'Love at first sight': The effect of personality and colouration patterns in the reproductive success of zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Individual differences in animal personality and external appearance such as colouration patterns have both been extensively studied separately. A significant body of research has explored many of pertinent ecological and biological aspects that can be affected by them and their impact upon fitness. Currently little is known about how both factors interact and their effect on reproductive success. In this study, we evaluated two major parameters contributing to the fitness of the species: reproduction and offspring survival. We selected two different phenotypes of the zebrafish (Danio rerio) selected by their colouration patterns: phenotype 1) named Wild type, UAB line (WT-UAB) with a homogeneous colouration pattern (clear and defined lateral stripes) and phenotype 2) Wild type indefinite (WT-I) had a heterogeneous colouration pattern and different degrees of lateral stripe definition. All animals were also screened for personality. We then compared their reproductive success (spawning rate) and offspring survival at different stages, from egg to larvae, and for 2 successive generations (parental generation was G0; First and second generations were G1 and G2 respectively). Our results show that personality traits were the main source of variability between the fitness components measured: both personalities had similar total numbers of eggs spawned but proactive animals, for both colour phenotypes, had higher reproductive success. This was reflected in a higher percentage of spawning viability at 1day post fertilization (dpf), higher total survival and growth rates at larval stages. Proactive phenotypes from WT-UAB population had a higher overall fitness in comparison to the other phenotypes studied. Our findings imply that fitness of this species when kept under similar husbandry conditions is significantly influenced by parental personality and not by their external appearance. Under these conditions the reproductive success is enhanced. The implications of this study are important for zebrafish breeding and husbandry in captivity and are relevant toward understanding the underlying drivers of trait selection in natural environments.

Fish can show emotional fever: stress-induced hyperthermia in zebrafish.

Whether fishes are sentient beings remains an unresolved and controversial question. Among characteristics thought to reflect a low level of sentience in fishes is an inability to show stress-induced hyperthermia (SIH), a transient rise in body temperature shown in response to a variety of stressors. This is a real fever response, so is often referred to as 'emotional fever'. It has been suggested that the capacity for emotional fever evolved only in amniotes (mammals, birds and reptiles), in association with the evolution of consciousness in these groups. According to this view, lack of emotional fever in fishes reflects a lack of consciousness. We report here on a study in which six zebrafish groups with access to a temperature gradient were either left as undisturbed controls or subjected to a short period of confinement. The results were striking: compared to controls, stressed zebrafish spent significantly more time at higher temperatures, achieving an estimated rise in body temperature of about 2-4°C. Thus, zebrafish clearly have the capacity to show emotional fever. While the link between emotion and consciousness is still debated, this finding removes a key argument for lack of consciousness in fishes.

[Telemedicine in Bolivia: RAFT-Altiplano project, experiences, future prospects, and recommendations]. / Telemedicina en Bolivia: proyecto RAFT-Altiplano, experiencias, perspectivas y recomendaciones.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the RAFT-Altiplano project (RAFT: Réseau en Afrique Francophone pour la Télémédecine, or African Francophone Telemedicine Network) is to evaluate the viability, potential, and risks of implementing and developing a telemedicine network in the context of a developing country-specifically, the Altiplano region of Bolivia-to improve access to medical care and continuing education in a rural area. The activities described in this report took place between 2011 and 2013. METHODS: Digital telemedicine equipment was donated to the health centers and a Microsoft®-based platform capable of integration with other technologies (using standardized formats) was developed to manage documents and clinical content electronically. Health professionals were trained in teleconsultation and the teleconsultation workflow was designed. The tele-education system used is Dudal, which requires only a small bandwidth. RESULTS: After three years of implementation, an organized working structure of teleconsultation and tele-education tools, adapted to the Latin American context, is now in place and connections have been established with hospitals, institutions, and health centers. The project has improved access to specialized medical care in remote health centers and third-level hospitals in urban areas, and it has become the foundation for development of the national project "TeleSalud for Bolivia" promoted by the Ministry of Health, which involves use of the new Bolivian satellite, Túpac Katari. CONCLUSIONS: It is viable to develop and set up telemedicine tools to serve the population in remote regions of Bolivia when they are made available to government and municipal health institutions and communication between them and the health centers takes place in a coordinated manner. The sharing of experiences, challenges, and risks encountered is very useful in designing and implementing the telemedicine project "TeleSalud for Bolivia" on a national scale.

Telemedicina en Bolivia: proyecto RAFT-Altiplano, experiencias, perspectivas y recomendaciones / Telemedicine in Bolivia: RAFT-Altiplano project, experiences, future prospects, and recommendations

OBJETIVO: El objetivo del proyecto RAFT-Altiplano (RAFT, Red Africana Francófona de Telemedicina) es evaluar la viabilidad, potencialidad y riesgos de la implementación y el desarrollo de una red de telemedicina en el contexto de un país en desarrollo, como es el caso del Altiplano de Bolivia, para mejorar el acceso a la atención médica y la formación continua en el área rural. En este estudio se describe el desarrollo de dicho proyecto entre 2011 y 2013. MÉTODOS: Se donaron equipos de telemedicina digitales a los centros de salud y se desarrolló una plataforma basada en tecnología Microsoft®integrable con otras tecnologías (con formatos estándares), para gestionar electrónicamente contenidos y documentos clínicos. Se ha capacitado a los profesionales de la salud para realizar las teleconsultas y se ha diseñado un flujo de trabajo de teleconsulta. El sistema de teleenseñanza utilizado es Dudal, porque requiere poco ancho de banda. RESULTADOS: Tras tres años de implementación se dispone de una estructura de trabajo organizada con los diferentes hospitales, instituciones y centros de salud adaptada al contexto latinoamericano para la implementación y utilización de herramientas de teleconsulta y teleenseñanza. El proyecto ha mejorado el acceso a la atención médica especializada en los centros de salud alejados y en los hospitales de tercer nivel de zonas urbanas y ha sido la antesala del desarrollo del proyecto nacional "TeleSalud para Bolivia" promovido por el Ministerio de Salud que contempla la utilización del nuevo satélite boliviano Túpac Katari. CONCLUSIONES: Es viable desarrollar e implementar herramientas de telemedicina en regiones remotas de Bolivia en beneficio de la población cuando se ponen a disposición de las instituciones gubernamentales y municipales de salud y el trabajo entre ellas y los centros asistenciales se realiza de forma coordinada. La comunicación de experiencias, dificultades y riesgos identificados es sumamente útil para diseñar e implementar el proyecto de telemedicina "TeleSalud para Bolivia" a escala nacional.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the RAFT-Altiplano project (RAFT: Réseau en Afrique Francophone pour la Télémédecine, or African Francophone Telemedicine Network) is to evaluate the viability, potential, and risks of implementing and developing a telemedicine network in the context of a developing country-specifically, the Altiplano region of Bolivia-to improve access to medical care and continuing education in a rural area. The activities described in this report took place between 2011 and 2013. METHODS: Digital telemedicine equipment was donated to the health centers and a Microsoft®-based platform capable of integration with other technologies (using standardized formats) was developed to manage documents and clinical content electronically. Health professionals were trained in teleconsultation and the teleconsultation workflow was designed. The tele-education system used is Dudal, which requires only a small bandwidth. RESULTS: After three years of implementation, an organized working structure of teleconsultation and tele-education tools, adapted to the Latin American context, is now in place and connections have been established with hospitals, institutions, and health centers. The project has improved access to specialized medical care in remote health centers and third-level hospitals in urban areas, and it has become the foundation for development of the national project "TeleSalud for Bolivia" promoted by the Ministry of Health, which involves use of the new Bolivian satellite, Túpac Katari. CONCLUSIONS: It is viable to develop and set up telemedicine tools to serve the population in remote regions of Bolivia when they are made available to government and municipal health institutions and communication between them and the health centers takes place in a coordinated manner. The sharing of experiences, challenges, and risks encountered is very useful in designing and implementing the telemedicine project "TeleSalud for Bolivia" on a national scale.

Behavioural fever is a synergic signal amplifying the innate immune response.

Behavioural fever, defined as an acute change in thermal preference driven by pathogen recognition, has been reported in a variety of invertebrates and ectothermic vertebrates. It has been suggested, but so far not confirmed, that such changes in thermal regime favour the immune response and thus promote survival. Here, we show that zebrafish display behavioural fever that acts to promote extensive and highly specific temperature-dependent changes in the brain transcriptome. The observed coupling of the immune response to fever acts at the gene-environment level to promote a robust, highly specific time-dependent anti-viral response that, under viral infection, increases survival. Fish that are not offered a choice of temperatures and that therefore cannot express behavioural fever show decreased survival under viral challenge. This phenomenon provides an underlying explanation for the varied functional responses observed during systemic fever. Given the effects of behavioural fever on survival and the fact that it exists across considerable phylogenetic space, such immunity-environment interactions are likely to be under strong positive selection.

Characteristics of rabbit muscle adenylate kinase inhibition by ascorbate.

Earlier studies [1-3] showed that of the glycolytic enzymes, the muscle isozymes PFK-1, LDH, and AK were inhibited by ascorbic acid. These studies on the characteristics of the inhibition of RMAK by ascorbate are part of a hypothesis [3] that ascorbate facilitates the storage of skeletal muscle glycogen by inhibiting glycolysis when the muscle is at rest. These studies examine conditions for RMAK inhibition, prevention of inhibition, and reversal of ascorbate inhibition. We found that the concentration of RMAK was an important condition for inhibition. Above 200 nM RMAK, inhibition by ascorbate could not be demonstrated and below that concentration RMAK became increasingly sensitive to ascorbate inhibition. Associated with increased sensitivity to inhibition by ascorbate is a deviation from a linear to a concave relationship between low RMAK concentrations and enzyme activity. At low RMAK concentrations, the concave relationship becomes convex in the presence of muscle aldolase. In addition, aldolase reverses inhibitions by ascorbate. A comparison of inhibition of RMAK byascorbate and inhibition of LDH-m4 [3] is discussed. Other proteins prevent RMAK inhibition but do not reverse inhibition by ascorbate. The role of RMAK as a factor in the control of the rate of glycolysis is presented as is the role of compartmentalization with respect to the proposed role for ascorbate inhibition.

Health disparities and advertising content of women's magazines: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Disparities in health status among ethnic groups favor the Caucasian population in the United States on almost all major indicators. Disparities in exposure to health-related mass media messages may be among the environmental factors contributing to the racial and ethnic imbalance in health outcomes. This study evaluated whether variations exist in health-related advertisements and health promotion cues among lay magazines catering to Hispanic, African American and Caucasian women. METHODS: Relative and absolute assessments of all health-related advertising in 12 women's magazines over a three-month period were compared. The four highest circulating, general interest magazines oriented to Black women and to Hispanic women were compared to the four highest-circulating magazines aimed at a mainstream, predominantly White readership. Data were collected and analyzed in 2002 and 2003. RESULTS: Compared to readers of mainstream magazines, readers of African American and Hispanic magazines were exposed to proportionally fewer health-promoting advertisements and more health-diminishing advertisements. Photographs of African American role models were more often used to advertise products with negative health impact than positive health impact, while the reverse was true of Caucasian role models in the mainstream magazines. CONCLUSION: To the extent that individual levels of health education and awareness can be influenced by advertising, variations in the quantity and content of health-related information among magazines read by different ethnic groups may contribute to racial disparities in health behaviors and health status.

Aldolase and actin protect rabbit muscle lactate dehydrogenase from ascorbate inhibition.

Muscle-type LDH (LDH-m4) activity is critical for efficient anaerobic glycolysis. The results here show that rabbit LDH-M4 is inhibited by concentrations of ascorbate normally found in tissues. Aldolase and muscle G-actin were found to protect and to reverse inhibitions of LDH-m4 by ascorbate. G-actins showed some species specificity. Myosin, tropomyosin and troponin from rabbit muscle and muscle proteins from other animal sources had no affect on the inhibitions by ascorbate. The substrate inhibition of LDH-m4 by pyruvate is partially relieved by the presence of aldolase and lowers the Km without affecting the Vm. G-actin under similar conditions has no affect. It is believed that these studies reflect some of the resting properties of glycolytic enzymes that bind and unbind to contractile elements. It is proposed that ascorbate facilitates the storage of glycogen in muscle at rest by inhibiting glycolysis.

Genetic profiling defines the xenobiotic gene network controlled by the nuclear receptor pregnane X receptor.

The orphan nuclear receptor pregnane X receptor (PXR) is essential for the transcriptional regulation of hepatic xenobiotic enzymes including the cytochrome 3A isoenzymes. These enzymes are central to the catabolism and clearance of most endogenous sterol metabolites (endobiotics) and a vast diversity of foreign compounds (xenobiotics) including pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and toxins encountered through diet and environmental exposure. To explore a broader role of PXR in the mammalian xenobiotic response, we have conducted a unique microarray gene profiling analysis on liver samples derived from PXR knockout mice and mice expressing a constitutively active variant, VP-hPXR. This genetically guided expression analysis enables targeting and restriction of the PXR response to liver, and is devoid of side effects resulting from drugs and their metabolites. As with pharmacological studies, receptor-dependent genes include both phase I and phase II metabolic enzymes, as well as certain drug and anion transporters as principal PXR targets. Moreover, comparative analysis of data from both genetic and pharmacological arrays reveals a core network that represents a genetic description of the xenobiotic response.

Towards a bioinformatics network for Latin America and the Caribbean (LACBioNet).

Bioinformatics is increasingly recognised as a crucial field for research and development in the biological sciences, and forms an integral part of genomics, proteomics and modern biotechnology. Worldwide participation is important, and scientists in developing countries can contribute to this field. Regional networks for bioinformatics are highly beneficial for capacity strengthening and cooperation, and for establishing productive interactions between scientists in the fields of biological and informatics sciences. Such a network (LACBioNet) is being organised for Latin America and the Caribbean. Its immediate goals include the organisation and extension of nodes and services, information and communication, research and development in different specialty fields of bioinformatics, and training and human resource development.