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Biomedical subjects

B A Rattner

Publications and source records attributed to B A Rattner.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Developmental toxicity of diphenyl ether herbicides in nestling American kestrels.

Beginning the day after hatching, American kestrel (Falco sparverius) nestlings were orally dosed for 10 consecutive days with 5 microliters/g of corn oil (controls) or one of the diphenyl ether herbicides (nitrofen, bifenox, or oxyfluorfen) at concentrations of 10, 50, 250, or 500 mg/kg in corn oil. At 500 mg/kg, nitrofen resulted in complete nestling mortality, bifenox in high (66%) mortality, and oxyfluorfen in no mortality. Nitrofen at 250 mg/kg reduced nestling growth as reflected by decreased body weight, crown-rump length, and bone lengths including humerus, radius-ulna, femur, and tibiotarsus. Bifenox at 250 mg/kg had less effect on growth than nitrofen, but crown-rump, humerus, radius-ulna, and femur were significantly shorter than controls. Liver weight as a percent of body weight increased with 50 and 250 mg/kg nitrofen. Other manifestations of impending hepatotoxicity following nitrofen ingestion included increased hepatic GSH peroxidase activity in all nitrofen-treated groups, and increased plasma enzyme activities for ALT, AST, and LDH-L in the 250-mg/kg group. Bifenox ingestion resulted in increased hepatic GSH peroxidase activity in the 50- and 250-mg/kg groups. Nitrofen exposure also resulted in an increase in total plasma thyroxine (T4) concentration. These findings suggest that altricial nestlings are more sensitive to diphenyl ether herbicides than young or adult birds of precocial species.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Comparative toxicity of lead shot in black ducks (Anas rubripes) and mallards (Anas platyrhynchos).

In winter, pen-reared and wild black ducks (Anas rubripes), and game farm and wild mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), maintained on pelleted feed, were sham-dosed or given one number 4 lead shot. After 14 days, dosed birds were redosed with two or four additional lead shot. This dosing regimen also was repeated in summer using pen-reared black ducks and game farm mallards. Based upon mortality, overt intoxication, weight change, delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase activity and protoporphyrin concentration, black ducks and mallards were found to be equally tolerant to lead shot. However, captive wild ducks were more sensitive than their domesticated counterparts, as evidenced by greater mortality and weight loss following lead shot administration. This difference may be related to stress associated with captivity and unnatural diet.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1987

Embryotoxicity, teratogenicity, and aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity in Forster's terns on Green Bay, Lake Michigan.

Known reproductive problems, including congenital malformations and poor hatching success, exist for the state endangered Forster's tern (Sterna forsteri) in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Twenty Forster's tern eggs were collected from separate nests at a natural colony with documented reproductive problems, situated at Green Bay, Lake Michigan, and an inland colony at Lake Poygan (control) where reproduction was documented as normal. Eggs from the two locations were placed in the same laboratory incubator and candled throughout incubation. Hatching success of Green Bay eggs was 52% of that for controls. Several early embryonic deaths occurred, but most mortality occurred close to the time of hatching. Liver microsomal aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity was elevated approximately threefold in Green Bay hatchlings compared to controls. Green Bay terns that hatched weighed less than controls, had an increased liver to body weight ratio, and had a shorter femur length. Two Green Bay embryos that failed to hatch had anomalies, one with a crossed beak and one with poor ossification of the foot. One Green Bay hatchling had an abnormally ossified ilium. These effects were observed in eggs where there were measureable levels of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase inducers including polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Depression of plasma luteinizing hormone concentration in quail by the anticholinesterase insecticide parathion.

To examine the effects of parathion on basal plasma luteinizing hormone (LH) concentration, male Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) were orally intubated with 0, 5 or 10 mg/kg parathion and sacrificed after 4, 8 and 24 hr. At the 5 mg/kg dose, plasma LH levels were reduced at 4 and 8 hr, but returned to control values by 24 hr. Brain acetylcholinesterase activity was substantially reduced by 10 mg/kg parathion (52, 75 and 37% inhibition at 4, 8 and 24 hr, respectively) and plasma LH concentration remained depressed through the 24-hr period. These findings suggest that the organophosphorus insecticide parathion may alter plasma LH concentration in a manner which might impair reproductive activity, and provide indirect evidence for a cholinergic component in the regulation of LH secretion in quail.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed1986

Association between PCBs and lower embryonic weight in black-crowned night herons in San Francisco Bay.

Reproductive problems, including congenital malformations, reduced hatching success, and decreased survival of hatchlings, have been observed in colonial-nesting water birds at the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge (SFBNWR). Twenty-four black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) eggs were collected from SFBNWR in 1983. Twelve of these were collected from separate nests when late-stage embryos were pipping, and an additional egg was randomly collected from each nest for organochlorine analysis. Overt anomalies and skeletal defects were not apparent. Embryonic weights (with partially absorbed yolk sacs removed) were 15% lower (p less than 0.05) in SFBNWR embryos compared to control embryos from the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (PWRC). Crown-rump length and femur length were shorter for SFBNWR embryos. The geometric mean polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentration in SFBNWR eggs was 4.1 ppm wet weight, with a range of 0.8-52.0 ppm. A negative correlation (r = -0.61; p less than 0.05) existed between embryonic weight and log-transformed PCB residues in whole eggs collected from the same nest at SFBNWR, suggesting a possible impact of PCBs on embryonic growth. A correlation with embryonic weight did not occur for DDE [1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl) ethylene] residues. Liver microsomal aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity was neither significantly elevated nor correlated with PCB, DDE, or PCB plus DDE log-transformed residues. It is unknown whether the apparent association between PCBs and lower weight is persistent through hatching.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Organophosphorus insecticide induced decrease in plasma luteinizing hormone concentration in white-footed mice.

Oral intubation of 50 and 100 mg/kg acephate inhibited brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity by 45% and 56%, and reduced basal luteinizing hormone (LH) concentration by 29% and 25% after 4 h in white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus noveboracensis). Dietary exposure to 25, 100, and 400 ppm acephate for 5 days substantially inhibited brain AChE activity, but did not affect plasma LH concentration. These preliminary findings suggest that acute exposure to organophosphorus insecticides may affect LH secretion and possibly reproductive function.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed1979

Cross-adaptive effects of cold, hypoxia, or physical training on decompression sickness in mice.

The effects of adaptation to cold, hypoxia, or exercise on hyperbaric decompression tolerance were investigated in two factorial experiments. For either 14 or 28 days, groups of mice were handled (control); exposed discontinuously for 4 h to cold (4 degrees C) or hypoxia (P approximately 379 or 320 Torr); or exercised by swimming (15 min at 31 degrees C) or treadmill excursion (8.1 m/min for 1 or 1.5 h). The animals were divided into subgroups, exposed to one of three hydrostatic pressures (7.6--11.1 ATA) for 30 min, decompressed, and observed to determine survival rate or bends incidence (type II decompression sickness). Decompression sickness was significantly reduced (P less than 0.05) in the treadmill-trained animals, was unchanged in cold-exposed and swim-exercised mice, and tended to increase in animals adapted to hypoxia. Enhanced tolerance by treadmill training is presumably due to lean body conformation, which could reduce nitrogen saturation of tissues, and greater muscle capillarization and cardiovascular fitness, which may improve nitrogen elimination. Reduced tolerance with adaptation to hypoxia may be attributed to rheological changes associated with polycythemia, which facilitate bubble production.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1979

Plasma gonadotrophins and progesterone concentrations during various degrees of underfeeding in pregnant mice.

Daily reduction of the normal (ad libitum) food consumption by as little as 35% significantly reduced (P less than 0.05) the percentage of mice with implantation sites at Days 7 and 9 of gestation. Underfeeding decreased body weight and reduced the weight of the ovaries and uterus. Plasma progesterone was decreased (P less than 0.05) as dietary intake was restricted and was associated with regression of the corpora lutea. No significant alterations in the plasma values of LH and FSH were observed in mice underfed between Days 1 and 9 of pregnancy. The decrease in plasma progesterone in the absence of reduced LH values may indicate that progesterone secretion between Days 5 and 9 of gestation is not controlled solely by LH.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Adrenal function and the incidence of bends after decompression in mice: effect of adrenalectomy, corticosteroids, decompression intensity, and time of day.

The adrenocortical endocrine subsystem has been demonstrated to enhance mammalian tolerance to harsh environmental conditions, including hypoxia and temperature extremes. In a series of factorial experiments, mice were exposed to one of three elevated hydrostatic pressures for 30 min and then decompressed (0.75 atm/s). It was demonstrated that 1) tolerance to decompression does not differ significantly (P greater than 0.3) in surgically intact, sham adrenalectomized, or in adrenalectomized animals; 2) intraperitoneal administration of pharmacologic doses (0.4, 1.0, and 2.0 mg/mouse) or corticosterone or deoxycorticosterone acetate does not significantly enhance (P greater than 0.1) survivorship when compared to vehicle-injected controls; and 3) the incidence of decompression sickness (DS) does not fluctuate with time of day (P greater than 0.4). In a fourth study, the plasma concentration of corticosterone was quantitated in 1) colony control mice, 2) mice exposed to the 1-ATA chamber environment (chamber control), or 3) mice compressed to 3, 5, 7, 9, or 11 ATA and then decompressed. In general, plasma corticosterone in symptom-free mice was elevated approximately threefold (P less than 0.05) by exposure to the 1-ATA chamber environment and by decompression from 3 to 11 ATA. At 11 ATA, plasma corticosterone levels in decompressed mice exhibiting decompression sickness symptoms were significantly elevated (P less than 0.05) compared to the levels observed in decompressed symptom-free mice. These studies indicate that adrenocortical function does not enhance tolerance to decompression in mice.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMed1978

Embryonic implantation, dietary intake, and plasma GH concentration in pregnant mice exposed to hypoxia.

Inseminated mice were: 1) exposed to 8% O2, 2) pair fed to mice exposed to 8% O2, 3) fasted at 21% O2 or 4) maintained at 21% O2 (control) between Days 1-3 of pregnancy. The frequency of embryonic implantation sites in mice was reduced by greater than 60% in 8% O2 exposed and pair fed animals, and by 100% in fasted mice. During the initial 24 h of exposure to 8% O2, a significant component of the body weight lost by hypoxic mice was associated with the reduction in dietary intake. The contragestational effects of hypoxia and fasting were attributed to the endocrine consequences of inanition induced by hypophagia and adypsia. Plasma samples collected at 6-h intervals revealed a significant reduction in GH concentration in treatment groups compared to the controls.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Effects of hypoxia on early pregnancy and embryonic development in the mouse.

The efficacy of gestation during early pregnancy was investigated in mice exposed to either 14% or 7% oxygen environments. At Day 8 postinsemination, animals were killed and reproductive tracts were examined. Embryonic development was decelerated and an increased frequency of embryo death and resorption was apparent. At the 7% oxygen level, implantation was almost always blocked as evidenced by free blastocysts and uterine debris of embryonic origin. This blockage of nidation is attributed to altered progestational support due to ovarian luteolysis as demonstrated by decreased uterine volumes. These studies indicate that reproduction is impaired by hypoxia during preplacental stages. Abnormal gestation may be attributed to the direct effects of hypoxia on the conceptus and to its indirect effects which alter the tropic and endocrine support provided by the maternal system.

Animals↗