Amygdaloid Lesion-Induced Obesity in Rats in Absence of Finickiness

Lesions of the amygdala of prepuberal female rats had no effect on the day of vaginal opening, subsequent estrus cycles, or weights of ovaries or when compared with sham-operated controls. In contrast, lesions of the supraoptic area or posterior arcuate area of the hypothalamus induced early vaginal opening. These data suggest that destruction of the amygdala, at least under the conditions of these experiments, does not induce precocious puberty in the female rat. {Endocrinology 89: 898, 1971) r I 'HERE ARE a number of reports suggesting JL a role of the amygdala in reproductive processes of the rat. In adult female rats, blockade of ovulation by a variety of methods is overcome by stimulation of the amygdala (1, 2); there is a concomitant increase in plasma LH and FSH levels, and lesions of the stria terminalis abolish this effect. Consistent with the above results are reports that lesions of the central amygdaloid nucleus and lateral portion of the stria terminalis decrease ovarian function in adult rats (3) and amygdala lesions in adult male rats decrease the weight and reduce sperm formation in the testes (4). In prepuberal rats the role of the amygdala appears to be somewhat different. Lesions of the basal and medial amygdala and stria terminalis have been reported to increase uterine weights in female rats (5-7). Early vaginal opening was also reported, but this occurred only in about 1/3 of the rats with histologically verified bilateral lesions. In one of the above reports (7), lesions of the amygdala led to increased ovarian weights. Eleven rats with stimulated uteri of 17 which had lesions of the stria terminalis also had increased ovarian weights when compared to controls (6). Consistent with the above are findings that lesions of the corticomedial amygdala in immature male rats lead to hypertrophy of sexual accessory glands (8) and that electrical stimulation of this region delays vaginal opening and ovulation in immature female rats (9). Although these results are opposite to those reported in adults, there is evidence that, in ovariectomized adult rats, lesions Received August 14,1970. Supported by USPHS Grants AM06704 and 5 FO2 HD35420. 1 USPHS Postdoctoral Research Fellow of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. of the amygdala raise plasma LH levels above castrate levels (10). The present experiments were performed in order to more clearly define the role of the amygdala in the control of the onset of puberty in female rats. The effects of electrolytic lesions of the amygdala and hypothalamus on the day of vaginal opening and subsequent estrous cycles were studied. Materials and Methods Immature female Sprague-Dawley rats were used. In the first experiment, these rats were lesioned when 21-22 days of age; in the second experiment, animals were lesioned when 21-23 days of age. Lesions were produced by passing anodal DC current through a unipolar platinum electrode insulated with epoxy resin except at the tip; the indifferent electrode was connected to the stereotaxic instrument. Unless otherwise specified, all lesions were produced by passing a current of 2.0 mA for 10 sec. In Experiment I (see Table 1) bilateral lesions were placed in the corticomedial (AME) and basolateral (ABL) nuclei of the amygdala and in the stria terminalis within the amygdala (ST). Other sham-lesioned animals were implanted with electrodes, but no current was passed. One group of unoperated rats served as a normal control. In Experiment II, rats received bilateral lesions in the corticomedial nucleus and stria terminalis; others received bilateral lesions in the basolateral amygdala (3.0 mA for 10 sec); 2 additional groups received midline lesions in the supraoptic area (SOA) of the hypothalamus or posterior border of the arcuate nucleus (P.ARH). As in Experiment I, some rats served as shamlesioned controls, and one group served as untreated normal controls. After the operation, all animals were placed in a light-controlled room and fed rat chow and water ad lib. Each day all rats were examined for vaginal opening. Once opened, daily vaginal smears were taken. Autopsies were performed when the rats were 48 days of age (Experiment I) or 50-52 days

The contamination of food or water supplies with radioactive materials centers the attack on the ingestion pathway, where the aims may be to: expose the public who consume the contaminated food or drink the contaminated water; stop the provision of food or water supplies to the public; and cause widespread panic and public alarm. The radiological consequences may include: contamination of water treatment plants, service reservoirs, header tanks and water supply systems; contamination of food products, wholesale food markets, supermarkets or food processing facilities; and the loss or disruption of the water and/or food supply chain. The occurrence of immediate fatalities or casualties suffering from the effects of radiation exposure via the ingestion pathway is very unlikely since extremely large amounts of radioactive material would be required to achieve sufficiently high concentrations and, even if this occurs, it is very unlikely that it would affect a large number of people. The radionuclides that can be used or released during a radiological emergency, where a significant radiation dose could be received as a result of consumption of contaminated food, could be: The radionuclides listed above are expected to be the predominant contributors to radiation dose through ingestion in the most of the scenarios. When more than one radionuclide is released, the relative contribution that a radionuclide makes to radiation dose from ingestion of subsequently contaminated food depends on the specifics of the accident and the mode of release. In unique circumstances other radionuclides (like Po-210) may contribute radiation doses through the food ingestion pathway. Although the deliberate act to contaminate food or water supplies with radioactive materials it is unlikely (though not impossible), there is a need to co-operate with radiological experts and media specialists to quickly assess the potential medical impact of such acts and provide public information to alleviate fears in the potentially affected public. There is also a need to develop a plan, at the national level, to monitor a representative sample of the potentially affected population to confirm the health risk assessment and reassure the public.

Taste is a major driving force that influences food choices and dietary intake. Adiponectin has been shown to selectively enhance cellular responses to fatty acids by mediating the activation of AMPK and translocation of CD36 in taste cells via its receptor AdipoR1. Whether Adipor1 gene knockout affects fat taste responsiveness and dietary fat intake in animals remains unclear. In the present study, we evaluated cellular, neural, and behavioral responses to fat, as well as the dietary fat intake in global Adipor1 knockout mice and their WT controls. Sex-specific changes in cellular and behavioral responses to fatty acid were observed in Adipor1 knockout mice. Linoleic acid (LA)-induced calcium responsiveness appears to be reduced in taste cells from Adipor1-deficient males and increased in taste cells from Adipor1-deficient females. Brief-access taste testing revealed a loss of fat taste behavioral responsiveness in naïve Adipor1 -/- animals. Fat taste loss found in Adipor1 -/- males was restored after fat exposure and showed no significant differences in taste behavioral responses to fatty acids with WT controls in two-bottle preference and conditioned taste aversion tests. Adipor1 -/- females were found to have diminished preference for LA in two-bottle preference tests, lower intralipid/water lick ratio in a brief-access assay, and reduced avoidance for LA in conditioned taste aversion assay. Furthermore, the taste nerve responses to intralipid and the dietary fat intakes appeared to be the same between Adipor1 -/- and WT mice. In the high-fat diet feeding study, Adipor1 -/- females gained more weight, while no differences in body weight gain were found in males. Together, we show that adiponectin/AdipoR1 signaling plays crucial sex-specific roles in the modulation of fat taste and the maintenance of healthy body weight primarily by regulating energy expenditure rather than dietary fat intake in mice.

On the Interpretation of Rat Carcinogenicity Studies for Human PTH(1-34) and Human PTH(1-84)

The destruction of the South Vietnamese rice (Oryza sativa L) crop using an arsenic-based herbicide known as Agent Blue during the American Vietnam War (1965-1972) was not a secret; however, it received little media attention in the United States. Republic of Vietnam and United States (U.S.) militaries began destroying food crops (rice) in November of 1962 primarily via aerial applications in the Mekong Delta and Central Highlands of South Vietnam. Spraying of Agent Blue on 100,000 ha of mangrove forests and about 300,000 ha of rice paddies just before rice harvest time resulted in the destruction of the standing crop and rendered the land contaminated with arsenic (As). Six Rainbow herbicides, commonly called Agent Orange, Agent Green, Agent Pink, Agent Purple, Agent White, and Agent Blue, were sprayed on wetlands, rice paddies, forests, mangroves, bamboo and military base perimeter fences to defoliate jungle vegetation, reveal guerilla hiding places and destroy the food supply of enemy troops. South Vietnamese farmers, U.S. and Republic of Vietnam military personnel, and communist insurgents were exposed to these herbicides with immediate and longer term impacts on personal health, civilian household food security and population-wide famine. Agent Blue (cacodylic acid, C2H2AsO2,) was the most effective of all the Rainbow herbicides in killing rice and grasses. Manufacturing of cacodylic acid began in the late 1950s in the U.S. at the Ansul Company chemical plant in Marinette, Wisconsin and Menominee, Michigan. During the Vietnam War, ocean going ships were loaded with 208-liter Agent Blue barrels and shipped via the St. Lawrence Seaway to the coast of South Vietnam. Arsenic (As) is a naturally occurring element that is found throughout SE Asia deltas including the Mekong Delta. Today arsenic contaminated rice and groundwater are growing concerns as neither naturally occurring arsenic nor anthropic arsenic have a half-life and cannot be destroyed. Anthropic arsenic has remained in the Mekong Delta environment for the last 60 years and added to persistent As contamination in water supplies, sediments and soils. Water soluble arsenic primarily leaches into the soil root zone and the groundwater or is carried by floodwater into adjacent waterways or volatilized under anaerobic rice paddy conditions as gaseous arsine. The health of 15 million Vietnamese people living in the Mekong Delta is at risk from the combination of manufactured and natural As in drinking water and food supply. The As in the contaminated rice paddy soil, sediment and water is up taken by fish, shrimp or by crop vegetation and trace amounts can end up in the food supply (rice grain) or be bioaccumulated by the fish, shrimp and birds which when eaten were bioaccumulated in the Vietnamese people. It is urgent that elevated As concentrations in water supplies and agricultural products be identified and mitigated through better run-off control and groundwater management; improved rice genetics and alternate crop selections; shifts in crop management associated with tillage, fertilization and phosphorus use; and systematic monitoring of food and drinking water.

Health care provision depends on reliable critical infrastructure (CI) to power equipment and to provide water for medication and sanitation. Attacks on CI limiting such functions can have a profound and prolonged influence on delivery of care. A retrospective analysis of the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) was performed of all attacks occurring from 1970-2020. Data were filtered using the internal database search function for all events where the primary target was "Utilities," "Food or Water Supply," and "Telecommunications." For the purposes of this study, the subtype "Food Supply" was excluded. Events were collated based on year, country, region, and numbers killed and wounded. The GTD listed 7,813 attacks on CI, with 6,280 of those attacks targeting utilities, leading to 1,917 persons directly killed and 1,377 persons wounded. In total, there were 1,265 attacks targeting telecommunications causing 205 direct deaths and 510 wounded. Lastly, 268 attacks targeted the water supply with 318 directly killed and 261 wounded. Regionally, South America had the most attacks with 2,236, followed by Central America and the Caribbean with 1,390. Based on infrastructure type, the most attacks on utilities occurred in El Salvador (1,061), and the most attacks on telecommunications were in India (140). Peru (46) had the most attacks on its water supply. The regions with the highest number of total attacks targeting CI have historically been in South America, with more attacks against power and utilities than other infrastructure. Although the numbers of persons directly killed and wounded in these attacks were lower than with other target types, the true impacts on lack of health care delivery are not accounted for in these numbers. By understanding the pattern and scope of these attacks, Counter-Terrorism Medicine (CTM) initiatives can be created to target-harden health care-related infrastructure.

Triangle of Environment, Water and Energy: A Sociological Appraisal

Effects of amygdala lesions on body weight, conditioned taste aversion, and neophobia

The Effect of Hyperbilirubinaemia on Hepatic Cholesterol Metabolism in the Gunn Rat

Clarifying the complex relationships among ecosystem services (ESs) and the driving mechanisms of ecosystem service (ES) is essential for supporting regional ES and ecological sustainability. Although studies on ES relationships provide guidance for regional ecological management, the driving mechanisms of ES have not been adequately studied, especially in areas with complex natural environments and progressive urbanization. Combined with the data on land use, climate, NDVI, and soil data, this paper aims to explore this issue by analyzing the relationships among ESs and the driving mechanisms of ESs in the western Sichuan Plateau region of China. Firstly, the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of five ecosystem services (food supply, water supply, habitat quality, soil conservation, and carbon storage) from 2000 to 2020 were analyzed by the InVEST model. Second, the trade-offs/synergistic relationships among ESs were analyzed using SPSS as well as the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient method in MATLAB. Finally, the Geodetector model was further used to reveal the influencing factors of ecosystem services in the western Sichuan Plateau. The results showed that: (1) Water supply decreased in the western Sichuan Plateau from 2000 to 2020, but increased in the eastern part; habitat quality was generally good in the whole Sichuan Plateau, but decreased in some areas; carbon storage showed an overall improving trend; soil conservation showed an overall increasing and then decreasing trend, and food supply services showed an increasing trend. (2) From 2000 to 2020, food supply and other services in the western Sichuan Plateau were in a trade-off relationship; all other service pairs showed a synergistic relationship. (3) In terms of space, the relationships between ecosystem services showed spatial heterogeneity. There was a synergistic relationship between food supply and habitat quality in some areas, such as Litang County and Xinlong County, and there was a trade-off relationship between water supply and carbon storage services in some areas, such as Ruoergai County and Daocheng County, etc. (4) The Geodetector results showed that food supply and soil conservation were mainly influenced by the slope (0.682, 0.672), annual precipitation was the strongest explanation for water supply (0.967), and habitat quality and carbon storage were the most influenced by NDVI (0.876, 0.828); meanwhile, each ecosystem service was interactively influenced by multiple factors. Based on the results, we proposed ecological management recommendations for the western Sichuan Plateau, the most important one being that the western Sichuan Plateau should protect and rationally use the existing natural resources, especially the existing forest and grassland resources, and at the same time reform the agricultural structure and scientifically plan urban development, to promote the coexistence of cities and nature. We took the western Sichuan Plateau of China, where urbanization and a complex natural environment are in opposition, as an example, to explore its ecosystem services, relationships, and driving mechanisms, and then put forward suggestions on ecological management and control, providing a reference for future regional coordination between urbanization and the natural environment.

Lesions of the posterior basolateral amygdala block feeding induced by systemic 8-OH-DPAT

Water is indispensable ‘stuff’ for maintaining the metabolism, not only of our human bodies, but also of the wider social fabric. The very sustainability of cities and the practices of everyday life that constitute ‘the urban’ are predicated upon and conditioned by the supply, circulation, and elimination of water. The complex web of the ‘Metabolisms of Cities’ (Wolman 1965: 179) relies on the perpetual circulation of water into, through, and out of the city. Without an uninterrupted flow of water, the maelstrom of city life and the mesmerizing collage of interwoven practices that constitute the very essence of urbanity are hard to imagine. It is difficult, if not impossible, for most of us to even think about living without water for drinking, washing, bathing, cooking, or cleaning for more than a few hours. Indeed, like food, water is both a biological necessity and a key economic commodity, as well as being the source of an intricate and rich cultural and symbolic power (see Bachelard 1942). But while the supply of food, clothing, and durable goods can be handled through local, decentralized, individual initiative, the supply of water is routinely— although by no means necessarily or exclusively—organized by means of large bureaucratic and engineering control systems, collective intervention and action, and centralized decision-making systems (see Wittfogel 1957;Worster 1985; Lorrain 1997; Donahue and Johnston 1998). Such centralized and hierarchical systems, whether privately or publicly owned, enable monopoly control and, given the commodity character of water, permit the extraction of monopoly profits in addition to the powerful social and political control that goes with monopolistic control over vital goods. Contrary to the rural realm where—at least under non-arid conditions—water of a reasonable quality is easily and often readily available, urban water supply and access relies on the perpetual transformation, mastering, and harnessing of ‘natural’water. Urban water is necessarily transformed, ‘metabolized’ water, not only in terms of its physico-chemical characteristics, but also in terms of its social characteristics and its symbolic and cultural meanings.

Lesion of posterodorsal amygdala (PDA) has been known to produce hyperphagia and obesity in animal models. However, the influence of gender on food intake (FI), body weight (BW) and immunological parameters following PDA lesion is not yet known. The present work was carried out to study the effect of gender on the regulation of FI, BW and immunological parameters following lesions of PDA in albino Wistar rats. Twenty-four albino Wistar rats were divided equally into 2 groups - PDA group and control group - with 6 male and 6 female rats in each. In the experimental group, bilateral electrolytic lesion of the respective nuclei was performed by stereotaxy and post-lesion parameters were recorded. In the control group, sham lesion was made. Male-female difference in each parameter was determined. Following PDA lesion, FI increased significantly in both male (p < 0.001) and female rats (p < 0.01) but the percentage increase in FI was significantly more in female rats (p < 0.001). BW also increased in both the sexes but the increase in BW was significant only in male rats (p < 0.05). Both male and female rats showed increase in the concentration of cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4), but the significant increase in CD4 concentration (p < 0.01) was seen only in male rats. CD8 concentration increased significantly in male rats (p < 0.05). The liver weight-BW ratio was significantly greater in female rats (p < 0.001) following PDA lesions. Lesion of PDA results in accentuation of FI and BW gain and activation of immunity. There is a gender difference in the inhibitory control of PDA on FI, BW and immunity.

Flavor preferences conditioned by sugars: Rats learn to prefer glucose over fructose

The present experiment examined the influence of differential fluid deprivation (8.5- or 23.5-h) on the extinction of amphetamine (2.0 mg/kg)-induced conditioned taste aversion in female rats. In two-bottle preference tests, rats trained and extinguished under a 23.5-h fluid-deprivation schedule displayed significantly faster extinction of saccharin taste aversion relative to that observed in rats trained and extinguished under an 8.5-h deprivation schedule. The more rapid extinction of amphetamine aversion observed in fluid-deprived rats is comparable to that described previously for conventional emetic punishers such as lithium chloride or cyclophosphamide.