Pathophysiological background in different phenotypes of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remains to be elucidated. The aim was to investigate the association between fecal and blood ...microbiota profiles and the presence of NAFLD in obese versus lean subjects. Demographic and clinical data were reviewed in 268 health checkup examinees, whose fecal and blood samples were available for microbiota analysis. NAFLD was diagnosed with ultrasonography, and subjects with NAFLD were further categorized as obese (body mass index (BMI) ≥25) or lean (BMI <25). Fecal and blood microbiota communities were analyzed by sequencing of the V3-V4 domains of the 16S rRNA genes. Correlation between microbiota taxa and NAFLD was assessed using zero-inflated Gaussian mixture models, with adjustment of age, sex, and BMI, and Bonferroni correction. The NAFLD group (n = 76) showed a distinct bacterial community with a lower biodiversity and a far distant phylotype compared with the control group (n = 192). In the gut microbiota, the decrease in Desulfovibrionaceae was associated with NAFLD in the lean NAFLD group (log2 coefficient (coeff.) = -2.107, P = 1.60E-18), but not in the obese NAFLD group (log2 coeff. = 1.440, P = 1.36E-04). In the blood microbiota, Succinivibrionaceae showed opposite correlations in the lean (log2 coeff. = -1.349, P = 5.34E-06) and obese NAFLD groups (log2 coeff. = 2.215, P = 0.003). Notably, Leuconostocaceae was associated with the obese NAFLD in the gut (log2 coeff. = -1.168, P = 0.041) and blood (log2 coeff. = -2.250, P = 1.28E-10). In conclusion, fecal and blood microbiota profiles showed different patterns between subjects with obese and lean NAFLD, which might be potential biomarkers to discriminate diverse phenotypes of NAFLD.
Several recent studies showed that next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing is a feasible and promising technique for variant calling of highly polymorphic regions. ...To date, however, no method with sufficient read depth has completely solved the allele phasing issue. In this study, we developed a new method (HLAscan) for HLA genotyping using NGS data.
HLAscan performs alignment of reads to HLA sequences from the international ImMunoGeneTics project/human leukocyte antigen (IMGT/HLA) database. The distribution of aligned reads was used to calculate a score function to determine correctly phased alleles by progressively removing false-positive alleles. Comparative HLA typing tests using public datasets from the 1000 Genomes Project and the International HapMap Project demonstrated that HLAscan could perform HLA typing more accurately than previously reported NGS-based methods such as HLAreporter and PHLAT. In addition, the results of HLA-A, -B, and -DRB1 typing by HLAscan using data generated by NextGen were identical to those obtained using a Sanger sequencing-based method. We also applied HLAscan to a family dataset with various coverage depths generated on the Illumina HiSeq X-TEN platform. HLAscan identified allele types of HLA-A, -B, -C, -DQB1, and -DRB1 with 100% accuracy for sequences at ≥ 90× depth, and the overall accuracy was 96.9%.
HLAscan, an alignment-based program that takes read distribution into account to determine true allele types, outperformed previously developed HLA typing tools. Therefore, HLAscan can be reliably applied for determination of HLA type across the whole-genome, exome, and target sequences.
-Muconic acid (MA) is a valuable C6 dicarboxylic acid platform chemical that is used as a starting material for the production of various valuable polymers and drugs, including adipic acid and ...terephthalic acid. As an alternative to traditional chemical processes, bio-based MA production has progressed to the establishment of de novo MA pathways in several microorganisms, such as
,
,
, and
. Redesign of the metabolic pathway, intermediate flux control, and culture process optimization were all pursued to maximize the microbial MA production yield. Recently, MA production from biomass, such as the aromatic polymer lignin, has also attracted attention from researchers focusing on microbes that are tolerant to aromatic compounds. This paper summarizes recent microbial MA production strategies that involve engineering the metabolic pathway genes as well as the heterologous expression of some foreign genes involved in MA biosynthesis. Microbial MA production will continue to play a vital role in the field of bio-refineries and a feasible way to complement various petrochemical-based chemical processes.
Objectives
The aim of the study was to investigate patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) who visited dental clinics for treatment and to analyse the occurrence of additional ...COVID‐19‐confirmed cases according to the type of dental treatment and use of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Methods
Interviews were conducted in November 2021 via telephone, and written questionnaires were administered to dental hygienists working at the 24 dental clinics selected for the study, visited by patients with COVID‐19. The survey focused on the visit date, the treatment received, whether or not the dental personnel wore PPE while treating the patient, and how the dental clinic and the public health centre with jurisdiction over the clinic responded after the patient's visit.
Results
Additional confirmed cases occurred in two of the 24 dental clinics included. In both cases, scaling was performed, dental personnel did not use a face shield, and patients with COVID‐19 were asymptomatic. In 14 of the 22 dental clinics where additional confirmed cases did not occur, the dental personnel did not use face shields, and in 10 clinics, the dental personnel wore dental masks but not a KF94 mask. Based on these findings, which were obtained before the advent of the omicron variant, COVID‐19 cross‐infection did not appear to be high in dental clinics.
Conclusion
The rate of COVID‐19 cross‐infection before the advent of the omicron variant appeared to be low in dental clinics in Korea. Therefore, patients have no reason to delay necessary dental treatment if dental personnel put effort into wearing PPE.
Here, we report on a qualitative study that examined research information management (RIM) ecosystems on research university campuses from the perspectives of research information (RI) managers and ...librarians. In the study, we identified 21 RIM services offered to researchers, ranging from discovering, storing, and sharing authored content to identifying expertise, recruiting faculty, and ensuring the diversity of committee assignments. In addition, we identified 15 types of RIM service provision and adoption problems, analyzed their activity structures, and connected them to strategies for their resolution. Finally, we report on skills that the study participants reported as being needed in their work. These findings can inform the development of best practice guides for RIM on university campuses. The study also advances the state of the art of RIM research by applying the typology of contradictions from activity theory to categorize the problems of RIM service provision and connect their resolution to theories and findings of prior studies in the literature. In this way, the research expands the theoretical base used to study RIM in general and RIM at research universities in particular.
Cracks have a primary effect on the failure of a structure. Therefore, the development of crack sensors with high accuracy and resolution and cracks detection method are important. In this study, the ...crack sensors were fabricated, and the crack locations were detected with the electrical signal of the crack sensor. First, a metal grid-type micro-crack sensor based on silver was fabricated. The sensor is made with electrohydrodynamics (EHD) inkjet printing technology, which is well known as the next generation of printed electronics technology. Optimal printing conditions were established through experiments, and a grid sensor was obtained. After that, single cracks and multiple cracks were simulated on the sensor, and electrical signals generated from the sensor were measured. The measured electrical signal tracked the location of the cracks in three steps: simple cross-calculation, interpolation, and modified P-SPICE. It was confirmed that cracks could be effectively found and displayed using the method presented in this paper.
Urethane groups formed by reacting phenolic hydroxyl groups with isocyanates are known to be reversible at high temperatures. To investigate the intrinsic self-healing of polyurethane via a ...reversible urethane group, we synthesized vanillyl alcohol (VA)-based polyurethanes. The phenolic hydroxyl group of vanillyl alcohol allows the introduction of a reversible urethane group into the polyurethane backbone. Particularly, we investigated the effects of varying the concentration of reversible urethane groups on the self-healing of the polyurethane, and we proposed a method that improved the mobility of the molecules contributing to the self-healing process. The concentration of reversible urethane groups in the polyurethanes was controlled by varying the vanillyl alcohol content. Increasing the concentration of the reversible urethane group worsened the self-healing property by increasing hydrogen bonding and microphase separation, which consequently decreased the molecular mobility. On the other hand, after formulating a modified chain extender (m-CE), hydrogen bonding and microphase separation decreased, and the mobility (and hence the self-healing efficiency) of the molecules improved. In VA40-10 (40% VA; 10% m-CE) heated to 140 °C, the self-healing efficiency reached 96.5% after 30 min, a 139% improvement over the control polyurethane elastomer (PU). We conclude that the self-healing and mechanical properties of polyurethanes might be tailored for applications by adjusting the vanillyl alcohol content and modifying the chain extender.
Low modulus, compliant systems of sensors, circuits and radios designed to intimately interface with the soft tissues of the human body are of growing interest, due to their emerging applications in ...continuous, clinical-quality health monitors and advanced, bioelectronic therapeutics. Although recent research establishes various materials and mechanics concepts for such technologies, all existing approaches involve simple, two-dimensional (2D) layouts in the constituent micro-components and interconnects. Here we introduce concepts in three-dimensional (3D) architectures that bypass important engineering constraints and performance limitations set by traditional, 2D designs. Specifically, open-mesh, 3D interconnect networks of helical microcoils formed by deterministic compressive buckling establish the basis for systems that can offer exceptional low modulus, elastic mechanics, in compact geometries, with active components and sophisticated levels of functionality. Coupled mechanical and electrical design approaches enable layout optimization, assembly processes and encapsulation schemes to yield 3D configurations that satisfy requirements in demanding, complex systems, such as wireless, skin-compatible electronic sensors.
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