The effect of soaking and roasting velvet beans (Mucuna pruriens) on nitrogen utilization and rumen microbial protein synthesis in goats was investigated. Sixteen goats were randomly assigned to four diets in a completely randomized design. Goats were fed a basal diet of Cynodon dactylon hay plus 30% soaked (treatment 1), 30% roasted (treatment 2) and 30% untreated velvet bean (treatment 3). Th...

The present-day distribution of velvet worms corresponds neatly to the ancient supercontinent Gondwana - except for a puzzling outpost in southeast Asia. Jaw-dropping new fossil material now establishes when and how peripatid onychophorans reached this isolated spot.

The velvet family proteins have been shown to play critical roles in fungal secondary metabolism and development. However, variations of the roles have been observed in different fungi. We report here the observation on the role of three velvet complex components VeA, VelB, and LaeA in Pestalotiopsis microspora, a formerly reported taxol-producing fungus. Deletion of individual members led to t...

A patient showing antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) with severe vasculitis, and massive proteinuria after kidney transplantation was treated with deoxyspergualine (DSG, Spanidin((R)), Nippon Kayaku). DSG showed marked efficacy for this patient's symptoms. We report on a patient for whom DSG was effective against AMR after renal transplantation.

The evolution and loss of distinctive larval forms in animal life cycles have produced complex patterns of similarity and difference among life-history stages and major animal lineages. One example of this similarity is the morphological forms of Onychophora (velvet worms) and the caterpillar-like larvae of some insects. Williamson [(2009) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 106:15786-15790] has made the as...

The present study aimed to compare the nutritional and biochemical composition of Indian legume seed (white and black seeds of Velvet beans) flour used by tribals of South India. The crude protein content was higher in white seed compared to black seed; but the nutritive values of black seeds were better compared to the white seeds. The mineral constituents of both seed flour was found to be hi...

Sensing and responding to environmental cues is critical to the lifestyle of filamentous fungi. How environmental variation influences fungi to produce a wide diversity of ecologically important secondary metabolites (SMs) is not well understood. To address this question, we first examined changes in global gene expression of the opportunistic human pathogen, Aspergillus fumigatus, after exposu...