Prognostic significance of pyroptosis-associated molecules in endometrial cancer: a comprehensive immunohistochemical analysis.

Introduction: Endometrial cancer, the most prevalent malignancy of the female genital tract, has a concerningly poor prognosis when diagnosed in advanced stages, with limited targeted therapy options available for advanced or recurrent cases. Pyroptosis, a type of nonapoptotic cell death mediated by caspase-1, has shown potential antitumor effects in various tumors. NLRP3, a cytosolic sensor, initiates the canonical pyroptotic pathway, leading to caspase-1 activation, subsequent gasdermin D cleavage, and plasma membrane pore formation. The ESCRT-III machinery, particularly CHMP4B, acts as a key inhibitor of pyroptosis by repairing gasdermin D-induced membrane damage. The current study aimed to evaluate the clinicopathologic relevance of key pyroptosis-associated molecules in endometrial cancer. Methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to assess the expression of four pyroptosis-associated molecules (NLRP3, cleaved caspase-1 p20, cleaved gasdermin D, and CHMP4B) in 351 patients with endometrial cancer, and their associations with clinical, pathological, and survival outcomes were analyzed. Results: High NLRP3 expression was significantly associated with age ≤ 50 years and premenopause. Increased cleaved caspase-1 p20 expression was associated with nonendometrioid carcinoma, Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) grade 3, and the p53 mutant pattern and was independently associated with poor recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival. Increased cleaved gasdermin D expression was associated with a body mass index of >25 kg/m², FIGO grades 1-2, early FIGO stage (I-II), and absence of lymph node metastasis. High CHMP4B expression was associated with nonendometrioid carcinoma and poor RFS. Cleaved gasdermin D-high/CHMP4B-low endometrial cancer was associated with endometrioid carcinoma, FIGO grades 1-2 and favorable RFS. Discussion: Our study identified cleaved caspase-1 p20 as an independent predictor of adverse outcomes in endometrial cancer. CHMP4B, an inhibitor of pyroptosis, was associated with an unfavorable RFS, whereas high cleaved gasdermin D/low CHMP4B expression was associated with a favorable RFS. These findings underscore the prognostic significance of pyroptosis and the potential interaction between cleaved gasdermin D and CHMP4B in endometrial cancer.

A Comparative Study on the Carcass and Meat Chemical Composition, and Lipid-Metabolism-Related Gene Expression in Korean Hanwoo and Brindle Chikso Cattle.

The objective of this study was to elucidate the effect of cattle breed on carcass and meat chemical composition, fatty acid profiles, and lipid-metabolism-related genes. For this study, same-age Hanwoo and Chikso steers (n = 6 per breed) reared under identical conditions were used. Immediately after slaughter, muscle tissues were collected for analysis of mRNA expression. At 24 h post-mortem, the carcasses were assessed for carcass traits (marbling score, meat yield, etc.), and meat quality and fatty acid profiles in the longissimus lumborum (LL) and semimembranosus (SM) muscles. The results showed that no differences in the slaughter weight, dressing rate, back-fat thickness, trimmed fat, and total meat yield occurred between the two breeds (p > 0.05). However, Hanwoo cattle had a higher marbling score, intramuscular fat (IMF) content, and expression level of lipid-metabolism-related genes such as lipoprotein lipase, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, and fatty acid binding protein 4, compared with Chikso (p < 0.05). Contrastingly, Chikso had a higher total unsaturated fatty acid content and expression level of stearoyl CoA desaturase 1 (p < 0.05). It may be said that the difference in the expression levels of lipid-metabolism-related genes could be the molecular factors underlying IMF deposition and fatty acid profile differences in the beef from the two breeds.

A Comparative Study on the Meat Quality, Taste and Aroma Related Compounds between Korean Hanwoo and Chikso Cattle.

The aim of this study was to compare the meat quality and taste-and-aroma-related components of beef between breeds. For this purpose, Hanwoo and Chikso steers (n = 7 per breed) raised under identical conditions until 30 months old were used. After 24 h of slaughter, longissimus lumborum (LL) and semimembranosus (SM) muscles were collected and analyzed for technological quality, free amino acids, metabolites, and volatile compounds. The Chikso meat showed lower values for shear force and color traits (lightness, redness, and yellowness) compared to Hanwoo (p < 0.05). The Chikso presented a higher amount of sweetness-related free amino acids (alanine, proline, and threonine) in the LL muscle, while Hanwoo had a higher amount of methionine and glutamine associated with umami taste (p < 0.05). A total of 36 metabolites were identified and quantified in the meat samples; out of them, 7 compounds were affected by breed (p < 0.05). Regarding aroma compounds, a significantly higher amount of fat-derived aldehydes associated with fatty and sweet notes was found in Hanwoo, whereas a higher amount of pyrazines associated with roasty notes was found in Chikso (p < 0.05). Thus, under identical feeding conditions, breed showed a significant effect on the quality and taste-and-aroma-related components that may influence the eating quality of beef between the two breeds studied.

Measurement of re-entry plasma density using microwave reflectometer in laboratory.

A laboratory-scale experiment was conducted to reproduce plasma with properties similar to re-entry plasma and measure the plasma density using a microwave reflectometer system. To reproduce a similar re-entry plasma, a high-temperature refractory anode vacuum arc plasma method was used among arc plasma discharge methods, and arc plasma having high temperature, high speed, and high-density plasma characteristics was discharged inside a vacuum chamber. A hot refractory anode made of tungsten was used to show high-temperature plasma characteristics, and high-density plasma characteristics were demonstrated using re-evaporation around the anode. In addition, high-speed plasma characteristics were exhibited using a brass cathode. This kind of arc plasma discharge has a high temperature and is characterized by high fluctuation. It was determined that a microwave reflectometer system with good spatial resolution and non-invasiveness would be suitable to measure plasma with these characteristics. The reflection coefficient was measured using a reflector system by comparing the voltage between the traveling wave applied to the plasma and the reflected wave reflected by the plasma, and the technique of analyzing the plasma density using the difference between these reflection coefficients was used. In this study, the plasma density according to the pressure change was typically measured as 1012-1013 cm-3, which showed a similar tendency to the result of measuring the actual re-entry plasma density.

Silicon Oxide Etching Process of NF3 and F3NO Plasmas with a Residual Gas Analyzer.

The use of NF3 is significantly increasing every year. However, NF3 is a greenhouse gas with a very high global warming potential. Therefore, the development of a material to replace NF3 is required. F3NO is considered a potential replacement to NF3. In this study, the characteristics and cleaning performance of the F3NO plasma to replace the greenhouse gas NF3 were examined. Etching of SiO2 thin films was performed, the DC offset of the plasma of both gases (i.e., NF3 and F3NO) was analyzed, and a residual gas analysis was performed. Based on the analysis results, the characteristics of the F3NO plasma were studied, and the SiO2 etch rates of the NF3 and F3NO plasmas were compared. The results show that the etch rates of the two gases have a difference of 95% on average, and therefore, the cleaning performance of the F3NO plasma was demonstrated, and the potential benefit of replacing NF3 with F3NO was confirmed.

The effect of a finishing diet supplemented with γ-aminobutyric acids on carcass characteristics and meat quality of Hanwoo steers.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of supplementation with rumen-protected γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on carcass characteristics and meat quality of Hanwoo steers. METHODS: Eighteen Hanwoo steers with an average initial weight of 644.83±12.91 kg were randomly allocated into three different groups. Each group consisted of 6 animals that were treated with different diets formulated based on the animals' body weights. The control (C) group was fed a basal diet consisting of concentrate and rice straw with 74% total digestible nutrients (TDNs) and 12% crude protein (CP). The two other groups were treatment groups; one group was fed a basal diet (74% TDNs and 12% CP) supplemented with rumen-protected GABA at a dose of 150 mg/kg feed, and the other group was fed a basal diet (74% TDNs and 12% CP) supplemented with GABA at a dose of 300 mg/kg feed. RESULTS: The GABA supplementation significantly contributed to better growth performance (p<0.05), especially the weight gain and average daily gain. It also contributed to the lower cooking loss (p<0.05), improvements in essential antioxidant enzymes and stable regulation of antioxidant activities in the longissimus lumborum of Hanwoo steers, as represented by the lower formation of malondialdehyde content within the meat, the inhibition of myoglobin oxidation indicated by the retention of the oxymyoglobin percentage, and the suppression of metmyoglobin percentage during cold storage (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Higher doses of GABA may not significantly promote better animal performance and meat quality, suggesting that dietary supplementation with GABA at a dose of 100 ppm is sufficient to improve the meat quality of Hanwoo steers.

Anesthetic management of a patient with large atrial septal defect undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy: A case report.

A 51-year-old woman presented with symptomatic GB stone was planned for elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy. She had known osteum secondum type atrial septal defect, moderate pulmonary hypertension, and atrial fibrillation. We report the case of a patient with a large atrial septal defect (65 mm) and hemodynamic instability who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy under total intravenous anesthesia with careful hemodynamic monitoring. Thorough surveillance and effort could help to make the surgery successful.

Fibrin Clot Mistook as a Worm in the Intravenous Line.

There have been several reports of foreign bodies being discovered in the intravenous set. In this case, the patient complained that he found a worm in his intravenous line. It was later confirmed as a long, white fibrin deposit by pathologic examination. This happened even though there was a non-return valve in the intravenous line. Also, since there were few red blood cells in the deposit, it did not look like a blood clot. In cases like this, we suggest that physicians keep this possibility in mind to reassure their patients.

The effect of finishing diet supplemented with methionine/lysine and methionine/α-tocopherol on performance, carcass traits and meat quality of Hanwoo steers.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the effects of diets with and without supplements of methionine/lysine (met/lys) and methionine/α-tocopherol (met/α-tocopherol) on the performance, carcass traits and meat quality of Hanwoo steers. METHODS: A total of 21 Hanwoo steers were divided into three different groups. Each group consisted of 7 animals that received different dietary treatments for 120 days as follows: a control (C) diet composed of a basal diet with 74% total digestible nutrient and 12% crude protein; treatment 1 (T1) composed of a basal diet enriched with methionine 69%+lysine 31%; and treatment (T2) composed of a basal diet enriched with methionine 84.65%+α-tocopherol 15.35%. Daily supplementation was given using the top-dressing method (20 g/animal). RESULTS: The met/lys groups yielded a longissimus lumborum with increased water holding capacity (p<0.01) and lower shear force value (p<0.05). Dietary met/lys did not have an adverse effect on the animal performance and carcass traits. Instead, these supplements contributed significantly to the higher protein content compared to the control diet (p<0.05). Myristic acid (C14:0) was the only fatty acid affected by the supplementation. While the met/α-tocopherol group led to significantly higher protein and oxymyoglobin contents during storage (p<0.05). It also contributed significantly to the lower shear force value and 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances score during storage (p<0.05) compared to the control and treatment 1 since the initial storage day. The met/α-tocopherol diet also yielded meat with a redder color (p<0.05) after 3 days of storage. However, it did not significantly contribute to the fatty acid profiles of Hanwoo steers. CONCLUSION: Met/lys supplementation resulted in higher protein scores, water holding capacity and lower shear force scores. While met/α-tocopherol supplementation contributes to the production of redder meat, reduces lipid oxidation, production of more tender meat and increases the content of protein and oxymyoglobin percentage.

Genome-wide analysis of Hanwoo and Chikso populations using the BovineSNP50 genotyping array.

Hanwoo and Chikso are classified as Korean native cattle breeds that are currently registered with the Food and Agriculture Organization. However, there is still a lack of genomic studies to compare Hanwoo to Chikso populations. The objective of this study was to perform genome-wide analysis of Hanwoo and Chikso populations, investigating the genetic relationships between these two populations. We genotyped a total of 319 cattle including 214 Hanwoo and 105 Chikso sampled from Gangwon Province Livestock Technology Research Institute, using the Illumina Bovine SNP50K Beadchip. After performing quality control on the initially generated datasets, we assessed linkage disequilibrium patterns for all the possible SNP pairs within 1 Mb apart. Overall, average r2 values in Hanwoo (0.048) were lower than Chikso (0.074) population. The genetic relationship between the populations was further assured by the principal component analysis, exhibiting clear clusters in each of the Hanwoo and Chikso populations, respectively. Overall heterozygosity for Hanwoo (0.359) was slightly higher than Chikso (0.345) and inbreeding coefficient was also a bit higher in Hanwoo (- 0.015) than Chikso (- 0.035). The average FST value was 0.036 between Hanwoo and Chikso, indicating little genetic differentiation between those two breeds. Furthermore, we found potential selection signatures including LRP1B and NTRK2 genes that might be implicated with meat and reproductive traits in cattle. In this study, the results showed that both Hanwoo and Chikso populations were not under severe level of inbreeding. Although the principal component analysis exhibited clear clusters in each of the populations, we did not see any clear evidence that those two populations are highly differentiated each other.

Comparison of meat quality, fatty acid composition and aroma volatiles of Chikso and Hanwoo beef.

OBJECTIVE: Although Hanwoo has been selected as the superior commercial beef cattle breed in Korea, Chikso (Korean brindle cattle) is still recognized as a valuable breed for beef production. The aim of this study was to compare the meat quality, fatty acid composition and aroma volatiles of beef from Chikso and Hanwoo steers maintained under identical feed management, as information regarding these characteristics is still limited. METHODS: A total of 19 carcasses with a quality grade of 1 were selected, and strip loin (longissimus lumborum) cuts were collected from 11 Hanwoo carcasses and 8 Chikso carcasses. Meat quality and aroma analyses were performed at day four postmortem. RESULTS: Though Hanwoo strip loin tended to have higher fat content (15.37%) than Chikso (12.01%), no significant differences were observed. Meat pH, water-holding capacity, cooking loss, shear force value, instrumental surface color (Commission International De L'eclairage L*, a*, b*, chroma, and hue angle) and fatty acid composition were not significantly different. Roasted Chikso beef released more intense aroma than roasted Hanwoo beef based on the total area units of identified volatiles. Among identified volatiles, the amounts of toluene, heptanal, octanal, and nonanal were higher in roasted Chikso beef than in roasted Hanwoo beef. In addition, the aroma pattern of the roasted beef from these breeds was well-discriminated by electronic nose. CONCLUSION: No distinct differences were found in terms of meat quality between Hanwoo and Chikso beef in this study. However, the aroma pattern and volatiles of roasted Hanwoo and Chikso beef were different according to instrumental analysis.

Effect of mixed hay supplementation during fattening on carcass traits and meat quality of Hanwoo steers.

BACKGROUND: This study was aim to observe the effects of feeding mixed local hay (MH) consisted of 55% orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata L.), 35% tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) and 10% red clover (Trifolium pratense) to Hanwoo steers on performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality (longissimus thoracis) compared with feeding imported timothy hay (TH) and local rice straw (RS). RESULTS: Although no significant effects were found on animal performance and carcass yield grade, the carcasses of MH group had higher marbling score and quality grade than those of RS and TH group (P < 0.05). Therefore, higher fat content (P < 0.001), lower shear force and hardness value in the beef of MH group than that of other groups were observed. Furthermore, the beef of MH group had higher CIE a* value (redness) than that of other groups and feeding MH to Hanwoo steers lowered n-6 to n-3 fatty acids ratio in beef. CONCLUSIONS: Mixed hay provided benefits on meat quality and could be used for Hanwoo fattening program.

Massively parallel sequencing of Chikso (Korean brindle cattle) to discover genome-wide SNPs and InDels.

Since the completion of the bovine sequencing projects, a substantial number of genetic variations such as single nucleotide polymorphisms have become available across the cattle genome. Recently, cataloguing such genetic variations has been accelerated using massively parallel sequencing technology. However, most of the recent studies have been concentrated on European Bos taurus cattle breeds, resulting in a severe lack of knowledge for valuable native cattle genetic resources worldwide. Here, we present the first whole-genome sequencing results for an endangered Korean native cattle breed, Chikso, using the Illumina HiSeq 2,000 sequencing platform. The genome of a Chikso bull was sequenced to approximately 25.3-fold coverage with 98.8% of the bovine reference genome sequence (UMD 3.1) covered. In total, 5,874,026 single nucleotide polymorphisms and 551,363 insertion/deletions were identified across all 29 autosomes and the X-chromosome, of which 45% and 75% were previously unknown, respectively. Most of the variations (92.7% of single nucleotide polymorphisms and 92.9% of insertion/deletions) were located in intergenic and intron regions. A total of 16,273 single nucleotide polymorphisms causing missense mutations were detected in 7,111 genes throughout the genome, which could potentially contribute to variation in economically important traits in Chikso. This study provides a valuable resource for further investigations of the genetic mechanisms underlying traits of interest in cattle, and for the development of improved genomics-based breeding tools.

The effect of oral and IV ramosetron on postoperative nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing gynecological laparoscopy with total intravenous anesthesia.

PURPOSE: Ramosetron can be administered orally as well as intravenously. We investigated the effect of oral ramosetron on postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in patients undergoing gynecological laparoscopy. METHODS: One hundred and twenty women were allocated randomly to one of three groups (n = 40 in each) to receive saline (control), 0.1 mg oral ramosetron (PO), or 0.3 mg IV ramosetron (IV). Total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) with propofol and remifentanil was used in all patients. RESULTS: The incidence of complete response (no PONV, no rescue) in the control, IV, and PO groups was: 65%, 90%, and 87.5%, respectively, during the first 1 h; and 67.5%, 87.5%, and 80%, respectively, during 1 to 24 h. CONCLUSION: The effect of oral ramosetron 0.1 mg was comparable to that of IV ramosetron 0.3 mg on the prevention of PONV in women undergoing gynecological laparoscopy with TIVA. Both the oral and IV forms were effective at preventing PONV during the first 1 h after surgery.

Total intravenous anesthesia without muscle relaxant in a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

A 63-year-old woman with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was scheduled for open reduction and internal fixation of the right tibia. Total intravenous anesthesia using propofol and remifentanil without muscle relaxant was selected as the anesthetic method, in order to avoid the possible occurrence of ventilatory depression due to abnormal responses to muscle relaxants and exacerbation of the motor neuron disease. After standard and neuromuscular monitoring devices were applied, anesthesia was induced and maintained with target controlled infusion of propofol and remifentanil in the range of 2.5-5.0 microg x ml(-1) and 2.5-5.0 ng x ml(-1), respectively. To avoid delayed neuromuscular recovery, we did not use any muscle relaxant at all. Intubation was successful and there were no remarkable events during anesthesia, except for three brief hypotensive events; there was no exacerbation of ALS itself during or after the anesthesia. She was discharged on postoperative day 3, without any discomfort.