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Young Min Choe,1,2 Boung Chul Lee,2,3 Ihn-Geun Choi,4 Guk-Hee Suh,1,2 Dong Young Lee,5 Jee Wook Kim1,2 On behalf of the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative1Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea; 2Department of Psychiatry, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea; 3Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hallym University Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 4Department of Psychiatry, Seoul W Psychiatric Office, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 5Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of KoreaCorrespondence: Jee Wook KimDepartment of Neuropsychiatry, Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital, 7 Keunjaebong-gil, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do 18450, Republic of KoreaTel +82 31 8086 2340Fax +82 31 8086 2029Email kimakins@hanmail.netPurpose: This study was performed to examine the usefulness of subscores on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) for predicting the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).Patients and Methods: A total of 306 MCI individuals in the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database were included in the study. Standardized clinical and neuropsychological tests were performed at baseline and at 2-year follow-up. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the MMSE total and subscale scores to predict progression to AD dementia in MCI individuals.Results: The MMSE total score and the MMSE memory, orientation, and construction subscores were inversely associated with AD progression after controlling for all potential confounders; MMSE attention and language subscores were not correlated with AD progression. The MMSE delayed recall score among the MMSE memory subscores and the MMSE time score among the orientation subscores, especially week and day, were inversely associated with AD progression; the MMSE immediate recall and place scores were not correlated with progression.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the MMSE memory, orientation, and construction subscores, which are simple and readily available clinical measures, could provide useful information to predict AD dementia progression in MCI individuals in practical clinical settings.Keywords: mini-mental state examination, MMSE, mild cognitive impairment, MCI, Alzheimer’s disease, AD, memory, orientation, construction

Young Min Choe,1,2 Boung Chul Lee,2,3 Ihn-Geun Choi,2,4 Guk-Hee Suh,1,2 Dong Young Lee,5 Jee Wook Kim1,21Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea; 2Department of Psychiatry, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea; 3Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hallym University Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 4Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 5Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of KoreaPurpose: The CAGE is a convenient test for alcohol-related disorder due to its brevity, but it is not as effective as the alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT). Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) is an objective blood biochemical marker of excessive alcohol intake; however, it has low sensitivity. This study tested the performance of the combined use of CAGE and GGT to screen problem drinking (PD), alcohol use disorder (AUD), and alcohol dependence (AD).Methods: A total of 394 subjects composed of 91 normal controls and 303 subjects with PD were enrolled in this study. Of the PD subjects, 147 were diagnosed with AUD (77 alcohol abuse and 70 AD). A series of multiple logistic regression models for PD, AUD, and AD discrimination were used to obtain new combined CAGE and GGT scores after adjusting for age and gender (CAGE+GGT). A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was conducted to determine how well the CAGE+GGT score discriminated between individuals with PD, AUD, and AD.Results: The discrimination accuracy of the AUDIT for PD was significantly better than that of the CAGE or the CAGE+GGT (z=6.927, p

Jee Wook Kim,1,2 Young Min Choe,1,2 Joong-Gon Shin,3 Byung Lae Park,4 Hyung-Doo Shin,3,4 Ihn-Geun Choi,2,5 Boung Chul Lee2,6 1Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, Republic of Korea; 2Department of Psychiatry, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea; 3Department of Life Science, Sogang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 4Department of Genetic Epidemiology, SNP Genetics, Inc., Seoul, Republic of Korea; 5Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 6Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hallym University Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea Background: Alcohol dependence (AD) is a common disorder that is influenced by genetic as well as environmental factors. A previous genome-wide association study (GWAS) of the Korean population performed by our research group identified a number of genes, including BRCA1-associated protein (BRAP) and protein arginine methyltransferase 8 (PRMT8), as novel genetic markers of AD. Methods: The present investigation was a fine-mapping follow-up study of 459 AD and 455 non-AD subjects of Korean descent to determine the associations between BRAP and PRMT8 polymorphisms and AD. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was administered to screen for the degree of AD risk in the subjects and 58 genetic variants, 5 for BRAP and 53 for PRMT8, were genotyped for subsequent association analyses. Results: In the present case–control analysis, BRAP rs3782886 showed the most significant association signal with a risk of AD (P=1.29×10-16, Pcorr =7.74×10-16, OR =0.19). There were also significant differences in the overall and subcategory scores for the BRAP genetic variants, including rs3782886 (P=9.94×10-31, Pcorr =5.96×10-30 at rs3782886 for the overall AUDIT score). However, the genetic effects of PRMT8 polymorphisms observed in our previous GWAS were not replicated in the present study (minimum P=0.0005, Pcorr >0.05, OR =0.30 at rs4766139 in the recessive model). Furthermore, the single-nucleotide polymorphisms of PRMT8 were not associated with the overall and subcategory AUDIT scores. Conclusion: The present findings suggest that the genetic variants of BRAP may contribute to a predisposition for an alcohol use disorder. Keywords: alcohol dependence, AUDIT, genome-wide association study, single-nucleotide polymorphism, BRAP

Abstract Background A variety of analysis approaches have been applied to detect quantitative trait loci (QTL) in experimental populations. The initial genome scan of our Duroc x Pietrain F2 resource population included 510 F2 animals genotyped with 124 microsatellite markers and analyzed using a line-cross model. For the second scan, 20 additional markers on 9 chromosomes were genotyped for 954 F2 animals and 20 markers used in the first scan were genotyped for 444 additional F2 animals. Three least-squares Mendelian models for QTL analysis were applied for the second scan: a line-cross model, a half-sib model, and a combined line-cross and half-sib model. Results In total, 26 QTL using the line-cross model, 12 QTL using the half-sib model and 3 additional QTL using the combined line-cross and half-sib model were detected for growth traits with a 5% false discovery rate (FDR) significance level. In the line-cross analysis, highly significant QTL for fat deposition at 10-, 13-, 16-, 19-, and 22-wk of age were detected on SSC6. In the half-sib analysis, a QTL for loin muscle area at 19-wk of age was detected on SSC7 and QTL for 10th-rib backfat at 19- and 22-wk of age were detected on SSC15. Conclusions Additional markers and animals contributed to reduce the confidence intervals and increase the test statistics for QTL detection. Different models allowed detection of new QTL which indicated differing frequencies for alternative alleles in parental breeds.

The antifungal effects of citral, eugenol, nerolidol and alpha-terpineol on Trichophyton mentagrophytes were investigated. Citral over 0.1 mg/ml strongly inhibited the hyphal growth of T. mentagrophytes, and the antifungal activity of alpha-terpineol was less effective. The morphological changes of the fungus exposed to the terpenes were observed by electron microscopy. The hyphae were distorted and collapsed at 0.2, 0.4 and 1 mg/ml of eugenol, nerolidol and alpha-terpineol respectively, and cell membrane and organelles were irreversibly damaged at 0.2 mg/ml citral. These suggested that four terpenes possess antifungal activity against T. mentagrophytes, and the activity might lead to irreversible cellular disruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a closed-loop pretreatment process, wherein volatiles produced during steam explosion pretreatment were recovered and reintroduced as acid catalysts into the pretreatment system. The volatiles were separated through a drastic decompression process followed by a steam explosion process and recovered as a liquified catalyst (LFC) through a heat exchanger. The LFC effectively served as an acid catalyst for hemicellulose hydrolysis, significantly decreasing residence time from 90 min to 30 min to achieve 80 % conversion yield at 170 °C. Hydrolysates with high content of lower molecular weight oligomeric sugars were obtained using LFC, and were considered advantageous for application as prebiotics. These results are attributed to the complementary features of acetic acid and furfural contained within the LFC. Computational simulation using Aspen Plus was used to investigate the effects of recycling on LFC, and it demonstrated the feasibility of the catalyst-recirculating system. A validation study was conducted based on simulation results to predict the actual performance of the proposed pretreatment system. Based on these results, the recirculating system was predicted to improve the conversion yield and low-molecular weight oligomers yield by 1.5-fold and 1.6-fold, respectively., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A nonhalogenated and ecofriendly flame-retarding material was developed using lignin, one of the main components of lignocellulosic biopolymers. Lignin was purified, dissolved, and formulated as nanoparticles and implemented after processing in an ecofriendly water-based γ-valerolactone (GVL) system at different concentrations. Nitrogen‑phosphorus sequential chemical modification was performed using polyethyleneimine (PEI) and phytic acid (PA), The char residue increased by ≥10 % compared with lignin nanoparticles (LNPs). A 10 wt% lignin-based flame retardant (L-FR) based on the weight of cotton fabric was introduced using a simple dipping method. Compared to existing cotton fabrics, the combustion time of L-FR treated cotton fabrics was reduced by 6.8 s. The maximum flame height was reduced by 5.4 cm, and the charcoal residue increased by 25 %. The flame-retarding mechanism of L-FR involved low-temperature dehydration, thermal decomposition of cellulose by the phosphorus component of PA and generation of expansive gas by the nitrogen component of PEI. These results showed that lignin-based raw material processing, polymer processing, and chemical modification were biomass-based, suggesting that lignin could be converted into an ecofriendly flame retardant, highlighting the feasibility of high-value-added lignin., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Levilactobacillus brevis is crucial in food fermentation, particularly in sourdough production. However, the cultivation of L. brevis faces a challenge with accumulation of lactic acid, a major inhibitor. We aimed to increase the acid tolerance of L. brevis, an industrial strain for sourdough fermentation. We used the adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) to obtain lactic acid tolerant strains. The evolved strain's fermentation and metabolite profiles, alongside sensory evaluation, were compared with the parental strain by using various analytical techniques. The ALE approach increased lactic acid tolerance in the evolved strain showing an increased growth rate by 1.1 and 1.9 times higher than the parental strain at pH 4.1 and 6.5, respectively. Comprehensive analyses demonstrated its potential application in sourdough fermentation, promising reduced downstream costs. The evolved strain, free from genetically modified organisms concerns, has great potential for industrial use by exhibiting enhanced growth in acidic conditions without affecting consumers' bread preferences., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: ‘Kyoung Heon Kim has patent Lactic acid bacteria mutant and culturing method for sourdough fermentation licensed to SPC Group. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.’., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

It has been reported that the administration of Limosilactobacillus fermentum alleviates diseases such as osteoporosis and colitis. In this study, we report the complete genome sequence of Limosilactobacillus fermentum KUFM407, a probiotic strain of LAB isolated from Korean traditional fermented food, Kimchi. Whole genome sequencing of L. fermentum KUFM407 was performed on the Illumina MiSeq and Oxford Nanopore MinION platform. The genome consisted of one circular chromosome (2,077,616 base pair [bp]) with a guanine cytosine (GC) content of 51.5% and one circular plasmid sequence (13,931 bp). Genome annotation identified 1,932 protein-coding genes, 15 rRNAs, and 58 tRNAs in the assembly. The function annotation of the predicted proteins revealed genes involved in the biosynthesis of bacteriocin and fatty acids. The complete genome of L. fermentum KUFM407 could provide valuable information for the development of new probiotic food and health supplements., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest to report., (© Copyright 2024 Korean Society of Animal Science and Technology.)

Nanocellulose, owing to its environmentally friendly and unique attributes, is gaining traction in various industries. However, commercialization of nanocellulose faces challenges due to structural alterations during drying process, leading to irreversible aggregation. This study, inspired by wood's natural structure, introduces a cellulose nanofibril (CNF) drying system using hemicellulose hydrolysate (HH) as a capping agent. The addition of only 1 wt% of HH to the CNF suspension not only prevents aggregation among CNFs during dehydration and drying but also dramatically enhances the redispersion rate and dispersion stability of the dried CNFs. The redispersed CNF/HH suspension exhibits physicochemical properties comparable to the original CNF suspension before drying. This confirms that HH inhibits irreversible hydrogen bonding among CNFs, leading to the restoration of the nanostructure during redispersion. Moreover, HH in the CNF suspension after redispersion can be easily removed through a simple water rinsing process, highlighting HH as a highly suitable candidate for preventing aggregation of CNFs., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

In this study, production and isolation of glucaric acid from lignocellulosic biomass were performed via potassium cation-based TEMPO-mediated oxidation for the ease of glucaric acid isolation. To optimize the oxidation conditions, response surface methodology (RSM) was adopted using standard glucose as the raw material. Among the oxidation conditions, the dosage of oxidant and pH of reaction affected the glucaric acid production, and the optimum conditions were suggested by RSM analysis: 5 °C of reaction temperature, 4.23 equiv dosage of KClO per mole of glucose, and pH of 12. Furthermore, glucaric acid was produced from lignocellulosic biomass-derived enzymatic hydrolysate from Miscanthus under optimum conditions. The impurities such as xylose and lignin in enzymatic hydrolysate inhibited the efficiency of glucose oxidation. As a result, more oxidant was required to produce sufficient glucaric acid from the enzymatic hydrolysate compared to standard glucose. The produced glucaric acid was simply isolated by controlling the pH in the form of glucaric acid monopotassium salt, which showed lower solubility in water, and the purity of isolated glucaric acid was over 99%. The overall mass balance of feedstock to glucaric acid was analyzed, suggesting that 86.38% (w/w) glucaric acid could be produced from initial glucan in feedstock., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

In this study, a lignin-based hydrogel for wastewater treatment was prepared by incorporating kraft lignin (KL) into a poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) matrix. The underwater structural stability of the KL-PVA hydrogel was guaranteed through physicochemical crosslinking, involving freeze-thaw process and chemical crosslinking reaction. The KL-PVA hydrogel displayed superior compressive characteristics compared to the original PVA hydrogel. This improvement was attributed to the chemical crosslinking and the reinforcing effect of the incorporated KL microparticles. The incorporation of anionic KL microparticles into the PVA three-dimensional network structure enhanced the cationic methylene blue (MB) and crystal violet (CV) adsorption efficiency of the prepared KL-PVA hydrogel. The MB adsorption results were well explained by pseudo-2nd order kinetics model and Langmuir isotherm model. Electrostatic forces, hydrogen bonding and π-π stacking interactions were the main adsorption mechanisms between cationic dyes and KL surfaces, indicating the potential of KL-PVA hydrogel as an effective adsorption material. Moreover, regulating the molecular weight of PVA not only prevented lignin leakage from the KL-PVA hydrogel but also elevated the KL content within the hydrogel, consequently improving its dye removal performance. For KL-PVA hydrogel with high molecular weight PVA, the MB and CV adsorption capacities were 193.8 mg/g and 190.0 mg/g, respectively., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Acetylated lignin (AL) can improve compatibility with commercial plastic polymers compared to existing lignin and can be used as an effective additive for eco-friendly biocomposites. For this reason, AL can be effectively incorporated into polylactic acid (PLA)-based biocomposites, but its biodegradation properties have not been investigated. In this study, biodegradation experiments were performed under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions to determine the effect of AL addition on the biodegradation characteristics of PLA-based biocomposites. As a result, the PLA-based biocomposite showed a faster biodegradation rate in a thermophilic composting environment, which is higher than the glass transition temperature of PLA, compared to a mesophilic environment. 16S rDNA sequencing results showed that differences in microbial communities depending on mesophilic and thermophilic environments strongly affected the biodegradation rate of lignin/PLA biocomposites. Importantly, the addition of AL can effectively delay the thermophilic biodegradation of PLA biocomposites. As a result of tracking the changes in physicochemical properties according to the biodegradation period in a thermophilic composting environment, the main biodegradation mechanism of AL/PLA biocomposite hydrolysis. It proceeded with cleavage of the PLA molecular chain, preferential biodegradation of the amorphous region, and additional biodegradation of the crystalline region. Above all, adding AL can be proposed as an effective additive because it can minimize the decline in the mechanical properties of PLA and delay the biodegradation rate more effectively compared to existing kraft lignin (KL)., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this study, the intrinsic brittleness of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) was overcome by chemical modification using ethyl acetate-extracted lignin (EL) via cationic ring-opening polymerization (CROP). The CROP was conducted to promote homopolymerization under starvation of the initiator (oxyrane). This method resulted in the formation of lignin-based polyether (LPE). LPE exhibited enhanced interfacial compatibility with nonpolar and hydrophobic PLA owing to the fewer hydrophilic hydroxyl groups and a long polyether chain. In addition, because of the UV-protecting and radical-scavenging abilities of lignin, LPE/PLA exhibited multifunctional properties, resulting in improved chemical properties compared with the neat PLA film. Notably, one of the LPE/PLA films (EL_MCF) exhibited excellent elongation at break of 297.7 % and toughness of 39.92 MJ/m 3 . Furthermore, the EL_MCF film showed superior UV-protective properties of 99.52 % in UVA and 88.95 % in UVB ranges, both significantly higher than those of the PLA film, without sacrificing significant transparency in 515 nm. In addition, the radical scavenging activity improved after adding LPE to the PLA film. These results suggest that LPEs can be used as plasticizing additives in LPE/PLA composite films, offering improved physicochemical properties., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

An orange-coloured bacterium, designated as strain GRR-S3-23 T , was isolated from a tidal flat sediment collected from Garorim Bay, Chuncheongbuk-do, Republic of Korea. Cells of GRR-S3-23 T were aerobic, Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped and motile. GRR-S3-23 T grew at 18-40 °C (optimum, 30 °C), pH 7.0-9.0 (optimum, pH 7.0) and with 2-4 % NaCl (optimum, 2-3 % w/v). Results of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that GRR-S3-23 T was closely related to Tenacibaculum aiptasiae a4 T (97.6 %), followed by Tenacibaculum aestuarii SMK-4 T (97.5 %), Tenacibaculum mesophilum MBIC 1140 T (97.4 %), Tenacibaculum singaporense TLL-A2 T (97.3 %), Tenacibaculum crassostreae JO-1 T (97.2 %),and Tenacibaculum sediminilitoris YKTF-3 T (97.1 %). The average amino acid identity values between GRR-S3-23 T and the related strains were 86.8-72.8 %, the average nucleotide identity values were 83.3-74.1 %, and the digital DNA-DNA hybridization values were 27.0-19.6 %. GRR-S3-23 T possessed menaquinone-6 (MK-6) as major respiratory quinone and had summed feature 3 (C 16 : 1 ω7 c and/or C 16 : 1 ω6 c , 20.6 %) and iso-C 15 : 1 G (10.8 %) as major fatty acids (>10.0 %). The polar lipid profiles of GRR-S3-23 T contained phosphatidylethanolamine, one unidentified aminolipid, one unidentified aminophospholipid, three unidentified lipids, one unidentified glycolipid and four unidentified phospholipids. The DNA G+C content of GRR-S3-23 T was 33.7%. On the basis of the results of the polyphasic analysis involving phylogenetic, phylogenomic, physiological and chemotaxonomic analyses described in this study, GRR-S3-23 T is considered to represent a novel species within the genus Tenacibaculum , for which the name Tenacibaculum tangerinum is proposed. The type strain is GRR-S3-23 T (=KCTC 102029 T =KACC 23271 T =JCM 36353 T ).

In this study, we report the complete genome sequence of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum L55, a probiotic strain of lactic acid bacteria isolated from kimchi. The genome consists of one circular chromosome (2,077,416 base pair [bp]) with a guanine cytosine (GC) content of 44.5%, and two circular plasmid sequences (54,267 and 19,592 bp, respectively). We also conducted a comprehensive analysis of the genome, which identified the presence of functional genes, genomic islands, and antibiotic-resistance genes. The genome sequence data presented in this study provide insights into the genetic basis of L. plantarum L55, which could be beneficial for the future development of probiotic applications., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported., (© Copyright 2023 Korean Society of Animal Science and Technology.)

This study examined the relationship between serum manganese level and cognition, and the moderating effect of apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE4) on this relationship. A total of 164 non-demented participants underwent clinical assessments including serum manganese level and cognition [episodic memory score (EMS), non-memory score (NMS) for executive function/attention/language/ visuospatial skill, and total score (TS)]. Serum manganese × APOE4 interaction had a significant effect on EMS and TS. Serum manganese level was inversely associated with EMS and TS in APOE4-positive but not APOE4-negative participants. APOE4 should be considered a key component in Alzheimer's disease studies that included manganese imbalance as a risk factor., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare there is no conflict of interests., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Little is known about the associations of midlife- and late life-initiated walking with Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related cognitive decline in humans. We aimed to investigate whether high-intensity, prolonged, midlife-initiated walking is associated with changes in AD-related cognitive decline in physically capable older adults., Methods: We studied 188 physically capable participants aged 65-90 years without dementia who underwent comprehensive clinical assessment, including of their walking modality (i.e., intensity, duration, midlife- or late life-onset), memory- or non-memory and total cognitive performance, and blood or nutritional biomarkers., Results: The walking group showed better episodic memory (B = 2.852, SE = 1.214, β = 0.144, p = 0.020), but not non-memory cognition, than the non-walking group. High-intensity walking starting in midlife was significantly associated with better episodic memory (B = 9.360, SE = 3.314, β = 0.446, p = 0.005) compared to the non-walking group. In contrast, there were no differences in cognition according to walking duration, regardless of the onset time. The walking group also showed a similar association with overall cognition., Conclusions: Among physically capable older adults without dementia, walking, particularly at high intensity and starting in midlife, is associated with improved episodic memory, an AD-related cognitive domain. Further attention should be paid to the role of walking in terms of AD prevention., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

The strain KIST612, initially identified as E. limosum , was a suspected member of E. callanderi due to differences in phenotype, genotype, and average nucleotide identity (ANI). Here, we found that E. limosum ATCC 8486 T and KIST612 are genetically different in their central metabolic pathways, such as that of carbon metabolism. Although 16S rDNA sequencing of KIST612 revealed high identity with E. limosum ATCC 8486 T (99.2%) and E. callanderi DSM 3662 T (99.8%), phylogenetic analysis of housekeeping genes and genome metrics clearly indicated that KIST612 belongs to E. callanderi . The phylogenies showed that KIST612 is closer to E. callanderi DSM 3662 T than to E. limosum ATCC 8486 T . The ANI between KIST612 and E. callanderi DSM 3662 T was 99.8%, which was above the species cut-off of 96%, Meanwhile, the ANI value with E. limosum ATCC 8486 T was not significant, showing only 94.6%. The digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) results also supported the ANI values. The dDDH between KIST612 and E. callanderi DSM 3662 T was 98.4%, whereas between KIST612 and E. limosum ATCC 8486 T , it was 57.8%, which is lower than the species cut-off of 70%. Based on these findings, we propose the reclassification of E. limosum KIST612 as E. callanderi KIST612.

Ecofriendly multifunctional films with only biomass-based components have gathered significant interest from researchers as next-generation materials. Following this trend, a TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibril (TOCNF) film containing hydrophilic lignin (CL) was fabricated. To produce the lignin, peracetic acid oxidation was carried out, leading to the introduction of carboxyl groups into the lignin structure. By adding hydrophilic lignin, various characteristics (e.g., surface smoothness, UV protection, antimicrobial activity, and barrier properties) of the TOCNF film were enhanced. In particular, the shrinkage of CNF was successfully prevented by the addition of CL, which is attributed to the lower surface roughness (R a ) from 18.93 nm to 4.99 nm. As a result, the smooth surface of the TOCNF/CL film was shown compared to neat TOCNF film and TOCNF/Kraft lignin composite film. In addition, the TOCNF/CL film showed a superior UV blocking ability of 99.9 % with high transparency of 78.4 %, which is higher than that of CNF-lignin composite films in other research. Also, water vapor transmission rate was reduced after adding CL to TOCNF film. Consequently, the developed TOCNF/CL film can be potentially utilized in various applications, such as food packaging., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: An abundance of evidence indicates that physical activity may protect against Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related cognitive decline. However, little is known about the association between physical activity and AD-related cognitive decline according to age and the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele (APOE4) as major risk factors. Therefore, we examined whether age and APOE4 status modulate the effects of physical activity on episodic memory as AD-related cognition in non-demented older adults., Methods: We enrolled 196 adults aged between 65 and 90 years, with no dementia. All participants underwent comprehensive clinical assessments including physical activity evaluation and APOE genotyping. The AD-related cognitive domain was assessed by the episodic memory, as the earliest cognitive change in AD, and non-memory cognition for comparative purposes. Overall cognition was assessed by the total score (TS) of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease neuropsychological battery., Results: We found significant physical activity × age and physical activity × APOE4 interaction effects on episodic memory. Subgroup analyses indicated that an association between physical activity and increased episodic memory was apparent only in subjects aged > 70 years, and in APOE4-positive subjects., Conclusion: Our findings suggest that physical activity has beneficial effects on episodic memory, as an AD-related cognitive domain, in individuals aged > 70 years and in APOE4-positive individuals. Physicians should take age and APOE4 status account into when recommending physical activity to prevent AD-related cognitive decline., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Lee, Choe, Suh, Choi, Kim, Hwang, Yi and Kim.)

Compared to infant formula, breast milk is the best source of nutrition for infants; it not only improves the neonatal intestinal function, but also regulates the immune system and gut microbiota composition. However, probiotic-fortified infant formula may further enhance the infant gut environment by overcoming the limitations of traditional infant formula. We investigated the probiotic formula administration for one month by comparing 118 Korean infants into the following three groups: infants in each group fed with breast milk (50), probiotic formula (35), or placebo formula-fed group (33). Probiotic formula improved stool consistency and defecation frequency compared to placebo formula-fed group. The probiotic formula helped maintaining the level of secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA), which had remarkably decreased over time in placebo formula-fed infants (compared to weeks 0 and 4). Moreover, probiotic formula decreased the acidity of stool and considerably increased the butyrate concentration. Furthermore, the fecal microbiota of each group was evaluated at weeks 0 and 4. The microbial composition was distinct between each groups, and the abundance of health-promoting bacteria increased in the probiotic formula compared to the placebo formula-fed group. In summary, supplementation of probiotic infant formula can help optimize the infant gut environment, microbial composition, and metabolic activity of the microbiota, mimicking those of breast milk., Competing Interests: The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest., (© Korean Society for Food Science of Animal Resources.)

Marine red algal biomass is a promising feedstock for sustainable production of value-added chemicals. However, the major constituents of red algal biomass, such as agar and carrageenan, are not easily assimilated by most industrial metabolic chassis developed to date. Synthetic biology offers a solution by utilizing nonmodel organisms as metabolic chassis for consolidated biological processes. In this study, the marine heterotrophic bacterium Pseudoalteromonas atlantica T6c was harnessed as a metabolic chassis to produce value-added chemicals from the affordable red algal galactans or agaropectin, a byproduct of industrial agarose production. To construct a heterologous gene expression device in P. atlantica T6c, promoters related to agar metabolism were screened from the differentially expressed genes using RNA-Seq analysis. The expression device was built and tested with selected promoters fused to a reporter gene and tuned by incorporation of a cognate repressor predicted from the agar-specific polysaccharide utilization locus. The feasibility of the marine bacterial metabolic chassis was examined by introducing the biosynthetic gene clusters of β-carotene and violacein. Our results demonstrate that the metabolic chassis platform enables direct conversion of low-cost red algal galactans or industrial waste agaropectin into valuable bioactive pigments without any pretreatment of biomass. The developed marine bacterial chassis could potentially be used in a biorefinery framework to produce value-added chemicals from marine algal galactans.

In this study, a chemically modified lignin additive was successfully prepared to improve the physicochemical properties of biodegradable polycaprolactone (PCL)-based nanofibers. The molecular weight and surface functional group characteristics of lignin were effectively controlled through a solvent fractionation process using ethanol. Then, PCL-g-lignin was successfully synthesized by using ethanol-fractionated lignin as a platform for the PCL grafting process. Finally, PCL/PCL-g-lignin composite nanofibers were simply prepared by adding PCL-g-lignin to the PCL doping solution and performing a solution blow spinning process. The addition of PCL-g-lignin could dramatically improve the physical and chemical properties of PCL nanofibers, and in particular, the tensile strength (0.28 MPa) increased by approximately 280 % compared to the conventional PCL. In addition, the lignin moiety present in PCL-g-lignin was able to impart UV blocking properties to PCL nanofibers, and as a result, it was possible to effectively suppress the photolysis phenomenon that occurred rapidly in existing PCL nanofibers. Therefore, PCL-g-lignin may be widely used not only as a reinforcing agent of existing biodegradable nanofibers but also as a functional additive for UV protection., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A plausible association exists among spicy food consumption, physical activity, and Alzheimer's disease (AD) or cognitive decline, but it remains poorly investigated. We aimed to examined the association between spicy food and AD-related memory decline or global cognitive decline in older adults under the moderating effect of physical activity. Total 196 non-demented older adults were included. Participants underwent comprehensive dietary and clinical assessments including spicy food intake, AD-related memory, global cognition, and physical activity. The strength of spicy food was stratified into three categories: 'not spicy' (reference), 'low spiciness', and 'high spiciness'. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to examine the relationships between spicy level and cognition. The spicy level was the independent variable in each analysis; it was entered as a stratified categorical variable using the three categories. We found a significant association between a high level of spiciness in food and decreased memory ([Formula: see text] - 0.167, p < 0.001) or global cognition ([Formula: see text] - 0.122, p = 0.027), but not non-memory cognition. To explore the moderating effects of age, sex, apolipoprotein E ε4 allele-positivity, vascular risk score, body mass index, and physical activity on the associations between spicy level and memory or global cognition, the same regression analyses were repeated including two-way interaction terms between the spicy level and each of the six variables as an additional independent variable. An interactive effect was detected between a high level of spiciness in food and physical activity on the memory ([Formula: see text] 0.209, p = 0.029) or global cognition ([Formula: see text] 0.336, p = 0.001). Subgroup analyses showed that the association between a high level of spiciness in food and a lower memory ([Formula: see text] - 0.254, p < 0.001) and global score ([Formula: see text] - 0.222, p = 0.002) was present only in older adults with low physical activity, but not in older adults with high physical activity. Our findings suggest that spicy food intake is predictive of AD-related cognitive decline, i.e., episodic memory; this relationship is worsened by physically inactive lifestyle., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: The probable association among ginseng intake, Alzheimer's disease (AD)-specific cognition, and apolipoprotein ε4 (APOE4) remains poorly investigated. Hence, we examined the association between ginseng intake and AD-specific cognition in older adults under the moderating effect of APOE4 status., Methods: This study enrolled 160 adults aged 65-90 years without dementia. All participants underwent comprehensive dietary and clinical assessments including ginseng intake, AD-related cognition (i.e., delayed episodic memory, as the earliest cognitive change in AD), and non-memory cognition for comparative purposes., Results: Ginseng intake was associated with higher delayed episodic memory, but not non-memory cognition, compared to no ginseng intake. The interaction between ginseng intake and APOE4 status had a significant effect on delayed episodic memory. Subgroup analyses showed that ginseng intake was associated with higher delayed episodic memory in the APOE4-negative but not the APOE4-positive subgroup. The benefits of ginseng intake on delayed episodic memory were prominent in the high duration (≥5 years) and midlife onset (<65 years) groups., Conclusion: Our study of older adults with no dementia suggests that ginseng intake (with high duration and midlife onset) had a beneficial effect on AD-specific cognitive decline, i.e., the delayed episodic memory. In addition, APOE4 status moderates the association between ginseng intake status and AD-specific cognitive decline., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Lee, Choe, Suh, Choi, Kim, Hwang, Yi, Jhoo and Kim.)

A Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, bright-orange coloured bacterium without flagellum, designated as strain GRR-S6-50 T , was isolated from a tidal flat of Garorim bay, Taean-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do, Republic of Korea. Cells grew aerobically at 20-37 °C (optimum, 30 °C), pH 7.0-10.0 (optimum, pH 7.0) and with 1-5 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 3 %). The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis demonstrated that strain GRR-S6-50 T was closely related to Sphingomicrobium aestuariivivum AH-M8 T with a sequence similarity of 97.80 % followed by Sphingomicrobium astaxanthinifaciens CC-AMO-30B T (97.44 %), Sphingomicrobium marinum CC- AMZ-30M T (97.16 %), Sphingomicrobium arenosum CAU 1457 T (96.37 %), Sphingomicrobium flavum CC-AMZ-30N T (95.31 %) and Sphingomicrobium lutaoense CC-TBT-3 T (95.23 %). The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values with related strains ranged from 74.5 to 77.3% and 21.1 to 35.0 %, respectively. The G+C content of strain GRR-S6-50 T was 63.30 mol%. The strain has ubiquinone-10 as the predominant respiratory quinone and the major fatty acids were C 18 : 3  ω 6 c (54.57 %) and C 17 : 1  ω6 c (10.58 %). The polar lipids consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, three unidentified lipids and one glycolipid. On the basis of the results of phylogenetic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic studies, strain GRR-S6-50 T is regarded to represent a novel species within the genus Sphingomicrobium , for which the name Sphingomicrobium sediminis sp. nov. (KACC 22562 T =KCTC 92123 T =JCM 35084 T ) is proposed.

Recently, we reported that device performance degradation mechanisms, which are generated by the γ-ray irradiation in GaN-based metal-insulator-semiconductor high electron mobility transistors (MIS-HEMTs), use extremely thin gate insulators. When the γ-ray was radiated, the total ionizing dose (TID) effects were generated and the device performance deteriorated. In this work, we investigated the device property alteration and its mechanisms, which were caused by the proton irradiation in GaN-based MIS-HEMTs for the 5 nm-thick Si 3 N 4 and HfO 2 gate insulator. The device property, such as threshold voltage, drain current, and transconductance varied by the proton irradiation. When the 5 nm-thick HfO 2 layer was employed for the gate insulator, the threshold voltage shift was larger than that of the 5 nm-thick Si 3 N 4 gate insulator, despite the HfO 2 gate insulator exhibiting better radiation resistance compared to the Si 3 N 4 gate insulator. On the other hand, the drain current and transconductance degradation were less for the 5 nm-thick HfO 2 gate insulator. Unlike the γ-ray irradiation, our systematic research included pulse-mode stress measurements and carrier mobility extraction and revealed that the TID and displacement damage (DD) effects were simultaneously generated by the proton irradiation in GaN-based MIS-HEMTs. The degree of the device property alteration was determined by the competition or superposition of the TID and DD effects for the threshold voltage shift and drain current and transconductance deterioration, respectively. The device property alteration was diminished due to the reduction of the linear energy transfer with increasing irradiated proton energy. We also studied the frequency performance degradation that corresponded to the irradiated proton energy in GaN-based MIS-HEMTs using an extremely thin gate insulator.

Authentic honey products have a high commercial value and are often falsified via adulteration. Metabarcoding of environmental DNA (eDNA) from bacterial, floral, and entomological sources has recently been proposed as a useful tool for identifying and authenticating floral and geographical origins of bee honey. In this study, eDNA metabarcoding was applied to reveal the bacterial, plant, and honey bee DNA signatures of 48 commercial honey products from six different geographical origins. Bacterial DNA composition in commercial honey showed different relative abundance of Paenibacillus and Bacillus in geographically different samples, and high abundance of Methylobacterium in chestnut honey implying potential use of bacterial DNA composition for honey authentication. Using the chloroplast trnL (UAA) as a DNA marker, floral origins of commercial honey were investigated. Based on floral DNA signatures, 12 monofloral honey samples were identified among the 45 samples tested. Targeted amplicon sequencing of cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene from entomological DNA identified three different Apis mellifera sequence variants, specific to geographic origin of honey, suggesting that COI can be implemented as a DNA marker to trace the origin of honey. Therefore, the current study demonstrated the potential of eDNA based metabarcoding as a robust tool for evaluating commercial bee honey by exploring their floral and geographical origins., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Lignin has different structural characteristics depending on the extraction conditions. In this study, three types of ethanol organosolv lignin (EOL) were produced under different extraction conditions involving the reaction temperature (140, 160, 180 °C), sulfuric acid concentration (0.5, 1, 1.5 %), and ethanol concentration (40, 60, 80 %) to compare the difference in properties when mixed with polylactic acid (PLA) matrix after atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). ATRP of EOL was conducted to improve its compatibility with PLA using methyl methacrylate (MMA) as a monomer. The molecular weight of each EOL increased significantly, and the glass transition temperature (T g ) decreased from approximately 150 to 110 °C. The EOL-g-PMMA copolymer exhibited a melting point (T m ), whereas EOL did not, implying that the thermoplasticity increased. The EOL-g-PMMA/PLA blend and film were prepared with 10 % of the copolymer in the PLA matrix. The tensile strength and strain of the blend were higher than those of unmodified organosolv lignin as the compatibility increased, and the UV transmittance was lower than that of neat PLA because of the UV protecting properties of EOL moiety., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Oligosaccharides and anhydro-sugars derived from carrageenan have great potential as functional foods and drugs showing various bioactivities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antitumor, and cytotoxic activities. Although preparation of sulfated carrageenan oligosaccharides by chemical and enzymatic processes has been widely reported, preparation of nonsulfated β-neocarrabiose (β-NC2) and the rare sugar 3,6-anhydro-d-galactose (d-AHG) was not reported in the literature. Based on the carrageenan catabolic pathway in marine heterotrophic bacteria, an enzymatic process was designed and constructed with recombinant κ-carrageenase, GH127/GH129 α-1,3 anhydrogalactosidase, and cell-free extract from marine carrageenolytic bacteria Colwellia echini A3 T . The process consisted of three successive steps, namely, (i) depolymerization, (ii) desulfation, and (iii) monomerization, by which carrageenan oligosaccharides, β-NC2, and d-AHG were obtained from κ-carrageenan. Unlike the chemical process, enzymatic hydrolysis yields oligosaccharides with the desired degree of polymerization facilitates specific removal of sulfated groups, free of toxic byproducts, and avoids chemical modifications. The final optimized enzymatic process produced 0.52 g of β-NC2 and 0.24 g of d-AHG from 1 g of κ-carrageenan. The carrageenolytic process designed for the enzymatic hydrolysis of κ-carrageenan can be scaled up for the mass production of bioactive carrageeno-oligosaccharides.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have been reported to possess various beneficial properties and are commonly used as probiotics. LAB play a crucial role in milk fermentation, industrial lactic acid fermentation, and health and medicine. Limosilactobacillus fermentum isolated from fermented dairy and food products is considered as 'Generally Recognized as Safe' by FDA. Limosilactobacillus fermentum plays an important role in modulation of the intestinal microbiota, enhancing the host immune system and improving feed digestibility. We isolated a probiotic candidate that was identified and named Limosilactobacillus fermentum JNU532. In a previous report, cell-free culture of L. fermentum JNU532 exhibited anti-melanogenic and antioxidant activities. In this study, we present the complete genome assembly of the bacterial strain JNU532. The final genome consists of one circular chromosome (2,077,416 base pairs) with a guanine + cytosine (GC) ratio of 51.5%., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported., (© Copyright 2023 Korean Society of Animal Science and Technology.)

A novel Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, cream-coloured, motile, halotolerant bacterium, designated as YJPS3-2 T , was isolated from saltern sediment of the Yellow sea in Yongyu-do, Republic of Korea. Strain YJPS3-2 T grew at pH 5.0-10.0 (optimum, pH 7.0), 4-40 °C (optimum, 30 °C) and with 1-15% (w/v) NaCl (optimum 3 %). The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that strain YJPS3-2 T was closely related to those of Halomonas halophila F5-7 T (98.75 %), Halomonas salina F8-11 T (98.74 %), Halomonas smyrnensis AAD6 T (98.66 %), Halomonas organivorans G-16.1 T (98.34 %), Halomonas koreensis SS20 T (97.98 %) and Halomonas beimenensis NTU-107 T (96.93 %). The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values between YJPS3-2 T and related type strains were 86.9-91.6 % and 32.0-44.8 %. Strain YJPS3-2 T was characterized as having Q-9 as the predominant respiratory quinone and the principal fatty acids (>10 %) were C 16 : 0 (31.4 %), C 19 : 0 ω 8 c cyclo (16.3 %), C 17 : 0 cyclo (11.9 %) and C 12 : 0 3-OH (10.4 %). The polar lipids consisted of phosphatidylcholine, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol. The DNA G+C content of strain YJPS3-2 T is 68.1mol %. Based on the polyphasic taxonomic evidence presented in this study, YJPS3-2 T should be classified as representing a novel species within the genus Halmonas , for which name Halomonas getboli is proposed, with the type strain YJPS3-2 T (= KCTC 92124 T =KACC 22561 T =JCM 35085 T ).

Background: It has been suggested that diabetes mellitus (DM) and the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele (APOE4) increase the risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cognitive decline. However, the evidence is sparse. We explored whether APOE4 status modulated the effects of midlife and late-life DM on global cognition of non-demented older adults., Methods: In all, 176 non-demented adults (age 65-90 years) were enrolled. All the participants underwent comprehensive clinical assessments including midlife and late-life DM evaluation and APOE genotyping. The global cognitive performance index was assessed by the total score (TS) of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease neuropsychological battery., Results: We found a significant midlife DM × APOE4 interaction effect on the global cognitive performance. Subgroup analyses indicated that an association between midlife DM and decreased global cognitive performance was apparent only in older adults who were APOE4-positive, and not in those with APOE4-negative., Conclusion: Our findings from non-demented older adults suggest that midlife DM increases the risk for AD and cognitive decline, and this risk is modulated by APOE4 status. To prevent AD and cognitive decline, physicians should check for the possible coexistence of midlife DM and APOE4-positive status., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Lee, Choe, Suh, Choi, Lee, Kim, Hwang, Yi and Kim.)

Wolfiporia cocos is a wood-decay brown rot fungus belonging to the family Polyporaceae. While the fungus grows, the sclerotium body of the strain, dubbed Bokryeong in Korean, is formed around the roots of conifer trees. The dried sclerotium has been widely used as a key component of many medicinal recipes in East Asia. Wolfiporia cocos strain KMCC03342 is the reference strain registered and maintained by the Korea Seed and Variety Service for commercial uses. Here, we present the first draft genome sequence of W. cocos KMCC03342 using a hybrid assembly technique combining both short- and long-read sequences. The genome has a total length of 55.5 Mb comprised of 343 contigs with N50 of 332 kb and 95.8% BUSCO completeness. The GC ratio was 52.2%. We predicted 14,296 protein-coding gene models based on ab initio gene prediction and evidence-based annotation procedure using RNAseq data. The annotated genome was predicted to have 19 terpene biosynthesis gene clusters, which was the same number as the previously sequenced W. cocos strain MD-104 genome but higher than Chinese W. cocos strains. The genome sequence and the predicted gene clusters allow us to study biosynthetic pathways for the active ingredients of W. cocos ., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors., (© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group on behalf of the Korean Society of Mycology.)

Background: The association between types of subjective memory complaint (SMC), poor objective cognitive performance, and brain Aβ deposition have been poorly understood. We investigated the association between types of SMC and objective global cognitive performance, then assessed whether this association is mediated by the brain amyloid prediction index (API)., Methods: In total, 173 non-demented older adults [63 cognitively normal (CN) and 110 mild cognitive impairment (MCI)] underwent comprehensive clinical assessments. Objective global cognitive performance and brain amyloid index were measured using the total score (TS) of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease neuropsychological battery and API, respectively. In total, four items of SMC from the subjective memory complaints questionnaire (SMCQ) (SMCQ1: a feeling of memory problem; SMCQ2: the feeling of worse memory than 10 years ago; SMCQ3: the feeling of worse memory than others of similar age; or SMCQ4: the feeling of difficulty in everyday life) in global memory function were assessed., Results: In non-demented and participants with MCI, SMCQ3-positive and SMCQ4-positive groups were associated with decreased TS. In participants with MCI, the SMCQ3-positive group was associated with increased API, and API was associated with decreased TS, but the SMCQ4-positive group did not. In addition, the association between the SMCQ3-positive group and poor TS disappeared when API was controlled as a covariate, indicating that API has a mediation effect., Conclusion: The present findings suggest that SMC, a feeling of worse memory performance than others in a similar age group, in the older adults without dementia is associated with poor objective cognitive performance via increased brain amyloid index., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Choe, Suh, Lee, Choi, Lee, Kim, Hwang and Kim.)

Wood-decaying fungi of the class Agaricomycetes (phylum Basidiomycota) are saprotrophs that break down lignocellulose and play an important role in nutrient recycling. They secrete a wide range of extracellular plant cell wall degrading enzymes that break down cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, the main building blocks of plant biomass. Although the production of these enzymes is regulated mainly at the transcriptional level, no activating regulators have been identified in any wood-decaying fungus in the class Agaricomycetes. We studied the regulation of cellulase expression in the wood-decaying fungus Schizophyllum commune . Comparative genomics and transcriptomics on two wild isolates revealed a Zn 2 Cys 6 -type transcription factor gene ( roc1 ) that was highly upregulated during growth on cellulose, compared to glucose. It is only conserved in the class Agaricomycetes. A roc1 knockout strain showed an inability to grow on medium with cellulose as sole carbon source, and growth on cellobiose and xylan (other components of wood) was inhibited. Growth on non-wood-related carbon sources was not inhibited. Cellulase gene expression and enzyme activity were reduced in the Δ roc1 strain. ChIP-Seq identified 1474 binding sites of the Roc1 transcription factor. Promoters of genes involved in lignocellulose degradation were enriched with these binding sites, especially those of LPMO (lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase) CAZymes, indicating that Roc1 directly regulates these genes. A conserved motif was identified as the binding site of Roc1, which was confirmed by a functional promoter analysis. Together, Roc1 is a key regulator of cellulose degradation and the first identified in wood-decaying fungi in the phylum Basidiomycota. IMPORTANCE Wood-degrading fungi in the phylum Basidiomycota play a crucial role in nutrient recycling by breaking down all components of wood. Fungi have evolved transcriptional networks that regulate expression of wood-degrading enzymes, allowing them to prioritize one nutrient source over another. However, to date all these transcription factors have been identified in the phylum Ascomycota, which is only distantly related to the phylum Basidiomycota. Here, we identified the transcription factor Roc1 as a key regulator of cellulose degradation in the mushroom-forming and wood-degrading fungus Schizophyllum commune . Roc1 is highly conserved in the phylum Basidiomycota. Using comparative genomics, transcriptomics, ChIP-Seq and promoter analysis we have identified direct targets of Roc1, as well as other aspects of the transcriptional response to cellulose.

A yellow-coloured bacterium, designated as strain JGD-13 T , was isolated from a tidal flat in the Republic of Korea. Cells were Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-flagellated and rod-shaped. Growth was observed at 4-42 °C (optimum, 30 °C), at pH 6.0-12.0 (pH 7.0-8.0) and at 1-7 % (w/v) NaCl concentration (3 %). The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that strain JGD-13 T was closely related to Aurantiacibacter gangjinensis K7-2 T with a sequence similarity of 98.2 %, followed by Aurantiacibacter aquimixticola JSSK-14 T (98.1 %), Aurantiacibacter atlanticus s21-N3 T (97.6 %), Aurantiacibacter zhengii V18 T (97.6 %) and Aurantiacibacter luteus KA37 T (97.5 %). The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values with related strains were 70.3-76.2 % and 18.5-20.3 %. The genomic DNA G+C content was 60.2 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis using the maximum-likelihood method showed that strain JGD-13 T formed a clade with A. aquimixticola JSSK-14 T and A. gangjinensis K7-2 T . The major fatty acids were summed feature 8 (39.7 %) and C 17 : 1  ω 6 c (14.4 %). The predominant respiratory quinone was ubiquinone-10. The polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, one sphingoglycolipid and three unidentified lipids. On the basis of phylogenetic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics, strain JGD-13 T represents a novel species within the genus Aurantiacibacter , for which the name Aurantiacibacter sediminis JGD-13 T sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JGD-13 T (=KCTC 72892 T =KACC 21676 T =JCM 33995 T ).

Commonly, lignin macromolecules have limitations in application to the thermoplastics industries due to poor dispersibility and interfacial compatibility within ligno-bioplastics. In this study, the dispersibility and interfacial compatibility of ethanol organosolv lignin (EOL) in PLA-based ligno-bioplastic were improved by enhancing the thermoplasticity via oxypropylation. Further, three types of EOLs extracted from different severity conditions were applied to investigate the effect of the structural characteristics of EOLs on the changes in the thermal properties. The thermal properties of oxypropylated EOL were dependent on the structural characteristics of the initial EOL as well as the degree of polymerization of propylene oxide. The thermoplasticity of EOLs extracted under mild condition was effectively increased as a new T g and melting were observed. Based on increased thermoplasticity, the dispersibility and interfacial compatibility of EOL within PLA-based ligno-bioplastic were successfully improved, which compensates for the deterioration in mechanical strength of ligno-bioplastic due to the addition of unmodified EOL. Therefore, oxypropylation of EOL with suitable structural characteristics promises improved availability as a thermoplastic material., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Although nanocellulose is an eco-friendly, high-performance raw material provided by nature, the agglomeration of nanocellulose that occurs during the drying process is the biggest obstacle to its advanced materialization and commercialization. In this study, a facile and simple nanocellulose drying system was designed using lignin, which is self-assembled together with cellulose in natural wood, as an eco-friendly additive. The addition of lignin not only minimized aggregation during the drying and dehydration process of nanocellulose but also ensured excellent redispersion kinetics and stability. In addition, the added lignin could be removed through a simple washing process. Through FTIR, XRD, TGA, tensile and swelling tests, it was confirmed that the addition of lignin enabled the reversible restitution of the nanocellulose physicochemical properties to the level of pristine never-dried nanocellulose in drying, redispersion, and polymer processing processes., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Collembola are soil-dwelling arthropods that play a key role in the soil ecosystem. Allonychiurus kimi (Lee) (Collembola: Onychiuridae) was isolated from the natural environment and has been maintained for 20 years under laboratory conditions. Though the morphological and physiological features of A. kimi are being widely used to evaluate the impact of pesticides and heavy metals on the soil ecosystem, variations observed in these features might be on account of its microbiota. However, the microbiota composition of the laboratory-maintained A. kimi is undetermined and how the community structure is changing in response to soil environments or interacting with the soil microbiota are still unknown. In this study, we determined the microbiota of laboratory-maintained A. kimi at both adult and juvenile stages and examined how the microbiota of A. kimi is affected by the microbial community in the soil environments. Chryseobacterium, Pandoraea, Sphingomonas, Escherichia-Shigella, and Acinetobacter were the core microbiota of A. kimi. Exposure of the laboratory-maintained A. kimi to different soil microbial communities drove dynamic shifts in the composition of A. kimi microbiota. Microbial association network analysis suggested that gut microbiota of lab-grown A. kimi was affected by exposing to soil microbial community. This study implies that shifts in the bacterial community of adult A. kimi can be utilized as an indicator to evaluate the soil ecosystem., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Escherichia coli O157:H7 EDL933 exposed to low-shear modeled microgravity (LSMMG) and normal gravity (NG) was used for a transcriptomic analysis. The modified Gompertz model (R 2  = 0.81-0.99) showed an increased growth rate of E. coli O157:H7 under LSMMG. The mechanism of this active growth was associated with highly upregulated genes in nutrient and energy metabolism, including the TCA cycle, glycolysis, and pyruvate metabolism. Green fluorescent protein-labeled E. coli O157:H7 also formed significantly thick biofilms (fluorescent unit: NG, 1,263; LSMMG, 1,533; P = 0.0473) under LSMMG, whereas bacterial mobility decreased slightly (P = 0.0310). The transcriptomic analysis revealed that genes encoding glycogen biosynthesis (glgCAP operon) were upregulated (1.40 to 1.82 of log fold change [FC]) due to the downregulation of csrA (2.17 of log FC), which is the global regulator of biofilm formation of E. coli. We also identified 52 genes in E. coli O157:H7 EDL933 that were involved in the secretion pathway, 32 of which showed ≥2-fold significant changes in transcription levels after cultivation under LSMMG. Notably, all downregulated genes belonged to the type III and VI secretion systems, indicating that host cell contact secretion was dysregulated in the LSMMG cultures compared to the NG cultures. LSMMG also stimulates the pathogenicity of E. coli O157:H7 via transcriptional upregulation of Shiga toxin 1 (1.36 to 2.81 log FC) and toxin HokB (6.1 log FC). Our results suggest LSMMG affects bacterial growth, biofilm formation, and E. coli O157:H7 pathogenicity at some transcriptional levels, which indicates the importance of understanding biological consequences., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Despite the known association between abnormal serum copper levels and Alzheimer's disease (AD) or cognitive decline, the association between copper, iron, and cognition remains poorly investigated. We examined the association between serum copper levels and global cognition measured using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in older adults with normal copper levels. We also explored the moderating effect of iron on this association., Methods: The study enrolled 99 non-demented adults between 65 and 90 years of age. All the participants underwent comprehensive clinical assessments and serum copper measurements. Global cognitive performance was measured by the MMSE. All copper levels were within the normal range and were stratified into three categories: < 87 (low), 87-98 (medium), and > 98 (high: used as a reference category) μg/dL., Results: Serum copper level (as a continuous variable) was significantly associated with MMSE score ( B = 0.065, 95% confidence interval = 0.023-0.108, p = 0.003). Low serum copper group showed significantly decreased MMSE score compared to high copper one ( B = -2.643, 95% confidence interval = -4.169 to -1.117, p < 0.001), while middle copper category had no difference ( B = -1.211, 95% confidence interval = -2.689 to 0.268, p = 0.107). There was a significant low serum copper ×iron interaction effect on the MMSE score ( B = 0.065, 95% confidence interval = 0.016-0.114, p = 0.010). Subgroup analyses showed that low serum copper was significantly associated with a low MMSE score in the low-iron ( B = -4.174, 95% confidence interval = -6.607 to -1.741, p = 0.001) but not high-iron subgroup ( B = -0.721, 95% confidence interval = -2.852 to 1.409, p = 0.495)., Conclusion: Our findings from non-demented older adults suggest that a low serum copper level within the normal range was associated with AD or cognitive decline and this is moderated by iron. To prevent AD or cognitive decline, clinicians need to pay attention to avoiding low serum copper and iron levels, even within the clinical normal range., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Choe, Suh, Lee, Choi, Lee, Kim and Kim.)

Because nanocellulose has a large specific surface area and abundant hydroxyl functional groups due to its unique nanomorphology, interest increases as an eco-friendly water treatment material. However, the distinctive properties of nanocellulose, which exists in a dispersion state, strongly hamper its usage in practical water treatment processes. Additionally, nanocellulose shows low performance in removing anionic pollutants because of its anionic characteristics. In an effort to address this challenge, regenerated cellulose (RC) hydrogel was fabricated through cellulose's dissolution and regeneration process using an eco-friendly aqueous solvent system. Subsequently, a crosslinking process was carried out to introduce the cationic functional groups to the RC surface PEI coating (P/RC). As a result, the PEI surface cationization process improved the mechanical rigidity of RC and showed an excellent Cr(VI) removal capacity of 578 mg/g. In addition, the prepared P/RC maintained more than 90% removal efficiency even after seven reuses., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

We aimed to identify genomic traits of transitions to ectomycorrhizal ecology within the Boletales by comparing the genomes of 21 symbiotrophic species with their saprotrophic brown-rot relatives. Gene duplication rate is constant along the backbone of Boletales phylogeny with large loss events in several lineages, while gene family expansion sharply increased in the late Miocene, mostly in the Boletaceae. Ectomycorrhizal Boletales have a reduced set of plant cell-wall-degrading enzymes (PCWDEs) compared with their brown-rot relatives. However, the various lineages retain distinct sets of PCWDEs, suggesting that, over their evolutionary history, symbiotic Boletales have become functionally diverse. A smaller PCWDE repertoire was found in Sclerodermatineae. The gene repertoire of several lignocellulose oxidoreductases (e.g. laccases) is similar in brown-rot and ectomycorrhizal species, suggesting that symbiotic Boletales are capable of mild lignocellulose decomposition. Transposable element (TE) proliferation contributed to the higher evolutionary rate of genes encoding effector-like small secreted proteins, proteases, and lipases. On the other hand, we showed that the loss of secreted CAZymes was not related to TE activity but to DNA decay. This study provides novel insights on our understanding of the mechanisms influencing the evolutionary diversification of symbiotic boletes., (© 2021 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2021 New Phytologist Foundation.)

White strains of Hypsizygus marmoreus are more difficult to cultivate than are brown strains; therefore, new white strain breeding strategies are required. Accordingly, we constructed the genetic map of H. marmoreus with 1996 SNP markers on 11 linkage groups (LGs) spanning 1380.49 cM. Prior to analysis, 82 backcrossed strains (HM8 lines) were generated by mating between KMCC03106-31 and the progenies of the F 1 hybrid (Hami-18 × KMCC03106-93). Using HM8, the first 23 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) of yield-related traits were detected with high limit of detection (LOD) scores (1.98-9.86). The length, thickness, and hardness of the stipe were colocated on LG 1. Especially, length of stipe and thickness of stipe were highly correlated given that the correlation coefficients were negative (-0.39, p value ≤ .01). And a typical biomodal distribution was observed for lightness of the pileus and the lightness of the pileus trait belonged to the LG 8, as did traits of earliness and mycelial growth in potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium. Therefore, results for color traits can be suggested that color is controlled by a multi-gene of one locus. The yield trait was highly negatively correlated with the traits for thickness of the stipe (-0.45, p value ≤ .01). Based on additive effects, the white strain was confirmed as recessive; however, traits of mycelial growth, lightness, and quality were inherited by backcrossed HM8 lines. This new genetic map, finely mapped QTLs, and the strong selection markers could be used in molecular breeding of H. marmoreus ., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group on behalf of the Korean Society of Mycology.)

A yellow-coloured bacterium, designated strain JGD-16 T , was isolated from a tidal flat in Janggu-do, Garorim Bay, Taean-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do, Republic of Korea. Cells were Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-flagellated and short ovoid to coccoid-shaped. Growth was observed at 10-37 °C (optimum, 30 °C), pH 6.0-9.0 (pH 8.0) and with 1-5% (w/v) NaCl (2%). Results of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that strain JGD-16 T was closely related to Altererythrobacter xiamenensis LY02 T (97.1 %), Altererythrobacter aurantiacus O30 T (96.3 %), Altererythrobacter ishigakiensis JPCCMB0017 T (95.8 %), Altererythrobacter epoxidivorans JCS350 T (95.7 %) and Altererythrobacter insulae BPTF-M16 T (95.3%). Phylogenomic analysis using the maximum-likelihood algorithm showed that strain JGD-16 T formed a clade with the genus Altererythrobacter . The genomic DNA G+C content was 57.8 mol%. The predominant respiratory quinone was ubiquinone-10. The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, a sphingoglycolipid, an unidentified glycolipid and an unidentified lipid. The major fatty acids were C 18:1 ω 7 c (31.5 %) and C 18:3 ω 6 c (19.6 %). On the basis of its phylogenomic, physiological and chemotaxonomical characteristics, strain JGD-16 T represents a novel species within the genus Altererythrobacter , for which the name Altererythrobacter lutimaris JGD-16 T sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JGD-16 T (=KCTC 72632 T =KACC 21405 T =JCM 33750 T ). We also propose the reclassification of Altererythrobacter deserti as Tsuneonella deserti comb. nov., Altererythrobacter estronivorus as Croceicoccus estronivorus comb. nov. and Altererythrobacter muriae as Alteripontixanthobacter muriae comb. nov.