Supplemented vaccination with tandem repeat M2e virus-like particles enhances protection against homologous and heterologous HPAI H5 viruses in chickens

Song, B.M.,Kang, H.M.,Lee, E.K.,Jung, S.C.,Kim, M.C.,Lee, Y.N.,Kang, S.M.,Lee, Y.J. Butterworths ; Elsevier Science Ltd 2016 Vaccine Vol.34 No.5

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5 viruses derived from A/Goose/Guangdong/1/96 have been continuously circulating globally, severely affecting the public health and poultry industries. The matrix 2 protein ectodomain (M2e) is considered a promising candidate for a universal cross-protective influenza vaccine that provides more effective control over HPAI H5 viruses harboring variant hemagglutinin (HA)-antigens. Here, we evaluated the protective efficacy of a tandem repeat construct of heterologous M2e presented on virus-like particles (M2e5x VLPs) either alone or as a supplement against HPAI H5 viruses in a chicken model. Chickens immunized with M2e5x VLPs alone induced M2e-specific antibodies but were not protected against HPAI H5. The homo- and cross-protective efficacy of M2e5x VLP-supplemented vaccination of chickens was also examined. Importantly, supplementation with M2e5x VLPs induced significantly higher levels of antibodies specific for M2e and different viruses as well as provided improved protection against homologous and heterologous HPAI H5 viruses. Considering the limited efficacy of inactivated vaccines, supplement vaccination with M2e5x VLPs may be an effective measure for preventing outbreaks of HPAI viruses that have the ability to constantly change their antigenic properties in poultry.

Minimum permanents on two faces of the polytope of doubly stochastic matrices

Pula, K.,Song, S.Z.,Wanless, I.M. North Holland [etc.] 2011 Linear algebra and its applications Vol.434 No.1

We consider the minimum permanents and minimising matrices on the faces of the polytope of doubly stochastic matrices whose nonzero entries coincide with those of, respectively,U<SUB>m,n</SUB>=I<SUB>n</SUB>J<SUB>n,m</SUB>J<SUB>m,n</SUB>0<SUB>m</SUB>andV<SUB>m,n</SUB>=I<SUB>n</SUB>J<SUB>n,m</SUB>J<SUB>m,n</SUB>J<SUB>m,m</SUB>. Here J<SUB>r,s</SUB> denotes the rxs matrix all of whose entries are 1, I<SUB>n</SUB> is the identity matrix of order n and 0<SUB>m</SUB> is the mxm zero matrix. We conjecture that V<SUB>m,n</SUB> is cohesive but not barycentric for 1<n<m+m and that it is not cohesive for n≥m+m. We prove that it is cohesive for 1<n<m+m and not cohesive for n≥2m and confirm the conjecture computationally for n<2m≤200. We also show that U<SUB>m,n</SUB> is barycentric.

Synthesis and Thermoelectric Properties of Ce1−z Pr z Fe4−x Co x Sb12 Skutterudites

Song, K. M.,Shin, D. K.,Jang, K. W.,Choi, S. M.,Lee, S.,Seo, W. S.,Kim, I. H. Springer Science + Business Media 2017 Journal of electronic materials Vol.46 No.5

<P>p-Type Ce1-z Pr (z) Fe4-x Co (x) Sb-12 skutterudites were prepared by encapsulated melting, quenching, annealing, and hot pressing. While the skutterudite phase was successfully synthesized, a small amount of the secondary phase (FeSb2) was observed. According to the scanning electron microscope analysis, (Ce,Pr)Sb-2 phases were also observed for Co-substituted specimens (x = 0.5). The electrical conductivity decreased with increasing temperature, implying a degenerate semiconductor behavior, and also decreased with increasing Co contents. All specimens showed p-type characteristics having positive signs of the Hall coefficient and the Seebeck coefficient. The Seebeck coefficient increased with increasing temperature and reached a maximum value at 823 K. The power factor (PF) increased with decreasing Co content and Ce0.75Pr0.25 Fe4Sb12 showed a peak value of PF = 3.2 mW m(-1) K-2 at 823 K. The electronic thermal conductivity decreased with increasing Co contents and the lattice thermal conductivity decreased with decreasing Ce and Co contents at high temperature. The thermal conductivity increased at temperatures above 623 K due to bipolar conduction. The dimensionless figurea of pound merit (ZT) showed a maximum value of ZT = 0.84 at 823 K for Ce0.25Pr0.75Fe4Sb12.</P>

THE EVOLUTION OF THE GALAXY STELLAR MASS FUNCTION AT<i>z</i>= 4-8: A STEEPENING LOW-MASS-END SLOPE WITH INCREASING REDSHIFT

Song, Mimi,Finkelstein, Steven L.,Ashby, Matthew L. N.,Grazian, A.,Lu, Yu,Papovich, Casey,Salmon, Brett,Somerville, Rachel S.,Dickinson, Mark,Duncan, K.,Faber, Sandy M.,Fazio, Giovanni G.,Ferguson, He American Astronomical Society 2016 The Astrophysical Journal Vol.825 No.1

<P>We present galaxy stellar mass functions (GSMFs) at z = 4-8 from a rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) selected sample of similar to 4500 galaxies, found via photometric redshifts over an area of similar to 280 arcmin(2) in the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS)/Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) fields and the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. The deepest Spitzer/IRAC data to date and the relatively large volume allow us to place a better constraint at both the low- and high-mass ends of the GSMFs compared to previous space-based studies from pre-CANDELS observations. Supplemented by a stacking analysis, we find a linear correlation between the rest-frame UV absolute magnitude at 1500 angstrom (M-UV) and logarithmic stellar mass (log M-*) that holds for galaxies with log(M-*/M-circle dot) less than or similar to 10. We use simulations to validate our method of measuring the slope of the log M-*-M-UV relation, finding that the bias is minimized with a hybrid technique combining photometry of individual bright galaxies with stacked photometry for faint galaxies. The resultant measured slopes do not significantly evolve over z = 4-8, while the normalization of the trend exhibits a weak evolution toward lower masses at higher redshift. We combine the log M-*-M-UV distribution with observed rest-frame UV luminosity functions at each redshift to derive the GSMFs, finding that the low-mass-end slope becomes steeper with increasing redshift from alpha = -1.55(-0.07)(+0.08) at z = 4 to alpha = -2.25(-0.35)(+0.72) at z = 8. The inferred stellar mass density, when integrated over M-* = 10(8)-10(13) M-circle dot, increases by a factor of 10(-2)(+30) between z = 7 and z = 4 and is in good agreement with the time integral of the cosmic star formation rate density.</P>

Hydrogen production by auto-thermal reforming of ethanol over nickel catalyst supported on metal oxide-stabilized zirconia

Youn, M.H.,Seo, J.G.,Song, I.K. Pergamon Press ; Elsevier Science Ltd 2010 International journal of hydrogen energy Vol.35 No.8

Metal oxide-stabilized mesoporous zirconia supports (M-ZrO<SUB>2</SUB> with different metal oxide stabilizer (M = Zr, Y, La, Ca, and Mg) were prepared by a templating sol-gel method. 20 wt% Ni catalysts supported on M-ZrO<SUB>2</SUB>(M = Zr, Y, La, Ca, and Mg) were then prepared by an incipient wetness impregnation method for use in hydrogen production by auto-thermal reforming of ethanol. The effect of metal oxide stabilizer (M = Zr, Y, La, Ca, and Mg) on the catalytic performance of supported nickel catalysts was investigated. Ni/M-ZrO<SUB>2</SUB>(M = Y, La, Ca, and Mg) catalysts exhibited a higher catalytic performance than Ni/Zr-ZrO<SUB>2</SUB> because surface oxygen vacancy of M-ZrO<SUB>2</SUB>(M = Y, La, Ca, and Mg) and reducibility of Ni/M-ZrO<SUB>2</SUB>(M = Y, La, Ca, and Mg) were enhanced by the addition of lower valent metal cation. Hydrogen yield over Ni/M-ZrO<SUB>2</SUB>(M = Zr, Y, La, Ca, and Mg) catalyst was monotonically increased with increasing both surface oxygen vacancy of M-ZrO<SUB>2</SUB>support and reducibility of Ni/M-ZrO<SUB>2</SUB>catalyst. Among the catalysts tested, Ni catalyst supported on yttria-stabilized mesoporous zirconia (Ni/Y-ZrO<SUB>2</SUB> showed the best catalytic performance.

The partitioned-layer index: Answering monotone top-k queries using the convex skyline and partitioning-merging technique

Heo, J.S.,Whang, K.Y.,Kim, M.S.,Kim, Y.R.,Song, I.Y. North-Holland [etc ; Elsevier Science Ltd 2009 Information sciences Vol.179 No.19

A top-k query returns k tuples with the highest (or the lowest) scores from a relation. The score is computed by combining the values of one or more attributes. We focus on top-k queries having monotone linear score functions. Layer-based methods are well-known techniques for top-k query processing. These methods construct a database as a single list of layers. Here, the ith layer has the tuples that can be the top-i tuple. Thus, these methods answer top-k queries by reading at most k layers. Query performance, however, is poor when the number of tuples in each layer (simply, the layer size) is large. In this paper, we propose a new layer-ordering method, called the Partitioned-Layer Index (simply, the PL Index), that significantly improves query performance by reducing the layer size. The PL Index uses the notion of partitioning, which constructs a database as multiple sublayer lists instead of a single layer list subsequently reducing the layer size. The PL Index also uses the convex skyline, which is a subset of the skyline, to construct a sublayer to further reduce the layer size. The PL Index has the following desired properties. The query performance of the PL Index is quite insensitive to the weights of attributes (called the preference vector) of the score function and is approximately linear in the value of k. The PL Index is capable of tuning query performance for the most frequently used value of k by controlling the number of sublayer lists. Experimental results using synthetic and real data sets show that the query performance of the PL Index significantly outperforms existing methods except for small values of k (say, k=<9).

Supplementation of oil-based inactivated H9N2 vaccine with M2e antigen enhances resistance against heterologous H9N2 avian influenza virus infection

Park, J.K.,Lee, D.H.,Cho, C.H.,Yuk, S.S.,To, E.O.,Kwon, J.H.,Noh, J.Y.,Kim, B.Y.,Choi, S.W.,Shim, B.S.,Song, M.K.,Lee, J.B.,Park, S.Y.,Choi, I.S.,Song, C.S. Elsevier Scientific Pub. Co 2014 Veterinary microbiology Vol.169 No.3

Avian influenza virus (AIV) subtype H9N2 has been evolving rapidly and vaccine escape variants have been reported to cause circulation of infections and economic losses. In the present study, we developed and evaluated ectodomain of the AIV matrix 2 (M2e) protein as a supplementing antigen for oil-based inactivated H9N2 vaccine to increase resistance against vaccine escape variants. AIV H9N2 M2e antigen was expressed in Escherichia coli and supplemented to inactivated H9N2 oil emulsion vaccine. Specific pathogen-free chickens received a single injection of inactivated H9N2 oil emulsion vaccines with or without M2e supplementation. At three weeks post vaccination, hemagglutination inhibition tests and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were performed to determine serological immune responses. Challenge study using a vaccine escape H9N2 variant was performed to evaluate the efficacy of M2e supplementation. M2e antigen supplemented in oil emulsion vaccine was highly immunogenic, and a single M2e-supplemented vaccination reduced challenge virus replication and shedding more effectively than non-supplemented vaccination.

닭의 동품종내 계통간 잡종강세 이용시험

박상문,김동곤,송기덕,오봉국 한국축산학회 1965 한국축산학회지 Vol.7 No.1

To induce hybrid vigor by the reciprocal crossing with SWL (Sung Whan Line), MWL (Minnesota Line), AWL (Dembro Line) and BWL (Derby Line) of single comb white leghorn, 1,330 hens were divided into 16 blacks (Diallal cross with four Line) and fed under condition of N.R.C. feeding standard. In this experiment, hatchability, fertility, mortality, body weight, days required on up to first egg laying date, egg weight, egg quality, winter pauses, intensity, feed utilization, number of eggs layed during the testing period of days and brooding were investigated. Cross breeds showed a little higher fertility and hatchability but there were no significance when their parents had high hatchability. Cross breeds M♀×A♂, M♀×E♂ and A♀×S♂ showed more than ½ decrease in mortality, however cross bred hen showed 2.27% more decrease in mortality than purebreeds. Cross breeds of 6 blocks among 16 blocks at 6 weeks showed significant (P$lt;0.01) difference in body weight. Heaviest cross breed among all blocks were S♀×A♂ and A♀×S♂. Generally adult cross breeds showed heaviest body weight; especially in S♀×A♂ and A♀×S♂ cross breeds showed heaviest body weight among them. Dates requiring on up to first egg laying (50% laying date in the blocks) were showen at cross breeds. Cross breeds shorten 16.42 days than purebreeds and A♀×M♂ was showed shortest clay (171.0 days) in all cross breeds. ♀M×A♂ (175.0 days) and M♀×B♂ (175.0 days) were excellent. Cross breed showed increased egg weight as follows : A♀×S♂ 56.0 g, B♀×M♂ 56.62 g B♀×A♂ 57.40 g and there was significant (P$lt;0.05) difference in egg weight between pure breed and cross breed (M♀×S♂ and B♀×A♂), However, their egg weight was same one as standard (56.0 g) Generally productive block showed light egg weight, because egg weight are related to egg production, Those eggs didn't show any progress in thickness, meat and blood spot. Winter pauses became more short and intensity was more higher than purebreeds. They produced more eggs during winter than purebreeds. Feed utilization was very high in cross breeds. than in purebreeds. The number of egg at 500 days testing period (Hen house) was M♀×B♂ : 201,08, S♀×B♂ : 200.73, B♀×S♂ : 200.21, M♀×S♂ : 197.28 and M♀×A♂ : 191.69 and number of egg per hen in the block was from 230 to 256 in a year. SWL and BWL cross was very excellent in any condition. Generally, we could say that the number of egg was increased by crossing and it showed at 1% level of significance, but cross breeds increased broodiness about 0.56% than did in pure breeds.

Effect of Antimuscarinic Autoantibodies in Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome

Kim, N.,Shin, Y.,Choi, S.,Namkoong, E.,Kim, M.,Lee, J.,Song, Y.,Park, K. SAGE Publications 2015 Journal of dental research Vol.94 No.5

<P>The presence of functional autoantibodies against the muscarinic type 3 receptor (M3R) has been reported in primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS). However, the pathogenic role of these autoantibodies in pSS development remains to be elucidated. In this experiment, we investigated a pathologic role of pSS autoantibodies (pSS IgG) associated with downregulation of the major histocompatibility complex I (MHC I) molecule with M3R through internalization. Anti-M3R autoantibodies in purified control and pSS IgG were detected using 4 synthesized cyclic M3R peptides by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The binding reactivity of pSS IgG to M3R in situ was analyzed by a dual immunostaining method. Surface expression, interaction, and internalization of M3R with MHC I were analyzed by immunofluorescence confocal microscopy and biochemical assays. Synthetic cyclic peptides M3RP(205-221) and M3RP(520-527) showed significantly high reactivity with pSS IgG compared to the control IgG or the other 3 peptides (P < 0.05). Significantly high reactivity of pSS IgG to M3R in situ was observed. PSS IgG increased the interaction of membrane M3R with MHC I and induced their internalization in primary human submandibular gland cells. The pSS IgG-induced internalization of M3R with MHC I was significantly inhibited by the cholesterol-sequestering drug filipin. Our novel findingnamely, strong downregulation of the membrane MHC I with M3R through internalization of the cholesterol-rich microdomain associating with anti-M3R autoantibodiescould be an important mechanism contributing to the impaired salivation seen in pSS and linking secretory hypofunction to autoimmune pathogenesis.</P>

Microsatellite 를 이용한 돼지 Yorkshire 품종의 일당중체량 연관 DNA Marker 개발

송영민,김철욱,조광근,박외선,권은정,이정규,백동훈,최진성,노정만,홍연희 한국동물자원과학회 2000 한국축산학회지 Vol.42 No.4

This study was conducted to develop DNA markers related with average daily gain (ADG) using 27 pigs. Animals were divided into two groups: low ADG group had 11 pigs with 1.5 SD and high ADG group was consisted of 16 pigs with +1.5 SD. Initially, we choose and tested 78 microsatellites which could contain potential DNA markers for ADG. Part of the microsatellites were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and then electrophoresed on a agarose gel followed by the allelic, genotypic and statistical analysis. According to the alleic frequency analysis, 21 DNA polymorphisms were detected from 17 microsatellites and appeared to be associated with ADG (P$lt;0.05). From the genotypic frequency analysis, 14 DNA polymorphisms were found from II microsatellites and were associated with ADG. All pigs in the low ADG group had a 135:144 hetero type for the SWR308 marker, whereas all pigs in the high ADG group had a 144:144 homo type. This and possibly other selected markers could be useful for the selecting young pigs with an excellent growth potential.