• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.15-29
• /
• 1992

In the present study, it was aimed to find the role of calcium on the maturation of mouse follicular oocytes as well as for the role of calcium inhibitors, $Ni^{2+}$ and $La^{3+}$. Mouse follicular oocytes were cultivated in different media at $37^{\circ}C$, in 100% humidified $CO_2$ incubator for 3 and 17 hrs. The results were as follows; 1. There was no differences in GVBD between the control and experimental groups during the 3 hr culture. 2. Mouse oocytes were matured to higher rate in MHBS rather than HTF for 17 hr culture. 3. Maturation rate was significantly lower in $Ca^{2+}$-free and $Ca^{2+}$ 0.4 mM which were tested, compared to other calcium concentration used in the present study. 4. Calcium inhibitor, $Ni^{2+}$, it showed highest degeneration rate at all calcium concentrations and additionally in $Ni^{2+}$ $100{\mu}M$ treated group next. Maturation rate was significantly decrease as the $Ca^{2+}$ inhibitor concentration increased. 5. In all Lanthanum treated groups of calcium-free, degeneration were significantly high treated groups at 0.4 mM $Ca^{2+}$ concentrations degeneration rates of all group were significantly lower than that of the control but maturation rates were not significantly different in any group. In lanthanum $100{\mu}M$ treated group at 0.4 mM and 0.8 mM calcium concentration, its maturation rate was significantly higher than that of the control. Maturation rates of all groups of lanthanum treated at 1.71 mM calcium concentration were not significantly different among groups. 6. In the calcium treated group (0.4mM-1.7 mM), the presence of phosphate does not seem to be needed for oocyte maturation. However, the presence of phosphate at $Ca^{2+}$ 0.8 mM only seems to stimulated maturation.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.15 no.9
• /
• pp.1278-1287
• /
• 2002

To record the prevalence of macro-minerals deficiency in buffaloes, a survey was conducted in certain parts of Northern India. The prevalence of soil Ca, P, Mg, Na, P and K deficiency was 21.35%, 23.30%, 28.64%, 3.61% and 6.84%, respectively while that of fodder Ca, P, Mg, Na and K deficiency was 13.88%, 16.55%, 19.72%, 3.54% and 4.86%, respectively. The overall prevalence of serum (buffalo) Ca, P, Mg, Na and K deficiency in certain parts of northern India was 25.48%, 24.66%, 24.36%, 4.42% and 3.28%, respectively. The correlation coefficient of Ca, P, Mg, Na and K in soil, fodder and serum was significant and in most of the cases the values were above 0.6. The highest deficiency of macro-minerals i.e. Ca, P, Mg, Na and K was found in plain regions, followed by Tarai (foot hill of Himalayas) region and finally the hilly region. For therapeutic studies, three types of mineral mixture were prepared according to deficiency obtained and fed to three groups of deficient animals. Observations were recorded on 0, 30, 60 and 75 day. In group A animals normal mineral mixture was provided, where as in group C and D 10% and 25% more of Ca, P, Mg were provided, respectively. There was an increase in body weight, milk yield, haemoglobin concentration, and total erythrocyte count. Alanine aminotransferase, aspartate amino transferase in group D animals. There was a decrease in heart rate, respiratory rate and alkaline phosphatase in group D animal after mineral supplement. Thus showing the efficacy when supplements 3 provided to group D animals.

• Fire Science and Engineering
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.15-19
• /
• 2002

This dissertation is about the development of $BaTiO_3$-type PTC(Positive Temperature Coefficient) thermistor by composition method. A multilayer-type PTC samples were fabricated under optimal conditions after setting the experimental composition equation as ($Ba_{0.95-x}$S $r_{0.05}$$Ca_{x}$ )$TiO_3$-$0.01TiO_2$-$0.01SiO_2$-$\alpha$$MnCO_3$-$\beta$N $b_2$ $O_{5}$.) and their testing results were analyzed. The optimal sin-tering and cooling temperatures were 13$50^{\circ}C$ for two hours and $100^{\circ}C$/h for an hour, respectively; By composing Ca and Mn, dopants to lower the resistivity at room temperature, and Nb, a dopant to raise peak resistivity(Ca:5 mol%, Mn:0.08 mol%, Nb:0.18 mol%), appropriately, a PTC thermistor, having the characteristics of relatively low resistivity at room temperature and high peak resistivity and a good temperature coefficient, has been developed. And we find that it is possible of application for fire detection sensor.r.r.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
• /
• 2001.07c
• /
• pp.1493-1495
• /
• 2001

$(Ba_{0.6-x}Sr_{0.4}Ca_x)TiO_3+yAl_2O_3$ wt% (x=0.10, 0.15, 0.20, y=0.5 $\sim$ 3.0) specimens were fabricated by the mixed-oxide method and then the structural properties as a function of the composition ratio and $Al_2O_3$ contents were studied. All BSCT specimens showed dense and homogeneous structure without the presence of the seconds phase. The sintered density was decreased with increase ad $Al_2O_3$ content. The Curie temperature and dielectric constant at room temperature decreased with increasing $Al_2O_3$ content. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the doped-0.5 wt% $Al_2O_3$ BSCT(50/40/10) specimen were about 3131 and 0.932% at 1KHz, respectively.

• Nutritional Sciences
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.242-249
• /
• 2005

It is well established that zinc plays an important role in bone metabolism and mineralization. The role of zinc in bone formation is well documented in animal models, but not much reported in cell models. In the present study, we evaluated zinc deficiency effects on osteoblastic cell proliferation, alkaline phosphatase activity and expression, and extracellular matrix bone nodule formation and bone-related gene expression in osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells. To deplete cellular zinc, chelexed-FBS and interpermeable zinc chelator TPEN were used. MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured in zinc concentration-dependent (0-15 ${\mu}M\;ZnCl_2$) and time-dependent (0-20 days) manners. MC3T3-E1 cell proliferation by MTT assay was increased as medium zinc level increased (p<0.05). Cellular Ca level and alkaline phosphatase activity were increased as medium zinc level increased (p<0.05). Alkaline phosphatase expression, a marker of commitment to the osteoblast lineage, measured by alkaline phosphatase staining was increased as medium zinc level increased. Extracellular calcium deposits measured by von Kossa staining for nodule formation also appeared higher in Zn+(15 ${\mu}M\;ZnCl_2$) than in Zn-(0 ${\mu}M\;ZnCl_2$). Bone formation marker genes, alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin, were also expressed higher in Zn+ than in Zn-. The current work supports the beneficial effect of zinc on bone mineralization and bone-related gene expression. The results also promote further study as to the molecular mechanism of zinc deficiency for bone formation and thus facilitate to design preventive strategies for zinc-deficient bone diseases.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers C
• /
• v.49 no.2
• /
• pp.107-112
• /
• 2000

$(Sr_{0.85}Ca_{0.15})TiO_3$(SCT) thin films were deposited on Pt-coated $TiO_2/SiO_2/Si$ wafer by the rf sputtering method. Experiments were conducted to investigate the electrical properties of SCT thin films with various top electrodes. Various top electrodes as Pt, Al, Ag, Cu were deposited on SCT thin films by sputter and thermal evaporator. The characteristics of C-F and C-V of SCT thin films were not obviously varied with various top electrodes, SCT thin films annealed at $600^{\circ}C$ represents as favorable capacitance characteristics than SCT thin films not annealed, and Pt top electrode have the most high capacitance. The characteristic of I-V of SCT thin films showed that Pt top electrode revealed more less leakage current density than other electrodes, had a leakage current density below 10-8$[A/cm^2]$ until 25[V] applied voltage.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.217-221
• /
• 2003

Effect of direct addition of $CaCl_2$ into sodium alginate film-making solution and immersion of alginate films into $CaCl_2$ solutions on tensile strength (TS), percentage elongation at break (E), water vapor permeability (WVP), and water solubility (WS) of the films were investigated. TS of alginate films prepared by both methods increased. E of $CaCl_2-added$ films did not change significantly (P>0.05), whereas that of $CaCl_2-immersion$ films decreased significantly (p<0.05). WVP of films prepared by both methods decreased significantly, but the effect was more significant in the $CaCl_2-immersion$ films. Water resistance was not changed in the $CaCl_2-added$ films, whreras increased significantly in $CaCl_2-immersion$ films (p<0.05). Properties of alginate films depend on the concentration of $CaCl_2$ treatments in both methods, and they also depend on treatment time in the immersion method.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.11
• /
• pp.4603-4608
• /
• 2015

Background: To determine the potential value of serum tumor markers in predicting pCR (pathological complete response) during neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively monitored the pro-, mid-, and post-neoadjuvant treatment serum tumor marker concentrations in patients with locally advanced breast cancer (stage II-III) who accepted pre-surgical chemotherapy or chemotherapy in combination with targeted therapy at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center between September 2011 and January 2014 and investigated the association of serum tumor marker levels with therapeutic effect. Core needle biopsy samples were assessed using immunohistochemistry (IHC) prior to neoadjuvant treatment to determine hormone receptor, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER2), and proliferation index Ki67 values. In our study, therapeutic response was evaluated by pCR, defined as the disappearance of all invasive cancer cells from excised tissue (including primary lesion and axillary lymph nodes) after completion of chemotherapy. Analysis of variance of repeated measures and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were employed for statistical analysis of the data. Results: A total of 348 patients were recruited in our study after excluding patients with incomplete clinical information. Of these, 106 patients were observed to have acquired pCR status after treatment completion, accounting for approximately 30.5% of study individuals. In addition, 147patients were determined to be Her-2 positive, among whom the pCR rate was 45.6% (69 patients). General linear model analysis (repeated measures analysis of variance) showed that the concentration of cancer antigen (CA) 15-3 increased after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in both pCR and non-pCR groups, and that there were significant differences between the two groups (P=0.008). The areas under the ROC curves (AUCs) of pre-, mid-, and post-treatment CA15-3 concentrations demonstrated low-level predictive value (AUC=0.594, 0.644, 0.621, respectively). No significant differences in carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) or CA12-5 serum levels were observed between the pCR and non-pCR groups (P=0.196 and 0.693, respectively). No efficient AUC of CEA or CA12-5 concentrations were observed to predict patient response toward neoadjuvant treatment (both less than 0.7), nor were differences between the two groups observed at different time points. We then analyzed the Her-2 positive subset of our cohort. Significant differences in CEA concentrations were identified between the pCR and non-pCR groups (P=0.039), but not in CA15-3 or CA12-5 levels (p=0.092 and 0.89, respectively). None of the ROC curves showed underlying prognostic value, as the AUCs of these three markers were less than 0.7. The ROC-AUCs for the CA12-5 concentrations of inter-and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the estrogen receptor negative HER2 positive subgroup were 0.735 and 0.767, respectively. However, the specificity and sensitivity values were at odds with each other which meant that improving either the sensitivity or specificity would impair the efficiency of the other. Conclusions: Serum tumor markers CA15-3, CA12-5, and CEA might have little clinical significance in predicting neoadjuvant treatment response in locally advanced breast cancer.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.391-396
• /
• 2002

cows, in order to suggest a means for the improvement of milk production. A total of 30 Holstein cows (3rd to 5th of parity) were used and assigned to two groups according This study investigated blood biochemical values between high and low yielding dairy to milk production levels at 15, 30, 60 and 90 days postpartum. Milk production of group A was less than an average of 27 kg/day and that of group B was an average of 30 kg/day. Blood samples were collected by jugular venipuncture from each cow six times at 15 days before the anticipated calving date, within 12 hours postpartum (0 days) and at 15, 30, 60 and 90 days after calving. In serum mineral concentrations, group B was consistently higher than group A in both Mg and Ca. Inorganic phosphorus concentrations showed a little fluctuation between the groups at antepartum and at postpartum, but group B was significantly higher than group A at 15 and 30 days after calving (p < 0.05). In serum biochemical values cholesterol concentrations were consistently higher in group B except at 0 days. BUN and glucose concentrations did not differ between the groups. The concentration of vitamin A of group B was significantly higher than group A at 15 days before the anticipated calving date and at 15 days postpartum (p < 0.01), but at 30, 60 and 90 days postpartum vitamin A concentration of both groups were similar. Vitamin E concentration did not differ between the groups during the experimental period. Results of this study suggest that raising the levels of Mg, Ca, Pi and vitamin A in serum would be effective in increasing milk production of low producing cows.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
• /
• 1992.11a
• /
• pp.34-37
• /
• 1992

In this paper, the $(SrPb)(CaMg)TiO_3$-xBi_2O_3{\cdot}3TiO_2$ ceramics with paraelectric properties were fabricated by the mixed oxide method. In order to investigate the behavior of charged particles, the characteristics of electrical conduction and thermally stimulated current were measured respectively. As a result on characteristics of the electrical conduction, the leakage current was increased as measuring temperature was increased. At room temperature, the conduction current was divided into the three steps as a function of DC electric field. The first step was Ohmic region due to ionic conduction, below 15[kV/cm]. The second step was showed a saturation which seems to be related to a depolarizing field occuring in field-enforced ferroelectric phase, between 15[kV/cm] and 40[kV/cm]. The third step was attributed to Child's law related to spare charge which injected from electrode, above 40[kV/cm]. Thermally stimulated currents(TSC) spectra with various biasing fields exhibited three distinguished peaks that were denoted as ${\alpha}$, ${\alpha}'$ and ${\beta}$ peak, each of which appeared at nearby -30, 20 and 95[$^{\circ}C$] respectively. It is confirmed that the a peak was due to trap electron trapped in the grainboundary, and ${\alpha}'$ peak that was observed above only 1.5[kV/mm] was attributed to field-enforced ferroelectric polarization. The origin of ${\beta}$ peak was identified as ion migration which caused the degradation.