Regulation of Satiety Quiescence by Neuropeptide Signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans

Sleep and metabolism are interconnected homeostatic states; the sleep cycle can be entrained by the feeding cycle, and perturbation of the sleep often results in dysregulation in metabolism. However, the neuro-molecular mechanism by which metabolism regulates sleep is not fully understood. We investigated how metabolism and feeding regulate sleep using satiety quiescence behavior as a readout in Caenorhabditis elegans, which shares certain key aspects of postprandial sleep in mammals. From an RNA interference-based screen of two neuropeptide families, RFamide-related peptides (FLPs) and insulin-like peptides (INSs), we identified flp-11, known to regulate other types of sleep-like behaviors in C. elegans, as a gene that plays the most significant role in satiety quiescence. A mutation in flp-11 significantly reduces quiescence, whereas over-expression of the gene enhances it. A genetic analysis shows that FLP-11 acts upstream of the cGMP signaling but downstream of the TGFβ pathway, suggesting that TGFβ released from a pair of head sensory neurons (ASI) activates FLP-11 in an interneuron (RIS). Then, cGMP signaling acting in downstream of RIS neurons induces satiety quiescence. Among the 28 INSs genes screened, ins-1, known to play a significant role in starvation-associated behavior working in AIA is inhibitory to satiety quiescence. Our study suggests that specific combinations of neuropeptides are released, and their signals are integrated in order for an animal to gauge its metabolic state and to control satiety quiescence, a feeding-induced sleep-like state in C. elegans.

Risk Factors for Digital Dermatitis in Feedlot Cattle

Digital dermatitis (DD) has been reported in North American feedlots, although risk factors are not well characterized. Our objectives were to analyze: 1) foot and leg conformation and 2) pen hygiene, as potential variables that predispose feedlot cattle to DD. Production parameters in DD-affected cattle were compared to healthy cattle and to those diagnosed with more commonly known infectious lesion foot rot (FR). In total, 2,854 feedlot cattle in 11 pens in 2 feedlots were assessed (bi-weekly pen walks) throughout the feeding cycle. Pen condition was categorized as: “dry”, “mud present but has good bedding”, “more mud than bedding” and “excessive mud”. Gait scoring was competed and cattle with abnormal gait or evident foot lesions (i.e. DD or FR) were restrained in a cattle chute for a close foot inspection (n=280), including scoring of foot angle and claw set and hind and side views of rear feet and legs. Cumulative incidence of DD (present or absent) and FR was 2.5% (71/2,854) and 11.6% (331/2,854) respectively. Foot and leg conformation were not significantly different between left versus right sides or between cattle with (n=71) versus without DD (n=209). Lameness was diagnosed in only 22% of cattle with DD. Cattle with DD gained 0.27 kg/d less compared to healthy cattle (mean ± SD: 1.29 ± 0.29 vs 1.56 ± 0.27, P<0.05) and 0.4 kg/d less compared to FR (1.29 ± 0.29 vs 1.69 ± 0.25). Presence of DD was not significantly different between pens with “dry” and “mud present but has good bedding”, but pens with “more mud than bedding” or “excessive mud” significantly increased risk of cattle having DD Odds Ratio (OR)=8.55, Confidence Interval (CI): 4.0-18.4; and OR=14.1, CI: 5.9-33.8, respectively). In conclusion, it is important to keep good pen conditions to reduce the risk of DD, which can be managed through proper stocking density and strategic bedding, irrespective of foot and leg conformation.

Feeding-induced resistance to acute lethal sepsis is dependent on hepatic BMAL1 and FXR signalling

In mice, time of day strongly influences lethality in response to LPS, with survival greatest at the beginning compared to the end of the light cycle. Here we show that feeding, rather than light, controls time-of-day dependent LPS sensitivity. Mortality following LPS administration is independent of cytokine production and the clock regulator BMAL1 expressed in myeloid cells. In contrast, deletion of BMAL1 in hepatocytes globally disrupts the transcriptional response to the feeding cycle in the liver and results in constitutively high LPS sensitivity. Using RNAseq and functional validation studies we identify hepatic farnesoid X receptor (FXR) signalling as a BMAL1 and feeding-dependent regulator of LPS susceptibility. These results show that hepatocyte-intrinsic BMAL1 and FXR signalling integrate nutritional cues to regulate survival in response to innate immune stimuli. Understanding hepatic molecular programmes operational in response to these cues could identify novel pathways for targeting to enhance endotoxemia resistance.

Do methanotrophs drive phosphorus mineralization in soil ecosystem?

Experiments were carried out to elucidate linkage between methane consumption and mineralization of P from different phosphorous sources. The treatments were no CH4 no P amendment absolute control, with CH4 no P amendment control, with CH4 + inorganic P as Ca3(PO4)2 and with CH4 + organic P (sodium phytate). P sources were added at 25 µg P g-1 soil. Soils were incubated to undergo three repeated CH4 feeding cycle referred as feeding cycle I, feeding cycle II, and feeding cycle III. CH4 consumption rate k (µg CH4 consumed g-1 soil d-1) was 0.297 ± 0.028 in no P amendment control, 0.457±0.016 in Ca3(PO4)2, and 0.627 ± 0.013 in sodium phytate. Rate k was stimulated by 2 to 6 times over CH4 feeding cycles and followed the trend of sodium phytate > Ca3(PO4)2 > no P amendment control. CH4 consumption stimulated P solubilization from Ca3(PO4)2 by a factor of 2.86. Acid phosphatase (µg paranitrophenol released g-1 soil h-1) was higher in sodium phytate than no P amendment control. Abundance of 16S rRNA and pmoA genes increased with CH4 consumption rates. The study suggested that CH4 consumption drive mineralization of unavailable inorganic and organic P sources in the soil ecosystem.

Dynamics of the behaviour of a vertical wetland (French system) operating in warm-climate conditions, evaluated by means of variables continuously measured in situ

The sewage treatment system in this study was operated with only the first stage of a French system of vertical wetlands, composed of two units in parallel and running with an extended feeding cycle (7 days). This research sought to evaluate and relate continuous variables measured in situ (dissolved oxygen (DO), pH and redox potential) throughout the feeding cycle, with measurements at distinct heights along the filter vertical profile. Additionally, the influence of the surface organic sludge deposit was investigated. A close link between the hydraulic behaviour and the effluent quality was verified, with both being related to the batch volume and the instantaneous hydraulic loading rate. The drop in DO as the feed days progressed could be related to the loss of hydraulic conductivity. A thicker sludge layer decreased the aeration capacity of the filter. The effluent was observed to be aerated when percolating through the medium. DO and pH data suggested that nitrification varied along the filter depth, the batch duration and the feed cycle. The monitored parameters may be indicative of the behaviour of other parameters.

Lifespan change in grammaticalisation as frequency-sensitive automation: William Faulkner and the let alone construction

This paper explores the added value of studying intra- and inter-speaker variation in grammaticalisation based on idiolect corpora. It analyses the usage patterns of the English let alone construction in a self-compiled William Faulkner corpus against the backdrop of aggregated community data. Vast individual differences (early Faulkner vs. late Faulkner vs. peers) in frequencies of use are observed, and these frequency differences correlate with different degrees of grammaticalisation as measured in terms of host-class and syntactic context expansion. The corpus findings inform general issues in current cognitive-functional research, such as the from-corpus-to-cognition issue and the cause/consequence issue of frequency. They lend support to the usage-based view of grammaticalisation as a lifelong, frequency-sensitive process of cognitive automation. To substantiate this view, this paper proposes a self-feeding cycle of constructional generalisation that is driven by the interplay of frequency, entrenchment, partial sanction and habituation.

Wearable upper limb motion assist robot for eating activity

Many people all around the world are suffering from various types of disabilities and need to depend on others to perform activities of daily living. One of the essential daily living activities is eating. The disabled people should be able to eat their food independently at any time and place, without relying on the caregivers. This paper presents the development of a new wearable upper limb motion assist robot for helping the disabled to eat by themselves. The motion assists robot consists of two degrees of freedom (DOF) movement, focusing on the two most crucial upper limb movements in eating activity, which is the elbow flexion/extension and forearm pronation/supination. A light-weight material was used for the fabrication of the wearable motion assist robot, and Arduino was utilized as the microcontroller. The originality of the study was in terms of the design, operational sequence setting, and kinematic analysis of the wearable upper limb motion assist robot that was explicitly focusing on eating activity. The resulted prototype was portable, compact, light in weight, simple and low cost. The experimental results have proven that the proposed wearable upper limb motion assist robot for eating activity was successful in helping the users to perform the main upper extremity motions in eating. The success rate of the proposed system was 80%, and it took 6 seconds for the system to complete one feeding cycle.

The Effects of Different Concentrate-to-Forage Ratio Diets on Rumen Bacterial Microbiota and the Structures of Holstein Cows during the Feeding Cycle

The objectives of this study were to investigate the ruminal bacterial changes during the feeding cycle. Six ruminally cannulated Holstein cows were used in this experiment. The high-forage (HF) and high-concentrate (HC) diets contained 70% and 30% dietary forage, respectively. Dairy cows were fed their respective diets for at least 28 days, then samples were collected at 0, 2, 4, 9, 12, 16 and 20 h post-feeding. The results showed that pH, the concentration of (total volatile fatty acids) TVFAs and the percentages of acetate, propionate and butyrate were significantly affected by diet and time interactions. The diversity of rumen microbiota in HF dietary treatments was significantly higher than that in the HC dietary treatments. ACE (Abundance-based Coverage Estimator) and Chao 1 indices peak at 12 h post-feeding and then decline over the next 8 h. The rumen microbiota was mainly composed of the phyla Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria without considering the diet and time. The Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt) functional profile prediction indicated that the carbohydrate metabolism was different at 9, 12 and 20 h post-feeding time, which revealed that the soluble carbohydrates were enough for microbial fermentation shortly after feeding. This research gave a further explanation of the interactions among rumen microorganisms, which could further help manipulate the rumen metabolism.