Role of low circulating FSH concentrations in controlling the interval to emergence of the subsequent follicular wave in cattle

The intervals between emergence of follicular waves 1 (first wave of an oestrous cycle) and 2, and between the associated FSH surges (surges 1 and 2), were studied in control (n = 7) and recombinant bovine (rb)FSH-treated (n = 7) heifers. The expected start of the deviation in follicle diameter between the two largest follicles of wave 1 was defined as the day on which the largest follicle reached 8.5 mm (day 0). In the control heifers, circulating concentrations of FSH decreased and oestradiol increased between day 0 and day 1.5 or day 2.0 in a reciprocal relationship. The opposite reciprocal relationship between an FSH increase and an oestradiol decrease occurred during the next 3 days. This temporal result is consistent with a negative systemic effect of oestradiol on FSH at this time. rbFSH was administered in a dosage regimen that was expected to result in a similarity between FSH surge 2 in the rbFSH-treated group and surge 2 in the control group. On average, surge 2 and wave 2 occurred approximately 2 days earlier in the rbFSH-treated group than in the control group, and characteristics of the FSH surge and follicular wave were similar (no significant differences) between groups. These results support the hypothesis that low circulating FSH concentrations after the deviation in follicle diameter control the interval to emergence of the subsequent follicular wave. However, in one of seven rbFSH-treated heifers, the largest follicle from the apparent stimulation of rbFSH reached only 5.7 mm; therefore, the possibility of involvement of additional mechanisms cannot be dismissed.     

Systemic concentrations of hormones during the development of follicular waves in mares and women: a comparative study

Changes in systemic concentrations of FSH, LH, oestradiol and progesterone during the ovulatory follicular wave were compared between 30 mares and 30 women. Based on a previous study, the emergence of the future ovulatory follicle was defined as occurring at 13.0 mm in mares and 6.0 mm in women, and deviation in diameter between the two largest follicles was expected to begin at 22.7 mm in mares and 10.3 mm in women. Mean FSH concentrations were high in mares during the luteal phase, resulting from statistically identified FSH surges occurring in individuals on different days and in different numbers (mean, 1.5 +/- 0.2 surges/mare); the internadir interval was 3.9 +/- 0.3 days. In contrast, mean FSH in women was low during the luteal phase and increased to a prolonged elevation during the follicular phase. The prolonged elevation was apparent in each individual (internadir interval, 15.2 +/- 0.4 days). Changes in LH or oestradiol concentrations encompassing deviation were not detected in mares, but both hormones increased slightly but significantly between emergence and deviation in women. The hypothesis that a greater number of growing follicles causes a greater predeviation decrease in FSH was supported for mares (r, -0.39; P< 0.04), but a similar negative correlation (r, -0.36) was not significant in women. The hypothesis that the increase in oestradiol during the luteal phase in women was at least partly attributable to luteal-phase anovulatory follicular waves was not supported. Normalization of FSH concentrations to the day of emergence showed maximum value on the day of emergence with a significant increase and decrease on each side of emergence in both species. The day of expected deviation occurred 3 days after emergence during the decline in FSH in both species. These results indicated that the previously reported striking similarities in emergence and deviation between mares and women during the ovulatory follicular wave are associated with species similarities in the temporal relationships between follicle events and FSH concentration changes. Thus, mares may be useful research models for studying the role and mechanism of the action of FSH in emergence and deviation during the ovulatory follicular wave in women.     

Rheological and mechanical properties of cellulose/LDPE composites using sustainable and fully renewable compatibilisers

Cellulose composites with polyethylene (PE) permit to reinforce this commodity polymer, while at the same time introducing renewable content and thus minimizing the use of petroleum-based feedstocks. Herein, we report on two fully renewably sourced and sustainably synthesized compatibilisers based on amylose and starch, which allow for such cellulose dispersion in low-density PE (LDPE). These compatibilisers advantageously combine the hydrophilicity of carbohydrates with the hydrophobicity of fatty acids. Upon extrusion of cellulose, LDPE, and the compatibilisers, a significantly improved dispersion of cellulose within LDPE was observed using rheology at loadings of 10 wt % cellulose and 5–15 wt % compatibiliser. Moreover, an improved interfacial adhesion was observed using scanning electron microscopy and was also confirmed by the mechanical properties, notably the Young's modulus, as a result of the good stress transfer between filler and matrix material. This study highlights the potential of fully renewable compatibilisers for the preparation of composites of cellulose and the commodity plastic LDPE. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Applied Polymer Science published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48744.     

A dual‐band branch line coupler for LTE 0.7 GHz and LTE 2.6 GHz frequencies

In this paper, a dual‐band branch line coupler (BLC) for Long Term Evolution (LTE) 0.7 GHz and LTE 2.6 GHz frequencies is designed and developed. A dual‐band quarter wave transmission line (DBQWTL) capable to perform dual band operation for frequency ratio >3 is also proposed. The dual band BLC is designed by replacing the quarter wave transmission line of the conventional single band BLC with the proposed DBQWTL. By means of even and odd mode analysis, the closed form design equations of the proposed DBQWTL are obtained. Considering the implementation viewpoint of the proposed BLC, the circuit parameter analysis is carried out. The proposed BLC performs dual band operation with maximum amplitude imbalance of 0.26 dB and phase deviation of 3.07°. It is found in the comparative analysis that the proposed BLC has novelty in terms of its operating frequency ratio range.     

Fiber Pretreatment and Its Effects on Wood Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene Composites

This study investigates the effect of pretreatment of fiber with NaOH and coupling with maleated polypropylene (MAPP) on the physical and mechanical properties of composites, based on radiata pine (Pinus Radiata) fiber, produced with a polypropylene matrix, using a twin-screw extruder followed by injection molding. Prior to reinforcement, the fiber was treated with NaOH. The effect of treatment was assessed using zeta potential, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Tensile testing, SEM, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were carried out to assess the effect of modification on composite properties. An increase of 106% for strength and 302% for Young's modulus were obtained by using 60 wt% fiber and 2 wt% MAPP, compared to the unreinforced matrix. Fiber pretreatment with NaOH reduced strength but improved Young's modulus (370% compared to unreinforced matrix) of resulted composite.     

Shear resistance of longitudinally stiffened panels—Part 1: Tests and numerical analysis of imperfections

This paper deals with the results of four full-scale tests, numerical simulation of tests and initial geometric imperfection analysis for longitudinally stiffened panels in shear. The tests examine the influence of varying position and bending stiffness of one trapezoidal longitudinal stiffener on the panel shear resistance and its buckling behaviour. The stiffeners were designed such as to obtain both global and local buckling shapes. Numerical simulations (FEA), based on the test girder geometry, the measured initial geometric imperfections and elastic-plastic material characteristic from the tensile tests, demonstrate a very good agreement with the tests. The initial geometric imperfection study on different verified numerical models shows a limited sensitivity of the panel shear capacity to any kind of imperfection shape variation with amplitude at the allowable fabrication tolerances. Finally, the paper offers some ideas for modelling geometric imperfections with regard to the design or research demands.     

QbD-driven development and evaluation of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) of Olmesartan medoxomil employing multivariate statistical techniques

Purpose: This research work entails quality by design (QbD)-based systematic development of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) of Olmesartan medoxomil (OLM) with improved biopharmaceutical attributes.

Methods: Quality target product profile (QTPP) was defined and critical quality attributes (CQAs) were earmarked. Solubility of drug was performed in various lipids for screening of them. NLCs were prepared by hot-microemulsion method using solid lipids, liquid lipids and surfactants with maximal solubility. Failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) was carried out for identifying high risk formulation and process parameters. Further, principal component analysis (PCA) was applied on high risk parameters for evaluating the effect of type and concentration of lipids and surfactants on CQAs. Further, systematic optimization of critical material attributes (CMAs) was carried out using face centered cubic design and optimized formulation was identified in the design space.

Results: FMEA and PCA suggested suitability of stearic acid, oleic acid and Tween 80 as the CMAs for NLCs. Response surface optimization helped in identifying the optimized NLC formulation with particle size ～250?nm, zeta potential <25?mV, entrapment efficiency >75%, in vitro drug release >80% within 6?h. Release kinetic modeling indicated drug release through Fickian-diffusion mechanism.

Conclusions: Overall, these studies indicated successful development of NLCs using multivariate statistical approaches for improved product and process understanding.     

ABC Optimization Based Construction of Strong Substitution-Boxes

Wireless Personal Communications - Most of the block ciphers contain substitution-boxes as their cornerstone primitive to add requisite nonlinearity. S-boxes are responsible to ensure strong...