On the relationship between food, reproduction and survival of two carabid beetles: Calathus melanocephalus and Pterostichus versicolor

Abstract.

• 1 The relative influences of temperature and availability of food on reproduction, survival and growth of all developmental stages of two carabid beetle species are discussed with special reference to the suggested relationship between availability of food, size of egg production and survival of adults from one breeding season to the next.
• 2 Temperature as well as food supply influence the length of larval growth and adult body size. Beetles grown at low temperatures and low amounts of food are smaller than those grown at higher temperature and with more food.
• 3 The number of eggs laid per female was correlated with the amount of food gathered. There was no inverse relationship (trade-off) between reproductive output and survival in the field until the next breeding season.
• 4 In 1980 no significant relationship was found between winter mortality and the amounts of food gathered by beetles in the period after reproduction and before winter diapause. However, in 1981 in C. melanocephalus a lower number of starved beetles survived the winter than the fed ones and‘field’beetles.
• 5 Only in the first part of the feeding activity period in autumn can enough food be gathered by C.melunocephalus for successful hibernation. In the second part of this period there is not enough food to build up the fat reserves needed to survive the winter.
• 6 Difference in population fluctuations of both species are discussed in relation to their life histories.

     

从睡眠剥夺树鼩（TBC）尿液提取内源性“睡眠因子”（sleep factor）的研究

本研究报道从睡眠剥夺（ＳＤ）４８—７２ｈ的灵长类原宗（ｐｒｉｍｉｔｉｖｅｓｔｏｃｋ）Ｔｕｐａｉａｂｅｌａｎｇｅｒｉｃｈｉｎｅｎｓｉｓ（ＴＢＣ）提取内源性“睡眠因子”（ｓｌｅｅｐｆａｃｔｏｒ）Ｓ２Ｃ和Ｓ４Ｂ。收集的尿液经超滤,清液冻干经ＳｅｐｈａｄｅｘＧ１５分离得到ＦｒａｃｔｉｏｎⅠ－Ⅴ。活性测定发现Ｆｒａｃｔｉｏｎ－Ⅲ（Ｓ２Ｃ）呈现显著δ－增强促眠效应。经ＳｅｐｈａｄｅｘＧ２５和ＳｅｐｈａｄｅｘＬＨ２０进一步净化的Ｓ４Ｂ也呈现显著δ－增强促眠效应。     

Rapid neurotrophic actions of an ACTH/MSH(4–9) analogue after nigrostriatal 6-OHDA lesioning

ACTH peptide fragments demonstrate potent neurotrophic effects on peripheral nerves in situ, central neurons in culture, and have been implicated to have effects on central neurons in vivo. Neurotoxic lesioning of the nigrostriatal system, which depletes the striatum of dopamine, provides a feasible model of central regeneration in which to test these peptides. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were lesioned unilaterally with 6-hydroxydopamine (8 μg/4 μl), infused into the substantia nigra. They were subsequently treated with 10 μg/kg IP of Org 2766 [ACTH/MSH(4–9) analogue] or saline every 24 h starting immediately after the infusion and were observed for 2 weeks. Rotational behavior data indicate that Org 2766 significantly decreases ipsiversive turning (p < 0.05), induced by amphetamine (2 mg/kg), as well as accelerating the onset of denervation supersensitivity induced by apomorphine (0.05 mg/kg). Evaluation of dopamine immunohistochemistry, using an anti-tyrosine hydroxylase antibody, demonstrates an enhanced intensity of staining in the ORG 2766-treated tissue compared to its saline counterpart. This difference is confirmed and quantified through specific high-affinity dopamine uptake. Dopamine uptake is about 17% higher in the striata of animals treated with Org 2766. Higher dopamine uptake levels in these ACTH-treated animals correlate with greater fiber density in this group. Therefore, it appears that treatment with the ACTH/MSH(4–9) analogue Org 2766 (10 μg/kg/24 h) offers a protective effect from 6-OHDA lesions in the substantia nigra as well as accelerating various compensatory mechanisms involved in functional recovery.     

Oxidative processes as indicators of chemical stress in marine bivalves

Deleterious effects of environmental contaminants could be due to enhanced prooxidant forces overcoming antioxidant defences. Before practical biomarkers based on free radical biology will be generally accepted and validated in situ, additional research is required concerning normal physiological and environmental influences on the relevant systems. The aims of this study were to evaluate in situ the importance of oxyradical production in the presence and absence of pollutants and to characterize some antioxidant systems in Mytilus edulis L. Specimens of M. edulis L. were transplanted from a reference site (Franquelin) to Baie Comeau (Baie des Anglais), on the North shore of the St. Lawrence maritime estuary, where are found aluminium and pulp and paper plants. An oxidative stress was observed in mussels submitted to a chronic exposure in the polluted environment. Variations of pro-and anti-oxidant molecules involved in oxidative processes were related in part to seasonal and physico-chemical influences. Catalase activity, malondialdehyde and glutathione concentrations will be useful as biomarkers of stress in situ since they react to anthropogenic influence and to abiotic factors such as emersion period and temperature.     

Target determination of neurotransmitter phenotype in sympathetic neurons

While the majority of sympathetic neurons are noradrenergic, a minority population are cholinergic. At least one population of cholinergic sympathetic neurons arises during development by a target-dependent conversion from an initial noradrenergic phenotype. Evidence for retrograde specification has been obtained from transplantation studies in which sympathetic neurons that normally express a noradrenergic phenotype throughout life were induced to innervate sweat glands, a target normally innervated by cholinergic sympathetic neurons. This was accomplished by transplanting footpad skin containing sweat gland primordia from early postnatal donor rats to the hairy skin region of host rats. The sympathetic neurons innervating the novel target decreased their expression of noradrenergif traints and developed choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity. In addition, many sweat gland-associated fibers acquired acetylcholinesterase (AChE) staining and VIP immunoreactivity. These studies indicated that sympathetic neurons in vivo alter their neurotransmitter phenotype in response to novel envronmental signals and that sweat glands play a critical role in the cholinergic and peptidergic differentiation of the sympathetic neurons that innervate them. The sweat gland-derived cholinergic differentiation factor is distinct from leukemia inhibitory factor and ciliary neurotrophic factor, two well-characterized cytokines that alter the neurotransmitter properties of cultured sympathetic neurons in a similar fashion. Recent studies indicate that anterograde signalling is also important for the establishment of functional synapses in this system. We have found that the production of cholinergic differentiation activity by sweat glands required sympathetic innervation, and the acquisition and maintenance of secretory competence by sweat glands depends upon functional cholinergic innervation. 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Role of FGFs in skeletal muscle and limb development

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are a family of nine proteins that bind to three distinct types of cell surface molecules: (i) FGF receptor tyrosine kinases (FGFR-1 through FGFR-4); (ii) a cysteine-rich FGF receptor (CFR); and (iii) heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs). Signaling by FGFs requires participation of at least two of these receptors: the FGFRs and HSPGs form a signaling complex. The length and sulfation pattern of the heparan sulfate chain determines both the activity of the signaling complex and, in part, the ligand specificity for FGFR-1. Thus, the heparan sulfate proteoglycans are likely to play an essential role in signaling. We have recently identified a role for FGF in limb bud development in vivo. In the chick limb bud, ectopic expression of the 18 kDa form of FGF-2 or FGF-2 fused to an artificial signal peptide at its amino terminus causes skeletal duplications. These data, and the observations that FGF-2 is localized to the subjacent mesoderm and the apical ectodermal ridge in the early developing limb, suggest that FGF-2 plays an important role in limb outgrowth. We propose that FGF-2 is an apical ectodermal ridgederived factor that participates in limb outgrowth and patterning. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Fibroblasts isolated from human pterygia exhibit transformed cell characteristics

Summary Pterygium is a degenerative corneal limbal process and UV irradiation has been suggested as being a major environmental predisposing factor. The invasive nature of the fibroblasts associated with pterygia raises the question as to whether these cells are transformed. To test this hypothesis, we established fibroblast strains from autologous and heterologous pterygial and conjunctival specimens, respectively, from subjects between 40 to 50 yr of age, and compared their growth characteristics in culture. All pterygial fibroblast strains exhibited a reduced dependence on serum and exogenous growth factors for growth and reached a saturation population density that was threefold higher than conjunctival fibroblasts cultured under the same conditions. In addition, all pterygial fibroblast strains were able to form colonies in soft agar in 5% fetal bovine serum at a 6.0 to 7.5% efficiency. Under the same experimental conditions, none of the conjunctival fibroblast strains were able to grow. The results presented support the conclusion that pterygial fibroblasts have acquired many of the properties of the transformed phenotype.     

Casein Kinase II Activity in the Postischemic Rat Brain Increases in Brain Regions Resistant to Ischemia and Decreases in Vulnerable Areas

Abstract: Casein kinase II (CKII) is a protein kinase acting in the intracellular cascade of reactions activated by growth factor receptors, and that has a profound influence on cell proliferation and survival. In this investigation, we studied the changes in the activity and levels of CKII in the rat brain exposed to 10. 15 and 20 min of transient forebrain ischemia followed by variable periods of reperfusion. The cytosolic CKII activity decreased during reperfusion by ∼ 30 and ∼ 50% in the selectively vulnerable areas, striatum and the CA1 region of the hippocampus, respectively. In the resistant CA3 region of hippocampus and neocortex, the activity increased by ∼ 20 and ∼ 60%, respectively. The postischemic changes in CKII activity were dependent on the duration of the ischemic insult. The levels of CKII did not change after ischemia, suggesting that the enzyme is modulated by covalent modification or is interacting with an endogenous inhibitor/activator. Treatment of the cytosolic fraction from cortex of rats exposed to ischemia and 1 h of reperfusion with agarose-bound phosphatase decreased the activity of CKII to control levels, suggesting that CKII activation after ischemia involves a phosphorylation of the enzyme. The correlation between postischemic CKII activity and neuronal survival implies that preservation or activation of CKII activity may be important for neuronal survival after cerebral ischemia.