Effect of air-frying on formation and correlations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, acrylamide, and heterocyclic aromatic amines in foods and risk assessment.

Unlabelled: The levels of acrylamide (AA), four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH4), and heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) in 184 air-fried agricultural, fishery, and animal products were measured using GC-MS and UPLC-MS/MS. Among the tested samples, sea algae exhibited the highest levels of PAH4 and eight specific HAAs (HAA8), while root and tuber crops had the greatest amount of AA. Agricultural and fisheries products had higher levels of all three contaminants, while livestock products had an inverse correlation between PAH4 and HAA8.

The Neurodiversity Attitudes Questionnaire: Development and Initial Validation.

Neurodiversity refers to the idea that brain differences (including disabilities) are valuable and should be accepted. Attitudes toward neurodiversity can have real-life impacts on the lives of neurodivergent people (those whose brains do not fit society's "standard"). These impacts can include effects on daily interactions, as well as how professionals such as teachers and doctors deliver services to neurodivergent people.

MicroRNA-5010-5p ameliorates high-glucose induced inflammation in renal tubular epithelial cells by modulating the expression of PPP2R2D.

Introduction: We previously reported the significant upregulation of eight circulating exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) in patients with diabetic kidney disease (DKD). However, their specific roles and molecular mechanisms in the kidney remain unknown. Among the eight miRNAs, we evaluated the effects of miR-5010-5p on renal tubular epithelial cells under diabetic conditions in this study.

An efficient 3-approximation algorithm for the Steiner tree problem with the minimum number of Steiner points and bounded edge length.

We present improved algorithms for the Steiner tree problem with the minimum number of Steiner points and bounded edge length. Given n terminal points in a 2D Euclidean plane and an edge length bound, the problem asks to construct a spanning tree of n terminal points with minimal Steiner points such that every edge length of the spanning tree is within the given bound. This problem is known to be NP-hard and has practical applications such as relay node placements in wireless networks, wavelength-division multiplexing(WDM) optimal network design, and VLSI design.

A lignan from Alnus japonica inhibits glioblastoma tumorspheres by suppression of FOXM1.

Forkhead Box M1 (FOXM1) is known to regulate cell proliferation, apoptosis and tumorigenesis. The lignan, (-)-(2R,3R)-1,4-O-diferuloylsecoisolariciresinol (DFS), from Alnus japonica has shown anti-cancer effects against colon cancer cells by suppressing FOXM1. The present study hypothesized that DFS can have anti-cancer effects against glioblastoma (GBM) tumorspheres (TSs).

ALIS: Learning Affective Causality Behind Daily Activities From a Wearable Life-Log System.

Human emotions and behaviors are reciprocal components that shape each other in everyday life. While the past research on each element has made use of various physiological sensors in many ways, their interactive relationship in the context of daily life has not yet been explored. In this work, we present a wearable affective life-log system (ALIS) that is robust as well as easy to use in daily life to accurately detect emotional changes and determine the cause-and-effect relationship between emotions and emotional situations in users' lives.

Itraconazole Exerts Its Antitumor Effect in Esophageal Cancer By Suppressing the HER2/AKT Signaling Pathway.

Itraconazole, an FDA-approved antifungal, has antitumor activity against a variety of cancers. We sought to determine the effects of itraconazole on esophageal cancer and elucidate its mechanism of action. Itraconazole inhibited cell proliferation and induced G-phase cell-cycle arrest in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma cell lines.

Immature platelets as a biomarker for disease severity and mortality in COVID-19 patients.

COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, is a contagious life-threatening viral disease that has killed more than three million people worldwide to date. Attempts have been made to identify biomarker(s) to stratify disease severity and improve treatment and resource allocation. Patients with SARS-COV-2 infection manifest with a higher inflammatory response and platelet hyperreactivity; this raises the question of the role of thrombopoiesis in COVID-19 infection.

A-Situ: a computational framework for affective labeling from psychological behaviors in real-life situations.

This paper presents a computational framework for providing affective labels to real-life situations, called A-Situ. We first define an affective situation, as a specific arrangement of affective entities relevant to emotion elicitation in a situation. Then, the affective situation is represented as a set of labels in the valence-arousal emotion space.

Tussilagone promotes osteoclast apoptosis and prevents estrogen deficiency-induced osteoporosis in mice.

Osteoporosis is a degenerative disease characterized by reduced bone mass, in which deregulated bone remodeling by osteoclasts and osteoblasts is a main pathogenesis. Although recently tussilagone, a major active component of flower buds of Tussilago farfara, has been shown to inhibit osteoclastogenesis, its effect on estrogen deficiency-induced osteoporosis remains unknown. This study examined the effect of tussilagone on bone loss in ovariectomized mice and further explored its impact on osteoclast apoptosis and osteoblast formation in addition to osteoclastogenesis.

Automatic tooth segmentation of dental mesh using a transverse plane.

This paper proposes an automatic method to separate the gingiva and individual teeth from a dental mesh. We define a transverse plane that produces a cross-section of tooth lingual and labial surfaces, preserving the shape of individual teeth. The upper vertices from the transverse plane, which belong to the tooth, are projected onto the transverse plane, and partitioned into individual teeth.

The Cut-off Values of Surrogate Measures for Insulin Sensitivity in a Healthy Population in Korea according to the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2007-2010.

Background: This study aimed to identify the gender-specific characteristics of the surrogate measures of insulin resistance and to establish valid cut-off values for metabolic abnormalities in a representative sample in Korea.

Methods: Data were collected from the datasets of the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2007 and 2010. The total number of eligible participants was 10,997.

Assessment of Korean consumer exposure to sodium saccharin, aspartame and stevioside.

The dietary intakes of sodium saccharin, aspartame and stevioside were estimated on the basis of food consumption data of the Korean consumer and the concentration of sweeteners in processed foods. Results were compared with the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of sweeteners. Among the 28 food categories for which the application of sodium saccharin, aspartame and stevioside is permitted in Korea, they were detected in 5, 12 and 13 categories, respectively.

Assessment of exposure of Korean consumers to acesulfame K and sucralose using a stepwise approach.

Using a stepwise assessment of the exposure of Korean consumers to acesulfame K and sucralose, theoretical maximum daily intakes of the sweeteners were calculated using the Budget screening method, which resulted in values greater than the acceptable daily intakes (ADIs). Accordingly, the daily intakes of the sweeteners based on food consumption data and concentrations determined by instrumental analysis of 605 food samples were estimated for the more refined approach. The estimated daily intakes (EDIs) of all ordinary consumers were lower than the ADI, which was considered safe.

Molecular dynamics analysis of conserved hydrophobic and hydrophilic bond-interaction networks in ErbB family kinases.

The EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor)/ErbB/HER (human EGFR) family of kinases contains four homologous receptor tyrosine kinases that are important regulatory elements in key signalling pathways. To elucidate the atomistic mechanisms of dimerization-dependent activation in the ErbB family, we have performed molecular dynamics simulations of the intracellular kinase domains of three members of the ErbB family (those with known kinase activity), namely EGFR, ErbB2 (HER2) and ErbB4 (HER4), in different molecular contexts: monomer against dimer and wild-type against mutant. Using bioinformatics and fluctuation analyses of the molecular dynamics trajectories, we relate sequence similarities to correspondence of specific bond-interaction networks and collective dynamical modes.

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma initially presented with abdominal cutaneous mass and hyperthyroidism.

A 63-year-old female was admitted to our hospital with a tender abdominal wall mass about 15 cm in diameter, which she had for 1 month. About 1 week earlier, the patient had also perceived a mass in the neck area. Computed tomography revealed huge thyroid and periumbilical masses.

Assessment of subclinical coronary atherosclerosis in asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with single photon emission computed tomography and coronary computed tomography angiography.

We evaluated the characteristics of coronary artery disease in asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA). A total of 116 patients with DM without abnormal electrocardiographic findings or evidence of peripheral arterial disease (number of risk factors > or =2; 62 +/- 7 years, 59% men) underwent CCTA and SPECT. Of the 116 patients with DM, 88 (76%) had a normal single photon emission computed tomographic findings, and 28 (24%) had abnormal perfusion defects.