1 Dierentiation of SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells induces morphological and biochemical changes consistent with a more neuronal phenotype. These cells may therefore provide a model for studying phenomena such as signal transduction in a neuronal context whilst retaining the advantages of a homogenous cell population expressing a well characterized array of G-protein coupled receptors. 2 This study examined the eects of dierentiating SH-SY5Y cells on muscarinic-and bradykininreceptor-mediated phosphoinositide and Ca 2+ signalling. Retinoic acid (10 mM, 6 days) along with a lowered serum concentration produced phenotypic changes consistent with dierentiation including reduced proliferation and increased neurite outgrowth. 3 Dierentiation increased the magnitude and potency of rapid Ins(1,4,5)P 3 responses to a full muscarinic receptor agonist. Bradykinin receptor-mediated Ins(1,4,5)P 3 signalling was also potentiated following dierentiation. Determination of agonist-evoked accumulation of [ 3 H]-inositol phosphates under lithium-block demonstrated these changes re¯ected enhanced phospholipase C activity which is consistent with observed increases in the expression of muscarinic and bradykinin receptors. 4 Despite the marked alterations in Ins(1,4,5)P 3 signalling following dierentiation, elevations of intracellular [Ca 2+ ] were totally unaltered. Thus, in SH-SY5Y cells, the relationship between the elevations of Ins(1,4,5)P 3 and intracellular [Ca 2+ ] is agonist dependent and aected by the state of dierentiation. This demonstrates that mechanisms other than the measured increase in Ins(1,4,5)P 3 regulate the elevation of intracellular [Ca 2+ ].

Recent advances in imaging technology have resulted in an increase in incidental discoveries of pancreatic cystic lesions. Pancreatic cysts comprise a wide variety of lesions and include non-neoplastic cysts and neoplastic cysts. Because some pancreatic cysts have more of a malignant potential than others, it is absolutely essential that an accurate diagnosis is rendered so that effective care can be given to each patient. In many centers, endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) has emerged as the modality of choice that enables one to distinguish between mucinous and non-mucinous lesion, diagnose malignancy and collect cyst fluid for further diagnostic studies, such as pancreatic enzyme levels, molecular analysis and other tumor biomarkers. The current review will focus on EUS-guided FNA and the cytological diagnosis for pancreatic cysts.

1 Functional human GABA B(1a,2) and GABA B(1b,2) B(1a,2) and GABA B(1b,2) respectively. 3 In competition binding assays the rank order was identical for both GABA B receptors. For known GABA B agonists the rank order was CGP274924SKF97541=CGP463814GABA4Baclo-fen and for GABA B antagonists the rank order was CGP54262A4CGP558454CGP524324 SCH 509114CGP511764CGP36742=CGP35348 52-OH Saclofen 5ABPA. 4 The allosteric e ect of calcium cations was also investigated. The e ect of removal of CaCl 2 from the binding assay conditions was ligand dependent to either cause a decrease in ligand a nity or to have no signi®cant e ect. However, these e ects were similar for both GABA B receptors. 5 A whole cell, scintillation proximity binding assay was used to determine agonist a nity at exclusively heterodimeric GABA B receptors. In competition assays, the rank order was the same for both GABA B(1a,2) and GABA B(1b,2) and consistent with that seen with cell membrane fractions. 6 These data suggest that, in terms of ligand binding, the currently identi®ed isoforms of the GABA B receptor are pharmacologically indistinguishable.

Deciphering the auditory scene is a problem faced by many organisms. However, when faced with numerous overlapping sounds from multiple locations, listeners are still able to attribute the individual sound objects to their individual sound-producing sources. Here, the characteristics of sounds important for integrating versus segregating in birds were determined. Budgerigars and zebra finches were trained using operant conditioning procedures on an identification task to peck one key when they heard a whole zebra finch song and to peck another when they heard a zebra finch song missing a middle syllable. Once the birds were trained to a criterion performance level on those stimuli, probe trials were introduced on a small proportion of trials. The probe songs contained modifications of the incomplete training song's missing syllable. When the bird responded as if the probe was a whole song, it suggests they streamed together the altered syllable and the rest of the song. When the bird responded as if the probe was a non-whole song, it suggests they segregated the altered probe from the rest of the song. Results show that some features, such as location and intensity, are more important for segregating than other features, such as timing and frequency.

Alterations in body size can have profound impacts on an organism's life history and ecology with long-lasting effects that span multiple biological scales. Animal body size is influenced by environmental drivers, including climate change and land use change, the two largest current threats to biodiversity. Climate warming has led to smaller body sizes of many species due to impacts on growth (i.e., Bergmann's rule and temperature-size rule). Conversely, urbanization, which serves as a model for investigating the effects of land use changes, has largely been demonstrated to cause size increases, but few studies have examined the combined influences of climate and land use changes on organism size. We present here the background theory on how each of these factors is expected to influence body size, summarize existing evidence of how size has recently been impacted by climate and land use changes, and make several recommendations to guide future research uniting these areas of focus. Given the rapid pace of climate change and urbanization, understanding the combined effects of climate and land use changes on body size is imperative for biodiversity preservation.