Physiological effects of copper (II) on sunetta scripta L.

In India industrial pollution has become a subject of increasing concern.Incidents of industrial pollution have been reported from many parts of the country. Cochin, the collection site of the present study, being the industrial capital of Kerela is also a harbour, is vulnerable to pollution by trace metal contaminants. In the recent times, pollutants of greatest concern in the aquatic environment are those which are persistent such as toxic heavy metals and the chlorinated hydrocarbons which include insecticides and pesticides.The animals collected from the clam bed situated on the northern side af Cochin bermouth are subject to wide fluctuations in salinity both seasonal and tidal. also; salinity is considered as an important parameter influencing the.-physiological functioning of an organism. Hence, the salinity tolerance of the animal is worked out. Considering the potential vulnerability of Cochin backwaters to heavy metal pollution, the impact of heavy metal copper (II) on the bivalve Sunetta sripta was conceived. Static bioassays were conducted for the determination of the sublethal concentrations of the metal as a preliminary step towards the toxicity studies. Oxygen consumption and filtration rate which are considered as reliable sublethal toxicity indices were employed for investigating the toxic effects of the metal. Bioaccumulation, a physiological phenomenon which can be of importance from the public health point of view, and also in the assessment of environmental quality is also dealt with.

Physiological Effects Of Some Heavy Metals On Perna Viridis (Linnaeus)

No serious attempt has so far been made in India to make use of the ‘Mussel watch’ concept as a useful tool for pollution monitoring of the marine and estuarine environment. The recently conducted 'National seminar on mussel watch’ by the Cochin University of Science and Technology (13-14 Feb, 1986) discussed the technical aspects related to mussel watch programme and the application of sentinel organism concept to the coastal areas of India. It is well known that the biological and physiological characteristics of the organism inhabiting tropical waters such as those prevailing in India, and the ecological as well as the environmental characteristics of temperate areas, where mussel watch programmes are already in existence differ greatly. So it is essential to adopt the techniques and standards developed for temperate species to the situations and conditions in India. In this context it is a prerequisite to collect information on physiology and other biological indices of stress of possible sentinel organisms like P.viridis. In consideration of the above, P. viridis which is a potential sentinel organism, is selected for the present study

Effects of Alcohol and Training on Exercise Performance and Muscle Recovery Biochemistry in the Brown Anole (Anolis sagrei)

Contrary to previous research, training may improve exercise performance in a lizard, the brown anole. A brief, two-week training period resulted in increased performance speed and distance before exhaustion in trained lizards. Trained lizards were also able to more effectively use leg glycogen stores, however each of these improvements were not found in lizards treated with alcohol. Liver glycogen concentrations were also lower in alcohol-treated lizards, and patterns of liver glycogen concentrations during recovery indicate some hepatic lactate gluconeogenesis.

Negative Effects of Alcohol Intake and Estrogen Deficiency Combination on Osseointegration in a Rat Model

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Toxic effects of alcohol intake on prostate of rats

BACKGROUND. The present report was carried out to determine whether alcohol intake could induce prostate lesions.METHODS. We tested male rats for 300 days. Animals were divided into three groups: controls received only tap water as liquid diet; the chronic alcohol intake group received only ethanol solution in semivoluntary research; and the withdrawal group received the same treatment as chronic alcohol intake until 240 days, after which they reverted to drinking water.RESULTS. Chronic alcohol intake increased lipoperoxide concentrations and acid phosphatase activities. Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD) was decreased at 60 days, but approached controls values at 300 days following treatment. The serum increased alkaline phosphatase, and alanine transaminase activities reflected the chronic toxic effect of ethanol.CONCLUSIONS. Since SOD activity was unable to scavenge superoxide radical and lipoperoxide formation, we can conclude that superoxide is an important intermediate in prostate damage of chronic alcohol intake. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Effects of alcohol intake in periodontitis progression in female rats: a histometric study

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Physiological effects of glyphosate over amino acid profile in conventional and transgenic soybean (Glycine max)

This paper compares the responses of conventional and transgenic soybean to glyphosate application in terms of the contents of 17 detectable soluble amino acids in leaves, analyzed by HPLC and fluorescence detection. Glutamate, histidine, asparagine, arginine + alanine, glycine + threonine and isoleucine increased in conventional soybean leaves when compared to transgenic soybean leaves, whereas for other amino acids, no significant differences were recorded. Univariate analysis allowed us to make an approximate differentiation between conventional and transgenic lines, observing the changes of some variables by glyphosate application. In addition, by means of the multivariate analysis, using principal components analysis (PCA), cluster analysis (CA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) it was possible to identify and discriminate different groups based on the soybean genetic origin. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL HANGOVER ON HIGH-ANXIETY PHENOTYPE RATS ARE INFLUENCED BY THE GLUTAMATE RECEPTORS OF THE DORSAL MIDBRAIN

Alcoholism is a chronic disorder characterized by the appearance of a withdrawal syndrome following the abrupt cessation of alcohol intake that includes symptoms of physical and emotional disturbances, anxiety being the most prevalent symptom. In humans, it was shown that anxiety may increase the probability of relapse. In laboratory animals, however, the use of anxiety to predict alcohol preference has remained difficult. Excitatory amino acids as glutamate have been implicated in alcohol hangover and may be responsible for the seizures and anxiety observed during withdrawal. The dorsal periaqueductal gray (DPAG) is a midbrain region critical for the modulation/expression of anxiety- and fear-related behaviors and the propagation of seizures induced by alcohol withdrawal, the glutamate neurotransmission being one of the most affected. The present study was designed to evaluate whether low- (LA) and high-anxiety rats (HA), tested during the alcohol hangover phase, in which anxiety is the most prevalent symptom, are more sensitive to the reinforcing effects of alcohol when tested in a voluntary alcohol drinking procedure. Additionally, we were interested in investigating the main effects of reducing the excitatory tonus of the dorsal midbrain, after the blockade of the ionotropic glutamate receptors into the DPAG, on the voluntary alcohol intake of HA and LA motivated rats that were made previously experienced with the free operant response of alcohol drinking. For this purpose, we used local infusions of the N-metil D-Aspartato (NMDA) and alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA)-kainate receptors antagonist DL-2-Amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid - DL-AP7 (10 nmol/0.2 mu l) and L-glutamic acid diethyl ester - GDEE (160 nmol/0.2 mu l) respectively. Alcohol intoxication was produced by 10 daily bolus intraperitonial (IP) injections of alcohol (2.0 g/kg). Peak-blood alcohol levels were determined by gas-chromatography analysis in order to assess blood-alcohol content. Unconditioned and conditioned anxiety-like behavior was assessed by the use of the fear-potentiated startle procedure (FPS). Data collected showed that anxiety and alcohol drinking in HA animals are positively correlated in animals that were made previously familiarized with the anxiolytic effects of alcohol. In addition, anxiety-like behavior induced during alcohol hangover seems to be an effect of changes in glutamatergic neurotransmission into DPAG possibly involving AMPA/kainate and NMDA receptors, among others. (C) 2012 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A new model of interactive effects of alcohol and high-fat diet on hepatic fibrosis

Alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are the most frequent conditions leading to elevated liver enzymes and liver cirrhosis, respectively, in the Western world. However, despite strong epidemiological evidence for combined effects on the progression of liver injury, the mutual interaction of the pathophysiological mechanisms is incompletely understood. The aim of this study was to establish and analyze an experimental murine model, where we combined chronic alcohol administration with a NASH-inducing high-fat (HF) diet.

Effects of alcohol consumption on mortality in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus

Moderate alcohol intake has been associated with increased life expectancy due to reduced mortality from cardiovascular disease. We prospectively examined the effects of alcohol consumption on mortality in Type 2 diabetic patients in Switzerland.

Physiological effects of mechanical pain stimulation at the lower back measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy and capnography

The aim was to investigate the effect of mechanical pain stimulation at the lower back on hemodynamic and oxygenation changes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) assessed by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and on the partial pressure of end-tidal carbon dioxide ( PetCO 2) measured by capnography. 13 healthy subjects underwent three measurements (M) during pain stimulation using pressure pain threshold (PPT) at three locations, i.e., the processus spinosus at the level of L4 (M1) and the lumbar paravertebral muscles at the level of L1 on the left (M2) and the right (M3) side. Results showed that only in the M2 condition the pain stimulation elicited characteristic patterns consisting of (1) a fNIRS-derived decrease in oxy- and total hemoglobin concentration and tissue oxygen saturation, an increase in deoxy-hemoglobin concentration, (2) a decrease in the PetCO 2 response and (3) a decrease in coherence between fNIRS parameters and PetCO 2 responses in the respiratory frequency band (0.2-0.5 Hz). We discuss the comparison between M2 vs. M1 and M3, suggesting that the non-significant findings in the two latter measurements were most likely subject to effects of the different stimulated tissues, the stimulated locations and the stimulation order. We highlight that PetCO 2 is a crucial parameter for proper interpretation of fNIRS data in experimental protocols involving pain stimulation. Together, our data suggest that the combined fNIRS-capnography approach has potential for further development as pain monitoring method, such as for evaluating clinical pain treatment.

Cognitive and physiological effects of an acute physical activity intervention in elementary school children

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of an acute physical activity intervention that included cognitive engagement on executive functions and on cortisol level in young elementary school children. Half of the 104 participating children (6–8 years old) attended a 20-min sport sequence, which included cognitively engaging and playful forms of physical activity. The other half was assigned to a resting control condition. Individual differences in children's updating, inhibition, and shifting performance as well as salivary cortisol were assessed before (pre-test), immediately after (post-test), and 40 min after (follow-up) the intervention or control condition, respectively. Results revealed a significantly stronger improvement in inhibition in the experimental group compared to the control group, while it appeared that acute physical activity had no specific effect on updating and shifting. The intervention effect on inhibition leveled out 40 min after physical activity. Salivary cortisol increased significantly more in the experimental compared to the control group between post-test and follow-up and results support partly the assumed inverted U-shaped relationship between cortisol level and cognitive performance. In conclusion, results indicate that acute physical activity that includes cognitive engagement may have immediate positive effects on inhibition, but not necessarily on updating and shifting in elementary school children. This positive effect may partly be explained through cortisol elevation after acute physical activity.