Insecticidal activity of the chitinase from the Spodoptera litura nucleopolyhedrovirus

Baculovirus chitinase gene (chiA) is a late gene essential for liquefying the host insect at a late stage of infection for its hydrolyzing chitin function. In a previous report, baculovirus ChiA has been shown to offer many interesting new opportunities for pest control. Recently, a putative chiA gene was identified in the Korean isolate of the Spodoptera litura nucleopolyhedorvirus (SpliMNPV‐K1) genome. The open reading frame (ORF) contains 1692 nucelotides and encodes a protein of 563 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of about 62.6 kDa. To study the insecticidal activity of ChiA from SpliMNPV‐K1, we constructed a recombinant AcMNPV, Ap‐SlChiA, which is designed to express the ChiA under the control of a polyhedrin promoter. Western blot analysis indicated that ChiA was successfully expressed by this recombinant virus. Chitinase assay revealed that the chitobiosidase and endochitinase activity of the recombinant virus was 2.5‐ and 3.9‐flods higher than those of wild‐type AcMNPV, respectively. In addition, the recombinant virus showed higher evident insecticidal activity against 3rd instar larvae of Spodotera exigua than that of the AcMNPV. These results suggest that the chiA gene from SpliMNPV‐K1 could be successfully applied to improve pathogenicity of baculoviruses.     

The community structures of the coniferous and deciduous dead wood‐dwelling arthropods in Korea

We examined the structure of the arthropod community among deciduous and coniferous dead woods along the process of wood decay. We collected dead wood‐dwelling arthropods from April 2010 to October 2011 by using a vacuum aspirator and an electric chain saw in three areas (Mt. Woonak, Mt. Wolchul, Mt. Jingang) in Korea. We identified them to species levels and classified them into functional groups. We collected 8792 arthropods (5 classes, 20 orders, 58 families, and 93 species). The species richness and abundance of arthropods increased with the progress of decay in dead woods. The evenness index seemed to be shown at a lower value at late decay stage than at early‐ and mid‐decay stages. The diversity index (H′) in conifers was lower than that in deciduous dead woods at the early decay stage but this situation was reversed at the late decay stage. Arthropod communities of functional groups, except the xylophagous insects, did not differ in the variables, but the proportion of xylophagous insects increased as the decay stages progressed. The abundance of arthropods and xylophagous was statistically significantly different. The patterns generated by non‐metric multidimensional scaling in the overall arthropod community composition revealed that the species composition between study areas were significantly different. We confirmed that dead woods play very important roles as arthropods' habitats. Thus, we suggest that the role of dead woods should be emphasized in the management of forest ecosystems.     

Whole-brain Functional Networks in Cognitively Normal,Mild Cognitive Impairment,and Alzheimer’s Disease

The conceptual significance of understanding functional brain alterations and cognitive deficits associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) process has been widely established. However, the whole-brain functional networks of AD and its prodromal stage, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), are not well clarified yet. In this study, we compared the characteristics of the whole-brain functional networks among cognitively normal (CN), MCI, and AD individuals by applying graph theoretical analyses to [¹⁸F] fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) data. Ninety-four CN elderly, 183 with MCI, and 216 with AD underwent clinical evaluation and FDG-PET scan. The overall small-world property as seen in the CN whole-brain network was preserved in MCI and AD. In contrast, individual parameters of the network were altered with the following patterns of changes: local clustering of networks was lower in both MCI and AD compared to CN, while path length was not different among the three groups. Then, MCI had a lower level of local clustering than AD. Subgroup analyses for AD also revealed that very mild AD had lower local clustering and shorter path length compared to mild AD. Regarding the local properties of the whole-brain networks, MCI and AD had significantly decreased normalized betweenness centrality in several hubs regionally associated with the default mode network compared to CN. Our results suggest that the functional integration in whole-brain network progressively declines due to the AD process. On the other hand, functional relatedness between neighboring brain regions may not gradually decrease, but be the most severely altered in MCI stage and gradually re-increase in clinical AD stages.     

Sarcopenia Is Independently Associated with Cardiovascular Disease in Older Korean Adults: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) from 2009

Background

The association between sarcopenia and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in elderly people has not been adequately assessed. The aim of this study was to investigate whether CVD is more prevalent in subjects with sarcopenia independent of other well-established cardiovascular risk factors in older Korean adults.

Method

This study utilized the representative Korean population data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) which was conducted in 2009. Subjects older than 65 years of age with appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) determined by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry were selected. The prevalence of sarcopenia in the older Korean adults was investigated, and it was determined whether sarcopenia is associated with CVD independent of other well-known risk factors.

Results

1,578 subjects aged 65 years and older with the data for ASM were selected, and the overall prevalence of sarcopenia was 30.3% in men and 29.3% in women. Most of the risk factors for CVD such as age, waist circumference, body mass index, fasting plasma glucose and total cholesterol showed significant negative correlations with the ratio between appendicular skeletal muscle mass and body weight. Multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated that sarcopenia was associated with CVD independent of other well-documented risk factors, renal function and medications (OR, 1.768; 95% CI, 1.075–2.909, P = 0.025).

Conclusions

Sarcopenia was associated with the presence of CVD independent of other cardiovascular risk factors after adjusting renal function and medications.     

Light Transmission and Preference of Eye Patches for Occlusion Treatment

Purpose

To investigate light transmission and preference for six eye patches for occlusion therapy.

Methods

Six patches were examined, including; Ortopad Fun Pack, Ortopad Flesh, Kawamoto A-1, Kawamoto A-2, 3M Opticlude, and Everade Eye Guard. The size and the presence of a light blocking pad of patches were investigated. The amount of light transmitted through the patches was evaluated, using a digital light meter and a model eye, in three different environments; indoors with fluorescent light, outdoors on a sunny day, and strong light from illuminator. After patching the normal eye, the flash visual evoked potential (VEP) was measured. Thirty patients with amblyopia or horizontal strabismus, who received occlusion therapy as initial treatment, were included. After using all six patches, patients completed a 7-item questionnaire regarding the patch preference for size, color and shape, adhesive power, pain with removal, skin irritation after removing patch, parent’s preference and overall opinion.

Results

All patches had a light-blocking pad, except the 3M Nexcare. Ortopad had the strongest light blocking power in the three environments, and the 3M Nexcare had the weakest power. In flash VEP, Ortopad and Kawamoto patches showed flat, but 3M Nexcare and Everade Eye Guard showed normal response. There were significant preferential differences among the patches in all the items of the questionnaire (P<0.05). In comparison between the patches respectively, 3M Nexcare received the lowest satisfaction in pain when removing a patch and skin irritation after removing a patch. Kawamoto A-2 received the lowest score in the overall satisfaction.

Conclusions

We found differences in the light-blocking power and in the preference of the various patches for the occlusion treatment. This is a pilot study regarding only characteristics and preferences of patches. Further clinical studies regarding the relationship between characteristics or preferences of patches and outcomes of occlusion treatment are needed.     

Synergistic Effect of Anti-Angiogenic and Radiation Therapy: Quantitative Evaluation with Dynamic Contrast Enhanced MR Imaging

Purpose

We assessed the effects of anti-angiogenic therapy (AAT) on radiation therapy (RT), evaluating the tumor growth and perfusion patterns on dynamic contrast enhanced MR (DCE-MR) images.

Methods

Thirteen nude mice with heterotopic xenograft cancer of human lung cancer cell line were used. To observe the interval change of the tumor size and demonstrate the time-signal intensity enhancement curve of the tumor, the mice were subdivided into four groups: control (n = 2), AAT (n = 2), RT (n = 5), and combined therapy (AART, n = 4). DCE-MR images were taken four weeks after treatment. Perfusion parameters were obtained based on the Brix model. To compare the interval size changes in the RT group with those in the AART group, repeated measures ANOVA was used. Perfusion parameters in both the RT and AART groups were compared using a Mann-Whitney U test.

Results

Tumor growth was more suppressed in AART group than in the other groups. Control group showed the rapid wash-in and wash-out pattern on DCE-MR images. In contrast to RT group with delayed and prolonged enhancement, both AAT and AART groups showed the rapid wash-in and plateau pattern. The signal intensity in the plateau/time to peak enhancement (P<0.016) and the maximum enhancement ratio (P<0.016) of AART group were higher than those of RT group.

Conclusions

AART showed synergistic effects in anticancer treatment. The pattern of the time-intensity curve on the DCE-MR images in each group implies that AAT might help maintain the perfusion in the cancer of AART group.     

Clinical Assessment of Lamina Cribrosa Curvature in Eyes with Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma

Purpose

Quantitative evaluation of lamina cribrosa (LC) posterior bowing in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) eyes using swept-source optical coherence tomography.

Methods

Patients with POAG (n = 123 eyes) and healthy individuals of a similar age (n = 92 eyes) were prospectively recruited. Anterior laminar insertion depth (ALID) was defined as the vertical distance between the anterior laminar insertion and a reference plane connecting the Bruch’s membrane openings (BMO). The mean LC depth (mLCD) was approximated by dividing the area enclosed by the anterior LC, the BMO reference plane, and the two vertical lines for ALID measurement by the length between those two vertical lines. The LC curvature index was defined as the difference between the mLCD and the ALID. The factors influencing the LC curvature index were evaluated.

Results

The ALID and mLCD were significantly larger in POAG eyes than in healthy controls (P < 0.05). The LC curvature index was significantly larger in POAG eyes than in healthy controls on both the horizontal (85.8 ± 34.1 vs. 68.2 ± 32.3 μm) and vertical meridians (49.8 ± 38.5 vs. 32.2 ± 31.1 μm, all P < 0.001). Multivariate regression showed significant associations of greater disc area (P < 0.001), vertical C/D ratio (P < 0.001) and mLCD (P < 0.001), smaller rim area (P = 0.001), thinner average RNFLT (P < 0.001), and myopic refraction (P = 0.049) with increased LC curvature index. There was no difference in the LC curvature index between mild (MD > –6 dB) and moderate-to-advanced glaucoma (MD < –6 dB, P = 0.95).

Conclusions

LC posterior bowing was increased in POAG eyes, and was significantly associated with structural optic nerve head (ONH) changes but not with functional glaucoma severity. Quantitative evaluation of LC curvature can facilitate assessment of glaucomatous ONH change.