Immunogenicity and Protection against Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus in Swine Intradermally Vaccinated with a Bivalent Vaccine of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus Type O and A.

Following the worst outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), a highly contagious disease in cloven-hoofed animals caused by the FMD virus, from November 2010-April 2011, the Korean government enforced a mandatory vaccination policy. A bivalent (FMD type O and A; O + A) vaccine has been recently implemented. Although the FMD outbreak was suppressed by vaccination, the intramuscular (IM) injection presents side effects. Therefore, improving FMD vaccine quality is necessary. Here, we investigated the side effects and immune efficacy of the O + A bivalent vaccine using two different routes of administration: intradermal (ID) and IM. To compare the immune efficacy of the two inoculation routes, virus neutralization titers and structural protein (antigen) levels were measured. The protective efficacy of ID vaccines was confirmed using two viruses (FMDV O/AS/SKR/2019 and A/GP/SKR/2018) isolated in the Republic of Korea. Serological analysis revealed that both animals administered by ID and IM injections exhibited equal immune efficacy. A virus challenge test in the target animal (swine) revealed no (or extremely low) clinical symptoms. Swine in the ID injected group exhibited no side effects. In conclusion, we suggest that the ID route of vaccination is an effective alternative to the existing IM route, which is associated with more frequent side effects.

Nucleation Process in Explosive Boiling Phenomena of Water on Micro-Platinum Wire.

The maximum temperature limit at which liquid boils explosively is referred to as the superheat limit of liquid. Through various experimental studies on the superheating limit of liquids, rapid evaporation of liquids has been observed at the superheating limit. This study explored the water nucleation process at the superheat limit achieved in micro-platinum wires using a molecular interaction model. According to the molecular interaction model, the nucleation rate and time delay at 576.2 K are approximately 2.1 × 1011/(µm3µs) and 5.7 ns, respectively. With an evaporation rate (116.0 m/s) much faster than that of hydrocarbons (14.0 m/s), these readings show that explosive boiling or rapid phase transition from liquid to vapor can occur at the superheat limit of water. Subsequent bubble growth after bubble nucleation was also considered.

Role of Waste Cost in Thermoeconomic Analysis.

Power plants or thermal systems wherein products such as electricity and steam are generated affect the natural environment, as well as human society, through the discharging of wastes. The wastes from such plants may include ashes, flue gases, and hot water streams. The waste cost is of primary importance in plant operation and industrial ecology. Therefore, an appropriate approach for including waste cost in a thermoeconomic analysis is essential. In this study, a method to take waste cost into account in thermoeconomics to determine the production cost of products via thermoeconomic analysis is proposed. The calculation of the waste cost flow rates at the dissipative units and their allocation to system components are important to obtain the production cost of a plant.

Three Dimensional Measurement of Ideal Trajectory of Pedicle Screws of Subaxial Cervical Spine Using the Algorithm Could Be Applied for Robotic Screw Insertion.

OBJECTIVE: To define optimal method that calculate the safe direction of cervical pedicle screw placement using computed tomography (CT) image based three dimensional (3D) cortical shell model of human cervical spine. METHODS: Cortical shell model of cervical spine from C3 to C6 was made after segmentation of in vivo CT image data of 44 volunteers. Three dimensional Cartesian coordinate of all points constituting surface of whole vertebra, bilateral pedicle and posterior wall were acquired. The ideal trajectory of pedicle screw insertion was defined as viewing direction at which the inner area of pedicle become largest when we see through the biconcave tubular pedicle. The ideal trajectory of 352 pedicles (eight pedicles for each of 44 subjects) were calculated using custom made program and were changed from global coordinate to local coordinate according to the three dimensional position of posterior wall of each vertebral body. The transverse and sagittal angle of trajectory were defined as the angle between ideal trajectory line and perpendicular line of posterior wall in the horizontal and sagittal plane. The averages and standard deviations of all measurements were calculated. RESULTS: The average transverse angles were 50.60º±6.22º at C3, 51.42º ±7.44º at C4, 47.79º ±7.61º at C5, and 41.24º ±7.76º at C6. The transverse angle becomes more steep from C3 to C6. The mean sagittal angles were 9.72º ±6.73º downward at C3, 5.09º±6.39º downward at C4, 0.08º ±6.06º downward at C5, and 1.67º ±6.06º upward at C6. The sagittal angle changes from caudad to cephalad from C3 to C6. CONCLUSION: The absolute values of transverse and sagittal angle in our study were not same but the trend of changes were similar to previous studies. Because we know 3D address of all points constituting cortical shell of cervical vertebrae. we can easily reconstruct 3D model and manage it freely using computer program. More creative measurement of morphological characteristics could be carried out than direct inspection of raw bone. Furthermore this concept of measurement could be used for the computing program of automated robotic screw insertion.

Adhesive force measurement of steady-state water nano-meniscus: Effective surface tension at nanoscale.

When the surface of water is curved at nanoscale as a bubble, droplet and meniscus, its surface tension is expected to be smaller than that of planar interface, which still awaits experimental studies. Here, we report static and dynamic force spectroscopy that measures the capillary force of a single nanoscale water meniscus at constant curvature condition. Based on the Young-Laplace equation, the results are used to obtain the effective surface tension (ST) of the meniscus, which decreases to less than 20% of the bulk value at the radius-of-curvature (ROC) below 25 nm, while indicating the bulk behaviour above ~130 nm ROC. Interestingly, such a possibility provides a qualitative resolution of the unsettled discrepancies between experiments and theories in the thermodynamic activation processes for the mentioned three types of nano-curvatured water. Our results may not only lead to development of microscopic theories of ST as well as further experimental investigations, but also help better understanding of the ST-induced nanoscale dynamics such as cluster growth or protein folding, and the ST-controlled design of nano-biomaterials using the nano-meniscus.

Entropy Generation Due to the Heat Transfer for Evolving Spherical Objects.

Heat transfer accompanying entropy generation for the evolving mini and microbubbles in solution is discussed based on the explicit solutions for the hydrodynamic equations related to the bubble motion. Even though the pressure difference between the gas inside the bubble and liquid outside the bubble is a major driving force for bubble evolution, the heat transfer by conduction at the bubble-liquid interface affects the delicate evolution of the bubble, especially for sonoluminescing the gas bubble in sulfuric acid solution. On the other hand, our explicit solutions for the continuity, Euler equation, and Newtonian gravitational equation reveal that supernovae evolve by the gravitational force radiating heat in space during the expanding or collapsing phase. In this article, how the entropy generation due to heat transfer affects the bubble motion delicately and how heat transfer is generated by gravitational energy and evolving speed for the supernovae will be discussed. The heat transfer experienced by the bubble and supernovae during their evolution produces a positive entropy generation rate.

Acute Cervical Spontaneous Spinal Epidural Hematoma Presenting with Minimal Neurological Deficits: A Case Report.

INTRODUCTION: Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma (SSEH) is an uncommon but potentially fatal condition. The increased bleeding tendency associated with anticoagulant medications has been proven to increase the risk of SSEH. The symptoms of SSEH usually begin with sudden severe neck or back pain and are followed by neurological deficits. However, some cases present with only axial pain or with radicular pain similar to herniated disc disorders. CASE PRESENTATION: A 28-year-old healthy man developed a sudden onset of severe neck and right shoulder pain with mild arm weakness. The MRI revealed an SSEH that was compressing his spinal cord in the right posterolateral epidural space from C2-C6. On the second hospital day, his symptoms suddenly improved, and most of the hematoma had spontaneously resolved. CONCLUSIONS: Currently, the incidence of SSEH is expected to increase. Pain physicians must include SSEH in their differential diagnosis for patients with axial pain or radicular symptoms alone, particularly when risk factors are present.

Hydrodynamic approach to multibubble sonoluminescence.

The velocity profile and radiation pressure field of a bubble cluster containing several thousand micro bubbles were obtained by solving the continuity and momentum equations for the bubbly mixture. In this study, the bubbles in the cluster are assumed to be generated and collapsed synchronously with an applied ultrasound. Numerical calculations describing the behavior of a micro bubble in a cluster included the effect of the radiation pressure field from the synchronizing motion of bubbles in the cluster. The radiation pressure generated from surrounding bubbles affects the bubble's behavior by increasing the effective mass of the bubble so that the bubble expands slowly to a smaller maximum size. The light pulse width and spectral radiance from a bubble in a cluster subjected to ultrasound were calculated by adding a radiation pressure term to the Keller-Miksis equation, and the values were compared to experimental values of the multibubble sonoluminescence condition. There was close agreement between the calculated and observed values.

Synthesis, characterization, luminescence and defect centres in CaYAl3O7:Eu3+ red phosphor.

CaYAl(3)O(7):Eu(3+) phosphor was prepared at furnace temperatures as low as 550°C by a solution combustion method. The formation of crystalline CaYAl(3)O(7):Eu(3+) was confirmed by powder X-Ray diffraction pattern. The prepared phosphor was characterized by SEM, FT-IR and photoluminescence techniques. Photoluminescence measurements indicated that emission spectrum is dominated by the red peak located at 618 nm due to the (5)D(0)-(7)F(2) electric dipole transition of Eu(3+) ions. Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) studies were carried out to identify the centres responsible for the thermoluminescence (TL) peaks. Room temperature ESR spectrum of irradiated phosphor appears to be a superposition of two distinct centres. One of the centres (centre I) with principal g-value 2.0126 is identified as an O(-) ion while centre II with an isotropic g-factor 2.0060 is assigned to an F(+) centre (singly ionized oxygen vacancy). An additional defect centre is observed during thermal annealing experiments and this centre (assigned to F(+) centre) seems to originate from an F centre (oxygen vacancy with two electrons). The F(+) centre appears to correlate with the observed high temperature TL peak in CaYAl(3)O(7):Eu(3+) phosphor.

Anti-pruritic effect of baicalin and its metabolites, baicalein and oroxylin A, in mice.

AIM: To explore whether intestinal microflora plays a role in anti-pruritic activity of baicalin, a main constituent of the rhizome of Scutellaria baicalensis (SB). METHODS: Baicalin was anaerobically incubated with human fecal microflora, and its metabolites, baicalein and oroxylin A, were isolated. The inhibitory effect of baicalin and its metabolites was accessed in histamine- or compound 48/80-induced scratching behavior in mice. RESULTS: Baicalin was metabolized to baicalein and oroxylin A, with metabolic activities of 40.2+/-26.2 and 1.2+/-1.1 nmol.h(-1).mg(-1) wet weight of human fecal microflora, respectively. Baicalin (20, 50 mg/kg) showed more potent inhibitory effect on histamine-induced scratching behavior when orally administered than intraperitoneally. In contrast, baicalein and oroxylin A had more potent inhibitory effect when the intraperitoneally administered. The anti-scratching behavior activity of oral baicalin and its metabolites was in proportion to their inhibition on histamine-induced increase of vascular permeability with oroxylin A more potent than baicalein and baicalin. In Magnus test using guinea pig ileum, oroxylin A is more potent than baicalein and baicalin in inhibition of histamine-induced contraction. The anti-scratching behavioral effect of oral baicalin was significantly reduced when oral antibiotics were simultaneously administered, whereas the effect of baicalein and oroxylin A were not affected. CONCLUSION: Oral baicalin may be metabolized by intestinal microflora into baicalein and oroxylin A, which ameliorate pruritic reactions through anti-histamine action.

Sterols isolated from Nuruk (Rhizopus oryzae KSD-815) inhibit the migration of cancer cells.

An activity-guided fractionation method was used to isolate anticancer components from Nuruk (Rhizopus oryzae KSD-815:KSD-815). Dried powder of KSD-815 was extracted with 80% methanol and partitioned successively using nhexane, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and water. The n-hexane and n-butanol fractions showed a strong antimigratory effect on human cancer cells. Both of these fractions were subjected to separation and purification procedures using silica gel, octadecyl silica gel, and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatographies to afford four purified compounds. These were identified as ergosterol peroxide (1), stigmast- 5-en-3beta,7beta-diol (2), ergosta-7,22-dien-3beta,5alpha,6beta,9alpha-tetraol (3), and daucosterol (4), respectively, by spectroscopic methods such as nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, mass spectrometry, and infrared spectroscopy, and comparison with those in the literature. Compounds 1-4 were isolated from KSD-815 for the first time. Compounds 1 and 4 inhibited the migration of MDA-MB-231 cells at concentrations lower than 20 micronM.

Separation of microparticles and biological cells inside an evaporating droplet using dielectrophoresis.

Microparticles or biological cells mixed in water were separated using the combination of an electrical force due to dielectrophoresis and a mechanical one generated in an evaporating droplet. Micropatterned electrodes of Au were fabricated on the silicon dioxide layer and were used to generate dielectrophoresis. Polystyrene particles, red blood cells. and E. coli were used as separating objects. Microparticles and biological cells were separated by adjusting the amplitude and frequency of the applied voltage. Although the mechanical force was enough to transport the particles to the boundary of the droplet, nevertheless, it could not detach the particles trapped at the electrode. Based on this work, the microparticles and biological cells can be separated, controlled, and sensed without using a liquid pumping unit.

Gas-vapor bubble nucleation--a unified approach.

In a solution which is saturated with gas near the superheat limit, one might expect a bubble formed from both dissolved gas and vapor molecules to appear. The integration of the surface-energy concepts, that are postulated on completely different physical bases for gas and vapor bubble formation is a major issue. In this paper, we reformulate gas and vapor bubble nucleation by a scaling transformation, which turns the surface energy for the bubble formation from both dissolved gases and vapor molecules to the translational energy of a molecule, (3/2)kBT. With this unified approach, one could estimate the dissolved gas effect on the superheat limit of the liquid. The driving force and the molecular volume are important quantities for determining the number of gas and vapor molecules composed of a critical cluster. This approach, of course, can predict pure gas bubble formation, as well as pure vapor bubble formation, as limiting cases. Also, this approach makes it possible to find that the possible occurrence of gas bubble nucleation by dissolved gases prevents measuring the theoretical superheat limit of water at atmospheric pressure, 300 degrees C.