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Objectives Various preanalytical factors, including the collection tube, storage conditions, and centrifugation, affect the detection results of plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA). We compared the effect of different centrifugation protocols on the detection of EGFR mutations in cfDNA. Methods We analyzed 117 plasma specimens from 110 patients with non–small cell lung cancer using the cobas EGFR Mutation Test v2 (Roche Diagnostics). We compared the identified EGFR mutations and semiquantitative index values from the 1- and 2-step centrifugation groups and confirmed the clinical impact of differences in the results after further high-speed centrifugation. Results We detected EGFR mutations in 44 (37.6%) and 47 (40.2%) samples that were centrifuged once and twice, respectively; the 2 groups showed an 89.7% (105/117) concordance and a strong correlation in their semiquantitative index values (r = 0.929). Among the 12 inconsistent result pairs, 9 samples of 2-step centrifugation (75%) were consistent with the results of a recent tissue biopsy. Conclusions Additional high-speed centrifugation has been shown to increase the sensitivity of EGFR mutation detection in a commercial in vitro diagnostic real-time polymerase chain reaction device and is an optimal preanalytical factor for detecting low-allele frequency gene mutations using low concentrations of cfDNA.

ObjectivesThis study aimed to analyse if there were any associations between patulous Eustachian tube occurrence and climatic factors and seasonality.MethodsThe correlation between the monthly average number of patients diagnosed with patulous Eustachian tube and climatic factors in Seoul, Korea, from January 2010 to December 2016, was statistically analysed using national data sets.ResultsThe relative risk for patulous Eustachian tube occurrence according to season was significantly higher in summer and autumn, and lower in winter than in spring (relative risk (95 per cent confidence interval): 1.334 (1.267–1.404), 1.219 (1.157–1.285) and 0.889 (0.840–0.941) for summer, autumn and winter, respectively). Temperature, atmospheric pressure and relative humidity had a moderate positive (r = 0.648), negative (r = –0.601) and positive (r = 0.492) correlation with the number of patulous Eustachian tube cases, respectively.ConclusionThe number of patulous Eustachian tube cases was highest in summer and increased in proportion to changes in temperature and humidity, which could be due to physiological changes caused by climatic factors or diet trends.

Aconitum Linnaeus (1753: 532) (Ranunculaceae) consists of about 400 species and is widely distributed in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere (Tamura 1993, Brink & Woods 1997, Li & Kadota 2001, Luo et al. 2005). This genus has been usually divided into three subgenera: A. subg. Aconitum, A. subg. Lycoctonum (Candolle 1817: 367) Petermann (1846: 15), and A. subg. Gymnaconitum (Stapf 1905: 178) Rapaics (1907: 139) (Bisset 1981, Kadota 1987, Li & Kadota 2001, Lim & Park 2001, Wang et al. 2009). Among them, A. subg. Lycoctonum is perennial and rhizomatous and consists of about 40 species (Tamura 1995, Hong et al. 2017). In the Korean Peninsula, eight species and one variety have been reported in this subgenus (Lim et al. 2017, Korea National Arboretum 2017), of which four species, namely A. pseudolaeve Nakai (1935: 139), A. pteropus Nakai (1937: 400), A. puchonroenicum Uyeki & Sakata (1938: 14), and A. quelpaertense Nakai (1935: 145), are endemic to the Korean Peninsula.

This study presents a novel process integration scheme between CO2 mineralization and brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO). The integration is based on the reciprocal nature of these two processes: While CO2 mineralization needs metal ions such as Na+ to convert CO2 into mineral carbonates like sodium bicarbonate, BWRO is designed to reject such ions to produce fresh water. Thus, there is a potential synergy that can be gained through their integration. To examine the feasibility of such process integration, techno-economic analysis (TEA) and CO2 life cycle assessment (LCA) are conducted for various possible configurations of the integrated process. A key requirement for TEA and CO2 LCA is the availability of mass and energy balance data. Therefore, the process is simulated with the commercial simulation software tool of Aspen Plus combined MATLAB. Another requirement is the selection of appropriate evaluation scenarios. Based on a market analysis, the proposed process is assumed to be installed either in the US or in the China to replace a respective conventional benchmark process. Also, two sources of electricity (coal and wind onshore) are considered in the evaluation in order to investigate the sensitivity of the process performance on the type of electricity used. As a result of the analysis, the CO2 avoidance cost of the designed process is calculated to be 132˜245$/metric ton of CO2 with wind-based electricity. Given other advantages of the mineralization over the geological storage, the presented process integration between CO2 mineralization and BWRO deserves further investigation as a means to produce useful chemicals and fresh water while curbing CO2 emission.

Background Current efforts on the optimization of the two-stage cultivation using stress-induced lipid accumulation have mostly focused only on the lipid induction stage. Although recent studies have shown that stress-induced lipid accumulation is affected by the physiological status of the cells harvested at the preceding cultivation stage, this issue has hardly been examined hitherto. Such a study needs to be carried out in a systematic way in order to induce lipid accumulation in a consistent and predictable manner with regard for variances seen at the cultivation stage. Results After a photoautotrophic cultivation of Chlorella sorokiniana HS1 in a modified BG11, harvested cells were re-suspended in the fresh medium, and then NaCl was added as the sole stress inducer with light illumination to induce additional accumulation of lipid. Effects of culture temperature on the lipid accumulation were analyzed by the Kruskal–Wallis test. From the microscopic observation, we had observed a definite increase in lipid body induced by the stress since the cell entered a stationary phase. A multiple linear regression model was developed so as to identify significant parameters to be included for the estimation of lipid induction. As a result, several key parameters at the end of cultivation, such as cell weight, total lipid content, chlorophyll a in a cell, and Fv/Fm, were identified as the important proxy variables for the cell’s physiological status, and the modeling accuracy was achieved by 87.6%. In particular, the variables related to Fv/Fm were shown to have the largest influence, accounting for 65.7% of the total variance, and the Fv/Fm had an optimal point of maximum induction at below its average. Clustering analysis using the K-means algorithm indicated that the algae which are 0.15 pg cell−1 or less in chlorophyll concentration, regardless of other conditions, had achieved high induction results. Conclusion Experimental results showed that it usually achieves high lipid induction after the cells naturally end their division and begin to synthesize lipid. The amount of lipid induction could be estimated by the selected proxy variables, and the estimation method can be adapted according to practical situations such as those with limited measurements.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, CNPq: PQ-2017#305529/2017-0 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG: MA 1876/12-1 Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung: 88881.136091/2017-01 RVO-VFN64165, 26/203.214/2017 2018.070.1 Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro, AIRC: IG2015, 17593 Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, CAPES Cancer Australia: PdCCRS1128727 Cancerfonden Barncancerfonden VetenskapsrÃ¥det, VR Crafoordska Stiftelsen Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse Lund University Medical Faculty Foundation Xiamen University, XMU 2014S06 17-74-30019 C7838/A15733 Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, SNSF: 31003A_140913 CNIB Institut National Du Cancer, INCa R01 NCI CA167824 National Institutes of Health, NIH: S10OD018522 2016/2017, 02R/2016 AU 525/1-1 Deutschen Konsortium für Translationale Krebsforschung, DKTK 70112951 Smithsonian Institution, SI Israel Science Foundation, ISF Austrian Science Fund, FWF: W1212 SFB-F06107, SFB-F06105 Acknowledgements BAL received a fellowship provided by CAPES and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (#88881.136091/2017-01). ME is supported by CNPq (PQ-2017#305529/2017-0) and FAPERJ-JCNE (#26/203.214/2017) research scholarships, and ZZ by grant RVO-VFN64165. GC is supported by the AIRC Investigator grant IG2015 grant no. 17593 and RS by Cancer Australia grant PdCCRS1128727. This work was supported by grants to RM from the “Georg und Franziska Speyer’sche Hochsschulstiftung”, the “Wilhelm Sander foundation” (grant 2018.070.1) and DFG grant MA 1876/12-1. Acknowledgements This work was supported by The Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation, The Swedish Cancer Society, The Swedish Research Council, The Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, BioCARE, The Crafoord Foundation, The Per-Eric and Ulla Schyberg Foundation, The Nilsson-Ehle Donations, The Wiberg Foundation, and Governmental Funding of Clinical Research within the National Health Service. Work performed at the Center for Translational Genomics, Lund University has been funded by Medical Faculty Lund University, Region Skåne and Science for Life Laboratory, Sweden. Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Fujian Provincial Natural Science Foundation 2016S016 China and Putian city Natural Science Foundation 2014S06(2), Fujian Province, China. Alexey Ste-panov and Alexander Gabibov were supported by Russian Scientific Foundation project No. 17-74-30019. Jinqi Huang was supported by a doctoral fellowship from Xiamen University, China. Acknowledgments This work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant 31003A_140913; OH) and the Cancer Research UK Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre Network, Cardiff ECMCI, grant C7838/A15733. We thank N. Carpino for the Sts-1/2 double-KO mice. Acknowledgements This work was supported by the French National Cancer Institute (INCA) and the Fondation Française pour la Recherche contre le Myélome et les Gammapathies (FFMRG), the Intergroupe Francophone du Myélome (IFM), NCI R01 NCI CA167824 and a generous donation from Matthew Bell. This work was supported in part through the computational resources and staff expertise provided by Scientific Computing at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Research reported in this paper was supported by the Office of Research Infrastructure of the National Institutes of Health under award number S10OD018522. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The authors thank the Association des Malades du Myélome Multiple (AF3M) for their continued support and participation. Where authors are identified as personnel of the International Agency for Research on Cancer / World Health Organization, the authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this article and they do not necessarily represent the decisions, policy or views of the International Agency for Research on Cancer / World Health Organization. We are indebted to all members of our groups for useful discussions and for their critical reading of the manuscript. Special thanks go to Silke Furlan, Friederike Opitz and Bianca Killing. F.A. is supported by the Deutsche For-schungsgemeinschaft (DFG, AU 525/1-1). J.H. has been supported by the German Children’s Cancer Foundation (Translational Oncology Program 70112951), the German Carreras Foundation (DJCLS 02R/2016), Kinderkrebsstiftung (2016/2017) and ERA PerMed GEPARD. Support by Israel Science Foundation, ERA-NET and Science Ministry (SI). A. B. is supported by the German Consortium of Translational Cancer Research, DKTK. We are grateful to the Jülich Supercomputing Centre at the Forschungszemtrum Jülich for granting computing time on the supercomputer JURECA (NIC project ID HKF7) and to the “Zentrum für Informations-und Medientechnologie” (ZIM) at the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf for providing computational support to H. G. The study was performed in the framework of COST action CA16223 “LEGEND”. Funding The work was supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF grant SFB-F06105 to RM and SFB-F06107 to VS and FWF grant W1212 to VS.

The need for on-device real-time Deep Learning inference is increasing as deep learning on edge devices such as smartphones and robots are becoming popular. Although hardware acceleration on NPU is attracting more attention, the recent mobile GPUs are fast enough to provide the potential to achieve real-time inference of many CNNs. In this paper, we first analyze the inference time of the widely used CNNs on the recent mobile GPUs and reveal that significant overhead exists for the GPU kernel launches. Then, we identify various factors that cause the kernel launch overhead, from which we formulate a performance model that can predict the optimal period for the kernel flush that can lead to the minimal overhead. Our experimental results show that we could achieve up to 64% and 31% of speedups in the inference of various CNNs with TensorFlow Lite and ARM Compute Library on Adreno 650 GPU and Mali G76 GPU.

There is growing attention given to gene flow between crops and the wild relatives as global landscapes have been rapidly converted into agricultural farm fields over the past century. Crop-to-wild introgression may advance the extinction risks of rare plants through demographic swamping and/or genetic swamping. Malus sieversii, the progenitor of the apple, is exclusively distributed along the Tien Shan mountains. Habitat fragmentation and hybridization between M. sieversii and the cultivated apples have been proposed to be the causal mechanism of the accelerated extinction risk. We examined the genetic diversity pattern of eleven wild and domesticated apple populations and assessed the gene flow between M. sieversii and the cultivated apples in Kazakhstan using thirteen nuclear microsatellite loci. On average, apple populations harbored fairly high within-population diversity, whereas population divergences were very low suggesting likely influence of human-mediated dispersal. Assignment results showed a split pattern between the cultivated and wild apples and frequent admixture among the apple populations. Coupled with the inflated contemporary migration rates, the admixture pattern might be the signature of increased human intervention within the recent past. Our study highlighted the prevalent crop to wild gene flow of apples occurring in Kazakhstan, proposing an accelerated risk of genetic swamping.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has higher loco-regional recurrence and visceral metastasis compared to other breast cancer subtypes; however, little is known about the molecular pathogenesis of TNBC. Therefore, we compared the mutation profiles of early TNBC with those of hormone receptor-positive (HR+) and/or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) breast cancer using a customized next-generation sequencing capture panel. DNA was obtained from the primary tumor tissues of 34 patients diagnosed with pT2N0-1M0 HR+/HER2- breast cancer or TNBC. Using SureSelectXT kit (Agilent), next-generation sequencing for 48 breast cancer-associated genes was performed on HiSeq platform (Illumina) with germline confirmation. Also, plasma was collected from 24 patients before surgery, cell-free nucleic acids were extracted, and performed therascreen PIK3CA RGQ PCR assay. Significant mutations were found in TP53, PIK3CA, AR, BRCA1, PTEN, BRCA2, BRIP2, KIT, MET, AKT1, ALK, BARD1, BRAF, CD274, ERBB2, FGFR1, IDH2, NOTCH1, RET, and STK11 (in descending order of occurrence). TP53 mutations were identified in the TNBC group more frequently than in the HR+/HER2- group (P = 0.003). The presence of TP53 mutations was associated with a higher tumor grade (P = 0.008), p53 positivity (P0.0001), and a higher Ki-67 index (P = 0.004). PIK3CA was the most frequently mutated gene in HR+/HER2- breast cancer (8/22, 36.4%), but not in TNBC (1/12, 8.3%). The TP53 mutation is associated with higher tumor grade and Ki-67 expression in both groups, and with larger tumor size in TNBC, but not in HR+/HER2- breast cancer. In the foundation of TP53 mutation, concomitant mutation numbers are proportional to tumor size, reflecting clonal progression.

BackgroundTriple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has higher loco-regional recurrence and visceral metastasis compared to other breast cancer subtypes; however, little is known about the molecular pathogenesis and therapeutic targets of TNBC. Therefore, we compared the mutation profiles of early TNBC with those of hormone receptor-positive (HR+)/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2) breast cancer using a customized next-generation sequencing capture panel.MethodsDNA was obtained from the primary tumor tissues of 34 patients diagnosed with pT2N0-1M0 HR+/HER2 breast cancer or TNBC. To enrich the 48 breast cancer-associated genes, 21,192 probes were designed using the SureSelect design tool. After library preparation using the SureSelect XT kit (Agilent), paired-end DNA sequencing was performed on a HiSeq platform (Illumina). The mean depth of the target regions was 1,766 (×). The subsequent output containing genetic variation was analyzed using a pipeline of bioinformatics tools. Significant mutations with allele frequencies of more than 30% were checked for their germline counterparts in the peripheral blood. Circulating cell-free nucleic acids were extracted and analyzed with a therascreen® PIK3CA RGQ PCR kit (QIAGEN).ResultsSignificant mutations were found in TP53, PIK3CA, AR, BRCA1, PTEN, BRCA2, BRIP2, KIT, MET, AKT1, ALK, BARD1, BRAF, CD274, ERBB2, FGFR1, IDH2, NOTCH1, RET, and STK11 (in descending order of occurrence). TP53 mutations were identified in the TNBC group more frequently than in the HR+/HER2 group (p=0.003). The presence of TP53 mutations was associated with a higher tumor grade (p=0.008), p53 positivity (pp=0.004). PIK3CA was the most frequently mutated gene in HR+/HER2 breast cancer (8/22, 36.4%), but not in TNBC (1/12, 8.3%). However, circulating cell-free PIK3CA mutations were not detected in either group. ConclusionsThe TP53 mutation is associated with higher tumor grade and Ki-67 expression in both groups, and with larger tumor size in TNBC, but not in HR+/HER2– breast cancer. In the foundation of TP53 mutation, concomitant mutation numbers are proportional to tumor size, reflecting clonal progression. Breast cancer-associated mutations such as those in TP53 and PIK3CA have different biological implications for the proliferation and clonal diversification of these two distinct groups of breast cancer.

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Liparis yongnoana was determined and analyzed in this study. The chloroplast genome size is 153,165 bp in length with 36.9% GC content. It comprises a large single-copy region (LSC) of 83,690 bp, a small single copy region (SSC) of 17,661 bp, and a pair of inverted repeat regions (IRa and IRb) of 25,907 bp separated by the SSC. The genome contains 132 genes, including 86 protein-coding, eight ribosomal RNA, and 38 transfer RNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis inferred from 16 Orchidaceae chloroplast genomes suggested that L. yongnoana was closely related to L. loeselii.

There is growing attention given to gene flow between crops and the wild relatives as global landscapes have been rapidly converted into agricultural farm fields over the past century. Crop-to-wild introgression may advance the extinction risks of rare plants through demographic swamping and/or genetic swamping. Malus sieversii, the progenitor of the apple, is exclusively distributed along the Tien Shan mountains. Habitat fragmentation and hybridization between M. sieversii and the cultivated apples have been proposed to be the causal mechanism of the accelerated extinction risk. We examined the genetic diversity pattern of eleven wild and domesticated apple populations and assessed the gene flow between M. sieversii and the cultivated apples in Kazakhstan using thirteen nuclear microsatellite loci. On average, apple populations harbored fairly high within-population diversity, whereas population divergences were very low suggesting likely influence of human-mediated dispersal. Assignment results showed a split pattern between the cultivated and wild apples and frequent admixture among the apple populations. Coupled with the inflated contemporary migration rates, the admixture pattern might be the signature of increased human intervention within the recent past. Our study highlighted the prevalent crop to wild gene flow of apples occurring in Kazakhstan, proposing an accelerated risk of genetic swamping.

Formate is a promising environmentally friendly and sustainable feedstock synthesized from syngas or carbon dioxide. Methylorubrum extorquens is a type II methylotroph that can use formate as a carbon source. It accumulates polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) inside the cell, mainly producing poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), a degradable biopolymer. Owing to its high melting point and stiff nature, however, mechanical property improvement is warranted in the form of copolymerization. To produce the PHA copolymer, poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), the endogenous gene phaC was deleted and the pathway genes bktB, phaJ1, and phaC2, with broader substrate specificities, were heterologously expressed. To improve the incorporation of 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV), the expression level of bktB was improved by untranslated region (UTR) engineering, and the endogenous gene phaA was deleted. The engineered M. extorquens produced PHBV with 8.9% 3HV using formate as the sole carbon source. In addition, when propionate and butyrate were supplemented, PHBVs with 3HV portions of up to 70.6% were produced. This study shows that a PHBV copolymer with a high proportion of 3HV can be synthesized using formate, a C1 carbon source, through metabolic engineering and supplementation with short-chain fatty acids.

Paired box (PAX) 2, encoded on chromosome 10 in humans, plays a key role in kidney development. The first 3 exons of the gene are highly conserved among species.

Clematis, a widely distributed genus in Ranunculaceae, is one of the most difficult groups of taxa in the family from a taxonomic point of view. A comprehensive study on achene morphology and the anatomy of 19 taxa of Clematis from Korea was carried out using scanning electron and light microscopy to evaluate the taxonomic significance of achene characters. Clematis achenes are elliptical, obovate or fusiform in shape, light yellow or brown to black in color and completely or sparsely covered with hairs. The permanent style is elongated and plumose in all the studied taxa except C. brachyura. We found that the size, indument, permanent style, surface sculpture, shape in cross-section, and nature and thickness of the exocarp, and endocarp were valuable achene features for species delimitation and may contribute to the unraveling of the taxonomic problems in the genus Clematis. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that the quantitative achene variables among the species were highly significant (p &lt, 0.001). Principal component analyses based on seven quantitative characters and UPGMA (unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic mean) analysis based on seven quantitative and 18 qualitative characters also signify the utility of achene features for taxonomic discriminations of the Clematis taxa within the genus. Similar to other morphological characters in the genus Clematis, achene morphological and anatomical characters with the limited taxonomic value alone cannot be expected to resolve the infrageneric relationships but certain achene features combined with other morphological features could be useful as an alternative means of determining the infrageneric relationships within the genus.

Clematis, a widely distributed genus in Ranunculaceae, is one of the most difficult groups of taxa in the family from a taxonomic point of view. A comprehensive study on achene morphology and the anatomy of 19 taxa of Clematis from Korea was carried out using scanning electron and light microscopy to evaluate the taxonomic significance of achene characters. Clematis achenes are elliptical, obovate or fusiform in shape, light yellow or brown to black in color and completely or sparsely covered with hairs. The permanent style is elongated and plumose in all the studied taxa except C. brachyura. We found that the size, indument, permanent style, surface sculpture, shape in cross-section, and nature and thickness of the exocarp, and endocarp were valuable achene features for species delimitation and may contribute to the unraveling of the taxonomic problems in the genus Clematis. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that the quantitative achene variables among the species were highly significant (p < 0.001). Principal component analyses based on seven quantitative characters and UPGMA (unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic mean) analysis based on seven quantitative and 18 qualitative characters also signify the utility of achene features for taxonomic discriminations of the Clematis taxa within the genus. Similar to other morphological characters in the genus Clematis, achene morphological and anatomical characters with the limited taxonomic value alone cannot be expected to resolve the infrageneric relationships but certain achene features combined with other morphological features could be useful as an alternative means of determining the infrageneric relationships within the genus.

ObjectivePatulous Eustachian tube appears to be caused by a concave defect in the anterolateral wall of the tubal valve of the Eustachian tube. This study aimed to compare the clinical features of patulous Eustachian tube patients with or without a defect in the anterolateral wall of the tubal valve.MethodsSixty-six patients with a patulous Eustachian tube completed a questionnaire, which was evaluated alongside endoscopic findings of the tympanic membrane, nasal cavity and Eustachian tube orifice.ResultsFemales were more frequently diagnosed with a patulous Eustachian tube, but the valve defect was more common in males (p = 0.007). The ratio of patulous Eustachian tube patients with or without defects in the anterolateral wall of the tubal valve was 1.6:1. Weight loss in the previous six months and being refractory to conservative management were significantly associated with the defect (p = 0.035 and 0.037, respectively). Symptom severity was significantly higher in patients with the defect.ConclusionPatulous Eustachian tube patients without a defect in the anterolateral wall of the tubal valve can be non-surgically treated more often than those with the defect. Identification of the defect could assist in making treatment decisions for patulous Eustachian tube patients.

Coffin-Siris Syndrome (CSS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by intellectual disability, coarse facial features, hypoplastic digits/nails, and hypertrichosis. The genes causative of CSS mainly encode the SWI/SNF complex, which contributes to chromatin remodeling and regulates the access of transcriptional factors to specific gene sites. While

BACKGROUND Elevated whole blood viscosity (WBV) is associated with increasing blood flow resistance in the microcirculation and is used to predict the occurrence and outcome of cardiovascular diseases. OBJECTIVE We evaluated the analytical performance of the ZL 6000i (Zonci Technology, Beijing, China), new fully automated cone-plate rotational type viscometer. METHODS We collected blood samples from 287 adults to establish a reference range. We evaluated total precision for 20 days using quality control (QC) samples and within-run precision was evaluated by performing 50 consecutive measurements of blood samples. Aliquots of blood samples were stored at room temperature and 5°C to assess the effect of storage time and temperature on viscosity measurement. RESULTS The reference ranges and median values of WBV were significantly higher in males than in females due to difference in hematocrit level. The coefficients of variation (CVs) for precision using QC and human blood samples were

Comparative wood anatomy of Viburnum was carried out to understand the differences in wood features amongst the species which might be useful for taxonomic discrimination in the genus. Altogether, nine taxa belonging to five clades were investigated using a sliding microtome and light microscopy. The growth rings are well represented and earlywood and latewood are distinguishable in cross-section. Some of the important wood features include angular, oval and rounded vessels with scalariform perforation plates, opposite to scalariform inter-vessel pitting, rounded pits with slit-like apertures, thick-walled xylem tracheids with simple, rounded bordered pits, diffuse axial parenchyma, uni- and multiseriate rays, 2–4 cells wide. In general, there is a remarkable uniformity in the qualitative wood features in Viburnum species, although quantitative measurement showed some disparities. The most significant quantitative wood variables which might be useful for taxonomic groupings of the species comprise a frequency of vessels and rays, the diameter of the vessels and tracheids in the radial and tangential planes and height and width of rays in the tangential plane.

The drain pipe of the steam generators in nuclear power plants is designed to remove the remaining reactor coolant when the nuclear power plant stops. In the normal electricity generating condition of the nuclear power plant, the drain pipe acts as the pressure boundary between the primary coolant system and outside, which forbids the radioactive coolant to be leaked. Therefore, it is important to assure the structural integrity of the drain pipe, which is closely related with the vibration characteristics of the drain pipe. In this paper, the vibration characteristics of the previous and newly designed drain pipes are investigated by simulation and measurement with the shaking table test. The purpose of the new design was to suppress the excessive vibration in the interested low and high frequency ranges, which were observed in the power uprating of plants. From the measured results, in y direction, the first three modal frequencies are increased by 5, 18, and 50 Hz in the low frequency region, and the higher order modes are excluded in the interested high frequency region with the adoption of the new design. Further design modification is required to reduce the high frequency vibration in x direction with other approaches. In general, it is expected from the result that the newly designed drain pipe is more robust to the existing vibration compared with the previous one.

The function and mechanism of action of MLL-TET1 (MT1) fusion protein in hematological cells are unclear and require further investigation. In the present study, we found that the MT1 fusion protein attenuated the expression of Cebpa, Csf1r, and Cd11b and inhibited the differentiation of myeloid progenitor cells. Increased binding of the MT1 fusion protein to the Trib2 promoter upregulated Trib2 mRNA and protein expression and downregulated Cebpa expression. Trib2 knockdown relieved the inhibition of myeloid cell differentiation induced by the MT1 fusion protein. Thus, TRIB2 is important for the survival of leukemia cells during MT1-related leukemogenesis and is important in maintaining differentiation blockade of leukemic cells. KEY MESSAGES: • MLL-TET1 fusion decreases the 5-hmC levels in the myeloid progenitor cells. • MLL-TET1 fusion inhibits myeloid differentiation through decreased expression of Cebpa. • MLL-TET1 fusion blocks the differentiation of the myeloid progenitor cells by overexpressing Trib2. • Knockdown of Trib2 in MLL-TET1 transduced cells induces myeloid differentiation.

An investigation on the habitation of Callipogonrelictus Semenov, 1899 in Gwangneung forest was carried out, where the Korea National Arboretum is located. In an investigation spanning the last eleven years (2007–2017), 22 emergence holes, nine pupal chambers, six adults, and two larvae of C.relictus were identified. In this study, biological information about habitation of C.relictus is provided by comparing and combining the results of this investigation with a survey conducted in Ussurisky Nature Reserve, Russia, in 2015. The distribution is also reviewed to include the Korean Peninsula and a new location of South Korea is added to the distribution for C.relictus.

CO2 mineralization sequestrates CO2 in a form of mineral carbonate through chemical reactions of CO2 with metal oxide or alkaline solution. This process is attractive because it has no risk for a leakage of hazardous materials and requires a relatively small area for sequestrating CO2 compared to geological storage. In addition, generated mineral carbonate can be used as useful chemicals if its purity is high enough. One of the recent ideas in CO2 mineralization is integrating it with desalination. Mineral ions needed for the CO2 mineralization are separated from seawater, and generated deionized seawater is used as a feed to a desalination process, such as reverse osmosis (RO), to reduce its electric energy load. The goal of this study is to design the proposed process and examine its sustainability. The overall process is designed and simulated using Aspen plus® and Matlab. Based on the simulation results, techno-economic analysis (TEA) and CO2 lifecycle assessment (CO2 LCA) are conducted to verify the sustainability. In order to identify the improvement potential of the process, a best scenario study is performed. It turns out that this process can achieve about 230tonne CO2 reduction/yr as well as relative economic benefit of almost 1million $/yr compared to a benchmark process which comprises the standalone Solvay process and RO. From the best scenario result, it can be concluded that the proposed process has the potential for further investigation as means to reduce the CO2 emission while generating economic benefits.

A new white-flowered species of Gagea is described from the Sary-Chelek Nature Reserve (Chatkal Range, Kyrgyzstan), which grows at a relatively low elevation in shallow shady niches on gorge walls formed by conglomerates. In its habit and flower color, this species resembles G. delicatula but differs from the latter mainly in the number and location of bulbils in generative and vegetative individuals. Keywords: Chatkal Range, Gagea Salisb., Liliaceae, Sary-Chelek Reserve, Western Tian Shan

The immune-acquired responses after vaccination vary depending on the type of vaccine and the individual. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the acquisition of immunity and the side effects, health status, and lifestyle after completion of the second dose of AZD1222. Blood samples were collected after a second dose of AZD1222. The Euroimmun Anti-SARS-CoV-2 ELISA (IgG) for anti-S1 antibody, the cPASS SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody detection kit for the surrogate virus neutralization test, and the T-spot Discovery SARS-CoV-2 kit were used to identify cellular immunogenicity. Patient experience of adverse effects was investigated using questionnaires. Information on health status and lifestyle were collected from the most recent health checkup data. Generally, females experience more reactogenicity in both intensity and duration. The rash of the first shot and chills of the second shot were associated with humoral immunity. However, comprehensive adverse effects had no correlation with humoral and cellular immunity. The T-spot-positive group had a higher creatinine level, which reflects muscle mass, than the T-spot-negative group. Males presented a higher level of T-spot assays. Body mass index and age were negatively correlated with the T-spot assay and anti-S1 antibody, respectively. Immune acquisition after the second AZD1222 shot was not associated with reactogenicity. However, individuals’ sex, age, and BMI were found to be associated with immunogenicity after vaccination.

Gymnopilus junonius, a well-known poisonous mushroom, is distributed worldwide. It contains a hallucinogenic alkaloid psilocybin and several other bioactive compounds. The mitochondrial genome, a circular DNA molecule of 161,145 bp, comprises 15 protein-coding genes, 24 transfer RNA genes, and 2 ribosomal RNA genes. The guanine-cytosine content was 31.56%. Based on the mitochondrial genome sequence, a phylogenetic tree was constructed to demonstrate the phylogenetic relationship. In this study, the phylogenetic positions of G. junonius and its related genera were determined.

For the seasonal changes of fungi (Ascomycota and Basidiomycota) diversity, we performed a biweekly survey of macrofungi on defined plot in a Korean red pine (Pinus densiflora) stand (Gwangneung Forest, Pochen-si, Korea) from April 2014 to December 2014. The plot was surveyed 18 times. We also investigated the diversity of the soil fungi community during four seasons using pyrosequencing method. The collected macrofungi (25 specimens) were classified into one phylum, one class, four orders, 10 families, 13 genera, and 17 species; the soil fungal communities were classified into two phyla, 15 classes, 43 orders, 91 families, and 124 genera (49,937 sequence reads), designated as 124 genus-level operational taxonomic units. Using macrofungal collection data, environmental factor data (n = 10), and pyrosequencing data, we evaluated changes in fungal diversity with seasons and soil layers. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination revealed distinct clusters of genus-level operational taxonomic units assemblage with season. Two environmental factors (exchangeable K and C/N ratio) were found to be significantly associated with soil fungi communities in the Korean red pine stand. This study will lead to a better understanding of relationships between Korean red pine stand stands and soil fungal communities. Keywords: diversity, environmental factors, macrofungi, pyrosequencing, soil layers

The taxonomic usefulness of selected marker compounds was investigated by analyzing the chemotaxonomy of 25 taxa in the Korean Campanulaceae. Our data permit discrimination of the source plants of crude drugs listed in the Korean Pharmacopoeia and the Korean Herbal Pharmacopoeia. Chemotaxonomic analysis methods were validated, and quantitative measurements of six marker compounds were made using HPLC. Marker compound similarities among taxa were identified through multivariate statistical analyses (principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis). The chemical analysis method was validated with regard to linearity, lower limit of detection, lower limit of quantitation, precision, accuracy, and recovery. The analysis revealed differences in the marker compound composition of each genus. Eight genera comprising Adenophora, Codonopsis, Asyneuma, Campanula, Hanabusaya, Platycodon, Wahlenbergia, and Peracarpa clustered according to the chemical classification. The results indicated that the six marker compounds used in this analysis were useful in identifying Korean Campanulaceae. These marker compound data were able to successfully discriminate among the three species that are sold as the crude drug Adenophorae Radix.

High performance colloidal quantum dot (CQD) solar cells were developed by modifying ZnO electron accepting layers (EALs) using self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of highly polar molecules. A high molecular dipole moment of −10.07D was achieved by conjugating a strong electron donor, julolidine, to an electron acceptor, a cyanoacetic acid unit, through a thiophene moiety. The energetic properties of ZnO EALs were manipulated with respect to the dipole moment of the modifying molecules. The built-in potential (Vbi) and internal electric field (Eint) of CQD solar cells could thereby be tuned. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the SAM modified devices was improved from 3.7% to 12.9% relative to the unmodified devices as a function of molecular dipole moments (from −5.13D to −10.07D). All figures-of-merit of solar cells were improved simultaneously by SAM modification due to enhanced Vbi, Eint, and charge collection efficiency. The PCE of the highly polar molecule modified devices reached 10.89% with a VOC of 0.689 V, whereas that of the unmodified devices was 9.65% with a VOC of 0.659 V. Notably, the remarkably low energy loss of 0.433 eV is achieved in the SAM modified devices.

High-efficiency colloidal quantum dot (CQD)/organic hybrid tandem photovoltaic devices (HT-PVs) are developed through a low-temperature solution process. PbS-CQDs and blends of PTB7-Th/PC71BM are used as the active materials for front- and back-cells, respectively. The effective series connection of the two heterogeneous sub-cells is successfully achieved using MoOx/Au/ZnO-based intermediate recombination layers (IMLs). By fine-tuning the current densities in the sub-cells and optimizing the IMLs by balancing the optical and electrical properties, HT-PVs with power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.27% (VOC of 1.27 V, JSC of 10.36 mA cm−2, and FF of 0.63) are achieved. Furthermore, the fabrication of HT-PVs is achievable in ambient atmospheric conditions without thermal annealing that have comparable PCE (7.64%). The PCEs exhibited by these HT-PVs are thus far the highest values reported for CQD-based tandem photovoltaic devices.

We demonstrate the possibility of irradiating sol–gel ZnO with an electron beam (EB-ZnO) to modify sol–gel ZnO, and EB-ZnO is explored as a cathode interfacial layer for inverted polymer solar cells. We investigate the effect of EB-ZnO on the surface, optical and electric properties of sol–gel ZnO films through morphology, chemical composition, optical band gap shift, various defect excitations (photoluminescence) and work function measurement. Oxygen vacancies and the formation of nitrogen on the surface of EB-ZnO films contribute to the formation of n-type degenerated EB-ZnO films. The electric properties of EB-ZnO strongly depend on the adsorbed dose, and EB-ZnO with a suitable dose of 100 kGy improved the power conversion efficiency of inverted polymer solar cells based on PTB7-Th: PC71BM from 8.05% for non-treated sol–gel ZnO to 9.36% for EB-ZnO with an enhanced fill factor.

Iris loczyi is a perennial rhizomatous herb distributed in Central Asia. We examined genomic architecture of the complete chloroplast genome in I. loczyi by assembling the Illumina MiSeq reads using de novo strategy. The chloroplast genome is 150,940 bp in length harboring 79 protein-coding genes, 30 tRNA genes, and four rRNA genes. It exhibits typical quadripartite structure comprising LSC (80,907 bp), SSC (17,853 bp), and a pair of IRs (26,090 bp). Phylogenetic analysis of 20 chloroplast genomes from Asparagales revealed that Iridaceae is a monophyletic group and the I. loczyi is clustered together with the congener, I. sanguinea.

We report a complete chloroplast genome sequence of Malus sieversii. The CP genome was 160,223 bp in length with a typical quadripartite structure. Length of large single-copy (LSC) was 88,334 bp, ...

Genus Eumasia Chrétien in Psychidae was newly recognized from Korea with an unrecorded species, E. muscella Saigusa and Sugimoto. Larva and male genitalia of the species were described, and DNA barcode for precise identification of the species was also provided. Keywords: Bagworms, Eumasia, Eumasiinae, Korea, Psychidae

Drug induced lichen planus like eruption is an uncommon cutaneous adverse effect of several drugs. This appears symmetric eruption of erythematous or violaceous plaques resembling lichen planus on the trunk and extremities. A 50-year-old male presented with scaly, violaceous plaques and dusky brown macules on whole body. For four months, the patient was treated with olmutinib, an oral, third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor. In May 2016, olmutinib received its first global approval in South Korea for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor T790M mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer. The biopsy specimen from the patient showed features of lichen planus. We diagnosed him with olmutinib-induced lichen planus like eruption. He was treated with oral methylprednisolone and topical desoxymethasone 0.25% ointment. At the same time, olmutinib dose was decreased to three-fourths of this patient's starting dose. After that, the cutaneous lesions improved.