bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Trophic ecology of groundwater species reveals specialization in a low‐productivity environment
Authors: Francois Clémentine M. , Mermillod‐Blondin Florian , Malard Florian , Fourel Francois , Lécuyer Christophe , Douady Christophe J. , Simon Laurent
Published: May 2015

Identifying feeding strategies at lower bounds of habitat productivity is fundamental to understand the relationship between energy availability and trophic specialization. Low productivity is expected to severely constrain trophic specialization because organisms may no longer be able to fulfil their energy requirements by feeding on a reduced set of resources. However, species living in low‐productivity habitats often exhibit particular biological traits such as low metabolic rates and high food‐finding abilities, which may release constraints on trophic specialization.

In the present study, we used carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stable isotopes to measure the degree of trophic specialization in two species of isopods (Proasellus valdensis and Proasellus cavaticus) living in groundwater, one of the most energy‐limited environments on earth. Fundamental specialization was obtained from a 13C/15N‐labelling experiment in the laboratory: we measured separately the carbon and nitrogen assimilation rates of the two species across the three food sources encountered in their natural cave habitats (fine and coarse particulate organic matter and sedimentary biofilm). Then, for each species, we tested for variation in diet composition among individuals and populations by quantifying the relative contribution of the three food sources to the diet of multiple individuals within 5 cave populations.

The labelling experiment showed that both species assimilated about 10 times more carbon and at least 4 times more nitrogen from sedimentary biofilm than from both forms of particulate organic matter. Field samplings showed that sedimentary biofilm made up, on average, 83% of the diet of isopods. Moreover, we found almost no variation in diet among individuals of a cave population as well as among cave populations within species.

This study provides the first evidence of a high degree of trophic specialization in a low‐productivity cave environment. Both species exhibited a strong fundamental specialization on sedimentary biofilm and most probably fed selectively on this food source in their natural environment. Our findings challenge the prediction that species would adopt generalist feeding strategies at lower bounds of habitat productivity.
How to do things with examples: Sufis, dreams, and anthropology
Authors: Mittermaier Amira
Published: May 2015

In this paper I explore how members of a Sufi community in Egypt use dream‐stories as examples to evoke an otherwise invisible realm, and how I, in turn, use their stories ethnographically. My Sufi interlocutors use examples to invite others into the realm of the imagination, to draw listeners into the shaykh's spiritual aura, and to offer a model for emulation that sometimes triggers similar experiences in others. Their approach to examples poses a challenge to the logic of representation, in which a particular stands in for a larger whole. Instead it points to an evocative logic in which examples do not merely represent; they also do things. Whereas ethnographic examples tend to oscillate between representation and evocation, referential language ideologies largely obscure the example's evocative power. I suggest that my interlocutors’ use of, and approach to, examples can help us think about the example as evocative and performative, including the ways in which examples act upon and through anthropologists.
Differential effects of bevacizumab, ranibizumab and aflibercept on cell viability, phagocytosis and mitochondrial bioenergetics of retinal pigment epithelial cell
Authors: Sheu Shwu‐Jiuan , Chao Yung‐Mei , Liu Ni‐Chun , Chan Julie Y.H.
Published: May 2015

Purpose

To evaluate the short‐ and long‐term effects of most clinically used anti‐vascular endothelial growth factor agents, including bevacizumab, ranibizumab or aflibercept, on cell viability, phagocytosis, mitochondrial bioenergetics and the oxidant acrolein‐induced oxidative stress of human adult retinal pigment epithelial (ARPE)‐19 cells.

Methods

In cultured ARPE‐19 cells, cell viability was measured by the 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay, phagocytotic activity and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level were determined by flow cytometry, mitochondrial bioenergetics was assessed using a Seahorse XF24 Extracellular Flux Analyzer, and protein expression was measured by Western blotting.

Results

Long‐term exposure to all three agents had no effect on cell viability; but rescued the ARPE‐19 cells from acrolein‐induced decrease in cell viability. Bevacizumab, but not ranibizumab or aflibercept, suppressed the phagocytotic activity of ARPE‐19 cells and exerted significantly less protection against acrolein‐induced inhibition of phagocytosis. Both ranibizumab and aflibercept increased basal respiratory rate and maximal mitochondrial respiratory capacity after 1‐hr exposure; but returned to baseline following 24‐ or 72‐hr exposure. In contrast, both responses were reduced on short‐term exposure, but augmented after long‐term exposure to bevacizumab. Long‐term pretreatment with all three agents reversed acrolein‐induced impairment of mitochondrial bioenergetics, overproduction of ROS and phosphorylation of the mitogen‐activated protein kinases in ARPE‐19 cells.

Conclusion

Bevacizumab might affect mitochondrial bioenergetics differently from that by ranibizumab and aflibercept. Ranibizumab and aflibercept at their therapeutic dose protect against acrolein‐induced oxidative cytotoxicity in human ARPE‐19 cells via an increase in mitochondrial bioenergetics. An early protective action on mitochondrial bioenergetic capacity might be used to predict possible long‐term antioxidative effects of the agents in the eye.
Systematic review: the prevention of oesophageal stricture after endoscopic resection
Authors: Barret M. , Beye B. , Leblanc S. , Beuvon F. , Chaussade S. , Batteux F. , Prat F.
Published: May 2015

Background

Extensive endoscopic resections for the treatment of early oesophageal neoplasia can result in fibro‐inflammatory strictures that require repeated interventions, which significantly alter the patients’ quality of life.

Aims

To review current evidence about the prevention of oesophageal strictures following endoscopic resections.

Methods

Systematic search of PubMed and Embase from inception to March 2015 using appropriate keywords. All original publications in English were included, and articles on the treatment of oesophageal stricture were excluded.

Results

Of the 461 hits, 62 studies were included in the analysis. Among the wound‐protective strategies, polyglycolic acid sheets showed the most convincing evidence with a 37.5% stricture rate and excellent safety. Regenerative medicine, using cell sheets of autologous keratinocytes, resulted in a 25% stricture rate, although with cost and availability concerns. Among anti‐proliferative treatment modalities, steroid treatment, either endoscopically injected triamcinolone in the resection wound or orally administered prednisolone, proved effective with an overall stricture rate of 13.5%, with safety concerns regarding late oesophageal perforations and infectious morbidity. Among mechanical treatment options, poorly effective and high‐risk preventive balloon dilation tend to be replaced by prophylactic covered stent, with 18–28% stricture rates.

Conclusions

Although oral or locally injected steroids are promising options, no currently available technique is sufficiently efficient and devoid of significant safety concerns to recommend its routine use for the prevention of strictures after extensive endoscopic resection. Improving our knowledge in the mechanisms of oesophageal wound healing will guide the development of novel methods for stricture prevention.
Increasing the Permeability of the Blood–brain Barrier in Three Different Models in vivo
Authors: Liu Wei‐Ye , Wang Zhi‐Bin , Wang Yue , Tong Ling‐Chang , Li Ya , Wei Xin , Luan Ping , Li Ling
Published: May 2015

Aims

Blood–brain barrier (BBB) plays significant roles in the circumstance maintains for the central nervous system (CNS). The dysfunction of the BBB could occur in all pathological conditions of CNS diseases, such as ischemic stroke, cerebral edema, or inflammatory disorders. However, the comparisons among different animal models with a broken BBB in vivo are still need to be further studied.

Methods

Here we used three different mice models in vivo, including MCAO induce, LPS treatment, and cold injury to mimic the situation in clinic. The permeability of BBB in three models was detected by perfusion of Evan's blue dye. The functional proteins of the BBB including claudin‐5, VE‐cadherin, and caveolin‐1 were compared in three different models in vivo.

Results

With the hyperpermeability of Evan's blue in the three models, both claudin‐5 and VE‐cadherin were decreased, while the expression of caveolin‐1 was increased. Our study showed that BBB dysfunction induced by MCAO in mice was relatively stable, reliable, and moderate compared with LPS or cold injury‐induced BBB permeability models, although the procedural time was generally long and operation complexity was hard. Moreover, our study also found that the model of the increased BBB permeability by cold injury was severe in the regional cerebral tissue and the model treated with LPS was mild in the global cerebral tissue. The operation of the two models in vivo was easy, quick, and stable.

Conclusion

The MCAO model was the most suitable for studying the permeability of BBB among the three models in vivo.
Food and fluid texture consumption in a population‐based cohort of preschool children with cerebral palsy: relationship to dietary intake
Authors: Benfer Katherine A , Weir Kelly A , Bell Kristie L , Ware Robert S , Davies Peter S W , Boyd Roslyn N
Published: May 2015

Aim

To determine the texture constitution of children's diets and its relationship to oropharyngeal dysphagia (OPD), dietary intake, and gross motor function in young children with cerebral palsy (CP).

Method

A cross‐sectional, population‐based cohort study comprising 99 young children with CP (65 males, 35 females) aged 18 to 36 months (mean age 27mo; Gross Motor Function Classification System [GMFCS] level I, n=45; II, n=13; III, n=14; IV, n=10; V, n=17). CP subtypes were classified as spastic unilateral (n=35), spastic bilateral (n=49), dyskinetic (n=5), and other (n=10), in accordance with the criteria of the Surveillance of Cerebral Palsy in Europe. Habitual dietary intake of food textures, energy, and water were determined from parent‐completed 3‐day weighed food records. Parent‐reported feeding ability of food textures was reported on the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory and a feeding questionnaire. OPD was classified based on clinical feeding assessment using the Dysphagia Disorders Survey (rated by a certified assessor, KAB) and a subjective Swallowing Safety Recommendation (classified by a paediatric speech pathologist, KAB).

Results

Food/fluid textures were modified for 39% of children. Children with poorer gross motor function tended to receive a greater proportion of energy from fluids (GMFCS levels IV–V: β=0.9, p=0.002) in their diets and fewer chewable foods (level III: β=−0.7, p=0.03; levels IV–V: β=−1.8, p<0.001) compared to level I to II participants. Fluids represented a texture for which children frequently had OPD and the texture most frequently identified as unsafe (or recommended for instrumental assessment).

Interpretation

These findings indicate that swallowing safety, feeding efficiency, and energy/water intake should be considered when providing feeding recommendations for children with CP.
Use of a growth model to assess the suboptimal growth of Atlantic salmon parr in a subarctic river
Authors: Sánchez‐Hernández Javier , Gabler Heidi‐Marie , Elliott J. Malcolm , Amundsen Per‐Arne
Published: May 2015

This study tested the hypothesis that Atlantic salmon parr grew suboptimally according to the water temperature regime during the ice‐free season (from May to September) in the subarctic River Reisa (northern Norway). A laboratory‐based growth model was used to estimate the optimal growth which was then compared with the observed growth of the parr in the river. Water temperatures were recorded every second hour with a submersible data logger, and observed and predicted growth of several age classes were compared at two nearby nursery habitats. Except for parr aged 2, most age classes showed no significant change, or even a weight loss, from May to July, whereas from July to September, positive growth was found for all age classes coinciding with favourable temperatures above a critical temperature for growth. The parr growth rates were suboptimal, being lower than the predicted values, but values for observed and predicted body mass were not significantly different in five of 12 comparisons. Hence, the fish were sometimes unable to grow according to the optimal baseline set by the temperature regime. Therefore, factors other than temperature, such as limited food resources and resource competition, may also be a major determinant of Atlantic salmon parr growth. Our study demonstrates how growth predictions based on mathematical models may be employed by fish ecologists to identify growth deficiencies in wild fish populations.
Three‐dimensional morphometric analysis of microglial changes in a mouse model of virus encephalitis: age and environmental influences
Authors: de Sousa Aline A. , dos Reis Renata R. , de Lima Camila M. , de Oliveira Marcus A. , Fernandes Taiany N. , Gomes Giovanni F. , Diniz Daniel G. , Magalhães Nara M. , Diniz Cristovam G. , Sosthenes Marcia C. K. , Bento‐Torres João , Diniz José Antonio P. , Vasconcelos Pedro F. da C. , Diniz Cristovam Wanderley P.
Published: May 2015

Many RNA virus CNS infections cause neurological disease. Because Piry virus has a limited human pathogenicity and exercise reduces activation of microglia in aged mice, possible influences of environment and aging on microglial morphology and behavior in mice sublethal encephalitis were investigated. Female albino Swiss mice were raised either in standard (S) or in enriched (EE) cages from age 2 to 6 months (young – Y), or from 2 to 16 months (aged – A). After behavioral tests, mice nostrils were instilled with Piry‐virus‐infected or with normal brain homogenates. Brain sections were immunolabeled for virus antigens or microglia at 8 days post‐infection (dpi), when behavioral changes became apparent, and at 20 and 40 dpi, after additional behavioral testing. Young infected mice from standard (SYPy) and enriched (EYPy) groups showed similar transient impairment in burrowing activity and olfactory discrimination, whereas aged infected mice from both environments (EAPy, SAPy) showed permanent reduction in both tasks. The beneficial effects of an enriched environment were smaller in aged than in young mice. Six‐hundred and forty microglial cells, 80 from each group were reconstructed. An unbiased, stereological sampling approach and multivariate statistical analysis were used to search for microglial morphological families. This procedure allowed distinguishing between microglial morphology of infected and control subjects. More severe virus‐associated microglial changes were observed in young than in aged mice, and EYPy seem to recover microglial homeostatic morphology earlier than SYPy . Because Piry‐virus encephalitis outcomes were more severe in aged mice, it is suggested that the reduced inflammatory response in those individuals may aggravate encephalitis outcomes.
Social living mitigates the costs of a chronic illness in a cooperative carnivore
Authors: Almberg E. S. , Cross P. C. , Dobson A. P. , Smith D. W. , Metz M. C. , Stahler D. R. , Hudson P. J.
Published: May 2015

Infection risk is assumed to increase with social group size, and thus be a cost of group living. We assess infection risk and costs with respect to group size using data from an epidemic of sarcoptic mange (Sarcoptes scabiei) among grey wolves (Canis lupus). We demonstrate that group size does not predict infection risk and that individual costs of infection, in terms of reduced survival, can be entirely offset by having sufficient numbers of pack‐mates. Infected individuals experience increased mortality hazards with increasing proportions of infected pack‐mates, but healthy individuals remain unaffected. The social support of group hunting and territory defence are two possible mechanisms mediating infection costs. This is likely a common phenomenon among other social species and chronic infections, but difficult to detect in systems where infection status cannot be measured continuously over time.
Biodiversity mediates top–down control in eelgrass ecosystems: a global comparative‐experimental approach
Authors: Duffy J. Emmett , Reynolds Pamela L. , Boström Christoffer , Coyer James A. , Cusson Mathieu , Donadi Serena , Douglass James G. , Eklöf Johan S. , Engelen Aschwin H. , Eriksson Britas Klemens , Fredriksen Stein , Gamfeldt Lars , Gustafsson Camilla , Hoarau Galice , Hori Masakazu , Hovel Kevin , Iken Katrin , Lefcheck Jonathan S. , Moksnes Per‐Olav , Nakaoka Masahiro , O'Connor Mary I. , Olsen Jeanine L. , Richardson J. Paul , Ruesink Jennifer L. , Sotka Erik E. , Thormar Jonas , Whalen Matthew A. , Stachowicz John J.
Published: May 2015

Nutrient pollution and reduced grazing each can stimulate algal blooms as shown by numerous experiments. But because experiments rarely incorporate natural variation in environmental factors and biodiversity, conditions determining the relative strength of bottom–up and top–down forcing remain unresolved. We factorially added nutrients and reduced grazing at 15 sites across the range of the marine foundation species eelgrass (Zostera marina) to quantify how top–down and bottom–up control interact with natural gradients in biodiversity and environmental forcing. Experiments confirmed modest top–down control of algae, whereas fertilisation had no general effect. Unexpectedly, grazer and algal biomass were better predicted by cross‐site variation in grazer and eelgrass diversity than by global environmental gradients. Moreover, these large‐scale patterns corresponded strikingly with prior small‐scale experiments. Our results link global and local evidence that biodiversity and top–down control strongly influence functioning of threatened seagrass ecosystems, and suggest that biodiversity is comparably important to global change stressors.
Geographic range size is predicted by plant mating system
Authors: Grossenbacher Dena , Briscoe Runquist Ryan , Goldberg Emma E. , Brandvain Yaniv
Published: May 2015

Species' geographic ranges vary enormously, and even closest relatives may differ in range size by several orders of magnitude. With data from hundreds of species spanning 20 genera in 15 families, we show that plant species that autonomously reproduce via self‐pollination consistently have larger geographic ranges than their close relatives that generally require two parents for reproduction. Further analyses strongly implicate autonomous self‐fertilisation in causing this relationship, as it is not driven by traits such as polyploidy or annual life history whose evolution is sometimes correlated with selfing. Furthermore, we find that selfers occur at higher maximum latitudes and that disparity in range size between selfers and outcrossers increases with time since their evolutionary divergence. Together, these results show that autonomous reproduction—a critical biological trait that eliminates mate limitation and thus potentially increases the probability of establishment—increases range size.
Ambivalent citizenship and extraterritorial voting among Colombians in London and Madrid
Authors: McILWAINE CATHY , BERMUDEZ ANASTASIA
Published: May 2015

In this article, we explore the nature of extraterritorial voting among Colombian migrants in the 2010 elections in London and Madrid. To address the neglected issue of why voter turnout from abroad has been so low, we take into account the views of voters and non‐voters alike to show that, while the external vote privileges the professional and well educated, this does not mean that migrants are not interested in politics back home. Drawing on Bauman (1991), we conceptualize ambivalent citizenship as the paradoxical manner in which, through the external vote, states impose hegemonic notions of citizenship from above, which people embrace in an ambivalent manner from below. We show that the workings of the state make voting a difficult process; they create structural ambivalence for migrants who, even if they practise their citizenship in other ways, exercise individual ambivalence because they find it difficult to engage with a political system back home that they do not trust. The conceptualization of ‘ambivalent citizenship’ therefore encompasses the contradictory complexities inherent in the provision of external voting rights that actively privilege and exclude migrants in mutually constitutive ways.
In vivo efficacy of human recombinant factor IX produced by the human hepatoma cell line HuH‐7
Authors: Enjolras N. , Perot E. , Le Quellec S. , Indalecio A. , Girard J. , Negrier C. , Dargaud Y.
Published: May 2015

Introduction

Post‐translational modifications of the CHO‐cell‐derived‐recombinant human factor IX (FIX) currently used for the treatment of hemophilia B (HB) are different from plasma derived FIX. Our previous studies described a rFIX (HIX) having better profile of post‐translational modifications than rFIX produced by CHO cells. The aim of the study consisted to verify the improved post‐translational modifications effect of HIX on in vivo recovery.

Materials and methods

HIX has been produced in a bioreactor and then purified from supernatants. In vitro activation and activity were evaluated measured by thrombin generation tests (TGT) and compared to commercial molecules, Benefix®, Mononine®. The three molecules were then administrated (i.v.) to FIX‐knockout mice and two minutes after injection, blood samples were collected and subjected to human FIX‐specific‐ELISA and TGT.

Results

The clotting function of HIX, activation courses of HIX by FXIa and FVIIa‐TF complex appear normal as did activation of Benefix®, Mononine® and TG constants of each FIX were equivalent. After injection to HB mice, circulating HIX did not present any significant difference in term of antigen value with Benefix®. Intriguingly, TGT were clearly exhibiting a better velocity for HIX than Benefix® and Mononine®. These data suggested that HIX may improve in vivo coagulant efficacy in comparison with the two commercial FIX injected at the same dose.

Conclusion

The study shows that HuH‐7‐derived‐rFIX has better in vivo haemostatic activity in hemophilia B mice compared to the reference rFIX molecule despite similar in vivo recovery rates, suggesting that HuH‐7 cells could represent an effective cellular system for production of rFIX.
The evolution of guidelines for the validation of flow cytometric methods
Authors: Du L. , Grover A. , Ramanan S. , Litwin V.
Published: May 2015

The recent advances in the field of flow cytometry have resulted in instrumentation with increased capacity which is actually more user‐friendly. Thus, the technology has become more valuable to research scientists, the pharmaceutical industry and clinical laboratories. The use of flow cytometry in regulated labs has been hampered by the challenges associated method validation and the lack of official guidance documents on the topic. Thus key stakeholders have published recommendation papers with the hope that these will be incorporated as official guidance documents. This review will focus on the achievements of the stakeholders and a high‐level overview their recommendations.
Flow cytometry immunophenotyping in integrated diagnostics of patients with newly diagnosed cytopenia: one tube 10‐color 14‐antibody screening panel and 3‐tube extensive panel for detection ofMDS‐related features
Authors: Porwit A. , Rajab A.
Published: May 2015

Acute leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), myeloproliferative neoplasms and lymphomas are the most prevalent diagnoses in adults presenting with new onset cytopenia. Here, we describe two 10‐color panels of surface markers (screening and comprehensive panel) applied at the Flow Cytometry Laboratory, University Health Network, Toronto,ON, Canada. A 10‐color flow cytometry is applied using the stain–lyse–wash sample preparation method. In patients with <10% blasts and no clear involvement by hematological malignancy based on cytomorphological evaluation of bone marrow (BM) smear, the recently published one‐tube 10‐color 14‐antibody screening panel is applied. This panel allows detection of major B‐ and T‐cell abnormalities, enumeration of cells in blast region (CD45 dim), and gives insight into myeloidBMcompartment, including calculation of four‐parameter score forMDS‐related abnormalities. In patients who present with ≥10 – <20% blasts in blood orBMsmears, a comprehensive three‐tube panel of surface markers is used up front. The analysis is focused on the detection of abnormal antigen expression patterns not seen in normal/reactiveBM, according to the guidelines developed by International/European LeukemiaNet Working Group for Flow Cytometry inMDS. In patients with ≥20% blasts, an additional tube is added to allow the detection of cytoplasmic markers necessary to diagnose mixed phenotype acute leukemia.
Crawling Predicts Infants’ Understanding of Agents’ Navigation of Obstacles
Authors: Brand Rebecca J. , Escobar Kelly , Baranès Adrien , Albu Amanda
Published: May 2015

We investigated whether crawling versus noncrawling infants interpret an agent's movements around an obstacle as goal‐directed. Infants (6–9 months) were habituated to a self‐propelled circle jumping over an obstacle to reach a goal. When the obstacle was removed, infants who crawled (n = 13) showed longer looking time to the familiar but now nonrational jumping path versus a novel but rational straight‐line path. Noncrawlers (n = 17) did not discriminate. Looking preference was independent of age and speed of habituation. These findings support the claim that infants’ processing of agency emerges early and applies to all agents, but stress the role of experience in the development of action interpretation.
Lack of effect of bumetanide on body potassium content in hypertension.
Authors: Murchison LE , Bewsher PD
Published: May 2015

1 Twelve patients with mild hypertension were treated with bumetanide for a six‐month period. No evidence was found of hypokalaemia or decreased total exchangeable potassium in subjects with or without additional potassium supplements. 2 Bumetanide was well tolerated by all patients. It caused hyperuricaemia but no episodes of gout occurred. Minor abnormalities of liver function were noted. 3 Bumetanide did not have a sustained antihypertensive action.
A device for measuring the threshold of pain in man
Authors: BURN G. P.
Published: May 2015

A device operated by hand has been constructed for the controlled compression of the soft tissue in front of the Achilles tendon.

The sensitivity of the device was sufficient to demonstrate the analgesic action of 0.3 g aspirin.
Membrane potential and ion content in cat and guinea‐pig myometrium and the response to adrenaline and noradrenaline
Authors: BÜLBRTNG EDITH , CASTEELS R. , KURIYAMA H.
Published: May 2015

Cats, virgin and 17 days pregnant, and guinea‐pigs, virgin and 14–60 days pregnant, or treated for 1–8 days with oestradiol + progesterone, were used. The response of the uterus to adrenaline and noradrenaline was observed and, in pieces from the same tissues, the resting and active membrane potentials were recorded and the ionic content was determined.

Adrenaline and noradrenaline relaxed the virgin cat uterus, adrenaline being 20–100 times more potent in vivo and about 10 times or less in vitro.

Adrenaline and noradrenaline caused contraction of the early pregnant cat uterus, the ratio of potency being about 1.

Adrenaline and noradrenaline had a biphasic effect on the guinea‐pig uterus in all conditions. The ratio of potency was about 1.

The mean membrane potential was 48 mV in virgin cat uterus and 64 mV on the seventeenth day of pregnancy.

In guinea‐pigs the average membrane potential increased from 38 mV in the virgin uterus to 58 mV on the thirtieth day of pregnancy. A similar increase was produced by eight daily injections of 5 μg oestradiol and, on the last 4 days, additional 1.5 mg progesterone.

In the cat, no significant change in K and Na content was observed during pregnancy. The intracellular chloride content, however, rose from 51.5 m‐moles/l. fibre water in the virgin uterus to 89 m‐moles in the early pregnant uterus. As a result, the calculated chloride equilibrium potential changed from − 25 mV in virgin uterus to −11 mV in pregnant uterus.

In the guinea‐pig no significant change in ion content was observed and the calculated potassium and chloride equilibrium potentials remained both unaltered during pregnancy.

In contrast to guinea‐pig uterus in all conditions, and to virgin cat uterus, early pregnant cat uterus was not spontaneously active and excess calcium caused no hyperpolarization.

The reversal of the uterine response to adrenaline as a result of pregnancy is discussed in relation to the increase of the intracellular chloride content which was only observed in the cat.
Effects of microinjection of ouabain into the hypothalamus in cats
Authors: RAY B. N. BASU , BOOKER W. M. , DUTTA S. N. , PRADHAN S. N.
Published: May 2015

In cats anaesthetized with chloralose, repeated injections of 20 μg ouabain were made either into the cerebral ventricles, or into the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH), or intravenously whilst the electrocardiogram, arterial blood pressure and respiration were recorded.

The injections produced cardiac arrhythmias preceded by sinus bradycardia, variable changes in arterial blood pressure and respiratory depression. Death occurred either from ventricular fibrillation or from cardiac arrest.

The arrhythmias which occurred after the injections into the cerebral ventricles were not peripheral effects produced after absorption of the ouabain into the blood stream, because with intravenous injections larger amounts were required to produce the arrhythmias and to cause death than with intraventricular injections. The arrhythmias which resulted in death were due to an action on the VMH. With microinjections of ouabain into this region of the brain death occurred earlier and after smaller doses than after intraventricular injections.

While sinus bradycardia was abolished by bilateral vagotomy other cardiac arrhythmias were prevented by acute cardiac sympathectomy and cervical cord transection. Thus both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems appear to be involved in the production of these arrhythmias.

Since some of the cardiac arrhythmias obtained with ouabain in anaesthetized cats resemble the cardiotoxic effects seen in clinical practice during treatment with digitalis glycosides it is concluded that these effects, too, are, at least in part, central in origin, caused by an action on the VMH and mediated mainly via the sympathetic nervous system.
Comparison of the dose‐response effects of morphine on brain amines, analgesia and activity in mice
Authors: FENNESSY M. R. , LEE J. R.
Published: May 2015

Noradrenaline, dopamine, 5‐hydroxytryptamine and 5‐hydroxyindoleacetic acid concentrations in the mouse brain were measured 30 min after subcutaneous injection of doses of morphine ranging from 01 to 100 mg/kg: motor activiy was also measured.

The noradrenaline concentration in the mouse brain was reduced by moderate (2 to 20 mg/kg) but not by high (above 20 mg/kg) and low (below 2 mg/kg) doses of morphine.

The dopamine concentration in the mouse brain was reduced by moderate (1 to 20 mg/kg) doses but was raised by high doses (above 20 mg/kg) of morphine.

The 5‐hydroxytryptamine concentration in the mouse brain was reduced by moderate (1 to 20 mg/kg) doses of morphine but not by high (above 20 mg/kg) and low (below 1 mg/kg) doses of morphine.

The 5‐hydroxyindoleacetic acid concentration was not affected by low doses (01 to 2 mg/kg), raised by a dose of 5 mg/kg, lowered by doses of 10–50 mg/kg and not affected by 100 mg/kg of morphine.

These results are discussed with reference to the possible implication of changes in monoamines for the analgesic and behavioural effects of morphine.
Effects of histamine, 5‐hydroxytryptamine and bradykinin on the vascular system of isolated lungs of the guinea‐pig and the influence of phenylbutazone on these effects
Authors: AARSEN P. N. , ZEEGERS A.
Published: May 2015

In isolated lungs of the guinea‐pig perfused through the pulmonary artery repeated doses of histamine progressively increased pulmonary arterial pressure and reduced fluctuations in tracheal pressure. Phenylbutazone almost completely abolished the effect of histamine on the arterial pressure and suppressed the progression of the effect on tracheal pressure.

The effects of 5‐hydroxytryptamine and bradykinin did not show such progression.

The fractions of radioactivity remaining in the lungs after doses of 14C‐histamine did not differ significantly after successive doses. The outflow of radioactivity from previously loaded lungs was greatly increased by histamine, bradykinin and 5‐hydroxytryptamine. This increase was not affected by papaverine.

Successive doses of histamine, but not 5‐hydroxytryptamine, produced a progressive increase in weight of the lungs and this effect was accompanied by a progressive increase in arterial pressure. Both effects were strongly suppressed by phenylbutazone.

It is concluded that repeated administration of histamine causes an accumulation of fluid in the lungs probably mainly in the interstitial spaces, which results in an inhibition of the tracheal pressure fluctuations. Phenylbutazone prevents this effect by suppressing the vasoconstrictor action of histamine without affecting the increased vascular permeability.
LOCAL ANAESTHETIC AND ANTIARRHYTHMIC PROPERTIES OF AN AMINOSTEROID: 3α‐DIMETHYL‐AMINO‐5α‐ANDROSTAN‐2β‐OL‐17‐ONE (ORG. NA13)
Authors: BUCKETT W.R. , MARWICK FIONA A. , VARGAFTIG B.B.
Published: May 2015

The aminosteroid Org. NA13 (3α‐dimethylamino‐5α‐androstan‐2β‐ol‐17‐one) was shown to be a more potent local anaesthetic than lignocaine in rats and guinea‐pigs.

Experimental arrhythmias induced in mice by chloroform, in rats by aconitine and in dogs by coronary artery ligation were corrected by Org. NA13 at doses from 10 to 50 mg/kg intravenously.

In contrast to lignocaine, other local anaesthetics and β‐adrenoceptor blocking drugs, Org. NA13 did not show any activity against the arrhythmias induced by ouabain in dogs.

The acute toxicity in whole animals and myocardial toxicity in the rabbit isolated atrium appeared to be less than that observed with lignocaine.
DISSOCIATION OF THEOPHYLLINE UPTAKE AND INOTROPIC EFFECT IN MYOCARDIAL TISSUE: INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE, pH AND CALCIUM
Authors: BELLEMANN P. , SCHOLZ H.
Published: May 2015

The myocardial uptake and the positive inotropic effect of theophylline (100 μg/ml; 0.56 mM) were studied in isolated electrically driven guinea‐pig hearts perfused by the Langendorff technique under various extracellular conditions. [3H]‐theophylline was used.

Variations in temperature, hydrogen ion and calcium ion concentrations of the perfusion media changed the time course and magnitude of the effect of theophylline on myocardial twitch tension but did not affect the time course and amount of theophylline uptake.

Under all conditions, the build‐up of the positive inotropic effect of theophylline was about three times faster than the uptake of the drug into the heart.

Since no relationship could be found between theophylline uptake and inotropic effect, the cardiac positive inotropic response to theophylline is thought unlikely to be due mainly to an interaction of the drug with intracellular receptor sites but is assumed to occur via an effect of the drug on the sarcolemma, that is at a site which the drug reaches before it enters the intracellular space.
HYPOTHERMIC ACTION OF BROMOCRIPTINE
Authors: CALNE D.B. , CLAVERIA L.E. , REID J.L.
Published: May 2015

The body temperature of rats has been studied in a cold environment. In this setting, bromocriptine induced hypothermia. This fall in core temperature was inhibited by pimozide. It was concluded that bromocriptine has a dopamine‐like action in areas of the brain concerned with the control of body temperature, as has previously been shown for apomorphine and amphetamine.
ANTI‐PROSTATIC ACTIVITY OF BIFLURANOL, A FLUORINATED BIBENZYL
Authors: DEKANSKI J.B.
Published: May 2015

Endocrine and anti‐fertility studies were carried out on a fluorinated bibenzyl, bifluranol, in rats and mice.

A potent anti‐prostatic activity of bifluranol was shown to be comparable to diethylstilboestrol (DES). In contrast, its oestrogenic potency by the oral route was about eight times less than that of DES.

In comparative short and long‐term anti‐androgenic and fertility studies in rats and in studies on sexual potency and reproductive performance in male mice, bifluranol given orally was shown to produce fully reversible suppression of accessory sexual structures without impairment of spermatogenesis and fertility. In contrast, DES administered in the same dose reduced spermatogenesis as well as accessory sexual glands.

Bifluranol lowered serum luteinising hormone (LH) levels without affecting follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). Under similar conditions DES reduces both LH and FSH levels. Since bifluranol does not antagonize androgen‐induced stimulation of the prostate in castrated rats, its anti‐prostatic effect is interpreted as a negative, hormonostatic feedback activity, mediated through a selective inhibition of LH secretion.
EFFECTS OF ERVATAMINE CHLORHYDRATE ON CARDIAC MEMBRANE CURRENTS IN FROG ATRIAL FIBRES
Authors: SAUVIAT MARTIN‐PIERRE
Published: May 2015

The effects of a new alkaloid, ervatamine, on transmembrane currents of frog atrial fibres were studied by the double sucrose gap voltage clamp technique.

Ervatamine (2.8 × 10−4 m) blocked the action potential without altering the resting membrane potential.

The alkaloid depressed the peak INa. The dissociation constant for the blocking effect of ervatamine on gNa fast was 2.35 × 10−5 m with a one to one relationship between the drug molecule and the Na channel. Ervatamine did not alter the apparent equilibrium potential for Na, as well as the activation and inactivation parameters of gNa fast. This suggests that the alkaloid inhibitory effect on gNa can be attributed to a reduction in .

Ervatamine prolonged the rate of reactivation of the Na system. It inhibited gNa in a frequencydependent manner; this indicates that the alkaloid acts on open Na channels i.e. that the drug has to enter the channel or cross the membrane to produce the block.

Ervatamine inhibited INa slow which occurs in Ca‐free, tetrodotoxin‐containing solutions and moderately decreased Ica which occurs in Na‐free solutions. The drug increased the background K current (IK1) and did not alter the time‐dependent K current (Ix1).

The present study shows that ervatamine is a good inhibitor of both fast and slow gNa. This drug also shares some common electrophysiological properties with antiarrhythmic drugs namely: the frequency‐dependent inhibition of the fast gNa and the ability to slow the reactivation of the Na carrying system.
INHIBITION OF THROMBOXANE A2 BIOSYNTHESIS IN HUMAN PLATELETS BY BURIMAMIDE
Authors: ALLAN G. , EAKINS K.E. , KULKARNI P.S. , LEVI R.
Published: May 2015

Burimamide selectively inhibited the formation of thromboxane A2 from prostaglandin endoperoxides by human platelet microsomes in a dose‐dependent manner (IC50 = 2.5 × 10−5 m). Burimamide was found to be equipotent to imidazole as a thromboxane synthetase inhibitor.

Metiamide, cimetidine and a series of compounds either bearing a structural or pharmacological relationship to histamine caused little or no inhibition of thromboxane A2 biosynthesis by human platelet microsomes.

Burimamide (5 × 10−4 to 2.3 × 10−3 m) did not inhibit either the cyclo‐oxygenase or the prostacyclin synthetase of sheep seminal vesicles or the prostacyclin synthetase of dog aortic microsomes.

Burimamide (2.5 × 10−5 to 1.2 × 10−4 m) inhibited sodium arachidonate‐induced human platelet aggregation; the degree of inhibition was dependent upon the concentration of arachidonic acid used to aggregate the platelets.
SYNERGISTIC EFFECTS OF HYPOGLYCAEMIC SULPHONYLUREAS AND ANTIBIOTIC IONOPHORES UPON CALCIUM TRANSLOCATION
Authors: COUTURIER E. , MALAISSE W.J.
Published: May 2015

Hypoglycaemic sulphonylureas, such as tolbutamide and gliclazide, provoke the translocation of calcium from an aqueous medium into or across a hydrophobic region. The combined effect of sulphonylureas and antibiotic ionophores upon such a process was investigated.

The magnitude of the sulphonylurea‐induced translocation of calcium was more marked in the presence than in the absence of A23187. Gliclazide and tolbutamide also enhanced, although less markedly, X537A‐mediated calcium translocation. The effect of the sulphonylureas was even less marked in the presence of both ionophores, which acted synergistically in causing calcium translocation.

A non‐hypoglycaemic sulphonylurea and diazoxide failed to affect ionophore‐mediated calcium translocation. Gliclazide failed to enhance X537A‐mediated sodium translocation.

It is proposed that the primary site of action of hypoglycaemic sulphonylureas upon calcium‐dependent physiological processes may correspond to a drug‐induced facilitation of calcium transport across the plasma membrane, as mediated by native ionophores.
BRAIN AND SERUM CALCIUM CONCENTRATIONS FOLLOWING ELECTROCONVULSIVE SHOCK OR BICUCULLINE‐INDUCED CONVULSIONS IN RATS
Authors: BOWDLER JULIE M. , GREEN A. RICHARD , RAWLE FRANCES C.
Published: May 2015

A single electroconvulsive shock (ECS; 125 V, 1 s, 50 Hz) given to rats anaesthetized with halothane produced little change in either serum or regional brain calcium concentrations, compared to rats anaesthetized with halothane, either 5 min or 24 h after the convulsion. Both anaesthetic and ECS‐treated rats showed an elevated serum concentration 5 min after the ECS.

When 5 ECS were given spread out over 10 days there were no significant calcium concentration changes in either serum or brain except for an increase in the pons/medulla.

A single convulsion produced by bicuculline (0.375 mg/kg i.v.) resulted in a marked increase in the calcium concentration in serum, but not brain, 5 min later. Diazepam pretreatment (10 mg/kg i.v.) prevented both the convulsion and the serum calcium change.

Results are discussed in relation to clinical data on calcium changes following electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and the enhanced monoamine‐mediated behaviours which follow ECS administration to rats.
Understanding compassion fatigue: understanding compassion
Authors: Ledoux Kathleen
Published: May 2015

Aim

A discussion of how the construct of compassion fatigue is understood in nursing.

Background

Compassion fatigue is a topic commonly found in nursing literature.

Design

Discussion paper.

Data sources

The literature from 1992–2012 on compassion fatigue was examined. The literature from 1998–2012 on compassion was examined.

Implications for nursing

There are multiple and diverse understandings and definitions of what compassion fatigue is. So much so, there are equally multiple, diverse and conflicting strategies to mitigate it. To understand better what compassion fatigue is, an examination of what compassion is was undertaken. Much is written that nurses are, or should be compassionate. Compassion is an archetype of nursing. However, there is little in the nursing literature defining what compassion is. Literature on compassion outside of nursing was then examined. There is a growing body of theory and research about compassion in other disciplines. None of the multiple definitions of nurse compassion fatigue match this understanding of compassion. The tools most often used to measure nurse compassion fatigue do not appear to measure the construct of compassion.

Conclusion

To understand what nurse compassion fatigue is, we must first understand what nurse compassion is.
Accounting Conservatism and the Cost of Capital: An International Analysis
Authors: Li Xi
Published: May 2015

This paper examines the role of conditional accounting conservatism in mitigating the cost of equity and debt capital in an international setting. The findings are that firms domiciled in countries with more conservative financial reporting systems have lower cost of equity and debt capital. The paper further explores the cross‐sectional variation of the above relationships, finding that the negative association between conditional conservatism and the cost of equity and debt capital is more pronounced in countries with stronger legal enforcement, suggesting a complementary role between conservatism and legal institutions in capital markets. In addition, the paper finds that conservatism only reduces the cost of debt in countries where accounting‐based covenants are widely used, consistent with the argument that conditional conservatism improves the efficiency of debt contracts via accelerating covenant violations.
A pair of light signaling factors FHY3 and FAR1 regulates plant immunity by modulating chlorophyll biosynthesis
Authors: Wang Wanqing , Tang Weijiang , Ma Tingting , Niu De , Jin Jing Bo , Wang Haiyang , Lin Rongcheng
Published: May 2015

Light and chloroplast function is known to affect the plant immune response; however, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. We previously demonstrated that two light signaling factors, FAR‐RED ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 3 (FHY3) and FAR‐RED IMPAIRED RESPONSE 1 (FAR1), regulate chlorophyll biosynthesis and seedling growth via controlling HEMB1 expression in Arabidopsis thaliana. In this study, we reveal that FHY3 and FAR1 are involved in modulating plant immunity. We showed that the fhy3 far1 double null mutant displayed high levels of reactive oxygen species and salicylic acid (SA) and increased resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pathogen infection. Microarray analysis revealed that a large proportion of pathogen‐related genes, particularly genes encoding nucleotide‐binding and leucine‐rich repeat domain resistant proteins, are highly induced in fhy3 far1. Genetic studies indicated that the defects of fhy3 far1 can be largely rescued by reducing SA signaling or blocking SA accumulation, and by overexpression of HEMB1, which encodes a 5‐aminolevulinic acid dehydratase in the chlorophyll biosynthetic pathway. Furthermore, we found that transgenic plants with reduced expression of HEMB1 exhibit a phenotype similar to fhy3 far1. Taken together, this study demonstrates an important role of FHY3 and FAR1 in regulating plant immunity, through integrating chlorophyll biosynthesis and the SA signaling pathway.