Epidermal growth factor binding in rat uterus during the peri-implantation period

The profile of epidermal growth factor (EGF) binding to uterine membranes of rats on Day 1 through Day 7 of pregnancy was studied. The binding was lowest on Day 1 and increased gradually through the pre- and postimplantation periods. Binding affinity of the Day 7 uterine membranes was considerably higher than that of the Day 1. Apparent affinity constants (Ka) of Day 1 and Day 7 membranes were 0.29 X 10(-8) M and 1.03 X 10(-8) M respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the modulation of EGF binding to uterine membranes by progesterone-estrogen interaction during early pregnancy.     

Red Bucket for the Red Cordial,Green Bucket for the Green Cordial: On the Logic and Logistics of Warlpiri Birthday Parties1

Birthday parties are a relatively new occurrence at Yuendumu, a Warlpiri settlement in central Australia. By focusing on the food prepared and consumed at these parties, I examine the ritualised Warlpiri and non‐Warlpiri elements of these events, with a particular view to Warlpiri women's creativity in shaping and re‐shaping them. I contrast birthday party food from everyday staple foods and so‐called ‘bush tucker’, and analyse these different food types in regard to generational differentiation. Lastly, the role of the anthropologist in shaping birthday parties as well as in writing about them is scrutinised.     

Antimicrobial effect of different herbal plant extracts against different microbial population

This study evaluates the antimicrobial effects of ethanolic extract of five herbal plants; Guava (Psidium guajava), Sage (Salvia officinalis), Rhamnus (Ziziphusspina Christi), Mulberry (Morusalba L.), and Olive (Oleaeuropaea L) leaves against several microbial population representing Gram positive, Gram negative and Mollicutes; S. aureus, E. coli, Pasteurella multocida, B. cereus, Salmonella Enteritidis and M. gallisepticum using standard agar disc diffusion technique and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). Different extracts reveal variable results against the microorganism under study. All extracts have no antibacterial potency for Mycoplasma gallisepticum except Psidium guajava. The results of minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the extracts against the six bacteria ranged from 625 to 5000 μg/ml. The used herbal extract could inhibit the selected microorganism under study with variable minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC).     

Immunolocalization of androgen and vitamin D receptors in the epididymis of mature ram (Ovis aries)

This study illustrated the immunohistochemical distribution of androgen and vitamin D receptors of epididymis in 20 sexually mature ram (Rahmani breed) with average age ranged from (2^_4) years and average weight ranged from (50^_65kg). Androgen receptor was localized in the cytoplasm of both ciliated and non ciliated cells of efferent ductules, besides the principal cells via the entire epididymal duct. The principal cells of both corpus and proximal cauda epididymis showed the highest immunoreactivity to androgen receptors. Furthermore, vitamin D receptor was localized in the cytoplasm of all epithelium of the efferent ductules besides principal cells of all epididymal regions, however the immunoreaction was significantly higher in the efferent ductules, distal caput and distal cauda epididymis. In conclusion, these results suggest that the function of ram epididymis is regulated by both androgen and Vitamin D.     

Night,sight, and feeling safe: An exploration of aspects of Warlpiri and Western sleep

Sleeping leaves those asleep ‘blind’ and hence oblivious to potential or real danger. Such dangers are heightened further and more feared at night, the main time for sleep. In this article, I link ideas about sleep and nighttime social practices with questions about vision. My aim is to tease out some of the meanings implied in cross‐culturally distinct solutions to the protection of sleepers at night. I proceed by contrasting ethnographic data from the remote Aboriginal settlement of Yuendumu, Northern Territory, with select elements of the cultural history of Euro‐American sleep. Through ethnographic vignettes, I illuminate how people at Yuendumu commonly arrange themselves in yunta, or rows of sleepers, at night, and how some sleepers awake regularly during the night to ensure the others’ safety. I contrast this with Euro‐American ways of providing a sense of safety to the sleeper through practices of domestic fortification. My comparison revolves around the notion of sight, which in the Euro‐American West is clearly linked to ideas of knowledge, and at Yuendumu, as I demonstrate, imbued with a sense of care. I conclude by relating the gained insights to participant observation as anthropological method.     

A Mathematical and Numerical Investigation of the Hemodynamical Origins of Oscillations in Microvascular Networks

Evidence is presented to show that self-sustained oscillations of purely hemodynamical origin are possible in some arcade-type microvascular networks supplied with steady boundary conditions, but that in others the oscillations disappear with sufficient reduction of the time step Δt, showing them to be numerical artefacts. In an attempt to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the onset of fluctuations, we proceed to perform a linear stability analysis for the convective model of Kiani et al. (Microvasc. Res. 45:219–232, 1993; Am. J. Physiol. 266(35):H1822–H1828, 1994), and show that this leads via a system of delay differential equations to a nonlinear eigenvalue problem. This result generalises the characteristic equation obtained by Carr et al. (Ann. Biomed. Eng. 33:764–771, 2005) and Geddes et al. (SIAM J. Appl. Dyn. Syst. 6(4):694–727, 2007) who solved a special case in a two node network. An implicit numerical method is proposed for the computation of blood flows in networks using the convective model. In a moderate size subnetwork of one of the networks chosen by Kiani et al. (Am. J. Physiol. 266(35):H1822–H1828, 1994), the topology, vessel lengths, and diameters of which were based on microvascular networks in the rat mesentery, we compare results generated using the original explicit numerical method of Kiani et al. (Am. J. Physiol. 266(35):H1822–H1828, 1994) with those from our implicit scheme. From the linear stability theory, a critical value D _RBC,crit of a red blood cell diameter parameter D _RBC in the plasma skimming model of Fenton et al. (Pflügers Arch. 403:396–401, 1985b) is identified for the onset of oscillations about steady state and both the explicit and implicit methods are used to calculate the inflow hematocrit solutions in all vessels of the subnetwork at the critical parameter value, subject to perturbed initial conditions. The results of the implicit method are demonstrated to be in excellent and superior agreement with the predictions of the linear analysis in this case. For values of D _RBC slightly larger than D _RBC,crit the bifurcating periodic solutions calculated using either the explicit or implicit schemes are characteristic of those of a supercritical Hopf bifurcation and the graphs of D _RBC vs. oscillation amplitude would seem to converge as Δt→0.     

A novel aspartic acid protease gene from pineapple fruit (Ananas comosus): Cloning,characterization and relation to postharvest chilling stress resistance

A full-length cDNA encoding a putative aspartic acid protease (AcAP1) was isolated for the first time from the flesh of pineapple (Ananas comosus) fruit. The deduced sequence of AcAP1 showed all the common features of a typical plant aspartic protease phytepsin precursor. Analysis of AcAP1 gene expression under postharvest chilling treatment in two pineapple varieties differing in their resistance to blackheart development revealed opposite trends. The resistant variety showed an up-regulation of AcAP1 precursor gene expression whereas the susceptible showed a down-regulation in response to postharvest chilling treatment. The same trend was observed regarding specific AP enzyme activity in both varieties. Taken together our results support the involvement of AcAP1 in postharvest chilling stress resistance in pineapple fruits.     

CDK13, a Kinase Involved in Pre-mRNA Splicing,Is a Component of the Perinucleolar Compartment

The perinucleolar compartment (PNC) is a subnuclear stucture forming predominantly in cancer cells; its prevalence positively correlates with metastatic capacity. Although several RNA-binding proteins have been characterized in PNC, the molecular function of this compartment remains unclear. Here we demonstrate that the cyclin–dependent kinase 13 (CDK13) is a newly identified constituent of PNC. CDK13 is a kinase involved in the regulation of gene expression and whose overexpression was found to alter pre-mRNA processing. In this study we show that CDK13 is enriched in PNC and co-localizes all along the cell cycle with the PNC component PTB. In contrast, neither the cyclins K and L, known to associate with CDK13, nor the potential kinase substrates accumulate in PNC. We further show that CDK13 overexpression increases PNC prevalence suggesting that CDK13 may be determinant for PNC formation. This result linked to the finding that CDK13 gene is amplified in different types of cancer indicate that this kinase can contribute to cancer development in human.     

Optimizing the spectrofluorimetric determination of cefdinir through a Taguchi experimental design approach

The aim of this work is to optimize a spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of cefdinir (CFN) using the Taguchi method. The proposed method is based on the oxidative coupling reaction of CFN and cerium(IV) sulfate. The quenching effect of CFN on the fluorescence of the produced cerous ions is measured at an emission wavelength (λ_em) of 358 nm after excitation (λ_ex) at 301 nm. The Taguchi orthogonal array L₉ (3⁴) was designed to determine the optimum reaction conditions. The results were analyzed using the signal‐to‐noise (S/N) ratio and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The optimal experimental conditions obtained from this study were 1 mL of 0.2% MBTH, 0.4 mL of 0.25% Ce(IV), a reaction time of 10 min and methanol as the diluting solvent. The calibration plot displayed a good linear relationship over a range of 0.5–10.0 µg/mL. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of CFN in bulk powder and pharmaceutical dosage forms. The results are in good agreement with those obtained using the comparison method. Finally, the Taguchi method provided a systematic and efficient methodology for this optimization, with considerably less effort than would be required for other optimizations techniques. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.