Many of the existing models on stage structured populations are single species models or models which assume a constant resource supply. In reality, growth is a combined result of birth and death processes, both of which are closely linked to the resource supply which is dynamic in nature. From this basic standpoint, we formulate a general and robust predator-prey model with stage structure wit...

Microenvironmental mechanical properties of stem cell niches vary across tissues and developmental stages. Accumulating evidence suggests that matching substrate elasticity with in vivo tissue elasticity facilitates stem cell differentiation. However, it has not been established whether substrate elasticity can control the maturation stage of cells generated by stem cell differentiation. Here w...

Affinity maturation of antibodies during immune responses is achieved by multiple rounds of somatic hypermutation and subsequent preferential selection of those B cells that express B cell receptors with improved binding characteristics for the antigen. The mechanism underlying B cell selection has not yet been defined. By employing an agent-based model, we show that for physiologically reasona...

AIM To report the fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of the testes used as a diagnostic tool in non-obstructive azoospermic patients. METHODS One hundred and twenty-five non-obstructive azoospermic male candidates to intracytoplasmic sperm injetion (ICSI) were analysed for follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone and inhibin B plasma levels. They were cla...

Healthy human brain development is a complex process that continues during childhood and adolescence, as demonstrated by many cross-sectional and several longitudinal studies. However, whether these changes end in adolescence is not clear. We examined longitudinal white matter maturation using diffusion tensor tractography in 103 healthy subjects aged 5-32 years; each volunteer was scanned at l...

Affinity maturation of antibodies during immune responses is achieved by multiple rounds of somatic hypermutation and subsequent preferential selection of those B cells that express B cell receptors with improved binding characteristics for the antigen. The mechanism underlying B cell selection has not yet been defined. By employing an agent-based model, we show that for physiologically reasona...

  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...

rate of in vitro maturation of oocytes is one of the challenges of assisted reproductive techniques. in this study we investigated the effects of supplementation of cysteamine on the rate of in vitro maturation of oocytes in two different media. germinal vesicle oocytes were collected from mouse ovary and cultured in two media (tcm199 and meme) with 0, 50, 100, 200, 500 µm/ml cysteamine. number...

background & objectives : different energy substrates and nutrients can greatly influence oocyte nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation. effect of glucose on in-vitro oocyte maturation and subsequent early embryonic development is controversial. the objective of the present study was to verify the effect of various concentrations of glucose on cumulus-oocyte complexes maturation, fertilization and ...

Background: The maturation medium for in-vitro oocyte maturation is usually supplemented with serum. However, supplementation of serum from pregnant women adversely affects the outcome of in-vitro maturation. The purpose of the study was to assess if growth factors or granulosa cell coculture could overcome the adverse effects of pregnant women’s serum. Materials and Methods: The basal maturati...