The study was conducted in 18 clinically healthy male dogs of about 1 year of age, weighing up to 12 kg and divided into three groups of 6 animals each. Bupivacaine alone, bupivacaine + hyaluronidase and hyperbaric bupivacaine were given epidurally at lumbosacral space @2 mg/kg. bwt. with a maximum dose of 3 ml in the animals of groups I, II and III, respectively. A significant increase (P0.01) in rectal temperature, heart rate and respiration rate was recorded at initial intervals of observation in all the groups and thereafter these values follow a declining trend in all groups consistently and reached to almost base line value at 120 min. of observation The alterations of glucose, serum urea nitrogen, aspartate aminotransferase and creatinine estimated at 1hr, 2hrs, 4hrs and 24 hrs were remained within physiological limits in all the groups.Therefore induction of regional anaesthesia with bupivacaine and its combination revealed no permanent alteration in the biochemical and physiological parameters hence it is safe and satisfactory anaesthesia.

Ground fresh green leaves of Lucas aspera and Parthenium hysterophorus were screened for their molluscicidal property at dilutions of 1,000,2,500,5,000 and 10,000 ppm in water against fresh water snail, Indoplanorbis exustus at 6, 24 and 48 hr of exposure. Cent percent mortality of snails was noticed in all dilutions except the first one for each exposure time.

Out of73 washing samples from commonly used vegetable viz. dhania (14), coriander (Coriandrum sativum) (12), pudina (11), spinach (Spinacia oleracea) (9), carrot (15) and raddish (12) collected either from local vegetable markets or residences, only 2 carrot washings and one radish washing were found positive for strongyle ova and one dhania sample was positive for ascarid ova.

First lactation milk yield per day of lactation length of 379 Sahiwal cows, collected from cattle breeding farm, Chak Ganjaria, Lucknow were utilized for the present study. The optimum number of progeny size to achieve the accuracy attained by different methods of sire evaluation (Daughter's average (DA), contemporary comparison (CC), Least-squares (LS), Simple Regressed Least-squares (SRLS) and Best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP» ranged from 47.615 (CC) to 161.069 (BLUP). Similar results were also obtained in the ratio ofoptimum progeny size estimated by different methods with that of actual progeny size per sire available ranging from 5.270 (CC) to 17.828 (BLUP). Present findings revealed that BLUP method showed highest increase in accuracy of 207.72% among all the methods studied.

The present study reports the concentration of Copper, Zinc, Iron and Manganese in the blood plasma of male kutchi camels during their breeding season. The respective concentrations of the plasma trace minerals were 112.94 ±O.44, 105.65±2.08, 117.65±1.72 and 160.29±0.75 µ/dl.

Rabies virus (RV) is highly neurotropic and migrates to the neuronal soma by retrograde axonal transport from nerve terminals, after which it is taken by anterograde axonal transport to be finally released into the central nervous system (CNS) from which it disseminates, resulting in lethal encephalitis. Dorsal root ganglia (DRG) are crucial in the initial events of the infection by RV since they can act as a gate for the viral entrance into the CNS. In the present study, we examined cell tropism of RV and the roles of neuronal cytoskeletal components in the production of viral nucleoprotein (N protein) using cultured nerve cells and non-neuronal cells from DRG of newborn mice. Our in vitro study demonstrated a low propagation rate of RV in nerve cells, susceptibility of non-neuronal cells to RV, and independence of cytoplasmic synthesis of viral N protein from the neuronal cytoskeleton. The present study also suggests that Schwann cells should be considered as another possible candidate supporting RV propagation.

Test vaccines comprised of inactivated water-in-oil emulsions containing various antigen levels were prepared using a non-pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza (AI) virus, A/duck/Hokkaido/Vac-1/04 (H5N1). The potencies of these test vaccines were evaluated by two experiments. In the first experiment, the triangular relationship among the antigen levels of test vaccines, the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibody response, and the protective effect against challenge with a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus, A/chicken/Yamaguchi/7/04 (H5N1), was confirmed. Then lasting immunity of chickens after a single-shot vaccination was confirmed in the second experiment. As a result, complete protection after the challenge was observed in chickens immunized by test vaccines with an antigen level of 160 HA units/dose or higher. Thus, it was ascertained that the minimum antigen level in the AI vaccine was 160 HA units/dose, and the minimum HI antibody titer that could protect chickens from HPAI virus infection-related death was considered to be 1:16. Dose-dependent HI antibody responses were observed in chickens after the vaccination. Thus, 640 HA units/dose were thought to be similar to the optimal antigen level. Alternatively, the HI antibody titers of chickens, injected with the vaccine containing 640 HA units/dose, were maintained at 1:181 or higher for 100 weeks after the single-shot vaccination.

Pleurotus cornucopiae (PC) mushrooms are found in the field and commonly known in Japan as Tamogidake mushrooms. The present study investigated the protective effects of an aqueous extract of PC on carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced hepatotoxicity and the possible mechanism involved in this protection including cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2E1. Wistar rats were pretreated with aqueous extracts of PC (0, 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg) orally for 8 days prior to the intraperitoneal administration of a single dose of CCl4 (0.5 ml/kg) or corn oil. Pretreatment with PC mushroom extract significantly prevented the increased serum enzyme activities of alanine and aspartate aminotransferases in a dose-dependent manner, and suppressed the expression of CYP2E1. PC mushroom extract also protected hepatocytes from the damage effects of CCl4 as remarked by histological and electromicroscopical findings. It was concluded that repeated daily doses of aqueous extracts of PC mushroom reduced the toxic effects exerted by CCl4 on the liver.

To characterize the roles of C-peptide in vascular homeostatic processes, we examined the genes regulated by C-peptide in LEII mouse lung microvascular endothelial cells. Treatment of the cells with C-peptide increased the expression of c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1) mRNA dose-dependently, accompanied by an increase in JNK1 protein content. Prior treatment of the cells with PD98059, an ERK kinase inhibitor or SB203580, a p38MAPK inhibitor, abrogated the C-peptide-elicited JNK1 mRNA expression. These results indicate that C-peptide increases JNK1 protein levels, possibly through ERK- and p38MAPK-dependent activation of JNK gene transcription.

The activity concentrations of sup(40)K, sup(238)U, sup(232)Th and sup(137)Cs were measured using gamma spectrometric method in different food chain samples from Serb Belgrade environment during the periods May-June 2007 and May-June 2008 year. Relatively high activities of sup(40)K and sup(137)Cs were detected in the soil. These results indicate that sup(137)Cs is present in Belgrade environment even 20 years after nuclear accident in Chernobyl. However, in the samples of feedstuffs, animal products and bio indicators (meat of wild animals and fish), activity concentrations of primordial radionuclides and sup(137)Cs were low and below the detection limits. Results of these trials have shown that investigated animal products from the natural environment around Belgrade, are radioactivity safe.