Oldest camarasauromorph sauropod (Dinosauria) discovered in the Middle Jurassic (Bajocian) of the Khadir Island, Kachchh, western India

Fragmentary isolated remains of large (up to 20 m or more) sauropods from the Middle Jurassic (Bajocian) Khadir Formation of Khadir Island (Kachchh, W India) are described and compared in detail. Three of the bone fragments (a metacarpal, a first pedal claw and a fibula) can be assigned with confidence to the Camarasauromorpha and represent the oldest known record of that derived dinosaur group. The new finds from western India further close a temporal and geographical gap in our knowledge of sauropods and contribute to understanding their early phylogeny.      

Comparative studies on myosin ATPase of a flying and nonflying bird.

Myosin was purified from the flight muscles of a flying (pigeon) and a nonflying (fowl) bird. Ki (ADP) of myosin ATPase of pigeon is higher, but the Km (ATP) is lower than that of fowl. The specific activity (mumole of Pi liberated/min/mg protein) is higher for the fowl. A0.5 (CaCl2) of myosin of both pigeon and fowl is similar. However, the two proteins differ in their interactions with ADP, ATP and p-chloromercuribenzoate. The two proteins have the same tyrosine, tryptophan and sulfhydryl contents. The electrophoretic patterns of the two myosins on SDS-polyacrylamide gels are different. These studies show significant molecular differences in the myosin derived from the flight muscles of a flying (pigeon) and a nonflying (fowl) bird.     

Fine needle aspiration cytology of medullary carcinoma of the thyroid with a focus on rare variants: a review of 78 cases

S. Kaushal, V. K. Iyer, S. R. Mathur and R. Ray
Fine needle aspiration cytology of medullary carcinoma of the thyroid with a focus on rare variants: a review of 78 cases Background: The cytological features of variants of medullary carcinoma of the thyroid (MCT) are sparsely documented in the literature from case reports. Detailed cytomorphological analysis of MCT variants and features helping to distinguish them from usual MCT are presented here. Materials and methods: A total of 78 aspirates with a diagnosis of MCT over a period of 10 years were re‐evaluated. Cytomorphological details were reviewed and semiquantitatively analysed. Histology slides were reviewed in 36 cases. Results: Most aspirates showed classical features of dispersed polygonal or plasmacytoid cells with areas of spindling. In 54 aspirates, a definite cytological diagnosis of medullary carcinoma was made, which in 87.1% was based on cytomorphology alone and in 12.9% was based on immunocytochemistry for calcitonin. In 30.1% of aspirates from MCT, a guarded report of tumour was given in the absence of calcitonin immunocytochemistry. Of the 78 cases, nuclear grooves were seen in 5.1%, intranuclear cytoplasmic inclusions in 28.2%, cytoplasmic granularity in 23.1% and bizarre cells with abrupt anisocytosis in 85.9%. A follicular arrangement was seen in 14.1% and was more frequent in the follicular type (one case) and mixed follicular and medullary carcinoma (one case). Melanin production was seen in aspirates from two cases. One case of the giant cell type of MCT was seen, in which background cells showed large pleomorphic nuclei and numerous bizarre tumour giant cells, prompting a differential diagnosis with anaplastic carcinoma. One example each of the small cell type, paraganglioma‐like MCT and papillary MCT were seen. Conclusions: MCT has uniform cytological features in the majority of aspirates, including many of the histological variants. Searching for pigment in every aspirate of MCT may be rewarding. The giant cell type of MCT is rare and has to be differentiated from anaplastic carcinoma.     

Tricuspid valve leaflet strains in the beating ovine heart

Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology - The tricuspid leaflets coapt during systole to facilitate proper valve function and, thus, ensure efficient transport of deoxygenated blood to the...     

Raman Tweezers Spectroscopy of Live,Single Red and White Blood Cells

An optical trap has been combined with a Raman spectrometer to make high-resolution measurements of Raman spectra of optically-immobilized, single, live red (RBC) and white blood cells (WBC) under physiological conditions. Tightly-focused, near infrared wavelength light (1064 nm) is utilized for trapping of single cells and 785 nm light is used for Raman excitation at low levels of incident power (few mW). Raman spectra of RBC recorded using this high-sensitivity, dual-wavelength apparatus has enabled identification of several additional lines; the hitherto-unreported lines originate purely from hemoglobin molecules. Raman spectra of single granulocytes and lymphocytes are interpreted on the basis of standard protein and nucleic acid vibrational spectroscopy data. The richness of the measured spectrum illustrates that Raman studies of live cells in suspension are more informative than conventional micro-Raman studies where the cells are chemically bound to a glass cover slip.     

Metagenomes from High-Temperature Chemotrophic Systems Reveal Geochemical Controls on Microbial Community Structure and Function

The Yellowstone caldera contains the most numerous and diverse geothermal systems on Earth, yielding an extensive array of unique high-temperature environments that host a variety of deeply-rooted and understudied Archaea, Bacteria and Eukarya. The combination of extreme temperature and chemical conditions encountered in geothermal environments often results in considerably less microbial diversity than other terrestrial habitats and offers a tremendous opportunity for studying the structure and function of indigenous microbial communities and for establishing linkages between putative metabolisms and element cycling. Metagenome sequence (14–15,000 Sanger reads per site) was obtained for five high-temperature (>65°C) chemotrophic microbial communities sampled from geothermal springs (or pools) in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) that exhibit a wide range in geochemistry including pH, dissolved sulfide, dissolved oxygen and ferrous iron. Metagenome data revealed significant differences in the predominant phyla associated with each of these geochemical environments. Novel members of the Sulfolobales are dominant in low pH environments, while other Crenarchaeota including distantly-related Thermoproteales and Desulfurococcales populations dominate in suboxic sulfidic sediments. Several novel archaeal groups are well represented in an acidic (pH 3) Fe-oxyhydroxide mat, where a higher O₂ influx is accompanied with an increase in archaeal diversity. The presence or absence of genes and pathways important in S oxidation-reduction, H₂-oxidation, and aerobic respiration (terminal oxidation) provide insight regarding the metabolic strategies of indigenous organisms present in geothermal systems. Multiple-pathway and protein-specific functional analysis of metagenome sequence data corroborated results from phylogenetic analyses and clearly demonstrate major differences in metabolic potential across sites. The distribution of functional genes involved in electron transport is consistent with the hypothesis that geochemical parameters (e.g., pH, sulfide, Fe, O₂) control microbial community structure and function in YNP geothermal springs.     

Reproducibility,sensitivity and compatibility of the ProteoExtract® subcellular fractionation kit with saturation labeling of laser microdissected tissues

Laser microdissection (LMD), a method of isolating specific microscopic regions of interest from a tissue that has been sectioned, is increasingly being applied to study proteomics. LMD generally requires tissues to be fixed and histologically stained, which can interfere with protein recovery and subsequent analysis. We evaluated the compatibility and reproducibility of protein extractions from laser microdissected human colon mucosa using a subcellular fractionation kit (ProteoExtract^®, Calbiochem). Four protein fractions corresponding to cytosol (fraction 1), membrane/organelle (fraction 2), nucleus (fraction 3) and cytoskeleton (fraction 4) were extracted, saturation labeled with Cy5 and 5 μg separated by both acidic (pH 4–7) and basic (pH 6–11) 2‐DE. The histological stains and fixation required for LMD did not interfere with the accurate subcellular fractionation of proteins into their predicted fraction. The combination of subcellular fractionation and saturation CyDye labeling produced very well resolved, distinct protein spot maps by 2‐DE for each of the subcellular fractions, and the total number of protein spots consistently resolved between three independent extractions for each fraction was 893, 1128, 1245 and 1577 for fractions 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Although significant carryover of protein did occur between fractions, this carryover was consistent between experiments, and very low inter‐experimental variation was observed. In summary, subcellular fractionation kits are very compatible with saturation labeling DIGE of LMD tissues and provide greater coverage of proteins from very small amounts of microdissected material.