A guide for banding North Island robin (Petroica longipes) nestlings

Measures of population productivity and individual survival are essential for effective conservation management and scientific investigations. In studies of birds, individuals are often marked with unique colour band combinations to enable estimates of population vital rates. If birds are banded in the nest this must be done at the correct stage in nestling development. If nestlings are banded too early it can lead to leg damage. If they are banded too late it can cause early fledging and reduced survival. Here, we use photographs to guide estimation of the best stage to band North Island robin (Petroica longipes), or toutouwai, nestlings, which is typically at 9–12 days of age.     

Substrate-induced polarisation of cultured epitheliocytes and fibroblasts: non-reactivity of Ras-transformed cells

Non-transformed epitheliocytes and fibroblasts undergo modulations between the less polarised and more polarised phenotypes depending on the nature of the substrate. In contrast, transformed cells express polarised phenotype regardless of the substrate.     

Carcinogenesis induced by foreign bodies

This review deals with the contemporary investigations of carcinogenesis induced by foreign bodies. The main attention is given to the interactions of macrophages with an implanted foreign body and their possible role in tumorigenesis.     

Cells of endothelial lineage as possible progenitors of sarcomas induced by an implanted foreign body

This work deals with the problem of the origin of cell precursors of sarcomas induced in mice by implantation of a foreign body (plates from polyvinyl chloride). These cells are known to be present among cells of the monolayer covering the surface of the implanted plate before the appearance of features of tumor growth 6 and more months after implantation. We studied the presence of properties of endothelium in cells of mesenchymal type grown upon cultivation of cells from surface of the implanted plate 9 and 14 months after implantation. The obtained cells were shown to indeed be precursors of sarcomas, although they had different tumor potentials depending on the time after the moment of implantation. We studied the behavior of such pretumor cells in 2D (on plastic) and 3D (on matrigel) cultures. Such cells on plastic in a dense mono-layer are shown to provide growth of the endothelial type (cobblestone). Upon seeding onto matrigel, they are organized in more or less typical capillary-like structures that subsequently form secondary networks from tubule-like sproutings. Such behavior is also characteristic of endothelial cells. These observations allow us to conclude on the possibility of endothelial origin of FB sarcomas.     

DELAYED URIC ACID ACCUMULATION IN PLASMA PROVIDES ADDITIONAL ANTI-OXIDANT PROTECTION AGAINST IRON-TRIGGERED OXIDATIVE STRESS AFTER A WINGATE TEST

Reactive oxygen species are produced during anaerobic exercise mostly by Fe ions released into plasma and endothelial/muscle xanthine oxidase activation that generates uric acid (UA) as the endpoint metabolite. Paradoxically, UA is considered a major antioxidant by virtue of being able to chelate pro-oxidative iron ions. This work aimed to evaluate the relationship between UA and plasma markers of oxidative stress following the exhaustive Wingate test. Plasma samples of 17 male undergraduate students were collected before, 5 and 60 min after maximal anaerobic effort for the measurement of total iron, haem iron, UA, ferric-reducing antioxidant activity in plasma (FRAP), and malondialdehyde (MDA, biomarker of lipoperoxidation). Iron and FRAP showed similar kinetics in plasma, demonstrating an adequate pro-/antioxidant balance immediately after exercise and during the recovery period (5–60 min). Slight variations of haem iron concentrations did not support a relevant contribution of rhabdomyolysis or haemolysis for iron overload following exercise. UA concentration did not vary immediately after exercise but rather increased 29% during the recovery period. Unaltered MDA levels were concomitantly measured. We propose that delayed UA accumulation in plasma is an auxiliary antioxidant response to post-exercise (iron-mediated) oxidative stress, and the high correlation between total UA and FRAP in plasma (R-Square = 0.636; p = 0.00582) supports this hypothesis.