Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Rhodeus uyekii in the Republic of Korea Revealed by Microsatellite Markers from Whole Genome Assembly.

This study is the first report to characterize the Rhodus uyekii genome and study the development of microsatellite markers and their markers applied to the genetic structure of the wild population. Genome assembly was based on PacBio HiFi and Illumina HiSeq paired-end sequencing, resulting in a draft genome assembly of R. uyekii. The draft genome was assembled into 2652 contigs. The integrity assessment of the assemblies indicates that the quality of the draft assemblies is high, with 3259 complete BUSCOs (97.2%) in the database of Verbrata. A total of 31,166 predicted protein-coding genes were annotated in the protein database. The phylogenetic tree showed that R. uyekii is a close but distinct relative of Onychostoma macrolepis. Among the 10 fish genomes, there were significant gene family expansions (8-2387) and contractions (16-2886). The average number of alleles amplified by the 21 polymorphic markers ranged from 6 to 23, and the average PIC value was 0.753, which will be useful for evolutionary and genetic analysis. Using population genetic analysis, we analyzed genetic diversity and the genetic structures of 120 individuals from 6 populations. The average number of alleles per population ranged from 7.6 to 9.9, observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.496 to 0.642, and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.587 to 0.783. Discriminant analysis of principal components According to the analysis method, the population was divided into three populations (BS vs. DC vs. GG, GC, MS, DC). In conclusion, our study provides a useful resource for comparative genomics, phylogeny, and future population studies of R. uyekii.

The role of 27-hydroxycholesterol in meta-inflammation.

27-Hydroxycholesterol (27OHChol), a prominent cholesterol metabolite present in the bloodstream and peripheral tissues, is a kind of immune oxysterol that elicits immune response. Recent research indicates the involvement of 27OHChol in metabolic inflammation (meta-inflammation) characterized by chronic responses associated with metabolic irregularities. 27OHChol activates monocytic cells such that they secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, and increase the expression of cell surface molecules such as pattern-recognition receptors that play key roles in immune cell-cell communication and sensing metabolism-associated danger signals. Levels of 27OHChol increase when cholesterol metabolism is disrupted, and the resulting inflammatory responses can contribute to the development and complications of metabolic syndrome, including obesity, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular diseases. Since 27OHChol can induce chronic immune response by activating monocyte-macrophage lineage cells that play a crucial role in meta-inflammation, it is essential to understand the 27OHChol-induced inflammatory responses to unravel the roles and mechanisms of action of this cholesterol metabolite in chronic metabolic disorders.

Catalytic removal of 2-butanone with ozone over porous spent fluid catalytic cracking catalyst.

To remove harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including 2-butanone (methyl ethyl ketone, MEK) emitted from various industrial plants is very important for the clean air. Also, it is worthwhile to recycle porous spent fluid catalytic cracking (SFCC) catalysts from various petroleum refineries in terms of reducing industrial waste and the reuse of discharged resources. Therefore, Mn and Mn-Cu added SFCC (Mn/SFCC and Mn-Cu/SFCC) catalysts were prepared to compare their catalytic efficiencies together with the SFCC catalyst in the ozonation of 2-butanone. Since the SFCC-based catalysts have a structure similar to that of zeolite Y (Y), the Mn-loaded zeolite Y catalyst (Mn/Y) was also prepared to compare its activity for the removal of 2-butanone and ozone to that of the SFCC-based ones at room temperature. Among the five catalysts of this study (Y, Mn/Y, SFCC, Mn/SFCC, and Mn-Cu/SFCC), the Mn-Cu/SFCC and Mn/SFCC catalysts showed the better catalytic decomposition activity than the others. The increased distributions of the Mn3+ species and the Ovacancy sites in Mn/SFCC and Mn-Cu/SFCC catalysts which could supply more available active sites for the 2-butanone and ozone removal would enhance the catalytic activity of them.

Psychometric properties, stability, and predictive validity of the Korean version of the Prolonged Grief Disorder Scale (PG-13-K): A longitudinal study among bereaved Koreans.

This study aims to investigate the psychometric properties, stability, and predictive validity of the PG-13-K. Two subsamples were used: the first subsample (N = 153), participated at Time 1 only, and the second subsample (N = 184) participated at both Time 1 and Time 2. At each time point, reliability, test-retest reliability, and validity were adequate, and the hypothesized two-factor model indicated good to excellent fit. Moreover, the PG-13-K was able to predict the correlation between prolonged grief disorder (PGD) and negative psychological factors. The PG-13-K is a useful and valid instrument for measuring PGD symptoms in Korean settings.

Multispectral Benchmark Dataset and Baseline for Forklift Collision Avoidance.

In this paper, multispectral pedestrian detection is mainly discussed, which can contribute to assigning human-aware properties to automated forklifts to prevent accidents, such as collisions, at an early stage. Since there was no multispectral pedestrian detection dataset in an intralogistics domain, we collected a dataset; the dataset employs a method that aligns image pairs with different domains, i.e. RGB and thermal, without the use of a cumbersome device such as a beam splitter, but rather by exploiting the disparity between RGB sensors and camera geometry. In addition, we propose a multispectral pedestrian detector called SSD 2.5D that can not only detect pedestrians but also estimate the distance between an automated forklift and workers. In extensive experiments, the performance of detection and centroid localization is validated with respect to evaluation metrics used in the driving car domain but with distinct categories, such as hazardous zone and warning zone, to make it more applicable to the intralogistics domain.

Effect of Al Addition on Corrosion Protection of Ti-39Nb-6Zr Alloy for Biological Applications.

For metals to be used as biomaterials, there must not be harmful reaction between the corrosion product of metal or eluted ion, and bio-tissue. Titanium is one of the excellent bio-compatible materials and generally it has tendency to have a small amount elution of Ti ions inside the body. Titanium alloy need to have low elastic modulus for reducing the stress shield effect. Ti-39Nb-6Zr alloy which is consist of biocompatible element such as Nb and Zr, has low elastic modulus with below 60 GPa, but it shows lower yield stress and tensile stress compared with Ti-6Al-4V alloy. In order to increase the strength of Ti-39Nb-6Zr alloy, aluminum was added in this alloy. Since aluminum elements are reported to lead to Alzheimer disease in human, high corrosion resistance is required to use Ti-39Nb-6Zr-0.45Al alloy containing a small amount of Al. In this study, corrosion behaviors were investigated under the solution of three conditions of 0.9% NaCl (pH 7), 0.1% NaF (pH 3) and 0.1% NaF (pH 5). The behaviors were stable under all the conditions. But Ti-39Nb- 6Zr-0.45Al alloy had better corrosion resistance than Ti-39Nb-6Zr alloy in all the conditions. This is because oxide mixtures such as Al3Ti5O2, Al2TiO5 are formed inside the surface layer, which results in forming more stable oxide film than TiO2 surface film. Ti-39Nb-6Zr-0.45Al alloy has high corrosion resistance and can reduce the concern about aluminum ion elution inside the body.

Oxyresveratrol Increases Energy Expenditure through Foxo3a-Mediated Ucp1 Induction in High-Fat-Diet-Induced Obese Mice.

The phytochemical oxyresveratrol has been shown to exert diverse biological activities including prevention of obesity. However, the exact reason underlying the anti-obese effects of oxyresveratrol is not fully understood. Here, we investigated the effects and mechanism of oxyresveratrol in adipocytes and high-fat diet (HFD)-fed obese mice. Oxyresveratrol suppressed lipid accumulation and expression of adipocyte markers during the adipocyte differentiation of 3T3-L1 and C3H10T1/2 cells. Administration of oxyresveratrol in HFD-fed obese mice prevented body-weight gains, lowered adipose tissue weights, improved lipid profiles, and increased glucose tolerance. The anti-obese effects were linked to increases in energy expenditure and higher rectal temperatures without affecting food intake, fecal lipid content, and physical activity. The increased energy expenditure by oxyresveratrol was concordant with the induction of thermogenic genes including Ucp1, and the reduction of white adipocyte selective genes in adipose tissue. Furthermore, Foxo3a was identified as an oxyresveratrol-induced gene and it mimicked the effects of oxyresveratrol for induction of thermogenic genes and suppression of white adipocyte selective genes, suggesting the role of Foxo3a in oxyresveratrol-mediated anti-obese effects. Taken together, these data show that oxyresveratrol increases energy expenditure through the induction of thermogenic genes in adipose tissue and further implicates oxyresveratrol as an ingredient and Foxo3a as a molecular target for the development of functional foods in obesity and metabolic diseases.

γ-Oryzanol suppresses COX-2 expression by inhibiting reactive oxygen species-mediated Erk1/2 and Egr-1 signaling in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages.

Cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 produces prostanoids, which contribute to inflammatory responses. Nuclear factor (NF)-κB is a key transcription factor mediating COX-2 expression. γ-Oryzanol is an active component in rice bran oil, which inhibits lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated COX-2 expression by inhibiting NF-κB. However, the inhibition of COX-2 expression by γ-oryzanol independently of NF-κB is poorly understood. We found that LPS upregulated Egr-1 expression at the transcriptional level. Forced expression of Egr-1 trans-activated the Cox-2 promoter independently of NF-κB. In contrast, silencing of Egr-1 abrogated LPS-mediated COX-2 expression. LPS produced reactive oxygen species (ROS), which, in turn, induced Egr-1 expression via the Erk1/2 MAPK pathway. ROS scavenging activity of γ-oryzanol suppressed Egr-1 expression by inhibiting the Erk1/2 MAPK pathway. Our results suggest that γ-oryzanol inhibits LPS-mediated COX-2 expression by suppressing Erk1/2-mediated Egr-1 expression. This study supports that γ-oryzanol may be useful for ameliorating LPS-mediated inflammatory responses.

Beneficial effects of voglibose administration on body weight and lipid metabolism via gastrointestinal bile acid modification.

This study was designed with the goal of examining the effects of voglibose administration on body weight and lipid metabolism and underlying mechanism high fat diet-induced obese mice. Male C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to one of four groups: a control diet (CTL), high-fat diet (HF), high-fat diet supplemented with voglibose (VO), and high fat diet pair-fed group (PF). After 12 weeks, the following characteristics were investigated: serum lipid and glucose levels, serum polar metabolite profiles, and expression levels of genes involved in lipid and bile acid metabolism. In addition, pyrosequencing was used to analyze the composition of gut microbiota found in feces. Total body weight gain was significantly lower in the VO group than in the CTL, HF, and PF groups. The VO group exhibited improved metabolic profiles including those of blood glucose, triglyceride, and total cholesterol levels. The 12-week voglibose administration decreased the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes found in feces. Circulating levels of taurocholic and cholic acid were significantly higher in the VO group than in the HF and CTL groups. Deoxycholic acid levels tended to be higher in the VO group than in the HF group. Voglibose administration downregulated expression levels of CYP8B1 and HNF4α genes and upregulated those of PGC1α, whereas FXRα was not affected. Voglibose administration elicits changes in the composition of the intestinal microbiota and circulating metabolites, which ultimately has systemic effects on body weight and lipid metabolism in mice.

Antioxidant activities and oxidative stress inhibitory effects of ethanol extracts from Cornus officinalis on raw 264.7 cells.

BACKGROUND: Cornus officinalis, is a deciduous tree native to the eastern Asia, distributes mainly in (e.g. Korea, as well as China, and Japan). It is used as folk medicine to backache, polyuria, hypertension and nervous breakdown. Pharmacological studies have demonstrated that C. officinalis possess anti-oxidant, anti-hyperglycemic, and immune regulatory effects. However, reports on the antioxidant activity of C. officinalis have been limited to in vitro radical scavenging studies. Its mechanism of action within the cell at the genetic level especially has not yet been clearly defined. Therefore, we investigated the anti-antioxidant activities of C. officinalis in RAW 264.7 cells. METHODS: The antioxidant activities and protective effects of C. officinalis ethanol extract on cell damage and the antioxidant enzyme system in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced oxidative stress-damaged RAW 264.7 cells were assessed. To measure the effects of C. officinalis on antioxidant activities, we used the following methods: Total phenol and flavonoid contents, DPPH scavenging activity assay, ABTS scavenging activity assay, FRAP value measurement, xanthine oxidase activity assay, ROS generation measurement and real time PCR. RESULTS: The total phenol and flavonoid contents of C. officinalis extracts were 27.04 mg GAE/g and 3.70 mg QE/g, respectively. The antioxidant activities of C. officinalis extracts increased in a dose-dependent manner: the IC50 values for DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities of C. officinalis extracts were 99.32 µg/mL and 138.51 µg/mL, respectively. C. officinalis extracts inhibited xanthine oxidase activity and reactive oxygen species generation. The expression of antioxidant enzymes, Cu/ZnSOD, MnSOD, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase increased upon treatment with C. officinalis extracts at 100 µg/mL, compared to that in the LPS-treated group. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest the therapeutic potential of C. officinalis extract as an anti-oxidant agent.

Extracts from Aralia elata (Miq) Seem alleviate hepatosteatosis via improving hepatic insulin sensitivity.

BACKGROUND: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common liver disease that is strongly associated with obesity and dysregulation of insulin in the liver. However, currently no pharmacological agents have been established for the treatment of NAFLD. In this regard, we sought to evaluate the anti-NAFLD effects of Aralia elata (Miq) Seem (AE) extract and its ability to inhibit hepatic lipid accumulation and modulate cellular signaling in a high fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mouse model. METHODS: A model of hepatic steatosis in the HepG2 cells was induced by oleic acid. Intracellular lipid droplets were detected by Oil-Red-O staining, and the expression of sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1(SREBP-1), Fatty acid synthase (FAS), Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) 1 and 2, Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-α (PPARα), and carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1(CPT-1) was analyzed by real time reverse transcription-Polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). And glucose consumption was measured with commercial kit. Furthermore, Male C57BL/6 J mice were fed with HFD to induce NAFLD. Groups of mice were given plant extracts orally at 100 and 300 mg/kg at daily for 4 weeks. After 3 weeks of AE extract treatment, we performed oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Liver tissue was procured for histological examination, Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and Protein kinase B (PKB/Akt) activity. RESULTS: In the present study, AE extract was shown to reduce hepatic lipid accumulation and significantly downregulate the level of lipogenic genes and upregulate the expression of lipolysis genes in HepG2 cells. And also, AE extract significantly increased the glucose consumption, indicating that AE extract improved insulin resistance. Subsequently, we confirmed the inhibitory activity of AE extract on NAFLD, in vivo. Treatment with AE extract significantly decreased body weight and the fasting glucose level, alleviated hyperinsulinism and hyperlipidemia, and reduced glucose levels, as determined by OGTT. Additionally, AE extract decreased PI3K and Akt activity. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that treatment with AE extract ameliorated NAFLD by inhibiting insulin resistance through activation of the Akt/GLUT4 pathway.

Optimization of Enzyme-Assisted Extraction from Ginger (Zingiber officinale) Leaf and Its Immune-Stimulating Effects on Macrophages.

The ginger leaves contain terpenoids and phenolic compounds, such as gingerol and shogaol, which exert various physiological effects. This study focused on determining the optimal conditions for an enzyme (Ultimase MFC) extraction to enhance the bioactive components of underutilized ginger leaves using the response surface method. The extracted material was evaluated in terms of its yield and antioxidant capacity (total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, and activities of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid). As a result, the optimal conditions included an enzyme concentration of 0.1% (v/v), a liquid-solid ratio of 33.939 mL/g, and an extraction time of 4 h. The optimized conditions resulted in an improvement in yield and antioxidant capacity, except for the total phenolic content of ginger leaves, when compared to the reference control extract. Additionally, the possibility of improving immunity was confirmed as nitric oxide and cytokines increased in macrophage cells compared with non-treatment control. Therefore, these extraction conditions enhance the potential industrial value of ginger leaves and underscore their promise as a natural ingredient for functional foods.

Assessment of the Genetic Diversity and Structure of the Korean Endemic Freshwater Fish Microphysogobio longidorsalis (Gobioninae) Using Microsatellite Markers: A First Glance from Population Genetics.

Microphysogobio longidorsalis is endemic to South Korea and inhabits small areas of the Namhangang, Bukhangang, and Imjingang Rivers in the Hangang River water system. Endemic species usually are more vulnerable than species with a wide distribution. Notably, there is a lack of basic conservation data for M. longidorsalis. We analyzed 19 microsatellite loci in six populations of M. longidorsalis in South Korea to characterize their population structure and genetic diversity. The genetic diversity of the microsatellites was 0.741-0.779, which is lower than that of other freshwater fishes. The pairwise genetic differentiation of microsatellite (FST) values ranged from 0.007 to 0.041, suggesting low genetic differentiation between the populations. The Jojongicheon stream population (CP) had an effective population size of <100. Therefore, conservation efforts are required to prevent inbreeding depression in M. longidorsalis. Discriminant analysis of principal components showed that the Hangang River water system would be a single management unit (MU). Our findings provide fundamental genetic insights for the formulation of conservation strategies for M. longidorsalis.

In vitro antioxidant and anticancer effects of solvent fractions from Prunella vulgaris var. lilacina.

BACKGROUND: Recently, considerable attention has been focused on exploring the potential antioxidant properties of plant extracts or isolated products of plant origin. Prunella vulgaris var. lilacina is widely distributed in Korea, Japan, China, and Europe, and it continues to be used to treat inflammation, eye pain, headache, and dizziness. However, reports on the antioxidant activities of P. vulgaris var. lilacina are limited, particularly concerning the relationship between its phenolic content and antioxidant capacity. In this study, we investigated the antioxidant and anticancer activities of an ethanol extract from P. vulgaris var. lilacina and its fractions. METHODS: Dried powder of P. vulgaris var. lilacina was extracted with ethanol, and the extract was fractionated to produce the hexane fraction, butanol fraction, chloroform fraction and residual water fraction. The phenolic content was assayed using the Folin-Ciocalteu colorimetric method. Subsequently, the antioxidant activities of the ethanol extract and its fractions were analyzed employing various antioxidant assay methods including DPPH, FRAP, ABTS, SOD activity and production of reactive oxygen species. Additionally, the extract and fractions were assayed for their ability to exert cytotoxic activities on various cancer cells using the MTT assay. We also investigated the expression of genes associated with apoptotic cell death by RT-PCR. RESULTS: The total phenolic contents of the ethanol extract and water fraction of P. vulgaris var. lilacina were 303.66 and 322.80 mg GAE/g dry weight (or fractions), respectively. The results showed that the ethanol extract and the water fraction of P. vulgaris var. lilacina had higher antioxidant content than other solvent fractions, similar to their total phenolic content. Anticancer activity was also tested using the HepG2, HT29, A549, MKN45 and HeLa cancer cell lines. The results clearly demonstrated that the P. vulgaris var. lilacina ethanol extract induced significant cytotoxic effects on the various cancer cell lines, and these effects were stronger than those induced by the P. vulgaris var. lilacina solvent fractions. We also investigated the expression of genes associated with apoptotic cell death. We confirmed that the P. vulgaris var. lilacina ethanol extract and water fraction significantly increased the expression of p53, Bax and Fas. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the ethanol extract from P. vulgaris var. lilacina and its fractions could be applied as natural sources of antioxidants and anticancer activities in food and in the pharmaceutical industry.

NF-κB-targeted anti-inflammatory activity of Prunella vulgaris var. lilacina in macrophages RAW 264.7.

Prunella vulgaris var. lilacina, a herbal medicine, has long been used in Korea for the treatment of sore throat, and to alleviate fever and accelerate wound healing. Although the therapeutic effect of P. vulgaris var. lilacina is likely associated with anti-inflammatory activity, the precise underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. Here, we sought to elucidate the possible mechanisms of the anti-inflammatory activity. We have investigated the anti-inflammatory activity of the various solvent fractions (hexane, butanol, chloroform and water) from the ethanol extract of P. vulgaris var. lilacina in activated macrophages. The hexane fraction exhibited higher anti-inflammatory activities, inducing inhibition of nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2 production as well as inducible nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase-2, and tumor necrosis factor-α mRNA expression in response to lipopolysaccharide stimulation. Moreover, the hexane fraction from P. vulgaris var. lilacina significantly inhibited the activation of the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) and the nuclear translocation of the NF-κB p50 and p65 subunits. These results indicate that P. vulgaris var. lilacina has an anti-inflammatory capacity in vitro, suggesting that it could be a potential source of natural anti-inflammatory agents.

Preterm birth and maternal heart disease: A machine learning analysis using the Korean national health insurance database.

BACKGROUND: Maternal heart disease is suspected to affect preterm birth (PTB); however, validated studies on the association between maternal heart disease and PTB are still limited. This study aimed to build a prediction model for PTB using machine learning analysis and nationwide population data, and to investigate the association between various maternal heart diseases and PTB. METHODS: A population-based, retrospective cohort study was conducted using data obtained from the Korea National Health Insurance claims database, that included 174,926 primiparous women aged 25-40 years who delivered in 2017. The random forest variable importance was used to identify the major determinants of PTB and test its associations with maternal heart diseases, i.e., arrhythmia, ischemic heart disease (IHD), cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure, and congenital heart disease first diagnosed before or during pregnancy. RESULTS: Among the study population, 12,701 women had PTB, and 12,234 women had at least one heart disease. The areas under the receiver-operating-characteristic curves of the random forest with oversampling data were within 88.53 to 95.31. The accuracy range was 89.59 to 95.22. The most critical variables for PTB were socioeconomic status and age. The random forest variable importance indicated the strong associations of PTB with arrhythmia and IHD among the maternal heart diseases. Within the arrhythmia group, atrial fibrillation/flutter was the most significant risk factor for PTB based on the Shapley additive explanation value. CONCLUSIONS: Careful evaluation and management of maternal heart disease during pregnancy would help reduce PTB. Machine learning is an effective prediction model for PTB and the major predictors of PTB included maternal heart disease such as arrhythmia and IHD.

Association between early preterm birth and maternal exposure to fine particular matter (PM10): A nation-wide population-based cohort study using machine learning.

Although preterm birth (PTB), a birth before 34 weeks of gestation accounts for only less than 3% of total births, it is a critical cause of various perinatal morbidity and mortality. Several studies have been conducted on the association between maternal exposure to PM and PTB, but the results were inconsistent. Moreover, no study has analyzed the risk of PM on PTB among women with cardiovascular diseases, even though those were thought to be highly susceptible to PM considering the cardiovascular effect of PM. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the effect of PM10 on early PTB according to the period of exposure, using machine learning with data from Korea National Health Insurance Service (KNHI) claims. Furthermore, we conducted subgroup analysis to compare the risk of PM on early PTB among pregnant women with cardiovascular diseases and those without. A total of 149,643 primiparous singleton women aged 25 to 40 years who delivered babies in 2017 were included. Random forest feature importance and SHAP (Shapley additive explanations) value were used to identify the effect of PM10 on early PTB in comparison with other well-known contributing factors of PTB. AUC and accuracy of PTB prediction model using random forest were 0.9988 and 0.9984, respectively. Maternal exposure to PM10 was one of the major predictors of early PTB. PM10 concentration of 5 to 7 months before delivery, the first and early second trimester of pregnancy, ranked high in feature importance. SHAP value showed that higher PM10 concentrations before 5 to 7 months before delivery were associated with an increased risk of early PTB. The probability of early PTB was increased by 7.73%, 10.58%, or 11.11% if a variable PM10 concentration of 5, 6, or 7 months before delivery was included to the prediction model. Furthermore, women with cardiovascular diseases were more susceptible to PM10 concentration in terms of risk for early PTB than those without cardiovascular diseases. Maternal exposure to PM10 has a strong association with early PTB. In addition, in the context of PTB, pregnant women with cardiovascular diseases are a high-risk group of PM10 and the first and early second trimester is a high-risk period of PM10.

Anti-obesity effects of yuja (Citrus junos Sieb ex Tanaka) pomace extract fermented with lactic acid bacteria on the hepatocytes and epididymal fat tissue of rats.

This study investigated the anti-obesity effects of yuja pomace extract fermented with lactic acid bacteria in rats with high-fat diet-induced obesity over a period of eight weeks. Epididymal fat cell size was significantly smaller, by about 33%, in the treatment groups given yuja pomace extract fermented with lactic acid bacteria compared to the CON group. Electron microscopic observation of hepatocyte microstructure showed that the number of lipid droplets was lower in hepatocytes, the number of mitochondria was higher, along with distinct cristae, and the rough endoplasmic reticula were well developed with stacks of cisternae and ribosomes. Thus, it is believed that yuja pomace extract fermented with lactic acid bacteria, by influencing body weight and lipid accumulation, is effective in the prevention and treatment of obesity.

ReplaceNet: real-time replacement of a biological neural circuit with a hardware-assisted spiking neural network.

Recent developments in artificial neural networks and their learning algorithms have enabled new research directions in computer vision, language modeling, and neuroscience. Among various neural network algorithms, spiking neural networks (SNNs) are well-suited for understanding the behavior of biological neural circuits. In this work, we propose to guide the training of a sparse SNN in order to replace a sub-region of a cultured hippocampal network with limited hardware resources. To verify our approach with a realistic experimental setup, we record spikes of cultured hippocampal neurons with a microelectrode array (in vitro). The main focus of this work is to dynamically cut unimportant synapses during SNN training on the fly so that the model can be realized on resource-constrained hardware, e.g., implantable devices. To do so, we adopt a simple STDP learning rule to easily select important synapses that impact the quality of spike timing learning. By combining the STDP rule with online supervised learning, we can precisely predict the spike pattern of the cultured network in real-time. The reduction in the model complexity, i.e., the reduced number of connections, significantly reduces the required hardware resources, which is crucial in developing an implantable chip for the treatment of neurological disorders. In addition to the new learning algorithm, we prototype a sparse SNN hardware on a small FPGA with pipelined execution and parallel computing to verify the possibility of real-time replacement. As a result, we can replace a sub-region of the biological neural circuit within 22 µs using 2.5 × fewer hardware resources, i.e., by allowing 80% sparsity in the SNN model, compared to the fully-connected SNN model. With energy-efficient algorithms and hardware, this work presents an essential step toward real-time neuroprosthetic computation.

Kaempferol Alleviates Mitochondrial Damage by Reducing Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species Production in Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Prostate Organoids.

Common prostate diseases such as prostatitis and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) have a high incidence at any age. Cellular stresses, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) and chronic inflammation, are implicated in prostate enlargement and cancer progression and development. Kaempferol is a flavonoid found in abundance in various plants, including broccoli and spinach, and has been reported to exhibit positive biological activities, such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In the present study, we introduced prostate organoids to investigate the protective effects of kaempferol against various cellular stresses. The levels of COX-2, iNOS, p-IκB, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, and ROS were increased by LPS treatment but reversed by kaempferol treatment. Kaempferol activated the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2(Nrf2)-related pathway and enhanced the mitochondrial quality control proteins PGC-1α, PINK1, Parkin, and Beclin. The increase in mitochondrial ROS and oxygen consumption induced by LPS was stabilized by kaempferol treatment. First, our study used prostate organoids as a novel evaluation platform. Secondly, it was demonstrated that kaempferol could alleviate the mitochondrial damage in LPS-induced induced prostate organoids by reducing the production of mitochondrial ROS.