Corazón Cerdo: Sistema Papilo-Tendino-Valvular del Ventriculo Derecho

The right ventricle was studied in 75 anatomically normal swine hearts. Nine parameters in the papillo-tendino valvular system and three corresponding to the tricuspid orifice, pulmonary orifice and length of the inflow tract were measured. Correlations were established between the parameters and heart weight in grams, between the different parameters themselves, and between heart weight and body weight. The results were compared with similar data from human hearts, and were considered of use to researchers planning to use the swine heart as an experimental model to study congenital or induced heart diseases, or as a reference for the clinical interpretation of spontaneous cardiac, anomalies in swine.     

Scheduling deficit irrigation of citrus trees with maximum daily trunk shrinkage

The feasibility of scheduling deficit irrigation using maximum daily trunk shrinkage (MDS) was evaluated during two consecutive seasons in a citrus orchard planted with mature ‘Clementina de Nules’ trees, in Valencia, Spain. Results showed that MDS in well irrigated trees varied largely according to the environmental conditions (higher correlation was obtained with global radiation), and therefore, the absolute values of MDS cannot be employed as the only variable to schedule irrigation. To avoid the effects of the climatic conditions we scheduled deficit irrigation using the MDS ratio, which is the MDS of any treatment related to the MDS of a control, well irrigated, treatment located in the same plot. We explored the feasibility of scheduling irrigation based on the MDS ratio in a deficit irrigated treatment, where water was applied as necessary, from July until mid October, in order to maintain the MDS values at 125% of that of the control treatment. Despite the large variability observed in the MDS measurements in both years no significant reduction in yield and fruit weight was observed in the deficit irrigated treatment compared with the control, allowing seasonal water saving between 18 and 12%.     

Amazon rain-forest fires

Charcoal is common in the soils of mature rain forests within 75 kilometers of San Carlos de Rio Negro in the north central Amazon Basin. Carbon-14 dates of soil charcoal from this region indicate that numerous fires have occurred since the mid-Holocene epoch. Charcoal is most common in tierra firme forest Oxisols and Ultisols and less common in caatinga and igapo forest soils. Climatic changes or human activities, or both, have caused rain-forest fires.     

Secretion of luteinizing hormone into pituitary venous effluent of the follicular and luteal phase mare: novel acceleration of episodic release during constant infusion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone

We tested the hypothesis that continuous infusion of native GnRH into mares during the estrous cycle, at a dose of 100 μg/h, would elevate circulating concentrations of LH without disrupting the endogenous, episodic pattern of LH release. Ten cyclic mares were assigned to one of two groups (n = 5/group): (1) Control (saline) and (2) GnRH in saline (100 μg/h). On experimental day 0 (3 to 6 d after ovulation), osmotic pumps containing saline or GnRH were placed subcutaneously and connected to a jugular infusion catheter. Blood samples were collected from jugular catheters daily and at 5-min intervals from catheters placed in the intercavernous sinus (ICS) for 8 h on experimental day 4 (luteal phase; 7 to 10 d after ovulation), followed by an additional 6-h intensive sampling period 36 h after PGF(2α)-induced luteal regression (experimental day 6; follicular phase). Treatment with GnRH increased (P < 0.001) concentrations of LH by 3- to 4-fold in the peripheral circulation and 4- to 5-fold in the ICS. Continuous GnRH treatment accelerated (P < 0.01) the frequency of LH release and decreased the interepisodic interval during both luteal and follicular phases. Treatment with GnRH during the luteal phase eliminated the low-frequency, long-duration pattern of episodic LH release and converted it to a high-frequency, short-duration pattern reminiscent of the follicular phase. These observations appear to be unique to the horse. Further studies that exploit this experimental model are likely to reveal novel mechanisms regulating the control of gonadotrope function in this species.     

Model projections of an imminent transition to a more arid climate in southwestern North America

How anthropogenic climate change will affect hydroclimate in the arid regions of southwestern North America has implications for the allocation of water resources and the course of regional development. Here we show that there is a broad consensus among climate models that this region will dry in the 21st century and that the transition to a more arid climate should already be under way. If these models are correct, the levels of aridity of the recent multiyear drought or the Dust Bowl and the 1950s droughts will become the new climatology of the American Southwest within a time frame of years to decades.     

Heat-induced colour changes of pine (Pinus pinaster) and eucalypt (Eucalyptus globulus) wood

Heat treatment of Pinus pinaster and Eucalyptus globulus wood was carried out by hot air in an oven for 2–24 h at 170–200°C and by steam in an autoclave for 2–12 h at 190–210°C. The colour parameters L*, a* and b* were determined by the CIELAB method on radial, tangential and transverse sections of untreated and treated wood, and their variation with regard to the treatment (ΔL*, Δa* and Δb*) were calculated in percent. For untreated eucalypt wood, lightness (L*) varied between 54.1 and 63.8% with a* between 7.4 and 8.5, and b* between 15.7 and 19.9. For untreated pine wood, L* varied between 67.3 and 76.1%, a* between 6.9 and 7.6 and b* between 16.3 and 24.1. Oven heat-treated wood became darker (ΔL* about 50% for 4% mass loss), and this was more for eucalypt wood under the same treatment conditions. In general, the contribution of red (a*) and yellow (b*) colour decreased with heat treatment. The transverse section of the two species darkened less for both the treatments with small differences between radial and tangential sections. Lightness decrease was related to chemical changes; with good correlations with glucose (R ² = 0.96), hemicelluloses (R ² = 0.92) and lignin (R ² = 0.86). As regards colour, the heat treatments showed an interesting potential to improve the wood quality for solid timber products from pine and eucalypt.     

Salish Sea Chinook salmon exhibit weaker coherence in early marine survival trends than coastal populations

Identifying factors that influence anadromous Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) population dynamics is complicated by their diverse life histories and large geographic range. Over the last several decades, Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) populations from coastal areas and the Salish Sea have exhibited substantial variability in abundance. In some cases, populations within the Salish Sea have experienced persistent declines that have not rebounded. We analyzed a time series of early marine survival from 36 hatchery Chinook salmon populations spanning ocean entry years 1980–2008 to quantify spatial and temporal coherence in survival. Overall, we observed higher inter‐population variability in survival for Salish Sea populations than non‐Salish Sea populations. Annual survival patterns of Salish Sea populations covaried over smaller spatial scales and exhibited less synchrony among proximate populations relative to non‐Salish Sea populations. These results were supported by multivariate autoregressive state space (MARSS) models which predominantly identified region‐scale differences in survival trends between northern coastal, southern coastal, Strait of Georgia, and Puget Sound population groupings. Furthermore, Dynamic Factor Analysis (DFA) of regional survival trends showed that survival of southern coastal populations was associated with the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation, a large‐scale ocean circulation pattern, whereas survival of Salish Sea populations was not. In summary, this study demonstrates that survival patterns in Chinook salmon are likely determined by a complex hierarchy of processes operating across a broad range in spatial and temporal scales, presenting challenges to the management of mixed‐stock fisheries.     

Cytotoxicity and antileishmanial activity of Annona muricata pericarp

Hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of Annona muricata pericarp were tested in vitro against Leishmania braziliensis and L. panamensis promastigotes, and against cell line U-937. The ethyl acetate extract was more active than the other extracts and even of Glucantime used as reference substance. Its fractionation led to the isolation of three acetogenins--annonacin, annonacin A and annomuricin A.     

Understanding the effect of repeated administration of meloxicam on feline renal cortex and medulla: A lipidomics and metabolomics approach

Repeated administration of meloxicam can cause kidney damage in cats by mechanisms that remain unclear. Metabolomics and lipidomics are powerful, noninvasive approaches used to investigate tissue response to drug exposure. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess the effects of meloxicam on the feline kidney using untargeted metabolomics and lipidomics approaches. Female young‐adult purpose‐breed cats were allocated into the control (n = 4) and meloxicam (n = 4) groups. Cats in the control and meloxicam groups were treated daily with saline and meloxicam at 0.3 mg/kg subcutaneously for 17 days, respectively. Renal cortices and medullas were collected at the end of the treatment period. Random forest and metabolic pathway analyses were used to identify metabolites that discriminate meloxicam‐treated from saline‐treated cats and to identify disturbed metabolic pathways in renal tissue. Our results revealed that the repeated administration of meloxicam to cats altered the kidney metabolome and lipidome and suggest that at least 40 metabolic pathways were altered in the renal cortex and medulla. These metabolic pathways included lipid, amino acid, carbohydrate, nucleotide and energy metabolisms, and metabolism of cofactors and vitamins. This is the first study using a pharmacometabonomics approach for studying the molecular effects of meloxicam on feline kidneys.