Immature oocytes grow during in vitro maturation culture

BACKGROUND. Oocyte competence for maturation and embryogenesis is associated with oocyte diameter in many mammals. This study aimed to test whether such a relationship exists in humans and to quantify its impact upon in vitro maturation (IVM). METHODS. We used computer-assisted image analysis daily to measure average diameter, zona thickness and other parameters in oocytes. Immature oocytes originated from unstimulated patients with polycystic ovaries, and from stimulated patients undergoing ICSI. They were cultured with or without meiosis activating sterol (FF-MAS). Oocytes maturing in vitro were inseminated using ICSI and embryo development was monitored. A sample of freshly collected in vivo matured oocytes from ICSI patients were also measured. RESULTS. Immature oocytes were usually smaller at collection than in vivo matured oocytes. Capacity for maturation was related to oocyte diameter and many oocytes grew in culture. FF-MAS stimulated growth in ICSI derived oocytes, but only stimulated growth in PCO derived oocytes if they eventually matured in vitro. Oocytes degenerating showed cytoplasmic shrinkage. Neither zona thickness, perivitelline space, nor the total diameter of the oocyte including the zona were informative regarding oocyte maturation capacity. CONCLUSIONS. Immature oocytes continue growing during maturation culture. FF-MAS promotes oocyte growth in vitro. Oocytes from different sources have different growth profiles in vitro. Measuring diameters of oocytes used in clinical IVM may provide additional non-invasive information that could potentially identify and avoid the use of oocytes that remain in the growth phase

Oestradiol-17β plasma concentrations after intramuscular injection of oestradiol benzoate or oestradiol cypionate in llamas (Lama glama)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Llamas (<it>Lama glama</it>) are induced ovulators and the process of ovulation depends on dominant follicular size. In addition, a close relationship between behavioural estrus and ovulation is not registered in llamas. Therefore, the exogenous control of follicular development with hormones aims to predict the optimal time to mate. Oestradiol-17β (E₂) and its esters are currently used in domestic species, including camelids, in synchronization treatments. But, in llamas, there is no reports regarding the appropriate dosages to be used and most protocols have been designed by extrapolation from those recommended for other ruminants. The aim of the present study was to characterize plasma E₂concentrations in intact female llamas following a single intramuscular (i.m.) injection of two oestradiol esters: oestradiol benzoate (EB) and oestradiol cypionate (ECP).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twelve non pregnant and non lactating sexually mature llamas were i.m. injected on day 0 with 2.5 mg of EB (EB group, n = 6) or ECP (ECP group, n = 6). Blood samples were collected immediately before injection, at 1, 6, 12, 24 h after treatment and then daily until day 14 post injection. Changes in hormone concentrations with time were analyzed in each group by analysis of variance (ANOVA) using a repeated measures (within-SS) design. Plasma E₂concentrations and area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) values were compared between groups by ANOVA. In all cases a Least-Significant Difference test (LSD) was used to determine differences between means. Hormonal and AUC data are expressed as mean ± S.E.M.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Peak plasma E₂concentrations were achieved earlier and were higher in EB group than in ECP group. Thereafter, E₂returned to physiological concentrations earlier in EB group (day 5) than in ECP group (day 9). Although plasma E₂profiles differed over time among groups there were no differences between them on AUC values.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The i.m. injection of a single dose of both oestradiol esters resulted in plasma E₂concentrations exceeding physiological values for a variable period. Moreover, the plasma E₂profiles observed depended on the derivative of oestradiol administered. This basic information becomes relevant at defining treatment protocols including oestrogens in llamas.</p

Nuevas aportaciones a la gestión informatizada de derrames de hidrocarburos: su aplicación a "zonas refugio"

pEl objeto del presente trabajo es el de describir la mayor parte de los procedimientos a seguir para decidir si es aconsejable trasladar un petrolero siniestrado a una “zona refugio”. Para tomar esta decisión se deberán considerar diferentes procedimientos, con la finalidad de objetivizar al máximo dicha decisión. Es de gran importancia conocer muy bien las características y las infraestructuras de las diferentes zonas costeras que pueden ser consideradas posibles “zonas refugio”. En base a todo lo anterior, se ha desarrollado un programa formado por varios módulos que permiten obtener datos de gran importancia, entre los que se incluyen las matrices de valores ambientales e infraestructurales, y que permite el cálculo de determinados factores determinantes para las actuaciones de traslado y preparación del petrolero (tiempo de traslado del petrolero, tiempo de atraque y conexión a los sistemas de bombeo, tiempo de vaciado de los hidrocarburos a los depósitos de almacenamiento, trasvase a otro petrolero, etc.). Además, dicho programa permite estimar los costes de limpieza y restauración, así como las pérdidas en el sector turístico./pp /ppstrongPalabras claves:/strong Hidrocarburos; Zona refugio; Derrames de hidrocarburos/p pDOI: a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5377/nexo.v24i1.590"http://dx.doi.org/10.5377/nexo.v24i1.590/a/p pNexo, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 11-19, 2011/

Finding File Fragments in the Cloud

Part 4: CLOUD FORENSICSInternational audienceAs the use – and abuse – of cloud computing increases, it becomes necessary to conduct forensic analyses of cloud computing systems. This paper evaluates the feasibility of performing a digital forensic investigation on a cloud computing system. Specifically, experiments were conducted on the Nimbula on-site cloud operating system to determine if meaningful information can be extracted from a cloud system. The experiments involved planting known, unique files in a cloud computing infrastructure, and subsequently performing forensic captures of the virtual machine image that executes in the cloud. The results demonstrate that it is possible to extract key information about a cloud system and, in certain cases, even re-start a virtual machine

A new British subject : the creation of a common ethnicity in Gibraltar

In recent decades, scholars of nationalism have paid increasing attention to the role of ethnicity in the formation of nations. In fact, nationalist narratives often structure the nation around a core ethnic group and a hegemonic language. Nevertheless, there are communities (such as many former colonies) which cannot easily define their nationhood in terms of a shared ethnic background, and Gibraltar is one such example. It offers an exceptional opportunity to shed light on the political strategies for the creation of a discursive common ethnicity from a community with a very culturally diverse background. With two powerful countries determining their identity, Gibraltarians found it difficult to develop their own national narrative, much less a claim for independence. In the 1940s, however, the Spanish dictator, General Franco, began a campaign to recover Gibraltar, and it was during this campaign that Gibraltarians developed the clearest articulation of their unique collective identity through a nationalist discourse that would make them new British subjects, albeit with their own ethnic peculiarities. This chapter analyses how a nationalist narrative helped Gibraltarians form their own ethnic identity, incorporating, at least discursively, a diverse ethnic background that would make the Gibraltarian a ‘melting pot’. It explores how political actors gave birth to a new British subject, the Gibraltarian, during the postwar period, and charts the reception of this ideological discourse on the Rock

‘Franco lives!’ : Spanish fascism and the creation of a British Gibraltarian identity

In 1940, the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco launched a propaganda campaign, usually known as ‘Gibraltar, español’ [Gibraltar for Spain], aimed at the re-establishment of Spanish sovereignty over this tiny British colony on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. Gibraltarians opposed Franco, who soon became their common enemy, performing their loyalty to the UK. Our chapter explores the extent to which Franco’s campaign, which culminated in the closure of the border in 1969, has shaped Gibraltarians’ national identity and has promoted a concomitant growing antipathy to Spanishness in Gibraltar. We demonstrate that Franco’s foreign policy not only helped the construction of Gibraltar’s national identity but that the remembrance of the Spanish dictatorship still shapes the way Gibraltarians see both Spain and themselves. This history largely accounts for Gibraltarians’ antipathy to joint sovereignty proposed by the Blair government and once again proposed by Madrid in the wake of Brexit