Neurological Change after Gamma Knife Radiosurgery for Brain Metastases Involving the Motor Cortex.

Background: Although Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) can provide beneficial therapeutic effects for patients with brain metastases, lesions involving the eloquent areas carry a higher risk of neurologic deterioration after treatment, compared to those located in the non-eloquent areas. We aimed to investigate neurological change of the patients with brain metastases involving the motor cortex (MC) and the relevant factors related to neurological deterioration after GKRS.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed clinical, radiological and dosimetry data of 51 patients who underwent GKRS for 60 brain metastases involving the MC.

Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy for Acute Renal Failure in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) on survival and relevant factors in patients who underwent CRRT after traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the laboratory, clinical, and radiological data of 29 patients who underwent CRRT among 1,190 TBI patients treated at our institution between April 2011 and June 2015. There were 20 men and 9 women, and the mean age was 60.

Outcomes of Ultra-Early Decompressive Craniectomy after Severe Traumatic Brain Injury-Treatment Outcomes after Severe TBI.

Objective: The beneficial effect of decompressive craniectomy in the treatment of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is controversial, but there is no debate that decompression should be performed before irreversible neurological deficit occurs. The aim of our study was to assess the value of ultra-early decompressive craniectomy in patients with severe TBI.

Methods: Total of 127 patients who underwent decompressive craniectomy from January 2007 to December 2013 was included in this study.

Rapamycin rescues the poor developmental capacity of aged porcine oocytes.

Unfertilized oocytes age inevitably after ovulation, which limits their fertilizable life span and embryonic development. Rapamycin affects mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) expression and cytoskeleton reorganization during oocyte meiotic maturation. The goal of this study was to examine the effects of rapamycin treatment on aged porcine oocytes and their in vitro development.

Effect of human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal-stem-cell bioactive materials on porcine embryo development.

Human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hAT-MSCs) secrete bioactive materials that are beneficial for tissue repair and regeneration. In this study, we characterized human hAT-MSC bioactive material (hAT-MSC-BM), and examined the effect of hAT-MSC-BM on porcine embryo development. hAT-MSC-BM was enriched with several growth factors and cytokines, including fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), and interleukin 6 (IL6).

Vitrification of immature mouse oocytes by the modified-cut standard straw method.

The feasibility of using the modified-cut standard straw (M-CSS) method for the vitrification of immature mouse oocytes has been tested. The effects of different vitrification methods on oocyte survival, cytoskeletal organization, the distribution of cortical granules (CGs), and apoptosis have also been compared. Immature mouse oocytes were vitrified-thawed using electron microscope grid or M-CSS method, and cultured to meiosis II (MII) stage.

Post-death cloning of endangered Jeju black cattle (Korean native cattle): fertility and serum chemistry in a cloned bull and cow and their offspring.

To preserve Jeju black cattle (JBC; endangered native Korean cattle), a pair of cattle, namely a post-death cloned JBC bull and cow, were produced by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) in a previous study. In the present study, we examined the in vitro fertilization and reproductive potentials of these post-death cloned animals. Sperm motility, in vitro fertilization and developmental capacity were examined in a post-death cloned bull (Heuk Oll Dolee) and an extinct nuclear donor bull (BK94-13).

Production of transgenic Korean native cattle expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein using a FIV-based lentiviral vector injected into MII oocytes.

The potential benefits of generating and using transgenic cattle range from improvements in agriculture to the production of large quantities of pharmaceutically relevant proteins. Previous studies have attempted to produce transgenic cattle and other livestock by pronuclear injection and somatic cell nuclear transfer, but these approaches have been largely ineffective; however, a third approach, lentivirus-mediated transgenesis, has successfully produced transgenic livestock. In this study, we generated transgenic (TG) Korean native cattle using perivitelline space injection of viral vectors, which expressed enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) systemically.

mTOR is required for asymmetric division through small GTPases in mouse oocytes.

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is central to the control of cell proliferation, growth, and survival in mammalian cells. Prolonged treatment with rapamycin inhibits mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2) activity, and both the mTORC1-mediated S6K1 and 4E-BP1/eIF4E pathways are essential for TORC2-mediated RhoA, Cdc42, and Rac1 expression during cell motility and F-actin reorganization. The functions of mTOR in the mouse oocyte remain unclear, however.