scholarly journals Ergovaline, an endophytic alkaloid. 1. Animal physiology and metabolism

2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (11) ◽  
pp. 1761 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Klotz ◽  
A. M. Nicol

Ergovaline is an ergot alkaloid found in some endophyte-infected ryegrasses and it has been implicated in the expression of ergotism-like symptoms of grazing livestock, as well as in the protection of the plant against invertebrate predation and abiotic stresses. These selection pressures have resulted in a conflict between the needs of the pasture for persistence and the needs of the animal for production. Ergovaline has not been well studied in terms of animal physiology until recently. There are several putative mechanisms that limit the bioavailability of ergovaline, ranging from microbial biotransformation to post-absorptive hepatic detoxification. Although there are mechanisms that protect the animal from ergovaline exposure, tissues are very sensitive to ergovaline, indicating that ergovaline is very potent and that small quantities have the potential to cause noticeable physiological effects. The range of physiological effects, including decreased circulating prolactin, vasoconstriction and increased susceptibility to heat stress are all linked to the interaction of ergovaline with biogenic amine receptors found throughout the body. This review will focus on understanding the variation of ergovaline concentration in terms of bioavailability, the myriad of hurdles a molecule of ergovaline must overcome to cause an effect, what the ergovaline-induced effects are in New Zealand livestock and how this relates to the potency of ergovaline.

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 3082
Author(s):  
Celia Delgado ◽  
Freddy Mora-Poblete ◽  
Sunny Ahmar ◽  
Jen-Tsung Chen ◽  
Carlos R. Figueroa

Soil salinity is one of the most limiting stresses for crop productivity and quality worldwide. In this sense, jasmonates (JAs) have emerged as phytohormones that play essential roles in mediating plant response to abiotic stresses, including salt stress. Here, we reviewed the mechanisms underlying the activation and response of the JA-biosynthesis and JA-signaling pathways under saline conditions in Arabidopsis and several crops. In this sense, molecular components of JA-signaling such as MYC2 transcription factor and JASMONATE ZIM-DOMAIN (JAZ) repressors are key players for the JA-associated response. Moreover, we review the antagonist and synergistic effects between JA and other hormones such as abscisic acid (ABA). From an applied point of view, several reports have shown that exogenous JA applications increase the antioxidant response in plants to alleviate salt stress. Finally, we discuss the latest advances in genomic techniques for the improvement of crop tolerance to salt stress with a focus on jasmonates.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2836
Author(s):  
Khawar Shahzad ◽  
Muhammad Sultan ◽  
Muhammad Bilal ◽  
Hadeed Ashraf ◽  
Muhammad Farooq ◽  
...  

Poultry are one of the most vulnerable species of its kind once the temperature-humidity nexus is explored. This is so because the broilers lack sweat glands as compared to humans and undergo panting process to mitigate their latent heat (moisture produced in the body) in the air. As a result, moisture production inside poultry house needs to be maintained to avoid any serious health and welfare complications. Several strategies such as compressor-based air-conditioning systems have been implemented worldwide to attenuate the heat stress in poultry, but these are not economical. Therefore, this study focuses on the development of low-cost and environmentally friendly improved evaporative cooling systems (DEC, IEC, MEC) from the viewpoint of heat stress in poultry houses. Thermodynamic analysis of these systems was carried out for the climatic conditions of Multan, Pakistan. The results appreciably controlled the environmental conditions which showed that for the months of April, May, and June, the decrease in temperature by direct evaporative cooling (DEC), indirect evaporative cooling (IEC), and Maisotsenko-Cycle evaporative cooling (MEC) systems is 7–10 °C, 5–6.5 °C, and 9.5–12 °C, respectively. In case of July, August, and September, the decrease in temperature by DEC, IEC, and MEC systems is 5.5–7 °C, 3.5–4.5 °C, and 7–7.5 °C, respectively. In addition, drop in temperature-humidity index (THI) values by DEC, IEC, and MEC is 3.5–9 °C, 3–7 °C, and 5.5–10 °C, respectively for all months. Optimum temperature and relative humidity conditions are determined for poultry birds and thereby, systems’ performance is thermodynamically evaluated for poultry farms from the viewpoint of THI, temperature-humidity-velocity index (THVI), and thermal exposure time (ET). From the analysis, it is concluded that MEC system performed relatively better than others due to its ability of dew-point cooling and achieved THI threshold limit with reasonable temperature and humidity indexes.


2021 ◽  
pp. 144078332110001
Author(s):  
Stella Pennell

Airbnb is emblematic of a set of business practices commonly known as ‘the sharing economy’. It is a disruptive business model of homestay accommodation that has exploited conditions of growing precarity of work since 2008. Work precarity is particularly evident in regional tourist areas in New Zealand, which historically experience seasonal, part-time work and low wages. Airbnb draws specifically on the rhetoric of micro-entrepreneurism, with focus on individual freedom and choice: appealing concepts for those experiencing precarity. This article challenges the rhetoric of Airbnb and investigates notions of home, authenticity and hospitality that are reconceptualized under a specific regime of digital biopolitics. Drawing on research conducted in four regional tourist towns in New Zealand this article analyses the biopolitical interpellations that impact hosts’ subjectivities as entities in motion and considers the ways that the rationalities of Airbnb’s algorithms modulate the embodied behaviours of its hosts.


2012 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. R149-R156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaume Folch ◽  
Ignacio Pedrós ◽  
Iván Patraca ◽  
Francesc Sureda ◽  
Fèlix Junyent ◽  
...  

Leptin (Lep), an adipose-derived hormone, exerts very important functions in the body mainly on energy storage and availability. The physiological effects of Lep controlling the body weight and suppressing appetite are mediated by the long form of Lep receptor in the hypothalamus. Lep receptor activates several downstream molecules involved in key pathways related to cell survival such as STAT3, PI3K, MAPK, AMPK, CDK5 and GSK3β. Collectively, these pathways act in a coordinated manner and form a network that is fully involved in Lep physiological response. Although the major interest in Lep is related to its role in the regulation of energy balance, and since resistance to Lep affects is the primary risk factor for obesity, the interest on their effects on brain cognition and neuroprotection is increasing. Thus, Lep and Lep mimetic compounds now await and deserve systematic exploration as the orchestrator of protective responses in the nervous system. Moreover, Lep might promote the activation of a cognitive process that may retard or even partially reverse selected aspects of Alzheimer's disease or ageing memory loss.


1997 ◽  
Vol 31 (18) ◽  
pp. 2905-2914 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith R. Lassey ◽  
Marcus J. Ulyatt ◽  
Ross J. Martin ◽  
Carolyn F. Walker ◽  
I. David Shelton

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Mohamed S. El-Kholy ◽  
Mohamed M. El-Mekkawy ◽  
Mahmoud Madkour ◽  
Nafisa Abd El-Azeem ◽  
Alessandro Di Cerbo ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. medhum-2020-012038
Author(s):  
Rhonda Shaw ◽  
Robert Webb

In this article, we refer to the separation of solid organs from the body as bio-objects. We suggest that the transfer of these bio-objects is connected to emotions and affects that carry a range of different social and cultural meanings specific to the context of Aotearoa New Zealand. The discussion draws on research findings from a series of qualitative indepth interview studies conducted from 2008 to 2013 with Māori (the Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand) and Pākehā (European settler New Zealanders) concerning their views on organ donation and transplantation. Our findings show both differences and similarities between Māori and Pākehā understandings of transplantation. Nevertheless, while many Māori draw on traditional principles, values and beliefs to reflect on their experiences in relation to embodiment, gift-giving, identity and well-being, Pākehā tend to subscribe to more Western understandings of identity in terms of health and well-being, in line with international literature on the topic. Rather than reflecting individualistic notions of the body and transplantation as the endpoint of healthcare as do Pākehā, Māori views are linked to wider conceptions of family, ancestry and belonging, demonstrating how different rationalities and ontologies affect practices and understandings surrounding organ transfer technology. In the article, we focus predominantly on Māori perspectives of organ transfer, contextualising the accounts and experiences of our research participants against the backdrop of a long history of settler colonialism and health inequalities in Aotearoa New Zealand.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophia R. Cameron-Christie ◽  
Justin Wilde ◽  
Andrew Gray ◽  
Rick Tankard ◽  
Melanie Bahlo ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
R C McLean ◽  
G H Galbraith ◽  
D Stewart

This paper summarizes the factors which influence the energy exchange processes between an individual and his surroundings and the mechanisms by which the body attempts to maintain itself in a heat balance situation. Thereafter, the important physiological reactions to hot working conditions are described and, on this basis, a numerical assessment procedure is proposed. Examples are given of the use of this method in investigating the possibility of heat stress and estimating the time for which an acclimatized worker can safely be exposed in such circumstances. An increase in the permissible exposure time through a manipulation of the environmental parameters is also considered.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayat Ali Alafari ◽  
Magda Abdelgawad

Abstract BackgroundWithin their natural habitat, plants are subjected to abiotic stresses that include heat stress. In the current study, the effect of 4h, 24h and 48h of heat stress on Tetraena propinqua ssp. migahidii seedling’s protein profile and proteomic analyses were investigated. ResultsTotal soluble protein SDS-PAGE profile showed 18-protein bands downregulated at 4h and 48h, however, 20-protein bands were upregulated at 24h of heat stress. A proteomic analysis showed that 81 and 59 targets are involved in gene and protein expression respectively. ConclusionsThe genes and proteins involved in transcription, translation, photosynthesis, transport and other unknown metabolic processes, were differentially expressed under treatments of heat stress. These findings provide insights into the molecular mechanisms related to heat stress, in addition to its influence on the physiological traits of T. propinqua seedlings. Heat stress mediated differential regulation genes indicate a role in development and stress response of T. propinqua. The candidate dual specificity genes identified in this study paves way for more molecular analysis of up- and down-regulation.


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