Geographical distribution of the mesozooplankton community in highly productive coastal polynyas of the Ross Sea region marine protected area (RSR MPA) during early summer.

We investigated the recent spatial variation in the mesozooplankton community on the broad shelf of the RSR MPA during the bloom season. The mesozooplankton community was geographically divided into three regions: the Terra Nova Bay polynya, the Ross Sea polynya, and the marginal polynya. Larval euphausiids were dominant in the two polynya regions, whereas copepods were predominant in the marginal polynya region. Salinity, sea ice, and dissolved oxygen related to the different water mass compositions were the most significant factors distinguishing the mesozooplankton community. The key environmental variable separating the three groups was salinity. In accordance with the relatively high mesozooplankton abundance in the polynya regions, the occurrence and size of the polynyas in the December Ross Sea are thought to affect the spatial distribution of mesozooplankton. Consequently, this study indicates that two polynyas in the Ross Sea are vital habitats for krill during summer. Our observation results provide fundamental information for evaluating marine ecosystems and establishing a management plan for the RSR MPA.

Human-Inspired Tactile Perception System for Real-Time and Multimodal Detection of Tactile Stimuli.

A human can intuitively perceive and comprehend complicated tactile information because the cutaneous receptors distributed in the fingertip skin receive different tactile stimuli simultaneously and the tactile signals are immediately transmitted to the brain. Although many research groups have attempted to mimic the structure and function of human skin, it remains a challenge to implement human-like tactile perception process inside one system. In this study, we developed a real-time and multimodal tactile system that mimics the function of cutaneous receptors and the transduction of tactile stimuli from receptors to the brain, by using multiple sensors, a signal processing and transmission circuit module, and a signal analysis module. The proposed system is capable of simultaneously acquiring four types of decoupled tactile information with a compact system, thereby enabling differentiation between various tactile stimuli, texture characteristics, and consecutive complex motions. This skin-like three-dimensional integrated design provides further opportunities in multimodal tactile sensing systems.

Corrigendum: Biogeography of southern ocean active prokaryotic communities over a large spatial scale.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.862812.].

Clinical Validation of a Wearable Piezoelectric Blood-Pressure Sensor for Continuous Health Monitoring.

Wearable blood-pressure sensors have recently attracted attention as healthcare devices for continuous non-invasive arterial pressure (CNAP) monitoring. However, the accuracy of wearable blood-pressure (BP) monitoring devices has been controversial due to the low signal quality of sensors, the absence of an accurate transfer function to convert the sensor signals into BP values, and the lack of clinical validation regarding measurement precision. Here, a wearable piezoelectric blood-pressure sensor (WPBPS) is reported, which achieves a high normalized sensitivity (0.062 kPa-1 ), and fast response time (23 ms) for CNAP monitoring. The transfer function of a linear regression model is designed, offering a simple solution to convert the flexible piezoelectric sensor signals into BP values. In order to verify the measurement accuracy of WPBPS, clinical trials are performed on 35 subjects aged from 20 to 80 s after screening. The mean difference between the WPBPS and a commercial sphygmomanometer of 175 BP data pairs is -0.89 ± 6.19 and -0.32 ± 5.28 mmHg for systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), respectively. By building a WPBPS-embedded wristwatch, the potentially promising use of a convenient, portable, continuous BP monitoring system for cardiovascular disease diagnosis is demonstrated.

Biogeography of Southern Ocean Active Prokaryotic Communities Over a Large Spatial Scale.

The activity of marine microorganisms depends on community composition, yet, in some oceans, less is known about the environmental and ecological processes that structure their distribution. The objective of this study was to test the effect of geographical distance and environmental parameters on prokaryotic community structure in the Southern Ocean (SO). We described the total (16S rRNA gene) and the active fraction (16S rRNA-based) of surface microbial communities over a ~6,500 km longitudinal transect in the SO. We found that the community composition of the total fraction was different from the active fraction across the zones investigated. In addition, higher α-diversity and stronger species turnover were displayed in the active community compared to the total community. Oceanospirillales, Alteromonadales, Rhodobacterales, and Flavobacteriales dominated the composition of the bacterioplankton communities; however, there were marked differences at the order level. Temperature, salinity, silicic acid, particulate organic nitrogen, and particulate organic carbon correlated with the composition of bacterioplankton communities. A strong distance-decay pattern between closer and distant communities was observed. We hypothesize that it was related to the different oceanic fronts present in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the complex arrangement that shapes the structure of bacterioplankton communities in the SO.

Spatial distribution and origin of organic matters in an Arctic fjord system based on lipid biomarkers (n-alkanes and sterols).

The concentration of n-alkanes (C17-C35) and sterols in marine particulate matter were investigated to trace the origin of organic carbon in Kongsfjorden in early spring (April). The spatial distributions of environmental factors (seawater temperature, salinity, density, turbidity, chlorophyll a (chl. a) and particulate organic carbon (POC) concentrations) and the cell density of phytoplankton differed between the inner and outer fjord regions. In addition, brassicasterol, diatom biomarker, showed a high concentration in the outer fjord and positive correlations with the chl. a and POC concentrations in the water column. In contrast, some sterols originating from terrestrial organic matter (OM), such as stigmasterol and campesterol, showed relatively higher concentrations in the inner fjord than in the outer fjord. Based on the distance-based redundancy analysis (db-RDA) result, the distributions of organic compounds are predominantly controlled by the water density and the POC and chl. a concentrations, and these distributions allowed us to divide the inner and outer fjord regions. However, the hierarchical clustering of principal components (HCPC) results obtained based on principal component analysis (PCA) using lipid biomarkers (C17-C35 alkanes and sterols) and environmental factors indicated that the clusters were distinguished by surface (0 m) and subsurface (>4 m) seawater samples rather than by any regional division. Notably, the concentration of relatively short-chain alkanes (average chain length (ACL): 24.6 ± 3.7) without a carbon preference for odd numbers (carbon preference index (CPI): 0.97 ± 0.11) in the sea surface layer was significantly higher than that of subsurface seawater (ACL: 31.1 ± 0.5 and CPI: 1.06 ± 0.03) in the early spring. This suggests the potential of these compounds as indicators for tidewater glacier-derived OM and freshwater input by snow melt into the fjord system. Hence, these results demonstrate that the distributions of lipid biomarkers in the water column possibly provide important information for a comprehensive understanding of the origin and transport of OM in an Arctic fjord.

Regional Differences in the Diets of Adélie and Emperor Penguins in the Ross Sea, Antarctica.

To identify the dietary composition and characteristics of both Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae) and Emperor (Aptenodytes forsteri) penguins at four breeding sites, we performed stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope analysis of down samples taken from penguin chicks. Adélie Penguin chicks at Cape Hallett mostly fed on Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba; 65.5 ± 3.5%), a reflection of the prevalence of that species near Cape Hallett, and no significant differences were noted between 2017 and 2018. However, Adélie Penguin chicks at Inexpressible Island, located near Terra Nova Bay, fed on both Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarctica; 42.5%) and ice krill (Euphausia crystallorophias; 47%), reflecting the high biomass observed in Terra Nova Bay. Meanwhile, no significant difference was noted between the two breeding sites of the Emperor Penguin. Emperor Penguin chicks predominantly fed on Antarctic silverfish (74.5 ± 2.1%) at both breeding sites (Cape Washington and Coulman Island), suggesting that diet preference represents the main factor influencing Emperor Penguin foraging. In contrast, the diet of the Adélie Penguin reflects presumed regional differences in prey prevalence, as inferred from available survey data.

Biomimetic and flexible piezoelectric mobile acoustic sensors with multiresonant ultrathin structures for machine learning biometrics.

Flexible resonant acoustic sensors have attracted substantial attention as an essential component for intuitive human-machine interaction (HMI) in the future voice user interface (VUI). Several researches have been reported by mimicking the basilar membrane but still have dimensional drawback due to limitation of controlling a multifrequency band and broadening resonant spectrum for full-cover phonetic frequencies. Here, highly sensitive piezoelectric mobile acoustic sensor (PMAS) is demonstrated by exploiting an ultrathin membrane for biomimetic frequency band control. Simulation results prove that resonant bandwidth of a piezoelectric film can be broadened by adopting a lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) membrane on the ultrathin polymer to cover the entire voice spectrum. Machine learning-based biometric authentication is demonstrated by the integrated acoustic sensor module with an algorithm processor and customized Android app. Last, exceptional error rate reduction in speaker identification is achieved by a PMAS module with a small amount of training data, compared to a conventional microelectromechanical system microphone.

Long-term Prognosis of Patients Who Contraindicated for Intravenous Thrombolysis in Acute Ischemic Stroke.

BACKGROUND: As intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) has very restricted inclusion criteria, eligible patients of IVT constitute a very small proportion and studies about their mortality are rare. The long-term mortality in a patients with contraindication of ineligible patients of IVT still under the debate. So, we investigated the proportion of patients with contraindication of IVT and the short and long-term mortality of them in AIS on emergency department comparing with the long-term effect of IVT in patients with moderate-to-severe stroke. METHODS: Using acute stroke assessment indication registry & Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service database, a total of 5,407 patients with NIHSS≥5 were selected from a total of 169 acute stroke care hospital nationwide during October-December 2011 and March-June 2013. We divided AIS patients into two groups: 1) IVT group who received IVT within 4.5 hours, and 2) non-IVT group who did not receive the IVT because of contraindications. And we divided the subgroups according to the reason of contraindication of IVT. The 5-year survival rate of each group was assessed using Kaplan-Meyer survival analysis. RESULTS: Of the 5,407 patients, a total of 1,027 (19%) patients who received IVT using r-tPA within 4.5 h after onset. Compared with the IVT group, hazard ratios of non-IVT group were 1.33 at 3 months, 1.53 at 1 year and 1.47 at 5 years (p<.001). A total of 4,380 patients did not receive IVT because of the following contraindications to IVT. 1) Time restriction: 3,378 (77.1 %) patients were admitted after 4.5 h following stroke onset, and 144 (3.3%) patients failed to determine the stroke onset time. 2) Mild symptoms:137 (3.1%) patients had rapid improvement or mild stroke on emergency room, 3) Bleeding diathesis or non-adjustable hypertension: 53 (1.2%) patients showed a bleeding tendency or severe hypertension. Compared with the IVT group, the subgroups of non-IVT group showed consistently high mortality during short and long term follow up. Mild symptom and bleeding diathesis or non-adjustable hypertension subgroup in the non-IVT group consistently showed the higher mortality than time restriction subgroup during the short and long-term follow-up (log-rank p<.001). Patients who had rapid improvement or mild stroke on emergency department had the higher mortality than time restriction group in short and long term follow up. CONCLUSION: The AIS patients with rapid improvement or mild stroke on emergency room had higher mortality than ineligible patients of IVT due to time restriction during the short and long-term follow-up. A further management and special support on emergency department is needed for these patients with initially mild stroke and rapid improvement in AIS to reduce the poor outcome.

High Resolution Micro-patterning of Stretchable Polymer Electrodes through Directed Wetting Localization.

A microarray of conducting polymer electrodes with high resolution and high pattern-fidelity is developed on a stretchable substrate through the directed wetting localization (DWL) by the differential hydrophobicity. The large difference in the surface energy between the wetting and dewetting regions serves as the major determinant of the pattern resolution and the pattern-fidelity, yielding the full surface coverage in the stretchable electrode array (SEA) with 30 µm in width. The electrical characteristics of the SEA are well preserved under different types of elastic deformations. All-solution-processed polymer light-emitting diodes (except for the cathode) based on our patterned stretchable electrodes show no appreciable degradation of the performance under stretching. The DWL provides a simple and effective way of building up diverse stretchable electrical and optoelectronic devices in advanced wearable and bio-integrated electronics.

Selective photonic printing based on anisotropic Fabry-Perot resonators for dual-image holography and anti-counterfeiting.

We present the photonic printing that can display different color images depending on the optical polarization of incident light. The dynamic selection among different images becomes possible by using anisotropic Fabry-Perot resonators that incorporate a layer of liquid crystal molecules aligned by directional molecular registration (DMR) as polarization-dependent color pixels. Using the new device platform, we demonstrate a prototype of an anticounterfeiting label with inherent anti-replicability that results from the molecular-level origin of security images. In addition, this concept is extended to polarization-selective holography. Our molecular-level approach enables to develop a new class of security labels and holographic storage media.

Modulation of surface physics and chemistry in triboelectric energy harvesting technologies.

Mechanical energy harvesting technology converting mechanical energy wasted in our surroundings to electrical energy has been regarded as one of the critical technologies for self-powered sensor network and Internet of Things (IoT). Although triboelectric energy harvesters based on contact electrification have attracted considerable attention due to their various advantages compared to other technologies, a further improvement of the output performance is still required for practical applications in next-generation IoT devices. In recent years, numerous studies have been carried out to enhance the output power of triboelectric energy harvesters. The previous research approaches for enhancing the triboelectric charges can be classified into three categories: i) materials type, ii) device structure, and iii) surface modification. In this review article, we focus on various mechanisms and methods through the surface modification beyond the limitations of structural parameters and materials, such as surficial texturing/patterning, functionalization, dielectric engineering, surface charge doping and 2D material processing. This perspective study is a cornerstone for establishing next-generation energy applications consisting of triboelectric energy harvesters from portable devices to power industries.

Antitumor effects of SB injection in canine osteosarcoma and melanoma cell lines.

The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of SB injection, which is composed of extracts from the roots of Pulsatilla koreana, Panax ginseng, and Glycyrrhiza glabra, on the viability of canine osteosarcoma and melanoma cells and nonneoplastic canine cells. Cells were treated with SB injection, conventional chemotherapeutic drugs, or a combination of both at various concentrations. Cellular viability was evaluated using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Flow cytometry was used to evaluate the cell cycle and apoptosis. SB injection inhibited the growth of osteosarcoma and melanoma cells in a dose-dependent manner. The cell cycle of the affected cells was arrested in the G2/M phase, indicating an anti-proliferative effect. SB injection dose-dependently increased the rate of apoptosis. Furthermore, we found that combining SB injection with chemotherapeutic drugs resulted in a greater reduction in canine malignant cell proliferation than either treatment alone. SB injection did not affect the viability of peripheral blood mononuclear cells regardless of concentration, which suggested that SB injection did not suppress the activity of normal cells. This study suggested that SB injection can be considered an effective alternative medication for animal cancers in veterinary medicine.

Expressional and functional analyses of epididymal SPINKs in mice.

Epididymal maturation is critical for acquisition of motility and fertilizing capacity by sperm. During epididymal transit, the surface of sperm undergoes prominent sequential changes through interactions with secreted proteins, including protease inhibitors. In the present study, we characterized three epididymis-specific SPINKs (serine protease inhibitors, Kazal-type): SPINK8, SPINK11, and SPINK12. We found that these epididymal SPINKs are expressed in an epididymal region-specific manner and their expression is developmentally regulated. Remarkably, cellular analyses revealed that SPINK8 and SPINK12 are transferred to the sperm. To investigate the in vivo properties of SPINK12, we analyzed knockout mice generated by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing. Loss of SPINK12 did not alter epididymal tubule structure or sperm phenotypes. Spink12 mutant mice exhibited normal fertility, suggesting that SPINK12 is functionally redundant in the epididymis.

Generation of intensity-tunable structural color from helical photonic crystals for full color reflective-type display.

A new concept of intensity-tunable structural coloration is proposed on the basis of a helical photonic crystal (HPC). The HPCs are constructed from a mixture of chiral reactive mesogens by spin-coating, followed by the photo-polymerization. A liquid crystal (LC) layer, being homogeneously aligned, is prepared on the HPCs to serve as a tunable waveplate. The electrical modulation of the phase retardation through the LC layer directly leads to the intensity-tunable Bragg reflection from the HPCs upon the incidence of the polarized light. The bandwidths of the structural colors are found to be well preserved regardless of the applied voltage. A prototype of a full color reflective-type display, incorporated with three primary color units, is demonstrated. Our concept of decoupling two mutually independent functions, the intensity modulation by the tunable waveplate and the color reflection by the HPCs provides a simple and powerful way of producing a full color reflective-type display which possesses high color purity, high optical efficiency, the cycling durability, and the design flexibility.

Altered properties of feline adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells during continuous in vitro cultivation.

Cytotherapy with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has been studied in many species, and often requires in vitro cell expansion to obtain therapeutic doses of stem cells. Because the characteristics of MSCs, such as self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation, can be altered by long-term culture, it is important to maintain stemness during cultivation. This study assessed the changes in the characteristics of feline adipose tissue-derived (fAT)-MSCs during in vitro passaging. Stem cells isolated from the adipose tissue of donor cats were cultured for seven sub-passages. Proliferation capacity was analyzed by calculating the cell doubling time and by colorimetric assay. Expression of stem cell-specific markers was evaluated by quantitative reverse transcription (qRT)-PCR and immunophenotyping. Expression of adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation markers was also measured by qRT-PCR. Histochemical staining and measurement of ß-galactosidase activity were conducted to detect cellular senescence. The cell proliferation rate decreased significantly at passage 5 (P5). Gene expression levels of pluripotency markers (Sox2, Nanog and Klf4) and stem cell surface markers (CD9, CD44, CD90 and CD105) decreased during continuous culture; in most assays, statistically significant changes were observed at P5. The ability of cells to undergo adipogenic or osteogenic differentiation was inversely proportional to the number of passages. The proportion of senescent cells increased with the number of passages. These results suggest that repeated passages alter the proliferation and multipotency of fAT-MSCs. In clinical trials, early-passage cells should be used to achieve the maximum therapeutic effect.

Immunomodulatory effects of soluble factors secreted by feline adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have immunomodulatory functions and differentiation capacity, and their clinical use is increasing in veterinary species. Although MSCs have been applied in the treatment in various inflammatory diseases, mechanistic research on feline MSCs is lacking. Accordingly, in this study, we aimed to investigate the immunomodulatory mechanisms of MSCs isolated from feline adipose tissue (fATMSCs). fATMSCs from healthy cats were cultured in an appropriate manner and cocultured with transwell-separated allogeneic feline peripheral blood mononuclear cells (fPBMCs) and RAW264.7 murine macrophages. After 48h of coculture, RNA was extracted from RAW264.7 cells and fPBMCs. Cytokine expression in these cells was measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and compared according to the presence of fATMSCs. The mRNA levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, e.g., tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), inducible nitric oxide synthase, and interleukin (IL)-1ß, were significantly decreased in cocultures of mitogen-stimulated RAW264.7 cells with fATMSCs compared with that in the RAW264.7 cells control group. Additionally, changes in the expression of mRNAs extracted from fPBMCs were as follows: pro-inflammatory TNF-α, interferon-γ, and IL-6 were decreased, and anti-inflammatory IL-10 was increased during coculture of mitogen-stimulated allogeneic fPBMCs with fATMSCs. We also extracted RNA and collected supernatants from fATMSCs during transwell culture for measurement of the expression and secretion of soluble factors by qRT-PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, respectively. The mRNA expression of immunomodulatory factors from fATMSCs, including cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß, indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) and hepatocyte growth factor, increased in the presence of RAW264.7 cells. Similarly, TGF-ß, COX-2, and IDO mRNA expression and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) secretion from fATMSCs increased in the presence of allogeneic fPBMCs. Finally, we measured the viability of fPBMCs under various conditions. Cell viability decreased in fPBMCs suspended in fATMSC-derived conditioned medium, and this reduction was alleviated in the group supplemented with NS-398 a PGE2 inhibitor. Our data suggested that soluble factors, including PGE2, secreted by fATMSCs played an important role in the immunomodulatory effects of these cells. These findings may be helpful in the application of fATMSCs to feline patients with immune-related diseases.

Optically switchable grating based on dye-doped ferroelectric liquid crystal with high efficiency.

We demonstrate an all-optically switchable ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) grating constructed in an alternating binary configuration with different optical properties from domain to domain. A dye-doped FLC is uniformly aligned in one type of domains whereas it is infiltrated into the photo-polymerized networks of reactive mesogens in the other. Compared to conventional nematic LC cases, our FLC grating allows more efficient all-optical modulation and faster diffraction switching between the 0th and the 1st orders in subsecond since the optical response associated with the dye molecules in the layered state is less hindered than in the orientationally ordered state. Our dye-doped FLC grating with periodically infiltrated structures will be useful for designing a new class of all-optically switching systems.

Identification and characterization of promoter and regulatory regions for mouse Adam2 gene expression.

ADAM2, a member of the 'a disintegrin and metalloprotease' (ADAM) family, is a key protein in mammalian fertilization that is specifically expressed in testicular germ cells. Here, we investigated the transcriptional regulation of the mouse Adam2 gene. An in silico analysis identified two conserved non-coding sequences located upstream of the mouse and human ADAM2 genes. The upstream region of the mouse Adam2 gene was found to lack typical TATA and CAAT boxes, and to have a high GC content. Our in vitro transient transfection-reporter analysis identified a promoter in this region of the mouse Adam2 gene, along with regulatory regions that inhibit the activity of this promoter in somatic cells. Site-directed mutagenesis revealed that the caudal-type homeobox 1 and CCTC-binding factor motifs are responsible for the inhibitory activities of the repressor regions. Finally, electrophoretic mobility shift assays showed putative transcription factor-promoter DNA complexes, and DNA-affinity chromatography and proteomic analyses identified myelin gene regulatory factor as a binding partner of the Adam2 promoter. This provides the first identification and characterization of promoter and repressor regions that regulate the transcription of the mouse Adam2 gene, and offers insights into the regulation of this germ-cell-specific gene.

Expression and function of the testis-predominant protein LYAR in mice.

Mammalian spermatogenesis is a complex process involving an intrinsic genetic program of germ cell-specific and -predominant genes. In the present study, we analyzed the Ly-1 reactive clone (Lyar) gene in the mouse. Lyar, which is known to be expressed abundantly in the testis, encodes a nucleolar protein that contains a LYAR-type C2HC zinc finger motif and three nuclear localization signals. We herein confirmed that Lyar is expressed predominantly in the testis, and further showed that this expression is specific to germ cells. Protein analyses with an anti-LYAR antibody demonstrated that the LYAR protein is present in spermatocytes and spermatids, but not in sperm. To assess the functional role of LYAR in vivo, we used a genetrap mutagenesis approach to establish a LYAR-null mouse model. Lyar mutant mice were born live and developed normally. Male mutant mice lacking LYAR were fully fertile and showed intact spermatogenesis. Taken together, our results demonstrate that LYAR is strongly preferred in male germ cells, but has a dispensable role in spermatogenesis and fertility.