Microbe-Responsive Proteomes During Plant-Microbe Interactions Between Rice Genotypes and the Multifunctional Methylobacterium oryzae CBMB20.

BACKGROUND: Rice is colonized by plant growth promoting bacteria such as Methylobacterium leading to mutually beneficial plant-microbe interactions. As modulators of the rice developmental process, Methylobacterium influences seed germination, growth, health, and development. However, little is known about the complex molecular responsive mechanisms modulating microbe-driven rice development. The application of proteomics to rice-microbe interactions helps us elucidate dynamic proteomic responses mediating this association. RESULTS: In this study, a total of 3908 proteins were detected across all treatments of which the non-inoculated IR29 and FL478 share up to 88% similar proteins. However, intrinsic differences appear in IR29 and FL478 as evident in the differentially abundant proteins (DAPs) and their associated gene ontology terms (GO). Successful colonization of M. oryzae CBMB20 in rice resulted to dynamic shifts in proteomes of both IR29 and FL478. The GO terms of DAPs for biological process in IR29 shifts in abundance from response to stimulus, cellular amino acid metabolic process, regulation of biological process and translation to cofactor metabolic process (6.31%), translation (5.41%) and photosynthesis (5.41%). FL478 showed a different shift from translation-related to response to stimulus (9%) and organic acid metabolic acid (8%). Both rice genotypes also showed a diversification of GO terms due to the inoculation of M. oryzae CBMB20. Specific proteins such as peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase (A2WJU9), thiamine thiazole synthase (A2YM28), and alanine-tRNA ligase (B8B4H5) upregulated in IR29 and FL478 indicate key mechanisms of M. oryzae CBMB20 mediated plant growth promotion in rice. CONCLUSIONS: Interaction of Methylobacterium oryzae CBMB20 to rice results in a dynamic, similar, and plant genotype-specific proteomic changes supporting associated growth and development. The multifaceted CBMB20 expands the gene ontology terms and increases the abundance of proteins associated with photosynthesis, diverse metabolic processes, protein synthesis and cell differentiation and fate potentially attributed to the growth and development of the host plant. The specific proteins and their functional relevance help us understand how CBMB20 mediate growth and development in their host under normal conditions and potentially link subsequent responses when the host plants are exposed to biotic and abiotic stresses.

Electrostatic Induction Nanogenerator Boosted by One-Dimensional Metastructure: Application to Energy and Information Transmitting Smart Tag System.

The recent application of the internet of things demands the ubiquitous utilization of data and electrical power. Even with the development of a wide variety of energy-harvesting technologies, few studies have reported a device transporting electrical energy and data simultaneously. This paper reports an electrostatic induction nanogenerator (ESING) consisting of a one-dimensional metastructure that can modulate the output voltage based on the resonance of ultrasound waves to transmit energy and data simultaneously. The ESING device is fabricated using electronegative poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membrane using a phase inversion process. The output voltage from the ESING device exhibits periodic resonant peaks as the gap between the PVDF membrane and the Al electrode changes, showing an up to 35-fold difference between the maximum and minimum output voltages depending on the resonance state. The energy and electrical signal can be transmitted simultaneously in free space because the ESING converts energy from high-frequency ultrasound waves. This paper provides proof of concept for a data and energy-transferable smart tag device based on ESING devices exhibiting resonant and non-resonant states. A device consisting of four ESINGs for a 4-bit signal is implemented to demonstrate 16 signals.

Churros-like Polyvinylidene Fluoride Nanofibers for Enhancing Output Performance of Triboelectric Nanogenerators.

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have emerged as a next-generation sustainable power source for Internet of Things technology. Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers (NFs) have been investigated widely to enhance the TENG performance by controlling their polarity; however, controlling the surface morphology of the PVDF NFs has rarely been studied. Here, surface-roughened, churros-like PVDF NFs were fabricated by controlling the solvent evaporation kinetics. The solvent evaporation rate was modulated by varying the relative humidity (RH) during the electrospinning process. With increasing RH, the fraction of polar ß-phase in the PVDF NFs increased, the specific surface area of the PVDF NFs increased gradually and the surface morphology changed from smooth to rough, finally resulting in a churros-like structure. Therefore, the output performance of the TENG devices was enhanced with increasing RH, because of the combined effects of the enlarged surface area and the increased fraction of the polar phase in the PVDF NFs. The TENG device with the churros-like PVDF NFs showed an output voltage of 234 V, current of 11 µA, and power density up to 1738 µW/cm2, giving it the capability to turn on 60 series-connected commercial light-emitting diodes without using an external charge storage circuit.

Clinical Results of Internal Fixation of Subcapital Femoral Neck Fractures.

BACKGROUND: Subcapital femoral neck is known to cause many complications, such as avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head or nonunion, compared with other femoral neck fractures. The purpose of this study was to analyze the incidence of AVN and fixation failures in patients treated with internal fixation using cannulated screws for the subcapital femoral neck fractures. METHODS: This study targeted a total of 84 cases of subcapital femoral neck fractures that underwent internal fixation using cannulated screws. The average follow-up time after surgery was 36.8 months (range, 24 to 148 months). RESULTS: Nine hips (10.7%) showing AVN of the femoral head and 6 hips (7.1%) showing fixation failures were observed. The factors affecting the incidence of AVN of the femoral head after sustaining fractures correlated well with fracture types in the Garden classification (p = 0.030). The factors affecting fixation failure were the degree of reduction (p = 0.001) measured by the Garden alignment index and firm fixation (p = 0.009) assessed using the technique of 3-point fixation through the inferomedial cortical bone of the femoral neck. CONCLUSIONS: The complication rates for subcapital femoral neck fractures were lower than those previously reported; hence, internal fixation could be a primary treatment option for these fractures.

Epidemiologic survey of head and neck cancers in Korea.

Head and neck cancers have never been systematically studied for clinical purposes yet in Korea. This epidemiological survey on head and neck cancer patients was undertaken from January to December 2001 in 79 otorhinolaryngology resident-training hospitals nationwide. The number of head and neck cancer patients was 1,063 cases in the year. The largest proportion of cases arose in the larynx, as many as 488 cases, which accounted for 45.9%. It was followed by, in order of frequency, oral cavity (16.5%), oropharynx (10.0%), and hypopharynx (9.5%). The male:female ratio was 5:1, and the mean age was 60.3 yr. Surgery was the predominant treatment modality in head and neck cancers: 204 (21.5%) cases were treated with only surgery, 198 (20.8%) cases were treated with surgery and radiotherapy, 207 cases (21.8%) were treated with combined therapy of surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Larynx and hypopharynx cancers had a stronger relationship with smoking and alcohol drinking than other primary site cancers. Of them, 21 cases were found to be metastasized at the time of diagnosis into the lung, gastrointestinal tract, bone, or brain. Coexisting second primary malignancies were found in 23 cases. At the time of diagnosis, a total of 354 cases had cervical lymph node metastasis accounting for 42.0%.