Epinephrine-induced pigment aggregation in goldfish melanophoroma cells: apparent involvement of an unknown second messenger

Using a goldfish-derived melanized cell line, we attempted to determine the identity of the signal transduction system/second messenger for epinephrine-induced aggregation of melanosomes in a goldfish cell line. The results show that the second messenger is unknown. It is not 1) influx of extracellular calcium, 2) release of intracellular stored calcium via the phosphoinositide pathway, 3) cGMP, or 4) decrease of cAMP. These results suggest that there is an unknown second messenger for this activity of epinephrine.     

Drinking Money and Pulling Women: Mobile Phone Talk,Gender, and Agency in Vanuatu

This paper examines aspects of gendered discourse around mobile phones in Vanuatu, focusing especially on the talk of high-ranking men from the northern Raga-speaking region of Pentecost Island. Rather than being restricted to the technologies or their direct capacities alone, it is argued that the local reception of new technologies such as mobile phones should be contextualised in terms of broader dialogues of change, and should also take into account the visual and discursive expressions of culture that accompanies them, including in the form of marketing. Examination of the ‘impact’ of such new technologies should also include taking account of broader local meanings and messages that become associated with them. As the ethnography presented here suggests, while mobile phones themselves certainly provide a useful tool for furthering positive social change, such as in the empowerment of women, the meanings and narratives that surround them may by marked contrast entail more negative entrenchments of unequal relations of power.     

Postexercise protein supplementation improves health and muscle soreness during basic military training in Marine recruits.

Elevated postexercise amino acid availability has been demonstrated to enhance muscle protein synthesis acutely, but the long-term impact of postexercise protein supplementation on variables such as health, muscle soreness, and function are unclear. Healthy male US Marine recruits from six platoons (US Marine Corps Base, Parris Island, SC; n = 387; 18.9 +/- 0.1 yr, 74.7 +/- 1.1 kg, 13.8 +/- 0.4% body fat) were randomly assigned to three treatments within each platoon. Nutrients supplemented immediately postexercise during the 54-day basic training were either placebo (0 g carbohydrate, 0 g protein, 0 g fat), control (8, 0, 3), or protein supplement (8, 10, 3). Subjects and observers making measurements and data analysis were blinded to subject groupings. Compared with placebo and control groups, the protein-supplemented group had an average of 33% fewer total medical visits, 28% fewer visits due to bacterial/viral infections, 37% fewer visits due to muscle/joint problems, and 83% fewer visits due to heat exhaustion. Recruits experiencing heat exhaustion had greater body mass, lean, fat, and water losses. Muscle soreness immediately postexercise was reduced by protein supplementation vs. placebo and control groups on both days 34 and 54. Postexercise protein supplementation may not only enhance muscle protein deposition but it also has significant potential to positively impact health, muscle soreness, and tissue hydration during prolonged intense exercise training, suggesting a potential therapeutic approach for the prevention of health problems in severely stressed exercising populations.     

A partial food web involving predatory gastropods on a Pacific fringing reef

An analysis of the feeding habits of a diverse assemblage of predatory gastropods on a Guam fringing reef, shows that seven major prey categories are eaten, namely polychaetes, sipunculans, gastropods, bivalves, crustaceans, ophiuroids, and fish. The three largest feeding groups are the polychaete feeding guild which mainly consists of species of Conus, the gastropod guild dominated by species of the Muricidae and the sipunculan guild consisting mainly of the Mitridae. There is considerable dietary overlap between members of feeding guilds, but interaction between guilds is low and accounted for by the relatively few generalist species in the community.