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Positive reinforcement and training for health optimization are pivotal for successful studies with monkeys. Potential food inclination is important for studies on crab-eating macaques in laboratory environments, but evaluations remain scarce. We explored crab-eating macaques’ potential food inclination to establish a reward system for future behavioral assessments. Twelve male and three female monkeys underwent a food inclination assessment in which they were offered four food categories—fruits, vegetables, proteins, and nuts. The monkeys exhibited a higher inclination for plant-based foods, particularly fruits and vegetables, over animal-based proteins like chicken and tuna (p < 0.0001), with a notable inclination for nuts (eaten/provided = 100%). Additionally, the consistency of potential food inclination after repeated offerings was investigated, revealing a time-dependent increase in inclination for protein items. Food consumption ratios correlated positively with caloric intake (r = 0.59, p = 0.02), implying that individuals with a regular high caloric intake and increased body weight are more likely to accept food during positive reinforcement training. Our findings suggest fruits, vegetables, protein-rich foods, and nuts can help with health optimization. However, animal-based protein-rich foods initially had a low preference, which may increase over time. Our study can provide guidelines for positive reinforcement training and health optimization.

Abstract Photoplethysmography (PPG) is easy to measure and provides important parameters related to heart rate and arrhythmia. However, automated PPG methods have not been developed because of their susceptibility to motion artifacts and differences in waveform characteristics among individuals. With increasing use of telemedicine, there is growing interest in application of deep neural network (DNN) technology for efficient analysis of vast amounts of PPG data. This study is about an algorithm for measuring a patient's PPG and comparing it with their own data stored previously and with the average data of several groups. Six deep neural networks were used to normalize the PPG waveform according to the heart rate by removing uninformative regions from the PPG, distinguishing between heartbeat and reflection pulses, dividing the heartbeat waveform into 10 segments and averaging the values according to each segments. PPG data were measured using telemedicine in both groups. Group 1 consisted of healthy people aged 25 to 35 years, and Group 2 consisted of patients between 60 and 75 years of age taking antihypertensive medications. The proposed algorithm could accurately determine which group the subject belonged with the newly measured PPG data (AUC = 0.998). On the other hand, errors were frequently observed in identification of individuals (AUC = 0.819).

Background Two injectable anti-osteoporosis medications, denosumab and zoledronic acid, have been widely used to treat patients with severe osteoporosis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the real-world effectiveness and adherence of denosumab compared to zoledronic acid in geriatric patients after a hip fracture. Methods A total of 282 patients treated with osteoporotic hip fracture between March 2014 and Aug 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were asked to select the anti-osteoporosis medication after surgery. Treatment persistence was monitored by follow-up visit to the outpatient clinic at postoperative 2 years. Results Of 282 individuals with baseline data, 162 patients took subcutaneous denosumab and 120 patients took intravenous zoledronic acid. At postoperative 2 years, the change in bone mineral density (BMD) from baseline was greater in the denosumab group compared with the zoledronic acid group ( p < 0.001). The rate of persistence to denosumab was significantly higher than that for 12-months zoledronic acid ( p = 0.01). Serious adverse events were similar in the two groups. Conclusions Our study revealed the effectiveness and patients' persistence for two commonly used anti-osteoporosis agents after hip fracture. In this frail, elderly population, half-yearly denosumab was superior to yearly zoledronic acid in BMD and demonstrated significant higher persistence rate, indicating a potential therapeutic advantage that warrants further validation.

AbstractPhotoplethysmography (PPG) is a noninvasive technique that can be used to conveniently measure heart rate (HR) and thus obtain relevant health‐related information. However, developing an automated PPG system is difficult, because its waveforms are susceptible to motion artifacts and between‐patient variation, making its interpretation difficult. We use deep neural network (DNN) filters to mimic the cognitive ability of a human expert who can distinguish the features of PPG altered by noise from various sources. Systolic (S), onset (O), and first derivative peaks (W) are recognized by three different DNN filters. In addition, the boundaries of uninformative regions caused by artifacts are identified by two different filters. The algorithm reliably derives the HR and presents recognition scores for the S, O, and W peaks and artifacts with only a 0.7‐s delay. In the evaluation using data from 11 patients obtained from PhysioNet, the algorithm yields 8643 (86.12%) reliable HR measurements from a total of 10 036 heartbeats, including some with uninformative data resulting from arrhythmias and artifacts.

Abstract The combination therapy based on multifunctional nanocomposites has been considered as a promising approach to improve cancer therapeutic efficacy. Herein, we report targeted multi-functional poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM)-based nanocomposites for synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy toward breast cancer cells. To increase the transition temperature, acrylic acid (AAc) was added in synthetic process of PNIPAM, showing that the intrinsic lower critical solution temperature was changed to 42 °C . To generate the photothermal effect under near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation (808 nm), polypyrrole (ppy) nanoparticles were uniformly decorated in PNIPAM-AAc. Folic acid (FA), as a cancer targeting ligand, was successfully conjugated on the surplus carboxyl groups in PNIPAM network. The drug release of PNIPAM-ppy-FA nanocomposites was efficiently triggered in response to the temperature change by NIR laser irradiation. We also confirmed that PNIPAM-ppy-FA was internalized to MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells by folate-receptor-mediated endocytosis and significantly enhanced cancer therapeutic efficacy with combination treatment of chemo-photothermal effects. Therefore, our work encourages further exploration of multi-functional nanocarrier agents for synergistic therapeutic approaches to different types of cancer cells.

Blended hydrogels play an important role in enhancing the properties (e.g., mechanical properties and conductivity) of hydrogels. In this study, we generated a conductive blended hydrogel, which was achieved by mixing gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) with collagen, and silver nanowire (AgNW). The ratio of GelMA, collagen and AgNW was optimized and was subsequently gelated by ultraviolet light (UV) and heat. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of the conductive blended hydrogels showed that collagen and AgNW were present in the GelMA hydrogel. Additionally, rheological analysis indicated that the mechanical properties of the conductive GelMA–collagen–AgNW blended hydrogels improved. Biocompatibility analysis confirmed that the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) encapsulated within the three-dimensional (3D), conductive blended hydrogels were highly viable. Furthermore, we confirmed that the molecule in the conductive blended hydrogel was released by electrical stimuli-mediated structural deformation. Therefore, this conductive GelMA–collagen–AgNW blended hydrogel could be potentially used as a smart actuator for drug delivery applications.

BackgroundResearch on the relationship between urinary albumin excretion and serum cystatin C in diabetes is restricted to cross-sectional studies. In this study, we investigated how well serial measurements of serum cystatin C level reflect changes in the urinary albumin excretion rate.MethodsWe enrolled and retrospectively collected data on 1,058 participants with type 2 diabetes who were older than 18 years and who had more than 3 years of follow-up with serial measurements of albuminuria and serum cystatin C at an outpatient clinic.ResultsWith the use of a linear mixed model, we found that the albuminuria level for each patient over time corresponded with the annual change in serum cystatin C-based estimated glomerular filtration rate (cysC-eGFR) but did not correspond with the creatinine-based eGFR calculated by the modification of diet in renal disease formula (MDRD-eGFR). The discrepancy in the direction of the trend was smaller with cysC-eGFR than with MDRD-eGFR.ConclusionSerum cystatin C level reflects the trend in albuminuria level more accurately than serum creatinine level in Korean type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorders that primarily display social and communication impairments and restricted/repetitive behaviors. ASD prevalence has increased in recent years, yet very limited therapeutic targets and treatments are available to counteract the incapacitating disorder. Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) is a popular herbal plant in South Korea known for its wide range of therapeutic effects and nutritional benefits and has recently been gaining great scientific attention, particularly for its positive effects in the central nervous system. Objectives: Thus, in this study, we investigated the therapeutic potential of KRG in alleviating the neurobehavioral deficits found in the valproic acid (VPA)-exposed mice models of ASD. Design: Starting at 21 days old (P21), VPA-exposed mice were given daily oral administrations of KRG solution (100 or 200 mg/kg) until the termination of all experiments. From P28, mice behaviors were assessed in terms of social interaction capacity (P28–29), locomotor activity (P30), repetitive behaviors (P32), short-term spatial working memory (P34), motor coordination (P36), and seizure susceptibility (P38). Results: VPA-exposed mice showed sociability and social novelty preference deficits, hyperactivity, increased repetitive behavior, impaired spatial working memory, slightly affected motor coordination, and high seizure susceptibility. Remarkably, long-term KRG treatment in both dosages normalized all the ASD-related behaviors in VPA-exposed mice, except motor coordination ability. Conclusion: As a food and herbal supplement with various known benefits, KRG demonstrated its therapeutic potential in rescuing abnormal behaviors related to autism caused by prenatal environmental exposure to VPA.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of pervasive developmental disorders with core symptoms such as sociability deficit, language impairment, and repetitive/restricted behaviors. Although worldwide prevalence of ASD has been increased continuously, therapeutic agents to ameliorate the core symptoms especially social deficits, are very limited. In this study, we investigated therapeutic potential of donepezil for ASD using valproic acid-induced autistic animal model (VPA animal model). We found that prenatal exposure of valproic acid (VPA) induced dysregulation of cholinergic neuronal development, most notably the up-regulation of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the prefrontal cortex of affected rat and mouse offspring. Similarly, differentiating cortical neural progenitor cell in culture treated with VPA showed increased expression of AChE in vitro. Chromatin precipitation experiments revealed that acetylation of histone H3 bound to AChE promoter region was increased by VPA. In addition, other histone deacetyalse inhibitors (HDACIs) such as trichostatin A and sodium butyrate also increased the expression of AChE in differentiating neural progenitor cells suggesting the essential role of HDACIs in the regulation of AChE expression. For behavioral analysis, we injected PBS or donepezil (0.3 mg/kg) intraperitoneally to control and VPA mice once daily from postnatal day 14 all throughout the experiment. Subchronic treatment of donepezil improved sociability and prevented repetitive behavior and hyperactivity of VPA-treated mice offspring. Taken together, these results provide evidence that dysregulation of ACh system represented by the up-regulation of AChE may serve as an effective pharmacological therapeutic target against autistic behaviors in VPA animal model of ASD, which should be subjected for further investigation to verify the clinical relevance.

Ketamine is a noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist that produces rapid antidepressant action in some patients with treatment-resistant depression. However, recent data suggest that ~50% of patients with treatment-resistant depression do not respond to ketamine. The factors that contribute to the nonresponsiveness to ketamine's antidepressant action remain unclear. Recent studies have reported a role for secreted glycoprotein Reelin in regulating pre- and postsynaptic function, which suggests that Reelin may be involved in ketamine's antidepressant action, although the premise has not been tested. Here, we investigated whether the disruption of Reelin-mediated synaptic signaling alters ketamine-triggered synaptic plasticity and behavioral effects. To this end, we used mouse models with genetic deletion of Reelin or apolipoprotein E receptor 2 (Apoer2), as well as pharmacological inhibition of their downstream effectors, Src family kinases (SFKs) or phosphoinositide 3-kinase. We found that disruption of Reelin, Apoer2, or SFKs blocks ketamine-driven behavioral changes and synaptic plasticity in the hippocampal CA1 region. Although ketamine administration did not affect tyrosine phosphorylation of DAB1, an adaptor protein linked to downstream signaling of Reelin, disruption of Apoer2 or SFKs impaired baseline NMDA receptor-mediated neurotransmission. These results suggest that maintenance of baseline NMDA receptor function by Reelin signaling may be a key permissive factor required for ketamine's antidepressant effects. Taken together, our results suggest that impairments in Reelin-Apoer2-SFK pathway components may in part underlie nonresponsiveness to ketamine's antidepressant action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A visceral helminth of the squid, Todarodes pacificus, is reported from the East Sea, the Republic of Korea. Total 39 squid samples were purchased from a fish market in Jumunjin-eup, Gangneung-si (City) from August 2014 to July 2015 and were examined for helminth parasites with naked eyes and under a stereomicroscope after opening the abdominal cavity with a pair of scissors. Whitish larval worms were mainly found in the stomach and abdominal cavity of the squid. They were detected in 25 (64.1%) out of 39 squids examined, and the infection density was 7 larvae per infected squid. Spatula-shaped larvae were 8.2×2.0 mm in average size, round to slightly flattened anteriorly, with round hatching posteriorly, and had characteristic 4 tentacles with numerous hooklets in the scolex. The larvae were identified as the plerocercoid stage of Nybelinia surmenicola by their morphological features. This finding represents a new host record and the first report of N. surmenicola infection in T. pacificus squids from the east coast of Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay looks back over the career of author Ch'oe Yun and offers insights into her novella "There a Petal Silently Falls," a literary work on the massacre at Kwangju Uprising. It also presents a translation of a talk presented at Robinson College, Cambridge, in October of 2009 which offers an analysis of what the author's works are trying to achieve, situated between reality and writing in the imaginative, critical times and spaces of the art of fiction.

Summary: Ketamine is a noncompetitive glutamatergic N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist that exerts rapid antidepressant effects. Preclinical studies identify eukaryotic elongation factor 2 kinase (eEF2K) signaling as essential for the rapid antidepressant action of ketamine. Here, we combine genetic, electrophysiological, and pharmacological strategies to investigate the role of eEF2K in synaptic function and find that acute, but not chronic, inhibition of eEF2K activity induces rapid synaptic scaling in the hippocampus. Retinoic acid (RA) signaling also elicits a similar form of rapid synaptic scaling in the hippocampus, which we observe is independent of eEF2K functioni. The RA signaling pathway is not required for ketamine-mediated antidepressant action; however, direct activation of the retinoic acid receptor α (RARα) evokes rapid antidepressant action resembling ketamine. Our findings show that ketamine and RARα activation independently elicit a similar form of multiplicative synaptic scaling that is causal for rapid antidepressant action.