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The long-tailed goral, Naemorhedus caudatus (Mammalia: Bovidae), is one of the endangered animals in the Republic of Korea (Korea). Sarcoptic mange mites infested in diverse species of mammals, including humans, but no case has been reported in long-tailed gorals. We report 2 cases of mange mite, Sarcoptes scabiei, infestation in long-tailed gorals. Mange mites were sampled in the skin legions of the 2 long-tailed gorals, which were rescued in 2 different regions, Uljin-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do and Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon-do, Korea. Our results showed that the ectoparasite was the itch mite that burrowed into skin and caused scabies on the morphological inspection and placed within the phylogenetic relations of the species. The present study confirmed for the first time in Korea that mange mites are pathogenic scabies of long-tailed goral. Closer surveillance of this pathogenic ectoparasite in zoonotic and infectious ecosystems is warranted.

Heat stress has detrimental effects on livestock via diverse immune and physiological changes; heat-stressed animals are rendered susceptible to diverse diseases. However, there is relatively little information available regarding the altered immune responses of domestic animals in heat stress environments, particularly in cattle steers. This study aimed to determine the changes in the immune responses of Holstein and Jersey steers under heat stress. We assessed blood immune cells and their functions in the steers of two breeds under normal and heat stress conditions and found that immune cell proportions and functions were altered in response to different environmental conditions. Heat stress notably reduced the proportions of CD21+MHCII+ B cell populations in both breeds. We also observed breed-specific differences. Under heat stress, in Holstein steers, the expression of myeloperoxidase was reduced in the polymorphonuclear cells, whereas heat stress reduced the WC1+ γδ T cell populations in Jersey steers. Breed-specific changes were also detected based on gene expression. In response to heat stress, the expression of IL-10 and IL-17A increased in Holstein steers alone, whereas that of IL-6 increased in Jersey steers. Moreover, the mRNA expression pattern of heat shock protein genes such as Hsp70 and Hsp90 was significantly increased in only Holstein steers. Collectively, these results indicate that altered blood immunological profiles may provide a potential explanation for the enhanced susceptibility of heat-stressed steers to disease. The findings of this study provide important information that will contribute to developing new strategies to alleviate the detrimental effects of heat stress on steers.

A risk analysis of Shiga toxin (Stx)-encoding bacteriophage was carried out by confirming the transduction phage to non-Stx-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and subsequent expression of the Shiga toxin genes. The virulence factor stx1 was identified in five phages, and both stx1 and stx2 were found in four phages from a total of 19 phage isolates with seven non-O157 STEC strains. The four phages, designated as φNOEC41, φNOEC46, φNOEC47, and φNOEC49, belonged morphologically to the Myoviridae family. The stabilities of these phages to temperature, pH, ethanol, and NaClO were high with some variabilities among the phages. The infection of five non-STEC strains by nine Stx-encoding phages occurred at a rate of approximately 40%. Non-STEC strains were transduced by Stx-encoding phage to become lysogenic strains, and seven convertant strains had stx1 and/or stx2 genes. Only the stx1 gene was transferred to the receptor strains without any deletion. Gene expression of a convertant having both stx1 and stx2 genes was confirmed to be up to 32 times higher for Stx1 in 6% NaCl osmotic media and twice for Stx2 in 4% NaCl media, compared with expression in low-salt environments. Therefore, a new risk might arise from the transfer of pathogenic genes from Stx-encoding phages to otherwise harmless hosts. Without adequate sterilization of food exposed to various environments, there is a possibility that the toxicity of the phages might increase.

Objective: The efficiency of the knock-in process is very important to successful gene editing in domestic animals. Recently, it was reported that transient loosening of the nucleosomal folding of transcriptionally inactive chromatin might have the potential to enhance homologous recombination efficiency. The objective of this study was to determine whether histone deacetylases (HDAC) inhibitor and RAD51 recombinase (RAD51) expression were associated with increased knock-in efficiency on the β-casein (bCSN2) gene locus in mammary alveolar-large T antigen (MAC-T) cells using the transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALEN) system.Methods: MAC-T cells were treated with HDAC inhibitors, valproic acid, trichostatin A, or sodium butyrate for 24 h, then transfected with a knock-in vector, RAD51 expression vector and TALEN to target the bCSN2 gene. After 3 days of transfection, the knock-in efficiency was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing of the target site.Results: The level of HDAC 2 protein in MAC-T cells was decreased by treatment with HDAC inhibitors. The knock-in efficiency in MAC-T cells treated with HDAC inhibitors was higher than in cells not treated with inhibitors. However, the length of the homologous arm of the knock-in vector made no difference in the knock-in efficiency. Furthermore, DNA sequencing confirmed that the precision of the knock-in was more efficient in MAC-T cells treated with sodium butyrate.Conclusion: These results indicate that chromatin modification by HDAC inhibition and RAD51 expression enhanced the homologous recombination efficiency on the bCSN2 gene locus in MAC-T cells.

The Transgenic livestock can be useful for the production of disease-resistant animals, pigs for xenotranplantation, animal bioreactor for therapeutic recombinant proteins and disease model animals. Previously, conventional methods without using artificial nuclease-dependent DNA cleavage system were used to produce such transgenic livestock, but their efficiency is known to be low. In the last decade, the development of artificial nucleases such as zinc-finger necleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) and clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/Cas has led to more efficient production of knock-out and knock-in transgenic livestock. However, production of knock-in livestock is poor. In mouse, genetically modified mice are produced by co-injecting a pair of knock-in vector, which is a donor DNA, with a artificial nuclease in a pronuclear fertilized egg, but not in livestock. Gene targeting efficiency has been increased with the use of artificial nucleases, but the knock-in efficiency is still low in livestock. In many research now, somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) methods used after selection of cell transfected with artificial nuclease for production of transgenic livestock. In particular, it is necessary to develop a system capable of producing transgenic livestock more efficiently by co-injection of artificial nuclease and knock-in vectors into fertilized eggs.

연구배경 개인의 일상 속에서 로봇을 어렵지 않게 접하는 환경으로 변화함에 따라 HRI에 대한 관심이 증가하고 있다. 이에 따라 소셜 로봇과 인간간의 커뮤니케이션에서 감정적 교류에 대한 연구가 활발히 이루어지고 있다. 본 연구에서는 HRI에서 발생하는 감정 커뮤니케이션을 소셜 로봇의 눈동자 움직임을 통해 이루어질 수 있다고 보았다. 즉 감정 커뮤니케이션의 주요 매개체로 소셜 로봇의 눈동자의 가능성에 대해 알아보고자 한다. 연구방법 소셜 로봇의 눈동자 움직임은 감정을 내포하고 있으며, 사용자는 로봇이 의도한 감정을 인식할 수 있고, 감정 눈동자를 위해 도출된 컴포넌트의 조합에 따른 사용자 선호도가 차이가 있는지 보고자 하였다. 이를 위해 기존 소셜 로봇의 영상을 Type A, Type B를 바탕으로 감정 눈동자 프로토타입을 제작하였고, 각 눈동자는 Ekman의 FACS(1977)에서 정의한 기쁨, 슬픔, 놀람의 감정을 기준으로 도출하였다. 연구결과 Type A가 Type B보다 로봇이 의도한 감정을 느끼는 데 어려움이 없었다. 이는 Type B의 눈동자 요소의 조합이 명확한 감정 전달이 어려운 것에서 비롯된 것으로 볼 수 있다. 그러나 각 Type에 따른 선호도 조사에서 Type A와 Type B 모두 선호하는 것으로 보여졌다. 이를 통해 눈동자를 통한 감정 커뮤니케이션이 이루어지는 것에 긍정적인 반응이 있음을 도출할 수 있었다. 결론 소셜 로봇은 인간과의 사회적 관계를 배제할 수 없는 만큼 상호간의 교류와 인간이 로봇을 통해 경험하는 부분이 중요하다고 볼 수 있다. 산업용 로봇 중심의 과거와는 달리 현재 소셜 로봇 시장의 성장으로 일반사용자들은 점차적으로 로봇을 접할 기회가 빈번해지고 있어 감정 커뮤니케이션에 대한 연구의 활용은 더욱 커질 것으로 사료된다.

Simple Summary As global temperatures rise, thermal stress can be a major problem affecting cows. If they are subjected to heat stress, they are likely to exhibit abnormal metabolic reactions and affect their immune system. However, the relationship between metabolism and immunity during thermal stress and these crosstalk mechanisms remain unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to understand the changes in blood immune cell response with the physiological metabolism changes of Holstein and Jersey cows through the biochemistry and flow cytometry branches under thermal stress conditions. We found that various blood metabolites were reduced in both Holsteins and Jerseys by heat stress conditions. There were breed-specific variations in the immune cell population in Holstein and Jersey cows under different environmental conditions. The main findings of this study provide information on the metabolism and immunity changes of two types of cow under heat stress, broadening the potential relationship of these changes. Abstract Owing to increasing global temperatures, heat stress is a major problem affecting dairy cows, and abnormal metabolic responses during heat stress likely influence dairy cow immunity. However, the mechanism of this crosstalk between metabolism and immunity during heat stress remains unclear. We used two representative dairy cow breeds, Holstein and Jersey, with distinct heat-resistance characteristics. To understand metabolic and immune responses to seasonal changes, normal environmental and high-heat environmental conditions, we assessed blood metabolites and immune cell populations. In biochemistry analysis from sera, we found that variety blood metabolites were decreased in both Holstein and Jersey cows by heat stress. We assessed changes in immune cell populations in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) using flow cytometry. There were breed-specific differences in immune-cell population changes. Heat stress only increased the proportion of B cells (CD4–CD21+) and heat stress tended to decrease the proportion of monocytes (CD11b+CD172a+) in Holstein cows. Our findings expand the understanding of the common and specific changes in metabolism and immune response of two dairy cow breeds under heat stress conditions.

Simple Summary Seasonal change, particularly changing to hot and humid season, has a negative effect on dairy cows in various ways, including productivity, reproduction, metabolism, and immunity. In high-temperature and humid weather, dairy cows are vulnerable to diseases by weakened immune system. However, the cause of this has not been fully described. Therefore, this study aims to understand changes of specific gene expression and immune pathways based on transcriptome analysis from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of Holstein and Jersey dairy cows between normal and heat-stress environmental conditions. We observed that the two breeds of dairy cow have common and different immune shifts according to the changes of temperature and humidity condition. Overall, the findings of this study improve the understanding of the underlying mechanisms by which seasonal changes affect dairy cow immunity. Abstract Heat stress has been reported to affect the immunity of dairy cows. However, the mechanisms through which this occurs are not fully understood. Two breeds of dairy cow, Holstein and Jersey, have distinct characteristics, including productivity, heat resistance, and disease in high-temperature environments. The objective of this study is to understand the dynamics of the immune response of two breeds of dairy cow to environmental change. Ribonucleic acid sequencing (RNA-seq) results were analyzed to characterize the gene expression change of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in Holstein and Jersey cows between moderate temperature-humidity index (THI) and high THI environmental conditions. Many of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identified are associated with critical immunological functions, particularly phagocytosis, chemokines, and cytokine response. Among the DEGs, CXCL3 and IL1A were the top down-regulated genes in both breeds of dairy cow, and many DEGs were related to antimicrobial immunity. Functional analysis revealed that cytokine and chemokine response-associated pathways in both Holstein and Jersey PBMCs were the most important pathways affected by the THI environmental condition. However, there were also breed-specific genes and pathways that altered according to THI environmental condition. Collectively, there were both common and breed-specific altered genes and pathways in Holstein and Jersey cows. The findings of this study expand our understanding of the dynamics of immunity in different breeds of dairy cow between moderate THI and high THI environmental conditions.

Weaned calves are susceptible to infectious diseases because of the stress and malnutrition that occurs during weaning. Therefore, the dairy industry requires effective feed additives to ameliorate stress responses and promote immunity. This study aimed to investigate the effects of hydrolyzed yeast (HY) supplementation on the growth performance, immune and stress parameters, and health status of calves after weaning. Eighteen Holstein calves were randomly assigned to two groups, either receiving a control calf starter or 0.2% HY calf starter from one week of age. All calves were weaned at six weeks of age as a stress challenge. The HY-fed calves had a significantly-higher body weight gain during the post-weaning period (kg/week) compared to the control. Cortisol levels at three days post-weaning (DPW) were significantly lower in the HY group than the control group. Calves fed HY had significantly-higher serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-&alpha, and interleukin-1&beta, at one DPW. The HY-fed calves also had higher concentrations of the acute-phase proteins, haptoglobin, serum amyloid A, and transferrin at one DPW. In addition, the diarrhea severity in HY-fed calves was milder after weaning compared to the control group. Our results indicate that HY supplementation reduces stress responses and may promote innate immunity in newly-weaned calves.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Younger children and adolescents are exposed to various smart devices in the modern world, and their use of smart devices is rapidly increasing worldwide. Although smart devices have often been considered to have negative effects on sleep of children and adolescents, such effects have not been studied among younger children. Sleep is considered particularly important for learning and memory, and also has implications for emotional regulation and behavior. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the effects of smartphone overuse on sleep in 5- to 8-year-old children. METHODS: Participants were from the Kids Cohort for Understanding of Internet Addiction Risk Factors in Early Childhood (K-CURE) Study, an observational prospective cohort study in Korea. Smartphone screen time and total sleep time were assessed using parental questionnaires. Sleep problems of children were assessed using the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ). Analysis of covariance was used to examine the association between smartphone overuse and sleep habits in children. All statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS version 21.0 (IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY). RESULTS: Total sleep time of the smartphone overuse group (smartphone use over 1 hour daily) was shorter than that of the control group (F = 6.362, P < .05). Children in the smartphone overuse group showed statistically significant higher scores in the CSHQ total score and nocturnal awakening subscale score (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Excessive smartphone use was related to shorter total sleep time in children. Use of a smartphone was also associated with significant reductions in the quality of sleep in younger children. CITATION: Kim SY, Han S, Park E-J, et al. The relationship between smartphone overuse and sleep in younger children: a prospective cohort study. J Clin Sleep Med. 2020;16(7):1133–1139.

While self-administered mobile app-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has shown efficiency and effectiveness over the past decade, attempts to address automatic and negative beliefs have been lacking. The purpose of this study was to introduce and verify a mobile app that directly intervenes in dysfunctional thoughts. This app-based treatment includes recognizing automatic and negative thoughts of the protagonist of scenarios, writing advice directly to the main character, and sharing advice provided by other participants.Thirty-four participants diagnosed with Other Specified Depressive Disorder were recruited and randomly allocated to a CBT-based mobile-app program, the Todac Todac (TT group), or a daily mood chart app program (control group). Participants were asked to use the software for 3 weeks. Assessments for autonomic thoughts and clinical symptoms were administered at baseline and at a follow-up evaluation.After completing the 3-week program, Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS) scores in TT group were lower than they were in the control group. In clinical measures, both TT group and control group showed reduced Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) scores and situation-dependent trait version of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-X2) at follow-up. However, TT group showed significantly reduced STAI-X2 scores compared to control group. For all participants, changes in DAS scores were correlated with BDI-II and STAI-X2 scores.Our preliminary findings provide promising evidence that scenario-based CBT mobile apps can be used to deliver feasible and efficacious cognitive therapy. Long-term research is needed to determine the impact and effectiveness of this new treatment format.

The production of therapeutic protein and improve of productivity of the domestic animal from transgenic animal is the major technology of biotechnology. Lactoferrin has its highest content in the colostrum, and is known as the antiviral substance. Insulin like growth factor1 is known to play an important role in the growth of the animal. The objective of this study is construction of knock-in vector that insulin like growth factor1 gene is inserted into the β-casein gene locus for expression of bovine insulin like growth factor1 (bIGF1) on the bovine β-casein gene. The knock-in vector consists of 5’ arm region (1.02 kb), insulin like growth factor 1 cDNA, CMV-EGFP, and 3’ arm region (1.83 kb). To express bIGF1 gene as transgene, the F2A sequence was fused to the 5’ terminal of bIGF1 gene and inserted into exon 7 of the β-casein gene. As a result, the knock-in vector is confirmed that the amino acids are synthesized without termination from the β-casein exon 7 region to the bIGF1 gene. These knock-in vectors may help to create transgenic dairy cattle expressing bovine IGF1 protein in the mammary gland via the expression system of the bovine β-casein gene.

Inconel alloy 690 which contains high chromium concentration, has replaced Inconel alloy 600 because of its high resistance of stress corrosion cracking (SCC). Inconel alloy 690 is an austenite nickel-based alloy and it has intergranular chromium carbide (M23C6). Alloy should be maintained to be nearly free from fretting wear, corrosion, and hydrogen brittleness for a several decades. Main factors controlling deterioration are initial chromium carbide size and their distribution along austenite grain boundary and chromium concentration distribution inside of grain. The precipitated carbide along grain boundary are modeled by KJMA(Kolmogorov-Johnson-Mehl-Avrami) equation. The model is based on the classical nucleation theory, and Cr diffusion controlled growth followed by coarsening. The distribution of the chromium concentration near grain boundary with time is based on diffusion of chromium. The simulated results are compared with the experiments from literatures to confirm the validity of model.