Dual-wavelength eye-safe Nd:YAP Raman laser

We report on a diode-pumped, Q-switched intracavity-Raman-shifted Nd-doped yttrium-aluminum-perovskite (Nd:YAP) laser using potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) or potassium titanyl arsenate (KTA) nonlinear crystals to produce eye-safe radiation. In both cases, we obtained simultaneous laser emission at two wavelengths corresponding to distinct Raman gain peaks and different Stokes orders for the nonlinear crystal used. From the Nd:YAP/KTP laser source, we obtained 3 ns pulses of combined 21 kW peak power at 1478 and 1503 nm. From the Nd:YAP/KTA laser source, we obtained up to 220 mW total average output power, equally split between 1474 and 1480 nm emission lines.

Study on the correlation between the expression of Ki67 and FasL and prognosis of cervical carcinoma

This study aimed to investigate the correlation between the expression of Ki67 and FasL and prognosis of cervical carcinoma and to explore the biological processes and signal pathways related to cervical carcinoma. Cervical carcinoma tissue specimens from 200 patients and normal tissue specimens adjacent to lesions from 30 cases were collected in this study. Ki67 and FasL proteins in these specimens were detected by immunohistochemical methods. A series of statistical methods were carried out to investigate the correlation between the expression of Ki67 and FasL and prognosis of cervical carcinoma. The expression of Ki67 and FasL in cervical carcinoma tissues was significantly higher than that in normal cervical tissue. The positive rate of Ki67 and FasL increased with the increase in the degree of cervical lesions. There was a positive correlation between the expression of Ki67 and FasL in cervical lesions. The expression of Ki67 and FasL affected the five-year survival rate of postoperative patients. Ki67 and FasL were independent factors for the prognosis of patients with cervical cancer. The expression of Ki67 and FasL is closely related to the occurrence and development of cervical carcinoma. There is a positive correlation between Ki67 and FasL, and they may be biomarkers of cervical cancer.

Comparative study of intracavity KTP-based Raman generation between Nd:YAP and Nd:YAG lasers operating on the (4)F(3/2) → (4)I(13/2) transition

Extending the spectral wavelengths of the diode-pumped Nd-doped lasers at 1.3 μm with the KTP crystal in the intracavity Raman configuration is reported for the first time to the best of our knowledge. A systematic comparison is performed to show that a better optical conversion efficiency for the Nd:YAP/KTP Raman laser could be achieved thanks to the higher peak power and linearly polarized radiation at 1341 nm, whereas up to four Stokes emission lines are generated from the Nd:YAG/KTP Raman laser as a result of the fundamental dual-color operation at 1319 and 1338 nm. The maximum Stokes output power of the developed Nd:YAP/KTP Raman laser reaches 1.04 W under an incident pump power of 16 W and a pulse repetition rate of 10 kHz, corresponding to the diode-to-Stokes conversion efficiency as high as 6.5%. The largest pulse energy and highest peak power are evaluated to be up to 104 μJ and 34.7 kW, respectively.

A family of 3D UO22+–5-X-1,3-dicarboxylate (X = –H, –NO2, –NH2, –OH) hybrid materials: structural relevance with variation of substituent groups and photochemical properties

A family of 3D uranyl hybrid materials based on 5-X-1,3-dicarboxylate have been synthesized, in which two types of 1D chains assembled by the same uranyl dimer motif [(UO₂)₂L₂] exist.

Nd:YLF laser at cryogenic temperature with orthogonally polarized simultaneous emission at 1047 nm and 1053 nm

A Nd:YLF laser at cryogenic temperature is demonstrated for the first time with orthogonally polarized simultaneous emission at 1047 nm and 1053 nm. By exploring the temperature dependence of the fluorescence and the absorption spectra from the Nd:YLF crystal, the feasibility of simultaneous emission at low temperature is achieved. Due to the local heating from the pump absorption, the optimal temperature with respect to the pump power for balancing output powers of simultaneous emission is thoroughly explored. At the optimal temperature of 138 K, the total output power of the simultaneous emission can reach 3.1 W at an incident pump power of 7.9 W, corresponding to the optical to optical slope efficiency up to 43%.

Biomechanical study of the funnel technique applied in thoracic pedicle screw replacement

BACKGROUND

Funnel technique is a method used for the insertion of screw into thoracic pedicle.

AIM

To evaluate the biomechanical characteristics of thoracic pedicle screw placement using the Funnel technique, trying to provide biomechanical basis for clinical application of this technology.

METHODS

14 functional spinal units (T6 to T10) were selected from thoracic spine specimens of 14 fresh adult cadavers, and randomly divided into two groups, including Funnel technique group (n = 7) and Magerl technique group (n = 7). The displacement-stiffness and pull-out strength in all kinds of position were tested and compared.

RESULTS

Two fixed groups were significantly higher than that of the intact state (P < 0.05) in the spinal central axial direction, compression, anterior flexion, posterior bending, lateral bending, axial torsion, but there were no significant differences between two fixed groups (P > 0.05). The mean pull-out strength in Funnel technique group (789.09 ± 27.33) was lower than that in Magerl technique group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The Funnel technique for the insertion point of posterior bone is a safe and accurate technique for pedicle screw placement. It exhibited no effects on the stiffness of spinal column, but decreased the pull-out strength of pedicle screw. Therefore, the funnel technique in the thoracic spine affords an alternative for the standard screw placement.

[Clinical analysis of lymphoblastic lymphoma/leukemia treated with Hyper-CVAD/MA regimen chemotherapy combined with haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell infusion]

This study was aimed to investigate the efficacy of Hyper-CVAD/MA regimen chemotherapy combined with haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell infusion for the treatment of lymphoblastic lymphoma/leukemia (LBL/ALL). Seven patients with LBL/ALL were treated in Second Artillery General Hospital from August 2009 to September 2012. All patients received programmed infusions of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF)-mobilized family related HLA-haploidentical donor peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell (G-PBHSC) after each of cycle of Hyper-CVAD/MA regimen chemotherapy without graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis. A total of four cycles of therapy were planned. The interval between each cycle of treatment was 8 to 12 weeks. By April 2014, the median follow-up time was 41 (20-57) months. The results showed that the 7 patients totally received 30 cycles of treatment, and all patients achieved complete remission (CR). The patients were generally well-tolerated to therapy, and the most significant toxicities of grade 3 to 4 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia developed in nearly all of the patients after each course of the Hyper-CVAD/MA regimen. No GVHD was observed in any of the patients during treatment. Up to now, 5 patients were still alive, 2 patients were died of relapse. It is concluded that the combination of chemotherapy and programmed haploidentical G-PBHSC infusion is a promising approach to the treatment of LBL/ALL.

Design, synthesis and alpha1-adrenoreceptor blocking activity of new arylpiperazines containing acetophenone substituents

Alpha1-AR antagonists are currently first-line therapy for lower urinary tract symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH). In this study, we report the synthesis of a new series of arylpiperazine derivatives containing acetophenone (3-17) which possess alpha1-adrenoreceptor blocking activity. The in vitro alpha1-adrenoreceptor blocking activity of each derivative was first screened using rabbit thoracic aortic rings by measuring the relaxation response (%) activated by (-)-noradrenaline (3 microM). Compounds 6 and 7 with 2,5-dimethoxy and 2-ethoxy substituent were found to have significant vasodilatory effect. Since the presence of a chiral carbon in the structure, 6 and 7 together with their enantiomers 14-17 were further evaluated by testing diastolic effect on rabbit thoracic aorta, prostate and bladder smooth muscle. The S-enantiomer was found to have more potent diastolic activity than the R-enantiomer and racemate, 17 being the most effective alpha1-adrenoreceptor antagonist. In order to assess tissue selectivity, the antagonistic effect of 17 on the (-)-noradrenaline induced contractile response of isolated rat vas deferens (alpha(1A)), spleen (alpha(1B)) and aorta (alpha(1D)) was characterized finally. Compared with naftopidil (1) and terazosin, compound 17 exhibited higher selectivity (18-fold) for the alpha(1D)-adrenoceptor subtype as compared to the alpha(1B)-adrenoceptor subtype, indicating less cardiovascular side effects for the treatment of LUTS/BPH. These data suggest that the acetophenone is a new effective adrenergic receptor ligand as well as incentivizes further research regarding pharmacological properties of chiral molecules.

[Establishment and identification of a H-2 completely mismatched microtransplantation model of leukemia mouse]

This study was purposed to establish and identify a H-2 completely mismatched microtransplantation model of leukemia mouse. The recipients were female BALB/c mice, while donors were male C57BL/6J mice. Recipients were inoculated intravenously with 1×10(6) of WEHI-3 cells, a cell line of myelomonocytic leukemia. Donors received 100 µg/kg G-CSF mobilization through hypodermic injection, every 12 hours, and it last 5 days. Chemotherapy regimens was MA (mitoxantrone+cytarabine), and it last 4 days. Recipients were given chemotherapy conditioning without GVHD prophylaxis after inoculation of leukemic cells for 2 days, and within 8 hours after last chemotherapy received donor mobilized spleen mononuclear cells (sMNC). The number of sMNC was (3, 6, 12) ×10(7), respectively. The early death rate, recovery level of WBC in peripheral blood and leukemia load were compared between chemotherapy and microtransplantation groups. The donor chimerism was detected by RT-PCR. From the clinical manifestation and pathological features, the GVHD in recipients was evaluated. The results showed that the early mortality in chemotherapy group was 25%, meanwhile those in the (3, 6, 12)×10(7) groups were 16.67%, 8.33%, 8.33%, respectively. The(3, 6)×10(7) groups has a stronger hematopoietic recovery capability than that in chemotherapy and 12×10(7) groups (P < 0.05) . There were more leukemic cells in chemotherapy mice than that in microtransplantation mice (P < 0.01) , and (12, 6)×10(7) groups had lower leukemia load than that in 3×10(7) group (P < 0.05) . No signs of GVHD were observed in microtransplantation mice. The donor microchimerism could be discovered at eraly 2 weeks after donor cell transfusion. It is concluded that a H-2 completely mismatched microtransplantation model of leukemia mouse has been successfully established, and it will provide a experimental base for studying microtransplantation in clinic.

High-repetition-rate quasi-CW side-pumped mJ eye-safe laser with a monolithic KTP crystal for intracavity optical parametric oscillator

We demonstrate a high-repetition-rate millijoule passively Q-switched eye-safe Nd:YVO(4) laser pumped by a quasi-CW diode stack. A theoretical analysis has been explored for the design criteria of generating TEM(n,0) mode in the diode-stack directly side-pumping configuration. We successfully generate TEM(n,0) modes at 1064 nm by adjusting the gain medium with respected to the laser axis. We further observe the spatial cleaning ability for generating an nearly TEM(0,0) mode output at 1573 nm with a monolithic OPO cavity. At the repetition rate up to 200 Hz, the output pulse energy reaches 1.21 mJ with the threshold pump energy of 17.9 mJ.

Efficient high-power terahertz beating in a dual-wavelength synchronously mode-locked laser with dual gain media

We originally present a novel tactic to accomplish a compact efficient dual-wavelength synchronously mode-locked laser by physically combining the Nd:YVO4 crystal to the Nd:GdVO4 crystal as a composite gain medium. With the developed method, the total output power at 1.06 μm could be effectually produced to reach 1.3 W under the optimally balanced two-color intensities. The corresponding mode-locked pulse width and repetition rate are measured to be 47 ps and 2.86 GHz, respectively. Through the optical beating between two carrier frequencies of dual-color synchronous pulses, a train of 0.32 THz ultrashort pulses is further generated with the effective duration of down to 1.6 ps.

High-power tunable single- and multi-wavelength diode-pumped Nd:YAP laser in the (4)F3/2 → (4)I11/2 transition

We experimentally explore the fluorescent spectrum of the Nd:YAP crystal to manifest the feasibility of tunable single- and multi-wavelength operations in the (4)F3/2 → (4)I11/2 transition. An intracavity etalon is subsequently exploited to effectively select spectral lines at 1073, 1080, and 1084 nm with the tunabilities of 0.56, 1.13, and 0.1 nm, respectively. We also experimentally obtain multi-wavelength oscillations among various intermanifold lines in the Nd:YAP crystal with the output powers on the order of several watts for each group. Employing the Cr(4+):YAG crystal to realize the passively Q-switched operation, the maximum average output powers as high as 2.3 and 3.5 W for 1073 and 1080 nm are obtained. The corresponding pulse energies at 1073 and 1080 nm are up to 177 and 159 μJ, respectively.

Partial equilibrium approximations in apoptosis. I. The intracellular-signaling subsystem

Apoptosis is one of the most basic biological processes. In apoptosis, tens of species are involved in many biochemical reactions with times scales of widely differing orders of magnitude. By the law of mass action, the process is mathematically described with a large and stiff system of ODEs (ordinary differential equations). The goal of this work is to simplify such systems of ODEs with the PEA (partial equilibrium approximation) method. In doing so, we propose a general framework of the PEA method together with some conditions, under which the PEA method can be justified rigorously. The main condition is the principle of detailed balance for fast reactions as a whole and the framework provides some meaningful physical insights of the full chemical kinetics. With the justified method as a tool, we simplify the Fas-signaling pathway model due to Hua et al. [6] under the empirical assumption that nine reactions therein can be well regarded as relatively fast. This paper reports our simplification, together with numerical results which confirm the reliability of both our simplified model and the empirical assumption.

High-power diode-end-pumped laser with multi-segmented Nd-doped yttrium vanadate

A Nd:YVO4 crystal consisting of three segments with different doping concentrations is originally developed for power scaling in diode-end-pumped solid-state laser. We systematically make a comparison of laser characteristics between the multi-segmented and conventional composite crystals to show the feasibility of using gain medium with multiple doping concentrations for power scale-up in end-pumped laser without introducing significant thermally accompanied effects. We further construct a dual-end-pumped actively Q-switched oscillator at 1064 nm to verify the usefulness of our crystal design, where the largest pulse energy of 1.06 mJ and the highest output power of 45 W are efficiently generated.

Influence of output coupling on the performance of a passively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser with intracavity optical parametric oscillator

A singly-resonant intracavity optical parametric oscillator (OPO), pumped by a passively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser, is systematically investigated by means of a series of the output mirrors with various reflectivities for the fundamental wavelength at 1064 nm. Experimental results reveal that the output mirror with partial reflectivity instead of high reflection at 1064 nm not only is practicable to avoid the optical coatings damaged, but also enhances the dual-wavelength output efficiency for the OPO signal and fundamental laser waves. The overall optical-to-optical conversion efficiency is enhanced from 6.4% to 8.2% for the reflectivity decreasing from 99.8% to 90%.

Efficient high-energy passively Q-switched Nd:YLF/Cr4+:YAG UV laser at 351 nm with pulsed pumping in a nearly hemispherical cavity

We originally utilize a nearly hemispherical cavity to accomplish the energy scale-up for a high-repetition-rate nanosecond pulsed pumped Nd:YLF laser passively Q-switched by the Cr(4+):YAG saturable absorber. This compact laser is able to efficiently generate pulse energy as large as 1.38 mJ and pulse width as short as 5 ns under a pulse repetition rate of 100 Hz. Further employing the developed Nd:YLF laser to perform extracavity harmonic generations, the maximum pulse energies of 490 μJ at 527 nm and 360 μJ at 351 nm are achieved with the shortest pulse duration of 4 ns.

Compact high-pulse-energy passively Q-switched Nd:YLF laser with an ultra-low-magnification unstable resonator: application for efficient optical parametric oscillator

We exploit an ultra-low-magnification unstable resonator to develop a high-pulse-energy side-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YLF/Cr⁴⁺:YAG laser with improving beam quality. A wedged laser crystal is employed in the cavity to control the emissions at 1047 nm and 1053 nm independently through the cavity alignment. The pulse energies at 1047 nm and 1053 nm are found to be 19 mJ and 23 mJ, respectively. The peak powers for both wavelengths are higher than 2 MW. Furthermore, the developed Nd:YLF lasers are employed to pump a monolithic optical parametric oscillator for confirming the applicability in nonlinear wavelength conversions.

HLA-mismatched stem-cell microtransplantation as postremission therapy for acute myeloid leukemia: long-term follow-up

PURPOSE

Despite best current therapies, approximately half of patients with acute myeloid leukemia in first complete remission (AML-CR1) with no HLA-identical donors experience relapse. Whether HLA-mismatched stem-cell microtransplantation as a novel postremission therapy in these patients will improve survival and avoid graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is still unknown.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

One hundred one patients with AML-CR1 (9 to 65 years old) from four treatment centers received programmed infusions of G-CSF-mobilized HLA-mismatched donor peripheral-blood stem cells after each of three cycles of high-dose cytarabine conditioning without GVHD prophylaxis. Donor chimerism and microchimerism and WT1+CD8+ T cells were analyzed.

RESULTS

The 6-year leukemia-free survival (LFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 84.4% and 89.5%, respectively, in the low-risk group, which were similar to the rates in the intermediate-risk group (59.2% and 65.2%, respectively; P=.272 and P=.308). The 6-year LFS and OS were 76.4% and 82.1%, respectively, in patients who received a high dose of donor CD3+ T cells (≥1.1×10(8)/kg) in each infusion, which were significantly higher than the LFS and OS in patients who received a lower dose (<1.1×10(8)/kg) of donor CD3+ T cells (49.5% and 55.3%, respectively; P=.091 and P=.041). No GVHD was observed in any of the patients. Donor microchimerism (2 to 1,020 days) was detected in 20 of the 23 female patients who were available for Y chromosome analysis. A significant increase in WT1+CD8+ T cells (from 0.2% to 4.56%) was observed in 33 of 39 patients with positive HLA-A*02:01 antigen by a pentamer analysis.

CONCLUSION

Microtransplantation as a postremission therapy may improve outcomes and avoid GVHD in patients with AML-CR1.

Tunable GHz pulse repetition rate operation in high-power TEM(00)-mode Nd:YLF lasers at 1047 nm and 1053 nm with self mode locking

We report on a high-power diode-pumped self-mode-locked Nd:YLF laser with the pulse repetition rate up to several GHz. A novel tactic is developed to efficiently select the output polarization state for achieving the stable TEM(00)-mode self-mode-locked operations at 1053 nm and 1047 nm, respectively. At an incident pump power of 6.93 W and a pulse repetition rate of 2.717 GHz, output powers as high as 2.15 W and 1.35 W are generated for the σ- and π-polarization, respectively. We experimentally find that decreasing the separation between the gain medium and the input mirror not only brings in the pulse shortening thanks to the enhanced effect of the spatial hole burning, but also effectively introduces the effect of the spectral filtering to lead the Nd:YLF laser to be in a second harmonic mode-locked status. Consequently, pulse durations as short as 8 ps and 8.5 ps are obtained at 1053 nm and 1047 nm with a pulse repetition rate of 5.434 GHz.

Identification of genes preferentially expressed in goat hair follicle anagen-catagen transition using suppression subtractive hybridization

Suppressive subtraction hybridization (SSH) was used to identify differentially expressed genes in goat (Capra hircus) hair follicle anagen-catagen transition. The cDNA fragments, derived from SSH positive subtractive library (tester: anagen-catagen transition, driver: later anagen), were cloned into pEGM-T vector. Two hundred cDNA fragments screened from this library were subjected to identify forty-five unregulated isolates. Sequence analysis revealed that these fragments represented twenty-three genes. Blasting analysis with database in GenBank showed that twenty genes were previously clearly annotated, two were homologous to un-annotated expressed sequence tag (ESTs), and one might be novel. To identify characters of gene expression, seven genes in later anagen and anagen-catagen transition skin tissues were chosen for quantitative real-time PCR. Results indicated that expression of these seven genes varied much, reaching threefold among them, furthering indicating that expression of those genes was up-regulation in the anagen-catagen transition. We characterized expression levels of this potential novel gene and the goat ectodysplasin A during differential stages of hair cycle. These profiles suggested that these two genes might play a role in the goat secondary hair follicle cycle.

Orthogonally polarized dual-wavelength Nd:LuVO4 laser at 1086 nm and 1089 nm

A comparison between the fluorescence spectra of the Nd-doped vanadate crystals (Nd:YVO4, Nd:GdVO4, Nd:LuVO4) for the 4F3/2 → 4I11/2 transition is studied. We numerically analyze the condition of gain-to-loss balance via an uncoated intracavity etalon to achieve the dual-wavelength operation. We further experimentally demonstrate the orthogonally polarized dual-wavelength laser with a single Nd:LuVO4 crystal. The simultaneous dual-wavelength Nd:LuVO4 laser at 1085.7 nm in σ polarization and 1088.5 nm in π polarization is realized. At an incident pump power of 12 W, the average output power obtained at 1085.7 nm and 1088.5 nm is 0.4 W and 1.7 W, respectively.

An inter-subspecies cloned buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) obtained by transferring of cryopreserved embryos via somatic cell nuclear transfer

The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility of cryopreservation of inter-subspecies cloned embryos in buffalo. In our experiment, river buffalo ear fibroblast nucleus was fused into swamp buffalo oocyte cytoplasm. The blastocyst formation rate for nuclear transfer of freshly thawed cells was not different from those of growing cells, confluent or serum-starved cells. A total of 122 cloned blastocysts derived from cryopreserved fibroblasts were cryopreserved and thawed, 37 were survived, the cryosurvival rate was 30.3%. The survived blastocysts were transferred into 15 recipient buffalos. Five of the recipients established pregnancy, but four of them aborted on day 53, 59, 145 and 179 of gestation respectively. One cross-bred buffalo (Murrah × Swamp buffalo (2n = 49) received three embryos delivered a 40.5 kg female calf by natural delivery on day 320 of gestation. Up to now (13-month old), the cloned calf has been growing well with no abnormity observed. These results demonstrated that cryopreservation of inter-subspecies cloned embryos is feasible to produce buffalo offspring.

Establishment of goat embryonic stem cells from in vivo produced blastocyst-stage embryos

Embryonic stem (ES) cells with the capacity for germ line transmission have only been verified in mouse and rat. Methods for derivation, propagation, and differentiation of ES cells from domestic animals have not been fully established. Here, we describe derivation of ES cells from goat embryos. In vivo-derived embryos were cultured on goat fetal fibroblast feeders. Embryos either attached to the feeder layer or remained floating and expanded in culture. Embryos that attached showed a prominent inner cell mass (ICM) and those that remained floating formed structures resembling ICM disks surrounded by trophectodermal cells. ICM cells and embryonic disks were isolated mechanically, cultured on feeder cells in the presence of hLIF, and outgrown into ES-like colonies. Two cell lines were cultured for 25 passages and stained positive for alkaline phosphatase, POU5F1, NANOG, SOX2, SSEA-1, and SSEA-4. Embryoid bodies formed in suspension culture without hLIF. One cell line was cultured for 2 years (over 120 passages). This cell line differentiated in vitro into epithelia and neuronal cells, and could be stably transfected and selected for expression of a fluorescent marker. When cells were injected into SCID mice, teratomas were identified 5-6 weeks after transplantation. Expression of known ES cell markers, maintenance in vitro for 2 years in an undifferentiated state, differentiation in vitro, and formation of teratomas in immunodeficient mice provide evidence that the established cell line represents goat ES cells. This also is the first report of teratoma formation from large animal ES cells.

Manifestation of quantum-billiard eigenvalue statistics from subthreshold emission of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

We report that the subthreshold emission spectra of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) can be analogously used to manifest the quantum-billiard energy spectra. The Fourier-transformed distributions of the subthreshold emission spectra are demonstrated to display various peak structures that are in good agreement with the results of the quantum-billiard model. We also verify that the statistical analyses of the nearest-neighbor eigenvalue spacing distributions obey a Poisson distribution for an equilateral-triangular device and a Wigner distribution for a stadium-shaped device.

Study on the inter-subspecies nuclear transfer of river buffalo somatic cell nuclei into swamp buffalo oocyte cytoplasm

The objective of this study was to explore the feasibility of inter-subspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) of river buffalo (50 chromosomes) somatic cell nuclei into swamp buffalo (48 chromosomes) oocyte cytoplasm. The enucleated swamp buffalo oocytes were fused with four different types of river buffalo cells: freshly thawed ear fibroblasts, serum-starved ear fibroblasts, cumulus cells and ear fibroblasts from a cloned buffalo calf. As a result, the developmental competence of embryos reconstructed with freshly thawed ear fibroblasts was the poorest (P<0.01), while those of the other three types were not different from each other. Furthermore, the efficiency of swamp-swamp buffalo, swamp-river buffalo and bovine-buffalo SCNT were also compared. The results showed that the blastocyst rate of swamp-river reconstructed embryos was not different from swamp-swamp embryos, while significantly higher than that of bovine-buffalo embryos (P<0.01). A total of thirty cloned blastocysts derived from freshly thawed ear fibroblasts were transferred into thirteen recipient buffaloes, four recipients established pregnancy, while three of them aborted on Days 65, 75 and 90 of gestation, respectively. One cross-bred buffalo (Murrah x swamp, 49 chromosomes) receiving three embryos delivered a 39 kg female calf on Day 335 of gestation. These results indicate that the inter-subspecies SCNT is feasible to produce swamp-river buffalo embryos, and these can develop to full term and result in live buffalo calves.