Morphological identification and distribution of telocytes in testis and epididymis of Small-tailed Han sheep before and after sexual maturation.

Phosphate homeostasis is controlled by fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) produced by bone cells in mammals and primarily acting in the kidney. For its phosphaturic effect and for suppression of production of active vitamin D, it requires αKlotho as a co-receptor. FGF23 and αKlotho have emerged as disease biomarkers. Relatively little is known about their significance in laying hens that are in particular need of balanced mineral homeostasis for eggshell formation. Dietary myo-inositol (MI) and phosphate metabolism are interdependent, and this study aimed to explore FGF23 and αKlotho expression in two commercial hen strains fed different amounts of MI. Forty Lohmann Brown Classic (LB) and Lohmann LSL-Classic (LSL) 26-week-old hens received standard diets with 0, 1, 2, or 3 g supplemental MI per kg feed for four weeks, and gene expression of FGF23 and αKlotho was measured by quantitative real-time PCR in different organs. Statistical analysis was performed with the MIXED procedure, and correlation analysis with markers of phosphate homeostasis and hepatic inflammation applying Pearson's correlation coefficient or Spearman's Rho. Three g supplemental MI per kg feed resulted in lower hepatic FGF23 expression only in LB hens. Regardless of MI supplementation, tibial FGF23 expression tended to be lower in LSL than LB hens. Moreover, supplemental MI did not significantly impact αKlotho expression, but hepatic αKlotho expression was higher in LSL than LB hens without MI supplementation and tibial and renal αKlotho expression was significantly higher in LB than in LSL hens, regardless of dietary MI. To summarize, MI supplements at 3 g/kg reduced hepatic FGF23 expression in LB, but not in LSL hens at the peak of egg-laying. Further studies might be needed to elucidate the effect before sexual maturity.

Ascaridia galli is one of the most prevalent intestinal nematodes of domesticated chickens and the primary cause of avian ascaridiasis, a globally important disease in poultry production. Infection rates often reach 70-90 % in free-range systems due to its direct life cycle and efficient environmental transmission. Despite its impact, the molecular mechanisms governing A. galli host-parasite interactions remain poorly understood. A. galli belongs to Clade III nematodes, which include several species of major veterinary importance. Comparative genomic studies Clade III-nematodes have revealed expansions in gene families associated with key parasitic traits such as immune modulation, tissue migration, and adaptation to host environments. Proteomics provides a powerful approach for characterizing these processes by identifying proteins essential for development, metabolism, reproduction, and host interaction. However, current knowledge is based almost exclusively on mammalian-infecting species, and no developmental proteome has previously been mapped for A. galli. By profiling protein expression across life stages, this study produces the first proteomic dataset for A. galli. In total, 852 worm proteins were identified. Of these, 452 proteins were shared across female adults, male adults, and larvae, while each group also displayed distinct protein sets. Male worms shared a substantial subset of 327 proteins with females but not larvae, while larvae and females shared 18 proteins. These findings demonstrate that protein expression in parasitic nematodes is strongly sex-specific, with males typically expressing proteins linked to spermatogenesis and motility, and females expressing vitellogenins and lipid-binding proteins.

Chronic effects of traumatic brain injury and the impact of biperiden treatment in a male rat model.

Gallic acid attenuates LPS-induced hepatic injury via SIRT-1-dependent immunomodulation and anti-apoptotic mechanisms in rats.

Second-order conditioning of safety in male and female rats.

Nifuroxazide attenuates bisphenol A-induced male reproductive toxicity by modulating oxidative stress, inflammation, and Nrf2/HO-1 and necroptosis pathways.

Effects of intraperitoneally administered gadolinium on male reproductive tissues and functions in wistar rat.

Toxin-induced conditioned disgust responses: Comparing emetine and scopolamine methyl nitrate (SMN) to lithium chloride (LiCl).

Re-evaluating the unknown causes of male infertility: Amebiasis as an emerging etiology.

"Growing up, my home never felt like a place of comfort": A narrative exploration of childhood exposure to Intimate Partner Violence among young Badaga men.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is an increasingly common inflammatory disease mediated by immunoglobulin E in response to environmental allergens, substantially impacting the quality of life and healthcare systems worldwide. Recent research has drawn attention to the role of vitamin D, a corticosteroid hormone with immunomodulatory properties, in influencing the onset and severity of allergic diseases, including AR. Vitamin D exerts regulatory effects and inherent and tailored immunity, including suppressing pro-inflammatory cytokines and enhancing regulatory T cell function. A contrary connection among serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels has been suggested in observational studies of AR prevalence, particularly among children and male adults. However, interventional studies/ research into the therapeutic effects of vitamin D supplementation in AR have yielded mixed results, with benefits possibly dependent upon baseline vitamin D levels, gender, age, and concomitant therapies. Although emerging evidence implies a link between vitamin D shortage and augmented threat or severity of AR, definitive statements regarding its therapeutic role have not been made. Further high-quality randomized controlled trials are required to clarify the immunological mechanisms engaged and establish standardized clinical guidelines. This mini-review underscores the potential of vitamin D as an adjunctive approach in AR and highlights the need for individual strategies tailored to each patient's profile. This mini-review aims to synthesize evidence about the bond between vitamin D levels and AR, exploring epidemiological findings and underlying immunological mechanisms.

Relative to the well-characterized detrimental effects of high-level spinal cord injury (SCI) on left ventricular (LV) function in both experimental models and clinical populations, the impacts of SCI on right ventricular (RV) function and cardiopulmonary interactions (for both LV and RV) remain largely unexplored. To address these gaps, we investigated biventricular function and cardiopulmonary interactions in adult male Wistar rats subjected to high-thoracic (T3) contusion SCI. Two weeks post-injury, animals were mechanically ventilated and instrumented for simultaneous LV, RV, and arterial pressure recordings. We show that SCI significantly impairs LV systolic performance, including reductions in peak pressure, mean pressure, and the maximum rate of pressure rise during systole (dP/dtmax), while RV dysfunction is more selective, sparing dP/dtmax but lowering peak pressure. Diastolic function remained largely intact in the LV, but RV end-diastolic pressure was significantly altered. This biventricular impairment was accompanied by marked resting systemic hypotension and attenuated mechanical ventilation-driven pressure oscillations across all waveforms, revealing a collapse of cardiopulmonary interactions post-SCI. The convergence of biventricular dysfunction, attenuated cardiopulmonary interactions, and resting systemic hypotension indicates a multisite disruption in cardiovascular control following SCI, introducing the right heart function and cardiopulmonary interactions as underrecognized targets for clinical monitoring and interventions.

Rotational TBI causes neuronal stress and changes in the monoamine and galanin systems.

Human-modified environments constitute evolutionary scenarios where novel environmental conditions impose multiple selective pressures on wild species. Rapid adaptation to such environments is critical for species survival. Hence, deciphering the environmental factors associated with species tolerance to modified habitats is fundamental for understanding local adaptation processes across populations. We studied the Giant Toad Rhinella horribilis from two landscapes characterized by land-use changes resulting from combined traditional and intensive agriculture and livestock practices. We identified potential outlier loci, assessed genotype-environment associations, annotated candidate genes, and tested for signals of repeated genomic selection in the two landscapes. We used an integrative analytical approach and assessed patterns of genetic repeatability at the genome scale, which improve confidence in identifying true selection signals and provide insights into genetic responses contributing to adaptive evolution. We found positive genotype-environment associations (GEA) related to suboptimal climatic and water physiochemical conditions. Candidate genes were negatively and positively linked with different environmental variables (temperature, solar radiation, oxygen availability, potassium levels in water bodies). Our findings provide evidence of repeated genomic evolution at the functional level, with successful annotation of 34 shared (statistically overlapped) genes between landscapes. Seven genes were enriched for biological processes and metabolic pathways, associated mainly with embryonic development, sexual maturation, and immune responses. These repeated genomic GEA patterns likely reflect rapid local adaptive responses to stressful conditions imposed by these human-modified environments.

The hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPG) controls pubertal development, sexual maturation, and fertility. We identified a role of hypothalamic microglia in controlling the HPG axis through receptor activator of nuclear factor κβ (Rank) signaling. Whole-body and microglia Rank depletion led to hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH) resulting from an alteration in gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neuron function. In addition, we identified rare gene variants of RANK in patients with HH. Transcriptional profiling upon Rank loss revealed defective microglia activation and morphological alterations in the median eminence, decreasing the contacts and engulfment of GnRH terminal projections and impairing GnRH neuronal responses to kisspeptin. Overall, our data uncover the microglia as regulator of GnRH neuronal function through Rank signaling, with potential implications for reproductive maturation and fertility.

Environmental exposure to heavy metals poses a threat to human health. Several studies documented harmful effects on the liver after arsenic and nickel exposure at concentrations beyond permissible limits. Nevertheless, the impact of a simultaneous exposure to both elements on hepatic biochemistry and histology remains unelucidated. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of individual and combined ingestion of arsenic and nickel on the rat liver. Adult males (n = 10/group) received saline (control), 1 mg L-1 of arsenic, 7 mg L-1 of nickel, and two metals simultaneously in drinking water for 70 days. The results showed that arsenic at 1 mg L-1 did not alter ionic and oxidative parameters (p > 0.05), whereas nickel at 7 mg L-1 increased the proportion of Ca and Cu, the occurrence of protein oxidation, and the Ca2+ ATPase activity (p < 0.05). Under our experimental conditions, no alterations were observed in hepatic MDA levels or in serum ALT, AST, and ALP (p > 0.05). Histological alterations in the rat liver after isolated arsenic and nickel exposure, including vascular congestion, hydropic degeneration, and inflammatory infiltrate, were intensified after metal co-exposure. The vascular disorder affected the proportion of hepatic components (blood vessels, sinusoids, cytoplasm, and hepatocytes; p < 0.05) in co-exposed rats. Nickel increased the number of mast cells in exposed and co-exposed rats (p < 0.05). Our findings revealed that subchronic co-exposure to arsenic and nickel triggered nitrosative stress in the liver, culminating in histological alterations involving inflammation and vascular disorders mainly.

ABSTRACTGene flow affects the distribution of genetic variation of a species over time and thus can be crucial for a population's persistence and adaptive capacity. Given the importance of gene flow, it is key to understand the connectivity and genetic differentiation between populations of species with small and segregated breeding populations that are facing population declines, such as many long‐distance migratory birds. In this study, we explored population structure in Hudsonian Godwits (Limosa haemastica) from two geographically distinct breeding areas in the North American sub‐Arctic and two nonbreeding areas in South America using nuclear microsatellites. Despite being spatially and temporally segregated during most of the annual cycle, our results indicate no evidence of population differentiation between breeding populations, nor clustering between individuals from breeding and nonbreeding populations connected by migration. Considering the phenology of the species, godwits from both breeding populations could co‐occur during southward migration and/or throughout the oversummering period, likely in the Las Pampas ecoregion of Argentina. As with many other long‐distance migratory shorebirds, immature godwits stay in their nonbreeding areas until sexual maturity is reached, during which time they can explore, interact, and follow flocks of adults to different nonbreeding areas, thus increasing the chances of mixing between populations. This highlights the importance of recognizing the key role of early life period within the full life cycle of migratory birds for understanding their demography and evolutionary potential.

Chemosensory systems play an essential role in insect survival and reproduction, mediating behaviours such as host location, mating and oviposition. The rice grasshopper Oxya intricata is an important rice pest in Asia, yet the molecular basis of its olfaction remains poorly understood. In this study, we sequenced antennal transcriptomes from adult males and females and systematically identified chemosensory-related genes. A total of 104 candidates were identified, including 14 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), 12 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 67 odorant receptors (ORs), nine ionotropic receptors (IRs) and two sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs). Expression profiling by quantitative real-time PCR revealed broad antennal enrichment across families, with subsets showing antenna-specific or sex-biased patterns, suggesting differential chemosensory deployment between tissues and sexes. Several OBPs, CSPs and ORs were also elevated in maxillary palps or tarsi, raising the possibility that these genes may be associated with contact or near-field chemosensation. Collectively, these results provide the first comprehensive survey of chemosensory genes in O. intricata and establish a molecular resource for future functional analyses of odour coding. The identified gene set offers tractable targets for ligand screening and behavioural assays, and may inform future efforts to develop semiochemical-based monitoring and management strategies for this economically important pest.

Background: Photo anthropometry is a scientific method that involves using photographs to analyze the proportions of various body parts and to obtain measurements, which can vary significantly across different racial groups. This study aimed to explore photo-anthropometric variations by evaluating the nasofrontal and nasal tip angles of the external nose in Bengali and Manipuri adult males residing in Bangladesh. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was carried out in the Department of Anatomy at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College, Sylhet, between January 2022 and December 2022. Fifty (50) Bengali and fifty (50) Manipuri adult males, aged 25 to 59 years, were chosen through convenient sampling. Photoanthropometric methods were used to collect data from the Sylhet region. The results were presented as mean ± standard deviation, and the two-sample mean "Z" test was employed to compare findings between the groups. Results: The angular measurements of the external nose, the nasofrontal and nasal tip angles, were significantly higher in Manipuri adult males compared to Bengali adult males (p£0.05). Conclusion: The findings of this study will be valuable in the fields of Anatomy, Plastic Surgery, Forensic Medicine, Genetics, and Anthropology for purposes such as identification, planning corrective surgical procedures, and designing nasal models for different ethnic groups. Journal of Brahmanbaria Med. Coll. Volume 07 Issue 02 July 2025 ; 3-7