Hypothalamic response to leptin changes during a hormonally induced estrous cycle in rats

The leptin system regulates body fat mass through a feedback loop between adipose tissue and the hypothalamus. To test if leptin responsiveness may be regulated we assayed hypothalamic response to leptin during the estrous cycle; when changes in food intake are known to occur. Immature rats were treated with pregnant mare’s serum gonadotropin (PMSG) to induce synchronized follicular development, ovulation and corpus luteum formation. Leptin response was estimated by measuring the in vitro induction of tis11, a primary response gene activated by STAT3-dependent cytokines in hypothalamic explants after leptin stimulation. In addition, mRNA levels of the suppressor cytokine signaling-3 (SOCS-3), a possible mediator of leptin resistance, were analyzed. Serum leptin levels did not change between days 2 and day 3 (corresponding to proestrus and estrus, respectively) but the response to leptin was higher on day 2 than on day 3 (p=0.05). Food intake displayed a tendency towards downregulation between day 1 and day 2 (p=0.057), and a tendency towards upregulation between day 2 and day 3 (p=0.072), although the body weight increased on day of the study (p<0.0001). There was no significant difference in hypothalamic expression of SOCS-3 between day 2 and day 3. In conclusion, we have shown that leptin responsiveness changes during a hormonally induced estrous cycle in rats. Our data suggest that a change in the hypothalamic response to leptin may cause the cyclic feeding behavior seen in rats.     

Ulysses - an application for the projection of molecular interactions across species

We developed Ulysses as a user-oriented system that uses a process called Interolog Analysis for the parallel analysis and display of protein interactions detected in various species. Ulysses was designed to perform such Interolog Analysis by the projection of model organism interaction data onto homologous human proteins, and thus serves as an accelerator for the analysis of uncharacterized human proteins. The relevance of projections was assessed and validated against published reference collections. All source code is freely available, and the Ulysses system can be accessed via a web interface .     

Evaluation of the viability and germination of tempisque [<i>Sideroxylon capiri</i> (A.DC.) Pittier Sapotaceae]

The tempisque (Sideroxylon capiri) is a tree native to Mexico used by the rural population for housing construction, poles and hedges, as fuel (wood) and also for fodder and ornamental purposes, among others. It is considered an endangered species. In order to contribute to its preservation and sustainable management, it was considered important to determine the proportion of viable seeds, the loss of viability due to storage period and the germination process by applying pregerminative treatments. We found that freshly collected seeds showed 100% viability, which decreased to 0% after 5 months of storage. According to the cumulative germination significant differences between treatments (p≤0.01) were found. It was observed that seeds can accelerate their time of germination with the previous exposure of 24 h in water at room temperature. The soaking treatment in water for 24 h at room temperature obtained final germination of 55%, while with the control 39% was reached. Soaking in hydrogen peroxide and scarification were the treatments with lower germination percentage (33 and 23%, respectively). To get a higher percentage of germinated seeds in a short time, it is necessary to give a soaking treatment in water for 24 h before sowing.     

Evaluation of the prevalence and economic burden of adverse drug reactions presenting to the medical emergency department of a tertiary referral centre: a prospective study

Background  

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are now recognized as an important cause of hospital admissions, with a proportion ranging from 0.9–7.9%. They also constitute a significant economic burden. We thus aimed at determining the prevalence and the economic burden of ADRs presenting to Medical Emergency Department (ED) of a tertiary referral center in India     

Allergic diseases and asthma in the family predict the persistence and onset-age of asthma: a prospective cohort study

BackgroundFamily history of asthma and other allergic diseases have been linked to the risk of childhood asthma previously, but little is known about their effect on the age-of-onset and persistency of asthma until young adulthood.MethodsWe assessed the effect of the family history of asthma and allergic diseases on persistent vs. transient, and early- vs. late-onset persistent asthma in The Espoo Cohort Study 1991–2011, a population-based cohort study of 1623 subjects (follow-up rate 63.2%). The determinants were any family history (any parent or sibling); maternal; paternal; siblings only; parents only; and both siblings and parents. Analyses were conducted separately for asthma and allergic diseases while taking the other disease into account as a confounding factor. The outcomes were persistent, transient, early-onset persistent (<13 years) and late-onset persistent asthma. Adjusted risk ratios (RR) were calculated applying Poisson regression. Q-statistics were used to assess heterogeneity between RRs.ResultsFamily history was associated with the different subtypes but the magnitude of effect varied quantitatively. Any family history of asthma was a stronger determinant of persistent (adjusted RR = 2.82, 95% CI 1.99-4.00) than transient asthma (1.65, 1.03-2.65) (heterogeneity: P = 0.07) and on early-onset than late-onset persistent asthma. Also any family history of allergic diseases was a stronger determinant of persistent and early-onset asthma. The impact of paternal asthma continued to young adulthood (early-onset: 3.33, 1.57-7.06 vs. late-onset 2.04, 0.75-5.52) while the influence of maternal asthma decreased with age (Early-onset 3.94, 2.11-7.36 vs. Late-onset 0.88, 0.28-2.81). Paternal allergic diseases did not follow the pattern of paternal asthma, since they showed no association with late-onset asthma. Also the effect estimates for other subtypes were lower than in other hereditary groups (persistent 1.29, 0.75-2.22 vs. transient 1.20, 0.67-2.15 and early-onset 1.86, 0.95-3.64 vs. late-onset 0.64, 0.22-1.80).ConclusionsFamily history of asthma and allergic diseases are strong determinants of asthma, but the magnitude of effect varies according to the hereditary group so that some subtypes have a stronger hereditary component, and others may be more strongly related to environmental exposures. Our results provide useful information for assessing the prognosis of asthma based on a thorough family history.     

The use of zootherapeutics in folk veterinary medicine in the district of Cubati, Paraíba State, Brazil

Background

Viewed through the micro focus of an interpretive lens, medical anthropology remains mystified because interpretivist explanations seriously downplay the given context in which individual health seeking-behaviours occur. This paper draws upon both the interpretivist and political economy perspectives to reflect on the ethno medical practices within the Korean-Australian community in Sydney.

Methods

We draw on research data collected between 1995 and 1997 for an earlier study of the use of biomedical and traditional medicine by Korean-Australians in Sydney. A total of 120 interviews were conducted with a range of participants, including biomedical doctors, traditional health professionals, Korean community leaders and Korean migrants representing a range of socio-economic backgrounds and migration patterns.

Results and Discussion

First, the paper highlights the extent to which the social location of migrants in a host society alters or restructures their initial cultural practices they bring with them. Second, taking hanbang medicine in the Korean-Australian community as an illustrative case, the paper explores the transformation of the dominant biomedicine in Australia as a result of the influx of ethnomedicine in the era of global capitalism and global movement.

Conclusion

In seeking to explain the popularity and supply of alternative health care, it is important to go beyond the culture of each kind of health care itself and to take into consideration the changes occurring at societal, national and global levels as well as consequential individual response to the changes. New social conditions influence the choice of health care methods, including herbal/alternative medicine, health foods and what are often called New Age therapies.     

Fertility of prostaglandin-induced oestrus compared to normal post-partum oestrus.

This study was undertaken to determine if fertility could be improved by increasing the interval from foaling to breeding. Forty-two mares, not bred during normal post-partum oestrus, were injected with a prostaglandin analogue on Day 6 or 7 following ovulation. Mares were mated artifically with antibiotic-treated semen during the resulting oestrus and, if necessary, for the following 4 cycles. Their fertility was compared, by cycles/pregnancy and rate of fetal loss, to mares bred by the same methods on 86 normal post-partum oestrous periods. The interval from foaling to the onset of breeding and the duration of oestrus were longer in the injected mares than the intervals observed in the untreated mares. Both groups averaged 1.3 breeding periods/pregnancy. The rate of fetal loss was not significantly different between the groups. Increasing the interval from foaling to breeding did not improve fertility.     

Pregnancies following long luteal phases in southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum)

All extant species in the Rhinocerotidae family are experiencing escalating threats in the wild, making self-sustaining captive populations essential genetic reservoirs for species survival. Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) will become increasingly important for achieving and maintaining ex situ population sustainability and genetic diversity. Previous reports have shown that a large proportion of captive southern white rhinoceros (SWR) females are irregularly cyclic or acyclic, and that cycling females display two different estrous cycle lengths of approximately 30 or 70 days. It has been suggested that the longer estrous cycle length is infertile or subfertile, as no term pregnancies have been observed following long cycles. Here we report the achievement of two pregnancies following long luteal phases, using ovulation induction and artificial insemination with either fresh or frozen-thawed semen. One female SWR conceived on the first insemination attempt and gave birth to a live offspring. A second female conceived twice in consecutive long cycles although the first embryo was resorbed by 33 days post-insemination. A pregnancy from this female's second insemination is ongoing with expected parturition in November 2019. Whether prolonged estrous cycles in SWR are subfertile or infertile in natural breeding situations remains unclear. However, our findings demonstrate that the application of ARTs following prolonged cycles can result the successful establishment of pregnancies in SWR. Therefore, with ARTs, female SWR otherwise considered nonreproductive due to long estrous cycles may still have the potential for representation and contribution to the ex situ population.     

1‐Undecene from Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an olfactory signal for flight‐or‐fight response in Caenorhabditis elegans

Animals possess conserved mechanisms to detect pathogens and to improve survival in their presence by altering their own behavior and physiology. Here, we utilize Caenorhabditis elegans as a model host to ask whether bacterial volatiles constitute microbe‐associated molecular patterns. Using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, we identify six prominent volatiles released by the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We show that a specific volatile, 1‐undecene, activates nematode odor sensory neurons inducing both flight and fight responses in worms. Using behavioral assays, we show that worms are repelled by 1‐undecene and that this aversion response is driven by the detection of this volatile through AWB odor sensory neurons. Furthermore, we find that 1‐undecene odor can induce immune effectors specific to P. aeruginosa via AWB neurons and that brief pre‐exposure of worms to the odor enhances their survival upon subsequent bacterial infection. These results show that 1‐undecene derived from P. aeruginosa serves as a pathogen‐associated molecular pattern for the induction of protective responses in C. elegans.