Effects of Steady Low-Intensity Exercise on High-Fat Diet Stimulated Breast Cancer Progression Via the Alteration of Macrophage Polarization.

Physical inactivity and high-fat diet, especially high saturated fat containing diet are established risk factors for breast cancer that are amenable to intervention. High-fat diet has been shown to induce tumor growth and metastasis by alteration of inflammation but steady exercise has anti-tumorigenic effects. However, the mechanisms underlying the effects of physical activity on high-fat diet stimulated breast cancer initiation and progression are currently unclear.

3D-printed CuO photoelectrodes for photoelectrochemical water splitting.

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is an alternative to fossil fuel combustion involving the generation of renewable hydrogen without environmental pollution or greenhouse gas emissions. Cuprous oxide (CuO) is a promising semiconducting material for the simple reduction of hydrogen from water, in which the conduction band edge is slightly negative compared to the water reduction potential. However, the solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of CuO is lower than the theoretical value due to a short carrier-diffusion length under the effective light absorption depth.

The efficacy of laser therapy in patients with facial palsy: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Facial palsy involves paralysis of any structure affected by the facial nerve and affects facial appearance. Face palsy can result from congenital, idiopathic, neoplastic, infection-related, traumatic, malignant, diabetic, iatrogenic, and other inflammatory causes. Numerous studies have suggested that laser treatment is beneficial for managing facial palsy.

Biobanking for glomerular diseases: a study design and protocol for KOrea Renal biobank NEtwoRk System TOward NExt-generation analysis (KORNERSTONE).

Backgrounds: Glomerular diseases, a set of debilitating and complex disease entities, are related to mortality and morbidity. To gain insight into pathophysiology and novel treatment targets of glomerular disease, various types of biospecimens linked to deep clinical phenotyping including clinical information, digital pathology, and well-defined outcomes are required. We provide the rationale and design of the KOrea Renal biobank NEtwoRk System TOward Next-generation analysis (KORNERSTONE).

Modelling infection in human cerebral organoids.

Pluripotent stem cell-derived cerebral organoids have the potential to recapitulate the pathophysiology of human brain tissue, constituting a valuable resource for modelling brain disorders, including infectious diseases. , an intracellular protozoan parasite, infects most warm-blooded animals, including humans, causing toxoplasmosis. In immunodeficient patients and pregnant women, infection often results in severe central nervous system disease and fetal miscarriage.

Jaceosidin Ameliorates Insulin Resistance and Kidney Dysfunction by Enhancing Insulin Receptor Signaling and the Antioxidant Defense System in Type 2 Diabetic Mice.

Emerging evidence has shown that flavonoids extracted from have beneficial effects on metabolic disorders. However, whether and how jaceosidin ameliorates insulin resistance and diabetic nephropathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus is largely unknown. For 8 weeks, diabetic mice were fed with or without jaceosidin.

3D-Printed Quantum Dot Nanopixels.

The pixel is the minimum unit used to represent or record information in photonic devices. The size of the pixel determines the density of the integrated information, such as the resolution of displays or cameras. Most methods used to produce display pixels are based on two-dimensional patterning of light-emitting materials.

Polarization of M2 Macrophages by Interaction between Prostate Cancer Cells Treated with Trichomonas vaginalis and Adipocytes.

Trichomonas vaginalis causes inflammation of the prostate and has been detected in tissues of prostate cancers (PCa), prostatitis and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Obesity is a risk factor for PCa and causes a chronic subclinical inflammation. This chronic inflammation further exacerbates adipose tissue inflammation as results of migration and activation of macrophages.

Growing Properties of Carbon Nanowalls According to the Hydrogen Gas Ratio.

In this study, the growth characteristics of carbon nanowalls (CNWs), which are applied to many devices because of their high aspect ratio and excellent electrical characteristics thanks to their two-dimensional structure, were confirmed by changing the ratio of methane (CH₄) and hydrogen (H₂) therein. In many studies, CNWs were grown using various chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or sputtering methods, with a mixture of CH₄ and H₂ or argon (Ar) gas. To find the suitable rate, 25 sccm CH₄, which is used as the source gas, was first injected into the chamber, and the characteristics were confirmed by changing the amount of H₂ gas from 0 to 50 sccm.

Comparison of dietary intake patterns in hemodialysis patients by nutritional status: A cross-sectional analysis.

Background: Although appropriate dietary adjustments in hemodialysis (HD) patients are important, most HD patients have difficulty adhering to dietary therapy due to the stress of a restricted-food diet or loss of appetite, which eventually leads to malnutrition and other complications. The dietary intake of HD patients stratified by nutritional status has not yet been studied.

Methods: In total, 111 HD patients from five dialysis centers were stratified into 2 groups based on the Subjective Global Assessment: the well-nourished group and the poorly nourished group.

Heat Exchange in Young and Older Men during Constant- and Variable-Intensity Work.

Purpose: Current occupational heat stress guidelines rely on time-weighted averaging to quantify the metabolic demands of variable-intensity work. However, variable-intensity work may be associated with impairments in whole-body total heat loss (dry + evaporative heat loss), especially in older workers, which exacerbate heat strain relative to constant-intensity work eliciting the same time-weighted average metabolic rate. We, therefore, used direct calorimetry to evaluate whether variable-intensity work would cause decrements in the average rate of whole-body total heat loss that augment body heat storage and core temperature compared with constant-intensity work in young and older men.

Erratum: Factors Affecting Recovery Time of Pulmonary Function in Hospitalized Patients With Acute Asthma Exacerbations.

This corrects the article on p. 499 in vol. 8, PMID: 27582400.

Colorimetric Visualization Using Polymeric Core-Shell Nanoparticles: Enhanced Sensitivity for Formaldehyde Gas Sensors.

Although equipment-based gas sensor systems (e.g., high-performance liquid chromatography) have been widely applied for formaldehyde gas detection, pre-treatment and expensive instrumentation are required.

Therapeutic Effects of Mesenchymal Stem Cells on a Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis Model.

Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) are the most severe cutaneous drug hypersensitivity reactions, which are unpredictable adverse drug reactions. SJS/TEN is associated with significant mortality and morbidity; however, effective treatment is difficult. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are well-known for their anti-inflammatory and tissue regeneration properties.

Generation of a TLR7 heterozygous knockout line (WAe009-A-18) from human embryonic stem cells using CRISPR/Cas9.

Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) is a member of the toll-like receptor (TLR) family that is essential in the innate immune system. In this study, we established a heterozygous TLR7 knockout H9 cell line using CRISPR/Cas9. TLR7 knockout H9 cells maintained their pluripotency and exhibited the ability to differentiate into the three germ layers without any karyotype abnormalities.

Rapid development of dual porous poly(lactic acid) foam using fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing for medical scaffold application.

The poor melt property and brittleness of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) cause difficulties in extrusion foaming and decrease product performance in industrial and research fields. In this paper, the rheological properties of PLA resin were improved using an epoxy chain extension reaction, which led to the improvement of pore properties such as morphology and foamability. Reinforced PLA was extruded in a porous filament, and a scaffold was fabricated with design freedom, one-step processing, and dual porosity by extrusion foaming and 3D printing.

Work Function Engineering of Electrohydrodynamic-Jet-Printed PEDOT:PSS Electrodes for High-Performance Printed Electronics.

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) has demonstrated outstanding performance as a charge transport layer or an electrode in various electronic devices, including organic solar cells, organic light-emitting diodes, and organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). The electrical properties of these devices are affected by the contact properties at the PEDOT:PSS-semiconductor junction. In this research, we performed work function (WF) engineering of electrohydrodynamic (EHD)-jet-printed PEDOT:PSS and successfully used it as an electrode to fabricate high-performance OFETs and complementary logic circuits.

Comparison of hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients' dietary behaviors.

Background: Nutritional factors are associated with high mortality and morbidity in dialysis patients, and protein-energy wasting is regarded as an important one. The modality of dialysis may affect patients' dietary behavior and nutritional status, but no study has compared the dietary behavior, nutrient intake, and nutritional adequacy of hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients.

Methods: From December 2016 to May 2017, a dietary behavior survey and Semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (Semi-FFQ) were conducted on 30 HD patients and 30 PD patients in Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, and laboratory parameters were obtained.

Relationship of Microbial Profile With Airway Immune Response in Eosinophilic or Neutrophilic Inflammation of Asthmatics.

Purpose: Different characteristics of airway microbiome in asthmatics may lead to differential immune responses, which in turn cause eosinophilic or neutrophilic airway inflammation. However, the relationships among these factors have yet to be fully elucidated.

Methods: Microbes in induced sputum samples were subjected to sequence analysis of 16S rRNA.

Analysis of plasma-grown carbon oxide and reduced-carbon-oxide nanowalls.

In this study, several characteristics of carbon oxide nanowalls (CONWs) and reduced-carbon-oxide nanowalls (rCONWs) activated using plasma and thermochemistry were investigated. To become modified CONW and rCONW, catalyst-free carbon nanowalls (CNWs) were grown on a silicon (Si) wafer microwave-plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (MPECVD) with a mixture of hydrogen (H) and methane (CH) gases. The CONW was modified by oxidizing a CNW on a Si wafer with plasma treatment using oxygen (O) plasma.

Development of genetic quality tests for good manufacturing practice-compliant induced pluripotent stem cells and their derivatives.

Although human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) lines are karyotypically normal, they retain the potential for mutation in the genome. Accordingly, intensive and relevant quality controls for clinical-grade hiPSCs remain imperative. As a conceptual approach, we performed RNA-seq-based broad-range genetic quality tests on GMP-compliant human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-homozygous hiPSCs and their derivatives under postdistribution conditions to investigate whether sequencing data could provide a basis for future quality control.

BMP4 and perivascular cells promote hematopoietic differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells in a differentiation stage-specific manner.

The efficient and reproducible derivation and maturation of multipotent hematopoietic progenitors from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) requires the recapitulation of appropriate developmental stages and the microenvironment. Here, using serum-, xeno-, and feeder-free stepwise hematopoietic induction protocols, we showed that short-term and high-concentration treatment of hPSCs with bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) strongly promoted early mesoderm induction followed by increased hematopoietic commitment. This method reduced variations in hematopoietic differentiation among hPSC lines maintained under chemically defined Essential 8 medium compared to those maintained under less-defined mTeSR medium.

Discriminative biogeochemical signatures of methanotrophs in different chemosynthetic habitats at an active mud volcano in the Canadian Beaufort Sea.

Several mud volcanoes are active in the Canadian Beaufort Sea. In this study, we investigated vertical variations in methanotrophic communities in sediments of the mud volcano MV420 (420 m water depth) by analyzing geochemical properties, microbial lipids, and nucleic acid signatures. Three push cores were collected with a remotely operated vehicle from visually discriminative habitats that were devoid of megafauna and/microbial mats (DM) to the naked eye, covered with bacterial mats (BM), or colonized by siboglinid tubeworms (ST).

Dual carbon isotope (δC and ΔC) characterization of particulate organic carbon in the Geum and Seomjin estuaries, South Korea.

We investigated the source, composition, and reactivity of particulate organic carbon (POC) in two contrasting Korean estuary systems, a closed estuary (Geum) (i.e., with an estuary dam at the river mouth) and an open (Seomjin) estuary.