Background & Aim: Considering that antioxidants are known as effective free radicals scavenger, it may be able to improve the in vitro oocyte maturation and the fetal quality. This study was designed to determine the effect of Gundelia tournefortii leaves (GTE) hydro-alcoholic extract as a source of antioxidant on in vitro oocyte maturation. Experimental: Germinal vasicle (GV) were...

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At a colloquium I attended recently, a speaker referred to a "science fiction vision" that was comprised of sets of agents running around the web being able to perform complex actions for their users. His argument was that we were far from the day that this would be real, and that the infrastructure was not in place to make this happen. While I agree with his latter assessment, I believe the fo...

Previous studies have found a positive relationship between exposure to fiction and interpersonal sensitivity. However, it is unclear whether exposure to different genres of fiction may be differentially related to these outcomes for readers. The current study investigated the role of four fiction genres (i.e., Domestic Fiction, Romance, Science-Fiction/Fantasy, and Suspense/Thriller) in the re...

Background: Successful in vitro maturation (IVM) of oocytes is an important step for production of livestock through assisted reproductive techniques including somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Obtaining an optimal duration for maturation of oocyte is essential, since over exposure to maturation medium results in oocyte aging, while under exposure leads to production of immature incompetent...

Throughout his 94 years of life, Carmine Melino brilliantly pursued different professional paths, his life being a constant stimulus for students, colleagues, friends and the family. Following the early formative years of study, here, we briefly list his scientific achievements in Occupational Medicine and Hygiene as well as his broad literary interests. Carmine was an inspiration to his genera...

Background: Despite great advances achieved in the field of in vitro oocyte maturation (IVM), almost all IVM media are supplemented with undefined component which not only pose the risk of pathogen transmission but also hinders our knowledge of molecular mechanisms of maturation. One of these components is serum that containing various concentration of unknown molecules affecting cellular proce...