Autonomic dysregulation is associated with cardiovascular consequences in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This study aimed to investigate the effect of acute continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment on autonomic activity and to identify factors contributing to the heart rate variability (HRV) changes in OSA. Frequency domain HRV parameters were calculated and compared between the baseline polysomnography and during the CPAP titration in 402 patients with moderate to severe OSA. There were significant reductions in total power, very low-frequency band power, low-frequency band power, and high-frequency band power during the CPAP titration as compared to the baseline polysomnography. This tendency was more pronounced in men than in women, and in patients with severe OSA than those with moderate OSA. Multivariate analysis found that changes in apnea-hypopnea index and oxygen saturation were significantly associated with changes in sympathetic and parasympathetic activity, respectively. This study demonstrated that HRV parameters significantly changed during the CPAP titration, indicating a beneficial effect of CPAP in restoration of sympathetic and parasympathetic hyperactivity in OSA. Prospective longitudinal studies should determine whether long-term CPAP treatment aids in maintaining the long-lasting improvement of the autonomic functions, thereby contributing to the prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in patients with OSA.

Background Telomere shortening is related to aging and unfavourable health outcomes. Obesity and metabolic diseases are important factors for accelerating aging. This study aimed to find out the association between obesity, metabolic disease, and telomere length in metabolically healthy adults. Methods 237 adults were enrolled with written consents at a health promotion centre of a tertiary hospital from February 2014 to March 2015. After excluding 99 subjects who met the exclusion criterion, a total of 130 metabolically healthy subjects were selected for final analysis. The subjects were divided into quartile groups according to the telomere lengths of their oral mucosal cells. Results The subjects consisted of 66 (50.8%) males with a mean age of 58.59 years. The body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) increased significantly along with the quartile groups (Q1, 23.00; Q2, 23.96; Q3, 23.70; Q4, 25.20; P-for trend=0.008). Waist circumference (WC, P-for trend=0.022), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR, P-for trend=0.005), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR, P=0.001) also increased along with the quartile groups. Obesity prevalence (BMI ≥25 kg/m2), abdominal obesity (WC ≥90 cm for men, ≥85 cm for women), WHR 〉1.0 for men or 〉0.85 for women, and WHtR ≥0.5 increased significantly as the telomere length increased (P-for trend <0.05). After adjusting for covariates, the ORs for each obesity markers increased as the telomere length increased (P-for trend <0.05); and the ORs of WHtR were especially meaningful (Q1, 1.00; Q2, 2.53; Q3, 2.97; Q4, 7.81; P-for trend = 0.001). There were no significant trends for metabolic syndrome and its components along with the prevalence of fatty liver disease. Conclusion Obesity markers and telomere length had significant positive correlation despite the established theory. The obesity paradox may exist in metabolically healthy adults with regard to telomere length, However, further studies with larger sample sizes for the association between obesity and telomere length are needed.

Using a theorem of Ulam and Hyers, we will prove the Hyers-Ulam stability of two-dimensional Lagrange's mean value points $(\eta, \xi)$ which satisfy the equation, $f(u, v) - f(p, q) = (u-p) f_x(\eta, \xi) + (v-q) f_y(\eta, \xi)$, where $(p, q)$ and $(u, v)$ are distinct points in the plane. Moreover, we introduce an efficient algorithm for applying our main result in practical use.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted health care worldwide. As the pandemic has been prolonged, quarantine restrictions have been lightened gradu-ally, which can influence outcomes of pediatric patients with chronic disease such as epi-lepsy by increase of susceptibility of the COVID-19 infection. The aim of this study was to determine impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on seizure control and identify potential risk factors that might worsen seizure attacks during the pandemic in children with epilepsy. We performed a retrospective chart review of 48 pediatric patients with epilepsy during the COVID-19 pandemic from January 2016 to July 2022. During the COVID-19 pandemic period, 25% of pediatric patients experienced sei-zure worsening, showing an increase in seizure frequency or duration or both. Factors associated with worsening seizures during pandemic were: diagnosis of epi-lepsy less than one year, comorbid conditions with cerebral palsy or having a tracheosto-my or a PEG, and infection with other viruses (respiratory syncytial virus, influenza virus A, influenza virus B) rather than COVID-19 infection. Our finding highlights the need to proactively monitor and regularly follow up (es-pecially short period of time) patients after they are diagnosed with epilepsy. It is also important to properly manage those who are susceptible to serious illness and keep sea-sonal viral infections under surveillance to manage exacerbated seizure in children with epilepsy. Furthermore, pediatric physicians should not overlook surveillance of seasonal respiratory viruses since quarantine restrictions are getting eased.

Research on piezo-composite actuators has been actively conducted over the past two decades as a response to strong demand for light, compact actuators to replace electro-magnetic motor actuators in micro robots, small flying drones, and compact missile systems. Layered piezo-composite unimorph actuators have been studied to provide active vibration control of thin-walled aerospace structures, control the shapes of aircraft wing airfoils, and control the fins of small missiles, because they require less space and provide better frequency responses than conventional electro-magnetic motor actuator systems. However, based on the limited actuation strains of conventional piezo-composite unimorph actuators with poly-crystalline piezoelectric ceramic layers, they have not been implemented effectively as actuators for small aerospace vehicles. In this study, a lightweight piezo-composite unimorph actuator (LIPCA-S2) was manufactured and analyzed to predict its flexural actuation displacement. It was found that the actuated tip displacement of a piezo-composite cantilever could be predicted accurately using the proposed prediction model based on the nonlinear properties of the piezoelectric strain coefficient and elastic modulus of a piezoelectric single crystal.

The influences of doped hole transporting layer (HTL) on the performances of perovskite solar cells were studied. The influences of electrostatic and surface roughness effect by solvent additive doping were compared. The electrostatic effect of solvent additive doping was compared by addition of 1,8-diiodooctane and 1,8-dichlorooctane to the HTL layer. The surface roughness effect of solvent additive doping was examined using atomic force microscopy. The perovskite crystallinity by doping HTL was studied by X-ray diffraction. The conductivity of HTL was measured using four probe methods and was higher for doped devices. Enhanced conductivity of PEDOT:PSS film was also proved using fluorescence emission quenching. Long-term stability of the device was enhanced by doping HTL. The device with solvent additive exhibited much enhanced stability, retained over 80% of the initial PCE for 400 hours, while PCE of the device without solvent additive decreased to less than 80% after 200 hours. A very weak power microwave treatment was used for post-annealing of the fully fabricated devices. Post-annealing enhanced the lifetime of the device. Comparing different size of cells, the device lifetime was decreased as the cell area increased and as the size of the cell increased, the extent of lifetime enhancement by doping was increased.

Alopecia refers to the continuous shedding of hair from the scalp or other areas. Genetic factors are the most common of the variety of causes of alopecia. Male pattern baldness, also known as androgenic alopecia, is prevalent. Recently, the interest in hair loss treatment has increased due to the growing number of people experiencing anxiety and stress related to hair loss. Nepenthes kampotiana Lecomte is known for its anticancer effects, but its potential for preventing hair loss has not been researched. Therefore, this study focused on the hair loss prevention effects of N. kampotiana Lecomte ethanol extract (Nk-EE). The results showed that Nk-EE has a proliferative effect on human follicle dermal papilla cells and inhibited cell death. In vivo experiments using androgenic areata models showed that Nk-EE had a positive effect on a variety of biomarkers such as hair-to-skin ratio, hair type frequency, and hair thickness. The results of this study suggest that Nk-EE has the potential to be an effective treatment for androgenic alopecia.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, is a complex gastrointestinal disorder with a multifactorial etiology, including environmental triggers, autoimmune mechanisms, and genetic predisposition. Despite advancements in therapeutic strategies for IBD, its associated mortality rate continues to rise, which is often attributed to unforeseen side effects of conventional treatments. In this context, we explored the potential of Ecklonia cava extract (ECE) derived from an edible marine alga known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties in mitigating IBD. This study investigated the effectiveness of ECE as a preventive agent in a murine model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis. Our findings revealed that pretreatment with ECE significantly ameliorated colitis severity as evidenced by increased colon length, reduced spleen weight, and histological improvements demonstrated by immunohistochemical analysis. Furthermore, ECE significantly attenuated the upregulation of inflammatory cytokines and mediators and the infiltration of immune cells known to be prominent features of colitis in mice. Notably, ECE restored dysbiosis of intestinal microflora and aided in the recovery of damaged intestinal mucosa. Mechanistically, ECE exhibited protective effects against pathogenic colitis by inhibiting the NLRP3/NF-κB pathway known to be pivotal regulators in the inflammatory signaling cascade. These compelling results suggest that ECE holds promise as a potential candidate for IBD prevention. It might be developed into a functional food for promoting gastrointestinal health. This research sheds light on the preventive potential of natural compounds like ECE in the management of IBD, offering a safer and more effective approach to combating this challenging disease.

Social robots may become an innovative means to improve the well-being of individuals. Earlier research showed that people easily self-disclose to a social robot even in cases where that was unintended by the designers. We report on an experiment of self-disclosing in a diary journal or to a social robot after negative mood induction. The off-the-shelf robot was complemented with our inhouse developed AI chatbot and could talk about ‘hot topics’ after having it trained with thousands of entries on a complaint website. We found that people who felt strong negativity after being exposed to shocking video footage benefited the most from talking to our robot rather than writing down their feelings. For people less affected by the treatment, a confidential robot chat or writing a journal page did not differ significantly. We discuss emotion theory in relation to robotics and possibilities for an application in design (the emoji-enriched ‘talking stress ball’). We also underline the importance of - otherwise disregarded - outliers in a data set that is of a therapeutic nature.

Recently, two respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines based on the prefusion F (pre-F) antigen were approved in the United States. We developed and validated an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based protocol for the practical and large-scale evaluation of RSV vaccines. Two modified pre-F proteins (DS-Cav1 and SC-TM) were produced by genetic recombination and replication using an adenoviral vector. The protocol was established by optimizing the concentrations of the coating antigen (pre-F proteins), secondary antibodies, and choice of blocking buffer. To validate the protocol, we examined its accuracy, precision, and specificity using serum samples from 150 participants across various age groups and the standard serum provided by the National Institute of Health. In the linear correlation analysis, coating concentrations of 5 and 2.5 μg/mL of DS-Cav1 and SC-TM, respectively, showed high coefficients of determination (r2 = 0.90). Concentrations of secondary antibodies (alkaline phosphatase-conjugated anti-human immunoglobulin G, diluted 1:2000) and blocking reagents (5% skim milk/PBS-T) were optimized to minimize non-specific reactions. High accuracy was observed for DS-Cav1 (r2 = 0.90) and SC-TM (r2 = 0.86). Further, both antigens showed high precision (coefficient of variation &lt; 15%). Inhibition ELISA revealed cross-reactivity of antibodies against DS-Cav1 and SC-TM but not with the attachment protein.

“A Picture is worth a thousand words”. Given an image, humans are able to deduce various cause-and-effect captions of past, current, and future events beyond the image. The task of visual commonsense generation aims at generating three cause-and-effect captions (1) what needed to happen before, (2) what is the current intent, and (3) what will happen after for a given image. However, such a task is challenging for machines owing to two limitations: existing approaches (1) directly utilize conventional vision-language transformers to learn relationships between input modalities, and (2) ignore relations among target cause-and-effect captions but consider each caption independently. We propose Cause-and-Effect BART (CE-BART) which is based on (1) Structured Graph Reasoner that captures intra- and inter-modality relationships among visual and textual representations, and (2) Cause-and-Effect Generator that generates cause-and-effect captions by considering the causal relations among inferences. We demonstrate the validity of CE-BART on VisualCOMET and AVSD benchmarks. CE-BART achieves SOTA performances on both benchmarks, while extensive ablation study and qualitative analysis demonstrate the performance gain and improved interpretability.

Marine algae have been considered as abundant source of bioactive compounds with cosmeceutical potential. Recently, a great deal of interest has focused on the health-promoting effects of marine bioactive compounds. Carbohydrate is a major and abundant constitute of marine algae that have been utilized in cosmetic formulations, such as moisturizing and thickening agents. In addition, marine carbohydrates have been suggested as promising bioactive biomaterials for various skin beneficial properties, such as anti-oxidant, anti-melanogenic and anti-skin aging. Therefore, marine algae carbohydrates have potential of skin health benefits for value-added cosmeceutical application. The present review focused on the various biological capacities and potential skin health benefits of bioactive marine carbohydrates.

Although sarcopenia is known to be a risk factor for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), whether NAFLD is a risk factor for the development of sarcopenia is not clear. We investigated bidirectional relationships between NAFLD and low skeletal muscle mass index (LSMI) using three different datasets. Participants were classified into LSMI and normal groups. LSMI was defined as a body mass index (BMI)-adjusted appendicular skeletal muscle mass &lt;0.789 in men and &lt;0.512 in women or as the sex-specific lowest quintile of BMI-adjusted total skeletal muscle mass. NAFLD was determined according to NAFLD liver fat score or abdominal ultrasonography. The NAFLD groups showed a higher hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for LSMI than the normal groups (HRs=1.213, 95% CIs=1.050–1.402). The LSMI groups also showed a higher HRs with 95% CIs for NAFLD than normal groups (HRs=1.564, 95% CIs=1.378–1.775). Participants with NAFLD had consistently less skeletal muscle mass over 12 years of follow-up. In conclusion, LSMI and NAFLD showed a bidirectional relationship. Maintaining muscle mass should be emphasized in the management of NAFLD.

pH is the major factor that makes producers in aquaponics frustrated, since the main three organisms (aquatic animal, plant, and microbes) in the system with different preferences. Yet, amending the growing environment with additional C is a potential method to improve the growth of shrimp and plants as well as the establishment of microbe. A detailed study of the effects of pH and additional C on aquaponics under saline conditions has not been investigated. In this study, the effect of pH and additional C on the growth performance of shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) and five edible plants in marine aquaponic systems using the nutrient film technique (NFT) was evaluated. The results indicated that at both pH 6.5 treatments, plants grew better; nevertheless, the growth performance of plants in pH 7.5 with additional C was improved and showed a similar yield to lower pH treatments. On the other hand, shrimp growth was little affected by pH and additional C. A higher impact of imbalanced ionic composition on shrimp performance may have contributed to this trend. Hence, we suggest that only if the ionic composition is managed can make RO water a suitable source of water for shrimp-based aquaponic. In spite of this, more research is required.

The synergistic efficacy of combined treatment mild heat (MH) and dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma in Bacillus cereus-contaminated red pepper powder was tested. A cocktail of three strains of B. cereus (NCCP 10623, NCCP 14579, ATCC 11778) was inoculated onto red pepper powder and then treated with MH (60 ℃ for 5-20 min) and DBD plasma (5-20 min). Treatment with MH and DBD plasma alone for 5~20 min resulted in reductions of 0.23~1.43 and 0.12~0.96 log CFU/g, respectively. Combined treatment with MH and DBD plasma was the most effective at reducing B. cereus counts on red pepper powder and resulted in log-reductions of ≥ 6.0 log CFU/g. The largest synergistic values (4.24-4.42 log) against B. cereus in red pepper powder were obtained by the combination of 20 min MH and 5~15 min DBD plasma. Hunter color ‘‘L’’, ‘‘a’’, and ‘‘b’’ values of the combination-treated samples were not significantly different from those of non-treated samples. Also, no significant (p > 0.05) differences in pH values between samples were observed. Therefore, these results suggest that the combination of MH treatment and DBD plasma can be potentially utilized in the food industry to effectively inactivate B. cereus without incurring quality deterioration of red pepper powder.

In this study, we propose a module-type triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) capable of harvesting power from a variety of mechanical energy sources. The potential energy and kinetic energy of water are used for the rotational motion of the generator module, and electricity is generated by the contact/separation generation mode between the two triboelectric surfaces inside the rotating TENG. Through the parametric design of the internal friction surface structure and mass ball, we optimized the output of the proposed structure. To magnify the power, experiments were conducted to optimize the electrical output of the series of TENG units. The electrical signal generated by the module-type TENG can be used as a sensor to recognize the strength and direction of various physical quantities, such as wind or earthquake vibrations.

This study investigated the effects of whole-body circuit training using a weighted vest on plasma resistin, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and cardiorespiratory fitness for normal-weight obese women. In this study, thirty- six normal-weight obese women were divided into three groups: Weighted Vest Circuit Training (WVCT) (n = 12), Body Weight Circuit Training (BWCT) (n = 12), and Control (CON) (n = 12). Whole-body circuit training was conducted three times a week for eight weeks to compare and analyze plasma resistin, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and cardiorespiratory fitness before and after training. Although there was no significant baseline difference between the groups regarding skeletal muscle mass, it significantly increased for the WVCT group after eight weeks. percent body fat significantly decreased for the WVCT and BWCT groups, and there was a significant difference when the percent body fat of these two groups were compared to that of the control group. Moreover, the WVCT and BWCT groups displayed a significant decrease in plasma resistin, showing a significant difference from the CON group. The WVCT and BWCT group showed a significant decrease in plasma IL-6, whereas the CON group showed a significant increase. VO2max significantly increased post-training compared to before in the BWCT group and the WVCT group, and the WVCT group showed differences between groups compared to the BWCT group and the CON group. None of the three groups displayed significant changes in plasma hs-CRP, yet there was a significant difference between the hs-CRPs of the WVCT and BWCT group and that of the CON group. In conclusion, whole-body circuit training using a weighted vest efficiently improves body composition, plasma resistin, and cardiopulmonary fitness, reducing cardiovascular disease risk factors in normal-weight obese women.

The ASEAN Community-based Tourism (CBT) Standard has been adopted by 10 ASEAN member states in 2016 in order to collectively promote ASEAN as a competitive community-based tourism destination. Among the ASEAN member states, Lao PDR (Laos), has a unique CBT development experience through collaboration with various international development agencies. Such history has brought about issues when ASEAN CBT Standard was implemented at to provincial and district levels in Laos, including concerns of related communities on the Standard being not easily applicable considering the state of tourism development. While the application of the regional standard is a significant issue to the tourism industries in the Member States, however, there has been a lack of studies regarding the dynamics of implementation of regional tourism standards at the national level. In order to fill the research gap, this study utilized in-depth interviews with seven executives with significant experiences from the government, international development agency, international organization, and the private sector. Interviewees projected a diversity of perspectives on enabling factors and challenges in implementing ASEAN Community-based Tourism Standard at the national level focusing on Laos, which showed the complexity of CBT dynamics. The results also revealed how regional standards can be further recognized and promoted to the key stakeholders of Laos, better accepted and utilized by end users, and possibly better customized according to the local circumstances. Findings of this study evidence that collaboration among key stakeholders and the expected role of these stakeholders are critical when implementing ASEAN CBT Standard.

This study investigated the presence of human Norovirus (HuNoV) by genotype in 1,486 groundwater samples, collected from 843 groundwater wells suspected of contamination during 2007-2016, in Republic of Korea. We identified and genotyped 186 HuNoV sequences in 178 HuNoV-positive samples using the RIVM-NoroNet norovirus genotyping tool (NGT) and phylogenetic tree analysis based on RIVM-NoroNet reference sequences. HuNoV GII was more prevalent than GI. The major genotypes detected were HuNoV GII.4 (43.0%), GII.22 (15.6%), GI.5 (10.2%) and GI.1 (8.6%); 14 genotypes accounted for < 5.0%. Increasing HuNoV GII.17 has displayed a worldwide trend, including in Europe and Asia since 2010, and it was the dominant HuNoV genotype during 2013-2014 in Korea. However, HuNoV GII.4 was the major genotype detected in groundwater in Korea in 2015-2016, and it is becoming increasingly prevalent similar to HuNoV GII.17.

In this study, we investigated the effects of Akebia quinata ethanol extract (AE), Akebia quinata sikhye (AS), and Akebia quinata water extract (AW) on alcohol-induced liver injury in rats. The hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and antioxidant effects of AE, AS, and AW were examined. Experimental animals were randomly divided into five groups: normal, ethanol, AE (10 mL/kg), AS (10 mL/kg), and AW (10 mL/kg). Each group was administered the respective treatment orally once per day for 21 days. CYP2E1 mRNA expression was significantly lower in the AE, AS, and AW groups than that in the ethanol group. Pro-inflammatory cytokines including cyclooxygenase-2, IL-6, and TNF-α increased significantly in the ethanol group but these increases were ameliorated with AE, AS, and AW treatment. Moreover, the expression of the apoptosis-associated proteins Bax, p53, procaspase-3, and PARP decreased after treatment with AE, AS, and AW. The expression of antioxidant enzymes including BCL-2, SOD, and GST slightly decreased in the ethanol group, but AE, AS, and AW treatment augmented their activities. AQ extracts and AS attenuated ethanol-induced increases in the levels of phosphorylated p-AKT, p-ERK, and p-JNK. These results demonstrate that AQ is a competence indicator for inhibiting alcoholic liver injury.

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation has both harmful and beneficial effects on human health. It can cause skin damage and cancer, but also provides the primary source of vitamin D. Additionally, UV radiation affects energy metabolism in mice with metabolic diseases and has protective effects on hypertension and cardiovascular diseases.Metabolic Syndrome is a collection of metabolic dysfunctions such as dyslipidemia, hypertension, hyperglycemia, abdominal/central obesity, and insulin resistance. Chronic UVR exposure suppressed obesity and type 2 diabetes in high-fat diet-fed mice, while vitamin D supplementation did not replicate these effects. On the other hand, topical application of nitric oxide (NO) donors replicated UV effects on mice, and NO scavengers prevented the positive impact of UV. UVR may prevent the development of obesity and metabolic syndrome through mechanisms that depend on UVR-induced NO, not vitamin D. Exposure to sunshine has a protective impact on blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Although lower vitamin D concentration is linked to increased hypertension and the incidence of CVD, oral vitamin D supplementation does not decrease blood pressure or the risk of CVD, indicating that vitamin D may not mediate the beneficial effects of sun exposure. Instead, NO plays a crucial role as an endogenous vasodilator, produced by the vascular endothelium. Solar UVA may release nitrogen oxides from skin storage into the bloodstream, lowering blood pressure and cardiovascular mortality.In conclusion, UVR exposure could be a promising non-pharmacological intervention for metabolic syndrome, hypertension, and CVD prevention, and NO may play a crucial role in mediating these effects. Further research is needed to explore the precise mechanisms and identify the optimal doses and exposure times of UVR.

Objective: The pleiotropic effect of hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors (statins) is responsible for potent defense against inflammatory response. This study evaluated the inhibitory effects of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors on monosodium urate (MSU)-induced inflammatory response through the regulation of interleukin-37 (IL-37) expression. Methods: Serum was collected from patients with gout (n = 40) and from healthy controls (n = 30). The mRNA and protein expression of target molecules IL-1b, IL-37, caspase-1, and Smad3 was measured in THP-1 cells stimulated with MSU, atorvastatin, or rosuvastatin using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot assay. Transfection with IL-1b or Smad3 siRNA in THP-1 cells was used to verify the pharmaceutical effect of statins in uric acid-induced inflammation. Results: Serum IL-37 level in gout patients was significantly higher than in controls (p < 0.001) and was associated with serum uric acid level (r = 0.382, p = 0.008). THP-1 cells stimulated with MSU markedly induced IL-37 mRNA expression and transition of IL-37 from cytoplasm to nucleus. Recombinant IL-37 treatment dose-dependently inhibited activation of caspase-1 and IL-1b in MSU-induced inflammation. Atorvastatin and rosuvastatin attenuated caspase-1 activation and mature IL-1b expression but augmented translocation of IL-37 from cytoplasm to nucleus. Atorvastatin and rosuvastatin induced phosphorylation of Smad3 in THP-1 cells treated with MSU crystals. Statins potently attenuated translocation of IL-37 from cytoplasm to nucleus in THP-1 cells transfected with Smad3 siRNA compared to cells with negative control siRNA. Conclusion: This study revealed that statins inhibit MSU-induced inflammatory response through augmentation of phosphorylated Smad3-mediated IL-37 expression in THP-1 cells.

The recycling, incineration, and final disposal rate of municipal solid waste (MSW) are calculated based on the total amount of waste input to each facility in many countries. These statistic data have serious limitation in setting the national goal and policy for effective waste management because it is not considering the amount of foreign objectives in the process of each life-cycle stage. This case study is to estimate the actual rates of recycling, incineration, and final disposal by material flow analysis (MFA) after the collection of MSW in Korea. The actual rates of recycling, incineration and final disposal for MSW in 2016 were 49.9%, 32.9% and 23.1% respectively, indicating that the recycling rate was lower by 10.1%, while the incineration and final disposal rates were raised by 7.6% and 8.4% respectively, compared with the statistics for current MSW. In addition, the changed actual rates of recycling, incineration treatment, and final landfill, and variation of waste treatment charge according to treated amounts per treatment method was analyzed. This results of this study will contribute to establish national level of plan on effective waste management.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of jet-milling on lutein extraction contents of spinach powder (SP) and pulsed electric fields as a non-thermal pasteurization technology on spinach juice (SJ) to preserve lutein contents. SP particles were divided into SP-coarse (Dv50 = 315.2 μm), SP-fine (Dv50 = 125.20 μm), and SP-superfine (Dv50 = 5.59 μm) fractions and SP-superfine was added to SJ due to the highest contents of lutein extract. The PEF and thermal treatment were applied to evaluate the effects of preserving the lutein content of PEF during storage (25 days). The juice after being designated to untreated (no pasteurization), PEF1,2 (SJ treated with PEF 20 kV/cm 110 kJ/L, 150 kJ/L), Thermal1,2 (SJ treated with 90 ℃, 10 min and 121 ℃, 15 min). The sizes and surface shapes of superfine SP particles were more homogeneous and smoother than the other samples. SJ made with SP-superfine and treated by PEF had the highest lutein content and antioxidant activities among the group. Complex of jet-milling and PEF pasteurization could be great potential technologies to improve the lutein contents of lutein-enriched juice in the food industry.

Korean manufacturers have developed a new varicella vaccine, NBP608. This phase 3, randomized, double-blind, multicenter study aimed to compare the immunogenicity and safety of NBP608 among healthy children to those of VarivaxTM (control). Children aged 12 months to 12 years were randomized 1:1 to receive either NBP608 or control vaccine. Serum samples were obtained before vaccination and within six to eight weeks after vaccination. A total of 499 participants (NBP608, n = 251; control, n = 248) was enrolled. The seroconversion rate (SCR) measured using FAMA assay was 99.53% in the NBP608 group, and the lower limit of the 95% confidence interval (95% LCL) for SCR difference (NBP608 minus control) was 0.52%. This 95% LCL for the difference was higher than the specified non-inferiority margin of –15%. In assessment by gpELISA, the SCR was 99.53% in the NBP608 group; and the 95% LCL for SCR difference was 6.5%, which was higher than the specified non-inferiority margin of –15%. There were no significant differences between the NBP608 and control group with respect to proportions of participants who demonstrated local and systemic solicited AEs. This study indicated that NBP608 had a clinically acceptable safety profile and was not immunologically inferior to VarivaxTM.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) with a suitable photosensitizer molecule is a promising anticancer treatment. We evaluated two chlorin molecules as potential photosensitizers, methyl pyropheophorbide a (MPPa) and N-methoxyl purpurinimide (NMPi), against A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cells in vitro as well as in A549 tumor-bearing mice in vivo. Cell viability, microscopy, and FACS analyses were performed for the in vitro studies. MPPa and NMPi showed high phototoxicity in vitro, which was dependent on the concentration of the photosensitizers as well as the light irradiation time. In the animal study, tumor volume change, tumor surface alterations, and H&E and TUNEL staining analyses were performed and compared between small (tumor volume of <50 mm³) and large (tumor volume of >50 mm³) size of initial tumors. MPPa and NMPi showed high anticancer efficacy against small-size tumors, indicating that early treatment with PDT is effective. Especially, repeated two times PDT with NMPi allowed almost complete eradication against small-size tumors. However, MPPa and NMPi were not effective against large-size tumors. In conclusion, the two chlorin derivatives, MPPa and NMPi, show good anticancer efficacy as promising photosensitizers for PDT in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, their activity in vivo was significantly dependent on the initial tumor size in mice, which confirms the importance of early cancer treatment.

The aim of this study is to prepare redox-sensitive nanophotosensitizers for targeted delivery of chlorin e6 (Ce6) against cervical cancer. For this purpose, Ce6 was conjugated with β-cyclodextrin (bCD) via disulfide bond creating nanophotosensitizers that were fabricated for redox-sensitive delivery of Ce6 against cancer cells. bCD was treated with succinic anhydride to synthesize suc-cinylated bCD (bCDsu). After that, cystamine was attached to the carboxylic end of bCDsu (bCDsu-ss) and the amine end group of bCDsu-ss was conjugated with Ce6 (bCDsu-ss-Ce6). Chemical composition of bCDsu-ss-Ce6 was confirmed with 1H and 13C NMR spectra. bCDsu-ss-Ce6 nanophotosensitizers were fabricated by dialysis procedure. They formed small particles with an average particle size of 152.0±23.2 nm and they showed improved singlet oxygen (SO) generation in the aqueous solution under light irradiation and was significantly higher than that of Ce6 alone. Ce6 release rate from bCDsu-ss-Ce6 nanophotosensitizers was accelerated by addition of glutathione (GSH), indicating that bCDsu-ss-Ce6 nanophotosensitizers have re-dox-sensitive photosensitizer delivery capacity. bCDsu-ss-Ce6 nanophotosensitizers have low in-trinsic cytotoxicity against CCD986Sk human skin fibroblast cells as well as Ce6 alone. However, bCDsu-ss-Ce6 nanophotosensitizers showed improved Ce6 uptake ratio, higher reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and phototoxicity compared to those of Ce6 alone. GSH addition resulted in higher Ce6 uptake ratio, ROS generation and phototoxicity than those of Ce6 alone, indicating that bCDsu-ss-Ce6 nanophotosensitizers have redox-sensitive biological activity in vitro against HeLa human cervical cancer cells. At tumor xenograft model using HeLa cells, bCDsu-ss-Ce6 nanophotosensitizers efficiently accumulated in the tumor rather than normal organs, i.e. fluores-cence intensity in tumor tissues was significantly higher than those of other organs while Ce6 alone did not specifically target tumor tissue. These results indicated higher anticancer activity of bCDsu-ss-Ce6 nanophotosensitizers, by efficiently inhibiting growth of tumor in in vivo animal tumor xenograft study.

Studies on the cutting propagation of plants belonging to the genus Rhododendron are limited to R. mucronulatum and R. yedoense, which are mainly used as ornamental flowering trees, and additional studies on a greater variety of species are required. This study examined the characterisitics of cutting propagation according to treatment with growth regulators indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) to generate basic data on the methods of reproducing R. micarnthum Turcz.. The number of roots (r=0.740**), length of root (r=0.844**), and number of leaves (r=0.649**) affected the rooting rate of R. micarnthum Turcz., and the number of roots (r=0.646**), length of roots (r=0.673**), number of leaves (r=0.738**), and chlorophyll content (r=0.710**) affected the survival rate. Further, the rooting and survival rates were highly correlated (r=0.794**). The growth characteristics of underground sections after growth regulator treatment were as follows: the number of formed roots was 7.0 and 7.2, and the length of roots was 6.2 cm and 5.3 cm in 150 mg·L-1 and 250 mg·L-1 NAA treatment groups, respectively. The rooting rate was 60% or above in the growth regulator treatment groups compared to that in the control group. Particularly, the rooting rates of 150 mg·L-1 and 250 mg·L-1 NAA treatment groups were 90% or above, and the latent period before rooting was shorter than other treatment groups at approximately 14 days, which was considered to be effective for root growth. The aboveground growth characteristics after propagating the cuttings showed that groups treated with 150 mg·L-1 and 250 mg·L-1 NAA showed a significantly higher plant length (5.2-5.8 cm), number of leaves (6.2 and 6.9), and leaf-length and leaf-width as compared to other treatment groups. Moreover, the survival rates of 150 mg·L-1 and 250 mg·L-1 NAA treatment groups were 80% or above, and the sound root growth manifested in the tendency of good aboveground growth. Additionally, IBA and NAA were highly correlated to the rooting and survival rates during cutting propagation of R. micarnthum Turcz.. The rooting and survival rates increased with the increase in growth regulator concentration. Particularly, NAA had a higher correlation to the rooting and survival rates than IBA (r=0.7316**, 0.7013**). Thus, R. micarnthum Turcz. could be propagated through cutting. Growth regulator treatment with 150 mg·L-1 and 250 mg·L-1 of NAA was effective for rooting and root growth of cutting, and these treatments were considered appropriate because the effects of aboveground growth were positive.

Placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (PD-MSCs) have been highlighted as therapeutic sources in several degenerative diseases. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) were mediated one of the therapeutic mechanisms of PD-MSCs in regenerative medicine. To enhance the therapeutic effects of PD-MSCs, we established functionally enhanced PD-MSCs with phosphatase of regenerating liver-1 overexpression (PRL-1(+)). However, the profile and functions of miRNAs induced by PRL-1(+) PD-MSCs in a rat model with hepatic failure prepared by bile duct ligation (BDL) remained unclear. Hence, the objectives of the present study were to analyze the expression of miRNAs and investigate their therapeutic mechanisms for hepatic regeneration via PRL-1(+) in a rat model with BDL. We selected candidate miRNAs based on microarray analysis. Under hypoxic conditions, compared with invaded naïve PD-MSCs, invaded PRL-1(+) PD-MSCs showed improved integrin-dependent migration ability through RHO family-targeted miRNA expression (e.g., hsa-miR-30a-5p, 340-5p, and 146a-3p). Moreover, rno-miR-30a-5p and 340-5p regulated engraftment into injured rat liver by transplanted PRL-1(+) PD-MSCs through the integrin family. Additionally, an increase in PDGFRA by suppressing rno-miR-27a-3p improved vascular structure in rat liver tissues after PRL-1(+) PD-MSCs transplantation. Furthermore, decreased rno-miR-122-5p was significantly correlated with increased proliferation of hepatocytes in liver tissues by PRL-1(+) PD-MSCs by activating IL-6 signaling pathway through the repression of rno-miR-21-5p. Taken together, these findings improve the understanding of therapeutic mechanisms based on miRNA-mediated stem cell therapy in liver diseases.

Reflux esophagitis, a treatment for gastric ulcers known as Ilaprazole (Ila), is not stable during storage and handling at room temperature, requiring storage at 5 degrees celsius. In this study, to address these issues with Ila, coformers rich in oxygen (O) and hydroxyl (OH) groups capable of forming hydrogen bonds with were selected. These coformers included Xylitol (Xyl), Meglumine (Meg), Nicotinic acid (Nic), L-Aspartic acid (Asp), and L-Glutamic acid (Glu). A 1:1 physical mixture of Ila and each coformer was prepared, and the potential for cocrystal for-mation was predicted using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) screening. The results indi-cated the potential for cocrystal formation in the Ila/Xyl physical mixture. Subsequently, Ila and Xyl were mixed in ethyl acetate (EA) in a 1:1 ratio, and after 28 hours of slurry, the formation of Ila/Xyl cocrystal was confirmed through solid-state CP/MAS 13C NMR spectrum analysis, showing intermolecular hydrogen bonding and conformational changes. Furthermore, the 1:1 ratio of Ila/Xyl cocrystal was confirmed through solution-state NMR (1H, 13C, and 2D) molecular structure analysis. To assess the stability of Ila/Xyl cocrystal at room temperature, it was stored and com-pared with Ila at 25±2°C and relative humidity (RH) of 65±5% over three months. The results showed that the purity of Ila/Xyl cocrystal remained at 99.8% from the initial purity of 99.75% over the three months, while Ila was predicted to decrease from an initial 99.8% purity to 90% after three months. Additionally, at 25±2°C and RH 65±5%, a specific impurity B in Ila/Xyl cocrystal was observed to be 0.03% over three months, whereas Ila was predicted to increase from an initial 0.032% to 2.28% after three months. To evaluate the dissolution rate of Ila/Xyl cocrystal, a formulation was prepared and compared with Ila at pH 10, with a dosage equivalent to 10mg of Ila. The results showed that Ila/Xyl cocrystal reached 55% within 15 minutes and 100% within 45 minutes, while Ila was predicted to reach 32% at 15 minutes and 100% only after 60 minutes. However, overall, the Ila/Xyl cocrystal showed results equivalent to or exceeding the dissolution rate of Ila. Therefore, it is predicted that the Ila/Xyl cocrystal will maximize its effectiveness as a more convenient crystal structure for formulation development, allowing storage and preservation at room temperature without the need for the problematic 5°C refrigeration during ambient con-ditions and storage, addressing the issues associated with Ila.

This study investigated the impact of boron and copper on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Spheroidal graphite Cast Iron (SCI). The addition of boron increased the ferrite content, while copper increased the stability of pearlite. The interaction between boron and copper significantly increased the ferrite content. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) revealed that boron decreased the enthalpy change of the α + Fe3C -> γ transformation and increased the enthalpy change of the α -> γ transformation. The addition of boron and copper reduced the tensile and yield strength but increased elongation and impact energy. The findings provide valuable insights into the effect of boron and copper on SCI, facilitating the design and development of high-performance SCI materials.

The CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein β (C/EBPβ) is a transcription factor that regulates cellular proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and tumorigenesis. Although the pro-oncogenic roles of C/EBPβ have been implicated in various human cancers, how it contributes to tumorigenesis or tumor progression has not been determined. Immunohistochemistry with human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissues revealed that higher levels of C/EBPβ protein are expressed compared to normal lung tissues. Knockdown of C/EBPβ by siRNA reduced the proliferative capacity of NSCLC cells by delaying G₂/M transition of the cell cycle. In C/EBPβ-knockdown cells, a prolonged increase in phosphorylation of cyclin dependent kinase 1 at tyrosine 15 (Y15-pCDK1) was displayed with increased Wee1 and decreased Cdc25B expression, simultaneously. ChIP analysis showed that C/EBPβ bound to distal promoter regions of WEE1 and repressed WEE1 transcription through the interaction with histone deacetylase 2. Treatment of C/EBPβ-knockdown cells with a Wee1 inhibitor induced a decrease in Y15-pCDK1 and recovered cells from G₂/M arrest. In the xenograft tumors, the depletion of C/EBPβ significantly reduced tumor growth. Taken together, these results indicate that Wee1 is a novel transcription target of C/EBPβ that is required for the G₂/M phase of cell cycle progression, ultimately regulating proliferation of NSCLC cells.

Redox mediators comprising I–, Co3+, and Ti3C2Tx MXene were applied to dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). In the as-prepared DSCs (I-DSCs), wherein hole conduction occurred via the redox reaction of I−/I3− ions, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) was not altered by the addition of Ti3C2Tx MXene. The I-DSCs were exposed to light to produce Co2+/Co3+-based cells (Co-DSCs), wherein the holes were transferred via the redox reaction of Co2+/Co3+ ions. A PCE of 9.01% was achieved in a Co-DSC with Ti3C2Tx MXene (Ti3C2Tx-Co-DSC), which indicated an improvement from the PCE of a bare Co-DSC without Ti3C2Tx MXene (7.27%). It was also found that the presence of Ti3C2Tx MXene in the redox mediator increased the hole collection, dye regeneration, and electron injection efficiencies of the Ti3C2Tx-Co-DSC, leading to an improvement in both the short-circuit current and the PCE when compared with those of the bare Co-DSC without MXene.

This study aimed to learn disturbance information to effectively control multiple small unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) for marine research purposes at sea. The learned disturbance information was used to investigate the control of multiple USV swarms based on the leading–following formation technique. Numerous studies have already been conducted on swarm control using drones in the air; however, there has been a paucity of studies on swarm control in the sea. Contrary to swarm control in aviation, the fluid density of the sea is high, and the environment is constantly changing; thus, a robot system would be significantly affected by disturbances. This ultimately influences the maintenance of swarm formations and the accomplishment of missions [1,2]. Therefore, it is difficult to control numerous moving objects while maintaining a formation at sea by using the existing aerial drone swarm control technology. To solve this problem, we learned a long short-term memory (LSTM) model with time-series marine environmental data to predict maritime disturbances. Thereafter, the model was applied to a mission-based position control algorithm of each USV constituting the swarm to design a marine unmanned floating vessel swarm control system that can be applied to various marine environments. Specifically, to effectively control numerous small USVs for marine research purposes, ocean currents are learned using the LSTM algorithm, and the predicted ocean currents are used to generate a swarm USV control system for USV formations. In this study, a control system model of several small USVs equipped with two rear thrusters and a front lateral thruster was designed. The LSTM algorithm was learned using the previous ocean current data, and the velocity of the following ocean currents was predicted. The predictions were then used as a system disturbance to determine the thrust of the controller. To measure ocean currents in the sea when each USV moves, the velocity, azimuth, and position (latitude, longitude) data from the GPS mounted on the USV were used to measure the velocity and direction of the hull's movement. Further, the flow rate was measured using a flow rate sensor on a small USV. The USV movement and position were controlled using an artificial neural network-PID (ANN-PID) controller. This study entailed a comparative analysis of the designed USV model results and those generated by the simulator, including the behavior control rule of the USV swarm and the path of the actual USV swarm at sea. It was verified that the effectiveness of the USV mathematical model and behavior control rules. By comparing the movement path of the swarm USV with and without the disturbance learning algorithm and ANN-PID control algorithm applied to the designed simulator, the position error and maintenance performance of the swarm formation were analyzed, and the application results were compared.

Targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology detects specific mutations that can provide treatment opportunities for colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. We included 145 CRC patients who underwent surgery. We analyzed the mutation frequencies of common actionable genes and their association with clinicopathological characteristics and oncologic outcomes using targeted NGS. Approximately 97.9% (142) of patients showed somatic mutations. Frequent mutations were observed in TP53 (70%), KRAS (49%), and APC (47%). TP53 mutations were significantly linked to higher overall stage (p=0.038) and lower disease-free survival (DFS) (p=0.039). ATM mutation was significantly associated with higher tumor stage (p=0.012) and shorter overall survival (OS) (p=0.041). Stage 3 and 4 patients with ATM mutations (p=0.023) had shorter OS, and FBXW7 mutation was significantly associated with shorter DFS (p=0.002). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, ATM mutation was an independent biomarker for poor prognosis of OS (p=0.022). TP53 and FBXW7 mutations are independent biomarkers for poor prognosis of DFS (p=0.042 and 0.030, respectively). A comprehensive analysis of the molecular markers for CRC can provide insights into the mechanisms underlying disease progression and help optimize a personalized therapy.

Purpose To investigate the effects of intra-articular glenohumeral joint triamcinolone injection in treating secondary adhesive capsulitis after breast cancer surgery.Methods This study prospectively enrolled 37 participants, 22 of the breast cancer surgery group and 15 of the idiopathic group. All participants received intra-articular glenohumeral joint injection in the affected shoulder joint and received physiotherapy for 12 week. The clinical assessment evaluated before, and 1, 3, and 6 months after the intervention. The primary outcome was the change in the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI).Results The total SPADI(%) in both groups showed significant decrease from baseline to 1, 3, and 6 months after the intervention. There was no significant difference in the differences of the total SPADI from baseline to 1, 3, and 6 months between two groups. However, the improvement in the SPADI pain subscale and the PROM of abduction at 3 and 6 months post-injection in the breast cancer group were inferior to the idiopathic group.Conclusion Intra-articular triamcinolone injection for adhesive capsulitis after breast cancer surgery significantly improved in significant improvements of pain, shoulder function and the PROM. The effects were similar to idiopathic adhesive capsulitis, but in the breast cancer surgery group, appropriate pain and ROM management and monitoring are required even 3 months after injection. With a standardized injection protocol, intra-articular triamcinolone injection could be an effective and safe treatment option for secondary adhesive capsulitis after breast cancer surgery.

Field cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus) is newly emerged as an edible insect in several countries. Anti-inflammatory effect of glycosaminoglycan derived this cricket was not fully investigated on chronic disease animal model such as diabetic mouse. For potential therapeutic agents, anti-diabetic activities of field cricket glycosaminoglycan (GbG) was evaluated in diabetic mice based on their abilities to reduce glucose, ALT, AST, LDL-cholesterol, and BUN levels, compared with dung beetle (Catharsius molossus) glycosaminoglycan (CaG) as a positive control glycosaminoglycan. Db mice were orally administered for one month according to their groups: Db Hetero (normal), Db Homo (type-2 diabetic), CaG (5 mg/kg), GbG (5 mg/kg), and metformin (10 mg/kg). Blood glucose level was decreased after 1^st week treatment with GbG. It also inhibited LDL-cholesterol and alkaline phosphatase levels. Regarding oxidative damage of diabetic state, levels of hepatocellular biomarkers levels and protein carbonyl content were reduced in db mice treated with GbG. Especially anti-oxidative activities of catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase were significantly increased in GbG treated group compared to those in the control. GbG was composed of heparin disaccharides and main N-glycan was identified as Hex₉GlcNAc₂ (m/z 1905.7) of with neutral mono-sugar mainly comprising of hexose, L (+) rhamnose by mass spectroscopy. These results from sero-biochemical, hepatocellular anti-oxidant assay in db mice data suggest cricket (G. bimaculatus) glycosaminoglycan might play a role in its anti-diabetic action.

Demand for development of the convergence industry, research studies on electrical conductivity, thermal characteristics, semiconductors, motors, and batteries using special materials have come to the fore. Meanwhile, molybdenum (Mo) exhibits relatively small inorganic qualities, and the thermal conductivity rate is applied to various fields. In this study, in-depth characteristics were considered regarding the concentration of thermal characteristics, IR car terminal characteristics, and IR ve-hicles. This study calculated each phase temperature of the molybdenum sputtered specimens in the steady state according to the heat transfer theory. When the molybdenum-sputtered fabric’s metal layer pointed to the outside air, the heat transfer rate (Q) was high at 5748.3W, In contrast, if the molybdenum sputtered film’s metal layer of the pointed toward the heat source, the heat transfer rate (Q) was low at 187.1W. As a result of measuring the IR transmittance, the infrared transmit-tance of the molybdenum sputtering-treated sample was significantly reduced compared to the untreated sample. In the case of untreated samples, the transmittance ranged from 92.7 to 42.0%. When only the cross part was treated with molybdenum sputtering and the molybdenum surface was directed toward the IR irradiator, the IR transmittance was 66.8~0.7%. It is believed that the molybdenum sputtering polyamide samples produced in this study can be applied to multifunc-tional military wear, biosignal detection sensors, semiconductor products, batteries, etc., by utilizing excellent electrical properties, stealth functions, IR blocking properties, and lightness for infrared thermal imaging detectors.

This study compared condylar volume, length, and articular eminence (AE) characteristics in normal individuals and those with unilateral and bilateral juvenile idiopathic osteoarthritis (JOA). The 116 patients were divided into four groups: control (n=16), affected condyle of unilateral JOA (Aff-Uni) (n=36), non-affected condyle of JOA (NonAff-uni) (n=36), and bilateral JOA (Bi-JOA) (n=28). Volume and length differences in the condyle and AE were analyzed using ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc tests. The results showed that Bi-JOA had significantly different condylar volume, especially in the condylar head (p&lt;0.01), specifically the middle, anterior, and medial parts (p&lt;0.05). Condylar length also differed among the groups, with differences observed between the control group and the other three groups, as well as between the bilateral group and the other three groups (p&lt;0.01). AE total volume differed between the control group and Aff-Uni. In the detailed comparison, Aff-Uni and NonAff-Uni were smaller than the control group in the posterior, lateral, and medial sections (p&lt;0.05). In conclusion, depending on the involvement of unilateral or bilateral JOA, there were differences in condylar volume and AE compared to the normal control group. Therefore, prognosis should be evaluated by distinguishing between patients with unilateral and bilateral JOA.

Brown leaf spot disease caused by Alternaria spp. is among the most common diseases in potato crops. Typical brown spot symptoms were observed in commercial potato-cultivated areas of northern Korea during June 2021–2022. In total, 77 isolates were collected, and based on sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, the collected isolates were identified as Alternaria spp. (83.1%). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that a majority of these isolates clustered within a clade that included A. alternata. Additionally, the ITS region and rpb2 yielded the most informative sequences for the identification of A. alternata. Pathogenicity tests confirmed that the collected pathogens elicited identical symptoms in the field. In the pathogenicity test performed on seven commercial cultivars, the pathogens exhibited strong virulence in both wound and non-wound inoculations. Among the cultivars tested, Arirang-1ho, Arirang-2ho, and Golden Ball were resistant to the pathogens. Furthermore, when testing effective fungicides in vitro, mancozeb and difenoconazole were found to be effective agents for inhibiting mycelial growth. In summary, our findings suggest that A. alternata plays a critical role in leaf disease in potato crop regions and emphasise the necessity for continuous monitoring and management to protect against this disease in South Korea.

Although ionizing radiation (IR) is widely used for therapeutic and research purposes, studies on low-dose ionizing radiation (LDIR) are limited compared with those on other IR approaches, such as high-dose gamma irradiation and ultraviolet irradiation. High-dose IR affects DNA damage response and nucleotide-protein crosslinking, among other processes; however, the molecular consequences of LDIR have been poorly investigated. Here, we developed a method to profile RNA species crosslinked to an RNA-binding protein, human antigen R (HuR), using LDIR and high-throughput RNA sequencing. The RNA fragments isolated via LDIR-crosslinking and immunoprecipitation sequencing were crosslinked to HuR and protected from RNase-mediated digestion. Upon crosslinking HuR to target mRNAs, such as PAX6, ZFP91, NR2F6, and CAND2, the transcripts degraded rapidly in human cell lines. Additionally, PAX6 and NR2F6 downregulation mediated the beneficial effects of LDIR on cell viability. Thus, our approach provides a method for investigating post-transcriptional gene regulation using LDIR.

Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) has emerged as a promising approach with neuroprotective effects that can mitigate secondary brain damage and intracranial pressure in the acute phase after successful mechanical thrombectomy. However, the effect of TH on cognitive impairment has yet fully elucidated. In the present study, we demonstrated whether TH can improve cognitive impairment in a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) mouse model Nine-week-old C57BL/6N mice (male) were randomized to three groups: sham, tMCAO, and tMCAO with TH. One month after model induction, cognitive function test and regional cerebral glucose metabolism were evaluated using the Y-maze test and positron emission tomography with fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose, respectively. tMCAO led to cognitive impairment, which was improved by TH. The cerebral glucose metabolism of the thalamus was significantly recovered in the TH group compared to that in the tMCAO group. These results suggest that TH might have potential as a therapeutic strategy for improving the ischemia/reperfusion-induced cognitive impairment.

Background: Animal-assisted therapy has positive effects on cognitive function, depression, performance ability, and social functioning in elderly patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of rearing pet insects on the cognitive function of healthy elderly participants, with fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) being used for this purpose. Methods: Community-dwelling elderly women (≥60 years) with normal cognitive function were enrolled during April 2015. They were randomized at a 1:1 ratio into two groups: insect-rearing and control (n=16) groups, with the insect-rearing group being further classified into two groups for analysis according to the subjects’ scores in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, WCST) at the first fMRI: insect-rearing group I with a relatively high score (n=13), and insect-rearing group II with a relatively low score (n=6). All subjects were educated on a healthy lifestyle for better cognitive function at every visit, and the insect-rearing groups received and reared crickets as pet insects. The fMRI was performed at baseline and after 8 weeks using the WCST as a stimulus. The WCST consisted of two variations, a high level baseline (HLB) and semi-WCST version. Results: There were no significant differences in the baseline characteristics among the three groups. There was a significant difference accuracy of the HLB–semi-WCST (p<0.05) in insect-rearing group II after 8 weeks from the baseline test. In the fMRI analysis involving the WCST reaction test, increased activation was observed in the right dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and parietal cortex in insect-rearing group II when the semi-WCST, rather than the HLB, was performed. There were no significant differences in the other groups. Conclusion: The rearing of pet insects as an animal-assisted therapy is cost-effective, easy, and occupies little space. In this study, it showed positive effects on executive functions and performance improvement in elderly women. Further larger studies on the effects of pet insects on cognitive function are warranted.

COVID-19 infection is extremely dangerous for persons with comorbidities such as kidney disease and diabetes. Although many people of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds have suffered due to this pandemic, those with underlying medical conditions like kidney disease and diabetes are more vulnerable to becoming infected with COVID-19 related to weak immunity. However, the role of vaccination in the co-infection of COVID-19 with diabetics is not available in the literature. Therefore, we examine the unique challenges presented by the co-infection of COVID-19 in individuals with diabetes, focusing on its disease transmission dynamics. A mathematical modelling technique is to be employed in this work to analyse the dynamics of COVID-19 outbreaks with seven compartments, including vaccination with comorbidities such as diabetes. We also investigated analytically by displaying the solutions' existence, boundedness, positivity and sensitivity. After calculating the basic reproduction numbers, the stability analysis of model equilibrium points is also covered. If the reproduction numbers are less than unity, the disease-free equilibrium points of the model appear to be both locally and globally stable. The findings of this study are that as the vaccination rate rises, the incidence of COVID-19 and its co-infections with diabetes decreases. Effective disease treatment strategies may be based partly on the possible impact of vaccination on the co-infection of COVID-19 related to diabetic disease insights.

In this paper, we present a study of various ZnO/SiO2-stacked thin film structures for flexible micro-energy harvesting devices. Two groups of micro-energy harvesting devices, SiO2/ZnO/SiO2 micro-energy generators (SZS-MGs) and ZnO/SiO2/ZnO micro-energy generators (ZSZ-MGs), were fabricated by stacking both SiO2 and ZnO thin films, and the resulting devices were characterized. With a particular interest in the fabrication of flexible devices, all the ZnO and SiO2 thin films were deposited on ITO-coated PEN substrates using an RF magnetron sputtering technique. The effects of the thickness and/or position of the SiO2 films on the device performance were investigated by observing the variations of output voltage in comparison with that of a control sample. As a result, compared to the ZnO single-layer device, all the ZSZ-MGs showed much better output voltages, while all the SZS-MG showed only slightly better output voltages. Among the ZSZ-MGs, the highest output voltages were obtained from the ZSZ-MGs where the SiO2 thin films were deposited using a deposition power of 150 W. Overall, the device performance seems to depend significantly on the position as well as the thickness of the SiO2 thin films in the ZnO/ SiO2-stacked multilayer structures, in addition to the processing conditions.

Using the World Bank Global Findex Database for 91 countries in 2014, 2017, and 2021, we examine whether fintech levels influence bank performance and whether fintech’s interaction with GDP per capita causes differential effects on bank performance globally. Since fintech levels were already very high for rich countries when the World Bank started providing fintech development statistics in 2014, we estimate AbFintech by regressing fintech levels on GDP per capita by year. AbFintech is the difference between the fintech level and its fitted values. Then, using multiple regression analyses, we investigate the impact of AbFintech on bank performance worldwide, focusing on the differential effects of AbFintech and GDP levels on bank performance. We find AbFintech significantly increases bank performance, primarily in less developed countries. Specifically, AbFintech increases banks’ ROA in the least developed countries and net interest margin in the 75th percentile countries. Also, AbFintech decreases the cost-to-income ratio in the 75th percentile countries, while it increases the ratio in the most developed countries. AbFintech does not affect the ratio of noninterest income to total income, regardless of the level of economic development.

At 100% penetration, intermittent renewable energy causes outages. To flatten the leaping supply and demand curves of renewable energy, an energy storage medium and carrier are required. The Hydrogen energy stotrage system (HydESS), which combines a proton exchange membrane (PEM)-based water electrolysis (WE) system and a fuel cell (FC), has the quickest response time, the longest duration, and the greatest storage capacity. HOMER tools for techno-economic analysis are used to evaluate the HydESS hybrid system. Kyiv, Ukraine, is appealing due to its spatial-temporal wind speed, solar irradiance, and energy security. With an LCOE of $0.245 kWh−1 and 9.3% fuel cell power output, the most feasible solution is onshore wind turbine-coupled PEMFC HydESS. As a result 1,000-kW wind power, 250-kW PEMFC, 250-kW PEMWE, and 441-kW BESS are optimized to serve a 3,900 kWh day academic residence load. When compared to a diesel generator and a BESS, the hybrid HydESS reduces CO2 emissions by 4,132 tons over a 25-year period. The LCOE of a hybrid HydESS system is determined by the SOFC lifetime rather than the PEMFC's 2% difference between 40,000 and 50,000 h with the same rated power. This study recommends accelerating PEMFC development with fluctuation-endurable materials and design.

Changes in extreme weather patterns are expected under climate change. In this study, a risk assessment was conducted using 4 building damage history datasets and 33 weather datasets (precipitation, wind speed, snow, and temperature) from 230 regions in South Korea to quantitatively analyze and predict building damage caused by potential future natural disasters. Decision tree analysis was used to evaluate building damage risk in 230 regions. The decision tree model to determine the risk of flood, gale, and typhoon was generated, which excluded gales, with less damage. The weight (variable importance) and limit value (damage limit) of the weather variables ware derived using the decision tree model. Using these two factors, we assessed the building damage risk in 230 regions in South Korea until 2100. The number of regions at risk of flood damage increased by more than 30% in average. Conversely, regions at risk of snowfall damage decreased by more than 90%. The regions at risk of typhoons decreased by 57.5% on average, and the number of regions at high risk of typhoon damage increased by up to 62.5% in RCP 8.5. These results can be used as objective data to minimize future building damage throughout South Korea, representing the first step towards sustainable development in the region with respect to disaster response.

In the present study, we aimed to investigate whether an automated molecular diagnostic method based on PCR-reverse blot hybridization assay can discriminate between human Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)-positive and -negative FFPE tissues and to compare the relative mRNA expression levels of various host immune markers between MTB-infected and uninfected human tissues using quantitative reverse transcription (qRT) PCR. A total of 52 human FFPE tissue samples from various regions of the body, including the lungs, lymph nodes, tendons, colon, and appendix, were collected and used for the molecular identification of Mycobacterium species and analysis of cytokine mRNA expression. As a result, IFN-γ, TNF-α, IP-10, CXCL9, CXCL11, and GM-CSF mRNA expression levels in MTB-infected tissues were significantly higher than those in uninfected samples. Additionally, the differences in the mRNA expression levels of IFN-γ, CXCL9, and GM-CSF between MTB-infected and uninfected tissues were statistically significant were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Correlation curve analysis indicated that the mRNA expression of IFN-γ was inversely proportional to that of IP-10 and that the mRNA expression levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, CXCL9, CXCL11, GM-CSF, and TNFR were proportional and well-correlated. Furthermore, to establish marker profiles for detecting MTB infection, the statistically significant expression levels of three markers were combined. We confirmed that the combined profile of IFN-γ, CXCL9, and GM-CSF expression levels was statistically significant (P < 0.001). Although the mRNA expression patterns of host immune markers may vary according to MTB infection status, these patterns may be highly correlated and can be simultaneously used as an additional indicator for diagnosing TB.

As lung cancer shows the highest mortality in cancer related death, serum biomarkers are demanded for the lung cancer diagnosis and its treatment. To discover lung cancer protein biomarkers, secreted proteins from primary cultured lung cancer and adjacent normal tissues from patients were subjected to LC/MS-MS proteomic analysis. Quescin sulfhydryl oxidase(QSOX1) was selected as a biomarker candidate from the proteins enriched in the secretion of lung cancer cells. QSOX1levels were higher in 82% (51 of 62 tissues) of lung cancer tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. Importantly, QSOX1 serum levels were significantly higher in cancer patients (p<0.05, AUC=0.89), when measured by multiple reaction monitoring(MRM). Higher levels of QSOX1 are also uniquely detected in lung cancer tissues among several other solid cancers by immunohistochemistry. QSOX1 knock-downed Lewis lung cancer (LLC) cells was less viable from oxidative stress and had reduced migration and invasion. In addition, LLC mouse models with QSOX1 knock-down also proved that QSOX1 functions in promoting cancer metastasis. In conclusion, QSOX1 might be a lung cancer tissue-derived biomarker and involved in the promotion of lung cancers, and thus can be a therapeutic target for lung cancers.

Kim(2015) introduced the degenerate Cauchy numbers of the second kind and gave some identities of them. In this paper, by using the modified polyexponential functions which are introduced by Kim-Kim(2019), we define the degenerate poly-Cauchy polynomials of the second kind and investigate some properties of them. Furthermore, we consider the degenerate unipoly-Cauchy polynomials of the second kind and discuss some properties of them.

In this study, changes in the microstructure of coal tar pitch during successive processes, including pyrolysis, polycondensation, and crystallization, were examined in connection with the resulting variations in structure factors, as measured by XRD analysis, and functional groups, as confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. To this end, four zones were defined based on variations in crystallinity, which were indicated by d002 and Lc. Each zone was further characterized by interpreting crystallinity development in relation to changes in functional groups and specimen height. At around 400 °C, polycondensation occurred as the C-Har and C-Hal peaks decreased in intensity. These peak reductions coincided with the formation of mesophase spheres, resulting in enhanced crystallinity. Subsequently, at around 500 °C, the peak intensity of C-H and COOH decreased, which was attributed to the release of large amounts of gasses. This led to sharp volume changes and a temporary reduction in crystallinity. All these results suggest that changes in the functional groups of coal tar pitch at lower temperatures (600 °C or less) during the carbonization process are closely associated with variations in its crystallinity. The major findings of the present study provide valuable insights for designing highly effective processes in the manufacturing of synthetic graphite blocks using CTP as a binder material, including by selecting appropriate temperature ranges to minimize volume expansion and crystallinity degradation and determining the lowest possible carbonization temperature to ensure adequate binder strength.

This article illuminates the reception and transformation of Ippen一遍(1234-1289)’s religious tenets and practices by Enju Kato加藤円住 (1919-2021) and his temple Shōjōkō-ji清浄光寺. While Enju Kato asserts that his life has been dedicated to adhering and enacting Ippen's concept of "renunci-ation," he has reinterpreted this concept based on his personal experiences and comprehension. Second, Enju Kato and Shōjōkō-ji have inherited some of Ippen's religious practices yet adapted these to align with contemporary settings. This article presents a case study discussing the ac-ceptance and transformation of doctrines and practices of jishū時宗 in contemporary era, which has been overlooked by academia thus far.

Aim The use of prophylactic antibiotics prior to colorectal surgery reduces surgical site infections. Cefazolin and metronidazole is a standard regimen. Ampicillin-sulbactam may be an alternative, but the data are limited. We compared the efficacy of ampicillin-sulbactam with cefazolin and metronidazole as prophylactic antibiotics. Methods Patients who underwent colorectal surgery at Inha University Hospital between 2010 and 2020 were treated prophylactically with cefazolin and metronidazole or ampicillin-sulbactam, and observed for 30 days following surgery. The primary outcome was surgical site infections. Secondary outcomes were deep/organ infections and the need for drainage. Results SSIs occurred in 2.6% (17/646) of the ampicillin-sulbactam group and was not inferior to the occurrence in the cefazolin and metronidazole group (3.8%, 21/556). There was no significant difference between the two groups in the secondary outcomes. Conclusion Compared with the cefazolin and metronidazole combination, the ampicillin-sulbactam group is non-inferior as a preoperative prophylactic antibiotic regimen for colorectal surgery.

Cerebral ischemic stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. 2’-fucosyllactose (2’-FL), a human milk oligosaccharide, has anti-inflammatory effects and plays a protective role in arterial thrombosis, but its role in ischemic stroke remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effects of 2’-FL and its potential mechanisms in a mouse model of ischemic stroke. The administration of 2’-FL led to a reduction in the size of cerebral infarct and reactive oxygen species (ROS)-related products in the brain of MCAO mice. Further, 2’-FL promotes the recovery of neurological deficits and motor function in neurological scores and behavior tests. Biochemical studies showed that 2’-FL reduced upregulated IL-10 and downregu-lated TNF-α. Additionally,2’-FL enhanced M2-type microglial polar2’-FL upregulated IL-10 and downregulated TNF-α ization at 7 days after MCAO, with an increase in IL-4 levels and STAT6 activation at 3 days after MCAO. Our data showed that 2’-FL reduced the neurological symptoms of ischemic stroke and ROS accumulation in the brain through IL-4/STAT6-dependent M2-type mi-croglial polarization in MCAO mice. These results demonstrate that 2’-FL is a potentially effective therapeutic agent for ischemic stroke.

Mumps is the second-most reported infectious disease in South Korea; however, due to the low pathogen confirmation rate in laboratory diagnoses, we proposed a method for reevaluating the high incidence rate via the laboratory verification of other viral diseases. In 2021, 63 cases of pharyngeal or cheek mucosal swabs of suspected mumps cases in Gwangju, South Korea, were assessed for causative pathogens using massive simultaneous pathogen testing (TaqManTM Array Cards). More than one respiratory virus was detected in 60 cases (95.2%), 44 (73.3%) of which were co-detected. Human rhinovirus was detected in 47 cases, followed by human herpesvirus (HHV)6 in 30; HHV4 (17), human bocavirus (17), HHV5 (10), and human parainfluenza virus 3 (6) were also detected. Our findings suggest the need for further investigations on the pathogenesis of diseases mimicking mumps, which are considered to aid with appropriate public health responses, treatment, and the prevention of infectious disease outbreaks.

This study aims to evaluate the climate-change response of greening persistently vacant houses and barren sites in deteriorated high-density residential areas in old downtown metropolitan areas. The current status of building demolition sites in Ami-dong and Chojang-dong, Busan Metropolitan City, was examined. In this area, of the 340 vacant houses from 2017, 246 (72.35%) remained persistently vacant till 2020. In 2020, 213 barren sites were neglected after building demolition. Amongst these sites, 177 (83.10%) were paved with concrete. Persistently vacant houses and barren sites were afforested, and the climate-change response was quantified in terms of flood reduction and CO2 mitigation in four scenarios (current, concrete, ground cover plants, and trees). Runoff analysis was performed using the Korea low-impact development model (K-LIDM) to assess flood mitigation. The tree scenario showed average runoff mitigations of 1.71%, 2.38%, and 3.06% in the long-term, 30-year, and 2-year rainfall scenarios, respectively. Additionally, 3058 deciduous broadleaf trees may be planted in the study area to promote CO2 mitigation. Thus, an additional annual carbon fixation of 62,123.78 kg CO2 may be expected. The greening of vacant houses and demolished sites was effective in all aspects of the climate-change response, and tree-based greening exhibited the most significant effect.

Since electrical resistivity of concrete can be measured in a more rapid and simple way than chloride diffusivity, it should be primarily regular quality control of the electrical resistivity of concrete which provides the basis for indirect of quality control of concrete durability during the concrete construction. If this is realized, the electrical resistivity of concrete can be a crucial parameter to establish maintenance strategy for marine concrete structures. Electrical resistivity of concrete is important to estimate two processes involved in corrosion of reinforcement: initiation (chloride penetration) and propagation (corrosion rate). The resistivity of concrete structure exposed to chloride indicates the risk of early corrosion damage, because a low resistivity is related to rapid chloride penetration and to high corrosion rate. Concrete resistivity is a geometry-independent material property that describes the electrical resistance, which is the ratio between applied voltage and resulting current in a unit cell. The current is carried by ions dissolved in the pore liquid. While some data exist on the relationship between moisture content on electrical resistivity of concrete, very little research has been conducted to evaluate the effect of chloride on the conduction of electricity through concrete. The purpose of this study is to examine and quantify the effect of pore water and chloride content on surface electrical resistivity measurement of concrete. It was obvious that chloride content had influenced the resistivity of concrete and the relationship showed a linear function. That is, concrete with chloride ions had a comparatively lower resistivity. Chloride can lead to underestimate the electrical resistivity of concrete. Conclusively, this paper suggested the quantitative solution to depict the electrical resistivity of concrete with various chloride contents.

Bayesian nonlinear mixed effects models for data in the form of continuous, repeated measurements from a population, also known as Bayesian hierarchical nonlinear models, are a popular platform for analysis when interest focuses on individual specific characteristics and relevant uncertainty quantification. Due to the limitation of computational power, this framework was relatively dormant until the late 1980s, but in recent years, the statistical research community saw vigorous development of new methodological and computational techniques for these models, the emergence of software, and wide application of the models in numerous industrial and academic fields. This article presents an overview of the formulation, interpretation, and implementation of Bayesian nonlinear mixed effects models and surveys recent advances and applications.

We previously found a novel a new sirtuin (SIRT) inhibitor MHY2256 that exerts anticancer activity through p53 acetylation in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Here, we investigated the anticancer activity of MHY2256 against hormone-related cancer, which is an endometrial cancer with poor prognosis. We found that MHY2256 markedly reduced cellular proliferation at low concentrations against Ishikawa endometrial cancer cells. The IC50 values of MHY2256 were much lower than that of salermide. Furthermore, MHY2256 significantly reduced the protein expression and activities of SIRT1, 2, and 3 with similar effects as salermide, a well-known SIRT inhibitor. Particularly, MHY2256 markedly inhibited tumor growth in a tumor xenograft mouse model of Ishikawa cancer cells. During the experimental period, there was no significant change in the body weight of mice treated with MHY2256. Detailed analysis of the sensitization mechanisms of Ishikawa cells revealed that late apoptosis was largely increased by MHY2256. Additionally, MHY2256 increased G1 arrest and reduced cell cyclic-related proteins, suggesting that apoptosis by MHY2256 was achieved by cellular arrest. Particularly, p21 was greatly increased by MHY225656, suggesting that cell cycle arrest by p21 is a major factor in MHY2256 sensitization in Ishikawa cells. We also detected a significant increase in acetylated p53, a target protein of SIRT1, in Ishikawa cells after MHY2256 treatment. In a mouse xenograft model, MHY2256 significantly reduced tumor growth and weight without apparent side effects. These results suggest that MHY2256 exerts its anticancer activity through p53 acetylation in endometrial cancer and can be used for targeting hormone-related cancers.

Background/Objectives: This study aims to investigate the influence of root canal morphology and various treatment variables on the outcomes of root canal treatments (RCT) in mandibular second molars, assessed through cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging. Methods: A total of 150 CBCT images were examined, comprising 100 cases of persistent endodontic infections and 50 from previously treated root canals with normal apices in mandibular second molars. CBCT was utilized to evaluate root canal configuration, the radiographic quality of coronal restorations and treated canal systems, and the presence of periapical lesions. Statistical analyses were performed to explore correlations between these factors. Results: The presence of a C-shaped root canal configuration did not demonstrate a significant correlation with periapical lesions (p=0.05). Factors influencing endodontic treatment outcomes included the presence of missing canals (p=0.018), underfilling or overfilling (p=0.045), and inadequate coronal restoration (p=0.006). The presence of a missing canal was identified as the variable most significantly associated with periapical lesions (OR=3.103). Leaky canals were more commonly observed in C-shaped root canals (p&lt;0.001). Conclusions: Regardless of the root canal morphology of mandibular second molars, successful RCT depends on thorough disinfection to eliminate any untreated canals, precise three-dimensional filling of the canals at the correct working length, and a securely sealed coronal restoration to prevent leakage.

To protect skin from harmful ultraviolet (UV), zinc oxide (ZnO) with tannin from gallnuts was treated on cotton and polyester fabrics in this study. Before the treatments, the fabrics were dyed with shikonin and xanthophyll from Gromwell and Cape Jasmine. First, this study found that xanthophyll was more effective at preventing light fade or discoloration than shikonin. Despite the highest K/S, the untreated cotton in violet faded the most intensely when exposed to UV. The color variation of untreated polyester was narrow, with little change in L, a*, and K/S. Due to the non-photochemical xanthophyll, the yellow-dyed samples treated with ZnO/polyphenol did not vary yellowness (b*: 28.838) significantly, while the violet fabrics displayed a significant decrease in K/S and an increase in b*. The combination of ZnO and polyphenol treatment improved UV absorption at 350 to 250 nm. Cu-mordanting after ZnO/polyphenols treatment caused the violet cotton to turn reddish from blueish (negative to positive b*), with a hue change of 316° to 59° and the highest ΔE (25.90±4.34) after UV exposure. In this study, the combination of ZnO/polyphenol with Cu-mordants contributed the xanthophyll-dyed polyester to achieve a minimum ΔE and keep chroma and hue after UV exposure.

There are several causes of hypoxia during and after surgery, and atelectasis is a common symptom that occurs during surgery. In particular, elderly patients are more vulnerable to hypoxia due to their existing lung diseases or respiratory muscle weakness. This study presents the cases of two elderly patients who developed hypoxia during total hip arthroplasty under general anesthesia. Positive end expiratory pressure, recruitment maneuver, and increased fraction of inspired oxygen improved hypoxia only temporarily, and patients’ oxygen saturation level again dropped to 79%–80%. We suspected that hypoxia was caused by atelectasis and, therefore, re-sumed spontaneous respiration. Thereafter, both the patients showed an improvement in hypoxia. Intraopera-tive hypoxia that is suspected to be caused by atelectasis can be improved by securing sufficient lung volume for respiration through increased muscle tone with spontaneous respiration

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between coffee consumption and obesity in Korean women. We included 5,995 women who participated in a health screening examination at the Korean National Cancer Center between 2007 and 2016. Daily coffee consumption was evaluated using the food frequency questionnaire. Obesity was assessed by body mass index (BMI), and abdominal obesity was assessed by waist circumference (WC). A multiple logistic regression model was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) of obesity according to coffee consumption. After multivariate adjustment, high coffee consumption was positively associated with obesity measured by BMI (≥ 3 cups vs. no drinks, OR = 2.52; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.91-3.34; P for the trend < 0.001) and abdominal obesity measured by WC (≥ 3 cups vs. no drinks, OR = 2.11; 95% CI = 1.59-2.79; P for the trend < 0.001). The positive association between daily coffee consumption and obesity prevalence was not altered by menopause. The amount of coffee consumed per day by Korean women was positively correlated with the prevalence of obesity, but the mechanism underlying this phenomenon remains to be elucidated.

The high prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) is well-established, with p16 expression being a strong predictor. HPV-related tumors exhibit unique mechanisms targeting p16 and p53 proteins. However, re-search on HPV prevalence and the combined predictive value of p16 and p53 expression in head and neck cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (HNCSCC), especially in Asian populations, is limited. This retrospective study surveyed 62 HNCSCC patients (2011–2020), excluding those with facial warts or other skin cancers. All patients underwent wide excision and biopsy. Immuno-histochemical staining for HPV, p16, and p53 yielded both positive and negative results. The relevance of each marker was investigated by categorizing the tumor locations into high-risk (Area H) and mid-risk (Area M) zones based on recurrence frequency. Of the 62 patients, 20 (32.26%) were male, with an average age of 82.27 years (26–103). Area H included 19 cases (30.65%), with the eyelid and lip being the most common sites (five cases, 8.06%). Area M in-cluded 43 cases (69.35%), with the cheek being the most common site (29 cases, 46.77%). p16 ex-pression was positive in 24 patients (38.71%), p53 expression in 42 patients (72.58%), and HPV in five patients (8.06%). No significant association was found between p16 expression and HPV presence (p > 0.99), with a positive predictive value of 8.33%. This indicates that p16, a surrogate marker of HPV in OPSCC, is not a reliable marker for HPV in HNCSCC. This study enhances our understanding of the relationship between HPV, p53, and p16 in HNCSCC in Asian populations and offers valuable insights for further research.

Incident rates of neurodegenerative diseases have steadily increased globally, but there is no therapeutic access available. We newly prescribed medicinal herbal remedy including five different herbal plants called, Chen-Ma-Dan-Sam-Ga-Mi-Bang (CMST), purposed to prove for pharmacological properties and corresponded actions on hippocampus neuronal cell injury by hypoxia-induced mice model. Mice were adapted to normoxia or hypoxia with or without CMST for 5 days. We gathered pharmacological effects of CMST on cell injury by enhancement of dihydroethidium and 4-hydroxynonenal signals which were correlated with abnormal redox status in the protein or gene expression levels (abnormal elevations of nitric oxide, reactive oxygen species, lipid peroxidation and deteriorations of total glutathione, total antioxidant capacity, and activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase) due to hypoxia. CMST also notably exerted to attenuates molecules for neuronal cell injury markers such as p-tau, cleaved caspase-3 due to DNA oxidations (53bp1and phosphor-histone H2AX), inflammatory cytokines, and hemeoxigenase-1. We further figured out the underlying actions of CMST by in vitro experiment through inactivation of microglial cell which can mediate neuronal cell injury. Collectively, CMST prevented from hippocampal neuronal cells via inactivation of microglial cell with normalization of redox status on hypoxia-induced hippocampus neuronal cell injury.

With the rapid spread of carbon trading in the global economy, the interactions of prices between carbon (or clean/renewable energy) and traditional fossil energies such as coal and oil have raised growing attention, but little research have discussed their dynamic volatility spillover and time-varying correlation. The purpose of this study is to investigate these issues, for the weekly data of EUA futures, Biofuel and Brent oil prices from 25 October 2009 to 5 July 2020. We employ the VAR-GARCH model with the BEKK specification. Our results are summarized as follows. At first, we identified the sudden changes and the volatility persistence in the three markets, and also confirmed that the volatility of the markets has changed significantly over time. Secondly, we find that there are a weak volatility spillover effect among the three markets, while a strong spillover effect between the EUA and Brent oil markets. Lastly, in financial markets, the EUA can be used as a hedging portfolio for the Biofuel and Brent oil markets. These results can help investors to well compose their portfolios and manage their investment risks, and help potential pollutant emission sources to join in carbon market in a cost-effective way.

This study develops an intelligent fire suppression device that links microcapsule-based IoT to extinguish early fires, such as blind spots that cannot be seen by humans or places that are difficult to recognize fires. The microcapsule is a micro-unit collection that collects Novak 1230 gas generated in the semiconductor production process. The microcapsule is molded into a form with a fire suppression function, and when a fire occurs, the molded body explodes and absorbs ambient oxygen to suppress the fire. The complex sensor IoT executes smoke and heat detection generated when a fire is suppressed within 10 seconds, which derives the reliability of the detector by notifying the fire and detecting the ignition point through communication linkages such as Ieee 485 and WiFi or LoRa.

Background and Objectives: There is a need to effectively manage the healthy aging of the rapidly increasing number of elderly people in an ultra-elderly society. The purpose of this study was to analyze the mediating effects of social networks and wisdom on the relationship between lifestyle habits and healthy aging in older adults with chronic diseases. Materials and Methods: Participants were 120 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 and older with at least one chronic disease. Data were collected from elderly people who met the criteria by visiting nursing care worker training centers, senior centers, social gatherings, and home welfare centers in D, G, and S cities from May 24 to June 23, 2023, with a questionnaire consisting of lifestyle habits, social networks, wisdom and healthy aging, and general characteristics. Results: The degree of healthy aging of the subjects was 3.56 out of 5, and there were differences in the degree of healthy aging according to age (F=3.76, p=0.026), spousal relationship (t=3.11, p=0.002), education (F=9.08, p&lt;0.001), number of diseases (F=8.65, p&lt;0.001), and economic level (t=-2.45, p=0.016). The most common diseases among the subjects were hypertension, hyperlipidemia, joint diseases and diabetes mellitus. Healthy aging was highly correlated with lifestyle habits (r=0.63, p&lt;0.001), social networks (r=0.65, p&lt;0.001), and wisdom (r=0.73, p&lt;0.001). Social networks (β=0.46, p&lt;0.001) and wisdom (β=0.55, p&lt;0.001) had partial mediating effects (z=4.15, p&lt;0.001; z=5.11, p&lt;0.001) on the relationship between subjects' lifestyle habits and healthy aging. Conclusions: In order to increase the degree of healthy aging of the subjects, it is necessary to establish a mediating intervention program that manages to have a good lifestyle habits in daily life, increase social networks, and become wise.

Background: Little information exists regarding the differences in the clinical and laboratory characteristics of Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease (KFD) according to age. Objective: To evaluate the clinical and laboratory characteristics of KFD according to age. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated patients diagnosed with KFD at Pusan National University Hospital between 2010 and 2020. Results: Eighty patients (46 children and 34 adults) with a mean age of 21.5 ± 11.8 years (range, 3–49 years) were included in the study. Among children, the male sex ratio was higher, in adults, the female sex ratio was higher. Fever, tenderness in the lymph node, and skin rashes were more common in children, while myalgia and weight loss were more common in adults. In children, the recurrence rate was significantly higher among boys than among girls (15.8% vs 0.0%, P=0.001). EBV and ANA positivity rates were higher in boys than in girls. In adults, the recurrence rate was significantly higher in women than in men (18.2% vs 0.0%, P=0.005). ANA positivity rates were higher in women than in men. Conclusion: The clinical features, laboratory findings, and recurrence of KFD may differ depending on age and sex. Clinicians should be aware of this.

Functional connectivity (FC) is a potential candidate that can increase the performance of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) in the elderly because of its compensatory role in neural circuits. However, it is difficult to decode FC by current machine learning techniques because of a lack of its physiological understanding. To investigate the suitability of FC in BCI for the elderly, we propose the decoding of lower- and higher-order FCs using a convolutional neural network (CNN) in six cognitive-motor tasks. The layer-wise relevance propagation (LRP) method describes how age-related changes in FCs impact BCI applications for the elderly compared to younger adults. Seventeen younger (24.5±2.7 years) and twelve older (72.5±3.2 years) adults were recruited to perform tasks related to hand-force control with or without mental calculation. CNN yielded a six-class classification accuracy of 75.3% in the elderly, exceeding the 70.7% accuracy for the younger adults. In the elderly, the proposed method increases the classification accuracy by 88.3% compared to the filter-bank common spatial pattern (FBCSP). LRP results revealed that both lower- and higher-order FCs were dominantly overactivated in the prefrontal lobe depending on task type. These findings suggest a promising application of multi-order FC with deep learning on BCI systems for the elderly.

Energy and Environment Tax is used globally as a means of environment policy. Energy and Environment tax plays an important role as a driving force for the conversion to environmentally friendly energy. The basic tax principles considered in the design of energy and environmental taxation increases the efficiency of policy instruments. The purpose of this study is to evaluate South Korea’s energy and environmental taxation based on tax principles, namely, equity, efficiency, simplicity, flexibility, and accountability and to suggest directions for improvement. This study applied a methodology that provides policy implications, such as reviewing existing literature and comparing energy and environmental taxes. Results of this study show that South Korea’s energy and environmental taxation is negative in terms of equity, simplicity, and accountability. South Korea’s current energy and environmental tax is regressive to income classes and complex tax structures and it does not objectively measure the impact of energy and environmental taxation. However, energy and environmental taxation is evaluated positively in terms of efficiency and flexibility because it meets the greenhouse gas reduction policy and operates a flexible tax rate. The results of this analysis provide policy implications for reorganizing South Korea’s energy and environmental taxation

Phialemonium inflatum is a useful fungus known for its ability to mineralise lignin during primary metabolism and decompose polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). However, no functional genetic analysis techniques have been developed yet for this fungus, specifically in terms of transformation. In this study, we applied an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT) system to P. inflatum for functional gene analysis. We generated 3,689 transformants using the binary vector pSK1044, which carried either the hygromycin B phosphotransferase (hph) gene or the enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) gene to label the transformants. Southern blot analysis showed that the probability of a single copy of T-DNA insertion was approximately 50% when the co-cultivation time of fungal spores and Agrobacterium tumefaciens cells was performed at 24–36 h, whereas at 48 h, it was approximately 35.5%. Therefore, when performing gene knockout using ATMT, co-cultivation was reduced to ≤ 36 h. The resulting transformants were mitotically stable, and PCR analysis confirmed gene integration into the transformant genome. Additionally, hph and eGFP gene expressions were confirmed by PCR amplification and fluorescence microscopy. This optimised transformation system will enable functional gene analysis to study genes of interest in P. inflatum.

Cardiovascular-related diseases are one of the leading causes of death worldwide. An understanding of heart movement based on images plays a vital role in assisting the procedure in the postoperative and postoperative processes. In particular, if the shape information can be provided in real-time using the electrocardiogram(ECG) signal using this information, the heart’s movement information can be used for cardiovascular analysis and imaging guides during surgery. In this paper, we propose creating a 3D+t cardiac coronary artery model that is rendered in real-time according to the ECG signal. Hierarchical cage-based deformation modeling is used to generate mesh deformation used during the procedure according to the ECG signal. We match the blood vessel’s lumen obtained from the ECG-gated 3D+t CT angiography taken at the multiple cardiac phases to derive the optimal deformation. Splines for 3D deformation control points were used to continuously represent the obtained deformation at the multi-view according to the ECG signal. To verify the proposed method, we compared the manually segmented lumen and results of the proposed method for eight patients. The average distance and dice coefficient between the two models was 0.543mm and 0.735, respectively. The required time for registration of the 3D coronary artery model is 23.53 seconds/model. rendering speed to derive the model according to the ECG signal after generating the 3D+t model is faster than 120 FPS.

Background: Patients with burn scars often suffer from a ‘vicious cycle’ in which their skin becomes dry and pruritus. This greatly reduces patients' quality of life, but there is no well-known mechanism yet, and the development of drugs for effective treatment is necessary. Objective: This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of cosmetic formulation containing arginine glutamate ion pair (named as RE:pair) on epidermal barrier function and reducing pruritus. Materials and Methods: A total of 20 patients [15 male and 5 female; average age 48.35 ± 13.13 years] participated in evaluating the effectiveness of using the RE:pair formula topically twice daily for up to 4 weeks after burn pruritus. Treatment efficacy was evaluated by Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) for itching and pain, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), skin hydration, Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) evaluation, and the patient’s overall satisfaction. Results: This formula was well-tolerated, with significant relief of NRS for itching and pain score after 2nd weeks and 4th weeks of application (p &lt; 0.05). The itching score was high in some patients, and overall, it decreased significantly after 4 weeks compared to before application. Also, the personal pain score decreased after 4th weeks. Overall TEWL showed 35 % improvement after 4th week, and 52 % improvement was confirmed in arms and 19 % in legs. The overall improvement effect of skin hydration was also 45 % (p = 0.0012), and the improvement effect was 40 % (p = 0.0371) in areas including arms and 54 % (p = 0.0313) in areas including legs. All patient satisfactory evaluations were "excellent". Conclusions: RE:pair formula was safe and effective in improving skin barrier and itch relief, and if further studies are conducted, it can be used as an excellent topical treatment for post-burn scar that strengthens the skin barrier.

The Boltzmann-Gibbs (BG) entropy has been used in a wide variety of problems for more than a century. It is well known that BG entropy is extensive, but for certain systems such as those dictated by long-range interactions, the entropy must be non-extensive. Tsallis entropy possesses non-extensive characteristics, which is parametrized by a variable q (q = 1 being the classic BG limit), but unless q is determined from microscopic dynamics, the model remains but a phenomenological tool. To this date very few examples have emerged in which q can be computed from first principles. This paper shows that the space plasma environment, which is governed by long-range collective electromagnetic interaction, represents a perfect example for which the q parameter can be computed from micro-physics. By taking the electron velocity distribution function measured in the heliospheric environment into account, and considering them to be in quasi equilibrium state with electrostatic turbulence known as the quasi-thermal noise, it is shown that the value corresponding to q = 9/13 = 0.6923 may be deduced. This prediction is verified against observation made by spacecraft, and it is shown to be in excellent agreement.

Wireless Sensor Network is an emerging technology and the collaboration of wireless sensors becomes one of the active research areas to utilize sensor data. Various sensors collaborate to recognize the changes of a target environment, to identify, if occurs, any radical change. For the accuracy improvement, the calibration of sensors has been discussed, and sensor data analytics are becoming popular in research and development. However, they are not satisfactorily efficient for the situations where sensor devices are dynamically moving, abruptly appearing or disappearing. If the abrupt appearance of sensors is a zero-day attack and the disappearance of sensors is an ill-functioning comrade, then sensor data analytics of untrusted sensors will result in an indecisive artifact. The pre-defined sensor requirements or meta-data based sensors verification is not adaptive to identify dynamically moving sensors. This paper describes a deep-learning approach to verify the trustworthiness of sensors by considering the sensor data only, without having to use meta-data about sensors or to request consultation from a cloud server. The contribution of this paper includes 1) quality preservation of sensor data for mining analytics and 2) authenticity verification of dynamically moving sensors with no external consultation.

This study numerically analyzed the effect of composition and temperature and oxygen concentration changes on the selfignition characteristics of n-heptane/methane blended fuels in order to cope with development of alternative fuels and international environmental regulations. CHEMKIN-PRO is used as the analysis program and the LLNL model is used as the reaction model. The numerical results revealed that on autoignition and ignition delay time were sensitive to changes in fuel composition and oxygen concentration. As the methane ratio increases, OH radicals causing ignition are delayed in generation and the concentration is lowered, thus longer the ignition timing. The oxygen concentration in the mixed fuels are changed to simulate the exhaust gas recirculation and a numerical analysis in then performed. As the oxygen concentration decreases, the ignition delay time longer because the nitrogen gas acts as a thermal load in the combustion chamber.

Energy taxation is used globally as a means of energy policy. Energy tax plays an important role as a driving force for the conversion to environmentally friendly energy. The basic tax principles considered in the design of energy taxation increases the efficiency of policy instruments. The purpose of this study is to evaluate South Korea’s energy taxation based on tax principles, namely, equity, efficiency, simplicity, flexibility, and accountability and suggest directions for improvement. This study applied a methodology that provides policy implications, such as reviewing existing literature and comparing energy taxes. Results of this study show that South Korea’s energy taxation is negative in terms of equity, simplicity, and accountability. South Korea’s current energy tax is regressive to income classes and complex tax structures and it does not objectively measure the impact of energy taxation. However, energy taxation is evaluated positively in terms of efficiency and flexibility because it meets the greenhouse gas reduction policy and operates a flexible tax rate. The results of this analysis provide policy implications for reorganizing South Korea’s energy taxation.

Powdery mildew disease, caused by Sphaerotheca fusca, is a major disease affecting cucumbers cultivated in greenhouses. This study was conducted to find defense genes induced by DL-3-amino-butyric acid (BABA) and powdery mildew in cucumber. The 2000 and 5000 mg/L BABA treated cucumber exhibited disease severity of 25% and 5%, respectively, whereas the water treated cucumber leaves were severely infected, with a disease severity of 90%. BABA did not effect spore germination of the powdery mildew pathogen,. showing BABA is not antifungal agent against the pathogen. In quantitative real-time PCR analysis, BABA treated cucumber upregulated transcriptional level of the defense genes CsPAL, CsPR3,CsPR1, CsLOX1, CsLOX23, Cs LecRK6.1, CsWRKY20, and Cupi4 in cucumber to maximum levels at 48 h, whereas CsLecRK6.1 reached maximum expression after 24 h and futher salicylic acid (SA) levels were significantly increased in BABA-treated cucumber plants. In addition, the infected cucumber with powdery mildew enhanced the expression levels from1.6 to 47.3 fold of the defense genes PAL, PR3, PR1, Lox1, Lox 23, LecRK6.1, WRKY20, and Cupi4 compared to heathy cucumber. The results suggests the BABA induced defense response is associated with SA signal pathway-dependent systemic acquired resistance (SAR) in cucumber, which is involved in plant resistance mechanisms.

This study aimed to compare the prognosis and characteristics of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma treated with first-line atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (AB) combination therapy and hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy (HAIC). We retrospectively assessed 179 and 72 patients treated with HAIC and AB combination therapy, respectively, between January 2018 and January 2023. The progression-free survival of patients treated with HAIC was significantly superior than that of patients treated with AB (P&lt;0.05), but there was no significant difference in overall survival and objective response rate (ORR) between the two groups (P=0.1056 and P=0.137, respectively). After propensity score matching (PSM), our data revealed that there was no significant difference in PFS between patients who received AB combination therapy and HAIC therapy (P=0.8888). However, patients who received AB combination therapy had significantly better overall survival than those who received HAIC therapy (P=0.0133). In addition, after PSM, significant differences in ORR and disease control rate were not observed. In conclusion, our propensity score study reveals that patients treated with AB therapy have a significantly longer OS than those treated with HAIC.

We introduce the lower chaos grade of a real-valued function F defined on the Markov triple (E,μ,Γ), where μ is a probability measure and Γ is the carré du champ operator. As an application of this concept, we obtain the better estimate of the four moments theorem for Markov diffusion generators worked by Bourguin et al (2019). For our purpose, we need to find the largest number except zero in the set of eigenvalues corresponding to its eigenfunction in the case where the square of a random variable F, coming from a Markov triple structure, can be expressed as a sum of eigenfunctions, We give some examples of eigenfunctions of the diffusion generators such as Ornstein-Uhlenbeck, Jacobi and Romanovski-Routh. In particular, two bounds, called the four moments theorem and fourth moment theorem respectively, will be provided for the normal approximation of the case where a random variable F comes from eigenfunctions of a Jacobi generator.

Hypoeutectic Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloys are promising candidates for use in automobile parts. Therefore, various attempts have been made to develop alternative casting technologies to improve the mechanical properties of cast alloys. In this study, the effects of modification with different levels of strontium (Sr) on primary and eutectic silicon (Si) in hypoeutectic Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloys were investigated. Using a gravity cast process, the Sr-modified samples were prepared from melts with four levels (100, 200, 300, and 400 ppm) of Sr. In addition, the wear properties of the cast samples were studied using a block-on-ring wear-testing machine. The sizes of the primary Si phases increased with increasing Sr content in the alloys. Moreover, more finely dispersed eutectic Si was observed with higher Sr content. In frictional wear tests, the specific wear rates of the test specimens decreased as the Sr content increased from 200 to 400 ppm. Coarse Si phases are considered to act as solid lubricants in the contact region during sliding.

Using traditional methods based on detection rules written by human security experts, there is a significant challenge in accurately detecting many network threats that are increasingly becoming sophisticated. In order to deal with the limitation of the traditional methods, network threat detection techniques utilizing artificial intelligence technologies such as machine learning are being extensively studied. Research has also been conducted on analyzing various string patterns in network packet payloads through natural language processing techniques to detect attack intent. However, due to the nature of packet payloads containing binary data as well as text data, a new approach is needed that goes beyond typical natural language processing techniques. In this paper, we study a token extraction method optimized for payloads using n-gram and byte pair encoding techniques. Furthermore, we generate embedding vectors that can understand the context of the packet payload using algorithms such as Word2Vec and FastText. We also compute the embedding of various header data associated with packets, such as IP addresses and ports. Given the combination of these features, we ensemble a text 1D-CNN and a multi-head attention network in a novel fashion. We validated the effectiveness of our classification technique with the CICIDS2017 open dataset and over half a million data collected by The Education Cyber Security Center (ECSC) currently operating in South Korea. The proposed model showed remarkable progress compared to previous studies, demonstrating a highly accurate classification performance with an F1-Score of 0.998. Our model can also preprocess and classify 150,000 network threats per minute to help security agents in the field divert their time to analyzing more complex attack patterns.

Changes in crude oil price affect the shipping freight market in three different channels. This study explores the dependence structure between oil prices and maritime freight rates to identify the strongest channel. Therefore, it investigates the relationship between oil prices and three major maritime freight rates; the Baltic Dry Index (BDI), the Baltic Dirty Tanker Index (BDTI), and the Baltic Clean Tanker Index (BCTI). We employ the decomposition method, not studied in the existing literature. The copula approach identifies the time-varying effects and asymmetry in the tail dependence structure between oil prices and freight rates. The main results of this analysis are as follows. The decomposed components display different conditional dependence patterns, and asymmetry is revealed in the upper and lower tail dependence. In the long run, we find more dependence in extreme periods like the financial crises. In short-run fluctuations, we find the dependence increases in an economic boom. The implications of the results suggest that dependence can vary over time and may change depending on extreme events, implying that the complementary strategies of the long run and short run should be different.

(1)Background:The purpose of the study was conducted to investigate the recovery of heart rate according to the performance level and rest interval conditions during 65%1RM bench press exercise;(2)Methods:The subjects of this study were eight healthy male college studentsin their 20 (years) attending University C. 1RM was measured before theexperiment, and the exercise sequence of six rest intervals (30sec, 1, 2, 3, 4,5min) was randomly selected and cross-distribution experiment. The experimental measurement was conducted a total of six times according to the rest interval condition (six conditions) once every 3 days to minimize the learning effect. The data was verified with repeated measures Two-way ANOVA and Contrast's repeated method was applied for post-comparison;(3)Results: First, the amount of exercise and the number of repetitions statistically substantially dropped (p&lt;.001) as the number of sets rose, and a greater decline was shown when the rest periods got shorter. Second, the heart rate after exercise was increased significantly (p&lt;.01) as the set progressed in the long rest interval conditions (4, 5min), and the heart rate after rest was increased statistically significantly (p&lt;,05) as the set progressed in the short rest interval conditions (30sec, 1min). Third, the heart rate recovery rate (%) was able to perform more repetitions than in the short rest interval condition due to the relatively high physiological recovery of the neuromuscular and circulatory system under the long rest interval condition;(4)Conclusions: Therefore, according to the rest conditionduring the 65%1RM bench press exercise conducted in this study, the restinterval condition of 2~3min may be effective in improving muscular endurance,and the rest interval condition of 4~5min may be effective in improving muscular hypertrophy. As a result of this study, there was a significant difference in exercise performance (repetition) and physiological recovery depending on the rest interval condition according to the set progress during the same intensity resistance exercise. Through this, it is judged that it is possible to adjust the amount of exercise appropriate for the purpose of training by adjusting not only the intensity during resistance exercise but also the rest interval between sets.

The development of technology that combines supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries by externally connecting them in parallel is ongoing. This study examines the correlation between the volume ratio and electrical characteristics of a cell made by internally connecting a battery capacitor with Li4Ti5O12 as the anode active material and a supercapacitor in parallel. It was found that increasing the volume occupied by the battery capacitor in the cell led to increased cell energy and resistance, resulting in decreased output characteristics. Conversely, increasing the volume occupied by the supercapacitor in the cell led to a decrease in the IR drop during discharge and cell temperature when evaluating cycle characteristics with a current of 20C. The study also examined the behavior of the current distributed during the charging and discharging process based on the volume ratio of the supercapacitor and the battery capacitor. Analyzing the correlation between the volume ratio and electrical characteristics of supercapacitors and battery capacitors could potentially lead to the development of a new type of energy storage device.

Sickle cell disease is characterized by stiff, “sickled” red blood cells that have difficulty moving through the bloodstream and do not efficiently carry oxygen. It is an inherited disease with severely limited treatment options, and is caused by a point mutation. Its prevalence in black and brown communities makes the already limited treatment options even less accessible. Base editing and prime editing are two relatively recent discoveries in the field of genome editing and were developed after the groundbreaking discovery of the CRISPR Cas9 system. While not fully tested, they hold a lot of promise in providing alternative treatment options for sickle cell disease. Both editing systems are able to install individual point mutations in the beta globin gene, which is where the sickle cell mutation occurs, and can thus cure sickle cell disease (in theory). In this paper we outline the mechanisms of CRISPR-Cas9 systems and base and prime editing, and provide insight into how to apply them to treat SCD. Further investigation should be done on specific editing systems and designs to use to ensure optimal treatment of SCD.

It is desirable to upgrade previous evolutionary theories, which have remained incomplete and controversial for decades. Here we employ the concept of carbon-based entities (CBEs), which include methane, amino acids, proteins, organisms, and other entities containing relatively many carbon atoms. We deduce the driving force, mechanisms, steps, modes, tempos of CBE evolution, through integration of biology, physics, and chemistry using logics for complex issues. We hence establish the Carbon-Based Evolutionary Theory (CBET). The CBET suggests that evolution is the increase in hierarchy, diversity, fitness of CBEs under natural selection and driven by thermodynamics due to the chemical effect of the thermodynamic features of the Earth on CBEs. It provides better explanations for life origin, macroevolution events, natural selection, sympatric speciation, and evolution tempos than previous evolutionary theories. It reveals the evolutionary basis of multiple important social notions, including diversity, collaboration, altruism, obeying rules, and proper increase in freedom. It refutes some wrong notions in thermodynamics, including negative entropy (negentropy) and that biological order is equal to thermodynamic order, which have misled many people. The CBET is supported by its deduction and application. It could be a rare bridge linking laws of thermodynamics, evolution of life, and development of human society, and could have great significance in various sciences.

Coxsackievirus A6 (CV-A6) has emerged as the predominant causative agent of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) in young children. Since the declaration of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a global pandemic, the incidence of infectious diseases, including HFMD, has decreased markedly. When social mitigation was relaxed during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, re-emergence of HFMD was observed in Gwangju, South Korea, and seasonal characteristics of the disease appeared to have changed. To investigate the molecular characteristics of enterovirus (EV) associated with HFMD during 2022, 277 specimens were collected. Children aged under 5 years accounted for the majority of affected individuals. EV detection and genotyping were performed using real-time RT-PCR and nested RT-PCR followed by sequence analysis. EV detection rate was found to be 82.3%, and the main genotype identified was CV-A6. Sixteen CV-A6 samples were selected for whole genome sequencing. According to phylogenetic analysis, all CV-A6 strains from this study belonged to the sub-genotype D3 clade based on VP1 sequences. Analysis of 3D polymerase phylogeny showed that only the recombinant RF-A group was identified. In conclusion, circulating EV types should be continuously monitored to understand pathogen emergence and evolution during the post-pandemic era.

This study uses explainable artificial intelligence to analyze major predictors of poor self-rated health, dementia and their comorbidity, which include various aspects of social support. Data came from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2016-2018), with 5527 participants aged 56 or more. The dependent variables were: (1) poor self-rated health (SRH) with 5 categories (very good, good, middle, poor, very poor); (2) dementia (no, yes); and (3) their comorbidity with 4 categories (SRH very good, good or middle, dementia no; SRH very good, good or middle, dementia yes; SRH poor or very poor, dementia no; SRH poor or very poor, dementia yes). The 49 demographic, socioeconomic and health-related predictors were included. The accuracy and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) were compared for logistic regression and the random forest. Logistic regression and the random forest registered similar AUCs with the range of 0.80-0.87. Based on random forest variable importance, 18 out of top-20 predictors were identical for SRH, dementia and their comorbidity: previous SRH, life satisfaction - health, age, body mass index, income, chronic diseases, life satisfaction - economic, life satisfaction - overall, grandchildren alive, friendship meeting, brothers/sisters alive, class identity, children alive, social activity - friendship, education, children in weekly contact, religion and drinker. However, some variations were found among the three dependent variables, i.e., previous SRH for comorbidity (1st) and SRH (1st) compared to dementia (11th), grandchildren alive for SRH (6th) and dementia (4th) compared to comorbidity (9th), chronic diseases for comorbidity (6th) compared to SRH (10th) and dementia (10th). In terms of Shapley Additive Explanation (SHAP) values, the probability of dementia is expected to decrease by 5.57% in case a predictor grandchildren alive is included to the model. This study highlights the importance of social support for the prediction of poor self-rated health, dementia and their comorbidity. Specifically, the promotion of family support and friendship activity for elders would be vital for the prevention and management of their self-rated health and dementia.

Concrete cracks and local damage can affect the bond performance between concrete and steel bars, thereby reducing the durability of reinforced concrete structures. Compared with general concrete crack repair methods, biomineralization repair not only has effective bonding capabilities but is also particularly environmentally friendly. In view of this, this study aimed to apply biomineralization technology to repair damaged fiber-reinforced lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC). Two groups of LWAC specimens were prepared. The control group used lightweight aggregates (LWAs) without bacterial spores and nutrient sources, and the experimental group used LWAs containing bacterial spores and nutrient sources. These specimens were first subjected to compression tests and pull-out tests, respectively, and thus were damaged. After the damaged specimen healed itself in different ways for 28 days, secondary compression and pull-out tests were conducted. The self-healing method of the control group involved placing the specimens in an incubator. The experimental group was further divided into experimental group I and experimental group II. The self-healing method of experimental group I was the same as that of the control group. The self-healing method of experimental group II involved soaking the specimen in a mixed solution of urea and calcium acetate for two days, and then taking it out and placing it in an incubator for two days, with a cycle of four days. The test results showed that, compared with the control group specimens, the relative bond strength ratio of the experimental group II specimens increased by 17.9%. Moreover, the EDS and XRD analysis results confirmed that the precipitate formed at the crack was calcium carbonate, which improved the compressive strength and bond strength after self-healing. This indicates that the biomineralization maintenance method used in experimental group II is more effective.

In this four-month-long study (from April 1, 2020 to August 1, 2020), we have collected, modeled, and analyzed COVID-19 data from the top five most infected counties per top six most infected states in the United States (30 counties total). More specifically, we collected data on each state’s total COVID-19 cases, deaths, tests conducted, and their counties’ population, density, percentage of seniors, number of hospitals, total COVID-19 cases, and total COVID-19 related deaths. In this study, we have models illustrating the growth of COVID-19 cases and deaths per county, growth of COVID-19 cases and deaths per state (which is really the sum of our chosen five counties), and growth of COVID-19 tests conducted per state. In addition, our study also contains models illustrating the statistics of several variables that might have affected a county’s COVID-19 data, which has been mentioned above: population, density, percentage of seniors, and number of hospitals. An interesting finding we have noticed upon modeling the 30 counties’ density and total COVID-19 cases as an xy scatter plot is that there is a considerably strong relationship between the two variables. Los Angeles County (which was an extreme outlier), in particular, supports the idea that a county’s most populous city can greatly affect its entire county’s COVID-19 cases; if the largest city is extremely dense, it appears that the entire county has a greater total COVID-19 case count.

Submucosal invasion is a critical step in gastric cancer (GC) progression, which greatly enhances metastasis risk. Cancer stem cells are responsible for invasion, metastasis, and tumor growth. To identify stem cell-related markers associated with submucosal invasion in GCs, we investigated the expression of candidate cancer stem cell (CSC) markers (CD133, CD44, and ALDH1A) and intestinal stem cell (ISC) markers (EPHB2, OLFM4, and LGR5) in early GCs with submucosal invasion. Remarkably, expression of all ISC markers and CD133 was frequently confined to the basal area of the lamina propria (basal pattern) in mucosal cancer. The proportion of stem cell marker-positive cells substantially increased during submucosal invasion. Given that ISC markers are restricted to the crypt base of the normal intestinal mucosa, these findings suggest that many early GCs may retain hierarchical characteristics. CD44 expression showed a focal pattern, ALDH1A was predominantly expressed diffusely, and there was no expansion of CD44 or ALDH1A expression in the submucosal cancer cells. RSPO2 from muscularis mucosa seem to be partly responsible for the increased expression of ISC markers in GC cells at the basal areas. We also found that ISC markers were correlated with CDX2 expression in GCs, indicating that ISC markers are involved in the intestinal differentiation in GCs. Interestingly, ISC markers (EPHB2 and OLFM4) and CD133 showed a positive impact on clinical outcomes. In particular, the prognostic value of EPHB2 was significant for intestinal-type GCs in a multivariate analysis. In summary, ISC markers and CD133 showed a basal distribution pattern along with enhanced expression in submucosal invading cells in early GCs. EPHB2 was an independent prognostic marker in intestinal-type GCs.

The production of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli is often challenged by cytoplasmic expression due to proteolytic degradation and inclusion body formation. Extracellular expression can overcome these problems by simplifying downstream processing and improving protein yields. This study aims to compare the efficiency of two Bacillus subtilis chitosanase signal peptides in mediating extracellular secretion in E. coli. We identified a naturally occurring mutant signal peptide (mCsn2-SP) from B. subtilis CH2 chitosanase (CH2CSN), which is characterized by a deletion of six amino acids in the N-region relative to the signal peptide (Csn1-SP) from B. subtilis CH1 chitosanase (CH1CSN). The CH1CSN and CH2CSN genes were cloned into the pET-11a vector and protein secretion was evaluated in E. coli BL21(DE3) host cells. Expression was induced with 0.1 mM and 1 mM IPTG at 30°C for one and three days. CH2CSN showed higher secretion levels compared to CH1CSN under all experimental conditions, especially with 0.1 mM IPTG induction for 3 days, which resulted in a 2.37-fold increase in secretion. These results suggest that signal peptide deletion variants may have an effect on protein secretion efficiency and help to further understand the function of signal peptides.

The non-pharmaceutical interventions implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have affected the epidemiology of other respiratory viruses. In South Korea, Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) typically occurs from winter to the following spring; however, it was not detected for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic and re-emerged in the fall of 2022, which is a non-epidemic season. To examine the molecular genetic characteristics of HMPV before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, we analyzed 427 HMPV-positive samples collected in the Gwangju area from 2018 to 2022. Among these, 24 samples were subjected to whole-genome sequencing. The results showed a shift in the predominant genotype from A2b2 before the COVID-19 pandemic to A2b1 in 2022. Furthermore, a significant increase in HMPV cases was observed in the 6–10-year age group. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing have reduced the possibility of HMPV exposure and herd immunity due to non-transmission, resulting in the introduction of new HMPV genotypes in different seasons.

The present study investigated the effect of different ambient temperature and relative humidity (RH) but equal temperature-humidity index (THI) on laying performance, egg quality, heterophil to lymphocyte ratio (H/L ratio), corticosterone (CORT) concentration in blood, yolk and albumen, and plasma biochemical parameters in laying hens. One hundred and twenty commercial hens (Hy-Line Brown) aged 60 weeks were allocated into 2 environmental chambers. Laying hens were subjected to either one of two thermal treatments, i.e., 26ºC and 70% RH (LH75) and 30ºC and 30% RH (HL75) for 28 days. Both thermal treatments had equal THI being 75. Neither LH75 nor HL75 affected (P > 0.05) laying performance including egg production, egg weight, egg mass, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio. Plasma biochemical parameters such as total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus was not altered (P > 0.05) by thermal treatments. As to the stress indicators, both environment regimes failed (P > 0.05) to affect blood H/L ratio and CORT levels in plasma, yolk and albumen although albumen CORT levels were elevated (P < 0.05) in LH75 vs. HL75 at days 3, 7, and 28. In conclusion, our study suggests that laying hens performed and responded equally when they were exposed to equal THI environment conditioned from either 26ºC and 70% RH or 30ºC and 30% RH. The results of this study will be served as a scientific basis for management decisions and handling under thermally challenging conditions.

In this study, carbon blocks were fabricated using isotropic coke and coal tar pitch as raw materials, with a variation in pressure during cold isostatic pressing (CIP). The CIP pressure was set to 50, 100, 150, and 200 MPa, and the effect of the CIP pressure on the mechanical and electrical properties of the resulting carbon blocks was analyzed. Microstructural observations confirmed that after the kneading, the surface of isotropic coke was covered with the pitch components. Subsequently, after the CIP, granules, which were larger than isotropic coke and the kneaded particles, were observed. The formation of these granules was attributed to the coalescence of kneaded particles under the applied pressing pressure. This granule formation was accompanied by the development of pores, some remaining within the granules, while others were extruded, thereby existing externally. The increase in the applied pressing pressure facilitated the formation of granules, and this microstructural development contributed to enhanced mechanical and electrical properties. At a pressing pressure of 100 MPa, the maximum flexural strength was achieved at 33.3 MPa, and the minimum electrical resistivity was reached at 60.1 μΩm. The higher the pressing pressure, the larger the size of the granules. Pores around the granules tended to connect and grow larger, forming crack-like structures. This microstructural change led to degraded mechanical and electrical properties. The isotropic ratio of the carbon blocks obtained in this study was estimated based on the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). The results confirmed that all carbon blocks obtained proved to be isotropic. In this study, a specimen type named CIP-100 exhibited the best performance in every aspect as an isotropic carbon block.

Recent technological improvements have made abundant changes in construction industry. In specific, some technical applications, such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) opens up many possibilities. Some studies have articulated the use of BIM and its advantages in construction, but most of them are theoretical, not practical. This study is to provide an insight to such obstacles in BIM research. By investigating a real project that could utilize BIM in planning and construction phases, the authors try to investigate a possible outline of advantages in BIM implementation. The study area was set to a railway construction site in South Korea. The site covers a multiple railway tracks, stations, telecommunication facilities, infrastructure facilities, railway structures, and so numerous. In the site, the authors have identified 12 errors in 7 projects that could be prevented if BIM was utilized before the construction. The total upfront costs required to provide a BIM for 7 projects were $116,348. On the other hand, the total costs required to fix the errors in 7 projects were $166,486. This can be regarded as the benefits of using BIM because if BIM was implemented then the associated errors are easily replaced. Therefore, the benefit-cost ratio can be estimated as 1.32 for one-month delay and 1.36 for a three-month delay.

During the last two decades, energy poverty has captured a growing attention of researchers and policymakers due to its strong association with economic poverty and poor economic performance. This study uses a broad set of macro level indicators and makes the first attempt to measure energy poverty and its impact on economic growth of Pakistan over the period 1990 to 2017. In particular, our energy poverty indicator considers four main dimensions of energy poverty, namely, energy services, clean energy, energy governance and energy affordability. Our main results show that though the overall energy poverty has reduced in Pakistan during the selected sample period, the country shows an increasing dependence on polluted energy supply in order to meet its growing demand of energy. In second stage of the investigation, we test the neoclassical growth theory where we incorporate energy poverty along with human capital as source of economic growth. Our cointegration results reveal a strong relationship between energy poverty and economic growth that is also dynamically stable in short run. These strong negative linkages between energy poverty with economic growth for the sample economy complement the previous literature on the subject.