Specific dynamic action demonstrated in the herbivorous marine periwinkles,LIttorina littorea L. and Littorina obtusata L. (Mollusca,Gastropoda)

• 1.1. Respiration rates of starved periwinkles, Liltorina littorea and Littorina obtusata, increased by 40–60% when fed their preferred algal food for 1 hr, or after having been exposed for the same period to an aqueous extract of the alga.
• 2.2. The stimulus causing the rise in metabolic rate by algal extracts is therefore thought to be chemosensory in nature, and possibly composed primarily of dissolved free amino acids.
• 3.3. The respiration rates of L. littorea responded only to the green alga Enteromorpha intestinalis while L. obtusata demonstrated an increase in respiration rates when fed the ubiquitous brown alga, Ascophyllum nodosum, and to a lesser degree to Enteromorpha.
• 4.4. These results compare very well to postprandial increases in oxygen consumption demonstrated in vertebrates and marine bivalves where the components of specific dynamic action (SDA) are thought to be chiefly biosynthetic costs of digestion and assimilation.

     

Effects on growth and respiration due to the ingestion of the rapeseed meal glucosinolates in young larvae of Tenebrio molitor

• 1.1. We investigated the effects of the ingestion of naturally occurring glucosinolates in rapeseed meal on growth rate, metabolic efficiency and respiratory rate in larvae of the yellow mealworm, Tenebrio molitor L.
• 2.2. In our feeding studies, larvae were reared on one of seven different diets, including a whole ground wheat control diet and rapeseed meal from six rapeseed varieties. Dry weight gain of larvae and dry food assimilated were measured after 4 weeks of rearing, and the conversion of food into insect biomass was determined. The results may be explained by variations in the glucosinolates content of the diets.
• 3.3. The effect of glucosinolates on food consumption, larval growth, expired carbon dioxide, oxygen uptake and respiratory quotient were studied.
• 4.4. Glucosinolates did not reduce food assimilation or growth after 1 day of experimentation, but they caused some inhibition of respiratory exchanges and increased the RQ ratio.

     

Variations in response to environmental hypoxia of different colour forms of the shore crab,Carcinus maenas

• 1.1. The oxygen consumption of red and green Carcinus in normoxic and hypoxic sea water was determined, using an oxygen electrode in a sealed respirometer.
• 2.2. The red crabs had significantly higher “excited” oxygen uptake rates and a lower ability to compensate for hypoxia than the green crabs.
• 3.3. Red Carcinus display an emersion response to declining oxygen at lower oxygen tensions than the green crabs.
• 4.4. Mortality of red crabs exposed to prolonged anoxia was much greater.
• 5.5. The relationship of these findings to the zonation of the two colour forms on the shore is discussed.

     

Variations of respiratory rate of Tisbe holothuriae humes (copepoda,harpacticoida) in relation to temperature,salinity and food type

• 1.1. The influence of temperature (14,19, 24°C), salinity (26,32, 38,44%.) and food type (artificial diets: Fryfood, Mytilus, Soya, Yeast, Spirulina) on the respiratory rate of Tisbe holothuriae has been studied.
• 2.2. Oxygen consumption decreased with decreasing temperature, but with a greater rate at supra- or subnormal salinities.
• 3.3. Multiple-regression analysis showed the quadratic effect of temperature and the linear effect of salinity to be the more important factors affecting respiration.
• 4.4. The food type also seems to exert an important effect on oxygen consumption.
• 5.5. A significant lowering of respiration was observed for all food tested when the animals were starved.

     

Degradation of arsenobetaine by microorganisms associated with marine macro algae,Monostroma nitidium and Hizikia fusiforme

• 1.1. Arsenobetaine-containing growth media (ZoBell 2216E; solution of inorganic salts) were mixed with each of two marine macro algae, a green alga Monostroma nitidum and a brown alga Hizikia fusiforme, as a source of microorganisms.
• 2.2. The conversion of arsenobetaine to trimethylarsine oxide and/or dimethylarsinic acid by the microorganisms associated with the marine macro algae was confirmed in both the media.
• 3.3. A striking contrast, however, in the conversion pattern was observed between the two algae: arsenobetaine was converted to trimethylarsine oxide and trimethylarsine oxide to dimethylarsine acid successively with M. nitidum, while the reverse was observed with H. fusiforme.

     

A comparative study of glucose metabolism between the camel (Camelus dromedarius) and the sheep (Ovis aries)

• 1.1. Glucose entry rate was measured in two camels (Camelus dromedarius) and two sheep (Ovis wies) in the fed state and also after 72 hr of fasting.
• 2.2. Plasma glucose concentration in the fed camels (129 mg/100 ml) was considerably higher than that of the fed sheep (63 mg/100 ml).
• 3.3. The mean glucose entry rate in the fed camels (1.67mg/min per kg body wt) was very similar to the sheep (1.79 mg/min per kg body wt).
• 4.4. When the results were expressed as a function of the metabolic body size, the entry rates in the camel were 1.5 times greater than that of the sheep.
• 5.5. The relationship between glucose entry rate and plasma glucose concentration in different mammalian species is discussed.

     

Oxygen uptake in larval bollworms (Heliothis zea) infected with the fungus Nomuraea rileyi

• 1.1. Healthy 6- to 12-day-old Heliothis zea (bollworm) larvae showed a mean oxygen uptake of 3.1 μl O₂/mg body wt per hr.
• 2.2. Similar larvae infected with the fungus Nomuraea rileyi had a mean uptake of 4.01 μl O₂/mg per hr.
• 3.3. The weights of the two groups of insects did not differ.
• 4.4. T-test showed a significant (P < 0.01) difference in oxygen uptake between healthy and infected larvae.

     

Characterization of the blood volume and iron kinetics in the three-toed sloth,Bradypus tridactylus

• 1.1. Blood volume and iron kinetics were determined in three specimens of Bradypus tridactylus which were obtained in the coastal north-east regions of Brazil.
• 2.2. The average blood volume, circulating red cell volume and plasma volume were 54.9, 19.5 and 35.4 ml/kg body weight, respectively.
• 3.3. The average plasma iron disappearance half-time was 150.6min; the red cell radioiron uptake was 62% and the serum iron was 74.3 μg/100 ml.
• 4.4. From these figures the plasma iron turnover rate was calculated to be 165.6 μg/kg per day and the red cell iron turnover rate 102.7 μg/kg per day.

     

Respiratory mechanisms and metabolic adaptations of an intertidal crab,Chasmagnathus granulata (Dana, 1851)

• 1.1. The ventilatory mechanism, gill area, sites of oxygen uptake, oxygen consumption and activity of a crab from south Brazil, Chasmagnathus granulata, were investigated.
• 2.2. The oxygen uptake seems to be restricted to the gill lamellae.
• 3.3. The gill area varies with the wet body weight, being relatively higher in smaller animals. There is not a significative reduction of the gill area in relation to species of the infralittoral zone.
• 4.4. C. granulata presents a mechanism for recirculating the water of its branchial chamber when exposed to atmospheric air.
• 5.5. The oxygen consumption and activity are reduced when the animals are exposed to atmospheric air. The reduction in the oxygen consumption may be related to the poorly adapted respiratory system, while the decrease in activity may be a mechanism for saving energy during this hypoxic period.

     

A comparative study of carotenoids in Papilio SPP.

• 1.1. The carotenoids of pupae of two closely related genera were investigated. The European and Canadian species contained their food plant carotenoids unchanged whereas the Chinese and Japanese ones converted their food carotenoids to keto- and other more oxidized compounds.
• 2.2. The carotenoids found in these various species follow the scheme suggested for astaxanthin formation in Artemia salina and its food plant the alga Chlorella.
• 3.3. The presence of keto-carotenoids in certain Papilio species is not a very useful taxonomic character since they do not all contain these compounds.

     

Food deprivation induces differential changes in contents and microstructures of digestive tract and appendages in bluegill fish,Lepomis macrochirus

• 1.1. The digestive tract was compared with the tract appendages (caeca) in bluegill fish, Lepomis macrochirus in their response to short and long term food deprivation.
• 2.2. Fasting for 7 days resulted in 80% reduction of food content in the main tract, but only 40% reduction in appendages (caeca).
• 3.3. The intestine exhibited two different patterns of food distribution under fed and food deprived conditions.
• 4.4. The histopathological impact of starvation was more prominent on the intestine than on caeca.
• 5.5. These results suggest that digestive tract and appendages concommitantly conserve food during food scarcity, but appendages may offer advantages in retaining food longer, and in their greater resistance to starvation-induced effects.

     

A comparison of aspartate transcarbamylase activity in juvenile pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) when fed various diets

• 1.1. The optimum pH for measurement of aspartate transcarbamylase activity in oyster tissue was determined to be 9.35 while the optimum temperature was 39.5°C.
• 2.2. Aspartate transcarbamylase activity varied significantly over short periods of time (hr) possibly due to fluctuations in the amount of food digested.
• 3.3. The composition of the oyster's diet also affected the levels of aspartate transcarbamylase activity in oyster tissues.
• 4.4. Those oysters fed an egg yolk-starch diet contained significantly lower aspartate transcarbamylase activity than oysters fed an egg yolk-starch-salmon oil diet or a casein-starch-salmon oil diet.
• 5.5. The aspartate transcarbamylase activities in oysters fed Phacedactylum tricornutum or a starch diet were not significantly different from the activities in oysters fed the egg yolk-starch diet.

     

Influence of temperature,rate of feeding and body weight on nitrogen metabolism of bream,Abramis brama L

• 1.1. Measurements of the rate of nitrogen consumption, total nitrogen and ammonia excretion and nitrogen absorption of bream, Abramis brama L. (body weight range 0.4–519 g wet wt) were made at 10, 15 and 20 C.
• 2.2. Fish were fed once daily on live zooplankton collected in Lake Balaton and cultured Tubifex sp. at 5–15% of their body weight.
• 3.3. Fish size and temperature had a combined effect on the rate of total nitrogen excretion. Total nitrogen excretion did not increase proportionally with an increase in consumption.
• 4.4. On average, 52–80% of the nitrogen consumed with food was excreted by bream.
• 5.5. The greatest part of total nitrogen excretion was ammonia and its proportion in the total ranged between 53 and 75%.
• 6.6. Temperature did not have any significant effect on the proportion of excreted ammonia and the rate of excreted total nitrogen was the only factor determining its proportion in the total.
• 7.7. The rate of nitrogen absorption of bream was surprisingly very high.

     

Comparative Secretome Analyses of Primary Murine White and Brown Adipocytes Reveal Novel Adipokines

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Highlights

• •First comparative proteomic analysis of white and brown adipocyte secretomes.
• •100 novel adipokines differentially secreted from white versus brown adipocytes.
• •Functionally enriched protein class changes in white and brown adipocytes.
• •200 novel, NE-responsive adipokines from brown adipocytes.

     

Respiratory responses of excised gills of the stout razor clam,Tagelus plebeius solander,to acute temperature changes throughout the year

• 1.1. The exponent (b) relating metabolic rate to dry weight in excised gills of Tagelus plebeius is not maintained constant throughout the seasons or upon acute exposure to temperatures of 9–34°C.
• 2.2. Acclimation (11–29°C) and test (9–34°C) temperatures have a significant effect (α = 0.01) on the mean rate of oxygen uptake by the gills.
• 3.3. Positive seasonal thermal acclimation is observed up to acclimation temperatures of 19.5–20°C, which is also the temperature of minimum respiratory response to all acute test temperatures.
• 4.4. Regions of thermal metabolic insensitivity are seen over small acute temperature ranges near the acclimation temperatures.

     

Temperature acclimatization in the filtering rates and oxygen consumption of Daphnia ambigua scourfield

• 1.1. Filtering rates and oxygen consumption were measured in the field on a wild population of the fresh-water limnetic cladoceran Daphnia ambigua.
• 2.2. Filtering rates increased with increasing body size and were significantly affected by environmental temperature.
• 3.3. Oxygen consumption increased with increasing body size; there was no significant difference among b values determined at different environmental temperatures but bs were highest at low temperatures. decreased progressively at higher temperatures and increased at the highest temperatures.
• 4.4. Temperature significantly affected the rate of oxygen consumption.
• 5.5. Both filtering rates and oxygen consumption evidenced classical translation to the left in cold-acclimatized animals. An environmental temperature near 12°C apparently separates warm- and cold-acclimatization processes.

     

Metabolic responses of the mussels Perna viridis and Perna indica to declining oxygen tension at different salinities

• 1.1. Oxygen uptake and ammonia loss were monitored during responses to reductions of both salinity and oxygen tension (PO₂) in the marine mussels Perna viridis and Perna indica from southern India.
• 2.2. The proportional contribution of protein to total catabolic substrates under natural environmental conditions was as much as 96% in P. viridis, relative to only 19% in P. indica.
• 3.3. Normoxic oxygen consumption remained statistically unchanged in P. viridis conditioned to salinities between 32 and 15‰, with no obvious signs of distress. Although equally unaffected at salinities between 32 and 20‰, P. indica showed significantly reduced oxygen uptake following transfer from 32 to 15‰, and had died within the next 7 days.
• 4.4. At salinities greater than 20‰, P. viridis was better able than P. indica to regulate oxygen consumption independent of PO₂.
• 5.5. P. indica showed a compensatory increase in oxyregulatory capacity at 15‰. This exceeded unstressed abilities, helping to maintain albeit reduced oxygen uptake throughout wider ranges of PO₂.
• 6.6. Different responses recorded in each of these tropical and often intertidal species were in accordance with their natural distributions. Nevertheless, the oxyregulatory capacity in both species was higher than in bivalves from temperate and/or subtidally restricted habitats.

     

Annual brown fat dynamics in Pipistrellus hesperus and Myotis californicus with special reference to winter flight activity

An examination of the annual changes in brown fat deposits of Pipistrellus hesperus and Myotis californicus reveals:

• 1.1.P. hesperus reaches peak brown fat levels in January and February, declining rapidly through March and April, then increases gradually through the remainder of the year.
• 2.2.M. californicus, on the other hand, maintains peak levels of brown fat from December through February, decreasing gradually through August, then increasing rapidly in the fall.
• 3.3.The major brown fat deposits for both species are interscapular, jugular, squamooccipitocervical and carotid bodies.
• 4.4.The interscapular deposit (which accounts for 50–70% of all brown fat) appears to be a good index of brown fat dynamics.
• 5.5.Brown fat appears to be important in maintaining body temperature during night at cold ambient temperatures.

     

Oxygen consumption,body temperature and heart rate in the coati (Nasua nasua)

• 1.1. Coatis are chiefly diurnal, showing marked nycthemeral variations of body temperature and oxygen uptake.
• 2.2. The thermoneutral zone extends from 25–33°C; the basal metabolic rate is about 40% below the value predicted from body mass.
• 3.3. Thermoregulation in cold is excellent, partly due to decreasing thermal conductance at falling ambient temperatures.
• 4.4. Exposure to temperatures above 35°C is endured for only short periods.
• 5.5. Basal heart rate is reduced to about 70% of the predicted level. The contribution of heart rate to increased oxygen demands at falling ambient temperatures is rather low.
• 6.6. The measured physiological characteristics of coatis are discussed with regard to the high mobility and the wide distribution range of these procyonids.

     

Laboratory studies on the oxygen consumption of the marine teleost,Lichia amia (Linnaeus, 1758)

• 1.1. The oxygen consumption of the marine teleost, Lichia amia was investigated under controlled laboratory conditions.
• 2.2. The routine oxygen consumption showed a strong circadian rhythm with the fish being mainly active during the light period.
• 3.3. The specific mass exponent (dimension: μg O₂/g/hr) is temperature independent and ranges from 0.27–0.29.
• 4.4. Starving the fish results in a mean decrease in active, routine and standard oxygen consumption of 21%, 24% and 20%, respectively.
• 5.5. Feecling led to an increase in the oxygen consumption of the teleosts, with the mean metabolic rate over the 24 hr that followed, being 58% and 50% higher for fish that had been starved for 162hr and 40 hr, respectively.
• 6.6. Apparent SDA showed some variation and ranged from 6.0 to 35.5%.
• 7.7. The results obtained are generally in agreement with those recorded for other teleosts.