Short-term liquid storage of ram semen in various extenders

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of three extenders on ram sperm quality after short-term liquid storage (24 hours’ holding time). The study included 20 crossbred rams (Pirot Pramenka x Wurttemberg x Ile de France), 12 months old. Animals were housed at the experimental sheep farm of the Institute for Animal Husbandry in Belgrade, Serbia. Semen was collected through electro ejaculation. The ejaculates were obtained from single services and routine field analysis of the semen was performed immediately after the collection. The semen was split and diluted with three extenders, namely Optidyl®, Andromed® and ultrahigh temperature processed (UHT) milk, in ratios of 1 : 50 or 1 : 100. The ejaculates were examined for sperm motility variables (sperm cell motility percentage, the progressive motility percentage, curvilinear velocity (VCL), straight line velocity (VSL), average path velocity (VAP), sperm linearity (LIN), straightness (STR), amplitude of lateral sperm head displacement (ALH), beat cross frequency (BCF) and circular tracks), and sperm morphology (live sperm percentage, percentage of normal sperm forms with intact acrosome, percentage of abnormal sperm forms and total damaged acrosome) by computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) and classic sperm cytology after supravital eosin/nigrosine/trypan blue staining, respectively. It was observed that the type of extender used in diluting ram semen is an important factor in the successful short-term liquid preservation (at 4 °C) of ram spermatozoa. In conclusion, this study showed that egg yolk (Optidyl) and soybean (Andromed)-based extenders gave better results of both sperm morphology and sperm motility parameters compared with UHT milk.Keywords: Diluents, morphology, motility, sper

Ispitivanje uticaja infekcije salonelama na pojavu kampilobakterioze kod pilića u eksperimentalnim uslovima

Meat, table eggs and their products are very important in human nutrition. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the health status of commercial flocks as much as the quality of poultry products in the food chain. Campylobacter sp. and Salmonella sp. are widely distributed in nature. The influence of these bacteria on animal health depends on the immune response. If animals are not immunologicaly compromised, the infection is latent and clinical symptoms are absent. Unlike animals, these bacteria cause serious diseases in humans and the morbidity is quite high. The main transfer of infection to humans is via poultry products. The goal of this work was to study the role of Salmonella in artificially infected chickens onto the outcome of clinical campylobacteriosis. It is certain that salmonella infection in poultry damages the immune system of chickens, enabling Campylobacter to multiply and subsequently induce a disease. Three groups of chickens were included in the experiment. The first group received a suspension of field strain of Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) and Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis). The second group received an inoculum prepared from the field isolate of Campylobacter jejuni and the third group received the field isolate of Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis, only. In artificially infected chickens Campylobacter and Salmonella were confirmed by isolation and identification according to morphological, cultural and biochemical properties. Humoral immune response of infected chickens was monitored using the complement fixation test (CFT). In chickens infected with C. jejuni and S. Enteritidis the clinical symptoms were recorded. The results from this experiment show that salmonella infection damages the immune system of the chickens enabling Campylobacter to alter the health status of the host.Značajno mesto u ishrani ljudi zauzimaju meso i jaja živine, kao i različiti proizvodi od mesa i jaja. Kontinuirana kontrola zdravstvenog statusa živine u lancu proizvodnje jednako je važna kao i kontrola njihovih proizvoda namenjenih za ishranu ljudi. Uzročnici poput kampilobakterija i salmonela široko su rasprostranjeni. u prirodi. Uticaj ovih bakterija na zdravlje životinja zavisi od imunskog statusa jedinki i u većini slučajeva kod imunološki nekompromitovanih jedinki infekcija ovim bakterijama ne dovodi do kliničkih simptoma. Za razliku od životinja, kod ljudi ove bakterije dovode do ozbiljnih kliničkih simptoma sa pojavom morbiditeta u visokom procentu. Njihovo prisustvo u proizvodima od živine, predstavlja jedan od glavnih puteva prenošenja ovih patogena koji izazivaju bolesti ljudi putem hrane. U ovom radu, ispitivanje je imalo za cilj da se kod živine veštački inficirane salmonelom ispita njen uticaj na kliničko ispoljavanje kampilobakterioze. Sigurno je da infekcija živine salmonelom utiče na imunološki sistem dovodeći do njegovog iscrpljivanja i opterećenosti što će omogućiti kampilobakterijama da se umnože do one mere kada će se pojaviti klinički znaci i razviti kampilobakterioza. U eksperimentalnim uslovima ispitivanje je izvedeno na tri grupe od po 30 pilića. Prvoj grupi je peroralno inokulisana suspenzija terenskih izolata Campylobacter jejuni i Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis; drugoj grupi peroralno je inokulisana suspenzija terenskog izolata Campylobacter jejuni i trećoj grupi peroralno je inokulisana suspenzija terenskog izolata Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis. Prisustvo Campylobacter jejuni i Salmonella Enteritidis u organizmu veštački inficiranih pilića potvrđeno je reizolacijom uzročnika, a identifikacija izolovanih bakterija vršena je na osnovu njihovih morfoloških, kulturelnih i biohemijskih osobina. Imunološki odgovor inficirane živine i titar specifičnih antitela, kao i kretanje humoralnog imunskog odgovora na antigene Campylobacter jejuni kod eksperimentalnih pilića, praćeno je primenom reakcije vezivanja komplementa. Kod pilića inficiranih sojem Campylobacter jejuni i Salmonella Enteritidis uočeni su klinički znaci bolesti. Titar specifičnih antitela na C. jejuni u serumu inficiranih pilića utvrđen je reakcijom vezivanja komplementa (RVK). Rezultati ispitivanja su ukazali da infekcija salmonelama utiče na imunološki sistem pilića i tako stvara uslove da kampilobakterije naruše zdravstveno stanje domaćina

Electrochromic Properties of Prussian Blue Thin Films Prepared by Chemical Deposition Method

The manifestation of electrochromic phenomena makes Prussian blue (PB) thin films very attractive, especially because they exhibit four-color polyelectrochromicity. In this work PB thin films were prepared by simple and low cost shemical deposition method. The films were deposited onto fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrates. An electrochromic test device (ECTD) was constructed by using these films as working electrodes, and FTO coated glass as an opposite electrode in aqueous solution of 1 mol/dm3 KCl as supporting electrolyte. The electrochemical properties of the films were characterized by cyclic voltammetry. The obtained films exhibited electrochromism, changing color from deep blue in as deposited state into green, and back to blue and colorless. Visible transmittance spectra of PB films were studied in-situ in as deposited, colored and bleached states. From those spectra, contrast ratio (CR) and the optical band gaps Eg were evaluated. The dependence of the optical density (OD) on charge density was examined and the coloration efficiency (CE) was calculated to be 149.8 cm2C-1. The time response during the film switching between transparent and blue states was also examined

Relativistic three-body bound states and the reduction from four to three dimensions

Beginning with an effective field theory based upon meson exchange, the Bethe-Salpeter equation for the three-particle propagator (six-point function) is obtained. Using the one-boson-exchange form of the kernel, this equation is then analyzed using time-ordered perturbation theory, and a three-dimensional equation for the propagator is developed. The propagator consists of a pre-factor in which the relative energies are fixed by the initial state of the particles, an intermediate part in which only global propagation of the particles occurs, and a post-factor in which relative energies are fixed by the final state of the particles. The pre- and post-factors are necessary in order to account for the transition from states where particles are off their mass shell to states described by the global propagator with all of the particle energies on shell. The pole structure of the intermediate part of the propagator is used to determine the equation for the three-body bound state: a Schr{\"o}dinger-like relativistic equation with a single, global Green's function. The role of the pre- and post-factors in the relativistic dynamics is to incorporate the poles of the breakup channels in the initial and final states. The derivation of this equation by integrating over the relative times rather than via a constraint on relative momenta allows the inclusion of retardation and dynamical boost corrections without introducing unphysical singularities.Comment: REVTeX, 21 pages, 4 figures, epsf.st

Sperm Microbiota and Its Impact on Semen Parameters

Compared to its female counterpart, the microbiota of the male genital tract has not been studied extensively. With this study, we aimed to evaluate the bacterial composition of seminal fluid and its impact on sperm parameters. We hypothesized that a dysbiotic microbiota composition may have an influence on sperm quality. Semen samples of 26 men with normal spermiogram and 68 men with at least one abnormal spermiogram parameter were included in the study. Samples were stratified based on total sperm count, spermatozoa concentration, progressive motility, total motility and spermatozoa morphology. Microbiota profiling was performed using 16S rRNA gene amplicons sequencing and total bacterial load was determined using a panbacterial quantitative PCR. Semen samples broadly clustered into three microbiota profiles: Prevotella-enriched, Lactobacillus-enriched, and polymicrobial. Prevotellaenriched samples had the highest bacterial load (p < 0.05). Network analysis identified three main co-occurrence modules, among which two contained bacteria commonly found in the vaginal flora. Genera from the same module displayed similar oxygen requirements, arguing for the presence of different ecological niches for bacteria that colonize semen through the passage. Contrary to our hypothesis, shifts in overall microbiota composition (beta-diversity) did not correlate with spermiogram parameters. Similarly, we did not find any difference in microbial richness or diversity (alphadiversity). Differential abundance testing, however, revealed three specific genera that were significantly enriched or depleted in some of the sperm quality groups (p < 0.05). Prevotella relative abundance was increased in samples with defective sperm motility while Staphylococcus was increased in the corresponding control group. In addition, we observed an increased relative abundance of Lactobacillus in samples with normal sperm morphology. Our study indicates that overall bacterial content of sperm might not play a major role in male infertility. Although no major shifts in microbiota composition or diversity were found, the differential abundance of specific bacterial genera in the sperm suggests that a small subset of microbes might impact the spermatozoal physiology during sperm transition, more specifically motility and morphology. Further studies are required to challenge this finding and develop potential strategies to induce the formation of a healthy seminal microbiota

Symmetry Breaking in Few Layer Graphene Films

Recently, it was demonstrated that the quasiparticle dynamics, the layer-dependent charge and potential, and the c-axis screening coefficient could be extracted from measurements of the spectral function of few layer graphene films grown epitaxially on SiC using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). In this article we review these findings, and present detailed methodology for extracting such parameters from ARPES. We also present detailed arguments against the possibility of an energy gap at the Dirac crossing ED.Comment: 23 pages, 13 figures, Conference Proceedings of DPG Meeting Mar 2007 Regensburg Submitted to New Journal of Physic

Ex vivo culture of circulating breast tumor cells for individualized testing of drug susceptibility

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are present at low concentrations in the peripheral blood of patients with solid tumors. It has been proposed that the isolation, ex vivo culture, and characterization of CTCs may provide an opportunity to noninvasively monitor the changing patterns of drug susceptibility in individual patients as their tumors acquire new mutations. In a proof-of-concept study, we established CTC cultures from six patients with estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer. Three of five CTC lines tested were tumorigenic in mice. Genome sequencing of the CTC lines revealed preexisting mutations in the PIK3CA gene and newly acquired mutations in the estrogen receptor gene (ESR1), PIK3CA gene, and fibroblast growth factor receptor gene (FGFR2), among others. Drug sensitivity testing of CTC lines with multiple mutations revealed potential new therapeutic targets. With optimization of CTC culture conditions, this strategy may help identify the best therapies for individual cancer patients over the course of their disease

Bacterial RNA and small antiviral compounds activate caspase-1 through cryopyrin/Nalp3

Missense mutations in the CIAS1 gene cause three autoinflammatory disorders: familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome, Muckle-Wells syndrome and neonatal-onset multiple-system inflammatory disease(1). Cryopyrin (also called Nalp3), the product of CIAS1, is a member of the NOD-LRR protein family that has been linked to the activation of intracellular host defence signalling pathways(2,3). Cryopyrin forms a multi-protein complex termed 'the inflammasome', which contains the apoptosis-associated speck-like protein (ASC) and caspase-1, and promotes caspase-1 activation and processing of pro-interleukin (IL)-1 beta (ref. 4). Here we show the effect of cryopyrin deficiency on inflammasome function and immune responses. Cryopyrin and ASC are essential for caspase-1 activation and IL-1 beta and IL-18 production in response to bacterial RNA and the imidazoquinoline compounds R837 and R848. In contrast, secretion of tumour-necrosis factor-alpha and IL-6, as well as activation of NF-kappa B and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) were unaffected by cryopyrin deficiency. Furthermore, we show that Toll-like receptors and cryopyrin control the secretion of IL-1 beta and IL-18 through different intracellular pathways. These results reveal a critical role for cryopyrin in host defence through bacterial RNA-mediated activation of caspase-1, and provide insights regarding the pathogenesis of autoinflammatory syndromes.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62569/1/nature04517.pd