Superovulation and embryo recovery in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) using different doses of pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG)

Present investigation was conducted to study the ovarian response and embryo recovery using different PMSG dose levels. Six rabbits each were assigned randomly to treatment 1 (PMSG 50 IU + hCG 100 IU), treatment 2 (PMSG 75 IU + hCG 100 IU) and the control group (no hormone administered). PMSG injection (im) was followed 68 hr later by natural mating to a fertile rabbit buck and human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) injection iv post coitum. Embryos were recovered 96 hr post coitum by a modified surgical method. Mean number of ovulations in the control group differed significantly from treatment 1 and 2, but no significant difference was observed between treatments 1 and 2. Mean embryo recovery percentage was lowest in treatment 2 and highest in the control group. The higher dose PMSG (treatment 2) was observed to be more disturbing in terms of recovery of embryos as well as their morphology.     

Effect of Centchroman administration in normospermic & oligospermic individuals

The effect of Centchroman, 3,4-trans-2,2-dimethyl-3-phenyl-4-para-(beta -pyrrolidinoethocy)-phenyl-7-methorychroman, administration was investigated in normospermic and oligospermic subjects. 3 normal volunteers, aged 32-40 years, were treated with increasing doses (30, 60, and 120 mg/day, each dose for 2 weeks). The sperm count was decreased in 1 volunteer but the percentages of nonmotile and abnormal spermatozoa were increased in all 3. There was no change in plasma testosterone and urinary 17-ketosteroid (17-KS) levels but the 17-ketogenic steroids (17-KGSs) were decreased in all of them. 3 out of 5 oligospermic subjects, aged 24-35 years, who received 30 mg/day for 6 weeks revealed increased sperm counts. Plasma testosterone levels were decreased in 4, urinary 17-KGSs were decreased in 2, and 17-KSs were decreased in 1 subject. Acid phosphatase, fructose, sialic acid and glycerylphosphoryl choline levels in semen, and serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase, serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, and urea in blood were not markedly altered in either group.     

Meteorologic factors and subjective sleep continuity: a preliminary evaluation

Little research has been undertaken to evaluate whether environmental factors other than bright light influence the individuals ability to initiate and maintain sleep. In the present analyses, nine meteorologic variables were evaluated for their possible relationship to self-reported sleep continuity in a sample of 43 subjects over a period of 105 days. In this preliminary analysis, high barometric pressure, low precipitation, and lower temperatures were significantly correlated with good sleep continuity. Interestingly, ambient light and lunar phase were not found to be strongly associated sleep diary measures.     

Partial proteolysis of simian virus 40 T antigen reveals intramolecular contacts between domains and conformation changes upon hexamer assembly

Simian virus 40 large tumor antigen (Tag) is a multi-functional viral protein that binds specifically to SV40 origin DNA, serves as the replicative DNA helicase, and orchestrates the assembly and operation of the viral replisome. Tag associated with Mg-ATP forms hexamers and, in the presence of SV40 origin DNA, double hexamers. Limited tryptic digestion of monomeric Tag revealed three major stable structural domains. The N-terminal domain spans amino acids 1-130, the central domain comprises amino acids 131-476, and the C-terminal domain extends from amino acid 513 to amino acid 698. Co-immunoprecipitation of digestion products of monomeric Tag suggests that the N-terminal domain associates stably with sequences located in the central region of the same Tag molecule. Hexamer formation protected the tryptic cleavage sites in the exposed region between the central and C-terminal domains. Upon hexamerization, this exposed region also became less accessible to a monoclonal antibody whose epitope maps in that region. The tryptic digestion products of the soluble hexamer and the DNA-bound double hexamer were indistinguishable. A low-resolution model of the intramolecular and intermolecular interactions among Tag domains in the double hexamer is proposed.     

Hydrolysis of di-substituted hydantoins,by an enzyme preparation from lentil (Lens esculenta) seeds,for the synthesis of α,α-dialkylated amino acids with linear and cyclic substituents

Hydrolysis of 5,5-di-substituted hydantoins with linear and cyclic side chains, to produce the corresponding ,-dialkylated amino acids and 1-aminocycloalkane-1-carboxylic acids, using an enzyme preparation from lentil (Lens esculenta) seeds is reported for the first time. This method could be developed on a large scale and should be of interest to the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.R. Rai and V. Taneja are with the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221 005, India; R. Balaji Rao is with the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221 005, India.