In this study, the gut structure and excretory system of Carpocoris mediterraneus which is phytophagous insect, were described with light and electron microscopies and discussed in relation to other Heteroptera species. The salivary system has two principal and accessory salivary glands, two principal and accessory gland ducts. The salivary gland and duct wall have a single layer of cuboidal cells. The duct lumen is surrounded by a thick intima layer. In the cytoplasm of the epithelial cells are seen vesicles. The gut includes fore, mid, and hindguts. The foregut consists of a long narrow tubular pharynx which opens into a slightly wider esophagus. The esophagus is thin walled and in turn opens into the midgut. The midgut has four regions (V1–V4). V1–V4 walls have a monolayered epithelium. V1 epithelium is double-nucleated. V1 cytoplasm contains numerous vesicles, secretory granules, spherocrystals, and cytoplasmic inclusions. Rod-shaped bacteria are seen in V4 lumen. The hindgut has pylorus and rectum. Malpighian tubules were attached in the pylorus. Malpighian tubules have a single-layer cuboidal epithelium. In their lumen, there are spherocrystals. The rectum wall has a monolayer of squamous epithelium and muscle layer. Numerous bacteria and uric acid crystals are seen in its lumen.

This review aims to explain the influence and characterization of the microbiome in the ruminant digestive system by presenting the knowledge collected so far. The knowledge presented in this work is focused on the main factors affecting the microbiome and the main dependencies that have been found in it so far. The microbiome in the rumen is the first to come into contact with the biomass of the forage and its main purpose is to decompose into smaller particles or compounds. With the gradual increase in knowledge about the microbiome, there is a chance to manipulate it so that the animal continues to live in a symbiotic relationship with it, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions to the environment as well as increasing feed efficiency. Therefore, understanding the influence of the ruminant microbiome is the main step to achieve such results. However, learning the relationship between microorganisms is only at an early stage, because research focuses mainly on taxonomy. Future research should focus on interactions in the ecosystem which is the microbiome, on explaining individual functions and on influence of environmental factors.

The process of autophagy has been detected in the midgut epithelium of four millipede species: Julus scandinavius, Polyxenus lagurus, Archispirostreptus gigas, and Telodeinopus aoutii. It has been examined using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which enabled differentiation of cells in the midgut epithelium, and some histochemical methods (light microscope and fluorescence microscope). While autophagy appeared in the cytoplasm of digestive, secretory, and regenerative cells in J. scandinavius and A. gigas, in the two other species, T. aoutii and P. lagurus, it was only detected in the digestive cells. Both types of macroautophagy, the selective and nonselective processes, are described using TEM. Phagophore formation appeared as the first step of autophagy. After its blind ends fusion, the autophagosomes were formed. The autophagosomes fused with lysosomes and were transformed into autolysosomes. As the final step of autophagy, the residual bodies were detected. Autophagic structures can be removed from the midgut epithelium via, e.g., atypical exocytosis. Additionally, in P. lagurus and J. scandinavius, it was observed as the neutralization of pathogens such as Rickettsia-like microorganisms. Autophagy and apoptosis ca be analyzed using TEM, while specific histochemical methods may confirm it.

The Weeks Formation preserves a diverse, yet largely undescribed, exceptionally preserved fauna of late Guzhangian age. Here I describe Notchia weugi gen. et sp. nov., a new arthropod characterized by a short cephalon, a trunk with 12 tergites and weakly differentiated into two morphological regions, and a spine-bearing rectangular telson. This combination of characters is incompatible with its assignment to any known groups. The new taxon also adds to examples of convergent evolution of ramified digestive glands in arthropods, possibly as an adaptation to infrequent feeding.

The organogenesis of the digestive system was described in the Amazonian pimelodid catfish species Pseudoplatystoma punctifer from hatching (3.5 mm total length, TL) to 41 days post-fertilization (dpf) (58.1 mm TL) reared at 28°C. Newly hatched larvae showed a simple digestive tract, which appeared as a straight undifferentiated and unfolded tube lined by a single layer of columnar epithelial cells (future enterocytes). During the endogenous feeding period, comprised between 20 and 96 h post-fertilization (3.5 to 6.1 mm TL), the larval digestive system experienced a fast transformation with the almost complete development and differentiation of most of digestive organs (buccopahrynx, oesophagus, intestine, liver and exocrine pancreas). Yolk reserves were not completely depleted at the onset of exogenous feeding (4 dpf, 6.1 mm TL), and a period of mixed nutrition was observed up to 6 to 7 dpf (6.8 to 7.3 mm TL) when yolk was definitively exhausted. The stomach was the organ that latest achieved its complete differentiation, characterized by the development of abundant gastric glands in the fundic stomach between 10 and 15 dpf (10.9 to 15.8 mm TL) and the formation of the pyloric sphincter at the junction of the pyloric stomach and the anterior intestine at 15 dpf (15.8 mm TL). The above-mentioned morphological and histological features observed suggested the achievement of a digestive system characteristic of P. punctifer juveniles and adults. The ontogeny of the digestive system in P. punctifer followed the same general pattern as in most Siluriform species so far, although some species-specific differences in the timing of differentiation of several digestive structures were noted, which might be related to different reproductive guilds, egg and larval size or even different larval rearing practices. According to present findings on the histological development of the digestive system in P. punctifer, some recommendations regarding the rearing practices of this species are also provided in order to improve the actual larval rearing techniques of this fast-growing Neotropical catfish species.

The histological development of the digestive tract in hatchery-reared green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) larvae and the effects of food deprivation on the digestive system organization were studied from hatching until 31 days post-hatching (dph). At hatching, the larval digestive system consisted of two rudiments: a large endodermal yolk sac and a primordial hind-gut. During the endogenous feeding phase, the wall of the yolk sac differentiated into the stomach (glandular and non-glandular regions) and the anterior and intermediate intestine, while the hind-gut primordium differentiated into the spiral valve and rectum. At the onset of exogenous feeding (15 dph at 16 °C), the organization and cytoarchitecture of the digestive system in green sturgeon larvae was generally similar to those of juveniles and adults. Larvae deprived of food exhibited a progressive deterioration, with subtle pathological changes observed after 5-d starvation: shrinkage of digestive epithelia, tissue degeneration, and necrosis were observed at 10–15 d of starvation (30 dph). No changes were observed in the mucous secretion of different regions of the digestive tract of food-deprived larvae. The histological analysis of the larval digestive system may be used to evaluate the nutritional condition of larval green sturgeon in their nursery habitats in spawning rivers, which are affected by dams and flow diversions.

Background and objective: Children are vulnerable to regurgitation with a relatively high incidence of aspiration during general anaesthesia which is attributed to the high intragastric pressure, a short oesophagus, an immature laryngeal reflex and incomplete lower oesophageal sphincter muscle function. Subcutaneous administration of epinephrine is generally used in surgery to decrease bleeding due to local vasoconstriction. The effect of epinephrine on the sphincter muscle tone was investigated during general anaesthesia in children.

Methods: Ten children scheduled for skin graft or plastic surgery of the ear were studied. A gastrointestinal pressure sensor was inserted nasally, and the intraluminal pressures of the lower oesophagus, lower oesophageal sphincter and stomach were monitored under sevoflurane, nitrous oxide anaesthesia. The effect of epinephrine on the lower oesophageal sphincter muscle tone was measured.

Results: The resting pressure of the lower oesophageal sphincter muscle tone significantly decreased from 4.56 ± 1.85 to 3.79 ± 1.11 kPa after 3 μg kg−1 epinephrine for 4 min. The barrier pressure is the difference between the lower oesophageal sphincter and intragastric pressure, and that decreased to 1.23 ± 1.17 kPa from the 2.07 ± 1.77 kPa resting level. The observations implied that epinephrine had a long-lasting relaxing effect on lower oesophageal sphincter muscle in children.

Conclusions: The observations may give some explanation about the mechanism of gastro-oesophageal reflux during general anaesthesia, especially in the participation of the adrenergic receptors.

This review was carried out to assess the effectiveness of our protocol designed for the management of ingested foreign bodies. It was a retrospective review of 5240 patients with ingested foreign bodies admitted over a five-year period to the Ear Nose and Throat Unit. These patients were managed according to a standardized protocol which was adopted and modified from our previous study.

Under his management protocol, the mean hospital stay was 1.6 days. Flexible oesophagoscopy under local anaesthesia, and rigid oesophagoscopy under general anaesthesia, were performed in 1.5 per cent and 7.7 per cent of cases respectively. Major complications including oesophageal perforation and deep neck abscesses occurred in 0.19 per cent of patients. There was no mortality.

This management protocol for ingested foreign bodies was both safe and cost-effective when compared to similar studies reported in the literature.

Background and objective Inflammatory liver dysfunction in rats leads to a prolonged vecuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade due to insufficient metabolism. A coexisting resistance against the drug partly counteracts this prolongation. The present study investigates the pharmacodynamics of atracurium whose metabolism does not depend on liver function.

Methods Male Sprague–Dawley rats (n = 14; 290 ± 30 g) were randomly allocated to either a group in which liver inflammation was induced by intravenous injection of 60 mg kg−1 heat-killed Corynebacterium parvum or to a control group. On day 5 after injection, liver function was assessed using the aminopyrine breath test. Under propofol anaesthesia, duration of action of atracurium (4.8 mg kg−1) was measured by evoked mechanomyography (stimulation of the sciatic nerve; contraction of the gastrocnemius muscle). Nitric oxide concentrations, as variables for the severity of the inflammation, were assessed by measurement of nitrite/nitrate plasma concentrations.

Results In C. parvum-injected rats, nitrite/nitrate plasma concentrations were increased (972 ± 597 vs. 25 ± 7 μmol L−1), the aminopyrine turnover was depressed (1.7 ± 0.4% vs. 3.5 ± 0.5%), and the atracurium-induced neuromuscular blockade was shortened (372 ± 128 s vs. 1081 ± 234 s).

Conclusions A systemic inflammatory response syndrome with liver dysfunction results in decreased sensitivity to atracurium. Further investigations are needed regarding a possible up-regulation of acetylcholine receptors or an increased protein binding of atracurium during sepsis to clarify reasons behind this phenomenon.

An isolated tracheo-oesophageal fistula could be caused by close proximity of the epithelia of both organs (O'Rahilly & Müller, 1984; Kluth et al. 1987) at certain embryonic stages, the most frequent location being the tracheal bifurcation. Thus the relative position and degree of separation between the digestive and the respiratory tubes throughout their development may be relevant to the origin of this anomaly. The aim of this study was to analyse along the different segments of the tracheo-oesophageal septum (TES) where the closest relationship between both lumina occurred and what degree of separation was present at each segment. Computer imaging techniques were applied on cross sections of a graded series of normal human embryos (Carnegie stages (CS) 13–23). In addition, the differentiation of the primitive TES was also studied (from CS 12) by light microscopy. Between CS 13 and 16 both tubes tended to separate (phase of separation), principally at the proximal segments of the laryngopharyngeal and the tracheo-oesophageal portions of the TES. During this phase the separation between the trachea and oesophagus was wider than between the larynx and pharynx. From CS 17 to CS 23 the digestive and respiratory lumina reached their widest separation at different levels of the laryngopharyngeal portion. Below these levels they tended to come closer together, principally at the proximal segment of the tracheo-oesophageal portion, but also at the distal part of the laryngopharyngeal portion. During this phase of approximation they reached their closest relationship at the proximal (CS 17) and the distal (from CS 18) segments of the tracheo-oesophageal portion. When finally the distal segment of the trachea (which includes the bifurcation) comes closest to the oesophagus, the coats of both organs have already undergone an appreciable differentiation. According to these observations, the origin of the most frequent isolated tracheo-oesophageal fistula at the bifurcation region could not be explained from the normal development of the TES.

The activity ofamylase, maitase, lipase, pepsin, trypsin and chymotrypsin in suckling (15 days of age) and in 1-day weaned (43 days of age) domestic rabbits was assayed and compared with older (90 and 180 days) rabbits. It was found that amylase was active in the pancreas at 15 days (11 580 amylase units (AU) per mg protein) and increased during growth, reaching a maximum level (58 960 AU per mg protein) at 90 days of age. Specific activity (SA) of maitase from the small intestine mucosa varied depending on the intestinal segment and the age of the rabbits: activity in the duodenal mucosa decreased, while in the jejunal and Heal mucosa activity increased, during growth. Lipase SA reached a maximum level in suckling rabbits at the age of 15 days (in gastric mucosa 242 and in pancreas 608 mequiv. liberated oleic acid per mg protein per h, 37°C) and decreased sharply at weaning: in gastric mucosa down to 86 and in pancreas down to 89 mequiv. oleic acid per mg protein per h, 37°C. SA of pepsin remained relatively constant for all the studied categories of rabbits: 38 to 39 nmol tyrosine per mg protein per min, 25°C. Trypsin and chymotrypsin SA reached a peak at about weaning: 1·83 nmol benzoyl-arginyl-ethyl-ester per mg protein per min, 25°C and 40·1 nmol benzoyl-phenyl-naphtyl-ester per mg protein per min, 35·5°C respectively.