Changes in Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus populations in upland forests in Yorkshire

The Nightjar populations of Yorkshire's upland forests have grown significantly during recent years, probably as a result of a concurrent increase in the available area of suitable habitat due to forest management. In common with other populations it appears that the birds utilize younger, more open plantations. Comparison, based on discriminant analysis, of the habitat characteristics of forest plantations occupied and unoccupied by Nightjars suggests two things. First, that birds are more likely to occupy larger rather than smaller clearings and, second, that the study populations are close to their maxima. However, with continuing rotational felling, the area should continue to support a similar population.     

Influence of electrical stimulation on a fast-twitch muscle in aging rats.

Recently we observed that the flexor digitorum longus muscle of the Fischer 344 rat, which is comprised primarily of type IIb muscle, does not change in size, fiber type, or physiological characteristics during senescence [Am. J. Physiol. 258 (Cell Physiol. 27): C1031-C1035, 1990]. This muscle was utilized to determine whether a predominantly fast-twitch glycolytic muscle would respond to tonic electrical stimulation (ES) with the same degree of fiber-type transformation in aging and young rats. The extent of transformation was quantified by measuring the contractile and metabolic properties, as well as the fiber-type composition, of the flexor digitorum longus muscle after ES (10 Hz, 8 h/day) imposed on the tibial nerve for periods of 0-90 days in young adult (YG; 6-8 mo), middle-aged (MA; 16-18 mo), and senescent (SN; 26-28 mo) male Fischer 344 rats. Although ES induced a IIb-to-IIa fiber-type shift in all groups, in the SN rats the shift was significantly less pronounced at the intermediate time points and remained incomplete after 90 days, compared with YG and MA rats. ES resulted in a reduction in tetanic tension (Po), which in the YG and MA rats was due to a reduction in muscle cross-sectional area. In the SN rats the reduced Po was due to a combined loss of cross-sectional area and specific tension (Po, N/cm2). Contraction and half-relaxation times were largely unaffected by ES, and maximal velocity of unloaded shortening declined throughout ES in all groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

A novel thermosensitive escape behavior in Drosophila larvae

We describe a novel thermosensitive escape behavior in Drosophila larvae and a simple assay to accurately define the response temperature. When a larva is placed in a droplet of water that is subsequently heated, a stereotypical escape response is robustly elicited at 29°C. Larvae defective for the painless TRP receptor, or blocked in the function of class IV multi-dendritic sensory dendrites respond to this stimulus at reproducibly higher temperature (34°C). The escape response has novel behavioral components and a lower temperature threshold in comparison with the responses to touch with a hot needle. Furthermore the assay minimizes operator bias that is present in current tests of thermosensitive nociception and generates a precise determination of temperature at the point of response. This response is highly reproducible and directly applicable to genetic and neural circuit analysis of a simple escape behavior.     

Activation of the glucose transporter GLUT4 by insulin.

The transport of glucose into cells and tissues is a highly regulated process, mediated by a family of facilitative glucose transporters (GLUTs). Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake is primarily mediated by the transporter isoform GLUT4, which is predominantly expressed in mature skeletal muscle and fat tissues. Our recent work suggests that two separate pathways are initiated in response to insulin: (i) to recruit transporters to the cell surface from intracellular pools and (ii) to increase the intrinsic activity of the transporters. These pathways are differentially inhibited by wortmannin, demonstrating that the two pathways do not operate in series. Conversely, inhibitors of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) imply that p38 MAPK is involved only in the regulation of the pathway leading to the insulin-stimulated activation of GLUT4. This review discusses the evidence for the divergence of GLUT4 translocation and activity and proposed mechanisms for the regulation of GLUT4.