Evolution of a new sense for wind in flying phasmids? Afferents and interneurons

The evolution of winged stick insects (phasmids) from secondarily wingless ancestors was proposed in recent studies. We explored the cuticle of flying phasmids for wind sensors that could be involved in their flight control, comparable to those known for locusts. Surprisingly, wind-sensitive hairs (wsH) occur on the palps of mouthparts and on the antennae of the winged phasmid Sipyloidea sipylus which can fly in tethered position only when air currents blow over the mouthparts. The present study describes the morphology and major functional properties of these “new” wsH with soft and bulging hair bases which are different from the beaker-like hair bases of the wsH on the cerci of phasmids and the wsH described in other insects. The most sensitive wsH of antennae and palps respond with phasic-tonic afferents to air currents exceeding 0.2 ms−1. The fields of wsH on one side of the animal respond mainly to ventral, lateral, and frontal wind on the ipsilateral side of the head. Afferent inputs from the wsH converge but also diverge to a group of specific interneurons at their branches in the suboesophageal ganglion and can send their integrated input from wsH fields of the palps and antennae to the thoracic central nervous system. Response types of individual wsH-interneurons are either phasic or phasic-tonic to air puffs or constant air currents and also, the receptive fields of individual interneurons differ. We conclude that the “new” wsH system and its interneurons mainly serve to maintain flight activity in airborne phasmids and also, the “new” wsH must have emerged together with the integrating interneurons during the evolution from wingless to the recent winged forms of phasmids

Heme Oxygenase Induction Suppresses Hepatic Hepcidin and Rescues Ferroportin and Ferritin Expression in Obese Mice

Hepcidin, a phase II reactant secreted by hepatocytes, regulates cellular iron levels by increasing internalization of ferroportin-a transmembrane protein facilitating egress of cellular iron. Chronic low-grade inflammatory states, such as obesity, have been shown to increase oxidative stress and enhance hepcidin secretion from hepatocytes and macrophages. Heme-heme oxygenase (HO) is a stress response system which reduces oxidative stress. We investigated the effects of HO-1 induction on hepatic hepcidin levels and on iron homeostasis in hepatic tissues from lean and obese mice. Obese mice exhibited hyperglycemia (p < 0.05); increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines (MCP-1, IL-6, p < 0.05); oxidative stress (p < 0.05); and increased hepatic hepcidin levels (p < 0.05). Enhancement of hepcidin was reflected in the reduced expression of ferroportin in obese mice (p < 0.05). However, this effect is accompanied by a significant decline in ferritin expression. Additionally, there are reduced insulin receptor phosphorylation and attenuation of metabolic regulators pAMPK, pAKT, and pLKB1. Cobalt protoporphyrin- (CoPP-) induced HO-1 upregulation in obese mice reversed these alterations (p < 0.05), while attenuating hepatic hepcidin levels. These effects of CoPP were prevented in obese mice concurrently exposed to an inhibitor of HO (SnMP) (p < 0.05). Our results highlight a modulatory effect of HO on iron homeostasis mediated through the suppression of hepatic hepcidin

The Na/K-ATPase Oxidant Amplification Loop Regulates Aging

As aging involves oxidant injury, we examined the role of the recently described Na/K-ATPase oxidant amplification loop (NKAL). First, C57Bl6 old mice were given a western diet to stimulate oxidant injury or pNaKtide to antagonize the NKAL. The western diet accelerated functional and morphological evidence for aging whereas pNaKtide attenuated these changes. Next, human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) were exposed to different types of oxidant stress in vitro each of which increased expression of senescence markers, cell-injury, and apoptosis as well as stimulated the NKAL. Further stimulation of the NKAL with ouabain augmented cellular senescence whereas treatment with pNaKtide attenuated it. Although N-Acetyl Cysteine and Vitamin E also ameliorated overall oxidant stress to a similar degree as pNaKtide, the pNaKtide produced protection against senescence that was substantially greater than that seen with either antioxidant. In particular, pNaKtide appeared to specifically ameliorate nuclear oxidant stress to a greater degree. These data demonstrate that the NKAL is intimately involved in the aging process and may serve as a target for anti-aging interventions

The Effects of Obesity on Outcomes in Trauma Injury: Overview of the Current Literature

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions and is now considered a chronic disease by the National Institute of Health (NIH) in the West. Its impact on trauma outcomes is of particular interest with several studies presenting conflicting information. The present overview suggests a strong association between obesity and injury severity, hospital length of stay (LOS), intensive care unit (ICU) admission, pattern of injury, rate of complications and mortality. The nature of the observations may relate to an underlying physiological state of the obese patient and its associated comorbidities with a constant heightened inflammatory state aggravated by the second hit on an injury

The Effects of Obesity on Outcomes in Trauma Injury: Overview of the Current Literature

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions and is now considered a chronic disease by the National Institute of Health (NIH) in the West. Its impact on trauma outcomes is of particular interest with several studies presenting conflicting information. The present overview suggests a strong association between obesity and injury severity, hospital length of stay (LOS), intensive care unit (ICU) admission, pattern of injury, rate of complications and mortality. The nature of the observations may relate to an underlying physiological state of the obese patient and its associated comorbidities with a constant heightened inflammatory state aggravated by the second hit on an injury

Mental health in the aged: prevalence, covariates and related neuroendocrine, cardiovascular and inflammatory factors of successful aging

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although aging is accompanied by diminished functioning, many elderly individuals preserve a sense of well-being. While the concept of "successful aging" has been popular for many decades, little is known about its psycho-physiologic and endocrine underpinnings. KORA-Age is a population-based, longitudinal study designed to determine the prevalence of successfully aged men and women between 65 and 94 years old in the MONICA/KORA Augsburg cohort of randomly selected inhabitants. Specifically, we aim to identify predictors of successful aging and to elucidate bio-psychosocial mechanisms that maintain mental health and successful adaptation despite adverse experiences of life and aging.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>Components of successful aging were assessed in a telephone survey of 4,127 participants (2008-2009) enrolled in the MONICA/KORA cohort, on average, 13 years earlier. Psychosocial, somatic and behavioural predictors are used to determine factors that contribute to successful aging. An age-stratified random sub-sample (n = 1,079) participated in a personal interview where further psychological mechanisms that may underlie successful adaptation (resilience, social support, attachment) were examined. The interactions among neuroendocrine systems in the aging process are investigated by studying the cortisol/dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate ratio, the level of insulin-like growth factor I, and oxytocin.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Longitudinal determinants of successful aging can be assessed based on a follow-up of an average of 13 years. A comprehensive analysis of biological as well as physio-psychological information provides a unique opportunity to investigate relevant outcomes such as resilience and frailty in the elderly population.</p

Semaglutide and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with obesity and prevalent heart failure: a prespecified analysis of the SELECT trial

Background: Semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, reduces the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in people with overweight or obesity, but the effects of this drug on outcomes in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and heart failure are unknown. We report a prespecified analysis of the effect of once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide 2·4 mg on ischaemic and heart failure cardiovascular outcomes. We aimed to investigate if semaglutide was beneficial in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with a history of heart failure compared with placebo; if there was a difference in outcome in patients designated as having heart failure with preserved ejection fraction compared with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction; and if the efficacy and safety of semaglutide in patients with heart failure was related to baseline characteristics or subtype of heart failure. Methods: The SELECT trial was a randomised, double-blind, multicentre, placebo-controlled, event-driven phase 3 trial in 41 countries. Adults aged 45 years and older, with a BMI of 27 kg/m2 or greater and established cardiovascular disease were eligible for the study. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) with a block size of four using an interactive web response system in a double-blind manner to escalating doses of once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide over 16 weeks to a target dose of 2·4 mg, or placebo. In a prespecified analysis, we examined the effect of semaglutide compared with placebo in patients with and without a history of heart failure at enrolment, subclassified as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, or unclassified heart failure. Endpoints comprised MACE (a composite of non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, and cardiovascular death); a composite heart failure outcome (cardiovascular death or hospitalisation or urgent hospital visit for heart failure); cardiovascular death; and all-cause death. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03574597. Findings: Between Oct 31, 2018, and March 31, 2021, 17 604 patients with a mean age of 61·6 years (SD 8·9) and a mean BMI of 33·4 kg/m2 (5·0) were randomly assigned to receive semaglutide (8803 [50·0%] patients) or placebo (8801 [50·0%] patients). 4286 (24·3%) of 17 604 patients had a history of investigator-defined heart failure at enrolment: 2273 (53·0%) of 4286 patients had heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, 1347 (31·4%) had heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, and 666 (15·5%) had unclassified heart failure. Baseline characteristics were similar between patients with and without heart failure. Patients with heart failure had a higher incidence of clinical events. Semaglutide improved all outcome measures in patients with heart failure at random assignment compared with those without heart failure (hazard ratio [HR] 0·72, 95% CI 0·60-0·87 for MACE; 0·79, 0·64-0·98 for the heart failure composite endpoint; 0·76, 0·59-0·97 for cardiovascular death; and 0·81, 0·66-1·00 for all-cause death; all pinteraction&gt;0·19). Treatment with semaglutide resulted in improved outcomes in both the heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HR 0·65, 95% CI 0·49-0·87 for MACE; 0·79, 0·58-1·08 for the composite heart failure endpoint) and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction groups (0·69, 0·51-0·91 for MACE; 0·75, 0·52-1·07 for the composite heart failure endpoint), although patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction had higher absolute event rates than those with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. For MACE and the heart failure composite, there were no significant differences in benefits across baseline age, sex, BMI, New York Heart Association status, and diuretic use. Serious adverse events were less frequent with semaglutide versus placebo, regardless of heart failure subtype. Interpretation: In patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular diease and overweight or obesity, treatment with semaglutide 2·4 mg reduced MACE and composite heart failure endpoints compared with placebo in those with and without clinical heart failure, regardless of heart failure subtype. Our findings could facilitate prescribing and result in improved clinical outcomes for this patient group. Funding: Novo Nordisk

Anatomy of the pterothorax of Phasmatodea, Mantophasmatodea and Embioptera and its significance for the phylogeny of Polyneoptera (Insecta)

Sowohl die Beziehungen innerhalb der Polyneoptera als auch die Beziehungen zwischen einigen Taxa der Phasmatodea wurden auf der Basis von 60 Merkmalen vorwiegend des Thorax und des Flügelgelenkes untersucht. Dabei fanden auch anatomische Daten des Meso- und Metathorax jeweils eines Vertreters der Embioptera und erstmals auch der Mantophasmatodea Berücksichtigung. Die Muskulatur wurde in der vorliegenden Arbeit an der Embie Antipaluria caribbeana und an Austrophasma caledonensis (Mantophasmatodea) beschrieben. Die Monophylie der Pliconeoptera (Grylloblattodea, Mantophasmatodea, Phasmatodea, Embioptera, Dictyoptera, Dermaptera, Caelifera, Ensifera) wird durch zwei Merkmale der Thoraxmuskulatur gestützt: Fehlen der Pleuro-Pleuralmuskeln IIppm2 und IIIppm2. Zudem findet sich im prägenitalen Abdomen bei den Pliconeoptera ein neuer Lateralnerv, der die intrasegmentalen lateralen tergosternalen Muskelbündel innerviert. Der Dorsalnerv zu den dorsalen Längsmuskeln entspringt aus seinem zugehörigen Abdominalganglion und nicht davor, wie dies bei den Plecoptera der Fall ist. Auf der Basis der Untersuchung des Meso- und Metathorax von Austrophasma lässt sich eine Adelphotaxabeziehung zwischen den Mantophasmatodea und Grylloblattodea postulieren. Die verfügbaren Vertreter, Austrophasma und Grylloblatta besitzen einen Sternocoxalmuskel (IIIscm5), der bei keinem weiteren Vertreter der Polyneoptera vorkommt. Zudem sind wahrscheinlich bei Austrophasma und Grylloblatta vier weitere Muskeln verlorengegangen. Beiden fehlen: der Dorsoventralmuskel IIdvm6, der Sternocoxalmuskel IIscm2, der Dorsoventralmuskel IIIdvm6 und der Sternocoxalmuskel IIIscm6. Das Schwestergruppenverhältnis zwischen den Embioptera und den Phasmatodea erhielt weitere Stütze. Auf der Basis der Anatomie des prägenitalen Abdomens finden sich zwei neue Merkmale: das Vorhandensein paratergo-sternaler Lateralmuskeln, die in mindestens zwei Bündel aufgeteilt sind und zweier lateraler tergosternaler Muskeln, die jeweils in mehrere parallele Bündel aufgeteilt sind. Innerhalb der Phasmatodea wird die basale Aufspaltung Timema + (Agathemera + Neophasmatidae) bestätigt. Die Euphasmatodea (Agathemera + Neophasmatidae) zeichnen sich durch den Verlust des ventralen Längsmuskels IIvlm3 und das Fehlen der inneren ventralen Längsmuskeln im prägenitalen Abdomen aus. Allen Neophasmatidae ist der ventrale Längsmuskel IIvlm1 gemeinsam, der die beiden Arme der Furca verbindet. Innerhalb der Phasmatodea finden sich folgende Beziehungen: Medauroidea, Ramulus und Carausius haben eine Anastomose zwischen Nervus anterior und Nervus lateralis 2 des Mesothorakalganglions. Bei Sungaya, Haaniella, Heteropteryx, Sipyloidea, Pseudophasma, Medauroidea, Ramulus, Carausius, Eurycantha, Phaenopharos, Sceptrophasma und Extatosoma verlaufen der Transversalnerv und der Nervus anterior des ersten Abdominalsegmentes getrennt voneinander und sind über eine Queranastomose verbunden. Bei Medauroidea, Ramulus, Carausius, Eurycantha, Phaenopharos, Sceptrophasma, Extatosoma, Agathemera, Haaniella, Heropteryx und Sungaya ist Muskel IIIdlm 2 reduziert. Die Reduktion ist bei Agathemera wahrscheinlich unabhängig von den übrigen Vertretern geschehen. Die traditionellen Phasmatodea-Unterfamilien Phasmatinae, Pseudophasmatinae und Pachymorphinae sind wahrscheinlich nicht monophyletisch. Die Untersuchung der postembryonalen Entwicklung der Muskulatur insbesondere des Metathorax bei Sipyloidea sipylus, einer flugfähigen Phasmide, bot Aufschluss über die Frage nach der Wahrscheinlichkeit von Flügelreduktionen bei den Phasmatodea. Gerade die Flugmuskulatur wird im juvenilen Tier erst spät zur vollen Funktionstüchtigkeit aufgebaut. Auch im alternden Tier, nach der Eiablage, degenerieren die Flugmuskeln als erstes. Während der Individualentwicklung werden energetisch kostspielige Strukturen wie die Muskelmasse des Flugapparates nur während der Fortpflanzungsperiode aufrecht erhalten und recht schnell danach abgebaut. Diese Beobachtungen sprechen für einen wiederholten Verlust von Flügeln und zugehörigen Muskeln bei den Phasmatodea

The pregenital abdominal musculature in phasmids and its implications for the basal phylogeny of Phasmatodea (Insecta : Polyneoptera)

Recently several conflicting hypotheses concerning the basal phylogenetic relationships within the Phasmatodea (stick and leaf insects) have emerged. In previous studies, musculature of the abdomen proved to be quite informative for identifying basal taxa among Phasmatodea, and led to conclusions regarding the basal splitting events within the group. However, this character complex was not studied thoroughly for a representative number of species, and usually muscle innervation was omitted. In the present study the musculature and nerve topography of mid-abdominal segments in both sexes of seven phasmid species are described and compared in detail for the first time including all putative basal taxa, e.g. members of Timema, Agathemera, Phyllimae, Aschiphasmatinae and Heteropteryginae. The ground pattern of the muscle and nerve arrangement of mid-abdominal segments, i.e. of those not modified due to association with the thorax or genitalia, is reconstructed. In Timema, the inner ventral longitudinal muscles are present, whereas they are lost in all remaining Phasmatodea (Euphasmatodea). The ventral longitudinal muscles in the abdomen of Agathemera, which span the whole length of each segment, do not represent the plesiomorphic condition as previously assumed, but might be a result of secondary elongation of the external ventral longitudinal muscles. Sexual dimorphism, common within the Phasmatodea, also applies to the muscle arrangement in the abdomen of some species. Only in the females of Haaniella dehaanii (Heteropteryginae) and Phyllium celebicum (Phylliinae) the ventral external longitudinal muscles are elongated and span the length of the whole segment, possibly as a result of convergent evolution. (c) 2006 Gesellschaft fur Biologische Systematik. Published by Elsevier GrnbH. All rights reserved