Seasonal acclimatization to temperature in cardueline finches

1. Seasonal variation in body constituents and utilization of lipid, protein, and carbohydrate during cold stress in American goldfinches were studied to determine relations of these functions to the pronounced seasonal shift in thermogenic capacity documented in a previous study (Dawson and Carey, 1976).Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47119/1/360_2004_Article_BF00686746.pd

Developmental abnormalities in brain white matter in prodromes with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome: A tract based spatial statistics study

Background Schizophrenia is believed to be a neurodevelopmental disorder, and might originate earlier than the first symptoms present clinically. Subjects with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11DS) represent a promising cohort to explore biomarkers of schizophrenia prior to symptoms onset, as there is a 30% incidence of schizophrenia in adult life. In this study, we explored whether changes in whole brain white matter are present in adolescents with 22q11.2DS and in prodromes (22q11DS subjects with a high score on Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale). Methods Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Images (dMRI) of the brain white matter were acquired from 47 controls and 50 subjects with 22q11DS, including 9 prodromes (mean age 18 ± 2 years). Whole brain white matter was analyzed using the Tract Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) method. dMRI measures, such as Fractional Anisotropy (FA), Mean Diffusivity (MD), Axial Diffusivity (AD) and Radial Diffusivity (RD) were compared between the groups. Results When controls were compared to all the subjects with 22q11DS, statistically significant reductions in MD, AD and RD were found in the 22q11DS group. The changes were localized to the corpus callosum (CC) and the long association fiber tracts. When the 22q11DS group was split, the prodromes showed statistically significant reductions in MD, AD and RD in the CC and Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus (SLF). Discussion Changes in white matter were observed in individuals with 22q11.2DS, which could be interpreted as developmental and axonal abnormalities. The changes found in the prodromes point to even more severe developmental abnormalities. The changes in dMRI indices, reported here, differ from those observed in chronic schizophrenia. In chronic schizophrenia reduced FA and increased RD are being interpreted as abnormalities of the myelin. We hope that studying these prodromes will allow us to develop a more complete understanding of the changes in brain white matter that lead to schizophrenia.N

The effects of elevated temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration on the quality of grain lipids in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown at two levels of nitrogen application

Wheat plants were cultivated under growth regimes combining two temperatures (ambient and 4 degrees C above ambient temperature) with two concentrations of carbon dioxide (350 and 700 mu mol mol(-1)) and two nitrogen fertilizer applications (high and low), The aim of this study was to define any changes in the acyl lipid composition of wheat grains which could result from alterations in the growth conditions, Qualitative and quantitative changes were observed in both non-starch and starch lipid fractions, Temperature was by far the most influential growth factor, although interactions between all three growth conditions occurred, as confirmed by analysis of variance, Growth at elevated temperatures had the general effect of reducing the amounts of accumulated lipids, particularly non-polar lipids (1322mg fatty acids per 100g fresh weight at ambient temperatures as opposed to 777mg fatty acids per 100 g fresh weight at 4 degrees C above ambient temperatures), There were changes in the proportions of the major non-starch as well as the starch lipids, In the former category, non-polar lipids (principally triacylglycerols), the membrane glycosylglycerides and phosphatidylcholine were the main constituents, whereas in the starch lipids, lysophosphatidylcholine and lysophosphatidylethanolamine represented over 70% of the total, Depending on the growth conditions, the percentages of lipids such as monogalactosyldiacylglycerol, digalactosyldiacylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine (non-starch) or the starch lysophosphatidylethanolamine varied 2-fold or more, Significant changes in the acyl composition of individual lipids were also observed, most often in the proportions of palmitate, oleate and linoleate, The observed alterations in wheat lipids are likely to affect the properties of any flours derived from grain grown under climate change conditions