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Stress and consumption: inescapable shock, neophobia, and quinine finickiness in rats.

Exposure to inescapable shock has been shown to result in reduced consumption of quinine in water (the finickiness effect) in rats. In the present experiment, (a) a clear difference in finickiness occurred between male adult rats exposed to inescapable shock and those exposed to escapable shock (the first such demonstration), (b) finickiness was reinstated 20 days later, and (c) finickiness was eliminated by quinine exposure prior to treatment. The first 2 results support the role of uncontrollability and/or unpredictability in finickiness and extend its potential impact to long-term consequences. This allows greater potential for the modeling of long-term effects, such as eating disorders and depression in humans. The finding that preexposure to quinine eliminated finickiness is contrary to current accounts of the effect. Accounts of finickiness are proposed in terms of classically conditioned aversions, bitterness, and neuropeptide control of ingestion.

Animals↗

Rats defend different body weights depending on palatability and accessibility of their food.

Normal adult rats lived on powdered diets adulterated to contain as much as 1.6% quinine sulfate, on a palatable high-fat diet, or in Skinner boxes with 45-mg Noyes pellets available on fixed-ratio (FR) schedules as high as FR 156. They maintained lower body weights over periods of months in proportion to the percentage of quinine adulteration or the fixed ratio. Rats exposed to the high-fat diet overate as much and gained weight as rapidly as rats recovering from food deprivation, and became moderately obese. Rats having become lean or obese contingent on the palatability or accessibility of their diet defended body weight by eating more in the cold, less when force-fed by gavage, and more to restore weight after food deprivation. Yet on chow they restored and defended body weights typical of rats whose diet had been confined to commercially prepared chow. These results are interpreted to be inconsistent with motivational models that rigidly distinguish drive from incentive, that treat body weight changes as evidence for failure to regulate energy balance or body weight, or that rely exclusively on deprivation of food or reduction of body weight for definitions of need for calories. Instead, caloric homeostasis in rats may incorporate ecological constraints.

Animals↗

Biosorption of phenol from an aqueous solution by Aspergillus niger biomass.

Phenols in trace quantities are usually present in the treated effluent of many wastewater-treatment plants. Phenol contamination of drinking water even at 1 microg/l concentration can cause significant taste and odor problems. This study investigates the use of non-viable pretreated cells of Aspergillus niger to remove phenol from an aqueous solution. Five types of non-viable pretreated A. niger biomass powders were used as a biosorbent to remove phenol present in an aqueous solution at a concentration of 1,000 microg/l. Sulfuric acid-treated non-viable biomass powder, which was the most effective, was used as a biosorbent in a further study. The maximum removal of phenol was observed at an initial pH of 5.1 for the sulfuric acid-treated biomass. The adsorption of phenol by pretreated A. niger biomass was best described by the Brunauer Emmet Teller model. Desorption of phenol using distilled deionized water was found to be approximately 5% suggesting a strong biosorption by the biomass. Sulfuric acid-treated biomass beads developed through immobilization in polysulphone were used in a column study. Approximately 66% of phenol was removed in the column operated at an initial pH of 5.1 and an initial concentration of 1,000 microg/l of phenol.

Adsorption↗

Subthreshold olfactory stimulation can enhance sweetness.

The impact of olfactory perception on sweetness was explored in a model solution using odorants at subthreshold concentrations. First, the impact of 6 odorants, previously described in the literature as congruent with sweetness, was investigated at suprathreshold level in a sucrose solution. Ethyl butyrate and maltol were selected as they had the highest and the lowest sweetness-enhancing properties, respectively. Second, the impact on sweetness of the 2 odorants was investigated at subthreshold concentrations. A system delivering a continuous liquid flow at the same sucrose level, but with varying odorant concentrations, was used. At a subthreshold level, ethyl butyrate but not maltol significantly enhanced the sweetness of the sucrose solution. This study highlights that olfactory perception induced by odorants at a subthreshold level can significantly modulate taste perception. Finally, contrary to results observed with ethyl butyrate at suprathreshold levels, at subthreshold levels, the intensity of sweetness enhancement was not proportional to ethyl butyrate concentration.

Adolescent↗

Identification of the cyclamate interaction site within the transmembrane domain of the human sweet taste receptor subunit T1R3.

The artificial sweetener cyclamate tastes sweet to humans, but not to mice. When expressed in vitro, the human sweet receptor (a heterodimer of two taste receptor subunits: hT1R2 + hT1R3) responds to cyclamate, but the mouse receptor (mT1R2 + mT1R3) does not. Using mixed-species pairings of human and mouse sweet receptor subunits, we determined that responsiveness to cyclamate requires the human form of T1R3. Using chimeras, we determined that it is the transmembrane domain of hT1R3 that is required for the sweet receptor to respond to cyclamate. Using directed mutagenesis, we identified several amino acid residues within the transmembrane domain of T1R3 that determine differential responsiveness to cyclamate of the human versus mouse sweet receptors. Alanine-scanning mutagenesis of residues predicted to line a transmembrane domain binding pocket in hT1R3 identified six residues specifically involved in responsiveness to cyclamate. Using molecular modeling, we docked cyclamate within the transmembrane domain of T1R3. Our model predicts substantial overlap in the hT1R3 binding pockets for the agonist cyclamate and the inverse agonist lactisole. The transmembrane domain of T1R3 is likely to play a critical role in the interconversion of the sweet receptor from the ground state to the active state.

Alanine↗

Killing of microorganisms by pulsed electric fields.

Lethal effects of pulsed electric fields (PEF) on suspensions of various bacteria, yeast, and spores in buffer solutions and liquid foodstuffs were examined. Living-cell counts of vegetative cell types were reduced by PEF treatment by up to more than four orders of magnitude (> 99.99%). On the other hand, endo- and ascospores were not inactivated or killed to any great extent. The killing of vegetative cell types depends on the electrical field strength of the pulses and on the treatment time (the product of the pulse number and the decay time constant of the pulses). For each cell type, a specific critical electric field strength (Ec) and a specific critical treatment time (tc) were determined. Above these critical values, the fractions of surviving cells were reduced drastically. The "limits" Ec and tc depend on the cell characteristics as well as on the type of medium in which the cells are suspended. Especially in acid media living-cell counts were sufficiently decreased at very low energy inputs. In addition to the inactivation of microorganisms, the effect of PEF on food components such as whey proteins, enzymes and vitamins, and on the taste of foodstuffs was studied. The degree of destruction of these food components by PEF was very low or negligible. Moreover, no significant deterioration of the taste of foodstuffs was detected after PEF treatment. Disintegration of cells by PEF treatment in order to harvest intracellular products was also studied. Yeast cells, suspended in buffer solution, were not disintegrated by electric pulses. Hence, PEF treatment is an excellent process for inactivation of microorganisms in acid and in thermosensive media, but not for complete disintegration of microbial cells.

Bacillus cereus↗

Development of a dietary model for the study of mild zinc deficiency in humans and evaluation of some biochemical and functional indices of zinc status.

After a 1-wk baseline period, a dietary regimen was developed to induce mild zinc deficiency in 15 males (aged 25.3 +/- 3.3 y, mean +/- SD). The regimen consisted of 1 wk on a liquid diet containing 0.6 mg Zn/d and molar ratios of phytate to zinc (phy:Zn) and of phytate X calcium to zinc [(phy X Ca): Zn] of 209 and 4116, respectively, followed by 6 wk on a diet based on soy protein and egg albumin containing 4 mg Zn/d and with phy:Zn and (Ca X phy):Zn of 70 and 2000, respectively. Subjects were then repleted with 30 mg Zn/d for 2 wk. Fasting blood and urine samples were taken weekly. Changes were observed in mean plasma (mumol/L) and urinary zinc (mumol/d): baseline 97.0 +/- 10.9 and 8.0 +/- 2.7, depletion 80.1 +/- 13.4 and 4.3 +/- 2.3, and repletion 100.8 +/- 13.6 and 8.2 +/- 3.1, respectively (P less than 0.05); taste acuity (0.05 less than P less than 0.10); and cellular immune responses (P less than 0.05). Activities of plasma angiotensin-1-converting enzyme and acidic alpha-D-mannosidase were unchanged. Mild zinc deficiency was induced by the dietary regimen.

Adult↗

Responsivity to food cues in bulimic women and controls.

The current study investigated responsivity to individualized food cues consisting of binge/favourite foods in 17 women with bulimic nervosa (BN) and 17 women with no history or current symptoms of eating disorders (C). The hypothesis that increasing cue salience would be associated with an increase in responsivity was tested by comparison of self reported urges, affective responses and salivation to the sight and smell (SS) and the sight, smell and taste (SST) of a binge/favourite food compared to a neutral stimulus (lettuce leaf). As predicted, the BN group reported a greater urge to binge and higher levels of stress/arousal to selected binge/favourite food cues compared to the C group. The BN group also reported lower confidence to resist the urge to binge and control over food intake compared to the C group. Further, a series of planned comparisons in the BN group found that the urge to binge, stress, and loss of control were greater when participants were exposed to the SST cue than to the SS cue. There was no difference between the groups in salivary responsivity to food cues. These results are discussed in terms of a conditioning model of cue reactivity.

Adult↗

Effect of different chlorhexidine formulations in mouthrinses on de novo plaque formation.

BACKGROUND: Chlorhexidine (CHX) 0.2% solution, still the golden standard as mouthrinse for the prevention of plaque formation and development of gingivitis, has some limited side-effects such as extrinsic tooth staining, poor taste, taste disturbance, sensitivity changes in tongue, pain, and the content of alcohol. These side effects led to the search of new formulations. METHODS: In this double-blind, randomised, cross-over study, 16 young dental students with a healthy periodontium, abolished all means of mechanical plaque control during 4 experimental periods of 11 days (separated from each other by a washout period of 3 weeks). During each experimental period, they rinsed 2x daily with one of the following mouthrinses in a randomised order: CHX 0.2% + alcohol (Corsodyl), CHX 0.12% + alcohol (Perio.Aid), CHX 0.12% + sodium fluoride 0.05% (Cariax Gingival) and CHX 0.12% + CPC 0.05% (Perio.Aid, new formulation). After 7 and 11 days of undisturbed plaque formation, clinical parameters were recorded, questionnaires completed and plaque samples (supragingivally and saliva) collected. RESULTS: The CHX 0.12% + alcohol and the CHX 0.12% + CPC 0.05% formulations were as efficient as the CHX 0.2% mouthrinse in retarding de novo plaque formation (proven by clinical observations as well as by anaerobic and aerobic culture data), and always superior (p<0.001) to the CHX 0.12% + sodium fluoride 0.05% solution. The subjective ratings were in favour of the new CHX formulation when compared with the other CHX formulations, especially for taste (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrated the potential of a new CHX 0.12% + CPC 0.05% non-alcoholic formulation as an effective anti-plaque and anti-inflammatory agent with reduced unpleasant subjective side-effects.

Adult↗

Japanese and Korean female students' evaluation of elderly people's clothing colors.

This study evaluated the clothing colors in the elderly. We took photos using the elderly as models, displayed them on a computer screen, and produced 75 colors of the clothing in the elderly using computer graphics. The 75 colors were evaluated by Japanese and Korean female students. We compared the ideal colors for and the colors actually worn by elderly people in Japan and Korea. Korean students tended to evaluate high value colors positively, while Japanese students tended to evaluate low value colors positively. When asked to choose the ideal clothing color for elderly people, the choices differed between the Korean student group and the Japanese student group. The images held concerning these colors also differed between the two groups. When selecting the ideal color to be worn by elderly people, Japanese students attached importance to taste, brilliance, functionality and comfort. On the other hand, Korean students attached importance to commonness and inactivity when selecting the ideal clothing color for elderly people. Thus, in the present study, the evaluation of the clothing colors for elderly people differed between Japanese and Korean students.

Aged↗

Clinical phase I and pharmacokinetic trial of the new titanium complex budotitane.

Budotitane [cis-diethoxybis(1-phenylbutane-1,3-dionato)titanium (IV)] is a novel inorganic metal complex. Preclinical studies in established screening models indicate considerable antitumor activity. We have performed a clinical Phase I and pharmacokinetic trial with budotitane administered as i.v. infusion twice weekly. The starting dose of 100 mg/m2 was derived from a prior single dose Phase I study. Eighteen patients with solid tumors refractory to all other known treatment modalities were entered. 17 patients had received prior chemotherapy. Dose levels ranged from 100 mg/m2 to 230 mg/m2, with a total of 122 budotitane infusions administered. Neither leuko- nor thrombocytopenia were observed. 2/5 pts at 180 mg/m2 and 2/4 pts at 230 mg/m2 developed a 3-fold increase of reticulocytes without signs of hemolysis or bleeding. Nonhematologic toxicity was moderate at doses of < or = 180 mg/m2. Fifteen patients reported loss of taste at the day of infusion. At 230 mg/m2, 2/4 pts developed WHO grade 3 cardiac arrhythmias with polytope premature ventricular beats and nonsustained ventricular tachycardia. A limited pharmacokinetic analysis was performed at dose levels 180 mg/m2 and 230 mg/m2. At 180 mg/m2, Cmax was 2.9 +/- 1.2 microg/ml, t1/2 78.7 +/- 24.4 h, Cltot 25.3 +/- 4.6 ml/min and AUC 203 +/- 71.5 h x microg/ml. At 230 mg/m2, Cmax was 2.2 +/- 0.8 microg/ml, t1/2 59.3 +/- 12.1 h, Cltot 44.9 +/- 23.6 ml/min and AUC was 183 +/- 90.4 h x microg/ml. No objective tumor response was observed. We conclude that the maximum tolerated dose of budotitane administered twice weekly is 230 mg/m2, the dose limiting toxicity is cardiac arrhythmia. Further evaluation of the nature of the cardiac toxicities observed is warranted. Using this schedule, 180 mg/m2 is a safe dose for subsequent clinical studies.

Adult↗

From motivation to behaviour: a model of reward sensitivity, overeating, and food preferences in the risk profile for obesity.

The reinforcing effects of addictive drugs and palatable foods are regulated, at least in part, by a common biological mechanism. The reactivity or sensitivity of these brain reward regions have been found to correlate significantly with the risk for a variety of drug addictions. Sensitivity to Reward (STR) is conceptualised as a psycho-biological personality trait rooted firmly in the availability of dopamine in the mesocorticolimbic ('common reward') pathways, and as such is a good candidate for studying motivational factors and eating behaviours. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether STR was related to behaviours that contribute to excess body weight. Structural equation modelling procedures were used with a sample of healthy adult women (n=151). We hypothesised that STR would positively predict overeating and a preference for foods high in fat and sugar; and that these two behaviour would, in turn, predict a higher Body Mass Index. Results provided an excellent fit of the model to our data confirming our view that a personality trait like STR can only influence a physical condition like body weight indirectly by the way it co-varies with behaviours that contribute directly to variation in the outcome variable.

Adult↗

FOXN1 is critical for onycholemmal terminal differentiation in nude (Foxn1) mice.

Nude mice have a mutation in the transcription factor Foxn1(nu), resulting in downregulation of hair keratins. Although hair follicles develop normally, the hair fibers become structurally weak, curl, and break off at the surface. Nails in nude mice are deformed, based on alterations of the onychocyte differentiation process. Elemental microanalysis of the nail plate reveals marked decreases in sulfur concentrations in the nude mouse nail plates. Immunohistochemistry shows a lack of keratin 1 expression in terminally differentiating keratinocytes of the nail matrix. Instead, the typical differentiation process of the matrix is altered toward an epidermis-like differentiation pattern, comprising the production of filaggrin-containing keratohyalin granules in cells resembling those of the stratum granulosum, which are never observed in normally haired mice. The nail plate has diffuse basophilic stippling. It is thinner than normal, weak, and in most Foxn1(nu)/Foxn1(nu) mice breaks where it separates from the hyponychium. These studies indicate that the Foxn1(nu) mutated gene has effects beyond downregulating keratin expression, including changes in filaggrin expression, and is critical for normal onycholemmal differentiation. The nails of nude mice provide new insights into the molecular controls of onychocyte differentiation, and they offer a useful model to investigate the pathogenesis of nail hypergranulosis, a common feature in human nail diseases.

Animals↗

Development of sensory systems in zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Zebrafish possess all of the classic sensory modalities: taste, tactile, smell, balance, vision, and hearing. For each sensory system, this article provides a brief overview of the system in the adult zebrafish followed by a more detailed overview of the development of the system. By far the majority of studies performed in each of the sensory systems of the zebrafish have involved some aspect of molecular biology or genetics. Although molecular biology and genetics are not major foci of the paper, brief discussions of some of the mutant strains of zebrafish that have developmental defects in each specific sensory system are included. The development of the sensory systems is only a small sampling of the work being done using zebrafish and provides a mere glimpse of the potential of this model for the study of vertebrate development, physiology, and human disease.

Animals↗

Learned food aversions in the progression of cancer and its treatment.

The studies included in this chapter examine the learned food aversions that develop as a result of cancer and cancer treatment. Clinical studies have shown that cancer patients can develop learned aversions to a novel ice cream flavor when it is consumed before drug treatments that produce nausea and vomiting. They also provided evidence that patients can acquire aversions to food in their usual diets when these foods are eaten before similar drug treatments. Observations in the clinic, supported by complementary studies with animal models, suggest that learned aversions are more likely to arise to protein foods than to other nutrient sources and that the presentation of a novel food in association with drug treatments may act as a "scapegoat" in blocking the development of aversions to foods in the normal diet. Laboratory studies using transplantable tumors in rats have shown that tumor growth can be associated with the development of strong aversions to the available diet. These aversions are specific to the diet eaten during tumor growth and they appear to play a causal role in the development of tumor-induced anorexia. The food aversions apparent in animals with certain experimental tumors point to physiological consequences of tumor growth that act as unconditioned stimuli in taste aversion conditioning. The identification of these changes and development of methods for correcting them are the current goals of our research in this area.

Animals↗

Effect of fluticasone propionate nasal spray on bioavailability of intranasal hydromorphone hydrochloride in patients with allergic rhinitis.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of the nasal corticosteroid fluticasone propionate on the bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of single-dose intranasal hydromorphone hydrochloride in patients with allergic rhinitis. DESIGN: Randomized, three-way, crossover pharmacokinetic study. SETTING: University clinical research unit. PATIENTS: Twelve patients with allergic rhinitis. INTERVENTION: Hydromorphone hydrochloride 2.0 mg was administered by intravenous infusion (treatment A), intranasal spray without allergic rhinitis treatment (treatment B), and intranasal spray after 6 days of fluticasone propionate (treatment C). Blood samples were collected serially from 0-16 hours. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Pharmacokinetic parameters were determined by noncompartmental methods. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) model was used for statistical analysis. Mean (% coefficient of variation) absolute bioavailability of intranasal hydromorphone was 51.9% (28.2) and 46.9% (30.3) in patients with allergic rhinitis with and without treatment with fluticasone propionate, respectively. Mean maximum concentration (Cmax) values were 3.02 and 3.56 ng/ml, respectively. No statistical differences in Cmax and area under the concentration versus time curve were detected between intranasal treatments. Bioavailability values for both intranasal treatments were lower than those in healthy volunteers (57%). Median time to Cmax (Tmax) values were significantly different (p=0.02) for treatments B and C (15 and 30 min, respectively) using rank-transformed Tmax for ANOVA. Adverse effects were consistent with known effects of hydromorphone administered by other routes, with the exception of bad taste after intranasal administration. CONCLUSION: Hydromorphone was rapidly absorbed after nasal administration, with maximum concentrations occurring for most subjects within 30 minutes. Allergic rhinitis may affect pain management strategies for intranasal hydromorphone, with a delay in onset of action for patients treated with fluticasone propionate.

Administration, Intranasal↗

Intracranial self-stimulation and sucrose intake differ as hedonic measures following chronic mild stress: interstrain and interindividual differences.

The present study was designed to assess the utility of sucrose intake and intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) as hedonic measures for chronic mild stress (CMS) induced behavioural deficits. Wistar and PVG hooded rats were exposed to a variety of mild stressors, e.g. periods of food and/or water deprivation, soiled cage, light/dark reversal, confinement to small cages and pairing, during 6-9 weeks. The intake of 1% sucrose solution was significantly reduced in stressed PVG hooded rats compared to control animals. The sucrose intake in stressed Wistar rats remained unaltered, indicating that CMS-induced decreases in sucrose intake are strain dependent. However, sucrose intake has in our experience been shown to be unreliable as the observed decreases following CMS were inconsistent over time. ICSS behaviour was evaluated from rate/frequency functions by determining the frequency that supported 50% of maximal response rate. Neither the Wistar nor the PVG hooded rats showed an overall decrease in ICSS behaviour following CMS. However, the ICSS measures revealed interindividual differences in both rat strains. In the stress groups a subgroup (14 +/- 2.4%) of rats progressively exhibited an attenuated ICSS behaviour. These findings may reflect the interindividual variability observed in humans as stress does not invariably lead to depression. The model may in its present form be used to study the pathophysiology of depressive disorders. However, the utility of the CMS model to study antidepressant drug actions has to be questioned. Our results show there is a need for rat strains in which there is a greater sensitivity for detecting stress effects. It emphasises the fact that replication of CMS-induced decreases in ICSS behaviour can be as problematic as inducing decreases in sucrose intake.

Animals↗

Combinatorial approach to flavor analysis. 1. Preparation and characterization of a S-methyl thioester library.

A new method for the "one-pot" synthesis of S-methyl thioesters has been developed by reacting methyl chlorothiolformate with carboxylic acids. The resulting "flavor library" contained all the intended thioesters and a single major impurity, identified by GC-MS as S, S-dimethyldithiocarbonate. Quantification of individual compounds present in the library was performed by GC analysis using two independent methods of detection, SCD and FID. It was shown that apart from S-methyl thioacetate (0.8 mol %), molar concentrations of other thioesters varied in a relatively narrow range from 4.2 mol % for S-methyl thiopropionate to 14.1 mol % for S-methyl thiohexanoate. In general, medium chain S-methyl thioesters were present in slightly higher molar concentrations than those prepared from short or long chain carboxylic acids. This variation was attributed to partial loss of the most volatile components during extraction and the lower reactivity of higher homologues. The library was used for the characterization of some physicochemical parameters of thioesters. In particular, lipophilicity coefficients (log k(w)) and thioester retention in 10, 20, and 33% triolein (used as a model lipid phase) were determined directly by reverse-phase HPLC and extrapolated from the respective data. This analysis illustrates that substantial information can be generated using a library containing a relatively large number of compounds in effectively the same way as is necessary for the analysis of a single sample.

Chromatography, Gas↗