Spectral Doppler ultrasound in the major arteries of normal conscious immature micropigs

Spectral waveform analysis of blood flow velocity in the major arteries of six healthy, conscious immature micropigs was determined using Doppler ultrasonography. Doppler spectral tracings were recorded from the external iliac artery, femoral artery, and renal arcuate artery. Tracings were also taken from three parts of the common carotid artery and two parts of the abdominal aorta. Spectral Doppler parameters included peak systolic velocity, early diastolic velocity, peak systolic velocity-to-end diastolic velocity ratio, resistive index, and pulsatility index. In addition, the diameter of major arteries and indirect blood pressure were measured. These results from spectral Doppler analysis in major arteries may be useful as reference ranges in the future studies of vascular hemodynamics in immature micropigs.     

Rose (Rosa hybrida L.) EST-derived microsatellite markers and their transferability to strawberry (Fragaria spp.)

The ‘Genome database for Rosaceae (GDR)’ provides a large collection of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) harboring simple sequence repeats (SSRs) from several Rosaceae genera, including Rosa (rose). Primer pairs flanking SSR were designed for 312 unique Rosa ESTs based on GDR database. Eight rose (Rosa hybrida L.) genotypes were tested for PCR amplification, and 287 (92%) of the primer pairs generated allele-specific PCR bands that were readily scored. From 183 (63.7%) primer pairs that evidenced polymorphic alleles among the eight rose cultivars, 20 pairs evidencing EST sequence homology to known gene functions and high levels of polymorphism were selected and utilized for DNA fingerprinting and genetic diversity assessments of 47 rose hybrids. A total of 202 polymorphic bands were scored and generated unique fingerprints for each rose hybrid. The Nei–Li genetic similarity coefficients among 1081 pair-wise comparisons of 47 cultivars exhibited a broad range of genetic variations from 0.30 (‘Grand King’ and ‘Carnival’) to 0.99 (‘First Red’ and ‘Red Champ’). UPGMA cluster analysis divided 47 hybrids into five major groups and two sub-groups. The cross-species transferability of 273 EST-SSR primer pairs was evaluated using four genotypes of the strawberry, a genus member of the Rosaceae family. PCRs on the DNA samples of strawberry were successful for 165 primer pairs; among these, 123 pairs amplified 243 polymorphic bands. As surrogates of the marker transfer, the phenetic relationship among the four strawberry genotypes was evaluated. Genetic similarity coefficients varied from 0.78 (‘Maehyang’ and ‘Janghyee’) to 0.64 (‘Janghyee’ and ‘Pragana’). The results of cluster analysis showed that the three octaploid strawberry cultivars were quite similar, whereas the diploid ‘Pragana’ was related distantly at the genomic DNA level. The EST-SSR markers developed in the present study can be efficiently utilized for genetic diversity studies in Rosaceae.     

Effect of different planting times on the quantitative variation of total seed isoflavone content and composition in Korean soybean cultivars (Glycine max (L.) Merr.)

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - There is great interest in the enhancement of isoflavones as one of the functional ingredients in soybean. This study aimed to investigate the effects of...     

Proteomic identification of a novel toxin protein (Txp40) from Xenorhabdus nematophila and its insecticidal activity against larvae of Plutella xylostella

For the identification of a novel insecticidal protein, a two-dimensional liquid chromatography (PF-2D) system was used in a quantitative proteomic analysis of Xenorhabdus nematophila CBNU strain isolated from entomophagous nematode Steinernema carpocapsae . Protein patterns obtained from minimum and maximum insecticidal activities during cultivation were contrasted, and a novel toxin protein (Txp40) was identified by MALDI-TOF/MS. The DNA sequence of the cloned toxin gene (1089 bp) has an open reading frame encoding 363 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 41162 Da. The txp40 identified in this study is most closely related to the known txp40 cloned from X. nematophila EB (ADQ92844) with 94.4% identical sequence residues. Following the expression of the newly identified toxin gene in Escherichia coli , the insecticidal activity of the recombinant toxin protein was determined against Plutella xylostella larvae; a 56.7% mortality rate was observed within 24 h.     

Preparation of regenerated cellulose fiber via carbonation. I. Carbonation and dissolution in an aqueous NaOH solution

Cellulose carbonate was prepared by the reaction of cellulose pulp and CO₂ with treatment reagents, such as aqueous ZnCl₂ (20–40 wt%) solution, acetone or ethyl acetate, at −5–0°C and 30–40 bar (CO₂) for 2 hr. Among the treatment reagents, ethyl acetate was the most effective. Cellulose carbonate was dissolved in 10% sodium hydroxide solution containing zinc oxide up to 3 wt% at −5–0°C. Intrinsic viscosities of raw cellulose and cellulose carbonate were measured with an Ubbelohde viscometer using 0.5 M cupriethylenediamine hydroxide (cuen) as a solvent at 20°C according to ASTM D1795 method. The molecular weight of cellulose was rarely changed by carbonation. Solubility of cellulose carbonate was tested by optical microscopic observation, UV absorbance and viscosity measurement. Phase diagram of cellulose carbonate was obtained by combining the results of solubility evaluation. Maximum concentration of cellulose carbonate for soluble zone was increased with increasing zinc oxide content. Cellulose carbonate solution in good soluble zone was transparent and showed the lowest absorbance and the highest viscosity. The cellulose carbonate and its solution were stable in refrigerator (−5°C and atmospheric pressure).     

Preparation of poly(vinyl alcohol)/ZrO2 composite nanofibers via co-axial electrospinning with higher ZrO2 particle content

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/zirconium oxide (ZrO₂) composite nanofibers with a skin-core structure were prepared and the effect of ZrO₂ particle content on uniform web formation was investigated. The optimized polymer concentration, tip to collector distance, and applied voltage for electrospinning were 11 wt%, 12 cm, and 20 kV, respectively. Skin-core PVA/ZrO₂ composite nanofibers containing up to 12 wt% ZrO₂ were successfully prepared, but it was difficult to obtain PVA/ZrO₂ composite nanofiber webs via conventional electrospinning. Increasing the amount of ZrO₂ caused the morphology of the PVA/ZrO₂ composite nanofibers to become a non-uniform nanoweb with irregular nanofiber diameters. While it was difficult to obtain a uniform nanofiber web containing a content of ZrO₂ over 6 wt% for conventional electrospinning, a more uniform nanofiber web could be obtained at up to 9 wt% ZrO₂ using a skin-core dual nozzle. More uniform webs could also be obtained when ZrO₂ was in the skin rather than the core.     

Improvement of mechanical and electrical properties of poly(ethylene glycol) and cyanoresin based polymer electrolytes

Ionic conductivity and mechanical properties of a mixed polymer matrix consisting of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and cyanoresin type M (CRM) with various lithium salts and plasticizer were examined. The CRM used was a copolymer of cyanoethyl pullulan and cyanoethyl poly(vinyl alcohol) with a molar ratio of 1:1, mixed plasticizer was ethylene carbonate (EC) and propylene carbonate (PC) at a volume ratio of 1:1. The conductive behavior of polymer electrolytes in the temperature range of 298∼338 K was investigated. The PEG/LiClO₄ complexes exhibited the highest ionic conductivity of ∼10⁻⁵ S/cm at 25°C with the salt concentration of 1.5 M. In addition, the plasticized PEG/LiClO₄ complexes exhibited improvement of ionic conductivity. However, their complexes showed decreased mechanical properties. The improvement of ionic conductivity and mechanical properties could be obtained from the polymer electrolytes by using CRM. The highest ionic conductivity of PEG/CRM/LiClO₄/(EC-PC) was 5.33×10⁻⁴ S/cm at 25°C.     

Effect of conformation on the properties of uniaxially drawn polylacide films upon drawing temperature

Polylactide(PLA) films were drawn at various drawing temperature of 65, 90 and 120 °C. The effects of drawing temperature on structural conformation and properties of PLA films were investigated. It was confirmed that the PLA films at drawing temperature of 65 and 90 °C were composed of α′ phase crystal form. The strain-induced crystallization and molecular orientation increased with increasing the draw ratio, which result in improving the mechanical and thermal properties of α′ phase PLA films. However, at drawing temperature of 120 °C, the strain-induced crystallization and molecular orientation of PLA films were not distinctly detected. It was supposed that the rate of the chain relaxation was faster than chain orientation and strain-induced crystallization during uniaxial drawing process.     

Molecular epidemiology of rabies virus circulating in South Korea, 1998-2010

We analyzed the nucleotide sequences of the G-L (glycoprotein-large protein) intergenic non-coding region of 33 strains of the rabies virus (RABV) isolated in South Korea in 1998-2010 and compared the sequences with those of previously reported non-Korean strains. The similarities of the nucleotide sequences of the G-L region among all Korean RABV isolates ranged from 97.1 to 100%. Based on the phylogenetic analysis of the G-L region, the Korean RABV isolates were classified into three distinct subgroups with high similarity and were most closely related to the non-Korean NeiMeng1025C isolate, which was isolated from a rabid raccoon dog in eastern China, suggesting that the Korean RABV isolates originate from a rabid raccoon dog in northeastern Asia. Our results indicated that G-L region, as a useful phylogenetic indicator, is equivalent to the nucleoprotein (N) or glycoprotein (G) gene for study of RABV molecular epidemiology and that the Korean RABV isolates showing a few substitutions in the G-L region are continuously circulating in South Korea.     

Expression of myeloperoxidase in swine influenza virus (SIV)-infected neutrophils in lungs from pigs experimentally infected with SIV subtype H1N2

The expression of myeloperoxidase (MPO) was examined in the swine influenza virus (SIV)-infected neutrophils in the lungs of pigs experimentally infected with swine influenza virus (SIV) subtype H1N2 by immunohistochemistry. Five pigs each from the infected and non-infected group were euthanized 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10?days post-inoculation (dpi). Immunohistochemical reactivity was mainly seen in neutrophils. The score for pulmonary histopathological lesions correlated with the score for MPO immunohistochemical reactivity (r ( s )?=?0.962, P?相似文献