Anatomy of the patent ductus venosus in the cat

The biplanar mesenteric vein portovenograms of 10 cats with left divisional intrahepatic portosystemic shunts consistent with a patent ductus venosus (PDV) were reviewed. A corrosion cast of the hepatic portal vasculature was made post mortem from one individual that died post operatively following surgical attenuation of the shunting vessel. On the basis of the combined surgical, post mortem and imaging data, these left divisional shunts were found to have consistent anatomy, each having a straight vessel which drained into a venous ampulla before draining into the caudal vena cava at the level of the diaphragm. The left phrenic vein and left hepatic vein both entered the ampulla independently of the shunting vessel. The anatomical similarity between these findings in the cat and the PDV in the dog suggest that it is appropriate to describe this particular portosystemic shunt as a PDV.     

Fetal specific serum proteins of the Indian buffalo.

Fetal specific serum proteins of the Indian buffalo were investigated using rabbit antibuffalo fetal serum, absorbed with lyophilised adult buffalo serum, and subjected to gel diffusion and immunoelectrophoretic analysis. AFP was found to be the major fetal specific serum protein of the Indian buffalo. A close antigenic relationship between the fetal specific serum proteins of the buffalo, sheep and goat and a distant relationship between these proteins of ruminants and man was found by immunological cross reaction studies.     

Effects of dieldrin and sumithion on the amino acid nitrogen and proteins in the haemolymph of desert locust Schistocerca gregaria Forsk

The changes in amino acid nitrogen, proline, and proteins in the haemolymph of desert locusts at different stages of dieldrin and sumithion posioning are reported using techniques of colorimetry, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, Sephadex gel chromatography, and electro-gel chromatography.Both the insecticides did not alter amino acid nitrogen and proline titers during the initial stages of poisoning. However, drastic changes were noted at the later stages. In comparison to amino acid nitrogen, the depletion in proline content was of much higher magnitude. Initially the protein content of haemolymph depleted and increased significantly at the acute poisoning stage. Several changes in the electrophoregrams and protein elution profiles were noted in the haemolymph samples of treated insects. Many new proteins were detected in treated insects and their molecular weights, diffusion coefficients, and Stoke's radii are reported.These results are discussed in relation to current ideas of protein metabolism in insects. Further, a possible role of haemolymph proteins as insecticide carriers has been postulated.     

Progeny evaluation of Jatropha curcas and Pongamia pinnata with comparison to bioproductivity and biodiesel parameters

Progeny studies of Jatropha curcas and Pongamia pinnata were carried with respect to bioproductivity,pod and seed characters which is one of the selection methods in tree improvement programmes. Variations in bioproductivity and biodiesel parameters of both the plants were compared every 6 months for 4 years of investigation and analyzed by analysis of variance and correlation coefficient by Pearson’s method using software Graphpad instat 3.06(for Windows and Mac). P. pinnata has better germination rate(71.4 %), 100 pod weight(PW)(311.59 g) and 100 seed weight(SW)(173.46 g) as compared to J. curcas for germination rate(43.2 %), 100 PW(111.29 g) and 100 SW(67.46 g). P. pinnata has strong correlation for plant height to canopy growth(CG)(0.948), collar diameter(CD)(0.994), number of branches per plant(NBP)(0.995) and to number of leaves per branch(NLB)(0.862) as compared to J.curcas which showed good correlation among plant height to CG(0.976), CD(0.970), NBP(0.988), NLB(0.920) and to number of pods per branch(0.657). However, J. curcas depicted negative correlation for pod breadth to seed length(SL)(-0.447), seed breadth(-0.248) and to seed thickness(ST)(-0.364) and among the 100 PW to SL(-0.199), ST(-0.220) and to 100 SW(-0.704). About 4 kg of P. pinnata seeds were required for each liter of crude oil which yields896 ml of biodiesel on transesterification as compared to5.66 kg of J. curcas seeds for a liter of crude oil, producing about 663 ml of biodiesel. The quality of biodiesel meets the major specification of American Society for Testing and Materials(ASTM) standards for biodiesel. The crude glycerin and seed cake obtained as byproduct during biodiesel production were also measured which can be purified and used in composting, animal feeds, pharmaceuticals and cosmetic industries.     

The shaping of modern human immune systems by multiregional admixture with archaic humans

Whole genome comparisons identified introgression from archaic to modern humans. Our analysis of highly polymorphic human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I, vital immune system components subject to strong balancing selection, shows how modern humans acquired the HLA-B*73 allele in west Asia through admixture with archaic humans called Denisovans, a likely sister group to the Neandertals. Virtual genotyping of Denisovan and Neandertal genomes identified archaic HLA haplotypes carrying functionally distinctive alleles that have introgressed into modern Eurasian and Oceanian populations. These alleles, of which several encode unique or strong ligands for natural killer cell receptors, now represent more than half the HLA alleles of modern Eurasians and also appear to have been later introduced into Africans. Thus, adaptive introgression of archaic alleles has significantly shaped modern human immune systems.