Intralesional amphotericin B in a cat with cutaneous protothecosis.

A domestic cat was presented with nodular lesions on the nose/muzzle and pinnae. Protothecosis was diagnosed through cytological and histopathological examination, and culture. Molecular identification confirmed Prototheca wickerhamii infection.

Association between breeding bulls' reactivity to humans or handling and their daily behaviour and growth.

In beef cattle, reactivity to humans or handling by humans is considered a safety issue for farmers and to impact on productivity. Several testing procedures, associated with potential risks for both humans and animals, have been developed, involving simple human approach, free animals individually handled, or restraint in handling facilities. We investigated how such tests may be related to each other and which dimensions they reveal.

Germline-Dependent Antibody Paratope States and Pairing Specific V-V Interface Dynamics.

Antibodies have emerged as one of the fastest growing classes of biotherapeutic proteins. To improve the rational design of antibodies, we investigate the conformational diversity of 16 different germline combinations, which are composed of 4 different kappa light chains paired with 4 different heavy chains. In this study, we systematically show that different heavy and light chain pairings strongly influence the paratope, interdomain interaction patterns and the relative V-V interface orientations.

Formulation of Next-Generation Multicompartment Microcapsules by Reversible Electrostatic Attraction.

The combination of several active substances into one carrier is often limited due to solubility, stability and phase-separation issues. These issues have been addressed by an innovative capsule design, in which nanocapsules are assembled on the microcapsule surface by electrostatic forces to form a pH-responsive hierarchical capsule@capsule system. Here, melamine-formaldehyde (MF) microcapsules with a negative surface charge were synthesized and coated with a novel MF-polyethyleneimine (PEI) copolymer to achieve a positive charge of ζ=+28 mV.

Local and Global Rigidification Upon Antibody Affinity Maturation.

During the affinity maturation process the immune system produces antibodies with higher specificity and activity through various rounds of somatic hypermutations in response to an antigen. Elucidating the affinity maturation process is fundamental in understanding immunity and in the development of biotherapeutics. Therefore, we analyzed 10 pairs of antibody fragments differing in their specificity and in distinct stages of affinity maturation using metadynamics in combination with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.

Intraindividual and Interindividual Differences in Spontaneous Eye Blinking: Relationships to Working Memory Performance and Frontal EEG Asymmetry.

The rate and timing of spontaneous eye blinking (SB) may be used to explore mechanisms of cognitive activity in infancy. In particular, SB rate is believed to reflect some dimensions of dopamine function; therefore, we hypothesized that SB rate would relate to working memory performance and to frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry. Forty, 10-mo-old infants completed an A-not-B task while SB and EEG were measured throughout.

Next generation of buccadhesive excipient: Preactivated carboxymethyl cellulose.

Aim: Assessment of preactivated carboxymethyl cellulose as potential excipient for buccal drug delivery.

Methods: Firstly, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and cysteine (SH) were covalently coupled via amide bond formation to obtain thiolated carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-SH). Further, preactivated carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-S-S-MNA) was obtained by preactivation with 2-mercaptonicotinic acid (MNA).

Design, characterization and in vitro evaluation of a novel thiolated polymer: preactivated carboxymethyl cellulose.

Aim: To design a novel preactived carboxymethyl cellulose derivative.

Methods: First, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) was chemically modified by amide bond formation between primary amino group of cysteine (CYS) and carboxylic moiety of CMC mediated by carbodiimide. Second, obtained CMCCYS was preactivated with 2,2'-dithiodinicotinic acid.

Improving the stability of peptidic radiotracers by the introduction of artificial scaffolds: which structure element is most useful?

Peptidic radiotracers are highly potent substances for the specific in vivo imaging of various biological targets with Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography and Positron Emission Tomography. However, some radiolabeled peptides such as bombesin analogs were shown to exhibit only a limited stability, hampering a successful target visualization. One option to positively influence the stability of radiolabeled peptides is the introduction of certain artificial molecular scaffolds.

Development and manipulation of spontaneous eye blinking in the first year: relationships to context and positive affect.

The present study explored the development of spontaneous eye blinking (SEB) and its relationship to approach-inhibition behavior during the second half of the first year. The dopaminergic regulation of SEB in adult primates provides an empirical basis for studying blinking in infants, and dopamine's role in infant temperament provides justification for examining approach-inhibition specifically. A longitudinal design with an experimental manipulation was used to examine developmental change in the rate of SEB.

Factors regulating eye blink rate in young infants.

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to investigate whether individual differences in eye surface area are related to the rate of spontaneous eye blinking (SB) in young infants. Rate of SB was also compared with the rate of gaze shifts.

Methods: Forty-four 4-month-old infants were observed under controlled conditions for 4 to 6 min.

Sensitivity of the rate of spontaneous eye blinking to type of stimuli in young infants.

Although progress has been made toward understanding the mechanisms of spontaneous eye blinking (SB), few reports focus on the ontogeny of SB. The purpose of the present work was to investigate SB in infants by attempting to manipulate SB and examine potential correlates of SB. Fifty-two infants were observed in a quiet baseline condition then presented with either moving stimuli or a social stimulus.

The dynamics of infant visual foraging.

Human infants actively forage for visual information from the moment of birth onward. Although we know a great deal about how stimulus characteristics influence looking behavior in the first few postnatal weeks, we know much less about the intrinsic dynamics of the behavior. Here we show that a simple stochastic dynamical system acts quantitatively like 4-week-old infants on a range of measures if there is hysteresis in the transitions between looking and looking away in the model system.

Systematic temporal variation in the rate of spontaneous eye blinking in human infants.

The rate of spontaneous eye blinking, a putative index of central dopamine activity based on neuropharmacological and clinical research, has been linked to cognitive activity and behavioral state. Although many species have been studied, few researchers have examined spontaneous eye blinking in human infants. Human infants between 10 and 12 weeks of age were observed before, during, and after a feeding or during attention to visual stimuli.

Spontaneous eye blinking in human infants: a review.

Spontaneous eye blinking has been studied in clinical and neuropharmacological research in adult humans and nonhuman primates as a putative index of central dopamine system activity. One purpose of this review is to provide a general overview of the research on spontaneous eye blinking with an emphasis on the relationship between spontaneous eye blinking and central dopamine systems. We suggest that the body of research from human (adults, children, and infants) and nonhuman primates supports the continued empirical investigation of spontaneous eye blinking in human infants.

The integration of body movement and attention in young infants.

The normal development of adaptive behavior in humans depends on the integration of visual attention and body movement, yet little is known about the initial state of movement-attention coupling at the beginning of postnatal life. We studied 1- and 3-month-old infants during extended periods of visual exploration and found that spontaneous shifts of gaze are preceded by rapid changes in general body movement. The results reveal a tight link between motor activation and overt attention on a time scale of seconds or less.

Stability of coupled fluctuations in movement and visual attention in infants.

Fluctuations in body movement and visual inspection were measured over minutes in 3-month-old infants to look for evidence of coupling. In Experiment 1, infants (n = 12) looked ad libitum at two identical pictures for an average of 7.3 min.

Structure and irregularity in the spontaneous behavior of young infants.

Persistent, irregular fluctuations in spontaneous motor activity are common in the young of many vertebrate species, but whether the irregularity is intrinsic to the dynamics of motor activation or the result of random perturbations is not known. Analysis of the second-by-second variation in the general body movement of awake human infants 1 and 3 months after birth revealed low dimensional structure in the characteristically irregular motor activity and exponential rates of divergence of initially similar states of motor activation. Results support the conclusion that irregularity is an intrinsic property of the dynamics of motor activation involving relatively few effective degrees of freedom and raise questions about the advantages or disadvantages of irregularity built into early behavioral organization.

Effects of warmth on newborn rats' motor activity and oral responsiveness to an artificial nipple.

Temperature is a powerful regulator of the behavior and physiology of newborn altricial animals. The effects of warmth on newborn rats' oral responsiveness to suckling stimuli and spontaneous motor activity in a thermoneutral environment were investigated. Newborn rat pups' oral grasp responses to an artificial nipple and overall motor activity were recorded for 18 min.

Developmental psychobiology: a look back on 30 years.

Developmental Psychobiology publishes papers from the disciplines of psychology, biology, neuroscience, and medicine that contribute to an understanding of behavioral development. Research focuses on development in the embryo/fetus, neonate, juvenile, and adult as well as multidisciplinary research that relates behavioral development to anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, genetics, and evolution. The journal represents a broad phylogenetic perspective on behavioral development by including studies on invertebrates, fish, birds, non-human primates, and humans.

An intrinsic source of behavioral regulation that influences discrete responses to cues important for the initiation of suckling.

The present experiment investigated the relationship between motor activity and oral grasping of an artificial nipple in newborn rats. Pups orally grasped the artificial nipple, and they performed more and longer oral grasps in the latter portion of the nipple presentation. Motor activity was cyclical, and this cyclicity was evident before and during presentation of the artificial nipple.

Contractile activity of the uterus prior to labor alters the temporal organization of spontaneous motor activity in the fetal sheep.

Contractile activity of the uterus before the onset of labor (uterine contractures) has been described in a number of species and provides a powerful source of repeated stimulation for the fetus throughout much of gestation. To understand how fetal behavior responds to this dynamic aspect of the intrauterine environment, we investigated the effects of uterine contractures on the temporal organization of spontaneous motor activity in the fetal sheep during the last fifth of gestation. Eleven fetuses were instrumented on 113-116 days of gestation (dGA).