Asymmetric growth-limiting development of the female conceptus.

Introduction: Sex differences in prenatal growth may contribute to sex-dependent programming effects on postnatal phenotype.

Methods: We integrated for the first time phenotypic, histomorphological, clinico-chemical, endocrine and gene expression analyses in a single species, the bovine conceptus at mid-gestation.

Results: We demonstrate that by mid-gestation, before the onset of accelerated growth, the female conceptus displays asymmetric lower growth compared to males.

Fiber Selection for Reinforced Additive Manufacturing.

The purpose of this review is to survey, categorize, and compare the mechanical and thermal characteristics of fibers in order to assist designers with the selection of fibers for inclusion as reinforcing materials in the additive manufacturing process. The vast "family of fibers" is described with a Venn diagram to highlight natural, synthetic, organic, ceramic, and mineral categories. This review explores the history and practical uses of particular fiber types and explains fiber production methods in general terms.

Selective gas transfer through binary polymeric systems based on block-copolymers.

Evaluation of several versions of phenomenological theory of gas permeability in selective polymeric membranes is presented, along with the appropriate experimental methods for verification of these versions. The main focus is on a description of stationary mass transfer across membranes (films) containing dispersion inclusions of various shapes of one polymer in a matrix of another. Considering heterogeneous media as a membrane material, it was assumed that diffusion and sorption properties of inclusions are different from those of the dispersing medium.

Widespread differential maternal and paternal genome effects on fetal bone phenotype at mid-gestation.

Parent-of-origin-dependent (epi)genetic factors are important determinants of prenatal development that program adult phenotype. However, data on magnitude and specificity of maternal and paternal genome effects on fetal bone are lacking. We used an outbred bovine model to dissect and quantify effects of parental genomes, fetal sex, and nongenetic maternal effects on the fetal skeleton and analyzed phenotypic and molecular relationships between fetal muscle and bone.

Pelvic alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma in a young adult.

Rhabdomyosarcomas are soft-tissue tumors, rare in adults. Accounting for nearly 5% of childhood cancers, they represent less than 0.03% of adult malignancies (1, 2).