Effects of Adrenaline and Piracetam on Fish Feeding Behavior

It has been shown that intraperitoneal administration of adrenaline causes an increase of the latent feeding period in goldfish and carp regardless of the season. Piracetam in summer has no effect on the rate of feeding response in carp and decreases the latent feeding period in goldfish, while in the autumn it slightly decreases the latent feeding period in the former species and restores the active feeding in the latter. It is suggested that the revealed phenomenon is due to stabilization of fish brain integrative activity under effect of piracetam.     

The Effects of Pregnancy and Feeding on the Insulin and Glucose Concentrations in Blood of Ewes in Late Pregnancy

In 8 experimental ewes on normal diet the influence of pregnancy and feeding on insulin and glucose in the blood was studied. A reduction in insulin concentration was found as pregnancy advanced. Blood glucose fluctuated, but during late pregnancy the blood glucose level was significantly lower in twin–pregnant ewes than in ewes pregnant with 1 fetus. No increase in insulin concentration was demonstrated in twin–pregnant ewes after feeding, on the contrary an increase was found in ewes pregnant with 1 fetus. A limited effect of feeding on the glucose concentration was observed, especially compared to the reference range. A positive correlation was obtained between the concentration of glucose and insulin in the blood.     

Some Aspects of Social Behavior in the Canidae

Despite the diversity of morphology and ecology in members ofthe Canidae, social behavior remains similar throughout theFamily. Some specializations have occurred in groupliving species,serving to maintain group cohesion and to reduce intraspecificaggression, and these changes in behaviors and postures havebeen ones of degree rather than kind. The type of specializationdiffers in each species and is probably related to its ecology.Thus, the bateared fox has developed contact behaviors suchas social grooming while the wolf has evolved more specializedagonistic postures that are used in the maintenance of a socialhierarchy.     

Food, Feeding Behavior and Feeding Ecology of Nemerteans

The feeding biology of nemerteans is reviewed, new informationis presented, and the role of nemerteans in natural communitiesis discussed and evaluated. Most nemerteans are carnivorous,the majority feeding on live, often specific, prey, while someare scavengers. Macrophagous feeding is found in the Palaeonemertea,Heteronemertea and some of the Hoplonemertea; the more specializedsuctorial feeding is limited to five of the hoplonemertean families,and suspension feeding (omnivorous diet) occurs only in thehighly specialized symbiotic monogeneric Bdellonemertea. Feeding adaptations seem to be related to the nature and employmentof the proboscis, the dilatability of the mouth, and the structureof the anterior part of the digestive tract. The transport ofdissolved organic materials from seawater has been demonstrated,but its role in nemertean nutrition is just being contemplated.Present meager information on predation has shown nemerteansto have actually and potentially large effects on prey populationsand thus on the communities in which they live. As the feedingbiology of only a relative handful of species has been studied,much basic comparative research is needed before we can corroborateor refute our present ideas concerning the ecological rolesof nemerteans.     

The Effects of NPY and Insulin on Food Intake Regulation in Fish

Recent abundant studies report that in rodents starvation inducesincreased neuropeptide Y (NPY) mRNA expression and peptide secretionin the hypothalamus which reduces autonomic nervous activityand promotes food intake, and intracerebroventricular (ICV)injection of NPY has potent orexigenic effects. Conversely,the effect of insulin in the central nervous system is to inhibitfood intake and NPY biosynthesis and secretion. In mammals bodyfatness is regulated and insulin acts as one intake inhibitorysignal related to fatness. In salmon (Oncorhynchus sp.) we havedemonstrated a rise in NPY-like mRNA expression and a coincidentdecrease in plasma insulin levels during 2 to 3 weeks of starvation.Additionally, experimentally manipulating body fatness withhigh and low fat diets has demonstrated that body fatness affectsfood intake in teleost fishes, raising the possibility thatNPY and insulin act to regulate their food intake. Therefore,we hypothesized that as in rodents, ICV treatment with NPY wouldstimulate food intake while ICV insulin would reduce food intake.Preliminary results suggest that ICV NPY administration doesstimulate food intake in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus),but central injection of insulin has no effect. Results of treatmentswith the sulfated octapeptide of cholecystokinin and the recombinantfragment of rat leptin 22–56 are also discussed.     

不同气味对虎皮鹦鹉取食行为影响

研究发现许多鸟类具有发育良好的嗅觉系统,但气味是否影响鸟类取食行为的研究报道较少。本研究开展了长尾林鸮（Strix uralensis）、金雕（Aquila chrysaetos）、家犬和家猫的粪便气味以及香水和香烟的气味对虎皮鹦鹉（Melopsittacus undulates）取食行为影响的比较研究。研究发现,虎皮鹦鹉在香水气味下的取食意图显著低于长尾林鸮粪便气味和无气味对照;在金雕粪便、猫粪便、香水及香烟气味下的取食频次显著低于无气味对照,同时香水及香烟气味下的取食频次显著低于长尾林鸮粪便气味,说明虎皮鹦鹉可能通过气味识别潜在的风险,进而调整取食行为。     

Some Factors Governing Feeding Behavior of Homalozoon vermiculare (Ciliophora, Holotricha)

SYNOPSIS. Feeding activity of Homalozoon vermiculare on Paramecium and Blepharisma and on a number of non-living materials was compared in order to understand its feeding behavior and some of the factors governing it. During a given period it involves a series of feeding responses, each response being completed in 5 stages: (i) contact of prey or non-living particles with the oral rim of Homalozoon, (ii) ejection of toxin by Homalozoon, if the food is a living organism, (iii) paralysis of the prey, (iv) grasping, and (v) swallowing. The feeding activity of Homalozoon differs from one food to another and also on any one food at different times. These differences are governed by (i) the physiologic condition of Homalozoon and (ii) certain food characteristics. Its starvation, but not its developmental stage, markedly influences its feeding activity on any food. The food characteristics most important for feeding by Homalozoon are: (i) concentration of prey or non-living particles in the medium, insuring their adequate contact with the organism's mouth, (b) susceptibility of living organisms to paralysis by the toxin, (c) suitability of particle size for accommodation in the organism's mouth, and (d) suitability of the food material to stimulate the grasping and swallowing responses. Homalozoon much prefers Paramecium to Blepharisma on account of (i) a greater susceptibility of Paramecium to paralysis by the toxin, and (ii) certain differences in the chemical characteristics of the certain proteins, particularly albumins, hemoglobin, etc., of the 2 organisms.     

Effects of Feeding a Histidine-excess Diet and Subsequent Starvation on Liver and Muscle Glycogen,and on Serum Glucose

The effects of feeding with a histidine-excess diet and subsequent starvation on liver and muscle glycogen, and on serum glucose were investigated in young and adult rats.

Feeding with a histidine-excess diet resulted in the accumulation of liver glycogen in both young and adult rats. The hepatic glycogen continued to decrease during starvation, and the liver became almost totally depleted of glycogen after starvation for 48 hr. Glycogen in the liver of young rats starved for 24 hr after previous feeding with a histidine-excess diet was significantly higher than that of young rats starved for 24 hr after previous feeding with a basal diet.

Muscle glycogen after feeding and subsequent starvation was not affected by the types of diets fed previously, muscle glycogen during starvation showing a slight decrease in young rats and a slight increase in adult rats.

Feeding with a histidine-excess diet caused a significant decrease of serum glucose in young rats, but not in adult rats. Serum glucose in young rats was markedly reduced by starvation after previous feeding with a basal diet, but not after previous feeding with a histidine-excess diet. In adult rats, there were no changes in serum glucose between rats starved after feeding with either a basal diet or a histidine-excess diet, and serum glucose was decreased slightly by starvation after feeding with the test diets.

The overall results indicate that the maintenance of serum glucose in young rate even during starvation after previous feeding with a histidine-excess diet might be partially concerned with the export of glucose from the accumulated glycogen in the liver due to the diet.     

Observations on Blood Glucose and Insulin Determinations

The relation of capillary to venous blood glucose concentration, whole blood to plasma values, and, where possible, the effect of pregnancy on the variables have been studied. We have not been able to show constant relations between capillary and venous blood glucose concentrations as have been implied by a W.H.O. expert committee on diabetes mellitus and the British Diabetic Association.The choice of anticoagulant was shown to have a negligible effect on the results of a single antibody-charcoal separation insulin assay method.     

Effect of Adrenaline and Glucose on Release of Glucagon and Insulin <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis>

IT is well established that glucagon induces hyperglycaemia in animals and man through its action on liver glycogenolysis¹ and gluconeogenesis². Adrenaline has similar metabolic effects on the liver^1,2 and it is often thought that both hormones play a physiological role as glycogenolytic agents in blood glucose homeostasis. Several authors, however, have reported that when adrenaline was infused directly in the portal vein its effects on blood glucose and hepatic glycogenolysis were much less pronounced than when the hormone was administeied into the systemic circulation^3–5. Moreover, Sokal et al. demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo that, in contrast to glucagon, doses of adrenaline within the physiological range had only small and transient effects on liver glycogen and Phosphorylase activity^6,7. They thus concluded that glucagon is the only agent promoting glycogenolysis in the liver in physiological conditions and suggested that the effect of moderate doses of adrenaline might be indirect, possibly mediated through stimulation of glucagon secretion.     

Some Aspects of the Nesting Behavior and Reproductive Biology of Sea Turtles

Basic reproductive data from 21 green turtle (Chelonia mydas),8 leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), 7 hawksbill (Eretmochelysimbricata), 7 olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea),6 loggerhead(Caretta caretta), 1 Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempi), and1 flatback (Chelonia depressa) populations are provided. Someintraspecific and interspecific relationships between size ofnester and clutch, egg size and hatchling size are analyzed.Measurements of reproductive rates (=numbers of hatchlings perfemale per year) in 11 populations varied from 35 to 200 inan olive ridley and loggerhead colony, respectively. Nestingbehavior of each species is described in terms of type of nestingemergence and time spent on the nesting beach (=chelonery).The relatively large number of yolkless eggs laid by many leatherbacksand by some hawksbills invites further study. Some aspects ofsea turtle nesting behavior and reproduction are compared tothose of other chelonians.     

Effects of CaMKII-Mediated Phosphorylation of Ryanodine Receptor Type 2 on Islet Calcium Handling,Insulin Secretion,and Glucose Tolerance

Altered insulin secretion contributes to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. This alteration is correlated with altered intracellular Ca²⁺-handling in pancreatic β cells. Insulin secretion is triggered by elevation in cytoplasmic Ca²⁺ concentration ([Ca²⁺]_cyt) of β cells. This elevation in [Ca²⁺]_cyt leads to activation of Ca²⁺/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CAMKII), which, in turn, controls multiple aspects of insulin secretion. CaMKII is known to phosphorylate ryanodine receptor 2 (RyR2), an intracellular Ca²⁺-release channel implicated in Ca²⁺-dependent steps of insulin secretion. Our data show that RyR2 is CaMKII phosphorylated in a pancreatic β-cell line in a glucose-sensitive manner. However, it is not clear whether any change in CaMKII-mediated phosphorylation underlies abnormal RyR2 function in β cells and whether such a change contributes to alterations in insulin secretion. Therefore, knock-in mice with a mutation in RyR2 that mimics its constitutive CaMKII phosphorylation, RyR2-S2814D, were studied. This mutation led to a gain-of-function defect in RyR2 indicated by increased basal RyR2-mediated Ca²⁺ leak in islets of these mice. This chronic in vivo defect in RyR2 resulted in basal hyperinsulinemia. In addition, S2814D mice also developed glucose intolerance, impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and lowered [Ca²⁺]_cyt transients, which are hallmarks of pre-diabetes. The glucose-sensitive Ca²⁺ pool in islets from S2814D mice was also reduced. These observations were supported by immunohistochemical analyses of islets in diabetic human and mouse pancreata that revealed significantly enhanced CaMKII phosphorylation of RyR2 in type 2 diabetes. Together, these studies implicate that the chronic gain-of-function defect in RyR2 due to CaMKII hyperphosphorylation is a novel mechanism that contributes to pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes.     

Influence of Feeding Paradigm in Rats on Temporal Pattern of: I. Macronutrient Intake and Arterio-Venous Differences in Plasma Glucose, Insulin and Tryptophan

Relationships among feeding paradigm (single diet vs food selection) and arterio-venous differences (δAV) of glucose, insulin and tryptophan were studied by measuring the temporal patterns of food intake and plasma parameters during 8 hr feeding cycles in rats. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were offered a single diet of fixed composition (20% casein) or a choice between two isocaloric diets (0% and 60% casein) for 2 weeks under 8-hr daily feeding conditions, food being offered during the dark cycle. Groups of animals were then killed at the beginning and at 2-hourly intervals throughout the feeding period. With both feeding paradigms, rats showed temporal patterns of energy, carbohydrate and protein intakes with a peak at the beginning and a trough at the end of the feeding period. However, in rats offered a dietary choice the intake of carbohydrate was significantly lower, and the intakes of energy and protein significantly higher than those found in rats offered a single diet. Throughout the feeding period, these differences between single and choice diets became less accentuated in the case of carbohydrate intake, but more accentuated for energy and protein intakes. Paradoxically, rats fed a choice of diets had a significantly lower weight gain than rats fed a single diet. The temporal variation of insulin secretion and tryptophan absorption varied inversely with the two diet paradigms. Moreover, in rats offered a choice of diets, macronutrient intake was significantly correlated with insulin secretion and venous glucose concentration. The opposed physiologic and metabolic responses to the feeding paradigms suggest the need for future studies to examine the possibility that such can function as synchronizers of biological rhythms.     

Effects of Dietary D-Psicose on Diurnal Variation in Plasma Glucose and Insulin Concentrations of Rats

The effects of supplemental D-psicose in the diet on diurnal variation in plasma glucose and insulin concentrations were investigated in rats. Forty-eight male Wistar rats were divided into four groups. Each group except for the control group was fed a diet of 5% D-fructose, D-psicose, or psico-rare sugar (3:1 mixture of D-fructose and D-psicose) for 8 weeks. Plasma glucose levels were lower and plasma insulin levels were higher at all times of day in the psicose and psico-rare sugar groups than in the control and fructose groups. Weight gain was significantly lower in the psicose group than in the control and fructose groups. Liver glycogen content, both before and after meals was higher in the psicose group than in the control and fructose groups. These results suggest that supplemental D-psicose can lower plasma glucose levels and reduce body fat accumulation. Hence, D-psicose might be useful in preventing postprandial hyperglycemia in diabetic patients.     

Influence of Feeding Paradigm in Rats on Temporal Pattern of: I. Macronutrient Intake and Arterio-Venous Differences in Plasma Glucose,Insulin and Tryptophan

Relationships among feeding paradigm (single diet vs food selection) and arterio-venous differences (δAV) of glucose, insulin and tryptophan were studied by measuring the temporal patterns of food intake and plasma parameters during 8 hr feeding cycles in rats. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were offered a single diet of fixed composition (20% casein) or a choice between two isocaloric diets (0% and 60% casein) for 2 weeks under 8-hr daily feeding conditions, food being offered during the dark cycle. Groups of animals were then killed at the beginning and at 2-hourly intervals throughout the feeding period. With both feeding paradigms, rats showed temporal patterns of energy, carbohydrate and protein intakes with a peak at the beginning and a trough at the end of the feeding period. However, in rats offered a dietary choice the intake of carbohydrate was significantly lower, and the intakes of energy and protein significantly higher than those found in rats offered a single diet. Throughout the feeding period, these differences between single and choice diets became less accentuated in the case of carbohydrate intake, but more accentuated for energy and protein intakes. Paradoxically, rats fed a choice of diets had a significantly lower weight gain than rats fed a single diet. The temporal variation of insulin secretion and tryptophan absorption varied inversely with the two diet paradigms. Moreover, in rats offered a choice of diets, macronutrient intake was significantly correlated with insulin secretion and venous glucose concentration. The opposed physiologic and metabolic responses to the feeding paradigms suggest the need for future studies to examine the possibility that such can function as synchronizers of biological rhythms.     

Effects of GCK,GCKR, G6PC2 and MTNR1B Variants on Glucose Metabolism and Insulin Secretion

Background

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from GCK, GCKR, G6PC2 and MTNR1B were found to modulate the fasting glucose levels. The current study aimed to replicate this association in the Chinese population and further analyze their effects on biphasic insulin secretion.

Methods/Principal Findings

SNPs from GCK, GCKR, G6PC2 and MTNR1B were genotyped in the Shanghai Chinese, including 3,410 type 2 diabetes patients and 3,412 controls. The controls were extensively phenotyped for the traits related to glucose metabolism and insulin secretion. We replicated the association between GCK rs1799884, G6PC2 rs16856187 and MTNR1B rs10830963 and fasting glucose in our samples (p = 0.0003∼2.0×10⁻⁸). GCK rs1799884 and G6PC2 rs16856187 showed association to HOMA-β, insulinogenic index and both first- and second-phases insulin secretion (p = 0.0030∼0.0396). MTNR1B rs10830963 was associated to HOMA-β, insulinogenic index and first-phase insulin secretion (p = 0.0102∼0.0426), but not second-phase insulin secretion (p = 0.9933). Combined effect analyses showed individuals carrying more risk allele for high fasting glucose tended to have a higher glucose levels at both fasting and 2 h during OGTTs (p = 1.7×10⁻¹³ and 0.0009, respectively), as well as lower HOMA-β, insulinogenic index and both first- and second-phases insulin secretion (p = 0.0321∼1.1×10⁻⁷).

Conclusions/Significance

We showed that SNPs from GCK, G6PC2 and MTNR1B modulated the fasting glucose levels in the normoglycaemic population while SNPs from G6PC2 and GCKR was associated with type 2 diabetes. Moreover, we found GCK and G6PC2 genetic variants were associated to both first- and second-phases insulin secretion while MTNR1B genetic variant was associated with first-phase insulin secretion, but not second-phase insulin secretion.     

The Influence of quick-to-court Gene on Some Aspects of Mating Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster

Russian Journal of Genetics - quick-to-court (qtc) is a recently discovered gene involved in the regulation of the mating behavior of Drosophila melanogaster males. Previously, we obtained flies...