New insights into boar sperm function and survival from integrated field and laboratory studies

En aquesta tesi s'han dut a terme dos tipus d'estudis diferents. L'objectiu del primer era la preservació del semen de porcí a 15ºC i el del segon eren els co-cultius homòlegs de cèl·lules epitelials de l'oviducte i espermatozoides de porcí. Pel que fa al primer estudi, s'ha observat que l'addició de la prostaglandina F2α i àcid hialurònic a les dosis seminals no malmena la qualitat espermàtica i que la tolerància dels espermatozoides als canvis d'osmolalitat del medi es pot correlacionar proves de fertilitat i prolificitat.. Respecte el segon, s'ha determinat que les cèl·lules oviductals afecten els paràmetres espermàtics i que la presència d'espermatozoides sobreexpressa els gens que codifiquen per les proteïnes de xoc tèrmic. Així, se suggereix que aquestes proteïnes tenen algun paper en els processos reproductius que tenen lloc a l'oviducte, malgrat que s'hagi observat, mitjançant la tècnica de la interferència de l'RNA, que la HSP90AA1 no està implicada en el perllongament de la viabilitat espermàtica.

The EU’s re-engagement as a security actor: Fresh start or still sleepwalking. CEPS Commentary, 12 July 2012

By the end of the summer, the EU will launch new crisis management missions in the Horn of Africa, Niger and South Sudan. In this CEPS Commentary, Giovanni Faleg and Steven Blockmans question whether the new deployments will revive the EU’s persona as a global security actor. The authors point out that, without the backing of a comprehensive security strategy rationale, the EU’s re-engagement as a crisis manager that opts for small-scale operations will be seen as a continuation of its sleepwalking through a changing geostrategic landscape.

A sovereign wealth fund to lift Germany's curse of excess savings. CEPS Policy Brief No. 280, 28 August 2012

As an alternative to the present system of intermediation of the German savings surplus, this paper suggests that the risk-adjusted rate of return could be improved by creating a sovereign wealth fund for Germany (designated DESWF), which could invest excess German savings globally. Such a DESWF would offer German savers a secure vehicle paying a guaranteed positive minimum real interest rate, with a top-up when real investment returns allowed. The vehicle would invest the funds in a portfolio that is highly diversified by geography and asset classes. Positive real returns can be expected in the long run based on positive real global growth. Since, in this case, a significant amount of funds would flow outside the euro area, the euro would depreciate, which would help crisis countries presently struggling to revive growth through exports and to close their external deficits so as to recoup their international credit-worthiness. Target imbalances would gradually disappear and German claims abroad would move from nominal claims on the ECB to diversified real and nominal claims on various private and public foreign entities in a variety of asset classes.

Women's Labour Market Performance in Europe: Trends and Shaping Factors. CEPS Special Report, September 2012

We investigate the changes in women’s employment patterns across EU countries over the last 20 years both in terms of labour market participation and type of jobs using individual data from ECHP and EUSILC databases. Using a logistic multilevel model, we then pin down the role played by institutional and policy changes in explaining women’s employment. The key results indicate that women’s employment trends are related to the institutional and policy changes that have been introduced in almost all European countries since the end of the 1990s. Such changes had an important impact on the labour market opportunities’ of women by affecting the quality of potential jobs available, the chances to (re-)enter the labour market and the opportunity costs of employment (vs. non-employment).

The EU's Promotion of External Democracy: In search of the plot. CEPS Policy Brief No. 281, 13 September 2012

This policy brief illustrates that both the conceptualisation of democracy and the means to achieve it remain vague, and explains why this is problematic. It points out the risks that stem from a lack of clear understanding about how human rights, governance, civil society and socio-economic development relate to democratisation. It concludes that the EU should reflect on the substance of its external democracy promotion policies and conceptualise the relationship between the different elements of democracy promotion cited above and democratisation. While ongoing reforms of international democracy promotion should continue, a wider debate on substance could help identify what the EU should support in the future. The EU should also establish a reflective external democracy promotion policy where the assessment of actions on democratic development becomes systematic and is institutionalised.

Europe’s New Post-Trade Infrastructure Rules. ECMI Policy Brief No. 20, 8 November 2012

After more than a decade of indecision, the EU is finally now set to implement a consistent regulatory architecture for clearing and settlement. Following the agreement on a European market infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), the European Commission has proposed harmonised rules for centralised settlement depositaries (CSDs), while the European Central Bank is moving forward with its plans for a central eurozone settlement engine. This paper analyses three components of the new post-trade infrastructure measures: 1) the regulatory framework for and supervision of central counterparties under the new EMIR legislation, 2) the authorisation requirements of trade repositories and 3) the draft CSD Regulation and the progress with the ECB’s Target 2 Securities project. It then discusses the impact of the new rules, and argues that, analogous to the unexpected impact of MiFID on trading infrastructures, a similar EMIR revolution may be on its way.

Household Debt in Europe’s Periphery: The dangers of a prolonged recession. ECRI Commentary No. 12, 22 November 2012

The second-dip recession in Europe’s periphery has created a poisonous mix, which risks threatening further the financial system and the economy. Against this background, this ECRI Commentary argues that time matters in the household deleveraging cycle and that a swift recovery is one of its most vital parts. The paper also assesses the extent to which self-feeding phenomena related to household debt have already materialised and evaluates the risks for countries that have so far been spared their full effects. It also offers a theoretical policy response towards a more sustainable household credit sector and overall economic recovery.

Reviewing Member States’ Commitment to the European External Action Service. EPIN Working Paper No. 34, 20 November 2012

Based on interviews with diplomats from a representative cross-section of nine member states and members of the EEAS itself, the research findings of this EPIN Working Paper confirm long-standing traditions and member state perceptions of cooperation with European institutions. The paper also reveals new aspects of the intergovernmental method of foreign policy shaping and making in the European Union; in particular how different national positions can positively or negatively affect the consolidation of the EEAS and the role of the EU as an international actor. As such, the Working Paper makes an original contribution to the existing literature on one of most discussed actors in the European Union’s post-Lisbon architecture in the domain of EU external action.

The Future of the Clean Development Mechanism. Note on the report “A Call to Action” of the High-Level Panel on CDM Policy Dialogue. CEPS Special Report No. 71, 20 November 2012

The clean development mechanism (CDM) has been through a long and complex growing process since it was approved as part of the Kyoto Protocol. It was designed within the framework of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol, and reflected the political and economic realities of that time. To ensure its continued effectiveness in contributing to future global climate action and to reflect on how best to position the CDM to respond to future challenges, a high-level panel (HLP) was formed at the Durban climate change conference in 2011. Following extensive consultations, the panel published its report in September 2012. Through this Special Report, the CEPS Carbon Market Forum offers its reflections on findings and recommendations of the HLP, as well as, by extension, its own views on the future of the CDM. In the context of the latter, it explores the following questions: Is there a need for an instrument such as the CDM in the future? What ‘demand’ can it fill? In the roles identified under the first question, what can be done to adapt it and also continue to increase its efficacy?

When the rising dragon sees fading stars: China's view of the European Union. CEPS Special Report No. 73, 29 November 2012

This CEPS Special Report gives an overview of China’s perceptions of the EU and the protection of Chinese investments in Europe since the outbreak of the European sovereign debt crisis, especially since the more concrete talks in late 2011 on possible financial support from China. Although the top leadership of the communist party of China (CPC) changed in its recent handover, the perceptions described in this paper are likely to remain the same, just as the main tenets of China’s foreign policy are unlikely to change in the near future. The report argues that while the EU’s image has suffered greatly from the sovereign debt crisis and the way it has been handled, there is room to improve China’s view of Europe and for the EU to maintain a relatively strong negotiation position towards China.

Seven hazards in Cameron's intended European Policy. CEPS Commentary, 15 January 2013

As the date approaches for Prime Minister Cameron’s long-awaited speech setting out his policy intentions towards the EU, a new CEPS Commentary by Michael Emerson chronicles a plethora of problems his propositions are going to encounter for their successful implementation in the both the British and European interests.

The EU's External Action towards the Middle East: Resolution required. CEPS Commentary, 7 January 2012

Among the many foreign policy challenges the EU will have to address this year, such as cultivating workable ties with Ukraine, Russia and other neighbours in the east, reviving the transatlantic partnership in trade, rebalancing alliances with Asian countries, and pooling and sharing defence capabilities, the number one challenge that will take up most of the Foreign Affairs Council’s time is the Middle East. After months of half-baked unilateral attempts at resolving the foreign policy challenges posed by this troubled region, the moment has now come for the EU to take bold and concrete action, argues CEPS Senior Fellow Steven Blockmans in this new Commentary.

Effect of prolonged intravenous glucose and essential amino acid infusion on nitrogen balance, muscle protein degradation and ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme gene expression in calves

Background: Intravenous infusions of glucose and amino acids increase both nitrogen balance and muscle accretion. We hypothesised that co-infusion of glucose ( to stimulate insulin) and essential amino acids (EAA) would act additively to improve nitrogen balance by decreasing muscle protein degradation in association with alterations in muscle expression of components of the ubiquitin-proteasome proteolytic pathway. Methods: We examined the effect of a 5 day intravenous infusions of saline, glucose, EAA and glucose + EAA, on urinary nitrogen excretion and muscle protein degradation. We carried out the study in 6 restrained calves since ruminants offer the advantage that muscle protein degradation can be assessed by excretion of 3 methyl-histidine and multiple muscle biopsies can be taken from the same animal. On the final day of infusion blood samples were taken for hormone and metabolite measurement and muscle biopsies for expression of ubiquitin, the 14-kDa E2 ubiquitin conjugating enzyme, and proteasome sub-units C2 and C8. Results: On day 5 of glucose infusion, plasma glucose, insulin and IGF-1 concentrations were increased while urea nitrogen excretion and myofibrillar protein degradation was decreased. Co-infusion of glucose + EAA prevented the loss of urinary nitrogen observed with EAA infusions alone and enhanced the increase in plasma IGF-1 concentration but there was no synergistic effect of glucose + EAA on the decrease in myofibrillar protein degradation. Muscle mRNA expression of the ubiquitin conjugating enzyme, 14-kDa E2 and proteasome sub-unit C2 were significantly decreased, after glucose but not amino acid infusions, and there was no further response to the combined infusions of glucose + EAA. Conclusion: Prolonged glucose infusion decreases myofibrillar protein degradation, prevents the excretion of infused EAA, and acts additively with EAA to increase plasma IGF-1 and improve net nitrogen balance. There was no evidence of synergistic effects between glucose + EAA infusion on muscle protein degradation or expression of components of the ubiquitin-proteasome proteolytic pathway.

Short communication: Suppressor of cytokine signaling-2 mRNA increases after parturition in the liver of dairy cows

After parturition, the somatotropic axis of the dairy cow is uncoupled, partly because of reduced concentration of liver-specific GH receptor (GHR) 1A. Estradiol-17 beta (E-2) concentrations increase at parturition and E-2 upregulates suppressors of cytokine signaling-2 (SOCS-2) mRNA expression, potentially inhibiting GH signaling. Therefore, we hypothesized that SOCS-2 mRNA is upregulated after parturition. Multiparous Holstein cows (n = 18) were dried off 45 d before expected parturition and fed diets to meet nutrient requirements at ad libitum or limited dry matter intake during the dry period. All cows were fed the same diet ad libitum from calving until 4 wk after parturition. Blood samples were collected weekly and more frequently near parturition. Liver biopsies obtained at -21, -7, 2, and 28 d relative to parturition were assessed for SOCS-2 and GHR 1A mRNA by quantitative real-time reverse-transcription PCR. The relative amount of SOCS-2 mRNA increased after parturition with both treatments and was greater on d 2 for cows limit-fed during the dry period compared with cows fed at ad libitum dry matter intake. Plasma E2 concentrations increased on d -13, -5 and 1 relative to parturition and the increases were greater in limit-fed cows. Plasma GH concentration was greater for limit-fed cows and increased after parturition in all cows. The amount of GHR 1A mRNA did not differ between diets but decreased on d 2. In addition to reduced GHR 1A, increased SOCS-2 mRNA after parturition, perhaps because of increased E-2, may further uncouple GH signaling in the liver of the transition dairy cow.

Developmental programming: Deficits in reproductive hormone dynamics and ovulatory outcomes in prenatal, testosterone-treated sheep

Prenatal testosterone excess leads to neuroendocrine, ovarian, and metabolic disruptions, culminating in reproductive phenotypes mimicking that of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The objective of this study was to determine the consequences of prenatal testosterone treatment on periovulatory hormonal dynamics and ovulatory outcomes. To generate prenatal testosterone-treated females, pregnant sheep were injected intramuscularly (days 30-90 of gestation, term = 147 days) with 100 mg of testosterone-propionate in cottonseed oil semi-weekly. Female offspring born to untreated control females and prenatal testosterone-treated females were then studied during their first two breeding seasons. Sheep were given two injections of prostaglandin F-2alpha 11 days apart, and blood samples were collected at 2-h intervals for 120 h, 10-min intervals for 8 h during the luteal phase (first breeding season only), and daily for an additional 15 days to characterize changes in reproductive hormonal dynamics. During the first breeding season, prenatal testosterone-treated females manifested disruptions in the timing and magnitude of primary gonadotropin surges, luteal defects, and reduced responsiveness to progesterone negative feedback. Disruptions in the periovulatory sequence of events during the second breeding season included: 1) delayed but increased preovulatory estradiol rise, 2) delayed and severely reduced primary gonadotropin surge in prenatal testosterone-treated females having an LH surge, 3) tendency for an amplified secondary FSH surge and a shift in the relative balance of FSH regulatory proteins, and 4) luteal responses that ranged from normal to anovulatory. These outcomes are likely to be of relevance to developmental origin of infertility disorders and suggest that differences in fetal exposure or fetal susceptibility to testosterone may account for the variability in reproductive phenotypes.