Reactive oxygen species scavenging enzymes like catalase play diverse role in mammals. The presence of catalase in mammalian ovary is now well established. In the present investigation, changes in catalase activity in granulosa cells isolated from follicles at various stages of differentiation in response to FSH were studied. The follicles were dissected out from goat ovaries and classified as small (<3mm), medium (3-6mm) or large (>6mm). Granulosa cells were isolated from categorized follicles. Results showed that there was a three-fold increase in catalase activity in granulosa cells from large follicles as compared to small and medium follicles. The catalase activity was stimulated significantly when granulosa cells were treated with FSH in vitro. The minimum effective dose that could stimulate catalase activity and estradiol secretion in case of granulosa cells from small and medium sized follicles was 100 ng/ml; for larger follicles, this value was 200 ng/ml. Concomitant to the increase in catalase activity, the estradiol secretion was significantly enhanced when cultured goat granulosa cells were treated with FSH. It was concluded that enzyme catalase may have a functional role in goat ovarian follicular development under endocrine regulation.

Besides gonadotrophins various peptide growth factors have been implicated in the ovarian folliculogenesis. In this study, the effect of epidermal growth factor (EGF) (0, 0.1, 1.0, 10ng/ml culture medium) on steroidogenesis by caprine granulosa cells at various stages of maturation was investigated using serum free culture medium. Caprine granulosa cells were obtained from ovarian follicles and classified into three classes: small (<3mm), medium (3-6mm) and large (>6mm in diameter). EGF (10ng/m culture medium) alone reduced estradiol secretion in granulosa cell from small, medium and large follicles by 62, 48 and 29%, respectively, as compared with control. This inhibition was 50, 36 and 21%, respectively, when EGF (10ng/ml culture medium) was applied in combination with FSH (100ng/ml culture medium). EGF alone stimulated the secretion of progesterone in granulosa cells from all the three categories of follicles only at highest dose tested (10ng/ml culture medium). FSH acted synergistically with EGF in stimulating progesterone secretion by cultured granulosa cells. EGF in combination with FSH (100ng/ml culture medium) significantly (P<0.05) stimulated progesterone secretion by cultured granulosa cells from all three categories of follicles even at the lowest dose (0.1ng/ml culture medium) tested. In conclusion, EGF significantly influences the steroidogenesis by caprine granulosa cells in vitro and may play important role in the follicular growth and maturation.

Besides gonadotropins various other peptide factors have been implicated in the ovarian follicular growth and steroidogenesis. In this study, the effect of insulin like growth factor-1 on caprine granulosa cell steroidogenesis was investigated in vitro using serum free culture medium. Caprine granulosa cells were obtained from antral follicles classified into three classes: small, <3mm; medium, 3–6mm and large, >6mm in diameter. IGF-1 (10–500ng/ml) stimulated the secretion of estradiol and progesterone by granulosa cells from all three categories of follicles. However, the effect was more profound on cells from large follicles. IGF-1 (10–500ng/ml) acted in synergy with FSH (100ng/ml) to stimulate steroidogenesis by granulosa cells from all three categories of follicles, again the effect was more pronounced in cells from larger follicles. In summary, IGF-1 at physiological concentrations significantly influenced the steroidogenic activity of caprine granulosa cells cultured under serum free conditions. The results also suggest that estrogen and progesterone biosynthesis is differentially regulated by IGF-1 depending upon the size of the follicles from which the cells were obtained.

An experiment with the flour beetle Tribolium castaneum was carried out to study the long-term response to selection for pupal weight for 20 generations. Three population sizes (10, 20 and 40 pairs of parents) and 3 proportions selected (10%, 20% and 30%) were considered along with a control for each population size. The experiment was replicated twice. Fullsib heritability estimates for pupa weight did not follow any definite trend with regard to population size or selection intensity. Pooled realized heritability estimates were 0.52 in period· 1 (1 to 10 generations) and 0.35 in overall period (1 to 20 generations). At the end of the experiment, the selected and one control line were assayed tor the residual genetic variability. There was a reduction of 54 to 66 % in the heritability estimates measured from offspring-parent regression at the end of the experiment, compared to those estimated in the base population.

The biological action of insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) on follicular steroidogenesis during follicular development in common carp was examined. Studies were carried out by culturing small (1-2 mm diam.) and large (> 2 mm diam.) follicles. IGF-1 (0.3-100 ng/ml) had no effect on progesterone accumulation or aromatase activity during 48 hr culture of small follicles. Progesterone accumulation by large follicles was also unaffected by IGF-1 over the same period, although aromatase activity was stimulated in a dose dependent manner (8-fold increase over basal levels with a maximum stimulatory dose of 30 ng IGF-1/ml). In contrast, small and large follicles responded to IGF-1 in terms of both progesterone accumulation and aromatase activity after longer periods of culture (4 days for progesterone and 6 days for aromatase). Concurrent treatment of small follicles with estradiol (10(-7) M) enhanced the action of IGF-1 on both indices of steroidogenesis and advanced the time at which IGF-1 stimulated activity was first detectable. The effect of estradiol on follicular IGF-1 responsiveness were independent of cell number. In summary, these results demonstrate varied actions of IGF-1 carp ovarian follicular steroidogenesis in vitro. The results indicate that carp follicles acquire responsiveness to IGF-1 in terms of aromatase activity during follicular development in vivo and that estradiol can induce the response in vitro. The results also suggest that estrogen and progesterone biosynthesis by cultured carp ovarian follicles is differentially regulated by IGF-1. Together, these results provide new insights into the biological actions of IGF-1 in fish ovary.

An experiment with the flour beetle Tribolium castaneum was carried our to study the long-term response ro selection for pupal weight, for a period of 20 generation. Three population sizes (10, 20 and 40 pairs of parents) and three proportions selected (10%, 20% and 30%) were considered along with a control for each population size. The experiment was replicated twice. The response, in general, was maximum in lines under 10% selection, followed by 20% and 30%. The population size 40 was superior to 10 and 20. The performance of controls was stable throughout the experiment. The responses predicted using conventional approach were much higher than the observed values.

Laboratory column studies are done to investigate the variation of drainable porosity in relation to water table depth. Corresponding functional relationships are developed between drainable porosity and water table depth. The Boussinesq equation for non-steady-state ground-water flow is adapted and suitably modified by incorporating the variable drainable porosity function. The modified equation is solved using the extrapolated Crank-Nicolson difference scheme for predicting water table depth in relation to space and time. A sand-tank model experiment is done to find observed values of water table fluctuations. The prediction from the modified Boussinesq equation is compared with observed data. It is discovered that incorporating variable drainable porosity in the computation increases the accuracy of the prediction at all distances from the drain compared with using a constant value for drainable porosity. It is also discovered that water table predictions from the modified Boussinesq equation varied with observed data. This is attributed to lag time between the initiation of the drain outflow and response in water table drawdown in mathematical computation.

Thirty-four patients (18 men, 16 women, age range 40-80 years) with primary degenerative dementia, diagnosed by DSM-III (American Psychiatric Association 1980) criteria, were studied. All patients underwent thorough examination that included electrocardiogram (ECG) , electroencephalogram (EEG) , computed tomogram (CT), chest x-ray, blood count, serum electrolytes, blood urea and sugar, urine analysis, liver function tests, serological tests for syphilis, etc., which were designed to rule out any diseases that could cause or contribute to the dementia. The control population consisted of 34 age-matched, nonneurological and nonpsychiatric patients (25 men and 9 women). After informed consent, lumbar puncture was

A new technique of evaluating readily displaceable liquid has been outlined. The use of this technique has been illustrated for several breakthrough curves, highlighting the deviations in earlier estimates of pore volumes which are either positive or negative. The implication of these deviations has been discussed. The effect of this change in pore volume on Peclet number is presented. The prediction made with the new set of parameters is illustrated and compared with the observed data resulting in an overall improvement in predictions.

The one-dimensional dispersion equation with nonlinear adsorption isotherm was formulated with the assumption that equilibrium exists between the adsorbed and the solution phase. The equation was solved numerically, using the extrapolated Crank-Nicolson finite-difference scheme. The numerical results are compared with the analytical solution, numerical results and some experimental data. The agreement is good.