The Effect of Co-Culture Systems From Non-Reproductive Origins on the Development of Superovulated and in Vitro Fertilized Bovine Embryos.

The objective of this experiment was to compare in vitro development of bovine embryos obtained from superovulation and in vitro fertilization (IVF) in two unique monolayer co-culture systems, bovine fetal spleen cell monolayers (BFS) and chick embryo fibroblast monolayers (CEF). To test the possible harmful effects of these co-culture systems, 225 murine morula-stage embryos were cultured for 72 hours with these monolayers. The percentage of hatched embryos was 62.7% in culture medium alone, 76% in BFS and 57.3% in CEF. BFS and CEF did not induce any detectable harmful effect on these developing murine embryos. When 60 transferable morula-stage bovine embryos, which were obtained from superovulation, were cultured for 72 hours, the percentage of embryos that hatched in vitro was 45% in culture medium alone, 75% in BFS and 83.4% in CEF. Finally, the developmental capabilities of cleaved IVF bovine embryos were compared among four treatments: cumulus cells monolayers (Treatment A), BFS (Treatment B), CEF (Treatment C) and a control in tissue culture medium (TCM-199) alone (Treatment D). When 200 cleaved embryos obtained from heifers were cultured for more than 10 days, the percentage of development to the blastocyst stage was 32%, 18%, 18% and 26% for Treatments A, B, C and D, respectively. The percentage of hatched blastocysts was 18%, 8%, 6% and 0% for Treatments A, B, C and D, respectively. More IVF embryos developed to hatched blastocysts from the cumulus cell monolayer treatment and the BFS treatment than from the control in TCM-199 alone. When 100 cleaved embryos obtained from cows were cultured, the percentage of development to the blastocyst stage was 32%, 20%, 36% and 16% for Treatments A, B, C and D, respectively. The percentage of hatched blastocysts was 20%, 8%, 28% and 0% for Treatments A, B, C and D, respectively. These results showed that CEF treatment was as effective as cumulus cell monolayer treatment in the development rate of IVF embryos of cows to the hatched blastocyst stage. No IVF embryos from either heifers or cows in the control treatment of TCM-199 alone developed to hatched blastocysts. The overall results showed that co-culturing in BFS and CEF can be useful for superovulated or IVF bovine embryos

Ku-band High Efficiency Antenna with Corporate-Series-Fed Microstrip Array

Excellent efficiency of a linearly polarized microstrip array in Ku-band is achieved by having proper impedance matching throughout the array and by properly using the corporate and series fed by microstrip transmission lines. The cavity-backed microstrip patch is used to obtain relatively wide bandwidth. The auto-tracking Ku-band antenna in the azimuth direction has developed with a very low profile for vehicle\u27s rooftop mounting, as well as, a low manufacturing cost. The main beam of array is tilted 15° away from the broadside direction to provide optimum coverage for Korea satellite III

Realization of giant magnetoelectricity in helimagnets

We show that low field magnetoelectric (ME) properties of helimagnets Ba0.5Sr1.5Zn2(Fe1-xAlx)12O22 can be efficiently tailored by Al-substitution level. As x increases, the critical magnetic field for switching electric polarization is systematically reduced from ~1 T down to ~1 mT, and the ME susceptibility is greatly enhanced to reach a giant value of 2.0 x 10^4 ps/m at an optimum x = 0.08. We find that control of nontrivial orbital moment in the octahedral Fe sites through the Al-substitution is crucial for fine tuning of magnetic anisotropy and obtaining the conspicuously improved ME characteristics

Thymic Metastasis in Breast Cancer: A Case Report

A malignant tumor is generally believed to be very unlikely to metastasize to the thymus. Only three cases of thymic metastases have been reported so far in the medical literature. We report here a rare case of metastatic breast cancer to the thymus, which was detected by CT and PET scanning, and the metastasis was also confirmed by video-assisted thoracic surgery biopsy. Recognition of an unusual breast cancer metastasis, such as to the thymus, as well as the usual patterns of breast cancer metastasis will facilitate an accurate, prompt diagnosis and its appropriate treatment

Preparation, characterization, and cytotoxicity of CPT/Fe2O3-embedded PLGA ultrafine composite fibers: a synergistic approach to develop promising anticancer material

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Maintained Seroprevalence of Toxoplasmosis among the Residents of Jeju Island, Korea

Seroepidemiological status of toxoplasmosis among the residents of Jeju island was surveyed and evaluated by ELISA with crude extract of Toxoplasma gondii. The sera of 2,348 residents (male 1,157 and female 1,191) were collected and checked for the IgG antibody titers, which showed 13.2% positive rate (309 sera). The positive rates were increasing gradually according to the age from 4.3% in teenage to 20.6% in seventies. The positive rates were significantly different between the sex by 16.2% for male and 10.2% for female (P<0.05). This positive rate of toxoplasmosis in Jeju island residents is regarded relatively higher than any other regions of Korea. And the high positive rate may be maintained continuously among Jeju island residents without any clear reasons until now but due to some parts peculiar socio-cultural tradition of Jeju island. Therefore, it is necessary to study further the epidemiology of toxoplasmosis of Jeju island