Search

Cancer cells exhibit increased glutamine consumption compared to normal cells, supporting cell survival and proliferation. Glutamine is converted to α-ketoglutarate (αKG), which then enters the tricarboxylic acid cycle to generate ATP. Recently, therapeutic modulation of glutamine metabolism has become an attractive metabolic anti-cancer strategy. However, how synergistic combination therapy is required to overcome glutamine metabolism drug resistance remains elusive. To address this issue, we first investigated the role of αKG in regulating gene expression in several cancer cell lines. Using RNA-seq analysis and histone modification screening, we demonstrated that αKG reduced the expression of the immediate early gene (IEG) in cancer cells in an H3K27 acetylation-dependent manner. Conversely, glutaminase (GLS) inhibitors induce IEG expression in cancer cells. Furthermore, we showed that siRNA knockdown of orphan nuclear receptor subfamily 4 group A member 1 (NR4A1) induces IEG expression. Notably, the NR4A1 agonist cytosporone B sensitizes GLS inhibitor resistance to cancer cell death. Together, these findings indicate that therapeutic targeting of IEG dysregulation by αKG can be a potentially effective anti-cancer therapeutic strategy for glutamine metabolism inhibitors. [Display omitted] • αKG reduces IEG expression in cancer cells in a H3K27 acetylation-dependent manner. • GLS inhibitors induce IEG expression in cancer cells. • NR4A1 agonist sensitizes GLS inhibitor resistance to cancer cell death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Performing laser surface cleaning (LSC) for the corrosion removal of yellow brass with different laser parameters. • Perfect corrosion removal with marginal microstructural and mechanical properties alternations via an optimal LSC process. • Microstructural deformation and mechanical property deterioration via the LSC process with large laser energy inputs. • Application of the optimal LSC process to the in-use medium-sized caliber cartridge case. • Successful corrosion and contamination removal with the mechanical property restoration after the LSC process of cartridge case. In this study, the corrosion layer on the surface of yellow brass (or cartridge brass, C26800) was removed via the laser surface cleaning (LSC) process. Laser fluences of 0.51, 1.62, and 5.07 J/cm2 with different hatch distances were employed for corrosion removal, and the optimal LSC process was identified. It was found that the LSC process with large laser energy inputs (e.g., high laser fluences with small hatch distances) causes carbonization and deformation at the surface. However, the LSC processes with low laser energy inputs (e.g., low laser fluences with large hatch distances) retain the corrosion residues. The effects of the LSC process on the microstructure and mechanical properties of yellow brass were investigated. Voids and cracks occurred at the subsurface after the LSC process with a small hatch distance and high laser fluence. This microstructural deformation deteriorated the mechanical properties of yellow brass. By contrast, the optimal cleaning process effectively removed corrosion and resulted in marginal changes in the microstructure and mechanical properties of C26800. Finally, the optimal cleaning process was applied to the in-use 76 mm medium-sized caliber cartridge case maintenance, effectively removing the corrosion layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inorganic phosphate (Pi) is a fundamental molecule crucial for numerous biological processes, such as ATP synthesis and phospholipid formation. To prevent cellular toxicity, Pi transport is often linked to counterion transport within the bacterium. This review discusses the multifaceted functions of the PhoU protein in bacterial regulation, focusing on its role in coordinating Pi transport with counterions, controlling polyphosphate accumulation, and regulating secondary metabolite biosynthesis and DNA repair. We also explore recent findings that challenge the conventional view of PhoU simply as a negative regulator in phosphate signaling, suggesting its broader impact on bacterial physiology and stress response. Understanding the diverse functions of PhoU provides new insight into bacterial biology and offers potential therapeutic implications. [Display omitted] • PhoU is a negative regulator for the Pi-responsive PhoB/PhoR two-component system. • PhoU controls responses to phosphate and its counterions, such as Mg2+ and K+. • PhoU controls polyP, impacting stress resistance and persister formation. • PhoU homologs exhibit diverse functions, highlighting its versatility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metformin, the most commonly used drug for type 2 diabetes, has recently been shown to have beneficial effects in patients with cancer. Despite growing evidence that metformin can inhibit tumor cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis, studies on drug resistance and its side effects are lacking. Here, we aimed to establish metformin-resistant A549 human lung cancer cells (A549-R) to determine the side effects of metformin resistance. Toward this, we established A549-R by way of prolonged treatment with metformin and examined the changes in gene expression, cell migration, cell cycle, and mitochondrial fragmentation. Metformin resistance is associated with increased G1-phase cell cycle arrest and impaired mitochondrial fragmentation in A549 cells. We demonstrated that metformin resistance highly increased the expression of proinflammatory and invasive genes, including BMP5, CXCL3, VCAM1, and POSTN, using RNA-seq analysis. A549-R exhibited increased cell migration and focal adhesion formation, suggesting that metformin resistance may potentially lead to metastasis during anti-cancer therapy with metformin. Taken together, our findings indicate that metformin resistance may lead to invasion in lung cancer cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has posed a serious threat to the lives and health of the majority of people worldwide. Since the early days of the outbreak, South Korea's government and citizens have made persistent efforts to provide effective prevention against further spread of the disease. In particular, the participation of individual citizens in complying with the necessary code of conduct to prevent spread of the infection, through measures such as social distancing and mask wearing, is as instrumental as the geographical tracking of the trajectory of the infected. In this paper, we propose an activity recognition method based on a wristband equipped with an IR array and inertial measurement unit (IMU) to detect individual compliance with codes of personal hygiene management, such as mask wearing, which are recommended to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. The results of activity recognition were comparatively analyzed by applying conventional machine learning algorithms and convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to the IMU time series and IR array thermal images collected from 25 subjects. When CNN and 24 × 32 thermal images were used, 97.8% accuracy was achieved (best performance), and when 6 × 8 low-resolution thermal images were used, similar performance with 97.1% accuracy was obtained. In the case of using IMU, the performance of activity recognition was lower than that obtained with the IR array, but an accuracy of 93% was achieved even in the case of applying machine learning algorithms, indicating that it is more suitable for wearable devices with low computational capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wolfiporia cocos is a wood-decay brown rot fungus belonging to the family Polyporaceae. While the fungus grows, the sclerotium body of the strain, dubbed Bokryeong in Korean, is formed around the roots of conifer trees. The dried sclerotium has been widely used as a key component of many medicinal recipes in East Asia. Wolfiporia cocos strain KMCC03342 is the reference strain registered and maintained by the Korea Seed and Variety Service for commercial uses. Here, we present the first draft genome sequence of W. cocos KMCC03342 using a hybrid assembly technique combining both short- and long-read sequences. The genome has a total length of 55.5 Mb comprised of 343 contigs with N50 of 332 kb and 95.8% BUSCO completeness. The GC ratio was 52.2%. We predicted 14,296 protein-coding gene models based on ab initio gene prediction and evidence-based annotation procedure using RNAseq data. The annotated genome was predicted to have 19 terpene biosynthesis gene clusters, which was the same number as the previously sequenced W. cocos strain MD-104 genome but higher than Chinese W. cocos strains. The genome sequence and the predicted gene clusters allow us to study biosynthetic pathways for the active ingredients of W. cocos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of laser nitriding on the microstructural evolution and wear and corrosion behaviors of the NAK80 mold steel (AISI P21) were investigated. A high-power diode laser with a laser energy density of 1125 J/mm2 was employed for laser nitriding of NAK80. To examine the microstructure of laser-nitrided NAK80, diverse characterization methods such as scanning electron microscopy with electron backscatter diffractometry, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy with electron energy loss spectrometry, and atom probe tomography were utilized. These analyses revealed that the laser-nitrided region consisted of rod-like aluminum nitride (AlN) precipitates with various nitrides and carbides in the martensite matrix, resulting in the surface hardening of NAK80 from 409 to 536 HV. As a result, the laser-nitrided NAK80 exhibited an enhancement in the wear resistance in comparison to that of the base metal in the fretting test. The wear loss of laser-nitrided NAK80 was reduced by 33.4% compared to that of the base metal after 40,000 fretting cycles. However, a deterioration in the corrosion resistance was observed for the laser-nitrided NAK80 compared to the base metal. It may be associated with the elemental segregation in the vicinity of the AlN precipitates, which was observed in the atom-probe tomography. • Performing laser nitriding on a plastic mold steel (NAK80) • Laser nitriding promoting the formation of rod-like aluminum nitrides (AlN) • Investigation of crystallography of AlN utilizing transmission electron microscopy • Elucidation of quantitative composition variation of AlN using atom-probe tomography • Laser nitriding increased wear resistance while deteriorated corrosion resistance [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this study, the effect of inter-enzyme steric hindrance that occurs during enzyme immobilization on the electrode, on direct electrical communications of enzyme with electrode was investigated via nano-patterning of enzymes on the electrode. Here, the nano-patterning of enzymes was achieved through the combination of DET-capable enzyme that was produced via fusion of site-specific gold binding peptide (GBP) to catalytic subunit of enzyme and gold nanoparticle (AuNP) array with highly tunable dimensions of AuNPs, resulting in spatially controllable enzyme-electrode. The nano-scale spatial control between immobilized enzymes on the highly tuned AuNPs shows different DET efficiency across the enzyme-electrode interface, showing 18.47% of maximum electron recovery which is 3.2-fold enhanced electron recovery efficiency compared to spatially non-controlled enzymes on the electrode where showed 5.7% of electron recovery. The result affirms that inter-enzyme interaction is a significant parameter that decides the enzyme-electrode performance. Graphical abstract fx1 Highlights • The fusion of GBP to the catalytic subunit of GDH enabled interfacial DET in the enzyme-electrode. • The effect of inter-enzyme agglomeration on efficiency of interfacial DET was investigated, related to its effect on R ct. • The enzyme nano-patterning was developed via combination of synthetic enzyme and AuNP-modified electrode. • The nano-scale spatial control of synthetic GDHs on the electrode enhanced electroactive coverage of enzyme-electrode. • The inter-enzyme agglomeration is the important parameter to consider for the development of DET-based bioelectronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A commercial aircraft, departing from Seoul to Jeju Island in South Korea, encountered a convectively induced turbulence (CIT) at about z = 2.2 km near Seoul on 28 October 2018. At this time, the observed radar reflectivity showed that the convective band with cloud tops of z = 6–7 km passed the CIT region with high values of spectral width (SW; larger than 4 m s–1). Using the 1 Hz wind data recorded by the aircraft, we estimated an objective intensity of the CIT as a cube root of eddy dissipation rate (EDR) based on the inertial range technique, which was about 0.33–0.37 m2/3 s−1. Radar-based EDR was also derived by lognormal mapping technique (LMT), showing that the EDR was about 0.3–0.35 m2/3 s−1 near the CIT location, which is consistent with in situ EDR. In addition, a feasibility of the CIT forecast was tested using the weather and research forecast (WRF) model with a 3 km horizontal grid spacing. The model accurately reproduced the convective band passing the CIT event with an hour delay, which allows the use of two methods to calculate EDR: The first is using both the sub-grid and resolved turbulent kinetic energy to infer the EDR; the second is using the LMT for converting absolute vertical velocity (and its combination with the Richardson number) to EDR-scale. As a result, we found that the model-based EDRs were about 0.3–0.4 m2/3 s−1 near the CIT event, which is consistent with the estimated EDRs from both aircraft and radar observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, direct electron transfer (DET) based biosensing system for the determination of glucose has been fabricated by utilizing gold binding peptide (GBP) fused flavin adenine dinucleotide-dependent glucose dehydrogenase (FAD-GDH) from Burkholderia cepacia. The GBP fused FAD-GDH was immobilized on the working electrode surface of screen-printed electrode (SPE) which consists of gold working electrode, a silver pseudo-reference electrode and a platinum counter electrode, to develop the biosensing system with compact design and favorable sensing ability. The bioelectrochemical and mechanical properties of GBP fused FAD-GDH (GDH-GBP) immobilized SPE (GDH-GBP/Au) were investigated. Here, the binding affinity of GDH-GBP on Au surface, was highly increased after fusion of gold binding peptide and its uniform monolayer was formed on Au surface. In the cyclic voltammetry (CV), GDH-GBP/Au displayed significantly high oxidative peak currents corresponding to glucose oxidation which is almost c.a. 10-fold enhanced value compared with that from native GDH immobilized SPE (GDH/Au). As well, GDH-GBP/Au has shown 92.37% of current retention after successive potential scans. In the chronoamperometry, its steady-state catalytic current was monitored in various conditions. The dynamic range of GDH-GBP/Au was shown to be 3-30 mM at 30 °C and exhibits high selectivity toward glucose in whole human blood. Additionally, temperature dependency of GDH-GBP/Au on DET capability was also investigated at 30-70 °C. Considering this efficient and stable glucose sensing with simple and easy sensor fabrication, GDH-GBP based sensing platform can provide new insight for future biosensor in research fields that rely on DET. • DET based biosensor was developed using GBP fused FAD-GDH on SPE. • The fusion of GBP increased mechanical and electrical stability of FAD-GDH on SPE. • The GDH-GBP/Au exhibits high selectivity toward glucose in whole human blood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]