International Journal of Biology最新文献

{"title":"Toward a Synopsis of the Challenges Facing Mainstream Interpretations of Skin Pigmentation in Humans","authors":"Sylvain K. Cibangu","doi":"10.5539/ijb.v15n1p24","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ijb.v15n1p24","url":null,"abstract":"When traditional or mainstream interpretations of skin pigmentation in humans were proposed, not much data was available about the anatomy of human skin in particular and pigment research in general. The most popular and influential thesis put forth to date to justify the evolution of skin pigmentation is the thesis that skin pigmentation grew out of a natural adaptation of Homo sapiens skin to scorching conditions of fiery heat faced with by Homo sapiens individuals in equatorial regions of Africa. It is thereby argued that peak UVR [ultraviolet rays] environments encountered in equatorial/savannah climate caused an eccrine gland production to offset the overheating of skin during the high physical activity of hunting exerted by Homo sapiens persons. However, with human anatomy increasingly becoming the object of scrutiny from various fronts of biology, newer insights have given rise to significant blind spots vis-à-vis traditional explanations of black skin pigmentation. The present paper takes stock of the major challenges afflicting existing characterizations of human skin evolution. Paths for future research of skin/pigment are suggested. The paper aims to lay out a follow-up on and/or synopsis of recurrent challenges that the space of pigment research has accumulated over the years, giving way to long due synergies. In a world supersensitive to racial equality and dignity, the paper furnishes concerned researchers and policy makers with a much-needed contribution to inquiry into dark- and black-skinned peoples.","PeriodicalId":13849,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79862381","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Seed Germination and Seedling Emergence of Lysimachia mauritiana Lam. (Primulaceae)","authors":"Yukie Marui, Eiichi Takizawa, Masayuki Shiba, S. Yoshizaki, T. Fukuda","doi":"10.5539/ijb.v15n1p13","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ijb.v15n1p13","url":null,"abstract":"Lysimachia mauritiana Lam. (Primulaceae), a biennial maritime plant, is widely distributed in East Asia, the Philippines, Micronesia, Polynesia, and the Indian Ocean. Because of this species’ wide distribution in Japan, we hypothesized that it could germinate and grow even in the bare coastal areas damaged by the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the seed germination of L. mauritiana under different sowing depths, temperatures, and salinity soil conditions. The highest germination rate was obtained by sowing L. mauritiana seeds near the soil surface, with germination rate decreasing as the seeding depth increased. Lysimachia mauritiana germinated even at relatively low temperatures. Moreover, we found that L. mauritiana seeds could germinate in less than 1% salt water and in salt-accumulated soil, using soil soaked in 5% or 10% salt water. Our results therefore suggest that L. mauritiana seeds could germinate by sowing on the bare soil surfaces damaged by the tsunami.","PeriodicalId":13849,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85088690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"When Associating Numbers of Elements With Their Time Period of Occurrence, the Ants Take Account of the Characteristics of the Elements","authors":"M. Cammaerts","doi":"10.5539/ijb.v15n1p1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ijb.v15n1p1","url":null,"abstract":"After having shown that the workers of the ant Myrmica sabuleti can associate amounts of elements with their time periods of occurrence and knowing that these ants do not take into account the characteristics of elements when counting but take them into account when adding the elements, we wondered if, when associating amounts with their time periods of occurrence, these ants take or do not take account of the characteristics of the elements. Working on six colonies and using three kinds of visual cues during training and these three cues modified as for their size (small, large), color (blue, yellow) or shape (triangle, star) during testing, we revealed that, when associating amounts of elements with their time periods of occurrence, the ants take into account the characteristics of the elements. We checked if, without changing the elements characteristics, the ants effectively associated the perceived amounts (1 – 3, 2 – 4, 3 -5) of elements (squares, blue circles, triangles) with their time periods of occurrence (8 – 19 o’clock, 20 – 7 o’clock), and they did. We also made a complementary experiment on newly collected colonies using a slightly different protocol, and we obtained identical results which leaded to the same conclusion. So, the present work confirmed our previous results and solved the last asked question on the subject.   ","PeriodicalId":13849,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86672321","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reviewer Acknowledgements for International Journal of Biology, Vol. 14, No. 2","authors":"R. Jones","doi":"10.5539/ijb.v14n2p62","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ijb.v14n2p62","url":null,"abstract":"Reviewer Acknowledgements for International Journal of Biology, Vol. 14, No. 2","PeriodicalId":13849,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83017679","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dynamics of the Soil Macrofauna Influenced by Improved Fallows With Andropogon gayanus in Hydromorphic Soil at Bondoukuy (Western Burkina Faso)","authors":"M. Yoni, A. W. Sempore, K. Dimobe","doi":"10.5539/ijb.v14n2p46","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ijb.v14n2p46","url":null,"abstract":"In western Burkina Faso, in the Bondoukuy cotton zone, on silty-clay soils, the rarefaction of the perennial grass Andropogon gayanus, characteristic of old fallows, is noticed. This grass is known to restore the structural stability of the soil rather quickly, due to a stimulation of biological activity, while the storage of organic matter in the soil remains slow. The biological aspect has been prospected through the study of invertebrate populations in 3 sites, all of which present 4 situations: 30-year-old fallows, 5-year-old natural fallows, and 5-year-old A. gayanus improved fallows and 10-year-old permanent crop fields. \u0000 \u0000The results show that invertebrate populations are very diverse. A total of 172 morphotypes were recorded, including 115 species of insects (24 species of social insects), 31 species of Chelicerata, 8 Myriapoda and 5 earthworms. In the fields, earthworms and Diplopoda populations are less important than in old fallows. On the other hand, the fields have the highest species diversity, 50 species on average. The most abundant population is found in natural fallows, with a density of 835 individuals/m² and 43 species represented. Improved fallows with A. gayanus have a lower stand density and species richness than natural fallows (less than 50% and 43 species). In old fallows, stands are stable with a richness limited to 30 species, while earthworms and myriapods have significantly reduced densities. \u0000 \u0000Soil invertebrate communities thus recover rapidly after crop abandonment and are fully active during the most intense phase of recovery in the first 5 years. Trees do not appear to have a significant effect on the conservation and stimulation of macrofauna except for Coleoptera. \u0000 \u0000Our results show that the cropping system adopted in the region allows for minimal conservation of soil macrofauna and that the macrofauna recovers rapidly during the fallow. Improved fallows with A. gayanus differ from natural fallows in limiting Termite density, while old fallows and fields are of comparable density.","PeriodicalId":13849,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89502182","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ethological and Physiological Harmful Effects of Metformin, An Antidiabetic Used to Treat Type 2-Diabetes: A Study on Ants as Biological Models","authors":"M. Cammaerts, D. Cammaerts","doi":"10.5539/ijb.v14n2p27","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ijb.v14n2p27","url":null,"abstract":"Metformin is a drug mainly used for caring of persons suffering from type 2-diabetes. Over time, it was found to be efficient for treating others illness. Its use increasing, it is nowadays the second active pharmaceutical ingredient more present pollutant in natural water. It could therefore affect the biology of the aquatic fauna through harmful physiological effects. Using ants as biological models, we studied the potential physiological and ethological adverse effects of Metformin. We found that it largely reduced or impacted these insects’ food intake, activity, audacity, social relationships, state of stress, cognition, and learning abilities. No adaptation and no habituation to the effects of Metformin were observed, and ants developed some dependence on its consumption. After weaning, the effect of Metformin became significantly lower than its initial one as soon as after four hours and fully vanished in a total of 13 hours. Metformin could thus harmfully impact the freshwater fauna rich in insect species, especially if chronic exposures occur. As regards patients treated with Metformin, our study suggests that they may suffer from side effects not mentioned in the drug notice. For instance, they may develop dependence and increase their daily dose, accentuating so the drug side effects, e.g., they may suffer from anorexia. Practitioners should know the side effects of Metformin and monitor patients as for their occurrence.","PeriodicalId":13849,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74689428","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Hybrid Analytical Model of Growth Regulation in Animals","authors":"V. L. Stass","doi":"10.5539/ijb.v14n2p19","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ijb.v14n2p19","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of this study was to build and analyse a model of ontogenetic growth of animals. The model was built based on experimental data and field observations. The growth of pigs was modelled by a non-local hybrid technique. This technique treats time as a discrete variable. In this study the growth of pigs was modelled beginning the stage of the rapid growth up to the maximum weight. The growth was modelled as a dynamic system. It was shown that the trajectory of the growth is neither smooth nor continuous. The main theme in this study is transition to a new growth phenotype. There are two results in this study. At a certain point in animal's ontogeny the trajectory of the growth undergoes a first-order phase transition. In the next stage, during bifurcation, new trajectories of growth emerge; this sequence of events has a biological meaning. The emerged trajectories differ from the initial trajectory, and from each other in essence. In the model, one trajectory of the growth emerges instantly. For other growth trajectory to emerge it takes half a year. In a population of animals, it is a general situation. Individual animals can take on only one of the emerged trajectories. In this study, a two-stage process of a transition to a new ontogenetic trajectory or a new phenotype was revealed. The transition to the new growth phenotype is to consider as the model of the pattern of the systemic regulation of growth.","PeriodicalId":13849,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84987988","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Serpentine Adaptation of Ligustrum japonicum Thunb. (Oleaceae) Based on Morphological Anatomical Approaches","authors":"Masayuki Shiba, T. Tate, T. Fukuda","doi":"10.5539/ijb.v14n2p10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ijb.v14n2p10","url":null,"abstract":"Serpentine soils consist of broadly skewed elemental profiles, including abundant toxic metals and low nutrient content in drought-prone, patchily distributed substrates; therefore, they are one of the most challenging settings for plant life. In this study, a comparative study was conducted using serpentine and inland populations of Ligustrum japonicum Thunb. (Oleaceae) to determine morphological and anatomical differences between the same species growing in the serpentine and inland areas. Longitudinal leaf sections indicated that serpentine populations had slightly thicker leaves than inland populations, contributing to the increased heights of adaxial and abaxial epidermal cells and palisade and spongy tissues. Moreover, the serpentine population had smaller stomata than the inland populations. These results suggest that the strong selective pressure under serpentine soil conditions could force leaves to restore water and avoid excessive transpiration.","PeriodicalId":13849,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83826566","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessment of the Sanitary Quality of Fruit Juices Sold in Some Public Schools in the Agblangandan District in the Southern Part of Benin","authors":"A. Alphonse, Béhanzin Gbèssohélè Justin, Elegbede Jacqueline Clarisse, Youssao Abdou Karim Alassane, T. Pascal, B. Bawa, Hounsou M. T. Francis, G. Bertin, Ahyi Virgile, A. Melanie, BABA-MOUSSA Lamine Said, Chabi Nicodème","doi":"10.5539/ijb.v14n2p1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ijb.v14n2p1","url":null,"abstract":"Fruit juices are one of the favorite drinks for children these days. As a result, its production must be organized in such a way as to ensure quality and guarantee the safety of consumers in general and schoolchildren in particular. The objective of this study is to analyze the health quality of bissap, lemon and pineapple juices sold in some public schools in the district of Agblangandan. For this, we collected from the vendors, 12 pineapple juice, 14 bissap juice and 8 lemon juice during the morning recess. Then, the microbiological and physico-chemical analyzes were carried out on the juices. The microbiological analyzes made it possible to identify the presence of total mesophilic flora (1.09.104 CFU/ml), total Coliforms (2.78.103 CFU/ml), Escherichia coli (4.44.102 CFU/ml), Enterococci (86.1 CFU/ml) and Clostridium (13.2 CFU/ml) in bissap juices. These same germs have been identified in lemon and pineapple juices with varying loads. As for the physico-chemical parameters, the results revealed a high rate of turbidity, conductivity, temperature and pH of the juices. Factors such as failure to master hygiene rules when bagging juices, non-compliance with hygiene rules during handling and storage and then inappropriate hygiene practices are origin of the contamination of these juices. It is therefore urgent to prioritize the hygiene and health of school children through awareness-raising, education and regular and rigorous health control of the juices sold by sworn agents.","PeriodicalId":13849,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85498454","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Review of Black Skin Research: Gloger Rule/Theory Dead or Alive?","authors":"Sylvain K. Cibangu","doi":"10.5539/ijb.v14n1p37","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ijb.v14n1p37","url":null,"abstract":"Unlike various topics of human life that recurringly naggingly preoccupy scholars, black skin tends to be considered by prestigious biology and science publication outlets as a closed and disposed-of topic. The present paper is not one of experiment, but rather the paper is a long-due comprehensive review of black skin scholarship, using a dominant theory of this scholarship, and suggesting newer insights for future research. Known since Antiquity, black skin -- euphemistically called dark sin -- has become the topic of repeated public debate in recent decades. Part of the reason is that although race is believed to be scientifically nonexistent skin color is not. Meanwhile, among the theories explaining black skin, Gloger rule/theory stands out to be the most popular. While multitudes of reviews have examined Gloger theory, few have confronted the theory with the arguments of Gloger himself. This might be because Gloger writings remain untranslated and unknown to English readership. Although Gloger was an ornithologist by profession, his arguments had immense ramifications far beyond the study of birds. The present paper focused on the key arguments of Gloger to present a critical assessment of black skin materials. To this effect, a comprehensive, historical background of Gloger theory was used along with recent research to bring in sharper relief Gloger teachings about skin color. In light of Gloger critiques, it was determined that Gloger theory is no less than inadequate and so is the description of black skin as a product of natural selection. Taken-for-granted theories and resultant arguments of black skin were reversed and paths for future skin color work were proposed. Gloger arguments highlight variability among species and across latitudes.","PeriodicalId":13849,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78978447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}