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PubMed1984

Oestradiol and somatomedin-C influence body weight patterns in premenarchial rhesus monkeys housed outdoors.

The influence of gonadal status on the pattern of changes in body weight was examined in three groups of outdoor-housed premenarchial rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) from 1 to 2 years of age. Gonadally intact (n = 8) and ovariectomized oestradiol-treated females (n = 5) gained significantly more weight than ovariectomized untreated females (n = 5). The overall larger weight gains for the intact and ovariectomized oestradiol-treated groups were associated with significantly higher fasting levels of serum insulin. All subjects exhibited two periods of significant weight gain from 12 to 16 months of age between May and September and from 21 to 24 months of age between February and May. Serum GH and somatomedin-C levels were also raised during these periods of accelerated growth. Although the pattern of serum GH was similar among groups, serum somatomedin-C levels were significantly higher in both intact and ovariectomized oestradiol-treated subjects from 21 to 24 months of age, suggesting physiological levels of oestradiol may facilitate somatomedin-C production during periods of increased GH secretion. Thus, absolute changes in body weight in outdoor-housed premenarchial rhesus monkeys are influenced by gonadal status, possibly mediated through increases in serum insulin. Furthermore, dynamic changes in body weight occur during prepubertal development, with the largest increments associated with increased somatomedin-C levels at specific ages synchronized with natural changes in the environment.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Temperature selection and use of torpor by the marsupial Sminthopsis macroura.

Many small mammals display daily torpor to minimize energy expenditure during the rest phase when faced with unfavorable environmental conditions. However, given a choice of thermal environments, it is not clear whether these daily heterotherms select ambient temperatures that minimize metabolic rates during torpor or ambient temperatures that minimize metabolic rates during normothermia. It is also not clear whether they prefer being normothermic or torpid. In this study, we investigated temperature selection, activity patterns, body temperature patterns, and the use of torpor in Sminthopsis macroura in a thermal gradient when food was freely available or restricted. Animals employed torpor regularly immediately after cessation of activity even when excess food was provided. Nevertheless, they selected high ambient temperature near the zone of thermoneutrality during both normothermia and torpor. Reduced food supply did not affect either temperature preference or total activity, but it did result in significantly prolonged torpor bouts. In addition, it lowered the daily minimum body temperature during torpor by about 2 degrees C. Our study shows that S. macroura selected a high ambient temperature to reduce energy costs during normothermia. Nevertheless, daily torpor was frequently employed at the high temperature, especially when food was restricted.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Growth pattern and body proportion in a female with short stature homeobox-containing gene overdosage and gonadal estrogen deficiency.

OBJECTIVE: To report on growth pattern and body proportion in the combination of short stature homeobox-containing gene (SHOX) overdosage and gonadal estrogen deficiency. DESIGN: Auxological studies in a 20-year-old Japanese female with 45,X[28]/46,X,psu idic(X)(q28)[72], gonadal estrogen deficiency, and SHOX duplication on the idic(X) chromosome, who received sex steroid replacement therapy from 16 years 8 months of age. METHODS: Growth pattern and body proportion were assessed by the age-matched standards for Japanese females. RESULTS: She continued to grow with a mean height velocity of 5.0 cm/year between 8 and 12 years of age and 4.4 cm/year between 12 and 16 years 8 months of age, and ceased to grow shortly after the replacement therapy. The standard deviation score (SDS) for height was -0.9, -1.4, +0.7 and +0.8 at 8, 12, 16 years 8 months and 20 years of age respectively. She showed a unique change in body proportion in her middle teens. At 8, 12, 16 years 8 months and 20 years of age, the SDS for sitting height (SH) was -0.8, -1.1, -0.9 and -0.6 respectively, the SDS for leg length (LL) was -1.2, -1.4, +1.1 and +1.4 respectively, and the SDS for SH/LL ratio was +0.6, +0.4, -1.6 and -1.7 respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide further support for the notion that the combination of SHOX overdosage and gonadal estrogen deficiency permits continued growth with a roughly constant height velocity throughout the pubertal period of normal children, and suggest that the height gain in that period is primarily ascribed to the LL increase, as expected from SHOX expression in the distal limb bones.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Identifying the structure in cuttlefish visual signals.

The common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) communicates and camouflages itself by changing its skin colour and texture. Hanlon and Messenger (1988 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 320, 437-487) classified these visual displays, recognizing 13 distinct body patterns. Although this conclusion is based on extensive observations, a quantitative method for analysing complex patterning has obvious advantages. We formally define a body pattern in terms of the probabilities that various skin features are expressed, and use Bayesian statistical methods to estimate the number of distinct body patterns and their visual characteristics. For the dataset of cuttlefish coloration patterns recorded in our laboratory, this statistical method identifies 12-14 different patterns, a number consistent with the 13 found by Hanlon and Messenger. If used for signalling these would give a channel capacity of 3.4 bits per pattern. Bayesian generative models might be useful for objectively describing the structure in other complex biological signalling systems.

Animal Communication↗
PubMed2002

Reciprocal functions of the Drosophila yellow and ebony proteins in the development and evolution of pigment patterns.

Body coloration affects how animals interact with the environment. In insects, the rapid evolution of black and brown melanin patterns suggests that these are adaptive traits. The developmental and molecular mechanisms that generate these pigment patterns are largely unknown. We demonstrate that the regulation and function of the yellow and ebony genes in Drosophila melanogaster play crucial roles in this process. The Yellow protein is required to produce black melanin, and is expressed in a pattern that correlates with the distribution of this pigment. Conversely, Ebony is required to suppress some melanin formation, and is expressed in cells that will produce both melanized and non-melanized cuticle. Ectopic expression of Ebony inhibits melanin formation, but increasing Yellow expression can overcome this effect. In addition, ectopic expression of Yellow is sufficient to induce melanin formation, but only in the absence of Ebony. These results suggest that the patterns and levels of Yellow and Ebony expression together determine the pattern and intensity of melanization. Based on their functions in Drosophila melanogaster, we propose that changes in the expression of Yellow and/or Ebony may have evolved with melanin patterns. Consistent with our hypothesis, we find that Yellow and Ebony are expressed in complementary spatial patterns that correlate with the formation of an evolutionary novel, male-specific pigment pattern in Drosophila biarmipes wings. These findings provide a developmental and genetic framework for understanding the evolution of melanin patterns.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Evidence for developmental linkage of pigment patterns with body size and shape in danios (Teleostei: Cyprinidae).

Variation in pigment patterns in fishes is known to be subject to natural and sexual selection, but the mechanisms by which that variation is generated are only beginning to be understood. Theoretical models of pigment pattern formation in animals suggest that the size and shape of the organism at the time of pattern determination as well as subsequent growth time are important determinants of pattern. However, few data document the empirical relationship of pigment patterning with size, shape, and growth. Here we document patterns of growth in relation to pigment pattern formation in the zebrafish (Danio rerio) and six close relatives. In all species examined, establishment of adult pigment pattern within a particular region of the body is associated with a period of substantial growth and shape change in that region of the body. Furthermore, forms with more horizontal stripes on the midbody as adults (Danio rerio and D. rerio "leo") are larger at the time pigment cells begin to assume their adult pattern. Finally, continued deepening of the body as the pigment pattern develops is associated with vertical distortions and reticulations in the patterns of D. malabaricus and D. browni. These results are consistent with the predictions of theoretical models that size, growth, and shape change are critical determinants of pigment patterning, and suggest that variation in pigment pattern may arise in part through differential allometric growth between species.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1999

Patterns of body fat deposition in youth and their relation to left ventricular markers of adverse cardiovascular prognosis.

The patterns of body fat deposition in healthy youth and their relation to future development of cardiovascular disease remain incompletely understood. To further evaluate these patterns, we measured indirect indexes of central and general fat deposition in healthy adolescents (mean age 15.4+/-2.3 years) with family histories of hypertension. We examined the relation between these indexes and echocardiographic markers of adverse prognosis as well as the effect of gender and ethnicity. All 225 subjects (64% black and 48% female) had > or =1 biologic parent and 1 grandparent with hypertension. Skinfold thicknesses, waist-to-hip girth ratio, Quetelet index, Ponderal index, conicity, and Z score weight - Z score height were measured. Left ventricular (LV) mass, indexed LV mass, relative wall thickness (RWT), and midwall fractional shortening (MFS) were determined using echocardiography. In both black and white subjects, the adiposity indexes were significantly correlated with posterior wall thickness, total LV mass, and indexed LV mass (p <0.05 for all). Additionally, in black subjects, central adiposity was inversely related to MFS and directly related to RWT and septal thickness. General adiposity independently predicted indexed and nonindexed LV mass, whereas central adiposity predicted MFS and RWT. Compared with subjects with normal LV geometry, those with abnormal geometry were heavier and fatter based on every index of obesity (p <0.03 for all). Thus, indexes of fat deposition are significantly correlated with LV markers of adverse prognosis in healthy youth.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Relationship between feeding pattern and body mass index in 220 free-living people in four age groups.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between feeding pattern and body mass index in free-living humans. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: Feeding pattern was assessed from 220 7-day weighed dietary records. 187 records were obtained from three separate existing studies, and reanalysed. These studies contained data on three age groups in the British population; Elderly group (n = 88), Middle-aged group (n = 40), Working age group (n = 59). A separate study of 13-14 year olds living in Croydon was conducted from which 33 usable diet records were collected to produce a fourth, Adolescent group. RESULTS: 'Nibbling' and greater energy intakes at breakfast were associated with a lower body mass index (BMI) in the Adolescent group. In the Middle-aged group, greater energy intakes at breakfast and lower energy intakes during the evening were associated with a lower BMI. However, when diet records which produced unreasonably low energy intakes were removed from the analysis, these relationships disappeared except for energy intakes at breakfast and BMI in the Adolescent group. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that the relationship between feeding pattern and BMI observed in the Adolescent and Middle-aged groups was caused by underestimation of 'habitual' energy intake from snacks and the omission of breakfast by females and those who were overweight. The lack of relationship in the Working age group was attributed to the fact that more individuals in this group appeared to report valid diet records. Reported energy intake was directly related to BMI in the Working age group, but was not related to BMI in the other three age groups. It is concluded that feeding pattern is not a major factor in determining BMI in humans. Also, since snacks have a relatively high sugar and low fat composition compared with meals, it is suggested that biased under-reporting of snacks by the obese could produce spurious results from free-living studies which show that obesity is related to the proportion of energy from fat in the diet.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Age-related pattern of body density and body composition of Japanese men and women 18-59 years of age.

Age-related patterns of body size and composition were studied in a cross-sectional sample of Japanese adults 18-59 years of age. Height, weight, the body mass index (BMI), body density (BD), percentage body fat (%Fat), fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), and the sum of seven skinfold thicknesses (SF) of 288 men and 552 women were considered. Body density was measured by underwater weighing densitometry. Mean values of height, weight, BMI, BD, %Fat, FM, FFM, and SF of males were 169.0 cm, 65.3 kg, 22.8 kg/m(2), 1.0600 g/ml, 17.0%, 11.4 kg, 53.9 kg, and 95.0 mm, respectively, while corresponding values for females were 157.4 cm, 52.9 kg, 21.4 kg/m(2), 1.0420 g/ml, 24.4%, 13.1 kg, 39.7 kg, and 128.2 mm, respectively. Height, BD, and FFM correlated negatively with age in both sexes, while weight, BMI, %Fat, FM, and SF correlated positively with age. The highest BD and the lowest %Fat were observed in males ages 20 to <25 years (G20) and in females 25 to <30 years (G25). The lowest BD and highest %Fat were observed in G50 in both sexes. Correlations among parameters of body size and composition were stable with age in each sex. Height correlated negatively with BMI and %Fat in females, but not in males. In males, FM started to increase between G20 and G25 and continued to increase until G50, while SF and BMI remained stable during this period. In females, FM accumulation started around 30 years of age and continued until G50 and was accompanied by increases in SF and BMI.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Response of female cuttlefish Sepia officinalis (Cephalopoda) to mirrors and conspecifics: evidence for signaling in female cuttlefish.

Cuttlefish have a large repertoire of body patterns that are used for camouflage and interspecific signaling. Intraspecific signaling by male cuttlefish has been well documented but studies on signaling by females are lacking. We found that females displayed a newly described body pattern termed Splotch toward their mirror image and female conspecifics, but not to males, prey or inanimate objects. Female cuttlefish may use the Splotch body pattern as an intraspecific signal, possibly to reduce agonistic interactions. The ability of females to produce a consistent body pattern in response to conspecifics and mirrors suggests that they can recognize same-sex conspecifics using visual cues, despite the lack of sexual dimorphism visible to human observers.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1990

Body fat patterning in women with endometrial cancer.

It has long been known that the risks of some cancers, including endometrial, are associated with obesity. Recent evidence suggests that body fat distribution patterns also affect the risk of developing some diseases. A question that remains is whether cancers are associated with specific distributions of body fat. In this study, women with endometrial cancer were compared to community controls of similar age and race. Participants were interviewed and then measured to determine fat distribution patterns defined by the waist-to-hip circumference ratio. Women with upper body fat distribution had a 3.2-fold (95% confidence limits 1.2, 8.9) higher risk of endometrial cancer than women with lower body fat distribution even with correction for age, parity, and smoking. Obese women with an upper body fat pattern had a 5.8-fold (confidence limits 1.7, 19.9) higher risk of endometrial cancer than nonobese/lower body fat patterned women. Obese women who never smoked had a 3.3-fold statistically significant higher risk of endometrial cancer than nonobese women who never smoked. Current smokers had lower risks than their nonsmoking counterparts. The 3-fold increased risk of endometrial cancer associated with upper body fat did not disappear with adjustment for obesity and smoking.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed2002

Ranges of diurnal variation and the pattern of body temperature, blood pressure and heart rate in laboratory beagle dogs.

Ranges in diurnal variation and the patterns of body temperature (T), blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR) and locomotor activity (LA) in 61 laboratory beagle dogs were analyzed using a telemetry system. Body temperature, BP, HR and LA increased remarkably at feeding time. Locomotor activity increased sporadically during the other periods. Body temperature was maintained at the higher value after feeding but had decreased by 0.2 C by early the next morning. Blood pressure fell to a lower value after feeding but had increased by 2.8% by early the next morning. Heart rate decreased progressively after feeding and was 14.5% lower the next morning. This study determined that in laboratory beagles the ranges of diurnal variation and patterns of T, BP and HR are significantly different from those reported in humans and rodents, and that over 24 hr these physiological changes were associated with their sporadic wake-sleep cycles of the dogs.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Body temperature patterns before, during, and after semi-natural hibernation in the European ground squirrel.

Ground squirrels undergo extreme body temperature fluctuations during hibernation. The effect of low body temperatures on the mammalian circadian system is still under debate. Using implanted temperature loggers, we recorded body temperature patterns in European ground squirrels kept in an enclosure under natural conditions. Although hibernation onset was delayed, hibernation end corresponded closely to that measured in a field population. Circadian body temperature fluctuations were not detected during deep torpor, but indications of circadian timing of arousal episodes at higher temperatures were found at the beginning and end of hibernation. One male exhibited synchronised arousals to a relatively constant phase of the day throughout hibernation. All animals first entered torpor in the afternoon. Daily body temperature fluctuations were decreased or distorted during the first days after hibernation. We hypothesise that hibernation may affect the circadian system by either decreasing the expression of the circadian oscillator, or by decreasing the amplitude of the circadian oscillator itself. possibly due to gradual, temperature dependent, internal desynchronisation. The latter mechanism may be beneficial because it might facilitate post-hibernation re-entrainment rates.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Age-related pattern of body density and body composition in Japanese males and females, 11 and 18 years of age.

The age-related pattern of body density and body composition in Japanese males (n = 266) and females (n = 318), 11.00 to 18.99 years of age was studied. Body density (BD) as well as height, body weight, and seven skinfold thicknesses were measured. Percentage fat (%Fat) was calculated using the age- and sex-specific equation of Lohman. Fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), and the body mass index (BMI) were calculated. The trend for BD in males was lowest at 11 years (1.0530 g/ml) and increased to 1.0695 g/ml at 14 years, and then decreased slightly at 15 to 17 years. In female, BD decreased from 1.0530 g/ml at 13 years to 1.0424 g/ml at 17 years. Mean %Fat was highest in males at 11 years (15.8%), and lowest at 14 years (10.1%). The highest mean %Fat in females occurred at 16 years (22.8%), and the lowest at age 11 years (15.2%). Overall, only 6.8% of males and 3.1% of females were classified as obese. Between 11 and 18 years, FFM of males differed by 20.7 kg or 67.9%, whereas females showed a difference of only 10.8 kg or 34.7%. Consequently, age effects explained approximately 60% of the male variance of FFM but only 26% in females. Body density of each sex and age group in this study did not differ significantly from previous Japanese studies, and the pooled BD data for 1,457 Japanese including the present study are reported as a reference.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

A study of pattern of body mass index (BMI) and prevalence of obesity in a Saudi population.

The present study was conducted to assess the pattern of body mass index (BMI) prevalence of obesity, and the association between obesity and other health-related problems in a Saudi population. The study was conducted in Queza district of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A systematic random sample of Saudi nationals aged 16 years and above were selected (total number 1037; 611 males and 426 females). The study population was clinically examined and a specially-designed questionnaire was administered to obtain the information. Anthropometric measurements, blood pressure and urine analysis were carried out. The collected data were analyzed using simple as well as multivariate statistical methods. It was observed that BMI significantly increased with age. The crude mean BMI was significantly greater in females compared to males. Prevalence of Grade I obesity among different age groups in males ranged from 15.7% to 43.0%, while in females the range was from 22.8% to 45.7%. Similar patterns for both genders were found for Grade II obesity (5.2%-18.9%; and 11.1%-47.8% respectively). Obesity was significantly associated with an increase in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, where increase in BMI by one unit increased systolic blood pressure by 0.617 mm Hg, and diastolic blood pressure by 0.484 mm Hg. This relationship held true even after allowing for other confounding factors. The present study concluded that obesity is a problem prevalent in the community of Queza district. It is recommended that health education programs be implemented through primary health care services in the community to prevent this problem.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Age-related patterns in body composition for men aged 20-79 yr.

Fat-free body mass has been reported to decline by 30% between the ages of 30 and 70 yr, whereas body weight increases until age 50 yr. This study examined the age-related patterns in body composition, specifically its two components, fat-free body mass and fat mass, in 157 men aged 20-79 yr. Total body composition was assessed by hydrodensitometry and subcutaneous fat was measured with skinfolds. Approximately 15 men were tested in each of the 12 5-yr age groups (20-24, 25-29, 30-34, ... 75-79 yr). Body density, as determined by underwater weighing, was lower successively from the youngest to oldest age groups; men below age 40 yr had significantly higher (P < 0.01) body densities than the older men. Although there was a gradual decline in fat-free body mass with increasing age, there was not a significant age group effect until age 70 yr. Fat mass gradually increased with increasing age; men above age 40 yr had significantly higher (P < 0.01) total body fat when compared to the younger men. Subcutaneous body fat was similar at the distal limb locations for each age group; however, the proximal trunk locations, especially the abdomen, demonstrated significantly (P < 0.01) higher skinfold thicknesses with increasing age. In conclusion, fat-free body mass was maintained to a later age than previously reported; thus, the age-related decline in body density could be attributed to an age-related increase in body fat.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed2001

Cephalopod chromatophores: neurobiology and natural history.

The chromatophores of cephalopods differ fundamentally from those of other animals: they are neuromuscular organs rather than cells and are not controlled hormonally. They constitute a unique motor system that operates upon the environment without applying any force to it. Each chromatophore organ comprises an elastic sacculus containing pigment, to which is attached a set of obliquely striated radial muscles, each with its nerves and glia. When excited the muscles contract, expanding the chromatophore; when they relax, energy stored in the elastic sacculus retracts it. The physiology and pharmacology of the chromatophore nerves and muscles of loliginid squids are discussed in detail. Attention is drawn to the multiple innervation of dorsal mantle chromatophores, of crucial importance in pattern generation. The size and density of the chromatophores varies according to habit and lifestyle. Differently coloured chromatophores are distributed precisely with respect to each other, and to reflecting structures beneath them. Some of the rules for establishing this exact arrangement have been elucidated by ontogenetic studies. The chromatophores are not innervated uniformly: specific nerve fibres innervate groups of chromatophores within the fixed, morphological array, producing 'physiological units' expressed as visible 'chromatomotor fields'. The chromatophores are controlled by a set of lobes in the brain organized hierarchically. At the highest level, the optic lobes, acting largely on visual information, select specific motor programmes (i.e. body patterns); at the lowest level, motoneurons in the chromatophore lobes execute the programmes, their activity or inactivity producing the patterning seen in the skin. In Octopus vulgaris there are over half a million neurons in the chromatophore lobes, and receptors for all the classical neurotransmitters are present, different transmitters being used to activate (or inhibit) the different colour classes of chromatophore motoneurons. A detailed understanding of the way in which the brain controls body patterning still eludes us: the entire system apparently operates without feedback, visual or proprioceptive. The gross appearance of a cephalopod is termed its body pattern. This comprises a number of components, made up of several units, which in turn contains many elements: the chromatophores themselves and also reflecting cells and skin muscles. Neural control of the chromatophores enables a cephalopod to change its appearance almost instantaneously, a key feature in some escape behaviours and during agonistic signalling. Equally important, it also enables them to generate the discrete patterns so essential for camouflage or for signalling. The primary function of the chromatophores is camouflage. They are used to match the brightness of the background and to produce components that help the animal achieve general resemblance to the substrate or break up the body's outline. Because the chromatophores are neurally controlled an individual can, at any moment, select and exhibit one particular body pattern out of many. Such rapid neural polymorphism ('polyphenism') may hinder search-image formation by predators. Another function of the chromatophores is communication. Intraspecific signalling is well documented in several inshore species, and interspecific signalling, using ancient, highly conserved patterns, is also widespread. Neurally controlled chromatophores lend themselves supremely well to communication, allowing rapid, finely graded and bilateral signalling.

Animals↗