Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are deficient of domestic fossil energy sources and depend significantly on imported fuels. Since the oil shock in the 1970s, all three countries have promoted ...renewable energy as an alternative energy source to improve energy security. Currently, renewable energy is being promoted to build low-carbon economies. This study reviews the development of renewable energy policies and roadmaps. It also examines and compares strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of these countries in the context of advancing renewable energy policies and technologies and expanding domestic renewable energy installations, as well as strategically positioning themselves in the international renewable energy market as exporters of clean energy technologies. Through the SWOT analysis, this paper identifies a capacity for additional renewable energy deployment in these countries and highlights the necessity of increased cooperation between the three countries to strengthen their domestic and regional renewable energy sectors and compete in the global renewable energy market in the post-Fukushima era.
•Japan, South Korea and Taiwan need to develop renewable energy (RE).•These countries have been too conservative to achieve a notable share of RE.•Pro-nuclear energy policies have hindered the RE development in these countries.•The Fukushima disaster made these countries more favorable to RE.•Joint cooperation for R&D and deployment of RE is recommended.
AEBP2 is a zinc finger protein that has been shown to interact with the mammalian Polycomb Repression Complex 2 (PRC2). In the current study, we characterized this unknown protein and tested its ...potential targeting roles for the PRC2. AEBP2 is an evolutionarily well-conserved gene that is found in the animals ranging from flying insects to mammals. The transcription of mammalian AEBP2 is driven by two alternative promoters and produces at least two isoforms of the protein. These isoforms show developmental stage-specific expression patterns: the adult-specific larger form (51 kDa) and the embryo-specific smaller form (32 kDa). The AEBP2 protein binds to a DNA-binding motif with an unusual bipartite structure, CTT(N)15-23cagGCC with lower-case being less critical. A large fraction of AEBP2's target loci also map closely to the known target loci of the PRC2. In fact, many of these loci are co-occupied by the two proteins, AEBP2 and SUZ12. This suggests that AEBP2 is most likely a targeting protein for the mammalian PRC2 complex.
The abuse or misuse of antibiotics has caused the emergence of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) bacteria, rendering most antibiotics ineffective and increasing the mortality rate of patients with ...bacteremia or sepsis. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are proposed to overcome this problem; however, many AMPs have attenuated antimicrobial activities with hemolytic toxicity in blood. Recently, AMPR-11 and its optimized derivative, AMPR-22, were reported to be potential candidates for the treatment of sepsis with a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity and low hemolytic toxicity. Here, we performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to clarify the mechanism of lower hemolytic toxicity and higher efficacy of AMPR-22 at an atomic level. We found four polar residues in AMPR-11 bound to a model mimicking the bacterial inner/outer membranes preferentially over eukaryotic plasma membrane. AMPR-22 whose polar residues were replaced by lysine showed a 2-fold enhanced binding affinity to the bacterial membrane by interacting with bacterial specific lipids (lipid A or cardiolipin) via hydrogen bonds. The MD simulations were confirmed experimentally in models that partially mimic bacteremia conditions in vitro and ex vivo. The present study demonstrates why AMPR-22 showed low hemolytic toxicity and this approach using an MD simulation would be helpful in the development of AMPs.
Objectives
To evaluate the predictability of shear-wave ultrasound elastography (SWE) for thyroid malignancy and to compare the diagnostic performances of SWE and B-mode US.
Methods
Retrospective ...review of 99 patients who underwent SWE before US-guided fine-needle aspiration of thyroid nodules was performed. SWE elasticity indices of the mean (E
mean
), maximum (E
max
), and minimum (E
min
) of nodules were measured. Diagnostic performance of SWE was compared with that of B-mode US.
Results
Among a total of 99 nodules, 21 were papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and 78 were benign. E
mean
, E
max
, and E
min
were significantly higher in PTCs than in benign nodules (
P
< 0.001). Sensitivity and specificity for predicting malignancy were 76.1 %, 64.1 % with E
max
(65 kPa), 61.9 %, 76.1 % with E
min
(53 kPa), and 66.6 %, 71.6 % with E
mean
(62 kPa). Areas under the ROC curves (Az) of SWE values were not significantly different from those of US categories on B-mode US. However, combining E
mean
and E
min
with B-mode US of probably benign lesions improved the specificity (
P
= 0.02, 0.007) for predicting PTC.
Conclusions
The quantitative parameter of SWE was significantly higher in PTC than in benign nodules, and combined use of quantitative SWE and B-mode US provided higher specificity for predicting malignancy.
Key Points
•
Quantitative shear-wave elastography (SWE) helps differentiate benign from malignant nodules
•
SWE and conventional ultrasound have comparable diagnostic performance for predicting thyroid malignancy
•
Combined quantitative SWE and B-mode ultrasound is highly specific for thyroid malignancy
Light-activated, ion-pumping rhodopsins are broadly distributed among many different bacteria and archaea inhabiting the photic zone of aquatic environments. Bacterial proton- or sodium-translocating ...rhodopsins can convert light energy into a chemiosmotic force that can be converted into cellular biochemical energy, and thus represent a widespread alternative form of photoheterotrophy. Here we report that the genome of the marine flavobacterium Nonlabens marinus S1-08 ᵀ encodes three different types of rhodopsins: Nonlabens marinus rhodopsin 1 (NM-R1), Nonlabens marinus rhodopsin 2 (NM-R2), and Nonlabens marinus rhodopsin 3 (NM-R3). Our functional analysis demonstrated that NM-R1 and NM-R2 are light-driven outward-translocating H ⁺ and Na ⁺ pumps, respectively. Functional analyses further revealed that the light-activated NM-R3 rhodopsin pumps Cl ⁻ ions into the cell, representing the first chloride-pumping rhodopsin uncovered in a marine bacterium. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that NM-R3 belongs to a distinct phylogenetic lineage quite distant from archaeal inward Cl ⁻-pumping rhodopsins like halorhodopsin, suggesting that different types of chloride-pumping rhodopsins have evolved independently within marine bacterial lineages. Taken together, our data suggest that similar to haloarchaea, a considerable variety of rhodopsin types with different ion specificities have evolved in marine bacteria, with individual marine strains containing as many as three functionally different rhodopsins.
We aimed to perform the first review of research focusing on written discourse performance in people with acquired neurogenic communication disorders. In studies from 2000 onward, we specifically ...sought to determine: (1) the differences between patient populations and control groups, (2) the differences between different patient populations, (3) longitudinal differences between patient populations, and (4) modality differences between spoken and written discourse performance.
We completed a thorough search on MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane, APAPsycinfo, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. We identified studies that focus on written discourse performance in people with aphasia, primary progressive aphasia, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease.
Nineteen studies were identified from the review of literature, some of which addressed more than one of our review questions. Fifteen studies included a comparison between clinical populations and controls. Six studies compared different characteristics of patient populations. Three studies reported changes over time in progressive disorders. Six studies targeted different modalities of discourse.
Differences in linguistic features by patient populations are not yet clear due to the limited number of studies and different measures and tasks used across the studies. Nevertheless, there is substantial evidence of numerous linguistic features in acquired neurogenic communication disorders that depart from those of healthy controls. Compared to the controls, people with aphasia tend to produce fewer words, and syntactically simpler utterances compared to the controls. People with Alzheimer's disease produce less information content, and this feature increases over time, as reported in longitudinal studies. Our review imparts additional information that written and spoken discourse provide unique insights into the cognitive and linguistic deficits experienced by people with aphasia, Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment and primary progressive aphasia and provide targets for treatment to improve written communication in these groups.
The antioxidant and antiproliferative properties of flesh and peel of mango (
Mangifera indica L.) were investigated. The cytoprotective effect of mango flesh and peel extracts on oxidative damage ...induced by H
2O
2 in a human hepatoma cell line, HepG2, were determined, and the underlying mechanism was examined by a single-cell electrophoresis assay (comet assay). Treatment of HepG2 cell with mango peel extract prior to oxidative stress was found to inhibit DNA damage. The free radical scavenging activities of mango flesh and peel extracts were evaluated by electron spin resonance (ESR). The mango peel extract exhibited stronger free radical scavenging ability on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and alkyl radicals than mango flesh extract, regardless of ripeness. Similarly, peel extract exhibited significant antiproliferative effect against all tested cancer cell lines, compared to that of flesh extract, in a dose-dependent manner. The result also showed that the antiproliferative activity of mango flesh and peel extracts correlated with their phenolic and flavonoid contents. Thus, mango peel, a major by-product obtained during the processing of mango product, exhibited good antioxidant activity and may serve as a potential source of phenolics with anticancer activity.
Solar photovoltaics (PV) deployment is not easy in dense urban areas because there is little space for the installation. Furthermore, tenants have few incentives to install PV panels because they ...frequently relocate, and most PV facilities are nonremovable. To address these factors, this study reports on an innovative model that collectively installed 260 W of mini-PV on the balconies of almost all the households in two high-rise apartment complexes in Seoul, South Korea. This project was unique in that it established energy commons in a community using private space. This study found that economic and social factors significantly influenced community-internal or micro factors, which in turn affected the success of the community energy project. Economic factors such as the expected economic benefit and residents paying no direct installation costs shaped the initial conditions for the commencement of the project. Leadership played a key role by speeding up the process, relieving residents’ concerns and distrust. This study introduced an innovative community energy model that can be referenced by megacities and communities. It provides opportunities for enhancing awareness of energy transition via on-site energy production using renewable energy and allows even communities that have insufficient common space to build energy commons.
► The mechanism of the anticancer activity of the mango peel extract was investigated. ► Both extrinsic and intrinsic pathways participate in the apoptosis of HeLa cells. ► LC–ESI–MS analysis ...revealed that main constituent was quercetin 3-O-galactoside. ► GC–MS analysis revealed a great amount of unsaturated fatty acids in peel extract.
The underlying mechanisms of the anticancer activity of the ethanolic extract of mango peel (EEMP) and its constituents were investigated. EEMP induced death of human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells through apoptosis, as evidenced by the increased cell population in the sub-G1 phase and the appearance of fragmented nuclei. Treatment of the cells with EEMP also downregulated anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 expression, resulting in the proteolytic activation of caspase-3, 7, 8, and 9 and the degradation of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) protein. The major components of mango peel were identified by liquid chromatography–electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Our data suggest that EEMP is an excellent source of quercetin 3-O-galactoside, mangiferin gallate, isomangiferin gallate, quercetin-3-O-arabinopyranoside, and mangiferin along with unsaturated fatty acids oleic acid, linoleic acid, and ethyl linoleate, which may help to prevent cervical cancer and may be a useful agent for the treatment of some other malignancies.
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