The effect of cadmium on the bovine in vitro oocyte maturation and early embryo development

Common pollutants such as heavy metals and cadmium is among those with high environmental concerns. In vivo studies had shown that cadmium (Cd) causes oocyte degeneration and embryo mortality, and lowers pregnancy rates in mammals. However, there is limited information available about direct effects of Cd on oocyte maturation and/or embryo development. This study was aimed to investigate if Cd has any effect on the oocyte maturation and/or embryo development in vitro. Bovine COCs were collected from the slaughter house and cultured for 24 h in serum-free media only (Controls) or supplemented with 0.2, 2.0 and 20.0 μM CdCl2. At 24 h cumulus cell expansion was assessed in all COCs. COCs were either denuded and stained for determination of nuclear maturation or fertilized for assessment of subsequent embryo development. Cd at the lowest concentration (0.2 μM) did not affect any of the parameters studied. However, at higher concentrations (2.0 and 20.0 μM) it significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the percentage of fully-expanded COCs and significantly (P < 0.05) increased the percentage of partially and/or non-expanded COCs compared to controls and 0.2 μM. Cadmium at higher concentrations (2.0 and 20.0 μM) also significantly (P < 0.01) reduced the percentage of oocytes reaching metaphase II stage compared to controls and 0.2 μM. Post-fertilization cleavage rate in presumptive zygotes and blastocyst development significantly (P < 0.05) reduced 0.2, 2.0 and 20.0 μM CdCl2 compared to the controls (0.0 μM). In conclusion, these results suggest that Cd had direct detrimental effects on the bovine oocyte maturation and its developmental competence

Improving Practice Accessibility Through MyChart Utilization

Aims for Improvement Increase patient portal MyChart activation for a cohort of approximately 2,000 patients at JFMA by 1% from February to April 2021. Demonstrate evidence of utilization including appointment scheduling, results review, and communication with providers through MyChart after activation

Effects of dietary supplementation of nickel and nickel-zinc on femoral bone structure in rabbits

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn) are trace elements present at low concentrations in agroecosystems. Nickel, however, may have toxic effects on living organisms and is often considered as a contaminant. This study reports the effect of peroral administrated Ni or a combination of Ni and Zn on femoral bone structure in rabbits.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>One month-old female rabbits were divided into three groups of five animals each. Group 1 rabbits were fed a granular feed mixture with addition of 35 g NiCl₂per 100 kg of mixture for 90 days. In group 2, animals were fed a mixture containing 35 g NiCl₂and 30 g ZnCl₂per 100 kg of mixture. Group 3 without administration of additional Ni or Zn served as control. After the 90-day experimental period, femoral length, femoral weight and histological structure of the femur were analyzed and compared.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results did not indicate a statistically significant difference in either femoral length or weight between the two experimental groups and the control group. Also, differences in qualitative histological characteristics of the femora among rabbits from the three groups were absent, except for a fewer number of secondary osteons found in the animals of groups 1 and 2. However, values for vascular canal parameters of primary osteons were significantly lower in group 1 than in the control one. Peroral administration of a combination of Ni and Zn (group 2) led to a significant decreased size of the secondary osteons.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The study indicates that dietary supplementation of Ni (35 g NiCl₂per 100 kg of feed mixture) and Ni-Zn combination (35 g NiCl₂and 30 g ZnCl₂per 100 kg of the mixture) affects the microstructure of compact bone tissue in young rabbits.</p

Relating to the experience of contingency in patients with advanced cancer; an interview study in American patients.

Contains fulltext : 178939pub.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Introduction: Being diagnosed with incurable cancer can be a life changing experience, evoking different spiritual questions and needs. Confronting a serious life-threatening event that occurs not only often unexpected but can also disrupt a person’s self-image and ideals of their personhood. This confrontation makes it difficult for people to integrate it into their personal life story – otherwise referred to as an experience of contingency. Different modes of relating to the contingent life event of having cancer have been studied in a Dutch patient population. Here we present an interview study in an American population with advanced cancer patients. Methods: We included eight American patients with advanced cancer from the George Washington University Cancer Center. All patients were interviewed twice discussing their life events and life goals using a semi-structured interview model. All interviews were transcribed and analyzed focusing on how patients described the way they related to the experience of having advanced cancer. The constant comparative method with a directed content analysis approach was used to code the themes in the interviews. Results: The analyses show that the four modes of relating to contingency that we found in the Dutch study population can also be found in an American advanced cancer patient population. Differences were found in the extended way American patients described the fourth mode of ‘receiving’. Discussion: This study ensures a broader and deeper understanding of relating to the experience of contingency in having incurable cancer which is crucial in developing accurate spiritual care in the palliative phase of patients. Keywords: experiences of contingency, advanced cancer, spirituality, interview study, American cancer patients24 november 201

Evolution of Pediments Adjacent to the White River Group in Nebraska and South Dakota, Including Potential Influence of the Medieval Climate Anomaly

Late Holocene pediment development in outcrop areas of the White River Group on the northern Great Plains demonstrates several stages of development that relate a story with linkages between geomorophology and paleoclimate. First, we note that pediments develop best where the relatively resistant Brule Formation outcrops at the base of badland ‘castles’. Where the underlying Chadron Formation outcrops along the ‘castle’ base, such as at the Limestone Buttes near Oelrichs SD, pediments are not present. Then, aggradation of the alluvial-colluvial fans capping the pediments has been punctuated by intervals of landscape stability, favoring pedogenesis. Subsequent deposition upon pediments has left a record of paleosol ages in Holocene alluvium, several of which are synchronous with paleosol ages reported for regional eolian deposits. We take the age of the uppermost paleosol as the constraint for the maximum age for the onset of the incision that subsequently dissected the pediments into the sod tables, which remain observable throughout the region today. This incision occurred sometime early in the last millennium, suggesting that the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) may have provided the forcing that substantially altered pediment geomorphology. Dune field migration reported for the period of 1,000-1,300 AD on the Great Plains suggests a dominant wind blowing from the Great Basin to the northeast, across the Rocky Mountain front and adjacent plains. Perhaps, the resulting dessication of the plains led to a loss of vegetation or an increased flashiness of rainfall. Either, or both, of these linkages appear to have enabled mega droughts associated with the MCA to dissect pediments into sod tables through fluvial incision. Our recent geomorphic transect across Nebraska and South Dakota yielded additional observations to support these postulated linkages and pending radiocarbon dates on paleosols should help further constrain the timing of the terminal incision that formed sod tables