Effect of heat stress on gastro-intestinal motility in young albino rats.

Motility of the gastrointestinal tract was studied by barium meal technique in control and heat exposed young and adult albino rats. As compared to the controls, the gastric emptying and the intestinal transit were significantly increased in heat exposed young rats, while in vivo intestinal absorption of D-glucose and L-proline was significantly decreased in heat exposed young rats. The rapid transit of meal through small intestine in heat exposed young rats could be responsible for decreased absorptive capacity of small intestine by reducing the exposure time for nutrients.

A study of the distribution of ABO and Rh(D) blood groups amongst Lodha tribe in Midnapore district of West Bengal.

Distribution of ABO and Rh(D) blood group was studied in 206 Lodha subjects living in the Midnapore district of West Bengal. It was observed that incidence of group A was maximum and incidence of group AB was minimum; 99.5% of the subjects were 'Rh' positive. The highest incidence of group A amongst Lodhas indicates that they might belong to the proto-Australoid group anthropologically.

Role of hyperphagia in structural changes of small intestine during lactation.

The present study was conducted to investigate the cause of the structural changes of small intestine during lactation in albino rats. Anatomical measurements (total length, total wet weight and total dry weight) and histological studies of small intestine were undertaken in virgin control rats, lactating control rats, lactating rats with restricted food intake and lactating rats with restricted litter size. Restriction of food intake prevented the growth of small intestine during lactation, while restriction of litter size had no effect. Results indicate that the structural changes in small intestine are due to work hypertrophy secondary to hyperphagia and not due to any hormonal factors.