F-19 MR imaging of glucose metabolism in the rabbit

Noninvasive metabolic magnetic resonance (MR) imaging reflecting glucose metabolism in the aldose-reductase-sorbitol (ARS) pathway was performed in the rabbit head; after administration of the fluorinated glucose analogue 3-fluoro-3-deoxy-D-glucose (3FD-glucose), fluorine-19 images were generated. Images of 3FD-glucose showed significant 3FD-glucose uptake by adipose tissue, indicating its buffering effects in case of excess loads of glucose. Images of 3-fluoro-3-deoxy-D-sorbitol (3FD-sorbitol) demonstrated the spatial distribution of aldose reductase activities and significant sorbitol accumulation in the lens. Images of 3-fluoro-3-deoxy-D-fructose (3FD-fructose) showed preferential uptake of fructose by muscle tissue. The extremely low toxicity of 3FD-glucose indicates promise for its clinical application in metabolic imaging.     

Modulation of paired-pulse responses in the dentate gyrus: effects of prenatal protein malnutrition

Since our major hypothesis is that prenatal protein malnutrition significantly affects hippocampal neuroplasticity, this study examined the effects of prenatal protein malnutrition on the modulation of dentate granule cell excitability in freely moving rats at 15, 30 and 90 days of age across the vigilance states of quiet waking (QW), slow-wave sleep (SWS) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Using paired-pulse stimulation, the paired-pulse index (PPI), a measure of the type and degree of modulation of dentate granule cell excitability elicited by stimulation of the medial perforant path, was obtained for each vigilance state at each stage of development. Four specific measures of granule cell excitability were computed, namely, PPI using both population spike amplitude (PSA) and EPSP slope measures, absolute values of PSA(1) and EPSP(1) slope. PPI values obtained at 15, 30 and 90 days of age, however, were altered during normal ontogenetic development, but not by vigilance state. At 15 days of age, the malnourished group exhibits greater early inhibition of the PPI using the PSA measure at IPIs between 20 and 30 ms regardless of vigilance state, while at 30 days of age, the malnourished group exhibits greater facilitation at IPIs between 50 and 70 ms during QW and SWS, but not during REM sleep. In the control adult (PND90) and juvenile (PND30) animal, PSA(1) values are significantly higher during SWS than in QW or REM sleep. However, for the younger malnourished animals (PND15 and PND30), PSA(1) values were found to be significantly greater during REM sleep rather than SWS. Therefore, as the animal matures, there appears to be a shift in vigilance state dependent synaptic transmission through the hippocampal trisynaptic circuit from REM sleep to SWS in both control and malnourished animals, with the change occurring later in malnourished animals when compared to control ones. Furthermore, our findings suggests that prenatal protein malnutrition significantly alters modulation of dentate granule cell excitability (i.e., PPI values using the PSA measure) during the earlier stages of development but not in adulthood.     

Dentate granule cell modulation in freely moving rats: vigilance state effects

Dentate granule cell population responses to paired-pulse stimulation applied to the perforant pathway across a range of interpulse intervals (IPIs) were examined during different vigilance states-quiet waking (QW), slow-wave sleep (SWS), and rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep-in freely moving rats at 15, 30 and 90 days of age. Using these evoked field potentials, the paired-pulse index (PPI), a measure of the type and degree of modulation of dentate granule cell excitability, was computed and shown to be altered as a function of age. Animals, 15 days old, showed significantly lower levels of early inhibition (20-40 ms IPIs), i.e., greater PPI values, during all three vigilance states when compared to both the 30- and 90-day old animals. Adult, i.e, 90-day old animals, on the other hand, showed significantly greater levels of late inhibition (300-1000 ms IPIs), i.e., lower PPI values, than the younger animals (15- and 30-day old) during QW and SWS. These results indicate that as the dentate field of the hippocampal formation matures there are significant alterations in the modulation of dentate granule cell activity.     

Factors linked to bacterial vaginosis in nonpregnant women

OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study were to test the hypothesis that vaginal douching is linked to bacterial vaginosis in both symptomatic and asymptomatic women and to identify other demographic, reproductive, and lifestyle factors associated with bacterial vaginosis. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study involving 3 clinic sites, 496 nonpregnant women completed a self-administered questionnaire. Their vaginal smears were assessed and cross-validated for bacterial vaginosis. RESULTS: The prevalence of bacterial vaginosis across clinics ranged from 15% to 30%. In analyses restricted to site 1, adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for bacterial vaginosis remained significant for African American women with 13 or fewer years of education (OR = 5.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.1, 14.5), hormone use within the past 6 months (OR = 0.5, 95% CI = 0.2, 0.8), and vaginal douching within the past 2 months (OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.5, 5.6). CONCLUSIONS: Two lifestyle factors emerge as strongly associated with bacterial vaginosis: systemic contraceptives appear protective, whereas douching is linked to an increase in prevalence. The temporal relationship between douching and bacterial vaginosis needs further clarification.     

Digital beam attenuator technique for compensated chest radiography

The feasibility of producing patient-specific beam attenuators for chest radiography has been investigated using an anthropomorphic phantom and a human volunteer. A low-dose test exposure is digitized, processed, and used to print a small cerium filter, which is placed in the x-ray beam near the collimator. The final radiograph is recorded on film. The technique results in relatively uniform film exposure, so that structures in all regions of the chest are simultaneously displayed with optimal film contrast. The equalized exposure improves image quality in the normally underpenetrated regions and reduces the role of cross-scatter from the lungs. The image is analogous to optical or computer-processed unsharp masking techniques, but the processing is accomplished in the x-ray beam and results in an improved exposure distribution, giving advantages that cannot be achieved with image processing techniques alone.     

The effects of intracranial administration of hallucinogens on operant behavior in the rat. I. Lysergic acid diethylamide

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) was infused in one microliter volumes into discrete brain regions of rats trained to press a bar for food reinforcement. The sites were chosen as major areas of the brain 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT) system: the dorsal and median raphe nuclei, dorsal hippocampus, lateral habenular nuclei, and the prefrontal cortex. Following training in a fixed ratio-40 (FR-40) operant behavior rats were implanted for the lateral habenular nuclei, dorsal hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex. Following recovery from surgery, LSD (8.6 to 86 micrograms) or vehicle was infused immediately before a daily operant session. Infusion of vehicle was inactive. LSD produced a dose-dependent decrease in reinforcements and an increase in 10-sec periods of non-responding (pause intervals). LSD was significantly more potent when infused into the dorsal raphe nucleus than following intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration, whereas LSD was less potent when infused into the median raphe, lateral habenula or dorsal hippocampus. ED50s for increases in pause intervals were 9, 13, 23, 25, and 54 micrograms for infusion into the dorsal raphe, prefrontal cortex, dorsal hippocampus, median raphe, and lateral habenular nuclei, respectively. The ED50 for ICV administration in a previous study was 15 micrograms. The ED50 of LSD placed into the prefrontal cortex did not differ significantly from that of the ICV infusion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Neuroendocrine, biogenic amine and behavioral responsiveness to a repeated foot-shock-induced analgesia (FSIA) stressor in Sprague-Dawley (CD) and Fischer-344 (CDF) rats

The neurobehavioral responsiveness of two strains of rats, Fischer-344 (CDF) and Sprague-Dawley (CD), to a repeated foot-shock-induced analgesia (FSIA) stress was compared in this study. Rats were either restrained or freely moving during shock presentation (sham controls were exposed to the shock environment only). The foot-shock (15-s, 1.5-mA scrambled electric shock) was observed to induce analgesia in the CDF, but not the CD strain following acute presentation; analgesia was evaluated using time for tail-withdrawal from hot water (55 degrees C). Both strains exhibited an analgesic response when latency to tail withdrawal was evaluated just prior to daily FSIA presentations over 15 total sessions indicating that these rat strains were behaviorally conditioned to this repeated stressor. However, the levels of conditioned analgesic responses to foot-shock were: greater in the CDF and most evident when rats were restrained on the shock-grid while being administered the foot-shock. All rats were quickly sacrificed following the 15th conditioning session to determine the effects of this stressor on neurotransmitter and neuroendocrine function in both strains of rat. Experimental subjects were exposed to the shock grid but not shocked during this last session. The following was found: plasma corticosterone (CORT) and prolactin levels and adrenal CORT levels were significantly increased by repeated stress in the CDF strain; only plasma CORT levels were elevated in the CD rat; pituitary immunoreactive beta-endorphin levels were significantly higher (+46%) amongst all experimental groups in the CDF strain, but stress was not observed to alter peptide steady-state levels in either strain; dopamine (DA), 5-hydroxytryptamine and metabolites (5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and dihydroxyphenylacetic acid) levels were generally higher in the hypothalamus and frontal cortex of the CDF rat but turnover rates (implied from metabolite/amine ratios) indicated that these systems were more sluggish in this rat strain; hypothalamic DA turnover was significantly attenuated by repeated FSIA + restraint in both strains, but the dynamics of this effect appeared to be different between rat strains; and frontal cortex 5-HT turnover was significantly elevated by repeated FSIA + restraint in only the CDF rat. This research indicates that the CDF rat is extremely sensitive to an acute FSIA stress and it is less able than the CD rat to adapt to repeated presentation of this stress.     

Antiarrhythmic activity of some N-alkylbispidinebenzamides.

A series of aromatic ring substituted bispidinebenzamides, 2--10, was prepared by condensation of N-methyl- or N-n-butylbispidine with the appropriate acid chlorides. These compounds were initially evaluated in mice for acute toxicity and for their ability to protect against chloroform-induced ventricular fibrillation. All compounds had significant activity, which was optimized in 2, 3, and 5. These last compounds had potencies and LD50/ED50 ratios comparable to those of a standard antiarrhythmic, disopyramide. However, their potencies in increasing the effective refactory period in isolated rabbit atria were considerably less than that of disopyramide.     

Self-administration of central stimulants by rats: A comparison of the effects of d-amphetamine,methylphenidate and McNeil 4612

Rats were trained to press a lever for the intravenous administration of d-amphetamine. The rate of responding was decreased in a dose-dependent and time-related manner by non-contingent injections of d-amphetamine, methylphenidate or McNeil 4612. Methylphenidate and McNeil 4612 also maintained self-administration behavior when they were substituted for d-amphetamine, whereas substitution of saline for d-amphetamine resulted in extinction of the self-administration behavior. These data suggest that methylphenidate and McNeil 4612, like d-amphetamine, can act as reinforcers in rats.