Abstract: Early life gut microbiota have been increasingly recognized as major contributors to short and/or long-term human health and diseases. Numerous studies have demonstrated that human gut microbial colonization begins at birth but continues to develop a succession of taxonomic abundances for two to three years until the gut microbiota reaches adult-like diversity and proportions. Several factors, including gestational age (GA), delivery mode, birth weight, feeding types, antibiotic exposure, maternal microbiome and diet influence the diversity, abundance and function of the early life gut microbiota. Gut microbial life is essential for assisting with the digestion of food substances to release nutrients, exerting control over pathogens, stimulating or modulating the immune system and influencing many systems such as the liver, brain, and endocrine system. Microbial metabolites play multiple roles in these interactions. Furthermore, studies provide evidence supporting that imbalances of the gut microbiota in early life, referred to as dysbiosis, are associated with specific childhood or adult disease outcomes, such as asthma, atopic dermatitis, diabetes, allergic diseases, obesity, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and neurological disorders. These findings support that the human gut microbiota may play a fundamental role in the risk of acquiring diseases that may be programmed during the early life stage. In fact, it is critical to explore the role of the human gut microbiota in early life. In this review, we summarize the general understanding of the colonization and development of the gut microbiota in early life, highlighting the recent findings regarding the relationship between the gut microbiota composition and their metabolites, and immune functions, which could significantly influence long-term health and disease. We then review known pathophysiological interactions of the early gut microbiome with a number of well characterized diseases and pose potential etiological mechanisms.

Atherosclerosis is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease and mortality worldwide. Alterations in the gut microbiota composition, known as gut dysbiosis, have been shown to contribute to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ACVD) development through several pathways. Disruptions in gut homeostasis are associated with activation of immune processes and systemic inflammation. The gut microbiota produces several metabolic products, namely trimethylamine (TMA), which is used to produce the proatherogenic metabolite trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO). Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), including acetate, butyrate, and propionate, and certain bile acids (BAs) produced by the gut microbiota lead to inflammation resolution and decrease atherogenesis. Chronic low-grade inflammation is associated to common risk factors for atherosclerosis, including metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and obesity. Novel strategies for reducing ACVD include the use of nutraceuticals such as resveratrol, modification of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) levels, supplementation with probiotics, and administration of prebiotic SCFAs and BAs. Investigation into the relationship between the gut microbiota and its metabolites, and the host immune system could reveal promising insight into ACVD development, prognostic factors, and treatments.

This study was conducted to examine the moderating and mediating effect of ego - resilience, parenting attitude, and peer attachment in the relation between smartphone dependency and aggression. Participants were 1,863 youths using a smartphone among the first middle school students responded in the 7th Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS) conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute in Korea. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, a correlation, and a hierarchical regression analysis. First, ego-resilience showed a partial mediating effect on the relationship between smartphone dependency, aggression and significant moderating effects were revealed. Second, parenting behavior showed a partial mediating effect on the relationship between smartphone dependency and aggression, with no moderating effects seen. Third, peer attachment had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between smartphone dependency and aggression, with no moderating effects seen. The research suggested the mental health and growth of students could be improved by applying various nursing and health care programs to improve ego-resilience, parenting behavior and peer attachment as they grow into adulthood.

This study aims to investigate the changes in the structural relationship between alienation in physical education (PE) class, school happiness, and future healthy life expectancy in Korean adolescents after the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were collected from adolescents in the Republic of Korea using scales for these factors. The collected data were analyzed with frequency analysis, reliability analysis, validity analysis, independent t-test, and path analysis. The key results were as follows. First, there were partial changes in each of the parameters since the outbreak of COVID-19. Second, before the pandemic, alienation in PE class negatively affected school happiness, and school happiness positively affected future healthy life expectancy; however, alienation in PE class did not affect future healthy life expectancy showing a complete mediating effect. Third, during the pandemic, alienation in PE class negatively affected school happiness, and school happiness positively affected future healthy life expectancy; alienation in PE class negatively affected future healthy life expectancy, showing a partial mediating effect. These findings emphasize the importance and potential of school education, especially PE, in promoting happiness and healthy life in adolescents. We expect these findings to have practical implications for future research by presenting theoretical and empirical data.

This study aimed to assess the differences in the importance and performance of health awareness in Korean middle school students according to the types of online physical education classes they attended during the coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic. Overall, 583 participants were selected using a convenience sampling method; the data were obtained through an online survey using Google forms. Frequency analysis, reliability analysis, independent sample t-test, and importance-performance analysis were performed. First, the differences between importance and performance were found to be the most for sleep and physical activity management, and the least for disease and hygiene management. In addition, both the groups demonstrated higher importance and performance for hygiene and disease management. There were significant differences in the importance and performance of all the sub-factors. Second, hygiene, disease management, and mental health management were found in quadrant I in both the groups, while physical activity, sleep, and dietary habit management were in quadrant III. No factors were in quadrant II and IV.

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.

“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.

In this study, we aimed to explore the oral bacteria and fungi that can help discern oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and investigate the correlations between multiple key pathogens. Methods: Twelve participants (8 females and 4 males; mean age, 54.33 ± 20.65 years) were prospectively recruited into three groups: Group 1: healthy control, Group 2: patients with stomatitis, and Group 3: patients with OSCC, with 4 individuals in each group. Unstimulated whole saliva samples from these participants were analyzed using real-time PCR to assess the presence and abundance of 14 major oral bacterial species and Candida albicans. Results: The analysis revealed significant differences for certain microorganisms, namely Treponema denticola (T. denticola), Lactobacillus casei (L. casei), and Candida albicans. T. denticola was most abundant in the OSCC group (5,358,692.95 ± 3,540,767.33), compared to the stomatitis (123,355.54 ± 197,490.86) and healthy control (9,999.21 ± 11,998.40) groups. L. casei was undetectable in the healthy control group, but was significantly more abundant in the stomatitis group (1,653.94 ± 2,981.98) and even higher in the OSCC group (21,336.95 ± 9,258.79) (p = 0.001). A similar trend was observed for C. albicans, with DNA copy numbers rising from the healthy control (464.29 ± 716.76) to the stomatitis (1,861.30 ± 1,206.15) to the OSCC group (9,347.98 ± 5,128.54) (p = 0.006). The amount of T. denticola was positively correlated with L. casei (r=0.890, p<0.001) and C. albicans (r=0.724, p=0.008). L. casei's DNA copy number was strongly correlated with C. albicans (r=0.931, p<0.001). These three oral microbes exhibited strong positive correlations with each other and had various direct or indirect relationships with other species. Conclusions: In the OSCC group, T. denticola, L. casei, and C. albicans exhibited strong positive correlations with one another, further emphasizing the need for a deeper understanding of the complex microbial interactions in the OSCC environment.

This study examines the synergistic interaction between the immunomodulatory functions of lactic acid bacteria postbiotics and the anti-inflammatory properties of Smilax China L. extract through a combined fermentation process. Using atopic dermatitis (AD) as a model, characterized by an immune imbalance that leads to skin inflammation, we developed a fermented product, MB-2006, and compared its effects to those of heat-killed probiotics, Lactobacillus acidophilus (LAC) and Lac-tobacillus rhamnosus (LRH). Our experiments focused on elucidating the mechanism of action of MB-2006 in AD-like HaCaT keratinocyte cells, particularly its impact on the NF-kB pathway, a pivotal regulator of inflammation. MB-2006 proved more effective in reducing inflammation markers such as IL-4 and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), and in inhibiting NF-kB activation, compared to LAC and LRH. Significantly, MB-2006 also reduced the expression of thymus- and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC), highlighting a synergistic effect that enhances its thera-peutic potential. These results suggest that the combined fermentation of Smilax china L. extract with lactic acid bacteria enhanced both the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects, pre-senting a promising integrative approach to treating conditions like AD. Further studies are needed to validate these results in clinical settings and fully explore the potential of this synergistic fer-mentation process.

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.

Prenatal diagnosis of clubfoot traditionally relied on two-dimensional ultrasonography. To enhance diagnosis and predict postnatal outcomes, we examined the parameters that differentiate pathological clubfoot using three-dimensional ultrasonography. In our retrospective study, we examined the findings of prenatal ultrasound and the postnatal outcomes of pregnancies with suspected congenital clubfoot between 2018 and 2021. Based on the three-dimensional perspective, we measured the angles of varus, equinus, calcaneopedal block and forefoot adduction and compared the sonographic variables between the postnatal treated and non-treated groups. We evaluated 31 pregnancies (47 feet) with suspected clubfoot using three-dimensional ultrasonography. After delivery, a total of 37 feet (78.7%) underwent treatment involving serial casting only or additional Achilles tenotomy. The treated group showed significantly greater hindfoot varus deviation (60.5° vs. 46.6°, p=0.026) and calcaneopedal block deviation (65.6° vs. 26.6°, p &lt;0.05) compared to the non-treated group. The calcaneopedal block had an area under the curve of 0.98 with a diagnostic threshold of 46.2 degrees (sensitivity of 97%, specificity of 90%, positive predictive value of 97%, and negative predictive value of 90%). During prenatal evaluation of clubfoot using three-dimensional ultrasonography, the calcaneopedal block deviation has the potential to predict postnatal treatment.

This study was conducted to determine whether overcrowding in the emergency department (ED) affects the occurrence of a return visit (RV) within 72 hours. The crowding indicator of index visit was the average number of total patients, patients under observation, and boarding patients during the first 1 and 4 hours from ED arrival time and the last 1 hour before ED departure. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine whether each indicator affects the occurrence of RV and post-RV admission. Of the 87,360 discharged patients, 3,743 (4.3%) returned to the ED within 72 hours. Of the crowding indicators pertaining to total patients, the last 1 hour significantly affected decrease in RV (p=0.0046). Boarding patients were found to increase RV occurrence during the first 1 hour (p=0.0146) and 4 hours (p=0.0326). Crowding indicators that increased the likelihood of admission post-RV were total number of patients during the first 1 hour (p=0.0166) and 4 hours (p=0.0335) and evaluationg patients during the first 1 hour (p=0.0059). Overcrowding in the ED increased the incidence of RV and likelihood of post-RV admission. However, overcrowding at the time of ED departure was related to reduced RV.

Apis mellifera, especially weak ones, are highly vulnerable to Carpoglyphus lactis mites, which can rapidly infest and consume stored pollen, leading to weakened colonies and potentially colony collapse. This study aimed to ascertain and investigate the prevalence of this mite in honeybee colonies across 9 provinces in the Republic of Korea (ROK). A total of 615 honeybee colonies were collected, from 66 apiaries during the spring and 58 apiaries during the summer of 2023. A 1,242 bp segment of the the Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene was amplified using the polymerase chain reaction method. The detection levels of C. lactis in the honeybees were compared between winter and summer. Based on the COI sequence analysis, the nucleotide sequence similarity of C. lactis mites isolated in the ROK with those from China (NC048990.1) was found to be 99.5%, and with those from the United Kingdom (KY922482.1) was 99.3%. This study is the first report of C. lactis in Korean apiaries. The findings in this study demonstrate a significantly higher detection rate in winter, which is 4.1 times greater than that in summer (p &lt; 0.001). Furthermore, the results underscore the usefulness of molecular diagnostic techniques for detecting C. lactis mites.

Although the number of unwed mothers have mental health problems and intellectual disability, little research have focused on their mental and cognitive status. Since there has been public stigma of unwed mother in South Korea, they tend to conceal their status and less likely to seek psychiatric and psychological help. In this context, this study aims to assess current status of their mental health and intellectual characteristics. A total 48 unwed mothers from two shelter homes in South Korea were agreed to participate in the study. To compare mental health and intellectual abilities of unwed mothers with the general women population, reference data from national studies was used. Unwed mothers were more likely to have mood disorder, post traumatic stress disorder(PTSD), alcohol and nicotine use disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than the general women population. Among 48 participants, 20 (41.7%) were lower than 70 Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and the mean of IQ (78.31) was significantly lower than normalized IQ mean of general women population. In logistic regression analysis, psychiatric disorders were associated intellectual disability. This study confirmed that unwed mothers dwelling in Korean shelter homes have more experience of mental disorders and lower intellectual ability than general women population.

The role of upfront primary tumor resection (PTR) in patients with unresectable metastatic col-orectal cancer (CRC) without severe symptoms remains controversial. We retrospectively ana-lyzed the role of PTR in overall survival (OS) in different subgroups. Among 331 patients diag-nosed with synchronous metastatic CRC between 2010 and 2020, 223 were analyzed. The PTR group (n = 42) showed better performance (p = 0.038); higher frequencies of right-sided origin (p = 0.014), T4 stage (p = 0.005), M1a stage (p = 0.015), and <2 organ metastases (p = 0.002); and re-ceived fewer targeted agents (p < 0.001) than the chemotherapy group (n = 181). The PTR group showed longer OS (20.5 versus 14.0 months, p = 0.016), but PTR was marginally related to OS in multivariate analysis (p = 0.060). Male sex (p = 0.022), good performance status (p = 0.07), left-sided tumor (p = 0.069), low serum carcinoembryonic antigen level (p = 0.092), T3 stage (p = 0.029), M1a stage (p = 0.025), <2 organ metastases (p = 0.017), and administration of targeted agents, especially bevacizumab (p = 0.024), were related to survival benefit after PTR. Upfront PTR should be considered when selecting patients with favorable prognoses for bevacizumab administration.

This study aimed to identify changes in visitor behavior and visitor interest in healing forests before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The study used text mining analysis techniques to identify changes in visitation behavior over time, divided into three periods: pre-COVID-19 (January 1 to December 31, 2019), during the COVID-19 pandemic (November 1, 2020 to October 31, 2022), and post-COVID-19 (November 1, 2022 to October 31, 2023 ). After the COVID-19 outbreak, healing forest use behavior did not regress to pre-COVID-19 levels. Activity-based keywords such as "hiking," "trekking," and "walking" stood out as the main drivers of this change in behavior. Therefore, related authorities must examine the scalability of the functions, services, and programs of healing forests from a general healing space to a space for leisure and tourism. These findings will contribute to the development of future marketing strategies and programs for healing forests.

The human oral microbiome refers to an ecological community of symbiotic and pathogenic microorganisms found in the oral cavity. The oral cavity is a suitable environment that provides various kinds of biological niches such as teeth, tongue, and oral mucosa. The oral cavity is the gateway between the external environment and the human body, maintaining oral homeostasis, protecting the mouth, and preventing disease. On the flip side, the oral microbiome plays an important role in triggering, development, and progression of oral and systemic diseases. Currently, disease diagnosis through the analysis of the human oral microbiome has been realized with the recent development of innovative detection technology, and is overwhelmingly promising compared to the previous era. It has been found that patients with oral diseases and systemic diseases have variations in the oral microbiome compared to normal subjects. This narrative review provides insight into the pathophysiological role that oral microbiome plays in influencing oral and systemic diseases, and updates the knowledge related to the oral microbiome over the past 30 years. A wide range of updates was provided with the latest knowledge of the oral microbiome to help researchers and clinicians in both academic and clinical aspects. The microbial community information can be utilized in non-invasive diagnosis and help develop a new paradigm in precision medicine, which will benefit human health in the era of post-metagenomics.

Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) is widely used in public healthcare facilities; this exposure can result in the development of bacterial tolerance to disinfectant, which has known links to antibiotic cross-resistance. However, the mechanism through which cross-resistance to antibiotics and disinfectants develops remains ambiguous. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the phenotypic, and transcriptomic changes caused by disinfectant exposure in gram-negative bacteria and determine the cause of cross-resistance to antibiotics. The results demonstrated that the misuse of disinfectants plays an important role in the emergence of disinfectant resistance and in the increase in antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance may occur from exposure of gram-negative bacteria to subminimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of NaOCl. Ten passages of gram-negative bacteria in increasingly higher subMICs of NaOCl disinfectant was sufficient to increase the MIC to &gt;2,500 µg/ml NaOCl, particularly in K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa. To determine the development of cross-resistance to antibiotics due to NaOCl exposure, the MICs for each antibiotic before and after exposure of each strain to sublethal concentrations of NaOCl were compared. After overnight incubation with a sublethal concentration of NaOCl, a statistically significant increase in MIC was only observed for imipenem (P&lt;0.01). Investigation of the mechanism of cross-resistance by means of transcriptome analysis revealed that 1,250 µg/ml NaOCl-adapted K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa strains increased resistance to imipenem due to increased expression of the resistance-nodulation-cell division (RND) efflux pumps, such as AcrAB-TolC and MexAB/XY-OprM. Therefore, we suggest that exposure to NaOCl can influence the expression of RND efflux pump genes, contributing to imipenem cross-resistance.

This paper presents designing an attitude motion control strategy for a half-car model using an anti-jerk predictive controller. Anti-jerk predictive controller based on active aerodynamics surfaces is employed to deal with the anticipated future road maneuvers and improve vehicle ride performance by canceling out external jerks acting on the vehicle body. The body jerks are produced during vehicle traversing on a double lane-change maneuver, acceleration, or braking. The control strategy helps the vehicle to achieve a realistic operation of the active aerodynamic surface to improve the vehicle’s ride performance, i.e., ride comfort and road holding during cornering, acceleration, or braking. The anti-jerk predictive controller is developed based on the predictive control strategy, which predicts future road inputs and uses them to compensate for the vehicle’s attitude motion. The simulation results show that the proposed control strategy effectively reduces the effects of vehicle body jerks transmitted to the passengers, improving ride comfort without degrading vehicle handling. The anti-jerk predictive controller successfully tracks the desired attitude position by canceling the external body jerks.

Human adipose stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (hASC-EVs) are key mediators of paracrine signaling with promising therapeutic applications. Although hASC-EVs are derived from human cells and are less immunogenic, their immunogenicity cannot be completely excluded. Here, we evaluate the immune responses of ICR and C57BL/6 mice to high doses of hASC-EVs for 10 days after injection. Lymphocyte subpopulations are analyzed using flow cytometry at 0.5, 1, 3 and 24 h post injection. In the spleen and blood of C57BL/6 mice, neutrophils sharply increased at 0.5 h and decreased at 3 h following hASC-EV treatment. We observe increased proportions of monocytes, macrophages, and natural killer cells at 3 h but returned to similar level of vehicle control at 24 h post injection in the spleen and blood of ICR mice. Although the in vivo experiments reveal different immune responses to hASC-EV treatment in C57BL/6 and ICR strains, no major changes occur in human peripheral blood mononuclear cell composition after applying hASC-EVs in vitro. In conclusion, unlike those in mice, immune responses to hASC-EVs in humans are not detectable, indicating a minimal risk of fatal side-effects from hASC-EV-based therapies.

This case report describes evidence of intratubular biomineralization in root canal filled with calcium enriched material after 8 years of clinical maintenance. The schematic findings of dentinal tubules were investigated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The root canal obturation material was closely adapted to root dentin surface, suggesting the possibility of chemical bonding between the two interfaces. SEM and EDS observation of dentinal tubules showed intratubular biomineralized crystal structures with Ca/P ratio in a range of 1.30–2.12, suggesting bioactive capacity of calcium enriched cement.

Our previous study demonstrated that mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) induced the differentiation of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in the bone marrow (BM) under inflammatory conditions. In the present study, we aimed to explore the signaling pathway in BM cells responsible for MDSC generation. RNA-seq revealed that the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways, among biochemical pathways, exhibited the highest number of differentially expressed genes in BM cells with MSC coculture relative to those without. Western blot confirmed strong phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in BM cells cocultured with MSCs under GM-CSF stimulation, whereas p38 kinase activation remained unaltered by MSCs. Inhibition of JNK by SP600125 significantly abolished the expression of Arg1 and Nos2, the hallmark genes of MDSCs, as well as Hif1α, a molecule mediating monocyte functional re-programming into suppressive phenotype, in MSC-cocultured BM cells, while increasing TNF-α in response to lipopolysaccharides stimulation. Furthermore, JNK inhibition markedly abrogated the effect of MSCs on the production of TGF-β1, TGF-β2 and IL-10 in BM cells. These results suggest that MSCs induce MDSC differentiation in BM during inflammation, at least in part, through the activation of the JNK MAPK signaling pathway.

Through an investigation of recently discovered Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment amulets from the Silla kingdom, this paper reveals that early Korea had more diverse forms of dhāraṇī practices than previously assumed. This paper’s analysis of these amulets from Korea contributes toward filling the gap in our current understanding of the material practice pertaining to the Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment widely practiced in medieval East Asia. Based on an interdisciplinary analysis of the two amulet sheets of the Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment from Silla, this paper explored hitherto unknown aspects of early Korean dhāraṇī practice. Previously, the only material dhāraṇī practice in early Korea was thought to be the enshrinement of textual relics in pagodas based on the Pure Light Incantation, which has little connection to contemporaneous Chinese dhāraṇī practice. However, the newly discovered Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment amulets, whose date this paper inferred to be between the eighth and ninth century, show that the Unified Silla also had a dhāraṇī practice closely linked to the Chinese practice. However, unlike the Chinese Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment amulets that were buried in tombs, the Silla amulets were likely enshrined in one of the pagodas erected on Mount Nam, Gyeongju. At the same time, the Silla epigraph from Myogilsang Pagoda at Haeinsa shows that the Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment was placed in the pagoda so as to wish for good afterlives of the soldiers who died at the battle, suggesting that placing the Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment in a pagoda had a function similar to that of burying the Chinese amulet in the tomb.

The high demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) requires more LNG carriers (LNGCs) to be in operation. During transportation, there is a high risk due to the required extremely low temperatures and the explosive nature of LNG cargo. Moreover, when there is a lack of experience in operating old LNGCs, there is a serious concern regarding operational accidents. A systematic maintenance strategy, especially for LNG cargo containment systems, is crucial for maintaining safe LNG transportation at sea. The purpose of this study is to develop preventive LNG cargo containment system maintenance models by using LNGC dock specifications from LNGCs of various ages. The dock specifications from a conventional LNGC repairing dock were analyzed using natural language processing techniques in order to develop preventive maintenance models of the LNG cargo containment system. From these results, and by considering the ship’s age, it was found that for young LNGCs the priority for repair should focus on checking routine consumable spare parts by tank inspections, whereas for older LNGCs the focus should be on tank condition maintenance rather than on other facilities. These results are expected to be useful in the development of a maintenance strategy of preventive LNG cargo containment systems in maritime LNG transportation.

Erlotinib inhibits epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) kinase activity and is used to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Despite its high efficacy, recurrence can occur in patients who become resistant to the drug. To address the underlying mechanism of Erlotinib resistance, we investigated additional mechanisms related to mode-of-drug-action, by multiple protein-binding interactions, besides EGFR by using drug affinity responsive target stability (DARTS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods with non-labeled Erlotinib. DNA polymerase alpha subunit B (POLA2) was identified as a new Erlotinib binding protein that was validated by the DARTS platform, complemented with cellular thermal shift assays. Genetic knock-down of POLA2 promoted the anti-proliferative effect of the drug in the Erlotinib-resistant cell line H1299 with high POLA2 expression, whereas overexpression of POLA2 restored anti-proliferative effects in the Erlotinib-sensitive cell line HCC827 with low POLA2 expression. Importantly, POLA2 expression levels in four NSCLC cell lines were positively correlated with anti-proliferative Erlotinib efficacy, verified by bio-statistical analysis (Pearson correlation coefficient, R=0.9886). These results suggest that POLA2 is a novel complementary target protein of Erlotinib, and could clinically provide validity as a surrogate marker for drug resistance in patients with NSCLC.

Currently, maritime traffic is increasing with economic growth in several regions worldwide. However, this growth in maritime traffic has led to increased risk of marine accidents. These accidents have a higher probability of occurring in regions where geographical features, such as islands, are present. Further, the positioning of rescue ships in a particular ocean region with a high level of maritime activity is critical for rescue operations. This paper proposes a method for determining an optimal set of locations for stationing rescue ships in an ocean region with numerous accident sites in the Wando islands of South Korea. The computational challenge in this problem is identified as the positioning of numerous islands of varying sizes located in the region. Thus, the proposed method combines a clustering-based optimization method and an image processing approach that incorporates flood filling to calculate the shortest distance between two points in the ocean that detours around the islands. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method reduces the distance from rescue ships and each accident site by 5.0 km compared to the original rescue ship locations. Thus, rescue time is reduced.

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.

RISC-V offers a modular technical approach combined with an open, royalty-free instruction set architecture (ISA). This openness allows various researches to incorporate RISC-V into both open and proprietary solutions or services. However, despite its advantages as a fundamental building block for many embedded systems, the escalating complexity and functional demands of real-time applications have made adhering to response time deadlines challenging. This has led to an increased demand for comprehensive development insights for real-time systems based on RISC-V. To improve development efficiency, we offer a detailed performance analysis of RISC-V in comparison to various ISAs. In this paper, we analyze the real-time performance of RISC-V through two real-time approaches based on processor architectures. For RTOS applications, we adopted FreeRTOS and evaluated its performance on HiFive1 Rev B (RISC-V) and STM3240G-EVAL (ARM M) to evaluate real-time performance. For Real-time Linux, we utilized Linux with the Preempt-RT patch and tested its performance on VisionFive 2 (RISC-V), MIO5272 (x86-64), and Raspberry Pi 4 B (ARM A). Through these experiments, we examined the real-time mechanism of each operating system. Additionally, in the Preempt-RT experiments, scheduling latencies were evaluated using cyclictest. Finally, in order to practically show the real-time capabilities of RISC-V, we implemented motion control of a six-axis collaborative robot, which was performed on the VisionFive 2 platform. This implementation provided a comparative result of RISC-V’s performance against the x86-64 architecture of MIO-5272. Ultimately, the results indicated that the real-time performance of RISC-V for real-time applications was slightly inferior to that of the x86-64 architecture. A noticeable achievement of this research was the first implementation of an EtherCAT Master on RISC-V designed for real-time applications featuring a multi-tasking structure. The research offers valuable insights into the real-time capabilities of RISC-V compared to established architectures like x86-64. While RISC-V might not surpass these architectures in real-time performance, its flexibility, modularity, and open nature make it a compelling choice for a wide range of real-time applications. The successful implementation of the EtherCAT Master on RISC-V further expands its potential in the domain of real-time embedded control systems.

We aimed to evaluate the survival benefits of coadministering statins and multityrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service in Korea (2010–2020) were utilized. Statin use (≥28 cumulative defined daily doses) was analyzed, with 1,534 statin users matched to 6,136 non-users (1:4 ratio) using propensity scores. Primary and secondary outcomes were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Statin use significantly improved OS (hazard ratio [HR] 0.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.72–0.82, P&lt;0.001) and PFS (HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.74–0.84, P&lt;0.001). Continuous or post-TKI statin users had better OS, while discontinuation after TKI use led to poorer OS. Both lipophilic and hydrophilic statins improved OS and PFS, particularly with ≥730 cumulative defined daily doses. In conclusion, combining statins and TKIs in patients with advanced HCC yielded significant survival benefits, influenced by statin dosage and duration. Continuous statin administration post-TKI treatment is crucial for improving outcomes in patients with HCC.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by memory impairment and existence of amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and neuroinflammation. Due to the pivotal role of oxidative damage in AD, natural antioxidative agents, such as polyphenol-rich fungi, have garnered scientific scrutiny. Here, the aqueous extract of mixed medicinal mushroom mycelia (MMMM) - Phellinus linteus, Ganoderma lucidum, and Inonotus obliquus - cultivated on a barley medium, was assessed for its anti-AD effects. A neuron-like PC12 cells, which were subjected to Zn2+, an Aβ aggregator, was employed as an in vitro AD model. The cells pretreated with or without MMMM assayed for Aβ immunofluorescence, cell viability, reactive oxygen species (ROS), apoptosis, and antioxidant enzyme activity. 5XFAD mice were administered with 30 mg/kg/day MMMM for 8 weeks and underwent memory function tests and histologic analyses. In vitro results demonstrated that the cells pretreated with MMMM exhibited attenuation in Aβ immunofluorescence, ROS accumulation, and apoptosis, and increment in cell viability and antioxidant enzyme activity. In vivo results revealed that 5XFAD mice administered with MMMM showed attenuation in memory impairment and histologic deterioration such as Aβ plaques accumulation and neuroinflammation. MMMM might mitigate AD-associated memory impairment and cerebral pathologies, including Aβ plaque accumulation, and neuroinflammation, by impeding Aβ-induced neurotoxicity.

Synthetic polymer-based gradient foams have considered as promising category of functionally graded materials with unique properties. In this study, the carbon dioxide (CO₂) foaming technology has used for PET-PEN (Polyethylene Terephthalate - Polyethylene Naphthalate) copolymer towards porous functional materials with thermal insulation with reasonable mechanical strength. Through scanning electron microscope based morphological characterization, a potential to fabricate gradient foam structures with micro-pores has identified. It has shown that variation of post-foaming temperature can tune the pore size distribution although the very high post-foaming temperature tends to cause structural instability. Thermal measurement data set the limits of operation, confirmed by simultaneous differential scanning calorimeter and thermo-gravimetric analysis. Mechanical stress and thermal conductivity also has measured to find rationale of thermal insulation with reasonable mechanical strength and to elucidate the actual 3D grid foam of copolymer.

Neuroinflammatory responses are implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. In neurodegenerative diseases, neuroinflammatory reactions to neuronal injury are modulated by microglial cells, which are vital innate immune cells in the central nervous system. Activated microglial cells release proinflammatory cytokines, mediators, and neurotoxic factors that induce fatal neuronal injury. The present study investigated the anti-neuroinflammatory effects of cudratricusxanthone L (1), which was isolated from Cudrania tricuspidata. This compound reduced the levels of lipopolysaccharide-stimulated inflammatory mediators and cytokines, including nitric oxide, prostaglandin E2, interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α, IL-6, and IL-12. These effects suggested that cudratricusxanthone L (1) suppressed the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway. Specifically, cudratricusxanthone L (1) also attenuated the phosphorylation of Jun kinase and inhibited p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling in BV2 and rat primary microglial cells. These results indicated that cudratricusxanthone L (1) effectively repressed neuroinflammatory processes in BV2 and rat primary microglial cells by inhibiting NF-κB and the MAPK signaling pathway.

Background: Albumin has a pivotal role in the homeostasis of osmotic pressure and is associated with cardiovascular, nephrotic, hepatic, and nutritional diseases. The detection of hypoalbuminemia is a cornerstone for diagnosis of hidden diseases and patient deterioration. We developed and validated a deep-learning-based model (DLM) for detection of hypoalbuminemia using electrocardiography (ECG). Methods: This historical cohort study included data from consecutive patients from two hospitals. The patient data in one hospital were divided into development (82,499 ECGs from 54,248 patients) and internal validation (20,664 ECGs from 20,664 patients) datasets, whereas the patient data in the other hospital were included in only an external validation (37,421 ECGs from 37,421 patients) dataset. An DLM was developed using a 12-lead ECG signal, age, and sex from the development dataset. The endpoint was hypoalbuminemia, defined by serum albumin concentration below 3.5 g/dL. Results: During the internal and external validations, the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the DLM for the detection of hypoalbuminemia were 0.887 (0.877–0.897) and 0.888 (0.880–0.896), respectively. Among the 27,400 individuals without hypoalbuminemia at the initial laboratory exam, those identified by the DLM as higher-risk patients had a significantly larger change in developing hypoalbuminemia than those in the low-risk group (7.09% vs. 1.01%, p < 0.001) during 24 months. The sensitivity map showed that the DLM focused on the T wave and QRS complex for the detection of hypoalbuminemia. Conclusions: The DLM exhibited a high accuracy for hypoalbuminemia detection and prediction using 12-, 6-, and single-lead ECGs.

1-[5-(4-methylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl]methanamine compound has been successfully synthesized by reacting p-Toluic hydrazide and glycine via polyphosphoric acid condensation route. The course of the reaction was found to be high yielding and the title compound was spectroscopically characterized by FT-IR, DSC, 13C/1H-NMR and Mass spectrometric techniques.

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.

In this study, in order to develop the composition ceramics for the application of ultrasonic transducer device for temporomandibular joint disorder pain relief and facial skin massage, Pb0.88(La0.6Sm 0.4)0.08(Mn 1/3 Sb 2/3)0.02 Ti 0.98 O3 ceramics were manufactured using CuO as sintering aids, and their piezoelectric ,and resonant properties were investigated. At the specimen sintered at 1200 [℃], the excellent values of piezoelectric properties appeared, respectively: the dielectric constant (εr) of 202, piezoelectric constant (d33) of 56[pC/N], first and third overtone electromechanical coupling factor kt of 0.548, kt3 of 0.219, and then first and third overtone mechanical quality factor Qmt1 of 345, Qmt3 of 292 were suitable for the device application such as ultrasonic transducer, respectively. When the length of one side was 7.7 mm, first and third overtone electromechanical coupling factor kt1 of 0.555, kt3 of, 0.196, and then first ,third overtone mechanical quality factor Qmt1 of 381, Qmt3 of 393 , and the first dynamic ratio(D.R) and third overtone dynamic ratio(D.R) of 63.7(dB),and 37.7(dB) were suitable for the device application such as ultrasonic transducer ,respectively .

Cancer metastasis accounts for approximately 90% of cancer deaths, and elucidating markers in metastasis is the first step in its prevention. To characterize metastasis marker genes of breast cancer (MGs), XGBoost models that classify metastasis status were trained with gene expression profiles from TCGA. Then, a metastasis score (MS) was assigned to each gene by calculating the inner product between the feature importance and AUC performance of the models. As a result, the 54, 202, and 357 genes with the highest MS were characterized as MGs by empirical P-value cutoffs of 0.001, 0.005, and 0.01, respectively. The three sets of MGs were compared with those from existing metastasis marker databases, which provided significant results in most comparisons. We noticed that the set of MGs with the median EP cutoff showed better performance than the other two sets, suggesting the importance of the cutoff used in determining MGs. They were also significantly enriched in biological processes associated to breast cancer metastasis. The MGs that could not be identified by statistical analysis (e.g., GOLM1, ELAVL1, UBP1, and AZGP1) as well as the MGs with the highest MS (e.g., ZNF676, FAM163B, LDOC2, IRF1, and STK40) were verified via the literature. Additionally, we checked how close the MGs are located to each other in the protein–protein interaction networks. We expect that the characterized markers will help understand and prevent breast cancer metastasis.

This study compares the performance of existing studies on multimodal emotion recognition, and proposes a model that fuses two modalities with the speaker's text and voice signals as input values and detects depression. Based on the DAIC-WOZ dataset, voice features were extracted using CNN, text features were extracted using Transformers, and two modalities were fused through a tensor fusion network. We also build a model to detect whether the speaker is depressed or not using LSTM in the final layer. This study suggests the possibility of increasing access to mental illness diagnosis by enabling patients to detect depression on their own in daily conversations. If the model proposed in this study is developed and the voice conversation system is connected, it will be easier for patients who cannot visit the hospital periodically or who are reluctant to visit the hospital to check their condition and seek recovery. Furthermore, it can be expanded to multi-label classification for various mental diseases and used as a simple self-mental disease diagnosis tool.

Thanks to rapid development of artificial intelligence technology in recent years, the current artificial intelligence technology is contributing to many part of society. Education, environment, medical care, military, tourism, economy, politics, etc. are having a very large impact on society as a whole. For example, in the field of education, there is an artificial intelligence tutoring system that automatically assigns tutors based on student's level. In the field of economics, there are quantitative investment methods that automatically analyze large amounts of data to find investment laws to create investment models or predict changes in financial markets. As such, artificial intelligence technology is being used in various fields. So, it is very important to know exactly what factors have an important influence on each field of artificial intelligence technology and how the relationship between each field is connected. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze artificial intelligence technology in each field. In this paper, we analyze patent documents related to artificial intelligence technology. We propose a method for keyword analysis within factors using artificial intelligence patent data sets for artificial intelligence technology analysis. This is a model that relies on feature engineering based on deep learning model named KeyBERT, and using vector space model. A case study of collecting and analyzing artificial intelligence patent data was conducted to show how the proposed model can be applied to real-world problems.

Rising obesity and associated multi-systemic complications amplify the health burden. Euphorbia kansui (EK) extract is clinically recognized for managing obesity. In human study, 240 obese individuals were categorized into two cohorts: those receiving solely herbal medicine (HM group), and those administered EK concomitantly with herbal medicine (EK group). An in vivo examination using C57BL/6-Lepob/Lepob mice elucidated mechanisms involving macrophages and gut microbiota, with associated metabolic advantages. The clinical study revealed a significant 7.22% body weight reduction during 91.55 average treatment days, and examined 16.71% weight loss at 300 days after treatment. In the whole subjects, 60.4%, 21.3% and 6.3% achieved weight reductions exceeding 5%, 10% and 15%, respectively. Impressively, the EK group exhibited superior weight loss compared to the HM group (EK: -7.73% vs. HM: -6.27%, p=0.012). The anti-obesity effect was positively associated with EK therapy frequency and herbal medicine duration. In vivo, EK significantly improved insulin sensitivity and mitigated infiltration of adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) by modulating the CD11c+ and CD206+ subtypes. EK also correlated with increased Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes populations and reduced Proteobacteria and Verrucomicrobia. Consequently, EK is an effective adjunctive anti-obesity therapy offering metabolic benefits by modulating ATMs and gut microbiota profiles.

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.

We propose an algorithm for generating a panoramic image of a pipe’s inner surface based on inverse perspective mapping (IPM). For efficient crack detection, we used only perspective images of the pipe interior that can be obtained with a single lens camera instead of those taken with a 360-degree camera or a 3D depth camera. Frontal images taken while passing through the pipe were converted to images of the inner surface of the pipe using IPM. We derived a generalized IPM formula that considers the slope of the image plane to correct image distortion caused by the tilt of the plane; this IPM formula was derived based on the vanishing point of the perspective image, which was detected using optical flow techniques. Finally, the multiple transformed images with overlapping areas were combined via image stitching to create a panoramic image of the inner pipe surface. To validate our proposed algorithm, we restored images of pipe inner surface using a 3D pipe model and used these images for crack detection.

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.

This study delves into the atmospheric corrosion behavior of chromium-free complex-phase steel (CP), specifically investigating the influence of wet/dry frequency and ratio in cyclic corrosion tests (CCT). The study employs a modified ISO 14993 standard CCT method, which involves salt spray, dry, and wet stages. After 15 and 30 CCT cycles, mass loss, maximum corrosion depth, and corrosion products were analyzed to gain insights into corrosion mechanisms. In general, increasing the frequency and wet/dry stage ratio in CCT extends the time for autocatalytic reactions to occur, leading to accelerated localized CP corrosion and increased pitting factors. However, as the rust layer thickens, uniform corrosion may also intensify, so careful considerations are necessary. This study underscores the importance of controlling the frequency and ratio of wet/dry stages in CCT for effectively analyzing localized corrosion behavior in specimens.

Various risks and uncertainties are strengthening the downside of the global economy. This paper aims to estimate the impact of US-China conflict and the WTO Appellate Body's shutdown on global logistics demand and to show the seriousness of the situation. Existing literature studies on protectionism or US-China trade conflict, with a focus on the effects of specific issues or impact on bilateral relations. No research has considered the adverse effects of the WTO Appellate Body's shutdown. This paper considers both US-China conflict and the installation of new NTBs in other countries due to weakened WTO function, and tries to suggest that the combination of tariffs and NTBs can severely reduce international trade and the demand for maritime logistics services, making this paper differs from previous studies. This paper suggests that a catastrophe could occur in global maritime logistics, based on quantitative estimates for the impact of global protectionism. Finally, underlining that the international trade order should not seriously be damaged, this paper proposes that countries around the world should seriously discuss this issue at the 12th WTO Trade Ministers' Meeting in Kazakhstan June 2020.

Overactive bladder (OAB) is characterized by urinary urgency and increased urinary frequency, and can impact quality of life significantly. Tamsulosin and mirabegron combination therapy has been studied as a safe and effective treatment option for patients with OAB. This study evaluated the effects of combining these two drugs on their pharmacokinetics and safety profiles in healthy Korean males. In this open-label, fixed-sequence, 3-period, drug-drug interaction phase 1 study, a total of 36 male participants were administered multiple doses of tamsulosin alone (0.2 mg once daily), mirabegron alone (50 mg once daily), and a combination of both drugs. The results showed that the combination of tamsulosin and mirabegron increased tamsulosin exposure in the plasma by approximately 40%. In contrast, the maximum plasma concentration of mirabegron reduced by approximately 17%, when administered along with tamsulosin. No clinically significant changes in safety profiles, vital signs, or clinical laboratory test results were observed in this study. In conclusion, there were no clinically relevant drug-drug interactions between tamsulosin and mirabegron in terms of pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability, suggesting that their combination therapy could be a promising treatment option for patients with OAB.

Global dust events have become more frequent due to climate change and increased human activity, significantly impacting air quality and human health. Previous studies have often focused on simulating cross-regional dust transport based on atmospheric parameters; however, comprehensive monitoring of dust events remains challenging. Therefore, this study utilized Fengyun-4A (FY-4A) satellite Advanced Geostationary Radiation Imager (AGRI) imagery, Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) lidar, and other auxiliary data to conduct three-dimensional spatiotemporal monitoring and cross-regional transport analysis of two typical dust events in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region of China using four dust intensity indices (Icsd, Dust Detection Index (DDI), Dust value (DV), and Dust Strength Index (DSI)) and the HYSPLIT model. We found that among the four indices, DDI was the most suitable for studying dust in the BTH region, with a detection accuracy (POCD) of > 88% at all times and reaching a maximum of 96.14%. Both the 2021 and 2023 dust events originated from large-scale deforestation in southern Mongolia and the border area of Inner Mongolia, with dust plumes distributed between 2 and 12 km being transported across regions to the BTH area. Further, when dust aerosols are primarily concentrated below 4 km and PM10 concentrations consistently exceed 600 µg/m³, large dust storms are more likely to occur in the BTH region. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the sources, transport pathways, and environmental impacts of dust aerosols.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), one of the leading causes of death worldwide, has a causal nexus with liver injury, inflammation, and regeneration that accumulate over decades. Observations from recent studies have accounted for the involvement of the gut-liver axis in the pathophysiological mechanism responsible for HCC. The human intestine nurtures a diversified colony of microorganisms residing in the host ecosystem. The intestinal barrier is critical for conserving the normal physiology of the gut microbiome. Therefore, a rupture of this barrier or dysbiosis cause the intestinal microbiome to serve as the main source of portal-vein endotoxins such as lipopolysaccharide, in the progression of hepatic diseases. Indeed, increased bacterial translocation is a key sign of HCC. Considering the limited number of clinical studies on HCC with respect to the microbiome, we focus on the clinical as well as animal studies involving the gut microbiota with the current understandings of the mechanism by which the intestinal dysbiosis promotes hepatocarcinogenesis. Future research might offer mechanistic insights into the specific phyla targeting the leaky gut, as well as microbial dysbiosis, and their metabolites, as key pathways that drive HCC-promoting microbiome-mediated liver inflammation and fibrosis, thereby restoring the gut barrier function.

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.

This retrospective study aimed to assess coronary artery calcium (CAC) progression in serial computed tomography measurements according to risk factor changes. In 448 asymptomatic adults who underwent CAC measurements with more than one-year intervals, CAC progression was assessed according to age, sex, variable traditional risk factors (diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and smoking), and initial CAC score (0, 0.1–100, and &gt;100). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were assessed for independent predictors of rapid CAC progression (△CAC/year&gt;20). During the 3.5-year follow-up, coronary artery calcifications occurred in 43 (12.8%) of 336 individuals with an initial CAC score of zero. Of 112 individuals with initial CAC presence, 60 (53.6%) had △CAC/year&gt;20. Age, male sex, body mass index, and all risk factors were significantly associated with △CAC/year&gt;20, but recently diagnosed hypertension (odds ratio [OR], 11.3) and initial CAC score (OR, 1.05) were significant independent predictors in multivariate regression analyses. CAC progression was affected by demographic and traditional risk factors, but adjusting for these factors, recently diagnosed hypertension and initial CAC score were the most influential factors for rapid CAC progression. These findings suggest that patients with higher initial CAC scores may benefit from more frequent follow-up scans and checks regarding risk factor changes.

Recently, methods to detect DoS and spoofing attacks that occur on in-vehicle networks using CAN Protocol are being studied through deep learning models such as CNN, RNN, and LSTM. These studies have produced significant results in the field of In-Vehicle Network attack detection using deep learning models. In addition, significant results are being achieved through research on applying time series-based deep learning models such as LSTM to detect DoS attacks and replay attacks occurring in in-drone networks by expanding them to drones using the UAVCAN protocol. In this paper, we conducted an experiment to detect in-drone network attacks through non-time series analysis using machine learning models and deep learning models, and through appropriate learning for each attack type, it can also be analyzed through non-time series analysis. The results showed that it was possible to detect attacks.

Organizing pneumonia (OP) can be diagnosed pathologically, and cryptogenic OP (COP) and secondary OP (SOP) have been classified by cause and underlying context. Because it is clinically difficult to differentiate between COP and SOP, this study investigated characteristics that could distinguish between COP and SOP. The medical records of patients who underwent lung biopsy from 2016 to 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Eighty-five patients had pathologically proven OP, including 16 diagnosed with COP and 69 diagnosed with SOP. The most common cause of SOP was infectious pneumonia, observed in 57 (82.6%) of the 69 patients. Median time from symptom onset to hospital admission is shorter (P=0.006) and fever was more common (P=0.021) in the SOP. Some laboratory results differed significantly between the two groups. Lymphocyte in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were higher in the COP (P=0.012). Radiologic findings showed that effusion was more common in the SOP (P=0.043). There were no between-group differences in steroid use, 30 day and in-hospital mortality rates, and rates of OP outcomes and recurrences. Infection is the main cause of SOP. Symptom onset is more rapid in patients with SOP. Pleural effusion was more common in the SOP but there were no differences in clinical course.

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.

This study aimed to evaluate the level of skill in observing teaching competency in pre-service physical education (PE) teachers and provide basic data to cultivate teaching competency. A total of 21 third-year pre-service PE teachers were selected as participants. The study derived descriptive statistics to analyze the participants’ observation skills regarding teaching competency in different class stages using evaluation results of class demonstrations by pre-service teachers. Mann–Whitney U test was conducted to verify the statistical significance of the evaluation between in-service and pre-service teachers. Compared with in-service teachers, pre-service teachers reported high agreement with intuitive teaching behaviors. However, pre-service teachers indicated low agreement with skills that required complex teaching behaviors depending on various situations. Based on theories by Schon (1983), pre-service teachers showed high “knowledge for practice” and low “knowledge in practice.” Thus, pre-service education must balance practical knowledge and theory rather than focus on theory-based education. This study provided directions for pre-service teacher education to enhance the competency of pre-service teachers for leading and analyzing classes.

ESBL-producing E. coli is a growing public problem in healthcare settings and the community. Between 2009 and 2018, a total of 187 ESBL-producing pathogenic E. coli isolates were confirmed, and clonal complex (CC) 10 was the predominant clone. This study aimed to characterize ESBL-producing pathogenic E. coli CC10 strains obtained from diarrheal patients to improve the understanding of CC10 distribution in the Republic of Korea. A total of 57 CC10 strains were selected for molecular characterizations, such as the identification of serotype, antibiotic resistance genes, genetic environments, plasmid profiles, and the genetic correlation between CC10 strains. In the CC10 isolates, the most prevalent serotype was O25:H16, followed by O6:H16. ESBL genes were identified as blaCTX-M, and the most dominant ESBL gene was blaCTX-M-15 (56%) and blaCTX-M-14 (30%). Most blaCTX-M genes were located on plasmids, and these plasmid profiles were confirmed as IncB/O/K/Z, IncF, IncI1 and IncX1. The mobile elements located up-and down-stream mainly included ISEcp1 (complete or incomplete) and IS903 or orf477 were found, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the CC10 strains were genetically diverse and divided into several distinct lineages. In this study, we found that CC10 ESBL-producing pathogenic E. coli has been steadily isolated; particularly, CTX-M-15-producing E. coli O25:H16 isolates were the major type related with distribution in CC10 clones during the last decade. Identification of ESBL-producing pathogenic E. coli CC10 isolates highlights the possibility of the emergence of resistant isolates with epidemic potential within this CC. Therefore, continuous monitoring will be conducted to prevent further spread of resistant ESBL-producing E. coli CC10 strains.

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.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implementation level of urban Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Republic of Korea and to measure the extent of internal and external impacts on the implementation level. An evaluation framework was established based on relative efficiency theory, and the implementation level of urban SDGs at the local government unit in the Republic of Korea was examined by performing an analysis of each stage. First, in reference to the 2018 cross-section, the implementation level of target 11.2 (public transportation) was assessed as excellent across the country, compared with the implementation level of targets 11.5 (disaster safety), 11.6 (environment), and 11.7 (public space), which were assessed as needing improvement. Second, the factors positively impacting the implementation level of target 11.2 were urban population, GRDP, financial independence, urbanization area, and bus-only lanes, whereas the factors positively impacting the implementation level of target 11.5 were population density and GRDP. The positive factors influencing the implementation level of target 11.6 (air quality sector) were found to be GRDP, financial independence, administrative area, and renewable energy generation, whereas the effective factors of the implementation level of target 11.6 (waste management sector) were analyzed as GRDP, financial independence, and the population density of households in the waste management area. The positive factors influencing the implementation level of target 11.7 were GRDP, financial independence, administrative area, and green area.

This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic roles of various immunohistochemical markers in urothelial carcinoma in situ (uCIS) through a meta-analysis and review of diagnostic test accuracy. Immunohistochemical markers CK20, CD44, AMACR, and p53 were evaluated in the present study. We analyzed the expression rates of immunohistochemical markers and compared their diagnostic accuracies. The estimated expression rates were 0.803 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.726–0.862), 0.142 (95% CI: 0.033–0.449), 0.824 (95% CI: 0.720–0.895), and 0.600 (95% CI: 0.510–0.683) for CK20, CD44, AMACR, and p53, respectively. In the comparison between uCIS and reactive/normal urothelium, the expression of CK20, AMACR, and p53 in uCIS was significantly higher than in reactive/normal urothelium. CD44 showed significantly lower expression in uCIS than in the reactive/normal urothelium. Among the markers, AMACR had the highest sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio. The AUC on SROC was the highest for CK20. In conclusion, immunohistochemical markers, such as CK20, CD44, AMACR, and p53, can be useful in differentiating uCIS from reactive/normal urothelium.

This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic roles of GATA3 immunohistochemistry in urothelial carcinoma (UC) through a meta-analysis. We investigated GATA3 immunohistochemical expression rates and performed a subgroup analysis based on tumor site, study location, and histological subtypes. The overall survival rates of patients with GATA3-positive and negative UC were compared. The estimated GATA3 expression rate was 0.748 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.704–0.787). GATA3 expression rates in the urinary bladder and urinary tract were 0.775 (95% CI: 0.727–0.818) and 0.614 (95% CI: 0.426–0.774), respectively. The GATA expression rates of noninvasive and invasive UCs were 0.965 (95% CI: 0.938–0.980) and 0.644 (95% CI: 0.581–0.702), respectively. In invasive UCs, there was a significant difference in GATA3 expression between non-muscular invasion and muscular invasion subgroups (0.937, 95% CI: 0.883–0.967 vs. 0.753, 95% CI: 0.645–0.836). GATA3 expression was the highest in the microcytic subtype among the histologic subtypes (0.952, 95% CI: 0.724–0.993). There was a significant correlation between GATA3 expression and better prognosis (hazard ratio: 0.402, 95% CI: 0.311–0.521). Taken together, GATA3 expression significantly correlated with low-stage and better prognosis in UC. GATA3 expression is highly variable across histological subtypes and it is careful interpreting GATA3 expression.

During early embryonic development, fertilized one-cell embryos develop into preimplantation blastocysts and subsequently establish three germ layers through gastrulation during post-implantation development. In recent years, stem cells have emerged as a powerful tool to study embryogenesis and gastrulation without the need for eggs, allowing the generation of embryo-like structures known as synthetic embryos or embryoids. These in vitro models closely resemble early embryos in terms of morphology and gene expression and provide a faithful recapitulation of early pre- and post-implantation embryonic development. Synthetic embryos can be generated through a combinatorial culture of three blastocyst-derived stem cell types, such as embryonic stem cells, trophoblast stem cells, and extraembryonic endoderm cells, or totipotent-like stem cells alone. This review provides an overview of the progress and various approaches in studying in vitro embryogenesis and gastrulation using stem cells. Furthermore, recent findings and breakthroughs in synthetic embryos and gastruloids are outlined. Despite ethical considerations, synthetic embryo models hold promise for understanding mammalian (including human) embryonic development and have potential implications for regenerative medicine and developmental research.

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.

One of the key issues in sustainable tourism research is the gap between tourists' expressed friendly attitudes towards sustainable behaviors and their actual behaviors. Although many "low-carbon" themed restaurants have emerged during the low-carbon transformation of the Chinese tourism industry, low-carbon food services have not been significantly improved. This study takes food as the entry point to explore tourists' behavior and attitudes towards low-carbon tourism in relation to food. We conducted two interviews. The first interview was a semi-structured contextual interview with 120 tourists who had experiences in food streets, aim-ing to identify the core user group: low-carbon attitude-friendly tourists with high-carbon food behaviors. The second interviews was an in-depth interview based on grounded theory with 29 core users, analyzing the four main reasons for their high-carbon food behaviors and their re-quirements for low-carbon food services in tourism. Based on this, we extracted four design ele-ments for low-carbon tourism food services: low-carbon information show service, low-carbon service product attractiveness improvement, low-carbon food environment atmosphere creation, and service providers' low-carbon behaviors. Through these four service elements, we constructed a low-carbon tourism food service design framework based on the core users' needs, discussed the mechanism of service elements, and provided service design suggestions accordingly. The re-search results serve tourism providers, low-carbon tourism researchers, and designers.

This study aims to comparatively analyse the importance and performance of the health of Korean and Japanese adolescents during the prolonged coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Data were collected from 1,341 sampled Korean and Japanese adolescents in September 2021 through online and offline surveys. The collected data were analysed with frequency analysis, reliability testing, t-test, and importance-performance analysis (IPA). The following results were obtained. First, adolescents in the two countries perceive various factors about health as important during the COVID-19 pandemic, but their performance is weak compared to their perceived importance. Second, Korean adolescents had greater perceived importance for all factors of health perception compared to their Japanese counterparts. Third, the difference in performance between Korean and Japanese adolescents was especially evident for ‘hygiene management’, and there were significant differences in performance in ‘disease management’ and ‘physical activity’. Fourth, in quadrant 4 of the IPA matrix, there were similarities and differences in a particular factor of health perception between Korean and Japanese adolescents. Based on these results, we proposed measures to emphasise the importance of health and enhance performance among Korean and Japanese adolescents.

Consumption of prunes has been shown to slow bone loss after menopause in American women but there is no data on its effects in Asian women. 135 postmenopausal Korean women with osteopenia were randomized to 100g/day of prunes or no prunes with 600U vitamin D and 800mg of calcium for 12 months. Bone density was measured at baseline and 12 months in the lumbar spine, both hips and the L forearm. Serum levels of CTX and P1NP and vitamin D calcium and phosphate were measured at baseline, 6 and 12 months. PTH was measured at baseline if vitamin D was low Four women dropped out of each group over the 12 months. There was no difference between groups in blood measures or bone density in any region over the 12 month trial., In conclusion 100g/day of prunes has no effect in Korean woman on bone density or bone markers.

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.

Although commercially-available low-cost air quality sensors have low accuracy, the sensor system are being used to collect the data for the regulation of PM2.5 emission caused by industrial activities or to estimate the personal exposure for PM2.5. In this work, to solve the accuracy problem of low-cost PM sensor, we developed a new PM2.5 calibration model by combining the deep neural network (DNN) optimized in calibration problem and a LSTM optimized in time-dependent characteristics. First, two datasets were generated to test the accuracy performance and generalization performance of the PM2.5 calibration machine learning (ML) model. The PM2.5 concentrations, temperature and humidity by low-cost sensor and gravimetric-based PM2.5 measuring instrument were sampled for a sufficiently long time. The proposed model was compared with benchmark (multiple linear regression model) and low-cost sensor results. For root mean square error (RMSE) for PM2.5 concentrations, the proposed model reduced 41-60% of error compared to the raw data of low-cost sensor, and reduced 30-51% of error compared to the benchmark model. R2 of ML model, MLR and raw data were 93, 80 and 59 %. Also, the developed model still showed consistent calibration performance when calibrated with new sensors in different locations. Low-cost sensors combined with ML model not only can improve the calibration performance of benchmark, but also can be applied to the sensor monitoring systems for various epidemiologic investigations and regulatory decisions.

The rhizome of Drynaria fortunei (Kunze ex Mett.) J. Sm., which is known as “Golsebo” in Korea, has been traditionally used to treat various inflammatory conditions, including bone metabolism disorders. It relieves blood extravasation, stops bleeding, repairs broken bone tissue, treats bone fractures, and kills bacteria. Recently, D. fortunei-derived polysaccharides (DFP) have been identified as bioactive compounds that act against numerous human diseases. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the bone metabolism-improving effect of DFP has not been elucidated. In this study, we evaluated the modulatory effects of DFP on the differentiation of bone marrow-derived macrophages into osteoclasts. We performed tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase assays using DFP (different concentrations and molecular weights) to evaluate the degree of bone resorption in the receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclastogenesis of bone marrow-derived macrophages. DFP significantly inhibited RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis and suppressed RANKL-mediated overexpression of c-Fos and nuclear factor of activated T cells 1, thereby downregulating osteoclast-specific gene (Atp6v0d2, DC-STAMP, and cathepsin K) expression. DFP has potential as a nutraceutical candidate for treating bone loss diseases, including osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.

Background: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is one of the leading causes of death in newborns, however, little is understood of which patients can be treated medically or require surgery. The purpose of our study is to analyze the associated factors of surgically treated patients compared to patients requiring only medical treatment. Methods: Patients diagnosed with necrotizing enterocolitis over a period of 14 years in a single children’s hospital were retrospectively enrolled. Demographics and clinical data patients were collected and analyzed. Results: A total of 189 patients with NEC were included. Surgically treated patients had a lower gestational age (P = .018), body weight at birth (P = .034), and percentage of exclusive breast milk feeding (P= .001). They had increased comorbidity with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) (P = .005), number of days of antibiotic use (P = .014), and length of hospital stay (P = .000). In multivariate logistic analysis, a lower percentage of exclusive breast milk feeding (OR = 0.366, 95% CI: 0.164-0.817) and a longer hospital stay (OR = 1.010, 95% CI: 1.001- 1.019) was associated with surgical NEC. Conclusion: Comparing medical and surgical NEC, a significantly lower percentage of surgical NEC patients were exclusively fed breast milk and their hospital stays were longer.

This study empirically analyzes the effectiveness of resource optimization utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) within cloud computing environments. It compares systems that have been transitioned from a Monolithic structure to Microservices Architecture (MSA) with those adopting a simple Rehost strategy, to validate the operational efficiency of two systems whose resource efficiency has been enhanced compared to traditional legacy systems. The research is based on systems that determined resource efficiency post-cloud migration using APM tools. It points out the limitations of traditional heuristic operation methods in resource optimization, which lead to issues such as application performance degradation, resource over-allocation, and increased operational costs. This study aims to overcome the conventional resource optimization standards that depended on the average peak usage of CPU and memory infrastructure, by introducing AI-based optimization tools, and applying on-premise standards to cloud and container environments to achieve resource optimization. The paper emphasizes the importance of resource optimization through AI-based automation tools, exploring the possibilities of resolving real-world application performance issues in cloud environments, reducing unnecessary resource usage costs, and cutting down on labor risks and operational expenses. Through this, it presents strategic directions on how AI technology can offer financial and operational advantages in managing cloud resources.

This paper addresses a method to transmit streaming data via rolling shutter camera-based optical camera communications (OCC). Since the amount of data that can be contained within one frame is limited, and the continuity of received data cannot be guaranteed due to OCC environmental variations, we introduce the concept of dividing the streaming data into several fragmented sets that are transmitted sequentially. We propose a superframe to contain sequential packets of fragmented data and corresponding indexes, so that sequential packets for streaming data can be continuously collected. When redundant frame transmission is considered, any packet lost due to OCC environmental conditions can be recovered. Experimental results show that the proposed method can be successfully used to transmit streaming data, with the number of redundant frames required to acquire all data packets based on image resolution. In addition, we describe how to identify missing packets from a network point of view to reduce the number of redundant frames needed to acquire all the data. This paper presents baseline results of communication performance when sending streaming data via a rolling shutter-based OCC.

Perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) is a widely detected replacement for legacy long-chain perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment and human blood samples. Its potential toxicity led to its recent classification as a global regulated persistent organic pollutant. Although animal studies have shown a positive association between PFHxS levels and hepatic steatosis and hepatocellular hypertrophy, the link with liver toxicity, including end-stage liver cancer, remains inconclusive. In this study, we examined the effects of PFHxS on the proliferation of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells, Hep3B and SK-Hep1. Cells were exposed to different PFHxS concentrations for 24–48 hr to assess viability and 12–14 days to measure colony formation. Viability of both cell lines increased at PFHxS concentrations <200 μM, decreased at >400 μM, and were highest at 50 μM. Colony formation increased at <300 μM and decreased at 500 μM PFHxS. Consistent with the effect on HCC proliferation, PFHxS increased expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and cell-cycle molecules (CDK2, CDK4, cyclin E, and cyclin D1). In summary, PFHxS exhibited a biphasic effect on HCC cell proliferation, promoting survival and proliferation at lower concentrations and being cytotoxic at higher concentrations. This suggests that PFHxS potentially exacerbates HCC progression.

Preclinical studies have identified glial cells as pivotal players in the genesis and maintenance of neuropathic pain after nerve injury associated with diabetes, chemotherapy, major surgeries, and virus infections. Satellite glial cells (SGCs) in the dorsal root and trigeminal ganglia of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and astrocytes in the central nervous system (CNS) express similar molecular markers and are protective under physiological conditions. They also serve similar functions in the genesis and maintenance of neuropathic pain, downregulating some of their homeostatic functions and driving pro-inflammatory neuro-glial interactions in the PNS and CNS, i.e. “gliopathy”. However, the role of SGCs in neuropathic pain is not simply as “peripheral astrocytes”. We delineate how these peripheral and central glia participate in neuropathic pain by producing different mediators, engaging different parts of neurons, and becoming active at different stages following nerve injury. Finally, we highlight the recent findings that SGCs are enriched with proteins related to fatty acid metabolism and signaling such as Apo-E, FABP7, and LPAR1. Targeting SGCs and astrocytes may lead to novel therapeutics for the treatment of neuropathic pain.

Effective household and individual disaster preparedness can minimize physical harm and property damage during catastrophic events. To assess the risk and vulnerability of affected areas, it is crucial for relief agencies to understand the level of public preparedness. Traditionally, government agencies have employed nationwide random telephone surveys to gauge the public’s attitudes and actions towards disaster preparedness. However, these surveys may lack generalizability in certain affected locations due to low response rates or areas not covered by the survey. To address this issue and enhance the comprehensiveness of disaster preparedness assessments, we develop a framework that seamlessly integrates machine learning and simulation. Our approach leverages machine learning algorithms to establish relationships between public attitudes towards disaster preparedness and demographic characteristics. Using Monte Carlo simulation, we generate datasets that incorporate demographic information of the affected location based on government-provided demographic distribution data. The generated dataset is then input into the machine learning model to predict the disaster preparedness attitudes of the affected population. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework by applying it to Miami-Dade County, where it accurately predicts the level of disaster preparedness. With this innovative approach, relief agencies can have a clearer and more comprehensive understanding of public disaster preparedness.

This research was conducted to manufacture thermally expandable microspheres (TEMs) for vehicles’ underbody coating and to apply them on an industrial scale. TEMs heat resistance was studied depending on the ratios of a cross-linking agent and an initiator. This research focused on the content of a cross-linking agent and how it affected the results. The TEMs’ outer shell was thickened to solve the problem of the foam expansion ratio’s reduction that occurred due to the shrinkage after the maximum expansion (Tmax) was reached. After foaming, the cross-sectional thickness and surface of the sample with thickened outer shell were observed. The TEMs with the thickened shell showed the least shrinkage, which indicated excellent shrinkage stability, even after prolonged exposure to heat.

This research was conducted to manufacture thermally expandable microspheres (TEMs) for vehicles’ underbody coating and to apply them on an industrial scale. TEMs heat resistance was studied depending on the ratios of a cross-linking agent and an initiator. This research focused on the content of a cross-linking agent and how it affected the results. The TEMs’ outer shell was thickened to solve the problem of the foam expansion ratio’s reduction that occurred due to the shrinkage after the maximum expansion (Tmax) was reached. After foaming, the cross-sectional thickness and surface of the sample with thickened outer shell were observed. The TEMs with the thickened shell showed the least shrinkage, which indicated excellent shrinkage stability, even after prolonged exposure to heat.

Carbon Quantum Dots (CQDs) have emerged as promising nanomaterials for enhancing the performance of supercapacitors, offering unique advantages such as high surface area, excellent electrical conductivity, and tunable surface chemistry. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent advancements in the synthesis, characterization, and integration of CQDs into supercapacitor devices. Various synthesis methods, including chemical oxidation, hydrothermal/solvothermal methods, microwave-assisted synthesis, and pyrolysis, are discussed, highlighting their impact on the structural and electrochemical properties of CQDs. Characterization techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy are elucidated for assessing the morphology, crystallinity, and optical properties of CQDs. The integration of CQDs into supercapacitors, including their utilization in composite electrodes, binder-free electrodes, and doping strategies, is explored to enhance specific capacitance, energy density, power density, and cycle stability of the devices. Challenges and future perspectives in the field are outlined, emphasizing the need for scalable synthesis methods, enhanced electrochemical performance, and sustainable device engineering to realize the full potential of CQD-based supercapacitors for various energy storage applications. This review aims to provide insights into the current state of research and guide future endeavors towards developing high-performance and environmentally sustainable energy storage technologies.

This article presents multiple novel and compelling arguments to systematically disprove two widely accepted notions: one is that entropy is a measure of disorder, and the other is Schrödinger's notion of negative entropy (negentropy). These two notions have been cited hundreds of times annually in scientific literature for decades. To mathematically describe the second law of thermodynamics, the concept of entropy was created and defined in the 1860s as heat energy divided by thermodynamic temperature, and the entropy of an object increases when it absorbs heat. This is the uncontroversial and fundamental nature of entropy, which is pivotal to current thermodynamics and from which multiple facts are deduced. These facts consistently disprove the above two notions. Some biological facts, such as the one that life orderliness is encoded and provided by inherited genes rather than entropy decline, can also disprove Schrödinger's negentropy notion. Moreover, this article further clarifies the reasoning errors of the two notions. It also shows that the tendency of many natural or social systems to become more disordered over time does not result from the second law of thermodynamics.

Temperature-responsive separation membranes can significantly change their permeability and separation properties in response to changes in their surrounding temperature, improving efficiency and reducing membrane costs. This study focuses on the modification of commercial polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes with amphiphilic temperature-responsive copolymer and inorganic nanoparticles. We prepared an amphiphilic temperature-responsive copolymer which the hydrophilic poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAAm) was side-linked to a hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) skeleton. Subsequently, PVDF-g-NIPAAm polymer and graphene oxide (GO) blended with PVDF to prepare temperature-responsive separation membranes. The results showed that temperature-responsive polymers with different NIPAAm grafting ratios were successfully prepared by adjusting the material ratio of PVDF to NIPAAm. PVDF-g-NIPAAm was blended with PVDF with different grafting ratios to obtain separate membranes with different temperature responses. GO and PVDF-g-NIPAAm formed a relatively stable hydrogen bond network, which improved the internal structure and mechanical properties of the membrane without affecting the temperature response, thus extending the service life of the membrane.

Climate change and global warming are becoming important problems around the globe. To prevent these environmental problems, many countries try to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) and manage the consumption of energy. In Korea, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) has introduced Smart Grid (SG) technologies to its branch office in 2014. This was the first demonstration of smart grid on a building called Smart Grid Station. This paper treats the achievements of the Smart Grid Station (SGS) by its early target in three aspects. The things are peak reduction, power consumption reduction and electricity fee saving. The authors analyzed the achievements by comparing the data of 2015 with the data of 2014. Through the evaluation, the authors studied the case, proved the advantages of SGS, and suggested the requirements to improve and the direction to go of the system.

Formal Calculation uses an auxiliary form to calculate various nested sums and provides results in three forms. In addition to computation, it is also a powerful tool for analysis, allowing one to study various numbers in a unified way. This article contains many results of two types of Stirling numbers, associated Stirling numbers, and Eulerian numbers, making a great generalization of Euler polynomials, Wilson's theorem, and Wolstenholme's theorem, showing that they are just special cases. Formal Calculation provides a novel method for obtaining combinatorial identities and analyzing q-binomial.This article has obtained a large number of results in q-analogues, including inversion formulas for q-binomial coefficients. This article also introduces a theorem on symmetry.

Background: This study investigated how the expression of heat shock protein 27 (HSP27), cellular FLICE-like inhibitory protein (cFLIP) and clusterin (CLU) affects the progression of cancer cells and their susceptibility to doxazosin-induced apoptosis. By silencing each of these genes individually, their effect on prostate cancer cell viability after doxazosin treatment was investigated. Methods: PC-3 prostate cancer cells were cultured and then subjected to gene silencing using siRNA targeting HSP27, cFLIP, and CLU, either individually, in pairs, or all together. Cells were then treated with doxazosin at various concentrations and their viability was assessed by MTT assay. Results: The study found that silencing the CLU gene in PC-3 cells significantly reduced cell viability after treatment with 25 µM doxazosin. In addition, dual silencing of cFLIP and CLU decreased cell viability at 10 µM doxazosin. Notably, silencing all three genes of HSP27, cFLIP, CLU was most effective and reduced cell viability even at a lower doxazosin concentration of 1 µM. Conclusions: Taken together, these findings suggest that simultaneous silencing of HSP27, cFLIP, and CLU genes may be a potential strategy to promote apoptosis in prostate cancer cells, which could inform future research on treatments for malignant prostate cancer.

Human monkeypox, caused by monkeypox virus, has spread unprecedentedly to more than 100 countries since May 2022. Here we summarized the epidemiology of monkeypox through a literature review and elucidated the risks and elimination strategies of this outbreak mainly based on the summarized epidemiology. We demonstrated that monkeypox virus became more contagious and less virulent in 2022, which could result from the fact that the virus entered a special transmission network favoring close contacts (i.e., sexual behaviors of men who have sex with men outside Africa) and the possibility that the virus accumulated a few adaptive mutations. We gave the reasons to investigate whether cattle, goats, sheep, and pigs are susceptible to monkeypox virus and whether infection with monkeypox virus could be latent in some primates. We listed six potential scenarios for the future of the outbreak (e.g., the outbreak could lead to endemicity outside Africa with increased transmissibility or virulence). We also listed multiple factors aiding or impeding the elimination of the outbreak. We showed that the control measures strengthened worldwide after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) could eliminate the outbreak in 2022. We clarified eight strategies, i.e., publicity and education, case isolation, vaccine stockpiling, risk-based vaccination or ring vaccination, importation quarantine, international collaboration, and laboratory management, for the elimination of the outbreak.

This article investigates the impact of the foreign background of women directors on a firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure and performance. Using a dataset on listed firms on Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchange from 2010 to 2019, we find that corporate boards with a higher proportion of women directors with foreign education experience tend to disclose more CSR information. CSR performance is also improved when there is a greater proportion of women directors with foreign education and work experience on a board. This study provides new insights into integrating stakeholder, social role, and neo-institutional theories to advance the understanding of CSR engagement in emerging economies.

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.

Microbe-plant interactions are linked with the core microbiota, and both the plant and the microbial partners depend on one other to thrive in nature. However, why and how the below-ground core microbiota become established aboveground is poorly understood. We tracked the movement of a probiotic Streptomyces endophyte throughout a managed strawberry ecosystem. Probiotics in the rhizosphere and anthosphere were genetically identical, yet these niches were segregated in space and time. The probiotic in the rhizosphere moved upward via the vascular bundle, relocated to aboveground plant parts, and protected against Botrytis cinerea. It also moved from flowers to roots, and among flowers via pollinators that were protected against pollinator pathogens. Our results reveal a solid evidence in tripartite interaction with Streptomyces exploiting plant and pollinator partners.

Rockburst is a hazardous phenomenon in deep tunnels influenced by geological structural planes like faults, joints, and shear planes. Small-scale shear-plane-like structures have damaging impact on the boundaries of the tunnel, which accumulate high stresses. Such a shear plane was exposed in the side wall of the right headrace tunnel in the Neelum-Jehlum Hydropower Project. This project is constructed in the tectonically active Himalayas with high stress conditions. A shear plane combined with high stress conditions is very dangerous in deep excavations. The influence of a shear zone on rockburst occurrence near a tunnel is studied. The FLAC3D explicit code simulated the shear zone in the right tunnel, revealing that the stresses are concentrated near the shear zone, with no stress concentration in the left tunnel, which has neither shear zone nor rockburst. Rock mass was displaced near this shear zone even before excavation. Modeling results confirm that the side wall shear zone of the tunnel has a major influence on rockburst occurrence. A shear slip along this plane released huge amounts of energy, causing human fatalities and property damage. A numerical simulation validates the actual conditions and helps us understand the phenomenon of stress concentration near the shear zone and its impact during deep tunneling.

Safety management assessment systems for national level units’ in South Korea focus on responding capacity to cope with impending accident occurrence and danger occurrence. Since the four stage systems for prevention-preparation-response-recovery, which are core elements of national disaster management, assess the capacities by item such as those of individuals, disaster management departments, institutions, and management networks, there is no assessment function for the organic operation states of the entire systems. Therefore, for efficient disaster management, systematic evaluation indices that will enable active pre-checks in departments in organizations should be developed in place of the existing simply checking methods. In this study, an assessment model that will enable active disaster management centered on practice was developed using resilience engineering techniques. This model consists of disaster management items from the viewpoint of proactive responses instead of prevention. A total of 56 items that constitute four capacities; which are prediction (13 items), monitoring (14 items), proactive response (15 items), and safety learning (14 items) capacities were adopted in this model through Delphi analysis. Institutional capacities for infectious disease disaster management were evaluated based on this model and the resultant scores were prediction 4.41, monitoring 4.63, proactive response 4.69, safety learning 4.56 out of the full score of 5.0 points with an overall average of 4.51. This is an excellent capacity management score comparable to the score 4.57 of diagnosis of similar capacities by the WHO\_JEE (The Joint External Evaluation) in 2017. In fact, in 2015, when infectious disease capacity management was poor, in case of MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) infectious disease spread in South Korea, 36 patients died and 6,729 patients were isolated. However, through capacity reinforcement, in the case of MERS occurrence in South Korea in September 2018, a management capacity that prevented spread was shown as one confirmed case was completely cured in 10 days and 21 contacts were isolated and tested negative. Therefore, this capacity management assessment model is judged to be usable in enhancing disaster response and management capacities.

Daytime napping offers benefits for motor memory learning and is used as habitual countermeasure to improve daytime functioning. A single napping is shown to ameliorate motor memory learning, although the effect of consecutive napping on motor memory consolidation remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the effect of daytime napping over multiple days on motor memory learning. Twenty university students were divided into the napping group and no-nap (awake) group. Napping group performed motor adaption tasks before and after napping for three consecutive days, whereas no-nap group performed the task on the similar time schedule as the napping group. In addition, a subsequent retest was conducted one week after the end of the intervention. The speed to complete the task of the napping group was significantly shorter than that of the awake group in the retention test. No significant difference was confirmed for trajectory length to complete the task. Thus, consecutive napping may facilitate motor learning and motor memory consolidation in the long term.

Sexual selection involving female choice or female preference (‘inter-sexual’ selection) or male-male competition (‘intra-sexual’ selection) is one of the key mechanisms for evolutionary diversification and speciation. In particular, sexual selection is recently suggested to be an important mode to drive the evolution of “novel” phenotype (i. e. “evolutionary novelty”). Despite extensive studies performed on sexually selected traits or male-specific ornaments (or weapon-like structures) with respect to their evolutionary origin and history and fitness benefits, relatively little is known about the molecular genetic mechanisms underlying their developmental process. However, with advances of genomic technologies (including whole transcriptome analysis using Next Generation Sequencing [NGS] techniques; RNA-Seq), progresses have been made to unveil the genetic background underpinning diverse sexually selected traits in different animal taxa. In the present review, we compile empirical data on the genes, genetic mechanisms or regulatory pathways underlying various sexually selected traits to explore whether the “common” genetic architectures shape the development and evolution of those traits across evolutionarily distant animal lineages. We show that the recruitment of pre-existing genetic network for a new purpose (i.e. gene network “co-option”) is rather widespread in the development and evolution of sexually selected traits, indicating that particular genes or gene-sets are repeatedly involved in different sexually selected traits. Information of genes or genetic mechanisms regulating the development of sexually selected traits would be an essential piece to complete a whole picture of the origin and evolution of sexually selected traits.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder that can diminish the quality of life of both children and adults in academic, occupational, and social contexts. The kynurenine pathway (KP) contains a set of enzymatic reactions involved in tryptophan (TRP) degradation. It is known to be associated with the risk of developing ADHD. This review will address the KP and underlying mechanism of inflammation in ADHD. Potential inflammatory biomarkers reported in the most recent studies are summarized. Although a strong neuroimmunological basis has been established due to advances of recent neurobiological research, the pathophysiology of ADHD remains unclear.

In this paper, we present a full coverage path planning (CPP) algorithm for the marine surveys conducted in the convex polygon shaped search area. The survey is supposed to carry out by torpedo-type AUVs (autonomous underwater vehicles). Due to their nonholonomic mechanical characteristics, these vehicles have nonzero minimum turning radius. For any given polygon shaped search area, it can always be partitioned into one or more convex polygons. With this in mind, this paper proposes a novel search algorithm called CbSPSA (Calculation based Shortest Path Search Algorithm) for full coverage of any given convex polygon shaped search area. By aligning the search inter-tracks alongside the edge with the minimum height, we can guarantee the minimum number of the vehicle’s turns. In addition, the proposed method can guarantee the planned path is strictly located inside the polygon area without overlapped or crossed path lines, and also has the total path length as short as possible. Considering the vehicle’s nonzero minimum turning radius, we also propose a sort of smoothing algorithm to smooth the waypoint path searched by CbSPSA so as for the vehicle to exactly follow it. The smoothed path is also guaranteed to be strictly located inside the polygon. Numerical simulation analyses are also carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed schemes.

There are two contrary opinions regarding the risk if mainland China (MC) moves away from its zero-COVID policy. Some experts think the risk shall be much lower than influenza as per MC’s own COVID-19 case fatality rate (CFR), while some other experts think the risk shall be much higher than influenza as per the COVID-19 CFRs of other regions. We elucidate here that this and multiple other striking differences in the CFR between various scenarios all support and substantially resulted from the view that good IDM is highly powerful to mitigate COVID-19, where IDM (isolation-disinfection-maintenance) means isolation of COVID-19 cases from other people, disinfection of their living environments, and health maintenance (e.g., rest, nutrition, breathing). The high effect of good IDM is also supported by the theoretic functions of IDM in minimizing co-infections and maintaining body functions, and the fact that all the 505 COVID-19 deaths reported in MC in 2022 before May 5 died directly of severe underlying diseases with COVID-19. Although it is tough for people in poverty to obtain good IDM, good IDM can be feasible at home for the most mild cases and in hospitals for the most severe cases. Therefore, good IDM can be crucial to mitigating COVID-19 worldwide. It also suggests that the risk for China to end its zero-COVID policy depends on China’s control policies or measures. Based on the effect of IDM, the cautious co-existence policy was proposed for COVID-19 control. This policy could reduce the whole death toll in MC because good IDM is non-specific and can reduce deaths of various other diseases. The cautious co-existence policy (non-specific) and the vaccination policy (specific) aid each other to mitigate COVID-19, and they cannot replace each other. Those who are qualified in health for vaccination should be vaccinated against COVID-19 timely.

The common dolphin is the second most bycaught species in Korean waters. To provide key information about their habitat boundaries and hotspots for spatial conservation and management, the spatial use of this species was examined using data obtained from sighting and bycatch surveys of cetacean during the past 20 years. The 95% minimum convex polygon and 95% density contour of fixed kernel suggested that the boundary of home range of common dolphins is limited to the coastal region (Busan-Sokcho) of the East Sea/Sea of Japan. From 50% density contours dawn by kernel density estimation, it was suggested that their hotspots are around the cost of Ulsan-Pohang, Doghae, and Sokcho within the home range. Common dolphins are not at all distributed in the Yellow Sea. Hence, shallow waters, such as the coastal region of the Yellow Sea, are not suitable habitats for common dolphins.

This narrative review provides a thorough examination of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ), encompassing its etiology, the role of drug holidays, and contemporary treatment approaches. By systematically analyzing literature from 2022 to 2023, this paper synthesizes the latest findings and trends in MRONJ research. The study emphasizes the importance of a holistic understanding of MRONJ, beginning with its etiological factors, assessing the therapeutic implications of drug holidays, and evaluating the efficacy of current treatment modalities. This review aims to offer clinicians and researchers a consolidated resource, highlighting the intricacies of MRONJ management and proposing directions for future research. Through this comprehensive approach, the paper seeks to advance the understanding and treatment of MRONJ, ensuring an evidence-based, patient-centric approach in clinical practice.

Background and Objectives: Although there has been growing interest in the association of ADHD with anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and self-esteem, there is a lack of consistent results and these associations remain unclear. This study investigated the differential patterns of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and self-esteem with regard to the presence of ADHD. Materials and Methods: The subjects were divided into a patient group and a control group. The patient group included 49 patients diagnosed with ADHD at the department of psychiatry of one university hospital. For the control group, 3,727 students were invited to complete a questionnaire. Of the 1,717 students who responded to the questionnaire, 245 were selected for patient-controlled studies. All the subjects were instructed to complete the Beck Suicide Ideation Scale, Children's Depression Inventory, Beck’s Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Results: ADHD subjects experienced more anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation as well as lower self-esteem compared to the control group comprising participants without ADHD. Conclusions: These findings suggest that ADHD symptoms may contribute to greater suicidal ideation through experienced depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem in school-aged children. Therefore, appropriate ADHD symptom management is necessary to reduce suicidal ideation among school-aged children with ADHD symptoms.

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.

Though Moracin D derived from Morus alba was known to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities, the underlying antitumor mechanism of Moracin D was never unveiled so far. Thus, in the recent study, the apoptotic mechanism of Moracin D was elucidated in breast cancer cells. Herein, Moracin D exerted significant cytotoxicity in MDA-MB231 and MCF7 cells. Also, Moracin D increased sub G1 population, cleaved poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and attenuated the expression of pro-cysteine aspartyl-specific protease (procaspase 3), c-Myc, cyclin D1, B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2),and X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) in MDA-MB231 cells. Of note, Moracin D reduced expression of Forkhead box M1 (FOXM1), β-catenin, Wnt3a, and upregulated glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK 3β) on Tyr216 along with disturbed binding of FOXM1 with β-catenin in MDA-MB-231 cells. Conversely, GSK3β inhibitor SB216763 reversed the apoptotic ability of Moracin D to reduce expression of FOXM1, β-catenin, pro-caspase3 and pro-PARP in MDA-MB-231 cells. Overall, these findings provide novel insight that Moracin D inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis via suppression of Wnt3a/FOXM1/β-catenin signaling and activation of caspase and GSK3β

This study examines the negative impacts of dark stores on the urban environment from three perspectives: land use, transportation, and streetscape. It is conducted on B-Mart, a representative dark store in South Korea. First, in terms of land use, we find that dark stores that function as logistics facilities conflict with the surrounding land use. Second, by analyzing the location of dark stores and the hourly traffic volume of delivery vehicles, we find that the impact on the surrounding transportation infrastructure and pedestrian traffic is not as significant as previously claimed. However, during the transportation and loading process of the dark store, several problems such as traffic violations, illegal parking, and illegal loading were observed, posing a risk to nearby vehicles and pedestrians. Third, in terms of streetscapes, the location of dark stores on the ground floor of buildings can harm streetscapes. The current urban planning system in South Korea does not clearly define the status and function of dark stores, making it unclear how to manage them. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify their legal definition and introduce urban planning and design guidelines that are consistent with their appropriate location and appearance.

Poly(acrylic acid) (PAAc) hydrogels possess good bioadhesive properties and allow enhanced penetration of drugs. In addition, it is possible to localize the absorption site of the drug in the hydrogel and increase the drug residence time. As opposed to other cross-linking processes radiation-induced polymer cross-linking can be easily and rapidly carried out without the use of cross-linking agents and other chemical additives. In this study, we fabricated metronidazole (MD) containing PAAc hydrogel (MD/PAAc) with different MD contents (0.1, 0.25, 0.5 wt%) using varying radiation doses (25, 50, 75 kGy) by gamma-irradiation. The physical and thermal properties were determined by gel content analysis, swelling ratio measurements, compressive strength measurements, differential scanning calorimetery, and thermogravimetric analysis. The properties of the hydrogel degraded due to the crystalline nature of MD. The properties of the hydrogel degraded due to the crystalline nature of MD. Cumulative release observed after 50 min in the case of 0.5MD/PAAc and 0.1MD/PAAc was 50% and 10%, respectively. Our findings suggest that MD/PAAc could be a suitable drug delivery carrier for use with radiation-based techniques.

Objective: To use the ancient and modern medical record cloud platform (V2.3.5) to organize and explore the medication patterns of the "Three Causes, Extremity, and One Disease Syndrome Formula" by Chen Wuxuan, and to summarize its therapeutic ideas. Method: Collect and organize the "San Yin Si Tian Fang" in the "San Yin Ji Yi Zheng Fang Lun", and use the modern medical record cloud platform (V2.3.5) to conduct medication frequency statistical analysis, cluster analysis, and complex network analysis. As a result, a total of 16 Chinese herbal medicines were collected in the "Three Causes, Extreme and One Disease Syndrome Formula", involving 75 traditional Chinese medicines. Statistical analysis showed that roasted licorice was the most commonly used, followed by Pinellia ternata, papaya, ginger, and Poria cocos; Medications mainly include warm drugs, sweet and pungent flavors, as well as drugs that promote lung and spleen meridians. Cluster analysis can divide the above-mentioned traditional Chinese medicine into two groups, with specific grouping as follows. Group 1: ginger, white peony, aconite, papaya, and achyranthes bidentata; Group 2: roasted licorice, poria cocos, dried ginger, pinellia ternata, and green peel. Conclusion: The characteristics of the 16 prescriptions are biased towards Xin Gan Wen, emphasizing the regulation of the spleen and stomach, which may be related to the common use of prescription by doctors in the Song Dynasty and the tendency towards warm and dry medication.