The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of addition of Royal jelly in presence of heparin on buffalo (Bubalus Bubalis) sperm motility, acrosome reaction and in vitro fertilization (IVF) of buffalo oocytes. Frozen buffalo spermatozoa from five bulls were thawed and motile fraction was obtained by swim up technique. The spermatozoa were washed, treated with100 µg/ml heparin, and then exposed to 0.4% Royal Jelly (RJ) for 3 h. Sperm motility, acrosomal integrity and fertilization rate of matured oocytes were assessed at 1, 2 and 3 h. The percentages of sperm motility, intact acrosome and fertilization rate of matured oocytes were higher (P<0.05) in 0.4% RJ compared to that in the control. After 2 h of incubation the percentage of motility, intact acrosome of spermatozoa and fertilization rate of matured oocytes, respectively, were 93.6 %, 77.6% and 72.6% in 0.4% RJ. These results suggest that treating buffalo sperm with 0.4% RJ in combination with heparin is effective not only to induce sperm acrosome reaction but also is effective for in vitro fertilizing capacity of the cryopreserved buffalo spermatozoa.

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In this paper we analyze model-based networked control systems for a discrete-time nonlinear plant model, operating in the presence of deterministic dropout of state observations. The dropout is modeled using communication network dynamics, and sufficient conditions for finite-time stability are provided. In a companion paper we model the dropout as a stochastic sequence.

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This work presents a new approach for controlling power consumption in RF devices. The approach is based on the definition of application-dependent performance modes for power hungry RF circuits and a logical control strategy that adjusts the power supply of each circuit to the mode required by the application. The control strategy uses embedded sensors, a recursive parameter identification approach and regression models for performance prediction, while demanding minimum embedded resources for computation. The control strategy is robust with respect to circuit parametric deviations due to the manufacturing process or ageing mechanisms. The strategy is illustrated for the case of an RF LNA using envelop detectors as embedded sensors. Simulation results of the control strategy at the transistor-level illustrate the energy savings that can be obtained for an example application.