Contrasting Size Distributions among the Wing Spots of a Pierid Butterfly Suggest Different Selective Histories.

Males of the small cabbage butterfly have two dark or melanic spots in the central white area of each dorsal forewing, an anterior spot (aS) and a posterior spot (pS). We used characteristics of the size distributions of these spots to infer how selection has acted on them during their evolution. Our study reveals that the aS size distribution is normal while that of pS is very right-skewed.

Color, activity period, and eye structure in four lineages of ants: Pale, nocturnal species have evolved larger eyes and larger facets than their dark, diurnal congeners.

The eyes of insects display an incredible diversity of adaptations to enhance vision across the gamut of light levels that they experience. One commonly studied contrast is the difference in eye structure between nocturnal and diurnal species, with nocturnal species typically having features that enhance eye sensitivity such as larger eyes, larger eye facets, and larger ocelli. In this study, we compared eye structure between workers of closely related nocturnal and diurnal above ground foraging ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in four genera (Myrmecocystus, Aphaenogaster, Temnothorax, Veromessor).

Variation in predator response to short-wavelength warning coloration.

Warning coloration deters predators from attacking unpalatable prey, and is often characterized by long-wavelength colors, such as orange and red. However, warning colors in nature are more diverse and include short-wavelength colors, like blue. Blue has evolved as a primary defense in some animals but is not common.

Environment-dependent attack rates of cryptic and aposematic butterflies.

Many organisms have evolved adaptive coloration that reduces their risk of predation. Cryptic coloration reduces the likelihood of detection/recognition by potential predators, while warning or aposematic coloration advertises unprofitability and thereby reduces the likelihood of attack. Although some studies show that aposematic coloration functions better at decreasing attack rate than crypsis, recent work has suggested and demonstrated that crypsis and aposematism are both successful strategies for avoiding predation.

Multiple spectral channels in branchiopods. II. Role in light-dependent behavior and natural light environments.

Light is a primary environmental factor used by aquatic invertebrates for depth selection behavior. Many branchiopod crustaceans live in ephemeral aquatic habitats. All branchiopod crustaceans studied to date express four or more visual opsins in their compound eyes.

Multiple spectral channels in branchiopods. I. Vision in dim light and neural correlates.

Animals that have true color vision possess several spectral classes of photoreceptors. Pancrustaceans (Hexapoda+Crustacea) that integrate spectral information about their reconstructed visual world do so from photoreceptor terminals supplying their second optic neuropils, with subsequent participation of the third (lobula) and deeper centers (optic foci). Here, we describe experiments and correlative neural arrangements underlying convergent visual pathways in two species of branchiopod crustaceans that have to cope with a broad range of spectral ambience and illuminance in ephemeral pools, yet possess just two optic neuropils, the lamina and the optic tectum.

Flight Morphology, Compound Eye Structure and Dispersal in the Bog and the Cranberry Fritillary Butterflies: An Inter- and Intraspecific Comparison.

Understanding dispersal is of prime importance in conservation and population biology. Individual traits related to motion and navigation during dispersal may differ: (1) among species differing in habitat distribution, which in turn, may lead to interspecific differences in the potential for and costs of dispersal, (2) among populations of a species that experiences different levels of habitat fragmentation; (3) among individuals differing in their dispersal strategy and (4) between the sexes due to sexual differences in behaviour and dispersal tendencies. In butterflies, the visual system plays a central role in dispersal, but exactly how the visual system is related to dispersal has received far less attention than flight morphology.

Side to side coaptation--new technic in peripherial nerve surgery--preliminary report.

This study presents and evaluates side-to-side nerve repair techniques for their ability to induce collateral nerve sprouting. The coaptation of the ventral branches of spinal nerves C5 and C6 to C7 through an incision epineurium was used to repair the nerve. The number of myelinated fiber axons and G-ratio was evaluated.

Evaluation of Soft Tissue Reaction to Corundum Ceramic Implants Infiltrated with Colloidal Silver.

Background: Corundum ceramic is a biomaterial used as a bone graft substitute. Silver is a well known antiseptic substance with many practical, clinical applications.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to estimate soft tissue (in vivo) reaction to a new kind of ceramic implants.

Indicators of recent mating success in the pipevine swallowtail butterfly (Battus philenor) and their relationship to male phenotype.

A key determinant of the intensity of sexual selection acting on a trait is how variation in that trait is related to variance in reproductive success of individuals. This connection compels efforts to assess lifetime mating number and how it varies among individuals in a population. In the Lepidoptera, female mating success can be assessed relatively easily by counting by the number of spermatophores in the female's copulatory sac but male mating success in the field can often only be documented by observing copulations.

The rabbit brachial plexus as an experimental model--anatomy and surgical approach.

The aim of our study was to analyze the anatomy and surgical approach of the rabbit brachial plexus. The research included 18 rabbits. The rabbit seems to be a good experimental model for spinal nerves injury, especially for the C5 and C6 segments.

Treatment of camptodactyly using injection of botulinum neurotoxin.

Background: Camptodactyly is usually painless, not caused by trauma, often appearing bilaterally, gradually progressive flexion contracture of the proximal interphalangeal joint mainly on the 5th fingers.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to analyze the efficacy injecting botulinum neurotoxin in short muscles of the hand responsible for the contraction of the proximal interphalangeal joint.

Material And Methods: The clinical material consisted of 12 patients (8 women, 4 men) treated with injections of botulinum neurotoxin in 2009-2012.

Warning color changes in response to food deprivation in the pipevine swallowtail butterfly, Battus philenor.

Predation on distasteful animals should favor warning coloration that is relatively conspicuous and phenotypically invariable. However, even among similarly colored individuals there can be variation in their warning signals. In butterflies, individual differences in larval feeding history could cause this variation.

Male wing color properties predict the size of nuptial gifts given during mating in the Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly (Battus philenor).

In many animals, males bear bright ornamental color patches that may signal both the direct and indirect benefits that a female might accrue from mating with him. Here we test whether male coloration in the Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly, Battus philenor, predicts two potential direct benefits for females: brief copulation duration and the quantity of materials the male passes to the female during mating. In this species, males have a bright iridescent blue field on the dorsal hindwing surface, while females have little or no dorsal iridescence.

General intravenous anesthesia for brachial plexus surgery in the rabbit.

The rabbit is a good experimental model for brachial plexus surgery. The risks of death during anesthesia were significantly greater in rabbits than cats or dogs. This article presents the protocol of injectable anesthesia for a short surgical procedure, safe for the rabbit patient and convenient for the surgeon.

Assessment of the usefulness of X-ray myelography and magnetic resonance myelography, performed with an open low-field device, in diagnosing perinatal preganglionic injuries of the brachial plexus.

Introduction: The goal is to assess the usefulness of diagnostic imaging in diagnosing perinatal preganglionic injuries of the brachial plexus.

Material And Methods: The clinical material included 40 children of both genders, aged 2 to 35 months. The authors analysed the results of diagnostic imaging examinations (myelography in 20 cases and magnetic resonance [MR] myelography in 20 cases), intraoperative view and clinical course.

Expression of MMP-2, TIMP-2, TGF-β1, and decorin in Dupuytren's contracture.

To investigate the mechanisms underlying matrix deposition in Dupuytren's disease, the expression of gelatinase A (MMP-2), the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2), transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1), decorin (DCN), and periostin was studied. The level of relative MMP-2 activation was investigated using zymography. The mRNA expression of MMP-2, TIMP-2, TGF-β1, and DCN was detected using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), while the presence of protein was detected using immunohistochemical (IHC) and Western blot techniques.

Our experience with surgical treatment of perinatal brachial plexus palsy--results in different types of lesions.

Introduction: Perinatal brachial plexus palsies can be divided into upper (C5-C6), upper-middle (C5-C6-C7) and total injuries (C5-Th1). The study aimed to evaluate the results of surgical repair in the different types of palsies.

Material And Methods: The patient population comprised 80 children who underwent primary repair of the brachial plexus (external neurolysis, internal neurolysis, direct neurorrhaphy, nerve grafts, extraanatomical intraplexus reconstruction, extraanatomical extraplexus reconstruction).

Neurolysis of the conducting neuroma-in-continuity in perinatal brachial plexus palsy - evaluation of the results of surgical treatment.

Unlabelled: The aim of the study was to evaluate the surgical treatment results of cases of perinatal brachial plexus palsy with presence of neuroma-in-continuity. Clinical material included 21 children, aged from 3.5 to 36 months, treated surgically between 1996 and 2005.

Tenomyoplastic procedures to improve shoulder function in the treatment of perinatal brachial plexus palsy.

Background: A contracture of the shoulder joint in the course of perinatal brachial plexus palsy significantly affects the function of the upper limb as a whole. The aim of this paper is to present the authors' experience in surgical procedures carried out to improve shoulder joint function impaired as a result of perinatal brachial plexus palsy and evaluate the treatment outcomes.

Material And Methods: The study involved 36 patients who underwent 37 tenomyoplastic procedures (subscapular release, teres major transfer, transfer of a portion of the trapezius).

Variation in compound eye structure: effects of diet and family.

Studies of compound eyes have revealed that variation in eye structure can substantially affect visual performance. Here, we investigate the degree to which a stressful rearing environment, which decreases body size, affects the eye phenotype. Full siblings of the Orange Sulphur butterfly, Colias eurytheme, were collected from known parents and split within families among two diet treatments that varied in quality.

The median nerve in the carpal tunnel.

A study of the variations of the course and branching pattern of the median nerve within the carpal tunnel were carried out on 60 wrists from 30 fresh cadavers autopsied in the Department of Forensic Medicine of Jagiellonian University Medical College. The results were compared with the literature. The study confirmed that the extraligamentous type of motor branch variation is most common.

Preganglionic injuries in perinatal brachial plexus palsies - results of surgical treatment.

Background And Purpose: The authors report their experience in surgical treatment of preganglionic injuries in perinatal brachial plexus palsies.

Material And Methods: Clinical material consisted of 16 children, of both sexes, aged from 2.5 to 33 months (mean 6.

Assessment of the prognostic value of horner syndrome in perinatal brachial plexus palsy.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of Horner syndrome as an indicator of preganglionic injuries of the lower part of the brachial plexus. The study investigated 18 cases of children with perinatal brachial plexus injury and coexistent Horner syndrome. The following data sets were analyzed: the degree of severity of the brachial plexus injury, the results of imaging examinations, the intraoperative view, the kind of operative treatment and the resultant hand function.