The Taxonomy and Diversity of Proschkinia (Bacillariophyta), A Common But Enigmatic Genus from Marine Coasts.

Detailed morphological documentation is provided for established Proschkinia taxa, including the generitype, P. bulnheimii, and P. complanata, P. complanatula, P. complanatoides and P. hyalosirella, and six new species. All established taxa are characterized from original material from historical collections. The new species described in this paper (P. luticola, P. staurospeciosa, P. impar, P. modesta, P. fistulispectabilis, and P. rosowskii) were isolated from the Western Pacific (Yellow Sea coast of Korea) and the Atlantic (Scottish and Texas coasts). Thorough documentation of the frustule, valve and protoplast architecture revealed the combination of characters diagnostic of the genus Proschkinia: a single-lobed chloroplast; a broad girdle composed of U-shaped, perforated bands; the position of the conopeate raphe-sternum relative to the external and internal valve surface; and the presence of an occluded process through the valve, termed the "fistula". Seven strains of Proschkinia were grown in culture and five of these were sequenced for nuclear ribosomal SSU and plastid-encoded rbcL. Phylogenetic analysis recovered a clade of Proschkinia with Fistulifera, another fistula-bearing diatom genus, and together these were sister to a clade formed of the Stauroneidaceae; in turn, all of these were sister to a clade composed of Parlibellus and two monoraphid genera Astartiella and Schizostauron. Despite morphological similarities between Proschkinia and the Naviculaceae, these two taxa are distant in our analysis. We document the variation in the morphology of Proschkinia, including significant variability in the fistula, suggesting that fistula ultrastructure might be one of the key features for species identification within the genus.

Concomitant diabetes or hypertension with metabolic syndrome on the extent of intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis.

BACKGROUND: Intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS) is a major cause of ischemic stroke, especially in Asia. Assessing relationships between novel risk factors and ICAS could lead strategies for improving outcomes. We aimed to evaluate the link between severity of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and extent of ICAS (≥ 50% stenosis). METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of consecutive Korean patients with acute ischemic stroke, admitted from March 2009 through May 2013, who underwent brain MRI/MRA. Patients were stratified into hypertension only, diabetes mellitus (DM), MetS only, MetS and hypertension, MetS and DM, and neither. MetS was defined using the harmonized criteria. RESULTS: Of 1220 patients (mean age, 68.2 ± 12.7; female, 42.6%), 238 had hypertension only, 67 DM, 48 MetS only, 311 MetS and hypertension, 403 MetS and DM (88.3% having concomitant hypertension), and 153 neither. Patients with MetS and DM had higher prevalence of ICAS and more ICAS lesions vs. those with neither (all P < 0.001). Compared with neither condition (1.3 ± 0.8), extent of MetS component were greater by increasing MetS severity category (1.7 ± 0.5, 1.8 ± 0.4, 3.3 ± 0.5, 3.4 ± 0.6, and 3.9 ± 0.7, P < 0.001). Odds of ICAS (OR 3.40, 95% CI, 1.82-6.36), ICAS (≥ 2) (4.65, 2.15-10.05), and ICAS (≥ 3) (2.82, 1.02-7.82) remained independently higher in patients with MetS and DM. DM, MetS only, or MetS and hypertension trended towards higher ICAS lesions. CONCLUSION: MetS and DM along with hypertension is associated with more extensive ICAS than MetS and hypertension or MetS only. Patients with MetS at high risk of hypertension and DM may benefit from therapeutic lifestyle changes to prevent stroke risk.

Complete mitochondrial genome of a rare diatom (Bacillariophyta) Proschkinia and its phylogenetic and taxonomic implications.

We obtained the complete mitogenome of Proschkinia sp. strain SZCZR1824, a strain belonging to a poorly known diatom genus with no previous molecular data. This genome is 48,863 bp long, with two group I introns in rnl and three group II introns in cox1. Using mitogenomic data, Proschkinia sp. was recovered with Fistulifera solaris, far distant from Navicula and Nitzschia, two genera with which Proschkinia has sometimes been associated based on morphology.

Airborne nicotine concentrations in the workplaces of tobacco farmers.

OBJECTIVES: Nicotine is a natural alkaloid and insecticide in tobacco leaves. Green tobacco sickness (GTS) is known as a disease of acute nicotine intoxication among tobacco farmers. Until now, GTS has been recognized globally as a disease that results from nicotine absorption through the skin. However, we assumed that GTS might also result from nicotine inhalation as well as absorption. We aimed to measure the airborne nicotine concentrations in various work environments of Korean tobacco farmers. METHODS: We measured the nicotine concentrations in the tobacco fields, private curing barns, and joint curing barns of farmers from July to October 2010. All sampling and analyses of airborne nicotine were conducted according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health manual of analytic methods. RESULTS: The airborne nicotine concentrations (geometric mean [geometric standard deviation]) in the tobacco field were 83.4 mg/m(3) (1.2) in the upper region and 93.3 mg/m(3) (1.2) in the lower region. In addition, the nicotine concentration by personal sampling was 150.1 mg/m(3). Similarly, the nicotine concentrations in the private curing barn, workers in curing barns, the front yard of the curing barn, and in the joint curing barn were 323.7 mg/m(3) (2.0), 121.0 mg/m(3) (1.5), 73.7 mg/m(3) (1.7), and 610.3 mg/m(3) (1.0), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The nicotine concentration in the workplaces of tobacco farmers was very high. Future studies should measure the environmental concentration of nicotine that is inhaled by tobacco farmers.