Rapamycin treatment during prolonged maturation enhances the developmental competence of immature porcine oocytes.

Porcine oocytes undergo maturation (IVM) for 42-44 h. During this period, most oocytes proceed to metaphase and then to pro-metaphase if the nucleus has sufficiently matured. Forty-four hours is sufficient for oocyte nuclear maturation but not for full maturation of the oocyte cytoplasm.

Piperine improves the quality of porcine oocytes by reducing oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress caused by light and high temperature arises during in vitro maturation (IVM), resulting in low-quality embryos compared with those obtained in vivo. To overcome this problem, we investigated the influence of piperine (PIP) treatment during maturation of porcine oocytes on subsequent embryo development in vitro. Porcine oocytes were cultured in IVM medium supplemented with 0, 50, 100, 200, or 400 μM PIP.

Ellagic acid treatment during in vitro maturation of porcine oocytes improves development competence after parthenogenetic activation and somatic cell nuclear transfer.

Ellagic acid (EA) is a natural polyphenol and a free radical scavenger with antioxidant properties. This study investigated the protective effects of EA during in vitro maturation (IVM) of porcine oocytes. To determine the optimal concentration, IVM medium was supplemented with various concentrations of EA.

Composite Membrane Based on Melamine Sponge and Boehmite Manufactured by Simple and Economical Dip-Coating Method for Fluoride Ion Removal.

The wastewater generated from the semiconductor production process contains a wide range and a large number of harmful substances at high concentrations. Excessive exposure to fluoride can lead to life-threatening effects such as skin necrosis and respiratory damage. Accordingly, a guideline value of fluoride ions in drinking water was 1.

Cell starvation regulates ceramide-induced autophagy in mouse preimplantation embryo development.

Ceramide induces autophagy upon starvation via downregulation of nutrient transporters. To elucidate the mechanism by which starvation regulates autophagy in mouse embryos, the present study investigated nutrient transporter expression and the effect of C2-ceramide on in vitro embryo development, apoptosis, and autophagy. The transcript levels of the glucose transporters Glut1 and Glut3 were high at the 1- and 2-cell stages, and gradually decreased at the morula and blastocyst (BL) stages.

Electropositive Membrane Prepared via a Simple Dipping Process: Exploiting Electrostatic Attraction Using Electrospun SiO/PVDF Membranes with Electronegative SiO Shell.

This research aimed to develop a simple and cost-effective method for fabricating electropositive membranes for highly efficient water filtration. Electropositive membranes are novel functional membranes with electropositive properties and can filter electronegative viruses and bacteria using electrostatic attraction. Because electropositive membranes do not rely on physical filtration, they exhibit high flux characteristics compared with conventional membranes.

Treatments of Porcine Nuclear Recipient Oocytes and Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer-Generated Embryos with Various Reactive Oxygen Species Scavengers Lead to Improvements of Their Quality Parameters and Developmental Competences by Mitigating Oxidative Stress-Related Impacts.

This study investigated the antioxidant effects of β-cryptoxanthin (BCX), hesperetin (HES), and icariin (ICA), and their effects on maturation of porcine oocytes and subsequent embryonic development of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Treatment with 1 μM BCX (BCX-1) increased the developmental rate of porcine oocytes more than treatment with 100 μM HES (HES-100) or 5 μM ICA (ICA-5). The glutathione level and mRNA expression of antioxidant genes (, , and were more increased in the BCX-1 group than in the HES-100 and ICA-5 groups, while the reactive oxygen species level was more decreased.

Remote-Controlled Magnetic Sponge Balls and Threads for Oil/Water Separation in a Confined Space and Anaerobic Reactions.

Magnetic sponges (MSs) and magnetic threads with hydrophilic and hydrophobic characteristics that can perform remote-controlled oil/water separation in a confined space and anaerobic reactions were prepared. For large amounts of water or oil, trainlike hydrophilic or hydrophobic MSs composed of more than three sponge balls moved as a group and quickly absorbed the water or oil droplets in oil or water by magnetic manipulation from outside of the tube. For the removal of heavy oils below the water in three-liquid multiphase solutions, the hydrophobic MS balls were moved to the heavy oil below the water, absorbed some of the heavy oil, and returned to the light oil layer to deliver the heavy oil by means of an external magnetic field.

Enhancement parameters on dynamic contrast enhanced breast MRI: do they correlate with prognostic factors and subtypes of breast cancers?

Objective: To correlate the enhancement parameters of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) with prognostic factors and immunohistochemical subtypes of breast cancer.

Material And Methods: A total of 81 breast carcinomas were included in our study. We obtained the following enhancement parameters: 1) analysis of background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) and BPE coefficients (BEC) from bilateral breasts, 2) the number of vessels per breast as a representation of ipsilateral whole-breast vascularity.