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To understand the relationship between carbon or nitrogen utilization and iron homeostasis, we performed an iron uptake assay with several deletion mutants with partial defects in carbon or nitrogen metabolism. Among them, some deletion mutants defective in carbon metabolism partially and the MEP2 deletion mutant showed lower iron uptake activity than the wild type. Mep2 is known as a high-affinity ammonia transporter in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Interestingly, we found that nitrogen starvation resulted in lower iron uptake activity than that of wild-type cells without downregulation of the genes involved in the high-affinity iron uptake system FET3/FTR1. However, the gene expression of FRE1 and CTR1 was downregulated by nitrogen starvation. The protein level of Ctr1 was also decreased by nitrogen starvation, and addition of copper to the nitrogen starvation medium partially restored iron uptake activity. However, the expression of MAC1, which is a copper-responsive transcriptional activator, was not downregulated by nitrogen starvation at the transcriptional level but was highly downregulated at the translational level. Mac1 was downregulated dramatically under nitrogen starvation, and treatment with MG132, which is an inhibitor of proteasome-dependent protein degradation, partially attenuated the downregulation of Mac1. Taken together, these results suggest that nitrogen starvation downregulates the high- affinity iron uptake system by degrading Mac1 in a proteasome-dependent manner and eventually downregulates copper metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the reconstruction of two-dimensional (2D) drawing to three-dimensional (3D) object in the U.S. A silhouette-based sketching system was presented as well as a follow-up research focusing on the representation issue for the resulting 3D objects. The input data for 3D reconstruction are a set of hand-drawn strokes that represent the visible parts of the model's 2D silhouette. Several equations, computations, and diagrams showing the reconstruction of 2D drawing to 3D object are also emphasized in the article.

Presents a World Wide Web application that provides more powerful access to and manipulation of clothing to facilitate clothing design, pattern derivation, and sizing. Interactive operations supported by the application; Overview of the system; Databases and online database retrieval application module that comprise the online clothing store Web server.

A rhodamine-derived alkyne shows turn-on fluorescence change only toward Au(I)/Au(III) species among various other metal species examined. A formyloxazole compound is formed as the major product in aqueous media, presumably via a vinylgold intermediate, which casts new mechanistic implications on vinylgold intermediates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The answer to the letter 'Absent regulation of iron acquisition by the copper regulator Mac1 in A. fumigatus' has been prepared. We explained our data and showed supplementary information to answer the questions. And we respect the results of other groups first and explain the differences from our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Stenotrophomonas maltophilia has been increasingly recognized as an opportunistic pathogen associated with high morbidity and mortality. Data on the prognostic factors associated with S. maltophilia pneumonia in patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) are lacking. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of data from 117 patients with S. maltophilia pneumonia admitted to the ICUs of two tertiary referral hospitals in South Korea between January 2011 and December 2022. To assess risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality, multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: The median age of the study population was 71 years. Ventilator-associated pneumonia was 76.1% of cases, and the median length of ICU stay before the first isolation of S. maltophilia was 15 days. The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 82.1%, and factors independently associated with mortality were age (odds ratio [OR], 1.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00–1.09; P=0.046), Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score (OR, 1.21; 95%; CI, 1.02–1.43; P=0.025), corticosteroid use (OR, 4.19; 95% CI, 1.26–13.91; P=0.019), and polymicrobial infection (OR, 95% CI 0.07–0.69). However, the impact of appropriate antibiotic therapy on mortality was insignificant. In a subgroup of patients who received appropriate antibiotic therapy (n=58), antibiotic treatment modality-related variables, including combination or empirical therapy, also showed no significant association with survival. Conclusions: Patients with S. maltophilia pneumonia in ICU have high mortality rates. Older age, higher SOFA score, and corticosteroid use were independently associated with increased in-hospital mortality, whereas polymicrobial infection was associated with lower mortality. The effect of appropriate antibiotic therapy on prognosis was insignificant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although iron and copper are co-ordinately regulated in living cells, the homeostatic effects of each of these metals on the other remain unknown. Here, we show the function of AfMac1, a transcriptional activator of the copper and iron regulons of Aspergillus fumigatus, on the interaction between iron and copper. In addition to the copper-specific AfMac1-binding motif 50-TGTGCTCA-30 found in the promoter region of ctrC, the ironspecific AfMac1-binding motif 50-AT(C/G)NN(A/T)T(A/C)-30 was identified in the iron regulon but not in the copper regulon by ChIP sequence analysis. Furthermore, mutation of the AfMac1-binding motif of sit1 eliminated AfMac1-mediated sit1 up-regulation. Interestingly, the regulation of gene expression in the iron regulon by AfMac1 was not affected by copper and vice versa. AfMac1 localized to the nucleus under iron- or copper-depleted conditions, and AfMac1 was mostly detected in the cytoplasm under iron- or copper-replete conditions. Taken together, these results suggest that A. fumigatus independently regulates iron and copper homeostasis in a manner that involves AfMac1 and mutual interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we describe the need for telemedicine standards and classify various standards of telemedicine. The emerging issues in telecommunications standards, the application of these standards in the health care industry, and future development directions of telemedicine standards are described. Especially, the telemedicine code standardization of drugs and health care providers, multimedia-conferencing-based ISO telemedicine standards, information security management, wireless technology advances for telemedicine using sensor networks, and future standardization issues and considerations are introduced and discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pleurotus eryngii produces various functional molecules that mediate physiological functions in humans. Recently, we observed that P. eryngii produces molecules that have antidepressant functions. An ethanol extract of the fruiting body of P. eryngii was obtained, and the extract was purified by XAD-16 resin using an open column system. The ethanol eluate was separated by HPLC, and the fraction with an antidepressant function was identified. Using LC-MS, the molecular structure of the HPLC fraction with antidepressant function was identified as that of tryptamine, a functional molecule that is a tryptophan derivative. The antidepressant effect was identified from the ethanol extract, XAD-16 column eluate, and HPLC fraction by a serotonin receptor binding assay and a cell-based binding assay. Furthermore, a forced swimming test (FST) showed that the mice treated with purified fractions of P. eryngii exhibited decreased immobility time compared with nontreated mice. From these results, we suggest that the extract of P. eryngii has an antidepressant function and that it may be employed as an antidepressant health supplement. View Full-Text [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]