Epididymis cholesterol homeostasis and sperm fertilizing ability

Cholesterol, being the starting point of steroid hormone synthesis, is a long known modulator of both female and male reproductive physiology especially at the level of the gonads and the impact cholesterol has on gametogenesis. Less is known about the effects cholesterol homeostasis may have on postgonadic reproductive functions. Lately, several data have been reported showing how imbalanced cholesterol levels may particularly affect the post-testicular events of sperm maturation that lead to fully fertile male gametes. This review will focus on that aspect and essentially centers on how cholesterol is important for the physiology of the mammalian epididymis and spermatozoa.

Cancer induction pathways and HF-EMF irradiation

The response of cells to different types of electromagnetic fields can be induced by low-level (athermal) high frequency (HF) electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure associated with mobile phone technologies. There are many examples of biological effects involving the epigenome. EMF could trigger protein activation mediated by ligands, such as Ca2+, that alter the conformation of binding proteins, especially the NADPH plasmic membrane oxidase, so inducing increased formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that may alter proteomic functions. Classical antiapoptotic and procarcinogenic signaling mechanisms that are commonly found activated in human malignancies and in inflammation mainly involve the transcription factor NF-κB. The microenvironment that exists during chronic inflammation can contribute to cancer progression. The data support the proposition that long term HF-EMF exposure caused by improper use of cell phones may potentially cause cancer.

Liver X receptors and epididymal epithelium physiology

Aim： To investigate the roles of liver X receptors （LXR） in the lipid composition and gene expression regulation in the murine caput epididymidis. LXR are nuclear receptors for oxysterols, molecules derived from cholesterol metabolism that are present in mammals as two isoforms： LXRα, which is more specifically expressed in lipid-metabolising tissues, such as liver, adipose and steroidogenic tissues, and macrophages, whereas LXRβ is ubiquitous. Their importance in reproductive physiology has been sustained by the fact that male mice in which the function of both LXR has been disrupted have fertility disturbances starting at the age of 5 months, leading to complete sterility by the age of 9 months. These defects are associated with epididymal epithelial degeneration in caput segments one and two, and with a sperm midpiece fragility, leading to the presence of isolated sperm heads and flagella when luminal contents are recovered from the cauda epididymidis. Methods： The lipid composition of the caput epididymidis of wild-type and LXR-deficient mice was assessed using oil red O staining on tissue cryosections and lipid extraction followed by high performance liquid chromatography or gas chromatography. Gene expression was checked by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction. Results： Using LXR-deficient mice, we showed an alteration of the lipid composition of the caput epididymidis as well as a significantly decreased expression of the genes encoding SREBPlc, SCD1 and SCD2, involved in fatty acid metabolism. Conclusion： Altogether, these results show that LXR are important regulators of epididymal function, and play a critical role in the lipid maturation processes occurring during sperm epididymal maturation. （Asian J Androl 2007 July; 9： 574-582）

Preparation and Characterization of Hybrid Luminescence Mesoporous MCM-48 Doped with Eu( Ⅲ ) Complex

The preparation of hybrid mesoporous MCM-48 grafted by vinyl group via post-grafting process was reported and studied by X-ray diffraction, BET and 29Si solid MAS NMR.An organic β-diketonate Europium complex the corresponding luminescence property was characterized.

Convergence of Compressible Euler-Maxwell Equations to Compressible Euler-Poisson Equations

In this paper, the convergence compressible Euler-Poisson equations in a of time-dependent Euler-Maxwell equations to torus via the non-relativistic limit is studied. The local existence of smooth solutions to both systems is proved by using energy estimates for first order symmetrizable hyperbolic systems. For well prepared initial data the convergence of solutions is rigorously justified by an analysis of asymptotic expansions up to any order. The authors perform also an initial layer analysis for general initial data and prove the convergence of asymptotic expansions up to first order.

具有源项的等熵气体动力学方程组全局解的存在性

本文我们证明了具有源项的等熵气体动力学方程组(1.2)全局解的存在性.为此,我们构造正则双曲方程组(1.1)去逼近非齐次等熵气体动力学方程组(1.2).首先,对每一个固定的逼近参数δ和一般化的P(ρ)条件,我们证明了带有界初始条件(1.4)的Cauchy问题(1.1)的全局熵解的存在性.其次,令∈=o(δ),我们得到了方程组(1.2)的形如η(ρ,u)=ρH(ρ,u)(与Chen和LeFloch(2003)相同)的弱熵对的H_(loc)^(-1)紧性的完整证明.最后,将Chen和LeFloch(2003)给出的关于P(ρ)的条件应用到定理1和定理2的结果中,我们得到了带有界初值(1.4)的Cauchy问题(1.2)的熵解的全局存在性.

Traits allowing some ant species to nest syntopically with the fire ant Solenopsis saevissima in its native range

Supercolonies of the red fire ant Solenopsis saevissima （Smith） develop in disturbed environments and likely alter the ant community in the native range of the species. For example, in French Guiana only 8 ant species were repeatedly noted as nesting in close vicinity to its mounds. Here, we verified if a shared set of biological, ecological, and behavioral traits might explain how these 8 species are able to nest in the presence of S. saevissima. We did not find this to be the case. We did find, however, that all of them are able to live in disturbed habitats. It is likely that over the course of evolution each of these species acquired the capacity to live syntopically with S. saevissima through its own set of traits, where colony size （4 species develop large colonies）, cuticular compounds which do not trigger aggressiveness （6 species） and submissive behaviors （4 species） complement each other.

Exact Boundary Observability of Unsteady Supercritical Flows in a Tree-Like Network of Open Canals

The author establishes the exact boundary observability of unsteady supercritical flows in a tree-like network of open canals with general topology. An implicit duality between the exact boundary controllability and the exact boundary observability is also given for unsteady supercritical flows.

A REVIEW OF TACTICAL PLANNING MODELS

The aim of this paper is to give an overview on models and methods used to solve tactical planning problems. The modeling and the elaboration of the well-know tactical planning problems （master planning ＆ scheduling, material requirement planning and multi-site planning） are discussed. These problems are modeled from two ＂lot sizing＂ models called the Capacitated Lot Sizing Problem （CLSP） and Multi Level Capacitated Lot Sizing Problem （MLCLSP）. From both models, a lot of extensions has been proposed in the literature. The purpose of this paper is twofold： first, classifications of the CLSP and MLCLSP as well as their extensions are given. For each model, the major scientific contributions are mentioned. These classifications made from seventy papers give an overview of ＂lot sizing＂ models dedicated to the MPS, MRP and Multi-site and show the diversity of models. Second, from a classification, an analysis of methods used for each model is given. The instance size, best gap and reference for gap computation are given for each contribution, This work can be used to elaborate an optimization tool for tactical planning problematic such as Advanced Planning System.

The dynamics of ant mosaics in tropical rainforests characterized using the Self-Organizing Map algorithm

Ants, the most abundant taxa among canopy-dwelling animals in tropical rainforests, are mostly represented by territorially dominant arboreal ants （TDAs） whose territories are distributed in a mosaic pattern （arboreal ant mosaics）. Large TDA colonies regulate insect herbivores, with implications for forestry and agronomy. What generates these mosaics in vegetal formations, which are dynamic, still needs to be better understood. So, from empirical research based on 3 Cameroonian tree species （Lophira alata, Ochnaceae; Anthocleista vogelii, Gentianaceae; and Barteriafistulosa, Passifloraceae）, we used the Self-Organizing Map （SOM, neural network） to illustrate the succession of TDAs as their host trees grow and age. The SOM separated the trees by species and by size for L. alata, which can reach 60 m in height and live several centuries. An ontogenic succession of TDAs from sapling to mature trees is shown, and some ecological traits are highlighted for certain TDAs. Also, because the SOM permits the analysis of data with many zeroes with no effect of outliers on the overall scatterplot distributions, we obtained ecological information on rare species. Finally, the SOM permitted us to show that functional groups cannot be selected at the genus level as congeneric species can have very different ecological niches, something particularly true for Crematogaster spp., which include a species specifically associated with B. fistulosa, nondominant species and TDAs. Therefore, the SOM permitted the complex relationships between TDAs and their growing host trees to be analyzed, while also providing new information on the ecological traits of the ant species involved.