background: the foramen magnum (fm) is an important landmark of the skull base and a transition zone between spine and skull as well as its close relationship to the brain and the spinal cord. so the fm has gained considerable interest due to its comparative anatomy, ontogeny, clinical, and animal breeding viewpoints. objectives: the aim of this study was to determine morphology and morphometry...

The natural resistance associated macrophage protein 1 (Nramp1) has been reported to confer resistance or susceptibility to Mycobacterium bovis, Salmonella typhimurium, and Leishmania donovani in the mouse, Mus musculus. A Gly and Asp substitution at position 169 of the mouse Nramp protein is invariably associated with the resistant and susceptible phenotypes, respectively. The present study ai...

River buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) milk plays an important role in economy and nutritious diet in several developing countries. However, reliable milk-yield genomic markers and their functional insights remain unexposed. Here, we have used a target capture sequencing approach in three economically important buffalo breeds namely: Banni, Jafrabadi and Mehsani, belonging to either high or low milk-y...

The autonomic nervous system consists of a vast range of nerves and ganglions. Anatomical studies have demonstrated that the sympathetic innervations of the head and neck are affected by the neurons that ramify from the cranial cervical ganglion (CCG). The CCG is the end of the sympathetic cervical trunk, which runs with the vagal nerve during its cervical course. In this study sixteen adult (2...

Oxytocin (OXT) is a very abundant nonapeptide neurohypophysial hormone implicated in several aspects of reproduction, including social, sexual and maternal behaviour, induction of labour and milk ejection. The nucleotide sequence of the whole OXTneurophysin I encoding gene (OXT) in Mediterranean river buffalo was determined, plus 993 nucleotides at the 5’ flanking region. Buffalo oxytocin gene ...

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of different seasons on the morphometric testicular parameters and the respective epididymal sperm parameters. Total numbers of 104 scrota of pubertal buffalo bull (24-48 months) include their contents were provided from the local slaughterhouse. Scrotal circumference was measured on its place before dissection. Morphological parameters o...

Total trace metals levels – Cd, Hg and Zn, which may affect human health and the “health” of the aquatic ecosystem, were determined in the Umtata, Buffalo, Keiskamma and Tyume Rivers and in the Sandile and Umtata Dams. These elements were also determined in sediment samples from some of these surface waters. Normal levels of the metals were detected in water samples from the Umtata River and th...