Preparation and Effect of (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane-Coated LiNiCoMnO₂ Cathode Material for Lithium Ion Batteries.

Surface coating using (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) has been applied to improve the electrochemical properties of LiNiCoMnO₂ (NCM523) cathode materials. The APTES coating layer on the surface of NCM523 protects the direct contact area between the cathode material and the electrolyte, and facilitates the presence of electrons through the abundance of electron-rich amine groups, thereby improving electrochemical performance. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the existence of APTES coating layers on the surface of NCM523 cathode materials, revealing three peaks-N1s, O1s, and Si1s-that were not identified in bare NCM523.

Role of Hydrophilic APTES-PP Separator in Enhancing the Electrochemical Performance of Ni-Rich Cathode for Li-Ion Battery.

Polypropylene (PP) separators essentially have poor compatibility with normal liquid electrolytes, including EC/DEC, due to the low surface energies of their hydrophobic surfaces. Therefore, they have a poor ability to retain electrolyte solutions within the separators because of low absorption capacity for the liquid electrolytes, which could directly damage the AC impedance and C-rate performance of LIBs. This study aims to improve the hydrophilicity and adhesion properties using (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) coating on hydrophobic PP separators.

In vitro development and gene expression of frozen-thawed 8-cell stage mouse embryos following slow freezing or vitrification.

Objective: This study was performed to compare the efficiency of slow freezing and vitrification based on survival, development to blastocysts, and cell numbers of blastocysts. Changes in embryonic gene expression in fresh and frozen-thawed embryos were also examined.

Methods: Eight-cell stage embryos were collected from superovulated female BDF1 mice.

Identification of mouse blastocyst genes that are downregulated by double-stranded RNA-mediated knockdown of Oct-4 expression.

Oct-4 is an essential transcription factor involved in the differentiation of the inner cell mass (ICM) in mouse blastocysts, and is thought to be the pluripotent gene of embryonic stem cells. However, downstream genes of Oct-4 and the mechanism by which it regulates the transcription machinery remain unclear. Here, we specifically knocked down Oct-4 gene expression in mouse blastocysts by double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) interference.

Identification of differentially expressed genes in murine embryos at the blastocyst stage using annealing control primer system.

The identification of embryo-specific genes would provide insights into early embryonic development. However, the current methods employed to identify the genes that are expressed at a specific developmental stage are labor intensive and suffer from high rates of false positives. Here we employed a new and accurate reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method that involves annealing control primers (ACPs) to identify the genes that are specifically or prominently expressed in mouse blastocysts compared to 4-cell stage embryos.

Oocyte-selective expression of MT transposon-like element, clone MTi7 and its role in oocyte maturation and embryo development.

Previously, we found MT transposon-like element, clone MTi7 (MTi7) is highly expressed in the mouse ovary. Here, we show that the MTi7 is expressed in the oocyte from the primordial to the preovulatory follicles. For RNA interference (RNAi), double stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) were prepared for MTi7 and c-mos, a control gene with known functions.

Identification of differentially regulated genes in bovine blastocysts using an annealing control primer system.

The identification of embryo-specific genes would provide insights into early embryonic development. However, the current methods employed to identify the genes that are expressed at a specific developmental stage are labor intensive and suffer from high rates of false positives. Here we employed a new and accurate reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technology that involves annealing control primers (ACPs) to identify the genes that are specifically or prominently expressed in bovine early blastocysts and hatched blastocysts produced in vitro.

Bovine oocyte cytoplasm supports nuclear remodeling but not reprogramming of murine fibroblast cells.

Nuclear transfer (NT) is used to elucidate fundamental biological issues such as reversibility of cell differentiation and interactions between the cytoplasm and nucleus. To obtain an insight into interactions between the somatic cell nucleus and oocyte cytoplasm, nuclear remodeling and gene expression were compared in bovine oocytes that had received nuclei from bovine and mouse fibroblast cells. While the embryos that received nuclei from bovine fibroblast cells developed into blastocysts, those that received nuclei from mouse fibroblasts did not develop beyond the 8-cell stage.

Maternal gamma (gamma)-tubulin is involved in microtubule reorganization during bovine fertilization and parthenogenesis.

In this study, gamma-tubulin distribution was determined chronologically in conjunction with microtubule dynamics during bovine fertilization and parthenogenesis. In unfertilized bovine oocytes, gamma-tubulin was identified in the cytoplasm, mainly in the cortex and concentrated in the meiotic spindle. Following sperm penetration, gamma-tubulin in the cytoplasm was recruited by a sperm component.

Nuclear and microtubule reorganization in nuclear-transferred bovine embryos.

We studied the nuclear and microtubule dynamics in nonactivated and pre-activated chromatin-removed oocytes following transfer of nuclei from bovine fibroblast cells. Immediately after fusion between membranes of oocytes and fibroblasts, a microtubule aster containing a gamma-tubulin spot was seen near the transferred nucleus in most oocytes regardless of activation conditions. Most fibroblast nuclei transferred into nonactivated oocytes underwent premature chromosome condensation (PCC) and divided into two masses of chromosomes.