Imprinting, characterized by unequal expression of the offspring's genes in a parent-of-origin dependent manner, has been functionally implicated in brain development and in psychiatric disorders. In this study, unambiguous distortion in paternal but not maternal transmission of the disease-associated single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs6556547 (T/G) clearly indicated the presence of parent-of-origin effect (POE) in the GABAA receptor β2 subunit gene (GABRB2). ‘Flipping’ of allelic mRNA expression in heterozygotes of SNP rs2229944 (C/T) and the observed two-tiered distribution of mRNA expression levels in heterozygotes of the disease-associated SNP rs1816071 (G/A) furnished important support for the occurrence of imprinting at GABRB2. Imprinting in effect introduced heterozygotes from different parents-of-origin endowed with dissimilar mRNA expression capabilities. The deficit of upper-tiered expressions accounted for the lowered mRNA expression levels in the schizophrenic heterozygotes. This pointed to the necessity of differentiating between two kinds of heterozygotes of different parental origins in disease association studies on GABRB2. Bisulfite sequencing revealed hypermethylation in the neighborhood of SNP rs1816071, and methylation differences between controls and schizophrenia patients. Notably, allele-specific methylation was observed at the disease-associated SNPs rs6556547 and rs1816071. These findings raised the possibility that CpG methylation status of these sites could have an impact on the expression of GABRB2 and the risk of schizophrenia. Furthermore, the occurrence of imprinting and allele-specific methylation in the schizophrenia candidate gene GABRB2 was compatible with the epigenetic hypothesis for schizophrenia pathophysiology, thereby calling for the need to explore the role of epigenetic factors in mediating susceptibility to schizophrenia.

The payload capacity of a conventional robot is usually limited as compared to the mass of the robot body. This is because a payload adds additional gravity loadings to the robot joints resulting in large input joint torques. To reduce the required input joint torques, the authors have proposed a mechanical balancing mechanism. Basically, the mechanism was designed to exactly balance the first three links of an articulated robot by adjusting the positions of counter-balancing masses so as to eliminate the gravity loading terms. Since the input joint torques are greatly reduced by adopting balancing mechanisms, a balanced robot is expected to carry heavier payload and move with higher speed and acceleration. This paper further investigates the possibilities of improving the payload capacity as well as speed and acceleration capabilities. These features were investigated under various operating conditions involving payload, maximum angular velocity, and acceleration period. Based upon the simulation results, the performances of the balanced robot are compared in detail with those of a unbalanced conventional robot.

Holstein-Friesian steer beef production is renowned globally as a secondary product of the milk industry. Grass feeding is a common practice in raising Holstein steers because of its low cost. Furthermore, grass feeding is an alternative way to produce beef with a balanced n-6 to n-3 fatty acids (FAs) ratio. However, the performance and meat quality of Holstein-Friesian cattle is more likely to depend on a high-quality diet. The aim of this study was to observe whether feeding two mixed diets; a corn-based total mixed ration (TMR) with winter ryegrass (Lolium perenne) or flaxseed oil-supplemented pellets with reed canary grass haylage (n-3 mix) provided benefits on carcass weight, meat quality and FA composition compared with cattle fed with reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) haylage alone. In all, 15 21-month-old Holstein-Friesian steers were randomly assigned to three group pens, were allowed free access to water and were fed different experimental diets for 150 days. Blood samples were taken a week before slaughter. Carcass weight and meat quality were evaluated after slaughter. Plasma lipid levels and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), creatine kinase (CK) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities were determined. Diet did not affect plasma triglyceride levels and GGT activity. Plasma cholesterol levels, including low-density and high-density lipoproteins, were higher in both mixed-diet groups than in the haylae group. The highest activities of plasma AST, CK and ALP were observed in the haylage group, followed by n-3 mix and TMR groups, respectively. Carcass weight was lower in the haylage group than in the other groups and no differences were found between the TMR and n-3 mix groups. Although the n-3 mix-fed and haylage-fed beef provided lower n-6 to n-3 FAs ratio than TMR-fed beef, the roasted beef obtained from the TMR group was more acceptable with better overall meat physicochemical properties and sensory scores. According to daily cost, carcass weight and n-6 to n-3 FAs ratio, the finishing diet containing flaxseed oil-supplemented pellets and reed canary grass haylage at the as-fed ratio of 40 : 60 could be beneficial for the production of n-3-enriched beef.

A radiocarbon (14C) dating technique with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) was applied to estimate the year of death and the year of birth of unidentified human remains. Because many of the samples have been preserved in formaldehyde, it was necessary to evaluate the influence of formaldehyde on carbon ages. Samples intentionally preserved in formaldehyde during the known period were measured, and their Δ14C values were compared with results obtained from fresh samples. The influence of formaldehyde on soft tissue was 14 times larger than that on cortical bone. Unfortunately, an effective method for removing the influence of formaldehyde has not yet been found. 14C ages could be obtained only from the samples not preserved in formaldehyde. The years of birth were determined by the ages of the dentin samples, while the years of death were determined by the ages of the bone and soft tissue samples. Multiple sampling from a body provides an advantage in determination of one of two possible ages of a sample obtained using the bomb peak. Victims of the Korean War were ascertained by the year of death. The year of death and the age at death of unidentified bodies were also determined for forensic investigation.

Interfacial dislocations (IDs) and half-loop arrays (HLAs) present in theepilayers of 4H-SiC crystal are known to have a deleterious effect on deviceperformance. Synchrotron X-ray Topography studies carried out on n-type 4H-SiCoffcut wafers before and after epitaxial growth show that in many cases BPDsegments in the substrate are responsible for creating IDs and HLAs during CVDgrowth. This paper reviews the behaviors of BPDs in the substrate during theepitaxial growth in different cases: (1) screw-oriented BPD segmentsintersecting the surface replicate directly through the interface during theepitaxial growth and take part in stress relaxation process by creating IDs andHLAs (Matthews-Blakeslee model [1] ); (2) non-screw oriented BPD half loopintersecting the surface glides towards and replicates through the interface,while the intersection points convert to threading edge dislocations (TEDs) andpin the half loop, leaving straight screw segments in the epilayer and thencreate IDs and HLAs; (3) edge oriented short BPD segments well below the surfaceget dragged towards the interface during epitaxial growth, leaving two longscrew segments in their wake, some of which replicate through the interface andcreate IDs and HLAs. The driving force for the BPDs to glide toward theinterface is thermal stress and driving force for the relaxation process tooccur is the lattice parameter difference at growth temperature which resultsfrom the doping concentration difference between the substrate and epilayer.

A review is presented of Synchrotron X-ray Topography and KOH etching studies carried out on n type 4H-SiC offcut substrates before and after homo-epitaxial growth to study defect replication and strain relaxation processes and identify the nucleation sources of both interfacial dislocations (IDs) and half-loop arrays (HLAs) which are known to have a deleterious effect on device performance. We show that these types of defects can nucleate during epilayer growth from: (1) short segments of edge oriented basal plane dislocations (BPDs) in the substrate which are drawn by glide into the epilayer; and (2) segments of half loops of BPD that are attached to the substrate surface prior to growth which also glide into the epilayer. It is shown that the initial motion of the short edge oriented BPD segments that are drawn from the substrate into the epilayer is caused by thermal stress resulting from radial temperature gradients experienced by the wafer whilst in the epi-chamber. This same stress also causes the initial glide of the surface half-loop into the epilayer and through the advancing epilayer surface. These mobile BPD segments provide screw oriented segments that pierce the advancing epilayer surface that initially replicate as the crystal grows. Once critical thickness is reached, according to the Mathews-Blakeslee model [1], these screw segments glide sideways under the action of the mismatch stress leaving IDs and HLAs in their wake. The origin of the mismatch stress is shown to be associated with lattice parameter differences at the growth temperature, arising from the differences in doping concentration between substrate and epilayer.

This paper discusses formation mechanisms and potential paths to reduce defect density in current SiC epitaxy technology. Comprehensive optimization efforts have resulted in defect density measured by laser light scattering below 0.5 cm-2 for 30 um thick epi wafers. Possible approaches to reduce basal plane dislocations and mitigate interfacial dislocations are discussed. The progress in epitaxy defect reduction has been made on the foundation of the high quality 100mm substrates. The average and median BPD density is 700 cm-2 and 500 cm-2, respectively, and a low TSD density is also achieved simultaneously with both average and median values around 350 cm-2. High quality and low stress 150mm substrates have been obtained with very low TSD density of <150 cm-2.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is now recognized as a common cause of foodborne outbreaks. This study aimed to describe the first ETEC O169 outbreak identified in Korea. In this outbreak, we identified 1642 cases from seven schools. Retrospective cohort studies were performed in two schools; and case-control studies were conducted in five schools. In two schools, radish kimchi was associated with illness; and in five other schools, radish or cabbage kimchi was found to have a higher risk among food items. Adjusted relative risk of kimchi was 5·87–7·21 in schools that underwent cohort studies; and adjusted odds ratio was 4·52–12·37 in schools that underwent case-control studies. ETEC O169 was isolated from 230 affected students, and was indistinguishable from the isolates detected from the kimchi product distributed by company X, a food company that produced and distributed kimchi to all seven schools. In this outbreak, we found that the risk of a kimchi-borne outbreak of ETEC O169 infection is present in Korea. We recommend continued monitoring regarding food safety in Korea, and strengthening surveillance regarding ETEC O169 infection through implementation of active laboratory surveillance to confirm its infection.

The combined application of section and projection topography carried out using synchrotron white beam radiation can be a powerful tool for the determination of the three-dimensional configurations of defects in single crystals. In this paper, we present examples of the application of this combination of techniques to the analysis of defect configurations in PVT-grown 4H-SiC wafers cut perpendicular and parallel to the growth axis. Detailed correlation between section and projection topography of threading screw dislocations (TSDs) is presented with particular emphasis being laid on the determination of the signs of the dislocations. Further, information can also be determined regarding the position of the dislocations within the crystal depth. In addition, similar correlation is presented for threading edge dislocations (TEDs) and basal plane dislocations (BPDs). The section topography images of dislocations can comprise direct, intermediary and dynamical contrast and all three types are observed. The application to the study of stacking faults will be also discussed in detail.

Synchrotron topography studies are presented of the behavior of growth dislocations and deformation-induced dislocations in 4H-SiC single crystals. The growth dislocations include those in threading orientation with line directions approximately along c with Burgers vectors of a, c, and na+mc (where n and m are integers) while the deformation-induced dislocations include those with line directions confined to the basal plane with Burgers vectors of a and Shockley partial dislocations with Burgers vectors of 1/3<1-100> as well as those with line directions in the {1-100} prismatic planes with Burgers vectors of a. Processes leading to the nucleation of the growth dislocations are discussed as well as their deflection onto the basal plane during crystal growth in a reversible process. This latter process can lead to the conversion of segments of the deflected growth dislocations into deformation induced dislocations. In some cases this can lead to dislocation multiplication via the Hopping Frank-Read source mechanism and in others to the motion of single Shockley partial dislocations leading to Shockley stacking fault expansion. Studies are also presented of interactions between threading growth dislocations with c-component of Burger’s vector facilitated by climb processes which are mediated by interactions with non-equilibrium concentrations of vacancies. This can lead to reactions whereby complete or partial dislocation Burgers vector annihilation occurs.