Sperm quality assessment in honey bee drones

The quality of honey bee drone semen is relevant in different contexts, ranging from colony productivity to pathology, toxicology and biodiversity preservation. Despite its importance, considerably less knowledge is available on this subject for the honey bee when compared to other domestic animal species. A proper assessment of sperm quality requires a multiple testing approach which discriminates between the different aspects of sperm integrity and functionality. Most studies on drone semen quality have only assessed a few parameters, such as sperm volume, sperm concentration and/or sperm plasma membrane integrity. Although more recent studies have focused on a broader variety of aspects of semen quality, some techniques currently used in vertebrates, such as computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) or multiparametric sperm quality testing, still remain to be developed in the honey bee. This may be attributed to the particular sperm morphology and physiology in this species, requiring the development of technologies specifically adapted to it. This article reviews the present knowledge of sperm quality in honey bee drones, highlighting its peculiarities and proposing future lines of research

Design of all-normal dispersion microstructured optical fiber on silica platform for generation of pulse‐preserving supercontinuum under excitation at 1550 nm

We investigated numerically the possibility of all normal dispersion fiber design for near-infrared supercontinuum generation based on a standard air-silica microstructure. The design procedure includes finding of target dispersion profile and subsequent finding of appropriate geometrical fiber design by inverse dispersion engineering. It was shown that the tailoring of dispersion profile could increase the spectral width of generated supercontinuum while maintaining perfect spectral flatness. Conditions necessary for wide and flat supercontinuum generation as well as restrictions imposed by chosen materials were discussed. As a result of design and optimization procedure, an air-silica design was found providing normal dispersion up to 3 μm. Simulation results with 10 nJ, 100 fs pulses demonstrate supercontinuum generation up to 1.3 octave; whereas pumping with 30 nJ, 100 fs pulses could provide 1.8 octave supercontinuum

Novel insights into biomass delignification with acidic deep eutectic solvents: a mechanistic study of β-O-4 ether bond cleavage and the role of the halide counterion in the catalytic performance

The development of innovative technologies for an efficient, yet eco-friendly, biomass delignification is required to achieve higher sustainability than traditional processes. In this context, the use of deep eutectic solvents (DES) for the delignification process could fulfil these requirements and stands today as a promising alternative. This work focus on understanding the fundamental chemistry behind the cleavage of B-O-4 ether bond present in 2-phenoxy-1-phenylethanol (PPE), a lignin model compound, with three acidic DES, including Propionic acid/Urea (PA:U), Lactic acid/Choline Chloride (LA:ChCl) and p-Toluenesulphonic acid/Choline chloride (pTSA:ChCl). The acidic nature of each DES influenced the efficiency of PPE cleavage and determined the extent of further side reactions of cleavage products. Although PA:U (2:1) demonstrated ability to dissolve lignin, it is unable to cleave B-O-4 ether linkage in PPE. On the other hand, LA:ChCl (10:1) allowed PPE cleavage, but an esterification between the PPE and lactic acid as well as oligomerization of lactic acid were detected. Among examined solvents, pTSA:ChCl (1:1) demonstrated the highest performance on the PPE cleavage, although the high acidity of this system lead to condensation of cleavage products at prolonged time. The presence of water decreases the ability of DES for the cleavage, but the extension of undesired side reactions was also reduced. Finally, the analysis of intermediates and products of the reactions allowed the identification of a chlorinated species of PPE that precedes the cleavage reaction. A kinetic study using pTSA:ChCl (1:1) and pTSA:ChBr (1:1) was performed to unveil the role of the halide counterion present in DES on the cleavage of <2=2 ether bond and a new reaction mechanism was herein proposed and supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations.Altri ñ Celbi, Buckman, Crown Van Gelder, CTP, DS Smith Paper, ESKA, Essity, Holmen, ISPT, Mayr-Melnhof Eerbeek, Mets‰ Fibre, Mid Sweden University, Mondi, Omya, The Navigator Company, Sappi, Essity, Smurfit Kappa, Stora Enso, Eindhoven University of Technology, University of Aveiro, University of Twente, UPM, Valmet Technologies Oy, Voith Paper, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, WEPA and Zellstoff Pols.in publicatio

Direct and correlated responses to selection for daily gain in rabbits

In a selection experiment for daily gain, direct and correlated responses were estimated, using a cryopreserved population as control. The difference between the selected and control group was 15 generations. The direct response for daily gain was 0.18 g./d. per generation and we did not find correlated response for feed conversion. These results are worse than expected. This could be due to the effect of the special diet used to control the enterocolitis disease

The Importance of Studying Factors That Affect the In Vitro Evaluation of Semen Quality to Predict Potential Fertility in Males

The presence of sub-fertile or infertile males in farms or artificial insemination (AI) centres has a great impact on the reproductive and economic performance of the livestock industry. Assessment of the field fertility of males or ejaculates (or seminal samples from experimental protocols) with a large number of AI procedures can take a long time and involves high costs. The early detection of these males or semen samples with low-potential fertility by means of in vitro analysis is extremely valuable. While infertile male detection may be more or less evident, the detection of sub-fertile males requires procedures of in vitro evaluation of sperm quality to be as optimized. Moreover, to evaluate the effect of cooled storage or cryopreservation, it is essential to have adequate procedures for in vitro evaluation, to know the real impact of these techniques and to improve them. Most published papers reporting optimizing procedures for in vitro assessment of sperm focus on human, laboratory animal or livestock species with important economic weight. However, the description of semen quality parameters in other wild or less studied, but no less important, species (e.g., bees) is vital for animal biodiversity conservation programs

Evolución de los parámetros seminales, concentración y volumen y evaluación de futuros sementales en una población de machos cabríos de raza murciano granadina

Dentro del desarrollo del esquema nacional de mejora genética de la raza caprina Murciano Granadina en la Comunidad Valenciana, se ha establecido una población de machos para su evaluación a través de pruebas de progenie, siendo el primer paso su entrenamiento para la extracción de semen mediante vagina artificial. El entrenamiento comenzó a los 8 meses de edad

Male pronucleus formation after ICSI: effect of oocyte cysteine or sperm Triton X-100 treatments

In pigs, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) efficiency is still poor. The inadequate decondensation of the sperm chromatin, its transformation into the male pronucleus (MPN) together with the subsequent inability to activate the oocyte, seem to be the main causes of the low ICSI efficiency. In order to improve the MPN formation we took two different approaches. On the one hand, the in vitro culture (IVC) medium postICSI was supplemented with 1.71mM cysteine (CYS). Alternatively, the sperm membrane was digested with Triton X-100 (TX) before ICSI, to improve the exposure of the sperm chromatin to the oocyte cytoplasm. After 6 h post-ICSI, the activation rate was significantly higher in TX group (70.0%) compared with CYS and control groups (42.2% and 48.9%, respectively; P &lt; 0.05). However, no significant differences between the three groups were observed in terms of the number of pronuclei, 2PN (oocytes with 2 pronuclei and no visible sperm), and 1PN + sperm (oocytes with 1 pronucleus and one sperm head). At 22 h post-ICSI, the activation rates were similar in TX, CYS, and control groups (73.1, 78.9, and 75.7%, respectively). In addition, we did not observe significant differences between TX, CYS, and control groups for the number of pronuclei, 2PN (52.6, 56.7, and 50%, respectively) or 1PN + sperm (21.1, 33.3, and 32.1%, respectively). While no cleavage was observed in the CYS group, no significant differences in the cleavage rate were observed between control (21.3%) and TX (10.5%) groups. In summary, and under our conditions, neither CYS supplement, nor sperm TX pre-treatment were able to improve MPN formation at 6 and 22 h post-ICSI. However, the sperm TX pre-treatment improved oocyte activation at 6 h post-ICSI, although 22 h post-ICSI such a beneficial effect did not persist

Customized tracheal design using 3D printing of a polymer hydrogel: influence of UV laser cross-linking on mechanical properties

H2020-ICT-2014-1,TransFlexTeg645241 ERC-CoG-2014, CapTherPV, 647596 Pest-UID/FIS/00068/2013The use of 3D printing of hydrogels as a cell support in bio-printing of cartilage, organs and tissue has attracted much research interest. For cartilage applications, hydrogels as soft materials must show some degree of rigidity, which can be achieved by photo- or chemical polymerization. In this work, we combined chemical and UV laser polymeric cross-linkage to control the mechanical properties of 3D printed hydrogel blends. Since there are few studies on UV laser cross-linking combined with 3D printing of hydrogels, the work here reported offered many challenges.publishe

Analysis of Copra and Coconut Oil Markets in Mexico

Abstract Objective: To assess the economic impact of the implementation of different production systems (real, traditional, intensive and organic) on the profits of copra producing states and major coconut oil companies. Design/methodology/approach: A linear programming model was formulated which considered the main costs and production revenues, and the transport costs of the copra and coconut oil market, in order to maximize the profit of copra producers and the oil industry simultaneously. Results: The states that were most suitable in the distribution of copra were Guerrero and Tabasco, which proved to be the main suppliers in all the production systems evaluated; within production systems, the intensive system presented a higher level of profit in the scenarios raised. Limitations/implications: The model considered the sale of copra as the sole income of producers, leaving aside the marketing of other products and economic transfers, thus underestimating their total profit. Future research is required to help collecting data on alternative sources of income from producers.&nbsp; Findings/conclusions: Increasing copra production without taking into account installed capacity in the industry results in the creation of a copra surplus in most producing states, which would result in a fall in the prices of this producto, therefore, reducing the profit of most states.Objective: To assess the economic impact of the implementation of differentproduction systems (real, traditional, intensive and organic) on the profits of copra-producing states and major coconut oil companies.Design/Methodology/Approach: A linear programming model was formulatedwhich considered the main costs and production revenues, and the transport costs ofthe copra and coconut oil market, in order to maximize the profit of copra producersand the oil industry simultaneously.Results: The states that were most suitable in the distribution of copra wereGuerrero and Tabasco, which proved to be the main suppliers of all the productionsystems evaluated; within production systems, the intensive system presented ahigher level of profit in the scenarios raised.Study Limitations/Implications: The model considered the sale of copra as thesole income of producers, leaving aside the marketing of other products and economic transfers, thus underestimating their total profit. Future research isrequired to help collect data on alternative sources of income for producers.Findings/Conclusions: Increasing copra production without taking into account theinstalled capacity in the industry results in the creation of a copra surplus in mostproducing states, which would result in a fall in the prices of this product, thereforereducing the profit of most states

Microvesicles from Human Adipose Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells as a New Protective Strategy in Osteoarthritic Chondrocytes

[EN] Background/Aims: Chronic inflammation contributes to cartilage degeneration during the progression of osteoarthritis (OA). Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSC) show great potential to treat inflammatory and degradative processes in OA and have demonstrated paracrine effects in chondrocytes. In the present work, we have isolated and characterized the extracellular vesicles from human AD-MSC to investigate their role in the chondroprotective actions of these cells. Methods: AD-MSC were isolated by collagenase treatment from adipose tissue from healthy individuals subjected to abdominal lipectomy surgery. Microvesicles and exosomes were obtained from conditioned medium by filtration and differential centrifugation. Chondrocytes from OA patients were used in primary culture and stimulated with 10 ng/ml interleukin(IL)-1 beta in the presence or absence of AD-MSC microvesicles, exosomes or conditioned medium. Protein expression was investigated by ELISA and immunofluorescence, transcription factor-DNA binding by ELISA, gene expression by real-time PCR, prostaglandin E-2 (PGE(2)) by radioimmunoassay, and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity and nitric oxide (NO) production by fluorometry. Results: In OA chondrocytes stimulated with IL-1 beta, microvesicles and exosomes reduced the production of inflammatory mediators tumor necrosis factor-alpha, IL-6, PGE(2) and NO. The downregulation of cyclooxygenase-2 and microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 would lead to the decreased PGE(2) production while the effect on NO could depend on the reduction of inducible nitric oxide synthase expression. Treatment of OA chondrocytes with extracellular vesicles also decreased the release of MMP activity and MMP-13 expression whereas the production of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 and the expression of collagen II were significantly enhanced. The reduction of inflammatory and catabolic mediators could be the consequence of a lower activation of nuclear factor-kappa B and activator protein-1. The upregulation of annexin A1 specially in MV may contribute to the anti-inflammatory and chondroprotective effects of AD-MSC. Conclusions: Our data support the interest of AD-MSC extracellular vesicles to develop new therapeutic approaches in joint conditions. (C) 2018 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, BaselThis work was supported by grants SAF2013-4874R (MINECO, FEDER) and PROMETEOII/2014/071 (Generalitat Valenciana), Spain.Tofiño-Vian, M.; Guillen Salazar, MI.; Perez Del Caz, M.; Silvestre, A.; Alcaraz Tormo, MJ. (2018). Microvesicles from Human Adipose Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells as a New Protective Strategy in Osteoarthritic Chondrocytes. Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry. 47(1):11-25. https://doi.org/10.1159/000489739S112547