Seroprevalence of low pathogenic avian influenza (H9N2) and associated risk factors in the Gyeonggi-do of Korea during 2005-2006

Between November 2005 and March 2006, a total of 253 poultry flocks in the Gyeonggi-do of Korea were examined for seroprevalence against avian influenza (AI) using a hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test and an agar gel precipitation test. No low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) virus was isolated from 47 seropositive flocks that lacked clinical signs during sampling. The unadjusted percentage of seroprevalence rates of layer and broiler flocks were not significantly different, i.e., 26% (25/96) and 23% (22/97), respectively. The HI titer of the layers (mean = 89) was higher than the broilers (mean = 36; p < 0.001). A cross-sectional study was conducted for the seroprevalence of LPAI in the layers. Of 7 risk factors, farms employing one or more workers had a higher seropositive prevalence as compared to farms without hired employees (adjusted prevalence OR = 11.5, p = 0.031). Layer flocks older than 400 d had higher seropositivity than flocks younger than 300 d (OR = 4.9, p = 0.017). The farmers recognized at least one of the clinical signs in seropositive flocks, such as decreased egg production, respiratory syndromes, and increased mortality (OR = 2.3, p = 0.082). In a matched case-control study, 20 pairs of case and control flocks matched for type of flock, hired employees, age, and flock size were compared. Frequent cleansing with disinfectants was associated with a decreased risk of seropositivity (OR = 0.2, p = 0.022). Although there was a low statistical association, using a foot disinfectant when entering the building led to a decreased rate of seropositivity (OR = 0.3, p = 0.105)

Thoracoscopic Transdiaphragmatic Approach for Anterior Body Reconstruction of L2 Burst Fracture

This study describes the surgical technique and results of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) in a patient who underwent reconstruction of an unstable L2 body fracture. There are various surgical treatment options for L2 burst fractures. The optimal method remains controversial. We performed L2 body reconstruction using VATS. An 18-year-old female was seen in the emergency room with paraparesis grade 4 and was diagnosed with a burst fracture of L2. A two-stage procedure was planned. First, urgent posterior decompression and stabilization were performed with dorsal laminectomy and insertion of screw systems at L1 and L3 pedicles. Then, the L2 body was reconstructed with an expandable cage by VATS. Her weakness was improved immediately after decompressive surgery. This surgical approach is an alternative and minimally invasive method for the treatment of traumatic L2 burst fractures

Negative-bias-temperature-instability and hot carrier effects in nanowire junctionless p-channel multigate transistors

Negative-bias-temperature-instability (NBTI) and hot-carrier induced device degradation have been experimentally compared between accumulation mode (AM) p-channel multigate transistors (pMuGFETs) and junctionless (JL) pMuGFET. NBTI degradation is less significant in junctionless pMuGFETs than AM pMuGFETs. The threshold voltage shift is less significant in junctionless transistors than AM transistors. The device simulation shows that the peak of lateral electric field and the impact ionization rate of AM device are larger than those of junctionless devices. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. (doi:10.1063/1.3688245

Ethyl 4-hydr­oxy-2,6-diphenyl-1-(2-thio­morpholinopropano­yl)-1,2,5,6-tetra­hydro­pyridine-3-carboxyl­ate

In the title compound, C27H32N2O4S, the thio­morpholine ring adopts a chair conformation and the tetra­hydro­pyridine ring is in a distorted envelope conformation. The mol­ecular structure is stabilized by an intra­molecular O—H⋯O inter­action and the crystal packing is stabilized by an inter­molecular C—H⋯O inter­action, generating an S(6) motif and a dimer of the type R 2 2(18), respectively

Improving bread quality using Deinococcus geothermalis glycogen branching enzyme

Glycogen branching enzyme(GBE) catalyzes transglycosylation reaction producing α-1,6-glucosidic linkages by cleaving an α-1,4-glucosidic linkage. Deinococcus geothermalis GBE (DgGBE) has the unique activity to form a large number of short oligosaccharide side chains(degree of polymerization 3~5) from the reaction with amylose. To observe the influence of DgGBE on bread quaility, we added 100 unit of the enzyme per kg of the flour at the step of mixing dough. During the fermentation, DgGBE treated dough showed 50~100% larger volume than control. After baking, the total volume and the specific volume of DgGBE treated loaf showed about 10% larger than those of control. The baked breads were sliced to 2cm of depth and stored in 25 degrees celcius, and then the texture was evaluated by texture analyzer during storage time. Hardness and Chewiness of DgGBE treadted bread increased slowly to compared with those of the control. DgGBE treated bread showed a significant effect on antistaling. 1. Shupeng Wua, Yu Liu , Qiaojuan Yan , Zhengqiang Jiang (2014) Gene cloning, functional expression and characterisation of a novel glycogen branching enzyme from Rhizomucor miehei and its application in wheat breadmaking. Food Chemistry 159 (2014) 85-94 2. José Manuel Amigo , Arantxa del Olmo Alvarez , Merete Møller Engelsen , Henrik Lundkvist , Søren Balling Engelsen (2016) Staling of white bread crumb and effect of maltogenic α-amylases. Part 1 : Spatial distribution and kinetic modeling of hardness and resilience. Food Chemistry 208 (2016) 318-32

Development of screening method for the selection of mutants to improve the substrate specificity of Pyrococcus furiosus thermostable amylase

Pyrococcus furiosus thermostable amylase (PFTA) shows the activities of both a cyclodextrin hydrolyzing enzyme and an α-amylase. To improve the substrate affinity and hydrolyzing activity against cyclodextrins, the saturation mutagenesis on the residue of PFTA active site was carried out. After the mutagenesis, the new screening method was needed to select appropriate mutants efficiently from various mutants. Among the α-, β-, γ-cyclodextrins, only β-cyclodextrin makes the complex with phenolphthalein. When added the β-cyclodextrin into phenolphthalein reagent, the color of the solution was changed red to colorless under alkaline condition. In this study, we developed screening method by using 24-well plate and phenolphthalein to compare the activity of PFTA mutants. Escherichia coli MC1061 was used as a host for the expression of various recombinant plasmids and cultured in 24-well plate with Luria-Bertani broth containing kanamycin. After cell lysis by heat treatment, each cell extracts were reacted with β-cyclodextrin at 70℃. Reacted mixtures were put into 96-well plate with NaOH solution and then add the phenolphthalein reagent respectively. Lastly, the absorbance of the mixture was measured at 550 nm. The substrate specificity of PFTA mutants was compared from the difference of absorbance. References 1. Sung-Jae Yang, Hee-Seob Lee, Cheon-Seok Park, Yong-Ro Kim, Tae-Wha Moon, and Kwan-Hwa Park. 2004. Enzymatic Analysis of an Amylolytic Enzyme from the Hyperthermophilic Archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus Reveals Its Novel Catalytic Properties as both an α-Amylase and a Cyclodextrin-Hydrolyzing Enzyme. APPL. ENVIRON. MICROBIOL. 70:5988-5995 2. Anuj Goel, Sanjay N. Nene. 1995. Modifications in the Phenolphthalein Method for Spectrophotometric Estimation of Beta Cyclodextrin. Starch/Starke. 47:399-40

Association between polymorphisms of arachidonate 12-lipoxygenase (ALOX12) and schizophrenia in a Korean population

Arachidonic acid (AA), an essential polyunsaturated fatty acid, is one of the major components of neural membranes, which show an altered phospholipid composition in schizophrenia. Arachidonate 12-lipoxygenase (ALOX12), an important enzyme, metabolizes AA to 12-HPETE, which affects catecholamine synthesis. However, research has yet to show the genetic association between ALOX12 and schizophrenia. Therefore, we investigated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of the ALOX12 gene in schizophrenia, recruiting patients with schizophrenia (n = 289) and normal controls (n = 306) from a Korean population. We selected three SNPs (rs1126667, rs434473, and rs1042357) of the ALOX12 gene and genotyped them by direct sequencing. We reviewed the schizophrenic patients' medical records and assessed them clinically using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS), and the Operational Criteria Checklist (OPCRIT). Then we statistically analyzed the genetic associations between the SNPs and schizophrenia, finding a genetic association between both rs1126667 and rs1042357 and schizophrenia, in the recessive model (p = 0.015 and 0.015, respectively). We also found an association between rs434473 and negative symptoms, defined through a factor analysis of the OPCRIT data (p = 0.040). Consequently, we suggest that SNPs of the ALOX12 gene might be associated with schizophrenia and negative symptoms in this Korean population. These weak positives require additional study

A Novel Pinkish-White Flower Color Variant Is Caused by a New Allele of Flower Color Gene W1 in Wild Soybean (Glycine soja)

The enzyme flavonoid 3',5'-hydroxylase (F3'5'H) plays an important role in producing anthocyanin pigments in soybean. Loss of function of the W1 locus encoding F3'5'H always produces white flowers. However, few color variations have been reported in wild soybean. In the present study, we isolated a new color variant of wild soybean accession (IT261811) with pinkish-white flowers. We found that the flower's pinkish-white color is caused by w1-s3, a single recessive allele of W1. The SNP detected in the mutant caused amino acid substitution (A(304)S) in a highly conserved SRS4 domain of F3'5'H proteins. On the basis of the results of the protein variation effect analyzer (PROVEAN) tool, we suggest that this mutation may lead to hypofunctional F3'5'H activity rather than non-functional activity, which thereby results in its pinkish-white color

Low-temperature conductance oscillations in junctionless nanowire transistors

Junctionless nanowire transistors show more marked oscillations conductance oscillations than inversion-mode devices. These oscillations can be observed at higher temperature, drain voltage, and gate voltage than in surface-channel, inversion-mode multigate metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect devices. Clear oscillations are observed at 77 K at a drain voltage of 100 mV in devices with a 10 x 10 nm(2) cross section. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. (doi:10.1063/1.3506899