Recent studies show that the metabolic effects of fructose may vary depending on the phase of its consumption along with the light/dark cycle. Here, we investigated the metabolic outcomes of fructose consumption by rats during either the light (LPF) or the dark (DPF) phases of the light/dark cycle. This experimental approach was combined with other interventions, including restriction of chow a...

Coordination between different motor centers is essential for the orderly production of all complex behaviors. Understanding the mechanisms of such coordination during feeding behavior in the carnivorous mollusk Clione limacina is the main goal of the current study. A bilaterally symmetrical interneuron identified in the cerebral ganglia and designated Cr-BM neuron produced coordinated activati...

The intestinal H(+)/peptide cotransporter 1 (PEPT1) plays important roles as a nutrient and drug transporter. Previously, we reported that rat intestinal PEPT1 showed a diurnal rhythm and that this rhythm is closely related to the feeding schedule. Furthermore, we also demonstrated that transcription factors, Sp1, Cdx2, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-alpha) contribut...

When different growth phases (exponential or stationary) or forms (solitary cells or colonies) of a single clone of Phaeocystis globosa were fed to three copepods, grazing, measured indirectly by fecal-pellet production, on different types of P. globosa differed by nearly two orders of magnitude, with differences on this clone sometimes exceeding differences between different phytoplankton spec...

Circadian clocks are responsible for daily rhythms in a wide array of processes, including gastrointestinal (GI) function. These are vital for normal digestive rhythms and overall health. Previous studies demonstrated circadian clocks within the cells of GI tissue. The present study examines the roles played by the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), master circadian pacemaker for overt circadian rhy...

Zooplankton concentrations are known to vary by as much as an order of magnitude over a lunar cycle. Here, we conducted an experiment to determine the effect of ambient zooplankton concentrations over a lunar cycle on feeding rates of the corals Pavona gigantea (Verrill) (mounding coral, 3.0 mm diameter polyps) and Pocillopora damicornis (Linnaeus) (branching coral, 1.0 mm diameter polyps) in s...

Being part of the elopomorph group of fishes, Anguillidae species show a leptocephalus larval stage. However, due to largely unknown spawning locations and habitats of their earliest life stages, as well as their transparency, these Anguilla larvae are rarely encountered in nature. Therefore, information regarding the early life history of these larvae, including their exogenous feeding strateg...

Cyclic feeding schedules are now commonly used in conjunction with closed enteral feeding systems. Some manufacturers and clinicians have speculated that closed system cyclic feeding may promote formula contamination via retrograde movement of bacteria during the "no-flow" periods. Using both laboratory and clinical settings, our study evaluated whether retrograde bacterial movement under "no-f...

Taste avoidance conditioning (TAC) was carried out on the pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis. The conditional stimulus (CS) was sucrose which elicits feeding behavior; while the unconditional stimulus (US) was a tactile stimulus to the head which causes feeding to be suppressed. The neuronal circuit that drives feeding behavior in Lymnaea is well worked out. We therefore compared the physiological c...