Purpose. Few studies have examined the impact of long-term treatments or exposures on the development of cataract in maturity-onset animal models. We studied the effect of treatment with D-pantethine ...and exposure to ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation on the development of lenticular opacity in the Emory mouse. Methods. A total of 164 Emory mice were randomized by litter at weaning to exposure to UVB light at 12 mJ/cm 2 for 6 hr/day (UV) or usual room light (A), and within litter, were further randomized to bi-weekly intra-peritoneal injections of 0.8 g/kg pantethine (T) or no treatment (C). Retro illumination lens photos were taken at 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 months after weaning, and graded in masked fashion. The animals were sacrificed at 10 months and the lenses analyzed for total pantethine and total cysteamine. Results. Lens pantethine and cysteamine levels were significantly (P < 0.001) higher for the T as compared to C litters. Mean cataract grade increased monotonically over time for all four groups. Unadjusted mean grade for the AT group at 8 (1.32) and 10 (1.86) months appeared lower than for the other groups (AC: 2.17, 2.39; UVC: 1.77, 2.40; UVT: 1.88, 2.37). However, the mean grade for the pantethine-treated litters did not differ significantly from the untreated litters except at 2 months (when untreated litters had significantly lower grades), when adjusting for UV treatment, gender and litter effect. No significant difference in cataract score existed between UV-exposed and ambient litters. Mortality was higher among pantethine-treated (hazard ratio = 1.8, p = 0.05) and UV-exposed animals (hazard ratio = 1.8, p = 0.03) than among the untreated and unexposed litters. Conclusion. Significantly increased lens levels of pantethine are achieved with long-term intra-peritoneal dosing. The impact of pantethine on the progression of lenticular opacity in the Emory mouse is less than has been reported in other models. This level of chronic UVB exposure appeared to have no effect on the development of cataract in this model.
We report morphometric data for 721 Anolis carolinensis from a pine-oak community near Aiken, South Carolina. We recorded an adult male: female ratio of 1.18:1. For our sample, a sexual dimorphism of ...larger males was reflected in snout-vent length (SVL) and body mass, with an average 10% bias for SVL and 30% for mass. Proportioned to respective SVL, tail length, head length, and head width tended to be larger in males. However, reduced major axis analyses indicated that these sex-biased dimorphisms were isometric, primarily reflecting the same male-larger scale relationship, and not disproportionate sexual dimorphic morphologies. The percent frequency of regenerated tails was unusually low (8%) and similar for both sexes. Coefficients of body condition indicated that lizards were heaviest during the post-breeding season (August-November) and lightest during the breeding season (April-July). Comparison of data from our population in South Carolina to those from other conspecific populations and anoline species suggests that (1) the intersexual difference in SVL increases with latitude, (2) the SVL/tail length ratio of A. carolinensis is intermediate between anoline "jumpers" and "runners", indicating a generalist at locomotion, and (3) at present, the sexual selection hypothesis, in contrast to the competition avoidance hypothesis or the female fecundity hypothesis, best explains the sexual size dimorphism observed in a northern latitude population of A. carolinensis.
Follicle and embryo development in the cottonmouth Agkistrodon piscivorus were studied in adult females collected from a cypress swamp along the Savannah River in Aiken County, South Carolina. ...Non-polar lipids were extracted from follicles, eggs, embryos, and neonates. Egg dry mass averaged 4.70 g and was composed of 23.6% non-polar lipids. Neonate dry mass averaged 3.35 g and was composed of 18.8% non-polar lipids. The rate of decrease in the dry mass of egg components remained fairly constant in the early stages of development and then accelerated during the last third of embryo development, a period that corresponds with the most rapid phase of embryo growth. An average of 57% of the original egg non-polar lipids remained in neonates as parental investment in care (PIC). At a temperature of 30 C, stored lipids would fuel a neonate's standard metabolic rate for approximately 22 days.
Eighty-one cases of testicular gonadal stromal tumor have been reported in the literature. An additional case is herein reported. The pathologic, immunohistologic, and histogenetic aspects are ...presented.
Reproductive effects in fathead minnows (Pimphales promelas) following a 21 d exposure to 17α-ethinylestradiol Armstrong, Brandon M; James M. LazorchakauthorU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Exposure Research Laboratory, 26 W. Martin Luther King Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA; Kathleen M. JensenauthorU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, 6201 Congdon Blvd, Duluth, MN 55804, USA ...
2015
Journal Article
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