Elevated Non-Esterified Fatty Acid Concentrations during Bovine Oocyte Maturation Compromise Early Embryo Physiology

Elevated concentrations of serum non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), associated with maternal disorders such as obesity and type II diabetes, alter the ovarian follicular micro-environment and have been associated with subfertility arising from reduced oocyte developmental competence. We have asked whether elevated NEFA concentrations during oocyte maturation affect the development and physiology of zygotes formed from such oocytes, using the cow as a model. The zygotes were grown to blastocysts, which were evaluated for their quality in terms of cell number, apoptosis, expression of key genes, amino acid turnover and oxidative metabolism. Oocyte maturation under elevated NEFA concentrations resulted in blastocysts with significantly lower cell number, increased apoptotic cell ratio and altered mRNA abundance of DNMT3A, IGF2R and SLC2A1. In addition, the blastocysts displayed reduced oxygen, pyruvate and glucose consumption, up-regulated lactate consumption and higher amino acid metabolism. These data indicate that exposure of maturing oocytes to elevated NEFA concentrations has a negative impact on fertility not only through a reduction in oocyte developmental capacity but through compromised early embryo quality, viability and metabolism

Biological versus chronological ovarian age:implications for assisted reproductive technology

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Women have been able to delay childbearing since effective contraception became available in the 1960s. However, fertility decreases with increasing maternal age. A slow but steady decrease in fertility is observed in women aged between 30 and 35 years, which is followed by an accelerated decline among women aged over 35 years. A combination of delayed childbearing and reduced fecundity with increasing age has resulted in an increased number and proportion of women of greater than or equal to 35 years of age seeking assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Literature searches supplemented with the authors' knowledge.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Despite major advances in medical technology, there is currently no ART treatment strategy that can fully compensate for the natural decline in fertility with increasing female age. Although chronological age is the most important predictor of ovarian response to follicle-stimulating hormone, the rate of reproductive ageing and ovarian sensitivity to gonadotrophins varies considerably among individuals. Both environmental and genetic factors contribute to depletion of the ovarian oocyte pool and reduction in oocyte quality. Thus, biological and chronological ovarian age are not always equivalent. Furthermore, biological age is more important than chronological age in predicting the outcome of ART. As older patients present increasingly for ART treatment, it will become more important to critically assess prognosis, counsel appropriately and optimize treatment strategies. Several genetic markers and biomarkers (such as anti-Müllerian hormone and the antral follicle count) are emerging that can identify women with accelerated biological ovarian ageing. Potential strategies for improving ovarian response include the use of luteinizing hormone (LH) and growth hormone (GH). When endogenous LH levels are heavily suppressed by gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues, LH supplementation may help to optimize treatment outcomes for women with biologically older ovaries. Exogenous GH may improve oocyte development and counteract the age-related decline of oocyte quality. The effects of GH may be mediated by insulin-like growth factor-I, which works synergistically with follicle-stimulating hormone on granulosa and theca cells.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Patients with biologically older ovaries may benefit from a tailored approach based on individual patient characteristics. Among the most promising adjuvant therapies for improving ART outcomes in women of advanced reproductive age are the administration of exogenous LH or GH.</p

Energy performance of water hybrid PV/T collectors applied to combisystems of Direct Solar Floor type

International audienc

Permeability of ovarian follicle ; corona cell-oocyte relationship in mammals

International audienc

In vitro studies of oocyte maturation and follicular metabolism in the pig

International audienc

Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Natural Convection in Open-Ended Channels with Application to Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) Systems

Numerical and experimental investigations of the flow and heat transfer in open-ended channel formed by the double skin façade have been undertaken in order to improve understanding of the phenomena and to apply it to passive cooling of building integrated photovoltaic systems. Both uniform heating and non-uniform heating configurations in which heat sources alternated with unheated zones on both skins were studied. Different periodic and asymmetric heating modes have been considered for the same aspect ratio 1/15 of wall distance to wall height and for periodicity 1/15 and 4/15 of heated/unheated zones and heat input, 220 W/m2. In computational study three dimensional transient LES simulation was carried out. It is shown that in comparison to uniformly heating configuration, non-uniformly heating configuration enhances both convective heat transfer and chimney effect

Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Natural Convection in Open-Ended Channels with Application to Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) Systems

Numerical and experimental investigations of the flow and heat transfer in open-ended channel formed by the double skin façade have been undertaken in order to improve understanding of the phenomena and to apply it to passive cooling of building integrated photovoltaic systems. Both uniform heating and non-uniform heating configurations in which heat sources alternated with unheated zones on both skins were studied. Different periodic and asymmetric heating modes have been considered for the same aspect ratio 1/15 of wall distance to wall height and for periodicity 1/15 and 4/15 of heated/unheated zones and heat input, 220 W/m2. In computational study three dimensional transient LES simulation was carried out. It is shown that in comparison to uniformly heating configuration, non-uniformly heating configuration enhances both convective heat transfer and chimney effect

doi:10.1155/2012/265838 Research Article Analysis of a Hybrid PV/Thermal Solar-Assisted Heat Pump System for Sports Center Water Heating Application

Copyright © 2012 Y. Bai et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The application of solar energy provides an alternative way to replace the primary source of energy, especially for large-scale installations. Heat pump technology is also an effective means to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels. This paper presents a practical case study of combined hybrid PV/T solar assisted heat pump (SAHP) system for sports center hot water production. The initial design procedure was first presented. The entire system was then modeled with the TRNSYS 16 computation environment and the energy performance was evaluated based on year round simulation results. The results show that the system COP can reach 4.1 under the subtropical climate of Hong Kong, and as compared to the conventional heating system, a high fractional factor of energy saving at 67 % can be obtained. The energy performances of the same system under different climatic conditions, that include three other cities in France, were analyzed and compared. Economic implications were also considered in this study. 1

Numerical study of the coherent structures in a transitional vertical channel natural convection flow

International audienc