The presence of the nucleic acid of the spotted fever group (SPG) and typhus group (TG) rickettsiae was investigated in 200 serum specimens seropositive for SFG rickettsiae by multiplex-nested ...polymerase chain reaction with primers derived from the rickettsial outer membrane protein B gene. The DNA of SFG, TG, or both rickettsiae was amplified in the 24 serum specimens, and sequence analysis showed Rickettsia conorii, R. japonica, and R. felis in the specimens. R. conorii and R. typhi were found in 7 serum specimens, which indicated the possibility of dual infection in these patients. These findings suggest that several kinds of rickettsial diseases, including boutonneuse fever, rickettsialpox, R. felis infection, and Japanese spotted fever, as well as scrub typhus and murine typhus, are occurring in Korea.
A gene (ORF PH1035), annotated to encode an uncharacterized hypothetical protein in
Pyrococcus horikoshii, was first cloned and expressed in
Escherichia coli. The recombinant enzyme was purified to ...homogeneity by Ni–NTA affinity chromatography and its molecular mass was determined to be 49,871
Da by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. When the purified enzyme was reacted with nucleoside diphosphate–glucoses including UDP–glucose as a donor and glucose, rather than glucose-6-phosphate, as an acceptor, it specifically created a free trehalose. The enzyme was also able to partly hydrolyze the trehalose to glucose. The optimum pH was 5.5 and the enzyme was highly stable from pH 6 to 8. The deduced amino acid sequence showed a high homology with that of the glycosyl transferase group 1 (Pfam00534) in the BLAST search. The results suggest that the enzyme is a novel glycosyltransferase catalyzing the synthesis of the trehalose in the archaeon.
This article reviewed our experience with right lobe donor hepatectomy in living donor liver transplantations (LDLT), particularly in the context of preserving donor safety.
From January 2000 to ...August 2005, we performed 206 adult LDLT operations using the right lobe. The donor characteristics, operative findings, postoperative results including the peak values of liver enzymes (aspartate transferase AST, alanine transferase ALT, and bilirubin) and regeneration volumes, as evaluated by computed tomography volumetry, were reviewed at 1 week, as well as 3 and 6 months after surgery. The effects of three risk factors on donor safety were analyzed: age (<55 years, ≥55 years): fatty change in the donor liver (<10%, ≥10%); and remnant volume (<35%, ≥35%).
The liver enzymes and regeneration volumes showed no significant difference according to age, only ALT was significant increased associated with the severity of fatty change (
P < .05). There were significant differences in postoperative AST, ALT, and regeneration volume between the group with <35% and the group with ≥35% remnant liver volume (
P < .05). Upon further analysis with combinations of two out of three risk factors, the group according to remnant volume and fatty change was meaningful. Follow-up data on donor ALT showed a return normal levels and after postoperative 3 months there was regeneration of the remnant liver to more than 70% of the whole liver preoperatively. There was no donor mortality, but postoperative complications were observed in 39 patients (39/206, 18.9%). Biliary complications were encountered in 24 patients: one bile duct injury, 22 bile leakages, and one bile duct stricture. Other complications consisted of pleural effusion (
n = 8), delayed gastric emptying (
n = 6), atelectasis (
n = 1), and hepatic encephalopathy (
n = 1).
In cases of careful donor selection, a right lobectomy can be performed safely with minimal risks when the remnant liver volume exceeds 35% of the total liver volume and shows less than 10% fatty changes.
A composite air electrode consisting of Ketjenblack carbon (KB) supported amorphous manganese oxide (MnOx) nanowires, synthesized via a polyol method, is highly efficient for the oxygen reduction ...reaction (ORR) in a Zn-air battery. The low-cost and highly conductive KB in this composite electrode overcomes the limitations due to low electrical conductivity of MnOx while acting as a supporting matrix for the catalyst. The large surface area of the amorphous MnOx nanowires, together with other microscopic features (e.g., high density of surface defects), potentially offers more active sites for oxygen adsorption, thus significantly enhancing ORR activity. In particular, a Zn-air battery based on this composite air electrode exhibits a peak power density of ∼190 mW/cm2, which is far superior to those based on a commercial air cathode with Mn3O4 catalysts.
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► Both transcript and protein levels of
Bxvap-1 increase in the pine-grown stage of
Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. ► BxVap-1 is found around oesophageal glands and metacorpus in
B. ...xylophilus. ►
Bxvap-1-knockdown nematodes show reduced movement in the pine host. ► BxVap-1 is involved in
B. xylophilus invasion and migration, possibly by suppressing the pine defence mechanism.
The pinewood nematode,
Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, is a destructive pest in several countries including Japan, China and Korea. Of three genes encoding the venom allergen-like protein in
B. xylophilus,
Bxvap-1 showed the highest transcript levels at the pine-grown propagative stage. In addition, western blot and immunohistochemical analyses using anti-BxVap-1 polyclonal antibody verified a specific increase in BxVap-1 expression levels at the pine-grown propagative stage. Using immunohistochemistry, BxVap-1 was detected around the putative oesophageal glands and metacarpus, suggesting that BxVap-1 is secreted into the host pine tree and is involved in the parasitic mechanism. To explain the parasitic role of BxVap-1, we measured the migration rate inside pine seedlings of
B. xylophilus either with or without
Bxvap-1 knockdown by RNA interference.
Bxvap-1 knockdown resulted in a significantly lower migration rate in the >6
cm region compared with the control
B. xylophilus. These results suggest that BxVap-1 is involved in
B. xylophilus migration, perhaps by suppressing the pine tree defence mechanism.
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