Adipose tissue development during early postnatal life in ewe-reared lambs

This study examines the precise time course that brown adipose tissue (BAT) takes to adopt the characteristics of white adipose tissue in postnatal lambs. Perirenal adipose tissue was sampled from ewe-reared lambs within 1 h of birth and at 1, 2, 4, 7, 14, 21 and 30 days of age and analysed for the amount of mRNA for uncoupling protein (UCP), the amount and activity of UCP, and protein, mitochondrial protein and lipid content. This was combined with measurements of colonic temperature and jugular venous plasma concentrations of thyroid hormones and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Over the first 4-7 days of age, large quantities of UCP mRNA were associated with a peak in plasma triiodothyronine concentration at 2 days of age followed by a maximal amount and activity of UCP at 4 days and a basal colonic temperature of 39.3 degrees C. Between 7 and 30 days there was a large increase in lipid deposition as the amount and activity of UCP and the amount of UCP mRNA declined to basal values and colonic temperature was maintained at 40 degrees C. A significant positive relationship between perirenal adipose tissue lipid content and plasma IGF-1 concentration was observed throughout the study period. It is concluded that ovine adipose tissue maturation occurs in two distinct phases over the first month of life. The precise time scale of this process could be regulated in part by the lamb's body temperature which determines whether adipose tissue is required for heat production (i.e. BAT) or as an endogenous energy source (i.e. white adipose tissue).     

Effects of cytosolic Ca2+ on the Ca2+ content of the sarcoplasmic reticulum in saponin-permeabilized rat ventricular trabeculae

After a brief presentation of the development of free walking interpreted as learning dynamical equilibrium, the problem of sensory integration in the process of walking development is discussed. A critical review of the role of vision in the development of posturo-locomotor task is presented, along with recent test results on the development of the vestibular system. A final section presents the development of head stabilization and coordination as a necessary means to assist sensory integration. It is suggested that if sensory information is necessary to enhance posturo-locomotor skills, a good mastery of walking is in turn necessary to increase the efficiency of sensory integration.     

Appendiceal inflammation in ulcerative colitis

The epoxyalkanoyl derivatives were designed and synthesized as ACE inhibitors. Coupling of unsaturated carboxylic acids with amino acids and following epoxidation with dimethyldioxirane gave the epoxyalkanoyls with high yield. The inhibitory activity of synthesized compounds on angiotensin converting enzyme was IC50 values of 0.06-5.5 microM.     

Electron microscopic immunocytological profiles in chronic fatigue syndrome

Fluoxetine is a 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin)-selective reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and is one of the main drugs used for the treatment of depression. Because it takes 2 to 3 weeks of treatment before clinical efficacy is manifest, the acute actions of fluoxetine cannot account for the clinical actions of the drug. The chronic effects of fluoxetine have not been completely delineated. The experiments detailed here investigate the chronic effects of fluoxetine on 5-HT and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor-mediated actions using intracellular recording techniques in hippocampal brain slices. Rats were treated with fluoxetine for 3 weeks via osmotic minipumps implanted s.c. Fluoxetine and norfluoxetine plasma levels were determined. The hippocampal pyramidal cell characteristics and the 5-HT1A and GABA(B) receptor-mediated hyperpolarization were measured in the CA1 and the CA3 subfields. The 5-HT4 receptor-mediated decrease in the slow afterhyperpolarization amplitude was also recorded in area CA1. The time constant, magnitude of the change in resistance during 300-ms hyperpolarizing current pulses and half-decay time of the sAHP were altered by chronic fluoxetine treatment in area CA1 pyramidal cells. No changes were seen in any of the active or passive membrane properties of the CA3 hippocampal pyramidal cells. Fluoxetine treatment increased the potency of 5-HT for the 5-HT1A receptor-mediated hyperpolarization in area CA1, but not area CA3, and decreased the potency of baclofen for the GABA(B) receptor-mediated hyperpolarization in area CA1, but not area CA3. The characteristics of the concentration-response curve for the 5-HT-mediated decrease in sAHP amplitude in area CA1 were not altered by fluoxetine treatment. Chronic fluoxetine selectively and differentially altered the cell characteristics and the 5-HT1A and GABA(B) receptor-mediated responses in area CA1 of the hippocampus, which forms the final common output of the hippocampus.