The influence of fasting on blood glucose,triglycerides, cholesterol,and alkaline phosphatase in rats

Serum concentrations of glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, and serum alkaline phosphatase activity were measured over different periods of time of food deprivation in male rats. Thirty percent of non-fasted rat's sera was found to be lipemic. At 16 hours of fasting, glucose levels dropped by 30% compared to the level of the non-fasting control group, and remained at a relatively constant level for up to 48 hours of fasting. Triglyceride concentrations decreased at 16 hours after fasting. Serum cholesterol levels were not changed at any of the fasting periods compared to the non-fasted control group. Alkaline phosphatase activity was decreased at 8 hours of fasting, with further declines in activity of the serum enzyme seen at 16, 24, and 48 hours of fasting. It was concluded that at 16 to 18 hours fasting, a non-absorptive state had been reached in male rats.     

Shoot dynamics of Pinus pumila in relation to altitudinal and wind exposure gradients on the Kiso mountain range, central Japan

Seasonal shoot dynamics of Japanese mountain stone pine (Pinus pumila Regel.) growing at six sites with different altitudes and slope aspects on the Kiso mountain range in central Japan were investigated. The shoots followed a similar growth pattern at all sites; current shoots elongated rapidly during June and July, and the current needles grew during July and August. Final lengths of the current shoots and needles decreased with increasing altitude. Current-shoot lengths were also shorter at the windward sites than at the leeward sites. At all sites, leaf senescence occurred intensively between mid-August and mid-September. Needle longevity, i.e., the age of the oldest living needle attached to a shoot, increased with increasing altitude. Fascicle density, i.e., the number of current needle fascicles on a unit shoot length, was greater at higher altitudes and windward sites than at lower altitudes and leeward sites. Seasonal dynamics of the P. pumila shoots were characterized by simultaneous replacement of old needles with new needles in the early autumn, thus avoiding any loss of canopy photosynthetic production during the growing season. Increases in needle longevity and fascicle density were associated with declining air temperature and increasing wind exposure. Needle longevity and fascicle density were characteristics of adaptive plasticity in P. pumila that prevent a reduction in growth potential in the stressful conditions of alpine regions.     

Electrical origin of the outbursts on io

The outbursts seen on Jupiter's satellite Io have been described as volcanic eruptions. They may instead be the result of large electric currents flowing through hot spots on Io and causing evaporation of surface materials. A strictly periodic behavior would then be expected.     

Spray aiming in bombardier beetles: jet deflection by the coanda effect

Bombardier beetles of the carabid subfamily Paussinae have a pair of flanges, diagnostic for the group, that project outward from the sides of the body. Behind each flange is a gland opening, from which the beetles discharge a hot, quinone-containing secretion when disturbed. The flanges are curved and grooved and serve as launching guides for anteriorly aimed ejections of secretion. Jets of fluid, on emergence from the gland openings, follow the curvature of the flanges and are thereby bent sharply in their trajectory and directed forward. The phenomenon is illustrative of the Coanda effect, widely applicable in engineering and responsible for the familiar tendency of liquids to curve around spouts and down the front of containers when being poured.