Microvasculature of the hamster eye: scanning electron microscopy of vascular corrosion casts

The architecture of the retina, choroid and anterior eye segment was investigated in 12 Syrian hamsters using scanning electron micrographs of methylmethacrylate corrosion casts. The hamster eye receives its primary blood supply from the long posterior ciliary artery, which directly enters the optic nerve head, and divides into three branches: the central retinal artery and medial and lateral long posterior ciliary arteries. In the retina the central retinal artery divides into six radiating branches. Retinal arterioles form a slender and long course to capillaries. Retinal capillaries are extremely thin in diameter and form a sparse capillary network. The choroid is supplied by the long posterior ciliary arteries. Choroidal arterioles exhibit a thick and short course to the choriocapillaris. The choriocapillaris is thick and sinusoid-like, forming a dense network in the choroid. The ciliary body, iris and bulbar conjunctiva are supplied by the anterior ciliary arteries, which are branches of the long posterior ciliary arteries. Capillaries supplying the anterior margin of the ciliary process are large in diameter with an irregular bore, forming a thoroughfare channel draining blood in the ciliary arterioles into the pars plana vessels. Blood from the retina is drained by the central retinal veins. Venules from the anterior eye segment empty into the vortex veins via the pars plana vessels. Venous blood from the choroid is drained only by vortex veins via the choroidal veins. The functional significance of the vascular architecture and species differences are discussed.     

Food habits of fishes in the mangrove estuary of Urauchi River,Iriomote Island,southern Japan

The food habits of 67 fish species collected from the mangrove estuary of the Urauchi River, Iriomote Island, southern Japan were investigated using gut content analysis. Ontogenetic changes in food preference were recognized in nine species, including mugilids, gerreids, mullids, gobiids and tetraodontids. In most cases, juveniles of these species fed mostly on small crustaceans (e.g. calanoid and cyclopoid copepods and gammaridean amphipods) or detritus. With their subsequent growth, larger prey items (e.g. crabs and polychaetes) became dominant. A cluster analysis based on dietary overlaps showed that the mangrove fish assemblage comprised eight trophic groups (zooplankton, small benthic crustacean, large benthic crustacean, polychaete, fish, detritus, plant and insect feeders). Of these, large and small benthic crustacean feeders, which consumed mainly crabs and gammaridean amphipods, respectively, were the most abundantly represented in terms of species, whereas polychaete and insect feeders were each represented by only two species.     

Utilization patterns of estuarine and marine habitats by the halfbeak Zenarchopterus dunckeri at Iriomote Island,southern Japan,evaluated from otolith microchemistry

Estuarine and marine habitat use patterns in the halfbeak Zenarchopterus dunckeri were examined at Iriomote Island, southern Japan, by analyzing otolith Li/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios. The ranges of both Li/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios in juvenile Z. dunckeri from the maximum (30 psu) to minimum (0.5 psu) salinity levels of brackish water estimated from rearing experiments, were compared with those of wild individuals collected from upstream and downstream stations in the Urauchi River estuary. The majority of wild-caught individuals had invariable Li/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios along an otolith transect from the core to the posterior edge, which fell within the otolith Li/Ca and Sr/Ca ranges estimated for estuarine individuals in the rearing experiments, suggesting that such individuals developed within the estuary without migrating to a marine environment at any time, although some downstream-dwelling fish had higher otolith elemental ratios than the predetermined estuarine ranges in the mid transect section. The latter fish may have been accidentally flushed from the estuary into the sea by heavy flood events, subsequently returning to the estuary. The overall results suggested that Z. dunckeri is essentially an estuarine resident, completing its life cycle within an estuarine system.     

Vasculature of the ophthalmic rete in night herons (Nycticorax nycticorax): scanning electron microscopy of corrosion casts

Vasculature of the ophthalmic rete (rete ophthalmicum) in the night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) was studied using scanning electron microscopy of vascular corrosion casts and light microscopy on tissue sections. Most blood to the eyeball and a lesser volume of blood to the brain passed through the ophthalmic rete via the external ophthalmic artery. The collateral retial arterioles originated from the external ophthalmic artery forming a flat and fusiform-shaped arterial network at the ventrotemporal region of the eyeball. The arterial network was intermixed with a similar complex of the veins from the eye. The ophthalmotemporal artery, which supplied the eyeball posteriorly, and supraorbital and infraorbital arteries, which supplied the eyeball anteriorly, originated from the rete. Blood from the eye, which is a site of potential heat loss, drained into the ophthalmic rete via the ophthalmotemporal vein. On the casts of retial arterioles, slit-like cleavages at branching sites representing flap valves, which might play a role as sluice valves, were seen. In addition, marks of circularly running grooves, which might represent tufts of smooth muscle cells and might contribute to a sphincter activity, were observed. These anatomical specializations of the avian ophthalmic rete, involving parallel arrangement of arteries and veins, may function to facilitate counter-current heat exchange and to regulate blood pressure and volume to the eye and the brain.     

Inhibition of Echinochloa crus-galli var. frumentacea seedling root elongation by chiral 1, 3, 5-triazines in the dark

2-z-Substituted benzylamino-4-substituted-amino-6-chloro-1,3, 5-triazines are herbicidal compounds showing leaf-burning and/or growth inhibition with concomitant greening and stunting. Effects of chiral 1,3,5-triazine compounds in a light-independent seedling root elongation test with Echinochloa crus-galli var. frumentacea Wight demonstrated an interaction between chirality and root growth inhibition. The test compounds inhibited root growth, and this inhibition was due to interference with a system or systems other than photosynthesis. 4-(R)-sec-butylamino-2-(α,α-dimethylbenzyl)amino-6-chloro-1,3, 5-triazine showed the highest inhibitory activity, and 4-methylamino-2-(R)-a-methylbenzylamino-6-chloro-1,3,5-triazine was second. The chiral requirement for a strong inhibition of root growth was the (R)-configuration, contrasting with the requirement for the (S)-configuration for an inhibition of photosystem II.     

Antiatherogenic effect of isoflavones in ovariectomized apolipoprotein e-deficient mice

The consumption of isoflavone-containing foods such as soybean and soybean products has been reported to have beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system in postmenopausal women. The present study was carried out to examine the mechanism underlying the beneficial effects of isoflavones in apolipoprotein (apo) E-deficient mice subjected to ovarian resection. Compared with sham-operated mice, ovariectomized mice had a larger arterial lesion area in the aortic root. Feeding the ovariectomized mice an isoflavone-containing diet (0.055 mg/kJ of total isoflavones/cal of diet) reduced the size of these lesions more than did feeding them with an isoflavone-free diet. Neither ovariectomy nor diet had a significant effect on the concentration of cholesterol in serum and urinary levels of isoprostanes, which are biomarkers for oxidative stress in vivo. The ovariectomized mice showed a greater increase in mRNA abundance for monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-I in the aorta and in the level of nitric oxide (NO) secreted by peritoneal macrophages in culture than did the sham-operated mice. The isoflavone-containing diet lowered the MCP-I expression and the NO secretion more than did the isoflavone-free diet. These results suggest that dietary isoflavones confer an antiatherogenic effect by preventing the activation of macrophages due to the removal of ovaries.     

Microanatomy of the terminal air spaces of Baird's beaked whale (Berardius bairdii) lungs

The terminal airways and microvasculature of five adult Baird's beaked whales (Berardius bairdii) lungs have been examined by means of light and scanning electron microscopy of corrosion casts. The respiratory system of the Baird's beaked whale has various anatomical features which allow them to attain great depths and remain submerged for long periods. The whale lung has components including hyaline cartilage and smooth muscle throughout, reaching as far as the peripheral bronchi, sphincters surrounding the terminal bronchioles, the thick alveolar septa with a connective tissue core and a bi-layer capillary bed, and a distinctive venous plexus of the pulmonary veins. The well-developed venous plexuses of the pulmonary vein are found in the interlobular connective tissue, and around the airways and pulmonary arteries with close apposition. The hyaline cartilage throughout the airways may increase the effective dead air space that accommodates most of the air forced from the collapsed alveoli during a dive. The sphincter might serve as a cock for regulating buoyancy and for trapping air in the alveoli to prevent their complete collapse and a sucking in of alveolar tissue as the dive becomes deeper. The venous plexuses might be for pooling the large volume of blood in the lung to conserve oxygen for deep and prolonged diving.