Can puzzle feeders be used as cognitive screening instruments? Differential performance of young and aged female monkeys on a puzzle feeder task

Conventional cognitive testing of monkeys is time‐consuming and involves single‐caging and food or water deprivation. Here we report a novel test of global cognitive performance that can be completed in a short time period without food/water or social restrictions. Nine mazes of increasing difficulty were developed using a standard puzzle feeder, and the maze‐solving performance of ten young and five aged female cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) was tested. The young monkeys solved maze configurations at higher levels of difficulty and solved the first level of difficulty more quickly than aged monkeys. This task discriminated performance by age in nonhuman primates as do more conventional forms of cognitive testing and indicates that this task may be a quick and easy assessment of global cognitive function. Am. J. Primatol. 49:195–202, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

PERTURBED CELL PROLIFERATION KINETICS OF THE EMT6/M/AC TUMOUR IN MICE TREATED WITH ANTI-MOUSE LYMPHOCYTE SERUM

The cell proliferation kinetics of the EMT6/M/AC tumour were determined at two volumes, 6-3 mm³ and 180 mm³, in mice treated with anti-mouse lymphocyte serum, AMLS. Comparison of the growth curve with that obtained in non-AMLS treated animals showed a marked increase in the growth rate at all volumes in the treated group. In contrast, the cell cycle time and the intermitotic phase times were not significantly different in the treated and untreated groups at comparable volumes. The increase in the growth rate in AMLS treated mice was obtained in spite of decreases in both the rate constant for cell production and the growth fraction, and was due to a marked decrease in the rate constant for cell loss.     

Rapid global expansion of invertebrate fisheries: trends, drivers, and ecosystem effects

Background

Worldwide, finfish fisheries are receiving increasing assessment and regulation, slowly leading to more sustainable exploitation and rebuilding. In their wake, invertebrate fisheries are rapidly expanding with little scientific scrutiny despite increasing socio-economic importance.

Methods and Findings

We provide the first global evaluation of the trends, drivers, and population and ecosystem consequences of invertebrate fisheries based on a global catch database in combination with taxa-specific reviews. We also develop new methodologies to quantify temporal and spatial trends in resource status and fishery development. Since 1950, global invertebrate catches have increased 6-fold with 1.5 times more countries fishing and double the taxa reported. By 2004, 34% of invertebrate fisheries were over-exploited, collapsed, or closed. New fisheries have developed increasingly rapidly, with a decrease of 6 years (3 years) in time to peak from the 1950s to 1990s. Moreover, some fisheries have expanded further and further away from their driving market, encompassing a global fishery by the 1990s. 71% of taxa (53% of catches) are harvested with habitat-destructive gear, and many provide important ecosystem functions including habitat, filtration, and grazing.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that invertebrate species, which form an important component of the basis of marine food webs, are increasingly exploited with limited stock and ecosystem-impact assessments, and enhanced management attention is needed to avoid negative consequences for ocean ecosystems and human well-being.     

Complex interaction between serum folate levels and genetic polymorphisms in folate pathway genes: biomarkers of prostate cancer aggressiveness

Little is known about the role of folate and polymorphisms associated with folate metabolism on prostate cancer risk in populations of African origin. We examined the relationship between serum folate and prostate cancer and whether any association was modified by genetic polymorphisms for folate metabolism. The study was case–control in design and consisted of 218 men 40–80 years old with newly diagnosed, histologically confirmed prostate cancer and 236 cancer-free men attending the same urology clinics in Jamaica, March 2005–July 2007. Serum folate was measured by an immunoassay method and genomic DNA evaluated for MTHR (C677T and A1298C), MTRR A66G, and MTR A2756G polymorphisms. Mean serum folate concentration was higher among cases (12.3 ± 4.1 nmol/L) than controls (9.7 ± 4.2 nmol/L). Serum folate concentration showed a positive association with prostate cancer (OR, 4.41; CI, 2.52–7.72 per 10 nmol/L) regardless of grade. No interactions were observed between genotype and folate concentration, but a weak gene effect was observed for MTHFR A1298C and low-grade prostate cancer. Larger studies to investigate the role of gene–gene/gene–diet interactions in Black men are needed.     

Metabolic distribution of radioactivity in Sprague-Dawley rats and B6C3F1 mice exposed to 1,3-[2,3-14C]-butadiene by whole body exposure

The uptake of 1,3-[2,3-(14)C]-butadiene and its disposition, measured as radioactivity in urine, faeces, exhaled volatiles and CO(2) during and following 6 h whole body exposure to 20 ppm butadiene has been investigated in male Sprague-Dawley rats and B6C3F1 mice. Whilst there were similarities between the two species, the uptake and metabolic distribution of butadiene were somewhat different for rats and mice. The major differences observed were in the urinary excretion of radioactivity and in the exhalation of 14C-CO(2). After 42 h from the start of exposure, 51.1% of radioactivity was eliminated in rat urine compared with 39.5% for mouse urine. 34.9% of the recovered radioactivity was exhaled by rats as 14C-CO(2), compared with 48.7% by mice. Excretion of radioactivity in faeces was similar for both species (3.8% for rats and 3.4% for mice). The tissue concentrations of 14C-butadiene equivalents measured in liver, testes, lung and blood of exposed mice were 0.493, 0460, 0.457, and 1.626 nmol/g tissue, respectively. The values for the corresponding rat tissues were 0.869, 0.329, 0.457, and 1.626 nmol butadiene equivalents/g tissue, respectively. For rats, 6.2% of recovered radioactivity (0.288 nmol butadiene equivalents/g tissue) was retained in carcasses whereas for mice the amount was 3.6% (0.334 nmol butadiene equivalents/g tissue). There were also some significant differences between the metabolic conversion of 1,3-[2,3-(14)C]-butadiene and excretion by mice following the 20 ppm whole body exposure compared to previously reported data for nose-only exposure to 200 ppm butadiene [Richardson et al., Toxicol. Sci. 49 (1999) 186]. The main difference between the high- and low-exposure studies was in the exhalation of 14C-CO(2). At the 200 ppm exposure, 40% of the radioactivity was exhaled as 14C-CO(2) by rats whereas 6% was measured by this route for mice. The proportional conversion of butadiene to CO(2) by mice was significantly greater at the low exposure concentration compared with that reported for the higher concentration. This shift was not observed for rats. The difference between species could be caused by a saturation of metabolism in mice between 20 and 200 ppm for the pathways leading to CO(2). Restraint or error in collection of CO(2) in the 200 ppm study could also be factors.     

Assessing the effects of repeated handling on the physiology and condition of semi‐precocial nestlings

Repeated exposure to elevated levels of glucocorticoids during development can have long‐term detrimental effects on survival and fitness, potentially associated with increased telomere attrition. Nestling birds are regularly handled for ecological research, yet few authors have considered the potential for handling‐induced stress to influence hormonally mediated phenotypic development or bias interpretations of subsequent focal measurements. We experimentally manipulated the handling experience of the semi‐precocial nestlings of European Storm Petrel Hydrobates pelagicus to simulate handling in a typical field study and examined cumulative effects on physiology and condition in late postnatal development. Neither baseline corticosterone (the primary glucocorticoid in birds), telomere length nor body condition varied with the number of handling episodes. The absence of a response could be explained if Storm Petrels did not perceive handling to be stressful or if there is dissociation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis from stressful stimuli in early life. Eliciting a response to a stressor may be maladaptive for cavity‐dwelling young that are unable to escape or defend themselves. Furthermore, avoiding elevated overall glucocorticoid exposure may be particularly important in a long‐lived species, in which accelerated early‐life telomere erosion could impact negatively upon longevity. We propose that the level of colony‐wide disturbance induced by investigator handling of young could be important in underlining species‐specific responses. Storm Petrel nestlings appear unresponsive to investigator handling within the limits of handling in a typical field study and handling at this level should not bias physiological and morphological measurements.     

Characterization of Bacterial Communities in Selected Smokeless Tobacco Products Using 16S rDNA Analysis

The bacterial communities present in smokeless tobacco (ST) products have not previously reported. In this study, we used Next Generation Sequencing to study the bacteria present in U.S.-made dry snuff, moist snuff and Sudanese toombak. Sample diversity and taxonomic abundances were investigated in these products. A total of 33 bacterial families from four phyla, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, were identified. U.S.-produced dry snuff products contained a diverse distribution of all four phyla. Moist snuff products were dominated by Firmicutes. Toombak samples contained mainly Actinobacteria and Firmicutes (Aerococcaceae, Enterococcaceae, and Staphylococcaceae). The program PICRUSt (Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States) was used to impute the prevalence of genes encoding selected bacterial toxins, antibiotic resistance genes and other pro-inflammatory molecules. PICRUSt also predicted the presence of specific nitrate reductase genes, whose products can contribute to the formation of carcinogenic nitrosamines. Characterization of microbial community abundances and their associated genomes gives us an indication of the presence or absence of pathways of interest and can be used as a foundation for further investigation into the unique microbiological and chemical environments of smokeless tobacco products.     

Giant Clams and Rising CO2: Light May Ameliorate Effects of Ocean Acidification on a Solar-Powered Animal

Global climate change and ocean acidification pose a serious threat to marine life. Marine invertebrates are particularly susceptible to ocean acidification, especially highly calcareous taxa such as molluscs, echinoderms and corals. The largest of all bivalve molluscs, giant clams, are already threatened by a variety of local pressures, including overharvesting, and are in decline worldwide. Several giant clam species are listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and now climate change and ocean acidification pose an additional threat to their conservation. Unlike most other molluscs, giant clams are ‘solar-powered’ animals containing photosynthetic algal symbionts suggesting that light could influence the effects of ocean acidification on these vulnerable animals. In this study, juvenile fluted giant clams Tridacna squamosa were exposed to three levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) (control ~400, mid ~650 and high ~950 μatm) and light (photosynthetically active radiation 35, 65 and 304 μmol photons m^-2 s^-1). Elevated CO₂ projected for the end of this century (~650 and ~950 μatm) reduced giant clam survival and growth at mid-light levels. However, effects of CO₂ on survival were absent at high-light, with 100% survival across all CO₂ levels. Effects of CO₂ on growth of surviving clams were lessened, but not removed, at high-light levels. Shell growth and total animal mass gain were still reduced at high-CO₂. This study demonstrates the potential for light to alleviate effects of ocean acidification on survival and growth in a threatened calcareous marine invertebrate. Managing water quality (e.g. turbidity and sedimentation) in coastal areas to maintain water clarity may help ameliorate some negative effects of ocean acidification on giant clams and potentially other solar-powered calcifiers, such as hard corals.