Cryopreservation of hairy roots of Rubia akane (Nakai) using a droplet-vitrification procedure

An efficient protocol for the cryopreservation of madder (Rubia akane Nakai) hairy root cultures was developed using droplet-vitrification and alternative loading and vitrification solutions formulated previously in our laboratory. Among eight preculture treatments tested, the highest post-cryopreservation regeneration was obtained for explants incubated in liquid half-strength MS medium with progressively increased sucrose concentration (0.3 M for 54 h, then 0.5 M for 16 h). Loading of precultured explants improved their post-cryopreservation regeneration by 50-75% compared with non-loaded control. Combining loading solution C4 (35% PVS3) and vitrification solution B5 (80% PVS3) was the most effective, while applying six PVS2-based solutions at room temperature resulted in low post-cryo regeneration. Treatment duration was optimized to 30 min for loading and to 10-20 min for vitrification solution. Apices of primary and secondary hairy roots showed similar post-cryo regeneration (88 and 95%, respectively), which was significantly higher than regeneration of root sections without apices (65%). Droplet-vitrification produced higher post-cryo regeneration than 'classical' vitrification in cryovials. Our results suggest that droplet-vitrification using alternative loading and vitrification solutions is an efficient method for cryopreservation of R. akane hairy root cultures.     

Patchy胶体粒子的结晶、玻璃化和凝胶化问题

本文探讨了中性多缔合位点Patchy胶体粒子系统的相图及其相关问题. 在研究中,计入了分子间的硬芯Lennard-Jones势和缔合作用,进而阐明了系统的流体相(F),无规密积相(RCP)和面心立方相(FCC)之间转变的相态结构. 在体系丰富的相结构中,F-F,F-RCP及F-FCC相转变以及描述粒子间联结性的溶胶-凝胶转变相互影响,致使一些相态在不同相互作用强度时可以呈现亚稳态和稳态. 同时,本文重点阐述了缔合能量以及patch数目对体系的临界温度、临界密度、临界三相点以及溶胶-凝胶转变等的调控机制.     

Cryopreservation of shoot apices of in-vitro grown gentian plants: comparison of vitrification and encapsulation-vitrification protocols

Using vitrification and encapsulation-vitrification protocols, we successfully cryopreserved shoot apices from in-vitro plants of different Gentiana cultivars (lines). Although both protocols gave high survival percentages after storage in liquid nitrogen, the encapsulation-vitrification protocol had several distinct advantages over the vitrification protocol: (i) survival was higher under optimal conditions, (ii) the range of optimal exposure periods to the plant vitrification solution 2 (PVS2) was broader, and (iii) regrowth of cryopreserved shoot apices was apparently more vigorous and faster. Shoot apices from ten cultivars/lines of three Gentiana species (G. scabra, G. triflora, and G. pneumonanthe) were successfully cryopreserved using the two protocols with average survival of 49.0 percent and 73.7 percent for vitrification and encapsulation-vitrification, respectively. These results indicate that the two protocols optimized in the present study are promising for cryopreservation of a wide range of Gentiana genetic resources.     

Vitrification of a monatomic 2D simple liquid

A monatomic simple liquid in two dimensions, where atoms interact isotropically through the Lennard-Jones-Gauss potential [M. Engel, H.-R. Trebin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 225505 (2007)], is vitrified by the use of a rapid cooling technique in a molecular dynamics simulation. Transformation to a crystalline state is investigated at various temperatures and the time-temperature-transformation (TTT) curve is determined. It is found that the transformation time to a crystalline state is the shortest at a temerature 14% below the melting temperature T _m and that at temperatures below T _v ≡ 0:6T _m the transformation time is much longer than the available CPU time. This indicates that a long-lived glassy state is realized for T ≤ T _v .      

Cryopreservation of 'Nabali' olive (Olea europea l.) somatic embryos by encapsulation-dehydration and encapsulation-vitrification

Olive (Olea europea L.) somatic embryos were successfully cryopreserved using encapsulation-dehydration and encapsulation-vitrification. In the encapsulation-dehydration procedure, a maximum of 48% embryo survival was obtained when bead moisture content was decreased to 21.1% after 4 h dehydration. Preculture of embryos for 4 d in medium containing 0.75 to 1.25 M sucrose produced higher (40 to 34 %, respectively) regrowth after cryopreservation using encapsulation-dehydration procedure. Dehydration of beads for 3 h in PVS2 ensured higher survival (64%) of encapsulated-vitrified and cryopreserved (EVN) somatic embryos. Thermal treatment of embryogenic callus for 1 d at 30 degree C was very effective to increase survival of encapsulated-dehydrated and cryopreserved (EDN) (58%) and EVN (68%) embryos. Plantlets produced from control and cryopreserved embryos were phenotypically similar.     

Vitrification in a 2D Ising model with mobile bonds

A bond-disordered two-dimensional Ising model is used to simulate Kauzmann's mechanism of vitrification in liquids, by a Glauber Monte Carlo simulation. The rearrangement of configurations is achieved by allowing impurity bonds to hop to nearest neighbors at the same rate as the spins flip. For slow cooling, the theoretical minimum energy configuration is approached, characterized by an amorphous distribution of locally optimally arranged impurity bonds. Rapid cooling to low temperatures regularly finds bond configurations of higher energy, which are both a priori rare and severely restrictive to spin movement, providing a simple realization of kinetic vitrification. A supercooled liquid regime is also found, and characterized by a change in sign of the field derivative of the spin-glass susceptibility at a finite temperature. Received 3 August 2000 and Received in final form 9 March 2001     

Vitrification of and optical and photoelectrical properties of AgAsS2, AgSbS2, and AgBiS2

A study is made concerning the photoconductivity, the edge absorption, and the far-infrared spectra of AgAsS₂, AgSbS₂, AgBiS₂ crystals and glasses. The oscillation spectrum of monoclinic smithite (AgAsS₂) and miargyrite (AgSbS₂) is explained here by the presence of As-S, Sb-S, and Ag-S bonds. The rank of symmetry and the degree of bond metallization, which both increase in the order AgAsS₂ AgSbS₂ AgBiS₂, cause the structure of the far-infrared spectra to become simpler and the tendency vitrification to become weaker in the same order.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 3, pp. 39–45, March, 1976.     

Vitrification and glass transition of water: insights from spin probe ESR

Three long-standing problems related to the physics of water, viz., the possibility of vitrifying bulk water by rapid quenching, its glass transition, and the supposed impossibility of obtaining supercooled water between 150 and 233 K, the so-called "no man's land" of its phase diagram, are studied using the highly sensitive technique of spin probe ESR. Our results suggest that water can indeed be vitrified by rapid quenching; it undergoes a glass transition at approximately 135 K, and the relaxation behavior studied using this method between 165 K and 233 K closely follows the predictions of the Adam-Gibbs model.     

The Characteristic Cooling Rate and Vitrification of Liquids

Doklady Physics - This work is devoted to analysis and generalization of the kinetic criteria of vitrification using the model of delocalized atoms. The generalized criterion of a...     

Vitrification and transport properties in AgBr-doped chalcogenide systems

Vitrification and transport properties measurements for (AgBr)_x(As₂Se₃)_1−x glasses have been carried out in order to investigate the ion conduction phenomena of these systems. Glass samples were successfully obtained in a composition range of 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.65. The addition of AgBr leads these systems to an exponential increase of electrical conductivity. The ionic component of the electrical conductivity is dominant in highly AgBr-doped glasses. The vitrification brings the fast ion conduction to the present glass systems.     

Vocal problems among teachers: a review of prevalence, causes, prevention, and treatment

Voice disorders are thought to be one of the major occupational hazardsof school teaching. The resulting symptoms can affect teachers' ability to function in the classroom and prevent them from developing effective working relationships with other staff and students. Sick leave, speech pathology management, and surgical intervention can be costly. Severe voice problems can also result in a teacher permanently leaving the classroom. Despite the significant implications of voice disorders for teachers, this review of published research demonstrates that findings concerning the prevalence of voice problems in teachers and the causes and contributing factors of those voice problems are inconclusive. Similarly, previous research on the efficacy of prevention programs and treatment of voice problems in teachers provide few firm conclusions. Further research based on sound empirical data is needed, as many past studies have relied on anecdotal or self-report data. More operational definitions of what constitutes a voice disorder and the associated contributing factors should be adopted, along with the use of more instrumental measures and careful attention to methodology and appropriate statistical analyses. Only then will we have a sound basis for the development of effective prevention and education programs for teachers.     

Vitrification of cultured and non-cultured expanded and hatched porcine blastocysts

The aim of this experiment was to examine the survival of porcine embryos following exposure or vitrification in EFS solution. The work was carried out on cultured and non-cultured expanded and hatched blastocysts. The viability of treated embryos was assessed by their ability to develop in in vitro culture. The results showed a higher viability of cultured expanded blastocyst (35.1 percent) vitrified in EFS medium compared to those non-cultured (12.5 percent). The proportion of cultured hatched blastocyst vitrified in this medium was 13.2 percent, while none of the non-cultured hatched blastocyst survived vitrification. It is concluded that: 1. The EFS solution was more toxic to hatched blastocyst than expanded blastocyst 2. The expanded blastocyst was a more suitable developmental stage for vitrification than hatched blastocyst. Moreover, we demonstrated that the survival rate of vitrified cultured pig blastocyst was higher compared to non-cultured.     

String cosmology: a review

We give an overview of the status of string cosmology. We explain the motivation for the subject, outline the main problems, and assess some of the proposed solutions. Our focus is on those aspects of cosmology that benefit from the data of an ultraviolet-complete theory.     

Vitrification of encapsulated hepatocytes with reduced cooling and warming rates

We have used microencapsulated hepatocytes as model to develop a method of vitreous cryopreservation of large quantities of cell-containing constructs. The method included a pre-equilibration procedure in which the amount of penetrating cryoprotectant was gradually increased by 15% in each step. The optimal vitrification solution consists of 40% ethylene glycol and 0.6M sucrose. The concentration of 1M sucrose used for the first dilution solution with subsequent decrease of sucrose concentration to 0.7 M sucrose and by 0.2-0.15M for each subsequent step. This sucrose dilution procedure had no adverse effect on cell functions. Three cooling rates (400 degrees C/min and above) and three warming rates (650 degrees C/min and above), in combination with the proposed vitrification solution, were equally effective. The optimization of the procedure and solutions allow microencapsulated hepatocytes to be preserved with almost 100% retention of cell functions and no detectable damage to the fragile microcapsules. The de-linking of the cooling/warming rates with the effectiveness of vitrification potentially paves the way for large scale cryopreservation of complex tissue engineered constructs.     

Fourier transform profilometry: : a review

Fourier transform profilometry is one of the popular non-contact 3-D measurement methods, where a Ronchi grating or sinusoidal grating is projected onto a diffuse three-dimensional surface, and the resulting deformed grating image is detected by a CCD camera and processed by a computer. This method requires only one frame (or two frames) of the deformed fringe pattern in some algorithms to retrieve the surface of measured object, so it has obvious advantage for real time data acquisition and 3-D measurement of dynamic process. In this paper, we review some algorithms in FTP, discuss some important problems, including frequency spectra overlapping, phase unwrapping, sampling, and 3-D measurement of dynamic process. With the development of computer hardware and software and availability of high-resolution image grabber, FTP method will be a promising one for acquiring 3-D data of object, and more and more researchers pay attention to it.