Chromium (III) induced haematological alterations in Indian common carp, Labeo rohita (Ham.)

The principle source of chromium in water bodies is discharged from industries which use large amount of chromates or dichromates. The freshwater fish, Labeo rohita was used as a model in the present studies to investigate the responses to chromium metal salt contamination in water bodies as it is the most common fish consumed widely in India. Haematological tests were carried out as these are the important diagnostic tools and are equally valuable as indicators of disease or stress due to pollutants and environmental fluctuations. The fishLabeo rohita were exposed to sublethal concentration of chromium chloride for 10, 20 and 30 days to study alterations in certain haematological parameters. The parameters under study were total erythrocyte count (TEC), haemoglobin (Hb gm%), total leucocyte count (TLC), differential leucocyte count (DLC) and pack cell volume (PCV). The studies revealed that chromium chloride-treated Labeo rohita exhibited decreased levels of total erythrocyte count (TEC), haemoglobinn (Hb gm%) and PCV whereas, total leucocyte count (TLC) was increased under thestress of chromium metal The decreased WBC count found after 30 days along with depleted Hb content and RBC count indicate dysfunctioning of haemopoietic systems along with dysleucopoiesis. Leucocytosis observed after 10 and 20 days exposure has been considered to be an adaptation to meet stressful conditions by animals. Increase in macrophages and basophils appears to be protective response during chromium exposure. An increasing trend in the mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were evident in fish exposed to sublethal doses of chromium chloride when compared with the control

Chromium, nickel and zinc induced histopathological alterations in the gill of Indian common carp Labeo rohita (Ham.)

Degenerative histopathalogical alterations were seen in gills due to chronic exposure of the fish, Labeo rohita to chlorides of chromium, nickel and zinc for 30 days. However, more severe degenerative changes were observed in case of zinc chloride exposed fish than nickel chloride and chromium chloride treated fishes, indicating more toxic nature of zinc chloride. Mucus secretion over the gill lamellae was seen prominently in all the experimental fishes. However, in zinc chloride treated fish there was excessive mucus secretion after ten days of exposure andafter thirty days, epithelial lifting was seen. In chromium chloride and nickel chloride treated fishes there was basal hyperplasia, which indicated compensatory mechanism in ion regulation to adjust with the toxic stress

Chromium, Nickel and Zinc Induced Histopathological Alterations in the Liver of Indian Common Carp Labeo rohita (Ham.)

Degenerative histopathalogical alterations were seen in liver due to chronic exposure of the fish, Labeo rohita to chlorides of chromium, nickel and zinc for 30 days. However, more severe degenerative changes were observed in case of zinc chloride exposed fish than nickel chloride and chromium chloride treated fishes, indicating more toxic nature of zinc chloride. There were enlarged nuclei, condensation of cytoplasm and disarray of hepatic cords blood congestion in sinusoids, vacuolation of hepatocytes and necrosis. Heavy metal salts get entered in the cells by readily crossing the cell membranes where interfere with the enzyme systems in the cells resulting into morphological damage and / or their vital functions could be in jeopardy

VUV PROPERTIES OF Eu3+- DOPED YBO3 PHOSPHOR PREPARED VIA ALDO-KETO AND SOLID-STATE PROCESS

The Eu3+ doped YBO3 was prepared by the novel aldo-keto method. The structure and VUV luminescence properties of the title compound were studied and compared to the corresponding properties of the materials prepared by a conventional solid state reaction. The use of novel aldo-keto method in preparation lowered the reaction threshold temperature by c.a. 300oC. The YBO3 phosphor from the aldo-keto method look like evenly sized spherical structures, whereas those from the solid-state process look like some agglomerates of little spheres. The Eu3+-doped YBO3 phosphors prepared by both methods showed the red emission with peak around 592, 611 and 627 nm at excitations wavelengths 147 and172 nm, which corresponds to the transitions from the excited 5D0 level to the 7FJ (J = 1, 2, 3, 4) levels of Eu3+ activators. However, the emission intensity of the Eu3+ doped YBO3 from the aldo-keto system is about 2 times as much as that from the sold-state process

On Protection by Layout Randomization

Layout randomization is a powerful, popular technique for software protection. We present it and study it in programming-language terms. More specifically, we consider layout randomization as part of an implementation for a high-level programming language; the implementation translates this language to a lower-level language in which memory addresses are numbers. We analyze this implementation, by relating low-level attacks against the implementation to contexts in th

Nutritional upgrading for omnivorous carpenter ants by the endosymbiont Blochmannia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Carpenter ants (genus <it>Camponotus</it>) are considered to be omnivores. Nonetheless, the genome sequence of <it>Blochmannia floridanus</it>, the obligate intracellular endosymbiont of <it>Camponotus floridanus</it>, suggests a function in nutritional upgrading of host resources by the bacterium. Thus, the strongly reduced genome of the endosymbiont retains genes for all subunits of a functional urease, as well as those for biosynthetic pathways for all but one (arginine) of the amino acids essential to the host.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Nutritional upgrading by <it>Blochmannia </it>was tested in 90-day feeding experiments with brood-raising in worker-groups on chemically defined diets with and without essential amino acids and treated or not with antibiotics. Control groups were fed with cockroaches, honey water and Bhatkar agar. Worker-groups were provided with brood collected from the queenright mother-colonies (45 eggs and 45 first instar larvae each). Brood production did not differ significantly between groups of symbiotic workers on diets with and without essential amino acids. However, aposymbiotic worker groups raised significantly less brood on a diet lacking essential amino acids. Reduced brood production by aposymbiotic workers was compensated when those groups were provided with essential amino acids in their diet. Decrease of endosymbionts due to treatment with antibiotic was monitored by qRT-PCR and FISH after the 90-day experimental period. Urease function was confirmed by feeding experiments using ¹⁵N-labelled urea. GC-MS analysis of ¹⁵N-enrichment of free amino acids in workers revealed significant labelling of the non-essential amino acids alanine, glycine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid, as well as of the essential amino acids methionine and phenylalanine.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results show that endosymbiotic <it>Blochmannia </it>nutritionally upgrade the diet of <it>C. floridanus </it>hosts to provide essential amino acids, and that it may also play a role in nitrogen recycling via its functional urease. <it>Blochmannia </it>may confer a significant fitness advantage via nutritional upgrading by enhancing competitive ability of <it>Camponotus </it>with other ant species lacking such an endosymbiont. Domestication of the endosymbiont may have facilitated the evolutionary success of the genus <it>Camponotus</it>.</p

Friends and Foes from an Ant Brain's Point of View – Neuronal Correlates of Colony Odors in a Social Insect

Background: Successful cooperation depends on reliable identification of friends and foes. Social insects discriminate colony members (nestmates/friends) from foreign workers (non-nestmates/foes) by colony-specific, multi-component colony odors. Traditionally, complex processing in the brain has been regarded as crucial for colony recognition. Odor information is represented as spatial patterns of activity and processed in the primary olfactory neuropile, the antennal lobe (AL) of insects, which is analogous to the vertebrate olfactory bulb. Correlative evidence indicates that the spatial activity patterns reflect odor-quality, i.e., how an odor is perceived. For colony odors, alternatively, a sensory filter in the peripheral nervous system was suggested, causing specific anosmia to nestmate colony odors. Here, we investigate neuronal correlates of colony odors in the brain of a social insect to directly test whether they are anosmic to nestmate colony odors and whether spatial activity patterns in the AL can predict how odor qualities like ‘‘friend’’ and ‘‘foe’’ are attributed to colony odors. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using ant dummies that mimic natural conditions, we presented colony odors and investigated their neuronal representation in the ant Camponotus floridanus. Nestmate and non-nestmate colony odors elicited neuronal activity: In the periphery, we recorded sensory responses of olfactory receptor neurons (electroantennography), and in the brain, we measured colony odor specific spatial activity patterns in the AL (calcium imaging). Surprisingly, upon repeated stimulation with the same colony odor, spatial activity patterns were variable, and as variable as activity patterns elicited by different colony odors. Conclusions: Ants are not anosmic to nestmate colony odors. However, spatial activity patterns in the AL alone do not provide sufficient information for colony odor discrimination and this finding challenges the current notion of how odor quality is coded. Our result illustrates the enormous challenge for the nervous system to classify multi-component odors and indicates that other neuronal parameters, e.g., precise timing of neuronal activity, are likely necessary for attribution of odor quality to multi-component odors