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.     

Hormaomycins B and C: New Antibiotic Cyclic Depsipeptides from a Marine Mudflat-Derived Streptomyces sp.

Alterations in microbial culture conditions may trigger the production of diverse bioactive secondary metabolites. While applying various culture conditions and monitoring secondary metabolite profiles using LC/MS, hormaomycins B and C (1 and 2) were discovered from a marine mudflat-derived actinomycete, Streptomyces sp., collected in Mohang, Korea. The planar structures of the hormaomycins, which bear structurally-unique units, such as 4-(Z)-propenylproline, 3-(2-nitrocyclopropyl)alanine, 5-chloro-1-hydroxypyrrol-2-carboxylic acid and β-methylphenylalanine, were established as the first natural analogues belonging to the hormaomycin peptide class. The absolute configurations of 1 and 2 were deduced by comparing their CD spectra with that of hormaomycin. These hormaomycins exhibited significant inhibitory effects against various pathogenic Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.     

Effect of Phlorofucofuroeckol A and Dieckol Extracted from Ecklonia cava on Noise-induced Hearing Loss in a Mouse Model

One of the well-known causes of hearing loss is noise. Approximately 31.1% of Americans between the ages of 20 and 69 years (61.1 million people) have high-frequency hearing loss associated with noise exposure. In addition, recurrent noise exposure can accelerate age-related hearing loss. Phlorofucofuroeckol A (PFF-A) and dieckol, polyphenols extracted from the brown alga Ecklonia cava, are potent antioxidant agents. In this study, we investigated the effect of PFF-A and dieckol on the consequences of noise exposure in mice. In 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl assay, dieckol and PFF-A both showed significant radical-scavenging activity. The mice were exposed to 115 dB SPL of noise one single time for 2 h. Auditory brainstem response(ABR) threshold shifts 4 h after 4 kHz noise exposure in mice that received dieckol were significantly lower than those in the saline with noise group. The high-PFF-A group showed a lower threshold shift at click and 16 kHz 1 day after noise exposure than the control group. The high-PFF-A group also showed higher hair cell survival than in the control at 3 days after exposure in the apical turn. These results suggest that noise-induced hair cell damage in cochlear and the ABR threshold shift can be alleviated by dieckol and PFF-A in the mouse. Derivatives of these compounds may be applied to individuals who are inevitably exposed to noise, contributing to the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss with a low probability of adverse effects.     

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.     

Novel SNP in 5' flanking region of EDG1 associated with marbling in Japanese Black beef cattle

Marbling, defined by the amount and distribution of intramuscular fat, is an economically important trait of beef cattle in Japan. The endothelial differentiation , sphingolipid G-protein-coupled receptor , 1 ( EDG1 ) gene has been considered as a positional functional candidate for the gene responsible for marbling. We have recently reported that 2 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), c.-312A > G in the 5' untranslated region (UTR) and c.*446G > A in the 3' UTR in EDG1 were associated with marbling in Japanese Black beef cattle, but this was not functional and a causal mutation for marbling. In the present study, we detected 2 novel SNPs, referred to as g.1475435G > A and g.1471620G > T , in the 5' flanking region of the EDG1 between low-marbled and high-marbled steer groups, which were previously shown to have EDG1 expression differences in musculus longissimus muscle. The g.1475435G > A SNP seemed not to segregate in Japanese Black beef cattle. The g.1471620G > T SNP was associated with the predicted breeding value for beef marbling standard number by the analyses using Japanese Black beef cattle population. Based on these findings, we hypothesized that the g.1471620G > T SNP might have an impact on EDG1 expression and also marbling.     

Hyperhydricity in apple: ultrastructural and physiological aspects

We studied the effects of hyperhydricity on subcellular ultrastructure and physiology of leaves during in vitro regeneration of apple plants. Morphological, anatomical and ultrastructural differences between healthy leaf tissues obtained from greenhouse-grown plants and healthy and hyperhydric leaves obtained from shoots raised from nodal shoot explants in a bioreactor were investigated by electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Compared with healthy leaves, hyperhydric leaves showed abnormal, often discontinuous development of the epidermis and cuticle. Stomata were malformed. The leaf lamina appeared thickened and was characterized by poor differentiation between the palisade and spongy mesophyll tissue. Hyperhydric leaves had a significantly lower chloroplast number per cell and chloroplasts showed reduced thylakoid stacking compared with healthy leaves. Hyperhydricity resulted in a general decrease in concentrations of reduced and oxidized pyridine nucleotides, reflecting a reduction in metabolic activity. The activities of antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione reductase were higher in hyperhydric leaves than in healthy leaves, indicating that hyperhydricity was associated with oxidative stress. Chlorophyll fluorescence measurements provided evidence of oxidative damage to the photosynthetic machinery in hyperhydric leaves: photochemical efficiency of photosystem II, effective quantum efficiency and photochemical quenching were all lower in hyperhydric leaves compared with healthy leaves.     

Film preparation by melt- or compression-process using poly(vinyl chloride) powder swollen with dimethylformamide

A melt-process was used to prepare high molecular weight Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) films without the use of a conventional plasticizer and heat stabilizer. Rigid PVC powder was swollen with dimethylformamide containing 4∼10 vol% water to reduce its melting temperature. The swollen powder was pressed at a relatively low temperature of 75∼125 °C to form a film shape, and then washed and dried. The visible light transmittance, X-ray diffraction, density and the tensile properties of the resulting films were examined to estimate the success or failure of film formation. The films could be produced by not only the melt-process but also a compression-process using the rigid, highly swollen PVC powder. The resulting films had no voids, which are generally observed in PVC products formed by a solution process. The minimum temperature for these processes decreased with decreasing water content in the mixture: The minimum temperatures according to the water content in the mixture to produce faultless films through the melt-process were 4 %–105 °C, 6 %–115 °C, 8 and 10 %–125 °C, while those through the compression process were 4 %–95 °C, 6 and 8 %–105 °C, 10 %–115 °C.     

Changes in anthocyanin and isoflavone concentrations in black seed-coated soybean at different planting locations

This study assessed the altitudinal variations in the anthocyanin and isoflavone contents of six black seed coated soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] cultivars. The black soybean cultivars Heugcheong, Seonheuk, Geomjeong 1, Geomjeong 2, Cheongja 2, and Cheongja 3 were planted at Milyang (12 m above mean sea level — low altitude) and Muju (600 m — high altitude), Korea on 10 June 2005 and 2006. The total anthocyanin and isoflavone contents and individual components were investigated by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). All black soybean cultivars cultivated in high altitude possessed significantly higher total anthocyanin (p < 0.01) and isoflavone (p < 0.01) contents than those grown in low altitude. For anthocyanin composition, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, cyanidin-3-O-galactoside, and peonidin-3-O-glucoside contents were significantly higher while delphinidin-3-O-glucoside contents was significantly lower at high altitude. The composition of individual isoflavones, 6″-O-malonyldaidzin, and 6″-O-malonylgenistin contents significantly increased at high altitude.     

中国茶产业集群的特征及其发展

本文介绍了茶产业集群的概念和中国茶产业集群发展的特征。中国茶产业集群发展兼具阶段性;自发性形成和外生性形成机制并存;茶产业效应从第一产业向第二、第三产业快速辐射效应明显。笔者就进一步促进中国茶产业集群的发展,提出了需要进一步加强的支持体系。