Modification of SWAT auto-calibration for accurate flow estimation at all flow regimes

To secure accuracy in the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) simulation for various hydrology and water quality studies, calibration and validation should be performed. When calibrating and validating the SWAT model with measured data, the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) is widely used, and is also used as a goal function of auto-calibration in the current SWAT model (SWAT ver. 2009). However, the NSE value has been known to be influenced by high values within a given dataset, at the cost of the accuracy in estimated lower flow values. Furthermore, the NSE is unable to consider direct runoff and baseflow separately. In this study, the existing SWAT auto-calibration was modified with direct runoff separation and flow clustering calibration, and current and modified SWAT auto-calibration were applied to the Soyanggang-dam watershed in South Korea. As a result, the NSE values for total streamflow, high flow, and low flow groups in direct runoff, and baseflow estimated through modified SWAT auto-calibration were 0.84, 0.34, 0.09, and 0.90, respectively. The NSE values of current SWAT auto-calibration were 0.83, 0.47, ?0.14, and 0.90, respectively. As shown in this study, the modified SWAT auto-calibration shows better calibration results than current SWAT auto-calibration. With these capabilities, the SWAT-estimated flow matched the measured flow data well for the entire flow regime. The modified SWAT auto-calibration module developed in this study will provide a very efficient tool for the accurate simulation of hydrology, sediment transport, and water quality with no additional input datasets.     

Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry-Based Rapid Secondary-Metabolite Profiling of Marine Pseudoalteromonas sp. M2

The ocean is a rich resource of flora, fauna, and food. A wild-type bacterial strain showing confluent growth on marine agar with antibacterial activity was isolated from marine water, identified using 16S rDNA sequence analysis as Pseudoalteromonas sp., and designated as strain M2. This strain was found to produce various secondary metabolites including quinolone alkaloids. Using high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis, we identified nine secondary metabolites of 4-hydroxy-2-alkylquinoline (pseudane-III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, and XI). Additionally, this strain produced two novel, closely related compounds, 2-isopentylqunoline-4-one and 2-(2,3-dimetylbutyl)qunoline-4-(1H)-one, which have not been previously reported from marine bacteria. From the metabolites produced by Pseudoalteromonas sp. M2, 2-(2,3-dimethylbutyl)quinolin-4-one, pseudane-VI, and pseudane-VII inhibited melanin synthesis in Melan-A cells by 23.0%, 28.2%, and 42.7%, respectively, wherein pseudane-VII showed the highest inhibition at 8 µg/mL. The results of this study suggest that liquid chromatography (LC)-MS/MS-based metabolite screening effectively improves the efficiency of novel metabolite discovery. Additionally, these compounds are promising candidates for further bioactivity development.     

Genotypic difference in spikelet sterility response to air temperature during the reproductive stage of rice

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the varietal differences of spikelet sterility response to air temperature during the reproductive stage. Six rice varieties differing in maturity group (early-maturing; Unkwangbyeo, Odaebyeo, medium-maturing; Andabyeo, Hwasungbyeo, and mid-late maturing; Donganbyeo, Chuchungbyeo) were grown under ambient temperature (AT) conditions before being transferred to the temperature-controlled plastic houses. For the synchronization of the growth stage, 15 rice seedlings (2011) and 10 rice seedlings (2012) per pot were transplanted in a circle and only main stems were grown by removing tillers at early stage of their emergence. At the initial heading stage, pots for each variety were transferred to the four plastic houses that were controlled to AT, AT + 1.5°C, AT + 3.0°C, and AT + 5.0°C, respectively. Spikelet fertility was significantly decreased due to high temperature-induced spikelet sterility at AT + 3.0 and/or AT + 5.0°C treatment during flowering time in 2011. Spikelet fertility in 2012 was much lower than in 2011 even at the AT treatment because of high temperature-induced spikelet sterility at the micosporogenesis stage. Critical temperature (Tc) that induces 50% spikelet sterility at flowering time was estimated by fitting the temperature response of spikelet fertility to a logistic function. Tc ranged from 34.6°C (Odaebyeo) to 39.7°C (Hwasungbyeo), Odaebyeo being significantly more sensitive to high temperature-induced spikelet sterility than the other varieties. This result has shown that response of spikelet sterility to higher temperature is different according to rice varieties. However, further study should be done to arrive at a concrete conclusion.     

Inhibition of A549 Lung Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion by Ent-Caprolactin C via the Suppression of Transforming Growth Factor-β-Induced Epithelial—Mesenchymal Transition

The epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) of cancer cells is a crucial process in cancer cell metastasis. An Aquimarina sp. MC085 extract was found to inhibit A549 human lung cancer cell invasion, and caprolactin C (1), a new natural product, α-amino-ε-caprolactam linked to 3-methyl butanoic acid, was purified through bioactivity-guided isolation of the extract. Furthermore, its enantiomeric compound, ent-caprolactin C (2), was synthesized. Both 1 and 2 inhibited the invasion and γ-irradiation-induced migration of A549 cells. In transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-treated A549 cells, 2 inhibited the phosphorylation of Smad2/3 and suppressed the EMT cell marker proteins (N-cadherin, β-catenin, and vimentin), as well as the related messenger ribonucleic acid expression (N-cadherin, matrix metalloproteinase-9, Snail, and vimentin), while compound 1 did not suppress Smad2/3 phosphorylation and the expression of EMT cell markers. Therefore, compound 2 could be a potential candidate for antimetastatic agent development, because it suppresses TGF-β-induced EMT.     

Genetic analysis of ORF5 of recent Korean porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome viruses (PRRSVs) in viremic sera collected from MLV-vaccinating or non-vaccinating farms

The 23 open reading frame (ORF) 5 sequences of Korean type II porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) were collected from viremic sera from the (modified live vaccine) MLV-vaccinating and non-vaccinating farms from 2007 to 2008. The samples were phylogenetically analyzed with previous ORF5 sequences, including type I Korean PRRSV, and previously reported or collected sequences from 1997 to 2008. A MN184-like subgroup of type II Korean PRRSV was newly identified in the viremic sera collected from 2007 to 2008. And of the type I PRRSVs, one subgroup had 87.2~88.9% similarity with the Lelystad virus, showing a close relationship with the 27~2003 strain of Spain. The maximum parsimony tree of type II PRRSV from 1997 to 2008 showed that they had evolved to four lineages, subgroups 1, 2, 3 and 4. Most of the recently collected type II PRRSVs belonged to subgroup 4 (48%). The region of three B-cell epitopes and two T-cell epitopes of ORF5 amino acids sequences was considerably different from the MLV in subgroups 3 and 4. In conclusion, the existence of type I PRRSV, which was genetically different from Lelystad virus (Prototype of type I PRRSV), and heterologous type II PRRSVs of viremic pigs detected even in the MLV-vaccinating farms indicated the need for new vaccine approaches for the control of PRRSV in Korea.     

Evaluation of a competitive ELISA for antibody detection against avian influenza virus

Active serologic surveillance is necessary to control the spread of the avian influenza virus (AIV). In this study, we evaluated a commercially-available cELISA in terms of its ability to detect AIV antibodies in the sera of 3,358 animals from twelve species. cELISA detected antibodies against reference H1- through H15-subtype AIV strains without cross reactivity. Furthermore, the cELISA was able to detect antibodies produced following a challenge of the AIV H9N2 subtype in chickens, or following vaccination of the AIV H9 or H5 subtypes in chickens, ducks and geese. Next, we tested the sensitivity and specificity of the cELISA with sera from twelve different animal species, and compared these results with those obtained by the hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) test, the "gold standard" in AIV sera surveillance, a second commercially-available cELISA (IZS ELISA), or the agar gel precipitation (AGP) test. Compared with the HI test, the sensitivities and specificities of cELISA were 95% and 96% in chicken, 86% and 88% in duck, 97% and 100% in turkey, 100% and 87% in goose, and 91% and 97% in swine, respectively. The sensitivities and specificities of the cELISA in this study were higher than those of IZS ELISA for the duck, turkey, goose, and grey partridge sera samples. The results of AGP test against duck and turkey sera also showed significant correlation with the results of cELISA (R-value >0.9). In terms of flock sensitivity, the cELISA correlated better with the HI test than with commercially-available indirect ELISAs, with 100% flock sensitivity.     

Isoflavone levels in five soybean (Glycine max) genotypes are altered by phytochrome-mediated light treatments

The objective of the present study was to determine whether concentrations of different isoflavones (puerarin, genistein, genistin, daidzein, and daidzin) in shoots and roots of five selected soybean genotypes would respond the same or differently to red (650 nm peak transmittance) and far-red (750 nm peak transmittance) light treatments given under controlled environments. Levels of isoflavones (mg g(-1) dry weight biomass) present in seeds, control roots, and shoots and 10 day light-treated seedlings (light, dark, red, and far-red wavelengths) of soybean (Glycine max) were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography analysis in comparison with known isoflavone standards. Seeds of the five soybean genotypes studied consistently stored most of their isoflavones as glucosyl conjugates (e.g., daidzin, genistin, and puerarin). For the five soybean genotypes, isoflavone levels were lower in the seeds as compared with roots plus shoots of control, time zero (first true leaf stage) seedlings. Following 10 days of the respective light treatments, we found that (i) isoflavone levels were enhanced in dark-grown plants over light-grown plants for three of the five genotypes (a new finding) and the reverse occurred for a single genotype (a typical response of legumes) and (ii) generally, far-red end of day (EOD) light treatment enhanced total isoflavone levels in roots plus shoots over red EOD light treatment. Results from the present study show that phytochrome does appear to play a role in regulating isoflavone levels in developing soybean seedlings and that this influence by red/far-red-mediated phytochrome reactions is strongly dependent on the genotypes selected for study.     

Flame retarding PC/ABS resins having superior thermomechanical properties

Triphenyl phosphate (TPP) is well known to be one of the most effective flame retardants for acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS) and its blending resins, such as polycarbonate (PC)/ABS, among various phosphorous-based compounds. However, TPP can also play a role as a plasticizer, which decreases the mechanical properties of PC/ABS resins at high temperature. Furthermore considerable amount of TPP has to be evaporated during molding process due on its much lower evaporation temperature. To overcome these shortcomings, we tried to immobilize TPP by grafting on butadiene moiety of ABS. FT-IR analysis of prepared TPP-grafted ABS (ABS-g-TPP) comparing with TPP, ABS and their blend confirmed that chemical reactions happened between TPP and ABS resins and it was attributed to the graft reaction of TPP onto butadiene moieties. Prepared ABS-g-TPP resins were blended with PC at various compositions to be prepared as testing specimens by injection molding. The physical characteristics such as mechanical properties, thermal stability, and flame retarding properties of the PC/ABS-TPP graft copolymer were analyzed through Vicat softening temperature, IZOD impact strength, transmission electron microscope, and UL94 flame retardation tests. Results showed that PC/ABS-g-TPP resin takes better thermomechanical properties than the existing PC/ABS resins at relatively low additional TPP amounts.     

Cytotoxic Effect on Human Cancer Cells and Antioxidant Activity of Extracts of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Codonopsis lanceolata</Emphasis> Root using Different Solvent Fractions

This study was conducted to investigate cytotoxic effect, phenolic content, DPPH, ABTS radical scavenging rate and nitrite scavenging rate from different solvent fractions of Codonopsis lanceolate root. At all extracts concentration, the cytotoxic effect on different fractions against human cancer cells was higher in n-hexane and butyl alcohol fractions than in the other fractions. The IC₅₀ value on HeLa cell showed the lowest by 62.70 μg.mL^-1 on n-hexane fraction, and exhibited the values of butyl alcohol fraction 341.36 μg.mL^-1, methylene chloride 598.33 μg.mL^-1, ethyl acetate fraction 860.44 μg.mL^-1, DW fraction 2896.82 μg.mL^-1. Total polyphenol content on different solvent fractions varied from 102.43 to 153.52 mg.g^-1, and that of ethyl acetate fraction showed the highest amount. The DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity showed that the increase was proportional to the concentration, and the scavenging activity also showed the highest in ethyl acetate fraction. The nitrite scavenging activity of each fraction at pH 1.2 was in the order of EA > BA > MC > n-H > DW, and the lower the acidity, the higher nitrite scavenging activity, and there was no distinct detection of nitrite scavenging effects of the pH range 6.0. The results of this study suggested that the extract of Codonopsis lanceolate root may assist in the potential biological activities, and it was found that the activity was different depending on the organic solvent fraction and the water fraction.