Prevention of stress-induced gastric ulcers by dopamine agonists in the rat

Dopamine (DA) and DA agonists have been shown to exert a protective role against the formation of duodenal ulcers. The effect of stimulation of DA receptors on the development of stress-induced gastric ulcers is currently unknown. Accordingly, we evaluated the effect of several DA agonists on the development of gastric ulcers induced by 3 h of cold + restraint stress (CRS) in rats. Apomorphine, d-amphetamine, methylphenidate, and threo-dl-p-hydroxymethylphenidate (an hydroxylated analog of methylphenidate), significantly reduced both the incidence and severity of CRS-induced gastric ulcers. The gastric cytoprotection afforded by these agents was dose-related, and completely antagonized by pretreatment with the peripheally acting DA antagonist domperidone. Because domperidone blocks peripheral, but not central, DA receptors, and since the entry of threo-dl-p-hydroxymethylphenidate across the blood-brain barrier into the brain is restricted to a great extent, we conclude that stimulation of peripheral DA receptors is primarily involved in the gastric cytoprotection induced by dopamimetics.The pathogenesis of stress-induced gastric ulcers remains largely unknown, and significant efforts have been made over the last decade to functionally characterize some of the factors involved in the etiology of this disease. Considerable attention has been focused on gastric acid secretion, but its primary role in stress-induced gastric ulcer disease remains uncertain. In fact, agents which effectively inhibit or neutralize gastric acid secretion such as cimetidine or antacids do not necessarily exert protection against stress-induced gastric ulcers (1,2). Moreover, in our original studies with neurotensin, a brain and gastrointestinal peptide, we have found that central administration of this neuropeptide, which completely prevents the development of cold + restraint stress (CRS)-induced gastric ulcers, does not appreciably alter gastric acid secretion (2). These findings support the contention that gastric acid secretion may not be an important factor in the development of this type of gastric ulcer.There is, however, considerable evidence that the automatic nervous system plays an intermediary role in the development of these ulcers (3,4). In this regard, surgical or pharmacological blockade of the vagal (cholinergic) division of the autonomic nervous system prevents the appearance of stress-associated gastric ulcers (5,6). Direct stimulation of catecholamine receptors, or indirect activation via increased sympathetic outflow to the periphery (7,4,8–11) appears to produce a salutary effect of stress-induced gastric ulcers.Szabo and his associates (12, 13, 14) have extensively studied the anti ulcer effects of dopamine (DA) in duodenal ulcer formation. Whether DA also modifies the development of stress-induced gastric ulcers is currently unknown.We have therefore evaluated the effect of selected DA receptor agonists and antagonists on CRS-induced gastric ulcer formation in rats.     

Seasonal and size-related changes in the food of the short-finned eel,Anguilla australis in Lake Ellesmere,Canterbury, New Zealand

Synopsis An approximately monthly sampling programme in Lake Ellesmere, Canterbury, New Zealand, from January 1974 to April 1976 yielded 487 eels. The stomachs were fixed in 10% neutralised formalin and the contents examined. Preliminary analysis indicated that the mollusc Potamopyrgus antipodarum, the isopod Austridotea annectens, the mysid Tenagomysis chiltoni, the amphipod Paracalliope fluviatilis, the midge larva Chironomus zealandicus and the teleosts Retropinna retropinna, Galaxias maculatus and Gobiomorphus cotidianus together made up the bulk of the diet. The pre-ingested dry weight (i.e. the reconstructed weight) of the most important of these prey species was obtained by relating the length of a digestion resistant part to actual dry weight in field collected specimens. Regression equations for this relationship in each season enabled the reconstructed dry weight of each stomach item to be calculated. In some instances reconstructed weight was less than the actual digested dry weight of the prey specimen. In every case the larger value was used. This method is referred to as Combination Dry Weight (CDW) and is believed to be new. These data, used in conjunction with the energy content of the species concerned, enabled the caloric dietary contribution of each prey species to be determined. Comparison of relative contribution to eel diet between CDW and energy values calculated from CDW and bomb calorimetry revealed large differences. Marked variations in diet between ⩽40 cm, 40.1–50 cm, and>50.1 cm size classes were also shown. Eels ≤40 cm feed primarily on invertebrates and become progressively more piscivorous as they grow. Eels >50.1 cm are almost entirely piscivorous. Seasonal differences in diet also exist within each size class examined.     

Confirmation of Occurrence of Hydroxamate Siderophores in Soil by a Novel Escherichia coli Bioassay

The occurrence of ferrichrome-type hydroxamate siderophores in soil was confirmed. In the presence of the iron-scavenging chelator ethylenediamine[di(o-hydroxyphenylacetic)acid], soil extract stimulated the growth of an Escherichia coli strain possessing the ferrichrome transport protein (TonA) but did not stimulate growth of a strain lacking this protein (TonA⁻). The siderophore concentration in a 1:1 (soil-water) extract was estimated to be approximately 78 nM. Specificity of the assay was supported by the absence of significant differential strain responses to ferric citrate, ferric 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate, enterochelin, ferrioxamine B, coprogen, and triacetylfusigen.     

The effect of grazing intensity on phosphorus spiralling in autotropic streams

The effect of grazing on primary productivity and phosphorus cycling in autotrophic streams was studied using the snail Goniobasis clavaeformes. Snails were added to each of three replicate laboratory stream channels, receiving once-through flow of groundwater, in densities of 2.1, 3.0, and 4.2 g ash free dry mass (AFDM)/m². A fourth channel received no snails and served as an ungrazed control. Presence of snail grazers resulted in a large reduction in aufwuchs biomass, primary productivity, and biotic phosphorus uptake; a modest reduction in fine particulate organic matter (FPOM); and an increase in the fraction of stream particulate organic matter (POM) exported as seston. Although primary production and aufwuchs biomass continued to decline with increasing snail density, phosphorus uptake increased. This increased phosphorus uptake is attributed to abiotic sorption to inorganic surfaces exposed as a result of efficient removal of aufwuchs at high snail densities. Although snail densities were chosen to bracket the density measured in a natural stream, the experimental densities may result in considerably higher grazing pressure on aufwuchs due to the absence of alternate food sources (e.g., coarse particulate organic matter) usually found in natural streams. Presence of snail grazers increased the spiralling length of phosphorus, primarily by reducing aufwuchs biomass and consequently reducing uptake of phosphorus from the water. Presence of snails also increased downstream transport velocity of phosphorus bound to organic particles. These results follow the patterns predicted in a previous theoretical analysis for mildly phosphorus-limited streams.