High remnant-cholesterol levels increase the risk for end-stage renal disease: a nationwide, population-based, cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The effect of remnant-cholesterol (remnant-C) on incident end-stage renal disease (ESRD) has not been studied longitudinally. This retrospective cohort study evaluated the association between remnant-C and the development of ESRD in a nationwide Korean cohort. METHODS: Participants in a National Health Insurance Service health examination (n = 3,856,985) were followed up until the onset of ESRD. The median duration of follow-up was 10.3 years. The Martin-Hopkins equation was used to determine low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels from directly measured triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and total cholesterol levels. Remnant-C levels were determined by subtracting HDL-C and LDL-C from total cholesterol. The risk for incident ESRD was calculated for each quartile of remnant-C, adjusting for conventional risk factors such as baseline renal function, comorbidities, and total cholesterol levels. RESULTS: ESRD developed in 11,073 (0.29%) participants. The risk for ESRD exhibited a gradual increase according to higher levels of remnant-C, with a 61% increased risk in the highest quartile than in the lowest (hazard ratio [HR] 1.61 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.50-1.72]). The elevated risk for ESRD in the highest quartile versus the lowest quartile was more prominent in younger than in older subjects (20-29 years, HR 4.07 [95% CI 2.85-5.83]; 30-39 years, HR 2.39 [95% CI 1.83-3.13]; ≥ 70 years, HR 1.32 [95% CI 1.16-1.51]). In addition, the increased risk for ESRD related to higher remnant-C levels was greater in females than in males. CONCLUSIONS: Independent of conventional risk factors, remnant-C levels were positively associated with incident ESRD, particularly in younger populations and adult females. Reducing remnant-C levels may be a novel preventive strategy against ESRD.

First report of Puccinia xanthii causing rust disease on Xanthium orientale in Korea.

Puccinia xanthii Schw. is a microcyclic rust fungus, first found on Xanthium strumarium Lour in North Carolina, the United States. This rust fungus is native to the continental United States, Hawaii, Mexico, and the West Indies (Arthur 1934). It has become notoriously invasive and is now distributed in the Europe (Bulgaria, France, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Spain, and the former Yugoslavia), India, Indonesia, Australia, and South Africa (Parmelee 1969; Alcorn 1976; Wahyuno 2012). In East Asia, the fungus has been reported in Japan (Hiratsuka et al. 1992) and China (Zhao et al. 2014) but not in Korea. It has been reported mainly on the invasive weeds Xanthium and Ambrosia species. In addition, it rarely occurs on sunflowers (Helianthus spp.) in Australia (Alcorn 1976), South Africa (Pretorius et al. 2000), and North America (Gulya and Charlet 2002). In Korea, rust disease symptoms caused by a Puccinia fungus were first found on X. orientale L. at the roadside of Okcheon-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do (36 27'95.428"N 127 66'26.378"E) in October 2021 and were repeatedly observed in the same site in 2022. The similar symptom was additionally found on X. orientale in Yesan-gun, Oct. 2022. The symptoms were brown spots on round chlorotic haloes on the adaxial leaf surface and dark brown pustules on the abaxial leaf surface. Telia were brown to dark brown, round, mostly grouped, 0.28-0.61 mm in diameter, and mainly formed on the abaxial leaf surface but sometimes on the adaxial leaf surface. Teliospores were two-celled, pedicellate, and measured 37.6-110 × 12.4-21.5 µm in size; the wall was yellowish or almost colorless, smooth, 1.2-2.6 µm thick at the sides, and up to 7.4 µm thick at the apex. The morphological characteristics of the teliospores were identical to those of P. xanthii described by Arthur (1934) and Parmelee (1969). Based on phylogenetic analyses (e-Xtra 2) of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and partial large subunit (LSU) rDNA extracted from the teliospores, they were identified as P. xanthii. BLAST analysis showed that the sequences had high homologies (over 99.82%) with the reference strains of P. xanthii (EF635903 and KX999896). The representative specimens were preserved at the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency Herbarium (PQK211005 for Okcheon-gun isolate and PQK220913 for Yesan-gun) and the sequences were deposited in GenBank (OR958716 and OR958692). A pathogenicity test was performed by dropping a suspension of germinating teliospores and basidiospores onto the adaxial leaf surfaces of apparently healthy X. orientale plants in Oct. 2022, using the isolate PQK220913 (OR958692). The three inoculated plants were placed together with three controls treated with only distilled water, in the dark at saturated humidity for 24 hours in an isolated greenhouse. After two weeks, typical rust symptoms were observed in the three infected plants, whereas no symptoms appeared in the control plants (e-Xtra 1). The causal fungus was identified as P. xanthii based on host relationships, successful experimental inoculation, morphological characteristics, and sequence similarity of partial DNA fragments. To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. xanthii on X. orientale in Korea. P. xanthii was additionally confirmed on X. orientale in Gumi-si, Boeun-gun, Seongju-gun, Naju-si, and Gunsan-si in 2023, indicating its wide distribution in Korea. It is expected that P. xanthii could be a candidate as a biological agent for controlling the invasive weed, X. orientale.

First report of a rust disease of Lycium chinense caused by Puccinia tumidipes in Korea.

Lycium chinense Mill is a deciduous broad-leaved shrub belonging to the Solanaceae family and, is widely distributed throughout Korea. This plant is native to, or cultivated for various oriental medicinal purposes in, multiple regions of Asia, including Korea, China, and Japan (Lee 1982; Kim et al. 1994). Eleven Puccinia species have been reported to infect Lycium species (Otálora et al. 2018). In May and October 2022, symptoms of rust disease caused by Puccinia sp. were observed on almost all the leaves of about 60 sprawling stems of L. chinense plants on the seashore of Jeju island, Korea (33°14'15.0835″N, 126°30'53.40E). Brownish red (uredinium) or blackish brown (telium) pustules were observed on upper and lower surfaces of infected leaves. These symptoms were observed on about 40 L. chinense plants, barely growing between rocks on the seashore of Ulsan Metropolitan City, and on the about 20 L. chinense plants on a small home garden of Jindo-gun, Korea, in June and October 2023, respectively. Uredinia were amphigenous, individually scattered, but sometimes formed groups of two or three on leaves and sepals, ferruginous, pulverulent, and surrounded by a ruptured epidermis, often developing into blackish telia. Urediniospores were either ellipsoid or ovoid, approximately 29.3-34.9 × 17-24.3 µm, with yellowish walls, 1-2 µm thick. The germ pores were bizonate, and each band contained four pores covered by low papillae. Blackish-brown telia were observed on both leaf surfaces. Teliospores were broadly ellipsoidal, and rounded at the apex and towards the base. They were measured approximately 37.1-53.4 × 25-34.5 µm. The walls were light chestnut-brown and 2-3.7 µm thick, apically up to 5-9 µm thick. The swollen pedicel was persistent, basal, hyaline, smooth, and similar in length to the spores (Fig. 1). These morphological characteristics were similar to those of P. tumidipes, as described by Otálora et al. (2018). The representative specimens were preserved at the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency Herbarium (PQK220531, -230605, and -231026). The fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) and cytochrome oxidase subunit 3(CO3) regions were amplified from the total DNA of the isolates, using the primer pairs ITS5, ITS4, CO3F1, and CO3R1 for phylogenetic analysis (White et al. 1990; Vialle et al. 2009). PCR products were sequenced (Celemics, Seoul, Korea), and deposited in GenBank (Accession numbers are shown in Fig. 2.). The combined ITS2 and CO3 sequences were grouped with those of other isolates of P. tumidipes in the phylogenetic tree (Fig. 2). In November 2022, three pathogenicity tests were conducted using a urediniospore suspension made with the PQK220531 isolate in sterile distilled water. The suspension was smeared onto the upper surface of healthy L. chinense leaves. The three inoculated plants were kept in the dark at saturated moisture levels for 24 hours and placed in an isolated glasshouse together with the three control plants. After two weeks, uredinia of P. tumidipes were observed on the leaves of the inoculated plants, but not on the control plants. Although no spermogonial or aecial stage has been observed in Korea, our study has proven that P. tumidipes is the causal fungus of rust disease in L. chinense. This result is also the first discovery of the New-World P. tumidipes in Asia, showing this fungus is not limitedly distributed in America and suggesting further surveys be done on its exact geographical distribution.

Cholecystectomy increases the risk of metabolic syndrome in the Korean population: a longitudinal cohort study.

Background: Cholecystectomy is a common surgical procedure to treat symptomatic gallstones; however, the long-term outcomes after cholecystectomy are unknown. Therefore, we aimed to investigate whether incident metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with cholecystectomy through a large, population-based, longitudinal study. Methods: Subjects aged ≥20 years who underwent cholecystectomy from 2010 to 2014 (n=76,485) and controls (n=76,485), matched for age and sex, were identified from the Korean National Health Insurance Corporation. Cox proportional hazards analyses were performed to evaluate the association between cases and incident MetS, and hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Results: A total of 152,970 patients were included. Mean age was 52.47±12.76 years, and 50.65% of participants were male. During the follow-up period, there were 38,979 (25.48%) newly diagnosed MetS cases in the study participants. The risk of MetS in the cholecystectomy group was approximately 20% higher than that in the control group [adjusted odds ratio (OR), 1.20; 95% CI: 1.17-1.23]. In the fully adjusted models, the corresponding ORs for new-onset high waist circumference (WC), low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels, high triglycerides (TG) levels, high blood pressure (BP), and high blood glucose levels were 1.16 (1.13-1.19), 1.19 (1.16-1.22), 1.25 (1.22-1.28), 1.27 (1.23-1.31), and 1.21 (1.18-1.24), respectively. Cholecystectomy was an independent risk factor of incident MetS, after adjusting for potential confounding factors. In the subgroup analyses, the cholecystectomy group had a higher risk of MetS than the control group in subjects without hypertension or dyslipidemia, respectively. Conclusions: In this large, population-based study, cholecystectomy was associated with an increased risk of developing MetS, independent of other confounding factors. Therefore, careful monitoring of metabolic variables and long-term follow-up are required to evaluate MetS risk after cholecystectomy.

Malva sylvestris, a new host of Puccinia modiolae in Korea.

Malva sylvestris (Malvaceae), known as common mallow, is native to Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa. It was intentionally introduced to Korea as an ornamental plant in the early 20th century, and has become partly naturalized in several areas including the woods (Jung et al. 2017). Among nine microcylic Puccinia species attacking the Malvaceae plants, three species of P. heterospora, P. malvacearum, and P. modiolae have been reported on M. sylvestris (Classen et al. 2000, Colenso 1885, McKenzie 1998 and Melo et al. 2012). Only P. modiolae has been found on Alcea rosea and M. verticillata, and not M. sylvestris in Korea (Lee et al. 2022; Ryu et al. 2022). In August 2022, rust disease symptoms of a Puccinia fungus were observed on some overgrown seedlings of M. sylvestris, which were neglected in containers after sales at a wholesale nursery (36°50'19.8″N, 128°55'28.7″E) in Bonghwa, Korea. Typical rust spots were observed around 60% (on 111 seedlings of the 186 seedlings of M. sylvestris). The brown spots were produced on round chlorotic haloes on the adaxial leaf surface, and brown to dark brown pustules on the abaxial. Subepidermal spermogonia on the adaxial, were obovoid, and 112.1-160.0 × 88.7-149.3 µm in size. Telia were golden-brown to dark brown, round, mostly grouped, and 0.30-0.72 mm in diameter, and mainly hypophyllus. Fusoid teliospores were two-celled, rarely one- or three-celled, 36.2-92.3 × 10.6-19.3 µm in size, with many anomalies appearing notched at apex; wall was yellowish or almost colorless, smooth, 1.0-2.6 µm thick at the sides, and up to 6.8 µm thick at the apex; pedicel was hyaline, thick wall, persistent, and (39.3-)60.4-154.6(-189.9) µm long. Based on these morphological features together with the results of the phylogenetic analyses (e-Xtra 2) using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and partial large subunit (LSU) sequences according to the method described by Ryu et al. (2022), the fungus was identified as an autoecious P. modiolae, recently reported on M. verticillate and A. rosea in Korea (Lee et al. 2022; Ryu et al. 2022). A representative sample was deposited in the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency Herbarium (PQK220818). Pathogenicity tests were done using three host plants: M. sylvestris, M. verticillate and A. rosea. Three to four leaf discs with basidiospore-bearing telia were placed on the upper surfaces of healthy young leaves of the seedlings. Three replicates of each host plant set including an untreated control were tested. The plants were kept in an isolated glass house. At ten to twelve days after inoculation, typical telial spots of P. modiolae were recovered, but not in the control plants, showing all three tested species were highly susceptible (e-Xtra 1). The ITS and LSU sequences obtained from the genomic DNAs of each newly recovered rust spot were consistent with that of the inoculum (accession no. OQ542745). The previous A. rosea isolate (OP369290 by Ryu et al. 2022) also showed the pathogenesis on M. sylvestris and M. verticillata by the same tests, mentioned above (e-Xtra 1). To date, only one collection of P. modiolae on M. sylvestris has been reported in Louisiana, the United States (Aime and Abbasi 2018). The results of this study show that P. modiolae is firstly confirmed as the causal rust fungus of M. sylvestris and the same causal agent of M. verticillate and A. rosea rust disease, recently reported in Korea.

Association between Sleep Duration and Incident Diabetes Mellitus in Healthy Subjects: A 14-Year Longitudinal Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate whether sleep duration and/or quality are associated with incident diabetes mellitus (DM). METHODS: A total of 8816 of 10,030 healthy participants were enrolled in a prospective cohort study. Sleep duration and quality questionnaires were completed. Sleep quality was assessed using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), which measures excessive daytime sleepiness in individuals. RESULTS: During the 14-year follow-up period, 18% (1630/8816) were diagnosed with DM. A U-shaped relationship was observed between sleep duration and incident DM, with the highest risk observed when sleep duration was ≥10 h/day (hazard ratios (HR) 1.65 [1.25-2.17]). This group exhibited decreased insulin glycogenic index, a marker of insulin secretory function, during the study period. Among study participants who slept less than 10 h/day, the risk of incident DM increased when the ESS score was >10. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the association between sleep duration and incident DM was U-shaped; both short (≤5 h) and long (≥10 h) sleep durations were associated with an increased risk for the occurrence of incident DM. When sleep duration was 10 h or longer per day, there was a tendency to develop DM due to decreased insulin secretory function.

Remnant Cholesterol Is an Independent Predictor of Type 2 Diabetes: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: Although the atherogenic effect of remnant cholesterol (remnant-C) has been widely recognized, the relationship between remnant-C and glucose metabolism remains unclear. This retrospective, longitudinal study investigated the relationship between remnant-C and incident type 2 diabetes (T2D) in a nationwide cohort of Korean adults. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A total of 8,485,539 Korean adults without diabetes participated in the national health screening in 2009 and were followed up until 2019. The relationship between remnant-C quartiles and incident T2D was examined by Cox regression models. The risk of incident T2D over the continuum of remnant-C was examined with cubic spline analysis. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 9.28 years, 584,649 individuals (6.8%) developed T2D. In multivariable-adjusted analyses, participants in the upper quartile of remnant-C had a higher risk of T2D, with hazard ratios of 1.25 (95% CI 1.24-1.27) in the second quartile, 1.51 (95% CI 1.50-1.53) in the third quartile, and 1.95 (95% CI 1.93-1.97) in the fourth quartile, compared with the lowest quartile. The increase in the risk of T2D owing to high remnant-C concentration was more profound in individuals with fewer traditional T2D risks, such as women, and absence of metabolic abnormalities, including impaired fasting glucose, hypertension, and atherogenic dyslipidemia. Moreover, the magnitude of the increased risk for incident T2D in individuals with higher remnant-C quartiles was higher in younger participants than older participants. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that remnant-C profiles provide additional information in predicting future progression of T2D, independent of the conventional lipid parameters.

Waist circumference and end-stage renal disease based on glycaemic status: National Health Insurance Service data 2009-2018.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). This study aimed to examine the effect of waist circumference (WC) on the risk for ESRD based on glycaemic status in a Korean population-based sample. METHODS: This cohort study with a 9.2-year follow-up period used a population-based National Health Insurance Service health checkup database with approximately 10 585 852 participants who were followed up from 2009 to the time of ESRD diagnosis. WC was categorized into seven levels in 5-cm increments, with Level 4 as the reference group. Glycaemic status was categorized into the following groups: normal fasting glucose (NFG), impaired fasting glucose (IFG), newly diagnosed T2DM, T2DM treated with ≤2 oral hypoglycaemic agents (OHAs) and diabetes treated with ≥3 OHAs or insulin. We calculated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for ESRD according to WC values and glycaemic status of the participants. RESULTS: The study finally included 10 177 245 patients with a mean age of 47.1 (13.8) years. The study population included 5 604 446 men (55.1%) and 4 572 799 women (45.9%). In total, 8.3% (n = 877 143) of the study population had diabetes. During the mean follow-up of 9.2 (1.0) years (93 554 951 person-years of follow-up), 23 031 individuals were newly diagnosed with ESRD. The ESRD risk increased in parallel with an increase in WC in participants without T2DM, that is, the NFG and IFG groups (adjusted HRs [95% CIs] of WC Levels 4, 5 and 6: 1.17 [1.09-1.26], 1.37 [1.25-1.51] and 1.84 [1.63-2.07] in the NFG group and 1.06 [0.97-1.16], 1.23 [1.10-1.38] and 1.80 [1.57-2.06] in the IFG group, respectively). In patients with T2DM, the risk for ESRD was significantly increased in those with a low WC (adjusted HRs [95% CIs] of WC Level 1: 2.23 [1.77-2.80], 3.18 [2.70-3.74] and 10.31 [9.18-11.59] in patients with newly diagnosed diabetes, patients on ≤2 OHAs and those on ≥3 OHAs or insulin, respectively). The association between WC and ESRD thus showed a J-shaped pattern in patients with newly diagnosed T2DM and a U-shaped pattern in those on ≤2 OHAs and on ≥3 OHAs or insulin. CONCLUSIONS: Central obesity substantially increases the risk of developing ESRD regardless of glycaemic status. The harmful effects of low WC only become significant with the progression of T2DM.

Complete genome and molecular characterization of a putative novel citrivirus from Rudbeckia sp.

We identified a tentative novel positive-strand RNA virus from Rudbeckia sp., namely, Rudbeckia citrivirus A (RuCVA). The complete genome sequence of the novel virus was 8821 nucleotides in length, excluding the poly(A) tail. It has three open reading frames (ORFs): a putative polyprotein, a movement protein, and a coat protein. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the virus was more closely related to Citrus leaf blotch virus isolates and unassigned citriviruses. The sequence identity of the virus with other citriviruses was lower than 56.9% at the complete nucleotide sequence level. For each ORF, the sequence identity was lower than 64.2% at the nucleotide level and 67.8% at the amino acid level. These results satisfied the species demarcation criteria for Betaflexiviridae. Therefore, we suggest that RuCVA is a novel member of the genus Citrivirus.

Cholecystectomy Increases the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in the Korean Population: Data From the National Health Insurance Cooperation Health Checkup 2010-2017.

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed whether cholecystectomy is a risk factor for newly developed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the Korean population. BACKGROUND: There is a lack of evidence that cholecystectomy is independently associated with insulin resistance and T2DM. METHODS: This study included all patients aged more than 20 years who had undergone cholecystectomy from 2010 to 2015 (n=55,166) and age-matched and sex-matched control subjects without cholecystectomy (n=110,332) using the National Health Insurance Service database. They were followed up until the date of newly developed T2DM or study end and the incidence of T2DM was traced over a maximum observation period of 7 years. RESULTS: Overall, 55,166 patients who underwent cholecystectomy and 110,332 age-matched and sex-matched controls were followed up for ∼4.7 years, during which, incident T2DM occurred in 5982 (3.61%) patients. Cholecystectomy was associated with 20% higher risk of T2DM after adjustment for all covariates. The cumulative incidence of T2DM also significantly increased in the cholecystectomy group for ∼7 years ( P <0.001). The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for T2DM was the highest in the group with both cholecystectomy and obesity using the control without both cholecystectomy and obesity as a reference [HR=1.41, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.29-1.56]. The group with cholecystectomy without obesity showed the comparable risk of incident T2DM compared with the group without cholecystectomy with obesity (HR=1.29, 95% CI: 1.20-1.40 for cholecystectomy without obesity and HR=1.24, 95% CI: 1.14-1.36 for control with obesity). CONCLUSIONS: These results provide evidence that cholecystectomy is associated with an increased risk of newly developed T2DM in the Korean population. Further research is required to elucidate the mechanism of the association between cholecystectomy and incident diabetes.

Remnant cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes: a nationwide longitudinal cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Elevated remnant cholesterol (remnant-C) is considered a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, whether this notion applies to the East Asian population with type 2 diabetes (T2D) has not been established. This study investigated the association between remnant-C concentrations and the risk of CVD in Korean patients with T2D. METHODS: By using the Korean National Health Insurance Service database, 1,956,452 patients with T2D and without atherosclerotic CVD who underwent regular health checks between 2009 and 2012 were included. Cox regression analyses were conducted to assess the association between remnant-C concentrations and incident CVD comprising myocardial infarction (MI) and ischemic stroke. RESULTS: In total, 50,120 (2.56%) cases of MI and 73,231 (3.74%) cases of ischemic strokes occurred during a median follow-up of 8.1 years. The adjusted hazard ratios for MI and stroke in the highest remnant-C quartile were 1.281 (95% confidence interval [CIs], 1.249-1.314) for MI and 1.22 (1.195-1.247) for ischemic stroke, compared to those in the lowest quartiles. The results were similar, based on stratified analysis by age, sex, use of statin or fibrate, and levels of other cholesterol. The increased risk of CVD in the highest remnant-C quartile was profound in patients who had a longer T2D duration. A remnant-C concentration ≥ 30 mg/dL differentiated patients who were at a higher risk of CVD, compared to patients with a lower concentrations, regardless of whether LDL-C levels were or were not on target at ≤ 100 mg/dL. CONCLUSION: In Korean patients with T2D, remnant-C was associated with CVD, independent of the LDL-C level or other conventional CVD risk factors. Our finding confirmed evidence of the causal role of remnant-C on CVD, as a residual risk of CVD, in East Asian patients with T2D.

First Report of Rust Disease on Alcea rosea Caused by Puccinia modiolae in Korea.

Alcea rosea, in the family Malvaceae, is a biennial plant native to China and is grown typically for gardening in Korea (Lee 2003). Seven microcyclic Puccinia species have been reported on A. rosea: P. heterogenea, P. heterospora, P. lobata, P. malvacearum, P. platyspora, P. sherardiana, and P. modiolae (Demers et al. 2015; Aime and Abbasi 2018). In early May 2022, characteristic symptoms of rust were observed on four of ten seedlings of A. rosea purchased at a wholesale nursery (36°50'19.8″N, 128°55'28.7″E) in Bonghwa, Korea. Rust spots were present on almost 90% of the 1,000 seedlings of A. rosea in that nursery during our survey in late May. Through a distribution survey from June to July 2022, similar symptomatic leaves were additionally collected from the leaves of A. rosea grown in gardens at five sites in Gimcheon (two sites), Gumi (one), Seongju (one), and Busan (one). Spots were yellow-orange the center surrounded by chlorotic haloes on the adaxial leaf surface, and reddish-brown or dark brown pustules on the abaxial leaf surface. Over time, the spots enlarged and coalesced, causing the decay of large sections of the leaves, and heavily infected leaves fell early. Spermogonia, produced at the center of the chlorotic spot on the adaxial leaf surface, were subepidermal, obovoid, and 113.2-164.5 × 97.6-153.3 µm in size. Telia were reddish-brown to dark brown, round, mostly grouped, 0.28-0.61 mm in diameter, and mainly formed on the abaxial leaf surface but sometimes on the adaxial leaf surface also. Teliospores were two-celled, but rarely one- or three-celled, and were fusoid and 37. 6-110 × 12.4-21.5 µm in size; the wall was yellowish or almost colorless, smooth, 1.2-2.6 µm thick at the sides, and up to 7.4 µm thick at the apex. The morphological characteristics were similar to those of P. modiolae, although the teliospores in our study were longer than those observed by Aime and Abbasi (2018). For phylogenetic analysis, genomic DNA was extracted from the teliospores of each regional specimen. Partial 18S, internal transcribed spacer (ITS), and partial 28S sequences were amplified using primers NS1, ITS4, ITS5, and LR11. The PCR products were sequenced (Celemics, Seoul, Korea) and deposited in GenBank. The ITS-partial large subunit (LSU) sequence and 28S sequences had 100% homology with other P. modiolae sequences deposited in GenBank (accession numbers are shown in Fig. 2). In the phylogenetic trees of the ITS and LSU sequences, the isolates collected in this study were grouped with the reference sequences of P. modiolae, including the Korean isolate (ON631218) recently reported on Malva verticillata by Lee et al. (2022). For the pathogenicity test, the teliospores with germinating basidiospores were suspended in sterile distilled water and smeared on the upper surface of asymptomatic A. rosea leaves in August. The inoculated plants were sprayed with distilled water and kept in the dark with saturated moisture for 24 h in an isolated glass house of the Animal & Plant Quarantine Agent. After 2 weeks, typical rust spots and telia of P. modiolae were observed on the leaves of the inoculated plants, but not in the control plants, which were only sprayed with distilled, sterilized water and otherwise treated similarly to the inoculated plants. The results of this study show that the casual fungus is P. modiolae, which has been commonly found in A. rosea in Korea. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of P. modiolae in A. rosea in Korea.

Regulatory Effects of Lycium barbarum Extract and Isolated Scopoletin on Atopic Dermatitis-Like Skin Inflammation.

Lycium barbarum and scopoletin are widely used in oriental Eastern medicine and are often consumed as teas. In this study, proinflammatory cytokines expressed in human keratinocytes (HaCaT) were induced by skin diseases caused by 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)/interferon gamma (IFN-γ). The inhibitory activity of L. barbarum EtOH extract (LBE) and scopoletin on proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines was investigated. In the DNCB-induced animal model, oral administration of LBE inhibited skin lesions and proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines and showed inhibitory effects in vitro. Additionally, as a result of examining the efficacy of scopoletin isolated from L. barbarum, scopoletin in HaCaT cells showed inhibitory effects on proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. It shows promise in the treatment of chronic skin diseases.

Sutureless transplantation ofin vivopriming human mesenchymal stem cell sheet promotes the therapeutic potential for cardiac repair.

The heart, contrary to its small size, vigorously pumps oxygen and nutrients to our entire body indeterminably; and thus, its dysfunction could be devastating. Until now, there ave been several major obstacles to applying a cardiac patch for the treatment for myocardial infarction, including poor integration and low engraftment rates, due to the highly-curved surface of the heart and its dynamic nature. Here, we demonstrate a novel way for a comprehensive cardiac repair achieved by the sutureless transplantation of a highly integrablein vivopriming bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) sheet based on the utilization of a highly aligned thermoresponsive nanofiber membrane. Moreover, we developed a BMSC sheet specialized for vascular regeneration through 'in-vivopriming' using human umbilical vein endothelial cells. A prolonged secretion of multiple angiogenic cytokines, such as vascular endothelial growth factor, angiopoietin-1, insulin-like growth factor-1, which was observedin vitrofrom the specialized BMSC sheet seemed to lead a significant improvement in the cardiac function, including intrinsic contractibility and remodeling. In this study, we provide strong evidence thatin vivopriming of a human BMSC sheet develops the therapeutic potential for cardiac repair.

Complete genome sequence of a putative novel cytorhabdovirus isolated from Rudbeckia sp.

Through high-throughput RNA sequencing, we discovered a putative new cytorhabdovirus in the seeds of Rudbeckia sp., which we have tentatively named "rudbeckia virus 1" (RudV1). Its complete 12,502-nt genomic sequence contains five open reading frames (ORFs): ORF1 (putative nucleocapsid protein, N), ORF2 (putative phosphoprotein, P), ORF3 (putative cell-to-cell movement protein, P3), ORF4 (putative matrix protein, M), and ORF5 (putative RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, L). BLASTp searches showed that ORF1, ORF3, ORF4, and ORF5 of RudV1 are most closely related to the corresponding proteins of Tagetes erecta virus 1 (a putative member of the genus Cytorhabdovirus) with 33.87% (88% query coverage), 55.98% (89% query coverage), 35.33% (94% query coverage), and 57.75% (98% query coverage) sequence identity at the amino acid level, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis and pairwise comparisons indicated that RudV1 is a novel member of the genus Cytorhabdovirus within the family Rhabdoviridae.

Complete Genome Sequence of Citrus Vein Enation Virus Identified from a Korean Yuja Tree.

We determined the complete genome sequence of the citrus vein enation virus (CVEV) collected from a Korean yuja tree (Citrus junos). The CVEV genome has 5,983 nucleotides, showing 97.3 to 98.6% identity with complete genomic sequences of other CVEV isolates, with the highest similarity being to the isolate PCJ.

Association of the atherogenic index of plasma with cardiovascular risk beyond the traditional risk factors: a nationwide population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) is composed of triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and is a novel marker for assessing the risk of atherogenicity and cardiometabolic health. An association between AIP and greater frequency of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and high cardiovascular (CV) disease risk has been reported. However, only few studies have examined the correlation between AIP and CV risk in general populations. We thus aimed to evaluate the relationship between AIP and CV diseases using a large-scale population dataset from the Korean National Health Insurance Service-National Health Screening Cohort (NHIS-HEALS). METHODS: A total of 514,866 participants were enrolled from the NHIS-HEALS and classified according to the AIP quartiles. We performed univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analyses to determine the association between AIP and MACEs, CV events, and CV mortality. RESULTS: During follow-up, we documented 12,133, 11,055, and 1942 cases of MACEs, CV events, and CV mortality, respectively. The multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios [HRs; 95% confidence interval (CI)] for MACEs gradually and significantly increased with the AIP quartiles [1.113 (1.054-1.175) in Q2, 1.175 (1.113-1.240) in Q3, and 1.278 (1.209-1.350) in Q4], following an adjustment for the conventional CV risk factors, including age, sex, body mass index, smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activities, household income, fasting glucose, systolic blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and estimated glomerular filtration rate. In subgroup analyses, the association of AIP with MACEs and CV events was particularly outstanding in patients with diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: AIP was significantly associated with CV risks after adjusting for the traditional risk factors. Therefore, it may be used as an effective mass screening method to identify patients at a high risk of CV events.

Enhanced Differentiation Capacity and Transplantation Efficacy of Insulin-Producing Cell Clusters from Human iPSCs Using Permeable Nanofibrous Microwell-Arrayed Membrane for Diabetes Treatment.

Although pancreatic islet transplantation is a potentially curative treatment for insulin-dependent diabetes, a shortage of donor sources, low differentiation capacity, and transplantation efficacy are major hurdles to overcome before becoming a standard therapy. Stem cell-derived insulin-producing cells (IPCs) are a potential approach to overcoming these limitations. To improve the differentiation capacity of the IPCs, cell cluster formation is crucial to mimic the 3D structure of the islet. This study developed a biodegradable polycaprolactone (PCL) electrospun nanofibrous (NF) microwell-arrayed membrane permeable to soluble factors. Based on the numerical analysis and experimental diffusion test, the NF microwell could provide sufficient nutrients, unlike an impermeable PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) microwell. The IPC clusters in the NF microwells showed higher gene expression of insulin and PDX1 and insulin secretion than the PDMS microwells. The IPC clusters in the NF microwell-arrayed membrane could be directly transplanted. Transplanted IPC clusters in the microwells survived well and expressed PDX1 and insulin. Additionally, human c-peptide was identified in the blood plasma at two months after transplantation of the membranes. The NF microwell-arrayed membrane can be a new platform promoting IPC differentiation capacity and realizing an in situ transplantation technique for diabetic patients.

First report of Raphanus sativus cryptic virus 2 on cabbage seeds (Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis) imported from Italy.

Raphanus sativus cryptic virus 2 (RsCV-2), an unclassified species belonging to the family Partitiviridae, was identified in cabbage seeds (Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis) imported from Italy using high-throughput paired-end RNA sequencing. Three contigs derived from RsCV-2 isolate PQ shared nucleotide sequence homologies (approximately 94, 87, and 86%) with dsRNA1, 2, and 3 of RsCV-2, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis and pairwise comparison showed that RsCV-2 isolates were more closely related to deltapartitiviruses. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of RsCV-2 on B. rapa subsp. pekinensis in the world. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13337-021-00744-w.