Frequent, quantitative bone planar scintigraphy for determination of bone anabolism in growing mice

Background To provide insight into bone turnover, quantitative measurements of bone remodeling are required. Radionuclide studies are widely used in clinical care, but have been rarely used in the exploration of the bone in preclinical studies. We describe a bone planar scintigraphy method for frequent assessment of bone activity in mice across the growing period. Since repeated venous radiotracer injections are hardly feasible in mice, we investigated the subcutaneous route. Methods Repeated 99mTc-hydroxymethylene diphosphonate (HMDP) tracer bone planar scintigraphy studies of the knee region and µCT to measure femur growth rate were performed in eight mice between week 6 and week 27 of life, i.e., during their growth period. Three independent investigators assessed the regions of interest (ROI). An index was calculated based on the counts in knees ROI (normalized by pixels and seconds), corrected for the activity administered, the decay between administration and imaging, and individual weights. Results A total of 93 scintigraphy studies and 85 µCT were performed. Repeated subcutaneous tracer injections were well tolerated and allowed for adequate radionuclide studies. Mean scintigraphic indexes in the knees ROI decreased from 87.4 ± 2.6 × 10−6 counts s−1 pixel−1 MBq−1 g−1 at week 6 to 15.0 ± 3.3 × 10−6 counts s−1 pixel−1 MBq−1 g−1 at week 27. The time constant of the fitted exponential decay was equal to 23.5 days. As control mean femur length assessed by µCT increased from 12.2 ± 0.8 mm at week 6 to 15.8 ± 0.2 mm at week 22. The time constant of the fitted Gompertz law was equal to 26.7 days. A correlation index of −0.97 was found between femur growth and decrease of bone tracer activity count between week 6 and 24. Conclusion This methodological study demonstrates the potential of repeated bone planar scintigraphy in growing mice, with subcutaneous route for tracer administration, for quantitative assessment of bone remodeling.

Isotope Exchange Kinetics in Clay-Water System

<p>Knowledge of reactions at solid/liquid and solid/gas interfaces is of great importance in the study of all adsorption phenomena. Techniques that enable a study of molecules (liquid or gaseous) adsorbed onto a surface may be divided into two categories: (a) those that upset the equilibrium between molecules in the gaseous (or liquid) phase above the solid surface and molecules actually adsorbed onto it, and (b) those that do not. Those techniques that do not disturb this equilibrium will give results that would be expected to have greater reliability than those obtained from techniques that upset this equilibrium (for example by heating or by affecting one component of the equilibrium by titration, precipitation etc.) In an endeavour to study the properties of water adsorbed onto various substances such as clay, wool and textile fibres without affecting the equilibrium the technique of isotopic exchange has been developed. Essentially the procedure is to take a closed adsorber system in equilibrium with a gas (or liquid), part of which is in the sensitive region of a geiger counter, and to add a very small amount of radioactively labelled gas (or liquid) to the system. The adsorber is placed in the bottom of a geiger counter out of the sensitive volume and a known fraction of gas (or liquid) is in the sensitive volume. As the system is at equilibrium there is continuous exchange between the adsorbed molecules on the sample and the molecules in the gaseous (or liquid) state. Thus, when a very small amount, by weight, of the radioactively labelled gas (or liquid) is added to the system, exchange will take place with the non-radioactive molecules adsorbed on the surface of the material under study. Thus radioactivity will be removed from the sensitive volume of the geiger counter and adsorbed onto the surface of the material, and so the specific activity (count rate), as measured with the geiger counter, will drop. The advantage of this technique is that the equilibrium between the adsorbed molecules and the free gas (or liquid) is not disturbed. The actual amount of radioactive material added is so minute that there is no effective change in the concentration of the free gas (or liquid).</p>

Isotope Exchange Kinetics in Clay-Water System

<p>Knowledge of reactions at solid/liquid and solid/gas interfaces is of great importance in the study of all adsorption phenomena. Techniques that enable a study of molecules (liquid or gaseous) adsorbed onto a surface may be divided into two categories: (a) those that upset the equilibrium between molecules in the gaseous (or liquid) phase above the solid surface and molecules actually adsorbed onto it, and (b) those that do not. Those techniques that do not disturb this equilibrium will give results that would be expected to have greater reliability than those obtained from techniques that upset this equilibrium (for example by heating or by affecting one component of the equilibrium by titration, precipitation etc.) In an endeavour to study the properties of water adsorbed onto various substances such as clay, wool and textile fibres without affecting the equilibrium the technique of isotopic exchange has been developed. Essentially the procedure is to take a closed adsorber system in equilibrium with a gas (or liquid), part of which is in the sensitive region of a geiger counter, and to add a very small amount of radioactively labelled gas (or liquid) to the system. The adsorber is placed in the bottom of a geiger counter out of the sensitive volume and a known fraction of gas (or liquid) is in the sensitive volume. As the system is at equilibrium there is continuous exchange between the adsorbed molecules on the sample and the molecules in the gaseous (or liquid) state. Thus, when a very small amount, by weight, of the radioactively labelled gas (or liquid) is added to the system, exchange will take place with the non-radioactive molecules adsorbed on the surface of the material under study. Thus radioactivity will be removed from the sensitive volume of the geiger counter and adsorbed onto the surface of the material, and so the specific activity (count rate), as measured with the geiger counter, will drop. The advantage of this technique is that the equilibrium between the adsorbed molecules and the free gas (or liquid) is not disturbed. The actual amount of radioactive material added is so minute that there is no effective change in the concentration of the free gas (or liquid).</p>

Melatonin Blocks Morphine-Induced Place Preference: Involvement of GLT-1, NF-κB, BDNF, and CREB in the Nucleus Accumbens

Opioid addiction remains a widespread issue despite continuous attempts by the FDA to help maintain abstinence. Melatonin is a neurohormone considered to be involved only in the neuroendocrine and reproductive systems; however, recent reports have demonstrated its potential to attenuate drug addiction and dependence. Cumulative studies have suggested that melatonin can attenuate the rewarding effects of several drugs of abuse, including opioids. This study aimed to investigate the effect of melatonin (50 mg/kg) on morphine (5 mg/kg) to produce place preference. We also investigated the effect of melatonin and morphine on the expression of GLT-1, BDNF, NF-κB, and CREB within the nucleus accumbens. Male Wistar rats were divided into control, morphine, melatonin, and the morphine + melatonin groups. The study involved a two-phase habituation phase from day 1 to day 3 and an acquisition phase from day 5 to day 14. The conditioned place preference (CPP) score, distance traveled, resting time, ambulatory count, and total activity count were measured for all animals. Rats that received morphine showed a significant increase in CPP score compared to those in the control group. Morphine treatment reduced the mRNA expression of GLT-1, BDNF, and CREB and increased that of NF-κB. However, melatonin treatment administered 30 min before morphine treatment attenuated morphine place preference and reversed GLT-1, BDNF, NF-κB, and CREB expression levels. In conclusion, the study results indicate, for the first time, the new potential targets of melatonin in modulating morphine-induced CPP.

Physical Activity Patterns of Free Living Dogs Diagnosed with Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) affects about 90% of dogs &gt; 5 yr of age in the US, resulting in reduced range of motion, difficulty climbing and jumping, reduced physical activity, and lower quality of life. Our objective was to use activity monitors to measure physical activity and identify how activity counts correlate with age, body weight (BW), body condition score (BCS), serum inflammatory markers, veterinarian pain assessment, and owner perception of pain in free-living dogs with OA. The University of Illinois Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee approved the study and owner consent was received prior to experimentation. Fifty-six client-owned dogs (mean age = 7.8 yr; mean BCS = 6.1) with clinical signs and veterinary diagnosis of OA wore HeyRex activity collars continuously over a 49-d period. Blood samples were collected on d 0 and 49, and dog owners completed canine brief pain inventory (CBPI) and Liverpool osteoarthritis in dogs (LOAD) surveys on d 0, 21, 35, and 49. All data were analyzed using SAS 9.3 using repeated measures and R Studio 1.0.136 was used to generate Pearson correlation coefficients between data outcomes. Average activity throughout the study demonstrated greater activity levels on weekends. It also showed that 24-h activity spiked twice daily, once in the morning and another in the afternoon. Serum C-reactive protein concentration was lower (P &lt; 0.01) at d 49 compared to d 0. Survey data indicated lower (P &lt; 0.05) overall pain intensity and severity score on d 21, 35 and 49 compared to d 0. BW was correlated with average activity counts (p=0.02; r=-0.12) and run activity (p=0.10; r=-0.24). Weekend average activity counts were correlated with owner pain intensity scores (p=0.0813; r=-0.2311), but weekday average activity count was not. Age was not correlated with total activity count, sleep activity, or run activity, but it was correlated with scratch (p=0.03; r=-0.10), alert (p=0.03; r=-0.13) and walk (p=0.09; r=-0.23) activities. Total activity counts and activity type (sleep, scratch, alert, walk, run) were not correlated with pain scored by veterinarians, pain intensity or severity scored by owners, or baseline BCS. Even though the lack of controls and/or information on the individual living conditions of dogs resulted in a high level of variability in this study, our data suggest that the use of activity monitors have the potential to aid in the management of OA and other conditions affecting activity (e.g., allergy; anxiety).

Moosense Pedometer for Oestrus Detection and Ovulation Time Prediction for Artificial Insemination in Karan Fries Cows

Background: Improper estrus detection causes huge economic losses due to inaccurate time of insemination leading to poor conception rate. So, here pedometer proved to be a promising tool in defining optimal time of insemination,improving fertilization rates based on increased number of steps. The study is to determine the relationship between increased pedometer activity for efficient estrus alert and duration of estrus for prediction of accurate time of ovulation.Methods: Oestrus detected in KF cows (N = 20) by behavioural estrus visually. Further validated by pedometer activity and confirmed by progesterone (P4) and estradiol (E2) concentration. Individual animal daily activity pattern collected, transformed and arranged to in Excel sheet for statistical analysis for determining estrus alert, estrus duration, ovulation and insemination time.Result: Based on pedometer estrus alert,duration, estrus onset and estrus end to ovulation was 15.63±1.46 h, 30.53±1.21h and 14.89±2.03h respectively. The mean activity count per hour (ACPH) for the pedometer oestrus (426.19±70.19) and E2 found associated on oestrus day. Based on oestrus alert and duration artificial insemination (A.I) can be made 10h after onset up to 5h after end of pedometer oestrus. Pedometer detects estrus slightly earlier than behavioural estrus efficiently and help in predicting the ovulation time for governing the accurate time of insemination.

Behavioral and stress responses to feeding time in pregnant sows under limit-fed regime

We investigated the effect of feeding time on behavior and stress responses in pregnant sows under isocaloric conditions. Twenty-four sows were balanced for parity and randomly assigned to 1 of 3 feeding times. Corn-soybean meal-based diet was fed once at: 0730 (Control, T1), 1130 (T2), and 1530 h (T3). On average, sows received 7062 kcal ME/d from 2.20 kg of diet formulated to contain SID Lys/ME of 1.71 g/Mcal. The study was conducted for 28 days (21 d acclimation to the feeding regime and 7 days data collection). Saliva samples were collected every 2 hours for 12 hr in stalls on day 52 of pregnancy. Behavior data were collected 24 hr for 7 d from day 53 of gestating by affixing a remote insights ear tag to each sow. Each sow had 120,960 data points categorized into: "Active", "Feed" or "Dormant". Due to housing constraint, all sows were housed in individual stalls in the same barn presenting a potential limitation of the study. Data were analyzed using PROC MIXED and GLIMMIX procedures of SAS 9.4 for cortisol and behavior data, respectively. Sow was the experimental unit. The area under the curve (AUC) is quantitative evaluation of response as threshold varies over all possible values. A 12-hr cortisol total area under the curve (AUC) for sows fed once daily at 1130 h was reduced relative to sow group fed at 1530 h (P = 0.046) but similar compared with the control sows (P = 0. 323). The control sows (0730 h) had reduced total (P &lt; 0.001) and feeding (P = 0.001) activity AUCs relative to sows on 1130 but did not differ compared with sows on 1530 h feeding schedules (P &gt; 0.100). Sows on 1130 h feeding schedule had greater feed anticipatory activity (FAA), 24-hr total activity count, total (P &lt; 0.001) and feeding (P &lt; 0.001) activity AUC compared with sows fed daily at 1530 h. In conclusion, feeding pregnant sows earlier in the morning (0730 h) appears to minimize sows’ behavior but similar cortisol response. Sows on 1130 h feeding schedule had greater activities but reduced cortisol concentration, suggesting that elevated sow activity might not necessarily indicate activation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

An ecological momentary assessment study of physical activity behaviors among mothers of toddlers from low-income households

Background Mothers of young children from low-income communities may be vulnerable to barriers associated with low physical activity. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between home environment factors and maternal physical activity among mothers of toddlers. Methods Mothers of toddlers (n = 200) recruited from low-income communities simultaneously wore an ankle-placed accelerometer and were given a personal digital assistant for ecological momentary assessment. Mothers received randomly prompted questions about their current environment, activity, and social setting several times a day over eight consecutive days. Data were analyzed using linear mixed-effects regression models with random intercepts; within-group and between-group relations between physical activity and environment factors were disaggregated. Results Within-group relations included higher physical activity counts for specific mothers with television off versus on (95% CI = 130.45, 199.17), children absent versus present (95% CI = 82.00, 3.43), engaging with a child versus not (95% CI = 52.66, 127.63), and outside versus inside location (95% CI = 277.74, 392.67). Between-group relations included higher physical activity on average when other adults were absent versus present (95% CI = − 282.63, − 46.95). Recruitment site (urban vs. semi-urban) significantly moderated the within-group relation between being outside versus inside and activity count (β = − 243.12, 95% CI = − 358.74, − 127.47), and showed stronger relations among urban mothers (β = 440.33, 95% CI = 358.41, 522.25), than semi-urban (β = 190.37, 95% CI = 109.64, 271.11). Maternal body weight significantly moderated the within-group relation between being located outside versus inside the home and activity count (β for interaction = − 188.67, 95% CI = − 308.95, − 68.39), with a stronger relation among mothers with normal weight (β = 451.62, 95% CI = 345.51, 557.73), than mothers with overweight/obesity (β = 271.95, 95% CI = 204.26, 339.64). Conclusions This study highlights home environmental factors, including screen time, the presence of others (adults and children), and location (i.e., outside versus inside) that may relate to maternal physical activity behaviors. Understanding factors associated with physical activity could reduce physical activity disparities. Trial registry ClinicalTrials. NCT02615158, April 2006

Sex Differences in Rest-Activity Circadian Rhythm in Patients With Metabolic Syndrome

Rest-Activity circadian Rhythm (RAR) can be used as a marker of the circadian timing system. Recent studies investigated the relationship between irregular circadian rhythms and cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, obesity, and dyslipidemia. These factors are related to the Metabolic Syndrome (MS), a clustering of metabolic risk factors that increases the risk of several cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. This cross-sectional analysis aimed to explore the RAR characteristics by actigraphy in subjects with MS, particularly in relation to sex and MS parameters, using parametric and non-parametric analyses. Distinguishing the characteristics of RAR based on sex could prove useful as a tool to improve the daily level of activity and set up customized activity programs based on each person’s circadian activity profile. This study showed that female participants exhibited higher values than male participants in the Midline Estimating Statistic of Rhythm (MESOR) (243.3 ± 20.0 vs 197.6 ± 17.9 activity count), Amplitude (184.5 ± 18.5 vs 144.2 ± 17.2 activity count), which measures half of the extent of the rhythmic variation in a cycle, and the most active 10-h period (M10) (379.08 ± 16.43 vs 295.13 ± 12.88 activity count). All these parameters are indicative of a higher daily activity level in women. Female participants also had lower Intradaily Variability (IV) than male participants (0.75 ± 0.03 vs 0.85 ± 0.03 activity count), which indicates a more stable and less fragmented RAR. These preliminary data provide the first experimental evidence of a difference in RAR parameters between male and female people with MS.

Playing traditional games vs. free-play during physical education lesson to improve physical activity: a comparison study

Background and Study Aim. Non-sport activities like traditional games can be a practical way to promote physical activity (PA) during physical education (PE) lessons, especially among those who are less inclined towards sports. The purpose of this study is to compare the PA variables and acceptance between playing traditional games and free-play during physical education lessons among secondary school students. Material and Methods. Fifty-six (n = 56) subjects participated in this study wore accelerometers for a total of 40 minutes during each PE lesson to record PA. In the first week, a 40-min free-play PE lesson was done while in the second week, a 40-min PE lesson incorporated with traditional games (TG-PE lesson) was done. After following both lessons, subjects filled up a questionnaire on acceptance of TG-PE and free-play PE lessons. Results. The mean total activity count (p < 0.05) and time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (p < 0.05) were 20% and 19% greater respectively during TG-PE lesson compared to free-play PE lesson. The mean acceptance scores showed students preferred playing TG (19.29 ± 4.21; p < 0.00) over free-play PE lesson (17.59 ± 3.13). Conclusions. In conclusion, incorporating fun and meaningful activities such as TG during PE lessons can serve as an alternative strategy to promote PA during school hours. Further studies are warranted to determine other types of TG that may promote PA among secondary school students.