Blepharospasm, oromandibular, lingual, laryngeal and cervical dystonia are common forms of adult‐onset dystonia. Each condition may appear in isolation or manifest along with other forms of ...craniocervical dystonia. Although the various craniocervical dystonias typically present with involuntary muscle spasms causing abnormal postures, they differ for some clinical features. Neurophysiologic and neuroimaging studies have shown a number of motor and sensory abnormalities at cortical and subcortical levels, probably reflecting a dysfunction in the basal ganglia–thalamo‐cortical circuits. The best treatment for craniocervical dystonia is botulinum toxin injected into the overactive muscles.
The Afrotropical genus Zonitodema is recorded for the first time from Madagascar, and the species Zonitodema madagascarensis sp. nov. is described. Some taxonomic remarks are presented, including the ...new synonymy Zonitis nigricollis Beauregard, 1890 = Zonitodema collaris (Laporte de Castelnau, 1840), and the possible new synonymy Zonitis abyssinica Fairmaire, 1882 = Zonitodema collaris (Laporte de Castelnau, 1840). Moreover, new faunistic records are published and a new key to the species is given. Finally, biogeographic remarks on the blister beetles of Madagascar are included.
We discovered and mapped a 1200 km‐long zone of enhanced electrical conductivity through a large array of magnetometers, over a narrow corridor parallel to the Paraguay and Araguaia belts which ...surround the Amazon craton. The anomaly has been further studied using magnetotelluric measurements made along a 300 km profile crossing the Paraguay belt; modeling shows the anomaly at this location as a very strong 100 km‐wide upper‐crust to mid‐crust conductor, located under a region where surficial rocks show an increase in deformation and metamorphism within the belt. From the high conductivity of the anomalous structure, its observed geometry and surface rock exposures, the most likely interpretation of its source is graphitized biogenic material in metasediments, now deeply underthrust in a Neoproterozoic or Early Cambrian suture zone. This result strongly supports the hypothesis that the collision between the Amazon plate and the western Paraná block has probably closed an ocean in the Paraguay belt region, contrary to former propositions of an ensialic evolution for this belt. Although the precise age of this ocean closure have been a matter of debate, our finding significantly constrains the tectonic setting of West Gondwana amalgamation involving the Amazon plate and its surrounding blocks.
Key Points
Mapping of geoelectric anomalies using a large array of magnetometers
Strong conductivity anomalies in the lithosphere marginal to the Amazon craton
Integration of GDS and MT data constrains the West Gondwana amalgamation
The formation of capillary-like structures during angiogenesis requires a series of well-orchestrated cellular events allowing endothelial cells and pericytes to migrate into the perivascular space. ...The proper activation of the migratory machinery in these cells is fine controlled by the presence of angiogenic challenges and by the interactions with extracellular matrix. The two members of the focal adhesion protein tyrosine kinases (FA-PTKs), FAK and PYK2, play a central role in modulating endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells migration confirming the well consolidated observations in other migrating cell types. However accumulating data reveal that FAK and PYK2 are involved in several cell processes including cell proliferation and survival. FAK, once localized to focal adhesions, is thought to be one of the principal effectors in linking signals initiated by integrins and growth factor receptors to cytoskeleton, thus controlling migration. Although more obscure, and differently regulated, the function of PYK2 seems to be similar to that of FAK, but restricted to few cell types, including vasculature forming cells. FAK and PYK2 exert a primary role as adaptor proteins able to recruit, with high turnover, several proteins which in turn, through their docking domains and tyrosine kinase activity, determine both the turnover in focal adhesion assembly and the specificity of downstream signaling. The characterization of functional interactions of FA-PTKs may provide new potential therapeutic targets in order to control vascular pathological processes including angiogenesis.
Urbanization generally leads to a complex environmental gradient, ranging from almost undisturbed natural areas to highly modified urban landscapes. Here we analyse the effects of a rural–urban ...gradient on breeding bird communities and functional species groups in remnant natural and semi-natural areas of Rome. A total of 69 breeding bird species were found in the study area. Species richness decreased with increasing urbanization at two spatial scales: the point count station and the landscape scales. Evenness showed a negative trend from periphery to city centre, whereas for dominant species the opposite was true. Functional species groups responded to the urbanization gradient with functional group-specific patterns. Those groups linked to open habitats (nesting and habitat functional groups) decreased in abundance along the rural–urban gradient, whereas those associated with forests exhibited a mixed trend. Generalist species' occurrence increased with urbanization. As for predators and granivorous species, we found a negative relationship with urbanization whereas for omnivorous species the opposite trend was true. The distribution of old villas (large-sized remnant green areas) in the inner city areas influenced species composition along the studied gradient, usually showing higher species richness than surrounding fragments. Agricultural areas hosted richer and better balanced bird assemblages in respect to those found in urban and forested areas. Our findings proved that an urban gradient plays a major role in structuring bird communities, although the extent and distribution of land use categories was another factor that influenced avian assemblages. The presence of historical villas also influenced bird assemblages, making it possible to preserve high bird diversity even in inner city-areas.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
In this paper we consider a general growth model with stochastic growth rate modelled via a symmetric non-poissonian dichotomic noise. We find an exact analytical solution for its probability ...distribution. We consider the, as yet, unexplored case where the deterministic growth rate is perturbed by a dichotomic noise characterized by a waiting time distribution in the two state that is a power law with power 1
<
μ
<
2. We apply the results to two well-known growth models; Malthus-Verhulst and Gompertz.
The seven Australasian genera of blister beetles (Coleoptera:Meloidae:Nemognathinae) are reviewed. Included are a key to genera, generic synopses and descriptions of two new genera of Nemognathini, ...Australozonitis and Pulchrazonitis, as well as a new monotypic tribe Palaestrini, which features a bauplan of male genitalia unique not only to the subfamily Nemognathinae but to the entire family. The genus Palaestra is redefined to include several Australasian, Asian and African species previously assigned to Zonitis. Exceptional variation of male genitalia encountered in the Palaestrini challenges current subfamily definitions, which are partly based on male genitalic structure and correlated sexual behaviour. Generic synopses include synonyms, type species, number of species, geographic distribution, significant references on taxonomy, life history and morphology, and additional notes. Forty-six new combinations are proposed for species previously in Zonitis. Distribution and relationship of tribes within the Nemognathinae, as well as the biogeography of the Australasian Meloidae are outlined and discussed.
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