We analyzed diurnal variations in precipitation, surface pressure, and atmospheric static energy over the United States from observations and NCAR regional climate model (RegCM) simulations. Consistent with previous studies, the mean (1963-1993) pattern of the diurnal cycle of summer U.S. precipitation is characterized by late afternoon maxima over the Southeast and the Rocky Mountains and midn...

Mammalian oocytes are surrounded by numerous layers of cumulus cells, and the loss of gap junctional communication in the outer layers of cumulus cells induces meiotic resumption in oocytes. In this study, we investigated the dynamic changes in the gap junctional protein connexin-43 in cumulus cells during the meiotic resumption of porcine oocytes. The amount of connexin-43 in all layers of cum...

The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is the dominant component of tropical intraseasonal variability, and a theory explaining its structure and successful numerical simulation remains a major challenge. A successful model for the MJO should have a propagation speed of 4-7 m/s predicted by theory; a wavenumber-2 or -3 structure for the planetary-scale, low-frequency envelope with distinct active ...

A method is described for parameterizing thermodynamic forcing by the mesoscale updrafts and downdrafts of mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) in models with resolution too coarse to resolve these drafts. The parameterization contains improvements over previous schemes, including a more sophisticated convective driver and inclusion of the vertical distribution of various physical processes obta...

Observations of precipitating trade wind cumuli show convective invigoration on the downwind side of their cold pools. The authors study convection and cold pools using a nested–Weather Research and Forecasting Model simulation of 19 January 2005—a day from the Rain in Cumulus over the Ocean experiment. The temperature and water vapor mixing ratio drops in simulated cold pools fall within the e...

Vitrifying oocytes is a potentially valuable means of preserving the female germ line, but significantly compromises oocyte developmental competence. This study examined the hypothesis that the cumulus complex protects the oocyte during vitrification. Vitrified-warmed immature cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) were labelled with a plasma membrane impermeant DNA marker (ethidium homodimer-1) to ex...

We sought to investigate whether miR-378 plays a role in cumulus cells and whether the manipulation of miRNA levels in cumulus cells influences oocyte maturation in vitro. Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) from ovarian follicles had significantly lower levels of precursor and mature miR-378 in cumulus cells surrounding metaphase II (MII) oocytes than cumulus cells surrounding germinal vesicle (GV...

A typical mammalian egg is surrounded by an outer layer of about 3,000 cumulus cells embedded in an extracellular matrix rich in hyaluronic acid. A current, widely proposed model is that the fertilizing sperm, while it is acrosome intact, passes through the cumulus cell layer and binds to the egg zona pellucida. This current model lacks a well-supported explanation for how sperm penetrate the c...

Cumulus cells play an essential role during oocyte maturation and the acquisition of fertilizability and developmental competence. Micro(mi)RNAs can post-transcriptionally regulate mRNA expression, and we hypothesized that miRNA profiles in cumulus cells could serve as an indicator of oocyte quality. Cumulus cell biopsies from cumulus−oocyte−complexes that either yielded a blastocyst or failed ...

Fertilization of the mammalian oocyte requires interactions between spermatozoa and expanded cumulus extracellular matrix (ECM) that surrounds the oocyte. This review focuses on key molecules that play an important role in the formation of the cumulus ECM, generated by the oocyte-cumulus complex. In particular, the specific inhibitors (AG1478, lapatinib, indomethacin and MG132) and progesterone...