Shivalinga : Symbolism, Typology and a Glance on Licchavi Shivalingas

The images that look like a male and a female organ have been discovered around the world and are marked as sacred since the establishment of civilization. What does this image symbolize? Why do Hindus worship it and why is it personified as lord Shiva? The concentration to answer these queries through descriptive analysis of the linga is tried in this article. Lingas are found in various civilizations, including Indus valley, but the perception varies. Its tangible and intangible form and several varieties are its typology. This article is mainly based on symbolism of linga for various societies and for earlier Aryans. Linga, though varies in form, is a phallic symbolism of creation which was not accepted by the Aryans at first due to its nudity and straightforwardness. But after the realization of its core theme that the linga is the composition of prakriti and purush, it made them eager to establish through its reformed reality rather than his anthropomorphic form in honor of their supreme god, the creator and a destroyer, no other than lord Shiva who self-emerged as jyotirlinga. Almost all the typologies including maximum varieties of manmade lingas are found around Kathmandu valley but the choice of Licchavis for the establishement of linga with its specific typology and theme are discussed.

Reproductive Biology of the Arborescent Seed-Fern Linopteris obliqua: Implications for Taxonomy (Medullosales, Late Pennsylvanian Sydney Coalfield, Canada)

A shaley slab (65 x 45 x 7 cm) from the Sydney Coalfield, Canada, Cantabrian age, on splitting apart revealed 2 – 3 layers each entombing thousands of abscised pinnules of Linopteris obliqua and eight dispersed compound-synangial structures. The campanulary-ventral-sporal micromorphology of the best preserved structure of these compares sufficiently well with previously reported structures from the Sydney Coalfield named Potoniea krisiae. Earlier studies involving larger sampling suites furthermore contributed to the observation that Hexagonocarpus sp. (female organ) and P. krisiae (male organ) usually co-occur with abscised L. obliqua pinnules; however, these two organs do not co-occur on isochronous bedding planes. In the absence of confirmatory organic attachments, the presented data provide as yet the strongest support for the hypothesis of the organs’ connectivity, but whether female-male trees existed or not, and the mode of attachment of the organs remain unknown. Hypothesized for the latter is pinnate attachment.

LPS-induced alterations in reproductive organs and liver pigmentation in the toad Rhinella diptycha (Bufonidae)

Anurans can be naturally infected by the bacterium Escherichia coli (Migula, 1895) Castellani and Chalmers, 1919, which contain lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in their external membrane. LPS affects reproductive functions in mammals and extracutaneous pigmentary system of anurans. Besides the functional gonad, bufonid amphibians have an undeveloped female organ (Bidder’s organ), whose function is poorly known. We aimed to investigate the effects of LPS on testis and Bidder’s organ germ cells and on liver pigmentation in the toad Rhinella diptycha (Cope, 1862). Animals were inoculated with 0.1 mL of saline solution (control) or LPS solution (18 mg/kg) and then euthanized after 24 or 48 h. The organs were processed for histology and then evaluated with morphometric analysis. The LPS decreased the area of bundle spermatozoa and increased lumen spermatozoa, while in Bidder’s organ, the number of degenerating oocytes decreased. Liver melanin increased after 24 h and decreased after 48 h. Our results suggest that LPS delays the release of spermatozoa, possibly due to alterations in serum levels of testosterone and (or) gonadotropins, which may also explain fewer degrading cells in Bidder’s organ. Increased melanin in the liver was expected due to the bactericidal role of this pigment. Thus, LPS affected reproductive organs and induced cytoprotective responses in the liver of amphibians.