MARLI APARECIDA DOS SANTOS PEREIRA, MARIA CLAÚDIA BAGATIN, JACQUELINE NELISIS ZANONI

BIOCELL, Vol.30, No.2, pp. 295-300, 2006, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2006.30.295

Abstract We assessed the ascorbic acid (AA) supplementation on the myenteric neurons in the duodenum of rats. Fifteen rats with 90 days of age were divided into three groups: control (C), diabetics (D) and ascorbic acid treated diabetics (DA). After 120 days of daily treatment with AA, the duodenum was submitted to the NADH-diaphorase (NADH-d) histochemical technique, which allowed us to evaluate the neuronal density in an area of 8.96 mm² for each duodenum, and also to measure the cellular profile area of 500 neurons per group. The supplementation promoted an increase on AA levels. The neuronal density (p <0.05) was… More >

LILIANA SOUSA¹, ANA MARÍA PETRIELLA^1,2

BIOCELL, Vol.30, No.2, pp. 287-294, 2006, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2006.30.287

Abstract This work describes the morphology and histology of the P. argentinus digestive tract. The foregut comprises the mouth, oesophagus, and stomach and is lined by a simple cylindrical epithelium overlain by cuticle. There are tegumental glands in the oral region and in the first portion of the oesophagus and of the hindgut. The cardiac stomach is an oval dorsal sac in the cephalothorax and has no calcified structures. The pyloric stomach comprises an upper chamber and a lower gland filter. The filter consists of an outer row of elongated setae and an inner row of dorsally curved setae forming longitudinal… More >

SOON-JEONG JEONG¹, JOO-CHEOL PARK¹, HEUNG-JOONG KIM², CHUN SIK BAE³, MYUNG-HEE YOON⁴, DO-SEON LIM⁵, MOON-JIN JEONG¹

BIOCELL, Vol.30, No.2, pp. 279-286, 2006, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2006.30.279

Abstract This study examined the fine structures of epididymal spermatozoa on the lesser white-toothed shrew (Crocidura suaveolens), the Japanese white-toothed shrew (C. dsinezumi) and the big white-toothed shrew (C. lasiura) belonging to the subfamily Crocidurinae living in Korea.
In the spermatozoa of C. suaveolens, the head has a large acrosome, a smooth inner acrosomal membrane and a wavy, finger-like, electron-dense apical body. The neck has a solid proximal centriole that is filled with electron-dense material. These results showed the spermatozoa of C. suaveolens possess the characteristics of both Crocidurinae and Soricinae. In C. dsinezumi and C. lasiura, the head has… More >

WANG JIANMIN, SONG RUIHUA, CHEN LEI, YIN LIANGJUN, CHEN BO, SUN JING, GOU YUANBING, ZHAO LING, CHEN LIN

BIOCELL, Vol.30, No.2, pp. 269-278, 2006, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2006.30.269

Abstract Objective: To investigate the functions of Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor-2 (FGFR2) at different stages of cell differentiation. The engineered murine embryonic stem (ES) cells with conditional knockout of FGFR2 were developed depending on Cre-loxP. Methods: Cre-loxP system was used in a conditional targeting vector. The competent AM-1 bacteria, which expressed Cre-recombinase, was used to confirm the Cre-mediated deletion of the floxed exons 7 and 8 of FGFR2. The targeting vector was electroporated into the ES cells, and the transfected ES cells were screened with G418 and Ganciclovir. Finally, the ES clones with correct targeting events were identified by Southern Blot… More >

LETTY MARCANO, INGRID CARRUYO, YUSMARY FERNÁNDEZ, XIOMARA MONTIEL, ZAIDA TORREALBA.

BIOCELL, Vol.30, No.2, pp. 259-267, 2006, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2006.30.259

Abstract The vanadium is a metal that presents great interest from the toxicological point of view, because of the numerous alterations that can take place in different biological systems. This work evaluated the capacity of vanadium accumulation and its correlation with genotoxic effects in root cells of Allium cepa L. The bulbs were cultivated in renovated filtered water each 24 h, at a temperature of 25 ± 0.5°C, in darkness and constant aeration. Treatments were carried out under the same experimental conditions, using water solutions of vanadium of 25, 50, 75 and 100μg/g for 0, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h.… More >

R. B. SCIURANO, M.S. MERANI, JIMENA BUSTOS, A.J. SOLARI

BIOCELL, Vol.30, No.1, pp. 57-66, 2006, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2006.30.057

Abstract Spermatocytes from the two armadillo species, C. villosus and D. hybridus were studied in microspreads for synaptonemal complexes (SCs) and in thin sections for electron microscopy (EM). The complete SC karyotype generally agrees with previous reports on mitotic chromosomes, except for the sex chromosomes. The X chromosome is submetacentric in both species and the Y is the shortest one in C. villosus and the second shortest in D. hybridus, and an extremely acrocentric one. A SC is formed along the total length of the Y chromosome, and this SC persists along all the pachytene substages. A single recombination nodule (RN)… More >

ROSANA N. MALPASSI

BIOCELL, Vol.30, No.1, pp. 51-56, 2006, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2006.30.051

Abstract Eleusine indica and Portulaca oleracea are two common weeds in peanut crops in southern Córdoba. Two chemicals are frequently used to control them, quizalofop for grasses and lactofen for dicots. The objective is to study the effects of quizalofop and lactofen on cuticle ultrastructure in E. indica and P. oleracea, respectively. In the lab, quizalofop was applied on E. indica and lactofen on P. oleracea. Three plant categories were analyzed in each species: 3, 1-2, and no tiller in E. indica, and 8, 6, and 2 nomophylls in P. oleracea. Leaf samples from both species were collected at 7 and… More >

LEONOR M.E. ITUARTE*, TERESA B. VIERA*, TEOBALDO A. SALDEÑA*, JUAN C. DE ROSAS**, MABEL FÓSCOLO**, JORGE E. IBÁÑEZ*, FERNANDO D. SARAVÍ*

BIOCELL, Vol.30, No.1, pp. 43-49, 2006, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2006.30.043

Abstract Electrophysiological events occur early after fertilization, along with changes in intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration . Passive electrical parameters were determined in golden hamster oocytes by whole cell patch-clamp method. In separate experiments the effect of 4-aminopyridine on resting oocytes was tested. The single-channel patch clamp configuration was employed to assess the electrical response to fertilization with homologous sperm. Structure of oocytes submitted to patch clamp was evaluated with scanning electron microscopy and found to be preserved.
Oocyte diameter was 70.2 ± 2.2 µm; their resting parameters were: membrane potential 23.8 ± 0.8 mV; total membrane specific resistance 519.1 ± 94.6… More >

MARÍA DE LOS A. ALVAREZ, NORA B. DEBATTISTA, NORA B. PAPPANO

BIOCELL, Vol.30, No.1, pp. 39-42, 2006, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2006.30.039

Abstract In our previous studies, bacteriostatic action of flavonoids against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25 923 and Escherichia coli ATCC 25 922 was demostrated. In the present work synergism of their combinations in order to improve the bacteriostatic action against the same microorganisms was determined. The experiences were made in nutritive broth, maintaining constant one drug concentration (20 µg/ml) and increasing the other one. A turbidimetric kinetic method was used and by means of a mechanism previously proposed, the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC´s) of each flavonoid combination were determined. The MIC´s for assayed combinations against S. aureus were: variable morin - constant… More >

MARIA CAROLINA AQUINO LUQUE, SÔNIA NAIR BÁO

BIOCELL, Vol.30, No.1, pp. 33-38, 2006, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2006.30.033

Abstract The ultrastructure of normal, ejaculated spermatozoa of Bos indicus was studied by means of electron microscopy, being evaluated in two principal parts, the head and the tail. The head is flat, oval or paddle-shaped with a square base, which provides a concave recess for the insertion of the tail. The acrosome tightly covers the anterior two thirds of the nucleus. A distinct unilateral acrosomal bulge was observed along the apical edge of the head. The equatorial region demarcates the acrosome from the post-equatorial region that covers the caudal one third of the nucleus. The classical 9+9+2 fiber pattern which composes… More >