Effects of a Typical and an Atypical Antipsychotic on the Disruption of Prepulse Inhibition Caused by Corticotropin-Releasing Factor and by Rat Strain.

Male Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) and Brown Norway (BN) rats (11-12 weeks, n = 184) received an injection of saline, haloperidol, or clozapine, followed by an intracerebroventricular infusion of saline or corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF). Rats were tested for prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle response. BN rats showed less PPI than WKY rats, and neither antipsychotic alone enhanced PPI. In WKY rats, both haloperidol and clozapine attenuated the CRF-induced decrease in PPI. In CRF-treated BN rats, clozapine-enhanced PPI. A clozapine-induced decrease in startle amplitude was seen in CRF-treated BN rats but not in CRF-treated WKY rats. Although the disruption of PPI caused by exogenous CRF administration can be reversed by acute antipsychotic treatment, baseline PPI is not altered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational Control of Second-Order Conditioning.

Two experiments examined the motivational specificity of the associations that support 2nd-order conditioning. In the 1st phase of each experiment rats were exposed to 2 visual conditioned stimuli (CSs) paired with either a saline or food pellet unconditioned stimulus (US) prior to exposure to 2nd-order conditioning using 2 auditory CSs, 1 paired with each visual CS. Rats' motivational state was then shifted prior to a test such that if and only if specific motivational features of the 1st-order training US played a role in the 2nd-order associative structure would responding to the 2nd-order cues shift appropriately with the state change. Even when the US was irrelevant to the training motivational state, shifts in state revealed that it was encoded within the associative structure supporting 2nd-order responding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

两组不同冷冻剂组合冷冻Wistar大鼠胚胎效果的比较

采用冻存管方法,用 DAP213和SDP0323两种冻存液组合分别对Wistar大鼠2-细胞期胚胎进行玻璃化冷冻,两种冻存液冷冻的胚胎平均复苏率分别为57.1%、69.1%;平均产仔率分别为34.9%、41.1%.SDP0323 冻存液冷冻的胚胎平均复苏率及平均产仔率均比DAP213冻存液冷冻的相对高一些.经统计学分析,两者之间无显著差异（P〉0.05）.两组冷冻试剂组合均可作为对 Wistar大鼠2-细胞期胚胎进行冷冻保存的有效方法,可用于建立大鼠胚胎库.     

Near real-rime MRI of interstitial laser photocoagulation ofin vivo rat liver

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is showing considerable promise as a monitor for interventional procedures. Laser surgery is MRI compatible, and temperature-sensitive imaging techniques can be usefully applied to these procedures. We have been investigatingT ₁derived temperature-dependent imaging as a monitor for interstitial laser photocoagulation (ILP) in rat liver.In vitro experiments suggested that temperature calibration may be achieved. We have investigated ILPin vivo using short TR spin-echo imaging sequences taking one set of images every 30 s during and after the procedure. Our resultsin vivo suggest that this simple model may be inadequate for temperature mapping as the biological reaction to the ILP is on a similar time scale to that of the procedure. Nonetheless, MRI shows well-defined, repeatable signal changes that can be related to histological borders.     

山胡椒抑制体内外α-糖苷酶活性研究

对山胡椒抑制酵母α-葡萄糖苷酶和大鼠小肠α-葡萄糖苷酶活性进行了研究。利用96微孔板法检测其α-葡萄糖苷酶抑制活性。结果表明,抑制酵母α-葡萄糖苷酶实验中,山胡椒石油醚部位(IC50=229.70μg/mL)、乙酸乙酯部位(IC50=259.10μg/mL)和正丁醇部位(IC50=165.80μg/mL)活性低于阳性对照Acarbose(IC50=1081.27μg/mL);抑制大鼠小肠α-葡萄糖苷酶实验中,仅有乙酸乙酯部位(IC50=418.17μg/mL)具有活性,阳性对照Acarbose未检测出其IC50。实验证明,山胡椒各提取部位具有较好抑制酵母α-葡萄糖苷酶活性,但只有乙酸乙酯部位具有良好的大鼠小肠α-葡萄糖苷酶抑制活性。     

Scent,sex, and the self-calibrating rat

We propose that one mechanism whereby male rats,Rattus norvegicus, might gauge the reproductive condition of a female is by calibrating a stable odor with an odor that fluctuates through her reproductive cycle. We provide behavioral and histological evidence in support of such a self-calibration model. Male rats sniffed frequently at various body zones of females, and the proportion of sniffs deployed to each zone varied with the females' reproductive condition and relatedness. The females' haunches received more sniffs than any other part of their bodies, irrespective of their relatedness or reproductive condition. Furthermore, males tended to sniff the haunch after sniffing the forequarters, as part of a sequence of sniffing along a female from forequarters to hindquarters. Histology of the skin sebaceous glands indicated that the secretory activity of glands in the haunch, but not those in the forequarters, changed during estrus. Therefore, male rats had the opportunity to judge a female's reproductive status by calibrating the odor of her haunch against that of her forequarters. Self-calibration could represent a means of accommodating differences in odor within individuals.     

Hepatoprotective and Antioxidant Effects of Licorice Extract against CCl(4)-Induced Oxidative Damage in Rats

Licorice has been used in Chinese folk medicine for the treatment of various disorders. Licorice has the biological capabilities of detoxication, antioxidation, and antiinfection. In this study, we evaluated the antihepatotoxic effect of licorice aqueous extract (LE) on the carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4))-induced liver injury in a rat model. Hepatic damage, as reveled by histology and the increased activities of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities, and decreased levels of serum total protein (TP), albumin (Alb) and globulin (G) were induced in rats by an administration of CCl(4) at 3 mL/kg b.w. (1:1 in groundnut oil). Licorice extract significantly inhibited the elevated AST, ALP and ALT activities and the decreased TP, Alb and G levels caused by CCl(4) intoxication. It also enhanced liver super oxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), glutathione reductase (GR), Glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities and glutathione (GSH) level, reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) level. Licorice extract still markedly reverses the increased liver hydroxyproline and serum TNF-α levels induced by CCl(4) intoxication. The data of this study support a chemopreventive potential of licorice extract against liver oxidative injury.     

Elaidic acid in rat liver identified by gas chromatography and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Fatty acid composition has been commonly determined by gas chromatography (GC). In the most commonly used methods, the lipids must be converted into methyl esters or other derivatives of the fatty acids before being analyzed by GC. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has become one of the most promising methods to determine organic structures, providing useful data for analyzing the fatty acid composition of edible vegetable oils. The major advantage of NMR is that identification of each fatty acid is carried out by evaluation of particular signals. We report in this work the fatty acid profile of rat liver after consumption of diets containing different concentrations of partially hydrogenated vegetable fat. The fatty acid composition was identified by GC, and trans fatty acids were also identified by ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The results obtained by the ¹³C NMR method were close enough to those obtained by conventional GC.     

Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction: A New Quantitative and Comprehensive Sampling Technique for Determination of Chemical Signal Profiles from Biological Media

Various applications of a novel sampling procedure in chemical ecology are outlined. The stir bar extraction method features the analytical reproducibility needed in recording the analytical profiles of volatile and semivolatile components of biological mixtures. This methodology has been demonstrated here through the examples of small volume urine samples, glandular tissue volatiles, and the air blown through animal cages. Its analytical merits are compared with those of the previously established purge-and-trap (dynamic headspace) technique.     

Effects of central and basolateral amygdala lesions on conditioned taste aversion and latent inhibition.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 121(6) of Behavioral Neuroscience (see record 2007-18058-034). Figure 4 on p. 96 (Results and Discussion, Experiment 2: Behavioral section) was incorrect. The correct figure is provided in the erratum.] The present study examined the effects of neurotoxic lesions of the central nucleus (CNA) and basolateral complex (BLA) of the amygdala on conditioned taste aversion (CTA) in a latent inhibition design. In Experiment 1, lesions of the CNA were found to have no affect on CTA acquisition regardless of whether the taste conditioned stimulus (CS) was novel or familiar. Lesions of the BLA, although having no influence on performance when the CS was familiar, retarded CTA acquisition when the CS was novel in Experiment 2. The pattern of results suggests that the CTA deficit in rats with BLA lesions may be a secondary consequence of a disruption of perceived stimulus novelty. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)