Melanin Inhibitory Effect of Tuber himalayense Isolated in Incheon, Korea.

There has been a growing interest in skin beauty and antimelanogenic products. Melanogenesis is the process of melanin synthesis whereby melanocytes are activated by UV light or hormone stimulation to produce melanin. Melanogenesis is mediated by several enzymes, such as tyrosinase (TYR), microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1), and TRP-2. In this study, we investigated the effect of Tuber himalayense extract on melanin synthesis in α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH)-treated B16F10 melanoma cells. We confirmed that T. himalayense extract was not toxic to α-MSH-treated B16F10 melanoma cells and exhibited a significant inhibitory effect on melanin synthesis at concentrations of 25, 50, and 100 µg/ml. Additionally, the T. himalayense extract inhibited melanin, TRP-1, TRP-2, tyrosinase, and MITF, which are enzymes involved in melanin synthesis, in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, T. himalayense extract inhibited the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways, such as extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1/2 (ERK), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38. Therefore, we hypothesized that various components of T. himalayense extract affect multiple factors involved in melanogenesis in B16F10 cells. Our results indicate that T. himalayense extract could potentially be used as a new material for preparing whitening cosmetics.

Navigating the COVID-19 pandemic in the contingency framework: Antecedents and consequences of public's stance toward the CDC.

This study applied the contingency theory of conflict management to examine how contingency factors influence the public's perceptual and behavioral responses to COVID-19 and stance toward the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In particular, we tested political ideology as an important individual characteristic variable to examine its roles in the contingency theory framework. The findings revealed that two situational variables (i.e., threat appraisal and attitudes toward CDC) positively influenced the public's contingency accommodation stance toward the CDC. Furthermore, greater conservatism was significantly associated with lower levels of threat appraisal and more negative attitudes toward the CDC, however it did not influence the stance toward the CDC. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Predicting Information Behaviors in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Integrating the Role of Emotions and Subjective Norms into the Situational Theory of Problem Solving (STOPS) Framework.

This study examined individuals' information behaviors in the COVID-19 pandemic. It applied the situational theory of problem solving (STOPS) and integrated the role of two negative emotions (i.e., fear and anger) and subjective norms into the framework. A survey of 627 South Korean adults was conducted in March 2020, when the country experienced an early but rapidly accelerating pandemic stage. The results of structural equation modeling demonstrated that in addition to confirming the major propositions of STOPS, three situational perception variables (i.e., problem recognition, involvement recognition, and constraint recognition) were highly associated with an individual's fear and anger regarding the COVID-19 outbreak. However, only fear significantly affected situational motivation in problem-solving and information behaviors (i.e., information-seeking, forwarding, and permitting). The study discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the findings.

Integrating health consciousness, self-efficacy, and habituation into the attitude-intention-behavior relationship for physical activity in college students.

This study aimed to empirically test the relationship between attitude, behavioral intention, and behavior, which has been asserted by many human behavior theories including those of reasoned action, planned behavior, interpersonal behavior, and self-regulation. In the physical activity context, the study explored (a) how two cognitive constructs - health consciousness and self-efficacy - influence the attitude-intention-behavior relationship, and (b) how the relationship differs depending on habituation to physical activity. A survey of 525 undergraduate students was conducted at a South Korean university. The results of structural equation modeling showed that the attitude-intention-behavior relationship was only significant in the non-habituation group. In the linkage, health consciousness significantly influenced attitude toward physical activity, while self-efficacy had stronger impacts on behavioral intention and behavior than on attitude. Based on the findings, some theoretical implications and practical guidelines are discussed.

Prunetin 4'-O-Phosphate, a Novel Compound, in RAW 264.7 Macrophages Exerts Anti-Inflammatory Activity via Suppression of MAP Kinases and the NFκB Pathway.

Biorenovation, a microbial enzyme-assisted degradation process of precursor compounds, is an effective approach to unraveling the potential bioactive properties of the derived compounds. In this study, we obtained a new compound, prunetin 4'-O-phosphate (P4P), through the biorenovation of prunetin (PRN), and investigated its anti-inflammatory effects in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. The anti-inflammatory effect of P4P was evaluated by measuring the production of prostaglandin-E2 (PGE2), nitric oxide (NO), which is an inflammation-inducing factor, and related cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα), interleukin-1ß (IL1ß), and interleukin-6 (IL6). The findings demonstrated that P4P was non-toxic to cells, and its inhibition of the secretion of NO-as well as pro-inflammatory cytokines-was concentration-dependent. A simultaneous reduction in the protein expression level of pro-inflammatory proteins such as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was observed. Moreover, the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) such as extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), p38 MAPK (p38), and nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) was downregulated. To conclude, we report that biorenovation-based phosphorylation of PRN improved its anti-inflammatory activity. Cell-based in vitro assays further confirmed that P4P could be applied in the development of anti-inflammatory therapeutics.

Antecedents and Consequences of Information Overload in the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The global outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in 2020 has significantly affected the information environment as well as the daily life of individuals across the world, with information about COVID-19 dominating all media channels. The information provided at the time of a health crisis like COVID-19 is critical in helping people learn about the disease and the recommendations to prevent infection. However, studies have shown that when people are overwhelmed by too much information (referred to as 'information overload'), this leads to adverse effects. This study examined the antecedents and consequences of information overload in the context of COVID-19. A survey was conducted among 627 residents in Seoul, South Korea, one of the earliest affected countries in the global outbreak. The results showed that cognitive capacity and the frequency of online news use and interpersonal communication were significant predictors of information overload. Information overload influenced how information is processed; it was associated with the tendency toward greater heuristic processing and less systematic processing. In addition, people were more likely to enact prevention behaviors when the information was processed systematically, as opposed to heuristically. The results are discussed considering both the theoretical and practical implications.

The Effects of Patient-Centered Communication: Exploring the Mediating Role of Trust in Healthcare Providers.

This study examined the effects of patient-centered communication (PCC) on two major outcomes: patients' trust in healthcare providers and their evaluation of the quality of healthcare received. Based on conceptual model regarding the impacts of PCC, the former is considered a proximal communication outcome and the latter an intermediate outcome. Both are known to be associated with ultimate health outcomes. Analyses conducted on a dataset of 3273 respondents from the 2012 Health Information National Trends Survey in the U.S. showed that PCC was positively associated with both patients' trust in healthcare providers and evaluation of healthcare quality. Moreover, trust was a significant mediator between PCC and patients' perceptions of the quality of healthcare, and stronger mediation of trust was observed as the frequency of hospital visits increased. Some theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Audience responses to television news coverage of medical advances: The mediating role of audience emotions and identification.

Exemplifying a real person in news stories has become a popular journalistic technique to describe an event or issue. With the frequent appearance of medical news reports in local television in recent years, this news presentation style is widely believed to help audiences better engage in and understand complex medical information and to influence their perceptions and judgments. In terms of television news coverage of medical advances, this study investigates how audiences respond to embedded human examples (mainly patients who experience benefits from the advances) and to overall news stories, and how such responses are related to their perception of portrayed medical advances. The experimental results indicate that news stories with a human example were more likely to intensify the audience's positive emotions than those without, which in turn influenced favorable perceptions of the described medical advance. In addition, the extent to which the audience identified with a human example (in particular, sympathy) mediated the relationship between the audience's involvement in the news story and its perception of the portrayed medical advance.

The effects of human interest framing in television news coverage of medical advances.

The last few decades have witnessed the increasing dissemination of information on medical advances such as new medical treatments and prevention/diagnosis technologies through television news. To engage lay audiences with complex information, medical journalists often personalize news stories about medical advances by exemplifying individual patients and their personal experiences. This study investigates the effects of this journalistic technique, which is referred to as human interest framing, on audiences. The results of an experiment provide empirical evidence that the human interest framing of medical news stories can increase audiences' involvement in those stories and facilitate their positive perception of medical advances.

An extension of the extended parallel process model (EPPM) in television health news: the influence of health consciousness on individual message processing and acceptance.

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of health consciousness in processing TV news that contains potential health threats and preventive recommendations. Based on the extended parallel process model (Witte, 1992), relationships among health consciousness, perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, perceived response efficacy, perceived self-efficacy, and message acceptance/rejection were hypothesized. Responses collected from 175 participants after viewing four TV health news stories were analyzed using the bootstrapping analysis (Preacher & Hayes, 2008). Results confirmed three mediators (i.e., perceived severity, response efficacy, self-efficacy) in the influence of health consciousness on message acceptance. A negative association found between health consciousness and perceived susceptibility is discussed in relation to characteristics of health conscious individuals and optimistic bias of health risks.