Relationship between topological order and glass forming ability in densely packed enstatite and forsterite composition glasses.

The atomic structures of magnesium silicate melts are key to understanding processes related to the evolution of the Earth's mantle and represent precursors to the formation of most igneous rocks. Magnesium silicate compositions also represent a major component of many glass ceramics, and depending on their composition can span the entire fragility range of glass formation. The silica rich enstatite (MgSiO(3)) composition is a good glass former, whereas the forsterite (Mg(2)SiO(4)) composition is at the limit of glass formation. Here, the structure of MgSiO(3) and Mg(2)SiO(4) composition glasses obtained from levitated liquids have been modeled using Reverse Monte Carlo fits to diffraction data and by density functional theory. A ring statistics analysis suggests that the lower glass forming ability of the Mg(2)SiO(4) glass is associated with a topologically ordered and very narrow ring distribution. The MgO(x) polyhedra have a variety of irregular shapes in MgSiO(3) and Mg(2)SiO(4) glasses and a cavity analysis demonstrates that both glasses have almost no free volume due to a large contribution from edge sharing of MgO(x)-MgO(x) polyhedra. It is found that while the atomic volume of Mg cations in the glasses increases compared to that of the crystalline phases, the number of Mg-O contacts is reduced, although the effective chemical interaction of Mg(2+) remains similar. This unusual structure-property relation of Mg(2)SiO(4) glass demonstrates that by using containerless processing it may be possible to synthesize new families of dense glasses and glass ceramics with zero porosity.

Digital holographic microscopy for the evaluation of human sperm structure.

The morphology of the sperm head has often been correlated with the outcome of in vitro fertilization, and has been shown to be the sole parameter in semen of value in predicting the success of intracytoplasmic sperm injection and intracytoplasmic morphologically selected sperm injection. In this paper, we have studied whether digital holographic microscopy (DHM) may be useful to obtain quantitative data on human sperm head structure and compared this technique with high-power digitally enhanced Nomarski optics. The main advantage of digital holography is that high-resolution three-dimensional quantitative sample imaging may be automatically produced by numerical refocusing of a two-dimensional image at different object planes without any mechanical scanning. We show that DHM generates useful information on the dimensions and structure of human sperm, not revealed by conventional phase-contrast microscopy, in particular the volume of vacuoles, and suggest its use as an additional prognostic tool in assisted reproduction technology.

A time resolved high energy X-ray diffraction study of cooling liquid SiO2.

The evolution of the X-ray structure factor and corresponding pair distribution function of SiO2 has been measured upon cooling from the melt using high energy X-ray diffraction combined with aerodynamic levitation. Small changes in the position of the average Si-O bond distance and peak width are found to occur at ~1500(100) K in the region of the calorimetric glass transition temperature, T(g) and the observed density minima. At higher temperatures deviations from linear behavior are seen in the first sharp diffraction peak width, height and area at around 1750(50) K, which coincides with the reported density maximum around 1.2T(g).

Expression of XNOA 36 in the mitochondrial cloud of Xenopus laevis oocytes.

In Xenopus laevis oocytes a mitochondrial cloud (MC) is found between the nucleus and the plasma membrane at stages I-II of oogenesis. The MC contains RNAs that are transported to the future vegetal pole at stage II of oogenesis. In particular, germinal plasm mRNAs are found in the Message Transport Organiser (METRO) region, the MC region opposite to the nucleus. At stages II-III, a second pathway transports Vg1 and VegT mRNAs to the area where the MC content merges with the vegetal cortex. Microtubules become polarized at the sites of migration of Vg1 and VegT mRNAs through an unknown signalling mechanism. In early meiotic stages, the centrioles are almost completely lost with their remnants being dispersed into the cytoplasm and the MC, which may contain a MTOC to be used in the later localization pathway of the mRNAs. In mammals, XNOA 36 encodes a member of a highly conserved protein family and localises to the nucleolus or in the centromeres. In the Xenopus late stage I oocyte, XNOA 36 mRNA is transiently segregated in one half of the oocyte, anchored by a cytoskeletal network that contains spectrin. Here we found that XNOA 36 transcript also localises to the nucleoli and in the METRO region. XNOA 36 protein immunolocalization, using an antibody employed for the library immunoscreening that depicted XNOA 36 expression colonies, labels the migrating MC, the cytoplasm of stage I oocytes and in particular the vegetal cortex facing the MC. The possible role of XNOA 36 in mRNA anchoring to the vegetal cortex or in participating in early microtubule reorganization is discussed.

Haemophilus influenzae serotype B (Hib) seroprevalence in England and Wales in 2009.

A national seroprevalence study was performed to determine the prevalence of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) antibodies in England and Wales in 2009, when Hib disease incidence was the lowest ever recorded. A total of 2,693 anonymised residual sera from routine diagnostic testing submitted by participating National Health Service hospital laboratories were tested for Hib anti-polyribosyl-ribitol phosphate (PRP) IgG antibodies using a fluorescent bead assay. Median anti-PRP IgG concentrations were highest in toddlers aged 1­4 years (2.65 µg/ml), followed by children aged 5­9 years (1.95 µg/ml). Antibody concentrations were significantly lower after this age, but were still significantly higher among 10­19 year-olds (0.54 µg/ml) compared with adults aged >20 years (0.16 µg/ ml; p<0.0001). Half of the adults (51%) did not have Hib antibody concentrations ≥0.15 µg/ml, the level considered to confer short-term protection. Thus, the current excellent Hib control appears to be the result of high anti-PRP antibody concentrations in children aged up to 10 years, achieved through the various childhood vaccination campaigns offering booster immunisation. The lack of seroprotection in adults emphasises the importance of maintaining control of the disease and, most probably carriage, in children, therefore raising the question as to whether long-term routine boosting of either pre-school children or adolescents may be required.

A novel fuel cell design foroperandoenergy-dispersive x-ray absorption measurements.

A polymer electrolyte fuel cell has been designed to allowoperandox-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) measurements of catalysts. The cell has been developed to operate under standard fuel cell conditions, with elevated temperatures and humidification of the gas-phase reactants, both of which greatly impact the catalyst utilisation. X-ray windows in the endplates of the cell facilitate collection of XAS spectra during fuel cell operation while maintaining good compression in the area of measurement. Results of polarisation curves and cyclic voltammograms showed that theoperandocell performs well as a fuel cell, while also providing XAS data of suitable quality for robust XANES analysis. The cell has produced comparable XAS results when performing a cyclic voltammogram to an establishedin situcell when measuring the Pt LIII edge. Similar trends of Pt oxidation, and reduction of the formed Pt oxide, have been presented with a time resolution of 5 s for each spectrum, paving the way for time-resolved spectral measurements of fuel cell catalysts in a fully-operating fuel cell.

Local perinuclear calcium signals associated with mitosis-entry in early sea urchin embryos.

Using calcium-sensitive dyes together with their dextran conjugates and confocal microscopy, we have looked for evidence of localized calcium signaling in the region of the nucleus before entry into mitosis, using the sea urchin egg first mitotic cell cycle as a model. Global calcium transients that appear to originate from the nuclear area are often observed just before nuclear envelope breakdown (NEB). In the absence of global increases in calcium, confocal microscopy using Calcium Green-1 dextran indicator dye revealed localized calcium transients in the perinuclear region. We have also used a photoinactivatable calcium chelator, nitrophenyl EGTA (NP-EGTA), to test whether the chelator-induced block of mitosis entry can be reversed after inactivation of the chelator. Cells arrested before NEB by injection of NP-EGTA resume the cell cycle after flash photolysis of the chelator. Photolysis of chelator triggers calcium release. TreatmenT with caFfeine to enhance calcium-induced calcium release increases the amplitude of NEB-associated calcium transients. These results indicate that calcium increases local to the nucleus are required to trigger entry into mitosis. Local calcium transients arise in the perinuclear region and can spread from this region into the cytoplasm. Thus, cell cycle calcium signals are generated by the perinuclear mitotic machinery in early sea urchin embryos.

Thaw, biopsy and refreeze strategy for PGT-A on previously cryopreserved embryos.

BACKGROUND: Preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) with Next Generation Sequencing technology is a low-cost and powerful technology for the analysis of embryo quality. However, PGT-A requires freezing of embryos, suggesting that previously cryopreserved embryos cannot be tested. Here, we test whether use of the vitrification technique permits the refreezing of embryos, thus permitting PGT-A testing of cryopreserved embryos. METHODS: The results are a retrospective analysis of cases performed at Create fertility between 2016 and 2017. Results obtained after traditional PGT-A are compared with results after the thaw biopsy and refreeze (TBR) procedure. A total of 220 patients were treated with PGT-A and 54 patients with the TBR procedure. RESULTS: Maternal ages were not significantly different between the groups. The proportion of PGT-A normal embryos was not significantly different between the two groups. A clinical pregnancy rate of 61.5% was achieved with the PGT-A group and 52.4% with the TBR group. These results were not statistically significant. The efficiency of the thaw, biopsy and refreeze technique was not significantly different to that of fresh cycles for rates of survival, results obtained and aneuploidy incidence. Clinical pregnancy rates are not significantly different after the biopsy of fresh and previously cryopreserved embryos. CONCLUSION: The data shows that the TBR procedure has an equivalent success rate to that of classical PGT-A procedures.

Molecular Dynamics Modeling of the Structure and Na+-Ion Transport in Na2S + SiS2 Glassy Electrolytes.

Solid-state sodium batteries, a relatively safe and potentially cost-effective energy-storage technology, have attracted increasing scientific attention recently for application in stationary grid-scale energy storage. Identifying solid electrolytes with high electrochemical stability and high Na+-ion conductivity at room temperature is critically important to enable high energy densities with enhanced rate capabilities. We evaluated sodium sulfide-silicon sulfide, xNa2S + (1- x)SiS2, glasses as potential glassy solid electrolytes (GSEs) using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We employed ab initio MD to determine ion conduction mechanisms, to calculate energy barriers for ion hops, and to correlate these to the local short-range structure of 0.50Na2S + 0.50SiS2 glass. To simulate much larger systems for accurately calculating the ionic conductivity, we parameterized empirical Buckingham-type potential and performed classical MD simulations. After validating these calculations by comparing the structure obtained from MD to that from X-ray scattering data, we calculated the ionic conductivity of these glasses for the range of 0.33 ≤ x ≤ 0.67 compositions. The calculated ionic conductivities at room temperature were in the range of ∼10-5 S/cm for the x = 0.50 composition and increased significantly with sodium sulfide ( x) content. These calculations provide theoretical insights into the role of Na2S content on the ionic conductivity of GSEs aiding in the selection of specific compositions to enhance the ionic conductivity.

Imaging the spatial dynamics of calmodulin activation during mitosis.

BACKGROUND: Calcium is an important and ubiquitous signalling ion. In most cell types, changes in intracellular calcium concentrations are sensed by calmodulin, a signal transduction protein that regulates cell function through its interactions with kinases and phosphatases. Calcium signals show complex spatiotemporal patterning, but little, if anything, is known about the patterns of calmodulin activation inside cells. RESULTS: We have measured calmodulin activation continuously during mitosis in living cells with a new probe, a fluorescent adduct of calmodulin termed TA-calmodulin. We found that calmodulin was activated locally and episodically in the nucleus and mitotic spindle. The pattern of calmodulin activation was different from the pattern of calcium signals and could not be predicted from the pattern of calcium increase. Calmodulin activation was essential for mitotic progression: both entry into mitosis and exit from mitosis were blocked by a novel peptide that bound to calmodulin with high affinity and so prevented the interaction of calmodulin with its target proteins. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that calmodulin regulates mitotic transitions and demonstrate the utility of fluorescent adducts for studying protein activation in living cells with good temporal and spatial resolution.

The role of ligand redox non-innocence in ring-opening polymerization reactions catalysed by bis(imino)pyridine iron alkoxide complexes.

The reactivity of iron-based ring opening polymerization catalysts is compared when the catalyst is in three different oxidation states. Formally iron(i) monoalkoxide complexes 3a (p-methoxyphenoxide) and 3b (neopentoxide) supported by bis(imino)pyridine ligands were synthesized and investigated as catalysts for the ring opening polymerization and copolymerization of various monomers. For most monomers, 3a and 3b were superior catalysts compared to analogous, formally iron(ii) and iron(iii) complexes (1a/1b and 2a/2b, respectively) for the ring opening polymerization of various cyclic ester and cyclic carbonate monomers. Experimental and computational investigation into the electronic structures of 3a and 3b revealed that they are most accurately described as containing a high spin iron(ii) center that is antiferromagnetically coupled to a singly reduced bis(imino)pyridine ligand. This electronic structure leads to increased electron density near the metal center without modulating the apparent metal oxidation state, which results in superior catalytic performance for the more highly reduced 3a and 3b compared to the increasingly more oxidized complexes (i.e.1a/1b and 2a/2b, respectively) in ring opening polymerization reactions. These findings have significant ramifications for the emerging field of redox-switchable polymerization catalysis.

Intra-follicular leptin concentration as a predictive factor for in vitro oocyte fertilization in assisted reproductive techniques.

BACKGROUND: Granulosa-cells are able to produce and store leptin, suggesting that this hormone is locally involved in the regulation of follicular growth. In this study, the role of follicular fluid (FF) leptin concentration in predicting oocyte fertilization and embryo quality was evaluated in 35 normogonadotrophic women undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) for assisted reproductive techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Leptin concentration was measured in 47 consecutively collected FF in which a mature oocyte had been found during the ovum pick-up. Embryos deriving from fertilized oocytes were submitted to quality scoring systems. RESULTS: Mean leptin concentration was significantly higher in FF whose oocytes showed 2 pronuclei (no. 25) when compared with those with no evidence of fertilization (no. 22) at the 16-18 h check (26.0+/-6.1 vs 15.3+/-10.6 ng/ml, respectively, p<0.01). Follicular mean diameters were similar in the two groups (21.4+/-3.4 and 21.0+/-5.1 mm, respectively). Logistic regression analysis identified FF leptin levels as the best predictive parameter for oocyte fertilization (p<0.001). When receiving operating characteristics curve was employed, a FF leptin concentration of 20.25 ng/ml was the most reliable cut-off in predicting fertilization of oocytes. FF with leptin concentrations higher than this value (no. 27) had an oocyte fertilization rate of 85.7%. In contrast, FF levels < or =20.25 ng/ml (no. 20) were associated with a rate of 16.7% (p<0.05). No correlation emerged between FF leptin and the score attributed to 15 valuable embryos at the zygote stage (r=-0.01) and at 48 h after insemination (r=0.1). CONCLUSIONS: FF leptin levels are a better predictor of oocyte fertilization success rates than follicular diameter. These results underline the relevance of FF variables in developing methods for oocyte selection.

Cell cluster formation during up-scaling of a human-mouse heterohybridoma producing a polyspecific human IgM antibody.

Up- and downstream processing of human monoclonal IgM is known to bring about problems with respect to clone stability and quantity of antibodies produced. A human B cell hybridoma producing a natural polyreactive IgM antibody (CB03) was adapted to growth in serum-free medium and scaled-up using a hollow fiber bioreactor system. The process of fermentation has been carried out continuously over a period of 4 months. In comparison to stationary culture conditions in the presence of 10% fetal calf serum, antibody concentrations in hollow fiber bioreactor supernatants were found to be significantly increased. Semicontinuously harvested supernatants contained up to 400 mg/liter immunoreactive IgM antibody. During the last weeks of fermentation, a markedly reduced number of viable cells was observed, whereas antibody production seemed to remain stable. Furthermore, we detected formation of cell clusters in the fermentor system. These clusters carried IgM on the surface and secreted immunoreactive IgM antibodies. Clusters were found to represent fusions of hybridoma cells using electron microscopy. Cluster formation was accompanied by decreased glucose consumption and lactate accumulation and was not seen during growth of other human hybridomas. We discuss these results in the content of the polyreactive binding properties of this particular antibody.

Can we define maternal age as a genetic disease?

>Maternal age is strongly associated with a decrease in the probability of achieving pregnancy and the birth of a healthy child. Among current theories of the mechanism of this decrease is the hypothesis that a progressive degeneration of the respiratory capacity of mitochondria in eggs of women of advanced age leads to an energy deficit and consequent secondary effects on the oocyte and developing embryo. Mitochondria are uniquely inherited through the female germ line and these organelles contain DNA sequences that are independent from the genome. It is therefore possible that offspring born to females of advanced age inherit suboptimal mitochondria and that these persist throughout the life of the new being. This could in turn lead to long-term consequences for the offspring of females of advanced age such as a reduced potential lifespan in relation to the age of the mother at conception. In this review and hypothesis, we discuss the evidence relating to this theory and suggest that on this basis the maternal age effect could be classified as an inheritable genetic disease.

High-energy X-ray diffraction from aluminosilicate liquids.

Containerless high energy X-ray diffraction measurements have been performed on molten Al(2)O(3)-SiO(2) as a function of composition. The data show a strong distortion of the SiO(4) tetrahedral units and a breakdown of intermediate range order as alumina is added. For silica-rich compositions, the X-ray pair distribution functions are consistent with the presence of 4-fold oxygen triclusters predicted by molecular dynamics simulations, where these liquids exhibit relatively high viscosities compared to other binary silicates. For higher alumina content liquids, the average cation-oxygen coordination number gradually increases with increasing Al(2)O(3) content, but the pair distribution functions change very little with composition, suggesting the increased presence of disordered AlO(n) (n = 4,5,6) polyhedra are associated with low viscosity melts. A comparison of the liquid and glassy X-ray pair distributions functions at the alumina-rich mullite composition indicate a significant distortion of the polyhedra in the melt, suggesting structural changes are temperature dependent.

Investigation of different group A immunoassays following one dose of meningococcal group A conjugate vaccine or A/C polysaccharide vaccine in adults.

A double-blind, randomized, controlled phase I study to assess the safety, immunogenicity, and antibody persistence of a new group A conjugate vaccine (PsA-TT) in volunteers aged 18 to 35 years was previously performed. Subjects received one dose of either the PsA-TT conjugate vaccine, meningococcal A/C polysaccharide vaccine (PsA/C), or tetanus toxoid vaccine. The conjugate vaccine was shown to be safe and immunogenic as demonstrated by a standardized group A-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and by a serum bactericidal antibody (SBA) assay using rabbit complement (rSBA). This report details further analysis of the sera using four additional immunologic assays to investigate the relationship between the different immunoassays. The immunoassays used were an SBA assay that used human complement (hSBA), a group A-specific IgG multiplexed bead assay, and two opsonophagocytic antibody (OPA) assays which used two different methodologies. For each vaccine group, geometric mean concentrations or geometric mean titers were determined for all assays before and 4, 24, and 48 weeks after vaccination. Pearson's correlation coefficients were used to assess the relationship between the six assays using data from all available visits. An excellent correlation was observed between the group A-specific IgG concentrations obtained by ELISA and those obtained by the multiplexed bead assay. hSBA and rSBA titers correlated moderately, although proportions of subjects with putatively protective titers and those demonstrating a > or = 4-fold rise were similar. The two OPA methods correlated weakly and achieved only a low correlation with the other immunoassays. The correlation between hSBA and group A-specific IgG was higher for the PsA-TT group than for the PsA/C group.

Detection of first-order liquid/liquid phase transitions in yttrium oxide-aluminum oxide melts.

We combine small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) and wide-angle x-ray scattering (WAXS) with aerodynamic levitation techniques to study in situ phase transitions in the liquid state under contactless conditions. At very high temperatures, yttria-alumina melts show a first-order transition, previously inferred from phase separation in quenched glasses. We show how the transition coincides with a narrow and reversible maximum in SAXS indicative of liquid unmixing on the nanoscale, combined with an abrupt realignment in WAXS features related to reversible shifts in polyhedral packing on the atomic scale. We also observed a rotary action in the suspended supercooled drop driven by repetitive transitions (a polyamorphic rotor) from which the reversible changes in molar volume (1.2 +/- 0.2 cubic centimeters) and entropy (19 +/- 4 joules mole(-1) kelvin(-1)) can be estimated.

Development of structural order during supercooling of a fragile oxide melt.

The authors have studied the structural evolution of the fragile glass-forming liquid CaAl2O4 during supercooling from the stable liquid phase to the cold glass below Tg. The evolution is characterized by a sharpening of the first diffraction peak and a shortening of the average nearest-neighbor bond length around 1.25Tg, indicating an increase in the degree of both intermediate-range and short-range orders occurring close to the dynamical crossover temperature. The cooling curve developed a kink at this temperature, indicating a simultaneous change in thermodynamic properties.