Nocardioides okcheonensis sp. nov., isolated from riverside soil.

An actinobacterial strain designated MMS20-HV4-12T, displaying a high hydrolytic potential for various substrates, was isolated from a riverside soil sample and characterized by polyphasic taxonomic analysis. Growth occurred at 10-37 °C (optimum, 30°C), with NaCl concentrations of 0-4 % (optimum, 0 %) and at pH 7-9 (optimum, pH 8). MMS20-HV4-12T was catalase-positive, oxidase-negative, rod-shaped and formed creamy white-coloured colonies. Based on the results of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, MMS20-HV4-12T was found to be mostly related to the type strains of Nocardioides alpinus (98.3 % sequence similarity), Nocardioides furvisabuli (98.1 %) and Nocardioides zeicaulis (98.0 %). MMS20-HV4-12T showed optimal growth on Reaoner's 2A agar, forming white-coloured colonies. The diagnostic polar lipid profile consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylinositol, the major fatty acids were iso-C16 : 0, C17 : 1 ω8c and 10-methyl-C17 : 0, the major isoprenoid quinone was MK-8(H4), the diagnostic cell-wall sugar was galactose, and the cell-wall diamino acid was ll-diaminopimelic acid. The genome of MMS20-HV4-12T was 4.47 Mbp in size with a G+C content of 72.9 mol%. The genome based analysis indicated low relatedness between MMS20-HV4-12T and all compared species of Nocardioides, as the highest digital DNA-DNA hybridization and the orthologous average nucleotide identity values were 26.8 and 83.8% respectively. Based on genotypic, phenotypic and phylogenomic characterization, MMS20-HV4-12T evidently represents a novel species of genus Nocardioides, for which the name Nocardioides okcheonensis sp. nov. (type strain=MMS20-HV4-12T=KCTC 49651T=LMG 32360T) is proposed.

Deep Learning Model Based on You Only Look Once Algorithm for Detection and Visualization of Fracture Areas in Three-Dimensional Skeletal Images.

Utilizing "You only look once" (YOLO) v4 AI offers valuable support in fracture detection and diagnostic decision-making. The purpose of this study was to help doctors to detect and diagnose fractures more accurately and intuitively, with fewer errors. The data accepted into the backbone are diversified through CSPDarkNet-53. Feature maps are extracted using Spatial Pyramid Pooling and a Path Aggregation Network in the neck part. The head part aggregates and generates the final output. All bounding boxes by the YOLO v4 are mapped onto the 3D reconstructed bone images after being resized to match the same region as shown in the 2D CT images. The YOLO v4-based AI model was evaluated through precision-recall (PR) curves and the intersection over union (IoU). Our proposed system facilitated an intuitive display of the fractured area through a distinctive red mask overlaid on the 3D reconstructed bone images. The high average precision values (>0.60) were reported as 0.71 and 0.81 from the PR curves of the tibia and elbow, respectively. The IoU values were calculated as 0.6327 (tibia) and 0.6638 (elbow). When utilized by orthopedic surgeons in real clinical scenarios, this AI-powered 3D diagnosis support system could enable a quick and accurate trauma diagnosis.

Paenibacillus artemisiicola sp. nov. and Paenibacillus lignilyticus sp. nov., two new endophytic bacterial species isolated from plant roots.

Two Gram-positive, endospore-forming, rod-shaped bacterial strains designated MWE-103T and DLE-14T were isolated from plant roots. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that strain MWE-103T was closely related to Paenibaillus sacheonensis SY01T with a sequence similarity of 97.82 %, and strain DLE-14T to Paenibacillus rhizoryzae IZS3-5T with 99.09 % similarity. The orthologous average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values using whole genome data indicated that strains MWE-103T and DLE-14T could be readily distinguished from the mostly related species. Both strains grew at mesophilic temperature ranges, and grew best at pH 6 and in the absence of NaCl. The major fatty acid in both strains was anteiso-C15 : 0, but their relative proportions differed. The predominant quinone of both strains was menaquinone 7, the cell-wall diamino acid was meso-diaminopimelic acid, and the diagnostic polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol, which were consistent with those of related species. Amylase and cellulase activities were positive for both strains. Strain DLE-14T exhibited the potential for lignin degradation. The DNA G+C contents of strain MWE-103T and DLE-14T were 60.9 and 50.8 mol% respectively. The genomes of the two strains revealed potential plant-growth-promoting characteristics such as nitrogen fixation, siderophore production and phosphate solubilization. Based on phylogenetic and phenotypic evidence, strains MWE-103T and DLE-14T should each be recognized as a novel species of Paenibacillus, for which the names Paenibacillus artemisiicola sp. nov. (type strain: MWE-103T=KCTC 43287T=JCM 34503T) and Paenibacillus lignilyticus sp. nov. (type strain: DLE-14T=KCTC 43288T=JCM 34504T) are proposed.

Mass Spectrometry Analysis to Identify Ubiquitylation of EYFP-tagged CENP-A (EYFP-CENP-A).

Studying the structure and the dynamics of kinetochores and centromeres is important in understanding chromosomal instability (CIN) and cancer progression. How the chromosomal location and function of a centromere (i.e., centromere identity) are determined and participate in accurate chromosome segregation is a fundamental question. CENP-A is proposed to be the non-DNA indicator (epigenetic mark) of centromere identity, and CENP-A ubiquitylation is required for CENP-A deposition at the centromere, inherited through dimerization between cell division, and indispensable to cell viability. Here we describe mass spectrometry analysis to identify ubiquitylation of EYFP-CENP-A K124R mutant suggesting that ubiquitylation at a different lysine is induced because of the EYFP tagging in the CENP-A K124R mutant protein. Lysine 306 (K306) ubiquitylation in EYFP-CENP-A K124R was successfully identified, which corresponds to lysine 56 (K56) in CENP-A through mass spectrometry analysis. A caveat is discussed in the use of GFP/EYFP or the tagging of high molecular weight protein as a tool to analyze the function of a protein. Current technical limit is also discussed for the detection of ubiquitylated bands, identification of site-specific ubiquitylation(s), and visualization of ubiquitylation in living cells or a specific single cell during the whole cell cycle. The method of mass spectrometry analysis presented here can be applied to human CENP-A protein with different tags and other centromere-kinetochore proteins. These combinatory methods consisting of several assays/analyses could be recommended for researchers who are interested in identifying functional roles of ubiquitylation.

Heritability of muscle mass in Korean parent-offspring pairs in the Fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES V).

OBJECTIVES: Decreased muscle mass is known to be associated with several serious medical conditions. We analyzed the Fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES V, 2010-2011) to estimate the heritability of muscle mass in Korean parent-offspring pairs. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A total of 1233 parents (average age 57.67 ±â€¯8.50 years) and 917 offspring (average age 29.10 ±â€¯7.57 years) from 743 families were included in the analysis. Muscle mass was estimated based on three different indices: appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) measured with a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), weight-adjusted ASM (SMI), and height-adjusted ASM (RASM). The heritability was estimated by employing the maximum-likelihood variance components implemented in Sequential Oligogenic Linkage Analysis Routines (SOLAR). The best-fitting model was determined out of four polygenic models. Pearson's partial correlation coefficient was also calculated using the muscle mass indices to further study the association between father or mother and son or daughter pairs. RESULTS: The heritability estimates of the muscle mass indices ranged from 55% to 80% (all p < 0.01). The correlation coefficient of father and offspring ranged from 0.11 to 0.40, while that of mother and offspring ranged from 0.23 to 0.43 (all p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The heritability estimates of muscle mass in Koreans are large and significant, suggesting that parental muscle mass is an important predictor of the offspring's muscle mass. The result implies that there may be a genetic factor partly determining muscle mass.

Shape Memory Hydrogels with Simultaneously Switchable Fluorescence Behavior.

Realization of shape memory process in polymeric hydrogels at ambient condition is a significant development to shape memory materials. The sound understanding of the dynamic shape memory process is fundamentally important but limited. Here, a novel shape memory hydrogel with simultaneously switchable fluorescence behavior is developed. The hydrogel is prepared by incorporating a pH-responsive fluorescent molecule, perylene tetracarboxylic acid, into chitosan-based hydrogel, and the assembly and disassembly of chitosan chains into microcrystals upon the trigger of pH are applied as reversible crosslinks to achieve shape memory effect. Therefore, the formation and disassociation of microcrystalline chitosan, and the switchable fluorescence performance happen concurrently, which bring convenience to monitoring the shape memory process by fluorescent imaging. Moreover, the erasable fluorescence behavior also gives the hydrogel potential applications in information storage.

A Novel Anisotropic Hydrogel with Integrated Self-Deformation and Controllable Shape Memory Effect.

Although shape memory polymers have been highlighted widely and developed rapidly, it is still a challenging task to realize complex temporary shapes automatically in practical applications. Herein, a novel shape memory hydrogel with the ability of self-deformation is presented. Through constructing an anisotropic poly(acrylic acid)-polyacrylamide (PAAc-PAAm) structure, the obtained hydrogel exhibits stable self-deformation behavior in response to pH stimulus, and the shapes that formed automatically can be fixed by the coordination between carboxylic groups and Fe3+ ; therefore, self-deformation and shape memory behaviors are integrated in one system. Moreover, the magnitude of auto-deformation and shape memory could be adjusted with the concentration of corresponding ions, leading to programmable shape memory and shape recovery processes.

Experimental study on the inhibition effect of miR-106a inhibitor on tumor growth of ovarian cancer xenografts mice.

OBJECTIVE: To study the inhibition effect of miR-106a inhibitor on tumor growth of ovarian cancer xenografts mice. METHODS: BALB/c mice were selected as experimental animals, ovarian cancer SKOV-3 cells transfected with miR-106a inhibitor and its negative control were inoculated subcutaneously, intratumoral injection of miR-106a inhibitor and its negative control were continued after tumor formation, and they were enrolled as treatment group and model group, respectively. Tumor volume and weight as well as Ki-67 and programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4) expression were determined; miR-106a inhibitor and its negative control as well as miR-106a mimic and its negative control were transfected into SKOV-3 cells, and expression of PDCD4 in cells was determined. RESULTS: Tumor tissue volume and weight as well as mRNA expression and protein expression of Ki-67 in treatment group were significantly lower than those in the model group while mRNA expression and protein expression of PDCD4 were significantly higher than those in the model group; transfection of miR-106a mimic could decrease mRNA expression and protein expression of PDCD4 in SKOV-3 cells, and transfection of miR-106a inhibitor could increase mRNA expression and protein expression of PDCD4 in SKOV-3 cells. CONCLUSIONS: Transfection of miR-106a inhibitor can inhibit the growth of tumor in ovarian cancer xenografts mice through increasing the expression of PDCD4.

Pediatric otitis media in Fiji: Survey findings 2015.

OBJECTIVE: Otitis media (OM), as a common infectious disease, is a major cause of hearing impairment among the general population. OM remains a major public health threat in the Pacific islands, but the risks of OM have not been thoroughly explored in this region. The objective of this study is to investigate the prevalence, clinical features, and quality-of-life impacts of OM in Fiji. METHODS: In the medical service trip entitled "Healing and Hope - Taiwan Cathay Heart and Hearing Medical Mission to Fiji" (TCHHMMF), we conducted a cross-sectional OM survey study in Suva and Sigatoka areas (Korolevu, Cuvu, and Lomawai) in the summer of 2015. The otitis media - 6 (OM-6) was used to survey the OM-related quality of life. RESULTS: In the 467 pediatric patients (aged 0-18 years old) screened, 13 (2.78%) have acute otitis media (AOM), 37 (7.92%) have otitis media with effusion (OME), and 19 (4.1%) have chronic otitis media (COM). Age (OR 0.53, 95% CI: 0.36-0.77) is a significant predictor of AOM, whereas male gender (OR 2.46, 95% CI: 1.13-5.37), smoke exposure (OR 2.81, 95% CI: 1.01-7.82), and concomitant chronic sinusitis (OR 6.05, 95% CI: 2.31-15.88) are significant predictors of OME. The mean OM-6 item scores are highest in caregiver concerns (3.8), physical suffering (3.7), and hearing loss (3.4) domains. CONCLUSION: OM is an important primary care disease in Fiji that remains under-served. It is critical to educate professionals, parents, and patients to detect and to improve care for OM.

[Quantitative detection of ethyl paraoxon based on SERS and PCA-SLR].

In the present paper, the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was used to build the model for the quantitative detection of ethyl paraoxon by the principal component analysis and segmented linear regression (PCA-SLR). Firstly, SERS in 820-1630 cm(-1) of ethyl paraoxon solution were measured and the spectra in 820-1630 cm(-1)(complete range) and 845-875 cm(-1) (characteristic range) of ethyl paraoxon solution were preprocessed by standard normal transformation (SNV), multiplicative scatter correction (MSC), the absolute values of first derivative and the second derivative respectively. Additionally, the number of dimensions of the spectra was reduced by PCA. Finally, the models were established by SLR It was found that the model developed with MSC preprocessed spectroscopy of characteristic range performed best (RMSEP: 0.33) by comparing the predictive accuracy of the different models. The result could meet with the needs in the quantitative detection of ethyl paraoxon.

Two new species of the genus Ancistrocerus Wesmael (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Eumeninae) from China, with a key to the Oriental species.

Two new species, namely Ancistrocerus transpunctatus You and Li, sp. n. and Ancistrocerus deqinensis You and Li, sp. n. are described and illustrated from Yunnan, China. A key to the Oriental species of the genus Ancistrocerus is provided.

Micromonospora avicenniae sp. nov., isolated from a root of Avicennia marina.

Strain 268506(T) was isolated from a root of Avicennia marina collected at mangrove forest in Wengchang, Hainan province, China. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain 268506(T) showed the highest similarity with Micromonospora equina Y22(T) (98.8 %) and Micromonospora olivasterospora DSM 43868(T) (98.7 %). In addition, gyrB gene phylogeny clearly showed strain 268506(T) should be assigned to the genus Micromonospora but different from any established Micromonospora species. The predominant menaquinones are MK-9(H8) and MK-9(H6). The major fatty acids are iso-C16:0, iso-C15:0 and anteiso-C17:0. The characteristic whole-cell sugars are xylose, mannose and arabinose. The cell wall contains meso-DAP and glycine. Phosphatidylinositol, diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine are the characteristic polar lipids. The DNA G+C content is 70.3 mol%. Some physiological and biochemical properties combined with low DNA-DNA relatedness indicated that the novel strain could be readily distinguished from the closest phylogenetic relatives. On the basis of these phenotypic and genotypic data, strain 268506(T) represents a novel species of the genus Micromonospora, for which the name Micromonospora avicenniae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 268506(T) ( = CCTCC AA 2012010(T) = DSM 45758(T)).

Proper heat shock pretreatment reduces acute liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride and accelerates liver repair in mice.

Whether proper heat shock preconditioning can reduce liver injury and accelerate liver repair after acute liver injury is worth study. So mice received heat shock preconditioning at 40°C for 10 minutes (min), 20 min or 30 min and recovered at room temperature for 8 hours (h) under normal feeding conditions. Then acute liver injury was induced in the heat shock-pretreated mice and unheated control mice by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and the expression levels of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) were detected in the unheated control mice and heat shock-pretreated mice after CCl4 administration. Our results showed that heat shock preconditioning at 40°C for 20 min remarkably improved the mice's survival rate (P<0.05), lowered the levels of serum AST and ALT (P<0.05), induced HSP70 (P<0.01), CYP1A2 (P<0.01) and PCNA (P<0.05) expression, effectively reduced liver injury (P<0.05) and accelerated the liver repair (P<0.05) compared with heat shock preconditioning at 40°C for 10 min or 30 min in the mice after acute liver injury induced by CCl4 when compared with the control mice. Our results may be helpful in further investigation of heat shock pretreatment as a potential clinical approach to target liver injury.

Study on the extraction, purification and quantification of jasmonic acid, abscisic acid and indole-3-acetic acid in plants.

INTRODUCTION: Jasmonic acid (JA), abscisic acid (ABA) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) are important plant hormones. Plant hormones are difficult to analyse because they occur in small concentrations and other substances in the plant interfere with their detection. OBJECTIVE: To develop a new, inexpensive procedure for the rapid extraction and purification of IAA, ABA and JA from various plant species. METHODOLOGY: Samples were prepared by extraction of plant tissues with methanol and ethyl acetate. Then the extracts were further purified and enriched with C(18) cartridges. The final extracts were derivatised with diazomethane and then measured by GC-MS. The results of the new methodology were compared with those of the Creelman and Mullet procedure. RESULTS: Sequential elution of the assimilates from the C(18 )cartridges revealed that IAA and ABA eluted in 40% methanol, while JA subsequently eluted in 60% methanol. The new plant hormone extraction and purification procedure produced results that were comparable to those obtained with the Creelman and Mullet's procedure. This new procedure requires only 0.5 g leaf samples to quantify these compounds with high reliability and can simultaneously determine the concentrations of the three plant hormones. CONCLUSION: A simple, inexpensive method was developed for determining endogenous IAA, ABA and JA concentrations in plant tissue.

Occurrence and genotypic characteristics of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in pigs with diarrhea.

There is limited information available on the association between Enterocytozoon bieneusi and diseases in animals or on the characteristics of the strains involved. This study examined the occurrence of E. bieneusi in piglets with and without diarrhea to determine its involvement. Among 472 fecal samples from 472 piglets (237 with diarrhea and 235 without) up to 7 weeks of age, 67 (approximately 14%) were polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive for E. bieneusi. Of the 237 piglets with diarrhea, 38 (approximately 16%) tested positive for E. bieneusi. Of the 235 healthy piglets, 29 (approximately 12%) tested positive for E. bieneusi. This species was detected only in the younger group of piglets with diarrhea, particularly those aged less than 1 week and between 1 and 2 weeks. This suggests that E. bieneusi is a possible cause of diarrhea in piglets. This organism, however, produced asymptomatic infections in the older piglets, as there was no significant difference in the rates of occurrence between the diarrheic and nondiarrheic older piglets (aged older than 4 weeks). The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal ribonucleic acid gene of the ten E. bieneusi-positive samples was amplified using nested PCR and subsequently sequenced. Genetic polymorphisms, which were represented by five distinct genotypes (PEbA-PEbE), were found among the E. bieneusi isolates. The five genotypes identified in this study differed from each other by two to six single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Nine isolates from four genotypes (PEbA-PEbD) were homologous to previously known types that had originally been isolated from pigs. However, one isolate from the PEbE genotype was identical to type CAF1, which was originally isolated from humans. In addition, the phylogenetic relationships determined by the neighbor-joining analysis of the ITS sequences indicated this genotype to be more distant from the other pig-specific genotypes. Thus, this isolate from pigs may be distantly related to the pig-specific genotypes and may be capable of infecting humans.

Antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia coli O157 from cattle in Korea.

Of 45 Escherichia coli O157 isolates from cattle feces, which were collected between May 2000 and September 2003 in Korea, 32 were resistant to at least 1 antibiotic and 28 were resistant to 4 or more antibiotics, with 32, 30 and 30 of the isolates being resistant to streptomycin, tetracycline and sulfisoxazole, respectively. Two isolates were resistant to fluoroquinolones and to 10 or more of the 22 other antimicrobial agents that were tested. Thirteen antimicrobial resistant patterns were observed. The most frequent resistance type, which was found for 11 isolates, was streptomycin-tetracycline-kanamycin-ampicillin-piperacillin-cephalothin-sulfisoxazole-ticarcillin. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of the isolates for E. coli O157 virulence markers revealed that 25 of the resistant E. coli O157 isolates tested positive for stx2 or both stx1 and stx2 genes. These findings suggest that many of the resistant E. coli O157 isolates might cause disease in humans.

Characterization and application of the selective strand annealing activity of the N terminal domain of hepatitis delta antigen.

We used synthetic DNA oligos to investigate the nucleic acid chaperone properties of the N terminal domain of hepatitis delta antigen (NdAg). We found that NdAg possessed a bona fide chaperone activity. NdAg could distinguish subtle differences in the thermal stability of the base pairing region, and enabled DNA oligos to form a more stable duplex among competing sequences through facilitating strand annealing selectively, stimulating duplex conversion selectively, and stabilizing the more stable duplex. The property of NdAg identified in this study could be applied to improve the efficiency and specificity of dot blot hybridization under conditions of low stringency.