The significance of automatic plant identification has already been recognized by academia and industry. There were several attempts to utilize leaves and flowers for identification; however, bark ...also could be beneficial, especially for trees, due to its consistency throughout the seasons and its easy accessibility, even in high crown conditions. Previous studies regarding bark identification have mostly contributed quantitatively to increasing classification accuracy. However, ever since computer vision algorithms surpassed the identification ability of humans, an open question arises as to how machines successfully interpret and unravel the complicated patterns of barks. Here, we trained two convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with distinct architectures using a large-scale bark image dataset and applied class activation mapping (CAM) aggregation to investigate diagnostic keys for identifying each species. CNNs could identify the barks of 42 species with > 90% accuracy, and the overall accuracies showed a small difference between the two models. Diagnostic keys matched with salient shapes, which were also easily recognized by human eyes, and were typified as blisters, horizontal and vertical stripes, lenticels of various shapes, and vertical crevices and clefts. The two models exhibited disparate quality in the diagnostic features: the old and less complex model showed more general and well-matching patterns, while the better-performing model with much deeper layers indicated local patterns less relevant to barks. CNNs were also capable of predicting untrained species by 41.98% and 48.67% within the correct genus and family, respectively. Our methodologies and findings are potentially applicable to identify and visualize crucial traits of other plant organs.
Aim
Despite the growing recognition of the importance of health literacy, there is a lack of knowledge on the longitudinal association between health literacy and frailty. The present study explored ...whether limited health literacy increases the risk of developing pre‐frailty and frailty among older adults.
Methods
Data were drawn from the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study, a nationwide, population‐based prospective cohort study of community‐dwelling older Koreans. A baseline sample of 2808 adults aged 70–84 years was analyzed for the cross‐sectional models, and 2278 participants in the 2‐year follow‐up assessment were included for the longitudinal analyses. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to evaluate the relative risk ratios of pre‐frailty or frailty, where a robust group served as the reference category.
Results
The findings showed that baseline limited health literacy was associated with an approximately 1.4‐fold increased risk of developing pre‐frailty after 2 years, even after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors and health status. However, the longitudinal association between health literacy and frailty was not significant after adjusting for health‐related factors.
Conclusions
Our findings point to the importance of promoting health literacy among older adults, and provide preliminary evidence that can inform the development of tailored public health strategies. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2022; 22: 325–331.
Oral immunotherapy (OIT) has been recommended to reduce parental burden related to strict allergen avoidance and induce desensitization and immune tolerance for patients with long-lasting allergies ...to hen's eggs (HE) or cow's milk (CM). OIT should be monitored by pediatric allergists specializing in OIT and oral food challenge tests to manage allergic reactions. Although a previous history of anaphylaxis or multiple food allergies is not a contraindication to OIT, it is contraindicated if the patient has uncontrolled asthma, a malignancy, active systemic autoimmune disorders, or diseases requiring treatment with beta-blockers. A variety of OIT protocols have been de veloped to ensure better outcomes and safe up-dosing, including adjunctive therapies with biologics. This review provides insight into the practical issues of various immunotherapy options for children with HE or CM allergies.
Vibrio parahaemolyticus, found frequently in oysters, is the most prevalent gastroenteritis-causing pathogen in Korea and in several other Asian countries. This study monitored changes in the ...environmental parameters and occurrence of V. parahaemolyticus in oyster aquaculture sites. Of the 44 presumed V. parahaemolyticus isolates obtained, when tested against 16 antibiotics, 90.9, 86.4, and 75.0% of the 44 isolates exhibited resistance to vancomycin, ampicillin, and streptomycin, respectively. PCR analysis for the presence of the toxR gene confirmed 31 of the 44 isolates as being positive V. parahaemolyticus strains. The toxR positive isolates were tested for the presence of thermostable direct hemolysin (tdh) and tdh-related hemolysin (trh) virulence genes. Only 9.1% toxR positive isolate exhibit the trh gene and none of the isolates were tested positive for tdh. The occurrence of multi drug resistance strains in the environment could be an indication of excessive usage of antibiotics in agriculture and aquaculture fields.
•V. parahaemolyticus was detected in 44 (37.6%) out of the 117 isolates examined.•The MAR value of almost half of the isolates was 0.31 or less.•The 31 (70.5%) of 44 samples were PCR-positive for V. parahaemolyticus.•Only 4 (9.1%) were positive for the trh virulence gene.•The monitoring of the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in vibrios is necessary.
Abstract Objective We doubly coated Lactobacillus plantarum KCTC3928 with proteins and polysaccharide compounds to enhance its acid and bile resistance. The present study investigated the ...hypocholesterolemic effects of double-coated L. plantarum KCTC3928 in C57BL/6 mice fed a high-fat diet. The effects of live and dead bacteria were compared. Methods Six-week-old C57BL/6 male mice were divided into three groups: the control group was fed no L. plantarum KCTC3928, and the two treatment groups were orally fed live or dead L. plantarum KCTC3928 daily. Plasma and liver cholesterol and lipid levels, fecal bile acid, and gene and protein expressions were measured. Results Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and plasma triacylglycerol levels were significantly lower in the group fed live bacteria, by 42% and 32%, respectively ( P < 0.05), and fecal bile acid excretion was accelerated (+45%). Expression of the low-density lipoprotein receptor and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase were marginally affected by the feeding of coated cells; however, the gene expression and protein levels of CYP7A1 were significantly upregulated after live L. plantarum KCTC3928 feeding (+80% for mRNA and +60% for protein expression). Conclusion Double-coated live L. plantarum KCTC3928 may have hypocholesterolemic effects in mice primarily due to induction of fecal bile acid secretion followed by increased degradation of hepatic cholesterol into bile acids. Studies in humans should confirm the effects in the future.
A 9-week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the optimum dietary level of PROTIDE (PRO), a single-cell protein obtained from the bacteria
Corynebacterium ammoniagenes
, as a substitute for fish ...meal in the diet of whiteleg shrimp
Litopenaeus vannamei
. Five diets were formulated that replaced fish meal at 0% (PRO
0
), 10% (PRO
2
), 20% (PRO
4
), 30% (PRO
6
) and 40% (PRO
8
). Fifty shrimp averaging 0.15 ± 0.02 g (mean ± SD) body weight were randomly distributed between 20 experimental tanks and fed one of the five experimental diets. At the end of the experiment, final weight, weight gain, specific growth rate and feed conversion ratio of shrimp fed PRO
0
and PRO
2
diets were significantly improved compared to those fed PRO
6
and PRO
8
diets (
P
< 0.05). The proximate composition of muscle and the whole body indicated an increase in crude protein content with an increase in dietary PRO level. These results suggest that, for whiteleg shrimp, the optimum dietary level of PRO when used as a replacement for fish meal should be greater than 10% (PRO
2
) but less than 20% (PRO
4
) without any additional dietary amino acid supplementation.
Various microorganisms reside in the human vagina; the vaginal microbiome is closely linked to both vaginal and general health, and for this reason, microbiome studies of the vagina are an area of ...research. In this study, we analyzed the vaginal microbiome of women before and after menopause to further increase our understanding of the vaginal microbiome and its contribution to general health. We did a 16s rRNA gene-based metagenomic analysis on the vaginal fluids of 11 premenopausal and 19 postmenopausal women in Korea. We confirmed that the taxonomic composition was significantly different between the two groups. In postmenopausal women, species richness was significantly decreased, but species diversity was significantly increased. In particular, among the taxonomic components corresponding to all taxon ranks of the vaginal microbiome, a reduction in
taxa after menopause contributed the most to the difference between the two groups. In addition, we confirmed through metabolic analysis that the lactic-acid concentration was also decreased in the vaginal fluid of women after menopause. Our findings on the correlation between menopause and the microbiome could help diagnose menopause and enhance the prevention and treatment diseases related to menopause.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb), the etiological agent of tuberculosis (TB), poses a severe challenge for public health and remains the number one cause of death as a single infectious agent. ...There are 10 million active cases of TB per year with 1.5 million deaths, and 2-3 billion people are estimated to harbor latent M. tb infection. Moreover, the emergence of multi-drug-resistant (MDR), extremely-drug-resistant (XDR), and the recent totally drug-resistant (TDR) M. tb is becoming a global issue that has fueled the need to find new drugs different from existing regimens. In these circumstances, probiotics can be a potential choice, so we focused on developing them as an anti-tuberculosis drug candidate. Here, we report the anti-tubercular activities of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus PMC203 isolated from the vaginal microbiota of healthy women. PMC203 exhibited a promising intracellular killing effect against both drug-sensitive and resistant M. tb infected murine macrophage cell line RAW 264.7 without showing any cytotoxicity. Additionally, it also inhibited the growth of M. tb under broth culture medium. PMC203 did not cause weight change or specific clinical symptoms in a 2-week repeated oral administration toxicity test in a guinea pig model. Here, we also found that PMC203 induces autophagy in a dose dependent manner by increasing the signal of well-known autophagy gene markers, suggesting a possible intracellular killing mechanism.
Many human pathologies, such as malignancy, are linked with specific bacteria and changes in the constituents of the microbiome. In order to examine the association between an imbalance of bacteria ...and prostate carcinoma, a comparison of the microbiomes present in patients with biochemical recurrence (BCR) or NO BCR (NBCR) was performed. Additionally, 16S rRNA-based next-generation sequencing was applied to identify the bacterial profiles within these tumors in terms of the bacteria and operational genes present. The percentage average taxonomic composition between the taxa indicated no difference between BCR and NBCR. In addition, alpha and beta diversity indices presented no distinction between the cohorts in any statistical method. However, taxonomic biomarker discovery indicated a relatively higher population of
in the NBCR group, and this finding was supported by PCR data. Along with that, differences in the operational activity of the bacterial genes were also determined. It is proposed that the biochemical recurrence was linked to the quantity of
present. The aim of this study was to investigate the microbiome involved in prostate carcinoma and the potential association between them.
The effects of fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) on atopic dermatitis (AD) have not been determined.
In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, children with AD aged 24 months to 17 years ...received either advanced FOS containing 4.25 g of 1-kestose or a placebo (maltose) for 12 weeks.
The SCORAD and itching scores were reduced in patients treated with both FOS (all
< 0.01) and maltose (
< 0.05 and
< 0.01). Sleep disturbance was improved only in the FOS group (
< 0.01). The FOS group revealed a decreased proportion of linoleic acid (18:2) esterified omega-hydroxy-ceramides (EOS-CERs) with amide-linked shorter chain fatty acids (C28 and C30, all
< 0.05), along with an increased proportion of EOS-CERs with longer chain fatty acids (C32,
< 0.01).
FOS may be beneficial in alleviating itching and sleep disturbance, as well as improving skin barrier function in children with AD.
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