A diagnostic characteristic of stingrays in the family Dasyatidae is the presence of a defensive, partially serrated spine located on the tail. We assessed the contribution of caudal spine morphology on puncture and withdrawal performance from two congeneric, co-occurring stingrays, the Atlantic stingray, Hypanus sabinus, and the bluntnose stingray, Hypanus say. Spines exhibited a high degree of morphological variability. Stingray spines were serrated along 50.8% (H. sabinus) or 62.3% (H. say) of their length. Hypanus say had a greater number of serrations along each side of the spine (30.4) compared with H. sabinus (20.7) but the pitch did not differ between species. We quantified spine puncture and withdrawal forces using porcine skin as a model for human skin. Puncture and withdrawal forces did not differ significantly between species, or within H. say, but withdrawal force was greater than puncture force for H. sabinus. We incorporated micro-computed tomography scanning to quantify tissue mineral density and found that for both species, the shaft of the spine was more heavily mineralized than the base, and midway (50%) along the length of the spine was more heavily mineralized than the tip. The mineralization variability along the spine shaft may create a stiff structure that can fracture once embedded within the target tissue and act as an effective predator deterrent.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icb/icab077 | DOI Listing |
BMC Complement Med Ther
January 2025
Clinic of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Background: Patient engagement (PE) in clinical trials has gained importance yet remains uncommon, particularly in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a critical precursor to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Cannabidiol (CBD) shows potential in slowing MCI progression due to its neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties. In CBD research, PE is underutilized too.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To describe indications for and demonstrate the technique to perform a transtracheal aspirate in horses. Transtracheal aspirate is indicated to collect samples for cytology and bacteriologic culture in cases of suspected pneumonia or other lower respiratory tract disease.
Animals: 1 healthy university-owned horse was used for demonstration purposes.
Pacing Clin Electrophysiol
December 2024
Department of Cardiology, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Front Vet Sci
November 2024
Clinic for Ruminants and Swine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Heliyon
November 2024
State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, National Center for Respiratory Medicine, Department of Organ transplantation, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510120, PR China.
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