Assessment of satellite rainfall nowcasting based on extrapolation technique

Póster presentado en: 3rd European Nowcasting Conference, celebrada en la sede central de AEMET en Madrid del 24 al 26 de abril de 2019

A Pulmonary Nodule due to Pulmonary Infarction Diagnosed by Video-Assisted Thoracoscopy

We report a pulmonary infarction in 68-year-old man who was referred for an asymptomatic pulmonary nodule in chest radiography. Computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), and transthoracic needle aspiration suggested suspicion for malignancy. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) was performed for histologic diagnosis. Our case is a pulmonary nodule due to pulmonary infarction diagnosed by VATS in Korea

Retinoid production using metabolically engineered Escherichia coli with a two-phase culture system

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Retinoids are lipophilic isoprenoids composed of a cyclic group and a linear chain with a hydrophilic end group. These compounds include retinol, retinal, retinoic acid, retinyl esters, and various derivatives of these structures. Retinoids are used as cosmetic agents and effective pharmaceuticals for skin diseases. Retinal, an immediate precursor of retinoids, is derived by β-carotene 15,15'-mono(di)oxygenase (BCM(D)O) from β-carotene, which is synthesized from the isoprenoid building blocks isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP). Retinoids are chemically unstable and biologically degraded via retinoic acid. Although extensive studies have been performed on the microbial production of carotenoids, retinoid production using microbial metabolic engineering has not been reported. Here, we report retinoid production using engineered <it>Escherichia coli </it>that express exogenous BCM(D)O and the mevalonate (MVA) pathway for the building blocks synthesis in combination with a two-phase culture system using a dodecane overlay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among the BCM(D)O tested in <it>E. coli</it>, the synthetic retinoid synthesis protein (SR), based on bacteriorhodopsin-related protein-like homolog (Blh) of the uncultured marine bacteria 66A03, showed the highest β-carotene cleavage activity with no residual intracellular β-carotene. By introducing the exogenous MVA pathway, 8.7 mg/L of retinal was produced, which is 4-fold higher production than that of augmenting the MEP pathway (<it>dxs </it>overexpression). There was a large gap between retinal production and β-carotene consumption using the exogenous MVA pathway; therefore, the retinal derivatives were analyzed. The derivatives, except for retinoic acid, that formed were identified, and the levels of retinal, retinol, and retinyl acetate were measured. Amounts as high as 95 mg/L retinoids were obtained from engineered <it>E. coli </it>DH5α harboring the synthetic <it>SR </it>gene and the exogenous MVA pathway in addition to <it>dxs </it>overexpression, which were cultured at 29°C for 72 hours with 2YT medium containing 2.0% (w/v) glycerol as the main carbon source. However, a significant level of intracellular degradation of the retinoids was also observed in the culture. To prevent degradation of the intracellular retinoids through <it>in situ </it>extraction from the cells, a two-phase culture system with dodecane was used. The highest level of retinoid production (136 mg/L) was obtained after 72 hours with 5 mL of dodecane overlaid on a 5 mL culture.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In this study, we successfully produced 136 mg/L retinoids, which were composed of 67 mg/L retinal, 54 mg/L retinol, and 15 mg/L retinyl acetate, using a two-phase culture system with dodecane, which produced 68-fold more retinoids than the initial level of production (2.2 mg/L). Our results demonstrate the potential use of <it>E. coli </it>as a promising microbial cell factory for retinoid production.</p

Smartphone-Based Endoscope System for Advanced Point-of-Care Diagnostics: Feasibility Study

Background: Endoscopic technique is often applied for the diagnosis of diseases affecting internal organs and image-guidance of surgical procedures. Although the endoscope has become an indispensable tool in the clinic, its utility has been limited to medical offices or operating rooms because of the large size of its ancillary devices. In addition, the basic design and imaging capability of the system have remained relatively unchanged for decades. Objective: The objective of this study was to develop a smartphone-based endoscope system capable of advanced endoscopic functionalities in a compact size and at an affordable cost and to demonstrate its feasibility of point-of-care through human subject imaging. Methods: We developed and designed to set up a smartphone-based endoscope system, incorporating a portable light source, relay-lens, custom adapter, and homebuilt Android app. We attached three different types of existing rigid or flexible endoscopic probes to our system and captured the endoscopic images using the homebuilt app. Both smartphone-based endoscope system and commercialized clinical endoscope system were utilized to compare the imaging quality and performance. Connecting the head-mounted display (HMD) wirelessly, the smartphone-based endoscope system could superimpose an endoscopic image to real-world view. Results: A total of 15 volunteers who were accepted into our study were captured using our smartphone-based endoscope system, as well as the commercialized clinical endoscope system. It was found that the imaging performance of our device had acceptable quality compared with that of the conventional endoscope system in the clinical setting. In addition, images captured from the HMD used in the smartphone-based endoscope system improved eye-hand coordination between the manipulating site and the smartphone screen, which in turn reduced spatial disorientation. Conclusions: The performance of our endoscope system was evaluated against a commercial system in routine otolaryngology examinations. We also demonstrated and evaluated the feasibility of conducting endoscopic procedures through a custom HMD

Surgical correction for Tessier number 7 craniofacial cleft using a medially overcorrected design

Background Various surgical techniques have been used to correct Tessier number 7 craniofacial cleft, which involves macrostomia, ear deformity, and hemifacial microsomia. To achieve symmetrical and satisfactory results in patients with macrostomia, the authors performed a 1-mm medial overcorrection on the cleft side and evaluated the results of this procedure. Methods A retrospective medical record review of patients diagnosed with Tessier number 7 craniofacial cleft from March 1999 to February 2017 was performed. Using clinical photographs, outpatient clinic records, and operative records, information was recorded regarding concurrent congenital anomalies, postoperative complications, and follow-up. Using Photoshop CS2, the length of both sides of the lip was compared. The ratio of these lengths was calculated to evaluate lip symmetry. Results Of the patients treated at the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Kyungpook National University Chilgok Hospital, 11 (male-to-female sex ratio, 7:4) were diagnosed with Tessier number 7 craniofacial cleft. Concurrent congenital anomalies included skin tag, hemifacial microsomia, and cleft palate. The mean duration of follow-up was 78.273±72.219 months and the mean ratio of the lengths of both sides of the lip was 1.048±0.071. Scar widening occurred as a postoperative complication in some patients. No cases of wound infection, bleeding, or wound dehiscence occurred. Conclusions For the successful correction of macrostomia, plastic surgeons should consider both functional and aesthetic problems of the lip. Adequate repair of the orbicularis oris muscle, skin closure with Z-plasty, and medial overcorrection of the neo-oral commissure led to good results in our patients

Caloric restriction of db/db mice reverts hepatic steatosis and body weight with divergent hepatic metabolism

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most frequent causes of liver disease and its prevalence is a serious and growing clinical problem. Caloric restriction (CR) is commonly recommended for improvement of obesity-related diseases such as NAFLD. However, the effects of CR on hepatic metabolism remain unknown. We investigated the effects of CR on metabolic dysfunction in the liver of obese diabetic db/db mice. We found that CR of db/db mice reverted insulin resistance, hepatic steatosis, body weight and adiposity to those of db/m mice. H-NMR- and UPLC-QTOF-MS-based metabolite profiling data showed significant metabolic alterations related to lipogenesis, ketogenesis, and inflammation in db/db mice. Moreover, western blot analysis showed that lipogenesis pathway enzymes in the liver of db/db mice were reduced by CR. In addition, CR reversed ketogenesis pathway enzymes and the enhanced autophagy, mitochondrial biogenesis, collagen deposition and endoplasmic reticulum stress in db/db mice. In particular, hepatic inflammation-related proteins including lipocalin-2 in db/db mice were attenuated by CR. Hepatic metabolomic studies yielded multiple pathological mechanisms of NAFLD. Also, these findings showed that CR has a therapeutic effect by attenuating the deleterious effects of obesity and diabetes-induced multiple complications