Hyperphagia in offsprings of in utero hyperglycemic mothers is associated with increased expression of heparan sulfate proteoglycans in hypothalamus

In utero hyperglycemia has consequences on future outcomes in the offsprings. We had earlier shown that in utero hyperglycemia impacts proteoglycans/glycosaminoglycans, one of the key molecules involved in brain development. Hypothalamic HSPGs such as syndecan-1 and syndecan-3 are well known for their involvement in feeding behavior. Therefore, studies were carried out to determine the effect of maternal hyperglycemia on the expression of HSPGs in the hypothalamus of offspring brain. Results revealed increased protein abundance of Syndecan-1 and -3 as well as glypican-1 in postnatal adults from hyperglycemic mothers. This was associated with increased hyperphagia and increased expression of Neuropeptide Y. These results indicate the likely consequences on offsprings exposed to in utero hyperglycemia on its growth.

Graphical abstract

     

Endocrine disrupting effects,at different temperatures,on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Moina micrura</Emphasis> (Cladocera: Crustacea) induced by carbendazim,a fungicide

Pesticide-induced effects in non-target organisms are a worldwide environmental problem and cladocerans have been used as test organisms to quantify the toxicity effects. However, little is known about the true risks of acceptable levels, when non-traditional end points such as sex determination, egg maturation, and teratogenesis are considered. Aims of the present study were to investigate the effects of sublethal concentrations of the fungicide carbendazim taking into account the above-mentioned endpoints and to evaluate their sensitivity to an environmental factor such as temperature, known to influence growth rates and sex determination in cladocerans. We quantified the effect on the life history variables of Moina micrura at two different temperatures using the life table demographic approach, starting with neonates. The median lethal concentration of carbendazim for M. micrura was 0.12 ± 0.01 mg l⁻¹. The impacts of carbendazim were assessed in experiments conducted at 20°C (experiment 1) and 30°C (experiment 3) using four sublethal concentrations of carbendazim (0.01, 0.02, and 0.04) and controls. An additional experiment (experiment 2) on the next generation (F1) was conducted at 20°C, using the offspring of the second clutches of M. micrura from each of the corresponding treatments of the experiment 1. The increase in temperature from 20 to 30°C significantly reduced always the average lifespan and life expectancy at birth, while raised the rate of population increase, net reproductive rate, and reproductive effort, in controls but not in carbendazim treatments. Higher temperature also increased male/female ratio. The patterns of survivorship curves were weakly affected by carbendazim exposure, but increase in concentration of this fungicide reduced offspring production, reproductive rates, and the rate of population increase, more noticeable at the higher temperature. These detrimental effects were much more striking in the F1 experiment, in which females were unable to produce viable offspring in the two highest carbendazim concentrations, although survival and swimming behavior were not significantly affected. This indicates that sensitivity to the toxicant is greater during egg development and that the fungicide acts as an endocrine disruptor. The presence of carbendazim in the medium resulted in higher male production as compared with controls, indicating also its effect on egg development. We also encountered a few individuals, with abnormal sexual secondary characters (males with reduced antennule length, similar to female antennules) at the highest carbendazim concentration. The role of carbendazim on the demography of cladocerans in natural systems, subject to temperature increase, is discussed taking into account the persistence of this chemical and its elevated impact in the successive generations (through the higher sensitivity of the developing eggs to the chemical at high temperatures). Cladoceran bioassays starting with neonates, which usually utilize offspring as sublethal endpoints should include the first generation to evaluate fecundity responses.     

Unique corneal tomography features of allergic eye disease identified by OCT imaging and artificial intelligence

The purpose of this study was to assess unique corneal tomographic parameters of allergic eye disease (AED) using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and artificial intelligence (AI). A total of 57 eyes diagnosed with AED were included. The curvature and aberrations of the air‐epithelium (A‐E) and epithelium‐Bowman's layer (E‐B) interfaces were calculated. Random forest AI models were built combing this data with the parameters of healthy, forme fruste keratoconus (FFKC) and KC eyes. The AI models were cross‐validated with 3‐fold random sampling. Each model was limited to 10 trees. The AI model incorporating both A‐E and E‐B parameters provided the best classification of AED eyes (area under the curve = 0.958, sensitivity = 80.7%, specificity = 98.5%, precision = 88.2%). Further, the E‐B interface parameters provided the highest information gain in the AI model. A few AED eyes (n = 9) had tomography parameters similar to FFKC and KC eyes and may be at risk of progression to KC.     

Fish-mediated zooplankton community structure in shallow turbid waters: a mesocosm study

Wetlands Ecology and Management - Turbidity influences the success of fish feeding, but little is known about the difference in the effects of turbidity as a result of organic and inorganic matter....     

Purification and Properties of p 103, a Novel 103-kDa Component of Postsynaptic Densities

A 103-kDa protein present in membrane cytoskeletal preparations from bovine brain has been identified. We have purified this protein to greater than 95% homogeneity using gel filtration and ion-exchange chromatography. This protein, p103, is an asymmetric dimer in dilute solution and has two major variants that can be distinguished by isoelectric focussing, pI 5.60 and 5.75. Using subcellular fractionation, it is most enriched in postsynaptic densities. Immunolocalization with anti-p103-specific antibodies reveals that it is confined to the dendrites and perikarya; it is apparently absent from spinal cord axons. It coextracts from brain membrane-skeletal preparations with brain spectrin and actin, but in vitro, it does not interact with them.