Concomitant Laparoendoscopic Single-Site Surgery for Ureterolithotomy and Contralateral Renal Cyst Marsupialization

A 63-year-old woman presented with acute right-flank pain and left-flank pain. Computed tomography identified a right ureter stone and a left renal cyst. The patient underwent concomitant laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) for ureterolithotomy and renal cyst marsupialization with the use of an Alexis® wound retractor, which was inserted through the umbilical incision. Flexible laparoscopic instruments and conventional rigid instruments were used during LESS following a procedure similar to that used with conventional laparoscopic surgery without additional transcutaneous ports. LESS may be more efficient at treating bilateral diseases than is conventional laparoscopic surgery

Natural durability of some hardwoods imported into korea for deck boards against decay fungi and subterranean termite in accelerated laboratory tests

This study evaluated the natural durability of seven imported hardwoods (bangkirai, burckella, ipe, jarrah, kempas, malas, and merbau) used for deck boards against decay fungi (Fomitopsis palustris, Gloeophyllum trabeum, Trametes versicolor, and Irpex lacteus) and the subterranean termite (Reticulitermes speratus kyushuensis) in accelerated laboratory tests. Ipe, jarrah, and merbau were very durable to fungal attack, with performance comparable to ACQ-treated wood. Bangkirai, burckella, kempas, and malas were classified as durable or moderately durable, depending on the fungal species tested. All wood species except for merbau were highly resistant to termite attack. Termite resistance was similar to ACQ-treated wood. Merbau showed somewhat less than all other species but still significant termite resistance. These results indicated that selected naturally durable hardwood species could inhibit fungal and termite attacks as effectively as ACQ treatment. The natural durability of wood species tested in this study is most likely due to the biocidal extractive content of the wood

Facile Synthesis of Porous Silicon Nanofibers by Magnesium Reduction for Application in Lithium Ion Batteries

We report a facile fabrication of porous silicon nanofibers by a simple three-stage procedure. Polymer/silicon precursor composite nanofibers are first fabricated by electrospinning, a water-based spinning dope, which undergoes subsequent heat treatment and then reduction using magnesium to be converted into porous silicon nanofibers. The porous silicon nanofibers are coated with a graphene by using a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition for use as an anode material of lithium ion batteries. The porous silicon nanofibers can be mass-produced by a simple and solvent-free method, which uses an environmental-friendly polymer solution. The graphene-coated silicon nanofibers show an improved cycling performance of a capacity retention than the pure silicon nanofibers due to the suppression of the volume change and the increase of electric conductivity by the graphene.Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (Human Resources Development Program Grant 20144030200600

Active site phosphoryl groups in the biphosphorylated phosphotransferase complex reveal dynamics in a millisecond time scale

AbstractThe N-terminal domain of Enzyme I (EIN) and phosphocarrier HPr can form a biphosphorylated complex when they are both phosphorylated by excess cellular phosphoenolpyruvate. Here we show that the electrostatic repulsion between the phosphoryl groups in the biphosphorylated complex results in characteristic dynamics at the active site in a millisecond time scale. The dynamics is localized to phospho-His15 and the stabilizing backbone amide groups of HPr, and does not impact on the phospho-His189 of EIN. The dynamics occurs with the kex of ∼500s−1 which compares to the phosphoryl transfer rate of ∼850s−1 between EIN and HPr. The conformational dynamics in HPr may be important for its phosphotransfer reactions with multiple partner proteins.Structured summary of protein interactionsEIN and HPr bind by nuclear magnetic resonance (View Interaction)

EFFECTS OF WALKING SPEED AND AGE ON THE DIRECTIONAL STRIDE REGULARJRY AND GAIT VARIABILITY IN TREADMILL WALKING

The purpose of this study was to assess the directional stride regularity (SR) and gait variability (GV) of data from shoe-type inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors during levelled treadmill walking. The DynaStabtm (IMU based gait analysis system) including Smart Balance' (shoe-type data logger) was used to collect normal gait data from forty-four subjects in their 20s (n=20), 40s (n=13), and 60s (n=ll). Four different walking speeds (3, 4, 5, and 6 km/h, respectively) on a treadmill were applied for one-minute of continuous levelled walking. Only lateral kinematics (mediolateral acceleration and yawing and rolling angular velocities) revealed significant interactions from walking speed and age, demonstrating lower stride regularity and higher gait variability than the anteroposterior and vertical kinematics

Enhanced immune response with foot and mouth disease virus VP1 and interleukin-1 fusion genes

The capsid of the foot and mouth disease (FMD) virus carries the epitopes that are critical for inducing the immune response. In an attempt to enhance the specific immune response, plasmid DNA was constructed to express VP1/interleukin-1α (IL-1α) and precursor capsid (P1) in combination with 2A (P1-2A)/IL-1α under the control of the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) immediateearly promoter and intron. After DNA transfection into MA104 (monkey kidney) cells, Western blotting and an immunofluorescence assay were used to confirm the expression of VP1 or P1-2A and IL-1α. Mice were inoculated with the encoding plasmids via the intradermal route, and the IgG1 and IgG2a levels were used to determine the immune responses. These results show that although the immunized groups did not carry a high level of neutralizing antibodies, the plasmids encoding the VP1/IL-1α, and P1-2A/IL-1α fused genes were effective in inducing an enhanced immune response