Effects of reduced glutathione and catalase on the kinematics and membrane functionality of sperm during liquid storage of ram semen

AbstractThe objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of reduced glutathione (GSH) and catalase (CAT) supplementation on the kinematics and membrane functionality of sperm during the liquid storage of ram semen, cooled at 5°C, for up to 24h. Semen samples from four rams were pooled, diluted with Tris-egg yolk extender without antioxidants (control) or supplemented with either CAT (100, 200, and 400U/mL) or GSH (100, 200, and 400mM) at a final concentration of 50×106sperm/mL. Sperm kinematics, which was analyzed by computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA), and membrane functionality, which was analyzed using the hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST), were determined after the addition of the semen samples at different processing times (fresh/diluted, 1.5, 6, 12, and 24h, at 5°C). No significant differences were recorded in the kinematics or membrane functionality between treatments at different times. The supplementation of diluents with 100 and 200U/mL of CAT prevented the harmful effects of cooling on total sperm motility. No significant differences were observed in progressive sperm motility throughout processing, regardless of the treatment and time of evaluation. Supplementation with 400mM GSH resulted in an earlier reduction (P<0.05) of total sperm motility, a decrease in rapid sperm rate and a reduction in curvilinear velocity during incubation, at 5°C. The cooling induced a reduction (P<0.05) in the percentage of sperm with a functional plasma membrane (HOST), especially after 1.5h of incubation. Based on the results of the present study, the addition of CAT (100 and 200U/mL) reduced the deleterious effects of cooling on total motility in ram sperm maintained at 5°C for 24h, although it did not affect the functionality of the sperm membranes. However, the addition of 400mM GSH caused negative effects on the velocity parameters of the sperm

A separação de poderes e direitos fundamentais: algumas reflexões a partir de exemplos emblemáticos vindos dos Países Baixos

The article outlines a brief constitutional-institutional scenario of the Netherlands as background to analyze two paradigmatic cases, the Urgenda case and the childcare allowance scandal. These two cases bring to light different behaviours of the judge in offering legal protection to fundamental rights. The analysis of these cases in the Dutch model, in which there is no judicial constitutional review, is enlightening about the new challenges faced by the State -climate change and the advent of the digital era- and the need to rethink the theory of separation of powers aiming to offering effective legal protection to fundamental rights.The Legitimacy and Effectiveness of Law & Governance in a World of Multilevel Jurisdiction

Seminário - Aplicação dos princípios da ecologia da paisagem a estudos de flora e fauna

Contém os resumos das comunicações e pósteres apresentados durante o evento

Nanoparticle-based assays in automated flow systems: A review

Nanoparticles (NPs) exhibit a number of distinctive and entrancing properties that explain their ever increasing application in analytical chemistry, mainly as chemosensors, signaling tags, catalysts, analytical signal enhancers, reactive species generators, analyte recognition and scavenging/separation entities. The prospect of associating NPs with automated flow-based analytical is undoubtedly a challenging perspective as it would permit confined, cost-effective and reliable analysis, within a shorter timeframe, while exploiting the features of NPs. This article aims at examining state-of-the-art on continuous flow analysis and microfluidic approaches involving NPs such as noble metals (gold and silver), magnetic materials, carbon, silica or quantum dots. Emphasis is devoted to NP format, main practical achievements and fields of application. In this context, the functionalization of NPs with distinct chemical species and ligands is debated in what concerns the motivations and strengths of developed approaches. The utilization of NPs to improve detector's performance in electrochemical application is out of the scope of this review. The works discussed in this review were published in the period of time comprised between the years 2000 and 2013

Control tunning approach and digital filter application for competitive line follower robot

This research describes the development of a control strategy to optimize a competitive line follower robot for standard races. The innovative approach stems from the WolfBotz team at CEFET/RJ, presenting a thorough exploration of mathematical foundations, hardware design, control analysis, and how to implement this system in a microcontroller. This research complements a previous work that shows all the regulations used in Brazilian competitions and describes the controllers used in the system, such as angular and linear control. This research emphasizes all the changes between the two versions of Line Follower robots. The emphasis on mathematical foundations and integrating digital signal processing techniques like digital filters set the stage for robust sensor data interpretation. The tuning and optimization of dual controllers for track stability and linear velocity regulation represent a significant innovation, augmenting the robot’s overall performance.The authors would like to thank CEFET/RJ and the Brazilian research agencies CAPES, CNPq, and FAPERJ for supporting this work. Besides, the authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CeDRI (UIDB/05757/2020 and UIDP/05757/2020) and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2021).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Long-range quantum discord in critical spin systems

We show that quantum correlations as quantified by quantum discord can characterize quantum phase transitions by exhibiting nontrivial long-range decay as a function of distance in spin systems. This is rather different from the behavior of pairwise entanglement, which is typically short-ranged even in critical systems. In particular, we find a clear change in the decay rate of quantum discord as the system crosses a quantum critical point. We illustrate this phenomenon for first-order, second-order, and infinite-order quantum phase transitions, indicating that pairwise quantum discord is an appealing quantum correlation function for condensed matter systems

Anti-inflammatory choline based ionic liquids: Insights into their lipophilicity, solubility and toxicity parametrites

The impact on in vivo efficacy and safety of two novel ionic liquids based on the association of choline with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, ketoprofen and naproxen forming IL-APIs, was evaluated. Their lipophilicity, solubility and toxicity were assessed aiming the illustration of the pharmaceutical profile and potential toxic impact. Partition coefficientwas determined usingmicelles of hexadecylphosphocholine and UV–Vis derivative spectroscopy. Additionally, solubility in phosphate buffer pH 7.4 wasmeasured using amodified shake flaskmethod and UV–Vis spectroscopy as detection technique. Ultimately, toxicity was considered resorting to a fully automated cytochrome c oxidase assay based onmicrofluidics. The obtained results demonstrated that the IL-APIs' drug format has the ability to interact with biological membranes and also improves solubility up to 58 times. Moreover, it was evidenced that, although being a nutrient, choline influences the IL-APIs' toxicity. The studied anti-inflammatory IL-APIs exhibited promising properties regarding their incorporation in pharmaceutical formulations

IDE ‑OTALEX C: A Primeira Infraestrutura de Dados Espaciais transfronteiriça entre Portugal e Espanha

Em 2007 criou ‑se a primeira Infraestrutura de Dados Espaciais transfronteiriça entre Portugal e Espanha (IDE ‑OTALEX – www.ideotalex.eu), que constituiu o Observatório Territorial e Ambiental Alentejo e Extremadura, ao qual se incorporou, em 2011, a região Centro de Portugal, que no total abrange uma superfície de 92.500 km2. Assim, surgiu o Observatório Territorial Alentejo ‑Extremadura ‑Centro (OTALEX C), possibilitando a integração da informação produzida pelas diversas instituições que desenvolvem as suas competências de planeamento e gestão territorial, nestas três regiões. Tendo como objetivo a monitorização e análise de alterações decorrentes de fenómenos naturais e da atividade humana sobre o território, bem como a disponibilização de dados e indicadores aos agentes que atuam neste território, foi desenvolvido um sistema de indicadores comuns, distribuídos por cinco vetores (territorial, ambiental, social, económico e de sustentabilidade). Os dados sofreram trabalhos de homogeneização e estandardização antes de serem integrados tendo em vista facilitar a visualização de mapas, consulta de topónimos e de catálogo, no âmbito da Diretiva INSPIRE. A IDE ‑OTALEX C é o resultado do esforço, do compromisso e da colaboração entre instituições da fronteira, com implicação aos três níveis administrativos: Nacional, Regional e Local. Concede uma visão sobre a situação real do território, ao mesmo tempo que faculta instrumentos adequados para as políticas de ação, que contribuem para apoiar o planeamento e ordenamento do território, a fim de alcançar um desenvolvimento sustentável.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Impact of adding different concentrations of IGF-I and insulin to the semen extender on bull sperm quality post-cryopreservation

ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the addition of different concentrations of IGF-I and insulin to egg yolk-based extender to improve bovine semen cryopreservation. Two experiments were developed to evaluate the effects of the additives in two commercial extenders, Botubov® (Experiment 1) and Triladyl® (Experiment 2), both with the same design. Three ejaculates from four bulls (n = 12) were used. Each ejaculate was divided into seven equal fractions for dilution (60x106 spermatozoa/mL) in the following treatments: CON: extender only; IGF100: IGF-I 100ng/mL; IGF200: IGF-I 200ng/mL; INS150: insulin 150µUI/mL; INS200: insulin 200µUI/mL; ASS1: IGF-I 100ng/mL + insulin 150µUI/mL; ASS2: IGF-I 200ng/mL + insulin 200µUI/mL. Semen was cryopreserved by an automated system. Post-thawed sperm were evaluated regarding motility by CASA (Computer-assisted sperm analysis), and membranes by fluorescent probes (H342, PI, FITC-PSA and JC-1). For Botubov® extender, INS150 was more efficient in preserving total and progressive motility, VCL, BCF, plasma and mitochondrial membranes. A similar response was seen when insulin was added to the Triladyl® extender, INS150 was more efficient in preserving sperm motility, plasma membrane integrity and mitochondrial potential. Thus, the addition of insulin 150µUI/mL, regardless of the composition of the extender, contributes to better preserving bovine sperm from the cryopreservation effects