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Background: Binding of transcription factors to their target sequences is a primary step in the regulation of gene expression and largely determines gene regulatory networks. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is an indispensable tool used to investigate the binding of DNA-binding proteins (e.g., transcription factors) to their target sequences in vivo. ChIP assays require specific antibodies that recognize endogenous target transcription factors; however, in most cases, such specific antibodies are unavailable. To overcome this problem, many ChIP assays use transgenic plants that express epitope-tagged transcription factors and immunoprecipitate the protein with a tag-specific antibody. However, generating transgenic plants that stably express epitope-tagged proteins is difficult and time-consuming. Results: Here, we present a rapid, efficient ChIP protocol using transient expression in Arabidopsis mesophyll protoplasts that can be completed in 4 days. We provide optimized experimental conditions, including the amount of transfected DNA and the number of protoplasts. We also show that the efficiency of our ChIP protocol using protoplasts is comparable to that obtained using transgenic Arabidopsis plants. We propose that our ChIP method can be used to analyze in vivo interactions between tissue-specific transcription factors and their target sequences, to test the effect of genotype on the binding of a transcription factor within a protein complex to its target sequences, and to measure temperature-dependent binding of a transcription factor to its target sequence. Conclusions: The rapid and simple nature of our ChIP assay using Arabidopsis mesophyll protoplasts facilitates the investigation of in vivo interactions between transcription factors and their target genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As calcium sensor relays in plants, calcineurin B-like (CBL) proteins provide an important contribution to decoding Ca2+ signatures elicited by a variety of abiotic stresses. Currently, it is well known that CBLs perceive and transmit the Ca2+ signals mainly to a group of serine/threonine protein kinases called CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs). In this study, we report that the CBL10 member of this family has a novel interaction partner besides the CIPK proteins. Yeast two-hybrid screening with CBL10 as bait identified an Arabidopsis cDNA clone encoding a TOC34 protein, which is a member of the TOC (Translocon of the Outer membrane of the Chloroplasts) complex and possesses the GTPase activity. Further analyses showed that in addition to CBL10, CBL7 also interacts with TOC34 at much lower strength in the yeast two-hybrid system. However, the rest of the CBL family members failed to interact with TOC34. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) analysis verified that the CBL10-TOC34 interaction occurs at the outer membrane of chloroplasts in vivo. In addition, we also demonstrated that CBL10 physically associates with TOC34 in vitro, resulting in a significant decrease in the GTPase activity of the TOC34 protein. Taken together, our findings clearly indicate that a member of the CBL family, CBL10, can modulate not only the CIPK members but also TOC34, allowing the CBL family to relay the Ca2+ signals in more diverse ways than currently known. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality-of-life questionnaire-OG25 was developed to evaluate the quality of life in patients with stomach and esophageal cancer. The following are included in the OG25 but not in the STO22: odynophagia, choked when swallowing, weight loss, trouble eating with others, trouble swallowing saliva, trouble talking, and trouble with coughing. In this study, we evaluated the quality of life of gastrectomized patients using both, the OG25 and the STO22. Materials and Methods: A total of 138 patients with partial gastrectomy (PG) (distal gastrectomy=91; pylorus-preserving gastrectomy= 47) and 44 patients with total gastrectomy (TG) were prospectively evaluated. Body weight and scores from the OG25 and STO22 were evaluated preoperatively and at 3 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months after surgery. Results: Patients with TG had significant weight loss compared to patients with PG. At 3 months, TG was associated with worse scores for dysphagia, eating, odynophagia, trouble eating with others, trouble with taste, and weight loss on the OG25. TG was also associated with dysphagia, eating restrictions, and anxiety on the STO22. The OG25 helped differentiate between the groups with respect to weight loss, odynophagia, choked when swallowing, and trouble eating with others. The OG25 scores changed over time and were significantly different. Conclusions: The OG25 is a more sensitive and useful scale than the STO22 for evaluating the quality of life of gastrectomized patients, especially those with total gastrectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temperature-dependent electrical instability of p-type SnO thin-film transistors (TFTs) was investigated for various stress and temperature conditions. The fabricated SnO TFT was suitably passivated using an SU-8 organic layer to prevent environmental effects on the stress-induced instability. Under the negative gate bias stress, the transfer curves showed a parallel shift in the negative direction for every temperature studied (room temperature, 50 °C, and 80 °C). This result indicates that the transfer curve shift is mainly due to hole-trapping in the interface defect states of SnO TFTs. A much larger threshold voltage shift (ΔVth) was observed at higher temperatures for short stress times, but ΔVth became saturated under these conditions. This indicates that hole detrapping from the interface defect states is also accelerated at a high temperature when the stress time increases. During the recovery phase, the transfer curves shifted back toward the positive direction for each temperature point. The transfer curves moved in the positive direction with a large ΔVth when the recovery time was 10 s, but the recovery rate slowed significantly when the recovery time extended beyond 10 s. Under the positive gate bias stress, the transfer curve shifted in the positive direction, mainly due to the electron trapping in the interface defect states. Similar temperature-dependence was observed in the time dependence of ΔVth under the positive and negative gate bias stresses. During the recovery phase, the transfer curves moved back in the negative direction. The recovery rate increased with increasing temperature because of the accelerated electron detrapping from the interface defect states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forehead osteomas are benign but can pose aesthetic and functional problems. These osteomas are resected via bicoronal or endoscopic approach. However, large osteomas cannot be removed via endoscopic approach, and bicoronal approach can result in damage to the supraorbital nerve with resultant numbness in the forehead. We present a new approach to resection of forehead osteomas, with access provided by an anterior hairline incision and subcutaneous dissection. Three patients underwent resection of the forehead osteoma through an anterior hairline incision. The dissection was carried in the subcutaneous plane, and the frontalis muscle and periosteum were divided parallel to the course of supraorbital nerve. The resulting bony defect was re-contoured using Medpor ®. All three patients recovered without any postoperative infection or complication and symptoms. Scalp sensory was preserved. Aesthetic outcomes were satisfactory. Patients remain free of recurrence for 12 months of follow up. The anterior hair line approach with subcutaneous dissection is an effective method for removal of forehead osteoma, since it offers broad visualization and hides the scar in the hairline. In addition, the dissection in the subcutaneous plane avoids inadvertent injury to the deep nerve branches and helps to maintains scalp sensation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pancreatic pseudoaneurysm is a potentially life-threatening complication often associated with pancreatitis or pancreatic surgery. As the rupture of pancreatic pseudoaneurysms can lead to catastrophic bleeding and is associated with high mortality rates, clinical suspicion and early diagnosis are essential to improve patient outcomes. In the management of pseudoaneurysms, transarterial embolization (TAE) could be effective; however, there have been limited local studies on the outcomes of TAE for patients with pseudoaneurysm rupture associated with pancreatitis. Here, we describe patients who were diagnosed with pseudoaneruysm rupture associated with pancreatitis and treated with TAE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an efficient interference control scheme for vehicular moving networks. The features of the proposed scheme are as follows: radio resources are separated into two resource groups to avoid interference between the cellular and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) links; V2V links are able to share the same radio resources for an improvement in the resource efficiency; and vehicles can adaptively adjust their transmission power according to the interference among the V2V links (based on the distributed power control (DPC) scheme derived using the network utility maximization method). The DPC scheme, which is the main feature of the proposed scheme, can improve both the reliability and data rate of a V2V link. Simulation results show that the DPC scheme improves the average signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio of V2V links by more than 4 dB, and the sum data rate of the V2V links by 15% and 137% compared with conventional schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants integrate day length and ambient temperature to determine the optimal timing for developmental transitions. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), the floral integrator FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and its closest homolog TWIN SISTER OF FT promote flowering in response to their activator CONSTANS under long-day inductive conditions. Low ambient temperature (16°C) delays flowering, even under inductive photoperiods, through repression of FT, revealing the importance of floral repressors acting at low temperatures. Previously, we have reported that the floral repressors TEMPRANILLO (TEM; TEM1 and TEM2) control flowering time through direct regulation of FT at 22°C. Here, we show that tem mutants are less sensitive than the wild type to changes in ambient growth temperature, indicating that TEM genes may play a role in floral repression at 16°C. Moreover, we have found that TEM2 directly represses the expression of FT and TWIN SISTER OF FT at 16°C. In addition, the floral repressor SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP) directly regulates TEM2 but not TEM1 expression at 16°C. Flowering time analyses of svp tem mutants indicate that TEM may act in the same genetic pathway as SVP to repress flowering at 22°C but that SVP and TEM are partially independent at 16°C. Thus, TEM2 partially mediates the temperature-dependent function of SVP at low temperatures. Taken together, our results indicate that TEM genes are also able to repress flowering at low ambient temperatures under inductive long-day conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In plants, successful reproduction requires the proper timing of lowering under changing environmental conditions. Arabidopsis FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), which encodes a proposed phloem-mobile florigen, has a close homologue, TWIN SISTER OF FT (TSF). During the vegetative phase, TSF shows high levels of expression in the hypocotyl before FT induction, but the tsf mutation does not have an apparent lowering-time phenotype on its own under long-day conditions. This study compared the protein mobility of FT and TSF. With TSF-overexpressing plants as the rootstock, the lowering time of ft tsf scion plants was only slightly accelerated. Previous work has shown that FT is graft-transmissible; by contrast, this study did not detect movement of TSF from the roots into the shoot of the scion plants. This study used plants overexpressing FT/TSF chimeric proteins to map a region responsible for FT movement. A chimeric TSF with region II of FT (L28 to G98) expressed in the rootstock caused early lowering in ft tsf scion plants; movement of the chimeric protein from the rootstocks into the shoot apical region of the ft tsf scion plants was also detected. Misexpression of TSF in the leaf under the control of the FT promoter or grafting of 35S::TSF cotyledons accelerated lowering of ft-10 plants. FT was more stable than TSF. Taking these results together, we propose that protein mobility of FT is higher than that of TSF, possibly due to a protein domain that confers mobility and/or protein stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors are extremely rare soft tissue sarcomas. Among various locations, the trunk and extremities are the most commonly involved sites, with only 15% of such lesions occuring in head and neck region. Here, we report a case of a 74-year-old male who presented with forehead swelling and right eye deviation. Computed tomography images revealed a tumor involving the frontal sinus, ethmoid sinus, and the orbital cavity. The patient underwent a surgical excision of the lesion, which histopathological examination revealed to be a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of serum pepsinogen (PG) testing for gastric atrophy (AG), intestinal metaplasia (IM), gastric adenoma and cancer by GastroPanel kit. In addition, these results were compared with Latex-enhanced Turbidimetric Immunoassay (L-TIA) kit for correlation between two kits. Methods Serum levels of PG I (sPGI) and sPGII, and PG I/II ratios were measured using both kits in 2,204 patients including 753 controls, 356 peptic ulcer diseases, 316 gastric adenomas and 779 gastric cancers. Results sPGI, sPGII, and PG I/II ratios measured using these two kits showed high concordance. sPGI 70 of the L-TIA kit corresponded to 100 of the Gastropanel kit and PG I/II ratio 3 corresponded to 5.3, respectively, in the analysis using receiver operating characteristic curves. GastroPanel results showed that sPGI was highest in normal control, and decreased in the gastric adenoma and cancer groups; sPGII decreased in the adenoma group while it increased in the cancer group in comparison to control; PG I/II ratios were significantly lower in the adenoma and the cancer groups, especially the intestinal type cancer group (Figure). The senilities and the specificities calculated using the GastroPanel kit were slightly higher in the diagnosis of AG, IM, and adenoma than those of L-TIA kit without statistical difference (Table). Conclusion PG I/II ratio (≤ 5.3) could be a reliable biomarker for the detection of gastric adenoma and gastric cancer. The GastroPanel kit showed non-inferiority compared to the L-TIA kit in the detection of AG or IM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a highly efficient phosphorescent green inverted top emitting organic light emitting diode with excellent color stability by using the 1,4,5,8,9,11-hexaazatriphenylene-hexacarbonitrile/indium zinc oxide top electrode and bis(2-phenylpyridine)iridium(III) acetylacetonate as the emitter in an exciplex forming co-host system. The device shows a high external quantum efficiency of 23.4% at 1000 cd/m2 corresponding to a current efficiency of 110 cd/A, low efficiency roll-off with 21% at 10 000 cd/m2 and low turn on voltage of 2.4 V. Especially, the device showed very small color change with the variation of Δx=0.02, Δy=0.02 in the CIE 1931 coordinates as the viewing angle changes from 0° to 60°. The performance of the device is superior to that of the metal/metal cavity structured device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A perfect ohmic contact is formed at the interface of indium tin oxide (INTO) and N,N'-did(naphthalene-1-yl)-N,N'-diphenyl-benzidine (NPB) using ReO3 as the interfacial layer. The hole injection efficiency is close to 100% at the interface, which is much higher than those for interfacial layers of 1,4,5,8,9,11-hexaazatripheylene hexacarbonitrile (HAT-CN) and MoO3. Interestingly, the ReO3 and MoO3 interfacial layers result in the same hole injection barrier,≈0.4 eV, to NPB, indicating that the Fermi level is pinned to the NPB polaron energy level. However, a significant difference is observed in the generated charge density in the NPB layer near the interfacial layer/NPB interface, indicating that charge generation at the interface plays an important role in forming the ohmic contact [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in ambient temperature affect flowering time in plants; understanding this phenomenon will be crucial for buffering agricultural systems from the effects of climate change. Here, we show that levels of FLM-ß, an alternatively spliced form of the flowering repressor FLOWERING LOCUS M, increase at lower temperatures, repressing flowering. FLM-ß interacts with SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP); SVP is degraded at high temperatures, reducing the abundance of the SVP-FLM-ß repressor complex and, thus, allowing the plant to flower. The svp and flm mutants show temperature-insensitive flowering in different temperature ranges. Control of SVP-FLM-ß repressor complex abundance via transcriptional and splicing regulation of FLM and postradiational regulation of SVP protein stability provides an efficient, rapid mechanism for plants to respond to ambient temperature changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flowering time of plants is affected by modest changes in ambient temperature. However, little is known about the regulation of ambient temperature-responsive flowering by small RNAs. In this study, we show that the microRNA156 (miR156)- SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE3 (SPL3) module directly regulates FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) expression in the leaf to control ambient temperature-responsive flowering. Overexpression of miR156 led to more delayed flowering at a lower ambient temperature (16°C), which was associated with down-regulation of FT and FRUITFULL expression. Among miR156 target genes, SPL3 mRNA levels were mainly reduced, probably because miR156-mediated cleavage of SPL3 mRNA was higher at 16°C. Overexpression of miR156-resistant SPL3 [SPL3(-)] caused early flowering, regardless of the ambient temperature, which was associated with up-regulation of FT and FRUITFULL expression. Reduction of miR156 activity by target mimicry led to a phenotype similar to that of SUC2::rSPL3 plants. FT up-regulation was observed after dexamethasone treatment in GVG-rSPL3 plants. Misexpression and artificial microRNA-mediated suppression of FT in the leaf dramatically altered the ambient temperature-responsive flowering of plants overexpressing miR156 and SPL3(-). Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay showed that the SPL3 protein directly binds to GTAC motifs within the FT promoter. Lesions in TERMINAL FLOWER1, SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE, and EARLY FLOWERING3 did not alter the expression of miR156 and SPL3. Taken together, our data suggest that the interaction between the miR156-SPL3 module and FT is part of the regulatory mechanism controlling flowering time in response to ambient temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tumor-associated antigen GA733 is a cell-surface glycoprotein highly expressed in colorectal carcinomas. In this study, 3 recombinant genes were constructed as follows: GA733 tagged to the ER retention sequence KDEL (GA733K), GA733 fused to the immunoglobulin Fc fragment (GA733-Fc), and GA733-Fc fused to the ER retention sequence (GA733-FcK). Agrobacteriummediated transformation was used to generate transgenic plants expressing recombinant genes. The presence of transgenes was confirmed by genomic PCR. Western blot, confocal immunofluorescence, and sandwich ELISA showed the expression of recombinant proteins. The stability, flexibility, and bioactivity of recombinant proteins were analyzed and demonstrated through N-glycosylation analysis, animal trials, and sera ELISA. Our results suggest that the KDEL retained proteins in ER with oligomannose glycan structure and enhanced protein accumulation level. The sera of mice immunized with GA733-FcK purified from plants contained immunoglobulins which were at least as efficient as the mammalian-derived GA733-Fc at recognizing human colorectal cancer cell lines. Thus, a plant system can be used to express the KDEL fusion protein with oligomannose glycosylation, and this protein induces an immune response which is comparable to non-KDEL-tagged, mammalian-derived proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: Aim: Organ shortages lead end stage renal disease patients to seek overseas kidney transplantations (OTs), but the long-term outcomes of OTs have not been evaluated extensively. Methods: Patients who received OT and were followed at Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) from 2000 to 2009 ( n = 87) were compared with patients who received kidneys from local donors (LTs) and were followed at SNUH ( n = 577). Furthermore, we matched OT patients and LT patients via a propensity score using operation date, age, renal replacement therapy duration, and donor sources ( n = 87 vs 87). Results: The recipient age was older in the OT group (48 vs 41 years), and donor age was younger in the OT group (29 vs 39 years). The estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFR) of functioning grafts between the groups were not different throughout the follow-up period. Biopsy-proven acute rejection, infectious disease, and hospitalization were more frequent in the OT group (27/87 vs 141/577, log-rank P < 0.001; 39/87 vs 28/577, log-rank P < 0.001; 66/87 vs 99/577, log-rank P < 0.001). The graft survival rate was lower in the OT group (82/87 vs 542/577, log-rank P = 0.003). Patient survival rate, however, was similar between the groups. After propensity score matching, the donor age was still younger in the OT group (29 vs 38 years). The risks of biopsy-proven acute rejection, infectious disease, and hospitalization were still higher in the OT group (27/87 vs 36/87, log-rank P = 0.04; 39/87 vs 3/87, log-rank P < 0.001; 66/87 vs 19/87, log-rank P < 0.001). Conclusion: Overseas kidney transplantation connotes risk factors that may negatively affect the long-term graft outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]