Accuracy of cervical pedicle screw placement with a robotic guidance system via the open midline approach.

Objective: An increasing number of studies have shown that a robotic guidance system (RGS) can provide accurate cervical pedicle screw (CPS) placement. The accuracy of CPS placement with an RGS has mostly been evaluated according to the magnitude of pedicular cortical violation. However, an RGS assists in pedicle screw (PS) placement by directly indicating the preplanned trajectory in the operative field.

Reannotation of Fly Amanita l-DOPA Dioxygenase Gene Enables Its Cloning and Heterologous Expression.

The l-DOPA dioxygenase of (AmDODA) participates in the biosynthesis of betalain- and hygroaurin-type natural pigments. AmDODA is encoded by the gene, whose DNA sequence was inferred from cDNA and gDNA libraries almost 30 years ago. However, reports on its heterologous expression rely on either the original 5'-truncated cDNA plasmid or artificial gene synthesis.

Metagenomic study of endophytic bacterial community of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) cultivated in different soil and climatic conditions.

The aim of this study was to clarify effects of soil and climatic conditions on community structure of sweet potato bacterial endophytes by applying locked nucleic acid oligonucleotide-PCR clamping technique and metagenomic analysis. For this purpose, the soil samples in three locations were transferred each other and sweet potato nursery plants from the same farm were cultivated for ca. 3 months.

Sparse Adaptive Iteratively-Weighted Thresholding Algorithm (SAITA) for Lp-Regularization Using the Multiple Sub-Dictionary Representation.

Both L and L are two typical non-convex regularizations of L (0 View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Ubiquitin-Proteasome Dependent Regulation of the GOLDEN2-LIKE 1 Transcription Factor in Response to Plastid Signals.

Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) GOLDEN2-LIKE (GLK) transcription factors promote chloroplast biogenesis by regulating the expression of photosynthesis-related genes. Arabidopsis GLK1 is also known to participate in retrograde signaling from chloroplasts to the nucleus. To elucidate the mechanism by which GLK1 is regulated in response to plastid signals, we biochemically characterized Arabidopsis GLK1 protein.

Specific and Efficient Targeting of Cyanobacterial Bicarbonate Transporters to the Inner Envelope Membrane of Chloroplasts in Arabidopsis.

Installation of cyanobacterial bicarbonate transporters to the inner envelope membrane (IEM) of chloroplasts in C3 plants has been thought to improve photosynthetic performance. However, the method to deliver cyanobacterial bicarbonate transporters to the chloroplast IEM remains to be established. In this study, we provide evidence that the cyanobacterial bicarbonate transporters, BicA and SbtA, can be specifically installed into the chloroplast IEM using the chloroplast IEM targeting signal in conjunction with the transit peptide.

Multiple Origins and Admixture of Recently Expanding Japanese Wild Boar (Sus scrofa leucomystax) Populations in Toyama Prefecture of Japan.

Japanese wild boar (Sus scrofa leucomystax) populations have expanded drastically throughout the Japanese Archipelago in recent decades. To elucidate the dispersal patterns of Japanese wild boar in Toyama Prefecture in central Japan, we used a multi-locus microsatellite DNA analysis to determine its population structure and the degree of admixture. The deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was detected in either total or separate regional wild boar samples from Toyama Prefecture.

Influence of DNA methylation on positioning and DNA flexibility of nucleosomes with pericentric satellite DNA.

DNA methylation occurs on CpG sites and is important to form pericentric heterochromatin domains. The satellite 2 sequence, containing seven CpG sites, is located in the pericentric region of human chromosome 1 and is highly methylated in normal cells. In contrast, the satellite 2 region is reportedly hypomethylated in cancer cells, suggesting that the methylation status may affect the chromatin structure around the pericentric regions in tumours.

Variable is better than invariable: sparse VSS-NLMS algorithms with application to adaptive MIMO channel estimation.

Channel estimation problem is one of the key technical issues in sparse frequency-selective fading multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication systems using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) scheme. To estimate sparse MIMO channels, sparse invariable step-size normalized least mean square (ISS-NLMS) algorithms were applied to adaptive sparse channel estimation (ACSE). It is well known that step-size is a critical parameter which controls three aspects: algorithm stability, estimation performance, and computational cost.

Targeting of a polytopic membrane protein to the inner envelope membrane of chloroplasts in vivo involves multiple transmembrane segments.

The inner envelope membrane (IEM) of the chloroplast plays crucial roles in forming an osmotic barrier and controlling metabolite exchange between the organelle and the cytosol. The IEM therefore harbours a number of membrane proteins and requires the import and integration of these nuclear-encoded proteins for its biogenesis. Recent studies have demonstrated that the transmembrane segment of single-spanning IEM proteins plays key roles in determining their IEM localization.

Compressive sensing based Bayesian sparse channel estimation for OFDM communication systems: high performance and low complexity.

In orthogonal frequency division modulation (OFDM) communication systems, channel state information (CSI) is required at receiver due to the fact that frequency-selective fading channel leads to disgusting intersymbol interference (ISI) over data transmission. Broadband channel model is often described by very few dominant channel taps and they can be probed by compressive sensing based sparse channel estimation (SCE) methods, for example, orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm, which can take the advantage of sparse structure effectively in the channel as for prior information. However, these developed methods are vulnerable to both noise interference and column coherence of training signal matrix.

Production of viable seeds from the seedling lethal mutant ppi2-2 lacking the atToc159 chloroplast protein import receptor using plastic containers, and characterization of the homozygous mutant progeny.

Biogenesis of chloroplasts is essential for plant growth and development. A number of homozygous mutants lacking a chloroplast protein exhibit an albino phenotype. In general, it is challenging to grow albino Arabidopsis plants on soil until they set seeds.

Response to comment on "Drug screening for ALS using patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells".

Our work and the study of Bilican et al. highlight the need for complementary assays to detect subtle phenotypic differences between control and mutant induced pluripotent stem cell lines.

Genome sequence of a novel virus of the species human adenovirus d associated with acute gastroenteritis.

A novel virus of the species human adenovirus D, HAdV-67 (P-New/H9/F25), was first isolated from diarrheal feces of six children in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. The genome of this novel virus may be composed of multiple recombinations among HAdV-9, HAdV-25, HAdV-26, HAdV-33, HAdV-46, and an unknown human adenovirus D which was an origin of HAdV-67.

Occurrence of fluoroquinolones and fluoroquinolone-resistance genes in the aquatic environment.

Fluoroquinolones (FQs) have been detected in aquatic environments in several countries. Long-term exposure to low levels of antimicrobial agents provides selective pressure, which might alter the sensitivity of bacteria to antimicrobial agents in the environment. Here, we examined FQ levels and the resistance of Escherichia coli (E.

Drug screening for ALS using patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a late-onset, fatal disorder in which the motor neurons degenerate. The discovery of new drugs for treating ALS has been hampered by a lack of access to motor neurons from ALS patients and appropriate disease models. We generate motor neurons from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from familial ALS patients, who carry mutations in Tar DNA binding protein-43 (TDP-43).

Novel human adenovirus strain, Bangladesh.

We report a novel human adenovirus D (HAdV-65) isolated from feces of 4 children in Bangladesh who had acute gastroenteritis. Corresponding genes of HAdV-65 were related to a hexon gene of HAdV-10, penton base genes of HAdV-37 and HAdV-58, and a fiber gene of HAdV-9. This novel virus may be a serious threat to public health.

Fate of perfluorooctanesulfonate and perfluorooctanoate in drinking water treatment processes.

Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) have been recognized as global environmental pollutants. Although PFOS and PFOA have been detected in tap water from Japan and several other countries, very few studies have examined the fate, especially removal, of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in drinking water treatment processes. In this study, we analyzed PFOS and PFOA at every stages of drinking water treatment processes in several water purification plants that employ advanced water treatment technologies.

Perfluorooctanesulfonate and perfluorooctanoate in raw and treated tap water from Osaka, Japan.

Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) have been recognized as emerging environmental pollutants because of their ubiquitous occurrence in the environment, biota, and humans. PFOS and PFOA have been detected in water in Japan. Nevertheless, occurrence of PFOS and PFOA in potable water from municipal water treatment plants is not clearly known.

Comparison of antimycobacterial activity of grepafloxacin against Mycobacterium avium with that of levofloxacin: accumulation of grepafloxacin in human macrophages.

The bactericidal activity of two new quinolones, grepafloxacin and levofloxacin, against five strains of Mycobacterium avium was investigated in vitro. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of these two quinolones, determined by the broth microdilution method, were comparable for all strains tested. In contrast, grepafloxacin suppressed the intracellular growth of all the strains in monocyte-derived macrophages more strongly than levofloxacin, when the cells infected with these strains were incubated for 7 days in the presence of various concentrations of the two new quinolones.

A mouse model of vascular injury that induces rapid onset of medial cell apoptosis followed by reproducible neointimal hyperplasia.

Genetically modified mice serve as a powerful tool to determine the role of specific molecules in a wide variety of biological phenomena including vascular remodeling. Several models of arterial injury have been proposed to analyze transgenic/knock-out mice, but many questions have been raised about their reproducibility and physiological significance. Here, we report a new mouse model of vascular injury that resembles balloon-angioplasty.

Sulfur hexafluoride and perfluoropropane do not escape from a plastic syringe closed with a stopcock.

Purpose: To evaluate during various intervals of time the escape of long-acting gases contained in a plastic syringe closed with a stopcock or a plastic cap.

Methods: A 60-ml plastic syringe was filled or partially filled with a long-acting gas, either sulfur hexafluoride or perfluoropropane. The tip of the syringe was closed with either a stopcock or the syringe's plastic cap.