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The enteric disease of swine recognized in the early 1970s in Europe was initially described as “epidemic viral diarrhea” and is now termed “porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED)”. The coronavirus referred to as PED virus (PEDV) was determined to be the etiologic agent of this disease in the late 1970s. Since then the disease has been reported in Europe and Asia, but the most severe outbreaks have occurred predominantly in Asian swine-producing countries. Most recently, PED first emerged in early 2013 in the United States that caused high morbidity and mortality associated with PED, remarkably affecting US pig production, and spread further to Canada and Mexico. Soon thereafter, large-scale PED epidemics recurred through the pork industry in South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. These recent outbreaks and global re-emergence of PED require urgent attention and deeper understanding of PEDV biology and pathogenic mechanisms. This paper highlights the current knowledge of molecular epidemiology, diagnosis, and pathogenesis of PEDV, as well as prevention and control measures against PEDV infection. More information about the virus and the disease is still necessary for the development of effective vaccines and control strategies. It is hoped that this review will stimulate further basic and applied studies and encourage collaboration among producers, researchers, and swine veterinarians to provide answers that improve our understanding of PEDV and PED in an effort to eliminate this economically significant viral disease, which emerged or re-emerged worldwide.

Indium gallium nitride (InGaN)-based micro-LEDs (μLEDs) are suitable for meeting ever-increasing demands for high-performance displays owing to their high efficiency, brightness and stability 1 – 5 . However, μLEDs have a large problem in that the external quantum efficiency (EQE) decreases with the size reduction 6 – 9 . Here we demonstrate a blue InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) nanorod-LED (nLED) with high EQE. To overcome the size-dependent EQE reduction problem 8 , 9 , we studied the interaction between the GaN surface and the sidewall passivation layer through various analyses. Minimizing the point defects created during the passivation process is crucial to manufacturing high-performance nLEDs. Notably, the sol–gel method is advantageous for the passivation because SiO 2 nanoparticles are adsorbed on the GaN surface, thereby minimizing its atomic interactions. The fabricated nLEDs showed an EQE of 20.2 ± 0.6%, the highest EQE value ever reported for the LED in the nanoscale. This work opens the way for manufacturing self-emissive nLED displays that can become an enabling technology for next-generation displays. Using a sol–gel passivation method, the fabrication of blue InGaN nanorod-LEDs with the highest external quantum efficiency value ever reported for LEDs in the nanoscale is demonstrated.

Establishing multi-colour patterning technology for colloidal quantum dots is critical for realising high-resolution displays based on the material. Here, we report a solution-based processing method to form patterns of quantum dots using a light-driven ligand crosslinker, ethane-1,2-diyl bis(4-azido-2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzoate). The crosslinker with two azide end groups can interlock the ligands of neighbouring quantum dots upon exposure to UV, yielding chemically robust quantum dot films. Exploiting the light-driven crosslinking process, different colour CdSe-based core-shell quantum dots can be photo-patterned; quantum dot patterns of red, green and blue primary colours with a sub-pixel size of 4 μm × 16 μm, corresponding to a resolution of >1400 pixels per inch, are demonstrated. The process is non-destructive, such that photoluminescence and electroluminescence characteristics of quantum dot films are preserved after crosslinking. We demonstrate that red crosslinked quantum dot light-emitting diodes exhibiting an external quantum efficiency as high as 14.6% can be obtained. Designing high-resolution displays based on colloidal quantum dots remains a challenge. Here, the authors demonstrate a photo-patterning method to develop CdSe-based core-shell quantum dots patterns of red, green and blue colours with diameters ranging from 7 to 20 nm and resolution of 1400 pixels per inch.

Cell mass and chemical composition are important aggregate cellular properties that are especially relevant to physiological processes, such as growth control and tissue homeostasis. Despite their importance, it has been difficult to measure these features quantitatively at the individual cell level in intact tissue. Here, we introduce normalized Raman imaging (NoRI), a stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy method that provides the local concentrations of protein, lipid, and water from live or fixed tissue samples with high spatial resolution. Using NoRI, we demonstrate that protein, lipid, and water concentrations at the single cell are maintained in a tight range in cells under the same physiological conditions and are altered in different physiological states, such as cell cycle stages, attachment to substrates of different stiffness, or by entering senescence. In animal tissues, protein and lipid concentration varies with cell types, yet an unexpected cell-to-cell heterogeneity was found in cerebellar Purkinje cells. The protein and lipid concentration profile provides means to quantitatively compare disease-related pathology, as demonstrated using models of Alzheimer’s disease. This demonstration shows that NoRI is a broadly applicable technique for probing the biological regulation of protein mass, lipid mass, and water mass for studies of cellular and tissue growth, homeostasis, and disease.

Development of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on colloidal quantum dots is driven by attractive properties of these fluorophores such as spectrally narrow, tunable emission and facile processibility via solution-based methods. A current obstacle towards improved LED performance is an incomplete understanding of the roles of extrinsic factors, such as non-radiative recombination at surface defects, versus intrinsic processes, such as multicarrier Auger recombination or electron-hole separation due to applied electric field. Here we address this problem with studies that correlate the excited state dynamics of structurally engineered quantum dots with their emissive performance within LEDs. We find that because of significant charging of quantum dots with extra electrons, Auger recombination greatly impacts both LED efficiency and the onset of efficiency roll-off at high currents. Further, we demonstrate two specific approaches for mitigating this problem using heterostructured quantum dots, either by suppressing Auger decay through the introduction of an intermediate alloyed layer, or by using an additional shell that impedes electron transfer into the quantum dot to help balance electron and hole injection. Auger recombination is a loss process that considerably reduces the efficiency of many quantum-dot light-emitting diodes. Here the authors demonstrate that designs such as heterostructure quantum dots can considerably suppress Auger decay in light-emitting diodes.

The present study was conducted to examine whether cellular and/or viral cholesterol levels play a role in porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) replication. Our results showed that depletion of cholesterol from cells or virions by treating them with methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MβCD) diminished PDCoV infection in a dose-dependent manner. The addition of exogenous cholesterol to MβCD-treated cells or virions moderately restored PDCoV infectivity. Furthermore, the pharmacological sequestration of cellular or viral cholesterol efficiently blocked both virus attachment and internalization. Taken together, the current data indicate that the cholesterol present in the cell membrane and viral envelope contributes to PDCoV replication by acting as a key component in viral entry.

On the recent report of a field-induced first order transition in the superconducting state of CeRh 2 As 2 , which is a possible indication of a parity-switching transition of the superconductor, the microscopic physics is still under investigation. However, if two competing paring channels of opposite parities do exist, a particle-particle collective mode referred to as the Bardasis-Schrieffer (BS) mode should generically exist below the pair-breaking continuum. The BS mode of the CeRh 2 As 2 superconductor can couple to the light, as it arises from a pairing channel with the parity opposite to that of the superconducting condensate. Here, by using a generic model Hamiltonian we carry out a qualitative investigation on the excitation energy of the BS mode with respect to the out-of-plane magnetic fields and its contribution to the optical conductivity. Our findings indicate that the distinct coupling between the BS mode and the light can serve as evidence for the competing odd-parity channels of CeRh 2 As 2 and other locally non-centrosymmetric superconductors. Superconductors with odd-parity Cooper pairs are rare and their experimental confirmation is significantly challenging. In the CeRh2As2 superconductor, the authors’ investigation reveals that the presence of competing pairings with opposite parities gives rise to a unique collective mode, which can be observed through the optical response.

For the past three decades, the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) has remained an enormous threat to the South Korean swine industry. The scarcity of an effective method for manipulating viral genomes has impeded research progress in PEDV biology and vaccinology. Here, we report the development of reverse genetics systems using two novel infectious full-length cDNA clones of a Korean highly pathogenic-G2b strain, KNU-141112, and its live attenuated vaccine strain, S DEL5/ORF3, in a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) under the control of a eukaryotic promoter. Direct transfection of cells with each recombinant BAC clone induced cytopathic effects and produced infectious progeny. The reconstituted viruses, icKNU-141112 and icS DEL5/ORF3, harboring genetic markers, displayed phenotypic and genotypic properties identical to their respective parental viruses. Using the DNA-launched KNU-141112 infectious cDNA clone as a backbone, two types of recombinant viruses were generated. First, we edited the open reading frame 3 (ORF3) gene, as cell-adapted strains lose full-length ORF3, and replaced this region with an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene to generate icPEDV-EGFP. This mutant virus presented parental virus-like growth kinetics and stably retained robust EGFP expression, indicating that ORF3 is dispensable for PEDV replication in cell culture and is a tolerant location for exogeneous gene acceptance. However, the plaque size and syncytia phenotypes of ORF3-null icPEDV-EGFP were larger than those of icKNU-141112 but similar to ORF3-null icS DEL5/ORF3, suggesting a potential role of ORF3 in PEDV cytopathology. Second, we substituted the spike (S) gene with a heterologous S protein, designated S51, from a variant of interest (VOI), which was the most genetically and phylogenetically distant from KNU-141112. The infectious recombinant VOI, named icPEDV-S51, could be recovered, and the rescued virus showed indistinguishable growth characteristics compared to icKNU-141112. Virus cross-neutralization and structural analyses revealed antigenic differences in S between icKNU-141112 and icPEDV-S51, suggesting that genetic and conformational changes mapped within the neutralizing epitopes of S51 could impair the neutralization capacity and cause considerable immune evasion. Collectively, while the established molecular clones afford convenient, versatile platforms for PEDV genome manipulation, allowing for corroborating the molecular basis of viral replication and pathogenesis, they also provide key infrastructural frameworks for developing new vaccines and coronaviral vectors.

Background/Objectives: Cardiometabolic risk clustering (CMRC), the coexistence of multiple risk factors, markedly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. While obesity is central, the independent roles of vitamin D status and systemic inflammation remain unclear. This study examined determinants of CMRC in middle-aged Korean adults, focusing on vitamin D and C-reactive protein (CRP). Methods: Cross-sectional data were analyzed from 2062 adults aged 40–64 years in the 2023 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. CMRC was defined as ≥3 of abdominal obesity, hypertension, diabetes, hypertriglyceridemia, and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], CRP, lifestyle behaviors, and covariates were assessed. Complex-sample logistic regression identified factors associated with CMRC. Results: CMRC prevalence was 16.5%. Older age (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02–1.06), current smoking (OR = 1.76, 95% CI: 1.26–2.45), elevated CRP (1–3 mg/L: OR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.04–1.87; ≥3 mg/L: OR = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.00–2.66), and obesity (OR = 8.29, 95% CI: 6.12–11.21) increased CMRC risk. Protective factors included male sex (OR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.45–0.81), sufficient vitamin D (≥20 ng/mL: OR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.58–0.99), and meeting World Health Organization physical activity guidelines (OR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.55–0.92). Conclusions: These survey-weighted associations may help identify at-risk mid-life adults at the population level and motivate longitudinal evaluation of vitamin D deficiency and inflammation in risk assessment and targeted prevention.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a highly contagious enteric pathogen of swine. Acute PEDV outbreaks have continually emerged in most swine-producing Asian countries and, recently, in the United States, causing significant economic losses in the pig industry. The spike (S) protein of PEDV is a type 1 transmembrane envelope glycoprotein and consists of the S1 and S2 domains, which are responsible for virus binding and fusion, respectively. Since the S1 domain is involved in a specific high-affinity interaction with the cellular receptor and induction of neutralizing antibody in the natural host, it is a primary target for the development of effective vaccines against PEDV. In this study, a codon-optimized PEDV S1 gene containing amino acid residues 25–738 was synthesized based on a multiple alignment of the S amino acid sequences of PEDV field isolates and used to establish a stable porcine cell line constitutively expressing the PEDV S1 protein. The purified recombinant S1 protein was found to mediate highly potent antibody responses in immunized rabbits. The antibodies strongly recognized the recombinant S1 protein from cell lysates and supernatants of S1-expressing cells, whereas they bound weakly to the authentic S protein of PEDV vaccine strain SM98-1. Furthermore, a serum neutralization test revealed that the rabbit antisera completely inhibit infection of the PEDV vaccine strain at a serum dilution of 1:16. We then tested the ability of vaccination with the recombinant S1 protein to protect piglets against PEDV. Late-term pregnant sows were inoculated intramuscularly with the purified S1 protein, and the outcome was investigated in passively immunized suckling piglets after a virulent PEDV challenge. The results showed that vaccination with S1 protein efficiently protected neonatal piglets against PEDV. Our data suggest that the recombinant S1 protein shows potential as an effective and safe subunit vaccine for PED prevention.