Optogenetic activation of accessory olfactory bulb input to the forebrain differentially modulates investigation of opposite versus same-sex urinary chemosignals and stimulates mating in male mice

Surgical or genetic disruption of vomeronasal organ (VNO)-accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) function previously eliminated the ability of male mice to processes pheromones that elicit territorial behavior and aggression. By contrast, neither disruption significantly affected mating behaviors, although VNO lesions reduced males' investigation of nonvolatile female pheromones. We explored the contribution of VNO-AOB pheromonal processing to male courtship using optogenetic activation of AOB projections to the forebrain. Protocadherin-Cre male transgenic mice received bilateral AOB infections with channelrhodopsin2 (ChR2) viral vectors, and an optical fiber was implanted above the AOB. In olfactory choice tests, males preferred estrous female urine (EFU) over water; however, this preference was eliminated when diluted (5%) EFU was substituted for 100% EFU. Optogenetic AOB activation concurrent with nasal contact significantly augmented males' investigation compared to 5% EFU alone. Conversely, concurrent optogenetic AOB activation significantly reduced males' nasal investigation of diluted urine from gonadally intact males (5% IMU) compared to 5% IMU alone. These divergent effects of AOB optogenetic activation were lost when males were prevented from making direct nasal contact. Optogenetic AOB stimulation also failed to augment males' nasal investigation of deionized water or of food odors. Finally, during mating tests, optogenetic AOB stimulation delivered for 30 s when the male was in physical contact with an estrous female significantly facilitated the occurrence of penile intromission. Our results suggest that VNO-AOB signaling differentially modifies males' motivation to seek out female vs male urinary pheromones while augmenting males' sexual arousal leading to intromission and improved reproductive performance

Estudio de la Curva de Crecimiento en la Gallina Utrerana

Utilizando el modelo de Gompertz se compararon las curvas de crecimiento de pollos de las tres variedades de la raza Utrerana: La Utreana Negra, la Perdiz y la Franciscana. El estudio se realizó alojando los animales en cautividad en el Centro Agropecuario Provincial de la Diputación de Córdoba. Se observó que la variedad Franciscana alcanzó un mayor peso a la madurez con 2870.3 g, seguida de la varidad Negra y, finalmente, de la variedad Perdiz con 2504.7 y 2181.8 g., respectivamente. En lo que respecta a la velocidad de crecimiento de la raza, la variedad Franciscana mostró las mayores tasas de crecimiento hasta el punto de inflexión, en tanto que los menores índices de crecimiento a partir de dicho punto lo obtuvo la variedad Perdiz. El punto de inflexión se alcanzó a los 62.16, 59.31 y 60.82 días por este orden, para la variedad Franciscana, Negra y Pediz. Los pesos en ese punto fueron de 1056.03g para la variedad Franciscana, 921.52 g para la Negra y 802.72 g para la Perdiz

Estudio comparativo de las características físicas del semen de ovino en el laboratorio de reproducción asistida de la Diputación de Córdoba

En el presente trabajo se ha realizado un estudio comparativo de las caracteristicas físicas (volumen y concentración) de semen procedente de las extracciones realizadas en el laboratorio de Reproducción Asistida de Pequeños Rumiantes (código comunitario ES-04-02-0C), ubicado en el Centro Agropecuario Provincial de la Diputación de Córdoba, durante los años 2003, 2004 y 2005. Estos trabajos se vienen desarrollando en el seno de los convenios de colaboración suscritos entre la institución cordobesa y las Asociaciones de Criadores de Ovinos Precoces, Merino y Lacaune, para la mejora genética de los rebaños de la provincia mediante el empleo de técnicas de inseminación artificial como medida de apoyo al desarrollo de los esquemas de selección de estas razas. Se realizó un análisis de varianza para la evaluación de la influencia de los efectos del año de extracción, la raza, la época de extracción y la interacción entre la raza y la época de extracción sobre el volumen y la concentración seminal

Direct Statistical Constraints on the Natal Kick velocity of a Black Hole in an X-ray Quiet Binary

In recent years, a handful of ``dark" binaries have been discovered with a non-luminous compact object. Astrometry and radial velocity measurements of the bright companion allow us to measure the post-supernova orbital elements of such a binary. In this paper, we develop a statistical formalism to use such measurements to infer the pre-supernova orbital elements, and the natal kick imparted by the supernova (SN). We apply this formalism to the recent discovery of an X-ray quiet binary with a black hole, VFTS 243, in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Assuming an isotropic, Maxwellian distribution on natal kicks and using broad agnostic mass priors, we find that kick velocity can be constrained to $V_k < 72$ km/s and the dispersion of the kick distribution to $\sigma_k < 68$ km/s at 90 % confidence. We find that a Blaauw kick cannot be ruled out and }that at least about $0.6 M_{\odot}$ was lost during the supernova with 90 % confidence. The pre-SN orbital separation is found to be robustly constrained to be around $0.3$ AU.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure

RP-HPLC METHOD FOR ESTIMATION OF TIAPRIDE RELATED SUBSTANCE IN TABLET FORMULATION

Objective: To develop a simple, precise, accurate related substance, reverse phase high-performance liquid chomatographic (RP-HPLC) method for the quantitative estimation of impurities which are present in dosage form of Tiapride Hydrochloride.Methods: The chomatographic separation was achieved with Inertsil C8 (250 × 4.6) mm, 5µ column with mobile phase containing a gradient mixture of 0.05 mM aqueous sodiumdihydrogen phosphate (KH2PO4)solution buffer: (with octanesulphonate and final pH of buffer was adjusted to 2.7 with Orthophosphoric acid): Acetonitrile: Methanol (800:150:50 v/v), flow rate of 1.5 ml/min and a detection wavelength of 240 nm.Results: The method exhibited linearity between range 0.125 to 1200 µg/ml, shows well resolved degradation products from Tiapride hydrochloride tablet with 0.063 µg/ml of LOD (limit of detection) and 0.125 µg/ml of LOQ (limit of Quantification). Forced degradation studies proved that the method is specific for Tiapride Hydrochloride and N-oxide Tiapride reported in European pharmacopeia and British pharmacopeia is one of the degradation impurity confirmed by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis.Conclusion: An accurate, precise, linear, robust and specific related substance RP-HPLC method was developed and validated for the quantitative estimation of impurities presented in pharmaceutical dosage form of Tiapride Hydrochloride as per ICH guidelines. The method is stability indicating used for separation of degradation products and can be used for the identification of process related impurity.Â

NON-DESTRUCTIVE RAMAN SPECTROSCOPIC METHOD FOR ESTIMATION OF MONTELUKAST FROM TABLET DOSAGES FORM

Objective: A rapid, non-destructive and non-solvent raman spectroscopic method for estimation of Montelukast from tablet dosages form Methods: Quantification was carried out by measuring the intensity of analyte peak at 1440 cm-1. Each Raman spectrum corresponded to an accumulation of 4 scans with an exposure time of 5 sec for each scan with a total integration time of 20 sec.Results: The method exhibited linearity between 2 mg-24 mg show well resolve quantification From MON. The linearity equation was calculated as y = 13.036x+70.819 and the correlation coefficient was found to be 0.997 for MON. LOD (limit of detection) and LOQ(limit of quantification) values were calculated using the calibration curve slope and standard deviation of the response. The LOD (limit of detection) and LOQ (limit of quantification) values were found to be 1.71 mg and 5.13 mg respectively.Conclusion: The developed method was successfully applied for assay of montelukast in the intact formulation. The method was validated according to an international conference on harmonisation guidelines. A recent study, montelukast sodium had been analysed by the raman method, but, looking into the tremendous potential of raman spectroscopic method; it can be extended as a process analysis and technology tool in various quality checks during manufacturing of pharmaceutical products

Type-2 fuzzy sets applied to multivariable self-organizing fuzzy logic controllers for regulating anesthesia

In this paper, novel interval and general type-2 self-organizing fuzzy logic controllers (SOFLCs) are proposed for the automatic control of anesthesia during surgical procedures. The type-2 SOFLC is a hierarchical adaptive fuzzy controller able to generate and modify its rule-base in response to the controller's performance. The type-2 SOFLC uses type-2 fuzzy sets derived from real surgical data capturing patient variability in monitored physiological parameters during anesthetic sedation, which are used to define the footprint of uncertainty (FOU) of the type-2 fuzzy sets. Experimental simulations were carried out to evaluate the performance of the type-2 SOFLCs in their ability to control anesthetic delivery rates for maintaining desired physiological set points for anesthesia (muscle relaxation and blood pressure) under signal and patient noise. Results show that the type-2 SOFLCs can perform well and outperform previous type-1 SOFLC and comparative approaches for anesthesia control producing lower performance errors while using better defined rules in regulating anesthesia set points while handling the control uncertainties. The results are further supported by statistical analysis which also show that zSlices general type-2 SOFLCs are able to outperform interval type-2 SOFLC in terms of their steady state performance