Entrainment of the Melatonin Rhythms in Early Postnatal Lambs and Their Mothers

Although the developing sheep can produce an appropriately timed melatonin rhythm as early as 1 week after birth, it is not known whether the lamb is able to adjust its melatonin rhythm to a change in daylength. The ability of the young lamb to entrain its pattern of melatonin secretion to a new photoperiod was determined in the present study. Eight female lambs and their mothers were raised in long days (LD 16:8) beginning 2 weeks post partum. At 7 weeks of age, the time of lights-off was advanced 8 hr, the short-day photoperiod then being LD 8:16; the time of lights-on remained unchanged. Concentrations of melatonin were measured in blood samples collected hourly on days - 1, 0, 2, 4, 6, and 13 relative to the light change. On day 0, all mothers and daughters had advanced the onset of melatonin secretion by at least 1 hr, and by day 13, 12 of 16 had completely entrained to the new photoperiod. The rate of entrainment among individuals varied; the mean rate for lambs and mothers did not differ. This study provides evidence that the melatonin-rhythm-generating system matures shortly after birth.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68290/2/10.1177_074873048900400405.pd

Evaluation of Factors Affecting the Hierarchy of Multiple Goals

The Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at [email protected] or by phone at 405-744-6311

The Chicken Yolk Sac IgY Receptor, a Mammalian Mannose Receptor Family Member, Transcytoses IgY across Polarized Epithelial Cells

In mammals the transfer of passive immunity from mother to young is mediated by the MHC-related receptor FcRn, which transports maternal IgG across epithelial cell barriers. In birds, maternal IgY in egg yolk is transferred across the yolk sac to passively immunize chicks during gestation and early independent life. The chicken yolk sac IgY receptor (FcRY) is the ortholog of the mammalian phospholipase A2 receptor, a mannose receptor family member, rather than an FcRn or MHC homolog. FcRn and FcRY both exhibit ligand binding at the acidic pH of endosomes and ligand release at the slightly basic pH of blood. Here we show that FcRY expressed in polarized mammalian epithelial cells functioned in endocytosis, bidirectional transcytosis, and recycling of chicken FcY/IgY. Confocal immunofluorescence studies demonstrated that IgY binding and endocytosis occurred at acidic but not basic pH, mimicking pH-dependent uptake of IgG by FcRn. Colocalization studies showed FcRY-mediated internalization via clathrin-coated pits and transport involving early and recycling endosomes. Disruption of microtubules partially inhibited apical-to-basolateral and basolateral-to-apical transcytosis, but not recycling, suggesting the use of different trafficking machinery. Our results represent the first cell biological evidence of functional equivalence between FcRY and FcRn and provide an intriguing example of how evolution can give rise to systems in which similar biological requirements in different species are satisfied utilizing distinct protein folds

Vitamin E supplementation of newly arrived feedlot calves

Seven hundred fifteen crossbred (primarily British) calves purchased in southern Oklahoma and northern Texas auction barns were received at the Willard Sparks Beef Research Center, Stillwater, OK, and used to study effects of duration (days) of vitamin E feeding during a 42-d receiving period on animal performance, health, and serum cholesterol and vitamin E concentrations. Upon arrival, calves were blocked by load (seven loads), sorted by BW (light, n = 4 pens per load; and heavy, n = 4 pens per load), and assigned randomly to one of four dietary treatments (n = 2 pens per load; 14 pens per treatment). Experimental diets were formulated to provide 2,000 IU calf^-1 d^-1 of supplemental vitamin E (DL-alpha-tocopherol acetate) for 0 (CON), 7 (E7), 14 (E14), or 28 (E28) d. Vitamin E was delivered in a pelleted supplement that was added to the basal diet in decreasing concentrations as DMI increased (2.0 kg of DMI = 6%; 4.0 kg of DMI = 4%; and 6.0 kg of DMI = 2%). Serum samples were collected on d 0, 14, 28, and 42 for determination of cholesterol, alpha-tocopherol (d 0, 28, and 42), and antibody (IgG) concentrations. Duration of vitamin E supplementation did not affect ADG (0.98 kg/d; P = 0.56) or G:F (0.189; P = 0.87). Serum cholesterol concentrations decreased (day effect; P < 0.001) for all treatments from d 0 (average = 127 mg/100 mL) to 14 (average = 62 mg/100 mL). Serum alpha-tocopherol decreased (day effect; P < 0.001) from d 0 (5.2 micro-g/mL) to 28 (1.8 micro-g/mL); however, on d 28, a greater (P < 0.001) serum alpha-tocopherol concentration was observed for E28 (3.4 micro-g/mL) calves than for CON (1.1 micro-g/mL), E7 (1.2 micro-g/mL), or E14 (1.5 micro-g/mL) calves. Respiratory disease was diagnosed in 64.6% of calves in this study. Medical costs were less (P = 0.08) for calves fed vitamin E for 28 d ($4.88/calf) than for calves fed the control diet ($6.29/calf). Carcass characteristics were not affected (P = 0.19 to 0.88) by dietary treatments. Supplemental vitamin E formulated for 2,000 IU calf^-1 d^-1 had little influence on performance and overall health status of calves under our experimental conditions; however, the increased serum concentrations of alpha-tocopherol when vitamin E was fed for 28 d suggests that any potential effects of vitamin E on health status might be time-dependent.Peer reviewedAnimal ScienceVeterinary PathobiologyVeterinary Medicine OutreachStatistic

Constraining the fluid history of a CO2 -H2 S reservoir: insights from stable isotopes, REE and fluid inclusion microthermometry

Reservoirs that host CO2‐H2S‐bearing gases provide a key insight into crustal redox reactions such as thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR). Despite this, there remains a poor understanding of the extent, duration, and the factors limiting this process on a reservoir scale. Here we show how a combination of petrography, fluid inclusion, rare earth element (REE), and carbon (δ13C), oxygen (δ18O), and sulfur (δ34S) stable isotope data can disentangle the fluid history of the world's largest CO2 accumulation, the LaBarge Field in Wyoming, USA. The carbonate‐hosted LaBarge Field was charged with oil around 80 Ma ago, which together with nodular anhydrite represent the reactants for TSR. The nodules exhibit two distinct trends of evolution in δ13C with both δ34S and δ18O that may be coupled to two different processes. The first trend was interpreted to reflect the coupled dissolution of anhydrite and reduction to elemental sulfur and the oxidation of organic compounds and associated precipitation of calcite during TSR. In contrast, the second trend was interpreted to be the result of the hydrothermal CO2 influx after the cessation of TSR. In addition, mass balance calculations were performed to estimate an approximate TSR reaction duration of 80 ka and to identify the availability of organic compounds as the limiting factor of the TSR process. Such an approach provides a tool for the prediction of TSR occurrence elsewhere and advancing our understanding of crustal fluid interactions

Global and local controlson continental margin stratigraphy

Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 317 was devoted to understanding the relative importance of global sea level (eustasy) versus local tectonic and sedimentary processes in controlling continental margin sedimentary cycles. The expedition recovered sediments from the Eocene to recent period, with a particular focus on the sequence stratigraphy of the late Miocene to recent, when global sea level change was dominated by glacioeustasy. Drilling in the Canterbury Basin, on the eastern margin of the South Island of New Zealand, takes advantage of high rates of Neogene sediment supply, which preserves a high-frequency (0.1–0.5 m.y.) record of depositional cyclicity. The Canterbury Basin provides an opportunity to study the complex interactions between processes responsible for the preserved stratigraphic record of sequences because of the proximity of an uplifting mountain chain, the Southern Alps, and strong ocean currents. Currents have locally built large, elongate sediment drifts within the prograding Neogene section. Expedition 317 did not drill into one of these elongate drifts, but currents are inferred to have strongly influenced deposition across the basin, including in locations lacking prominent mounded drifts. Upper Miocene to recent sedimentary sequences were cored in a transect of three sites on the continental shelf (landward to basinward, Sites U1353, U1354, and U1351) and one on the continental slope (Site U1352). The transect provides a stratigraphic record of depositional cycles across the shallow-water environment most directly affected by relative sea level change. Lithologic boundaries, provisionally correlative with seismic sequence boundaries, have been identified in cores from each site and provide insights into the origins of seismically resolvable sequences. This record will be used to estimate the timing and amplitude of global sea level change and to document the sedimentary processes that operate during sequence formation. Sites U1353 and U1354 provide significant, double-cored, high-recovery sections through the Holocene and late Quaternary for high-resolution study of recent glacial cycles in a continental shelf setting. Continental slope Site U1352 represents a complete section from modern slope terrigenous sediment to hard Eocene limestone, with all the associated lithologic, biostratigraphic, physical, geochemical, and microbiological transitions. The site also provides a record of ocean circulation and fronts during the last ~35 m.y. The early Oligocene (~30 Ma) Marshall Paraconformity was the deepest drilling target of Expedition 317 and is hypothesized to represent intensified current erosion or nondeposition associated with the initiation of thermohaline circulation following the separation of Australian and Antarctica. Expedition 317 set a number of scientific ocean drilling records: (1) deepest hole drilled in a single expedition and second deepest hole in the history of scientific ocean drilling (Hole U1352C, 1927 m); (2) deepest hole and second deepest hole drilled by the R/V JOIDES Resolution on a continental shelf (Hole U1351B, 1030 m; Hole U1353B, 614 m); (3) shallowest water depth for a site drilled by the JOIDES Resolution for scientific purposes (Site U1353, 84.7 m water depth); and (4) deepest sample taken by scientific ocean drilling for microbiological studies (1925 m, Site U1352). Expedition 317 supplements previous drilling of sedimentary sequences for sequence stratigraphic and sea level objectives, particularly drilling on the New Jersey margin (Ocean Drilling Program [ODP] Legs 150, 150X, 174A, and 174AX and IODP Expedition 313) and in the Bahamas (ODP Leg 166), but includes an expanded Pliocene section. Completion of at least one transect across a geographically and tectonically distinct siliciclastic margin was the necessary next step in deciphering continental margin stratigraphy. Expedition 317 also complements ODP Leg 181, which focused on drift development in more distal parts of the Eastern New Zealand Oceanic Sedimentary System (ENZOSS).Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management InternationalPublished2.2. Laboratorio di paleomagnetismorestricte

Thermochemical sulfate reduction in fossil Ordovician deposits of the Majiang area: Evidence from a molecular-marker investigation

The main reservoirs of Majiang fossil deposits consist of the Silurian Wengxiang group, dominantly sandstones, and the Ordovician Honghuayuan formation, dominantly carbonate rocks, and the Lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation mudstones serve as the major source rocks. Thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR) might have taken place in the Paleozoic marine carbonate oil pools, as indicated by high concentrations of dibenzothiophenes in the extracts (MDBT=0.27-4.32 µg/g extract, and MDBT/MPH= 0.71-1.38). Hydrocarbons in the Pojiaozhai Ordovician carbonate reservoirs have undergone severe TSR and are characterized by higher quantities of diamondoids and MDBT and heavier isotopic values (δ13C=-28.4‰). The very large amounts of dibenzothiophenes might be products of reactions between biphenyls and sulfur species associated with TSR

Lycopene from two food sources does not affect antioxidant or cholesterol status of middle-aged adults

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies have reported associations between reduced cardiovascular disease and diets rich in tomato and/or lycopene. Intervention studies have shown that lycopene-containing foods may reduce cholesterol levels and lipid peroxidation, factors implicated in the initiation of cardiovascular disease. The objective of this study was to determine whether consumption of lycopene rich foods conferred cardiovascular protection to middle-aged adults as indicated by plasma lipid concentrations and measures of ex vivo antioxidants. METHODS: Ten healthy men and women consumed a low lycopene diet with no added lycopene (control treatment) or supplemented with watermelon or tomato juice each containing 20 mg lycopene. Subjects consumed each treatment for three weeks in a crossover design. Plasma, collected weekly was analyzed for total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglyceride concentrations and for the antioxidant biomarkers of malondialdehyde formation products (MDA), plasma glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP). Data were analyzed using Proc Mixed Procedure and associations between antioxidant and lipid measures were identified by Pearson's product moment correlation analysis. RESULTS: Compared to the control diet, the lycopene-containing foods did not affect plasma lipid concentrations or antioxidant biomarkers. Women had higher total cholesterol, HDL-C and triglyceride concentrations than did the men. Total cholesterol was positively correlated to MDA and FRAP while HDL-C was positively correlated to MDA and GPX. GPX was negatively correlated to triglyceride concentration. CONCLUSIONS: The inclusion of watermelon or tomato juice containing 20 mg lycopene did not affect plasma lipid concentrations or antioxidant status of healthy subjects. However, plasma cholesterol levels impacted the results of MDA and FRAP antioxidant tests

A 50-year record of NOx and SO2 sources in precipitation in the Northern Rocky Mountains, USA

Ice-core samples from Upper Fremont Glacier (UFG), Wyoming, were used as proxy records for the chemical composition of atmospheric deposition. Results of analysis of the ice-core samples for stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ15N, ) and sulfur (δ34S, ), as well as and deposition rates from the late-1940s thru the early-1990s, were used to enhance and extend existing National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network (NADP/NTN) data in western Wyoming. The most enriched δ34S value in the UFG ice-core samples coincided with snow deposited during the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens, Washington. The remaining δ34S values were similar to the isotopic composition of coal from southern Wyoming. The δ15N values in ice-core samples representing a similar period of snow deposition were negative, ranging from -5.9 to -3.2 ‰ and all fall within the δ15N values expected from vehicle emissions. Ice-core nitrate and sulfate deposition data reflect the sharply increasing U.S. emissions data from 1950 to the mid-1970s