Proto-type installation of a double-station system for the optical-video-detection and orbital characterisation of a meteor/fireball in South Korea

We give a detailed description of the installation and operation of a double-station meteor detection system which formed part of a research & education project between Korea Astronomy Space Science Institute and Daejeon Science Highschool. A total of six light-sensitive CCD cameras were installed with three cameras at SOAO and three cameras at BOAO observatory. A double-station observation of a meteor event enables the determination of the three-dimensional orbit in space. This project was initiated in response to the Jinju fireball event in March 2014. The cameras were installed in October/November 2014. The two stations are identical in hardware as well as software. Each station employes sensitive Watec-902H2 cameras in combination with relatively fast f/1.2 lenses. Various fields of views were used for measuring differences in detection rates of meteor events. We employed the SonotaCo UFO software suite for meteor detection and their subsequent analysis. The system setup as well as installation/operation experience is described and first results are presented. We also give a brief overview of historic as well as recent meteor (fall) detections in South Korea. For more information please consult http://meteor.kasi.re.kr .Comment: Technical/instrumentation description of a professional meteor detection system, 23 pages, 20 figures (color/monochrome), 5 tables, submitted to the Journal of Korean Astronomical Society (JKAS, http://jkas.kas.org/, http://jkas.kas.org/history.html

Measurement of Planetary Boundary Layer Winds with Scanning Doppler Lidar

The accurate measurement of wind profiles in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) is important not only for numerical weather prediction, but also for air quality modeling. Two wind retrieval methods using scanning Doppler light detection and ranging (lidar) measurements were compared and validated with simultaneous radiosonde soundings. A comparison with 17 radiosonde sounding profiles showed that the sine-fitting method was able to retrieve a larger number of data points, but the singular value decomposition method showed significantly smaller bias (0.57 m s(-1)) and root-mean-square error (1.75 m s(-1)) with radiosonde soundings. Increasing the averaging time interval of radial velocity for obtaining velocity azimuth display scans to 15 min resulted in better agreement with radiosonde soundings due to the signal averaging effect on noise. Simultaneous measurements from collocated wind Doppler lidar and aerosol Mie-scattering lidar revealed the temporal evolution of PBL winds and the vertical distribution of aerosols within the PBL

3D QSAR Pharmacophore Modeling, in Silico Screening, and Density Functional Theory (DFT) Approaches for Identification of Human Chymase Inhibitors

Human chymase is a very important target for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Using a series of theoretical methods like pharmacophore modeling, database screening, molecular docking and Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations, an investigation for identification of novel chymase inhibitors, and to specify the key factors crucial for the binding and interaction between chymase and inhibitors is performed. A highly correlating (r = 0.942) pharmacophore model (Hypo1) with two hydrogen bond acceptors, and three hydrophobic aromatic features is generated. After successfully validating “Hypo1”, it is further applied in database screening. Hit compounds are subjected to various drug-like filtrations and molecular docking studies. Finally, three structurally diverse compounds with high GOLD fitness scores and interactions with key active site amino acids are identified as potent chymase hits. Moreover, DFT study is performed which confirms very clear trends between electronic properties and inhibitory activity (IC50) data thus successfully validating “Hypo1” by DFT method. Therefore, this research exertion can be helpful in the development of new potent hits for chymase. In addition, the combinational use of docking, orbital energies and molecular electrostatic potential analysis is also demonstrated as a good endeavor to gain an insight into the interaction between chymase and inhibitors

Generation of subspecies level-specific microbial diagnostic microarrays using genes amplified from subtractive suppression hybridization as microarray probes

The generation of microarray probes with specificity below the species level is an ongoing challenge, not least because the high-throughput detection of microorganisms would be an efficient means of identifying environmentally relevant microbes. Here, we describe how suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) can be applied to the production of microarray probes that are useful for microbial differentiation at the subspecies level. SSH was used to initially isolate unique genomic sequences of nine Salmonella strains, and these were validated in quadruplicate by microarray analysis. The results obtained indicate that a large group of genes subtracted by SSH could serve together, as one probe, for detecting a microbial subspecies. Similarly, the whole microbial genome (not subjected to SSH) can be used as a species-specific probe. The detailed methods described herein could be used and adapted for the estimation of any cultivable bacteria from different environments

SPIN90 Knockdown Attenuates the Formation and Movement of Endosomal Vesicles in the Early Stages of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Endocytosis

The finding that SPIN90 colocalizes with epidermal growth factor (EGF) in EEA1-positive endosomes prompted us to investigate the role of SPIN90 in endocytosis of the EGF receptor (EGFR). In the present study, we demonstrated that SPIN90 participates in the early stages of endocytosis, including vesicle formation and trafficking. Stable HeLa cells with knockdown of SPIN90 displayed significantly higher levels of surface EGFR than control cells. Analysis of the abundance and cellular distribution of EGFR via electron microscopy revealed that SPIN90 knockdown cells contain residual EGFR at cell membranes and fewer EGFR-containing endosomes, both features that reflect reduced endosome formation. The delayed early endosomal targeting capacity of SPIN90 knockdown cells led to increased EGFR stability, consistent with the observed accumulation of EGFR at the membrane. Small endosome sizes and reduced endosome formation in SPIN90 knockdown cells, observed using fluorescent confocal microscopy, strongly supported the involvement of SPIN90 in endocytosis of EGFR. Overexpression of SPIN90 variants, particularly the SH3, PRD, and CC (positions 643 - 722) domains, resulted in aberrant morphology of Rab5-positive endosomes (detected as small spots located near the cell membrane) and defects in endosomal movement. These findings clearly suggest that SPIN90 participates in the formation and movement of endosomes. Consistent with this, SPIN90 knockdown enhanced cell proliferation. The delay in EGFR endocytosis effectively increased the levels of endosomal EGFR, which triggered activation of ERK1/2 and cell proliferation via upregulation of cyclin D1. Collectively, our findings suggest that SPIN90 contributes to the formation and movement of endosomal vesicles, and modulates the stability of EGFR protein, which affects cell cycle progression via regulation of the activities of downstream proteins, such as ERK1/2, after EGF stimulation

Fiber Type Specific Presence of GIutathione Transferase Isoenzymes in the Rat SkeIetaI Musele Tissue

Glutathione transferases (GST) are a group of enzymes, majorly responsible for biochemical detoxification by conjugating glutathione to a set of hydrophobic ligands. The tissue isoenzyme pattern of the enzymes has been well illustrated with their significance of histological localization. But in the cases of muscle tissue, the GST isoenzyme pattern has not yet been clearly studied. In the present experiment, we have carried out an immunohistochemical analysis on the distribution of GST isoenzymes using anti GST-P and anti GST-L antibodies on cardiac, smooth and skeletal muscle tissues. The results showed that the intestinal smooth muscle and cardiac muscles are very weakly immunostained for both anti GST-L and P antibodies. In contrast, major bundles of skeletal muscles were positively responsive to GST-L antibody. Therefore, we compared the expression of GST-L in the muscle tissues of the soleus and plantaris, which were composed dominantly of type I fiber and type II fiber, respectively. The data indicated that only type II fibers in the plantaris muscle tissue were positive to GST-L antibody, which was confirmed by specific ATPase staining. And the soleus muscle, consisting mainly of type I fibers, contains a higher amount of GST-P isoenzyme than the plantaris muscle. Therefore, it can be suggested that the expression of GST isoenzyme can be used as a type-specific marker for the type II fiber of skeletal muscles. And moreover, the differential pattern of GST isoenzymes in those muscle tissues according to fiber types may contribute to explaining the differences in fatigue-sensitivity of muscles to exercise

Proteomic Analysis to Identify Tightly-Bound Cell Wall Protein in Rice Calli.

Rice is a model plant widely used for basic and applied research programs. Plant cell wall proteins play key roles in a broad range of biological processes. However, presently, knowledge on the rice cell wall proteome is rudimentary in nature. In the present study, the tightly-bound cell wall proteome of rice callus cultured cells using sequential extraction protocols was developed using mass spectrometry and bioinformatics methods, leading to the identification of 1568 candidate proteins. Based on bioinformatics analyses, 389 classical rice cell wall proteins, possessing a signal peptide, and 334 putative non-classical cell wall proteins, lacking a signal peptide, were identified. By combining previously established rice cell wall protein databases with current data for the classical rice cell wall proteins, a comprehensive rice cell wall proteome, comprised of 496 proteins, was constructed. A comparative analysis of the rice and Arabidopsis cell wall proteomes revealed a high level of homology, suggesting a predominant conservation between monocot and eudicot cell wall proteins. This study importantly increased information on cell wall proteins, which serves for future functional analyses of these identified rice cell wall proteins

Longitudinal Patterns in Antithrombotic Therapy in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in the Non-Vitamin K Oral Anticoagulant Era:A Nationwide Population-Based Study

We investigated whether longitudinal patterns in antithrombotic therapy have changed after the introduction of non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOACs) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Using a claims database of the Korean AF population who underwent PCI between 2012 and 2016 (n = 18,691), we analyzed prescription records of oral anticoagulants (OACs) and antiplatelets at 3-month intervals over 2 years after PCI. The study population was stratified (pre-NOAC, transition, and NOAC era) using time-periods of NOAC introduction in Korea and an expansion of reimbursement for NOAC in AF as indicators. The overall rates of OAC were low at baseline (24.9%, 26.9%, and 35.2% in pre-NOAC, transition, and NOAC era, respectively), contrary to high rates of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) (73.3%, 71.4%, and 63.6%). However, OAC prescription rates were increased at 1-year (18.5%, 22.5%, and 31.6%), and 2-year follow-up (17.8%, 24.2%, and 31.8%) from pre-NOAC to NOAC era. In NOAC era, 63.5% of baseline OAC prescriptions comprised NOAC, of which 96.4% included triple therapy with DAPT. Over 2 years, we observed increasing rates of double therapy with a single antiplatelet (18.3% and 20.0% at 1- and 2-year follow-up) and OAC monotherapy (2.7% and 8.9% at 1- and 2-year follow-up)

Net clinical benefit of antithrombotic therapy for atrial fibrillation patients with stable coronary artery disease

OBJECTIVES: To compare the net clinical benefit of oral anticoagulant (OAC) monotherapy to OAC plus single antiplatelet therapy (SAPT) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and stable coronary artery disease (CAD) at 1- and 3-year after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). BACKGROUND: It has not been studied whether the net clinical benefit of the antithrombotic treatment options differs depending on the elapsed time from the index PCI. METHODS: Using the Korean nationwide claims database, we included AF patients who underwent PCI from 2009 to 2019 and constructed two cohorts: 1- and 3-year after PCI. In each cohort, the baseline characteristics of two groups were balanced using propensity score weighting. Ischemic stroke, myocardial infarction, major bleeding, and composite clinical outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS: Among patients with 1-year after PCI, OAC monotherapy (n = 678), and OAC plus SAPT (n = 3,159) showed comparable results for all clinical outcomes. In patients with 3-year after PCI, OAC monotherapy (n = 1,038) and OAC plus SAPT (n = 2,128) showed comparable results for ischemic stroke and myocardial infarction, but OAC monotherapy was associated with a lower risk of composite clinical outcomes (HR 0.762, 95% CI 0.607–0.950), mainly driven by the reduction of major bleeding risk (HR 0.498, 95% CI 0.345–0.701). CONCLUSION: Oral anticoagulant monotherapy may be a comparable choice for patients with AF and stable CAD compared to OAC plus SAPT. In patients with stable CAD more than 3-year after index PCI, OAC monotherapy would be a better choice, being associated with less major bleeding and a positive net clinical benefit