Food insecurity in older female mice affects food consumption, coping behaviors, and memory.

Food insecurity correlates with poor physical and mental health in older individuals, but has not been studied in a laboratory animal model. This explorative study developed a laboratory mouse model for analyzing the impact of food insecurity on food consumption, stress coping mechanisms, exploratory behavior, and memory. 18-month-old CD-1 female mice were assigned to either the food insecurity exposure condition (31 mice, 8 cages) or the control condition (34 mice, 8 cages) by cage.

Evidence for the leaching of dissolved organic phosphorus to depth.

Phosphorus (P) can leach from topsoil in inorganic and organic forms. While some evidence has shown inorganic P (orthophosphate) can leach to depth in some soils, less is known of dissolved organic P (DOP). This is not helped by a paucity DOP data for groundwater.

The efficacy of Plantago lanceolata for mitigating nitrous oxide emissions from cattle urine patches.

Urine deposited by grazing animals is the main source of nitrous oxide (NO) emissions in New Zealand. Recent studies have suggested that certain pasture plants, for example plantain (Plantago lanceolata), can curb NO emissions from livestock systems. This study aimed to i) evaluate the potential of plantain for reducing NO emissions from cattle urine patches; ii) determine the effect of including plantain in animal diets on urine-N loading and its influence on NO emissions; and, iii) evaluate whether any effects on NO emissions reduction could be attributed to a 'urine' or a 'plant' effect.

Overexpression of ASIC1A in the nucleus accumbens of rats potentiates cocaine-seeking behavior.

Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are abundantly expressed in the nucleus accumbens core (NAcore), a region of the mesolimbocortical system that has an established role in regulating drug-seeking behavior. Previous work shows that a single dose of cocaine reduced the AMPA-to-NMDA ratio in Asic1a mice, an effect observed after withdrawal in wild-type mice, whereas ASIC1A overexpression in the NAcore of rats decreases cocaine self-administration. However, whether ASIC1A overexpression in the NAcore alters measures of drug-seeking behavior after the self-administration period is unknown.

Extinction of Cocaine Seeking Requires a Window of Infralimbic Pyramidal Neuron Activity after Unreinforced Lever Presses.

The infralimbic cortex (IL) mediates extinction learning and the active suppression of cocaine-seeking behavior. However, the precise temporal relationship among IL activity, lever pressing, and extinction learning is unclear. To address this issue, we used activity-guided optogenetics in male Sprague Dawley rats to silence IL pyramidal neurons optically for 20 s immediately after unreinforced lever presses during early extinction training after cocaine self-administration.

D1, but not D2, receptor blockade within the infralimbic and medial orbitofrontal cortex impairs cocaine seeking in a region-specific manner.

Evidence suggests that the infralimbic cortex (IL), a subregion of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), suppresses cocaine-seeking behavior in a self-administration paradigm, whereas the more anterior vmPFC subregion, the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC), has received very little attention in this regard. Despite the established dopaminergic innervation of the vmPFC, whether dopamine receptor blockade in each subregion alters the reinstatement of cocaine seeking is unclear. To address this issue, male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent 2 weeks of cocaine self-administration, followed by extinction training and reinstatement testing.

The infralimbic and prelimbic cortices contribute to the inhibitory control of cocaine-seeking behavior during a discriminative stimulus task in rats.

The infralimbic and prelimbic (IL and PL, respectively) regions of the medial prefrontal cortex regulate the control of drug-seeking behavior. However, their roles in cocaine seeking in a discriminative stimulus (DS)-based self-administration task are unclear. To address this issue, male Sprague Dawley rats were trained on a DS task in which, on a trial-by-trial basis, a DS+ indicated that a lever press would produce a cocaine infusion, whereas a distinct DS- indicated that a lever press would produce nothing.

Randomized comparison trial of the RIK and the Nimbus 3 mattresses.

A randomized comparison trial was carried out at Queen's Hospital, Burton-on-Trent, to compare patient outcomes on the RIK mattress (KCI) and the Nimbus 3 mattress (Huntleigh Healthcare). One hundred and fifty-eight patients, who were assessed to be at particular risk of development of pressure ulcers using the Waterlow score (85 on RIK mattress, 83 on Nimbus), completed the trial. There were no statistically significant differences in baseline parameters at recruitment or pressure ulcer progress.

[Primary diagnosis of bone tumor by sonography].

On a 23-year-old patient with an unclear clinical picture the sonographic examination of bone and soft tissue enabled an early detection of a pathological process, thus helping to direct the further use of radiological diagnostics. Unfortunately, the patient could not be helped due to the rapid onset of the diseases. But the case underscores the useful intervention of sonographic examination in the diagnosis of tumors located in locomotor system.

[The temporomandibular joint from the rheumatologic viewpoint].

Temporomandibular joint affections in rheumatic disease are described. They were seen in inflamed joint diseases, mostly in rheumatoid arthritis, and less so in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, Reiter's syndrome, ankylosing spondylitis, and collagen vascular disease. In osteoarthrosis, the temporomandibular joint affection occurs frequently but pain seems to occur most infrequently.

Classification as corrosive or irritant to skin of preparations containing acidic or alkaline substances, without testing on animals.

A method is proposed by which substances or preparations may be classified as irritant or corrosive to skin, without being tested on animals, when the irritant or corrosive properties are due to the acidity/alkalinity of the substances or preparations. Results from the application of this approach to a range of commercial cleaning/maintenance/detergent preparations are in good overall agreement with results based on patch testing in rabbits. Variations in the results obtained from analysis of pH and acid/alkali data were no greater than might be expected from variations in results from animal test methods.

[Monocytes/macrophages in synovial tissue in chronic polyarthritis and arthrosis--differentiating from monoclonal antibodies].

Using monoclonal antibodies directed towards distinct cell surface antigens of the monocyte/macrophage lineage, we tried to disclose diagnostically relevant differences in the distribution pattern of monocytes and macrophages in cryostate sectioned synovial tissue samples from patients with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthrosis, psoriatic arthritis (n = 1) and a healthy control subject. As compared to osteoarthrosis, we found that in rheumatoid arthritis, accessory cells of the T- and B-cell immune response are pronounced in the basis areas of the superficial cell layers, indicating an active inflammatory process of immunological origin. Applying monoclonal antibodies specific for monocytes and immature macrophages of connective tissue, we confirmed the finding of an enhanced migration of those cells from the peripheral blood stream into the inflamed synovial tissue.

[Value of arthrosonography in the evaluation of exudative and proliferative synovitis].

The characterization of synovial tissue in rheumatoid arthritis (proliferative or exsudative synovitis), which is important in deciding between local therapies of arthritis, was examined by arthrosonography, computerized axial tomography and arthroscopy. The arthroscopic examination yields the highest significance in characterizing rheumatoid synovial tissue. Compared to arthroscopy, arthrosonographic diagnosis was correct in 70% of our cases.

[Effect of 5-aminosalicylic acid as a constituent of sulfasalazine in the treatment of chronic polyarthritis].

Sulphasalazine, a combination of sulphapyridine and 5-aminosalicylic acid, has recently been shown to be an effective second line agent in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. 20 patients were treated for 12 weeks either with sulphasalazine or 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) to investigate whether 5-ASA is the active moiety. In a second investigation the analgesic effect of 5-ASA was studied.