Effects of Gabapentin on the Treatment of Behavioral Disorders in Dogs: A Retrospective Evaluation.

The use of gabapentin in treating dogs with behavioral disorders is not well described. To characterize behavioral effects of gabapentin, this study surveyed 50 owners whose dogs were prescribed gabapentin at a veterinary behavior-focused practice over a five-year period. Most owners (72%) reported that gabapentin was moderately or very effective at improving their dog's behavior.

Estradiol Regulates Circadian Responses to Acute and Constant Light Exposure in Female Mice.

Sex hormones are well known to modulate circadian timekeeping as well as the behavioral and physiological responses to circadian disruption. Gonadectomy, reducing the amount of circulating gonadal hormones, in males and females produces alterations to the free-running rhythm and the responses to light exposure by the central oscillator of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). In this study, we tested whether estradiol plays a role in regulating the circadian responses to acute (light pulses) and chronic light exposure (constant light [LL] vs standard light:dark [LD] cycle) in female C57BL6/NJ mice.

The Streaming Web-Based Exercise at Home Study for Breast and Prostate Cancer Survivors: A Feasibility Study Protocol.

Background: Despite the known benefits of physical activity in cancer survivors, adherence to exercise guidelines remains low. Known barriers to adhering to guidelines include a lack of time and an unwillingness to return to treatment facilities. Virtual exercise programming could assist in mitigating these barriers.

Author Correction: Seasonal total methane depletion in limestone caves.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

Seasonal total methane depletion in limestone caves.

Methane concentration in caves is commonly much lower than the external atmosphere, yet the cave CH depletion causal mechanism is contested and dynamic links to external diurnal and seasonal temperature cycles unknown. Here, we report a continuous 3-year record of cave methane and other trace gases in Jenolan Caves, Australia which shows a seasonal cycle of extreme CH depletion, from ambient ~1,775 ppb to near zero during summer and to ~800 ppb in winter. Methanotrophic bacteria, some newly-discovered, rapidly consume methane on cave surfaces and in external karst soils with lifetimes in the cave of a few hours.

Cardiac adaptations from 4 weeks of intensity-controlled vigorous exercise are lost after a similar period of detraining.

Intensity-controlled (relative to VO2max) treadmill exercise training in adult rats results in the activation and ensuing differentiation of endogenous c-kit(pos) cardiac stem/progenitor cells (eCSCs) into newly formed cardiomyocytes and capillaries. Whether these training-induced adaptations persist following detraining is undetermined. Twelve male Wistar rats (~230 g) were exercised at 80-85% of their VO2max for 30 min day(-1), 4 days week(-1) for 4 weeks (TR; n = 6), followed by 4 weeks of detraining (DTR; n = 6).

Isolation and characterization of resident endogenous c-Kit+ cardiac stem cells from the adult mouse and rat heart.

This protocol describes the isolation of endogenous c-Kit (also known as CD117)-positive (c-Kit(+)), CD45-negative (CD45(-)) cardiac stem cells (eCSCs) from whole adult mouse and rat hearts. The heart is enzymatically digested via retrograde perfusion of the coronary circulation, resulting in rapid and extensive breakdown of the whole heart. Next, the tissue is mechanically dissociated further and cell fractions are separated by centrifugation.

Sustained delivery of insulin-like growth factor-1/hepatocyte growth factor stimulates endogenous cardiac repair in the chronic infarcted pig heart.

Activation of endogenous cardiac stem/progenitor cells (eCSCs) can improve cardiac repair after acute myocardial infarction. We studied whether the in situ activation of eCSCs by insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) could be increased using a newly developed hydrogel in chronic myocardial infarction (MI). One-month post-MI pigs underwent NOGA-guided intramyocardial injections of IGF-1/HGF (GF: both 0.

Development of the Early Axon Scaffold in the Rostral Brain of the Small Spotted Cat Shark (Scyliorhinus canicula) Embryo.

The cat shark is increasingly used as a model for Chondrichthyes, an evolutionarily important sister group of the bony vertebrates that include teleosts and tetrapods. In the bony vertebrates, the first axon tracts form a highly conserved early axon scaffold. The corresponding structure has not been well characterised in cat shark and will prove a useful model for comparative studies.

Sexual dimorphisms in the dermal denticles of the lesser-spotted catshark, Scyliorhinus canicula (Linnaeus, 1758).

The dermal layers of several elasmobranch species have been shown to be sexually dimorphic. Generally, when this occurs the females have thicker dermal layers compared to those of males. This sexual dimorphism has been suggested to occur as a response to male biting during mating.

Adult c-kit(pos) cardiac stem cells are necessary and sufficient for functional cardiac regeneration and repair.

The epidemic of heart failure has stimulated interest in understanding cardiac regeneration. Evidence has been reported supporting regeneration via transplantation of multiple cell types, as well as replication of postmitotic cardiomyocytes. In addition, the adult myocardium harbors endogenous c-kit(pos) cardiac stem cells (eCSCs), whose relevance for regeneration is controversial.

The reproductive cycle of the male house gecko, Hemidactylus flaviviridis, in relation to plasma steroid concentrations, progesterone receptors, and steroidogenic ultrastructural features, in Oman.

The annual testicular cycle of the house gecko Hemidactylus flaviviridis in Oman was studied. Plasma testosterone (T), estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) concentrations were measured using a sensitive HPLC-MS/MS detection technique. The ultrastructural steroidogenic features in Sertoli and Leydig cells, which were the major source of steriodogenesis, were examined, using transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

3D image-guided robotic needle positioning system for small animal interventions.

Purpose: This paper presents the design of a micro-CT guided small animal robotic needle positioning system. In order to simplify the robotic design and maintain a small targeting error, a novel implementation of the remote center of motion is used in the system. The system has been developed with the objective of achieving a mean targeting error of <200 μm while maintaining a high degree of user friendliness.

The adult heart responds to increased workload with physiologic hypertrophy, cardiac stem cell activation, and new myocyte formation.

Aims: It is a dogma of cardiovascular pathophysiology that the increased cardiac mass in response to increased workload is produced by the hypertrophy of the pre-existing myocytes. The role, if any, of adult-resident endogenous cardiac stem/progenitor cells (eCSCs) and new cardiomyocyte formation in physiological cardiac remodelling remains unexplored.

Methods And Results: In response to regular, intensity-controlled exercise training, adult rats respond with hypertrophy of the pre-existing myocytes.

Traceable micro-CT scaling accuracy phantom for applications requiring exact measurement of distances or volumes.

Purpose: Volumetric x-ray microcomputed tomography (CT) can be employed in a variety of quantitative research applications such as image-guided interventions or characterization of medical devices. To ensure the highest geometric fidelity of images for these applications, a phantom and image processing algorithm have been developed to calibrate the scaling accuracy of micro-CT scanners to a traceable standard and provide corrections to image voxel sizing.

Methods: The calibration phantom contains six borosilicate beads whose separations have been measured to a traceable standard.

Seasonal changes in plasma steroid levels in relation to ovarian steroidogenic ultrastructural features and progesterone receptors in the house gecko, Hemidactylus flaviviridis, in Oman.

A comprehensive study of the annual ovarian cycle in the house gecko, Hemidactylus flaviviridis, was conducted in Oman. Circulating estradiol (E(2)), progesterone (P), and testosterone (T) were measured during the active and inactive phases of the cycle. The steroid levels were related to the steroidogenic ultrastructural features such as the abundance of smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER), the presence of cisternal whorls, and close association of lipid droplets with swollen vesiculated mitochondria and SER.

Development of a surface scanning soil analysis instrument.

ANSTO is developing a nuclear field instrument for measurement of soil composition; particularly carbon. The instrument utilises the neutron activation approach with clear advantages over existing soil sampling and laboratory analysis. A field portable compact pulsed neutron generator and γ-ray detector are used for PGNAA and INS techniques simultaneously.

Physiological cardiac remodelling in response to endurance exercise training: cellular and molecular mechanisms.

Exercise training fosters the health and performance of the cardiovascular system, and represents nowadays a powerful tool for cardiovascular therapy. Exercise exerts its beneficial effects through reducing cardiovascular risk factors, and directly affecting the cellular and molecular remodelling of the heart. Traditionally, moderate endurance exercise training has been viewed to determine a balanced and revertible physiological growth, through cardiomyocyte hypertrophy accompanied by appropriate neoangiogenesis (the Athlete's Heart).

MicroRNA-133 controls vascular smooth muscle cell phenotypic switch in vitro and vascular remodeling in vivo.

Rationale: MicroRNA (miR)-1 and -133 play a crucial role in skeletal and cardiac muscle biology and pathophysiology. However, their expression and regulation in vascular cell physiology and disease is currently unknown.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role, if any, of miR-1 and miR-133 in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) phenotypic switch in vitro and in vivo.

Endogenous cardiac stem cell activation by insulin-like growth factor-1/hepatocyte growth factor intracoronary injection fosters survival and regeneration of the infarcted pig heart.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to test the ability of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1/hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) to activate resident endogenous porcine cardiac stem/progenitor cells (epCSCs) and to promote myocardial repair through a clinically applicable intracoronary injection protocol in a pig model of myocardial infarction (MI) relevant to human disease.

Background: In rodents, cardiac stem/progenitor cell (CSC) transplantation as well as in situ activation through intramyocardial injection of specific growth factors has been shown to result in myocardial regeneration after acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Methods: Acute MI was induced in pigs by a 60-min percutaneous transluminal coronary angiography left anterior descending artery occlusion.

Dynamics of the gas-liquid interfacial reaction of O(1D) with a liquid hydrocarbon.

The dynamics of the gas-liquid interfacial reaction of the first electronically excited state of the oxygen atom, O((1)D), with the surface of a liquid hydrocarbon, squalane (C(30)H(62); 2,6,10,15,19,23-hexamethyltetracosane) has been studied experimentally. Translationally hot O((1)D) atoms were generated by 193 nm photolysis of a low pressure (nominally 1 mTorr) of N(2)O a short distance (mean = 6 mm) above a continually refreshed liquid squalane surface. Nascent OH (X(2)Π, v' = 0) reaction products were detected by laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) on the OH A(2)Σ(+)-X(2)Π (1,0) band at the same distance above the surface.

Collision dynamics and reactive uptake of OH radicals at liquid surfaces of atmospheric interest.

The inelastic scattering of OH radicals from the surfaces of a sequence of potentially reactive organic liquids: squalane (C(30)H(62), 2,6,10,15,19,23-hexamethyltetracosane); squalene (C(30)H(50), trans-2,6,10,15,19,23-hexamethyltetracosa-2,6,10,14,18,22-hexaene); and oleic acid (C(18)H(34)O(2), cis-9-octadecanoic acid) was studied experimentally. A liquid long-chain perfluorinated polyether (PFPE, Krytox® 1506) was compared as a chemically inert reference. Gas-phase OH with an average laboratory-frame kinetic energy of 54 kJ mol(-1) was generated by 355-nm photolysis of a low-pressure of HONO a short distance (9 mm) above the liquid surface.

Reactive Scattering as a Chemically Specific Analytical Probe of Liquid Surfaces.

In this Perspective, we highlight some recent progress in the reactive scattering of "chemical probe" species such as atoms or small radicals from liquid surfaces. We emphasize in particular the evolution of this area from purely dynamical studies of the scattering mechanism. The mechanistic understanding that has now been gained is sufficiently mature to allow the same methods to be used as an effective analytical tool.

c-kitpos GATA-4 high rat cardiac stem cells foster adult cardiomyocyte survival through IGF-1 paracrine signalling.

Background: Resident c-kit positive (c-kitpos) cardiac stem cells (CSCs) could be considered the most appropriate cell type for myocardial regeneration therapies. However, much is still unknown regarding their biological properties and potential.

Methodology/principal Findings: We produced clones of high and low expressing GATA-4 CSCs from long-term bulk-cultured c-kitpos CSCs isolated from adult rat hearts.