Effects of cold acclimation, cold exposure, and palatability on postprandial thermogenesis in rats

Groups of rats were maintained at 24 degrees C and 4 degrees C (WA, CA). At each temperature one group was fed a pelleted stock diet, while another was fed in addition, 3 kJ of palatable food at 1-h intervals for a total of 8 h during the day. After 2 weeks the thermogenic response to both 3 kJ and 30 kJ of palatable food was determined by measuring oxygen consumption over a period of 3 h. Food intake revealed two phases of postprandial thermogenesis. During the initial cephalic phase which lasted 30 min the O2 consumption increased by about 40 percent with both test meals and the response was comparable for WA and CA rats tested at the same temperature. During the subsequent gastrointestinal phase the response was proportional to the size of the meal and the CA rats were always more responsive than the WA rats specially when tested at 4 degrees C. The results suggest that postprandial thermogenesis during the initial cephalic phase is related to food palatability and that cold exposure and cold acclimation cause an enhanced response during the second phase of meal thermogenesis.

Effects of exercise and intermittent cold exposure on shivering and nonshivering thermogenesis in rats

The effects of both exercise training and intermittent cold acclimation on heat production (shivering and nonshivering thermogenesis (NST)) in rats were studied. Warm-acclimated rats (housed at 24 degrees C, WA) and intermittently cold-acclimated rats (exposed daily to -5 degrees C for 2 h, CA) were forced to run (25 m.min-1 for 1 h) every day (WA-T and CA-T). WA and CA left sedentary (WA-S and CA-S) served as controls. Norepinephrine (NE)-induced thermogenic capacity assessed from the increment of oxygen consumption (VO2) and colonic temperature (Tc) were measured 4 weeks after commencing acclimation and exercise training. The thermogenic capacity was greater in CA than in WA. However, in WA, WA-T responded to NE less than WA-S, whereas the response of CA-T and CA-S did not differ. Wet weight of interscapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT) and its protein (and dry matter--regarded to be highly representative of protein) content were larger in CA than in WA. Respective sedentary and exercised groups of rats had similar IBAT protein (and dry matter) content although tissue weight was lighter in WA-T than in WA-S. Lipid content of IBAT was also larger in CA than in WA. IBAT of WA-T had less lipid compared to that of WA-S while no difference was seen between CA-S and CA-T. Shivering activity during acute cold (4 degrees C) exposure was less in CA compared to WA and there was no difference between respective groups of exercised and sedentary rats. Propranolol, a blocker of NE-dependent NST, eliminated the difference in shivering among these four groups. When exposed to severe cold (-10 or -20 degrees C), the fall in Tc of rats fasted for 18 h was greater in WA than in CA. CA-T showed a greater decrease in Tc than CA-S during -20 degrees C exposure while it did not differ during -10 degrees C exposure. On the other hand, Tc of WA-T and WA-S did not differ significantly during either cold exposure period. These results suggest that exercise training in rats housed at 24 degrees C suppresses NE-dependent NST whereas another nonshivering thermogenic mechanism (NE-independent) may compensate this suppression. However, NE-dependent NST of WA-S and WA-T did not parallel protein (dry matter) content of IBAT; no difference existed in IBAT protein between these two groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Energy balance in exercise-trained rats acclimated at two environmental temperatures

The present study was carried out to investigate the effects of exercise training on energy balance in male rats acclimated at two different environmental temperatures. Sedimentary and exercised rats were housed and trained at either 24 or 4 degrees C, with the training program consisting of running on a motor-driven treadmill within their respective environments. After 45 days, energy, protein, and fat contents of rats were determined together with the energy content of food and feces. The results show that metabolizable energy intake was reduced by 10% in exercise-trained groups. Substantial differences in energy gains were observed between sedentary and trained rats; sedentary rats showed almost three times more energy gain than trained rats. Carcass analysis revealed the energy gain differences to be mainly due to varied amounts of fat deposition. Energy expenditure (kJ) excluding the cost of exercise training was corrected for metabolic body size (BW 0.75), which in turn showed no significant differences between trained rats and their respective sedentary controls. The present results suggested that exercise training in rats leads to neither increase nor decrease in energy expenditure through components additional to physical activity. The present results also indicated that brown adipose tissue thermogenesis, as assessed through mitochondrial guanosine 5'-diphosphate binding, was not significantly modified by exercise training, regardless of the temperature at which the rats were housed and trained.

[Diagnostic and therapeutic use of human anti-D (Rho) monoclonal antibodies. Evaluation and perspectives]

Human monoclonal antibodies will be essential in medicine. They are valuable tools for biological diagnosis and therapeutics. Our model, human monoclonal antibodies directed against the Rhesus D antigen can be used for the determination of the Rhesus D phenotype and for the suppression of Rh(D) immunisation in women. These new products require new procedures of preparation, new regulations for the quality controls, which will be discussed in this paper.

Peripheral arterial trauma in children. A fifteen year review

A 15 year retrospective evaluation of peripheral vascular trauma in infants and children was undertaken. Forty-eight affected limbs in 47 patients (mean age 5.1 years) were explored for peripheral arterial injury. There were 40 iatrogenic, five penetrating and three blunt injuries. Thrombectomy alone, thrombectomy with autogenous saphenous vein patch angioplasty, direct angioplasty, segmental resection with end-to-end anastomosis and interposition-bypass grafting were the most common reparative procedures used. Circulation was normal within 24 hours of surgery in 35 of the 45 limbs (77.8%) whose patency was restored. In patients less than three years or 12.5 kg with iatrogenic injuries, patency rate was significantly lower (p 0.05). Four children died of congenital heart disease. All six children with failed vascular reconstruction suffered late sequelae.

[Is it still necessary to teach community psychiatry to the psychiatric resident?]

After having defined his conception of what community psychiatry is, where it is situated in the line of evolution of modern psychiatry, the author weighs the pertinence of teaching residents knowledge pertaining to a sector in full identity crisis. The effort is worthwhile, since this crisis has permitted the community psychiatrist to better define himself, namely in regard to the other health professionals, and it is therefore easier to determine what kind of knowledge should be transmitted to the resident in this particular field. A tentative teaching program is outlined. In such a program, education aspects should take precedence of training aspects, making the future psychiatrist more prepared to face eventual changes in that field. Such a program should take place in the final part of the residency course following a solid preparation in basic clinical psychiatric knowledge.

Thermogenesis in relation to feeding and exercise training

Tube-fed rats gain more weight than meal-fed rats when fed isocaloric diets. Human volunteers were fed on separate occasions isocaloric meals by mouth or by gavage and resting metabolic rate was measured for 90 min postprandially. Resting metabolic rate was greater in meal-fed than in tube-fed especially in the period following meal digestion. These results suggest that ingestion of food through sensory stimulation activates oxidative processes which may be under endocrine control. In tube-feeding where sensory inputs are absent, a reduction in meal thermogenesis is observed.

Familial resemblance in maximal heart rate, blood lactate and aerobic power

There are considerable interindividual differences in maximal oxygen uptake per kilogram of body weight (VO2 max/kg), maximal heart rate (max HR) and maximal blood lactate (max blood La) measured during a progressive exercise test. The aim of the study was to quantify the familial relationships for these variables. Parents and children of 38 families of French-Canadian descent were submitted to a modified Balke treadmill test. VO2 max/kg and max HR were the highest values reached during the test for 1 min. Max blood La was obtained from a blood sample taken 2 min after the test. The effects of age and sex were significant for max blood La and VO2 max/kg in each generation. Scores were thus adjusted through multiple regression procedures (age + sex + age X sex + age2), yielding residuals which were submitted to further analysis. Intraclass correlations (ri) were significant in pairs of sibs for max blood La and max HR, i.e. 0.28 (p less than 0.01) and 0.43 (p less than 0.05), respectively. For VO2 max/kg, pairs of spouses and sibs were about similarly correlated (ri = 0.20 and 0.15; p less than 0.05). Data suggested that children were more related to their mother than to their father for VO2 max/kg, VO2 max/kg of fat-free weight, and particularly for max HR. It was concluded that familial resemblance and heritability estimates for maximal aerobic power, max HR and max blood La were quite low and generally nonsignificant. Correlations between biological sibs were, however, consistently significant for max HR and max blood La. The suggestion of a maternal effect in maximal aerobic power should be further investigated.

Limitation of access to highly palatable foods increases the norepinephrine content of many discrete hypothalamic and amygdaloidal nuclei of rat brain

The norepinephrine (NE) concentration of 14 discrete brain nuclei of rats fed with either purina rat chow or highly palatable foods, given ad libitum or in a restricted quantity isocaloric with the Purina rat chow diet, was measured by high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. The NE level was significantly increased in the n. suprachiasmaticus, n. paraventricularis, n. arcuatus and n. amygdaloideus (medialis, corticalis, centralis, basalis pars lateralis, lateralis pars posterior) of rats fed with palatable foods given in restricted amount. The increased NE level seems to be associated with the limitation of access to highly palatable food whilst the regimen composition and the palatability of foods are not implicated in this phenomenon. Some hypothalamic and amygdaloid NE-containing neurones can be affected by food-restriction stress, suggesting a role of this neuronal system in feeding activity.

Physiological conflict in humans: fatigue vs. cold discomfort

Six male human subjects were placed in a situation of physiological conflict, fatigue vs. cold discomfort. Dressed in swim suits and shoes they walked at 3 km X h-1 on a treadmill placed in a climatic chamber. The slope of the treadmill was varied from 0 to 24% and the ambient temperature (Ta) from 25 to 5 degrees C. The subjects could choose Ta when slope was imposed or the converse. They rated pleasure and displeasure of Ta and exercise. Deep body temperature and heart rate were monitored. The results show that the subjects adjusted their behavior to maintain approximatively steady deep body temperature and to limit heart rate below 120 beats X min-1. The physiological compromise was thus correlated to the drive for maximal pleasure-minimal displeasure in the two sensory dimensions fatigue and discomfort.

Familial resemblance in catecholamine changes to cold stress and maximal exercise

Parents and children from 38 families were submitted to a cold-stress and maximal treadmill test. The number of subjects varied depending on the measurements. Plasma epinephrine and norepinephrine, blood pressure and heart rate were measured before, during and after a cold hand immersion test (in a water bath at 5 degrees C for 2 min), as well as before and after maximal exercise (modified Balke). Scores were adjusted for the effects of age and sex through multiple-regression procedures (age + sex + age X sex + age2 + age3), yielding residuals which were submitted to analysis. Characteristic variations during cold stress were observed. Maximal exercise yielded a mean aerobic power of 43 ml/kg min-1 (SD = 10), a mean maximal heart rate of 192 (SD = 10) and a mean maximal blood lactate of 65 mg/100 ml (SD = 23). Family resemblances in cold stress and maximal exercise adaptive reactions were investigated by comparison of between-family over within-family means of squares. In response to the cold stress, there were indications of family lines in induced changes for systolic blood pressure, epinephrine, and total catecholamines at 1 min after the test (p less than or equal to 0.05). Furthermore, parent-child correlations were significant and reached 0.38 for epinephrine, 0.28 for norepinephrine, and 0.34 for total catecholamines. Familial concentrations could not be detected before or 8 min after the cold stress. There are no indications of family resemblance in plasma catecholamine concentrations following exposure to maximal-exercise stress. It is concluded that genetic variation is probably contributing only moderately to catecholamine changes under cold stress and very little under exercise stress.

Effect of diet and exercise on norepinephrine-induced thermogenesis in male and female rats

Male and female rats were fed standard laboratory chow or a highly palatable diet (cafeteria diet) for 10 wk. The cafeteria diet caused an increase in caloric intake and in body weight, and it induced thermogenesis that was associated with elevated plasma triiodothyronine (T3) levels, increased brown adipose tissue size, and enhanced metabolic response to norepinephrine. For a comparable caloric intake, body-weight gain was significantly greater in female than in male rats possibly because of difference in thermogenesis as suggested by the response to norepinephrine. Exercise training (swimming 2 h/day for 10 wk) reduced food intake and body-weight gain and failed to increase norepinephrine-induced thermogenesis in rats fed laboratory chow. In animals fed the cafeteria diet, food intake and body-weight gain were also reduced by exercise training, which at the same time diminished the diet-induced thermogenesis as evidenced by the diminution of 1) brown fat hypertrophy, 2) the elevation of plasma T3, and 3) the hyperthermic response to injected norepinephrine. It is suggested that the thyroid hormone and catecholamines through their actions on the brown adipose tissue are the important regulatory of thermogenesis. Exercise training would reduce the diet-induced thermogenesis by preventing increased T3 production. Enhanced thermogenesis may be considered an adaptive reaction as it serves to reduce fat deposition in animals fed cafeteria diet and to promote nonshivering heat production in the cold. On the other hand, exercise training reduces thermogenesis and thus prevents energy wasting.

Protein synthesis, amino acid uptake, and pools during isoproterenol-induced hypertrophy of the rat heart and tibialis muscle

Chronic administration of isoproterenol (ISO) produces hypertrophy of the rat heart and tibialis muscle. With doses of 0.1, 0.3, and 0.6 mg/kg, hypertrophy of the heart is significantly by the 3rd day of treatment. Maximum cardiac enlargement attained with doses of 0.3 and 0.6 mg/kg occurs after 21 days and averages 40% above control values. ISO increases tibialis muscle weight by 15%. Incorporation of 14C-labeled amino acids into total heart and tibialis muscle protein is stimulated by ISO. Maximum stimulation occurs 2-3 h after the fifth daily injection of ISO. The stimulation of incorporation is greater during the first few days of treatment and decreases gradually thereafter. A single injection of ISO decreases the total amino acid concentration of the serum, heart and tibialis muscle whereas the rate of amino acid uptake by the heart and tibialis muscle is increased by ISO. The production of hypertrophy of the heart and tibialis muscle in diabetic or castrated animals by ISO suggests that insulin and testosterone are not essential in the mechanism of ISO-induced hypertrophy.

A manual semi-micro method for quantitation of haemagglutination

A manual semi-micro method for quantitation of haemagglutination is described. It appears to be of wide use for most agglutination reactions usually performed in test tube, including Coombs-test. It is easy to handle and requires the usual equipment of an immunohaematological laboratory. The accuracy obtained for quantitation of antibody concentrations is similar to that of the auto-analyser.

Transaxillary pleurectomy for treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax

In the 16-year period 1962 to 1978, 409 transaxillary apical pleurectomies were carried out for definitive treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax in 362 patients. Surgical indications included recurrence (336), bilaterality of the disease (23), persistent air leak (22), and nonexpansion of the lung (10). There was 1 operative death (unsuspected brain tumor), and 3 patients required reexploration for clot removal. The average postoperative period of hospitalization was 6 days. Three hundred ten patients (86% of all patients) were contacted for follow-up 1 to 16 years after operation (average, 4.5 years). There were two documented episodes of recurrent ipsilateral pneumothorax (0.6%). Postoperative pulmonary function studies were done in 40 patients (unilateral, 29; bilateral, 11) 2 to 5 years after operation. The results indicate that there are no significant abnormalities compared with predicted values.

High resolution Michelson interferometer for airborne infrared astronomical observations. 2: System design

A Michelson interferometer for high resolution (lambda/Deltalambda approximately 10(4)) spectroscopic observations of astronomical ir ionic line emission has been built and flown on the NASA 91-cm airborne ir telescope facility (G. P. Kuiper Airborne Observatory). In Part 1 of this paper the requirements for such a system were outlined, and the scientific basis for the choice of instrumental parameters and the rapid scan mode of operation were discussed. In this paper design details of the instrument are presented. These include the optics, control He-Ne laser interferometer, helium-cooled bolometer detector, and cooled passband filters. In addition, the on-line computer software which enables the operator to interact rapidly with the system to produce inflight spectra and control accordingly the observational parameters is described, as are elements of the electronics hardware developed specially for airborne observations.

Nonshivering thermogenesis and cold resistance in rats under severe cold conditions

Following either chronic exposure to 6 degrees C, or outdoor winter exposure, or chronic treatment with tyramine rats were exposed to -40 degrees C and their oxygen consumption and colonic temperature monitored. Fall in body temperature with time of exposure followed a sigmoid curve which had an inflection point around 32.9 degrees C. Both the time required for body temperature to reach this point and hypothermic resistance defined as the total O2 consumed up to the inflection time were useful indices of resistance to severe cold; Three days before the cold tests, capacity for norepinephrine-induced nonshivering thermogenesis was measured in all animals by examination of their metabolic response to tyraminemthe magnitude of response to tyramine correlated well with hypothermic resistance only for those rats chroncally treated with tyramine. It is concluded that it is impossible to predict with any reasonable degree of confidence the cold resistance of a rat from its tyramine response. In cold-acclimated rats, factors in addition to norepinephrine sensitivity are significantly involved in cold resistance and deserve further studies.