Zingiberanamalayanum sp. nov. (Zingiberaceae) from India

Zingiber anamalayanum (Zingiberaceae), a new species from the southern western Ghats, India is described and illustrated. A phenetic analyses to assess the similarity indices and the uniqueness of the new species have been performed. A diagnostic key to Zingiber spp. in south India is provided.     

Emerging infectious diseases and animal social systems

Emerging infectious diseases threaten a wide diversity of animals, and important questions remain concerning disease emergence in socially structured populations. We developed a spatially explicit simulation model to investigate whether—and under what conditions—disease-related mortality can impact rates of pathogen spread in populations of polygynous groups. Specifically, we investigated whether pathogen-mediated dispersal (PMD) can occur when females disperse after the resident male dies from disease, thus carrying infections to new groups. We also examined the effects of incubation period and virulence, host mortality and rates of background dispersal, and we used the model to investigate the spread of the virus responsible for Ebola hemorrhagic fever, which currently is devastating African ape populations. Output was analyzed using regression trees, which enable exploration of hierarchical and non-linear relationships. Analyses revealed that the incidence of disease in single-male (polygynous) groups was significantly greater for those groups containing an average of more than six females, while the total number of infected hosts in the population was most sensitive to the number of females per group. Thus, as expected, PMD occurs in polygynous groups and its effects increase as harem size (the number of females) increases. Simulation output further indicated that population-level effects of Ebola are likely to differ among multi-male–multi-female chimpanzees and polygynous gorillas, with larger overall numbers of chimpanzees infected, but more gorilla groups becoming infected due to increased dispersal when the resident male dies. Collectively, our results highlight the importance of social system on the spread of disease in wild mammals.     

Prophylactic and curative effects of Bacopa monniera in gastric ulcer models.

Bacopa monniera Wettst. (BM, syn. Herpestis monniera L; Scrophulariaceae), is an Ayurvedic drug used as a rasayana. Its fresh juice was earlier reported to have significant antiulcerogenic activity. In continuation, methanolic extract of BM (BME) standardized to bacoside-A content (percentage-38.0 ± 0.9), when given in the dose of 10–50 mg/kg, twice daily for 5 days, showed dose-dependent anti-ulcerogenic on various gastric ulcer models induced by ethanol, aspirin, 2 h cold restraint stress and 4 h pylorus ligation. BME in the dose of 20 mg/kg, given for 10 days, twice daily showed healing effects against 50% acetic acid-induced gastric ulcers. Further work was done to investigate the possible mechanisms of its action by studying its effect on various mucosal offensive acid-pepsin secretion and defensive factors like mucin secretion, mucosal cell shedding, cell proliferation and antioxidant activity in rats. BME 20 mg/kg showed no effect on acid-pepsin secretion, increased mucin secretion, while it decreased cell shedding with no effect on cell proliferation. BME showed significant antioxidant effect per se and in stressed animals. Thus, the gastric prophylactic and curative effects of BME may be due to its predominant effect on mucosal defensive factors.     

Variation in the diet of the viperine snake Natvix mama in relation to prey availability

The diet of the viperine snake was compared with food availability in the Ebro Delta, a wetland largely occupied by rice fields, in 1990 and 1991. Snake selection of prey type and size was studied seasonally and by snake group: males, females and immature snakes. Overall, feeding activity (percentage of individuals with prey and number of prey per stomach) increased with food availability. Diet analysis showed that viperine snakes mainly foraged on the green frog Rana perezi (adults and tadpoles) and the carp Cyprinus earpio. Conversely, viperine snakes rejected the mosquito fish Gambusia holbroki which is the most abundant species in autumn, when Natrix maura has a low feeding activity. Statistical comparisons between viperine snake diet and prey availability showed that males selected small carp, immature snakes selected tadpoles and, in spring, females selected frogs. The selection of small carp by males may reflect a sexual divergence of trophic niche related to sexual size dimorphism, as females are larger than males. As tadpoles are presumably easier to catch than fish, tadpole selection by immature individuals may reflect variance in capture abilities. In spring, the selection of frogs by females overlapped with vitellogenesis, suggesting that females compensate for the cost of reproduction by selecting green frogs, which have a greater biomass and higher energy content than fish. Carps eaten in spring were smaller than in summer. Moreover, in summer viperine snakes selected smaller carp than the available mean size. This divergent tendency between carp size selection and carp size availability reveals how seasonal diet shifts in prey size selection may be a response to an increase in prey size.     

β-Ar-ACETYL D-GALACTOSAMINIDASE IN BULK SEPARATED NEURONS AND NEUROPIL FROM RAT CEREBRAL CORTEX

Abstract— β- N -Acetyl D-galactosaminidase was studied in isolated neuronal and neuropil fractions from cerebral cortex and subcellular fractions derived from them. Although the enzyme activity evinced some latency properties, its subcellular distribution pattern was broader than that observed with other acid hydrolases. By contrast with nine other acid hydrolases, it was more active in neuropil than neuronal fractions (neuronal/neuropil activity ratio 0.63). This ratio was preserved in lysosomal subfractions derived from the isolated cell fractions. The data is taken as further evidence for the microheterogeneity of lysosomal particles from the brain.