Selectively enhanced expression of prophenoloxidase activating enzyme 1 (PPAE1) at a bacteria clearance site in the white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The prophenoloxidase-activating (PO activating) system plays an important role in the crustacean innate immunity, particularly in wound healing and pathogen defense. A key member of this system is prophenoloxidase-activating enzyme (PPAE), which is the direct activator of prophenoloxidase (proPO). Despite their importance in crustacean PO activating system, the studies on them remain limited.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we report on a PPAE of white shrimp, <it>Litopenaeus vannamei </it>(lvPPAE1), which showed 94% similarity to PPAE1 of <it>Penaeus monodon</it>. We found that lvPPAE1 in fluid hemocytes was down regulated after challenge by <it>Vibrio harveyi </it>but was enhanced when shrimps were exposed to a bacteria-rich environment for long-term. In <it>vivo </it>gene silence of lvPPAE1 by RNAi can significantly reduce the phenoloxidase activity (PO) and increase the susceptibility of shrimps to <it>V. harveyi</it>. Although lvPPAE1 was down-regulated in fluid hemocytes by <it>Vibrio </it>challenge, its expression increased significantly in gill after bacteria injection, which is the primary bacteria-clearance tissue.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Suppressed expression in fluid hemocytes and enhanced expression in gill indicates selectively enhanced expression at the bacterial clearance site. This is a novel feature for PPAE expression. The results will contribute to our understanding of the PO activating system in crustaceans.</p

Discrimination of cultivation ages and cultivars of ginseng leaves using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis

AbstractTo determine whether Fourier transform (FT)-IR spectral analysis combined with multivariate analysis of whole-cell extracts from ginseng leaves can be applied as a high-throughput discrimination system of cultivation ages and cultivars, a total of total 480 leaf samples belonging to 12 categories corresponding to four different cultivars (Yunpung, Kumpung, Chunpung, and an open-pollinated variety) and three different cultivation ages (1 yr, 2 yr, and 3 yr) were subjected to FT-IR. The spectral data were analyzed by principal component analysis and partial least squares-discriminant analysis. A dendrogram based on hierarchical clustering analysis of the FT-IR spectral data on ginseng leaves showed that leaf samples were initially segregated into three groups in a cultivation age-dependent manner. Then, within the same cultivation age group, leaf samples were clustered into four subgroups in a cultivar-dependent manner. The overall prediction accuracy for discrimination of cultivars and cultivation ages was 94.8% in a cross-validation test. These results clearly show that the FT-IR spectra combined with multivariate analysis from ginseng leaves can be applied as an alternative tool for discriminating of ginseng cultivars and cultivation ages. Therefore, we suggest that this result could be used as a rapid and reliable F1 hybrid seed-screening tool for accelerating the conventional breeding of ginseng

Fabrication of AlGaN/GaN Fin-Type HEMT Using a Novel T-Gate Process for Improved Radio-Frequency Performance

To increase the radio-frequency (RF) performance of AlGaN/GaN-based fin-type high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs), a novel T-gate process was developed and applied to fabricate a device with high RF performance. In a single lithography process, the applied T-gate process shows a technique for forming a T-gate using the reactivity difference of several photoresists. The fabricated device has a steep fin width (W-fin) of 130 nm, a fin height (H-fin) of 250 nm, and a gate length (L-G) of 190 nm. The device exhibits a low leakage current (I-off) of 6.6 x 10(-10) A/mm and a high I-on/I-off current ratio of 4.7 x 10(8). Moreover, the fabricated device achieved a high cut-off frequency (f(T)) of 9.7 GHz and a very high maximum oscillation frequency (f(max)) of 27.8 GHz. The f(max) value of the proposed device is 138% higher than that of GaN-based fin-type HEMTs without T-gate.1

Graves disease following rabbit antithymocyte globulin treatment of severe aplastic anemia in a Korean child

Antithymocyte globulin (ATG) is used as an immunosuppressive treatment (IST) to deplete clonal suppressor T cells in patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA). The depletion of suppressor T cells by ATG may affect the activation of B cells, which results in an increased risk for autoimmune conditions. A 12-year-old boy was diagnosed with idiopathic SAA. As he did not have an human leukocyte antigen-matched sibling, he was treated with rabbit ATG (3.5 mg/kg/day for 5 days) and cyclosporine. Five months later, he became transfusion independent. However, 23 months after IST, he complained of mild hand tremors, sweating, weight loss, palpitations, and goiter. Results of thyroid function tests revealed hyperthyroidism (free thyroxine, 3.42 ng/dL; thyroid stimulating hormone [TSH], <0.01 nIU/mL; triiodothyronine, 3.99 ng/mL). Results of tests for autoantibodies were positive for the antimicrosome antibody and TSH-binding inhibitory immunoglobulin, but negative for the antithyroglobulin antibody and antinuclear antibody. He was treated with methimazole, and his symptoms improved. The patient has been disease free for 39 months after IST and 9 months after methimazole treatment. This case report suggests that although rare, rabbit ATG may have implications in the pathogenesis of autoimmune hyperthyroidism. Our findings suggest that thyroid function tests should be incorporated in the routine follow-up of SAA patients treated with ATG

Enhancing Multi-Camera People Tracking with Anchor-Guided Clustering and Spatio-Temporal Consistency ID Re-Assignment

Multi-camera multiple people tracking has become an increasingly important area of research due to the growing demand for accurate and efficient indoor people tracking systems, particularly in settings such as retail, healthcare centers, and transit hubs. We proposed a novel multi-camera multiple people tracking method that uses anchor-guided clustering for cross-camera re-identification and spatio-temporal consistency for geometry-based cross-camera ID reassigning. Our approach aims to improve the accuracy of tracking by identifying key features that are unique to every individual and utilizing the overlap of views between cameras to predict accurate trajectories without needing the actual camera parameters. The method has demonstrated robustness and effectiveness in handling both synthetic and real-world data. The proposed method is evaluated on CVPR AI City Challenge 2023 dataset, achieving IDF1 of 95.36% with the first-place ranking in the challenge. The code is available at: https://github.com/ipl-uw/AIC23_Track1_UWIPL_ETRI

Safety and feasibility of countering neurological impairment by intravenous administration of autologous cord blood in cerebral palsy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Backgrounds</p> <p>We conducted a pilot study of the infusion of intravenous autologous cord blood (CB) in children with cerebral palsy (CP) to assess the safety and feasibility of the procedure as well as its potential efficacy in countering neurological impairment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients diagnosed with CP were enrolled in this study if their parents had elected to bank their CB at birth. Cryopreserved CB units were thawed and infused intravenously over 10~20 minutes. We assessed potential efficacy over 6 months by brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), brain perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and various evaluation tools for motor and cognitive functions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twenty patients received autologous CB infusion and were evaluated. The types of CP were as follows: 11 quadriplegics, 6 hemiplegics, and 3 diplegics. Infusion was generally well-tolerated, although 5 patients experienced temporary nausea, hemoglobinuria, or urticaria during intravenous infusion. Diverse neurological domains improved in 5 patients (25%) as assessed with developmental evaluation tools as well as by fractional anisotropy values in brain MRI-DTI. The neurologic improvement occurred significantly in patients with diplegia or hemiplegia rather than quadriplegia.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Autologous CB infusion is safe and feasible, and has yielded potential benefits in children with CP.</p

Fatal Rhabdomyolysis in a Patient with Liver Cirrhosis after Switching from Simvastatin to Fluvastatin

HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) are widely used to treat hypercholesterolemia. Among the adverse effects associated with these drugs are statin-associated myopathies, ranging from asymptomatic elevation of serum creatine kinase to fatal rhabdomyolysis. Fluvastatin-induced fatal rhabdomyolysis has not been previously reported. We describe here a patient with liver cirrhosis who experienced fluvastatin-induced fatal rhabdomyolysis. This patient had been treated with simvastatin (20 mg/day) for coronary artery disease and was switched to fluvastatin (20 mg/day) 10 days before admission. He was also taking aspirin, betaxolol, candesartan, lactulose, and entecavir. Rhabdomyolysis was complicated and continued to progress. He was treated with massive hydration, urine alkalization, intravenous furosemide, and continuous renal replacement therapy for acute renal failure, but eventually died due to rhabdomyolysis complicated by hepatic failure. In conclusion, fluvastatin should be used with caution in patients with liver cirrhosis, especially with other medications metabolized with CYP2C9