December 22, 2010 marks the 123th anniversary of Ramanujan’s birth. In this paper we pay homage to this towering figure whose mathematical discoveries so affected mathematics throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first.

The serpin peptidase inhibitor, clade E, member 2 (SERPINE2) inhibits urokinase-type plasminogen activator (PLAU) and tissue-type plasminogen activator. Higher SERPINE2 expression levels were detected in cumulus cells of human immature oocytes than in those of mature oocytes. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether high SERPINE2 levels in cumulus cells are associated with oocyte imm...

Background: Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have been shown to influence fertility and endocrinology of reproduction and metabolic activity in many species. In dairy cows, we and others have shown changes in steroid and metabolic hormones and prostaglandins leading to alteration of ovarian activity and uterine function. These can influence fertility by changes in folliculogenesis cyclicity ...

Cumulus cells are a group of closely associated granulosa cells that surround and nourish oocytes. Previous studies have shown that cumulus cells contribute to oocyte maturation and fertilization through gap junction communication. However, it is not known how this gap junction signaling affects in vivo versus in vitro maturation of oocytes, and their subsequent fertilization and embryonic deve...

During mammalian oocyte growth, genomic DNA may accumulate DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) induced by factors such as reactive oxygen species. Recent evidence demonstrated that slight DSBs do not activate DNA damage checkpoint proteins in denuded oocytes. These oocytes, even with DNA DSBs, can resume meiosis and progress to metaphase of meiosis II. Meiotic resumption in oocytes is also controll...

Oocyte maturation and embryo development are controlled by intra-ovarian factors such as steroid hormones. Progesterone (P4) exists in the follicular fluid that contributes to normal mammalian ovarian function and has several critical functions during embryo development and implantation, including endometrial receptivity, embryonic survival during gestation and transformation of the endometrial...

Taking the 14,030 panel of Zhaogu No. 2 coal mine as its research object, this paper studies evolution characteristics developing height, propagation track and caving arch shape water-flowing fractures under influence thick alluvium by utilizing a physical experiment, theoretical analysis field investigation. The results show that height limit span fracture zone experience four stages, which in...

Vitrifying oocytes is a potentially valuable means of preserving the female germ line, but significantly compromises oocyte developmental competence. This study examined the hypothesis that the cumulus complex protects the oocyte during vitrification. Vitrified-warmed immature cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) were labelled with a plasma membrane impermeant DNA marker (ethidium homodimer-1) to ex...

A typical mammalian egg is surrounded by an outer layer of about 3,000 cumulus cells embedded in an extracellular matrix rich in hyaluronic acid. A current, widely proposed model is that the fertilizing sperm, while it is acrosome intact, passes through the cumulus cell layer and binds to the egg zona pellucida. This current model lacks a well-supported explanation for how sperm penetrate the c...

Background: Recent studies have revealed that adiponectin, a novel adipocytokine, and its two receptors (AdipoR1 and AdipoR2) are involved in regulation of ovarian function in various farm animal species. The aim of this study was to investigate the gene expression pattern of Adiponectin and its receptors in ovarian cells of dominant (DFs) and non- dominant follicles (NDFs) in the bovine. Mater...