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This study investigated the relationship between oxidation and antioxidation parameters before superovulation (SOV) treatment and embryo recovery in donor cows. The relative redox status of the 61 donor cows was evaluated based on the median values of diacron-reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROMs) and biological antioxidant potential (BAP) measurements (d-ROMs of 100 U.CARR; BAP of 2413 µmol L−1) before SOV treatment. Following this, the animals were divided into four groups: cows with low d-ROMs but high BAP were assigned to the “LH” group (n=11), cows with high d-ROMs and BAP were assigned to the “HH” group (n=20), cows with high d-ROMs but low BAP were assigned to the “HL” group (n=10), and cows with low d-ROMs and BAP were assigned to the “LL” group (n=20). Embryos were collected from superovulated cows 6 d after artificial insemination. The percentages of fertilised, transferable, and Code-1 embryos were significantly higher (P) in the HH group than those in the HL group. The HH group had the highest mean values for all embryo recovery results. Our results suggest that the redox status of donor cows before SOV treatment affects embryo recovery, as cows with high levels of both oxidative and antioxidative status have better embryo production.

We evaluated the effects of supplementing cattle feed with difructose anhydride III (DFA III) by measuring urinary sterigmatocystin (STC) concentrations using 20 Japanese Black cattle aged 9–10 months from one herd. DFA III was supplemented for 2 weeks for 10 animals, and non-treated animals served as controls. The natural STC concentration in the dietary feed was 0.06 mg kg−1 (mixture of roughage and concentrate) at the beginning of the study (Day 0). The urine STC concentration was measured using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry 1 d prior to DFA III administration, 9 and 14 d thereafter, and 9 d following supplementation cessation, concomitant with the measurement of serum amyloid A (SAA). The number of heifers in which STC was detected in the urine was low (10 %) in the DFA III group compared to that (60 %) in the control group on Day 9. After 9 d following supplementation cessation (Day 23), STC concentrations were significantly lower (P=0.032) in the DFA III group than in the control group, although there was no difference in the number of heifers in which urinary STC was detected or in SAA concentrations between the two groups. Our findings demonstrate the effect of DFA III on reducing the urinary concentration of STC in Japanese Black cattle.

Targets for low-adiabat direct-drive-implosion experiments on OMEGA must meet rigorous specifications and tight tolerances on the diameter, wall thickness, wall-thickness uniformity, and presence of surface features. Of these, restrictions on the size and number of defects (bumps and depressions) on the surface are the most challenging. The properties of targets that are made using vapor-deposition and solution-based microencapsulation techniques are reviewed. Targets were characterized using confocal microscopy, bright- and dark-field microscopy, atomic force microscopy, electron microscopy, and interferometry. Each technique has merits and limitations, and a combination of these techniques is necessary to adequately characterize a target. The main limitation with the glow-discharge polymerization (GDP) method for making targets is that it produces hundreds of domes with a lateral dimension of 0.7–2 μm. Polishing these targets reduces the size of some but not all domes, but it adds scratches and grooves to the surface. Solution-made polystyrene shells lack the dome features of GDP targets but have hundreds of submicrometer-size voids throughout the wall of the target; a few of these voids can be as large as ∼12 μm at the surface.

The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of neutron (n) irradiation on hydrogen isotope transport in tungsten (W). W samples were irradiated with neutrons in a fission reactor and then exposed to high flux deuterium (D) plasma at 563 K in a linear plasma device. The fraction of D release increased with increasing exposure time. In addition, the D retention in n-irradiated W increased in proportion to the square root of the plasma exposure time. These observations were explained by increase in the penetration depth of D with filling up displacement damages acting as strong trapping sites.

Himawari-8/AHI is a new geostationary sensor that can observe the land surface with high temporal frequency. Bidirectional reflectance derived by the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) includes information regarding land surface properties such as albedo, vegetation condition, and forest structure. This information can be extracted by modeling bidirectional reflectance using a bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF). In this study, a kernel-driven BRDF model was applied to the red and near infrared reflectance observed over 8 hours during daytime to express intraday changes in reflectance. We compared the goodness of fit for six combinations of model kernels. The Ross-Thin and Ross-Thick kernels were selected as the best volume kernels for the red and near infrared bands, respectively. For the geometric kernel, the Li-sparse-Reciprocal and Li-Dense kernels displayed similar goodness of fit. The coefficient of determination and regression residuals showed a strong dependency on the azimuth angle of land surface slopes and the time of day that observations were made. Atmospheric correction and model adjustment of the terrain were the main issues encountered. These results will help to improve the BRDF model and to extract surface properties from bidirectional reflectance.

Repeat-breeder (RB) cows are a major source of economic waste due to their decreased fertility. Embryo transfer (ET) is an alternative tool to improve the fertility of RB cows. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the effects of recipient parity and the season on pregnancy rates following ET in RB Japanese Black beef cattle. Embryos were transferred nonsurgically to recipients, consisting of 155 heifers (P < 0.05) in summer (June to August) than in spring (March to May) and winter (December to February). In heifers, however, there were no differences in the pregnancy rates among the seasons. Our findings indicate that in RB Japanese Black beef cattle, the parity of the recipients does not have an effect on the pregnancy rates following the transfer of fresh and frozen embryos. However, heat stress may affect reproductive performance in RB Japanese Black cows.