Genetic insights into avian influenza resistance in Jeju Island chickens: the roles of Mx1 and oligoadenylate synthetase-like single nucleotide polymorphisms.

Influenza A virus (FLUAV) causes serious diseases in both poultry and humans. Various host proteins, including Mx1, are considered candidates for avian influenza (AI) resistance. After infecting Jeju Native chicken embryo fibroblasts (CEFs) with three types of AI viruses, we performed gene expression profiling, identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) through RNA-sequencing, and confirmed phenotypes showing antiviral activity .

Development of an ultrafast laser system based on a Yb-doped fiber and a Yb:YAG thin-rod for the preclinical study of pigmented lesions treatment using a Hartley guinea pig.

In this research, we developed an ultrafast laser system based on a Yb-doped fiber oscillator and Yb:YAG thin-rod amplifier to investigate the efficacy of the laser for the treatment of pigmented lesions. The developed laser exhibited an output power of 22.7 W, center wavelength of 1030 nm, repetition rate of 495 kHz, pulse energy of 45.

Suspected Human-to-Cat Spillover of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant in South Korea.

This retrospective study reports the isolation and characterization of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from a household cat in South Korea. The cat, which was presented with respiratory symptoms, was identified during a retrospective analysis of samples collected between April 2021 and March 2022. Genomic sequencing revealed that the isolated virus belonged to the Omicron variant (BA.

Ultraviolet-C light at 222 nm has a high disinfecting spectrum in environments contaminated by infectious pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2.

Ultraviolet light (UV) acts as a powerful disinfectant and can prevent contamination of personal hygiene from various contaminated environments. The 222-nm wavelength of UV-C has a highly effective sterilization activity and is safer than 275-nm UV-C. We investigated the irradiation efficacy of 222-nm UV-C against contaminating bacteria and viruses in liquid and fabric environments.

Demonstration of SARS-CoV-2 Exposure in Korean Native Cattle and Korean Native Black Goats in Korea.

The COVID-19 pandemic is caused by the zoonotic SARS-CoV-2 virus. A wide range of animals that interact with humans have been investigated to identify potential infections. As the extent of infection became more apparent, extensive animal monitoring became necessary to assess their susceptibility.

Delta (B1.617.2) variant of SARS-CoV-2 induces severe neurotropic patterns in K18-hACE2 mice.

A highly contagious virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, caused the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic (SARS-CoV-2). SARS-CoV-2 genetic variants have been reported to circulate throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 symptoms include respiratory symptoms, fever, muscle pain, and breathing difficulty.

Evaluation of Antiviral Effect against SARS-CoV-2 Propagation by Crude Polysaccharides from Seaweed and Abalone Viscera In Vitro.

Crude polysaccharides, extracted from two seaweed species ( and ) and (abalone) viscera, were evaluated for their inhibitory effect against SARS-CoV-2 propagation. Plaque titration revealed that these crude polysaccharides efficiently inhibited SARS-CoV-2 propagation with IC values ranging from 0.35 to 4.

An OsKala3, R2R3 MYB TF, Is a Common Key Player for Black Rice Pericarp as Main Partner of an OsKala4, bHLH TF.

Rice () pericarp exhibits various colors due to the accumulation of anthocyanins and/or proanthocyanidins. Previous work revealed that the two basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors OsKala4 and OsRc are key regulators for the black and red pericarp traits, respectively, and their inactivation results in rice with white pericarp. However, their pericarp-specific R2R3 MYB partner remained unknown.

Cloning and Functional Characterization of Dihydroflavonol 4-Reductase Gene Involved in Anthocyanin Biosynthesis of Chrysanthemum.

Dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR) catalyzes a committed step in anthocyanin and proanthocyanidin biosynthesis by reducing dihydroflavonols to leucoanthocyanidins. However, the role of this enzyme in determining flower color in the economically important crop chrysanthemum ( Ramat.) is unknown.

Increased Flavonol Levels in Tobacco Expressing Affect Flower Color and Root Growth.

The onion ( L.) () gene, encoding an enzyme responsible for flavonol biosynthesis in yellow onion, was recently identified and enzymatically characterized. Here, we performed an in vivo feeding assay involving bacterial expression of AcFLS-HRB and observed that it exhibited both flavanone 3-hydroxylase (F3H) and FLS activity.

RGS2: A multifunctional signaling hub that balances brown adipose tissue function and differentiation.

Objective: Recruitment of brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a potential new strategy for increasing energy expenditure (EE) to treat obesity. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent promising targets to activate BAT, as they are the major regulators of BAT biological function. To identify new regulators of GPCR signaling in BAT, we studied the role of Regulator of G protein Signaling 2 (RGS2) in brown adipocytes and BAT.

8 W 240 fs diode-pumped Yb:YO ceramic thin-rod femtosecond amplifier.

A diode-pumped Yb:YO ceramic thin-rod amplifier which operates in the femtosecond regime is studied here. In a single-stage and direct four-pass amplification scheme, the amplifier delivers maximum output power of 8.1 W at a center wavelength of 1030.

Direct targeting of Gα and Gα oncoproteins in cancer cells.

Somatic gain-of-function mutations of and , which encode α subunits of heterotrimeric Gα proteins, occur in about 85% of cases of uveal melanoma (UM), the most common cancer of the adult eye. Molecular therapies to directly target these oncoproteins are lacking, and current treatment options rely on radiation, surgery, or inhibition of effector molecules downstream of these G proteins. A hallmark feature of oncogenic Gα proteins is their reduced intrinsic rate of hydrolysis of guanosine triphosphate (GTP), which results in their accumulation in the GTP-bound, active state.

Observation of an exceptional point in a two-dimensional ultrasonic cavity of concentric circular shells.

We report observation of an exceptional point in circular shell ultrasonic cavities in both theory and experiment. In our theoretical analysis we first observe two interacting mode groups, fluid- and solid-based modes, in the acoustic cavities and then show the existence of an EP of these mode groups exhibiting a branch-point topological structure of eigenfrequencies around the EP. We then confirm the mode patterns as well as eigenfrequency structure around the EP in experiments employing the schlieren method, thereby demonstrating utility of ultrasound cavities as experimental platform for investigating non-Hermitian physics.

Experimental Observation of Bohr's Nonlinear Fluidic Surface Oscillation.

Niels Bohr in the early stage of his career developed a nonlinear theory of fluidic surface oscillation in order to study surface tension of liquids. His theory includes the nonlinear interaction between multipolar surface oscillation modes, surpassing the linear theory of Rayleigh and Lamb. It predicts a specific normalized magnitude of 0.

Nonlinear resonance-assisted tunneling induced by microcavity deformation.

Noncircular two-dimensional microcavities support directional output and strong confinement of light, making them suitable for various photonics applications. It is now of primary interest to control the interactions among the cavity modes since novel functionality and enhanced light-matter coupling can be realized through intermode interactions. However, the interaction Hamiltonian induced by cavity deformation is basically unknown, limiting practical utilization of intermode interactions.

Disorder-mediated enhancement of fiber numerical aperture.

The numerical aperture (NA) of a multimode optical fiber sets the limit of the information transport capacity along the spatial degree of freedom. In this Letter, we report that the application of a highly disordered medium can overcome the capacity limit set by the fiber NA. Specifically, we coated the input surface of a multimode fiber with a disordered medium made of ZnO nanoparticles and transported a wide-field image through the fiber with a spatial resolution beyond the diffraction limit given by the fiber NA.

Observation of resonance effects in the pump transmission of a chaotic microcavity.

We observed resonance effects on the transmission of a pump beam in a chaotic microcavity in an optimal free-space optical-pumping configuration. The far-field pattern of cavity transmission was significantly modified when the pump laser was resonant with a scar mode. From the difference between the non-resonant and on-resonance transmission patterns, we obtained the efficiency of the pump coupling into the scar mode to be as high as 45%, which is consistent with the recent excitation spectroscopy results of Yang et al.

Pump-induced dynamical tunneling in a deformed microcavity laser.

Pump-induced dynamical tunneling has been observed in free-space resonant optical pumping of a deformed microcavity by employing excitation spectroscopy. A focused-pump beam was injected into the cavity by refraction and then coupled to a high-Q cavity mode via dynamical tunneling. Pump-coupling efficiency as high as 50% and an effective coupling constant responsible for the tunneling were obtained from the observed pumping efficiency with a mode-mode coupling model.

Observation of an exceptional point in a chaotic optical microcavity.

We present spectroscopic observation of an exceptional point or the transition point between mode crossing and avoided mode crossing of neighboring quasieigenmodes in a chaotic optical microcavity of a large size parameter. The transition to the avoided mode crossing was impeded until the degree of deformation exceeded a threshold deformation owing to the system's openness also enhanced by the shape deformation. As a result, a singular topology was observed around the exceptional point on the eigenfrequency surfaces, resulting in fundamental inconsistency in mode labeling.

Nondestructive high-resolution soft-boundary profiling based on forward shadow diffraction.

Nondestructive noncontact high-resolution optical technique for profiling soft or fluidic boundary of an opaque object is presented. Our technique utilizes the fact that the angle width, the angular separation between two adjacent intensity minima in the forward shadow diffraction, is inversely proportional to the projected width of the object in the same direction. An analytic formula for reconstructing the boundary shape is obtained for an object with two-fold symmetry in terms of the angle widths measured for various rotational angles of the object.

Uncertainty-limited turnstile transport in deformed microcavities.

We present both experimental and theoretical evidence for uncertainty-limited turnstile transport in deformed microcavities. As the degree of cavity deformation was increased, a secondary peak gradually emerged in the far-field emission patterns to form a double-peak structure. Our observation can be explained in terms of the interplay between turnstile transport and its suppression by the quantum mechanical uncertainty principle.