Superovulatory response to a low dose single-daily treatment of rhFSH dissolved in polyvinylpyrrolidone in rhesus monkeys

To simplify the procedure for superovulation in the rhesus monkey, this study was designed using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) solution as a solvent for gonadotropins. Thirty-five cycling females (aged 5-8 years old) were divided into six groups during the b

Opioid Withdrawal for 4 Days Prevents Synaptic Depression Induced by Low Dose of Morphine or Naloxone in Rat Hippocampal CA1 Area In Vivo

The formation of memory is believed to depend on experience- or activity-dependent synaptic plasticity, which is exquisitely sensitive to psychological stress since inescapable stress impairs long-term potentiation (LTP) but facilitates long-term depression (LTD). Our recent studies demonstrated that 4 days of opioid withdrawal enables maximal extents of both hippocampal LTP and drug-reinforced behavior; while elevated-platform stress enables these phenomena at 18 h of opioid withdrawal. Here, we examined the effects of low dose of morphine (0.5 mg kg(-1), i.p.) or the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone (1 mg kg(-1), i.p.) on synaptic efficacy in the hippocampal CA1 region of anesthetized rats. A form of synaptic depression was induced by low dose of morphine or naloxone in rats after 18 h but not 4 days of opioid withdrawal. This synaptic depression was dependent on both N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor and synaptic activity, similar to the hippocampal long-term depression induced by low frequency stimulation. Elevated-platform stress given 2 h before experiment prevented the synaptic depression at 18 h of opioid withdrawal; in contrast, the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) antagonist RU38486 treatment (20 mg kg(-1), s.c., twice per day for first 3 days of withdrawal), or a high dose of morphine reexposure (15 mg kg(-1), s.c., 12 h before experiment), enabled the synaptic depression on 4 days of opioid withdrawal. This temporal shift of synaptic depression by stress or GR blockade supplements our previous findings of potentially correlated temporal shifts of LTP induction and drug-reinforced behavior during opioid withdrawal. Our results therefore support the idea that stress experience during opioid withdrawal may modify hippocampal synaptic plasticity and play important roles in drug-associated memory. (C) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Dose-dependent effects of the dopamine D1 receptor agonists A77636 or SKF81297 on spatial working memory in aged monkeys

With advancing age, monkeys develop deficits in spatial working memory resembling those induced by lesions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Aged monkeys also exhibit marked loss of dopamine from the PFC, a transmitter known to be important for proper PFC cognitive function. Previous results suggest that D1 agonist treatment can improve spatial working memory abilities in aged monkeys. However, this research was limited by the use of drugs with either partial agonist actions or significant D2 receptor actions. In our study, the selective dopamine D1 receptor full agonists A77636 and SKF81297 were examined in aged monkeys for effects on the working memory functions of the PFC. Both compounds produced a significant, dose-related effect on delayed response performance without evidence of side effects: low doses improved performance although higher doses impaired or had no effect on performance. Both the improvement and impairment in performance were reversed by pretreatment with the D1 receptor antagonist, SCH23390. These findings are consistent with previous results demonstrating that there is a narrow range of D1 receptor stimulation for optimal PFC cognitive function, and suggest that very low doses of D1 receptor agonists may have cognitive-enhancing actions in the elderly.

Tissue distribution and depuration of the extracted hepatotoxic cyanotoxin microcystins in crucian carp (Carassius carassius) intraperitoneally injected at a sublethal dose

An acute toxicity experiment was conducted by intraperitoneal injection with a sublethal dose of extracted microcystins (MCs), 50 mu g MC-LR (where L = leucine and R = arginine) equivalent/kg body weight (BW), to examine tissue distribution and depuration of MCs in crucian carp (Carassius carassius). Liver to body weight ratio increased at 3, 12, 24, and 48 h postinjection compared with that at 0 h (p < 0.05). MC concentrations in various tissues and aquaria water were analyzed at 1, 3, 12, 24, 48, and 168 h postinjection using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The highest concentration of MCs (MC-RR + MC-LR) was found in blood, 2 -270 ng/g dry weight (DW), followed by heart (3 -100 ng/g DW) and kidney (13 -88 ng/g DW). MC levels were relatively low in liver, gonad, intestine, spleen, and brain. MC contents in gills, gallbladder, and muscle were below the limit of detection. Significant negative correlation was present between MC-RR concentration in blood and that in kidney, confirming that blood was important in the transportation of MC-RR to kidney for excretion. Rapid accumulation and slow degradation of MCs were observed in gonad, liver, intestine, spleen, and brain. Only 0.07% of injected MCs were detected in liver. The recovery of MCs in liver of crucian carp seemed to be dose dependent.

Dose-dependent effects of extracted microcystins on embryonic development, larval growth and histopathological changes of southern catfish (Silurus meridionalis)

A laboratory toxic experiment was conducted to examine dose-dependent effects of extracted microcystins (MCs) on embryonic development, larval growth and histopathological changes of southern catfish (Silurus meridionalis). Fertilized eggs were incubated in solutions with four concentrations of MCs (0, 1, 10, 100 mu g MC-LReq l(-1)). Higher MCs retarded egg development (2-10 h delays) and larval growth, reduced hatching rate (up to 45%), and caused high malformation rate (up to 15%) and hepatocytes damage (characterized by disorganization of cell structure and a loss of adherence between hepatocytes, cellular degeneration with vacuolar hepatocytes and marginal nuclei, even hepatocellular necrosis). A 10 mu g MC-LReql(-1) is close to a high concentration in natural cyanobacterial blooms, suggesting a possible existence of such toxic effects in eutrophic waters. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fabrication of a Low-Loss SSC Using High-Dose Electron Beam Lithography Exposure With Negative PMMA Resist

A silicon-on-insulator optical fiber-to-waveguide spot-size converter (SSC) using Poly-MethylMethAcrylate (PMMA) is presented for integrated optical circuits. Unlike the conventional use of PMMA as a positive resist, it has been successfully used as a negative resist with high-dose electron exposure for the fabrication of ultrafine silicon wire waveguides. Additionally, this process is able to reduce the side-wall roughness, and substantially depresses the unwanted propagation loss. Exploiting this technology, the authors demonstrated that the SSC can improve coupling efficiency by as much as over 2.5 dB per coupling facet, compared with that of SSC fabricated with PMMA as a positive resist with the same dimension.

Effects of indium ion implantation on the total dose hardness of fully depleted SOI NMOSFET

In this work, we investigate the effects of the indium ion implantation towards the back-channel interface on the total dose hardness of the n-channel SOI MOSFET. The results show that the indium implant has slight impact on the normal threshold voltage while preserving low leakage current after irradiation. The advantage is attributed to the narrow as-implanted and postanneal profile of the indium implantation. Two-dimensional simulations have been used to understand the physical mechanisms of the effects.

The impact of implantation dose on the characteristics of diluted-magnetic nonpolar GaN:Cu films

Diluted-magnetic nonpolar GaN:Cu films have been fabricated by implanting Cu ions into p-type nonpolar a-plane (1120) GaN films with a subsequent thermal annealing process. The impact of the implantation dose on the structural. morphological and magnetic characteristics of the samples have been investigated by means of high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD). atomic force microscopy (AFM), and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). The XRD and AFM analyses show that the structural and morphological characteristics of samples deteriorated with the increase of implantation dose. According to the SQUID analysis. obvious room-temperature ferromagnetic properties of samples were detected. Moreover, the saturation magnetization per Cu atom decreased as the implantation dose increased. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Silicon-on-insulating multi-layers for total-dose irradiation hardness

Silicon-on-insulating multi-layer (SOIM) materials were fabricated by co-implantation of oxygen and nitrogen ions with different energies and doses. The multilayer microstructure was investigated by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. P-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor (PMOS) transistors and metal-semiconductor-insulator-semiconductor (MSIS) capacitors were produced by these materials. After the irradiated total dose reaches 3 x 10(5) rad (Si), the threshold voltage of the SOIM-based PMOS transistor only shifts 0.07 V, while thin silicon-on-insulating buried-oxide SIMOX-based PMOS transistors have a shift of 1.2V, where SIMOX represents the separated by implanted oxygen. The difference of capacitance of the SOIM-based MSIS capacitors before and after irradiation is less than that of the thin-box SIMOX-based MSIS capacitor. The results suggest that the SOIM materials have a more remarkable irradiation tolerance of total dose effect, compared to the thin-buried-oxide SIMOX materials.

Formation of total-dose-radiation hardened materials by sequential oxygen and nitrogen implantation and multi-step annealing

Separation by implantation of oxygen and nitrogen (SIMON) silicon-on-insulator (SOI) materials were fabricated by sequential oxygen and nitrogen implantation with annealing after each implantation. Analyses of SIMS, XTEM and HRTEM were performed. The results show that superior buried insulating multi-layers were well formed and the possible mechanism is discussed. The remarkable total-dose irradiation tolerance of SIMON materials was confirmed by few shifts of drain leakage current-gate source voltage (I-V) curves of PMOS transistors fabricated on SIMON materials before and after irradiation.

Fabrication of metallic air bridges using multiple-dose electron beam lithography

The techniques of fabricating metallic air bridges using different resists in a one-step electron beam lithography are presented. The exposure process employed a single-layer polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or photoresists with either different doses in the span and feet areas or with varying acceleration voltage of the electron beam. The process using photoresists with different doses has produced air bridges more stable than what the PMMA method using various acceleration voltages would achieve. Using this method, air bridges up to 12 mu m long have been fabricated. The length and height of these metallic air bridges vary with the photoresist thickness. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Dose rate dependence of electrical characteristics of lead zirconate titanate capacitors

The influence of gamma-radiation dose rate on the electrical properties of lead zirconate titanate capacitors was investigated. More severe degradations in dielectric constant, coercive field, remanent polarization and capacitance-voltage (C-V) curves occurred with increasing radiation dose at lower dose rates. The electrical properties exhibited distinct radiation dose rate dependence and the worst-case degradation occurred at the lowest dose rate. The radiation-induced degradation of parameters such as the coercive field drift and distortion of the C-V curve can be recovered partly through post-irradiation annealing.

Aggregation and precipitation in high dose as ion implanted Ge0.5Si0.5 alloy

Thermally stimulated redistribution and precipitation of excess arsenic in Ge0.5Si0.5 alloy has been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), cross sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) and X-ray energy disperse spectrometry (EDS). Samples were prepared by the implantation of 6 X 10(6) As+ cm(-2) and 100 keV with subsequent thermal processing at 800 degrees C and 1000 degrees C for 1 h. The XPS depth profiles from the implanted samples before and after the thermal annealing indicate that there is marked redistribution of the elements in heavily arsenic-implanted Ge0.5Si0.5 alloys during the annealing, including: (1) diffusion of As from the implanted region to the surface; (2) aggregation of Ge in the vicinity of the surface. A high density of precipitates was observed near the surface which were by XTEM and EDS identified as an arsenide. It is suggested that most of the implanted As in Ge0.5Si0.5 alloy exists in the form of GeAs.