Composition of an isoelectric focusing gel yielding a broad pH gradient.

An isoelectric focusing gel system is described which produces a pH gradient spanning the range 4–9. When chick brain mitochondrial polypeptides were focused on such a gel, extra polypeptide spots were observed in the basic region which were not seen in a gel prepared by conventional methods.     

The non-invasive monitoring of reproductive events in wild Vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) using urinary pregnanediol-3α-glucuronide and its correlation with behavioural observations

The reliable detection of reproductive events in free-ranging primates is usually not feasible because of the difficulty of obtaining physiological measures in the field. Utilizing a non-invasive technique, urine was collected from wild Vervet monkeys in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. Measurement of pregnanediol-3α-glucuronide levels in urine of female Vervets, combined with behavioural observations, permitted accurate estimation of conception dates for individual females. Copulatory behaviour in Amboseli Vervets was unrelated to female hormonal cycles, and females copulated both before the initiation of ovarian function and during pregnancy. This study establishes new possibilities for integrative studies of the physiology and ecology of mammals in their natural habitats.     

Scanning electron microscopy of the duodenal mucosa of chickens infected with Eimeria acervulina.

The morphology of the duodenal mucosal surface of chickens infected with Eimeria acervulina has been studied on days 5, 6, 8 and 11 post-infection and compared with that of the normal duodenal mucosa using the scanning electron microscope. The normal duodenum possessed tall, spatulate villi with horizontally-arranged surface clefts upon which a regular pattern of hexagonal absorptive cells and goblet cell mouths was superimposed. A maximum degree of villous atrophy was shown on day 5 post-infection, the villi being thickened and flattened with frequent adhesions and fusions between them. The general effects of the disease together with the physical presence of intracellular parasites caused considerable changes in size and shape of the cell apices. By day 8 the mucosa was clearly recovering, with a normal pattern of somewhat thickened and truncated villi beginning to re-appear and by day 11 post-infection the mucosa had regained an outwardly normal morphological pattern. The mucosal changes are discussed in relation to similar changes which occur in diseases of the alimentary tract of other animals, including man.