Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Biomed Rep 2018 Dec 12;9(6):503-510. Epub 2018 Oct 12.

Department of Nephrology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 41110 Larissa, Greece.

Ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) injury causes several diseases, including acute kidney injury. Hibernating mammals survive periods of torpor with a marked drop in tissue perfusion, interspersed with periods of arousal, and consequently I-R injury. In the present study, sensitivity to anoxia and/or reoxygenation and alterations in cellular ATP and homeostasis of the two most energy consuming processes, protein translation and Na-K-ATPase function, were evaluated in renal proximal tubular epithelial cells of mouse or native hibernator hamster origin. Read More

Neurosci Lett 2018 Dec 5. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA. Electronic address:

Hibernation in mammals is a whole-body phenotype that involves profound reductions in oxygen consumption, metabolic reactions, core body temperature, neural activity and heart rate. An important aspect of mammalian hibernation is the ability to reverse this state of hypothermic torpor by rewarming and subsequent arousal. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) and skeletal muscle shivering have been characterized as the predominant driving forces for thermogenesis during arousal. Read More

Annu Rev Genet 2018 Nov;52:321-348

Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark; email:

Protein synthesis consumes a large fraction of available resources in the cell. When bacteria encounter unfavorable conditions and cease to grow, specialized mechanisms are in place to ensure the overall reduction of costly protein synthesis while maintaining a basal level of translation. A number of ribosome-associated factors are involved in this regulation; some confer an inactive, hibernating state of the ribosome in the form of 70S monomers (RaiA; this and the following are based on Escherichia coli nomenclature) or 100S dimers (RMF and HPF homologs), and others inhibit translation at different stages in the translation cycle (RsfS, YqjD and paralogs, SRA, and EttA). Read More

Oecologia 2018 Nov 20. Epub 2018 Nov 20.

Biology Department, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, SK, S4S 0A2, Canada.

Compared to mammals, there are relatively few studies examining heterothermy in birds. In 13 bird families known to contain heterothermic species, the common poorwill (Phalaenoptilus nuttallii) is the only species that ostensibly hibernates. We used temperature-sensitive radio-transmitters to collect roost and skin temperature (T) data, and winter roost preferences for free-ranging poorwills in southern Arizona. Read More

Biology (Basel) 2018 Nov 15;7(4). Epub 2018 Nov 15.

Department of Nephrology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 41110 Larissa, Greece.

Ischemia⁻reperfusion injury contributes to the pathogenesis of many diseases, with acute kidney injury included. Hibernating mammals survive prolonged bouts of deep torpor with a dramatic drop in blood pressure, heart, and breathing rates, interspersed with short periods of arousal and, consequently, ischemia⁻reperfusion injury. Clarifying the differences under warm anoxia or reoxygenation between human cells and cells from a native hibernator may reveal interventions for rendering human cells resistant to ischemia⁻reperfusion injury. Read More

DNA Res 2018 Nov 5. Epub 2018 Nov 5.

The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA.

The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is rising worldwide and 10-15% of the global population currently suffers from CKD and its complications. Given the increasing prevalence of CKD there is an urgent need to find novel treatment options. The American black bear (Ursus americanus) copes with months of lowered kidney function and metabolism during hibernation without the devastating effects on metabolism and other consequences observed in humans. Read More

J Comp Physiol B 2018 Nov 2. Epub 2018 Nov 2.

Department of Biology, Miami University, 45056, Oxford, OH, USA.

The terrestrially hibernating wood frog (Rana sylvatica) is well-known for its iconic freeze tolerance, an overwintering adaptation that has received considerable investigation over the past 35 years. Virtually, all of this research has concerned frogs indigenous to the temperate regions of its broad range within North America. However, recent investigations have shown that frogs of subarctic populations are extremely cold hardy, being capable of surviving freezing for longer periods and at much lower temperatures as compared to conspecifics from temperate regions. Read More

Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi 2018 Sep;43(18):3618-3623

Institute of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.

To study the suitable arousal modes of hibernating Whitmania pigra, the biological characteristics, activity of amylase, lipase, and protease as well as morphologic structure of digestive tract were investigated by direct observational method and 3, 5-dinitrosalicylic acid colorimetry, p-nitrophenyl palmitate ester（p-NPP）colorimetry, folin-phenol and histological methods. The results revealed that Wh. pigra activity was increased with increases of the water temperature and prolonging treating duration. Read More

Mol Neurobiol 2018 Oct 20. Epub 2018 Oct 20.

Cerebral Vascular Disease Research Laboratories, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, 33136, USA.

Neuroprotective agents administered post-cerebral ischemia have failed so far in the clinic to promote significant recovery. Thus, numerous efforts were redirected toward prophylactic approaches such as preconditioning as an alternative therapeutic strategy. Our laboratory has revealed a novel long-term window of cerebral ischemic tolerance mediated by resveratrol preconditioning (RPC) that lasts for 2 weeks in mice. Read More

Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2019 Jan 18;227:161-171. Epub 2018 Oct 18.

Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada. Electronic address:

Hibernating mammals use strong metabolic rate depression and a reduction in body temperature to near-ambient to survive the cold winter months. During torpor, protein synthesis is suppressed but can resume during interbout arousals. The current study aimed to identify molecular targets responsible for the global suppression of protein synthesis during torpor as well as possible mechanisms that could allow for selective protein translation to continue over this time. Read More

J Comp Physiol B 2018 Oct 13. Epub 2018 Oct 13.

Biology Department, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, 1725 State St. La Crosse, La Crosse, WI, 54601, USA.

13-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) enter hibernation as a survival strategy during extreme environmental conditions. Typical ground squirrel hibernation is characterized by prolonged periods of torpor with significantly reduced heart rate, blood pressure, and blood flow, interrupted every few weeks by brief interbout arousals (IBA) during which blood flow fluctuates dramatically. These physiological conditions should increase the risk of stasis-induced blood clots and myocardial ischemia. Read More

Open Biol 2018 Oct 10;8(10). Epub 2018 Oct 10.

Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Ministry of Education, Xi'an 710069, People's Republic of China

Mammalian hibernators experience repeated hypoxic ischaemia and reperfusion during the torpor-arousal cycle. We investigated levels of oxidative stress, antioxidant capacity, and the underlying mechanism in heart, liver, brain and kidney tissue as well as plasma during different periods of hibernation in Daurian ground squirrels (). Our data showed that the levels of hydrogen peroxide significantly increased in the heart and brain during late torpor (LT) compared with levels during the summer active (SA) state. Read More

Nat Commun 2018 10 9;9(1):4179. Epub 2018 Oct 9.

Department of Integrated Structural Biology, Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology, CNRS UMR710, INSERM U964, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, 67000, France.

In response to cellular stresses bacteria conserve energy by dimerization of ribosomes into inactive hibernating 100S ribosome particles. Ribosome dimerization in Thermus thermophilus is facilitated by hibernation-promoting factor (TtHPF). In this study we demonstrate high sensitivity of Tt100S formation to the levels of TtHPF and show that a 1:1 ratio leads to optimal dimerization. Read More

J Bacteriol 2018 Dec 26;200(24). Epub 2018 Nov 26.

Edward A. Doisy Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

The translationally silent 100S ribosome is a poorly understood form of the dimeric 70S complex that is ubiquitously found in all bacterial phyla. The elimination of the hibernating 100S ribosome leads to translational derepression, ribosome instability, antibiotic sensitivity, and biofilm defects in some bacteria. In , such as the opportunistic pathogen , a 190-amino acid protein called ibernating-romoting actor (HPF) dimerizes and conjoins two 70S ribosomes through a direct interaction between the HPF homodimer, with each HPF monomer tethered on an individual 70S complex. Read More

Naturwissenschaften 2018 Sep 17;105(9-10):58. Epub 2018 Sep 17.

CARMEN, INSERM U1060 / University of Lyon / INRA U1235, Oullins, France.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) exert several important functions across organ systems. During winter, hibernators divert PUFAs from oxidation, retaining them in their tissues and membranes, to ensure proper body functions at low body temperature. PUFAs are also precursors of eicosanoids with pro- and anti-inflammatory properties. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2018 ;1081:45-60

Department of Basic Veterinary Science, Laboratory of Physiology, The United Graduate School of Veterinary Sciences, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.

Some rodents including squirrels and hamsters undergo hibernation. During hibernation, body temperature drops to only a few degrees above ambient temperature. The suppression of whole-body energy expenditure is associated with regulated, but not passive, reduction of cellular metabolism. Read More

FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2018 Dec;94(12)

KU Leuven, Biology Department, Plant Population and Conservation Biology, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium.

Floral nectar represents an ephemeral habitat that is restricted in time and space to zoophilous flowering vegetation. To survive in these habitats, nectar-inhabiting microorganisms rely on animal vectors to disperse from one flower to the next. However, it remains unclear how nectar yeasts persist when flowers and nectar cease to be present. Read More

Front Physiol 2018 18;9:1235. Epub 2018 Sep 18.

Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria.

Dietary lipids strongly influence patterns of hibernation in heterotherms. Increased dietary uptake of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), particularly of linoleic acid (LA, C18:2 n-6), enables animals to reach lower body temperatures (T), lengthens torpor bout duration, and results in lower energy expenditure during hibernation. Conversely, dietary n-3 PUFA impacts negatively on hibernation performance. Read More

Biochem Cell Biol 2018 Sep 25. Epub 2018 Sep 25.

Carleton University, 6339, Biology , 1125 Colonel By Drive , Ottawa, Ontario, Canada , K1S 5B6 ;

Glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH) bridges carbohydrate and lipid metabolism by interconverting glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) and dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP). This reversible reaction converts G3P derived from triglyceride hydrolysis to DHAP that can then enter glycolysis or gluconeogenesis and, in the reverse reaction, makes G3P for use in triglyceride biosynthesis. Small hibernating mammals rely almost exclusively on triglyceride reserves as their fuel for energy production during torpor and the recovery of glycerol after lipolysis is an important source of carbohydrate over the non-feeding winter months. Read More

J Nucl Cardiol 2018 Sep 20. Epub 2018 Sep 20.

Nuclear Medicine Unit, Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences "Mario Serio", University of Florence, Largo Brambilla 3, 50134, Florence, Italy.

Background: This study examined whether measuring myocardial blood flow (MBF) in the sub-endocardial (SEN) and sub-epicardial (SEP) layers of the left ventricular myocardium using NH positron emission tomography (PET) and an automated procedure gives reasonable results in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: Resting and stress NH dynamic PET were performed in 70 patients. Using ≥ 70% diameter stenosis in invasive coronary angiography (ICA) to identify significant CAD, we examined the diagnostic value of SEN- and SEP-MBF, and coronary flow reserve (CFR) vs. Read More

Oecologia 2018 Nov 15;188(3):765-776. Epub 2018 Sep 15.

Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Sorbonne-Université, 61 rue Buffon, 75005, Paris, France.

Reproduction costs depend on the general life-history strategies employed by organisms for resource acquisition, the decision rules on resource allocation, and the resource availability. Although the predictability of resource availability is expected to influence the breeding strategy, the relationship between predictability and strategy has rarely been investigated at the population level. One reason is that, while the resource availability is commonly variable in space and time, their predictability is generally assumed constant. Read More

Brain Struct Funct 2018 Dec 15;223(9):4307-4321. Epub 2018 Sep 15.

Instituto Cajal, CSIC, Madrid, Spain.

Mammalian hibernation is a natural process in which the brain undergoes profound adaptive changes that appear to protect the brain from extreme hypoxia and hypothermia. In addition to a virtual cessation of neural and metabolic activity, these changes include a decrease in adult neurogenesis; the retraction of neuronal dendritic trees; changes in dendritic spines and synaptic connections; fragmentation of the Golgi apparatus; and the phosphorylation of the microtubule-associated protein tau. Furthermore, alterations of microglial cells also occur in torpor. Read More

Sci Rep 2018 Sep 11;8(1):13587. Epub 2018 Sep 11.

School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.

Ribosomes are the dynamic protein synthesis machineries of the cell. They may exist in different functional states in the cell. Therefore, it is essential to have structural information on these different functional states of ribosomes to understand their mechanism of action. Read More

Curr Biol 2018 Sep;28(17):R952-R955

Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. Electronic address:

In the beginning there was great confusion about animal migration. Aristotle, noting that the types of birds around him changed with the seasons, concluded that summer redstarts turned into robins at the onset of winter, and that garden warblers became blackcaps [1]. Others thought that birds disappear in winter because they hibernate submerged in mud. Read More

Proc Biol Sci 2018 Sep 5;285(1886). Epub 2018 Sep 5.

Department of Ocean Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada A1C 5S7.

Winter dormancy is used by many animals to survive the cold and food-poor high-latitude winter. Metabolic rate depression, an active downregulation of resting cellular energy turnover and thus standard (resting) metabolic rate (SMR), is a unifying strategy underlying the persistence of organisms in such energy-limited environments, including hibernating endotherms. However, controversy exists about its involvement in winter-dormant aquatic ectotherms. Read More

Nat Microbiol 2018 Oct 3;3(10):1115-1121. Epub 2018 Sep 3.

Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.

To survive under conditions of stress, such as nutrient deprivation, bacterial 70S ribosomes dimerize to form hibernating 100S particles. In γ-proteobacteria, such as Escherichia coli, 100S formation requires the ribosome modulation factor (RMF) and the hibernation promoting factor (HPF). Here we present single-particle cryo-electron microscopy structures of hibernating 70S and 100S particles isolated from stationary-phase E. Read More

Biotechnol Bioeng 2019 Jan 27;116(1):132-142. Epub 2018 Oct 27.

Department of Surgery, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

Cell-based therapies show promising results in cardiac function recovery mostly through paracrine-mediated processes (as angiogenesis) in chronic ischemia. In this study, we aim to develop a 2D (two-dimensional) in vitro cardiac hypoxia model mimicking severe cardiac ischemia to specifically investigate the prosurvival paracrine effects of adipose tissue-derived stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cell secretome released upon three-dimensional (3D) culture. For the 2D-cardiac hypoxia model, neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (CM) were cultured for 5 days at < 1% (approaching anoxia) oxygen (O ) tension. Read More

mSphere 2018 08 29;3(4). Epub 2018 Aug 29.

U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is causing significant declines in populations of North American hibernating bats, and recent western and southern expansions of the disease have placed additional species at risk. Understanding differences in species susceptibility and identifying management actions to reduce mortality of bats from WNS are top research priorities. However, the use of wild-caught susceptible bats, such as , as model species for WNS research is problematic and places additional pressure on remnant populations. Read More

J Exp Biol 2018 Oct 18;221(Pt 20). Epub 2018 Oct 18.

School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA

Physiological plasticity allows organisms to respond to diverse conditions. However, can being too plastic actually be detrimental? Malagasy common tenrecs, , have many plesiomorphic traits and may represent a basal placental mammal. We established a laboratory population of and found extreme plasticity in thermoregulation and metabolism, a novel hibernation form, variable annual timing, and remarkable growth and reproductive biology. Read More

Evol Med Public Health 2018 6;2018(1):186-189. Epub 2018 Aug 6.

Department of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pune, India.

Lay Summary: Different species of vertebrates have conditions similar to human obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Increasing number of studies are now revealing that the causes and interrelationships between these states are substantially different in different species. Comparative physiology may turn out to be an eye opener for evolutionary theories of diabetes. Read More

Fish Physiol Biochem 2018 Aug 23. Epub 2018 Aug 23.

Department of Animal Science, College of Agricultural Engineering, Technical University of Madrid, Avenida Puerta de Hierro 2, 28040, Madrid, Spain.

Fish normally undergo periods of food deprivation that are longer than non-hibernating mammals. In aquacultured rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), it is unclear how fasting may affect their physiological adaptative response, especially when they are normally fed daily. In addition, that response may vary with temperature, making it necessary to express fasting duration in terms of degree days. Read More

Sci Rep 2018 Aug 13;8(1):12047. Epub 2018 Aug 13.

Forestry Research Institute, Hokkaido Research Organization, Bibai, 079-0198, Japan.

Surviving winter is a challenge for endothermic animals living at high latitudes. In bats, some species migrate to milder climates in winter, but others presumably stay and hibernate in thermally buffered roosts. However, we know little about where, or in what roosts bats hibernate. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2018 Aug 10;19(8). Epub 2018 Aug 10.

Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong 637009, China.

Hibernation is an effective energy conservation strategy that has been widely adopted by animals to cope with unpredictable environmental conditions. The liver, in particular, plays an important role in adaptive metabolic adjustment during hibernation. Mammalian studies have revealed that many genes involved in metabolism are differentially expressed during the hibernation period. Read More

Aging Dis 2018 Aug 1;9(4):761-768. Epub 2018 Aug 1.

1Beijing Key Laboratory of Hypoxia Translational Medicine, Beijing 100053, China.

Hibernation is a unique physiological state that evolved to survive periods of food shortages. It is characterized by profound decreases in metabolic rate, body temperature and physiological functions. Studies have shown that animals in hibernation can resist neurological damage. Read More

Microbiome 2018 08 8;6(1):139. Epub 2018 Aug 8.

Mycology Laboratory, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, 120 New Scotland Avenue, Albany, NY, 12208, USA.

Background: Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), the causative fungal agent of white-nose syndrome (WNS), has led to the deaths of millions of hibernating bats in the United States of America (USA) and Canada. Efficient strategies are needed to decontaminate Pd from the bat hibernacula to interrupt the disease transmission cycle without affecting the native microbes. Previously, we discovered a novel Trichoderma polysporum (Tp) strain (WPM 39143), which inhibited the growth of Pd in autoclaved soil samples. Read More

Mol Ecol 2018 Aug 6. Epub 2018 Aug 6.

Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

Hibernation, the use of prolonged torpor to depress metabolism, is employed by mammals to conserve resources during extended periods of extreme temperatures and/or resource limitation. Mammalian hibernators arouse to euthermy periodically during torpor for reasons that are not well understood, and these arousals may facilitate immune processes. To determine whether arousals enable host responses to pathogens, we used dual RNA-Seq and a paired sampling approach to examine gene expression in a hibernating bat, the little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus). Read More

RNA 2018 11 31;24(11):1481-1495. Epub 2018 Jul 31.

RNA Bioscience Initiative, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA.

RNA editing diversifies genomically encoded information to expand the complexity of the transcriptome. In ectothermic organisms, including and , where body temperature mirrors ambient temperature, decreases in environmental temperature lead to increases in A-to-I RNA editing and cause amino acid recoding events that are thought to be adaptive responses to temperature fluctuations. In contrast, endothermic mammals, including humans and mice, typically maintain a constant body temperature despite environmental changes. Read More

Cryobiology 2018 Aug 6;83:1-8. Epub 2018 Jul 6.

Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Evolution, School of Life Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address:

Hibernation is an adaptive strategy used by some animals to cope with cold and food shortage. The heart rate, overall energy need, body temperature, and many other physiological functions are greatly reduced during torpor but promptly return to normal levels upon arousal. The heartbeat of torpid bats can be hundreds fold lower than that of active bats, indicating that hibernating bats have a remarkable ability to control excitation-contraction coupling in cardiac muscle. Read More

J Comp Physiol B 2018 Sep 23;188(5):863-876. Epub 2018 Jul 23.

Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Northwest University, Xi'an, 710069, People's Republic of China.

To determine whether the regulation of calpain system is involved in non-hibernators and hibernators in disused condition, the soleus (SOL) and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles were used for investigating the muscle mass, the ratio of muscle wet weight/body weight (MWW/BW), fiber-type distribution, fiber cross-sectional area (CSA), and the protein expression of MuRF1, calpain-1, calpain-2, calpastatin, desmin, troponin T, and troponin C in hindlimb unloading rats and hibernating Daurian ground squirrels. The muscle mass, MWW/BW, and fiber CSA were found significantly decreased in SOL and EDL of hindlimb unloading rats, but unchanged in hibernating ground squirrels. The MuRF1 expression was increased in both SOL and EDL of unloading rats, while it was only increased in SOL, but maintained in EDL of hibernating ground squirrels. Read More

Cell Signal 2018 Nov 17;51:1-12. Epub 2018 Jul 17.

Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Institutskaya 3, Pushchino, Moscow Region 142290, Russia; Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Butlerova Street 5A, 117485, Moscow, Russia. Electronic address:

True hibernators are remarkable group of mammals whose hearts are resistant to such stressors as deep hypothermia, ischemia, arrhythmia. Capability of cardiac cells from hibernating species to effectively rule Ca homeostasis during torpor is poorly studied. Better understanding of these mechanisms could allow to introduce new strategies for improvement the cardiac performance and may be useful for cardiovascular medicine. Read More

J Therm Biol 2018 Jul 28;75:38-44. Epub 2018 May 28.

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Université de Moncton, 18 Antonine-Maillet Avenue, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada E1A 3E9. Electronic address:

Small mammals hibernate to deal with environmental conditions associated with the winter season. Numerous physiological changes occur during a typical torpor-arousal cycle including variations in heart rate and blood flow. Such cycle possesses characteristics of ischemia-reperfusion cycles that can lead to oxidative stress in non-hibernating models. Read More

Mycopathologia 2018 Jul 9. Epub 2018 Jul 9.

Mycology Laboratory, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY, USA.

Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) is the etiologic agent of bat White-nose syndrome, a disease that has caused the unprecedented reduction in the hibernating bat populations across eastern North America. The Pd pathogenesis appears to be a complex adaptation of fungus in its abiotic (caves and mines) and biotic (bats) environments. There is a general lack of experimental tools for the study of Pd biology. Read More

J Surg Case Rep 2018 May 22;2018(5):rjy105. Epub 2018 May 22.

Department of Thoracic Surgery, Swedish Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USA.

We present a case of gastric hibernoma, an unusual tumor with a location novel to the literature. A 39-year-old female presented with one year of upper gastrointestinal bleeding and dysphagia. Gastroenterology performed an esophagogastroduodenoscopy with ultrasound and identified a 6 cm mass within the muscularis propria of the antrum. Read More

Curr Heart Fail Rep 2018 Aug;15(4):214-223

The Rayne Institute, St Thomas' Hospital, 4th Floor Lambeth Wing, Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7EH, UK.

Purpose Of Review: Hibernation is an important and reversible cause of myocardial dysfunction in ischaemic heart failure.

Recent Findings: Hibernation is an adaptive process that promotes myocyte survival over maintaining contractile function. It is innate to mammalian physiology, sharing features with physiological hibernation in other species. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2018 Jun 24;19(7). Epub 2018 Jun 24.

Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular, Universidad Miguel Hernández, 03202 Elche (Alicante), Spain.

The LrtA protein of sp. PCC 6803 intervenes in cyanobacterial post-stress survival and in stabilizing 70S ribosomal particles. It belongs to the hibernating promoting factor (HPF) family of proteins, involved in protein synthesis. Read More

J Saudi Heart Assoc 2018 Apr 10;30(2):75-85. Epub 2017 Jul 10.

Department of Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Trakya University, Turkey.

Objective: F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) has been increasingly used in myocardial viability imaging. In routine PET viability studies, oral glucose and intravenous insulin loading is commonly utilized. In an optimal study, glucose and insulin loading is expected to cause FDG uptake both in hibernating and normal myocardium. Read More

Naturwissenschaften 2018 Jun 11;105(7-8):40. Epub 2018 Jun 11.

Scientific Research Department, Moscow Zoo, B. Gruzinskaya str., 1, Moscow, 123242, Russia.

Non-hibernating pikas collect winter food reserves and store them in hay piles. Individualization of alarm calls might allow discrimination between colony members and conspecifics trying to steal food items from a colony pile. We investigated vocal posture, vocal tract length, and individual acoustic variation of alarm calls, emitted by wild-living Altai pikas Ochotona alpina toward a researcher. Read More

PeerJ 2018 4;6:e4911. Epub 2018 Jun 4.

Institute of Biochemistry, Departments of Biology and Chemistry, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Background: Inflammation is generally suppressed during hibernation, but select tissues (e.g. lung) have been shown to activate both antioxidant and pro-inflammatory pathways, particularly during arousal from torpor when breathing rates increase and oxidative metabolism fueling the rewarming process produces more reactive oxygen species. Read More

J Biol Rhythms 2018 Aug 4;33(4):388-401. Epub 2018 Jun 4.

2. University of California, Riverside, California.

Hibernation is a naturally occurring model for studying diseases such as obesity and osteoporosis. Hibernators, marmots (Marmota flaviventris) among them, are able to nearly double their body mass by increasing fat stores prior to hibernation without the negative consequences of obesity. They are also physically inactive for extended periods of time without experiencing negative effects on the skeleton. Read More

J Thorac Dis 2018 Apr;10(4):2249-2255

Department of Cardiovascular Surgery and Heart Transplantation, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China.

Background: Myocardial viability assessment is typically performed in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction to identify those who might benefit from revascularization and assist in decision making process. However, the prognostic value of myocardial viability testing remains a debating issue.

Methods: Positron Emission Tomography using F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET) was performed in 81 patients with ischemic LV dysfunction [ejection fraction (EF) ≤35%] for myocardial viability assessment prior to coronary artery bypass surgery. Read More