Linear-Gompertz Model-Based Regression of Photovoltaic Power Generation by Satellite Imagery-Based Solar Irradiance

A simple yet accurate photovoltaic (PV) performance curve as a function of satellite-based solar irradiation is necessary to develop a PV power forecasting model that can cover all of South Korea, where more than 35,000 PV power plants are currently in operation. In order to express the nonlinear power output of the PV module with respect to the hourly global horizontal irradiance derived from satellite images, this study employed the Gompertz model, which is composed of three parameters and the sigmoid equation. The nonphysical behavior of the Gompertz model within the low solar irradiation range was corrected by combining a linear equation with the same gradient at the conjoint point. The overall fitness of Linear-Gompertz regression to the 242 PV power plants representing the country was R2 = 0.85 and nRMSE = 0.09. The Gompertz model coefficients showed normal distributions and equivariance of standard deviations of less than 15% by year and by season. Therefore, it can be conjectured that the Linear-Gompertz model represents the whole country’s PV system performance curve. In addition, the Gompertz coefficient C, which controls the growth rate of the curve, showed a strong correlation with the capacity factor, such that the regression equation for the capacity factor could be derived as a function of the three Gompertz model coefficients with a fitness of R2 = 0.88.This work was conducted under the framework of the Research and Development Program of the Korea Institute of Energy Research (C0-2407)

Dual and opposing roles of primary cilia in medulloblastoma development.

Recent work has shown that primary cilia are essential for Hedgehog (Hh) signaling during mammalian development. It is also known that aberrant Hh signaling can lead to cancer, but the role of primary cilia in oncogenesis is not known. Cerebellar granule neuron precursors (GNPs) can give rise to medulloblastomas, the most common malignant brain tumor in children. The primary cilium and Hh signaling are required for GNP proliferation. We asked whether primary cilia in GNPs have a role in medulloblastoma growth in mice. Genetic ablation of primary cilia blocked medulloblastoma formation when this tumor was driven by a constitutively active Smoothened protein (Smo), an upstream activator of Hh signaling. In contrast, removal of cilia was required for medulloblastoma growth by a constitutively active glioma-associated oncogene family zinc finger-2 (GLI2), a downstream transcription factor. Thus, primary cilia are either required for or inhibit medulloblastoma formation, depending on the initiating oncogenic event. Remarkably, the presence or absence of cilia was associated with specific variants of human medulloblastomas; primary cilia were found in medulloblastomas with activation in HH or WNT signaling but not in most medulloblastomas in other distinct molecular subgroups. Primary cilia could serve as a diagnostic tool and provide new insights into the mechanism of tumorigenesis

DQ12 Dancing Across Oceans: Barcelona (ES)-Salvador (BR)- Daejeon (KR) @Chiang Mai (TH)

At the 33rd APAN Meetings held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the eCulture Working group successfully presented and streamed a cyber performance a live three- continent dance and music performance ‘Dancing Across Oceans’ on 13th  February 2012.  This is a documentation of the technical and performance logistics required to present such a performance

Production of Transgenic Cloned Miniature Pigs with Membrane-bound Human Fas Ligand (FasL) by Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer

Cell-mediated xenograft rejection, including NK cells and CD8+ CTL, is a major obstacle in successful pig-to-human xenotransplantation. Human CD8+ CTL and NK cells display high cytotoxicity for pig cells, mediated at least in part by the Fas/FasL pathway. To prevent cell-mediated xenocytotoxicity, a membrane-bound form of human FasL (mFasL) was generated as an inhibitor for CTL and NK cell cytotoxicity that could not be cleaved by metalloproteinase to produce putative soluble FasL. We produced two healthy transgenic pigs harboring the mFasL gene via somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). In a cytotoxicity assay using transgenic clonal cell lines and transgenic pig ear cells, the rate of CD8+ CTL-mediated cytotoxicity was significantly reduced in transgenic pig's ear cells compared with that in normal minipig fetal fibroblasts. Our data indicate that grafts of transgenic pigs expressing membrane-bound human FasL control the cellular immune response to xenografts, creating a window of opportunity to facilitate xenograft survival

A computational approach for identifying pathogenicity islands in prokaryotic genomes

BACKGROUND: Pathogenicity islands (PAIs), distinct genomic segments of pathogens encoding virulence factors, represent a subgroup of genomic islands (GIs) that have been acquired by horizontal gene transfer event. Up to now, computational approaches for identifying PAIs have been focused on the detection of genomic regions which only differ from the rest of the genome in their base composition and codon usage. These approaches often lead to the identification of genomic islands, rather than PAIs. RESULTS: We present a computational method for detecting potential PAIs in complete prokaryotic genomes by combining sequence similarities and abnormalities in genomic composition. We first collected 207 GenBank accessions containing either part or all of the reported PAI loci. In sequenced genomes, strips of PAI-homologs were defined based on the proximity of the homologs of genes in the same PAI accession. An algorithm reminiscent of sequence-assembly procedure was then devised to merge overlapping or adjacent genomic strips into a large genomic region. Among the defined genomic regions, PAI-like regions were identified by the presence of homolog(s) of virulence genes. Also, GIs were postulated by calculating G+C content anomalies and codon usage bias. Of 148 prokaryotic genomes examined, 23 pathogenic and 6 non-pathogenic bacteria contained 77 candidate PAIs that partly or entirely overlap GIs. CONCLUSION: Supporting the validity of our method, included in the list of candidate PAIs were thirty four PAIs previously identified from genome sequencing papers. Furthermore, in some instances, our method was able to detect entire PAIs for those only partial sequences are available. Our method was proven to be an efficient method for demarcating the potential PAIs in our study. Also, the function(s) and origin(s) of a candidate PAI can be inferred by investigating the PAI queries comprising it. Identification and analysis of potential PAIs in prokaryotic genomes will broaden our knowledge on the structure and properties of PAIs and the evolution of bacterial pathogenesis

Signal crosstalk between estrogen and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α on adiposity

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α and estrogen are believed to be involved in metabolic changes leading to obesity. To test this relationship, we divided female wildtype and PPARα-deficient mice fed on a high fat diet into the following groups: mock-operated, ovariectomized (OVX), and E2-treated. The visceral white adipose tissue and plasma cholesterol levels were increased significantly in wild type OVX and decreased in the E2-treated group, but interestingly not in PPARα-deficient mice. The mRNA levels of lipoprotein lipase in adipose tissue were also increased in only wild type OVX and decreased significantly in E2-treated mice. These novel results suggest the possibility of signaling crosstalk between PPARα and E2, causing obesity in vivo.This work was supported by a grant from the Korean Ministry of Heath and Welfare (A000385) and a grant from the Seoul R & BD Program (11117M0214882)

Schisandrae Fructus ethanol extract ameliorates inflammatory responses and articular cartilage damage in monosodium iodoacetate-induced osteoarthritis in rats

Schisandrae Fructus, the fruit of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill., is widely used in traditional medicine for the treatment of a number of chronic diseases. Although, Schisandrae Fructus was recently reported to attenuate the interleukin (IL)-1β-induced inflammatory response in chondrocytes in vitro, its protective and therapeutic potential against osteoarthritis (OA) in an animal model remains unclear. Therefore, we investigated the effects of the ethanol extract of Schisandrae Fructus (SF) on inflammatory responses and cartilage degradation in a monosodium iodoacetate (MIA)-induced OA rat model. Our results demonstrated that administration with SF had a tendency to attenuate MIA-induced damage of articular cartilage as determined by a histological grade of OA. SF significantly suppressed the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α in MIA-induced OA rats. SF also effectively inhibited expression of inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase and cyclooxygenase-2, thereby inhibiting the release of NO and prostaglandin E2. In addition, the elevated levels of matrix metalloproteinases-13 and two biomarkers for diagnosis and progression of OA, such as cartilage oligomeric matrix protein and C-telopeptide of type II collagen, were markedly ameliorated by SF administration. These findings indicate that SF could be a potential candidate for the treatment of OA

Clinical and Pathological Characteristics of Four Korean Patients with Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy type 2B

Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2B (LGMD2B), a subtype of autosomal recessive limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (ARLGMD), is characterized by a relatively late onset and slow progressive course. LGMD2B is known to be caused by the loss of the dysferlin protein at sarcolemma in muscle fibers. In this study, the clinical and pathological characteristics of Korean LGMD2B patients were investigated. Seventeen patients with ARLGMD underwent muscle biopsy and the histochemical examination was performed. For the immunocytochemistry, a set of antibodies against dystrophin, α, β, γ, δ-sarcoglycans, dysferlin, caveolin-3, and β-dystroglycan was used. Four patients (24%) showed selective loss of immunoreactivity against dysferlin at the sarcolemma on the muscle specimens. Therefore, they were classified into the LGMD2B category. The age at the onset of disease ranged from 9 yr to 33 yr, and none of the patients was wheelchair bound at the neurological examination. The serum creatine kinase (CK) was high in all the patients (4010-5310 IU/L). The pathologic examination showed mild to moderate dystrophic features. These are the first Korean LGMD2B cases with a dysferlin deficiency confirmed by immunocytochemistry. The clinical, pathological, and immunocytochemical findings of the patients with LGMD2B in this study were in accordance with those of other previous reports