Effect of Sperm Concentration and Storage Temperature on Goat Spermatozoa during Liquid Storage

One of the problems with the refrigerated storage of spermatozoa in goats is the short shelf life. The study of the effect of the different storage conditions on the di erent sperm parameters could help to increase sperm survival. In this work, we studied the effect of temperature and sperm concentration during refrigerated storage on sperm motility, mitochondrial membrane potential and DNA fragmentation. We observed that refrigerated storage of semen doses reduced the majority of sperm quality parameters, however, sperm DNA fragmentation was not a ected. Storage at 5ºC preserved higher sperm motility than at 17ºC. Moreover, the reduction of sperm concentration below 500x10(6) sperm/mL did not seem to improve the quality of spermatozoa

Mise en œuvre de façon 'synergique' des mécanismes d'accès et de partage des avantages dans le cadre du Traité sur les ressources phytogénétiques, de la Convention sur la diversité biologique et du Protocole de Nagoya

Le Traité international sur les ressources phytogénétiques pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture (TIRPAA) et la Convention sur la diversité biologique (CDB) engagent leurs Etats-membres à mettre en œuvre des systèmes d'accès et de partage des avantages très différents : d’un côté, le système établi en vertu du TIRPAA vise à renforcer la mise en commun et le partage au niveau international de la diversité génétique ; de l’autre côté, le système de la CDB a pour objectif de maximiser le contrôle souverain de chaque pays sur ses ressources génétiques. La mise en œuvre nationale de ces deux systèmes s'est révélée relativement lente. Ce retard est notamment dû au fait que dans de nombreux pays les décideurs nationaux ne savent pas vraiment comment gérer l'interface entre ces deux systèmes d'accès et de partage des avantages. Sur la base des recherches et des expériences en matière d’élaboration des politiques conduites dans plusieurs pays, les auteurs identifient en premier lieu les questions que les décideurs politiques nationaux doivent aborder et les étapes qu’ils doivent suivre pour la mise en œuvre du Système multilatéral d'accès et de partage des avantages du TIRPAA. En second lieu, les auteurs analysent les points d'intersection, au niveau national, entre le Système multilatéral d'accès et de partage des avantages du TIRPAA et les mécanismes mis en place (ou qui sont actuellement élaborés) en application de la CDB et de son Protocole de Nagoya, récemment adopté. En troisième lieu, les auteurs analysent les facteurs qui contribuent dans de nombreux pays à un manque de coordination entre les institutions publiques nationales chargées de l’environnement et celles chargées de l’agriculture qui ont pour mandat de diriger la mise en œuvre nationale de ces accords internationaux

The FANCM:p.Arg658* truncating variant is associated with risk of triple-negative breast cancer

Breast cancer is a common disease partially caused by genetic risk factors. Germline pathogenic variants in DNA repair genes BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2, ATM, and CHEK2 are associated with breast cancer risk. FANCM, which encodes for a DNA translocase, has been proposed as a breast cancer predisposition gene, with greater effects for the ER-negative and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtypes. We tested the three recurrent protein-truncating variants FANCM:p.Arg658*, p.Gln1701*, and p.Arg1931* for association with breast cancer risk in 67,112 cases, 53,766 controls, and 26,662 carriers of pathogenic variants of BRCA1 or BRCA2. These three variants were also studied functionally by measuring survival and chromosome fragility in FANCM (-/-) patient-derived immortalized fibroblasts treated with diepoxybutane or olaparib. We observed that FANCM:p.Arg658* was associated with increased risk of ER-negative disease and TNBC (OR = 2.44, P = 0.034 and OR = 3.79; P = 0.009, respectively). In a country-restricted analysis, we confirmed the associations detected for FANCM:p.Arg658* and found that also FANCM:p.Arg1931* was associated with ER-negative breast cancer risk (OR = 1.96; P = 0.006). The functional results indicated that all three variants were deleterious affecting cell survival and chromosome stability with FANCM:p.Arg658* causing more severe phenotypes. In conclusion, we confirmed that the two rare FANCM deleterious variants p.Arg658* and p.Arg1931* are risk factors for ER-negative and TNBC subtypes. Overall our data suggest that the effect of truncating variants on breast cancer risk may depend on their position in the gene. Cell sensitivity to olaparib exposure, identifies a possible therapeutic option to treat FANCM-associated tumors

Influencia de los fármacos estimulantes y no estimulantes en el trastorno por déficit de atención/hiperactividad

En la presente revisión se ha pretendido estudiar la neurobiología que subyace al trastorno por déficit de atención/hiperactividad, en primer lugar, y observar cómo afectan los distintos tipos de fármacos, existentes hoy día, en el cerebro de los pacientes con dicha patología para, en última instancia, llegar a una conclusión acerca de cuáles son los fármacos más efectivos a la hora de atenuar los síntomas de la inatención, impulsividad e hiperactivida

Specific low-frequency electromagnetic fields induce expression of active KDM6B associated with functional changes in U937 cells

In this study, we investigated the effects of specific low-frequency electromagnetic field sequences on U937 cells, an in vitro model of human monocyte/macrophage differentiation. U937 cells were exposed to electromagnetic stimulation by means of the Synth\ue9Xer system using two similar sequences, XR-BC31 and XR-BC31/F. Each sequence was a time series of 29 wave segments, equal to a total duration of 77\ua0min. Here, we report that exposure (4\ua0d, once a day) of U937 cells to the XR-BC31 setting, but not to the XR-BC31/F, resulted in increased expression of the histone demethylase KDM6B along with a global reduction in histone H3 lysine 27 tri-methylation (H3K27me3). Furthermore, exposure to the XR-BC31 sequence induced differentiation of U937 cells towards a macrophage-like phenotype displaying a KDM6B dependent increase in expression and secretion of the anti-inflammatory interleukins (ILs), IL-10 and IL-4. Importantly, all the observed changes were highly dependent on the nature of the sequence. Our results open a new way of interpretation for the effects of low-frequency electromagnetic fields observed in vivo. Indeed, it is conceivable that a specific low-frequency electromagnetic fields treatment may cause the reprogramming of H3K27me3 and cell differentiation

Fabrication and Performance Evaluation of Active Er:Ti:LiNbO3 Waveguides

The excellent performance of Erbium doped fiber amplifiers and lasers in the 1550 nm wavelength region has stimulated increased interest in Erbium doped integrated optic planar waveguide devices (particularly LiNbO3). This work describes the measurement techniques and the performance evaluation of Er-doped, X-cut and Z-cut Ti:LiNbO3 waveguides. Waveguide losses have been measured in the 1300 nm and 1550 nm wavelength regions, in both TE and TM polarization states, using the low finesse Fabry-Perot technique. The resonance phenomena has been obtained with two different methods, the thermal cavity tuning and the sweeping in wavelength using a tunable semiconductor laser. The results obtained in this second case are in good agreement with those obtained by the temperature tuning. The second method has also the advantage of avoiding the coupling stability problems inherent to the thermal tuning. Absorption spectra have been evaluated using a white spectral lamp and a semiconductor LED; spontaneous emission spectra have been evaluated pumping with semiconductor laser. A strong absorption was observed around the value of 1530 nm for TE and TM polarization. Using the spectral lamp significant absorption around 980 nm was observe

Monitoring zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis with GIS

In IDL-1495

Preliminary results of a new boron coated neutron detector

The proliferation of neutron detection applications based upon 3He counter has triggered a critical shortage of 3He gas. Nowadays there is an increasing demand for alternative neutron detectors that can cover large solid angles, have low sensitivity to gamma background and low cost. We present a low cost neutron detector based upon 3 cm diameter, 150 cm long cylindrical metal tube coated on the inside with a thin layer of 10B-enriched boron carbide fulfilled by 1 atm nitroge