• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.273-284
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• 1996

Embryos and fetuses are more sensitive to various environmental agents than are adults or children. The biological effects such as intrauterine death and malformation are closely connected with prenatal exposure very various agents. The sensitivity of these embryonic/fetal effects depends on the stage of pregnancy. From the viewpoint of fetal development, embryonic and fetal stages can be divided into three stages : Preimplantation, organogenetic and fetal. Each stage corresponds to 0 to 4.5days, 4.5 to 13.5days, and 13.5days of gestation in mice, respectively. Many studies on the biologcal effects of mice irradiated by ${\gamma}-rays$ at various stages during organogenesis and fetal period have been performed. Based on these results, the dose-effect and dose-response relationships in malformations, intrauterine death, or retardation of the physical growth have been practically modeled by the ICRP(International Commission on Radiological Protection) and other international bodies for radiation protection. Many experimental studies on mice have made it clear that mice embryos in the preimplantation period have a higher sensitivity to radiation for lethal effects than the embryos/fetuses on other prenatal periods. However, no eratogenic effects of radiation at preimplantation stages of mice have been described in many textbooks. It has been believed that 'all or none action results' for radiation of mice during the preimplantation period were applied. The teratogenic and lethal effects during the preimplantation stage are one of the most important problems from the viewpoint of radiological protection, since the preimplantation stage is the period when the pregnancy itself is not noticed by a pregnant woman. There are many physical or chemical agents which affect embryos/fetuses in the environment. It is assumed that each agents indirectly effects a human. Then, a safety criterion on each agent is determined independently. The pregnant ICR mice on 2, 48, 72 or 96 hours post-conception (hpc), at which are preimplantation stage of embryos, were irradiated whole body Cesium-gamma radiation at doses of 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1.5, and 2.5 Gy with dose rate of 0.2 Gy/min. In the embryos from the fetuses from the mice irradiated at various period in preimplantation, embryonic/fetal mortalities, incidence of external gross malformation, fetal body weight and sex ratio were observed at day 18 of gestation. The sensitivity of embryonic mortalities in the mice irradiated at the stage of preimplantation were higher than those in the mice irradiated at the stage of organogenesis. And the more sensitive periods of preimplantation stage for embryonic death were 2 and 48 hpc, at which embryos were one cell and 4 to 7 cell stage, respectively. Many types of the external gross malformations such as exencephaly, cleft palate and anophthalmia were observed in the fetuses from the mice irradiated at 2, 72 and 96 hpc. However, no malformations were observed in the mice irradiated at 48 hpc, at which stage the embryos were about 6 cell stage precompacted embryos. So far, it is believed that the embryos on preimplantation stage are not susceptible to teratogens such as radiation and chemical agents. In this study, the sensitivity for external malformations in the fetuses from the mice irradiated at preimplantation were higher than those in the fetuses on stage of organogenesis.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-21
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• 1973

Some experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of the chemosterilant, hempa, on the biology of the rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae L., and the transmission of the lethal factors in the progeny. One to three days old adult males were fed on the wheat grains treated with concentrations of 0.0625, 0.125, 0.25, and $0.5\%$ of hempa water solution. The effects of the treatment on the mortality, longevity, and the performance of oviposition were examined for the Pl generation, and the hatchability and mortality in the postembryonic development were also tested in the $F_1,\;F_2,\;BC_1,\;F_3,\;and\;BC_2$ generations to analyze the inheritance of the lethal factors. The results obtained were summarized as follows. (1) The average longevity of the treated males were ranged from 26.6 to 30.4 days, and indicated no statistical differences. (2) The mortality of the treated males were ranged between $3.3\%\;and\;13.3\%$ and showed no statistical significance. (3) The overall mean number of eggs laid by a female mated to a treated male with concentrations of 0.0625, 0.125, 0.26 and $0.5\%$ were 3.78, 4.05, 3.75 and 3.61 for the respective treatments, and they were not differ significantly from those of control which were 3.60 per female per 3 day period. The unmated female laid 1.91 in the same period, and significantly differ from those in other experimental groups. (4) The overall mean hatchability of the eggs laid by the females mated with males that had been treated with various concentrations of hempa were 86.82, 64.77, 53.47, 40.33 and $24.78\%$ for the respective concentrations of 0, 0.0625, 0.125, 0.25 and $0.5\%$. The hatchability decreased with the increasing concentrations. (5) The minimum hatchabilities were obtained from the eggs laid in the period of 10-12 days after treatment, then the hatchability increased showing some recovery. The recovery seemed to be very much delayed for the males which had been treated with the greater concentrations. Such a difference in hatchability might be related with the sensitivity of the developmental stages of the sperms, and broader spectrum in the stages and severer effects seemed to be associated with the increased concentrations. (6) The overall mean of larval mortality in the $F_l$ generation were 6.55, 17.89, 27.40, 35.42 and $52.17\%$ for the respective concentrations of 0,0.0625, 0.125,0.25 and $0.5\%$. And there was a tendency to increase in the mortality with the increase of concentrations. (7) The correlation coefficients between per cent sterile eggs and larval mortality for the experimental plots of 0.125, 0.25 and $0.5\%$ treatments showed r=+0.83 and +0.85, respectively, and it seemed to be close correlation between the lethal effects on the embryonic and post-embryonic developments. (8) Since the $SC_{50}$ of the sterile eggs was $0.133\%$ and $SC_{50}$ of the larval mortality was $0.565\%$, it was considered that tile lethal factors expressed more in the egg stages than the larval stages. (9) The ratio of female to male in the $F_l$ adults showed 100 : 125, 100 : 108 and 100 : 124 for the plots of 0.125, 0.25 and $0.5\%$ treatments, respectively. And it n·as considered that the sex ratio distortions might occur with the higher concentrations. (10) When the F, males originated 1.on the eggs had been laid by p, in the period of 16-18 days after treatment, were crossed to normal females $(BC_1)$ and made sib matings $(F_2)$, the per cent sterile eggs of the $BC_1$ generation were 13.88 and $33.04\%$ , and were 31.01 and $38.73\%$ for the $F_2$generation with the plots of 0.0625 and $0.125\%$ treatment, respectively. And these seemed to be a results of the $F_1$ individuals are carrying some chromosomal aberrations (11) The larval mortality was the highest in the $F_2$ plot and followed the female backcross plot, and the least in the male backcrosses. (12) The proportions of 1st and 2nd instar larvae among the larval development at tile 17th day after oviposition were 10.98, 27.26, 32.98 and $15.73\%$ in the normal female $\times$ normal male, $F_1$ female$\times$normal male, normal $female \;\times F_1$ male and $female \;\times F_1$ male plots, respectively. It was considered that the larval development might be delayed by the treatment in the 2nd generation. (13) Per cent larval mortality and sterile eggs were greater in the $F_2$ sib mating plots $(F_3)$ than both of $F_2$ backcrosses. Therefore, it seemed that some of the recessive lethal mutations might affect in the further generations. (14) The sterility, induced by the treatment of chemosterilant, hempa, was considered as the result of the dominant lethal mutations due to chromosomal aberrations such as translocation and/or deletion. The effects of these lethal factors seemed to be inherited tip to 3rd generation after treatment.