Library

Notes: Summary. Artificial insemination with husband's semen into the cervical canal and uterine cavity (high AIH) was assessed by a randomized controlled prospective study in 46 couples whose infertility was due to failure of sperm mucus penetration, as defined by negative postcoital tests, after excluding all interfering female factors and men with sperm density 〈1 × 106/ml. Seminal analysis was abnormal in 18 of the 46 men and sperm antibodies in semen were detected in 19 of the remaining 28 with normal seminal analysis. Overall, the cumulative conception rate after 6 months with AIH was 4·7 (SE 3·8)% and without treatment was 6·6 (SE 3·9)%. The results were unaffected by the findings on seminal analysis or by the presence or absence of sperm antibodies in semen. AIH appeared to be of no benefit.

Notes: Similar to leptin, ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) suppresses appetite and selectively reduces body fat in leptin-deficient ob/ob mice. To assess the relative importance of specific regions of the hypothalamus in mediating these effects, we administered a CNTF analogue (CNTFAx15) or leptin to mice made obese by administration of gold thioglucose (GTG), which destroys a well-defined portion of the medial basal hypothalamus. CNTFAx15 treatment reduced appetite and body weight in obese GTG-lesioned C57BL/6 mice, whereas leptin failed to effect similar changes regardless of whether treatment was initiated before or after the lesioned mice had become obese. Because leptin does not reduce food intake or body weight in most forms of obesity (a condition termed ‘leptin resistance’), we also investigated the actions of leptin in GTG-lesioned leptin-deficient (ob/ob) mice. By contrast to C57BL/6 mice, leptin treatment reduced food intake and body weight in GTG-lesioned ob/ob mice, although the effect was attenuated. To further compare the neural substrates mediating the anorectic actions of leptin and CNTF, we determined the patterns of neurone activation induced by these proteins in the hypothalamus of intact and GTG-lesioned mice by staining for phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (pSTAT3). CNTFAx15 stimulated robust pSTAT3 signalling in neurones of the medial arcuate nucleus in both intact and lesioned C57BL/6 and ob/ob mice. Leptin administration stimulated pSTAT3 signalling in only a few neurones of the medial arcuate nucleus in intact or lesioned C57BL/6 mice, but elicited a robust response in intact or lesioned ob/ob mice. By contrast to CNTFAx15, leptin treatment also resulted in prominent activation of STAT3 in several areas of the hypothalamus outside the medial arcuate nucleus. This leptin-induced pSTAT3 signal was at least as prominent in intact and GTG-lesioned C57BL/6 mice as it was in ob/ob mice, and thus was not correlated with appetite suppression or weight loss. These results indicate that the medial arcuate nucleus is a key mediator of appetite suppression and weight loss produced by CNTF and leptin, whereas GTG-vulnerable regions play a role only in leptin-induced weight loss. Other regions of hypothalamus in which pSTAT3 signal is induced by leptin may regulate energy metabolism through mechanisms other than appetite reduction.

Notes: Background We have previously reported an experimental infection of young adults with a history of episodic and exclusive viral wheeze (EVW) using human coronavirus, in which 16 of 24 with EVW (15 atopic) and 11 of 19 healthy controls (seven atopic) developed a symptomatic cold with evidence of infection, but only those with EVW developed lower respiratory tract symptoms and increased airway responsiveness.Objective The aim of this study was to compare the EVW and control groups from this study for inflammatory changes occurring in the upper and lower respiratory tracts during the experimental infection, in particular, to determine whether eosinophil-driven inflammation was associated with EVW.Methods Nasal lavage and induced sputum were collected prior to inoculation (day 0) and 2, 4 and 17 days later. Differential cell counts were performed and supernatant was assayed for IL-8, IL-5, IFN-γ, and eosinophilic cationic protein (ECP).Results There was no difference between the two groups in any measurement at baseline. In both groups, during colds the volume of nasal secretion increased as did leucocyte counts in both upper and lower respiratory tracts. A modest increase in nasal neutrophil count was seen in both EVW and control groups with symptomatic colds on day 2 (median (quartile) difference from baseline 5.4 (0.0, 11.0) and 1.8 (−1.1, 2.2)×104/mL of secretions, respectively). The change in nasal neutrophil counts in all subjects correlated with nasal symptom scores. A significant relative increase in sputum differential neutrophil count was seen on day 4 in the EVW group with a cold but not in controls (mean difference (95% confidence interval) 20.4 (9.6, 31.1)% and 3.1 (−8.2, 14.5)%, respectively, P〈0.01); however, this increase did not correlate with lower respiratory tract symptom scores. IL-8 increased in both the upper and lower respiratory tracts in both EVW and control subjects with colds, the largest change being seen on day 4 in the sputum of those with EVW (mean difference from baseline (95% confidence interval) 2.5 (0.55–4.46) ng/mL). Only modest changes were seen in IFN-γ and no changes were seen in IL-5 or ECP. None of the results was influenced by the atopic status of the subjects in either group.Conclusions EVW wheeze is characterized by neutrophilic inflammation in both the upper and lower respiratory tracts without eosinophilia (even in atopic subjects). IL-8 is likely to be an important chemokine in this process. Symptoms and airway responsiveness were correlated with change in neutrophils.

Notes: The pigmentation development process of glass eels Anguilla anguilla from stage VB to VIA3 was modelled by gamma cumulative functions. These functions varied with respect to the factors temperature and salinity whose effects were adjusted by beta functions. Temperature was shown to accelerate pigmentation, while salinity acted as a secondary factor slowing down the pigmentation. The model fits the development of 15 samples kept at various temperatures and salinities in the Vilaine River, as well as samples monitored at other dates and places in Europe. It allows the prediction of the duration of estuarine residency for glass eels, in winter and spring, in the Atlantic estuaries.

Notes: The arrival pattern of glass eels of the shortfin eel Anguilla australis and longfin eel Anguilla dieffenbachii was studied over a two successive migration seasons in the Grey River, South Island, New Zealand. Fishing was carried out on selected nights during September to November, for 3 h per night during 2000 and 2001. The number of shortfin glass eels exceeded longfins in both years; earliest glass eels (September) were larger than later glass eels (November), and longfins larger than shortfins, but there were significant differences in size between years for both species. Environmental variables affecting recruitment differed between years, but common variables for both years were sampling date, time after high tide (incoming tide preferred), time after sunset and moon phase; the influence of moon phase appeared to be expressed both through tides (spring tides preferred) and moonlight. During the year of higher discharge variability, both increasing discharge and increased turbidity were also important.