Binary-lens-embedded photonic crystals.

A binary-lens-embedded photonic crystal (B-LEPC) was designed for operation at 1550 nm and fabricated by multiphoton lithography. The lens is binary in the sense that optical path difference is generated using unit cells having just two distinct fill factors. The unit cells have a "rod-in-wall" structure that exhibits three-dimensional self-collimation.

Multi-locus DNA methylation analysis of imprinted genes in cattle from somatic cell nuclear transfer.

Multi-locus methylation defects (MLMDs) in imprinted loci have been reported in Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome (BWS). Large offspring syndrome (LOS), a phenotypic subgroup of abnormal offspring syndrome (AOS), is considered a molecular and phenotypic model for BWS. Both LOS and BWS have presented epigenetic defects in some common imprinted loci.

Cylindrical-lens-embedded photonic crystal based on self-collimation.

Photonic crystals can be engineered so that the flow of optical power and the phase of the field are independently controlled. The concept is demonstrated by creating a self-collimating lattice with an embedded cylindrical lens. The device is fabricated in a photopolymer by multi-photon lithography with the lattice spacing chosen for operation around the telecom wavelength of 1550 nm.

A 1% TBSA Chart Reduces Math Errors While Retaining Acceptable First-Estimate Accuracy.

Life-threatening and treatment-altering errors occur in estimates of the percentage of total body surface area burned (%TBSA burned) with unacceptable frequency. In response, numerous attempts have been made to improve the charts commonly used for %TBSA-burned estimation. Recent research shows that the largest errors in %TBSA-burned estimates probably come from sources other than inaccurate values in the charts.

Process parameter optimization for removable partial denture frameworks manufactured by selective laser melting.

Statement Of Problem: Selective laser melting (SLM), an additive manufacturing technology, is expected to replace the traditional lost-wax casting process used in producing removable partial denture (RPD) frameworks. However, studies comparing the accuracy of RPD frameworks and the effects of process parameters are lacking.

Purpose: The purpose of this in vitro study was to optimize SLM process parameters and use a quantitative analysis method to improve the accuracy of 3D-printed RPD frameworks.

Wide-band self-collimation in a low-refractive-index hexagonal lattice.

Wide-angle, broadband self-collimation (SC) is demonstrated in a hexagonal photonic crystal (PhC) fabricated in a low-refractive-index photopolymer by multiphoton lithography. The PhC can be described as a hexagonal array of cylindrical air holes in a block of dielectric material having a low-refractive index. Optical characterization shows that the device strongly self-collimates light at near-infrared wavelengths that span 1360 to 1610 nm.

Fast optimal design of optical components using the cultural algorithm.

Design of the guided-mode resonance (GMR) grating filter, as one of the most important optical components, using the cultural algorithm (CA) is presented, for the first time. CA is an evolutionary algorithm (EA) which is easy-to-implement, flexible, inspired by the human cultural evolution, upon using the domain knowledge for reducing the search space as a metaheuristic optimization method. Reflection spectra of the designed GMR filter based on the CA is in good agreement with the previous simulation results.

DNA methylation of the endogenous retrovirus Fematrin-1 in fetal placenta is associated with survival rate of cloned calves.

Introduction: The expression of retroviral envelope proteins in the placenta facilitates generation of the multinuclear syncytiotrophoblast as an outer cellular layer of the placenta by fusion of the trophoblastic cells. This process is essential for placenta development in eutherians and for successful pregnancy.

Methods: We tested the hypothesis that alterations in DNA methylation and gene expression profiles of the endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) and genes related to epigenetic reprogramming in placenta of cloned calves result in abnormal offspring phenotypes.

Independent control of phase and power in spatially variant self-collimating photonic crystals.

Self-collimating photonic crystals are a promising technology to control waves in optical devices. A technique was recently developed that can bend, twist, and otherwise spatially vary a photonic crystal without deforming the unit cells, as this would weaken or destroy the optical properties. Applying this to self-collimating photonic crystals allows us to control multiple properties of light at the same time.

Bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer using mitomycin C-mediated chemical oocyte enucleation.

SummaryChemical oocyte enucleation holds the potential to ease somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), although high enucleation rates remain limited to micromanipulation-based approaches. Therefore, this study aimed to test mitomycin C (MMC) for use in bovine functional chemical oocyte enucleation. Incubation of denuded eggs in 10 µg ml-1 MMC for different periods did not affect most maturation rates (0.

Improved functional oocyte enucleation by actinomycin D for bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer.

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) allows animal cloning but remains technically challenging. This study investigated limitations to functional oocyte enucleation by actinomycin D (AD) as a means of making SCNT easier to perform. Denuding oocytes or inhibiting transcription before AD treatment revealed that the toxicity of this compound during bovine oocyte maturation is mediated by cumulus cells.

DNA methylation profile at a satellite region is associated with aberrant placentation in cloned calves.

Introduction: Cloning via somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) has been associated with a variety of pathologies, primarily in the placenta, and these alterations may be associated with aberrant epigenetic reprogramming of the donor cell genome. We tested the hypothesis that DNA methylation patterns are not appropriately established after nuclear transfer and that those altered patterns are associated with specific aberrant phenotypes.

Methods: We compared global and specific placental DNA methylation patterns between aberrant and healthy SCNT-produced calves.

Skin Microbiota in Obese Women at Risk for Surgical Site Infection After Cesarean Delivery.

The obesity pandemic in the obstetrical population plus increased frequency of Cesarean delivery (CD) has increased vulnerability to surgical site infection (SSI). Here we characterized the microbiome at the site of skin incision before and after CD. Skin and relevant surgical sites were sampled before and after surgical antisepsis from obese (n = 31) and non-obese (n = 27) pregnant women.

Comparison of the Lund and Browder table to computed tomography scan three-dimensional surface area measurement for a pediatric cohort.

Background: Treating burns effectively requires accurately assessing the percentage of the total body surface area (%TBSA) affected by burns. Current methods for estimating %TBSA, such as Lund and Browder (L&B) tables, rely on historic body statistics. An increasingly obese population has been blamed for increasing errors in %TBSA estimates.

Investigating skin-to-skin care patterns with extremely preterm infants in the NICU and their effect on early cognitive and communication performance: a retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: The primary objective of the study was to investigate how patterns of skin-to-skin care might impact infant early cognitive and communication performance.

Design: This was a retrospective cohort study.

Setting: This study took place in a level-IV all-referral neonatal intensive care unit in the Midwest USA specialising in the care of extremely preterm infants.

Embryo production in heifers with low or high dry matter intake submitted to superovulation.

This study investigated the influence of feed intake on superovulatory response and embryo production of Nelore heifers. Pubertal heifers were kept in a feedlot and were submitted to the same diets, but with different levels of feed consumption: High (1.7 M; n = 20) or Low (0.

Biopsy of bovine embryos produced in vivo and in vitro does not affect pregnancy rates.

Assisted reproductive techniques have significantly contributed to animal breeding programs. Similarly, genomics has provided important information and tools to improve the accuracy of selection. However, the greatest benefits of those tools can only be expected when they are combined, allowing animals to be selected accurately early in life.

MoFlow: visualizing conformational changes in molecules as molecular flow improves understanding.

Background: Current visualizations of molecular motion use a Timeline-analogous representation that conveys "first the molecule was shaped like this, then like this...

Optimization of Synthetic Proteins: Identification of Interpositional Dependencies Indicating Structurally and/or Functionally Linked Residues.

Protein alignments are commonly used to evaluate the similarity of protein residues, and the derived consensus sequence used for identifying functional units (e.g., domains).

Spatially variant periodic structures in electromagnetics.

Spatial transforms are a popular technique for designing periodic structures that are macroscopically inhomogeneous. The structures are often required to be anisotropic, provide a magnetic response, and to have extreme values for the constitutive parameters in Maxwell's equations. Metamaterials and photonic crystals are capable of providing these, although sometimes only approximately.

Morphological characterization and conservation of bovine spermatogenic cells by refrigeration at 4°C and freezing using different cryoprotective molecules.

The objectives of this study were study a practical method to characterize bovine spermatogenic cells and test the efficiency cells conservation by refrigeration at 4°C and cryopreservation in different solutions using two cooling curves. Cellular identification was performing by analysis of shape, size and morphology, associated with nucleus positioning and nuclear-cytoplasm ratio (NCR). Cellular samples were kept at 4°C for a period of 96 h in refrigeration solution and every 24h plasma membrane and DNA integrity were evaluated.

StickWRLD as an Interactive Visual Pre-Filter for Canceromics-Centric Expression Quantitative Trait Locus Data.

As datasets increase in complexity, the time required for analysis (both computational and human domain-expert) increases. One of the significant impediments introduced by such burgeoning data is the difficulty in knowing what features to include or exclude from statistical models. Simple tables of summary statistics rarely provide an adequate picture of the patterns and details of the dataset to enable researchers to make well-informed decisions about the adequacy of the models they are constructing.

Understanding the sequence requirements of protein families: insights from the BioVis 2013 contests.

Introduction: In 2011, the BioVis symposium of the IEEE VisWeek conferences inaugurated a new variety of data analysis contest. Aimed at fostering collaborations between computational scientists and biologists, the BioVis contest provided real data from biological domains with emerging visualization needs, in the hope that novel approaches would result in powerful new tools for the community. In 2011 and 2012 the theme of these contests was expression Quantitative Trait Locus analysis, within and across tissues respectively.

Vitrification of bovine oocytes at different meiotic stages using the Cryotop method: assessment of morphological, molecular and functional patterns.

This study aimed to investigate the functional, morphological and molecular patterns of bovine oocytes vitrified at different times during in vitro maturation (IVM). Four groups of oocytes were used: non-vitrified control oocytes (CG), oocytes vitrified at 0 h (V0), oocytes vitrified after 8 h of IVM (V8) and oocytes vitrified after 22 h of IVM (V22). After vitrification, the oocytes were warmed and then returned to the incubator to complete a total of 24h of IVM.