Seasonal Dynamic of Cholecalciferol (D3) And Anti-Muellerian Hormone (AMH) With Impact On Ovarian Response And IVF/ICSI

Objective:Recent studies revealed intriguing associations between cholecalciferol (D3) and reproductive functions. Seasonal changes of D3 concentrations are well known, however they are not always considered in the context of reproductive functions. In this study, we analysed D3 serum concentration in IVF/ICSI patients with respect to seasonal 3-month quartiles and anti-Muellerian hormone (AMH) referring to the impact on Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) outcome. Materials and Research Methods:We studied 497 female patients, presenting between 2012 and 2018 for ART treatment in our fertility center. D3 as well as the AMH serum concentrations were measured at the beginning of the follicle stimulation (d 3-5 of menstrual cycles). Results were evaluated with respect to seasonal quartiles and outcome of the ART cycles. Results:D3 concentrations showed significant fluctuations within annual quartiles with a pronounced peak in August-October and a minimum in February-April (27.7mg/dl vs. 20.9mg/dl; p<0.0001). Similar seasonal dynamics were found for AMH (3.19ng/ml vs. 2.24ng/ml; p=0.013) and these were associated with significantly shorter stimulation periods during August-October (11.36d vs. 12.01d; p=0.044), higher number of fertilized oocytes between August-October (6.21 vs. 5.21; p=0.05) along with a trend towards higher numbers of Cumulus-Oocyte-complexes. However, no such differences were found for the numbers of MII-oocytes or pregnancy rates.Conclusion: Our data indicate, seasonal 3-month quartile variations of AMH concentrations and characteristics of ART, such as days of ovarian stimulation and number of fertilised oocytes. Highest AMH concentrations were found between August and October and this quartile was associated with highest D3 concentrations.

LEVEL OF FEEDING AND THE DYNAMICS OF MILK YIELDS OF AYRSHIRE BREED OF COWS AFTER FIRST CALVING

Evaluation of the nutritional value of feed mixtures for lactation periods of the Ayrshire first-calf breed showed that in the first period there is an excess of dry matter and easily digestible protein in the diet, and a lack of sugar in all periods. The consumption of energy and nutrients for the synthesis of 1 kg of milk was optimal. For 305 days of lactation, an average of 7653 kg of milk per cow was obtained after the first calving, and the maximum daily milk yield was recorded in the second month of lactation. The research of lactation curves showed that highly productive cows have a more pronounced peak of milk yield in the first lactation months; the level of milk productivity remains high up to 9-10 months of the lactation period.

Elevated energy requirement of cone photoreceptors

We have used recent measurements of mammalian cone light responses and voltage-gated currents to calculate cone ATP utilization and compare it to that of rods. The largest expenditure of ATP results from ion transport, particularly from removal of Na+entering outer segment light-dependent channels and inner segment hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channels, and from ATP-dependent pumping of Ca2+entering voltage-gated channels at the synaptic terminal. Single cones expend nearly twice as much energy as single rods in darkness, largely because they make more synapses with second-order retinal cells and thus must extrude more Ca2+. In daylight, cone ATP utilization per cell remains high because cones never remain saturated and must continue to export Na+and synaptic Ca2+even in bright illumination. In mouse and human retina, rods greatly outnumber cones and consume more energy overall even in background light. In primates, however, the high density of cones in the fovea produces a pronounced peak of ATP utilization, which becomes particularly prominent in daylight and may make this part of the retina especially sensitive to changes in energy availability.

Studies on Fruit Development in Pink and White types of Wax Apple (Syzygium samarangense Merr. & Perry) in Goa, India

Fruit development studies were taken up in white and pink types of wax apple trees aging twelve years old at Goa, India. The study was initiated with the onset of flowering in November during the year 2018. After tagging the flowers on anthesis, samples were drawn periodically to record parameters like fruit weight, fruit volume, fruit length and diameter (upper, middle and lower), quality or biochemical parameters like total acids and sugars. Relative growth rate (RGR) was calculated for all parameters and graphs were generated. In both the types, fruit weight, fruit volume, fruit length and diameter increased in a sigmoidal pattern. The quality characters like TSS, total acids and total sugars also showed a sigmoidal pattern of increase whereas the increase in reducing sugars exhibited a double sigmoidal pattern of increase. It was evident from the curves that there was pronounced peak in growth rate between 21 and 28 days after anthesis for fruit weight, fruit volume, fruit length and diameter, in both pink and white types of wax apple.

Anomalous electron quasiparticle excitation spectrum in electron-doped cuprate superconductors

Within the framework of the kinetic energy-driven superconductivity, the complicated line shape in the electron quasiparticle excitation spectrum of the electron-doped cuprate superconductors is studied. It is shown that as in the hole-doped counterparts, the momentum and energy dependence of the quasiparticle scattering rate in the electron-doped cuprate superconductors has a well-pronounced peak structure at around the antinodal and nodal regions. However, this peak structure is absent from the hot spots. This special momentum and energy dependence of the quasiparticle scattering rate therefore generates a remarkable peak-dip-hump structure in the electron quasiparticle excitation spectrum of the electron-doped cuprate superconductors at around the antinodal and nodal regions except for at around the hot spots, where the peak-dip-hump structure is absent. The theory also indicates that there is a common physical origin for the peak-dip-hump structure both in the hole- and electron-doped cuprate superconductors.

Holographic p-wave superconductor with $$C^2F^2$$ correction

Via numerical and analytical method, we construct the holographic p-wave conductor/superconductor model with $$C^2F^2$$C2F2 correction (where $$C^2F^2=C_{\mu \nu }^{\alpha \beta }C_{ \alpha \beta }^{\mu \nu }F_{\rho \sigma }F^{\rho \sigma }$$C2F2=CμναβCαβμνFρσFρσ, and $$C_{\mu \nu }^{\alpha \beta }$$Cμναβ and $$F_{\rho \sigma }$$Fρσ denotes the Weyl tensor and gauge field strength, respectively.)in the four-dimensional Schwarzschild-AdS black hole, and mainly study the effects of $$C^2F^2$$C2F2 correction parameter denoted by $$\gamma $$γ on the properties of superconductors. The results show that for all values of the $$C^2F^2$$C2F2 parameter, there always exists a critical temperature below which the vector hair appears. Meanwhile, the critical temperature increases with the improving $$C^2F^2$$C2F2 parameter $$\gamma $$γ, which suggests that the improving $$C^2F^2$$C2F2 parameter enhances the superconductor phase transition. Furthermore, at the critical temperature, the real part of conductivity reproduces respectively a Drude-like peak and an obviously pronounced peak for some value of nonvanishing $$C^2F^2$$C2F2 parameter. At the low temperature, a clear energy gap can be observed at the intermediate frequency and the ratio of the energy gap to the critical temperature decreases with the increasing $$C^2F^2$$C2F2 parameter, which is consistent with the effect of the $$C^2F^2$$C2F2 parameter on the critical temperature. In addition, the analytical results agree well with the numerical results, which means that the analytical Sturm–Liouville method is still reliable in the grand canonical ensemble.

Goldschmidtite, (K,REE,Sr)(Nb,Cr)O3: A new perovskite supergroup mineral found in diamond from Koffiefontein, South Africa

Goldschmidtite is a new perovskite-group mineral (IMA No. 2018-034) with the ideal formula (K,REE,Sr)(Nb,Cr)O3. A single grain of goldschmidtite with a maximum dimension of ∼100 μm was found as an inclusion in a diamond from the Koffiefontein pipe in South Africa. In addition to the dark green and opaque goldschmidtite, the diamond contained a Cr-rich augite (websteritic paragenesis) and an intergrowth of chromite, Mg-silicate, and unidentified K-Sr-REE-Nb-oxide. Geothermobarometry of the augite indicates that the depth of formation was ∼170 km. The chemical composition of gold-schmidtite determined by electron microprobe analysis (n = 11, WDS, wt%) is: Nb2O5 44.82, TiO2 0.44, ThO2 0.10, Al2O3 0.35, Cr2O3 7.07, La2O3 11.85, Ce2O3 6.18, Fe2O3 1.96, MgO 0.70, CaO 0.04, SrO 6.67, BaO 6.82, K2O 11.53, total 98.53. The empirical formula (expressed to two decimal places) is (K0.50La0.15Sr0.13Ba0.09Ce0.08)Σ0.95(Nb0.70Cr0.19Fe0.05Al0.01Mg0.04Ti0.01)Σ1.00O3. Goldschmidtite is cubic, space group Pm3m, with unit-cell parameters: a = 3.9876(1) Å, V = 63.404(6) Å3, Z = 1, resulting in a calculated density of 5.32(3) g/cm3. Goldschmidtite is the K-analog of isolueshite, (Na,La)NbO3. Raman spectra of goldschmidtite exhibit many second-order broad bands at 100 to 700 cm–1 as well as a pronounced peak at 815 cm–1, which is possibly a result of local ordering of Nb and Cr at the B site. The name goldschmidtite is in honor of the eminent geochemist Victor Moritz Goldschmidt (1888–1947), who formalized perovskite crystal chemistry and identified KNbO3 as a perovskite-structured compound.

The General Pattern of Seasonal Dynamics of The Autumn Migration of The Wood Pigeon Columba Palumbus in Italy

Cavina E., Bucchi R. and Busse P. 2018. The general pattern of seasonal dynamics of the autumn migration of the Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus in Italy. Ring 40: 3-18. Given the scarcity of studies on the migration of the Wood Pigeon through Italy, the first systematic observations by a network of hunters, as citizen researchers, can be presented as a starting point for more in-depth analyses. Observations from the years 1998-2006 are analysed and presented in a generalized form. During this period more than 100 observation sites, covering most of Italy, were active for about 40 days every autumn. Migration over Italy was described in terms of the timing and intensity of migration. Special attention was directed to the long-term number dynamics and seasonal dynamics of the passage. The most intensive migration was observed within northern Italy, while lower intensity is visible more to the south of the peninsula. Following tendencies in numbers of observed migrants within the ten years of the study, we can find positive tendencies in most of the northern provinces, while three negative trends are visible in central Italy. The study of the seasonal pattern, in terms of the number dynamics of the passage and the frequency of pronounced peak days, strongly suggests that there are five or six waves of pigeons passing through Italy in different parts of the autumn that are quite stable between years. Every year the time of the passage includes a few peak days of migration.

Japanese Maple Scale Activity and Management in Field Nursery Production

Japanese maple scale, Lopholeucaspis japonica Cockerell (Hemiptera: Diaspididae), is an armored scale found on the bark of many woody nursery and landscape plants. Scale crawler and male flight activity was monitored in middle Tennessee in fields of cherry (Prunus serrulata Lindl. ‘Kwanzan’) for two seasons. Two generations of crawlers were observed, with a large peak of activity in late May and a second, less pronounced peak in August. Male flights occurred twice a year, in April and July. Spray and drench applications of insecticides were trialed in 2014 and 2015. Dormant oil applications reduced overwintering scale populations by 76%. Drench applications of imidacloprid in 2014 suppressed scale populations by 58% by four months following application and the following summer those same trees had no observable scale infestation. Summer trunk applications of pyriproxyfen were effective at managing scale crawlers while horticultural oil alone had no measurable effect. When scale populations were high at the outset of spring 2014, a dinotefuran drench application was ineffective after 90 days. Dinotefuran gave greater control in 2015 when scale populations were low prior to application. Based on these results, a multiple component program for field management of Japanese maple scale is recommended.

The Evolution of Gas Content and Star Formation from z=3 to z=0

The cosmic star formation rate density first increases with time towards a pronounced peak 10 Gyrs ago (or z=1-2) and then slows down, dropping by more than a factor 10 since z=1. The processes at the origin of the star formation quenching are not yet well identified: either the gas is expelled by supernovae and AGN feedback, or prevented to inflow. Morphological transformation or environment effects are also invoked. Recent IRAM/NOEMA and ALMA results are reviewed about the molecular content of galaxies and its dynamics, as a function of redshift. Along the main sequence of massive star forming galaxies, the gas fraction was higher in the past (up to 80%), and galaxy disks were more unstable and more turbulent. The star formation efficiency increases with redshift, or equivalently the depletion time decreases, whatever the position of galaxies, either on the main sequence or above. Attempts have been made to determine the cosmic evolution of the H2 density, but deeper ALMA observations are needed to effectively compare with models.