Overexpression of CFH gene in pterygiumv patients

Purpose: To investigate the expression of complement factors in pterygium tissues compared to normal conjunctival samples, using next-generation RNA sequencingMethods: Twenty pterygium and 20 healthy conjunctival samples were obtained from 19 patients who consented to pterygium excision and conjunctival autograft surgery. Tissues (pterygium and normal conjunctiva) were analyzed using next-generation RNA sequencing. Significant gene lists were obtained using DAVID, GSEA, and KEGG for enriched pathway analyses of differentially expressed genes. Realtime polymerase chain reaction was performed to validate differential expressions of complement factors.Results: There was 3.15 ± 2.6, 3.21 ± 4.6, 3.03 ± 1.83, 4.28 ± 6.12, and 4.96 ± 1.89-fold increase in the expression of CFH, C2, C1QB, C1QC, and MASP1, respectively, in pterygium samples compared to normal conjunctival samples. Pterygium size correlated well with the expression of CFH, C1QB, C1QC and MASP1.Conclusion: Alternative and lectin complement systems are activated in pterygia samples compared to normal conjunctival samples.Keywords: Pterygium; Complement factor; RNA sequencin

Electromagnetic Shielding Characteristics of Eco-Friendly Foamed Concrete Wall

The electromagnetic shielding characteristics according to the material composition of foamed concrete, which was manufactured to reduce environmental pollution and to economically apply it in actual building walls, were researched herein. Industrial by-products such as ladle furnace slag (LFS), gypsum, and blast furnace slag (BFS) were added to manufacture foamed concrete with enhanced functionalities such as lightweight, heat insulation, and sound insulation. The electrical characteristics such as permittivity and loss tangent according to the foam and BFS content were calculated and measured. Free space measurement was used to measure the electromagnetic shielding characteristics of the actually manufactured foamed concrete. It was confirmed that electromagnetic signals were better blocked when the foam content was low and the BFS content was high in the measured frequency bands (1–8 GHz) and that approximately 90% of the electromagnetic signals were blocked over 4 GHz

Anti-viral activity of Hydnellum concrescens, a medicinal mushroom

Trafficking of viral glycoprotein to the surface of infected-cells results in syncytium formation in Newcastle disease virus (NDV)-infected baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells. Hydnellum concrescens, known as a medicinal mushroom, inhibited not only syncytium formation, but also trafficking of glycoprotein, hemagglutinin-neuramidase (HN) to the cell-surface. Viral glycoprotein is processed within the endoplasmic reticulum during routing into surface. Fungal extracts showed inhibitory activities (IC50 15µg/ml) against α-glucosidase. This suggested that H. concrescens extracts inhibited the cell-surface expression of NDV-HN glycoprotein without significantly affecting HN glycoprotein synthesis in NDV-infected BHK cells.Key words: α-Glucosidase inhibitor, Hydnellum concrescens, trafficking inhibitor