Molecular characterization and genogrouping of VP1 of aquatic birnavirus GC1 isolated from rockfish Sebastes schlegeli in Korea

The cDNA nucleotide sequence of genome segment B encoding the VP1 protein was determined for the aquatic birnavirus GC1 isolated from the rockfish Sebastes schlegeli in Korea. The VP1 protein of GC1 contains a 2,538 bp open reading frame, which encodes a protein comprising 846 amino acid residues that has a predicted MW of 94 kDa. The sequence contains 6 potential Asn-X-Ser/Thr motifs. Eight potential Ser phosphorylation sites and 1 potential Tyr phophorylation site were also identified. GC1 contains the Leu-Lys-Asn (LKN) motif instead of the typical Gly-Asp-Asp (GDD) motif found in other aquatic birnaviruses. We also identified the GLPYIGKT motif, the putative GTP-binding site at amino acid position 248. In total, the VP1 regions of 22 birnavirus strains were compared for analyzing the genetic relationship among the family Birnaviridae. Based on the deduced amino acid sequences, GC1 was observed to be more closely related to the infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) from the USA, Japan, and Korea than the IPNV from Europe. Further, aquatic birnaviruses containing GC1 and IPNV have genogroups that are distinct from those in the genus Avibirnaviruses and Entomo-birnaviruses. The birnavirusstrains were clustered into 5 genogroups based on their amino acid sequences. The marine aquatic birnaviruses (MABVs) containing GC1 were included in the MABV genogroup; the IPNV strains isolated from Korea, Japan, and the USA were included in genogroup 1 and the IPNV strains isolated primarily from Europe were included in genogroup 2. Avibirnaviruses and entomobirnaviruses were included in genogroup 3 and 4, respectively

American ginseng suppresses Western diet-promoted tumorigenesis in model of inflammation-associated colon cancer: role of EGFR

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Western diets increase colon cancer risk. Epidemiological evidence and experimental studies suggest that ginseng can inhibit colon cancer development. In this study we asked if ginseng could inhibit Western diet (20% fat) promoted colonic tumorigenesis and if compound K, a microbial metabolite of ginseng could suppress colon cancer xenograft growth.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Mice were initiated with azoxymethane (AOM) and, two weeks later fed a Western diet (WD, 20% fat) alone, or WD supplemented with 250-ppm ginseng. After 1 wk, mice received 2.5% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) for 5 days and were sacrificed 12 wks after AOM. Tumors were harvested and cell proliferation measured by Ki67 staining and apoptosis by TUNEL assay. Levels of EGF-related signaling molecules and apoptosis regulators were determined by Western blotting. Anti-tumor effects of intraperitoneal compound K were examined using a tumor xenograft model and compound K absorption measured following oral ginseng gavage by UPLC-mass spectrometry. Effects of dietary ginseng on microbial diversity were measured by analysis of bacterial 16S rRNA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Ginseng significantly inhibited colonic inflammation and tumorigenesis and concomitantly reduced proliferation and increased apoptosis. The EGFR cascade was up-regulated in colonic tumors and ginseng significantly reduced EGFR and ErbB2 activation and Cox-2 expression. Dietary ginseng altered colonic microbial diversity, and bacterial suppression with metronidazole reduced serum compound K following ginseng gavage. Furthermore, compound K significantly inhibited tumor xenograft growth.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Ginseng inhibited colonic inflammation and tumorigenesis promoted by Western diet. We speculate that the ginseng metabolite compound K contributes to the chemopreventive effects of this agent in colonic tumorigenesis.</p

Polyethylene-derived high-yield carbon material for upcycling plastic wastes as a high-performance composite filler

In this study, to address environmental challenges stemming from plastic wastes, we produced carbon material derived from polyethylene (PE-C) using thermal oxidation and carbonization processes. Prior to thermal oxidation, e-beam irradiation was employed to enhance oxidation reactions which facilitated transformation of linear chains to cyclic ladder structures, resulting in a threefold increase in carbonization yield compared to conventional methods. Our analysis using XRD, Raman spectroscopy, XPS, and SEM revealed that PE-C exhibited a crystal structure similar to commercial CB (C-CB). However, it featured three times more oxygen functional groups on its surface and consisted of individual particles without forming aggregates or agglomerates. We incorporated PE-C into a PA6 polymer matrix to create composite materials with various compositions, systematically comparing their electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties to C-CB/PA6. PE-C outperformed C-CB in terms of mechanical properties (65 MPa vs. 41 MPa) due to its surface oxygen functional groups, uniform dispersion even at high loadings, and a rough surface. Moreover, PE-C exhibited a lower surface area, which reduced interfacial thermal resistance and consequently enhanced thermal conductivity, resulting in a 16 % improvement compared to C-CB at 30 wt%

FTO-free counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells using carbon nanosheets synthesised from a polymeric carbon source

Highly conductive carbon nanosheets (CNSs) are fabricated using a polymeric carbon source and subsequently applied as the counter electrodes (CNS-CEs) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The CNSs have a similar structure to multilayered graphene, and their high electrical conductivity and electrocatalytic activity enable them to have a dual-function as both CEs and charge supporting electrodes. CNSs form a unique CE material that functions successfully while being metal- and fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO)-free and allowing DSSCs to achieve similar to 5% power conversion efficiency. The chemical structure, electrical properties, electrocatalytic activity, and work function of the CNS-CEs prepared under various conditions of carbonization are investigated, and their effects on the performance of the corresponding DSSCs are discussed. Carbonization temperature is shown to have influenced the size of graphitic domains and the presence of heteroatoms and functional groups in CNS-CEs. The change in the graphitic domain size has a marginal influence on the work function of the CNS-CEs and the overpotential for the reduction of the redox couples (I-/I-3(-)). However, the electrical conductivity of CNS-CEs and the charge transfer resistance at CE/electrolyte interfaces in the DSSCs are considerably influenced by the carbonization condition. Our study shows that CNSs serve as efficient, FTO-free CE materials for DSSCs, and they are appropriate materials with which the effects of the chemical/physical properties of graphene-based materials on the electrode performance of various electrochemical devices may be studied

Graphene-oxide-intercalated layered manganese oxides as an efficient oxygen reduction reaction catalyst in alkaline media

A graphene-oxide-intercalated layered manganese oxide (GO-HLMO) was prepared by intercalating graphene oxide (GO) into the protonated layered manganese oxide (HLMO,H0.32MnO2), and its enhanced activity towards oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) in alkaline media was demonstrated. As a result of GO intercalation, decreases in interlayer distance and in Mn oxidation state were experimentally confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) analysis. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) analysis indicated that GO-HLMO had more accessible Mn( III)/Mn(IV) sites than HLMO, which probably resulted in the large enhancement in ORR activity in alkaline media, from 0.236 A g(-1) (HLMO) to 0.735 A g(-1) (GO-HLMO) at 0.8 V vs. RHE

Reinforced PEI/PVdF Multicore-Shell Structure Composite Membranes by Phase Prediction on a Ternary Solution

To construct a polyetherimide (PEI)-reinforced polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) composite membrane with multicore-shell structure, a ternary solution was prepared and electrospun by single-nozzle electrospinning. A theoretical prediction was made for the feasibility of complete distinction of two phases. The diameters of the membrane fibers and the PEI multi-core fibrils varied with the PEI ratio and the spinning time, respectively. The tensile strength and modulus were improved to 48 MPa and 1.5 GPa, respectively. The shrinkage of the membrane was only 6.6% at 180 °C, at which temperature the commercial PE separator melted down. The reinforcement in mechanical and thermal properties is associated with multiple PEI nanofibrils oriented along the fiber axis. Indeed, the unique morphology of self-assembled multicore-shell fibers plays an important role in their properties. All in all, PEI/PVdF membranes are appropriate for a lithium-ion battery application due to their high mechanical strength, excellent thermal stability, and controllable textural properties

Fabrication of Porous Carbon Films and Their Applications for Electrocatalytic Electrodes

Porous polyacrylonitrile (PAN) films spin coated on a quartz substrate with subsequent drying under humid conditions were used for preparing porous carbon films (PCFs) through conventional heat treatments such as stabilization and carbonization. The drying time, relative humidity (RH), and concentration of the PAN solution affected the morphology of the porous surface without significantly changing the intrinsic properties of the carbon films as thick as similar to 1.5 mu m. The pores were present even after the heat treatments, and the resulting carbonized PAN films had pores with an average diameter and depth of up to similar to 1.2 mu m and similar to 200 nm, respectively. The resulting PCFs were used as FTO-free counter electrodes (CEs) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The PCF-CEs displayed high electrical conductivity with a sheet resistance of similar to 12 Omega/sq. Furthermore, PCFs showed superior charge transfer properties at CE/electrolyte interfaces and increased current exchange for electrochemical iodine reduction. The DSSCs using PCF-CEs dried for 120 min showed significantly improved power conversion efficiency (PCE, 5.24%) and fill factor (FF, 0.48) compared to those using carbon nanosheet CEs (PCE, 4.46%; FF, 0.4), because of the advantageous and synergistic electrical and morphological improvements. This work provides a promising class of potential materials that can be used as electrocatalytic electrodes in electrochemical devices

Photometric Observations and Light Curve Analysis of BL Eridani

We present light curves of a short period binary system BL Eridani. The light curves were observed with {it VRI} filters by a 50cm wide field robotic telescope at Siding Spring Observatory (SSO), equipped with a 2K CCD camera, which was developed by Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI), and Yonsei University Observatory (YUO). The photometric observations were made on 6 nights by automatic operation mode and remote observation mode at SSO and KASI in Korea, respectively. We obtained new {it VRI} CCD light curves and new 5 times of minima, and analyzed the light curves with the Wilson & Deviney (1971) binary 2005 version and derived the new photometric solutions. The mass ratio q = 0.48 in this study shows different value with earlier investigators. According to the model analysis, it is considered that the BL Eri system is currently undergoing contact stage of the two binary components, rather than near-contact stage

Optical Property and Alighment of KAO Wide Field Telescope (NEOPAT-3)

We have investigated the optical property of the KAO(Korea Astronomy Observatory) wide field telescope (named NEOPAT-3; Near Earth Object and Satellite Patrol-3) and aligned optical system. The NEOPAT-3 is restricted to V,R,I-filters because of the refractive property of the correcting lens system. Because of the fast focal ratio, the optical performance of the NEOPAT-3 is very sensitive to its alignment factors of the optical system. To make the spot radius smaller than 8μm in rms over 2degree×2degree field, the optical system must satisfy the following conditions: 1) The tilt error between detector plane and focal plane should be less than 0.05degree. 2) The decenter error between the primary mirror and the correcting lens system should be less than 1mm. 3) The distance error between the primary mirror and the correcting lens system should be less than 2.3mm. In order to align the optical system accurately, we measured the aberrations of the telescope quantitatively by means of curvature sensing technique. NEOPAT-3 is installed temporary on the roof of the TRAO(Taeduk Radio Astronomy Observatory) main building to normalize system performance and to develop automatic observation