Bow Hunter's Stroke Caused by a Severe Facet Hypertrophy of C1-2

Chough, Chung-Kee,Cheng, Boyle C.,Welch, William C.,Park, Chun-Kun The Korean Neurosurgical Society 2010 Journal of Korean neurosurgical society Vol.47 No.2

Bow hunter's stroke is a rare symptomatic vertebrobasilar insufficiency in which vertebral artery (VA) is mechanically occluded during head rotation. Various pathologic conditions have been reported as causes of bow hunter's stroke. However, bow hunter's stroke caused by facet hypertrophy of C1-2 has not been reported. A 71-year-old woman presented with symptoms of vertebrobasilar insufficiency. Spine computed tomography showed massive facet hypertrophy on the left side of C1-2 level. A VA angiogram with her head rotated to the right revealed significant stenosis of left VA. C1-2 posterior fixation and fusion was performed to prevent serious neurologic deficit from vertebrobasilar stroke.

The Effect of Saturated Fatty Acids on Cellulose Digestion by the Rumen Anaerobic Fungus, Neocallimatix frontalis C5-1

Ha, J.K.,Lee, S.S.,Gao, Z.,Kim, C.-H.,Kim, S.W.,Ko, Jong Y.,Cheng, K.-J. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2001 Animal Bioscience Vol.14 No.7

The effects of various concentrations of saturated fatty acids (SFA; caprylic, capric and stearic acids) on the growth of the anaerobic fungus, Neocallimastix frontalis C5-1 isolated from the rumen of a Korean native goat were investigated. At higher concentrations of fatty acids (0.1%, w/v), the addition of SFA strongly decreased filter paper (FP) cellulose digestion and polysaccharide-degrading enzyme activity. The sensitivity of the rumen anaerobic fungus to the added fatty acids increased in the following order: caprylic ($C_{8:0}$)>capric($C_{10:0}$)>stearic($C_{18:0}$) acid, although stearic acid had no significant (p<0.05) inhibitory effects at any of the concentrations tested. However, the addition of SFA at lower concentrations (0.01 and 0.001% levels), did not inhibit FP cellulose degradation and enzyme activity. Furthermore, although these parameters were slightly stimulated by the addition of SFA, they were not statistically different from control values. This is the first report examining the effects of fatty acids on anaerobic gut fungi. We found that the lower levels of fatty acids used in this experiment were able to stimulate the growth and specific enzyme activities of rumen anaerobic fungi, whereas the higher levels of fatty acids were inhibitory with respect to fungal cellulolysis.

ASCL2 Gene Expression Analysis and Its Association with Carcass Traits in Pigs

Cheng, H.C.,Zhang, F.W.,Deng, C.Y.,Jiang, C.D.,Xiong, Y.Z.,Li, F.E.,Lei, M.G. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2007 Animal Bioscience Vol.20 No.10

Achaete-scute like 2 (ASCL2) gene encodes a member of the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor which is essential for the maintenance of proliferating trophoblasts during placental development. ASCL2 gene preferentially expresses the maternal allele in the mouse. However, it escapes genomic imprinting in the human. In this study, the complete open reading frame consisting of 193 amino acids of ASCL2 gene was obtained. Sequence analysis indicated that a C-G mutation existed in the 3' region between Meishan and Large White pigs. The polymorphism was used to determine the monoallelic or biallelic expression with RT-PCR-RFLP in pigs of Large $White{\times}Meishan$ $F_1$ hybrids. Imprinting analysis indicated that the ASCL2 gene expression was biallelic in all the tested tissues (heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, stomach, small intestine, skeletal muscle, fat, uterus, ovary and pituitary). PCR-RFLP was used to detect the polymorphism in 270 pigs of the "$Large\;White{\times}Meishan$" $F_2$ resource population. The statistical results showed highly significant associations of the genotypes and fat meat percentage (FMP), lean meat percentage (LMP) and ratio of lean to fat (RLF) (p<0.01), and significant associations of the genotypes and loin eye area (LEA) and internal fat rate (IFR) (p<0.05).

Association between Melatonin Receptor 1A Gene and Expression of Reproductive Seasonality in Sheep

Chu, M.X.,Cheng, D.X.,Liu, W.Z.,Fang, L.,Ye, S.C. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2006 Animal Bioscience Vol.19 No.8

To determine whether a link exists between reproductive seasonality and the structure of the melatonin receptor 1A (MTNR1A) gene, the latter was studied in nonseasonal estrous breeds (Small Tail Han and Hu ewes) and seasonal estrous breeds (Dorset, Suffolk and German Mutton Merino ewes). A large fragment of the exon 2 of the MTNR1A gene was amplified and a uniform fragment of 824 bp was obtained in 239 ewes of five breeds. The 824 bp PCR product was digested with restriction endonucleases Mnl I and Rsa I, and checked for the presence of restriction sites. The presence (allele M) or absence (allele m) of an Mnl I site at base position 605 led to three genotypes MM (236 bp/236 bp), Mm (236 bp/303 bp) and mm (303 bp/303 bp) in five sheep breeds. The presence (allele R) or absence (allele r) of a Rsa I site at base position 604 led to three genotypes RR (267 bp/267 bp), Rr (267 bp/290 bp) and rr (290 bp/290 bp) in five sheep breeds. Frequencies of MM and RR genotypes were obviously higher, and frequencies of mm and rr genotypes were obviously lower in nonseasonal estrous sheep breeds than in seasonal estrous sheep breeds. Sequencing revealed four mutations (G453T, G612A, G706A, C891T) in mm genotype compared to MM genotype and one mutation (C606T) in rr genotype compared to RR genotype. For polymorphic Mnl I and Rsa I cleavage sites, the differences of genotype distributions were very highly significant (p<0.01) between Small Tail Han ewes and seasonal estrous sheep breeds. In each group, no significant difference (p>0.05) was detected. These results preliminarily showed an association between MM, RR genotypes and nonseasonal estrus in ewes and an association between mm, rr genotypes and seasonal estrus in ewes.

cDNA Cloning, Tissue Expression and Association of Porcine Pleiomorphic Adenoma Gene-like 1 (PLAGL1) Gene with Carcass Traits

Zhang, F.W.,Cheng, H.C.,Deng, C.Y.,Xiong, Y.Z.,Li, F.E.,Lei, M.G. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2006 Animal Bioscience Vol.19 No.9

Pleiomorphic adenoma gene-like1 (PLAGL1) encodes a zinc-finger (ZF) protein with seven ZFs of the C2H2-type which is a regulator of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, and also regulates the secretion of insulin. In both human and mouse, PLAGL1 is a candidate gene for tumor suppressor and transient neonatal diabetes mellitus (TNDM). In this study, a 2,238 bp fragment covering the complete coding region was obtained and deposited to GenBank (accession number: DQ288899). The reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) indicated that PLAGL1 was expressed almost equally in heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, stomach, small intestine, skeletal muscle, fat, uterus and ovary. Comparing the sequences of Large White and Meishan pigs, a C-T transition in exon 6 was found. The polymorphism could be detected by TaqI and was genotyped in five purebreds (Large White, Landrace, Meishan, Tongcheng and Bamei). Association analysis was performed between the polymorphism and carcass traits in 276 pigs of a "Large White${\times}$Meishan" F2 resource population. As a consequence, significant associations of the genotypes with shoulder backfat thickness (SFT) and internal fat rate (IFR) were observed. Pigs with TT genotype had low SFT and high IFR compared with TC or CC genotypes.

Effect of Vitamin E on Lipid Parameters in Ovariectomized Rats

Bahram H. Arjmandi,Edralin A. Lucas,Tai-Yuan Chen,Sheau C. Chai,Latha Devareddy,Shanil Juma,Cheng-I Wei,Yamini B. Tripathi,Bruce P. Daggy,Deng-Fwu Hwang 한국식품영양과학회 2006 Journal of medicinal food Vol.9 No.1

The risk of cardiovascular disease drastically increases at the onset of menopause, in part, because of rise inblood cholesterol and unfavorable changes in lipid profile. This study was designed to investigate the dose-dependent effectsof vitamin E supplementation on lipid parameters in ovariectomized (ovx) rats. Sixty 12-month-old female Sprague-Dawleyrats were either sham-operated (sham; one group) or ovx (four groups). All rats were maintained on a semipurified casein-based diet (AIN-93M; 75 IU vitamin E/kg of diet) for a period of 120 days. Thereafter, ovx rats were placed on one of fourdoses of vitamin E treatment (75, 300, 525, or 750 IU vitamin E/kg of diet), while the sham group was continued on 75 IUvitamin E/kg of diet for 100 days. Ovariectomy tended to increase (by 24%, P. 0.1) serum nonhigh-density lipoprotein(HDL) cholesterol and decrease (by 14%, P. 0.1) HDL cholesterol. Vitamin E did not have any significant effects on serumlipid parameters. Liver total lipids were notably increased (P. .001) in ovx animals, and supplementation with vitamin E at525 IU/kg of diet was able to significantly reduce liver total lipids by 13%. Additionally, ovariectomy caused an increase inserum glucose and liver C18:1fatty acid concentrations along with decreases in C18:0, C20:4, and C22:6fatty acid concentra-tions. These alterations on liver fatty acid profiles were unaffected by vitamin E. The findings of this study suggest that vit-amin E supplementation moderately improves lipid parameters in ovarian hormone-deficient rats.

Antibacterial activities of the novel silver nanoparticles biosynthesized using Cordyceps militaris extract

J.L. S anchez Llamazares,Chong-Chong Liu,C.F. S anchez-Vald es,Hui Xu,Hongyan Su,Xianhao Cheng 한국물리학회 2016 Current Applied Physics Vol.16 No.9

With the development of aquaculture, there is an urgent demand for an alternative antibacterial agent to reduce the drug resistance and environmental pollution caused by the abuse of antibiotics. Recently, as promising antimicrobial agents, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) synthesized via organisms has received much attention. Cordyceps militaris, a valuable edible and medicinal fungus, is rich in a variety of biologically active substances. So, it is of interest to biosynthesis a new antimicrobial agent of AgNPs with the aid of C. militaris. In this study, AgNPs were synthesized using the cell filtrate of C. militaris mycelium as reducing agents. The formation of AgNPs was first confirmed by the surface plasmon resonance illustrated in UVevisible spectrophotometer. X-ray diffraction analysis further confirmed that the AgNPs were composed of highly crystalline Ag. Transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed that most the AgNPs were in spherical shape with mean diameter about 15 nm. Moreover, the synthesized AgNPs exhibited superior antibacterial activities against the all the aquatic as well as clinical pathogenic bacteria. Besides, the prepared AgNPs were proven to be highly stable, even after long-term storage. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report that the C. militaris extract could facilitate the synthesis of AgNPs.

Structure and magnetic properties of [Co / Pt] single crystal and bicrystal superlattice

C. C. Yu,Y. C. Chu,S. C. Chou,Y. Liou,W. C. Cheng,Y. D. Yao 한국자기학회 2003 한국자기학회 학술연구발표회 논문개요집 Vol.13 No.2

Cock Spermatozoa Serve as the Gene Vector for Generation of ransgenic Chicken (Gallus gallus)

Yang, C.C.,Chang, H.S.,Lin, C.J.,Hsu, C.C.,Cheung, J.I.,Hwu, L.,Cheng, W.T.K. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2004 Animal Bioscience Vol.17 No.7

To evaluate the feasibility of using sperm-mediated gene transfer (SMGT) for carrying foreign gene into chicken oocyte, a reporter gene, CX-EGFP, was used in this study. The reporter gene was first mixed with liposome or liposome-like compound and the mixtures were further combined with ejaculated cock spermatozoa. The spermatozoa treated with liposome and CX-EGFP mixture was subsequently coincubated with DNaseI to remove the extra DNA which insured the authenticity of positive signals. The treated sperms were then subjected to transgene (reporter gene) existence analysis and artificial insemination of laying hens. Obtained results indicated that the spermatozoa were able to take-in the foreign DNA; which was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction and Southern blot analysis. In the following experiment, fresh ejaculated sperms were mixed with CX-EGFP-liposome or CX-EGFP-liposome-like complex then used for artificial insemination of each of six laying hens. Eggs laid between day-3 and day-7 post insemination were collected. Newly hatched chicks, two out of 53 from CX-EGFP/liposome treated group and two out of 21 from CXEGFP/liposome-like treated group, were proven to be transgenic. This study suggests that SMGT is a powerful method for generating transgenic chickens.

Mode Change of a Gamma-Ray Pulsar, PSR J2021+4026

Zhao, J.,Ng, C. W.,Lin, L. C. C.,Takata, J.,Cai, Y.,Hu, C.-P.,Yen, D. C. C.,Tam, P. H. T.,Hui, C. Y.,Kong, A. K. H.,Cheng, K. S. American Astronomical Society 2017 The Astrophysical journal Vol.842 No.1

<P>A glitch of a pulsar is known as a sudden increase in the spin frequency and spin-down rate (frequency time derivative), and it can be caused by a sudden release of the stress built up in the solid crust of the star or pinned vortices in the superfluid interior. PSR J2021+4026 is the first pulsar that shows a significant change in the gamma-ray flux and pulse profile at the glitch that occurred around 2011 October 16. We report the results of timing and spectral analysis of PSR J2021+4026 using similar to 8 yr Fermi. Large Area Telescope data. We find that the pulsar stayed at a high spin-down rate (similar to 4% higher than the pre-glitch value) and a low gamma-ray state (similar to 18% lower) for about 3 yr. after the glitch. Around 2014 December, the spin-down rate and gamma-ray flux gradually returned to pre-glitch values within a timescale of a. few months. The phase-resolved spectra and pulse profiles after the relaxation are also consistent with those before the glitch. The observed long-term evolution of the spin-down rate and the gamma-ray flux indicates that the glitch triggered a mode change in the global magnetosphere. We speculate that the glitch changed. the local magnetic field structure around the polar cap and/or the inclination angle of the. dipole axis, leading to. a change in the electric current circulating in the. magnetosphere.</P>