Determination of oestrus and mating in captive female brushtail possums, Trichosurus vulpecula (Marsupialia : Phalangeridae), from urine samples

1998 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 547 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Duckworth ◽  
S. Scobie ◽  
D. E. Jones ◽  
L. Selwood

Reproductive data were collected from captive brushtail possums, Trichosurus vulpecula, by examining daily urine samples for the presence of non-keratinised and keratinised epithelial cells, polymorphonuclear leucocytes, and sperm. Around the time of oestrus there was a massive increase in the number of epithelial cells and leucocytes in urine. The pattern of cell shedding was similar in mated and non-mated females undergoing either spontaneous ovulations or those induced by removal of pouch young. There was no difference between fertile or non-fertile oestrous cycles. During the 2-month sampling period, 97% of females showed changes in cell numbers indicative of oestrus and 72% of females were confirmed to have been mated by the presence of sperm. Conception rate was 74% and offspring were born 16–19 days after mating. When pouch young were removed, 85% of females were mated 7–15 days later and 77% of mated females produced pouch young. Compared with vaginal smears, collection and examination of urine was easier and faster, only one animal handler was required, the method was less stressful for the possum, and cell types in the sample were scored directly without the need for fixation and staining.

1976 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 513 ◽  
Author(s):  
AG Lyne

Observations have been made on oestrus and the oestrous cycle in the bandicoots I. macrourus and P. nasuta caged indoors. Oestrus was diagnosed from a number of criteria, particularly the sexual behaviour of the males. Attempted matings, non-fertile matings and matings leading to pregnancy were restricted to one day of the oestrous cycle, except on one occasion when a male I. macrourus attempted to mate on two consecutive days. The lips of the urogenital opening of the female were usually greatly swollen at oestrus but pouch changes at this time were not detected. Vaginal smears at oestrus usually showed an increase in the number of partly and fully cornified epithelial cells and few, if any, polymorphonuclear leucocytes. During the winter and spring of 1972 and spring of 1973, over 1000 vaginal smears were taken from 29 P. nasuta and about 700 smears were taken from 21 I. macrourus. Information on the length of the oestrous cycle in P. nasuta, using all criteria, was obtained from only nine cycles in eight animals. The cycle length averaged 21 days but the range was from 10 to 34 days. Considerably more information on the length of the cycle was obtained from the smaller number of I. macrourus; the average length of 39 cycles in 15 animals was 20 days, the range being 9-34 days.


1995 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Ammon ◽  
M.H. Weber ◽  
I. Wallner ◽  
N. Marschner ◽  
M. Droese ◽  
...  

Pre-operative and, in some cases, post-operative urine samples from 29 patients with renal cell or urinary bladder carcinoma were compared to samples from 24 healthy persons and 10 patients with nephrolithiasis and 9 patients with other benign disorders of the efferent urinary tract. The specimens were examined for the presence of MCA, CA 125 and BW 495/36-P expressing epithelial cells. The urine concentrations of the soluble antigens MCA and CA 125 were determined simultaneously in urine samples from 35 patients with renal cell or urinary bladder carcinoma, 10 patients with cystitis and 30 healthy individuals. MCA and BW 495/36-P expressing epithelial cells were significantly increased in all pre-operative urine samples of the tumor patients compared to the group of healthy persons. This increase was also seen with CA 125-positive cells in patients with bladder carcinoma, not however in patients with renal cell carcinoma. BW 495/36-P positive cells were also found in both groups of tumor patients in greater numbers than in the patients with nephrolithiasis or other benign urinary tract disorders. Based on a specificity of 97% when compared to the control urine samples, the cytological determination of the antigens MCA, CA 125 and BW 495/36-P in urinary tract cells of all tumor patients revealed a sensitivity of 48%, 33% and 79% as well as a positive predictive value of 92%, 89% and 95%, respectively. The sensitivity of CA 125 increased to 67% upon isolated analysis of patients with bladder carcinoma. The majority of labelled cells were not identifiable as tumor cells morphologically and appeared as normal transitional epithelial cells. The urinary concentration of soluble MCA was greatest in healthy patients whereas the concentration of CA 125 was increased in patients with bladder carcinoma. Our results indicate that especially the determination of BW 495/36-P expressing epithelial cells could be a helpful supplement to the cytological examination of urinary epithelium with regard to renal cell and bladder carcinoma. Determination of CA 125-positive cells appears to be of diagnostic relevance only in cases of suspected bladder carcinoma.


Author(s):  
W.T. Gunning ◽  
M.R. Marino ◽  
M.S. Babcock ◽  
G.D. Stoner

The role of calcium in modulating cellular replication and differentiation has been described for various cell types. In the present study, the effects of Ca++ on the growth and differentiation of cultured rat esophageal epithelial cells was investigated.Epithelial cells were isolated from esophagi taken from 8 week-old male CDF rats by the enzymatic dissociation method of Kaighn. The cells were cultured in PFMR-4 medium supplemented with 0.25 mg/ml dialyzed fetal bovine serum, 5 ng/ml epidermal growth factor, 10-6 M hydrocortisone 10-6 M phosphoethanolamine, 10-6 M ethanolamine, 5 pg/ml insulin, 5 ng/ml transferrin, 10 ng/ml cholera toxin and 50 ng/ml garamycin at 36.5°C in a humidified atmosphere of 3% CO2 in air. At weekly intervals, the cells were subcultured with a solution containing 1% polyvinylpyrrolidone, 0.01% EGTA, and 0.05% trypsin. After various passages, the replication rate of the cells in PFMR-4 medium containing from 10-6 M to 10-3 M Ca++ was determined using a clonal growth assay.


Author(s):  
J.M. Robinson ◽  
J.M Oliver

Specialized regions of plasma membranes displaying lateral heterogeneity are the focus of this Symposium. Specialized membrane domains are known for certain cell types such as differentiated epithelial cells where lateral heterogeneity in lipids and proteins exists between the apical and basolateral portions of the plasma membrane. Lateral heterogeneity and the presence of microdomains in membranes that are uniform in appearance have been more difficult to establish. Nonetheless a number of studies have provided evidence for membrane microdomains and indicated a functional importance for these structures.This symposium will focus on the use of various imaging modalities and related approaches to define membrane microdomains in a number of cell types. The importance of existing as well as emerging imaging technologies for use in the elucidation of membrane microdomains will be highlighted. The organization of membrane microdomains in terms of dimensions and spatial distribution is of considerable interest and will be addressed in this Symposium.


1962 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pentti A. Järvinen ◽  
Sykkö Pesonen ◽  
Pirkko Väänänen

ABSTRACT The fractional determination of 17-ketosteroids in the daily urine was performed in nine cases of hyperemesis gravidarum and in four control cases, in the first trimester of pregnancy both before and after corticotrophin administration. The excretion of total 17-KS is similar in the two groups. Only in the hyperemesis group does the excretion of total 17-KS increase significantly after corticotrophin administration. The fractional determination reveals no difference between the two groups of patients with regard to the values of the fractions U (unidentified 17-KS), A (androsterone) and Rest (11-oxygenated 17-KS). The excretion of dehydroepiandrosterone is significantly higher in the hyperemesis group than in the control group. The excretion of androstanolone seems to be lower in the hyperemesis group than in the control group, but the difference is not statistically significant. The differences in the correlation between dehydroepiandrosterone and androstanolone in the two groups is significant. The high excretion of dehydroepiandrosterone and low excretion of androstanolone in cases of hyperemesis gravidarum is a sign of adrenal dysfunction.


1969 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles S. Nicoll

ABSTRACT The response of the pigeon crop-sac to systemically acting prolactin (injected subcutaneously) was evaluated by measuring the wet weight of the responsive lateral lobes of the organ and by determining the dry weight of a 4 cm diameter disc of mucosal epithelium taken from one hemicrop. Of several different injection schedules tested, administration of prolactin in four daily injections was found to yield optimal responses. When compared with a graded series of prolactin doses, measurement of the mucosal dry weight proved to be a better method of response quantification than determination of the crop-sac wet weight with respect to both assay sensitivity and precision. The submucosal tissue of the crop-sac was estimated to constitute about 64 % of the total dry weight of the unstimulated organ and it was found to be relatively unresponsive to prolactin stimulation in comparison with the mucosa. The lipid content of the mucosal epithelium was determined using unstimulated crop-sacs or tissues which showed varying degrees of prolactin-induced proliferation. The fat content of the mucosal epithelial cells increased only slightly more rapidly than the dry weight or the defatted dry weight of the mucosa. Suggestions are made for the further improvement of the systemic crop-sac assay for prolactin.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 652-659
Author(s):  
Asiye A. Avan ◽  
Hayati Filik

Background: An Ionic Liquid-based based Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction (IL-DLLME) method was not applied to preconcentration and determination of bilirubin. Ionic Liquids (ILs) are new chemical compounds. In recent years, Ionic Liquids (ILs) have been employed as alternative solvents to toxic organic solvents. Due to these perfect properties, ILs have already been applied in many analytical extraction processes, presenting high extraction yield and selectivity for analytes. Methods: In this study, IL-DLLME was applied to biological samples (urine and serum) for the spectrophotometric detection of bilirubin. For bilirubin analysis, the full-color development was based on the reaction with periodate in the presence of hydrochloric acid. The high affinity of bilirubin for the ionic liquid phase gave extraction percentages above 98% in 0.3 M HCl solution. Results: Several IL-extraction parameters were optimized and room temperature ionic liquid 1-butyl- 1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide and ethanol were used as extraction and disperser solution. The linear range was found in the range of 0.5-6.0 μM (0.3-3.5 μg mL-1) and the limits of detection of the proposed method was 0.5 μM (0.3 μg mL-1). The proposed method was applied for the preconcentration and separation of trace bilirubin in real urine samples. Also, the recoveries for bilirubin in spiked biological samples (urine and serum) were found to be acceptable, between 95-102%. Conclusion: The proposed IL-DLLMEapproach was employed for the enrichment and determination of trace levels of bilirubin in urine samples using NaIO4 as an oxidizing agent and Uv-vis spectrophotometric detection. The periodate oxidation of bilirubin is rapid, effective, selective, and simple to perform. The method contains only HCl, NaOI4, and an anionic surfactant. The method may be useful for economizing in the consumption of reagents in bilirubin determining. The IL-DLLMEmethod ensures a high yield and has a low toxicity no skin sensitization, no mutagenicity and no ecotoxicity in an aquatic environment since only very low quantities of an IL is required. For full-color formation, no any extra auxiliary reagents are required. Besides, the IL-DLLME technique uses a low-cost instrument such as Uv-vis which is present in most of the medical laboratories.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Samadzadeh ◽  
Iran Sheikhshoaie ◽  
Hassan Karimi-Maleh

Background: Simultaneous analysis of epinephrine and tyrosine as two effective and important biological compounds in human blood and urine samples are very important for the investigation of human health. Objective: In this research, a highly effective voltammetric sensor fabricated for simultaneous analysis of epinephrine and tyrosine. The sensor was fabricated by the modification of glassy carbon electrode with ZnO-Pt/CNTs nanocomposite (ZnO-Pt/CNTs/GCE). The synthesized nanocomposite was characterized by SEM method. The ZnO-Pt/CNTs/GCE showed two separated oxidation signals at potential ~220 mV and 700 mV for epinephrine and tyrosine, respectively. Also, we detected linear dynamic ranges 0.5-250.0 µM and 1.0-220 µM with a limit of detections 0.1 µM and 0.5 µM for the determination of epinephrine and tyrosine, respectively. The ZnO-Pt/CNTs/GCE was used for the determination of epinephrine and tyrosine in blood serum and human urine samples.


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