy; they prefer slow walking (ambling) on the seafloor over swimming. For this locomotion, they use their ventral arms as forelimbs and ambulatory flaps as hindlimbs.

Suppression of colonic oxidative stress caused by chronic ethanol administration and attenuation of ethanol-induced colitis and gut leakiness by oral administration of sesaminol in mice.

Chronic consumption of excess ethanol is one of the major risk factors for colorectal cancer (CRC), and the pathogenesis of ethanol-related CRC (ER-CRC) involves ethanol-induced oxidative-stress and inflammation in the colon and rectum, as well as gut leakiness. In this study, we hypothesised that oral administration of sesaminol, a sesame lignan, lowers the risk of ER-CRC because we found that it is a strong antioxidant with very low prooxidant activity. This hypothesis was examined using a mouse model, in which 2.

Sesaminol prevents Parkinson's disease by activating the Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by the degeneration of substantia nigra neurons due to oxidative stress. Sesaminol has strong antioxidant and anti-cancer effects. We investigated the preventive effect on PD as a new physiological action of sesaminol produced from sesaminol glycoside using and PD models.

Comparative Anatomy of Trunk Musculature in Salamandridae with Different Habitats.

The diversity of trunk muscle morphology of Salamandridae occupying different habitats (aquatic: ; terrestrial: and ) was examined. Trunk muscles were dissected, and muscle weight ratios were quantified. The terrestrial species have larger abdominal trunk muscles than the aquatic species do.

The functional-morphological adaptive strategy of digestive organs of decapodiform cephalopods.

The digestive organs in decapodiform cephalopod species morphologically vary by individual lifestyle. We examined the following six species of adult decapodiformes cephalopods representing different habitats: Todarodes pacificus, Loligo bleekeri, Loligo edulis, Watasenia scintillans (pelagic), Sepia lycidas and Euprymna morsei (benthic). L.

Locomotion pattern and trunk musculoskeletal architecture among Urodela.

We comparatively examined the trunk musculature and prezygapophyseal angle of mid-trunk vertebra in eight urodele species with different locomotive modes (aquatic , , and ; semi-aquatic ; and terrestrial , and ). We found that the more terrestrial species were characterized by larger dorsal and abdominal muscle weight ratios compared with those of the more aquatic species, whereas muscle ratios of the lateral hypaxial musculature were larger in the more aquatic species. The lateral hypaxial muscles were thicker in the more aquatic species, whereas the was more differentiated in the more terrestrial species.

Positional strategy of trunk muscles among aquatic, semi-aquatic and terrestrial species in Urodela.

Clarification of the trunk structure in Urodela is important in understanding the locomotive evolution of basal tetrapods. The components of the muscular trunk wall among Urodela using different modes of locomotion were compared. Since the whole trunk may be used for swimming and the effect of limbs may be small in the more aquatic species, they showed smaller differences in the trunk muscles among anterior, middle and posterior sections of the trunk.

Ontogenetic changes of trunk muscle structure in the Japanese black salamander (Hynobius nigrescens).

We investigated ontogenetic changes in the trunk muscles of the Japanese black salamander (Hynobius nigrescens) before, during and after metamorphosis. Given that amphibians change their locomotive patterns with metamorphosis, we hypothesized that they may also change the structure of their trunk muscles. The trunk muscles were macroscopically observed, and the weight ratios of each trunk muscle group were quantified at six different developmental stages.

Functional morphology and comparative anatomy of appendicular musculature in Cuban Anolis lizards with different locomotor habits.

We examined the diversity of the musculoskeletal morphology in the limbs of Anolis lizards with different habitats and identified variations in functional and morphological adaptations to different ecologies or behaviors. Dissection and isolation of 40 muscles from the fore- and hindlimbs of five species of Anolis were performed, and the muscle mass and length of the moment arm were compared after body size effects were removed. Ecologically and behaviorally characteristic morphological differences were observed in several muscles.

Functional and morphological variety in trunk muscles of Urodela.

Trunk musculature in Urodela species varies by habitat. In this study, trunk musculature was examined in five species of adult salamanders representing three different habitats: aquatic species, Amphiuma tridactylum and Necturus maculosus; semi-aquatic species, Cynops pyrrhogaster; terrestrial species, Hynobius nigrescens and Ambystoma tigrinum. More terrestrial species have heavier dorsal and ventral trunk muscles than more aquatic forms.

Purification, gene cloning, and biochemical characterization of a β-glucosidase capable of hydrolyzing sesaminol triglucoside from Paenibacillus sp. KB0549.

The triglucoside of sesaminol, i.e., 2,6-O-di(β-D-glucopyranosyl)-β-D- glucopyranosylsesaminol (STG), occurs abundantly in sesame seeds and sesame oil cake and serves as an inexpensive source for the industrial production of sesaminol, an anti-oxidant that displays a number of bioactivities beneficial to human health.