Morphohistochemical and electrophysiological characteristics of the transverse striated muscles of the rabbit esophagus

A specific histochemical profile of the muscular tunic of the stomach has been revealed; its myons demonstrate a high succinate dehydrogenase and myofibrillar ATPase activity. Electrical activity of the oesophageal musculature has common features with biopotentials of the skeletal muscles and the smooth musculature of the stomach. The similiarity with the skeletal muscle biopotentials is evident as a peculiar spike activity, especially at the time of feeding. In electrograms of the striated oesophageal muscles slow waves are seen; they change at deprivation and feeding. Therefore, it is possible to compare them with the smooth musculature capable to generate slow waves.     

Functional organization of myogenic pacemaker of the stomach in conditions of hunger and satiation

In chronic experiments, we have studied electrical activity of muscles of the gastro-esophageal sphincter, small curvature, corpus and antrum of the stomach in conditions of hunger, food intake behaviour and satiation of the rabbits. The aim of this study involved particularities of the electrical activity of myogenic pacemaker zone of the stomach. It has been shown that function of myogenic pacemaker of the rabbit stomach is performed by smooth muscles of the small curvature of the stomach. Pacemaker properties of muscles of the small curvature of the stomach are performed in conditions of food intake behaviour and satiation.     

ATPase activity of rabbit skeletal muscles actomyosin complex under ultrasound effect

Influence of continuous and impulsive ultrasound 0.05; 0.2; 0.4; 0.7 and 1.0 W/cm2 on ATPase activity of rabbit skeletal muscle actomyosin has been investigated in this work. It has been shown that most changes of Mg2+, Ca(2+)-ATPase activity are observed under 0.2 and 0.4 W/cm2 continuous ultrasound. K(+)-ATPase activity is inhibited by continuous ultrasound of all intensities studied. Impulsive 2 and 10 ms ultrasound did not change the Mg2+,Ca(2+)-ATPase activity. While K(+)-activity is reliably changed only under impulsive 0.7 and 1.0 W/cm2 ultrasound that can be explained by the thermal effect. It has been determined, when studying the reconstructed actomyosin with sound troponin complex, that troponin complex is the most ultrasound sensitive constituent of actomyosin.     

Opiate receptor blockade in man reduces 2-deoxy-d-glucose-induced food intake but not hunger,thirst, and hypothermia

Opioid peptides may act as neuromodulators in the central nervous system to conserve energy stores and water in mammals. To examine this hypothesis in man, the effect of opiate receptor blockade with naloxone on the hunger, thirst, and hypothermic response to 2-deoxy-D-glucose-induced glucoprivic stress was assessed. Opiate receptor blockade decreased stress-induced food intake but did not reduce marked increases in hunger produced by glucoprivation. Naloxone infusions did not change the hypercortisolemic, polydipsic, hypothermic, and thermogenic response to 2-deoxy-D-glucose. While these results do not suggest a major role for a β-endorphin modulation of stress-induced hunger, hypothermia and water conservation, the reduction of food intake could be due to augmented satiety, perhaps associated with retardation of gastric emptying during opiate receptor blockade.     

Ultrastructural changes in transverse striated muscles under the influence of space flight factors

The influence of space flight (on the biosatellite Kosmos-1667) on muscles (diaphragmatic, soleus, gastrocnemius) was studied by electron microscope. Muscles had destructive and atrophic changes. The rate of changes was maximal in m. soleus, minimal in the diaphragmatic m. However, some regeneration was found demonstrating the reversibility of changes.     

Subcellular distribution and some properties of alanine aminotransferase in striated muscles of the crayfish, trout, carp, frog, pigeon and rabbit.

Subcellular distribution and some physicochemical properties of alanine aminotransferase in striated muscles of the crayfish, trout, carp, frog, pigeon and rabbit were studied. It was established that: (1) Alanine aminotransferase activity in all mentioned animals occurred almost entirely in the cytosolic fraction of the muscles. Total activity and activity per mg protein were highest in crayfish and pigeon muscles and lowest in carp and trout muscles. (2) The pH optimum for the muscles of homoiotherms and poikilotherms ranged from 7.5 to 8, Km values for L-alanine were of the order 10(-3)--10(-2) M and those for alpha-ketoglutarate 10(-4) M. (3) A 10 degree C temperature increase of the incubation medium was accompanied by a 70--90% increase in activity. (4) The higher the alanine aminotransferase activity of the muscles, the relatively higher their alanine production during electrical stimulation. (5) From the above results it is concluded that alanine aminotransferase in striated muscles regulates the rate of glycolysis and energy production under conditions of anaerobiosis through the formation of alanine.     

Climate change, global food supply and risk of hunger

This paper reports the results of a series of research projects which have aimed to evaluate the implications of climate change for food production and risk of hunger. There are three sets of results: (a) for IS92a (previously described as a 'business-as-usual' climate scenario); (b) for stabilization scenarios at 550 and 750 ppm and (c) for Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES). The main conclusions are: (i) the region of greatest risk is Africa; (ii) stabilization at 750 ppm avoids some but not most of the risk, while stabilization at 550 ppm avoids most of the risk and (iii) the impact of climate change on risk of hunger is influenced greatly by pathways of development. For example, a SRES B2 development pathway is characterized by much lower levels of risk than A2; and this is largely explained by differing levels of income and technology not by differing amounts of climate forcing.     

Experimental estimation of the food intake of larval vendace (Coregonus albula L.) under field conditions

We estimated the food intake of larval vendace (Coregonus albula L.) directly in an experimental chamber under field conditions. The larvae were stocked into net enclosures and reared without additional feeding for 6 weeks immediately after the ice melted in Lake Ylä-Enonvesi, Eastern Finland. The food intake was estimated on the basis of the decrease in zooplankters due to larval predation in the transparent plastic chambers anchored in the littoral zone. The experiments were carried out twice in 1988 and three times in 1989 (May–June). The numbers of zooplankters inside the chambers were counted from the subsamples using an inverted microscope. The relative daily ingestion rate (mg dry mass of prey animals mg dry mass of fish ^–1 24 h^–1) of the larvae of different sizes was: 1.09 and 0.84 for 9–11 mm larvae, 1.27 for 11–13 mm larvae and 0.34 for 17–20 mm larvae. The measured ingestion rate is presumed to be near the maximum consumption of the larvae. This method could provide accurate estimates of food consumption in the field or in the laboratory.     

Changes in tropomyosin subunits and myosin light chains during development of chicken and rabbit striated muscles.

We have selected tropomyosin subunits and myosin light chains as representative markers of the myofibrillar proteins of the thin and thick filaments and have studied changes in the type of proteins present during development in chicken and rabbit striated muscles. The β subunit of tropomyosin is the major species found in all embryonic skeletal muscles studied. During development the proportion of the α subunit of tropomyosin gradually increases so that in adult skeletal muscles the α subunit is either the only or the major species present. In contrast, cardiac muscles of both chicken and rabbit contain only the α subunit which remains invariant with development. Two subspecies of the α subunit of tropomyosin which differ in charge only were found in adult and embryonic chicken skeletal muscles. Only one of these subspecies seems to be common to chicken cardiac tropomyosin. With respect to myosin light chains, embryonic skeletal fast muscle myosin of both species resembles the adult fast muscle myosin except that the LC₃ light chain characteristic of the adult skeletal fast muscle is present in smaller amounts. The significance of these isozymic changes in the two myofibrillar proteins is discussed in terms of a model of differential gene expression during development of chicken and rabbit skeletal muscles.