Detection of platelet-monocyte aggregates by the ADAM(®) image cytometer.

BACKGROUND: Inappropriate platelet activation is known to be associated with various thrombotic disorders. Platelet-monocyte aggregates (PMAs), whose formation is mediated by platelet surface P-selectin (CD62P), can be used as a reliable marker to detect platelet activation. Previous studies have generally detected PMAs through flow cytometry-based approaches. Recently, the ADAM(®) image cytometer (Nanoentek Inc., Seoul, Korea) was developed for image-based cellular analysis. In this study, we detected PMAs with the ADAM(®) cytometer, evaluated the reproducibility of the measurements made by the ADAM(®) cytometer, and compared the abilities of the ADAM(®) cytometer and a flow cytometric assay to detect PMAs. METHODS: Whole blood samples were collected from patients. Within 5 minutes of collection, anticoagulated whole blood samples were fixed in 10% paraformaldehyde and 5% glyoxal. Nineteen clinical specimens were collected; each was analyzed three times with the ADAM(®) cytometer in order to assess the reproducibility of its measurements. To compare the ability of the ADAM(®) cytometer with that of a flow cytometer to detect PMAs, each cytometer was used for 23 clinical samples and the correlation of the measurements was determined. RESULTS: The PMA measurements made by the ADAM(®) cytometer showed good reproducibility (CV < 10% for all specimens). Moreover, the PMA measurements made by the ADAM(®) cytometer exhibited a high correlation with those made by a flow cytometric assay (R = 0.944). CONCLUSIONS: The ADAM(®) cytometer is a suitable alternative method to the flow cytometry-based assays. Since the ADAM cytometer does not need specialized instrument knowledge or software proficiency (unlike flow cytometry), the ADAM(®) cytometer can be used as a rapid and reliable POCT device to measure platelet activation in peripheral blood. This, in turn, will provide valuable information regarding patient propensities to thrombotic diseases.

A machine learning-based electronic nose system using numerous low-cost gas sensors for real-time alcoholic beverage classification.

This study introduces numerous low-cost gas sensors and a real-time alcoholic beverage classification system based on machine learning. Dogs possess a superior sense of smell compared to humans due to having 30 times more olfactory receptors and three times more olfactory receptor types than humans. Thus, in odor classification, the number of olfactory receptors is a more influential factor than the number of receptor types. From this perspective, this study proposes a system that utilizes distinctive data patterns resulting from heterogeneous responses among numerous low-cost homogeneous MOS-based sensors with poor gas selectivity. To evaluate the performance of the proposed system, learning data were gathered using three alcoholic beverage groups including different aged whiskeys, Korean soju with 99% same compositions, and white wines made from the Sauvignon blanc variety, sourced from various countries. The electronic nose system was developed to classify alcoholic samples measured using 30 gas sensors in real time. The samples were injected into a gas chamber for 60 seconds, followed by a 60-second injection of clean air. After preprocessing the time-series data into four distinct datasets, the data were analyzed using a machine learning algorithm, and the classification results were compared. The results showed a high classification accuracy of over 99%, and it was observed that classification performance varied depending on data preprocessing. As the number of gas sensors increased, the prediction accuracy improved, reaching up to 99.83 ± 0.21%. These experimental results indicated that the proposed electronic nose system's classification performance was comparable to that of commercial electronic nose systems. Additionally, the implementation of an alcoholic beverage classification system based on a pretrained LDA model demonstrated the feasibility of real-time classification using the proposed system.

Isolation of a Potential Probiotic Levilactobacillus brevis and Evaluation of Its Exopolysaccharide for Antioxidant and α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activities.

The probiotic properties of ten lactic acid bacteria and antioxidant and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of the exopolysaccharide (EPS) of the selected strain were investigated in this study. Levilactobacillus brevis L010 was one of the most active strains across all the in vitro tests. The cell-free supernatant (50 g/l) of L. brevis L010 showed high levels of both α-glucosidase inhibitory activity (98.73 ± 1.32%) and 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity (32.29 ± 3.86%). The EPS isolated from cell-free supernatant of L. brevis L010 showed 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical-scavenging activity (80.27 ± 2.51%) at 80 g/l, DPPH radical-scavenging activity (38.19 ± 9.61%) at 40 g/l, and ferric reducing antioxidant power (17.35 ± 0.20 mg/l) at 80 g/l. Further, EPS exhibited inhibitory activities against α-glucosidase at different substrate concentrations. Kinetic analysis suggests that the mode of inhibition was competitive, with a kinetic constant of Km = 2.87 ± 0.88 mM and Vmax = 0.39 ± 0.06 µmole/min. It was concluded that the EPS might be one of the plausible candidates for possible antioxidant and α-glucosidase activities of the L. brevis L010 strain.

Draft genome sequence data of multi-stress tolerant yeast Millerozyma farinosa KCTC27753 isolated from nuruk.

The strain Millerozyma farinosa KCTC27753, isolated from nuruk, is a multi-stress tolerant yeast which grows at 46 °C temperature and pH 3.0. This strain can withstand fermentation inhibitors, such as furfural and phenolic compounds released from biomass. Hence, this strain could be used for bioethanol production. The draft genome sequence of M. farinosa KCTC27753 was analyzed by PacBio RSII. The genome length is 21,255,474 bp and it consists of 17 contigs. The GC content of the genome is 41.1%. The genome analysis identified a total of 10,910 plausible gene-coding regions in this strain.

Complete genome sequence data of Lactobacillus sakei MBEL1397 isolated from kimchi.

Lactobacillus sakei MBEL1397(=KCTC14037BP) was isolated from kimchi, a traditional Korean fermented food, in Gangwon province, Republic of Korea. MBEL1397 is an acid-tolerant strain with antimicrobial activity and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, which might be preliminary indications of its probiotic properties. Complete genome sequencing of L. sakei MBEL1397 was performed using the PacBio RSII platform. MBEL1397 has a 1,994,569 bp circular chromosome with 41.04% G+C content. The genome includes 1,946 protein-coding genes, 66 transfer RNA genes, and 21 ribosomal RNA genes. The BioProject has been deposited at DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank. The GenBank accession numbers are PRJNA598112 for the BioProject, SAMN13698554 for the BioSample, and CP048116 for the chromosome.

Isolation of acid tolerant lactic acid bacteria and evaluation of α-glucosidase inhibitory activity.

In this study, lactic acid bacteria strains (LABs) were isolated from Korean traditional fermented food and examined as potential probiotics using in vitro methods. Ten LAB strains survived in de Man, Rogosa and Sharpe broth adjusted to pH 2.5 were tested for resistance to acidic conditions and bile, antimicrobial activity, and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. Among them, strain MBEL1397 showed antimicrobial activity against Bacillus cereus and exhibited survival rates of over 97% in acidic and bile conditions. The α-glucosidase inhibitory activity was 3.91 ± 0.25%, corresponding to approximately 2.3 times higher than that of acarbose. MBEL1397 was susceptible to ampicillin, erythromycin, and penicillin G and identified as Lactobacillus sakei. It was deposited to Korean Collection for Type Culture (KCTC) as KCTC14037BP. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that L. sakei MBEL1397 might be prominent probiotics with potential hypoglycemic effects.

Facile synthesis of highly ordered mesoporous silver using cubic mesoporous silica template with controlled surface hydrophobicity.

Highly ordered mesoporous silver, which exhibits well-defined mesopores, high surface area and pore volume, has been successfully obtained using a cubic mesoporous silica, KIT-6, with controlled surface hydrophobicity as the hard template.

Stroke Impact Scale 3.0: Reliability and Validity Evaluation of the Korean Version.

OBJECTIVE: To establish the reliability and validity the Korean version of the Stroke Impact Scale (K-SIS) 3.0. METHODS: A total of 70 post-stroke patients were enrolled. All subjects were evaluated for general characteristics, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Modified Barthel Index, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The SF-36 and K-SIS 3.0 assessed their health-related quality of life. Statistical analysis after evaluation, determined the reliability and validity of the K-SIS 3.0. RESULTS: A total of 70 patients (mean age, 54.97 years) participated in this study. Internal consistency of the SIS 3.0 (Cronbach's alpha) was obtained, and all domains had good co-efficiency, with threshold above 0.70. Test-retest reliability of SIS 3.0 required correlation (Spearman's rho) of the same domain scores obtained on the first and second assessments. Results were above 0.5, with the exception of social participation and mobility. Concurrent validity of K-SIS 3.0 was assessed using the SF-36, and other scales with the same or similar domains. Each domain of K-SIS 3.0 had a positive correlation with corresponding similar domain of SF-36 and other scales (HADS, MMSE, and NIHSS). CONCLUSION: The newly developed K-SIS 3.0 showed high inter-intra reliability and test-retest reliabilities, together with high concurrent validity with the original and various other scales, for patients with stroke. K-SIS 3.0 can therefore be used for stroke patients, to assess their health-related quality of life and treatment efficacy.

[Effectiveness of enneagram group counseling for self-identification and depression in nursing college students].

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine effects of enneagram group counseling program on self-identification and depression in nursing college students. Three groups, categorized by how the students solve their conflicts, were selected to identify changes from the program. METHODS: A quasi-experimental study with a non-equivalent control group and pre posttest design was used. Participants were assigned to the experimental group (n=30) or control group (n=33). The experimental group participated in enneagram group counseling program for 38 hours through eight sessions covering four different topics. Collected data were analyzed using Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, t-test, and Wilcoxon signed rank test. RESULTS: Total self-identity score for the experimental group was significantly higher than the control group. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups for depression scores. The Assertive and Compliant groups demonstrated significant change in self-identification while the Withdrawn groups did not reveal any change. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that the enneagram group counseling program is very effective in establishing positive self-identification for nursing college students who face developmental crisis and stressful situations. It is also expected that this program would be useful to enhance the students' confidence through a deeper understanding and acceptance of themselves.