2,595 research outputs found
Kisspeptin receptor on the sperm surface reflects epididymal maturation in the dog
Alongside the well-known central modulatory role, the Kisspeptin system, comprising Kiss1, its cleavage products (Kisspeptins), and Kisspeptin receptor (Kiss1R), was found to regulate gonadal functions in vertebrates; however, its functional role in the male gamete and its localization during maturation have been poorly understood. The present study analyzed Kisspeptin system in dog testis and spermatozoa recovered from different segments of the epididymis, with focus on Kiss1R on sperm surface alongside the maturation during epididymal transit, demonstrated by modification in sperm kinetic, morphology, and protamination. The proteins Kiss1 and Kiss1R were detected in dog testis. The receptor Kiss1R only was detected in total protein extracts from epididymis spermatozoa, whereas dot blot revealed Kiss1 immunoreactivity in the epidydimal fluid. An increase of the Kiss1R protein on sperm surface along the length of the epididymis, with spermatozoa in the tail showing plasma membrane integrity and Kiss1R protein (p < 0.05 vs. epididymis head and body) was observed by flow cytometry and further confirmed by epifluorescence microscopy and Western blot carried on sperm membrane preparations. In parallel, during the transit in the epididymis spermatozoa significantly modified their ability to move and the pattern of motility; a progressive increase in protaminization also occurred. In conclusion, Kisspeptin system was detected in dog testis and spermatozoa. Kiss1R trafficking toward plasma membrane along the length of the epididymis and Kiss1 in epididymal fluid suggested a new functional role of the Kisspeptin system in sperm maturation and storage
Perfil de aminoácidos digestíveis para aves de farelos produzidos a partir de soja convencional e soja geneticamente modificada.
Biochemical blood analysis along pregnancy in Martina Franca jennies
The availability of biochemical blood data specific for the pregnant condition are essential for the correct management of both normal pregnancies and also for the prompt recognition of every abnormality. Because of the lacking knowledge about biochemical blood analysis in the donkey along the entire pregnancy, the study was designed to provide first preliminary data about the values and possible changes of blood alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin (TBIL), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), creatine-kinase (CK), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (CREA), uric acid (UA), amylase (AMY), gamma-glutamyl transferase (gamma-GT), triglycerides (TRI), cholesterol (CHOL), total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), glucose (GLU), phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), occurring from the beginning of pregnancy until parturition. The study was performed on 10 Martina Franca healthy jennies with normal pregnancy course and giving birth to mature, healthy and viable foals. Blood samples were collected monthly from the 1st to the 6th month of pregnancy, then twice a month from the 6th to the 9th month and afterwards weekly until parturition. The results showed a significant slight increase of glucose and creatinine in the second quarter of pregnancy and a minor decrease of cholesterol near to parturition, while all the other parameters did not significantly change along pregnancy
A Study of Time-Dependent CP-Violating Asymmetries and Flavor Oscillations in Neutral B Decays at the Upsilon(4S)
We present a measurement of time-dependent CP-violating asymmetries in
neutral B meson decays collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II
asymmetric-energy B Factory at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. The data
sample consists of 29.7 recorded at the
resonance and 3.9 off-resonance. One of the neutral B mesons,
which are produced in pairs at the , is fully reconstructed in
the CP decay modes , , , () and , or in flavor-eigenstate
modes involving and (). The flavor of the other neutral B meson is tagged at the time of
its decay, mainly with the charge of identified leptons and kaons. The proper
time elapsed between the decays is determined by measuring the distance between
the decay vertices. A maximum-likelihood fit to this flavor eigenstate sample
finds . The value of the asymmetry amplitude is determined from
a simultaneous maximum-likelihood fit to the time-difference distribution of
the flavor-eigenstate sample and about 642 tagged decays in the
CP-eigenstate modes. We find , demonstrating that CP violation exists in the neutral B meson
system. (abridged)Comment: 58 pages, 35 figures, submitted to Physical Review
Measurement of ISR-FSR interference in the processes e+ e- --> mu+ mu- gamma and e+ e- --> pi+ pi- gamma
Charge asymmetry in processes e+ e- --> mu+ mu- gamma and e+ e- --> pi+ pi-
gamma is measured using 232 fb-1 of data collected with the BABAR detector at
center-of-mass energies near 10.58 GeV. An observable is introduced and shown
to be very robust against detector asymmetries while keeping a large
sensitivity to the physical charge asymmetry that results from the interference
between initial and final state radiation. The asymmetry is determined as
afunction of the invariant mass of the final-state tracks from production
threshold to a few GeV/c2. It is compared to the expectation from QED for e+ e-
--> mu+ mu- gamma and from theoretical models for e+ e- --> pi+ pi- gamma. A
clear interference pattern is observed in e+ e- --> pi+ pi- gamma, particularly
in the vicinity of the f_2(1270) resonance. The inferred rate of lowest order
FSR production is consistent with the QED expectation for e+ e- --> mu+ mu-
gamma, and is negligibly small for e+ e- --> pi+ pi- gamma.Comment: 32 pages,29 figures, to be submitted to Phys. Rev.
Measurement of the quasi-elastic axial vector mass in neutrino-oxygen interactions
The weak nucleon axial-vector form factor for quasi-elastic interactions is
determined using neutrino interaction data from the K2K Scintillating Fiber
detector in the neutrino beam at KEK. More than 12,000 events are analyzed, of
which half are charged-current quasi-elastic interactions nu-mu n to mu- p
occurring primarily in oxygen nuclei. We use a relativistic Fermi gas model for
oxygen and assume the form factor is approximately a dipole with one parameter,
the axial vector mass M_A, and fit to the shape of the distribution of the
square of the momentum transfer from the nucleon to the nucleus. Our best fit
result for M_A = 1.20 \pm 0.12 GeV. Furthermore, this analysis includes updated
vector form factors from recent electron scattering experiments and a
discussion of the effects of the nucleon momentum on the shape of the fitted
distributions.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, 6 table
Study of e+e- --> pi+ pi- pi0 process using initial state radiation with BABAR
The process e+e- --> pi+ pi- pi0 gamma has been studied at a center-of-mass
energy near the Y(4S) resonance using a 89.3 fb-1 data sample collected with
the BaBar detector at the PEP-II collider. From the measured 3pi mass spectrum
we have obtained the products of branching fractions for the omega and phi
mesons, B(omega --> e+e-)B(omega --> 3pi)=(6.70 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.27)10-5 and
B(phi --> e+e-)B(phi --> 3pi)=(4.30 +/- 0.08 +/- 0.21)10-5, and evaluated the
e+e- --> pi+ pi- pi0 cross section for the e+e- center-of-mass energy range
1.05 to 3.00 GeV. About 900 e+e- --> J/psi gamma --> pi+ pi- pi0 gamma events
have been selected and the branching fraction B(J/psi --> pi+ pi- pi0)=(2.18
+/- 0.19)% has been measured.Comment: 21 pages, 37 postscript figues, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Evidence for the Rare Decay B -> K*ll and Measurement of the B -> Kll Branching Fraction
We present evidence for the flavor-changing neutral current decay and a measurement of the branching fraction for the related
process , where is either an or
pair. These decays are highly suppressed in the Standard Model,
and they are sensitive to contributions from new particles in the intermediate
state. The data sample comprises
decays collected with the Babar detector at the PEP-II storage ring.
Averaging over isospin and lepton flavor, we obtain the branching
fractions and , where the
uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. The significance of
the signal is over , while for it is .Comment: 7 pages, 2 postscript figues, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Measurement of Branching Fraction and Dalitz Distribution for B0->D(*)+/- K0 pi-/+ Decays
We present measurements of the branching fractions for the three-body decays
B0 -> D(*)-/+ K0 pi^+/-B0 -> D(*)-/+ K*+/- using
a sample of approximately 88 million BBbar pairs collected by the BABAR
detector at the PEP-II asymmetric energy storage ring.
We measure:
B(B0->D-/+ K0 pi+/-)=(4.9 +/- 0.7(stat) +/- 0.5 (syst)) 10^{-4}
B(B0->D*-/+ K0 pi+/-)=(3.0 +/- 0.7(stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) 10^{-4}
B(B0->D-/+ K*+/-)=(4.6 +/- 0.6(stat) +/- 0.5 (syst)) 10^{-4}
B(B0->D*-/+ K*+/-)=(3.2 +/- 0.6(stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) 10^{-4}
From these measurements we determine the fractions of resonant events to be :
f(B0-> D-/+ K*+/-) = 0.63 +/- 0.08(stat) +/- 0.04(syst) f(B0-> D*-/+ K*+/-) =
0.72 +/- 0.14(stat) +/- 0.05(syst)Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
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