High revivability of vitrified-warmed bovine mature oocytes after recovery culture with alpha-tocopherol

online publication: 27 January 2015The objective of this study was to investigate whether developmental competence of vitrified–warmed bovine oocytes can be improved by antioxidant treatment during recovery culture. In experiment 1, one of the two antioxidants (either l-ascorbic acid or α-tocopherol) was added as a supplement to the recovery culture medium to which postwarming oocytes were exposed for 2 h before IVF. The exposure to α-tocopherol had a positive effect on rescuing the oocytes as assessed by the blastocyst yield 8 days after the IVF (35.1–36.3% vs 19.2–25.8% in untreated postwarming oocytes). Quality of expanding blastocysts harvested on Day 8 was comparable between α-tocopherol-treated vitrification group and fresh control group in terms of total cell number and chromosomal ploidy. In experiment 2, level of reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial activity, and distribution of cortical granules in α-tocopherol-treated postwarming oocytes were assessed. No obvious differences from the control data were found in these parameters. However, the treatment with α-tocopherol increased the percentage of zygotes exhibiting normal single aster formation (90.3% vs 48.0% in untreated postwarming oocytes; 10 h post-IVF). It was concluded that α-tocopherol treatment of vitrified–warmed bovine mature oocytes during recovery culture can improve their revivability, as shown by the high blastocyst yield and the higher mean total cell number in the blastocysts.ArticleREPRODUCTION. 149(4):347-355 (2015)journal articl

Wood Property Variation in Acacia Auriculiformis Growing in Bangladesh

This study examined the radial variations of wood properties in 11-yr-old Acacia auriculiformis grown in Bangladesh having diameters of 222 ± 38 mm. The basic density, fiber length, and fiber length increment increased up to about 80 mm radial distance from the pith and then were almost constant toward the bark. The compressive strength (CS) increased from the pith to 50 mm and then became nearly constant to the bark. Conversely, the specific compressive strength, the ratio of CS to air-dried density, was almost constant from pith to bark, indicating positive relationships. However, the air-dried density explained only 50% variation of the CS. On the basis of radial variation of basic density, the core wood and outer wood boundary can be delineated at 70 - 90 mm from the pith. Similarly, the fiber length and fiber length increment curves showed that this boundary could be marked at 60 - 90 mm from the pith. The selected wood properties except CS varied significantly among the trees, which indicated the potential of tree selection for wood quality improvement through tree breeding

Hypervascularized bronchial arteries affect lung cancer surgery

Background: The present study investigated whether highly vascularized bronchial arteries affect the intraoperative blood loss and the operative time of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy for patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Methods: We retrospectively collected data on consecutive pathological stage I to IIIA non-small cell lung cancer patients who underwent VATS lobectomy with systematic lymph node dissection between January 2017 and December 2019. Patients were divided into the following two groups according to bronchial artery diameters on preoperative enhanced contrast computed tomography (CT) findings: ≤2 and >2 mm groups. Results: Among the 175 patients enrolled, risk factors for intraoperative blood loss >50 mL were being male (P=0.005), a history of smoking (P=0.01), percent forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1.0%) 2.0 mm (P2.0 mm (P200 min were being male (P2.0 mm (P2.0 mm (P=0.024), and experience of surgeon <10 years (P=0.047) in the multivariable analysis. Conclusions: Bronchial artery diameter was the most important risk factor of intraoperative bleeding and prolonged operative time during VATS lobectomy

Carrier doping effect of humidity for single-crystal graphene on SiC

Carrier doping effects of water vapor and an adsorbed water layer on single-crystal graphene were evaluated. After annealing at 300 °C in nitrogen ambient, the sheet resistance of epitaxial graphene on a SiC substrate had a minimum value of 800 Ω/sq and the carrier density was estimated to be 1.2 × 1013 cm-2 for an n-type dopant. The adsorbed water layer, which acted as a p-type dopant with a carrier density of -7.4 × 1012 cm-2, was formed by deionized (DI) water treatment. The sheet resistances of graphene samples increased with humidity, owing to the counter doping effect. The estimated p-type doping amounts of saturated water vapor were -2.5 × 1012 cm-2 for DI-water-treated graphene and -3.5 × 1012 cm-2 for annealed graphene

CLE for visceral pleural invasion

Background: Visceral pleural invasion (VPI) in lung cancer is a significant prognostic factor; however, it is difficult to diagnose preoperatively or intraoperatively. In this study, we examined the possibility of intraoperative diagnosis of VPI using confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE). Methods: Among patients with primary lung cancer who underwent surgery between April 2018 and August 2019, those in whom the tumor was in contact with the pleura on chest computed tomography and whose pleural changes were intraoperatively confirmed were enrolled in this study. In the 35 patients who underwent lung resection (6 cases with visceral pleural infiltration), the area where pleural change was noted was observed and a short video was recorded using CLE. Based on the video images, three evaluators determined the defect ratio (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) of the autofluorescence-positive structure. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic performance for VPI. In 15 cases (3 cases with VPI), a validation study was performed for intraoperative VPI according to the cutoff value of the defect ratio of the autofluorescence-positive structure. Results: The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the defect ratio of the autofluorescence-positive structure were 0.86–0.91 for the three readers. Using defect ratio of autofluorescence-positive structure cutoff of ≥50% as predictor of VPI, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy were 83.3–100.0%, 57.7–73.1%, 35.3–41.7%, 95.0–100.0%, and 75.0–78.1%, respectively, for the three readers. In the validation study, the sensitivity was 100%, the specificity was 83.3%, and the diagnostic accuracy rate was 86.7%. Conclusions: The diagnosis of VPI through CLE is simple, non-invasive, and has high diagnostic accuracy rates. This method may be applicable for determining surgical procedures

A Novel RNA-Recognition-Motif Protein Is Required for Premeiotic G1/S-Phase Transition in Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

The molecular mechanism for meiotic entry remains largely elusive in flowering plants. Only Arabidopsis SWI1/DYAD and maize AM1, both of which are the coiled-coil protein, are known to be required for the initiation of plant meiosis. The mechanism underlying the synchrony of male meiosis, characteristic to flowering plants, has also been unclear in the plant kingdom. In other eukaryotes, RNA-recognition-motif (RRM) proteins are known to play essential roles in germ-cell development and meiosis progression. Rice MEL2 protein discovered in this study shows partial similarity with human proline-rich RRM protein, deleted in Azoospermia-Associated Protein1 (DAZAP1), though MEL2 also possesses ankyrin repeats and a RING finger motif. Expression analyses of several cell-cycle markers revealed that, in mel2 mutant anthers, most germ cells failed to enter premeiotic S-phase and meiosis, and a part escaped from the defect and underwent meiosis with a significant delay or continued mitotic cycles. Immunofluorescent detection revealed that T7 peptide-tagged MEL2 localized at cytoplasmic perinuclear region of germ cells during premeiotic interphase in transgenic rice plants. This study is the first report of the plant RRM protein, which is required for regulating the premeiotic G1/S-phase transition of male and female germ cells and also establishing synchrony of male meiosis. This study will contribute to elucidation of similarities and diversities in reproduction system between plants and other species