The effect of opioid peptides on ovine pituitary gonadotropin secretion in vitro

Although a hypothalamic site of action has been firmly established for opiate-mediated gonadotropin regulation, there have been several reports which indicate the possibility of a direct influence on the pituitary gland. The objective of this study was to further investigate this possibility in an in vitro pituitary perifusion system utilizing ovine tissue. Treatment with gamma-endorphin (GE) or human beta-endorphin (hBE) resulted in elevated basal LH release (p less than 0.05), followed by an inhibition in the response to a subsequent GnRH challenge (p less than 0.05). The stimulatory effect of hBE was found to be dose-responsive (p less than 0.01). PRL secretion was not similarly stimulated. Ovine beta-endorphin (oBE) had no effect on LH secretion, even though it differs from hBE by only 2 amino acids and contains the active GE sequence. Met-enkephalin also did not influence gonadotropin secretion. Naloxone pretreatment did not reverse the effects of hBE on gonadotropin release. It was found, however, that [D-pGlu1, D-Phe2, D-Trp3,6]-GnRH, a specific GnRH receptor antagonist, did reduce hBE-induced LH and FSH release (p less than 0.05). Naloxone pretreatment alone suppressed the response to GnRH (p less than 0.05). These data indicate that certain opioid peptides can influence ovine gonadotropin secretion in vitro by activating the GnRH receptor. Furthermore, a facilitory role is suggested for endogenous opiates in the local regulation of pituitary gonadotropin secretion.     

Insulin clearance during hypoglycemia in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Eight male patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) without residual beta-cell function were studied on two occasions in random order. In one experiment hypoglycemia was induced by a constant rate iv infusion of insulin (0.034 U/kg/h) during 150 minutes. At the other occasion an identical infusion of insulin was given, but this time euglycemia was maintained by a variable iv infusion of glucose. Plasma levels of free insulin were almost identical during the two experiments indicating that insulin clearance is not influenced by hypoglycemia in patients with IDDM.     

The genus Phaeophyscia in East Africa

Eight species of the lichen genus Phaeophyscia are recorded from East Africa. Two species, P. confusa Moberg and P. fumosa Moberg, are described as new. The delimitation of the genus is discussed and the publication date of the combinations P. hirsuta (Mereschk.) Moberg, P. hispidula (Ach.) Moberg and P. rubropulchra (De–gel.) Moberg is stated.     

Environmental enrichment promotes neural plasticity and cognitive ability in fish

Different kinds of experience during early life can play a significant role in the development of an animal''s behavioural phenotype. In natural contexts, this influences behaviours from anti-predator responses to navigation abilities. By contrast, for animals reared in captive environments, the homogeneous nature of their experience tends to reduce behavioural flexibility. Studies with cage-reared rodents indicate that captivity often compromises neural development and neural plasticity. Such neural and behavioural deficits can be problematic if captive-bred animals are being reared with the intention of releasing them as part of a conservation strategy. Over the last decade, there has been growing interest in the use of environmental enrichment to promote behavioural flexibility in animals that are bred for release. Here, we describe the positive effects of environmental enrichment on neural plasticity and cognition in juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Exposing fish to enriched conditions upregulated the forebrain expression of NeuroD1 mRNA and improved learning ability assessed in a spatial task. The addition of enrichment to the captive environment thus promotes neural and behavioural changes that are likely to promote behavioural flexibility and improve post-release survival.     

Endurance Exercise Enhances the Effect of Strength Training on Muscle Fiber Size and Protein Expression of Akt and mTOR

Reports concerning the effect of endurance exercise on the anabolic response to strength training have been contradictory. This study re-investigated this issue, focusing on training effects on indicators of protein synthesis and degradation. Two groups of male subjects performed 7 weeks of resistance exercise alone (R; n = 7) or in combination with preceding endurance exercise, including both continuous and interval cycling (ER; n = 9). Muscle biopsies were taken before and after the training period. Similar increases in leg-press 1 repetition maximum (30%; P<0.05) were observed in both groups, whereas maximal oxygen uptake was elevated (8%; P<0.05) only in the ER group. The ER training enlarged the areas of both type I and type II fibers, whereas the R protocol increased only the type II fibers. The mean fiber area increased by 28% (P<0.05) in the ER group, whereas no significant increase was observed in the R group. Moreover, expression of Akt and mTOR protein was enhanced in the ER group, whereas only the level of mTOR was elevated following R training. Training-induced alterations in the levels of both Akt and mTOR protein were correlated to changes in type I fiber area (r = 0.55–0.61, P<0.05), as well as mean fiber area (r = 0.55–0.61, P<0.05), reflecting the important role played by these proteins in connection with muscle hypertrophy. Both training regimes reduced the level of MAFbx protein (P<0.05) and tended to elevate that of MuRF-1. The present findings indicate that the larger hypertrophy observed in the ER group is due more to pronounced stimulation of anabolic rather than inhibition of catabolic processes.     

A population‐based temporal logic gate for timing and recording chemical events

Engineered bacterial sensors have potential applications in human health monitoring, environmental chemical detection, and materials biosynthesis. While such bacterial devices have long been engineered to differentiate between combinations of inputs, their potential to process signal timing and duration has been overlooked. In this work, we present a two‐input temporal logic gate that can sense and record the order of the inputs, the timing between inputs, and the duration of input pulses. Our temporal logic gate design relies on unidirectional DNA recombination mediated by bacteriophage integrases to detect and encode sequences of input events. For an E. coli strain engineered to contain our temporal logic gate, we compare predictions of Markov model simulations with laboratory measurements of final population distributions for both step and pulse inputs. Although single cells were engineered to have digital outputs, stochastic noise created heterogeneous single‐cell responses that translated into analog population responses. Furthermore, when single‐cell genetic states were aggregated into population‐level distributions, these distributions contained unique information not encoded in individual cells. Thus, final differentiated sub‐populations could be used to deduce order, timing, and duration of transient chemical events.     

Lactate release from adipose tissue and skeletal muscle in vivo: defective insulin regulation in insulin-resistant obese women

To study the local tissue lactate production in the normal state and its possible disturbances in insulin resistance, rates of lactate release from adipose tissue (AT) and skeletal muscle (SM) were compared postabsorptively and during a hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp in 11 healthy nonobese and 11 insulin-resistant obese women. A combination of microdialysis, to measure interstitial lactate, and the 133Xe clearance technique, to determine local blood flow, were used. In the controls, local blood flow increased by 40% in SM (P<0.05) and remained unchanged in AT, whereas the interstitial-plasma difference in lactate doubled in AT (P<0.005) and was unaffected in SM during hyperinsulinemia. In the obese, blood flow and interstitial-plasma difference in lactate remained unchanged in both tissues during hyperinsulinemia. The lactate release (micromol100 g-1min-1) was 1.17+/-0.22 in SM and 0.43+/-0.11 in AT among the controls (P<0.01) and 0.86+/-0.23 in SM and 0.83+/-0.25 in AT among the obese women in the postabsorptive state. During insulin infusion, lactate release in the controls increased to 1.92+/-0.26 in SM (P<0.005) and to 1.14+/-0.22 in AT (P<0.005) but remained unchanged in the obese women. It is concluded that AT and SM are both significant sources of lactate release postabsorptively, and AT is at least as responsive to insulin as SM. The ability to increase lactate release in response to insulin is impaired in AT and SM in insulin-resistant obese women, involving defective insulin regulation of both tissue lactate metabolism and local blood flow.