The Role of Bile in the Regulation of Exocrine Pancreatic Secretion

As early as 1926 Mellanby (1) was able to show that introduction of bile into the duodenum of anesthetized cats produces a copious flow of pancreatic juice. In conscious dogs, Ivy & Lueth (2) reported, bile is only a weak stimulant of pancreatic secretion. Diversion of bile from the duodenum, however, did not influence pancreatic volume secretion stimulated by a meal (3,4). Moreover, Thomas & Crider (5) observed that bile not only failed to stimulate the secretion of pancreatic juice but also abolished the pancreatic response to intraduodenally administered peptone or soap

The conceptualisation of health and disease in veterinary medicine

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The concept of health, as well as the concept of disease, is central in veterinary medicine. However, the definitions "health" and "disease" are not generally acknowledged by veterinarians. The aim of this study was to examine how the concepts "health" and "disease" are defined in veterinary textbooks.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Veterinary textbooks in several disciplines were investigated, but only textbooks with explicit definitions of the concepts were selected for examination.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Eighty out of the 500 relevant books within veterinary medicine were written for non-veterinarians. Eight percent of the books had an explicit definition of health and/or disease. More frequently, textbooks written for non veterinarians did have definitions of health or disease, compared to textbooks written for professionals. A division of health definitions in five different categories was suggested, namely:</p> <p>1. Health as normality, 2. Health as biological function, 3. Health as homeostasis, 4. Health as physical and psychological well-being and 5. Health as productivity including reproduction.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Few veterinary textbooks had any health or disease definition at all. Furthermore, explicit definitions of health stated by the authors seemed to have little impact on how health and disease are handled within the profession. Veterinary medicine would probably gain from theoretical discussions about health and disease.</p

Genetics of response to cognitive behavior therapy in adults with major depression: a preliminary report

Major depressive disorder is heritable and a leading cause of disability. Cognitive behavior therapy is an effective treatment for major depression. By quantifying genetic risk scores based on common genetic variants, the aim of this report was to explore the utility of psychiatric and cognitive trait genetic risk scores, for predicting the response of 894 adults with major depressive disorder to cognitive behavior therapy. The participants were recruited in a psychiatric setting, and the primary outcome score was measured using the Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale-Self Rated. Single-nucleotide polymorphism genotyping arrays were used to calculate the genomic risk scores based on large genetic studies of six phenotypes: major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, intelligence, and educational attainment. Linear mixed-effect models were used to test the relationships between the six genetic risk scores and cognitive behavior therapy outcome. Our analyses yielded one significant interaction effect (B = 0.09, p < 0.001): the autism spectrum disorder genetic risk score correlated with Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale-Self Rated changes during treatment, and the higher the autism spectrum disorder genetic load, the less the depressive symptoms decreased over time. The genetic risk scores for the other psychiatric and cognitive traits were not related to depressive symptom severity or change over time. Our preliminary results indicated, as expected, that the genomics of the response of patients with major depression to cognitive behavior therapy were complex and that future efforts should aim to maximize sample size and limit subject heterogeneity in order to gain a better understanding of the use of genetic risk factors to predict treatment outcome

Structural and functional insight into human O-GlcNAcase.

O-GlcNAc hydrolase (OGA) removes O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) from a myriad of nucleocytoplasmic proteins. Through co-expression and assembly of OGA fragments, we determined the three-dimensional structure of human OGA, revealing an unusual helix-exchanged dimer that lays a structural foundation for an improved understanding of substrate recognition and regulation of OGA. Structures of OGA in complex with a series of inhibitors define a precise blueprint for the design of inhibitors that have clinical value

Potential side effects of biocontrol and plant-growth promoting Bacillus amyloliquefaciens bacteria on earthworms

After 1-2 months, survival, growth and reproduction of the earthworms were recorded. We found no effect of the treatments as compared to control without BA amendments. We conclude that the use of high doses of BA with concentrations at the same magnitude as maximally expected when the bacteria are used as PGPR and BCA, is not harmful to the soil dwelling earthworms tested in this project. Further studies of the ecological effects of PGPR and BCA bacteria on other non-target soil organisms are encouraged. The development of sustainable agricultural systems, where ecosystem services are optimized, has to be aided by a deeper knowledge of the combined effect of bacteria and earthworms on the promotion of plant health. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved