Cryo-capacitation changes during cryopreservation of swamp buffalo spermatozoa

Cryopreservation of sperm cells induces cryo-capacitation like changes. These changes are associated with reduced survival of sperm cells in the female reproductive tract that ultimately associate with poor fertility. The present study was designed with the objective to investigate the cryo-capacitation changes in relation to acrosomal status, transaminases activities, sperm membrane protein and cholesterol content in swamp buffalo spermatozoa. Results revealed that the total mean incidences of acrosome reacted spermatozoa and the mean activity of ALT and AST were significantly higher after equilibration and freezing. The mean level of sperm membrane protein and cholesterol was significantly lower after equilibration and freezing. It may be concluded from the present study that cryopreservation induces capacitation-like changes in swamp buffalo spermatozoa

Evaluation of safety and protective effects of Potentilla fulgens root extract in experimentally induced diarrhoea in mice

Aim: The roots of Potentilla fulgens Wall. ex Hook. (Rosaceae) have been used in the indigenous system of medicine in Northeast India to treat diarrhoea. The aim of this study was to investigate the safety and protective effects of P. fulgens root extract in experimentally induced diarrhoea in mice. Methods: The protective effects of P. fulgens root extract was investigated against experimentally induced diarrhoea in mice, using four experimental models, i.e. measurement of faecal output, castor oil model, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) enteropooling assay and gastrointestinal transit test. The safety assessment of root extract was done in mice on the basis of general signs and symptoms of toxicity, food water intake and mortality of animals following their treatment with various doses of extract (100 and ndash;3200 mg/kg). In addition, the serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), cholesterol and total protein of experimental mice were also monitored to assess the toxicity of root extract. Results: In the safety assessment studies, P. fulgens root extract did not showed any visible signs of toxicity, but mortality was observed in a single animal at 3200 mg/kg dose of extract. The extract also did not showed any adverse effects on the studied serum parameters of experimental animals. In the antidiarrhoeal tests, administration of 800 mg/kg dose of extract to mice showed 50% protection from diarrhoea evoked by castor oil. In addition, the extract also showed 29.27% reduction in PGE2-induced intestinal secretion as compared to 30.31% recorded for loperamide, a standard anti-diarrhoeal drug. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that P. fulgens root extract possesses significant anti-diarrhoeal properties. Therefore, the roots of this plant can be an effective traditional medicine for the protection from diarrhoea. [J Intercult Ethnopharmacol 2014; 3(3.000): 103-108

Evaluation of safety and protective effects of Potentilla fulgens root extract in experimentally induced diarrhoea in mice

Aim: The roots of Potentilla fulgens Wall. ex Hook. (Rosaceae) have been used in the indigenous system of medicine in Northeast India to treat diarrhoea. The aim of this study was to investigate the safety and protective effects of P. fulgens root extract in experimentally induced diarrhoea in mice. Methods: The protective effects of P. fulgens root extract was investigated against experimentally induced diarrhoea in mice, using four experimental models, i.e. measurement of faecal output, castor oil model, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) enteropooling assay and gastrointestinal transit test. The safety assessment of root extract was done in mice on the basis of general signs and symptoms of toxicity, food water intake and mortality of animals following their treatment with various doses of extract (100 and ndash;3200 mg/kg). In addition, the serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), cholesterol and total protein of experimental mice were also monitored to assess the toxicity of root extract. Results: In the safety assessment studies, P. fulgens root extract did not showed any visible signs of toxicity, but mortality was observed in a single animal at 3200 mg/kg dose of extract. The extract also did not showed any adverse effects on the studied serum parameters of experimental animals. In the antidiarrhoeal tests, administration of 800 mg/kg dose of extract to mice showed 50% protection from diarrhoea evoked by castor oil. In addition, the extract also showed 29.27% reduction in PGE2-induced intestinal secretion as compared to 30.31% recorded for loperamide, a standard anti-diarrhoeal drug. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that P. fulgens root extract possesses significant anti-diarrhoeal properties. Therefore, the roots of this plant can be an effective traditional medicine for the protection from diarrhoea. [J Intercult Ethnopharmacol 2014; 3(3.000): 103-108

On decentralized convex optimization in a multi-agent setting with separable constraints and its application to optimal charging of electric vehicles

We develop a decentralized algorithm for multiagent, convex optimization programs, subject to separable constraints, where the constraint function of each agent involves only its local decision vector, while the decision vectors of all agents are coupled via a common objective function. We construct a variant of the so called Jacobi algorithm and show that, when the objective function is quadratic, convergence to some minimizer of the centralized problem counterpart is achieved. Our algorithm serves then as an effective alternative to gradient based methodologies. We illustrate its efficacy by applying it to the problem of optimal charging of electric vehicles, where, as opposed to earlier approaches, we show convergence to an optimal charging scheme for a finite, possibly large, number of vehicles

On the connection between Nash equilibria and social optima in electric vehicle charging control games

We consider the problem of optimal charging of heterogeneous plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). We approach the problem as a multi-agent game in the presence of constraints and formulate an auxiliary minimization program whose solution is shown to be the unique Nash equilibrium of the PEV charging control game, for any finite number of possibly heterogeneous agents. Assuming that the parameters defining the constraints of each vehicle are drawn randomly from a given distribution, we show that, as the number of agents tends to infinity, the value of the game achieved by the Nash equilibrium and the social optimum of the cooperative counterpart of the problem under study coincide for almost any choice of the random heterogeneity parameters. To the best of our knowledge, this result quantifies for the first time the asymptotic behaviour of the price of anarchy for this class of games. A numerical investigation to support our result is also provided

Price of anarchy in electric vehicle charging control games: When Nash equilibria achieve social welfare

We consider the problem of optimal charging of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). We treat this problem as a multi-agent game, where vehicles/agents are heterogeneous since they are subject to possibly different constraints. Under the assumption that electricity price is affine in total demand, we show that, for any finite number of heterogeneous agents, the PEV charging control game admits a unique Nash equilibrium, which is the optimizer of an auxiliary minimization program. We are also able to quantify the asymptotic behaviour of the price of anarchy for this class of games. More precisely, we prove that if the parameters defining the constraints of each vehicle are drawn randomly from a given distribution, then, the value of the game converges almost surely to the optimum of the cooperative problem counterpart as the number of agents tends to infinity. In the case of a discrete probability distribution, we provide a systematic way to abstract agents in homogeneous groups and show that, as the number of agents tends to infinity, the value of the game tends to a deterministic quantity

On the connection between Nash equilibria and social optima in electric vehicle charging control games

We consider the problem of optimal charging of heterogeneous plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). We approach the problem as a multi-agent game in the presence of constraints and formulate an auxiliary minimization program whose solution is shown to be the unique Nash equilibrium of the PEV charging control game, for any finite number of possibly heterogeneous agents. Assuming that the parameters defining the constraints of each vehicle are drawn randomly from a given distribution, we show that, as the number of agents tends to infinity, the value of the game achieved by the Nash equilibrium and the social optimum of the cooperative counterpart of the problem under study coincide for almost any choice of the random heterogeneity parameters. To the best of our knowledge, this result quantifies for the first time the asymptotic behaviour of the price of anarchy for this class of games. A numerical investigation to support our result is also provided

Regularized Jacobi Iteration for Decentralized Convex Quadratic Optimization with Separable Constraints

We consider multiagent, convex quadratic optimization programs subject to separable constraints, where the constraint function of each agent involves only its local decision vector, while the decision vectors of all agents are coupled via a common objective function. We focus on a regularized variant of the so-called Jacobi algorithm for decentralized computation in such problems. We provide a fixed-point theoretic analysis showing that the algorithm converges to a minimizer of the centralized problem under more relaxed conditions on the regularization coefficient from those available in the literature, and in particular with respect to scaled projected gradient algorithms. The efficacy of the proposed algorithm is illustrated by applying it to the problem of optimal charging of electric vehicles

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Toxicity assessment of Phlogacanthus thyrsiflorus, a traditionally used anthelmintic plant of India

Abstract Background The leaves of Phlogacanthus thyrsiflorus are used as an anthelmintic remedy by the tribes of upper Assam. This study evaluates its toxic effects in laboratory bred mice and rats. Mice were orally dosed for 5 days, whereas rats were dosed for 28 days and variations in behaviour, feeding habits and blood parameters were recorded. The vital organs were processed for histopathology to observe any alternations from normal architecture. Results No mortality or adverse toxic effects were manifested in this assessment. Evaluated parameters, namely feeding behaviour, body weights and relative organ weights, appeared to be similar to the control animals. Also, the haematological and serum biochemical parameters and histopathological studies revealed normal results. Conclusions The study indicates that P. thyrsiflorus may not be capable of causing toxic effects in mice and rats, and hence, its traditional use as an anthelmintic could be continued. However, other studies to further validate this may be carried out