During investigation of common linnet (Linaria cannabina) blood using the buffy coat method one bird with microfilariae in the blood was found. The morphometric description of adult worms corresponded to the Chandlerella sinensis. This species was found for the first time in common linnets. DNA sequences of cox1 and 28S gene fragments of adult worm recovered during necropsy was identical to that from the microfilariae in the bird blood. Phylogenetic analysis of the cox1 gene fragment clustered this parasite with Chandlerella quiscali. Histological examination revealed the presence of microfilariae in the lumen of small capillaries and other blood vessels in different organs, but no inflammations were notice. The greatest number of microfilariae was in the lungs. Even if there was no inflammation, but vessels associated with the lungs were markedly distended with blood, parabronchial walls were thickened and, in some cases, almost completely obstructing the lumen. The large number of microfilariae in lungs indicates possible disturbance of gas exchange in the lungs adversely affected the ability of the bird to exercise and made breathing difficult at rest. The investigation of circadian rhythm of the microfilariae showed that C. sinensis microfilariae in blood of common linnet were more numerous at night and morning and less numerous at midday. The survival rate of mosquitoes infected with C. sinensis microfilariae was significantly lower than that of uninfected mosquitoes.

The needle teeth of piglets are often cut shortly after birth to prevent damage to littermates and the sow's udder. This practise is, however, contested because the pain it inflicts to piglets may counterbalance its benefits. The purpose of this experiment was to assess the consequences of tooth resection over the subsequent days and weeks by histological examination. Two techniques were compared: tooth clipping with clippers, and tooth grinding with a rotating grindstone. Twenty piglets received each of three treatments (one treatment per half-jaw): clipping, grinding, and control (teeth left intact). Four piglets were slaughtered at each of the following stages: 3, 6, 13, 27 and 48 days after tooth resection. Their teeth were then collected and prepared for histological examination. The analysis revealed that both clipping and grinding induce lesions such as pulp cavity opening, fracture, haemorrhage, infiltration or abscess, and osteodentine formation. Wost of these effects appeared sooner and were of greater magnitude after clipping than after grinding. Because most of the observed histological alterations are known to cause severe pain in humans, it is likely that tooth resection — even when achieved through grinding — induces severe pain in piglets. Thus, the rationale of this practice should be re-evaluated.

Restudy of Campyloprion annectans Eastman, 1902 from North America demonstrated that neither specimen included is diagnostic at the species level; thus, the species name is a nomen dubium. Since this species was designated as the type species of the genus, this requires suppression of the generic name also. Another species earlier assigned to Campyloprion, Campyloprion ivanovi Karpinsky, 1924 is used as a type for a newly established genus Karpinskiprion Lebedev et Itano gen. nov. The composition of the family Helicoprionidae Karpinsky, 1911 is reviewed, and a new family Helicampodontidae Itano et Lebedev fam. nov. is erected. A new specimen of Karpinskiprion ivanovi (Karpinsky, 1924) recently discovered in the Volgograd Region of Russia is the most complete Karpinskiprion specimen ever found. It unambiguously demonstrates the coiled nature of these tooth whorls and presents information on their developmental stages. During organogeny, cutting blades of the crown became reshaped, and basal spurs progressively elongated, forming a grater. Whorl growth occurred by addition of new crowns to the earlier mineralised base followed by later spur growth. In contrast to consistently uniform cutting blades, spurs are often malformed and bear traces of growth interruption. Both sides of the outer coil of the tooth whorl bear lifetime wear facets. The youngest (lingual) crowns are as yet unaffected by wear. The best-preserved facets show parallel radially directed scratch marks. The upper jaw dentition of Karpinskiprion is unknown, but we suggest that the faceted areas resulted from interaction with the antagonistic dental structures here. Three possible hypotheses for this interaction are suggested: (a) two opposing whorls acted as scissor blades, moving alternately from one side to another; (b) the lower tooth whorl fitted between paired parasymphyseal tooth whorls of the opposing jaw; or (c) the lower tooth whorl fitted into a dental pavement in the upper jaw.

This paper sets out the results of radiocarbon, histological, and contextual analysis of human remains from non-mortuary contexts in Middle and Late Bronze Age Britain. In the latter period in particular, human bone (much of it fragmentary and disarticulated) has frequently been recovered from settlement contexts and from other locations, such as waterholes, across the wider landscape. However, the source and post-mortem trajectories of such finds are poorly understood. The results of our analyses indicate that some of these finds come from primary burials while others were the result of post-mortem processes such as excarnation. Certain fragments appear to have been curated for lengthy periods of time but there is much less evidence for deliberate curation of bone than there is in Early Bronze Age graves, although other forms of manipulation, such as cutting and shaping of bone fragments, have been recorded. In contrast to the Early Bronze Age, where it has been argued that curated bones may have belonged to venerated ancestors, some of the individuals from the sites discussed in this paper had suffered violent deaths, suggesting that bones selected for manipulation, curation, and deposition may have belonged to a variety of different categories of person.

In this article, the authors examine radiocarbon, histo-taphonomic, and contextual evidence for the deliberate curation, manipulation, and redeposition of human bone in British Bronze Age mortuary contexts. New radiocarbon dates and histological analyses are combined with existing data to explore the processes and practices that resulted in the incorporation of ‘relic’ fragments of bone in later graves, including evidence for the deliberate re-opening of previous burials and for funerary treatments such as excarnation and mummification. In some cases, fragments of human bone were curated outside the mortuary context. The authors consider what the treatment of human remains reveals about mortuary complexity in the Bronze Age, about relations between the living and the dead, and about attitudes to the body and concepts of the self.

The feeding habits and reproductive biology of red-toothed triggerfish Odonus niger (Ruppell, 1836) was analysed from 449 specimens collected from the Karnataka coast of the south-eastern Arabian Sea. Of the total stomachs examined, only 54 (12%) were empty and 395 contained food remains. The diet comprised crustacean remains (48.0%), zooplankton (21.4%), algae (16.5%), fish remains (6.1%) and cephalopod remains (5.3%) along with partially digested matter (2.3%) and detritus (0.4%). The species was found to be a generalist feeder and an omnivore. The overall sex ratio between males and females (1: 0.44) was significantly (P < 0.05) different. Histological examination of the ovaries indicated asynchronous ovarian development in females, with males maturing earlier than females. The gonadosomatic index (GSI) patterns of males and females, and the presence of ripe ovaries and spermatozoids suggested that April–May is the peak spawning period. The absolute and relative fecundity estimates ranged from 16,464–312,420 eggs and 251–2812 eggs g−1 respectively. Fecundity was positively correlated with total length and body weight. The biological information on diet composition and reproductive traits provided for the first time in this study can facilitate conservation, management and sustainable exploitation of this species in the study area.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of 1 µmol/l zearalenone (ZEN) and 1 µmol/l matairesinol (MAT), alone or in combination, on the morphology of in vitro-cultured ovarian preantral follicles. Ovaries from four adult sheep were collected at a local slaughterhouse and fragmented, and the ovarian pieces were submitted to in vitro culture for 3 days in the presence or absence of the test compounds. The morphology of primordial and primary follicles was impaired by ZEN. The plant lignan MAT alone did not maintain the morphology of the ovarian follicles; its combination with ZEN counteracted the negative effects observed when follicles were cultured in the presence of the mycotoxin alone. However, MAT was not able to promote the in vitro development of the ovarian follicles.

We characterized the morphological and anatomical adaptations of the lingual microstructures of the Eurasian collared dove and discussed their implications for its dietary niche. We analyzed tongues of nine S. decaocto using histological, histochemical, stereomicroscopic, and scanning electron microscopic techniques. Our findings showed that the tongue is relatively short with a tapered apex that carries a terminal lingual nail. However, the lingual body has median scales and is bordered laterally by filiform papillae. Further, the tongue body bears a distinctive papillary crest. The tongue root is nonpapillate and infiltered with orifices of the posterior salivary glands. The bulky laryngeal mound has a circular glottic fissure, carrying a single row of papillae at the rear edge. Concurrently, our histological and histochemical findings demonstrate that the tongue has taste buds, anterior and posterior salivary glands, along with an elongated entoglossum that extends from lingual apex to root. Besides, ovoid and globular mucous glands displayed intense alcianophilic reactions. More substantially, the palate is made up of three palatine ridges with a caudal choanal cleft that was bounded by two rows of palatine papillae. Our data indicate multiple and novel structural variations for the lingual and palatal sculptures coopted for their feeding style.

Elasmobranchs in the Gulf of California have been found with malformations, probably originated during embryonic development or caused by environmental anomalies and pollution associated with intense mining activity in the region. Clasper malformations are reported for the first time in two specimens of Pseudobatos buthi, a species recently described from the Gulf of California. The function of the claspers was not affected by the size difference, because specimens presented the distinctive characteristics of an adult individual. The reproductive system did not show any malformation, with symmetrical testes. Histological analysis of the testes revealed a normal spermatogenic development. To elucidate the causes and to detect a possible effect of the morphological malformations due to high levels of heavy metals, trace concentration values (cadmium, copper, iron, manganese, silver, lead and zinc) were determined in muscle and liver. Cadmium and lead concentrations in the muscle of the two specimens were below the permissible limit for human consumption (<0.05 mg kg−1); however, iron and zinc presented high values (0.455, 4.024 mg kg−1 in muscle and 21.931, 3.694 mg kg−1 in liver respectively). Mining activity and heavy metal pollution in the sampling area may have caused the malformations, which might be attributed to the high values of iron and zinc discovered in the muscle and liver.

We describe the healing process following transcatheter implantation of the Nit-Occlud ASD-R occluder (PFM medical, Cologne, Germany) for atrial septal defect closure in a sheep model with histological confirmation of neotissue formation covering the device.

Histological examination of Atka mackerel ovotestes reveals the possibility of intersexuality. Individuals with bisexual gonads have been caught in the North Pacific near the south-east coast of the Kamchatka peninsula. While intersex appeared to be normal females with developing ovaries, histological analysis showed the presence of both female and male tissue in the same gonad. Specifically, primary growth, cortical alveolar and primary vitellogenic oocytes were located among spermatogonia cysts. The prevalence of intersexuality in the population was less than 0.1%.

The silver pomfret (Pampus argenteus) is one of the most commercially important marine fish species in the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean. However, detailed information on the reproductive biology of silver pomfret is limited for the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh. To understand their reproductive biology, especially the gonadal developmental cycle and spawning season, a total of 373 individuals were collected monthly from February 2016 to January 2018 and examined. The total length (TL) and weight (TW) of P. argenteus ranged from 18.82–35.73 cm and 89.26–617.60 g, respectively. The highest gonadosomatic index (GSI) values were observed from April–June with a second (smaller) peak in October. The highest oocyte diameter was observed in May (630.50 ± 96.70 μm), when the fish reached full maturity, and the lowest was observed in July (35.10 ± 7.12 μm), when new eggs began their development for the next spawning season. The maximum number of eggs in the ovary were found in the yolk granule stage in May with a number of post-ovulatory follicles, which indicated that the ovaries developed to a peak leading up to the spawning season. A number of spermatids were also seen in males in April–June along with females. From these detailed observations, it may be concluded that P. argenteus shows two spawning peaks, in May–June and October. This observation will be helpful for the artificial breeding, sustainable management and conservation of this species in the study area.