Pedigree reconstruction and spatial analysis for genetic testing and selection in a Larix kaempferi (Lamb.) Carrière plantation

Larix kaempferi is one of the major timber species in Northeast Asia. Demand for the reforestation of the species is rising in South Korea due to an increase in large timber production and utilization. However, progeny trials for the species have not been explored, making it challenging to foster advanced generations of tree improvement. In the present study, genetic testing and selection for diameter growth were conducted using pedigree reconstruction and phenotypic spatial distribution analysis in a plantation of L. kaempferi. The aim of the present study was to select the superior larch individuals using the pedigree reconstruction and phenotypic spatial distribution to substitute progeny trials. The plantation of seed orchard crops was established in 1990 and one-hundred and eighty-eight trees were selected as the study material. Genetic variation was investigated first to validate its adequacy as breeding material. Genetic testing was carried out using a model considering pedigree information and spatial autoregression of the phenotypes. The expected heterozygosity of the mother trees and offspring were 0.672 and 0.681 presenting the corresponding level of genetic variation between two groups. The pedigree reconstruction using maternity analysis assigned one to six progenies to ninety-two candidate mothers. The accuracy of genetic testing was exceedingly increased with the animal model considering AR1 ⊗ AR1 structure compared to the animal model only. The estimated genetic variance of the former was 9.086 whereas that of the latter was 4.9E-5 for DBH. The predicted breeding values of the offspring for DBH were ranged from -5.937cm to 5.655cm and the estimated heritability of diameter growth was 0.344. The genetic testing approach based on pedigree reconstruction and phenotypic spatial distribution analysis was considered a useful analytical scheme that could replace or supplement progeny trials.K L and I-S K have a grant from the National Institute of Forest Science (NIFoS), Korea and K-S has a fnancial support (2020182B10-2022-BB01) from the Korea Forest Service

High resolution crystal structure of PedB: a structural basis for the classification of pediocin-like immunity proteins

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pediocin-like bacteriocins, ribosomally-synthesized antimicrobial peptides, are generally coexpressed with cognate immunity proteins in order to protect the bacteriocin-producer from its own bacteriocin. As a step for understanding the mode of action of immunity proteins, we determined the crystal structure of PedB, a pediocin-like immunity protein conferring immunity to pediocin PP-1.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The 1.6 Å crystal structure of PedB reveals that PedB consists of an antiparallel four-helix bundle with a flexible C-terminal end. PedB shows structural similarity to an immunity protein against enterocin A (EntA-im) but some disparity to an immunity protein against carnobacteriocin B2 (ImB2) in both the C-terminal conformation and the local structure constructed by α3, α4, and their connecting loop. Structure-inspired mutational studies reveal that deletion of the last seven residues of the C-terminus of PedB almost abolished its immunity activity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The fact that PedB, EntA-im, and ImB2 share a four-helix bundle structure strongly suggests the structural conservation of this motif in the pediocin-like immunity proteins. The significant difference in the core structure and the C-terminal conformation provides a structural basis for the classification of pediocin-like immunity proteins. Our mutational study using C-terminal-shortened PedBs and the investigation of primary sequence of the C-terminal region, propose that several polar or charged residues in the extreme C-terminus of PedB which is crucial for the immunity are involved in the specific recognition of pediocin PP-1.</p

An autoregulatory loop controlling orphan nuclear receptor DAX-1 gene expression by orphan nuclear receptor ERRγ

The estrogen receptor-related receptor gamma (ERRγ/ERR3/NR3B3) is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily that activates transcription in the absence of ligand. However, the detailed mechanism of gene regulation by ERRγ is not fully understood. In this study we have found that the orphan nuclear receptor ERRγ activates the DAX-1 promoter, which, in turn, represses transactivation by ERRγ. Serial deletions of mouse DAX-1 (mDAX-1) gene promoter have revealed that the region responding to ERRγ is located between −129 and −121 bp and −334 and −326 bp. Gel shift assays and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays demonstrated that ERRγ binds directly to the mDAX-1 promoter. Site-directed mutagenesis results demonstrated that ERRE1 (−129 to −121 bp) is more important than ERRE2 (−334 to −326 bp) which is not conserved in the human DAX-1 promoter. In addition, adenovirus-mediated overexpression of ERRγ induced DAX-1 gene expression in MCF-7 breast cancer cells that co-expressed ERRγ and DAX-1. Moreover, yeast two-hybrid and glutathione S-transferase (GST)-pull down assays demonstrated that DAX-1 physically interacted with ERRγ and inhibited ERRγ transactivation, and that this interaction was dependent on the AF-2 domain of ERRγ. In addition, in vitro competition assays showed that DAX-1 inhibited PGC-1α mediated ERRγ transactivation, via competition between these two factors for the AF-2 binding domain. We thus propose a novel autoregulatory loop that controls DAX-1 gene expression by ERRγ

Brief Education on Microvasculature and Pit Pattern for Trainees Significantly Improves Estimation of the Invasion Depth of Colorectal Tumors

Objectives. This study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of education for trainees on the gross findings identified by conventional white-light endoscopy (CWE), the microvascular patterns identified by magnifying narrow-band imaging endoscopy (MNE), and the pit patterns identified by magnifying chromoendoscopy (MCE) in estimation of the invasion depth of colorectal tumors. Methods. A total of 420 endoscopic images of 35 colorectal tumors were used. Five trainees estimated the invasion depth of the tumors by reviewing the CWE images before education. Afterwards, the trainees estimated the invasion depth of the same tumors after brief education on CWE, MNE and MCE images, respectively. Results. The initial diagnostic accuracy for deep submucosal invasion before education and after education on CWE, MNE, and MCE findings was 54.3%, 55.4%, 67.4%, and 76.6%, respectively. The diagnostic accuracy increased significantly after MNE education (P=0.028). The specificity for deep submucosal invasion before education and after education on CWE, MNE, and MCE findings was 47.9%, 45.7%, 65.0%, and 80.7%, respectively. The specificity increased significantly after MNE (P=0.002) and MCE (P=0.005) education. Conclusion. Brief education on microvascular pattern identification by MNE and pit pattern identification by MCE significantly improves trainees’ estimations of the invasion depth of colorectal tumors

Young age: an independent risk factor for disease-free survival in women with operable breast cancer

BACKGROUND: The incidence of breast cancer in young women (age < 35) is low. The biology of the disease in this age group is poorly understood, and there are conflicting data regarding the prognosis for these women compared to older patients. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 2040 consecutive primary invasive breast cancer patients who underwent surgical procedures at our institution between 1990 and 1999. The younger age group was defined as patients aged <35 years at the time of diagnosis. The clinicopathological characteristics and treatment outcomes were compared between younger and older age groups. RESULTS: A total of 256 (12.5%) patients were aged <35. There was a significantly higher incidence of nuclear grade 3 and medullary histological-type tumors in younger patients compared to older patients. Axillary lymph node status, T stage, histological grade, c-erbB2 expression and estrogen receptor status did not differ significantly between the two age groups. Younger patients had a greater probability of recurrence and death at all time periods. Although there was no significant difference in disease-free survival between the two age groups in lymph node-negative patients, the younger group showed worse prognosis among lymph node-positive patients (p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, young age remained a significant predictor of recurrence (p = 0.010). CONCLUSION: Young age (<35) is an independent risk factor for relapse in operable breast cancer patients

Left anterior descending artery dissection with retrograde aortic dissection during percutaneous coronary intervention: a case report

Retrograde catheter-induced coronary artery dissection during percutaneous coronary intervention is an exceedingly rare occurrence, and the likelihood of it extending into the aorta is even more uncommon. Typically, surgical treatment involves aortic root replacement combined with coronary artery bypass grafting. However, in this particular case, a meticulous approach was employed. By carefully guiding wires into the true lumens and placing stents in the proximal left main and left anterior descending arteries, the immediate complications were averted by obstructing the retrograde flow in the false lumen. Subsequently, an off-pump coronary artery bypass was performed using the left internal mammary artery to the left anterior descending artery, without the need to manipulate the aorta. This approach resulted in a short operation time and the absence of any other complications

Right Colonic Diverticulitis

Although right colonic diverticultis (RCD) has been reported to be a rare disease in Western countries, RCD is a common diagnosis, with an incidence per 2.9-17 case of appendicitis, in Korea. Many Western studies have reported that it is difficult to differentiate the presenting symptoms of RCD from those of appendicitis before surgery because the signs and symptoms are similar. However, performing a computed tomography scan after the application of the diagnostic criteria for RCD has increased the preoperative RCD diagnostic rate. Treatment strategies have been difficult to define for this condition due to its low preoperative diagnosis rate. However, recent reports have shown that conservative medical treatment of uncomplicated RCD can be recommended and that such treatment is effective due to the benign and self-limited natural history of RCD. Therefore, in this review, we discuss the controversies surrounding RCD management

A Wearable Wrist Band-Type System for Multimodal Biometrics Integrated with Multispectral Skin Photomatrix and Electrocardiogram Sensors

Multimodal biometrics are promising for providing a strong security level for personal authentication, yet the implementation of a multimodal biometric system for practical usage need to meet such criteria that multimodal biometric signals should be easy to acquire but not easily compromised. We developed a wearable wrist band integrated with multispectral skin photomatrix (MSP) and electrocardiogram (ECG) sensors to improve the issues of collectability, performance and circumvention of multimodal biometric authentication. The band was designed to ensure collectability by sensing both MSP and ECG easily and to achieve high authentication performance with low computation, efficient memory usage, and relatively fast response. Acquisition of MSP and ECG using contact-based sensors could also prevent remote access to personal data. Personal authentication with multimodal biometrics using the integrated wearable wrist band was evaluated in 150 subjects and resulted in 0.2% equal error rate ( EER ) and 100% detection probability at 1% FAR (false acceptance rate) ( PD.1 ), which is comparable to other state-of-the-art multimodal biometrics. An additional investigation with a separate MSP sensor, which enhanced contact with the skin, along with ECG reached 0.1% EER and 100% PD.1 , showing a great potential of our in-house wearable band for practical applications. The results of this study demonstrate that our newly developed wearable wrist band may provide a reliable and easy-to-use multimodal biometric solution for personal authentication