GRF-induced feeding: Evidence for protein selectivity and opiate involvement

Growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF) is a hypothalamic peptide named for its ability to induce release of growth hormone from the anterior pituitary. GRF also acts as a neurotransmitter in the suprachiasmatic nucleus/medial preoptic area (SCN/MPOA) to stimulate food intake. The purpose of this series of experiments was to explore the nature of GRF-induced feeding, with a particular emphasis on macronutrient selectivity, and to examine the role of opiate activity in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN). Chow intake stimulated by GRF microinjection (1 pmol/0.5 μl) into the SCN/MPOA was blocked by injection of methyl-naltrexone (3 μg/0.5 μl) into the PVN. In animals habituated to macronutrient diets (Teklad, WI), GRF preferentially stimulated intake of protein at 2 and 4 h postinjection, whereas it had no effect on carbohydrate intake. Further, this effect was blocked by injection of naloxone (40 nmol/0.5 μl) into the PVN. Microinjection of morphine (0, 1, 10, and 17 μg/0.5 μl) into the PVN also specifically stimulated protein intake at 2 and 4 h postinjection. These results suggest that feeding derived from GRF actions in the SCN/MPOA is macronutrient selective, and is dependent on PVN opiate activity for expression.     

Sensory Neurons Contacting the Cerebrospinal Fluid Require the Reissner Fiber to Detect Spinal Curvature In Vivo

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Ethnobotanical review of wild edible plants in Spain

This paper compiles and evaluates the ethnobotanical data currently available on wild plants traditionally used for human consumption in Spain. Forty-six ethnobotanical and ethnographical sources from Spain were reviewed, together with some original unpublished field data from several Spanish provinces. A total of 419 plant species belonging to 67 families was recorded. A list of species, plant parts used, localization and method of consumption, and harvesting time is presented. Of the seven different food categories considered, green vegetables were the largest group, followed by plants used to prepare beverages, wild fruits, and plants used for seasoning, sweets, preservatives, and other uses. Important species according to the number of reports include: Foeniculum vulgare , Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum , Origanum vulgare , Rubus ulmifolius , Silene vulgaris , Asparagus acutifolius , and Scolymus hispanicus . We studied data on the botanical families to which the plants in the different categories belonged, overlapping between groups and distribution of uses of the different species. Many wild food plants have also been used for medicinal purposes and some are considered to be poisonous. This review highlights the rich traditional knowledge on edible plants that has remained in rural Spain. Until recently, many wild plants were used as dietary supplements. However, most of this knowledge survives only in the memory of the elderly, and will probably disappear in a few decades.  © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2006, 152 , 27–71.     

Reflections on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Genetic Resources in the Deep Seabed Beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction

Attention is increasingly being given to genetic resources in the deep seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction owing to their considerable potential scientific and economic value. At the same time, there are concerns that the increased demand for these genetic resources may result in their unsustainable collection or even in the extinction of species in the deep seabed. At present there is no specific legal framework governing these resources in international law. Thus, this article explores the relevant rules of international law applicable to the conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources in the deep seabed.     

Withdrawn food rate for larvae of Siberian moth on conifers of Siberia

Experimental evaluation of the mass of food withdrawn by larvae of the Siberian moth during their development on larch, cedar pine, fir, spruce, and common pine was carried out. The obtained dependences between the masses of larvae and food withdrawn by them can be directly used to determine the withdrawn food rate of Siberian moth on each of the Siberian conifer species.     

DIA-Based Proteomics Identifies IDH2 as a Targetable Regulator of Acquired Drug Resistance in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Drug resistance is a critical obstacle to effective treatment in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia. To understand the underlying resistance mechanisms in response to imatinib mesylate (IMA) and adriamycin (ADR), the parental K562 cells were treated with low doses of IMA or ADR for 2 months to generate derivative cells with mild, intermediate, and severe resistance to the drugs as defined by their increasing resistance index. PulseDIA-based (DIA [data-independent acquisition]) quantitative proteomics was then employed to reveal the proteome changes in these resistant cells. In total, 7082 proteins from 98,232 peptides were identified and quantified from the dataset using four DIA software tools including OpenSWATH, Spectronaut, DIA-NN, and EncyclopeDIA. Sirtuin signaling pathway was found to be significantly enriched in both ADR-resistant and IMA-resistant K562 cells. In particular, isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADP(+)) 2 was identified as a potential drug target correlated with the drug resistance phenotype, and its inhibition by the antagonist AGI-6780 reversed the acquired resistance in K562 cells to either ADR or IMA. Together, our study has implicated isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADP(+)) 2 as a potential target that can be therapeutically leveraged to alleviate the drug resistance in K562 cells when treated with IMA and ADR.     

Epitope Analysis of Soybean Major Allergen Gly m Bd 30K Recognized by the Mouse Monoclonal Antibody Using Overlapping Peptides

The epitopes of the major soybean allergen, Gly m Bd 30K, recognized by mouse monoclonal antibodies H6 and F5 were investigated by using synthetic peptides bound to pins. The epitopes are shown to be localized in peptide ³¹QGGCGRGWAFSATGAI-EA⁴⁸ for H6, and in ¹¹⁵ DKVTIDGYETLIMSDEST¹³² for F5.     

Conservation of two predator species for biological control ofChrysophtharta bimaculata (Col.: Chrysomelidae) in tasmanian forests

Chrysophtharta bimaculata (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is a major defoliator of regeneration eucalypt trees in Tasmania causing a significant reduction in height and diameter increment of trees which reduces wood volume per hectare. A study to conserve and enhance the efficiency of coccinellid species chieflyCleobora mellyi (Mulsant) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), and the cantharid,Chauliognathus pulchellus (Macleay) (Coleoptera: Cantharidae), for the biological control ofC. bimaculata was conducted in young regeneration forests in southern Tasmania from 1991–92. Cantharid adults and coccinellid adults and larvae feed onC. bimaculata eggs and, to a lesser extent, young larvae. The study found that coccinellids were more active throughout the egg and early (1^st and 2^nd) stage ofC. bimaculata. The cantharid, however was active only during the egg stage of the prey and then disappeared from the plantation. The coccinellids were therefore the most useful predators, but their population declined when the prey reached the 3^rd and 4^th stages. As shortage of food may account for this decline, supplementary food was provided in the form of sucrose sprays or sugar granules at a feeding station. This resulted in the retention of both predators and particularly the coccinellids and enhanced their efficacy.     

Comparing multiple correspondence and principal component analyses with biomechanical signals. Example with turning the steering wheel

The purpose of this article is to compare Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and a much less used method, i.e. MCA (Multiple Correspondence Analysis) with data being first changed into membership values to fuzzy space windows. For such a comparison, data from an experimental study about turning the steering wheel is used. In a didactic perspective, this article only considers one multidimensional signal with 5 components: 3 linked to the steering wheel angle and hand positions and 2 to hand effort variables. A discussion weighs out the pros and the cons of both methods with criteria such as the possibility to show complex relational phenomena, the analysis/computing time or the information loss inherent to the averaging stage (in the perspective to analyze several hundreds of large multidimensional signals).