Mating systems and territory in Lapwings Vanellus vanellus

In a population of Lapwings Vanellus vanellus studied for 5 years near Bergen, southwester Norway, 23–41% of the males were polygynous, having two and sometimes three mates, whereas 50–77% were monogamous and 0–21% remained unmated. Bachelors held territories in or immediately adjacent to the study area each of the years. As predicted from the Polygyny Threshold model, primary females generally laid eggs earlier than monogamous females, but the overlap in laying dates was substantial between these two classes. The number of females and start of breeding on the territories were analysed in relation to nine variables pertaining to safety from predation and to food. Of these, territory size correlated most consistently with number of females (positively) and the laying of first egg (negatively). Numbers of females observed were not significantly different from numbers expected from territory size in 4 out of 5 years; however, earlier start of breeding on large territories indicated that females did not settle according to the Neutral Mate Choice model. The Female-biased Sex Ratio hypothesis was refuted, unmated territorial males being available throughout the breeding seasons.     

Impact of Weakened Geomagnetic Field on Proliferative Activity and Viability of K562 and C3H10T1/2 Cells

Biophysics - The impact of weakened geomagnetic field on K562 and C3H10T1/2 cells, including cells under condition of induced oxidative stress, is studied. The weakened geomagnetic field is found...     

Hypoglycemic effect of insulin incorporated into liposomes after oral administration to animals with different types of experimental diabetes

Different doses of insulin incorporated into liposomes were administered to normal animals and to those with certain forms of experimental diabetes. Lecithin-cholesterol liposomes in the molar ratio 9:1 were used. They were formed by the supersound treatment of the lipid suspension with the crystalline insulin in the buffer containing 140 mM NaCl and 10 mM tris-HCl (pH 7.4). Incorporation of insulin into liposomes was 16.2% in determination by [125I] insulin and 9.7% in determination of immunoreactive insulin after destruction of liposomes. Dynamics of glycemia and insulinemia was studied in these animals. It is established that insulin from liposomes being per os administered to animals evokes an expressed hypoglycemic effect and hyperinsulinemia. Effective sugar-lowering doses of liposomal insulin for animals with the experimental diabetes were from 6 ME/kg and for normal animals--from 30 ME/kg.     

Air-blood barrier of the lungs in acute hypoxic hypoxia as affected by liposomes

Phospholipids injected into the organism under an acute hypoxic hypoxia prevent development of ultrastructural disorders in the air-blood barrier of the lungs, thus averting development of the pulmonary acute hypoxic hypoxia.     

A Hypomagnetic Field Modulates the Susceptibility of Erythrocytes to tert-Butyl Hydroperoxide in Rats

Biophysics - Abstract—Red blood cells of rats were exposed to the earth’s magnetic field and an attenuated magnetic field in the presence of tert-butyl hydroperoxide to induce oxidative...     

On the character of hygienic science

In its nature, ends and purposes, hygiene is a medical science. Consequently, it can be axiomatically accepted that the character of medicine is also the character of hygiene. Traditionally, medicine ranks among biological sciences. The author deliberates on the need to regard the current complex of medical sciences, hygiene included, as socio-biological sciences.     

Positional Cloning Reveals Strain-Dependent Expression of Trim16 to Alter Susceptibility to Bleomycin-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis in Mice

Pulmonary fibrosis is a disease of significant morbidity, with no effective therapeutics and an as yet incompletely defined genetic basis. The chemotherapeutic agent bleomycin induces pulmonary fibrosis in susceptible C57BL/6J mice but not in mice of the C3H/HeJ strain, and this differential strain response has been used in prior studies to map bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis susceptibility loci named Blmpf1 and Blmpf2. In this study we isolated the quantitative trait gene underlying Blmpf2 initially by histologically phenotyping the bleomycin-induced lung disease of sublines of congenic mice to reduce the linkage region to 13 genes. Of these genes, Trim16 was identified to have strain-dependent expression in the lung, which we determined was due to sequence variation in the promoter. Over-expression of Trim16 by plasmid injection increased pulmonary fibrosis, and bronchoalveolar lavage levels of both interleukin 12/23-p40 and neutrophils, in bleomycin treated B6.C3H-Blmpf2 subcongenic mice compared to subcongenic mice treated with bleomycin only, which follows the C57BL/6J versus C3H/HeJ strain difference in these traits. In summary we demonstrate that genetic variation in Trim16 leads to its strain-dependent expression, which alters susceptibility to bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice.