This study investigated the effect of the flavonoid-based compound isorhamnetin (ISO) on maturation and developmental competence in oxidative stress-exposed porcine oocytes in vitro. Treatment with 2 μM ISO (2 ISO) increases the developmental rate of oxidative stress-exposed porcine oocytes during in vitro maturation (IVM). The glutathione level and mRNA expression of antioxidant-related genes (NFE2L2 and SOD2) were increased in the 2 ISO-treated group, whereas the reactive oxygen species level was decreased. Treatment with 2 ISO increased mRNA expression of a cumulus cell expansion-related gene (SHAS2) and improved chromosomal alignment. mRNA expression of maternal genes (CCNB1, MOS, BMP15 and GDF9) and mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) activity were increased in the 2 ISO-treated group. The total cell number per blastocyst and percentage of apoptotic cells were increased and decreased in the 2 ISO-treated group, respectively. Treatment with 2 ISO increased mRNA expression of development-related genes (SOX2, NANOG, and POU5F1) and anti-apoptotic genes (BCL2L1 and BIRC5) and decreased that of pro-apoptotic genes (CASP3 and FAS). These results demonstrate that 2 ISO improves the quality of porcine oocytes by protecting them against oxidative stress during IVM and enhances subsequent embryo development in vitro. Therefore, we propose that ISO is a useful supplement for IVM of porcine oocytes.

Background: Although small- and medium-sized hospitals comprise most healthcare providers in South Korea, data on antibiotic usage is limited in these facilities. We evaluated the pattern of antibiotic usage and its appropriateness in hospitals with <400 beds in South Korea. Methods: A multicenter retrospective study was conducted in 10 hospitals (6 long-term care hospitals, 3 acute-care hospitals, and 1 orthopedic hospital), with <400 beds in South Korea. We analyzed patterns of antibiotic prescription and their appropriateness in the participating hospitals. Data on the monthly antibiotic prescriptions and patient days for hospitalized patients were collected using electronic databases from each hospital. To avoid the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, data were collected from January to December 2019. For the evaluation of the appropriateness of the prescription, 25 patients under antibiotic therapy were randomly selected at each hospital over 2 separate periods. Due to the heterogeneity of their characteristics, the orthopedics hospital was excluded from the analysis. The collected data were reviewed, and the appropriateness of antibiotic prescriptions was evaluated by 5 specialists in infectious diseases (adult and pediatric). Data from 2 hospitals were assigned to each specialist. The appropriateness of antibiotic prescriptions was evaluated from 3 aspects: route of administration, dose, and class. If the 3 aspects were ‘optimal,’ the prescription was considered ‘optimal.’ If only the route was ‘optimal,’ and the dose and/or class was ‘suboptimal,’ but not ‘inappropriate,’ it was considered ‘suboptimal.’ If even 1 aspect was ‘inappropriate,’ it was classified as ‘inappropriate.’ Results: The most commonly prescribed antibiotics in long-term care hospitals was fluoroquinolone, followed by β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor (antipseudomonal). In acute-care hospitals, these were third-generation cephalosporin, followed by first-generation cephalosporin and second-generation cephalosporin. The major antibiotics that were prescribed in the orthopedics hospital was first-generation cephalosporin. Only 2.3% of the antibiotics were administered inappropriately. In comparison, 15.3% of patients were prescribed an inappropriate dose. The proportion of inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions was 30.6% of the total antibiotic prescriptions. Conclusions: The antibiotic usage patterns vary between small- and medium-sized hospitals in South Korea. The proportion of inappropriate prescriptions exceeded 30% of the total antibiotic prescriptions.

Funding: None

Disclosures: None

Our previous studies have already revealed that β-cryptoxanthin (BCX), hesperetin (HES), and icariin (ICA) antioxidants are effective for in vitro maturation (IVM) of porcine oocytes. In this study, we investigated which of BCX, HES, or ICA was more effective for IVM of porcine oocytes. The antioxidant properties were assessed with aged porcine oocytes and embryos by comparing 2,2-diphenyl-1-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)hydrazyl (DPPH), reducing power, and H2O2 scavenging activity assays. The chemical assay results demonstrated that BCX had a greater DPPH scavenging activity and reducing power than HES and ICA, compared with controls. However, the H2O2 scavenging activity of the antioxidants was similar when tested at the optimal concentrations of 1 μM BCX (BCX-1), 100 μM HES (HES-100), and 5 μM ICA (ICA-5). The biological assay results showed that BCX-1 treatment was more effective in inducing a significant reduction in reactive oxygen species (ROS), improving glutathione levels, and increasing the expression of antioxidant genes. In addition, BCX-1 inhibited apoptosis by increasing the expression of anti-apoptotic genes and decreasing pro-apoptotic genes in porcine parthenogenetic blastocysts. BCX-1 also significantly increased the blastocyst formation rate compared with the ageing control group, HES-100 and ICA-5. This study demonstrates that damage from ROS produced during oocyte ageing can be prevented by supplementing antioxidants into the IVM medium, and BCX may be a potential candidate to improve assisted reproductive technologies.

Two challenges exist in laser-assisted atom probe tomography (APT). First, a drastic decline in mass-resolving power is caused, not only by laser-induced thermal effects on the APT tips of bulk oxide materials, but also the associated asymmetric evaporation behavior; second, the field evaporation mechanisms of bulk oxide tips under laser illumination are still unclear due to the complex relations between laser pulse and oxide materials. In this study, both phenomena were investigated by depositing Ni- and Co-capping layers onto the bulk LaAlO3 tips, and using stepwise APT analysis with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation of the tip shapes. By employing the metallic capping, the heating at the surface of the oxide tips during APT analysis became more symmetrical, thereby enabling a high mass-resolving power in the mass spectrum. In addition, the stepwise microscopy technique visualized tip shape evolution during APT analysis, thereby accounting for evaporation sequences at the tip surface. The combination of “capping” and “stepwise APT with TEM,” is applicable to any nonconductors; it provides a direct observation of tip shape evolution, allows determination of the field evaporation strength of oxides, and facilitates understanding of the effects of ultrafast laser illumination on an oxide tip.

‘Healthy Twin’ is a twin family study extension of the existing Korean Twin-Family Register. Healthy Twin recruits adult like-sex twins over the age of 30 and their adult family members. Healthy Twin protocols are primarily tailored to the study of the quantitative trait loci of complex traits as well as to the role of environment in the etiology of complex diseases. A full-length survey is underway, including questionnaires, health examinations and the collection of biological specimens. So far, 820 individuals (169 twin pairs and their families) have participated in the survey and 1068 individual twins (608 twin pairs) have replied to the mailed zygosity questionnaire as of July 2006. The first phase (2005–2006) of Healthy Twin will recruit 1550 individuals (including about 380 twin pairs), and the second phase a proposed 1500 to 2500 additional participants. We report study protocols and zygosity and the distribution of family size of the study participants.

Oligonol was orally administered at 10 or 20 mg/kg body weight per d for 8 weeks to db/db mice with type 2 diabetes, and its effects were compared with those of the vehicle in db/db and m/m (misty, non-diabetic) mice. Serum and renal biochemical factors, protein expressions related to lipid metabolism and inflammation, and advanced glycation endproducts were measured. There were significant reductions in the serum lipid concentration, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation, as well as improvements in renal function parameters. In addition, oligonol treatment significantly decreased ROS levels and lipid peroxidation in the kidney. In particular, the renal lipid contents such as TAG and total cholesterol were significantly reduced in the oligonol-administered groups through the up-regulation of PPARα and down-regulation of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 in db/db mice. Moreover, oligonol inhibited non-fluorescent AGE formation and their receptor expression, suggesting that it could effectively inhibit AGE development caused by oxidative stress and/or dyslipidaemia in the kidney of db/db mice. Furthermore, augmented expressions of NF-κBp65, cyclo-oxygenase-2 and inducible NO synthase were down-regulated to the levels of m/m mice in the group given oligonol at 20 mg/kg. This means that oligonol would act as a regulator in the inflammatory response of type 2 diabetes. The present results suggest that oligonol could have renoprotective effects against abnormal lipid metabolism and ROS-related AGE formation in type 2 diabetes.

We evaluate Vickers hardness and true instrumented indentation test (IIT) hardness of 24 metals over a wide range of mechanical properties using just IIT parameters by taking into account the real contact morphology beneath the Vickers indenter. Correlating the conventional Vickers hardness, indentation contact morphology, and IIT parameters for the 24 metals reveals relationships between contact depths and apparent material properties. We report the conventional Vickers and true IIT hardnesses measured only from IIT contact depths; these agree well with directly measured hardnesses within ±6% for Vickers hardness and ±10% for true IIT hardness.

We have fabricated a new magnetic field enhanced solid phase crystallization (FESPC) polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin film transistors (TFTs), which shows the excellent electrical characteristics and superior stability compared with hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) TFTs. The mobility (μ) and threshold voltage (VTH) of p-type TFTs of which the channel width and length are 5 μm and 7 μm, respectively are 31.98 cm2/Vs and -6.14 V, at VDS=-0.1 V. In the FESPC TFTs, the characteristics caused by grain boundary are remarkable due to large number of grain boundaries in the channel compared with poly-Si TFTs. The VTH of the TFT which have 5 μm channel length is smaller than that of 18 μm channel length by 1.36 V, which is considerably large value. It is due to the large number of grain boundaries in the channel and the high lateral electric field. The grain boundary potential barrier height is decreased, when the large lateral electric field is applied (which is called DIGBL effect). As a result of increased mobility, the drain current is increased, and VTH can be decreased. The activation energy (Ea) is strongly depended on the drain bias and the number of grain boundaries. is decreased, caused by the large drain bias and/or smaller number of grain boundaries. This decreased Ea can be reduced VTH due to increased the drain current. VTH of p-type poly-Si TFT employing FESPC on the glass substrate is affected by channel length and VDS due to energy barrier lowering effect at the grain boundary by increased lateral electrical field.

We present the results of optical properties of multi layer thin films as in the media of phase change optical disk data storage. Reflectance and optical contrast of multi layer thin films increased rapidly between 100 °C and 150 °C. Moreover, optical contrasts at different wavelength were also studied. The refractive index and the optical band gap decreased, while the extinction coefficient increases as the crystallization occurs. The Egopt of crystalline thin film was ∼0.6 eV lower than that of amorphous thin film. Egopt decreased as the number of stacked layer increased.

In this paper, we give several inequalities concerning the genus and the degree of the Jones Polynomial of an adequate link and of a homogeneous link and their applications.

Bulk wurtzite-GaN crystal was obtained with a size more than 3 mm along the length of the crystal and with a thickness 200 ∼ 300 µm at around 750°C and 100 bar for 24 hrs in the flux growth method. The structural and compositional property of the GaN bulk single crystal was also studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. Photoluminescence, cathodoluminescence and micro-Raman measurements at room temperature are investigated for bulk single crystals of wurtzite GaN. The cathodoluminescence peak of near band-to-band transition at 365.5 nm and the E2(high energy, 568 cm−1) and A1(LO, 737 cm−1) Raman phonon modes were obtained according to the different position of the (0001) surface of GaN grown by flux method. Sharp line shape for the strain-sensitive E2 (high) mode is considered to be due to the high crystalline quality of the crystal.

In 1996, Cromwell and Nutt [7] found an upper bound on the arc index which is related to the minimal crossing number and conjectured that the upper bound achieves the lowest possible index for alternating links.

CONJECTURE. Let L be any prime link. Then α(L) [les ] c(L)+2. Moreover this inequality is strict if and only if L is not alternating.

In this paper, we define a new diagram, called a wheel diagram, of a link and use it to prove this conjecture.

In this paper, we show that the absolute value of the signature of the 2-parallel version of a link is less than or equal to the nullity of it and show that the signature, nullity, and Minkowski units of the 2-parallel version of a certain class of links are always equal to 0, 2, and 1 respectively.

In 1996, Cromwell and Nutt conjectured that α(L) − c (L) = 2 for a link L if and only if L is alternating. In this paper we calculate that α(L) = c (L) for some non-alternating pretzel links L, define a new invariant ρ(L) of adequate links L and show that for each non-negative integer n, there is a prime adequate knot K such that α(K) − c (K) = −2n. We conjecture that α(L) − c (L) = 2ρ(L) for any adequate link L.

We fabricated InAs self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) on strained layer using molecular beam epitaxy. The strained layer consisted of InAs/GaAs superlattice(SL) and GaAs barrier layer on (001) GaAs substrate. Through controlling thickness of the strained layer, we formed two-dimensional alignments of QDs on misfit dislocation arrays along <110> directions made by strained layer. The increase of the strained layer thickness resulted in a stronger alignment of QDs, which were observed by atomic force microscopy studies. The aligned QDs were confirmed to confine carriers well and have different size distributions by photoluminescence measurement.

In this article we define symmetric geodesies on conformal compactifications of Euclidean Jordan algebras and classify symmetric geodesics for the Euclidean Jordan algebra of all n × n symmetric real matrices. Furthermore, we show that the closed geodesics for the Euclidean Jordan algebra of all 2 × 2 symmetric real matrices are realised as the torus knots in the Shilov boundary of a Lie ball.