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We prepared two-dimensional close-packed hemispherical CoFe2O4(CFO)/Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48O3)(PZT)/LaNiO3(LNO)/NiO thin film on Si(100) substrate using a template made of monodispersed polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) particles. LNO and NiO layers are introduced for the bottom electrode and seed to crystallize, respectively. Since this hemispherical thin film is connected with the substrate only at the “foot” of the hemisphere, this thin film has a hollow structure. Therefore we call this structure as “free-standing” thin film. In this work, we also prepared planar CFO/PZT/LNO/NiO thin film on Si(100) substrate without using the PMMA template for comparison. In this work, we examined the effect of applying a vertical external magnetic field on the ferroelectric property. It was found that applying an external magnetic field decreases remanent polarization (Pr) for both planar and free-standing thin film. The degree of decrease of Pr in the free-standing thin film is about four times larger than that in the planar thin film. This indicates that large multiferroic property (interaction between ferromagnetic and ferroelectric) is realized in the free-standing thin film.

Dental pulp is known to play crucial roles in homeostasis of teeth and periodontal tissue. Although resorption of bone around the roots of nonvital teeth is occasionally observed in clinical practice, little is known about the role of dental pulp in osteoclastogenesis. Here we evaluated the effects of conditioned medium (CM) from rat dental pulp on osteoclastogenesis. It was found that the CM reduced the number of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)-positive multinucleated osteoclasts, but did not alter the mRNA levels of nuclear factor of activated T-cells, cytoplasmic 1 and TRAP. To further understand the mechanism behind these results, we evaluated the effects of CM on osteoclast precursors and found that the CM removed cell processes, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of attached cells and an increase in the number of freely floating cells. Furthermore, the CM suppressed the mRNA levels of focal adhesion kinase and paxillin, which are involved in cell adhesiveness and spreading. Collectively, the present results show that CM from dental pulp serves as an inhibitor of osteoclastogenesis by reducing the number and adhesiveness of osteoclast precursors, suggesting novel therapeutic applicability for osteoporosis.

The superconformal index on ℝℙ2 × S1 can be derived exactly by the localization technique and applied to the direct proof of Abelianmirror symmetry. We find two sets of parity conditions compatible with the unorientable property of ℝℙ2 and then rigorously show two kinds of Abelian mirror symmetry via the index on ℝℙ2 × S1.

The sympathetic nervous system is known to regulate osteoclast development. However, the involvement of α2-adrenergic receptors (α2-ARs) in osteoclastogenesis is not well understood. In the present study, their potential role in osteoclastogenesis was investigated. Guanabenz, clonidine and xylazine were used as agonists of α2-ARs, while yohimbine and idazoxan were employed as antagonists. Using RAW264.7 pre-osteoclast and primary bone marrow cells, the mRNA expression of the osteoclast-related genes nuclear factor of activated T-cells, cytoplasmic 1 (NFATc1), tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) and cathepsin K was evaluated following induction with receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL). TRAP staining was also conducted to assess effects on osteoclastogenesis in mouse bone marrow cells in vitro. Administration of 5–20 µM guanabenz (P

We show the refinement of the prescription for the geometric transition in the refined topological string theory and, as its application, discuss a possibility to describe $qq$-characters from the string theory point of view. Though the suggested way to operate the refined geometric transition has passed through several checks, it is additionally found in this paper that the presence of the preferred direction brings a nontrivial effect. We provide the modified formula involving this point. We then apply our prescription of the refined geometric transition to proposing the stringy description of doubly quantized Seiberg--Witten curves called $qq$-characters in certain cases., 44 pages, 11 figures; v2: references corrected, text corrected, published in JHEP

Gangliosides are widely expressed in almost all tissues and cells and are also considered to be essential in the development and maintenance of various organs and tissues. However, little is known about their roles in bone metabolism. In this study, we investigated the effects of genetic deletion of ganglioside D3 (GD3) synthase, which is responsible for the generation of all b-series gangliosides, on bone metabolism. Although b-series gangliosides were not expressed in osteoblasts, these gangliosides were expressed in pre-osteoclasts. However, the expression of these gangliosides was decreased after induction of osteoclastogenesis by receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL). Three-dimensional micro-computed tomography (3D-&mu, CT) analysis revealed that femoral cancellous bone mass in GD3 synthase-knockout (GD3S KO) mice was higher than that in wild type (WT) mice at the age of 40 weeks, although there were no differences in that between GD3S KO and WT mice at 15 weeks old. Whereas bone formation parameters (osteoblast numbers/bone surface and osteoblast surface/bone surface) in GD3S KO mice did not differ from WT mice, bone resorption parameters (osteoclast numbers/bone surface and osteoclast surface/bone surface) in GD3S KO mice became significantly lower than those in WT mice at 40 weeks of age. Collectively, this study demonstrates that deletion of GD3 synthase attenuates bone loss that emerges with aging.

We give summation formulae for the bilateral basic hypergeometric series ${}_1\psi_1( a; b; q, z )$ through Ramanujan's summation formula, which are generalizations of nontrivial identities found in the physics of three-dimensional Abelian mirror symmetry on $\mathbf{R}P^2 \times S^1$. We also show the $q \to 1 - 0$ limit of our summation formulae., Comment: 17 pages

We compute the exact partition function on the branched two-sphere by the localization technique. It is found that it does not depend on a branching parameter q, which means that supersymmetric R\'enyi entropy defined by utilizing it is equivalent to the usual entanglement entropy. We also provide the interpretation of the conical singularities on the branched sphere as defects sit on the poles of the nonsingular two-sphere., Comment: 27 pages; v2: typos and discussions revised, and reference added; v3: typos corrected and published in JHEP

We study 3d mirror symmetry with loop operators, Wilson loop and Vortex loop, and multi-flavor mirror symmetry through utilizing the $$ \mathrm{\mathbb{R}}{\mathrm{\mathbb{P}}}^2\times {\mathbb{S}}^1 $$ index formula. The key identity which makes the above description work well is the mod 2 version of the Fourier analysis, and we study such structure, the S-operation in the context of a $$ \mathrm{S}\mathrm{L}\left(2,\mathrm{\mathbb{Z}}\right) $$ action on 3d SCFTs. We observed that two types of the parity conditions basically associated with gauge symmetries which we call $$ \mathcal{P} $$ -type and $$ \mathcal{C}\mathcal{P} $$ -type are interchanged under mirror symmetry. We will also comment on the T-operation.

Helmholtz stereopsis is a 3D reconstruction technique, capturing surface depth independent of the reflection properties of the material by using Helmholtz reciprocity. In this paper we are interested in studying the applicability of Helmholtz stereopsis for surface and depth profiling of objects and general scenes in the context of perspective stereo imaging. Helmholtz stereopsis captures a pair of reciprocal images by exchanging the position of light source and camera. The resulting image pair relates the image intensities and scene depth profile by a partial differential equation. The solution of this differential equation depends on the boundary conditions provided by the scene. We propose to limit the illumination angle of the light source, such that only mutually visible parts are imaged, resulting in stable boundary conditions. By simulation and experiment we show that a unique depth profile can be recovered for a large class of scenes including multiple occluding objects.

The multiple displacement amplification (MDA) method, which relies on isothermal DNA amplification using the DNA polymerase of the bacteriophage phi29, was recently developed for high-performance, whole-genome amplification (WGA). The objective of the present study was to determine whether a target sequence could be successfully amplified by conventional PCR when the genomic DNA of a single Day-7 porcine blastocyst (derived from SCNT of a gene-engineered fibroblast) was amplified by the MDA method and used as a template. The yield of double-stranded DNA was 103.5 ± 16.0 ng/embryo (range, 75–125), as assessed by a PocoGreen assay. However, non-specific products (20 ± 5 ng/tube) were also generated, even in the negative control. Thus, ∼81% of the 103.5 ng (84 ng) of amplified DNA was estimated to be porcine sequences (2.2 × 10 3 -fold enrichment). In addition, PCR confirmed the presence of transgenes, as well as endogenous α-1,3-galactosyltransferase and homeobox Nanog genes in all embryos. Sequencing of the amplified products verified the fidelity of this system. In conclusion, the MDA-mediated WGA, which was simple, inexpensive, and did not require a thermal cycler, could be a powerful tool for multiple genomic analyses of individual early porcine embryos.

Structural stabilities in GaAs nanocrystals grown on the Si (1 1 1) substrate have been studied by transmission electron microscopy in order to see the structure and growth mechanism. The GaAs nanocrystals grown epitaxially on the Si (1 1 1) surface kept at 573 K have thin shapes consisting of a flat surface which is parallel to the Si (1 1 1) surface. The crystalline structure of the initial growth layer approximately below 5 nm in thickness is the zincblend structure, but with increasing thickness the structure changes to the wurtzite structure by formation of orderly-arranged stacking faults. The small difference in the driving force between the wurtzite structure and the zincblende structure could bring about a situation, where the kinetic rate of nucleus formation is high for the wurtzite structure than for the zincblende structure. It would highly increase the probability that the wurtzite structure is formed as a non-equilibrium state.

We reported here the full characterization of the hysteresis of the phase transition behavior of an aqueous solution of poly(N-ethyl-2-propionamidoacrylamide) (PNEPA), which has a unique alpha,alpha-disubstituted structure, by using microcalorimetry and FT-IR. Phase transition temperatures near the thermodynamic equilibrium were determined by extrapolating the scanning rate of the microcalorimetry to zero. The calculated hysteresis from the phase transition temperature was unusually very large (approximately 8 degrees C). FT-IR analysis indicated that the large hysteresis of PNEPA resulted from a coupling of intra-/intermonomeric unit hydrogen bonds, which is known to occur in a beta-sheet of proteins but has never been reported in temperature-responsive polymers. The effects of the molecular weight and polymer concentration on the hysteresis were studied by using fractionated PNEPAs and it was found that a low molecular weight and a low concentration enhanced the hysteresis.

Whether high osmolarity of a culture medium at the early culture stage affects the development of pig oocytes and miniature pig somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos activated by ultrasound was examined. When oocytes were cultured in modified porcine zygote medium-3 (mPZM-3) with increased NaCl to 138 mmol/L (mPZM-3+NaCl; 326 mOsm) or 50 mmol/L sucrose (mPZM-3+sucrose; 318 mOsm) for the first 2 days and then cultured in normal mPZM-3 (273 mOsm) for 5 days, the cleavage and blastocyst formation rates were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than those of oocytes cultured in mPZM-3 for 7 days. The cleavage and blastocyst formation rates of SCNT embryos cultured in mPZM-3+NaCl for the first 2 days and then cultured in mPZM-3 for 5 days were also significantly (P < 0.05) higher than those of embryos cultured in mPZM-3 for 7 days. These results showed that the high osmolarity of a culture medium induced by increasing NaCl concentration during the first 2 days improves the development of pig oocytes and miniature pig SCNT embryos activated by ultrasound.

This study was carried out to examine the effect of postactivation treatment with latrunculin A (LatA), an actin polymerisation inhibitor, on in vitro and in vivo development of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos derived from gene-modified Clawn miniature pig cells. After the fusion and activation, SCNT embryos were treated with or without a cytoskeletal inhibitor [LatA or 10.4 microM cytochalasin B (CB) for 2 h]. The cleavage rate was significantly higher (p0.05) in embryos exposed to 0.5 microM LatA than those in embryos exposed to CB and without a cytoskeletal inhibitor. Moreover, the blastocyst formation rate was significantly higher (p0.05) in embryos exposed to 0.5 or 1 microM LatA than those in embryos exposed to CB and without a cytoskeletal inhibitor. In addition, five fetuses were obtained from recipient uteri after transfer of embryos treated with 0.5 muM LatA. The results of this study show for the first time that postactivation treatment with LatA is effective to improve in vitro developmental capacity of gene-modified cloned miniature pig embryos and embryos treated with LatA have the ability to develop into fetuses.

Reversine, a 2-(4-morpholinoanilino)-6-cyclohexylaminopurine analog, can induce dedifferentiation of myogenic lineage-committed cells into multipotent mesenchymal progenitor cells, from which osteoblasts and adipocytes redifferentiate under lineage-specific inducing conditions. Although the molecular mechanism of how reversine causes dedifferentiation of a differentiated cell has not been fully elucidated, we speculated that it would be involved in reprogramming. In the present study, we examined whether reversine can enhance the development of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos by improving the reprogramming state of the somatic cell nuclei. As donor cells, we used miniature pig fetal fibroblasts transfected with a plasmid construct containing a mouse Oct-3/4 promoter and enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) cDNA. When the nuclei of these transfected cells are reprogrammed to an undifferentiated state in the SCNT embryos, EGFP expression is expected to commence under the control of the Oct-3/4 promoter. After SCNT, the resulting embryos were treated with 5 muM reversine for different durations (0, 6, 12, 18 and 24 h) or at different concentrations (0, 1, 5 and 10 muM) of reversine for 12 h and then cultured in vitro. When embryos were treated with 5 muM reversine for 12 h, the blastocyst formation rate was significantly (P0.01) higher than that of embryos without reversine treatment. However, the strength and pattern of EGFP expression in the embryos were not affected by the same treatment. A normal-looking fetus was obtained 21 days after transfer of embryos treated with 5 muM reversine for 12 h into recipients. The present findings indicate that treatment with reversine is beneficial for enhancement of the in vitro development of miniature pig SCNT embryos, although the underlying mechanism is still unclear.

Regioregulated poly(aminopyridine)s were synthesized by a Pd-catalyzed CN coupling reaction. The polymerization using Pd(0) and a bulky monodentate phosphine ligand distinctively produced the para-linked and meta-linked poly(aminopyridine)s, without the need for a protection process. The regioregularity of the polymer was confirmed by (1) H NMR spectroscopy. Model reactions were studied to evaluate the possibility of crosslinkage in the polymer. A large difference in reactivity was observed between 5-amino-2-bromopyridine and 2-amino-5-bromopyridine, which should have afforded same product. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicated that electron densities of the Br-bound carbon atom and the pyridine-nitrogen atom determine the reactivity of the monomers.

The present study was carried out to develop a noninvasive monitoring system for evaluation of Oct-3/4 promoter gene status in miniature pig somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos during in vitro development. Miniature pig fetal fibroblasts (MPFFs) were transfected with a gene construct consisting of two expression units, a mouse Oct-3/4 promoter-driven enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene (EGFP expression only detected in Oct-3/4-expressing cells) and a neomycin resistance gene. After neomycin selection, MPFFs that did not express EGFP were fused with enucleated pig oocytes, cultured in vitro and assessed for EGFP expression. EGFP expression was detectable in all morulae (at 4-6 days of culture) and 50.0% of blastocysts (at 5-6 days of culture), whereas none of the 1-cell to 16-cell embryos at 1-5 days of culture expressed EGFP. On the other hand, EGFP expression was not maintained in all blastocysts at 7 days of culture. The reactivity with anti-Oct-3/4 antibodies also peaked from the morula to blastocyst stages at 5 days of culture. The results showed that reactivation of the Oct-3/4 promoter gene of donor nuclei occurs in the morula to blastocyst stages at 4-6 days after SCNT and that this noninvasive monitoring system using Oct-3/4 promoter-driven EGFP gene would be useful for evaluation of the reprogramming status of donor nuclei.

The present study was carried out to examine the activation and parthenogenetic development of pig oocytes after exposure to ultrasound in sorbitol media supplemented with different concentrations of Ca2+. The activation rates (68.8-75.6%) of oocytes exposed to ultrasound in media containing 0.1-1.0 mM Ca2+ were significantly (P

Oxidation of 9,9′(10H,10′H)-spirobiacridine with m-chloroperbenzoic acid gave a dinitroxide biradical derivative, SBDO, together with a monoradical, SBO. Their molecular and crystal structures were determined by X-ray crystallographic analysis. Magnetic measurements on a polycrystalline sample of SBDO revealed the presence of dominant antiferromagnetic interaction, which can be ascribed mainly to intermolecular interaction due to close contacts between two nitroxide groups. The intermolecular N–O distances were 3.176(2) and 3.184(2) A. The diluted ESR experiments and the DFT calculation on a single molecule of SBDO indicated the ground triplet state. We also found that SBO worked as a versatile host for organic solvent molecules (CH2Cl2, CHCl3, CH3CN, ClC6H5, CH3OH, etc.).

We consider a new 3d superconformal index defined as the path integral over ℝ ℙ 2 × S 1 $$ \mathrm{\mathbb{R}}{\mathrm{\mathbb{P}}}^2\times {\mathbb{S}}^1 $$ , and get the generic formula for this index with arbitrary number of U(1) gauge symmetries via the localization technique. We find two consistent parity conditions for the vector multiplet, and name them P $$ \mathcal{P} $$ and C P $$ \mathcal{C}\mathcal{P} $$ . We find an interesting phenomenon that two matter multiplets coupled to the C P $$ \mathcal{C}\mathcal{P} $$ -type vector multiplet merge together. By using this effect, we investigate the simplest version of 3d mirror symmetry on ℝ ℙ 2 × S 1 $$ \mathrm{\mathbb{R}}{\mathrm{\mathbb{P}}}^2\times {\mathbb{S}}^1 $$ and observe four types of coincidence between the SQED and the XYZ model. We find that merging two matters plays an important role for the agreement.

We study $\mathcal{N} = 2$ supersymmetric gauge theories on $\mathbb{RP}^2 \times \mathbb{S}^1$ and compute the superconformal index by using the localization technique. We consider not only the round real projective plane $\mathbb{RP}^2$ but also the squashed real projective plane $\mathbb{RP}^2_b$ which turns back to $\mathbb{RP}^2$ by taking a squashing parameter $b$ as $1$. In addition, we found that the result is independent of the squashing parameter $b$. We apply our new superconformal index to the check of the simplest 3d mirror symmetry, i.e. the equivalence between the $\mathcal{N}=2$ SQED and the XYZ model on $\mathbb{RP}^2 \times \mathbb{S}^1$. We prove it by using a mathematical formula called the $q$-binomial theorem. We comment on the $\mathcal{N}=4$ version of mirror symmetry, mirror symmetry via generalized indices, and possibilities of generalizations from mathematical viewpoints.

Multi-step precipitation separation system was developed by using aqueous mixtures of some thermosensitive polymers. The following three polymers were used here; poly(N-n-propylacrylamide), poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), and poly(N-isopropylmethacrylamide). A mixture of the three polymers showed three endothermic peaks, and the peak top temperatures were almost consistent with that of the each polymer solution. The polymers were purified by thermal precipitation to obtain fractions which can respond in narrow temperature ranges prior to use. In the case of the precipitation separation of two polymers mixtures, purities of the obtained precipitate and supernatant fractions became high comparing with the case in which the unpurified polymers were used. Parts of the polymers which were not the precipitation targets were also precipitated by the separation procedures. This was caused not only by insolubilization of the non-targeted polymers due to their phase transitions but also by their non-specific entanglement with the targeted polymers. The purities of the fractions also improved when the difference of the phase transition temperature between two polymers was large enough to avoid the coprecipitation. In the case of the precipitation separation of mixtures of the three polymers, purities of each fraction also improved when the purified polymers were used.

Authors have being studied natural convection heat transfer of carbon dioxide in the subcritical region and observed condensate flowing along the vertical cylinder. Near the critical point, physical properties of fluids show remarkably different behavior from those for lower pressure region. A very low difference of density between vapor and liquid causes that the buoyancy becomes comparable to the gravity force, so that the flow velocity of condensate decreases. A small value of latent heat makes the amount of condensate very large. These result in a thick layer of the condensate film. On the contrary, as the temperature approaches the critical temperature, the surface tension decreases sharply and becomes zero. This very low value makes the condensate film breakable. As hydrodynamics of the condensate affects condensation heat transfer, based on observing condensate flow and measuring condensate volume, the flow of condensate was classified into four regimes : the smooth laminar flow, wavy flow, wavy flow with sharp crest and wavy flow with scattered droplets.

We study ${\mathrm{AdS}}_{7}/{\mathrm{CFT}}_{6}$ correspondence between M theory on ${\mathrm{AdS}}_{7}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{S}^{4}$ and the 6D $\mathcal{N}=(2,0)$ superconformal field theory. In particular, we focus on Wilson surfaces. We use the conjecture that the (2,0) theory compactified on ${S}^{1}$ is equivalent to the 5D maximal super-Yang-Mills (MSYM), and Wilson surfaces wrapping this ${S}^{1}$ correspond to Wilson loops in 5D MSYM. The Wilson loops in 5D MSYM obtained by the localization technique result in the Chern-Simons matrix model. We calculate the expectation values of Wilson surfaces in large-rank symmetric representations and antisymmetric representations by using this result. On the gravity side, the expectation values for probe M5-branes wrapping submanifolds of the background are computed. Consequently, we find new, nontrivial evidence for the ${\mathrm{AdS}}_{7}/{\mathrm{CFT}}_{6}$ correspondence that the results on the gravity side perfectly agree with those on the CFT side.

We cloned the cryIA(a) gene from Bacillus thuringiensis strain FU-2-7, one of the toxin genes encoding lepidopteran-specific protoxins. Sequence analysis of the gene showed two amino acid differences (Pro77 to Leu and Phe965 to Ser) from the CryIA(a) of B. thuringiensis strain HD-1. We constructed chimaeric cryIA(a) genes using FU-2-7 and HD-1 cryIA(a) genes and isolated the chimaeric protoxins, as well as the parental ones, from Escherichia coli cells harboring the recombinant plasmids to examine the effects of the two amino acid variations on the toxicity. FU-2-7 CryIA(a) protein was about half as toxic against the smaller tea tortrix, Adoxophyes sp., and one-third as toxic against the silkworm, Bombyx mori, as that of HD-1. On the other hand, a chimaeric CryIA(a) protein with a single replacement of Phe965 to Ser had nearly the same toxicity as the HD-1 CryIA(a) against the smaller tea tortrix and one-third the toxicity against silkworm as that of HD-1. This improved property of the chimaeric CryIA(a) protoxin may be useful for widening its application to crop protection in sericultural countries.

Whether high osmolarity of a culture medium at the early culture stage affects the development of pig oocytes and miniature pig somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos activated by ultrasound was examined. When oocytes were cultured in modified porcine zygote medium-3 (mPZM-3) with increased NaCl to 138 mmol/L (mPZM-3+NaCl; 326 mOsm) or 50 mmol/L sucrose (mPZM-3+sucrose; 318 mOsm) for the first 2 days and then cultured in normal mPZM-3 (273 mOsm) for 5 days, the cleavage and blastocyst formation rates were significantly (P0.05) higher than those of oocytes cultured in mPZM-3 for 7 days. The cleavage and blastocyst formation rates of SCNT embryos cultured in mPZM-3+NaCl for the first 2 days and then cultured in mPZM-3 for 5 days were also significantly (P0.05) higher than those of embryos cultured in mPZM-3 for 7 days. These results showed that the high osmolarity of a culture medium induced by increasing NaCl concentration during the first 2 days improves the development of pig oocytes and miniature pig SCNT embryos activated by ultrasound.

Three temperature-responsive polymers which are alpha,alpha-disubstituted vinyl polymers having two amphiphilic groups (ethylamide or ethylester) per monomeric unit were designed. Two of these polymers showed unusually large hysteresis in their phase transition temperatures between a heating and a cooling process. This hysteresis resulted from the extremely slow kinetics of the dissolution process of the aggregated polymer chains in the cooling process due to intra- and interchain interactions including hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interaction. The high density of the amphiphilic substituents on the polymer chain due to the alpha,alpha-disubstituted structure enhanced these intra- and interchain interactions. The large hysteresis was also observed in the volume change of a corresponding hydrogel. These new classes of temperature-responsive polymers are interesting materials because their large hystereses can be regarded as erasable memory function.

The present study was carried out to examine the effects of valproic acid (VPA), a histone deacetylase inhibitor, on in vitro development of miniature pig somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos and on expression of a mouse Oct-3/4 promoter-driven enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene (EGFP expression only detected in Oct-3/4-expressing cells) introduced into donor cells for SCNT during their development. The addition of 4 mM VPA to embryo culture medium for 48 h after activation significantly (p0.01) increased the blastocyst formation rate of SCNT embryos compared with the control, whereas VPA did not affect their cleavage rate. The rate of SCNT embryos expressing EGFP at 5 days of culture was not affected by the presence or absence of VPA treatment. At 7 days of culture, however, the addition of 4 mM VPA to embryo culture medium for 48 h after activation significantly (p0.05) increased the rate of SCNT embryos expressing EGFP compared with the control. The results indicate that VPA enhances the ability of miniature pig SCNT embryos to develop into blastocysts and maintains the ability of them to express Oct-3/4 gene.

Porous materials play an important role for developments of luminescent, catalytic, hydrogen storage materials and so on, in which the properties can be greatly improved by a large surface-to-volume ratio. If we can prepare a porous structure not only in the bulk materials but also in the interior of individual nanoparticles, it is expected that the porous structure increases the surface area of the nanoparticles. We found that phase changes take place by atom displacements when GaSb semiconductor compound nanoparticles are excited by electron beam [1,2]. In the present work, the formation of porous semiconductor GaSb compound nanoparticles by clustering of vacancies introduced efficiently by electronic excitation and the formation mechanism has been studied by in situ TEM.

The present study was carried out to examine the parthenogenetic development of pig oocytes treated with different concentrations of cycloheximide for different durations following activation by ultrasound stimulation. When oocytes were treated with 10 microg/ml cycloheximide for different durations, the blastocyst formation rate of oocytes treated for 5 h was significantly (P0.05) higher than those of oocytes treated for 0-2 h. The blastocyst formation rate of oocytes treated with 10 microg/ml cycloheximide for 5 h was significantly (P0.05) higher than those of oocytes treated with 0-5 or 15-20 microg/ml cycloheximide for the same duration. When oocytes were treated with different concentrations of cycloheximide for 2 h, however, the blastocyst formation rate of oocytes treated with 40 microg/ml cycloheximide was significantly (P0.05) higher than those of oocytes treated with 0-10 or 50 microg/ml cycloheximide. The blastocyst formation rate of oocytes treated with 10 microg/ml cycloheximide for 5 h was not significantly different from that of oocytes treated with 40 microg/ml cycloheximide for 2 h. These treatments did not affect the activation status of oocytes compared with controls that were not treated with cycloheximide. The results of the present study showed that cycloheximide improves the parthenogenetic development of pig oocytes activated by ultrasound stimulation.

The present study was carried out to examine whether demecolcine and sucrose affect the formation of a cytoplasmic protrusion containing chromosomes in pig oocytes independently or in combination. In the presence of 20 mM sucrose, the rates of oocytes with a cytoplasmic protrusion after culture for 60 min with 0.2-1.0 microg/ml demecolcine were significantly higher than those with 0.01-0.05 microg/ml demecolcine. When oocytes were cultured for 15 min in the presence of 0.2 microg/ml demecolcine and 20 mM sucrose, 35.1% of them extruded a cytoplasmic protrusion; this rate was significantly lower than those of oocytes cultured for 30-90 min. In the presence of 0.2 microg/ml demecolcine, significantly fewer oocytes extruded a cytoplasmic protrusion after culture for 30 min with 160 mM sucrose than with 0-80 mM sucrose. Significantly more oocytes extruded a cytoplasmic protrusion after culture for 30 min with 0.2 microg/ml demecolcine than without it, regardless of the presence or absence of 20 mM sucrose. In 88.9-100% of the oocytes, the cytoplasmic protrusions contained chromosomes with no significant differences among the different concentrations of demecolcine and sucrose and among the different treatment times. The results of the present study show that the cytoplasmic protrusion containing chromosomes in the pig oocyte is attributable to demecolcine, but sucrose does not affect its formation.

A substituted diaminoquinoxaline, 2,3-diethyl-N 5 ,N 8 -di(quinolin-8-yl)quinoxaline-5,8-diamine, was synthesized and characterized by a single-crystal X-ray diffraction study. The crystal structure of the molecule has a planar geometry with intramolecular hydrogen bonding. The hydrogen bonding is also evaluated in a solution state by spectroscopic techniques.

The ferromagnetic nanowires embedded in anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) are important candidates for the perpendicular magnetic recording media. In the current study, we filled FePt in the AAO nanohole arrays using a pulse DC electrodeposition, by changing the ratio between the on-time and the off-time of the pulse. We found it possible to uniformly fill FePt in AAO at the pulse off-time longer than the pulse on-time. Moreover, we found that the filling of FePt became more difficult with the shrinkage of holes diameter from 70 nm to 20 nm.

Porous semiconductor compound nanoparticles have been prepared by a new technique utilizing electronic excitation. The porous structures are formed in GaSb particles, when vacancies are efficiently introduced by electronic excitation and the particle size is large enough to confine the vacancy clusters. The capture cross section of the surface layer in particles for the vacancies is smaller than that for the interstitials. Under the condition of supersaturation of vacancies in the particle core, porous structures are produced through the vacancy clusters to a void formation.

The process of electronic-excitation-induced phase separation in GaSb nanoparticles has been studied by transmission electron microscopy from the viewpoint of the relationship between the atomic diffusion and the behaviour of the defects introduced by electronic excitation. When approximately 20 nm-sized GaSb particles kept at 430 K are excited by 25keV electrons, gallium atoms on the lattice points are displaced to form vacancies and gallium interstitials in the crystal. Two-phase separation takes place via the void formation and an increase in lattice constant of GaSb. It is suggested that the vacancy supersaturation near the particle core brings about the void formation and the diffusion of gallium interstitials to the particle surface causes the phase separation.

We studied electronic-excitation-induced phase transformations in nanoparticles using transmission electron microscopy. GaSb particles excited by 75 keV electrons transform to two phases consisting of an antimony core and a gallium shell or an amorphous phase, or remain in the original crystalline phase, depending on particle size and/or temperature. It is suggested that such nonlinear responses of the phase transformations may arise from synergistic effects of bond instability, localized excitations, enhanced diffusivity, or thermal equilibrium in reactions.