Annual reproductive phase-related profile of sex steroids and their carrier, SHBG, in the Indian major carp, Labeo rohita.

This study reports annual cyclic changes in the plasma levels of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), sex steroids (E(2), estradiol; T, testosterone; P, progesterone) and protein (PRT) in correlation with reproductive phases in both sexes of an Indian major carp, Labeo rohita. Plasma SHBG, E(2), T and PRT levels in females and SHBG and T levels in males showed steady increases (p<0.005) in parallel with the gonadosomatic index (GSI) escalation in the preparatory and prespawning phases attaining peak levels before spawning.

Oxytocin and vasopressin immunoreactivity within the forebrain and limbic-related areas in the mustached bat, Pteronotus parnellii.

The nonapeptides, oxytocin and arginine vasopressin, play an important role in mammalian social and reproductive behavior. Using immunocytochemical procedures, we identified oxytocin-immunoreactive neurons in the frontal and auditory cortices, limbic areas such as the medial septal nucleus, horizontal limb of the diagonal band and the amygdala. Only arginine vasopressin neurons were present in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis.

HIV risk behaviour among psychiatric inpatients: results from a hospital-wide screening study in southern India.

The study was carried out to investigate the prevalence and correlates of sexual risk behaviour among psychiatric inpatients in India. Consecutive inpatients (n = 618) were assessed using a structured interview and standardized measures. Women were more likely to be sexually active (50%) than men (36%), but equally likely (6% vs 5%) to engage in risky behaviour.

Communication of the musculocutaneous nerve with the median nerve.

Objective: To study the frequency of occurrence as well as the course and variations in the communicating branch of the musculocutaneous nerve and the relationship of the communicating branch to other structures in the upper arms of Zimbabwean subjects.

Design: Cross sectional anatomical dissections.

Setting: Department of Anatomy,University of Zimbabwe Medical School, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Absence of musculocutaneous nerve: two case reports.

Anomalies of the brachial plexus including its terminal branches as well as the course and distribution of the nerves in the upper limb have been reported in the literature. Two cases of absent musculocutaneous nerve from the lateral cord of the brachial plexus encountered during routine gross anatomical dissection are reported. The median nerve took over the area of supply of the musculocutaneous nerve by giving both the muscular and sensory branches.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone-immunoreactive neurons and associated nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase-positive neurons in the brain of a teleost, Rhodeus amarus.

Using combined nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase (NADPHd) histochemistry and salmon gonadotropin-releasing hormone (sGnRH) immunocytochemistry, it is reported for the first time that possible potential contacts occur between the nitric oxide (NO)- and the GnRH-containing neurons in the brain of a freshwater teleost, Rhodeus amarus. GnRH-immunoreactive (ir) neurons were observed in the olfactory nerve (OLN), olfactory bulb (OB), medial olfactory tract (MOT), ventral telencephalon (VT), nucleus preopticus periventricularis (NPP), nucleus lateralis tuberis (NLT), and midbrain tegmentum (MT). Although NADPHd neurons were widely distributed in the brain, only those having an association with GnRH-ir neurons are described.

Ascending spinal projections to the optic tectum, facial and vagal lobes in the goldfish, Carassius auratus.

Using biotinylated dextran-amines as tracer, we observed prominent ascending spinal projections to three unreported areas in the gold fish brain viz. the optic tectum (OT), facial (FL) and vagal (VL) lobes. From the lateral spinal lemniscus (LSL), some fiber tracts separated off and extended mediodorsally, fanned out and innervated the FL.

Distribution of NADPH-diaphorase activity in the hypothalamo-hypophysial system of the frog, Rana esculenta.

Using nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)-diaphorase (ND) histochemistry, this study reports a wide distribution of ND activity in the hypothalamus, and for the first time in the median eminence (ME), the neural lobe (NL) and in the pars distalis (PD) of the frog, Rana esculenta. Perikarya are ND-active within the nucleus preopticus (NPO), the nucleus preopticus periventricularis (NPP), located around the preoptic recess (PR), the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and within five infundibular nuclei. Several ND-positive neurons of the nucleus infundibularis ventralis are cerebrospinal fluid-contacting in nature, while a few occupy a subependymal region.

Functional decline in older adults: expanding methods of ascertainment.

Background: There is substantial interest in the prevention of physical disability associated with aging. However, little is known about how to screen for declining function at sufficiently early stages to prevent frank disability. This work provides an initial description and assessment of a new self-report method for measuring function in older adults which complements standard methods and may be sensitive to subtler degrees of disablement than currently employed methods.

Visual impairment and disability in older adults.

Background: Previous studies have reported that reduced visual acuity is associated with functional dependence in older persons. The purpose of this study was to determine whether components of vision impairment besides reduced acuity contribute to reduced functional independence.

Methods: Community dwelling adults aged 65 years and older were administered a battery of vision tests including distance acuity, letter contrast sensitivity, disability glare, and stereoacuity.

An evaluation of adi agbon as a clearing agent in paraffin processing of embryonic tissues--preliminary report.

Adi agbon, an oily extract of the endosperm of the coconut fruit (Cocoa nucifera, L.) was investigated as a clearing agent for embryonic soft tissues. Paraffin sections stained with haematoxylin an eosin revealed normal tissue architecture and light microscopic details were easily identified.

Combined nephrotoxicity of methylmercury, lead, and cadmium in Pekin ducks: metallothionein, metal interactions, and histopathology.

This report describes the metallothionein (MT) levels and accumulation of mercury, lead, and cadmium, as well as their interaction with tissue zinc, copper, and iron, and the histopathological changes in kidneys of ducks exposed to methylmercury chloride (MeHgCl), lead acetate (PbAc), and cadmium chloride (CdCl2), singly or in combination for 13 wk. Forty-eight female Pekin ducks, divided into 8 groups of 6 birds each, were fed diets containing no added metals (control), 8 mg MeHgCl/kg feed, 80 mg PbAc/kg feed, 80 mg CdCl2/kg feed, 8 mg MeHgCl + 80 mg PbAc/kg feed, 8 mg MeHgCl + 80 mg CdCL2/kg feed, 80 mg PbAc + 80 mg CdCl2/kg feed, and 8 mg MeHgCl + 80 mg PbAc + 80 mg CdCL2/kg feed. Cadmium (Cd) when administered alone or in combination caused a 60-fold increase in kidney MT levels, while methylmercury (MeHg) or lead (Pb) administration caused a threefold increase in kidney MT levels.

Descending projection neurons to the spinal cord of the goldfish, Carassius auratus.

The sources of descending spinal tracts in the goldfish, Carassius auratus, were visualized by retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) administered to the hemisected spinal cord. In the diencephalon, HRP-positive neurons were identified in the nucleus preopticus magnocellularis pars magnocellularis and ventromedial nucleus of the thalamus of the ipsilateral side. In the mesencephalic tegmentum, a few somata of the contralateral nucleus ruber and several ipsilateral neurons of the nucleus of the median longitudinal fasciculus were labeled.

Effects of cadmium inhalation on mitochondrial enzymes in rat tissues.

Pulmonary and extrapulmonary effects from a 2-h inhalation exposure to cadmium (850 micrograms Cd/m3) were studied in male rats. The effect of this chemical on mitochondrial enzyme activity in the lung, liver, kidney, and testis were investigated immediately after exposure and at 48, 144, and 336 h postexposure. In all tissues studied, mitochondrial citrate synthase activity was significantly increased immediately after the cessation of the exposure.

Asymmetry of the olfactory system in the brain of the winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus.

Adult flatfishes exhibit grossly asymmetric external morphology. Even the olfactory apparatus is asymmetric, being larger on the upward-facing side. We undertook the present study on the winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus, to examine whether the asymmetry of the peripheral olfactory system is maintained in its central organization.

Effects of intraperitoneal cadmium administration on mitochondrial enzymes in rat tissues.

The effects of cadmium on some mitochondrial enzymes of kidney, testis and lung were investigated in male rats. Rats were injected intraperitoneally with 3 mg Cd/kg body weight and its effects were studied 24, 72 and 144 h later. Succinic dehydrogenase and cytochrome c oxidase activities were significantly inhibited in kidney, testis and lung mitochondria.

The ipsilateral retinotectal projection in normal and albino channel catfish.

The retinal projection to the ipsilateral optic tectum was examined first in normal channel catfish. After unilateral optic nerve section and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) application, a sparse retinal projection was seen in the ipsilateral optic tectum. When HRP was applied to the ipsilateral rostral tectum, labeled ganglion cells were observed in the ventrotemporal quadrant of the ipsilateral eye.

Retinofugal pathways in juvenile and adult channel catfish, Ictalurus (Ameiurus) punctatus: an HRP and autoradiographic study.

The retinal projections of the juvenile and adult channel catfish, Ictalurus (Ameiurus) punctatus, were studied by using horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and autoradiography. The contralateral optic tract sends fibers to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and divides into lateral (LOT) and medial optic tracts (MOT). In the adult fish, the former is thicker than the latter, whereas in the juvenile form, the reverse is true.

Changes in formaldehyde-induced fluorescence of the hypothalamus and pars intermedia in the frog, Rana temporaria, following background adaptation.

Adaptation of the frog, Rana temporaria, to a white background for 12 hr has resulted in an intense formaldehyde-induced fluorescence (FIF) in the neurons of the preoptic recess organ (PRO), paraventricular organ (PVO), nucleus infundibularis dorsalis (NID) and their basal processes permitting visualization of the PRO- and PVO-hypophysial tracts that extend into the median eminence (ME) and pars intermedia (PI); the FIF is reduced in all the structures by 3 days. In frogs adapted to a black background, for 12 hr and 3 days, there was a general reduction in the FIF of the PRO neurons and PRO-hypophysial tract. By 12 hr black background adaptation, the PVO/NID neurons and only their adjacent basal processes show FIF which was sharply reduced by 3 days, making the PVO-hypophysial tract undetectable.

Seasonal changes in the corpuscles of Stannius and the gonads of the catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch).

The seasonal changes in the corpuscles of Stannius (CS) and the gonads of the catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis were studied. The annual sex cycle of the fish has been divided into 4 phases on the basis of the variations in the gonosomatic index and histocytological features displayed by the testes and ovaries. There is a rise in the percentage of aldehyde fuchsin (AF)-positive cells in the CS and an increase in the nuclear diameter, at the beginning of preparatory period (February).

A cytoarchitectonic study of the hypothalamus of the lizard, Calotes versicolor.

The hypothalamic nuclei of the lizard, Calotes versicolor, can be broadly divided into "AF-positive" and "AF-negative". The AF-positive cell complexes include the nucleus supraopticus, nucleus paraventricularis, and a few interconnecting bridge cells. In addition, some AF-positive neurones are also observed in the median eminence.