Central administration of dipeptides, beta-alanyl-BCAAs, induces hyperactivity in chicks

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Carnosine (β-alanyl-L-histidine) is a putative neurotransmitter and has a possible role in neuron-glia cell interactions. Previously, we reported that carnosine induced hyperactivity in chicks when intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) administered. In the present study, we focused on other β-alanyl dipeptides to determine if they have novel functions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In Experiment 1, i.c.v. injection of β-alanyl-L-leucine, but not β-alanyl-glycine, induced hyperactivity behavior as observed with carnosine. Both carnosine and β-alanyl-L-leucine stimulated corticosterone release. Thus, dipeptides of β-alanyl-branched chain amino acids were compared in Experiment 2. The i.c.v. injection of β-alanyl-L-isoleucine caused a similar response as β-alanyl-L-leucine, but β-alanyl-L-valine was somewhat less effective than the other two dipeptides. β-Alanyl-L-leucine strongly stimulated, and the other two dipeptides tended to stimulate, corticosterone release.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results suggest that central β-alanyl-branched chain amino acid stimulates activity in chicks through the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. We named β-alanyl-L-leucine, β-alanyl-L-isoleucine and β-alanyl-L-valine as Excitin-1, Excitin-2 and Excitin-3, respectively.</p

Central administration of L- and D-aspartate attenuates stress behaviors by social isolation and CRF in neonatal chicks

Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of L-aspartate (L-Asp) attenuates stress responses in neonatal chicks, but the mechanism has not been clarified. In the present study, three behavioral experiments were carried out under socially isolated stressful conditions exacerbated by the use of corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF). In Experiment 1, i.c.v. injection of L-Asp attenuated behavioral stress responses (distress vocalization and active wakefulness) in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, L-Asp increased time spent standing/sitting motionless with eyes open and sitting motionless with head dropped (sleeping posture) in comparison with the group receiving CRF alone. In Experiment 2, i.c.v. injection of D-Asp dosedependently decreased the number of distress vocalizations and the amount of time spent in active wakefulness. D-Asp increased the time spent standing/sitting motionless with eyes open compared with the group receiving CRF alone. In Experiment 3, we directly compared the effect of L-Asp with that of D-Asp. Both L- and D-Asp induced sedative effects under an acutely stressful condition. However, L-Asp, but not D-Asp, increased the time spent in a sleeping posture. These results indicate that both L- and D-Asp, when present in the brain, could induce a sedative effect, while the mechanism for hypnosis in neonatal chicks may be different for L-Asp in comparison with D-Asp

Diagnostic accuracy of placental growth factor and ultrasound parameters to predict the small-for-gestational-age infant in women presenting with reduced symphysis-fundus height.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of placental growth factor (PlGF) and ultrasound parameters to predict delivery of a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant in women presenting with reduced symphysis-fundus height (SFH). METHODS: This was a multicenter prospective observational study recruiting 601 women with a singleton pregnancy and reduced SFH between 24 and 37 weeks' gestation across 11 sites in the UK and Canada. Plasma PlGF concentration  95(th) centile and oligohydramnios (amniotic fluid index < 5 cm) were compared as predictors for a SGA infant < 3(rd) customized birth-weight centile and adverse perinatal outcome. Test performance statistics were calculated for all parameters in isolation and in combination. RESULTS: Of the 601 women recruited, 592 were analyzed. For predicting delivery of SGA < 3(rd) centile (n = 78), EFW < 10(th) centile had 58% sensitivity (95% CI, 46-69%) and 93% negative predictive value (NPV) (95% CI, 90-95%), PlGF had 37% sensitivity (95% CI, 27-49%) and 90% NPV (95% CI, 87-93%); in combination, PlGF and EFW < 10(th) centile had 69% sensitivity (95% CI, 55-81%) and 93% NPV (95% CI, 89-96%). The equivalent receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curve areas were 0.79 (95% CI, 0.74-0.84) for EFW < 10(th) centile, 0.70 (95% CI, 0.63-0.77) for low PlGF and 0.82 (95% CI, 0.77-0.86) in combination. CONCLUSIONS: For women presenting with reduced SFH, ultrasound parameters had modest test performance for predicting delivery of SGA < 3(rd) centile. PlGF performed no better than EFW < 10(th) centile in determining delivery of a SGA infant

Cognitive impairment from early to middle adulthood in patients with affective and nonaffective psychotic disorders

Background.—Cognitive impairment is a core feature of psychotic disorders, but the profile of impairment across adulthood, particularly in African-American populations, remains unclear. Methods.—Using cross-sectional data from a case–control study of African-American adults with affective (n = 59) and nonaffective (n = 68) psychotic disorders, we examined cognitive functioning between early and middle adulthood (ages 20–60) on measures of general cognitive ability, language, abstract reasoning, processing speed, executive function, verbal memory, and working memory. Results.—Both affective and nonaffective psychosis patients showed substantial and widespread cognitive impairments. However, comparison of cognitive functioning between controls and psychosis groups throughout early (ages 20–40) and middle (ages 40–60) adulthood also revealed age-associated group differences. During early adulthood, the nonaffective psychosis group showed increasing impairments with age on measures of general cognitive ability and executive function, while the affective psychosis group showed increasing impairment on a measure of language ability. Impairments on other cognitive measures remained mostly stable, although decreasing impairments on measures of processing speed, memory and working memory were also observed. Conclusions.—These findings suggest similarities, but also differences in the profile of cognitive dysfunction in adults with affective and nonaffective psychotic disorders. Both affective and nonaffective patients showed substantial and relatively stable impairments across adulthood. The nonaffective group also showed increasing impairments with age in general and executiv

P and Ca digestibility is increased in broiler diets supplemented with the high-phytase HIGHPHY wheat

Around 70% of total seed phosphorus is represented by phytate which must be hydrolysed to be bioavailable in non-ruminant diets. The limited endogenous phytase activity in non-ruminant animals make it common practice to add an exogenous phytase source to most poultry and pig feeds. The mature grain phytase activity (MGPA) of cereal seeds provides a route for the seeds themselves to contribute to phytate digestion, but MGPA varies considerably between species and most varieties in current use make negligible contributions. Currently, all phytases used for feed supplementation and transgenic improvement of MGPA are derived from microbial enzymes belonging to the group of histidine acid phosphatases (HAP). Cereals contain HAP phytases, but the bulk of MGPA can be attributed to phytases belonging to a completely different group of phosphatases, the purple acid phosphatases (PAPhy). In recent years, increased MGPAs were achieved in cisgenic barley holding extra copies of barley PAPhy and in the wheat HIGHPHY mutant, where MGPA was increased to ~6200 FTU/kg. In the present study, the effect of replacing 33%, 66% and 100% of a standard wheat with HIGHPHY wheat was compared with a control diet with and without 500 FTU of supplemental phytase. Diets were compared by evaluating broiler performance, ileal Ca and P digestibility and tibia development, using nine replicate pens of four birds per diet over 3 weeks from hatch. There were no differences between treatments in any tibia or bird performance parameters, indicating the control diet did not contain sufficiently low levels of phosphorus to distinguish effect of phytase addition. However, in a comparison of the two wheats, the ileal Ca and P digestibility coefficients for the 100% HIGHPHY wheat diets are 22.9% and 35.6% higher, respectively, than for the control diet, indicating the wheat PAPhy is functional in the broiler digestive tract. Furthermore, 33% HIGHPHY replacement of conventional wheat, significantly improved Ca and P digestibility over the diet-supplemented exogenous phytase, probably due to the higher phytase activity in the HIGHPHY diet (1804 v. 1150 FTU). Full replacement by HIGHPHY gave 14.6% and 22.8% higher ileal digestibility coefficients for Ca and P, respectively, than for feed supplemented with exogenous HAP phytase at 500 FTU. This indicates that in planta wheat PAPhys has promising potential for improving P and mineral digestibility in animal feed

Whole-genome sequencing for an enhanced understanding of genetic variation among South Africans

The Southern African Human Genome Programme is a national initiative that aspires to unlock the unique genetic character of southern African populations for a better understanding of human genetic diversity. In this pilot study the Southern African Human Genome Programme characterizes the genomes of 24 individuals (8 Coloured and 16 black southeastern Bantu-speakers) using deep whole-genome sequencing. A total of ~16 million unique variants are identified. Despite the shallow time depth since divergence between the two main southeastern Bantu-speaking groups (Nguni and Sotho-Tswana), principal component analysis and structure analysis reveal significant (p < 10−6) differentiation, and FST analysis identifies regions with high divergence. The Coloured individuals show evidence of varying proportions of admixture with Khoesan, Bantu-speakers, Europeans, and populations from the Indian sub-continent. Whole-genome sequencing data reveal extensive genomic diversity, increasing our understanding of the complex and region-specific history of African populations and highlighting its potential impact on biomedical research and genetic susceptibility to disease

Buffalo, Bush Meat, and the Zoonotic Threat of Brucellosis in Botswana

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease of global importance infecting humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. Little is known about the epidemiology and persistence of brucellosis in wildlife in Southern Africa, particularly in Botswana.Archived wildlife samples from Botswana (1995-2000) were screened with the Rose Bengal Test (RBT) and fluorescence polarization assay (FPA) and included the African buffalo (247), bushbuck (1), eland (5), elephant (25), gemsbok (1), giraffe (9), hartebeest (12), impala (171), kudu (27), red lechwe (10), reedbuck (1), rhino (2), springbok (5), steenbok (2), warthog (24), waterbuck (1), wildebeest (33), honey badger (1), lion (43), and zebra (21). Human case data were extracted from government annual health reports (1974-2006).Only buffalo (6%, 95% CI 3.04%-8.96%) and giraffe (11%, 95% CI 0-38.43%) were confirmed seropositive on both tests. Seropositive buffalo were widely distributed across the buffalo range where cattle density was low. Human infections were reported in low numbers with most infections (46%) occurring in children (<14 years old) and no cases were reported among people working in the agricultural sector.Low seroprevalence of brucellosis in Botswana buffalo in a previous study in 1974 and again in this survey suggests an endemic status of the disease in this species. Buffalo, a preferred source of bush meat, is utilized both legally and illegally in Botswana. Household meat processing practices can provide widespread pathogen exposure risk to family members and the community, identifying an important source of zoonotic pathogen transmission potential. Although brucellosis may be controlled in livestock populations, public health officials need to be alert to the possibility of human infections arising from the use of bush meat. This study illustrates the need for a unified approach in infectious disease research that includes consideration of both domestic and wildlife sources of infection in determining public health risks from zoonotic disease invasions