Paraventricular nucleus lesions abolish the inhibition of feeding induced by systemic cholecystokinin

Peripherally administered cholecystokinin (CCK) initiates a behavioral syndrome which includes reduced food consumption and reduced exploratory behaviors. Previous studies suggest that CCK stimulates receptors in the gut, activating the vagus nerve, which relays sensory information to the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) and its ascending pathways. Terminal regions of ascending NTS projections include the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN), the central nucleus of the amygdala (CNA), and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST). Lesions of these three target sites were performed in rats to test the hypothesis that structures postsynaptic to the NTS mediate the behavioral syndrome induced by CCK. Knife cut lesions of the PVN abolished the reductions in feeding induced by CCK (5 and 10 micrograms/kg IP), as compared to sham lesioned control rats. PVN lesions only partially attenuated the reductions in exploration induced by CCK (2.5, 5, and 10 micrograms/kg IP), as compared to sham lesioned control rats. Electrolytic lesions of the CNA partially attenuated the reductions in exploratory behavior induced by CCK (2.5, 5, and 10 micrograms/kg IP), and had no effect on the reductions in feeding induced by CCK (5 and 10 micrograms/kg IP). Electrolytic lesions of the BNST had no effect on either the reductions in feeding or the reductions in exploration induced by CCK. The PVN appears to be one critical forebrain target site for mediating the actions of CCK on feeding. The CNA appears to facilitate the actions of CCK on exploration. Individual components of the behavioral syndrome induced by CCK may be mediated by anatomically distinct forebrain loci.     

Subcellular localization of DNA-binding protein BA by immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy

Nonhistone protein BA has been shown to decrease in amount in the chromatin of growth- stimulated normal rat liver (Yeoman et al. 1975. Cancer Res. 35:1249-1255) and in mitogen-stimulated normal human lymphocytes (Yeoman et al. 1976. Exp. Cell Res. 100:47- 55.). Subsequently, protein BA was purified and was shown to prefer to bind to double- stranded A-T-rich DNAs (Catino et al. 1978. Biochemistry. 17:983-987.). Immunization of rabbits with highly purified protein BA has resulted in the production of a specific antibody. A specific immunoreactivity for chromosomal protein BA has been demonstrated by immunoelectrophoresis and double antibody immunoprecipitation analysis with rabbit anti-BA immunoglobulin and IgG fractions. Light microscope examination of normal rat liver crysections by the indirect immunofluorescence procedure has demonstrated a cytoplasmic as well as a nuclear localization for protein BA with a pronounced perinucleolar fluorescence. Immunoelectron microscopy employing the peroxidase antiperoxidase method of antigen localization has confirmed the immunofluorescence data and has show a heterochromatin localization for protein BA. The relationship of the localization of protein BA to gene control in quiescent cells or to configurations of heterochromatin as well as the marked reduction in the amounts of protein BA which occur in stimulated growth states remains to be defined.     

Determinants of species richness in the Park Grass Experiment

The Park Grass Experiment at Rothamsted in southeast England was started in 1856, making it the longest-running experiment in plant ecology anywhere in the world. Experimental inputs include a range of fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and organic manures) applied annually, with lime applied occasionally, and these have led to an increase in biomass and, where nitrogen was applied in the form of ammonium sulfate, to substantial decreases in soil pH. The number of species per plot varies from three to 44 per 200 m(2), affording a unique opportunity to study the determinants of plant species richness and to estimate the effect sizes attributable to different factors. The response of species richness to biomass depends on the amount and type of nitrogen applied; richness declined monotonically with increasing biomass on plots receiving no nitrogen or receiving nitrogen in the form of sodium nitrate, but there was no relationship between species richness and biomass on plots acidified by ammonium sulfate application. The response to lime also depended on the type of nitrogen applied; there was no relationship between lime treatment and species richness, except in plots receiving nitrogen in the form of ammonium sulfate, where species richness increased sharply with increasing soil pH. The addition of phosphorus reduced species richness, and application of potassium along with phosphorus reduced species richness further, but the biggest negative effects were when nitrogen and phosphorus were applied together. The analysis demonstrates how multiple factors contribute to the observed diversity patterns and how environmental regulation of species pools can operate at the same spatial and temporal scale as biomass effects.     

Predictors of early survival in Soay sheep: cohort-, maternal- and individual-level variation

A demographic understanding of population dynamics requires an appreciation of the processes influencing survival-a demographic rate influenced by parameters varying at the individual, maternal and cohort level. There have been few attempts to partition the variance in demography contributed by each of these parameter types. Here, we use data from a feral population of Soay sheep (Ovis aries), from the island of St Kilda, to explore the relative importance of these parameter types on early survival. We demonstrate that the importance of variation occurring at the level of the individual, and maternally, far outweighs that occurring at the cohort level. The most important variables within the individual and maternal levels were birth weight and maternal age class, respectively. This work underlines the importance of using individual based models in ecological demography and we, therefore, caution against studies that focus solely on population processes.     

SynDIG4/Prrt1 Is Required for Excitatory Synapse Development and Plasticity Underlying Cognitive Function

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