Morphological study of the pituitary gland of the studanese Nile fish Clarias Lazera

C. lazera was studied using some standard techniques employed in the study of vertebrate pituitary. The pituitary gland is attached to the infundibular region of the brain by a cylindrical infundilbular stalk. The gland is composed of two main divisions; the pars glandularis and the pars nervosa. The former is subdivided into an anterior, middle and posterior glandular regions. The anterior glandular region is composed mostly of clusters of acidophils which surround blood capillaries, giving the region a follicular appearance. The middle region is composed of basophils, acidophils and chromophobes. The distribution of the three types of cells has no definite pattern. The basophils are characterized by possessing colloidal globules, and therefore such basophils are described as globular basophils. The posterior region is formed mostly of dull acidophils, with few interspersed dull faint basophils. The two types of cells are scattered singly or in groups arround the branches of the pars nervosa. The pars nervosa, which is the continuation of the infundibular stalk, form a central core around which the three glandular regions of the pituitary gland are arranged. The processes of the pars nervosa are elaborate, with a fanning root – like nature, in the posterior glandular region and scanty in both the anterior and middle glandular regions. The pars nervosa appears as a fibrous tissue with scattered nuclei belonging to neuroglia cells. It is characterized by the colloidal Herring materials, basophil and acidophilic glandular cells. Infundilbular stalk, which link the floor of hypothalamus and the terminal zone of the anterior glandular region was found to be a thin lamina of nervious tissue with a layer of epindymal cell lining the third ventricle. The middle glandular region was found to consist of three chromophils cells, only one type of acidophil was identified. It took both OG and erythrosin. The other two types were found to be basophilic and they were designated as type 2 and type 3. Basophils type 3 were PAS, AF positive but AB negative. The pars nervosa was found to be small, and contained more stainable neuro-secretory materials.

Multi layer perceptron model in pattern recognition of surface parameters during pre-monsoon thunderstorm

The concept of Multi Layer Perceptron and Fuzzy logic is introduced in this paper to recognize the pattern of surface parameters pertaining to forecast the occurrence of pre-monsoon thunderstorms over Kolkata (22 ° 32¢ , 88 ° 20¢ ). The results reveal that surface temperature fluctuates significantly from Fuzzy Multi Layer Perceptron (FMLP) model values on thunderstorm days whereas on non-thunderstorm days FMLP model fits well with the surface temperature. The results further indicate that no definite pattern could be made available with surface dew point temperature and surface pressure that can help in forecasting the occurrence of these storms.

Stress Conditions Modulate the Chromatin Interactions Network in Arabidopsis

Stresses have been known to cause various responses like cellular physiology, gene regulation, and genome remodeling in the organism to cope and survive. Here, we assessed the impact of stress conditions on the chromatin-interactome network of Arabidopsis thaliana. We identified thousands of chromatin interactions in native as well as in salicylic acid treatment and high temperature conditions in a genome-wide fashion. Our analysis revealed the definite pattern of chromatin interactions and stress conditions could modulate the dynamics of chromatin interactions. We found the heterochromatic region of the genome actively involved in the chromatin interactions. We further observed that the establishment or loss of interactions in response to stress does not result in the global change in the expression profile of interacting genes; however, interacting regions (genes) containing motifs for known TFs showed either lower expression or no difference than non-interacting genes. The present study also revealed that interactions preferred among the same epigenetic state (ES) suggest interactions clustered the same ES together in the 3D space of the nucleus. Our analysis showed that stress conditions affect the dynamics of chromatin interactions among the chromatin loci and these interaction networks govern the folding principle of chromatin by bringing together similar epigenetic marks.

The influence of personality traits on university performance: Evidence from Italian freshmen students

Despite several attempts to provide a definite pattern regarding the effects of personality traits on performance in higher education, the debate over the nature of the relationship is far from being conclusive. The use of different subject pools and sample sizes, as well as the use of identification strategies that either do not adequately account for selection bias or are unable to establish causality between measures of academic performance and noncognitive skills, are possible sources of heterogeneity. This paper investigates the impact of the Big Five traits, as measured before the beginning of the academic year, on the grade point average achieved in the first year after the enrolment, taking advantage of a unique and large dataset from a cohort of Italian students in all undergraduate programs containing detailed information on student and parental characteristics. Relying on a robust strategy to credibly satisfy the conditional independence assumption, we find that higher levels of conscientiousness and openness to experience positively affect student score.

Surgical anatomy of the anastomoses of the iliolumbar artery

Objective: to determine the variants of topography and quantity of the anastomoses of the iliolumbar artery.Materials and methods. The material of the research was 206 dead bodies of men (aged 22–82 at the time of death) and 113 dead bodies of women (aged 32–93 at the time of death) who had died of accidental causes not related to pelvic pathology. The vascular injection method, preparation method were used to achieve the objective of the study. The statistical processing of the obtained data was performed.Results. It has been found that the formation of the anastomoses of the iliolumbar artery is most often found in its proximal and middle thirds, significantly rarely — in its distal third. We have revealed no statistically significant differences between the average diameters of the iliolumbar artery and the average diameters of its anastomoses in men.Conclusion. The performed research has demonstrated that the anastomoses of the iliolumbar artery in men and women have a definite pattern of origination.

Dynamical Indicator of Human Body’s Physical Endurance

Physical endurance is the time span between the beginning of physical activity by an individual and the termination because of exhaustion. Physical endurance involves a multifaceted behaviour which can be understood by complexities. Everyone performs physical activity in order to sustain-life. However, the number of activities done are largely subject to personal choice and varies from person to person as well as for a given person over time. Physical activity like meditation/exercises are positively related to physical fitness. One needs to understand relation between physical activity, exercise, physical fitness and health. These activities can be partitioned mutually exclusively into many different ways. This paper categorizes daily physical activity into three broad subdivisions based on amount of body movements taking place are: (i) light, (ii) moderate and (iii) high intensity. These three characterizations are considered to be mutually exclusive and sum up to total energy spent by an individual. The behavior of the three factors physical activity, heart and energy generated is analyzed with the help of Fast Lyapunov indicator (FLI), Dynamic Lyapunov indicator (DLI), Small alignment index (SALI). FLI’s increase for chaotic orbits for values of R=20, Q=70 for the case of high intensity exercises and to linearly regular orbits for values of R=5, Q=8 and R=10, Q=12 in the cases of light and moderate exercises respectively. SALI’s alters through non-zero value for R=20, Q=70 while it tends to zero for values of R=5, Q=8 and R=10, Q=12. DLI’s the largest Eigen values form a definite pattern/curve for n=2000 for values of R=5, Q=8 and n=100 for R=10, Q=12 respectively as the motion stays regular plus dispersed randomly as the motion is chaotic for n=60 and for R=20, Q=70.

Determination of Kinetic and Thermodynamic Parameters of Pyrolysis of Coal and Sugarcane Bagasse Blends Pretreated by Ionic Liquid: A Step towards Optimization of Energy Systems

Pyrolysis behavior of ionic liquid (IL) pretreated coal and sugarcane bagasse (SCB) blends through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was studied. Three blends of coal and SCB having 3:1, 1:1, and 1:3 ratios by weight were treated with 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Emim][Cl]) at 150 °C for 3 h. Untreated and IL treated blends were then analyzed under pyrolytic conditions in a TGA at a constant ramp rate of 20 °C/min. Kinetic and thermodynamic parameters were evaluated using ten Coats-Redfern (CR) models to assess reaction mechanism. Results showed that the untreated blends followed a definite pattern and were proportional to the concentration of SCB in the blends. IL treated blends exhibited a higher average rate of degradation and total weight loss, indicating that IL had disrupted the cross-linking structure of coal and lignocellulosic structure of SCB. This will enhance the energy generation potential of biomass through thermochemical conversion processes. The lower activation energy (Ea) was calculated for IL treated blends, revealing facile thermal decomposition after IL treatment. Thermodynamic parameters, enthalpy change (ΔH), Gibbs free energy change (ΔG), and entropy change (ΔS), revealed that the pyrolysis reactions were endothermic. This study would help in designing optimized thermochemical conversion systems for energy generation.

Phenotype study of multifoliolate leaf formation inTrifolium alexandrinumL.

BackgroundThe genusTrifoliumis characterized by typical trifoliolate leaves. Alterations in leaf formats from trifoliolate to multifoliolate, i.e., individual plants bearing trifoliolate, quadrifoliolate, pentafoliolate or more leaflets, were previously reported among many species of the genus. The study is an attempt to develop pure pentafoliolate plants ofT. alexandrinumand to understand its genetic control.MethodsThe experimental material consisted of two populations ofT. alexandrinumwith multifoliolate leaf expression, i.e.,interspecific hybrid progenies ofT. alexandrinumwithT. apertum, andT. alexandrinumgenotype Penta-1. Penetrance of the multifoliolate trait was observed among multifoliolate and trifoliolate plant progenies. In vitro culture and regeneration of plantlets from the axillary buds from different plant sources was also attempted.ResultsThe inheritance among a large number of plant progenies together with in vitro micro-propagation results did not establish a definite pattern. The multifoliolate leaf formation was of chimeric nature, i.e., more than one leaf format appearing on individual branches. Reversal to normal trifoliolate from multifoliolate was also quite common. Penetrance and expression of multifoliolate leaf formation was higher among the plants raised from multifoliolate plants. Multifoliolate and pure pentafoliolate plants were observed in the progenies of pure trifoliolate plants and vice-versa. There was an apparent increase in the pentafoliolate leaf formation frequency over the years due to targeted selection. A few progenies of the complete pentafoliolate plants in the first year were true breeding in the second year. Frequency of plantlets with multifoliolate leaf formation was also higher in in vitro axillary bud multiplication when the explant bud was excised from the multifoliolate leaf node.ConclusionNumber of leaflets being a discrete variable, occurrence of multifoliolate leaves on individual branches, reversal of leaf formats on branches and developing true breeding pentafoliolates were the factors leading to a hypothesis beyond normal Mendelian inheritance. Transposable elements (TEs) involved in leaf development in combination with epigenetics were probably responsible for alterations in the expression of leaflet number. Putative TE’s movement owing to chromosomal rearrangements possibly resulted in homozygous pentafoliolate trait with evolutionary significance. The hypothesis provides a new insight into understanding the genetic control of this trait inT. alexandrinumand may also be useful in otherTrifoliumspecies where such observations are reported.

The response of Clarias gariepinus fingerlings (Burchell 1822) to the diet containing Housefly maggot (Musca domestica) (L)

Ten Fingerlings each of Clarias gariepinus were fed with five experimental diets compounded with major nutrient sources with varying percentages of protein obtained from housefly Musca domestica maggot meal (HFMM) at 0%, 12.5%, 50% and 100% inclusion in diets I, II, III, and IV respectively. Diet V was made up of HFMM only. The effect of the varying protein content on the growth and development of the fingerlings were studied for 8 weeks. The best-feed conversion ratio was observed in diet II (25% maggot inclusion) while the least was in diet V (whole maggot). Feed utilization was highest in diet I (0% maggot). Fish fed on diet I recorded the highest growth rate (SGR) and was least in fish fed on diet V (whole maggot). Also, the highest protein efficiency ratio (PER) was recorded in fish fed on diet Ill and least in fish fed with diet V. Proximate analysis of fish fed on the different diets revealed that crude protein was least in fish without experimental diet (70.05%) and highest in fish fed with whole maggot (diet V) 76.31%. The ash content of fish carcass composition before and after feed trial did not follow a definite pattern. The results of the study showed that the survival and the development of fingerlings were best when maggot was used as supplement.

A Transfer Learning Approach for the Tattoo Detection Problem

Tattoos are still poorly explored as a biometrics factor for human identification, especially in public security, where tattoos can play an important role for identifying criminals and victims. Tattoos are considered a soft biometrics, since they are not permanent and can change along time, differently from hard biometrics traits (fingerprint, iris, DNA, etc). The identification of tattoos are not simple, since they do not have a definite pattern or location. This fact increases the complexity of developing models to address this problem. In addition, the tattoo identification roadmap is very complex, including several steps and, in each step, specific methods need to be developed. Among the several problems identified in this roadmap, we tacked the identification problem, which is defined as: given an image of a person, determine if there is a tattoo or not. We present a deep learning model based on transfer learning for the tattoo detection problem. We also used data augmentation to improve the diversity of the training sets so as to achieve better classification accuracy. Along the work two new datasets for tattoo detection were created. Several comparative experiments were done to evaluate the diversity of images in the datasets, and the accuracy of the proposed model. Results were very promising, achieving an accuracy of 95.1% in the test set, and a F1-score of 0.79 in an external dataset. Overall, results were satisfactory, given the complexity of the problem. Future work will focus on expanding the datasets created and addressing the other problems of the tattoo roadmap.