Case Report: Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder With Progressive Elevation of Cerebrospinal Fluid Cell Count and Protein Level Mimicking Infectious Meningomyelitis: A Diagnostic Challenge.

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is an autoimmune-mediated idiopathic inflammatory demyelinating disease with a typical clinical presentation of optic neuritis, acute myelitis, and area postrema syndrome. Most NMOSD patients are seropositive for disease-specific and pathogenic aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibodies, which are key markers for the NMOSD diagnosis. Herein, we report an atypical case of a 41-year-old man who complained of intractable hiccups and vomiting at disease onset, followed by fever, headache, back pain, progressive paresthesia, and weakness of extremities later on. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis showed progressive increases in the white blood cell count and the protein level, which were accompanied by the deterioration of clinical manifestations. The patient was initially suspected of infectious meningomyelitis but was finally diagnosed with NMOSD. This case with distinct cerebrospinal fluid findings broadens the phenotypic spectrum of NMOSD. Furthermore, it also highlights the clinical value of AQP4 antibody test for early definitive diagnosis and proper treatment.

Engineering an oilseed crop for hyper-accumulation of carotenoids in the seeds without using a traditional marker gene.

KEY MESSAGE: Ketocarotenoids were synthesized successfully in Camelina sativa seeds by genetic modification without using a traditional selection marker genes. This method provided an interesting tool for metabolic engineering of seed crops. Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz is an important oil crop with many excellent agronomic traits. This model oil plant has been exploited to accumulate value-added bioproducts using genetic manipulation that depends on antibiotic- or herbicide-based selection marker genes (SMG), one of the major concerns for genetically modified foods. Here we reported metabolic engineering of C. sativa to synthesize red ketocarotenoids that could serve as a reporter to visualize transgenic events without using a traditional SMG. Overexpression of a non-native ß-carotene ketolase gene coupled with three other carotenogenous genes (phytoene synthase, ß-carotene hydroxylase, and Orange) in C. sativa resulted in production of red seeds that were visibly distinguishable from the normal yellow ones. Constitutive expression of the transgenes led to delayed plant development and seed germination. In contrast, seed-specific transformants demonstrated normal growth and seed germination despite the accumulation of up to 70-fold the level of carotenoids in the seeds compared to the controls, including significant amounts of astaxanthin and keto-lutein. As a result, the transgenic seed oils exhibited much higher antioxidant activity. No significant changes were found in the profiles of fatty acids between transgenic and control seeds. This study provided an interesting tool for metabolic engineering of seed crops without using a disputed SMG.

[Hydrochemical Characteristics and Analysis of the Qilihai Wetland, Tianjin].

Hydrochemistry is an important parameter for wetland water environmental assessment. To study the hydrochemistry and main ion sources in the Qilihai wetland in Tianjin, river water, groundwater, and water in the marsh were collected and analyzed. The results show that:① The river and marsh waters are SO4·Cl-Na in type and groundwater water is HCO3-Na and HCO3-Na·Ca in type. The water in the marshes is mainly recharged by river water and the exchange of shallow groundwater with river water is notable; ② Precipitation has little effect on the chemical composition of the water. Na+ and K+ were derived from the dissolution of salt rock and evaporative concentration. Ca2+, Mg2+, and HCO3- in the river and marsh water are mainly derived from the dissolution of evaporite salt rock. Ca2+, Mg2+, and HCO3- in the groundwater are mainly derived from carbonate mineral dissolution; ③ The hydrochemical composition of the river water and groundwater is notably affected by ion exchange, but this was not observed in the marsh water. Furthermore, SO42- and NO3- are affected by human activity. During the dry season, the river and marsh water are affected by evaporite salt rock dissolution, evaporation, and human effects, while in wet season, river water is mainly affected by carbonate dissolution and human activities. These observations demonstrate how that hydrochemical composition of this wetland is controlled by a combination of natural factors and human activities.

Relationship between the honeydew of mealy bugs and the growth of Phlebopus portentosus.

BACKGROUND: Phlebopus portentosus and mealy bugs form a fungus-insect gall on the roots of host plants. The fungus and mealy bugs benefit mutually through the gall, which is the key link in the nutritional mechanism of P. portentosus. The cavity of the fungus-insect gall provides an ideal shelter for mealy bugs survival and reproduction, but how does P. portentosus benefit from this symbiotic relationship? METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS: Anatomical examination of fungus-insect galls revealed that one or more mealy bugs of different generations were living inside the galls. The mealy bug's mouthpart could penetrate through the mycelium layer of the inside of the gall and suck plant juice from the host plant root. Mealy bugs excreted honeydew inside or outside the galls. The results of both honeydew agar medium and quartz tests showed that the honeydew can attract and promote the mycelial growth of P. portentosus. A test of the relationship between the honeydew and the formation of the fungus-insect gall showed that honeydew promoted gall formation. CONCLUSIONS: All experimental results in this study show that the honeydew secreted by mealy bugs can attract and promote the mycelial growth of P. portentosus, forming a fungus-insect gall, because mealy bugs' honeydew is rich in amino acids and sugars.

Variability of relationship between the volume scattering function at 180° and the backscattering coefficient for aquatic particles.

Properly interpreting lidar (light detection and ranging) signal for characterizing particle distribution relies on a key parameter, χp(π), which relates the particulate volume scattering function (VSF) at 180° (ßp(π)) that a lidar measures to the particulate backscattering coefficient (bbp). However, χp(π) has been seldom studied due to challenges in accurately measuring ßp(π) and bbp concurrently in the field. In this study, χp(π), as well as its spectral dependence, was re-examined using the VSFs measured in situ at high angular resolution in a wide range of waters. ßp(π), while not measured directly, was inferred using a physically sound, well-validated VSF-inversion method. The effects of particle shape and internal structure on the inversion were tested using three inversion kernels consisting of phase functions computed for particles that are assumed as homogenous sphere, homogenous asymmetric hexahedra, or coated sphere. The reconstructed VSFs using any of the three kernels agreed well with the measured VSFs with a mean percentage difference <5% at scattering angles <170∘. At angles immediately near or equal to 180°, the reconstructed ßp(π) depends strongly on the inversion kernel. χp(π) derived with the sphere kernels was smaller than those derived with the hexahedra kernel but consistent with χp(π) estimated directly from high-spectral-resolution lidar and in situ backscattering sensor. The possible explanation was that the sphere kernels are able to capture the backscattering enhancement feature near 180° that has been observed for marine particles. χp(π) derived using the coated sphere kernel was generally lower than those derived with the homogenous sphere kernel. Our result suggests that χp(π) is sensitive to the shape and internal structure of particles and significant error could be induced if a fixed value of χp(π) is to be used to interpret lidar signal collected in different waters. On the other hand, χp(π) showed little spectral dependence.

Calibration of the LISST-VSF to derive the volume scattering functions in clear waters.

The recently commercialized LISST-VSF instrument measures the volume scattering function (VSF) from 0.1° to 15° with a traditional laser diffraction unit (LISST) and from 15° to 155° with an eyeball component. Between these two optical components, only the LISST unit is calibrated. The eyeball measurements are scaled using the VSFs at 15° that are measured by both components. As this relative calibration relies on a valid measurement at 15° by the LISST, it might fail in clear oceanic waters, where the forward scattering is relative weak either due to a lack of large particles or an overall low concentration of all particles. In this study, we calibrated the LISST-VSF eyeball component through a series of lab experiments using standard polystyrene beads. Validation with the beads of two different sizes showed a median difference of 11.1% between theoretical and calibrated values. Further evaluations with in situ data collected by the LISST-VSF and an ECO-BB3 meter indicated that the new calibration worked well in both turbid and clear waters, while the relative calibration method tended to overestimate VSFs in clear waters.

[Spectral Matching Algorithm Applied to Identify the Terahertz Spectrum of Caulis Spatholobi and Caulis Sargentodoxae].

Caulis spatholobi and caulis sargentodoxae are two different kinds of traditional Chinese medicine, which are similar to each other in appearance, but they are from differ sources with different functions.. This paper presents their spectrum using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy technology combines spectral matching algorithm to identify five different kinds of these samples. Due to the complex chemical composition of traditional Chinese medicine, different components of the characteristic absorption peak occurred easily mutually overlapping, therefore, it's very difficult to find obvious characteristic absorption peak in terahertz range, caulis spatholobi and caulis like this. Every sample was measured 10 times in some position. These standard spectral data have been calculated in different frequency, data show good stability in range of 0.2~1.3 THz. The second order differential method is used to process the THz spectrum data from 0.2~1.3 THz. These tiny differences of absorption coefficient have been hemerged between caulis sargentodoxae and caulis spatholobi and compare with these data using the method of correlation coefficient block coding method, spectral angle method and information divergence method, respectively. The analysis results, the spectral angle method is the best algorithm, the discriminate accuracy of a total of 100 sets of data is 95%. It is a new way to distinguish difference of traditional Chinese medicine.

Fungus-insect gall of Phlebopus portentosus.

Phlebopus portentosus is a popular edible wild mushroom found in the tropical Yunnan, China, and northern Thailand. In its natural habitats, a gall often has been found on some plant roots, around which fungal fruiting bodies are produced. The galls are different from common insect galls in that their cavity walls are not made from plant tissue but rather from the hyphae of P. portentosus. Therefore we have termed this phenomenon "fungus-insect gall". Thus far six root mealy bug species in the family Pseudococcidae that form fungus-insect galls with P. portentosus have been identified: Formicococcus polysperes, Geococcus satellitum, Planococcus minor, Pseudococcus cryptus, Paraputo banzigeri and Rastrococcus invadens. Fungus-insect galls were found on the roots of more than 21 plant species, including Delonix regia, Citrus maxima, Coffea arabica and Artocarpus heterophyllus. Greenhouse inoculation trials showed that fungus-insect galls were found on the roots of A. heterophyllus 1 mo after inoculation. The galls were subglobose to globose, fulvous when young and became dark brown at maturation. Each gall harbored one or more mealy bugs and had a chimney-like vent for ventilation and access to the gall. The cavity wall had three layers. Various shaped mealy bug wax deposits were found inside the wall. Fungal hyphae invaded the epidermis of plant roots and sometimes even the cortical cells during the late stage of gall development. The identity of the fungus inside the cavity was confirmed by molecular methods.

Modeling the effects of near-surface plumes of suspended particulate matter on remote-sensing reflectance of coastal waters.

A radiative transfer model was applied to examine the effects of vertically stratified inherent optical properties of the water column associated with near-surface plumes of suspended particulate matter on spectral remote-sensing reflectance, R(rs)(λ), of coastal marine environments. The simulations for nonuniform ocean consisting of two layers with different concentrations of suspended particulate matter (SPM) are compared with simulations for a reference homogeneous ocean whose SPM is identical to the surface SPM of the two-layer cases. The near-surface plumes of particles are shown to exert significant influence on R(rs)(λ). The sensitivity of R(rs)(λ) to vertical profile of SPM is dependent on the optical beam attenuation coefficient within the top layer, c(1)(λ), thickness of the top layer, z(1), and the ratio of SPM in the underlying layer to that in the top layer, SPM(2)/SPM(1), as well as the wavelength of light, λ. We defined a dimensionless spectral parameter, P(λ)=c(1)(λ)×z(1)×(SPM(2)/SPM(1)), to quantify and examine the effects of these characteristics of the two-layer profile of SPM on the magnitude and spectral shape of R(rs)(λ). In general, the difference of R(rs)(λ) between the two-layer and uniform ocean decreases to zero with an increase in P(λ). For the interpretation of ocean color measurements of water column influenced by near-surface plumes of particles, another dimensionless parameter P'(λ) was introduced, which is a product of terms representing homogenous ocean and a change caused by the two-layer structure of SPM. Based on the analysis of this parameter, we found that for the two-layer ocean there is a good relationship between R(rs)(λ) in the red and near-infrared spectral regions and the parameters describing the SPM(z) profile, i.e., SPM(1), SPM(2), and z(1).

[Studies on signal-to-noise ratio standard for THz time-domain spectroscope].

Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) is an important part of THz technology, but its low scan speed always becomes the bottleneck In this article signals of TDS system under different scan speed were compared. The signal quality was getting worse while scan speed was increasing, and the time constant of lock-in amplifier plays an important role in the process. The main noise was found introduced from the circuit according to the experiment results.

[Studies on signal-to-noise ratio standardization for THz time-domain spectroscopy].

In the present article the concept of standard signal-to-noise ratio (StSNR) for THz time-domain spectroscopy was introduced, with which different systems could be evaluated quantitatively. Based on the characteristics of SNR, a brief method was given for acquiring StSNR. With this method for calculating the StSNR, the result data of a single test was the only item needed, which eased the users lot to compare the capability of various THz time-domain spectrometers. According to this method, a number of THz-TDS systems applied in various THz research groups were evaluated.

Scattering by pure seawater: effect of salinity.

A theoretical model was developed estimating the scattering by seawater that are due to concentration fluctuation. Combining with the model proposed for density fluctuation (Optics Express, 17, 1671, 2009), we evaluated the overall effect of sea salts on the scattering. The variation of seawater scattering with the salinity is a combination of two factors: decreasing contribution due to density fluctuation and increasing contribution due to concentration fluctuation, with the latter effect dominating. The trend is, however, slightly non-linear and the linear adjustment of scattering with salinity that is frequently used would lead to an underestimate by an average of 2%. The results estimated at S = 38.4 per thousand agree with the measurements by Morel (Cahiers Oceanographiques, 20, 157, 1968) with an average difference of 1%, well within his experimental error of 2%. The spectral signature also varies with salinity, with the power-law slope increasing from -4.286 to -4.306 for salinity from 0 to 40 per thousand.

[Chromatographic analysis on tryptic hydrolysis of whole casein].

Tryptic hydrolysis of whole casein was investigated by high performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) in combination with the degree of hydrolysis (DH). In terms of HPSEC chromatograms obtained at different DH values, the complex process of enzymatic reaction and the relative molecular mass distribution of multiple hydrolysates were quantitatively characterized. Based on the information of casein micelle structure, the possible reaction mechanism was deduced from a series of chromatograms. Being taken into account the primary structure of whole casein and the target amino acid of trypsin, the distribution of theoretical peptides were accurately calculated by determining the split sites of complete enzymatic hydrolysis. According to the relationship between retention time and relative molecular mass, the corresponding HPSEC absorption peaks of active peptides in hydrolysates were identified, and caseinophosphopeptides sequences were also characterized.