Proizvodnja antikomplementnih egzopolisaharida submerznim uzgojem gljive Flammulina velutipes

Seven species of basidiomycetes have been investigated for anti-complementary activity in hot water extracts and ethanol soluble fractions. Since Flammulina velutipes had the most potent activity, culture conditions for its mycelial growth were optimized to increase the production efficiency of anti-complementary exopolysaccharides. The optimal medium composition was (in g/L): galactose 15, sodium nitrate 5, glutamic acid 3, KH2PO4 2.5 and MgSO4·7H2O 0.6. Optimal production of anti-complementary activity was achieved at pH=3.5–5.5 and 25 °C. With these optimal medium and culture conditions, mycelial dry mass was maximized at 3.17 mg/mL after 6 days of cultivation in a 5-liter stirred-tank bioreactor, without pH control. The anti-complementary activity of exopolysaccharides increased sharply after 4 days of cultivation, and showed a high level at 5–6 days of cultivation. A periodate-labile carbohydrate moiety played a leading role in the anti-complementary activity exhibited by exopolysaccharide produced from F. velutipes. Results of tests on the anti-complementary activity in the absence of Ca²+ and immunoelectrophoresis indicated that the mode of complement activation by exopolysaccharide from F. velutipes is via both the classical and alternative pathways and that the activation degree is almost the same in each pathway.Istražena je antikomplementna aktivnost spojeva ekstrahiranih vrućom vodom i etanolom iz sedam vrsta gljiva stapčara. Optimirani su uvjeti uzgoja micelija gljive s najvećom aktivnosti, Flammulina velutipes, radi povećanja proizvodnje antikomplementnih egzopolisaharida. Optimalni sastav podloge bio je (u g/L): galaktoza 15, natrijev nitrat 5, glutamična kiselina 3, KH2PO4 2,5 i MgSO4·7H2O 0,6. Optimalna proizvodnja postignuta je pri pH=3,5-5,5 i 25 ºC. Pri tim uvjetima proizvedena je maksimalna količina suhe tvari od 3,17 mg/L nakon 6 dana uzgoja u bioreaktoru s miješalicom zapremnine 5 L, bez kontrole pH-vrijednosti. Antikomplementna aktivnost egzopolisaharida naglo se povećala nakon 4 dana, te je bila visoka nakon 5-6 dana uzgoja. Šećerni je ostatak, podložan djelovanju perjodata, glavni razlog antikomplementne aktivnosti egzopolisaharida gljive F. velutipes. Rezultati testiranja takve aktivnosti u odsutnosti Ca²+ iona i imunoelektroforeza upućuju na to da se komplementi egzopolisaharida iz F. velutipes aktiviraju klasičnim i alternativnim putem te da je stupanj aktivacije skoro jednak za oba puta

Proizvodnja antikomplementnih egzopolisaharida submerznim uzgojem gljive Flammulina velutipes

Seven species of basidiomycetes have been investigated for anti-complementary activity in hot water extracts and ethanol soluble fractions. Since Flammulina velutipes had the most potent activity, culture conditions for its mycelial growth were optimized to increase the production efficiency of anti-complementary exopolysaccharides. The optimal medium composition was (in g/L): galactose 15, sodium nitrate 5, glutamic acid 3, KH2PO4 2.5 and MgSO4·7H2O 0.6. Optimal production of anti-complementary activity was achieved at pH=3.5–5.5 and 25 °C. With these optimal medium and culture conditions, mycelial dry mass was maximized at 3.17 mg/mL after 6 days of cultivation in a 5-liter stirred-tank bioreactor, without pH control. The anti-complementary activity of exopolysaccharides increased sharply after 4 days of cultivation, and showed a high level at 5–6 days of cultivation. A periodate-labile carbohydrate moiety played a leading role in the anti-complementary activity exhibited by exopolysaccharide produced from F. velutipes. Results of tests on the anti-complementary activity in the absence of Ca²+ and immunoelectrophoresis indicated that the mode of complement activation by exopolysaccharide from F. velutipes is via both the classical and alternative pathways and that the activation degree is almost the same in each pathway.Istražena je antikomplementna aktivnost spojeva ekstrahiranih vrućom vodom i etanolom iz sedam vrsta gljiva stapčara. Optimirani su uvjeti uzgoja micelija gljive s najvećom aktivnosti, Flammulina velutipes, radi povećanja proizvodnje antikomplementnih egzopolisaharida. Optimalni sastav podloge bio je (u g/L): galaktoza 15, natrijev nitrat 5, glutamična kiselina 3, KH2PO4 2,5 i MgSO4·7H2O 0,6. Optimalna proizvodnja postignuta je pri pH=3,5-5,5 i 25 ºC. Pri tim uvjetima proizvedena je maksimalna količina suhe tvari od 3,17 mg/L nakon 6 dana uzgoja u bioreaktoru s miješalicom zapremnine 5 L, bez kontrole pH-vrijednosti. Antikomplementna aktivnost egzopolisaharida naglo se povećala nakon 4 dana, te je bila visoka nakon 5-6 dana uzgoja. Šećerni je ostatak, podložan djelovanju perjodata, glavni razlog antikomplementne aktivnosti egzopolisaharida gljive F. velutipes. Rezultati testiranja takve aktivnosti u odsutnosti Ca²+ iona i imunoelektroforeza upućuju na to da se komplementi egzopolisaharida iz F. velutipes aktiviraju klasičnim i alternativnim putem te da je stupanj aktivacije skoro jednak za oba puta

Effects of dodecacalcium heptaaluminate content on the setting time, compressive strength, alkalinity, and cytocompatibility of tricalcium silicate cement

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effects of dodecacalcium hepta-aluminate (C12A7) content on some physicochemical properties and cytocompatibility of tricalcium silicate (C3S) cement using human dental pulp cells (hDPCs). Material and Methods: High purity C3S cement was manufactured by a solid phase method. C12A7 was mixed with the cement in proportions of 0, 5, 8, and 10 wt% (C12A7-0, -5, -8, and -10, respectively). Physicochemical properties including initial setting time, compressive strength, and alkalinity were evaluated. Cytocompatibility was assessed with cell viability tests and cell number counts. Statistical analysis was performed by using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s test (p<0.05). Results: The initial setting time of C3S-based cement was shorter in the presence of C12A7 (p<0.05). After 1 day, C12A7-5 showed significantly higher compressive strength than the other groups (p<0.05). After 7 days, the compressive strength of C12A7-5 was similar to that of C12A7-0, whereas other groups showed strength lower than C12A7-0. The pH values of all tested groups showed no significant differences after 1 day (p>0.05). The C12A7-5 group showed similar cell viability to the C12A7-0 group (p>0.05), while the other experimental groups showed lower values compared to C12A7-0 group (p<0.05). The number of cells grown on the C12A7-5 specimen was higher than that on C12A7-8 and -10 (p<0.05). Conclusions: The addition of C12A7 to C3S cement at a proportion of 5% resulted in rapid initial setting time and higher compressive strength with no adverse effects on cytocompatibility

Feature coordinate estimation by time differenced vision/GPS/INS

This paper proposes a multi-baseline method to estimate absolute coordinates of point clouds and the camera attitude parameter utilizing feature points in successive images. Conventionally, 3D map generation methodologies have been based on images acquired by aerial or land vehicles. Pixels corresponding to known landmarks are manually identified at first. Next, the coordinates are directly geo-referenced and automatically allocated to pixels with high-quality Global Positioning System (GPS) and Inertial Navigation System (INS). However, it is difficult to obtain accurate coordinates by the conventional methodology with low-cost GPS and INS. With camera positions and attitude parameters, image-based point clouds can be compensated accurately. A simulation was carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed method

Effects of epicatechin, a crosslinking agent, on human dental pulp cells cultured in collagen scaffolds

Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the biological effects of epicatechin (ECN), a crosslinking agent, on human dental pulp cells (hDPCs) cultured in collagen scaffolds. Material and Method To evaluate the effects of ECN on the proliferation of hDPCs, cell counting was performed using optical and fluorescent microscopy. Measurements of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, alizarin red staining, and real-time polymerase chain reactions were performed to assess odontogenic differentiation. The compressive strength and setting time of collagen scaffolds containing ECN were measured. Differential scanning calorimetry was performed to analyze the thermal behavior of collagen in the presence of ECN. Results Epicatechin increased ALP activity, mineralized nodule formation, and the mRNA expression of dentin sialophosphoprotein (DSPP), a specific odontogenic-related marker. Furthermore, ECN upregulated the expression of DSPP in hDPCs cultured in collagen scaffolds. Epicatechin activated the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and the treatment with an ERK inhibitor (U0126) blocked the expression of DSPP. The compressive strength was increased and the setting time was shortened in a dose-dependent manner. The number of cells cultured in the ECN-treated collagen scaffolds was significantly increased compared to the cells in the untreated control group. Conclusions Our results revealed that ECN promoted the proliferation and differentiation of hDPCs. Furthermore, the differentiation was regulated by the ERK signaling pathway. Changes in mechanical properties are related to cell fate, including proliferation and differentiation. Therefore, our study suggests the ECN treatment might be desirable for dentin-pulp complex regeneration

Lowest threshold lasing modes localized on marginally unstable periodic orbits in a semiconductor microcavity laser

The lowest threshold lasing mode in a rounded D-shape microcavity is theoretically analyzed and experimentally demonstrated. To identify the lowest threshold lasing mode, we investigate threshold conditions of different periodic orbits by considering the linear gain condition due to the effective pumping region and total loss consisting of internal and scattering losses in ray dynamics. We compare the ray dynamical result with resonance mode analysis, including gain and loss. We find that the resonance modes localized on the pentagonal marginally unstable periodic orbit have the lowest threshold in our fabrication configuration. Our findings are verified by obtaining the path lengths and far-field patterns of lasing modes. © 2020 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement.1

Clinical Experiences of Pheochromocytoma in Korea

∙ The authors have no financial conflicts of interest. Purpose: We report herein 119 patients with pheochromocytoma at our institute over the last 23 years. Materials and Methods: Between 1986 and 2009, 119 patients were diagnosed with pheochromocytoma at our institute. We reviewed the medical records of these patients. Results: Of 119 patients, 45 were male and 74 were female, and mean age was 43.83 ± 13.49 years. Forty-three patients (36.1%) were diagnosed incidentally, and 8 patients (6.7%) were found to have familial pheochromocytoma. The mean dimension of the tumors was 5.89 ± 3.18 cm. 4 patients had bilateral tumors; three of these patients were found to have familial pheochromocytoma and 1 patient was diagnosed with malignant pheochromocytoma. A total of eight patients (6.7%) were found to have malignant pheochromocytoma. In 1 patient, metastasis to a lymph node was found at the time of diagnosis. Metastases were found at a mean of 49 ± 25.83 (6-75) months after surgery in the other seven patients. 6 patients died of malignant pheochromocytoma at

Human Heart Rhythms Synchronize While Co-sleeping

Human physiological systems have a major role in maintenance of internal stability. Previous studies have found that these systems are regulated by various types of interactions associated with physiological homeostasis. However, whether there is any interaction between these systems in different individuals is not well-understood. The aim of this research was to determine whether or not there is any interaction between the physiological systems of independent individuals in an environment where they are connected with one another. We investigated the heart rhythms of co-sleeping individuals and found evidence that in co-sleepers, not only do independent heart rhythms appear in the same relative phase for prolonged periods, but also that their occurrence has a bidirectional causal relationship. Under controlled experimental conditions, this finding may be attributed to weak cardiac vibration delivered from one individual to the other via a mechanical bed connection. Our experimental approach could help in understanding how sharing behaviors or social relationships between individuals are associated with interactions of physiological systems