Evolution of Calcium Regulation in Lower Vertebrates

Calcium regulation in lower vertebrates appears to be a continuum.The predominant hypercalcemic hormone in reptiles, birds andmammals is parathyroid hormone, while the major hypercalcemiccontrol in fishes is a pituitary factor, probably prolactin.In the amphibians dual controlling mechanisms are at work, sothat both the pituitary and parathyroids exert their influence.Prolactin may still retain some hypercalcemic potency in thehigher vertebrate groups, either directly or indirectly by influencingthe secretion of other hypercalcemic hormones. On the otherhand, parathyroid hormone does not occur in, nor does it elevateblood calcium in fishes. It thus seems to be a new inventionof tetrapods, or possibly to have evolved from a pituitary factorof fishes. The ability to lower blood calcium seems to be veryimportant in seawater fishes, in which the corpuscles of Stanniusexert major control. In terrestrial forms, the corpuscles ofStannius are not present, and hypocalcemic factors assume aminor role in overall calcium regulation     

Induction of winged sexuparae in root-inhabiting colonies of the aphid Pemphigus betae

Abstract. Growth chamber experiments were conducted to determine what environmental factors induce the development of sexuparae in root-feeding colonies of the aphid Pemphigus betae Doane (Aphididae: Pemphiginae). Experimental colonies were derived from clones that had been reproducing for at least 15 months under constant laboratory conditions. At constant 20–23^oC, sexuparae were almost never produced regardless of the level of crowding or photoperiod. In contrast, every culture of several clones produced sexuparae when subjected to temperatures alternating between 20 and 15^oC during the light and dark phases respectively. This fluctuating temperature regime resulted in sexupara production regardless of photoperiod. All cultures also produced some sexuparae when cultures were kept in constant darkness at temperatures that were either alternated between 20 and 15^oC or kept constant at 15^oC. Constant 17^oC resulted in sexupara production in most cultures. At 17^oC, experimental manipulation of densities within cultures showed that crowding promotes sexupara production. Thus, within the range of conditions occurring at the time of sexupara induction in the field, photoperiod has no effect on sexupara production, temperature below a threshold between 17 and 20–23^oC triggers sexupara production, and crowding promotes sexupara production but only if temperature is low enough.     

The prevalence and correlates of DSM-IV disorders in the Iraq Mental Health Survey (IMHS)

Data on the prevalence and correlates of anxiety, mood, behavioral, and substance disorders are presented from a 2007-8 national survey of the Iraq population, the Iraq Mental Health Survey (IMHS). The IMHS was carried out by the Iraq Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Iraq Ministry of Planning and the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative. Interviews were administered to a probability sample of Iraqi household residents by trained lay interviewers. The WHO Composite International Diagnostic interview (CIDI) was used to assess DSM-IV disorders. The response rate was 95.2%. The estimated lifetime prevalence of any disorder was 18.8%. Cohort analysis documented significantly increasing lifetime prevalence of most disorders across generations. This was most pronounced for panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, with lifetime-to-date prevalence 5.4-5.3 times as high at comparable ages in the youngest (ages 18-34) as oldest (ages 65+) cohorts. Anxiety disorders were the most common class of disorders (13.8%) and major depressive disorder (MDD) the most common disorder (7.2%). Twelve-month prevalence of any disorder was 13.6%, with 42.1% of cases classified mild, 36.0% moderate, and 21.9% serious. The disorders most often classified serious were bipolar disorder (76.9%) and substance-related disorders (54.9%). Socio-demographic correlates were generally consistent with international epidemiological surveys, with the two exceptions of no significant gender differences in mood disorders and positive correlations of anxiety and mood disorders with education. Only 2.2% of IMHS respondents reported receiving treatment for emotional problems in the 12 months before interview, including 23.7% of those with serious, 9.2% with moderate, and 5.3% with mild disorders and 0.9% of other respondents. Most healthcare treatment, which was roughly equally distributed between the general medical and specialty sectors, was of low intensity. Further analyses of barriers to seeking treatment are needed to inform government efforts to expand the detection and treatment of mental disorders     

Characterization of six microsatellite primers for the grey fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)

We describe polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers and conditions to amplify one dinucleotide and five tetranucleotide microsatellite DNA loci isolated from the grey fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus). The PCR primers were tested on nine to 12 individuals collected from the Department of Energy's Savannah River site (Aiken, SC, USA). The grey fox microsatellite primers developed had three to 10 alleles per locus that yielded observed heterozygosities ranging from 0.222 to 0.889.