Perceptions of Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs) and Intention to Quit Among Adult Tobacco Users in Korea.

BACKGROUND: The popularity of heated tobacco products (HTPs) has been growing globally but, limited information exists on tobacco use behaviors and its impact on tobacco control. This study investigates awareness and perception of HTPs among tobacco users and whether perceptions of HTPs are associated with HTP use and intention to quit. METHODS: We invited 2,000 tobacco users aged 19-65 years with countrywide representation to an online survey in November 2018. Information on general characteristics, tobacco use behaviors, awareness and perception of HTPs, and intention to quit were gathered. Multinomial logistic regression analysis and ANCOVA were used for estimation of association and comparison. RESULTS: Among all tobacco users, 36.8% were classified as ever users, whereas 28.3% had used HTPs in the past 30 days, which was higher than expected. Users of liquid-based e-cigarettes (odds ratio [OR] 1.578; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.210-2.056) and poly-product users (OR 2.029; 95% CI, 1.121-3.671) showed higher intention to quit within 1 month when compared to users of conventional cigarettes (CCs), whereas HTP users and dual product users did not. HTP users rated HTPs more favorably than CCs in terms of smoke, smell, harm, aid in quitting, design, and price than users of other products did (P-value < 0.001). CONCLUSION: We find that positive perception of HTPs following strategic marketing from tobacco companies could have contributed to a greater increase in HTP use than expected in Korea. However, HTPs might not be considered substitutes for CCs for quitting tobacco use because a significant proportion of dual product users reported a lower intention to quit.

Association between perceived harm of tobacco and intention to quit: a cross-sectional analysis of the Vietnam Global Adult Tobacco Survey.

BACKGROUND: Perception of harm plays an important role in predicting intention to quit-an integral part of the cessation process. Perception on harm from bamboo waterpipe tobacco was unknown, even the predominant of this type of tobacco use. This study investigated the effects of perceived harm from cigarette and bamboo waterpipe tobacco on intention to quit among adult male Vietnamese tobacco users. METHODS: From the nationally-representative 2015 Global Adult Tobacco Survey, we included 1,351 adult males (≥ 18 years old) who used cigarettes, bamboo waterpipes, or both. Demographic characteristics, tobacco use behaviors, perceived harm from tobacco use, and regulation/policy exposure were measured. Effects of perceived harm from cigarette and bamboo waterpipe tobacco on intention to quit were assessed by logistic regression. RESULTS: Intention to quit prevalence was 59.0%, 55.0%, and 58.4% for cigarette, waterpipe, and dual users, respectively. Tobacco users who perceived that "using cigarettes and/or waterpipe could cause severe illness" and "waterpipe use is less harmful than cigarette smoking", had tobacco use bans at home, or were exposed to anti-smoking campaigns or encouragement to quit information were more likely to intend to quit. When analyzed by tobacco users, intention to quit was more likely for those users who perceived their tobacco product as more harmful than the other product type, although statistical significance was only observed for cigarette users. CONCLUSIONS: Misperceptions regarding harm from tobacco use could negatively affect intention to quit. Dissemination of accurate information on the risks from all forms of tobacco use and enforcement of tobacco control policies are important for encouraging intention to quit.

Estrogen Regulates the Expression and Localization of YAP in the Uterus of Mice.

The dynamics of uterine endometrium is important for successful establishment and maintenance of embryonic implantation and development, along with extensive cell differentiation and proliferation. The tissue event is precisely and complicatedly regulated as several signaling pathways are involved including two main hormones, estrogen and progesterone signaling. We previously showed a novel signaling molecule, Serine/threonine protein kinase 3/4 (STK3/4), which is responded to hormone in the mouse uterine epithelium. However, the role and regulation of its target, YES-associated protein (YAP) remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the expression and regulation of YAP in mouse endometrium. We found that YAP was periodically expressed in the endometrium during the estrous cycle. Furthermore, periodic expression of YAP was shown to be related to the pathway under hormone treatment. Interestingly, estrogen was shown to positively modulate YAP via endometrial epithelial receptors. In addition, the knockdown of YAP showed that YAP regulated various target genes in endometrial cells. The knockdown of YAP down-regulated numerous targets including ADAMTS1, AMOT, AMOTL1, ANKRD1, CTNNA1, MCL1. On the other hand, the expressions of AREG and AXL were increased by its knockdown. These findings imply that YAP responds via Hippo signaling under various intrauterine signals and is considered to play a role in the expression of factors important for uterine endometrium dynamic regulation.

Factors to improve distress and fatigue in Cancer survivorship; further understanding through text analysis of interviews by machine learning.

BACKGROUND: From patient-reported surveys and individual interviews by health care providers, we attempted to identify the significant factors related to the improvement of distress and fatigue for cancer survivors by text analysis with machine learning techniques, as the secondary analysis using the single institute data from the Korean Cancer Survivorship Center Pilot Project. METHODS: Surveys and in-depth interviews from 322 cancer survivors were analyzed to identify their needs and concerns. Among the keywords in the surveys, including EQ-VAS, distress, fatigue, pain, insomnia, anxiety, and depression, distress and fatigue were focused. The interview transcripts were analyzed via Korean-based text analysis with machine learning techniques, based on the keywords used in the survey. Words were generated as vectors and similarity scores were calculated by the distance related to the text's keywords and frequency. The keywords and selected high-ranked ten words for each keyword based on the similarity were then taken to draw a network map. RESULTS: Most participants were otherwise healthy females younger than 50 years suffering breast cancer who completed treatment less than 6 months ago. As the 1-month follow-up survey's results, the improved patients were 56.5 and 58.4% in distress and fatigue scores, respectively. For the improvement of distress, dyspepsia (p = 0.006) and initial scores of distress, fatigue, anxiety, and depression (p < 0.001, < 0.001, 0.043, and 0.013, respectively) were significantly related. For the improvement of fatigue, economic state (p = 0.021), needs for rehabilitation (p = 0.035), initial score of fatigue (p < 0.001), any intervention (p = 0.017), and participation in family care program (p = 0.022) were significant. For the text analysis, Stress and Fatigue were placed at the center of the keyword network map, and words were intricately connected. From the regression anlysis combined survey scores and the quantitative variables from the text analysis, participation in family care programs and mention of family-related words were associated with the fatigue improvement (p = 0.033). CONCLUSION: Common symptoms and practical issues were related to distress and fatigue in the survey. Through text analysis, however, we realized that the specific issues and their relationship such as family problem were more complicated. Although further research needs to explore the hidden problem in cancer patients, this study was meaningful to use personalized approach such as interviews.

Co-culture of smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells on three-dimensional bioprinted polycaprolactone scaffolds for cavernosal tissue engineering.

PURPOSE: In vitro evaluation of polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds fabricated by a three-dimensional (3D) printing technique for tissue engineering applications in the corpus cavernosum. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PCL scaffolds were fabricated by use of a 3 D bioprinting system. The 3D-printed scaffolds had interconnected structures for cell ingrowth. Human aortic smooth muscle cells (haSMCs) were seeded on the scaffold and cultured for 5 days, and then human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were also added on the scaffolds and co-cultured with haSMCs for up to 7 days. The ability of these scaffolds to support the growth of HUVECs and haSMCs was investigated in vitro. 3 D strand-deposited scaffolds were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images and porosity measurement. RESULTS: SEM images showed the surface of the PCL scaffolds to be well covered by HUVECs and haSMCs. Immunofluorescent staining of α-flk1 and α-smooth muscle actin on the HUVECs and haSMCs seeded scaffolds confirmed that the cells remained viable and proliferated throughout the time course of the culture. CONCLUSION: 3 D bioprinting of a PCL scaffold is feasible for co-culturing of HUVECs and haSMCs. This was a preliminary study to investigate the possibility of fabrication of tissue-engineered corpus cavernosum.

A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation of Design Characteristics in a Pb(Zr,Ti)O3-Based Piezoelectric Accelerometer.

A theoretical and experimental study on the design-to-performance characteristics of a compression-mode Pb(Zr,Ti)O3-based piezoelectric accelerometer is presented. Using the metamodeling to approximate the relationship between the design variables and the performances, the constituent components were optimized so that the generated electric voltage, representing sensitivity, could be maximized at different set values of the resonant frequency (25-40 kHz). Four kinds of optimized designs were created and fabricated into the accelerometer modules for empirical validation. The accelerometer modules fabricated according to the optimized designs were highly reliable with a broad range of resonant frequency as well as sufficiently high values of charge sensitivity. The fixed (or mounted) resonant frequency was between 16.1-30.1 kHz based on the impedance measurement. The charge sensitivity decreased from 296.8 to 79.4 pC/g with an increase of the resonant frequency, showing an inverse relation with respect to the resonant frequency. The design-dependent behaviors of the sensitivity and resonant frequency were almost identical in both numerical analysis and experimental investigation. This work shows that the piezoelectric accelerometer can be selectively prepared with best outcomes according to the requirements for the sensitivity and resonant frequency, fundamentally associated with trade-off relation.

Erratum: Tong, T., et al. α-Ionone Protects Against UVB-Induced Photoaging in Human Dermal Fibroblasts. Molecules 2019, 24, 1804.

The authors wish to make the following change to their paper [...].

Design Optimization of Bulk Piezoelectric Acceleration Sensor for Enhanced Performance.

While seeking to achieve high performances of a bulk piezoelectric acceleration sensor, we investigated the behavior of the design variables of the sensor components and optimized the sensor design using a numerical simulation based on piezoelectric analysis and metamodeling. The optimized results demonstrated that there was an exponential dependency in the trade-off relation between two performance indicators, the electric voltage and the resonant frequency, as induced by the design characteristics of the sensor. Among the design variables, a decrease in the base height and epoxy thickness and an increase in the piezo element's inner diameter had a positive effect on two performances, while the head dimensions (diameter and height) exhibited the opposite effect on them. The optimal sensor designs are proposed within the valid range of resonant frequency (25-47.5 kHz). Our redesign of a commercial reference sensor improved the resonant frequency by 13.2% and the electric voltage by 46.1%.

α-Ionone Protects Against UVB-Induced Photoaging in Human Dermal Fibroblasts.

Ultraviolet (UV) light-induced wrinkle formation is a major dermatological problem and is associated with alteration in collagen. Here, we investigated the potential of α-ionone, a naturally occurring aromatic compound, in regulation of UVB-induced photoaging in human Hs68 dermal fibroblasts and identified the mechanisms involved. We found that in human dermal fibroblasts, α-ionone inhibited UVB-induced loss of collagen. α-Ionone upregulated the molecules participating in the TGF-ß-SMAD pathway (TGF-ß1, phospho-SMAD2/3, Col1A1, and Col1A2), but downregulated the molecules involved in the MAPK-AP-1 signaling pathway (phospho-p38, phospho-JNK, phospho-ERK, phospho-c-Fos, phospho-c-Jun, MMP1, MMP3, and MMP9), in human dermal fibroblasts. α-Ionone treatment also increased hyaluronic acid contents, and this effect was accompanied by an upregulation of mRNA expression of genes (HAS1 and HAS2) involved in hyaluronic acid synthesis. Thus, α-ionone is effective in the prevention of UVB-induced decrease of collagen and hyaluronic acid in human dermal fibroblasts. We propose that α-ionone may prove beneficial for the prevention of UV-induced wrinkle formation and skin damage.

Influences of Tobacco-Related Knowledge on Awareness and Behavior towards Smoking.

BACKGROUND: A considerable amount of research has shown that knowledge and appropriate awareness are essential for encouraging positive behaviors and promoting health. In Korea, the roles that behavioral changes play in the prevention of cancer have been an important issue since the introduction of the 10 codes for cancer prevention in 2006. Thus, the present study investigated the associations of tobacco-related knowledge with awareness and attitudes towards positive smoking-cessation behaviors. METHODS: The present study analyzed data from the 2010 national questionnaire survey (n = 1,006). This study evaluated sociodemographic characteristics, smoking status, self-rated health status, health-related interests, and the accuracy of 12 tobacco-related statements to determine knowledge level and to investigate its impact on awareness and behaviors related to smoking. These parameters were examined and staged using the Precaution Adoption Process Model. RESULTS: A higher level of tobacco-related knowledge was significantly associated with a positive attitude towards smoking cessation (5-8 correct answers: odds ratio [OR], 2.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.57-4.08; ≥ 9 correct answers: OR, 3.90; 95% CI, 2.22-6.82; reference: ≤ 4 correct answers). Interestingly, among current smokers, only those who correctly responded to ≥ 9 of 12 tobacco-related statements were significantly associated with a positive attitude towards smoking cessation. CONCLUSION: This study found that having a higher level of tobacco-related knowledge had a significant impact on positive attitudes towards smoking cessation. This suggests that there is a need to disseminate appropriate knowledge to the general population to encourage positive attitudes and promote healthful behaviors in terms of smoking.

FOXO1 reduces tumorsphere formation capacity and has crosstalk with LGR5 signaling in gastric cancer cells.

Gastric cancer (GC) is a major of cause of cancer-related death and is characterized by its heterogeneity and molecular complexity. FOXO1 is a transcription factor that plays a key role in GC growth and metastasis. However, the implication of FOXO1 in GC cell stemness has been elusive. This study, for the first time, demonstrates that FOXO1 regulates GC cell stemness in association with LGR5. FOXO1 expression was significantly lower in GC tumorsphere cells than in adherent GC cells. FOXO1 silencing and overexpression promoted and inhibited the tumorsphere formation capacity of GC cells, respectively. Additionally, there was an inverse correlation between FOXO1 and GC stem cell marker LGR5 in human GC specimens. Further in vitro and in vivo experiments showed that negative crosstalk between these two molecules exists and that LGR5 silencing reversed the FOXO1 shRNA-induced tumorsphere formation even without FOXO1 restoration. Taken together, our results suggest that FOXO1 inhibits the self-renewal capacity of GC cells through interaction with LGR5. Thus, FOXO1/LGR5 signaling pathway may provide a novel targeted therapy for GC.

Aging-resistant nanofluids containing covalent functionalized boron nitride nanosheets.

Developing a thermally stable nanofluid that can maintain good thermo-conductive and flow performance at moderate or elevated temperatures for prolonged periods of time is a great challenge in heat transfer applications. Here, the thermal conductivity and rheological properties as well as their thermal stability characteristics of a nanofluid containing two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (h-BNNSs) in ethylene glycol (EG) are presented, in comparison with those for a graphene oxide (GO) nanofluid as a counterpart. In place of a surfactant, hydroxyl functional groups covalently bound to the BNNS surface provided excellent compatibility and stable dispersion of the particles within EG at temperatures up to 90 °C. Owing to the percolation effect of the 2D sheets, the thermal conductivity of the EG base fluid was significantly enhanced by 80% at 5 vol% of BNNS, superior to that of the GO fluid. Moreover, the BNNS fluids exhibited excellent long-term stability at 90 °C for 5 d without loss of their high thermal conductivity, low viscosity and electrical insulating property, whereas the GO fluids underwent thermal degradation with irreversible particle aggregation and increasing viscosity due to the selective chemical reduction of the surface functional groups (i.e., C-O groups) of the GO.

c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation has a prognostic implication and is negatively associated with FOXO1 activation in gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: Since the biological function of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in gastric cancer remains unclear, we investigated the clinical significance of JNK activation and its association with FOXO1 activation. METHODS: Immunohistochemical tissue array analysis of 483 human gastric cancer specimens was performed, and the results of the immunostaining were quantified. The correlation between JNK activation (nuclear staining for pJNK) and clinicopathological features, the proliferation index, prognosis or FOXO1 inactivation (cytoplasmic staining for pFOXO1) was analyzed. The SNU-638 gastric cancer cell line was used for in vitro analysis. RESULTS: Nuclear staining of pJNK was found in 38 % of the gastric carcinomas and was higher in the early stages of pTNM (P < 0.001). pJNK staining negatively correlated with lymphatic invasion (P = 0.034) and positively correlated with intestinal type by Lauren's classification (P = 0.037), Ki-67-labeling index (P < 0.001), cyclin D1 (P = 0.045), cyclin E (P < 0.001) and pFOXO1 (P < 0.001). JNK activation correlated with a longer patients survival (P =0.008) and patients with a JNK-active and FOXO1-inactive tumor had a higher survival rate than the remainder of the population (P = 0.004). In vitro analysis showed that JNK inhibition by SP600125 in SNU-638 cells decreased cyclin D1 protein expression and increased FOXO1 activation. Further, JNK inhibition markedly suppressed colony formation, which was partially restored by FOXO1 shRNA expression. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that JNK activation may serve as a valuable prognostic factor in gastric cancer, and that it is implicated in gastric tumorigenesis, at least in part, through FOXO1 inhibition.

Loss of FOXO1 promotes gastric tumour growth and metastasis through upregulation of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2/neu expression.

BACKGROUND: The biological significance of FOXO1, a member of the forkhead box O transcription factor family, in gastric cancer (GC) remains unclear. The present study provides direct evidence of the role of FOXO1 in tumour growth and metastasis of GC in relation to human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). METHODS: The expressions of FOXO1 and HER2 were modulated in GC cell lines (SNU-638, MKN45, SNU-216 and NCI-N87) by stable transfections. The effects of transfection on GC phenotypes were evaluated in vitro and in animal models. In addition, the relationship between FOXO1 and HER2 was analysed using GC clinical specimens, cell lines and xenografts. RESULTS: FOXO1 silencing in GC cells increased colony formation and mesenchymal transition in vitro, as well as tumour growth and metastasis in nude mice, whereas HER2 silencing induced the opposite results.. Furthermore, an inverse relationship between FOXO1 and HER2 was found in clinical specimens of GC, GC cells and GC xenograft tumours. Although a negative crosstalk between these two molecules was shown, double knockdown of both FOXO1 and HER2 in GC cells revealed that HER2 silencing reversed the FOXO1 shRNA-induced migration and invasion even without the FOXO1 restoration. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that loss of FOXO1 promotes GC growth and metastasis by upregulating HER2 expression and that the HER2 expression is more critical to the induction of GC cell metastasis. The present study provides evidence that the FOXO1/HER2 pathway may regulate GC progression in a subgroup of GC patients.

The forkhead transcription factor FOXO1 mediates cisplatin resistance in gastric cancer cells by activating phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt pathway.

BACKGROUND: Cisplatin (CDDP) is one of the most important chemotherapeutic agents in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer, but its efficacy is limited by CDDP resistance. Because the transcription factor FOXO1 is related to chemoresistance in various cancer cells, we investigated the function of FOXO1 in CDDP resistance in human gastric cancer cells. METHODS: Human gastric cancer cell lines MKN45 and SNU-601 were used. FOXO1 activation was modulated by transfection of FOXO1 AAA mutant gene or FOXO1 shRNA. The effects of FOXO1 on cell growth and CDDP cytotoxicity were assessed by crystal violet assay. Protein expressions of FOXO1, p110α, pAkt, and Akt were analyzed by Western blotting, and FOXO1 mRNA expression was evaluated by semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. FOXO1 activity was determined by luciferase reporter assay, and cell apoptosis was assessed by DAPI staining and Western blotting for PARP cleavage. RESULTS: Cisplatin treatment induced FOXO1 expression and activation in both gastric cancer cell lines. FOXO1 overexpression increased the CDDP resistance without changes in cell growth, whereas FOXO1 silencing enhanced CDDP cytotoxicity along with apoptotic characteristics. Both constitutive and CDDP-induced FOXO1 activations were accompanied by an increase in p110α and pAkt expression. Furthermore, Akt inhibition by LY294002 treatment restored the CDDP cytotoxicity that was suppressed by FOXO1 overexpression. CONCLUSION: FOXO1 inhibits CDDP-induced apoptosis in gastric cancer cells via activating PI3K/Akt pathway. Thus, FOXO1 may be an useful pharmacological indicator to predict CDDP efficacy in gastric cancer treatment.

National Smoking Cessation Services (NSCS) enrollment and their effect on long-term tobacco cessation in Korea: Results from a 1-year prospective follow-up of NSCS participants.

INTRODUCTION: The study aimed to identify predictors associated with long-term tobacco cessation at 12-month follow-up among users of the National Smoking Cessation Services (NSCS) in Korea. METHODS: To measure the long-term effect of NSCS delivery, the target sample size of 5167 adult smokers registered in the NSCS in 2018 was enrolled with proportional random sampling. A multiple logistic regression analysis (crude, adjusted) was performed to identify the changes in smoking status at the 12-month follow-up after the last NSCS enrollment and the potential factors associated with changes in smoking status. RESULTS: The response rate to reach the number of subjects targeted was 22.4%. A total of 41.2% of the tobacco users enrolled had successfully quit at baseline, and the 7-day point prevalence of tobacco cessation at the follow-up at 12 months, via a telephone survey, was 34.4%. Factors positively associated with cessation at the 12-month follow-up were longer experience with tobacco abstinence and additional quitting attempts with or without NSCS enrollment, although every additional quit attempt with NSCS use had a better outcome. In addition, having a successful quit outcome with NSCS use at the baseline and having more satisfaction with the service of professional counseling or incentives than others provided by NSCS, increased cessation at follow-up after adjustment of other factors considered. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to multiple quitting attempts, longer experience with tobacco abstinence, and additional enrollment in NSCS, the service experience, and satisfaction with the content that NSCS offered, might improve the lasting success of abstinence. These results might be considered to improve the contents and protocols of the NSCS for better outcomes.

Comparing the efficacy of combined versus single immune cell adaptive therapy targeting colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most frequent cancer with limited therapeutic achievements. Recently, adoptive cellular immunotherapy has been developed as an antitumor therapy. However, its efficacy has not been tested in CRC. This study investigated the ability of an immune cell cocktail of dendritic cells (DCs), T cells, and natural killer (NK) cells to overcome immunological hurdles and improve the therapeutic efficacy of cell therapy for CRC. METHODS: CRC lysate-pulsed monocyte-derived DCs (Mo-DCs), CRC antigen-specifically expanded T cells (CTL), and in vitro-expanded NK cells were cultured from patient peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). The ability of the combined immune cells to kill autologous tumor cells was investigated by co-culturing the combined immune cells with patient-derived tumor cells. RESULTS: The Mo-DCs produced expressed T cell co-stimulating molecules like CD80, CD86, human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR and HLA-ABC, at high levels and were capable of activating naive T cells. The expanded T cells were predominantly CD8 T cells with high levels of CD8 effector memory cells and low levels of regulatory T cells. The NK cells expressed high levels of activating receptors and were capable of killing other cancer cell lines (K562 and HT29). The immune cell cocktail demonstrated a higher ability to kill autologous tumor cells than single types. An in vivo preclinical study confirmed the safety of the combined immune cell adaptive therapy showing no therapy-related death or general toxicity symptoms. CONCLUSION: The results suggested that combined immune cell adaptive therapy could overcome the limited efficacy of cell immunotherapy.

Developing a national surveillance system for stroke and acute myocardial infarction using claims data in the Republic of Korea: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Limited information is available concerning the epidemiology of stroke and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the Republic of Korea. This study aimed to develop a national surveillance system to monitor the incidence of stroke and AMI using national claims data. METHODS: We developed and validated identification algorithms for stroke and AMI using claims data. This validation involved a 2-stage stratified sampling method with a review of medical records for sampled cases. The weighted positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated based on the sampling structure and the corresponding sampling rates. Incident cases and the incidence rates of stroke and AMI in the Republic of Korea were estimated by applying the algorithms and weighted PPV and NPV to the 2018 National Health Insurance Service claims data. RESULTS: In total, 2,200 cases (1,086 stroke cases and 1,114 AMI cases) were sampled from the 2018 claims database. The sensitivity and specificity of the algorithms were 94.3% and 88.6% for stroke and 97.9% and 90.1% for AMI, respectively. The estimated number of cases, including recurrent events, was 150,837 for stroke and 40,529 for AMI in 2018. The age- and sex-standardized incidence rate for stroke and AMI was 180.2 and 46.1 cases per 100,000 person-years, respectively, in 2018. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the feasibility of developing a national surveillance system based on claims data and identification algorithms for stroke and AMI to monitor their incidence rates.

A synergistic interaction between transcription factors nuclear factor-κB and signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 promotes gastric cancer cell migration and invasion.

BACKGROUND: The transcription factor nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) has been implicated in gastric cancer metastasis, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. We investigated the role of the interaction between NF-κB and signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3) in controlling metastatic potential of gastric cancer cells. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry for NF-κB p65 (RelA), phospho-Tyr705-STAT3 (pSTAT3), or matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) was performed on tissue array slides containing 255 gastric carcinoma specimens. NF-κB inhibition in SNU-638 and MKN1 gastric cancer cell lines were performed by transduction with a retroviral vector containing NF-κB repressor mutant of IκBα, and STAT3 was silenced by RNA interference. We also did luciferase reporter assay, double immunofluorescence staining and immunoblotting. Cell migration and invasion were determined by wound-healing assay and invasion assay, respectively. RESULTS: NF-κB and STAT3 were constitutively activated and were positively correlated (P=0.038) in gastric cancer tissue specimens. In cell culture experiments, NF-κB inhibition reduced STAT3 expression and activation, whereas STAT3 silencing did not affect NF-κB activation. Moreover, both NF-κB inhibition and STAT3 silencing decreased gastric cancer cell migration and invasion in a synergistic manner. In addition, both NF-κB activation and STAT3 activation were positively correlated with MMP9 in gastric cancer tissues (P=0.001 and P=0.022, respectively), decreased E-cadherin expression and increased Snail and MMP9 expressions in cultured cells. CONCLUSION: NF-κB and STAT3 are positively associated and synergistically contribute to the metastatic potential of gastric cancer cells. Thus, dual use of NF-κB and STAT3 inhibitors may enhance the efficacy of the anti-metastatic treatment of gastric cancer.

Design of a Bioinspired Robust Three-Dimensional Cross-Linked Polymer Binder for High-Performance Li-Ion Battery Applications.

Si has the highest theoretical capacity (4200 mA h g-1) among conventional anode materials, such as graphite (372 mA h g-1), but its large volume expansion leads to deterioration of the battery performance. To overcome this problem (issue), we investigated the use of polysaccharide-based 3D cross-linked network binders for Si anodes, in which the polysaccharide formed an effective 3D cross-linked network around Si particles via cross-linking of polysaccharide with citric acid (CA). Sodium alginate (SA), a natural polysaccharide extracted from brown algae, is a suitable binder material for Si anodes because its abundant hydroxyl (-OH) and carboxyl (-COOH) groups form hydrogen and covalent bonds with the -OH groups present on the Si surface. We found that CA-cross-linked (CA-SA) could effectively prevent the volume expansion of Si anodes through the formation of 3D cross-linked network structures. In addition, the CA-SA binders provide enhanced adhesion strength, enabling the fabrication of more robust electrodes than those prepared using binders with linear structures ("linear binders"). In particular, the fabricated Si-based electrode (high mass loading of 1.5 mg cm-2) with CA-SA binder exhibited outstanding areal capacity (∼2.7 mA h cm-2) and excellent cycle retention (∼100% after 100 cycles).