FEASIBILITY OF BREWING MAKGEOLLI (TURBID RICE WINE) USING PARTIALLY GELATINIZED WHEAT FLOUR AND TAPIOCA FLOUR

Makgeolli is made from cooked rice or wheat, then brewed with nuruk (Korean fermentation starter) for several days. But, nowadays, attempts have been made to use various raw materials and process innovations to make makgeolli for particular purposes.  This study aimed to evaluate the quality of makgeolly made from partially gelatinized wheat flour and tapioca flour. Five different combination of wheat flour and tapioca flour were used to manufacture makgeolli. The results showed that different combination of partially gelatinized wheat flour and tapioca flour significantly affected the chemical and sensorial characteristics of makgeolli. Increasing proportion of wheat flour produced higher level of total acid, amino acidity, reducing sugar and total solid of makgeolli. Inversely, alcohol content was higher when higher level of tapioca flour was used. In general, sensorial characteristics of makgeolli made from partially gelatinized wheat flour and tapioca flour didn’t acceptable by panelists. Thus, brewing makgeolli by using partially gelatinized wheat flour and tapioca flour isn’t acceptable in term of sensorial characteristics

Machine learning application in ischemic stroke diagnosis, management, and outcome prediction: a narrative review

Stroke is a leading cause of disability and death. The condition requires prompt diagnosis and treatment. The quality of care provided to patients with stroke can vary depending on the availability of medical resources, which in turn, can affect prognosis. Recently, there has been growing interest in using machine learning (ML) to support stroke diagnosis and treatment decisions based on large medical data sets. Current ML applications in stroke care can be divided into two categories: analysis of neuroimaging data and clinical informationbased predictive models. Using ML to analyze neuroimaging data can increase the efficiency and accuracy of diagnoses. Commercial software that uses ML algorithms is already being used in the medical field. Additionally, the accuracy of predictive ML models is improving with the integration of radiomics and clinical data. is expected to be important for improving the quality of care for patients with stroke

An accurate method for quantifying and analyzing copy number variation in porcine KIT by an oligonucleotide ligation assay

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Aside from single nucleotide polymorphisms, copy number variations (CNVs) are the most important factors in susceptibility to genetic disorders because they affect expression levels of genes. In previous studies, pyrosequencing, mini-sequencing, real-time PCR, invader assays and other techniques have been used to detect CNVs. However, the higher the copy number in a genome, the more difficult it is to resolve the copies, so a more accurate method for measuring CNVs and assigning genotype is needed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>PCR followed by a quantitative oligonucleotide ligation assay (qOLA) was developed for quantifying CNVs. The accuracy and precision of the assay were evaluated for porcine <it>KIT</it>, which was selected as a model locus. Overall, the root mean squares of bias and standard deviation of qOLA were 2.09 and 0.45, respectively. These values are less than half of those in the published pyrosequencing assay for analyzing CNV in porcine <it>KIT</it>. Using a combined method of qOLA and another pyrosequencing for quantitative analysis of <it>KIT </it>copies with spliced forms, we confirmed the segregation of <it>KIT </it>alleles in 145 F₁animals with pedigree information and verified the correct assignment of genotypes. In a diagnostic test on 100 randomly sampled commercial pigs, there was perfect agreement between the genotypes obtained by grouping observations on a scatter plot and by clustering using the nearest centroid sorting method implemented in PROC FASTCLUS of the SAS package. In a test on 159 Large White pigs, there were only two discrepancies between genotypes assigned by the two clustering methods (98.7% agreement), confirming that the quantitative ligation assay established here makes genotyping possible through the accurate measurement of high <it>KIT </it>copy numbers (>4 per diploid genome). Moreover, the assay is sensitive enough for use on DNA from hair follicles, indicating that DNA from various sources could be used.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We have established a high resolution quantification method using an oligonucleotide ligation assay to measure CNVs, and verified the reliability of genotype assignment for random animal samples using the nearest centroid sorting method. This new method will make it more practical to determine <it>KIT </it>CNV and to genotype the complicated <it>Dominant White/KIT </it>locus in pigs. This procedure could have wide applications for studying gene or segment CNVs in other species.</p

Molecular genetic study of novel biomarkers for early diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma

Objectives: Early detection and treatment of an oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is critical because of its rapid growth, frequent lymph-node metastasis, and poor prognosis. However, no clinically-valuable methods of early diagnosis exist, and genetic analysis of OSCCs has yielded no biomarkers. Study D esign: We investigated the expression of genes associated with inflammation in OSCCs via a quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis of microarray data. Tumor and normal tissues from five patients with an OSCC were used for microarray analysis. Differentially-expressed genes, identified using permutation, local pooled error (LPE), t-tests, and significance analysis of microarrays (SAM), were selected as candidate genetic markers. Results: Two groups corresponding to tissue identity were evident, implying that their differentially-expressed genes represented biological differences between tissues. Fifteen genes were identified using the Student’s paired t-test ( p< 0.05) and the SAM, with a false discovery rate of less than 0.02. Based on gene expression, these 15 genes can be used to classify an OSCC. A genetic analysis of functional networks and ontologies, validated by using a qRT-PCR analysis of the tissue samples, identified four genes, ADAM15, CDC7, IL12RB2 and TNFRSF8, that demonstrated excellent concordance with the microarray data. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that four genes (ADAM15, CDC7, IL12RB2 and TNFRSF8) had potential as novel biomarkers for the diagnosis and the treatment of an OSCC

CD4+ T cells from MHC II-dependent thymocyte–thymocyte interaction provide efficient help for B cells

Recently, a novel CD4+ T-cell developmental pathway was reported that generates thymocyte–thymocyte (T–T) CD4+ T cells. We established a mouse system (CIITAtgCIITApIV−/−) where thymic positive selection occurred only by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II+ thymocytes. T–T CD4+ T cells selected via MHC class II-dependent T–T interaction are comprised of PLZF-negative and innate PLZF-positive populations. Until recently, the functional role of the PLZF-negative population was unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that naïve T–T CD4+ T cells provide B-cell help to a level comparable with that of naïve conventional CD4+ T cells. Considering the absence of PLZF expression in naïve T–T CD4+ T cells, these results suggest that PLZF-negative naïve T–T CD4+ T cells are functionally equivalent to conventional naïve CD4+ T cells in terms of B-cell help

Copy number variations (CNVs) identified in Korean individuals

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Copy number variations (CNVs) are deletions, insertions, duplications, and more complex variations ranging from 1 kb to sub-microscopic sizes. Recent advances in array technologies have enabled researchers to identify a number of CNVs from normal individuals. However, the identification of new CNVs has not yet reached saturation, and more CNVs from diverse populations remain to be discovered.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We identified 65 copy number variation regions (CNVRs) in 116 normal Korean individuals by analyzing Affymetrix 250 K Nsp whole-genome SNP data. Ten of these CNVRs were novel and not present in the Database of Genomic Variants (DGV). To increase the specificity of CNV detection, three algorithms, CNAG, dChip and GEMCA, were applied to the data set, and only those regions recognized at least by two algorithms were identified as CNVs. Most CNVRs identified in the Korean population were rare (<1%), occurring just once among the 116 individuals. When CNVs from the Korean population were compared with CNVs from the three HapMap ethnic groups, African, European, and Asian; our Korean population showed the highest degree of overlap with the Asian population, as expected. However, the overlap was less than 40%, implying that more CNVs remain to be discovered from the Asian population as well as from other populations. Genes in the novel CNVRs from the Korean population were enriched for genes involved in regulation and development processes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>CNVs are recently-recognized structural variations among individuals, and more CNVs need to be identified from diverse populations. Until now, CNVs from Asian populations have been studied less than those from European or American populations. In this regard, our study of CNVs from the Korean population will contribute to the full cataloguing of structural variation among diverse human populations.</p

In situ rumen degradability characteristics of rice straw, soybean curd residue and peppermint (Mentha piperita) in Hanwoo steer (Bos Taurus coreanae)

This study was intended to evaluate in situ rumen degradability characteristic of soybean curd residue (SCR) and peppermint compared to rice straw, which are used as a functional feed source for beef cattle for high quality beef production. Two steers were fitted with rumen and duodenum cannulae and in situ degradable and nylon bags were used to assess digestion of rice straw, SCR and peppermint in three replicated experiments. The highly effective dry matter (DM) degradability of peppermint was attributable to the high rate of the a and b fractions. Dry matter disappearance rate of SCR after 48 h was higher (p &lt; 0.05) than that of peppermint. Based on DM disappearance, SCR showed the highest digestibility (p &lt; 0.05). Crude protein disappearance (%) was higher for SCR and peppermint than rice straw (p &lt; 0.05), and neutral detergent fibre disappearance (%) was higher for SCR (p &lt; 0.05). Soybean curd residue and peppermint have great nutritive values as feed sources for ruminants, and using SCR and peppermint would have possibilities for efficient and functional livestock production.Keywords: Beef cattle, digestibility, effective degradability, soybean curd residue, peppermintAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(14), pp. 1710-171

Engineering PSU\u27s Future: An Interview with Dr. Rahmat Shoureshi

PSU’s ninth president, Dr. Rahmat Shoureshi (pronounced Shoe-re-she) is an experienced administrator and innovative academic who considers his work with students his greatest accomplishment. Shoureshi is a mechanical engineer who earned a master’s degree and a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Shoureshi says PSU’s commitment to diversity, civic engagement and innovation persuaded him to join the university