Improved pregnancy rate and sex ratio in fresh/frozen in vivo derived embryo transfer of Hanwoo (Bos taurus coreanae) cows

This study aimed to assess the effects of embryonic developmental stage, quality grade, and fresh or frozen/thawed conditions on the pregnancy rate and sex ratio of live offspring in Hanwoo (Bos taurus coreanae) cows. The quality and developmental stage of in vivo-derived (IVD) transferred embryos were evaluated using the standard criteria of the International Embryo Technology Society. The recipient cows were synchronized using conventional (estradiol benzoate and progesterone) protocols before embryo transfer. Embryos were transferred to 297 cows, and pregnancy was monitored for 60–70 days after embryo transfer. The pregnancy rates of fresh and frozen/thawed embryos were 56.90% and 52.49%, respectively. Pregnancy rates varied according to embryo quality (56.18% for grade 1 vs. 36.67% for grade 2). Pregnancy rates also varied by developmental stage and cryopreservation (67.86% vs. 63.49% for stage 4-1, 64.00% vs. 54.72% for 5-1, and 50.00% vs. 47.83% for 6-1, in fresh embryos vs. frozen/thawed embryos, respectively). For stage 7-1, the pregnancy rates were 72.73% for fresh embryos and 20.00% for frozen/thawed embryos. In 66 fresh embryos, the sex ratio of live offspring was 5:5, whereas it was 4(female):6(male) for frozen/thawed embryos among the 95 frozen/thawed embryos. The miscarriage rate was approximately 3% higher for frozen/thawed embryos than for fresh embryos (18.1% for fresh vs. 21.1% for frozen). Seasonal fertility rates were 33.3% in spring, 55.67% in summer, 52.8% in autumn, 60.0% in winter. The following male-to-female ratios were observed in different seasons: 6.7:3.3 in spring, 4.0:6.0 in summer, 5.5:4.5 in autumn, and 3.3:6.7 in winter. The current data revealed no significant differences in pregnancy rates between fresh and frozen/thawed IVD embryos. However, there was a lower pregnancy rate with advanced-stage frozen/thawed embryos (stage 7-1). The current study provides comprehensive results for the better optimization of embryo transfer in Hanwoo cattle to obtain the desired fertility rate, pregnancy rate, and sex ratio of calves. These results provide important insights into the factors that influence the viability and success of IVD embryo transfer in Hanwoo cows and may have practical applications for improving breeding programs and reducing production costs

Monoindole Alkaloids from a Marine Sponge Spongosorites sp.

Seven (1–7) monoindole derivatives were isolated from the MeOH extract of a marine sponge Spongosorites sp. by bioactivity-guided fractionation. The planar structures were established on the basis of NMR and MS spectroscopic analyses. Compounds 1–5 are unique indole pyruvic acid derivatives. Compounds 1–2 and 4–6 are isolated for the first time from a natural source although they were previously reported as synthetic intermediates. Compound 3 was defined as a new compound. Co-occurring bisindoles such as hamacanthins and topsentins might be biosynthesized by condensation of two units of these compounds. The compounds were tested for cytotoxicity against a panel of five human solid tumor cell lines, and compound 7 displayed weak activity

All-silica fiber Bessel-like beam generator and its applications in longitudinal optical trapping and transport of multiple dielectric particles

A Bessel-like beam was generated in a novel all-fiber integrated structure. A concentric ring intensity pattern was achieved by the multimode interference along the coreless silica fiber, which was then focused by the integrated micro-lens to result in a Bessel-like beam. The average beam diameter of 7.5 µm maintained over 500 µm axial length for a continuous wave Yb-doped fiber laser input oscillating at the wavelength of 1.08 µm. The generated beam was successfully applied to two-dimension optical trapping and longitudinal transport of multiple dielectric particles confirming its unique non-diffracting and self-reconstructing nature. Physical principle of operation, fabrication, and experimental results are discussed

Simultaneous Determination of Polyamines and Steroids in Human Serum from Breast Cancer Patients Using Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A simultaneous quantitative profiling method for polyamines and steroids using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry was developed and validated. We applied this method to human serum samples to simultaneously evaluate polyamine and steroid levels. Chemical derivatization was performed using isobutyl chloroformate to increase the sensitivity of polyamines. The method was validated, and the matrix effects were in the range of 78.7–126.3% and recoveries were in the range of 87.8–123.6%. Moreover, the intra-day accuracy and precision were in the ranges of 86.5–116.2% and 0.6–21.8%, respectively, whereas the inter-day accuracy and precision were in the ranges of 82.0–119.3% and 0.3–20.2%, respectively. The linearity was greater than 0.99. The validated method was used to investigate the differences in polyamine and steroid levels between treated breast cancer patients and normal controls. In our results, N-acetyl putrescine, N-acetyl spermidine, cadaverine, 1,3-diaminopropane, and epitestosterone were significantly higher in the breast cancer patient group. Through receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, all metabolites that were significantly increased in patient groups with areas under the curve >0.8 were shown. This mass spectrometry-based quantitative profiling method, used for the investigation of breast cancer, is also applicable to androgen-dependent diseases and polyamine-related diseases

Bessel beam generating hybrid polymer-fiber lens under various fabricating structures

We demonstrated the new bessel beam generator which consisted of polymer lens and hybrid optical fiber under various fabricating structures. The device was measured the properties of the spot size and the intensity as propagation distance

Efficient Matrix Cleanup of Soft-Gel-Type Dietary Supplements for Rapid Screening of 92 Illegal Adulterants Using EMR-Lipid dSPE and UHPLC-Q/TOF-MS

An efficient matrix cleanup method was developed for the rapid screening of 92 illegal adulterants (25 erectile dysfunction drugs, 15 steroids, seven anabolic steroids, 12 antihistamines, 12 nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), four diuretics, and 17 weight-loss drugs) in soft-gel-type supplements by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time of flight-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q/TOF-MS). As representative green chemistry methods, three sample preparation methods (dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME), “quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe” dispersive solid-phase extraction (QuEChERS-dSPE), and enhanced matrix removal-lipid (EMR-Lipid) dSPE) were evaluated for matrix removal efficiency, recovery rate, and matrix effect. In this study, EMR-Lipid dSPE was shown to effectively remove complicated matrix contents in soft-gels, compared to DLLME and QuEChERS-dSPE. For the rapid screening of a wide range of adulterants, extracted common ion chromatogram (ECIC) and neutral loss scan (NLS) based on specific common MS/MS fragments were applied to randomly collected soft-gel-type dietary supplement samples using UHPLC-Q/TOF-MS. Both ECICs and NLSs enabled rapid and simple screening of multi-class adulterants and could be an alternative to the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) method. The developed method was validated in terms of limit of detection (LOD), precision, accuracy, recovery, and matrix effects. The range of LODs was 0.1–16 ng/g. The overall precision values were within 0.09–14.65%. The accuracy ranged from 81.6% to 116.6%. The recoveries and matrix effects of 92 illegal adulterants ranged within 16.9–119.4% and 69.8–114.8%, respectively. The established method was successfully applied to screen and identify 92 illegal adulterants in soft-gels. This method can be a promising tool for the high-throughput screening of various adulterants in dietary supplements and could be used as a more environmentally friendly routine analytical method for screening dietary supplements illegally adulterated with multi-class drug substances

Profiling of Steroid Metabolic Pathways in Human Plasma by GC-MS/MS Combined with Microwave-Assisted Derivatization for Diagnosis of Gastric Disorders

Steroid hormones are associated in depth to cellular signaling, inflammatory immune responses, and reproductive functions, and their metabolism alterations incur various diseases. In particular, quantitative profiling of steroids in plasma of patients with gastric cancer can provide a vast information to understand development of gastric cancer, since both sex hormones and glucocorticoids might be correlated with the pathological mechanisms of gastric cancer. Here, we developed a gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry-dynamic multiple reaction monitoring (GC-MS/MS-dMRM) method combined with solid-phase extraction (SPE) and microwave-assisted derivatization (MAD) to determine 20 endogenous steroids in human plasma. In this study, MAD conditions were optimized with respect to irradiation power and time. The SPE enabled effective cleanup and extraction for profiling of steroid hormones in human plasma samples. The MAD could improve laborious and time-consuming derivatization procedure, since dielectric heating using microwave directly increase molecular energy of reactants by penetrating through medium. Furthermore, dMRM method provided more sensitive determination of 20 steroids, compared to traditional MRM detection. The limits of quantification of steroids were below 1.125 ng/mL and determination coefficients of calibration curves were higher than 0.9925. Overall precision and accuracy results were below 19.93% and within ±17.04%, respectively. The developed method provided sufficient detection sensitivities and reliable quantification results. The established method was successfully applied to profile steroid metabolism pathways in plasma of patients with chronic superficial gastritis (CSG), intestinal metaplasia (IM), and gastric cancer. Statistical significances of steroid plasma levels between gastric disorder groups were investigated. In conclusion, this method provided comprehensive profiling of 20 steroids in human plasma samples and will be helpful to discover potential biomarkers for the development of gastric cancer and to further understand metabolic syndrome

Simultaneous Determination of Structurally Diverse Compounds in Different Fangchi Species by UHPLC-DAD and UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS

molecule

Beam shaping technology based on optical fiber for applications in laser, optical tweezer, and free space interconnects

Various techniques to modify the phase front of the light wave out of an optical fiber facet are reported for beam shaping devices. The principles of beam shaping in the devices and their applications in lasers, optical tweezer, and photonic devices are discussed