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Hispidulin is a natural bioactive flavonoid that has been studied for its potential therapeutic properties, including its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and neuroprotective effects. The aim of this study was to explore whether hispidulin could inhibit the endothelial inflammation triggered by Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The adhesion of monocytes to the vascular endothelium was evaluated through in vitro and ex vivo monocyte adhesion assays. We analyzed the migration of monocytes across the endothelial layer using a transmigration assay. The results showed that treatment with hispidulin decreased the P. gingivalis LPS-induced adhesion of monocytes to endothelial cells and their migration by suppressing the P. gingivalis LPS-triggered expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) through downregulating nuclear factor-қB (NF-қB). In addition, hispidulin inhibited P. gingivalis LPS-induced mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and AKT in endothelial cells. Altogether, the results indicate that hispidulin suppresses the vascular inflammation induced by P. gingivalis LPS. Mechanistically, it prevents the adhesion of monocytes to the vascular endothelium and migration and inhibits NF-қB, MAPKs, and AKT signaling in endothelial cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Airlines provide one of the most popular and important transportation services for passengers. While the importance of the airline industry is rising, flight cancellations are also increasing due to abnormal weather factors, such as rainfall and wind speed. Although previous studies on cancellations due to weather factors considered both aircraft and weather factors concurrently, the complex network studies only treated the aircraft factor with a single-layer network. Therefore, the aim of this study was to apply a multilayer complex network (MCN) method that incorporated three different factors, namely, aircraft, rainfall, and wind speed, to investigate aircraft cancellations at 14 airports in the Republic of Korea. The results showed that rainfall had a greater impact on aircraft cancellations compared with wind speed. To find out the most important node in the cancellation, we applied centrality analysis based on information entropy. According to the centrality analysis, Jeju Airport was identified as the most influential node since it has a high demand for aircraft. Also, we showed that characteristics and factors of aircraft cancellation should be appropriately defined by links in the MCN. Furthermore, we verified the applicability of the MCN method in the fields of aviation and meteorology. It is expected that the suggested methodology in this study can help to understand aircraft cancellation due to weather factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate pollutant prediction is essential in fields such as meteorology, meteorological disasters, and climate change studies. In this study, long short-term memory (LSTM) and deep neural network (DNN) models were applied to six pollutants and comprehensive air-quality index (CAI) predictions from 2015 to 2020 in Korea. In addition, we used the network method to find the best data sources that provide factors affecting comprehensive air-quality index behaviors. This study had two steps: (1) predicting the six pollutants, including fine dust (PM10), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), ozone (O3), sulfurous acid gas (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and carbon monoxide (CO) using the LSTM model; (2) forecasting the CAI using the six predicted pollutants in the first step as predictors of DNNs. The predictive ability of each model for the six pollutants and CAI prediction was evaluated by comparing it with the observed air-quality data. This study showed that combining a DNN model with the network method provided a high predictive power, and this combination could be a remarkable strength in CAI prediction. As the need for disaster management increases, it is anticipated that the LSTM and DNN models with the network method have ample potential to track the dynamics of air pollution behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 1.2-Mpixel indirect time-of-flight (ToF) CMOS image sensor is presented to lower peak current and to cancel out multi-user interference. The proposed 4-tap 3.5- $\mu \text{m}$ demodulation pixel is optimally designed to improve quantum efficiency (QE) and demodulation contrast (DC). A new “multiple-interleaving” scheme is proposed to reduce the peak current and self-compensate fixed-pattern phase noise (FPPN) with the minimal side effect of DC imbalance. To cancel out interference from the other ToF sensors, a multi-user interference cancellation (MUIC) scheme based on pseudorandom modulation is adopted. From the measurement results, we achieve a high QE of 38% at 940 nm and a high DC of 96% and 80% at 100- and 200-MHz modulation frequencies, respectively. With the superior pixel performance, the depth noise of <0.92% and <0.3% is achieved at the full and 2 $\times $ 2 binning modes, respectively. The multiple-interleaving scheme suppresses the peak current to less than 0.9 A and removes the column FPPN with constant DC for the whole pixel array. The proposed MUIC proves that at least two interferers can be successfully rejected. The sensor chip is fabricated in a two-stack process with 65 nm for the top die and 65 nm for the bottom die. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: In this study, the influence of neutron irradiation on the mechanical properties of nuclear pressure vessel materials is investigated using two independent methods of nondestructive magnetic testing. A correlation was found between magnetic characteristics and neutron irradiation-induced damage, regardless of the applied measurement technique. Additionally, by merging the outcome of both testing methods and applying a calibration/training procedure, the damage to reactor steel was successfully predicted. The results are helpful for the potential future practical application of these techniques to the regular inspection of nuclear reactors. The embrittlement of two types of nuclear pressure vessel steel, 15Kh2NMFA and A508 Cl.2, was studied using two different methods of magnetic nondestructive testing: micromagnetic multiparameter microstructure and stress analysis (3MA-X8) and magnetic adaptive testing (MAT). The microstructure and mechanical properties of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) materials are modified due to neutron irradiation; this material degradation can be characterized using magnetic methods. For the first time, the progressive change in material properties due to neutron irradiation was investigated on the same specimens, before and after neutron irradiation. A correlation was found between magnetic characteristics and neutron-irradiation-induced damage, regardless of the type of material or the applied measurement technique. The results of the individual micromagnetic measurements proved their suitability for characterizing the degradation of RPV steel caused by simulated operating conditions. A calibration/training procedure was applied on the merged outcome of both testing methods, producing excellent results in predicting transition temperature, yield strength, and mechanical hardness for both materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Maturation of spermatozoa, including development of motility and the ability to fertilize the oocyte, occurs during transit through the microenvironment of the epididymis. Comprehensive understanding of sperm maturation requires identification and characterization of unique genes expressed in the epididymis. Results We systematically identified 32 novel genes with epididymis-specific or -predominant expression in the mouse epididymis UniGene library, containing 1505 gene-oriented transcript clusters, by in silico and in vitro analyses. The Northern blot analysis revealed various characteristics of the genes at the transcript level, such as expression level, size and the presence of isoform. We found that expression of the half of the genes is regulated by androgens. Further expression analyses demonstrated that the novel genes are region-specific and developmentally regulated. Computational analysis showed that 15 of the genes lack human orthologues, suggesting their implication in male reproduction unique to the mouse. A number of the novel genes are putative epididymal protease inhibitors or β-defensins. We also found that six of the genes have secretory activity, indicating that they may interact with sperm and have functional roles in sperm maturation. Conclusion We identified and characterized 32 novel epididymis-specific or -predominant genes by an integrative approach. Our study is unique in the aspect of systematic identification of novel epididymal genes and should be a firm basis for future investigation into molecular mechanisms underlying sperm maturation in the epididymis.

A nondestructive testing device, consisting of a scanner and signal processing circuits was developed to detect cracks in turbine disk roots. The scanner consists of a longitudinal feeder and a fir-tree-shaped sensor probe. The feeder inserted the sensor probe along the grooves of the turbine blade attachment. Meanwhile, permanent magnets were placed in opposite direction, to generate a closed magnetic field between the magnetic sensors located on the crests of the sensor probe. The fatigue crack in the turbine disk root occurred in the circumferential direction of the turbine. As a result, magnetic flux leakage was caused by disturbing the flow of closed magnetic field by permanent magnets. The magnetic flux leakage was measured by a magnetic sensor. The effectiveness of the proposed device has been verified using artificial defects introduced into the turbine disk roots by electric discharge machining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Macaque species share >93% genome homology with humans and develop many disease phenotypes similar to those of humans, making them valuable animal models for the study of human diseases (e.g. HIV and neurodegenerative diseases). However, the quality of genome assembly and annotation for several macaque species lags behind the human genome effort. Results To close this gap and enhance functional genomics approaches, we used a combination of de novo linked-read assembly and scaffolding using proximity ligation assay (HiC) to assemble the pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina) genome. This combinatorial method yielded large scaffolds at chromosome level with a scaffold N50 of 127.5 Mb; the 23 largest scaffolds covered 90% of the entire genome. This assembly revealed large-scale rearrangements between pig-tailed macaque chromosomes 7, 12, and 13 and human chromosomes 2, 14, and 15. We subsequently annotated the genome using transcriptome and proteomics data from personalized induced pluripotent stem cells derived from the same animal. Reconstruction of the evolutionary tree using whole-genome annotation and orthologous comparisons among 3 macaque species, human, and mouse genomes revealed extensive homology between human and pig-tailed macaques with regards to both pluripotent stem cell genes and innate immune gene pathways. Our results confirm that rhesus and cynomolgus macaques exhibit a closer evolutionary distance to each other than either species exhibits to humans or pig-tailed macaques. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that pig-tailed macaques can serve as an excellent animal model for the study of many human diseases particularly with regards to pluripotency and innate immune pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an algorithm that estimates the presence, location, shape, and depth of flaws using a bobbin-type magnetic camera consisting of bobbin probes and a bobbin-type integrated giant magnetoresistance (GMR) sensor array (BIGiS). The presence of the flaws is determined by the lobe path of the Lissajous curves obtained from bobbin coil with respect to the applied frequency. The location of the flaw, i.e., whether it is an inner diameter (ID) or outer diameter (OD) flaw, can be determined from the rotational direction of the lobe with respect to the frequency change. The shape of the flaw is then determined from the area of the lobe and the BIGiS image. At this stage, multi-site damage can be determined from the BIGiS image. The effectiveness of the flaw classification algorithm was evaluated using various types of artificial flaws introduced into small-bore tube test specimens made of austenitic stainless steel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nondestructive examination and evaluation system for high pressure feed water heat exchanger tubes in nuclear power plant was developed. Differential-type bobbin coils made of copper wire are placed on both sides of GMR sensors arranged in a ring shape. If alternating current (AC) is applied to the bobbin coils, then an inductive current is occurred in circumferential direction of the tube to be examined. Under these conditions, eddy currents are generated around the defect. Because the time-varying magnetic field is distorted by eddy current that is generated around the defect, the shapes and dimensions of defect can be quantitatively evaluated with cylindrical arrayed GMR sensors. The result was verified by the artificial defects fabricated in a small diameter heat exchanger tube. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Genomic data have become major resources to understand complex mechanisms at fine-scale temporal and spatial resolution in functional and evolutionary genetic studies, including human diseases, such as cancers. Recently, a large number of whole genomes of evolving populations of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae W303 strain) were sequenced in a time-dependent manner to identify temporal evolutionary patterns. For this type of study, a chromosome-level sequence assembly of the strain or population at time zero is required to compare with the genomes derived later. However, there is no fully automated computational approach in experimental evolution studies to establish the chromosome-level genome assembly using unique features of sequencing data. Methods and results: In this study, we developed a new software pipeline, the integrative meta-assembly pipeline (IMAP), to build chromosome-level genome sequence assemblies by generating and combining multiple initial assemblies using three de novo assemblers from short-read sequencing data. We significantly improved the continuity and accuracy of the genome assembly using a large collection of sequencing data and hybrid assembly approaches. We validated our pipeline by generating chromosome-level assemblies of yeast strains W303 and SK1, and compared our results with assemblies built using long-read sequencing and various assembly evaluation metrics. We also constructed chromosome-level sequence assemblies of S. cerevisiae strain Sigma1278b, and three commonly used fungal strains: Aspergillus nidulans A713, Neurospora crassa 73, and Thielavia terrestris CBS 492.74, for which long-read sequencing data are not yet available. Finally, we examined the effect of IMAP parameters, such as reference and resolution, on the quality of the final assembly of the yeast strains W303 and SK1. Conclusions: We developed a cost-effective pipeline to generate chromosome-level sequence assemblies using only short-read sequencing data. Our pipeline combines the strengths of reference-guided and meta-assembly approaches. Our pipeline is available online at including a Docker image, as well as a Perl script, to help users install the IMAP package, including several prerequisite programs. Users can use IMAP to easily build the chromosome-level assembly for the genome of their interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A moisture separator reheater (MSR) system is installed between the high-pressure and low-pressure steam turbines in a nuclear power plant to increase the heat efficiency of the power plant. Erosion and corrosion of the MSR tubes have threatened the long-term operation of nuclear power plants. Thus a partial saturation eddy current testing (PSECT) method using a bobbin-type integrated Hall sensor array (BIHaS) was proposed in our previous study and it showed good results compared with a conventional PSECT. This paper presents a novel signal processing technique to improve detectability and measurability of electromagnetic testing method using a BIHaS through mitigating the inherent vibration signal noise between the BIHaS and ferritic stainless steel tubes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolic profiling of the fecal extracts of male mice was carried out to assess the effects of probiotics on colonic inflammation using 1H NMR spectroscopy coupled with multivariate data analysis. The control group (n = 5) was administered phosphate buffered saline for 14 days. Acute colitis was induced with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) for 7 days following administration of phosphate buffered saline for 7 days (DSS-treated group, n = 5). LAB + DSS-treated group (n = 5) was administered lactic acid bacteria (LAB) daily for 7 days followed by treatment with DSS for 7 days to investigate protective effect of LAB against DSS-inducible colitis. Histological damage, myeloperoxidase activity, and malondialdehyde content of colon tissue were reduced, whereas colon length increased in LAB + DSS-treated mice compared to those in DSS-treated mice. DSS treatment was associated with fecal excretion of amino acids, short chain fatty acids, and nucleotides, revealing significant decreases of threonine, alanine, glutamate, glutamine, aspartate, lysine, glycine, butyrate, uracil, and hypoxanthine together with increases of monosaccharides, glucose, and trimethylamine in the feces of mice with DSS-induced colitis. Increased levels of acetate, butyrate, and glutamine and decreased levels of trimethylamine were found in the feces of LAB + DSS-treated mice compared to DSS-treated mice alone. The increased short chain fatty acids levels in the feces of mice fed with LAB indicate that the probiotics have protective effects against DSS-induced colitis via modulation of the gut microbiota. This work highlights the possibility for alternative approach of metabonomics in feces for assessing the probiotic effect in an animal model of inflammatory bowel disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have developed a reflection‐mode switchable subwavelength Bessel‐beam (BB) and Gaussian‐beam (GB) photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) system. To achieve both reflection‐mode and high resolution, we tightly attached a very small ultrasound transducer to an optical objective lens with numerical aperture of 1.0 and working distance of 2.5 mm. We used axicon and an achromatic doublet in our system to obtain the extended depth of field (DOF) of the BB. To compare the DOF performance achieved with our BB‐PAM system against GB‐PAM system, we designed our system so that the GB can be easily generated by simply removing the lenses. Using a 532 nm pulse laser, we achieved the lateral resolutions of 300 and 270 nm for BB‐PAM and GB‐PAM, respectively. The measured DOF of BB‐PAM was approximately 229 μm, which was about 7× better than that of GB‐PAM. We imaged the vasculature of a mouse ear using BB‐PAM and GB‐PAM and confirmed that the DOF of BB‐PAM is much better than the DOF of GB‐PAM. Thus, we believe that the high resolution achieved at the extended DOF by our system is very practical for wide range of biomedical research including red blood cell (RBC) migration in blood vessels at various depths and observation of cell migration or cell culture. Limited depth‐of‐field images (A, C) by Gaussian‐beam photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) vs extended depth‐of‐field images (B, D) by Bessel‐beam PAM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Comprehensive understanding of the molecular and physiological events occurring in cardiac muscle requires identification of unknown genes expressed in this tissue. We analyzed the mouse cardiac muscle UniGene library containing 827 gene-oriented transcript clusters, predicting that 19% of these genes are unknown. We systematically identified 15 authentic novel genes abundantly expressed in cardiac muscle. Northern blot analysis revealed transcriptional characteristics of the genes, such as transcript size and presence of isoforms. Transfection assays performed using various cell lines including mouse cardiac muscle cells provided information on the cellular characteristics of the novel proteins. Using correlation analysis, we identified co-regulated genes from previously reported microarray data sets. Our in silico and in vitro data suggest that a number of the novel genes are implicated in calcium metabolism, mitochondrial functions and gene transcription. In particular, we obtained new and direct evidence that one of the novel proteins is a calcium-binding protein. Taken together, we identified and characterized a number of novel cardiac genes by integrative approach. Our inclusive data establish a firm basis for future investigation into the cardiac gene network and functions of these genes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

While searching for lactic acid bacteria that can restore aging-impaired immune responses, we isolated the Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2/NF-kappaB-activating strain Lactobacillus plantarum HY7712 from kimchi and investigated its immunomodulating effect in whole-body γ-irradiated mice. Exposure to HY7712 strongly activated NF-kappaB signaling in RAW264.7 cells, but inhibited lipopolysaccharide-stimulated NF-kappaB activation. Moreover, HY7712 protected against the downregulation of interferon (IFN)-γ and upregulation of interleukin (IL)-13 caused by γ-irradiation in mice. In mice, γ-irradiation impaired NK-cell activity against YAC-1 tumor cells, but following HY7712 exposure, the activity of NK cells was restored to 91.5% of the level measured in control mice (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that HY7712 activates the TLR2/NF-kappaB signaling pathway and protects against the impairment of NK-cell activity caused by γ-irradiation or aging.

Background: Maturation of spermatozoa, including development of motility and the ability to fertilize the oocyte, occurs during transit through the microenvironment of the epididymis. Comprehensive understanding of sperm maturation requires identification and characterization of unique genes expressed in the epididymis., Results: We systematically identified 32 novel genes with epididymis-specific or -predominant expression in the mouse epididymis UniGene library, containing 1505 gene-oriented transcript clusters, by in silico and in vitro analyses. The Northern blot analysis revealed various characteristics of the genes at the transcript level, such as expression level, size and the presence of isoform. We found that expression of the half of the genes is regulated by androgens. Further expression analyses demonstrated that the novel genes are region-specific and developmentally regulated. Computational analysis showed that 15 of the genes lack human orthologues, suggesting their implication in male reproduction unique to the mouse. A number of the novel genes are putative epididymal protease inhibitors or beta-defensins. We also found that six of the genes have secretory activity, indicating that they may interact with sperm and have functional roles in sperm maturation., Conclusion: We identified and characterized 32 novel epididymis-specific or -predominant genes by an integrative approach. Our study is unique in the aspect of systematic identification of novel epididymal genes and should be a firm basis for future investigation into molecular mechanisms underlying sperm maturation in the epididymis.