18 Histomorphometric comparison of right and left oviduct structure from alpaca (Vicugna pacos)

One of the phenomena that occurs during pregnancy in camelids is that nearly all fetuses occupy the left uterine horn, even though both ovaries ovulate with equal frequency. However, there are no reports on morphometric differences between the alpaca left and right oviducts, which could indicate an effect on gamete transport. The present study was carried out to measure and compare inner and outer measurements of the left and right oviduct regions from alpaca. One hundred twenty transverse sections (5µm) of oviducts were studied from 5 adult females, all with dominant ovarian follicle collected in the slaughterhouse. The oviducts were divided into 5 regions: tubal uterus junction (UTJ), isthmus (Is), ampullary isthmus junction (AIJ), ampulla (A), and infundibulum (In), processed and stained with haematoxylin and eosin. Stained slides were studied under the trinocular microscope at 40× magnification, and the images obtained under the microscope were transferred to a computer. The luminal area, number of primary folds, height of primary folds, height of epithelium, thickness of the muscular layer, inner diameter of circular muscular layer, and thickness of the serosa layer were measured using the Motic Images Plus 2.0 software. These measurements for each 5 regions were compared between left and right oviducts using ANOVA test and the association of the parameters with Pearson correlation analysis using SPSS vs.22 software (IBM Corp.). Ampulla luminal area (399 553.5±152 551.2µm2), thickness of the muscular layer of the region UTJ (280.9±55.0µm), thickness of the muscular layer of the Isthmus region (175.4±28.9µm), and inner diameter of circular muscular layer of the UTJ region (1003.4±102.9µm) of the right side were larger (P<0.05) than those on left side. On the left side, we observed the opposite (P<0.05) in the AIJ region, with a greater height of epithelium (9.9±2.6µm) and thickness of the serosa layer (106.5±52.7µm) compared with the right side. Also, we observed a negative correlation between the thickness of the muscular layer and number of primary folds (r=−0.63; P<0.001) and between thickness of the muscular layer and height of primary folds (r=−0.18; P=0.007). In conclusion, the regions of the right and left oviductal structure present some different morphometrics that could influence the transport of gametes and embryos in South American camelids. It is necessary to carry out secretomic and gene expression studies at the oviduct level, and to expand the number of replicates to correlate the ovary with the presence of a dominant follicle and the reported measurements.

Comparison of organochlorine pesticide levels in human adipose tissue of inhabitants from Veracruz and Puebla, Mexico

Since the discovery of insecticide properties of DDT (1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane) and HCH (hexachlorocyclohexane), they have provided great benefits to humans in sanitary actions to combat the spread of infection-borne disease vectors. Public Health Programs in Mexico used DDT and HCH until 1999 as the insecticides of choice to control disease-transmitting organisms. Because of their persistence and accumulative properties, organochlorine pesticides bioconcentrate in lipids of the human body, reflecting the rate of environmental exposure. Eighty human abdominal adipose tissue samples from Veracruz and 80 samples from Puebla were analyzed and the obtained results were compared among both populations. The results from Veracruz showed higher contamination levels (mg/kg on lipid base) compared to Puebla: beta-HCH, 0.072 vs. 0.029; pp'DDE (Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene), 2.364 vs. 0.726; op'DDT, 0.022 vs. 0.025; pp'DDT, 0.192 vs. 0.061; and Sigma-DDT, 2.589 vs. 0.806. The population from Veracruz and from Puebla divided by sex, origin, and cause of death presented no statistical differences. The comparison between sexes (women and men groups) at Veracruz and Puebla indicated significantly higher levels in Veracruz and statistical significant differences. Calculating possible risks (odds ratios, OR), pp'DDE (OR = 5.04) and op'DDT (OR = 2.93) revealed significantly higher risk for the Veracruz population. The study indicated prolonged DDT exposure of Mexicans caused by the past sanitary use and persistence of its residues in soils and air.

Transition-metal-substituted indium thiospinels as novel intermediate-band materials: prediction and understanding of their electronic properties

Results of density-functional calculations for indium thiospinel semiconductors substituted at octahedral sites with isolated transition metals (M=Ti,V) show an isolated partially filled narrow band containing three t2g-type states per M atom inside the usual semiconductor band gap. Thanks to this electronic structure feature, these materials will allow the absorption of photons with energy below the band gap, in addition to the normal light absorption of a semiconductor. To our knowledge, we demonstrate for the first time the formation of an isolated intermediate electronic band structure through M substitution at octahedral sites in a semiconductor, leading to an enhancement of the absorption coefficient in both infrared and visible ranges of the solar spectrum. This electronic structure feature could be applied for developing a new third-generation photovoltaic cell.