Does bright light have an anxiolytic effect? - an open trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this open trial was to examine the influence of acute bright light exposure on anxiety in older and young adults.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study was ancillary to a complex 5-day laboratory experiment testing phase-responses to light at all times of the day. On 3 consecutive days, participants were exposed to bright light (3,000 lux) for 3 hours. The Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Form Y1) was administered 5 minutes before and 20 minutes after each treatment. Mean state anxiety before and after treatment were analyzed by age, sex, and time ANOVA. To avoid floor effects, only participants with baseline STAI levels of ≥ 25 were included.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A significant anxiolytic effect of bright light was found for the mean data, as well as for each of the three days. No significant main effect of age, sex, or interaction of these factors with STAI change were found.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results show consistent and significant (albeit modest) anxiolytic effects following acute bright light exposure in low anxiety adults. Further randomized, controlled trials in clinically anxious individuals are needed.</p

Reactive Oxygen Species Play a Role in the Infection of the Necrotrophic Fungi, Rhizoctonia solani in Wheat

Rhizoctonia solani is a nectrotrophic fungal pathogen that causes billions of dollars of damage to agriculture worldwide and infects a broad host range including wheat, rice, potato and legumes. In this study we identify wheat genes that are differentially expressed in response to the R. solani isolate, AG8, using microarray technology. A significant number of wheat genes identified in this screen were involved in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and redox regulation. Levels of ROS species were increased in wheat root tissue following R. solani infection as determined by Nitro Blue Tetrazolium (NBT), 3,3'-diaminobenzidine (DAB) and titanium sulphate measurements. Pathogen/ROS related genes from R. solani were also tested for expression patterns upon wheat infection. TmpL, a R. solani gene homologous to a gene associated with ROS regulation in Alternaria brassicicola, and OAH, a R. solani gene homologous to oxaloacetate acetylhydrolase which has been shown to produce oxalic acid in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, were highly induced in R. solani when infecting wheat. We speculate that the interplay between the wheat and R. solani ROS generating proteins may be important for determining the outcome of the wheat/R. solani interaction

Sperm characterization and identification of sperm sub-populations in ejaculates from pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus)

Pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus) is a native endangered species. Knowledge of the basic spermiogram characteristics and the morphometric descriptors is necessary to effectively develop sperm cryopreservation. In other species, sperm sub-population is related to sperm cryo-resistance. The objective was to provide a general description of the sperm, including sperm head morphometric descriptors, its repeatability, and the existence of sperm sub-populations. Sperm were obtained from adult males by electroejaculation during the breeding season. The motility score was 3.4 ± 0.2 (mean ± SEM) and progressive motility was 59.4 ± 3.7%. Ejaculated volume was 413.9 ± 51.0 μl, the total number of sperm ejaculated was 321.2 ± 55.4 × 106. Also, 63.3 ± 3.1% of the sperm were morphologically abnormal and 23.7 ± 2.3% had acrosome damage. The sperm head length was 7.6 ± 0.01 μm, width 4.4 ± 0.01 μm, area 28.1 ± 0.07 μm2 and the perimeter was 21.9 ± 0.04 μm. There was a positive relationship among morphometric descriptors and the motility score, overall motility and progressive motility. Also length (P = 0.011), width (P = 0.003), area (P = 0.006) and perimeter (P = 0.009) of sperm head obtained in two different collections were positively related. Overall, the low concentration, volume, overall quality and abnormal morphology, and wide variation of these variables may be a limitation for the development of sperm cryopreserved banks. There were three sperm sub-populations with different morphometric characteristics. The morphometric descriptors are maintained similarly among different collections.This research was supported by CSIC (Universidad de la República) – Intendencia Departamental de Maldonado.Peer Reviewe

Descifrando las bases moleculares de la interacción entre las cepas endófitas Kosakonia sp. UYSO10 y Rhizobium sp. UYSO24 y plantas de caña de azúcar.

Los endófitos son bacterias que durante parte o todo su ciclo de vida, invaden los tejidos de plantas vivas sin provocar síntomas de enfermedad. Estos son de gran interés por su potencial aplicación biotecnológica en los sistemas agrícolas, debido a su capacidad de promover el crecimiento vegetal. La interacción de las bacterias endófitas con las plantas constituye un proceso dinámico que depende de un ambiente adecuado y de factores genéticos.Este trabajo se basa en la hipótesis de que las cepas Kosakonia sp. UYSO10 y Rhizobium sp. UYSO24 presentan características asociadas a la interacción planta-endófito,las cuales determinan la promoción del crecimiento vegetal. El objetivo es profundizar en el conocimiento de la interacción entre plantas de caña de azúcar y las cepas UYSO10 y UYSO24

Oxytocin administration before sperm collection by transrectal ultrasonic-guided massage of the accessory sex glands in mouflons and bucks

Transrectal ultrasonic-guided massage of the accessory sex glands (TUMASG) is an alternative technique for sperm collection which decreases negative animal welfare concerns of electroejaculation. However, quality of collected sperm with TUMASG is less than that collected by electroejaculation. Utilisation of TUMASG may not, however, induce strong muscular contractions, so administration of oxytocin before the procedure may improve sperm quality. Therefore, two studies were designed to determine if administration of oxytocin before TUMASG improves the procedure and quality of the collected semen. The first study was performed with anaesthetised mouflons, and the second with non-anaesthetised Gabon bucks. Time length, number of electric pulses applied and numbers of vocalizations were recorded, and sperm characteristics were analysed. The number of electrical pulses and sperm characteristics did not differ with oxytocin administration in mouflons. However, oxytocin administration decreased time length (P = 0.02) and tended to decrease the number of electric pulses needed for induction of ejaculation (P = 0.08) in bucks. The number of vocalizations and sperm variables did not differ when the two procedures were used. In conclusion, oxytocin administration before TUMASG shortened the procedure and tended to decrease the number of electrical pulses needed to induce ejaculation in conscious bucks, thus, decreasing welfare concerns for the animals in which TUMASG is used. Therefore, its routine inclusion in this species should be considered. © 2016 Elsevier B.V

Sperm collection by transrectal ultrasound-guided massage of the accessory sex glands is less stressful than electroejaculation without altering sperm characteristics in conscious goat bucks

In anesthetized non-domestic ruminants transrectal ultrasound-guided massage of the accessory sex glands (TUMASG) is an alternative method to collect semen slightly less stressful than electroejaculation (EE). However, some sperm characteristics are better when semen is collected with EE than with TUMASG. As anesthesia reduces the response to stressors, the advantages of TUMASG may be reduced in anesthetized animals, and thus, TUMASG may be even more advantageous in conscious animals. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to compare the stress response and the characteristics of the sperm collected with TUMASG and EE in conscious goat bucks. Semen was collected in 10 bucks with both procedures. During each procedure, the time required for ejaculation, the number of electric pulses applied and the number of vocalizations were recorded. Rectal temperature, heart rate, serum cortisol concentration, biochemical and hematological parameters were measured before and after each procedure. Sperm characteristics [ejaculated volume, sperm concentration, sperm mass motility (scale 0–5), sperm vigor (scale 0–5), the percentages of motile and progressive motile sperm, of sperm vitality, of sperm with plasma membrane integrity, and with acrosome damage and morphological abnormalities] were also determined. Electroejaculation required more electric pulses than TUMASG (P < 0.0001), but TUMASG took more time than EE (P < 0.0001). The EE provoked more vocalizations (P = 0.02) and a greater increase of cortisol concentrations than TUMASG (P = 0.04). Heart rate also tended to be greater with EE than with TUMASG (P = 0.07). The sperm characteristics did not differ between TUMASG and EE. In conclusion, TUMASG was less stressful and probably less painful than EE without affecting the semen quality. Thus, although it required more time, TUMASG is an alternative procedure to decrease the welfare concerns raised by EE in conscious goat bucks. © 2017 Elsevier Inc