Sweet Water Research Articles

Cocaine Is Low on the Value Ladder of Rats: Possible Evidence for Resilience to Addiction

BackgroundAssessing the relative value of cocaine and how it changes with chronic drug use represents a long-standing goal in addiction research. Surprisingly, recent experiments in rats – by far the most frequently used animal model in this field – suggest that the value of cocaine is lower than previously thought.Methodology/Principal FindingsHere we report a series of choice experiments that better define the relative position of cocaine on the value ladder of rats (i.e., preference rank-ordering of different rewards). Rats were allowed to choose either taking cocaine or drinking water sweetened with saccharin – a nondrug alternative that is not biologically essential. By systematically varying the cost and concentration of sweet water, we found that cocaine is low on the value ladder of the large majority of rats, near the lowest concentrations of sweet water. In addition, a retrospective analysis of all experiments over the past 5 years revealed that no matter how heavy was past cocaine use most rats readily give up cocaine use in favor of the nondrug alternative. Only a minority, fewer than 15% at the heaviest level of past cocaine use, continued to take cocaine, even when hungry and offered a natural sugar that could relieve their need of calories.Conclusions/SignificanceThis pattern of results (cocaine abstinence in most rats; cocaine preference in few rats) maps well onto the epidemiology of human cocaine addiction and suggests that only a minority of rats would be vulnerable to cocaine addiction while the large majority would be resilient despite extensive drug use. Resilience to drug addiction has long been suspected in humans but could not be firmly established, mostly because it is difficult to control retrospectively for differences in drug self-exposure and/or availability in human drug users. This conclusion has important implications for preclinical research on the neurobiology of cocaine addiction and for future medication development.

Study of Glycerol and Sweet Water as a Carbon Source for Production of Rhamnolipids by Naturally Occurring Strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 10145 and ATCC 9027)

Abstract The interest in biosurfactant has increased considerably due to their large potential for industrial applications. Rhamnolipid is a simplest class of biosurfactants with well defined structure. The main obstacle in commercialization of biosurfactant especially rhamnolipids is the higher cost of the production. Glycerol is readily available from commercial fat-splitting process in the form of sweet water (up to 20% w/v) at very low cost. Two natural strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 10145 and ATCC 9027) were compared for rhamnolipid production. The neotype strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 10145) was found to produce more amounts of rhamnolipids than Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027) on glucose and glycerol as carbon source. The microbial growth (0.94 g/L) and formation of rhamnolipids (2.75 g/L) was maximum at 5% (w/v) glycerol concentration by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 10145). The fermentation was monitored for 8 days on shake flask and magnetically stirred batch culture. In magnetically stirred batch culture, microbial growth was 0.69 g/L and 2.73 g/L of rhamnolipid was formed. Sweet water was also used as a source of glycerol.

Irrigation influence by treated domestic wastewater instead of agronomical water on essential oil yield of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)

In this experiment, we have used the soil profile as a biological filter that can to absorb pollution and microbes in the domestic wastewater at Iran during 2009. In this experiment, we had 15 lysimeters, that were planted canola (Brassica napus L.) in 1 to 5 lysimeters and were irrigated by domestic wastewater with BOD5 about 150 mg/lit and primary drainage water were accumulated. In the 6 to 9 lysimeters was planted alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and were irrigated by primary drainage water and then, were accumulated secondary drainage water. We have irrigation 10, 11 and 12 lysimeters by secondary drainage water that was planted inside the basil (Ocimum basilicum L.). In order to compare plants characteristics, in 13, 14 and 15 lysimeters were planted canola, alfalfa and basil respectively and were irrigated by agronomical water. The results showed that the soil could reduce BOD5 and COD from 150 and 232 mg/lit to 11 and 18 mg/lit respectively in secondary drainage water. The essential oil yield of basil 17% increased under irrigation by secondary drainage water intoirrigation by agronomical water. Therefore, the use of secondary drainage water can be increase the quantity and quality yields in plants and the other hand, protects sweet water resources. Key words: Domestic wastewater, agronomical water, essential oil yield, basil.

Analysis of Hydraulic Conductance Components in Field Grown, Mature Sweet Cherry Trees

As a necessary step towards understanding soil water extraction and plant water relationships, the components of hydraulic conductance (K) of mature sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) trees were evaluated in situ based on a Ohms law analog method. In June 2004, K was determined for 10-yr-old 'Bing'/'Gisela® 5' trees, from simultaneous measurements of whole canopy gas exchange and leaf (sunlit and shaded) and stem water potentials (Ψ). Leaf water potential of sunlit leaves was lower than shaded leaves, reaching minimum values of ca. -2.3 MPa around 14:00 h (solar time). Average total hydraulic conductance was 60 ± 6 mmol s-1 MPa-1, presenting a slight decreasing trend as the season progressed. The analysis of tree K components showed that it was higher on the stem-leaf pathway (150 ± 50 mmol s-1 MPa-1), compared to the root-stem component (100 ± 20 mmol s-1 MPa-1), which is in agreement with literature reports for other fruit trees. A weak hysteresis pattern in the daily relationship between whole-canopy transpiration (weighted sunlit and shaded leaves) vs. Ψ was observed, suggesting that water storage within the tree is not a significant component of sweet cherry water balance.

An alternative hybrid concept combining seawater desalination, solar energy and reverse electrodialysis for a sustainable production of sweet water and electrical energy

Fresh water and oil/gas based energy will become scarce since their actual (increase in) consumption rate is definitely unsustainable, when considering their restricted world reserves. Moreover, the large scale burning of such fuels for the production of electrical energy or in industry/transport results in a significant rising of the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere and therefore a rising of global temperatures. Research and development regarding alternative energy sources such as e.g. nuclear fusion is proceeding but mankind also becomes more aware of the sun as being a giant fusion reactor, already at their free disposition and able to act as a lasting and sustainable energy source. The sun in fact delivers continuously about 89,000 TW of usable insolation (photons) power to our planet while the actual global power consumption is about 15 TW. From this point of view, the sun is thus able to provide about 6000 times the world’s energy demand, thus highlighting the enormous potential of solar energy from such numbers in a very obvious way. A major disadvantage of insolation energy of course is its discontinuous and fluctuating availability during daytime. To circumvent such, a solution could eventually be found in the storage of solar power as osmotic energy in highly concentrated salt solutions. The development of salinity gradient power (SGP) based on reverse electrodialysis (SGP-RED) could therefore possibly become an important alternative approach. When combined with classic or solar power based seawater desalination technologies, the resulting hybrid systemcould well be a candidate for the simultaneous production of potable water and electrical energy. The concentration of the brine from the seawater desalination unit (SWDU) could be substantially increased by using solar energy while also producing additional sweet water (condensate). Electricity could then be produced from the mixing energy of the highly concentrated brine and seawater, by using the principle of reverse electrodialysis (RED). In this way the disadvantageous brine waste situation in seawater desalination could eventually be converted into an opportunity regarding the production of a large amount of additional fresh water, a significant amount of electrical energy and an answer to the brine disposal environmental problem. The theoretical simulation results from SGP-RED stack modeling using highly concentrated brine and seawater (brackish water) point to the absolute need of the development of a battery oriented SGP-RED stack configuration, requiring thin ion conductive membranes and thin spacers as to minimize the internal battery resistance and maximize the electrical power output

Newborn care practices among slum dwellers in Dhaka, Bangladesh: a quantitative and qualitative exploratory study

BackgroundUrbanization is occurring at a rapid pace, especially in low-income countries. Dhaka, Bangladesh, is estimated to grow to 50 million by 2015, with 21 million living in urban slums. Although health services are available, neonatal mortality is higher in slum areas than in urban non-slum areas. The Manoshi program works to improve maternal, newborn, and child health in urban slums in Bangladesh. This paper describes newborn care practices in urban slums in Dhaka and provides program recommendations.MethodsA quantitative baseline survey was conducted in six urban slum areas to measure newborn care practices among recently delivered women (n = 1,256). Thirty-six in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore newborn care practices among currently pregnant women (n = 18) and women who had at least one delivery (n = 18).ResultsIn the baseline survey, the majority of women gave birth at home (84%). Most women reported having knowledge about drying the baby (64%), wrapping the baby after birth (59%), and cord care (46%). In the in-depth interviews, almost all women reported using sterilized instruments to cut the cord. Babies are typically bathed soon after birth to purify them from the birth process. There was extensive care given to the umbilical cord including massage and/or applying substances, as well as a variety of practices to keep the baby warm. Exclusive breastfeeding was rare; most women reported first giving their babies sweet water, honey and/or other foods.ConclusionThese reported newborn care practices are similar to those in rural areas of Bangladesh and to urban and rural areas in the South Asia region. There are several program implications. Educational messages to promote providing newborn care immediately after birth, using sterile thread, delaying bathing, and ensuring dry cord care and exclusive breastfeeding are needed. Programs in urban slum areas should also consider interventions to improve social support for women, especially first time mothers. These interventions may improve newborn survival and help achieve MDG4.

Influence of a channel bend on the purging of saline fluid from a cavity by an overflow of fresh water

A numerical and laboratory investigation on the purging of saline fluid from a cavity within a $60^\circ$~channel bend is presented to characterise the purging process in open channel bends. The numerical simulation uses a three dimensional, direct numerical simulation, fractional-step solver. The geometry replicates the laboratory experiment to define the mixing processes of a cavity with vertical sidewalls occupying the centre~$20^\circ$ of the $60^\circ$~channel bend. The secondary circulation as the flow moves through the bend increases the vertical momentum exchange within the cavity and hence destabilises the saline interface. References J. R. Anderson and A. K. Morrison. Environmental consequences of saline groundwater intrusion into the wimmera river, victoria. BMR. Journal of Australian Geology and Geophysics, 11:233--235, 1989d. S. Armfield and R. Street. An analysis and comparison of the time accuracy of fractional-step methods for the navier-stokes equations on staggered grids. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids, 38(3):255--282, 2002. S. W. Armfield and W. Debler. Purging of density stabilized basins. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 36(2):519--530, January 1993. J. C. Bathurst, C. R. Thorne, and R. D. Hey. Secondary flow and shear stress at river bends. Journal of the Hydraulics Division, ASCE, 105 (HY10):1277---1295, 1979. H. Christie. Real-life management of an environmental water reserve, a wimmera perspective. In A.L. Wilson, R.L. Dehaan, R.J. Watts, K.J. Page, K.H. Bowmer, and A. Curtis, editors, Proceedings of the 5th Australian Stream Management Conference. Australian rivers: making a difference. Charles Sturt University, Thurgoona, New South Wales., 2007. W. Debler and S. W. Armfield. The purging of saline water from rectangular and trapezoidal cavities by an overflow of turbulent sweet water. Journal of Hydraulic Research, 35:43--62, 1997. P. H. Gaskell and A. K. C. Lau. Curvature-compensated convective transport: Smart, a new boundedness- preserving transport algorithm. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids, 8(6):617--641, 1988. M. P. Kirkpatrick and S. W. Armfield. Experimental and large eddy simulation results for the purging of salt water from a cavity by an overflow of fresh water. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 48(2):341--359, January 2005. Henk A. van der Vorst. Iterative solution methods for certain sparse linear systems with a non-symmetric matrix arising from pde-problems. Journal of Computational Physics, 44(1):1--19, November 1981.

Effect of feed pressure on the performance of the photovoltaic powered reverse osmosis seawater desalination system

This paper describes the potential of the development of a seawater desalination system that combines the technologies of reverse osmosis (RO) and photovoltaic (PV) to deliver 100 m 3/day of sweet water. Silicon cells are chosen for the PV array and the polyamide thin-film composite seawater Filmtec membranes are selected for the RO system. The software ROSA is adopted to study the influences of the feed pressure on the performance of the system. It is found that as the feed pressure increases, the specific energy of the plant decreases but the percentage of recovery increases.

Anthocyanin Content, Lipid Peroxidation and Cyclooxygenase Enzyme Inhibitory Activities of Sweet and Sour Cherries

Cherries contain bioactive anthocyanins that are reported to possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antidiabetic and antiobese properties. The present study revealed that red sweet cherries contained cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside as major anthocyanin (>95%). The sweet cherry cultivar "Kordia" (aka "Attika") showed the highest cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside content, 185 mg/100 g fresh weight. The red sweet cherries "Regina" and "Skeena" were similar to "Kordia", yielding cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside at 159 and 134 mg/100 g fresh weight, respectively. The yields of cyanidin-3-O-glucosylrutinoside and cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside were 57 and 19 mg/100 g fresh weight in "Balaton" and 21 and 6.2 mg/100 g fresh weight in "Montmorency", respectively, in addition to minor quantities of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside. The water extracts of "Kordia", "Regina", "Glacier" and "Skeena" sweet cherries gave 89, 80, 80 and 70% of lipid peroxidation (LPO) inhibition, whereas extracts of "Balaton" and "Montmorency" were in the range of 38 to 58% at 250 microg/mL. Methanol and ethyl acetate extracts of the yellow sweet cherry "Rainier" containing beta-carotene, ursolic, coumaric, ferulic and cafeic acids inhibited LPO by 78 and 79%, respectively, at 250 microg/mL. In the cyclooxygenase (COX) enzyme inhibitory assay, the red sweet cherry water extracts inhibited the enzymes by 80 to 95% at 250 microg/mL. However, the methanol and ethyl acetate extracts of "Rainier" and "Gold" were the most active against COX-1 and -2 enzymes. Water extracts of "Balaton" and "Montmorency" inhibited COX-1 and -2 enzymes by 84, and 91 and 77, and 87%, respectively, at 250 microg/mL.

Multi-Dimensional Public Governance Arrangements for the Protection of the Transboundary Aquatic Environment in the European Union: The Changing Interplay between European and Public International Law

This article explores the public governance arrangements applicable to the protection of the transboundary aquatic environment in the European Union. It contends that these arrangements are undergoing systemic change. The main thrust of this change is a redefinition of the relationships between the member states, the Community and international river and regional seas commissions. These commissions in practice increasingly are taking on the role of bodies that implement European policies and law, instead of bodies that develop international policies and law that are to be implemented through the law of the member states and European law. The legal structure for this development is provided by two European directives that together offer a comprehensive framework for developing more integrated approaches to managing sweet water and the marine environment in the European Union. The relevant directives are the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MFD). These directives also for the first time in the history of the European Union divide all of the territory and marine areas in which member states exercise sovereignty or jurisdiction into territorially based public governance units.

Multi-Dimensional Public Governance Arrangements for the Protection of Transboundary Aquatic Environment in the European Union - The Changing Interplay between European and Public International Law

This article explores the public governance arrangements applicable to the protection of the transboundary aquatic environment in the European Union. It contends that these arrangements are undergoing systemic change. The main thrust of this change is a redefinition of the relationships between the member states, the Community and international river and regional seas commissions. These commissions in practice increasingly are taking on the role of bodies that implement European policies and law, instead of bodies that develop international policies and law that are to be implemented through the law of the member states and European law. The legal structure for this development is provided by two European directives that together offer a comprehensive framework for developing more integrated approaches to managing sweet water and the marine environment in the European Union. The relevant directives are the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MFD). These directives also for the first time in the history of the European Union divide all of the territory and marine areas in which member states exercise sovereignty or jurisdiction into territorially based public governance units.

Prospects for use in exhausted petroleum fields of borehole heat exchangers and artesian water-bearing horizons for supplying heat and hot water

The possibility of using old suspended boreholes at spent petroleum fields for municipal heat supply purposes is considered. It is proposed that sweet water from upper artesian water-bearing horizons be forwarded along a borehole heat exchanger down to the bottom for additional heating. Results of calculations carried out in accordance with the well-known methods are given, and the influence of adjustable parameters on heat extraction efficiency is estimated.

Afterword: Rough crossings to new beginnings

Afterword: Rough crossings to new beginnings Deirdre Coleman The proposed ‘Freedom Tower’, the centrepiece of the rebuilding plan for New York’s World Trade Centre site, is to rise from the ashes of Ground Zero to a height of 1776 feet, an architectural tribute to the year the United States declared its independence as a nation. In Rough Crossings, a dramatic history of the American War of Independence, Simon Schama shows how the meaning of this war gets turned upside down if viewed through the eyes of black slaves.1 These slaves, lured by the promises of freedom made by the British, fled their American rebel masters in order to rally under the flag of King George. From their perspective, a much-vaunted war for liberty on behalf of whites was a war for the perpetuation of their slavery. Following Judge Mansfield’s decision of 1772 in favour of the slave James Somersett, Britain appeared to represent the possibility of abolition; American independence offered only the certainty of on-going slavery. Nor were loyalist blacks the only ones to see the paradox of the American Revolution. As Samuel Johnson famously pointed out: ‘How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of Negroes?’ In 1792, just under 1200 black loyalists sailed to Sierra Leone, West Africa, under the command of John Clarkson, brother to the abolitionist campaigner Thomas Clarkson. It is the purpose of these articles to look afresh at the settlement there, to see what more can be said about the meaning and significance of Sierra Leone and the loyalists and other blacks who settled there. As has been remarked, these settlers were not of British descent. Who were they, then? Some were native-born Africans, kidnapped and taken as slaves to America. Others were African-American. But how they were regarded, and how they regarded themselves, involves more complex issues, dealing with their history and their determination to achieve self-governance and racial equality during a revolutionary age. Once they had arrived safely in Sierra Leone, William Wilberforce was keen to call them ‘Africans’, a much more dignified term (he argued) than ‘Blacks’ or ‘Negroes’. As a group they identified themselves in their letters and petitions as the ‘Americans’ or ‘the settlers’, or ‘we the Black people that came from Nova Scotia to this place’. At one point, however, when wrangling with the Sierra Leone Company’s directors, they called themselves ‘free British subjects’.2 Their situation was full of contradictions and for the most part fraught with difficulties. These loyalist blacks are at the heart of Schama’s revisionist history, a history which questions the founding principles of the United States. Thus, when it comes to determining which nation owns the bragging rights to freedom, it is not surprising that Rough Crossings favours the British, loyalist side. But Schama also shows how Britain’s offer of freedom was a cloak for military opportunism, a plan to rip out the economic rug from beneath its enemies. Also, as it transpired, liberty for loyalist blacks did not amount to much. For many, freedom meant starving in the freezing forests of Nova Scotia or on the streets of London. It was indeed a rough crossing from one national affiliation to another. Nor did the hypocrisy of Britain’s offer go unremarked. Benjamin Franklin could only scoff at a country which prided itself on setting free a single slave whilst leading the world in the slave trade. Suspicion and scorn would later spread to perceptions of the Sierra Leone venture. With its estuary, deep channels, and well-populated adjacent territories, Sierra Leone had long been a centre for British and other European slave traders. After his initial enthusiasm for Granville Sharp’s ‘Province of Freedom’, Ottobah Cugoano, an ex-slave living in Britain, began to question the motives of a Government which simultaneously sanctioned slavery and sponsored an attempt to abolish it. He asked: ‘Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? . . . can it be readily conceived that government would establish a free colony for them nearly on the spot, while it supports its forts and garrisons, to ensnare, merchandize, and...

Mami Wata: Arts for Water Spirits in Africa and Its Diasporas

ForewordPrefaceAcknowledgmentsNotes on OrthographyIntroduction: Sources and Currents / Henry John Drewal Part I: Mami Wata in a Cultural Context1. Jolly Masquerades and Mammy Wata in Sierra Leone / John W. Nunley2. Mami in Baule, Guro, and Yaure Arts and Cultures / Henry John Drewal3. Dreamscapes: Sacred Arts for Mami Wata along the Togo-Benin Coast / Henry John Drewal4. The Bourian Masquerade: A Rite of Memory and Identity / Henry John Drewal5. The Many Manifestations of Mami Wata among the Igbo / Henry John Drewal6. Mamy Wata among the Annang Ibibio / Jill Salmons7. Mami Wata / Mamba Muntu Paintings in the Democratic Republic of the Congo / Bogumil Jewsiewicki8. Surfing Mami Wata's Virtual Watas: Mami Wata Resources on the Internet / Amy L. Noell Part II: Mami's Sisters in the African Atlantic9. Water Spirits of Haitian Voudou: Lasiren, Queen of Mermaids / Marilyn Houlberg10. Santa Marta la Dominadora - Afro-Catholic Saint and Dominican Vodu Power / Henry John Drewal11. Celebrating Salt and Sweet Waters: Yemanja and Oxum in Bahia, Brazil / Henry John Drewal Part 3: Mami Inspirations12. Mami as Artists' Muse / Henry John Drewal Notes to the TextReferences CitedIndexContributors

Mathematical modeling of seepage flows in coastal pressure water-bearing strata

We study mathematical models of certain two-dimensional steady-state seepage flows of sweet groundwater. We assume that the flows go out of a rectangular pressure water-bearing stratum and enter a sea with saline water, which has a water sheet above its surface. On the base of these models we propose algorithms, calculating the intrusion of sea saline water into shoaling sweet water strata in cases, when flows of groundwater enter the sea sidewise (the scheme of P. Ya. Polubarinova-Kochina and M. K. Mikhailov) or from below (the scheme of J. Bear and G. Dagan). Using exact analytic dependencies established with the help of the Polubarinova-Kochina method and numerical computations, we study the influence of all physical parameters of the models onto the type of the intrusion and its degree. In a particular case, with no fresh water stratum over the sea surface, we compare the results for both inflow schemes and consider the intrusion specificity, depending on the initial location of fluids interface. We study the limit cases of flows. We prove that a certain particular choice of values of unknown parameters of the conformal mapping, which enter in a solution, leads to the well-known results of P. Ya. Polubarinova-Kochina for the classical filtration problem in a rectangular dam.

Desalinisation by zone leaching: laboratory investigations in a model sand-tank

We report a laboratory study in a model sand-tank to investigate improvements using partial ponding over the common method of leaching salts from soils by flooding the entire area above equally spaced subsurface drains. The physical basis of the theory developed by E. G. Youngs and P. B. Leeds-Harrison was demonstrated in the model. We traced the streamline patterns for complete ponding and 3 situations of partial ponding of the soil surface to demonstrate the flow paths. We also leached saline water, initially uniformly distributed in the sand, with sweet water and recorded the breakthrough curves of the leaching water for the same situations of complete and partial ponding. The results demonstrate that partial ponding is more effective than complete ponding in that it requires less time to carry solute towards the drain and saves water of good quality needed to leach salts through drains. They also confirm the theoretical findings that more uniform leaching with less water can be achieved by constraining the infiltrating area with bunds, initially flooding only the region midway between the drains and then progressively increasing the flooded area until the entire surface above the drains is ponded.

Effects of glucose-to-fructose ratios in solutions on subjective satiety, food intake, and satiety hormones in young men

Background: The greater prevalence of obesity and the metabolic syndrome in the past 35 y has been attributed to the replacement of sucrose in the food supply with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).Objective: Two experiments were conducted to determine the effect of solutions containing sucrose, HFCS, or various ratios of glucose to fructose (G:F) on food intake (FI), average appetite (AA), blood glucose (BG), plasma insulin, ghrelin, and uric acid (UA) in men.Design: Sugar solutions (300 kcal/300 mL) were (in %) G20:F80, HFCS 55 (G45:F55), sucrose, and G80:F20 (experiment 1, n = 12) and G20:F80, G35:F65, G50:F50, sucrose, and G80:F20 (experiment 2, n = 19). The controls were a sweet energy-free control (experiment 1) and water (both experiments). Solutions were provided in a repeated-measures design. AA, BG, and FI were measured in all subjects. Hormonal responses and UA were measured in 7 subjects in experiment 2. Measurements were taken from baseline to 75 min. FI was measured at 80 min.Results: Sucrose and HFCS (experiment 1) and sucrose and G50:F50 (experiment 2) had similar effects on all dependent measures. All sugar solutions similarly reduced the AA area under the curve (AUC). FI and plasma UA concentrations were significantly (P < 0.05) lower after high-glucose solutions than after low-glucose solutions. The lower FI was associated with a greater BG AUC (P < 0.05) and smaller AA and ghrelin AUCs (P < 0.01). Insulin and BG AUCs were positively associated (P < 0.001).Conclusion: Sucrose, HFCS, and G50:F50 solutions do not differ significantly in their short-term effects on subjective and physiologic measures of satiety, UA, and FI at a subsequent meal.

Repeated social defeat-induced depression-like behavioral and biological alterations in rats: involvement of cholecystokinin

Cholecystokinin (CCK) involvement in depression-like disorders is poorly documented. Here, we investigated whether CCKergic neurotransmission is relevant to depressive-like symptoms and antidepressant therapy using a novel preclinical model based on repeated social defeat over 4 weeks in rats. Repeated social defeat triggers changes that could be considered as behavioral and biological correlates of depressive symptoms in humans, such as a hyperactivity of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (increase of serum corticosterone levels and of adrenal gland weight), increased immobility time in the forced swimming test (FST), decrease of body weight and of sweet water consumption and reduction of hippocampal volume associated with a decreased cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus. In addition, in vivo microdialysis showed that cortical CCK release was tonically increased in defeated rats. Chronic imipramine treatment (16 mg kg(-1) per day for 25 days) prevented both the repeated social defeat-induced alterations of biological and behavioral parameters and the associated increase of cortical CCK release. Chronic blockade of CCK2 receptors by the specific antagonist CI-988 (1 mg kg(-1) per day for 25 days) also normalized immobility time in the FST and prevented HPA axis hyperactivity, reduction of hippocampal volume and cell proliferation and decreased sweet water intake normally evoked by repeated social defeat. These data showed that the repeated social-defeat paradigm can be considered as a suitable model of 'depression' in rats. The causal link between social defeat-evoked (1) increase in cortical CCKergic neurotransmission and (2) depression-like symptoms that we highlighted here strongly suggests that CCKergic systems may be a relevant target for novel antidepressant therapy.

Effects of opioid blockade on the modulation of pain and mood by sweet taste and blood pressure in young adults

Increased blood pressure and sweet taste are often associated with decreased pain sensitivity. Animal research suggests that endogenous opioids are involved in both these relationships. Fifty-eight healthy young adults (36 male, 22 female) participated in two sessions receiving a placebo tablet or 50mg of naltrexone on counterbalanced days. On each day, three cold-pressor tests were administered while the participant held a sweet solution, water, or nothing in their mouth when their hand was in the water. 2 Drug×3 Solution×2 Gender×Pre-Drug Resting Blood Pressure general linear models (GLM) were conducted separately for systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) pressure. Consistent with previous research, significant main effects of SBP were observed in GLMs of pain tolerance and pain unpleasantness ratings. A main effect of solution on tolerance was seen in the GLM with DBP, which was qualified by an interaction of solution by blood pressure. Sweet taste increased pain tolerance among those with lower DBP across drug conditions. This suggests some overlap between mechanisms of sweet taste and blood pressure analgesia, without implicating opioid activity in sweet taste analgesia. However, the GLM of tolerance also produced a significant drug by DBP interaction suggesting that blood pressure-related analgesia is at least partially opioid-mediated. Also participants with higher DBP showed dampened mood reactivity to the experiment, which was partially reversible by naltrexone. These results are consistent with findings suggesting that endogenous opioid activity may contribute to generally reduced pain sensitivity, and perhaps mood reactivity, in those with higher BP.

Sweet Water and Exotic Fish: Ethnographic Reflections of Environmental Imaginations in Ecuador and the Great Lakes

SUMMARY This article explores environmental imaginations in two cultural contexts—in the tales of an indigenous Saraguro, Ecuador, storyteller and in environmental science stories from the Great Lakes. By juxtaposing two examples of cultures grappling with the presence of exotic species in their waters, I raise comparative questions about how we conceptualize human‐environment relations in the contemporary world, as well as how moral authority regarding the environment is perceived in different cultural contexts. In bringing these two types of stories together, the article refutes the idea that scientifically based understandings of human‐environment relations are immune to culture.