Mass-specific metabolic rate, the rate at which organisms consume energy per gram of body weight, is negatively associated with body size in metazoans. As a consequence, small species have higher cellular metabolic rates and are able to process resources at a faster rate than large species. Since mass-specific metabolic rate has been shown to constrain evolution of sperm traits, and most of the...

High velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF)coating have shown high resistance to corrosion in fossil energy applications and it is generally accepted that mechanical failure, e.g. cracking or spalling, ultimately will determine coating lifetime. The use of HVOF thermal spray to apply coatings is one of the most commercially viable and allows the control of various parameters including powder particle velocit...

Technology assessment is a vital part of decision process in manufacturing, particularly for decisions on selection of new sustainable manufacturing processes. To assess these processes, a matrix approach is introduced and sustainability assessment models are developed. Case studies show that the matrix-based approach provides a flexible and practical way for sustainability evaluation of new ma...

Yttrium silicate coating[5, 6] is a promising candidate for oxidation resistant coating for its low oxygen diffusion coefficient and similar thermal expansion coefficient with silicon carbide. Webster et. al.[7] had prepared yttrium silicate coating on C/SiC using Y2O3/SiO2 slips by slip casting and sintering. The selected sintering parameters were 3 h at 1600 °C in flowing argon. The coating c...

The theoretical prediction that fast sperm should be more effective at fertilizing eggs has never been documented empirically. Interspecific comparisons suggest an inverse relationship between sperm velocity and sperm longevity but this trade-off has never been demonstrated within a species. Here I investigate how sperm velocity and sperm longevity influence the patterns of fertilization in the...

The silkworm, Bombyx mori, has a dimorphic sperm system. The eupyrene sperm is the sperm to fertilize eggs and the apyrene sperm plays a crucial role for assisting fertilization. Heat-treated (33 degrees C for 96h) Daizo (DH) males, one of the strains in the silkworm, produce only eupyrene sperm, while in triploid males only apyrene sperm are functional. Though both types of males are found to ...

background: use of cellular phones emitting radiofrequency electromagnetic field (rf-emf) has been increased exponentially and become a part of everyday life. this study aimed to investigate the effects of in vitro rf-emf exposure emitted from cellular phones on sperm motility index, sperm dna fragmentation and seminal clusterin (clu) gene expression. materials and methods: in this prospective ...

We have developed an assay for detecting the acrosome reaction in mouse sperm using chlortetracycline (CTC) as a fluorescent probe . Sperm known to be intact with nonreacted acrosomes show CTC fluorescence in the presence of Ca" over the anterior portion of the sperm head on the plasma membrane covering the acrosome . Sperm which have undergone the acrosome reaction do not show fluorescence on ...

Theory predicts that males experiencing elevated levels of sperm competition will invest more in gonads and produce faster-swimming sperm. Although there is ample evidence in support of the first prediction, few studies have examined sperm swimming speed in relation to sperm competition. In this study, we tested these predictions from sperm competition theory by examining sperm characteristics ...

Recently, the conception rates after artificial insemination have been pointed out to decline continuously. To overcome this problem, the control of frozen and thawed sperm quality is required. However, the mechanism of bovine sperm functional regulation is still largely unknown. In mammals, the ejaculated sperm are capable of showing fertilizing ability during migration in the female reproduct...