Population structure and ecology of the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer Sparrman, 1779) in Chebera Churchura National Park,Ethiopia

An investigation of population structure and ecology of the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer Sparrman, 1779) was carried out in the Chebera Churchura National Park, Ethiopia during the wet and dry seasons of 2005–2006. Sample counts of African buffaloes were carried out in an area of 1,215 km². The estimated population of buffalo was 2,617 individuals. Males comprised 35.0%, while females 52.8% of the population. The remaining 12% of the population was young of both sexes and of all ages of unknown sex. It was difficult to categorize the young into male and female in the field, as their primary sexual characteristics were not easily visible. Male to female sex ratio was 1.00 : 1.51. Age structure was dominated by adults, which constituted 72.06% of the total population. Subadults comprised 22.02%, and young accounted for 5.9% of the population. Larger herds of up to 27 individuals were observed during the wet season and smaller herds of eight individuals during the dry season. The mean herd size during wet and dry seasons was 24.81 and 7.77, respectively. The African buffaloes were distributed in four habitat types such as grasslands, woodlands, montane forests and riverine habitat in the study area. They were observed more in the riverine vegetation types during the dry season. Relative abundance of food resources, green vegetation cover and water availability in the area were the major factors governing their distribution in the present study area. They spent a greater proportion of the time in feeding and resting/ruminating activities. On the average, 49.7% of the daytime was spent in feeding, and 38.75% of the day on resting (lying down and standing). Morning and the late afternoon activity peaks were more pronounced during the dry season than the wet season.     

On the Breeding Biology of Glyphidrilus annandalei MICHAELSON (Haplotaxida: Glossoscolecidae) and its Relation to the Various Physical and Chemical Factors

Glyphidrilus annandalei Michaelson exhibits a pronounced breeding period extending from September to November. Breeding individuals achieve their maximum frequency in September, when 50 per cent of the whole population was with fully developed clitellum. Studies on the physical and chemical conditions of the habitat revealed that breeding in this worm depends the monsoon of the area creating optimum conditions for the life and activities of the organism.     

Extrusion of actin-positive strands from Hep-2 and Int 407 cells caused by outer membrane preparations of enteropathogenic Escherichia coil and specific attachment of wild type bacteria to the strands

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) causes persistent infantile diarrhoea. This nontoxigenic E. coli exhibits a complicated pathogenic mechanism in which its outer membrane proteins and type III secretory proteins damage intestinal epithelium and cause diarrhoea. In accordance with this, our previous study using HEp-2 cells demonstrated cytopathic effects caused by cell-free outer membrane preparations of EPEC. In this study, we report the extrusion of actin-positive strands from HEp-2 and Int 407 cells when treated with outer membrane preparations. An interesting observation of this work, perhaps relevant to the characteristic localized three-dimensional colony formation of EPEC, is the attachment of a wild type EPEC strain to these actin-positive strands.     

IFN-γ production in response to <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis> stimulation with collagen type II in rheumatoid arthritis is associated with HLA-DRB1<Superscript>*</Superscript>0401 and HLA-DQ8

Introduction

Despite much work over past decades, whether antigen-specific immune reactions occur in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to what extent such reactions are directed towards joint-specific autoantigens is still questionable. One strong indicator for antigenic involvement in RA is the fact that certain major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II genotypes [human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-DR4 and HLA-DR1] predispose for the development of the disease [1]. In the present report, collagen type II (CII) was studied as a putative autoantigen on the basis of both clinical and experimental data that show an increased frequency of antibodies to CII in RA patients [2,3,4] and that show that CII can induce experimental arthritis [5].It is evident from the literature that RA peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) respond poorly to antigenic stimulation [6,7,8], and in particular evidence for a partial tolerization to CII has been presented [9]. The strategy of the present work has accordingly been to reinvestigate T-cell reactivity to CII in RA patients, to relate it to the response to commonly used recall antigens and to analyze IFN-γ responses as an alternative to proliferative responses.     

Anticonvulsant profile of nimodipine and nitrendipine against pentylenetetrazole induced seizures in rats

The activity of nimodipine and nitrendipine against pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) induced seizures in Albino rats was studied alone and in combination with valproate. The median effective dose [ED50] of valproate, nimodipine and nitrendipine were initially determined. All the 3 drugs were injected i.p. 30 min before the induction of seizures. Seizures were induced by PTZ 85 mg/kg i.p., and subsequently the effect of combining ED50 doses of nimodipine and nitrendipine with ED50 dose of valproate was evaluated. ED50 of valproate and nitrendipine were 129 and 2.5 mg/kg respectively. ED50 of nimodipine could not be established since a dose-response relationship was not obtained. Hence, for the purpose of combination studies, 4 mg/kg of nimodipine was used. Both nimodipine (4 mg/kg) and nitrendipine (2.5 mg/kg) decreased the ED50 of valproate from 129 to 40 mg/kg. Both nimodipine and nitrendipine potentiate the activity of valproate against PTZ induced seizures and can be considered as potential adjuvant anticonvulsants which merit further study.     

Clade-limited colonization in brood parasitic finches (Vidua spp.)

The African brood parasitic finches (Vidua spp.) are host specialists that mimic the songs and nestling mouth markings of their finch hosts (family Estrildidae). Although recent molecular analyses suggest rapid speciation associated with host switches in some members of this group, the association of different Vidua lineages with particular host genera suggests the possibility of cospeciation at higher levels in the host and parasite phylogenies. We compared a phylogeny of all Vidua species with a phylogeny of their estrildid finch hosts and compared divergence time estimates for the two groups. Basal divergences among extant members of the Vidulidae and among Vidua species are more recent than those among host genera and species, respectively, allowing a model of cospeciation to be rejected at most or all levels of the Vidua phylogeny. Nonetheless, some tests for cospeciation indicated significant congruence between host and parasite tree topologies. This result may be an artifact of clade-limited colonization. Host switches in parasitic finches have most often involved new hosts in the same or a closely related genus, an effect that increases the apparent congruence of host and parasites trees.