Gas Chromatographic/Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Volatile Metabolites in Bovine Vaginal Fluid and Assessment of Their Bioactivity

The chemical profiles of vaginal fluid collected from cows in oestrus and nonoestrus were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to establish any qualitative differences that might have potential value in bovine biocommunication. Eight different organic compounds were detected using the two chromatograms. The chemical profiles of oestrus vaginal fluid were distinguished significantly by the presence of three specific substances, namely, trimethylamine, acetic acid, and propionic acid that were not present in nonoestrus phase. The oestrus specific synthetic compounds were rubbed onto the genital region of nonoestrus animals (dummy cows), and the bulls were allowed to sniff the genital region and observed sexual behaviours. The statistical significance was higher (P < 0.001) in bulls exhibiting repeated flehmen and mounting behaviours towards the mixture of acetic acid, propionic acid, and trimethylamine as compared to test these compounds separately. It was concluded that the volatile substances present in the bovine vaginal fluid during oestrus may act as chemical communicators

Analysis of epididymal proteins during sexual maturation in male albino mice

Androgen dependent epididymal proteins act as antigen to produce autoantibodies and affect normal fertility. In the present study, epididymal proteins were analyzed during the time of sexual maturation and their androgen dependency was studied in male albino mice. Epididymis of 21 days (Pre-pubertal), 45 days (Pubertal), 60 days (Post-pubertal), orchidectomized (15 days after surgery) and orchidectomized with testosterone-treated (15 days after treatment) mice were dissected out and analyzed. Caput, corpus and cauda epididymidis were separated and the protein extract was prepared with 0.1 M PBS for 10% SDS-PAGE analysis. Testosterone assay was performed in the experimental groups except the testosterone treated group. The electrophoretic analysis of proteins in caput, corpus and cauda epididymidis of orchidectomized animals showed the disappearance of several proteins as compared to the adult. However, the disappeared proteins started to reappear in testosterone treated animals. The results suggest that removal of testis depletes the testosterone level and causes significant alteration in epididymal proteins. These proteins need further investigation for the purpose of immunocontraception by using them as antigens

A machine learning approach for the identification of odorant binding proteins from sequence-derived properties

Background: Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) are believed to shuttle odorants from the environment to the underlying odorant receptors, for which they could potentially serve as odorant presenters. Although several sequence based search methods have been exploited for protein family prediction, less effort has been devoted to the prediction of OBPs from sequence data and this area is more challenging due to poor sequence identity between these proteins. Results: In this paper, we propose a new algorithm that uses Regularized Least Squares Classifier (RLSC) in conjunction with multiple physicochemical properties of amino acids to predict odorantbinding proteins. The algorithm was applied to the dataset derived from Pfam and GenDiS database and we obtained overall prediction accuracy of 97.7% (94.5% and 98.4% for positive and negative classes respectively). Conclusion: Our study suggests that RLSC is potentially useful for predicting the odorant binding proteins from sequence-derived properties irrespective of sequence similarity. Our method predicts 92.8% of 56 odorant binding proteins non-homologous to any protein in the swissprot database and 97.1% of the 414 independent dataset proteins, suggesting the usefulness of RLSC method for facilitating the prediction of odorant binding proteins from sequence information

Cloning and sequencing of α-2u globulin of rat preputial gland to assess its longevity in the context of developing an effective rodent trap

433-438α-2u globulin, a pheromone binding protein found majorly in the preputial gland, was reported to involve in chemo-communication of rats. The biosynthesis of this pheromone binding protein is under complex multihormonal control and its regulation takes place at transcription level. Assessing and increasing the longevity of this protein may retain the volatility of pheromone. So far nearly 20 isoforms of α-2u globulin in rat have been studied. The present study was aimed to extend the longevity of pheromone compound by cloning and sequencing of the mRNA which codes for α-2u globulin in the preputial gland of Rattus novergicus. Unexpectedly, this study resulted in a new isoform, which is similar in function with α-2u globulin protein with some different exons removed. Further analysis with this isoform may pave a way for rodent pest management

An evaluation of the prevalence, cause and risk factors associated with leucorrhoea in reproductive age group women

Background: The community based study was carried out in women of reproductive age group with a specific aim to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors of leucorrhoea.Methods: In this investigation, a total of 191 women who presented with gynaecological complaint of white discharge and seeking medical assistance was taken as a study sample for PAP smear. The basic details like socio demographic, past obstetric history and menstrual history were included prior to the smear study.Results: High prevalence of vaginal discharge was observed in the age group of 30-39, those who had two parity, previous obstetric history of normal vaginal delivery and usage of Copper T as a method of contraception. The binary logistics model explains the risk factors levels of abnormal vaginal discharge with 95% confident interval. Based on the data analysed, the age group of 30-39 and 40-49 are more likely to have a risk of 3.22 and 2.68 folds respectively. Likewise, the participants with the history of diabetes had a 2.08 folds increased risk of leucorrhoea rather than other complications and 2.21 folds of risk to those who used barrier methods like condom as a contraceptive method.Conclusions: The results concluded that the occurrence of vaginal discharge in women is age dependent and the most common risk factors for causing the vaginal discharge in the reproductive age group i.e. 30-49 years of age, are previous normal vaginal delivery, diabetes and usage of contraceptive methods like intra uterine contraceptive device and barrier methods

Effect of phenolic compounds released during degradation of Coir pith by Oscillatoria annae on Albino rat ( Rattus norvegicus )

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of degraded coir pith based cyanobacterial culture filtrate on Rattus norvegicus . The culture filtrate containing phenolic compound was administered at a rate of 42 mg/Kg for 15 days and its effect on serum glucose, protein, creatinine, urea, uric acid, alkaline phosphate (ALP), serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) and sperm analysis was studied. The results showed a significant reduction in the levels of serum glucose and liver marker enzymes while serum protein and renal function test showed normal level in both experimental and control rats. Also, a significant reduction in semen count was reported. The results suggested that the phenolic compound of the culture filtrate appears to be non toxic in the tested animals @ JASE

Stud male-originating chemosignals: A luteotrophic agent

5-16The chemosignals from mating male are found to be responsible for protecting his coital partner against pregnancy failure induced by strange male or food-deprivation. The stud male pheromone not only provides luteotrophic support in female of vulnerable condition but also exerts luteotrophic effect in pregnancy-blocked females by inducing pseudopregnancy. The luteotrophic stimulus rendered by stud male to prevent pregnancy failure is mediated through the main olfactory system, and not through the accessory olfactory system, since the accessory olfactory system is primarily involved in perceiving the luteolytic stimulus produced from strange male for causing pregnancy failure. It has been shown that pericopulatory period seems to be crucial in females in the formation of stud male chemosignals, and the olfactory luteotrophic memory of stud male is further proved to be a short-term one. The precise mechanism involved in accessing and retaining the stud male chemical cues is unclear. In this brief review an attempt has been made to bring out the luteotrophic process of stud male chemosignals, the olfactory pathway and critical period to access the signals. The possible neural mechanism and neural chemistry underlying the formation and recognition of mating male chemical cues are also highlighted

Identification of α-2u globulin in the rat preputial gland by MALDI-TOF analysis

319-322The low molecular mass proteins found in the pheromonal sources such as urine, saliva, glandular secretion etc have been reported as ligand carriers for the processes of chemo-communication in mammals. The preputial gland plays an important role in the production of olfactory signals for pheromonal communication. Thus, in the present study, α-2u globulin having molecular mass of 18 kDa has been identified in the preputial gland of Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) by in-gel trypsin digestion and analyzing the resulting peptides by MALDI-TOF. Since preputial gland is one of the major pheromonal sources in rat, the results suggest that α-2u globulin might act as a carrier for hydrophobic odorants of preputial gland

Evaluation of anticardiolipin antibodies and antiphosphatidylserine antibodies in women with recurrent abortion

BACKGROUND: Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a major reproductive complication in women, which is characterized by recurrent fetal loss, thrombosis, and thrombocytopenia in association with anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL). AIMS: To analyze the prevalence of aCL and antiphosphatidylserine antibodies (aPS) in relation to pregnancy failures in women with the history of recurrent spontaneous abortion. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A sequential study of 155 patients, who had three or more recurrent spontaneous abortions, was carried out. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Women with unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss in first trimester were selected for this study. Anticardiolipin antibodies IgG and aPS IgG were detected in the serum by the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay method. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Percentage calculation was carried out. Two-tailed t-test was performed to know the significance of aCL and aPS total population. RESULT: The levels of aCL IgG and aPS IgG were detected as 40% (62) and 19% (18), respectively in women with history of recurrent abortion. CONCLUSION: Anticardiolipin antibody is found to be the most important factor for recurrent abortion. In addition, women with negative aCL are having positive for another antiphospholipid antibodies like aPS, which may involve in recurrent abortion

<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-IN;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN;mso-bidi-language: HI" lang="EN-IN">Role of male scent glands in improving poison bait acceptance in female rats, <i>Rat-tus norvegicus</i></span>

53-57<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:" times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";="" color:black;mso-ansi-language:en-in;mso-fareast-language:en-in;mso-bidi-language:="" hi"="" lang="EN-IN">The poison (Zn3P2) bait mixed with preputial gland and cheek gland extract was highly effective as compared to poison bait mixed without the scent gland extract, in increasing the food consumption and mortality rate in rats. Among these two scent glands, preputial gland extract was more effective than cheek gland extract in increasing the bait acceptance. The scent gland extract mixed with poison bait was capable of improving the poison bait acceptance. A 10% concentration of scent gland extract was more effective than 5% concentration in acceptance of poison bait. The results suggest efficacy of scent gland in improving the poison bait acceptance.</span