Hasil untuk "Animal biochemistry"

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arXiv Open Access 2026
From Pixels to Personas: Tracking the Evolution of Anime Characters

Rongze Liu, Jiaxin Pei, Jian Zhu

Anime, originated from Japan, is one of the most influential cultural products in modern society and is especially popular among younger generations. The popularity of anime reflects important cultural evolutions in our society. Despite existing research on anime as a cultural phenomenon, we still have a limited understanding of how anime really evolves over the years. In this study, using a large-scale multimodal dataset of anime characters from an anime review site, we applied computational methods that integrate textual, visual, and production features of anime characters with online popularity traces. By combining LLM-extracted personality features with avatar features, we identify recurring personality archetypes and visual tropes with their temporal evolution over the past decades. We found that the target audience of anime has undergone a systematic shift from children to a maturing audience of teenagers and young adults over time. Character design has been undergoing moe-ification, with softer or sexualized female traits becoming increasingly prominent since the 2000s. Some personality archetypes are often visually predictable, yet audiences also tend to prefer less conventionalized characters. Finally, we reveal that visual signals play a more dominant role than personality traits in shaping audience preferences, with features such as moe-style faces and mechanical designs contributing greatly to popularity. These findings offer insights into the broader dynamics of anime's cultural and creative practices.

en cs.CY
arXiv Open Access 2025
Animation Needs Attention: A Holistic Approach to Slides Animation Comprehension with Visual-Language Models

Yifan Jiang, Yibo Xue, Yukun Kang et al.

Slide animations, such as fade-in, fly-in, and wipe, are critical for audience engagement, efficient information delivery, and vivid visual expression. However, most AI-driven slide-generation tools still lack native animation support, and existing vision-language models (VLMs) struggle with animation tasks due to the absence of public datasets and limited temporal-reasoning capabilities. To address this gap, we release the first public dataset for slide-animation modeling: 12,000 triplets of natural-language descriptions, animation JSON files, and rendered videos, collectively covering every built-in PowerPoint effect. Using this resource, we fine-tune Qwen-2.5-VL-7B with Low-Rank Adaptation (LoRA) and achieve consistent improvements over GPT-4.1 and Gemini-2.5-Pro in BLEU-4, ROUGE-L, SPICE, and our Coverage-Order-Detail Assessment (CODA) metric, which evaluates action coverage, temporal order, and detail fidelity. On a manually created test set of slides, the LoRA model increases BLEU-4 by around 60%, ROUGE-L by 30%, and shows significant improvements in CODA-detail. This demonstrates that low-rank adaptation enables reliable temporal reasoning and generalization beyond synthetic data. Overall, our dataset, LoRA-enhanced model, and CODA metric provide a rigorous benchmark and foundation for future research on VLM-based dynamic slide generation.

en cs.AI, cs.CV
arXiv Open Access 2025
Mathematical Modeling of Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infection: Human-Animal Dynamics with Environmental Reservoirs

Rafiatu Imoro, Maica Krizna Gavina, Vachel Gay Paller et al.

Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections, one of the most prevalent neglected tropical diseases, pose a significant threat to public health in tropical and subtropical areas. These parasites infect humans and animals through direct contact with contaminated soil or accidental ingestion. This study examines the dynamics of STH transmission using a deterministic compartmental model and nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Our model incorporates the roles humans, animals, and the environment play as reservoirs for spreading STH. We derived the basic reproduction number and demonstrate that the disease-free and endemic equilibrium points are asymptotically stable under specific thresholds. We also performed a sensitivity analysis to determine how each parameter affects the model's output. The sensitivity analysis identifies key parameters influencing infection rates, such as ingestion rate, disease progression rate, and shedding rate, all of which increase infection. Conversely, higher clearance and recovery rates decrease infection. The study also highlights the potential for cross-species transmission of STH infections between humans and animals, underscoring the One Health concept, which acknowledges the interdependence of human, animal, and environmental health.

en q-bio.PE, math.DS
arXiv Open Access 2025
DEAL-YOLO: Drone-based Efficient Animal Localization using YOLO

Aditya Prashant Naidu, Hem Gosalia, Ishaan Gakhar et al.

Although advances in deep learning and aerial surveillance technology are improving wildlife conservation efforts, complex and erratic environmental conditions still pose a problem, requiring innovative solutions for cost-effective small animal detection. This work introduces DEAL-YOLO, a novel approach that improves small object detection in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) images by using multi-objective loss functions like Wise IoU (WIoU) and Normalized Wasserstein Distance (NWD), which prioritize pixels near the centre of the bounding box, ensuring smoother localization and reducing abrupt deviations. Additionally, the model is optimized through efficient feature extraction with Linear Deformable (LD) convolutions, enhancing accuracy while maintaining computational efficiency. The Scaled Sequence Feature Fusion (SSFF) module enhances object detection by effectively capturing inter-scale relationships, improving feature representation, and boosting metrics through optimized multiscale fusion. Comparison with baseline models reveals high efficacy with up to 69.5\% fewer parameters compared to vanilla Yolov8-N, highlighting the robustness of the proposed modifications. Through this approach, our paper aims to facilitate the detection of endangered species, animal population analysis, habitat monitoring, biodiversity research, and various other applications that enrich wildlife conservation efforts. DEAL-YOLO employs a two-stage inference paradigm for object detection, refining selected regions to improve localization and confidence. This approach enhances performance, especially for small instances with low objectness scores.

en cs.CV
arXiv Open Access 2025
An uncertainty-aware framework for data-efficient multi-view animal pose estimation

Lenny Aharon, Keemin Lee, Karan Sikka et al.

Multi-view pose estimation is essential for quantifying animal behavior in scientific research, yet current methods struggle to achieve accurate tracking with limited labeled data and suffer from poor uncertainty estimates. We address these challenges with a comprehensive framework combining novel training and post-processing techniques, and a model distillation procedure that leverages the strengths of these techniques to produce a more efficient and effective pose estimator. Our multi-view transformer (MVT) utilizes pretrained backbones and enables simultaneous processing of information across all views, while a novel patch masking scheme learns robust cross-view correspondences without camera calibration. For calibrated setups, we incorporate geometric consistency through 3D augmentation and a triangulation loss. We extend the existing Ensemble Kalman Smoother (EKS) post-processor to the nonlinear case and enhance uncertainty quantification via a variance inflation technique. Finally, to leverage the scaling properties of the MVT, we design a distillation procedure that exploits improved EKS predictions and uncertainty estimates to generate high-quality pseudo-labels, thereby reducing dependence on manual labels. Our framework components consistently outperform existing methods across three diverse animal species (flies, mice, chickadees), with each component contributing complementary benefits. The result is a practical, uncertainty-aware system for reliable pose estimation that enables downstream behavioral analyses under real-world data constraints.

en cs.CV, q-bio.QM
arXiv Open Access 2025
A Gpu-based solution for large-scale skeletal animation simulation

Xi Pan

Skeletal animations of large-scale characters are widely used in video games. However, with a large number of characters are involved, relying on the CPU to calculate skeletal animations leads to significant performance problems. There are two main types of traditional GPU- based solutions. One is referred to as pre-baked animation texture technology. The problem with this solution is that it can only play animations from the pre-baked animation. It is impossible to perform interpolation, blending and other calculations on the animation, which affects the quality of the animations. The other solution is referred to as dedicated processing with a simple skeleton hierarchy (the number of skeleton levels < 64). This option does not need to simulate and bake animation data in advance. However, performance is dramatically impaired when processing complex skeletons with too many skeleton levels (such as fluttering clothing, soft plants, dragon-like creatures, etc.). In order to solve these issues, we developed a parallel prefix tree update solution to optimize the animation update process of complex skeletons with too many levels, and combined traditional solutions to implement a GPU-based skeletal animation solution. This solution does not need to simulate and bake animation results. In addition, the performance is superior to traditional solutions for complex skeletons with too many levels. Our work can provide a new option for optimizing the performance of large-scale skeletal animation simulations, providing GPU-based skeletal animations a wider range of application scenarios.

en cs.GR
DOAJ Open Access 2025
Using Local Estrogen with Implication of Modified Guillotine Technique to Improve Regenerative Process of pPartially Resected Liver in Rabbits

Al Kattan L. M., Salah Aldeen M. S., Martena H.A.

This research planned to determine the effect of local estrogen on the regeneration of partially hepatectomized rabbits. Twelve male rabbits were included in the present study, hereby allocated randomly into two equal groups. In the control group, partial hepatectomy was performed with the modified guillotine technique. In the treatment group, the steps are similar to the control (included partial hepatectomy) with the application of estrogen (0.2 mg). Macroscopic, laparoscopic, histopathological and immunohistochemical changes were recorded at 1, 2, and 4 weeks. Clinically, all rabbits survived a long period of experiment. Grossly, in the second group, 7 days post-surgery, there were no signs of inflammation and no intraoperative fluid. The results of laparoscopy 30 days in the control group indicated a change in liver color with severe adhesion between the liver and viscera; in the treatment group, the results indicated the presence of mild adhesion between the liver and viscera and normal liver structure and color. Histopathological results at 7 days in the control group showed cell swelling, congestion, and inflammatory cells, whereas the results at 30 days exhibited mild congestion of sinusoid, binucleate hepatocyte and fibrosis. In the treatment group, the results at 7 days indicated the presence of normal hepatocytes, fibrosis, and mild congestion in the sinusoid. At 30 days, results indicated the presence of normal hepatocytes, sinusoid and central veins. Immunoreactivity of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in the control group at 14 days indicated high expression, indicated as brown granules in hepatocytes, whereas in the treatment group at 14 days the expression was very mild as brown granules in hepatocytes. Based on laparoscopic, histopathological and immunohistochemistry changes, the application of estrogen on the hepatectomized site is beneficial and feasible to improve the regenerative process of the liver in rabbits.

Zoology, Veterinary medicine
DOAJ Open Access 2025
Evaluation of biological performance of 3D printed trabecular porous tantalum spine fusion cage in large animal models

Yiming Zhang, Jingzhou Yang, Wentao Wan et al.

Background: The materials for artificial bone scaffolds have long been a focal point in biomaterials research. Tantalum, with its excellent bioactivity and tissue compatibility, has gradually become a promising alternative material. 3D printing technology shows unique advantages in designing complex structures, reducing costs, and providing personalized customization in the manufacture of porous tantalum fusion cages. Here we report the pre-clinical large animal (sheep) study on the newly developed 3D printed biomimetic trabecular porous tantalum fusion cage for assessing the long-term intervertebral fusion efficacy and safety. Methods: Porous tantalum fusion cages were fabricated using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods. The fusion cages were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and mechanical compression tests. Small-Tailed Han sheep served as the animal model, and the two types of fusion cages were implanted in the C3/4 cervical segments and followed for up to 12 months. Imaging techniques, including X-ray, CT scans, and Micro CT, were used to observe the bone integration of the fusion cages. Hard tissue sections were used to assess osteogenic effects and bone integration. The range of motion (ROM) of the motion segments was evaluated using a biomechanical testing machine. Serum biochemical indicators and pathological analysis of major organs were conducted to assess biocompatibility. Results: X-ray imaging showed that both the 3D-printed and chemical vapor deposition porous tantalum fusion cages maintained comparable average intervertebral disc heights. Due to the presence of metal artifacts, CT and Micro CT imaging could not effectively analyze bone integration. Histomorphology data indicated that both the 3D-printed and chemical vapor deposition porous tantalum fusion cages exhibited similar levels of bone contact and integration at 3, 6, and 12 months, with bone bridging observed at 12 months. Both groups of fusion cages demonstrated consistent mechanical stability across all time points. Serum biochemistry showed no abnormalities, and no significant pathological changes were observed in the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. Conclusion: This study confirms that 3D-printed and chemical vapor deposition porous tantalum fusion cages exhibit comparable, excellent osteogenic effects and long-term biocompatibility. Additionally, 3D-printed porous tantalum fusion cages offer unique advantages in achieving complex structural designs, low-cost manufacturing, and personalized customization, providing robust scientific support for future clinical applications. The translational potential of this article: The translational potential of this paper is to use 3D printed biomimetic trabecular porous tantalum spine fusion cage with bone trabecular structure and validating its feasibility in large animal models (sheep). This study provides a basis for further research into the clinical application of the 3D printed biomimetic trabecular porous tantalum spine fusion cage.

Diseases of the musculoskeletal system
DOAJ Open Access 2025
Genetic variability of the prion protein gene (PRNP) in thin-tailed and fat-tailed sheep

Arif Wicaksono, Aris Haryanto, Alek Ibrahim et al.

Background: Scrapie is a deadly neurodegenerative transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) that affects sheep and goats. TSEs are a consequence of polymorphisms of the prion protein gene PRNP, which result in misfolded prion proteins. They are transmitted through contact with the abnormal proteins (prions). Currently, there is no data regarding the identification of PRNP variability in Indonesian sheep breeds. Aim: This study aims to identify variants of the PRNP gene and classify the risk of scrapie disease genotypically in thin-tailed and fat-tailed sheep. Methods: DNA isolates from the blood samples of thin-tailed (ET) and fat-tailed (EG) sheep were amplified with the forward primer 5&apos;-AAGCCACATAGGCAGTTGGA-3&apos; and the reverse primer 5&apos;-GAGACACCACCACTACAGGG-3&apos;. A total of ten samples of PCR products were sequenced and analyzed with MEGA v.11 software. The data were multiply aligned with comparison samples from GenBank. Results: We identified 10 nucleotide variations and 11 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at sites 379, 380, 566, 691, and 711. Four codon haplotypes were identified, namely G127A, G127S, G127V, and Q189L, as well as six genotypic variations at codon 127 and two at codon 189. All ET and EG samples had the scrapie codon A136L141R154Q171. Conclusion: The lack of resistant genotypes and protective alleles in the sheep in this study rendered them less genetically resistant to classical scrapie and more susceptible to atypical scrapie. This is the first study on the identification of PRNP gene variations in sheep in Indonesia. Our results suggest the need for further PRNP research in sheep, especially in Indonesia, to anticipate the risk of a scrapie outbreak and determine the relationship between PRNP variants and phenotypic characteristics of sheep. [Open Vet. J. 2025; 15(6.000): 2789-2797]

DOAJ Open Access 2025
Naphthalene acetic acid induced morphological and biochemical alterations in Lagenaria siceraria under alkaline stress

Uswa Ashiq Nadeem, Naila Ali, Zaib-un Nisa et al.

Abstract Alkaline stress exacerbates ionic toxicity, leading to a decline in plant growth and yield. Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Stndl., commonly known as squash, an annual plant belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family, is sensitive to alkalinity because of its impact on physiological growth and yield of plant. However, studies on the utilization of plant growth regulators to alleviate alkali stress in Lagenaria siceraria is scarce. In the present study, a pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of foliar application of NAA (0, 50, 75, or 100 ppm) on the growth, yield, and biochemical parameters of L. siceraria under both normal and alkaline stress conditions (0 and 40 mM). The findings revealed that alkaline stress significantly diminished plant growth, biomass, and leaf and fruit counts, whereas NAA application amplified all growth and yield characteristics under both stressful and normal conditions. Additionally, compared with salt stress alone, alkaline stress markedly decreased the levels of photosynthetic pigments; however, 75% NAA application resulted in 43% increase in Chl a, 53% increase in Chl b, and 66% increase in carotenoids. Moreover, there was a notable increase in the primary and secondary metabolites of plants treated with NAA, including a 27% increase in total soluble proteins (TSP), a 38% increase in total free amino acids (TFA), and a 28% and 27% increase in total phenolic and flavonoid contents, respectively, in comparison with the plants subjected only to stress. To further explore the impact of NAA on biochemical parameters of L. siceraria, antioxidant enzymes like catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) activities were assessed. The results indicated that alkali stress increased enzyme activities, which were further increased under the influence of foliar-applied NAA as compared to the plants exposed solely to stress. These findings underscore the beneficial role of exogenous NAA application in mitigating the adverse effects of alkali stress on L. siceraria.

Medicine, Science
arXiv Open Access 2024
Generative AI for 2D Character Animation

Jaime Guajardo, Ozgun Bursalioglu, Dan B Goldman

In this pilot project, we teamed up with artists to develop new workflows for 2D animation while producing a short educational cartoon. We identified several workflows to streamline the animation process, bringing the artists' vision to the screen more effectively.

en cs.GR
DOAJ Open Access 2024
Seasonal variability of scavenger visitations is independent of carrion predictability

Nicolas De Pelsmaeker, Nicolas Ferry, Jonas Stiegler et al.

In temperate regions, larger mammalian carrion naturally occurs in terrestrial landscapes as a pulsed resource towards the end of the winter through enhanced ungulate mortality due to starvation or exhaustion. The return of large carnivores in Central Europe provides carrion more equally throughout the year and the active enhancement of carrion for biodiversity by game managers has increased, raising the question of how different scavengers respond to the temporal variation in carrion supply. To address this question, we experimentally deployed 106 cervid carcasses throughout the year in a temperate forest of south-eastern Germany on two types of plots: permanent (i.e., site with multiple subsequent deployments) or random (i.e., site with unique deployment), and reported vertebrate scavenger visitations by camera trapping. Deployment on random or permanent sites did not affect carrion use by any single species. Generalized additive modelling revealed that vertebrate scavenging peaked in the winter season and summer independent of carrion supply. Still, different scavenger species showed different temporal patterns. While wild boar as ungulate omnivores did not display any seasonal patterns, avian scavengers showed significant variation in visitation rates. The mesopredator red fox consumed carrion significantly more often from late winter to summer, while pine marten was present at carrion only during winter. Finally, the specialist large carnivore Eurasian lynx, visited carrion sites most frequently in late winter and early spring. Our results suggest that global warming might impact some groups of vertebrate scavengers more strongly than others by reducing carrion availability in late winter, while returning carnivores could mitigate these impacts.

DOAJ Open Access 2024
Effect of Lactic Acid bacteria as Feed Additive on Growth Performance, Intestinal Flora and Serum Parameters in Broilers

Amel Ali, Adil Salman, Iman Elnasri et al.

This research aimed to study the effect of supplementation of Lactobacillus brevis and a combination of Lactobacillus brevis and Enterococus faecalis on growth performance, bacterial population and serum biochemical parameters in broilers. A total of 200 one-day-old chicks were obtained from a local hatchery. They were divided into four groups: group 1 served as a control, group 2 received commercial probiotics, group 3 received Lactobacillus brevis, and group 4 received the combination. The main parameters measured through 6 weeks were body weight, food intake, food conversion ratio (FCR), blood total protein, albumin and cholesterol. In addition to enumeration of bacteria from cloaca and caecum. The results showed a statistically significant increase in body weight (26%) for the group receiving the combined supplementation compared to the control. Similarly, there was a significant increase in FCR for this group compared to the control. The results also showed an increase in the Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) count in the caecum and a decrease in the total late count (TPC) and coliform count, showing the inhibitory effect of LAB. Also, there was a significant decrease in cholesterol and albumin level, while there was no difference between the different groups regarding protein level. The results showed that Lactobacillus brevis and Enterococus faecalis have a good potential to be used as probiotics in poultry.

Zoology, Veterinary medicine
DOAJ Open Access 2024
An Overview of Greece’s Newly Established Progressive Stray Dog Management Laws

Christie Siettou, Eleni Theodoropoulou, Anna Stefani Siettou

This study provides an overview of the new Greek legislative framework and highlights its progressive nature in tackling one of the most populous stray animal populations in the world. We present the newly established law and discuss its provisions, aims, and challenges. We also examine the reception of the law by key stakeholders such as veterinary practitioners, animal welfare organisations, and the Hellenic Kennel Club. With the post-implementation review scheduled for 2026, its evaluation has yet to be conducted.

Veterinary medicine, Animal biochemistry
arXiv Open Access 2023
WonderFlow: Narration-Centric Design of Animated Data Videos

Yun Wang, Leixian Shen, Zhengxin You et al.

Creating an animated data video enriched with audio narration takes a significant amount of time and effort and requires expertise. Users not only need to design complex animations, but also turn written text scripts into audio narrations and synchronize visual changes with the narrations. This paper presents WonderFlow, an interactive authoring tool, that facilitates narration-centric design of animated data videos. WonderFlow allows authors to easily specify a semantic link between text and the corresponding chart elements. Then it automatically generates audio narration by leveraging text-to-speech techniques and aligns the narration with an animation. WonderFlow provides a visualization structure-aware animation library designed to ease chart animation creation, enabling authors to apply pre-designed animation effects to common visualization components. It also allows authors to preview and iteratively refine their data videos in a unified system, without having to switch between different creation tools. To evaluate WonderFlow's effectiveness and usability, we created an example gallery and conducted a user study and expert interviews. The results demonstrated that WonderFlow is easy to use and simplifies the creation of data videos with narration-animation interplay.

en cs.HC
arXiv Open Access 2022
Wassersplines for Neural Vector Field--Controlled Animation

Paul Zhang, Dmitriy Smirnov, Justin Solomon

Much of computer-generated animation is created by manipulating meshes with rigs. While this approach works well for animating articulated objects like animals, it has limited flexibility for animating less structured free-form objects. We introduce Wassersplines, a novel trajectory inference method for animating unstructured densities based on recent advances in continuous normalizing flows and optimal transport. The key idea is to train a neurally-parameterized velocity field that represents the motion between keyframes. Trajectories are then computed by advecting keyframes through the velocity field. We solve an additional Wasserstein barycenter interpolation problem to guarantee strict adherence to keyframes. Our tool can stylize trajectories through a variety of PDE-based regularizers to create different visual effects. We demonstrate our tool on various keyframe interpolation problems to produce temporally-coherent animations without meshing or rigging.

en cs.GR, cs.AI
arXiv Open Access 2022
Face Animation with Multiple Source Images

Zhaoying Pan, Jinge Ma

Face animation has received a lot of attention from researchers in recent years due to its wide range of promising applications. Many face animation models based on optical flow or deep neural networks have achieved great success. However, these models are likely to fail in animated scenarios with significant view changes, resulting in unrealistic or distorted faces. One of the possible reasons is that such models lack prior knowledge of human faces and are not proficient to imagine facial regions they have never seen before. In this paper, we propose a flexible and generic approach to improve the performance of face animation without additional training. We use multiple source images as input as compensation for the lack of prior knowledge of faces. The effectiveness of our method is experimentally demonstrated, where the proposed method successfully supplements the baseline method.

en cs.CV
arXiv Open Access 2022
BEANS: The Benchmark of Animal Sounds

Masato Hagiwara, Benjamin Hoffman, Jen-Yu Liu et al.

The use of machine learning (ML) based techniques has become increasingly popular in the field of bioacoustics over the last years. Fundamental requirements for the successful application of ML based techniques are curated, agreed upon, high-quality datasets and benchmark tasks to be learned on a given dataset. However, the field of bioacoustics so far lacks such public benchmarks which cover multiple tasks and species to measure the performance of ML techniques in a controlled and standardized way and that allows for benchmarking newly proposed techniques to existing ones. Here, we propose BEANS (the BEnchmark of ANimal Sounds), a collection of bioacoustics tasks and public datasets, specifically designed to measure the performance of machine learning algorithms in the field of bioacoustics. The benchmark proposed here consists of two common tasks in bioacoustics: classification and detection. It includes 12 datasets covering various species, including birds, land and marine mammals, anurans, and insects. In addition to the datasets, we also present the performance of a set of standard ML methods as the baseline for task performance. The benchmark and baseline code is made publicly available at \url{https://github.com/earthspecies/beans} in the hope of establishing a new standard dataset for ML-based bioacoustic research.

en cs.SD, eess.AS
DOAJ Open Access 2022
Molecular identification of a new species of Rhigonema (Nematoda: Rhigonematidae) and phylogenetic relationships within the infraorder Rhigonematomorpha

Yu Zhang, Lian-Di Wang, Koichi Hasegawa et al.

Abstract Background The infraorder Rhigonematomorpha comprises a group of obligate parasitic nematodes of millipedes (Arthropoda: Diplopoda). The current species identification of Rhigonematomorpha nematodes remains mainly based on morphological features, with molecular-based identification still in its infancy. Also, current knowledge of the phylogeny of Rhigonematomorpha is far from comprehensive. Methods The morphology of Rhigonematomorpha nematodes belonging to the genus Rhigonema, collected from the millipede Spirobolus bungii Brandt (Diplopoda: Spirobolida) in China, was studied in detail using light and scanning electron microscopy. Five different genetic markers, including the nuclear small ribosomal subunit (18S), internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large ribosomal subunit (28S) regions and the mitochondrial cox1 and cox2 genes of these Rhigonematomorpha nematodes collected from China and Rhigonema naylae collected from Japan were sequenced and analyzed using Bayesian inference (BI) and Assemble Species by Automatic Partitioning (ASAP) methods. Phylogenetic analyses that included the most comprehensive taxa sampling of Rhigonematomorpha to date were also performed based on the 18S + 28S genes using maximum likelihood (ML) and BI methods. Results The specimens of Rhigonema collected from S. bungii in China were identified as a new species, Rhigonema sinense n. sp. Striking variability in tail morphology was observed among individuals of R. sinense n. sp. ASAP analyses based on the 28S, ITS, cox1 and cox2 sequences supported the species partition of R. sinense n. sp. and R. naylae, but showed no evidence that the different morphotypes of R. sinense n. sp. represent distinct genetic lineages. BI analyses also indicated that R. sinense n. sp. represents a separated species from R. naylae based on the cox1 and cox2 genes, but showed that R. naylae nested in samples of R. sinense n. sp. based on the ITS and 28S data. Phylogenetic results showed that the representatives of Rhigonematomorpha formed two large clades. The monophyly of the families Carnoyidae and Ichthyocephalidae and the genus Rhigonema was rejected. The representatives of the family Ransomnematidae clustered together with the family Hethidae with strong support. Conclusions A new species of Rhigonematomorpha, R. sinense n. sp. is described based on morphological and molecular evidence. ASAP analyses using 28S, ITS, cox1 and cox2 data indicate the striking variability in tail morphology of R. sinense n. sp. as intraspecific variation, and also suggest that partial 28S, ITS, cox1 and cox2 markers are effective for molecular identification of Rhigonematomorpha nematodes. The phylogenetic results support the traditional classification of Rhigonematomorpha into the two superfamilies Rhigonematoidea and Ransomnematoidea, and indicate that the families Carnoyidae and Ichthyocephalidae and the genus Rhigonema are non-monophyletic. The present phylogeny strongly supports resurrection of the family Brumptaemiliidae, and also indicates that the family Ransomnematidae is sister to the family Hethidae. Graphical Abstract

Infectious and parasitic diseases
DOAJ Open Access 2022
Effect of Chromium Picolinate and Chromium Nanoparticles Added to Low- or High-Fat Diets on Chromium Biodistribution and the Blood Level of Selected Minerals in Rats

Anna Stępniowska, Jerzy Juśkiewicz, Krzysztof Tutaj et al.

The metabolism of chromium (Cr), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) is interconnected, and their deficiency or excessive accumulation may lead to various disturbances, including anemia and diabetes. The current research was undertaken to determine whether low-fat or high-fat diets with the Cr(III) addition in the form of picolinate (CrPic) or nanoparticles (CrNPs) have an interactive effect on the retention and accumulation of this element in organs and the content of P, Ca, Fe, Cu and Zn in the blood plasma of rats. The experiment was performed using 48 outbred male Wistar rats fed a low-fat or high-fat semi-purified rat diet with dietary addition of chromium at a dose of 0.3 mg/kg body weight. The obtained results point to the paramount importance of the dietary Cr form on the excretion pattern of this microelement. It has been found that CrNPs were to a greater extent excreted from the rat’s body via urine and feces in comparison to CrPic, as indicated by the values of the Cr retention index (44.4 vs . 65.9%, respectively). The additional dietary Cr, irrespective of its form and diet type, was not accumulated in the analyzed internal organs, i.e. brain, spleen, kidneys, liver, thigh bone, and thigh muscle. It should be stressed that dietary CrPic, unlike CrNPs, added to the high-fat diet adversely reduced plasma concentration of vital minerals in comparison to the levels observed in rats fed the low-fat diet, i.e. Zn (60.5 vs. 69.9 µM), Cu (13.6 vs. 15.7 µM), and P (1.12 vs. 1.30 µM). In turn, the CrNPs, but not CrPic, added to the high-fat diet decreased plasma Fe level (1.41 vs. 2.43 µM).

Nutrition. Foods and food supply

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