Pregnancy and lactation are times of prolonged physiological changes affecting the neuroendocrine and immunological systems. One well-characterized change is the neuroendocrine hyporesponsiveness to acute stressful stimuli. We have now designed studies to see whether there is an alteration in the response of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis to an immunological inflammatory challeng...

Dyeing properties of compounded polyethylene terephthalate fibers with a polyesteramide hyperbranched polymer were investigated in terms of their thermodynamic parameters, including standard affinity -Δμ⁰, enthalpy change ΔH⁰ and entropy change ΔS⁰. Results were then compared with corresponding properties of the virgin PET. The results showed that the isotherms were similar to that of virgin PE...

The susceptibility of the rat mammary gland to carcinogenesis decreases with aging and is nullified by pregnancy and lactation. This work was carried out to determine whether these differences in susceptibility to carcinogenesis are the result of variations in cell kinetics induced by both aging and parity. Cell cycle (Tc) and growth fraction (GF) were studied in the mammary gland epithelium of...

Effect of metronidazole (MNZ) treatment (oral and ip) on activities of cytochrome b5 and P-450 was studied in male, virgin and pregnant female mice. Activities of both the cytochromes increased in virgin mice treated with 2 mg (ip or PO, per mouse) but not in male and pregnant females. 30 mg dose (per mouse) was toxic in pregnant mice but increased the cytochromes activities in males and virgin...

What makes virgin forests better forests? Biodiversity evaluation depends on the value systems of the stakeholders involved. Indicators for conservation value, ecosystem functions, wilderness, uniqueness, or species richness may not correlate, or even correlate negatively. Based on arthropod data from a comparative study in two types of virgin forests in core areas of the Carpathian Biosphere R...

A growing body of evidence suggests that resources invested in reproduction often come at the expense of the ability to mount an immune response. During mating, female sagebrush crickets, Cyphoderris strepitans, consume the ends of the male's hind wings and ingest his haemolymph. Previous research has shown that this behaviour impairs the ability of males to secure additional matings. One hypot...

The stimulation of the human sensory receptors by compounds present in virgin olive oils (VOOs) gives rise to the sensory attributes that describe its particular aroma. The sensor panel evaluation and the molecules responsible for sensory perceptions of virgin olive oil quality are elucidated. The methodology for the evaluation of the sensory characteristics of VOOs is reported, and typical fla...

Life history parameters and reproductive behaviors of the harlequin bug, Murgantia histrionicaHahn (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), were determined. Total developmental time from egg to adultwas 48d.After a sexualmaturationperiodof 7d, both sexesmated repeatedly,with females layingmultiple eggmasses of 12 eggs at intervals of 3 d. Adult females lived an average of 41 d,whereas adult males lived an ...

The scope of this paper is the rationale and significance of the virgin birth, not the historical evidence for it. But in fact the rationale and significance are as important for the defence of the virgin birth as is the historical evidence. One of the main charges against it has been that it is theologically superfluous, dubious or even heretical. On the other hand, defenders of the virgin bir...

The level of maternal circulating triglycerides during late pregnancy has been correlated to newborns' weight in humans. To investigate the response to fenofibrate, a hypotriglyceridemic agent, in pregnant rats, 0, 100, or 200 mg of fenofibrate/kg body weight as oral doses were given twice a day from day 16 of gestation and studied at day 20. Virgin rats were studied in parallel. Liver weight w...