Supplementation of Slow‐Release Melatonin Improves Recovery of Ovarian Cyclicity and Conception in Summer Anoestrous Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis)

The role of melatonin as a protective neurohormone against restoring cyclicity in summer anoestrous animals in photoperiod species has gained wider acceptance. This study was designed to uncover the evidence the slow‐release melatonin (MLT) has on initiation of ovarian cyclicity and conception rate (CR) in summer anoestrous buffaloes. Thus, buffaloes diagnosed as summer anoestrous (absence of overt signs of oestrus, concurrent rectal examination and radioimmunoassay for serum progesterone at 10 days interval) were grouped as untreated (Group I, sterilized corn oil, n = 8) and treated (Group II, single subcutaneous injection of MLT @18 mg/50 kg bwt in sterilized corn oil, n = 20). Animals treated and detected in oestrus were artificially inseminated (AI) followed by division into Group III (second dose of MLT on 5th day post‐AI, n = 8) and Group IV (no melatonin administration, n = 10). Blood samples were collected at 4 days interval for estimation of serum MLT, progesterone and oestrogen using radioimmunoassay kit. Mean oestrous induction rate (OIR), oestrous induction interval (OII), interoestrous interval (IOI) and CR were estimated. Compared to control, concentration of melatonin was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in treated group ranging from 14.34 ± 1.72 to 412.31 ± 14.47 pg/ml whereas other two hormones did not show any concentration difference. Melatonin‐administered buffaloes showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher (90%) OIR with OII of 18.06 ± 1.57 days. Results showed improvement in conception rate in buffaloes administered with post‐insemination melatonin. It can be concluded from the study that slow‐release melatonin supplementation restored cyclicity in summer anoestrous animals resulting in improvement in conception rate in buffaloes.     

Filled Skutterudite Antimonides: A New Class of Thermoelectric Materials

A class of thermoelectric materials has been synthesized with a thermoelectric figure of merit ZT (where T is temperature and Z is a function of thermopower, electrical resistivity, and thermal conductivity) near 1 at 800 kelvin. Although these materials have not been optimized, this value is comparable to the best ZT values obtained for any previously studied thermoelectric material. Calculations indicate that the optimized material should have ZT values of 1.4. These ternary semiconductors have the general formula RM4X12 (where R is lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, or europium; M is iron, ruthenium, or osmium; and X is phosphorus, arsenic, or antimony) and represent a new approach to creating improved thermoelectric materials. Several alloys in the composition range CeFe4-xCoxSb12 or LaFe4-xCoxSb12 (0 < x < 4) have large values of ZT.     

Solid phase extraction gas chromatography/electron capture detector method for the determination of organochlorine pesticides in wildlife whole blood.

A gas chromatographic method for the analysis of 10 organochlorine pesticides in 0.5 mL of whole blood is described. Sample preparation involved an ethyl ether and hexane extraction, followed by a silica solid phase extraction cleanup. The pesticides are quantified by gas chromatography/electron capture detection. Method limits of detection ranged from 1.1 to 5.2 microg/L. The mean and standard deviation for the recovery of 10 pesticides was 97.9 +/- 5.5%. Recoveries from whole blood were comparable to recoveries from plasma. This indicates that the preparation of plasma is unnecessary for the quantification of organochlorine pesticides in blood. This approach is particularly useful as a nonlethal approach for monitoring pesticide contamination in small animals for which the volume of blood is limiting.     

Detection of Campylobacter Antibodies in Sheep Sera by a Dot‐ELISA Using Acid Extracts from C. fetus ssp. fetus and C. jejuni Strains and Comparison with a Complement Fixation Test

In this study, a dot‐enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (Dot‐ELISA) was evaluated in comparison with a complement fixation test (CFT) for the detection of Campylobacter antibodies in sheep sera. Acid glycine extracts (AGE) of both Campylobacter fetus ssp. fetus and Campylobacter jejuni strains that had been isolated from the gall‐bladder of slaughtered sheep was used as antigen in both tests. A total of 153 sheep sera from aborted (74) and slaughtered (79) sheep were examined by both Dot‐ELISA and CFT. Twenty‐two sera showed anti‐complementary activity were not suitable for CFT. Of the 22 sera showing anti‐complementary activity, two sera were found to be positive in Dot‐ELISA. Eighty‐eight (67.2%) of the remaining 131 sera were negative by both Dot‐ELISA and CFT using AGE of both Campylobacter strains whereas 43 sera (32.8%) gave different reaction patterns in Dot‐ELISA and CFT with the extracts of both Campylobacter strains. Twelve sera were positive by both tests using AGE of C. fetus ssp. fetus but CFT failed to detect antibodies in nine of these sera when AGE of C. jejuni was used. Twelve sera were positive by both tests only when AGE of C. fetus ssp. fetus was used. Eleven sera were positive only by CFT. Seven of these reacted only with the AGE of C. fetus ssp. fetus and four sera were positive by using AGE of both Campylobacter strains. The remaining eight sera were found to be positive only by dot‐immunobinding assay either with the AGE of both Campylobacter strains or with the AGE of one of the Campylobacter strains. It is concluded that Dot‐ELISA using AGE from C. fetus ssp. fetus could be employed for the detection of Campylobacter antibodies in sheep sera and the additional use of AGE from C. jejuni as antigen appeared not to be profitable for this purpose.     

Efficiency of uterine fluid cytology in the diagnosis of subclinical endometritis in the water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

This study compared endometrial cytology vis‐a‐vis uterine fluid cytology for assessment of uterine health in clinically normal and subclinical endometritis (SE)‐affected buffaloes. Uterine fluid samples and endometrial samples were collected from the buffaloes (n = 38) at oestrus using blue sheath and cytobrush, respectively. The smears were stained with Field stain for 3 minutes, and a minimum of 400 cells were counted in each smear for determination of the percentage of polymorphonuclear (PMN) leucocyte. The incidence of subclinical endometritis, based on the cytobrush cytology, was 23.08%. The correlation between cytobrush cytology with uterine fluid cytology was positive and significant (r = .37; p = .02). The ratio of PMN leucocyte in cytobrush cytology to uterine fluid cytology was 1:2.4. ROC analysis revealed that the threshold value of 6.16% PMN leucocyte in uterine fluid cytology showed a diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of 100% in differentiating normal from SE‐affected buffaloes. In conclusion, collection of uterine fluid was easier compared to collection of endometrial samples using cytobrush and the percentage of PMN leucocyte in uterine fluid cytology can be used as a tool for diagnosis of subclinical endometritis in buffaloes.     

Phosphorus uptake and use efficiency in different varieties of bread wheat (Triticum Aestivum L)

Thirty spring wheat varieties were evaluated and classified into eight different groups on the basis of their grain yield performance and phosphorus (P) uptake using Metroglyph analysis. Significant variability was observed for grain and biomass yield, plant height, P content in grain and straw, total P uptake and phosphorus harvest index and P use efficiency traits. Varieties WH 711 and PBW 343 exhibited high grain yield as well as high P uptake (HGY-HP). WH 283 and UP 2425 with high index score of 19 and 16 respectively, constituted the high grain yield-medium P uptake (HGYMP) group. Both these varieties, though had similar grain yield of 5348 kg/ha, but WH 283 (12.64 kg/ha) utilized much lower P as compared to UP 2425 (16.94 kg/ha). Moreover, WH 283 (81.64) also showed higher values for phosphorus harvest index (PHI) than UP 2425 (67.88%). P uptake of WH 283 was comparable with that of Raj 3765 (10.78 kg/ha) and grouped into high grain yield and low P uptake (HGY-LP) group. The grain yield performance of these two varieties with a relatively low P uptake is reflected in their high index score for P use efficiency thus, earmarking them for low P regimes. Variety HW 2006, despite low grain yields of 4665 kg/ha had high index score of 16 due to its higher value for Phosphorus Biological (PBER) and Economic Yield (PEER) Efficiency Ratio as it has effected least (7.18 kg/ha) P mobilization. In addition high P translocation in the grain was also observed for this variety. Inter-mating of genotypes like HW 2006, UP 2338 and HW 2016 with those belonging to HGY-HP (PBW 343 and WH 711) and HGY-LP (Raj 3765 and WH 283) would be an ideal strategy to develop the cultivars for efficient phosphorus use.     

Immunity-related genes and gene families in Anopheles gambiae

We have identified 242 Anopheles gambiae genes from 18 gene families implicated in innate immunity and have detected marked diversification relative to Drosophila melanogaster. Immune-related gene families involved in recognition, signal modulation, and effector systems show a marked deficit of orthologs and excessive gene expansions, possibly reflecting selection pressures from different pathogens encountered in these insects' very different life-styles. In contrast, the multifunctional Toll signal transduction pathway is substantially conserved, presumably because of counterselection for developmental stability. Representative expression profiles confirm that sequence diversification is accompanied by specific responses to different immune challenges. Alternative RNA splicing may also contribute to expansion of the immune repertoire.     

Genetic variability in apple fruit polyphenol composition in Malus × domestica and Malus sieversii germplasm grown in New Zealand

Variations in the concentrations of flavan-3-ol, oligomeric procyanidin, chlorogenic acid, dihydrochalcone, flavonol, and anthocyanin polyphenol groups and total polyphenols were examined in the fruit peel and cortical flesh of 93 (80 Malus × domestica and 13 Malus sieversii) apple genotypes in at least 1 year between 2003 and 2005 grown at one site in New Zealand (NZ). Differences among genotypes accounted for 46-97% of the total variation in the concentrations of total polyphenols and each of the individual phenol groups in the flesh and peel in both species, whereas effects of year and genotype × year were minimal, except for peel flavonols in M. × domestica and flesh flavonols in both species. In these cases, differences among genotypes accounted for less than 30% of the total variation, which was less than the variation found for the interaction between genotype and year. Total polyphenol concentrations among genotypes were spread over a 7- and 9-fold range in the flesh and a 4- and 3-fold range in the peel of M. sieversii and M. × domestica, respectively, with the spread in concentrations of individual polyphenol groups in each tissue and within each species varying from a 2-fold to over a 500-fold range. Higher concentrations were generally found in M. sieversii. In M. × domestica, cultivars and breeding selections originating in NZ had lower average flesh and peel total polyphenols and chlorogenic acid than older cultivars previously imported into NZ from overseas countries.