• International Journal of Stem Cells
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.247-257
• /
• 2022

Background and Objectives: Although human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) can be efficiently differentiated into cardiomyocytes (CMs), the heterogeneity of the hiPSC-CMs hampers their applications in research and regenerative medicine. Retinoic acid (RA)-mediated signaling pathway has been proved indispensable in cardiac development and differentiation of hiPSC toward atrial CMs. This study was aimed to test whether RA signaling pathway can be manipulated to direct the differentiation into sinoatrial node (SAN) CMs. Methods and Results: Using the well-characterized GiWi protocol that cardiomyocytes are generated from hiPSC via temporal modulation of Wnt signaling pathway by small molecules, RA signaling pathway was manipulated during the differentiation of hiPSC-CMs on day 5 post-differentiation, a crucial time point equivalent to the transition from cardiac mesoderm to cardiac progenitor cells in cardiac development. The resultant CMs were characterized at mRNA, protein and electrophysiology levels by a combination of qPCR, immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, and whole-cell patch clamp. The results showed that activation of the RA signaling pathway biased the differentiation of atrial CMs, whereas inhibition of the signaling pathway biased the differentiation of sinoatrial node-like cells (SANLCs). Conclusions: Our study not only provides a novel and simple strategy to enrich SANLCs but also improves our understanding of the importance of RA signaling in the differentiation of hiPSC-CMs.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
• /
• v.7 no.5
• /
• pp.1146-1165
• /
• 2013

Collaborative awareness between persons with various smart multimedia devices is a new trend in the Internet of Things (IoT). Because of the mobility, randomness, and complexity of persons, it is difficult to achieve complete data awareness and data transmission in IoT. Therefore, research must be conducted on mobile-aware service models. In this work, we first discuss and quantify the social relationships of mobile nodes from multiple perspectives based on a summary of social characteristics. We then define various decision factors (DFs). Next, we construct a directed and weighted community by analyzing the activity patterns of mobile nodes. Finally, a mobile-aware service routing algorithm (MSRA) is proposed to determine appropriate service nodes through a trusted chain and optimal path tree. The simulation results indicate that the model has superior dynamic adaptability and service discovery efficiency compared to the existing models. The mobile-aware service model could be used to improve date acquisition techniques and the quality of mobile-aware service in the IoT.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.53 no.1
• /
• pp.113-117
• /
• 2015

Cryptosporidium spp., ubiquitous enteric parasitic protozoa of vertebrates, recently emerged as an important cause of economic loss and zoonosis. The present study aimed to determine the distribution and species of Cryptosporidium in post-weaned and adult pigs in Shaanxi province, northwestern China. A total of 1,337 fresh fecal samples of post-weaned and adult pigs were collected by sterile disposable gloves from 8 areas of Shaanxi province. The samples were examined by Sheather's sugar flotation technique and microscopy at${\times}400$ magnification for Cryptosporidium infection, and the species in positive samples was further identified by PCR amplification of the small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene. A total of 44 fecal samples were successfully amplified by the nested PCR of the partial SSU rRNA, with overall prevalence of 3.3%. The average prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection in each pig farms ranged from 0 to 14.4%. Species identification by sequencing of SSU rRNA gene revealed that 42 (3.1%) samples were Cryptosporidium suis and 2 (0.15%) were Cryptosporidium scrofarum. C. suis had the highest prevalence (7.5%) in growers and the lowest in breeding pigs (0.97%). C. suis was the predominant species in pre-weaned and adult pigs, while C. scrofarum infected pigs older than 3 months only. A season-related difference of C. suis was observed in this study, with the highest prevalence in autumn (5.5%) and the lowest (1.7%) in winter. The present study provided basic information for control of Cryptosporidium infection in pigs and assessment of zoonotic transmission of pigs in Shaanxi province, China.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
• /
• v.49 no.3
• /
• pp.161-169
• /
• 2019

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the Frog appliance in three dimensions by using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images. Methods: Forty patients (21 boys and 19 girls), averaged 11.7 years old, with an Angle Class II division 1 malocclusion were included in our study. They had either late mixed dentition or early permanent dentition, and the maxillary second molars had not yet erupted. All patients underwent CBCT before and after the treatment for measuring changes in the maxillary first molars, second premolars, central incisors, and profile. Paired-samples t-test was used to compare the mean difference in each variable before treatment and after the first phase of treatment. Results: The maxillary first molars were effectively distalized by 4.25 mm (p < 0.001) and 3.53 mm (p < 0.05) in the dental crown and root apex, respectively. The tipping increased by $2.25^{\circ}$, but the difference was not significant. Moreover the teeth moved buccally by 0.84 mm (p < 0.05) and 2.87 mm (p < 0.01) in the mesiobuccal and distobuccal cusps, respectively, whereas no significant changes occurred in the root apex. Regarding the anchorage parts, the angle of the maxillary central incisor's long axis to the sella-nasion plane increased by $2.76^{\circ}$ (p < 0.05) and the distance from the upper lip to the esthetic plane decreased by 0.52 mm (p = 0.01). Conclusions: The Frog appliance effectively distalized the maxillary molars with an acceptable degree of tipping, distobuccal rotation, and buccal crown torque, with only slight anchorage loss. Furthermore, CBCT image demonstrated that it is a simple and reliable method for three-dimensional analysis.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
• /
• v.10 no.8
• /
• pp.3791-3805
• /
• 2016

The visual attention mechanism includes 2 attention models, the bottom-up (B-U) and the top-down (T-D), the physiology of which have not yet been accurately described. In this paper, the visual attention mechanism is regarded as a Bayesian fusion process, and a visual attention model based on particle filter is proposed. Under certain particular assumed conditions, a calculation formula of Bayesian posterior probability is deduced. The visual attention fusion process based on the particle filter is realized through importance sampling, particle weight updating, and resampling, and visual attention is finally determined by the particle distribution state. The test results of multigroup images show that the calculation result of this model has better subjective and objective effects than that of other models.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
• /
• 1999.03a
• /
• pp.47-78
• /
• 1999

About 440,000 $\textrm{km}^2$, about twice the size of the Korean Peninsula is covered by loess deposits in China. Along the middle reaches of the Huanghe River, mainly in Shaanxi and in Gansu province loess plateau covers vast area amounting to 273,000 $\textrm{km}^2$ Chinese studies on loess and loessial slopes are summarized. And some of the U. S. study and others are also presented for comparison.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.20 no.12
• /
• pp.1798-1804
• /
• 2007

The objective of this study was to assess the association of polymorphisms in MSTN and MYF5 genes with growth traits in three Chinese cattle breeds. Only one homozygous animal with BB genotype at MSTN locus was observed in Jiaxian population which was at Hardy-Weinberg disequilibrium (p<0.05). The frequencies of allele A at MSTN locus and allele B at MYF5 locus in the three Chinese breeds were 0.9550/0.9730/0.9720 and 0.8275/0.7581/0.7523, respectively. Allele A at MSTN locus and allele B at MYF5 locus were dominant in these three populations. No statistically significant differences in growth traits were observed between the genotypes of the Jiaxian breed at MSTN and MYF5 loci and the Nanyang breed at MYF5 locus. However, there were statistically significant differences between the genotypes at MSTN locus of the Nanyang breed for WH, HG, HGI and HGBLR (p<0.05), and of the Qinchuan breed for BLI (p<0.05). The SNP in MYF5 had significant effects on WH and HHC of Qinchuan animals (p<0.05). These results suggest that MSTN and MYF5 are strong candidate genes that influence growth traits in cattle. Other SNPs of MSTN and MYF5 or other linked genes should also be studied, which could lead to the development of selection plans to improve the performance of Chinese cattle and also promote the breeding of genuine beef cattle in China.

• Bulletin of the Korean Mathematical Society
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.199-204
• /
• 1997

To develope the theory of BCI-algebras, the idel theory plays an important role. The first author [4] introduced the notion of T-ideal in BCI-algebras. In this paper, we first construct a special set, called T-part, in a BCI-algebra X. We show that the T-part of X is a subalgebra of X. We give equivalent conditions that the T-part of X is an ideal. By using T-part, we provide an equivalent condition that every ideal is a T-ideal.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
• /
• v.42
• /
• pp.31-37
• /
• 2000

Regulated Deficit Irrigation (RDI) is one of the most important measures for the water-saving and high yield of crops. RDI is based on the crop and water relations. The theories of RDI were analyzed using the experiment data in Shaanxi and Gansu Province. There are several problems of RDI in practical use, which include; the uncertainty of crop-water relations, the proper growth stages and water deficit degree of RDI applied, and the requirements of RDI to irrigation system and irrigation techniques.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.22 no.7
• /
• pp.960-966
• /
• 2012

The diversity and composition of yeast populations may greatly impact wine quality. This study investigated the yeast microbiota in two different types of wine fermentations: direct inoculation of a commercial starter versus pied de cuve method at an industrial scale. The pied de cuve fermentation entailed growth of the commercial inoculum used in the direct inoculation fermentation for further inoculation of additional fermentations. Yeast isolates were collected from different stages of wine fermentation and identified to the species level using Wallersterin Laboratory nutrient (WLN) agar followed by analysis of the 26S rDNA D1/D2 domain. Genetic characteristics of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains were assessed by a rapid PCR-based method, relying on the amplification of interdelta sequences. A total of 412 yeast colonies were obtained from all fermentations and eight different WL morphotypes were observed. Non-Saccharomyces yeast mainly appeared in the grape must and at the early stages of wine fermentation. S. cerevisiae was the dominant yeast species using both fermentation techniques. Seven distinguishing interdelta sequence patterns were found among S. cerevisiae strains, and the inoculated commercial starter, AWRI 796, dominated all stages in both direct inoculation and pied de cuve fermentations. This study revealed that S. cerevisiae was the dominant species and an inoculated starter could dominate fermentations with the pied de cuve method under controlled conditions.