Many lizards rely on chemoreception for crucial aspects of their biology, including exploration, prey and predator detection, and intraspecific communication. Here we investigate sex and seasonal variation in size and proliferative activity in chemosensory areas of the lizard brain. We captured adult Iberian wall lizards (Podarcis hispanica) of either sex in the breeding (April) and non-breedin...

Axonal injury generates growth inert retraction bulbs with dynamic cytoskeletal properties that are severely compromised. Conversion of "frozen" retraction bulbs into actively progressing growth cones is a major aim in axon regeneration. Here we report that murine serum response factor (SRF), a gene regulator linked to the actin cytoskeleton, modulates growth cone actin dynamics during axon reg...

In India, agricultural soil has been deteriorated by various on-going practices involving application of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and effluents. Presently, Amritsar (Punjab), an agricultural land, is undergoing rigorous cultivation of wheat and rice crops which consequently increased the application of chemical pesticides and fertilizers for high yield. These agricultural practices are ...

The hair follicle consists of several distinctive epidermal cell layers. The hair root, which undergoes keratinization, is surrounded by two sheaths: the inner root sheath (IRS) and the outer root sheath (ORS). The ORS is continuous with the basal layer of the epidermis. Its cells do not keratinize in situ, unlike IRS. We have previously demonstrated that keratinization of the ORS was prevented...

Black mold disease caused by Aspergillus niger V. Tiegh. is the most devastating infection occurs in onions (Allium cepa L.) under field and store conditions. The use of biocontrol agents is ecofriendly approach for controlling seedborne and soilborne diseases compared to the use of toxic synthetic fungicides. This study has been designed to assess the contamination levels of onion seeds with A...

Critical periods and degrees of regeneration in injured olfactory bulbar projection neurons (mitral cells) were examined in adult rats whose lateral olfactory tracts (LOTs) were transected at different postnatal (P) days. After the LOTs were transected at P7, P10, and P14, a retrograde fluorescent tracer, Fluoro-Gold (FG), was injected into the posterior olfactory cortex (the olfactory tubercle...

This study comprises the optimization and validation of a new TLC method for determination of flavonols in the bulbs of seven cultivars of onions and shallots. Separation was performed on RP-18 plates with the solvent mixture tetrahydrofuran/water/formic acid (40+60+6, V/V/V) as a mobile phase. The method was evaluated for precision, linearity, LOD, LOQ, accuracy and robustness. Chromatographic...

Olfactory sensory neurons expressing a given odorant receptor gene project their axons with great precision to a few specific glomeruli in the olfactory bulb. It is not clear to which extent the positions of these glomeruli are fixed. We sought to evaluate the constancy of the glomerular array in the mouse by determining the relative positions of glomeruli for various odorant receptors, using a...

In this study, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of various solvent extracts (methanol, ethanol, acetone and petroleum benzine) obtained from bulbs and leaves of Allium deciduum subsp. deciduum and subsp. retrorsum were investigated. Antioxidant activity of the extracts was determined by DPPH radical scavenging and β-carotene/linoleic acid assays. In addition, total phenolic contents in ...

Squill [Urginea maritima (L.) Baker, Liliaceae] is a native medicinal and ornamental plant from the Mediterranean area. The bulbs were an ancient source of rodenticide products replaced later on by warfarin and modern anticoagulant raticides. Since rats have developed resistance to such products there is now renewed interest in the species. In the 1950s, attempts were made in the United States ...