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The Atlantic Niño, a primary climatic variability mode in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, exhibits pronounced variability not only in boreal summer but also in winter. However, the role of the winter Atlantic Niño in trans-basin interactions remains underexplored compared to its summer counterpart. Through analysis of observational reanalysis data since the mid-twentieth century, here we found that the winter Atlantic Niño significantly influences the development of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), surpassing the impact of summer Atlantic Niño, with a longer lead time. This effect is reasonably captured in the CMIP6 Historical simulations from a multi-model ensemble perspective. Further analysis of the global warming scenario projects that the influence of winter Atlantic Niño on ENSO will persist into the future, in contrast to the reduced impact of summer Atlantic Niño. Therefore, these findings underscore the importance of further investigating the winter Atlantic Niño to gain a comprehensive understanding of trans-basin interactions and their future changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distant metastasis, the leading cause of cancer death, is efficiently kept in check by immune surveillance. Studies have uncovered peripheral natural killer (NK) cells as key antimetastatic effectors and their dysregulation during metastasis. However, the molecular mechanism governing NK cell dysfunction links to metastasis remains elusive. Herein, MAP4K1 encoding HPK1 is aberrantly overexpressed in dysfunctional NK cells in the periphery and the metastatic site. Conditional HPK1 overexpression in NK cells suffices to exacerbate melanoma lung metastasis but not primary tumor growth. Conversely, MAP4K1‐deficient mice are resistant to metastasis and further protected by combined immune‐checkpoint inhibitors. Mechanistically, HPK1 restrains NK cell cytotoxicity and expansion via activating receptors. Likewise, HPK1 limits human NK cell activation and associates with melanoma NK cell dysfunction couples to TGF‐β1 and patient response to immune checkpoint therapy. Thus, HPK1 is an intracellular checkpoint controlling NK‐target cell responses, which is dysregulated and hijacked by tumors during metastatic progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to investigate the association of the grit scale, a personality trait characterized by perseverance and passion, with both the presence and the severity of insomnia in the Korean adult population., Methods: A nationwide population-based cross-sectional survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews using structured questionnaires between September and December 2018 in Korea. Grit was assessed by using the 8-item Short Grit Scale. Participants were categorized into insomnia and non-insomnia groups based on a threshold of 10 on the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). The association between girt and insomnia was analyzed using multiple linear regression and multivariable logistic regression, controlling for sociodemographic factors, lifestyles, and comorbidities., Results: A total of 2453 participants (49.9 % male; aged 19-92 years) were enrolled in the study. Individual grit scores ranged from 1.75 to 5.00 points (mean [SD], 3.27 [0.42]), and insomnia was present in 16.5 % of the population. The insomnia group exhibited lower grit score compared to the non-insomnia group (3.11 [0.40] vs. 3.30 [0.42], p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 0.46). Grit was negatively associated with ISI scores (β = -0.15, 95 % CI = -0.19, -0.11, p < 0.001) and with having insomnia (OR 0.40, 95 % CI = 0.30, 0.55, p < 0.001), after controlling for covariates., Conclusions: Individuals with higher grit were less likely to have insomnia. Clinicians should consider personality traits, such as grit, in the evaluation and the management of insomnia., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Porcine oocytes undergo in vitro maturation (IVM) for 42-44 h. During this period, most oocytes proceed to metaphase and then to pro-metaphase if the nucleus has sufficiently matured. Forty-four hours is sufficient for oocyte nuclear maturation but not for full maturation of the oocyte cytoplasm. This study investigated the influences of extension of the IVM duration with rapamycin treatment on molecular maturation factors. The phospho-p44/42 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) level was enhanced in comparison with the total p44/42 MAPK level after 52 h of IVM. Oocytes were treated with and without 10 μM rapamycin (10 R and 0 R, respectively) and examined after 52 h of IVM, whereas control oocytes were examined after 44 h of IVM. Phospho-p44/42 MAPK activity was upregulated the 10 R and 0 R oocytes than in control oocytes. The expression levels of maternal genes were highest in 10 R oocytes and were higher in 0 R oocytes than in control oocytes. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity was dramatically increased in 0 R oocytes but was similar in 10 R and control oocytes. The 10 R group exhibited an increased embryo development rate, a higher total cell number per blastocyst, and decreased DNA fragmentation. The mRNA level of development-related ( POU5F1 and NANOG ) mRNA, oocyte-apoptotic ( BCL2L1 ) genes were highest in 10 R blastocysts. These results suggest that prolonged IVM duration with rapamycin treatment represses ROS production and increases expression of molecular maturation factors. Therefore, this is a good strategy to enhance the developmental capacity in porcine oocytes., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported., (© Copyright 2024 Korean Society of Animal Science and Technology.)

Background: Korea has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. Many factors associated with suicidal thoughts or behaviors are known. This study examines the association between 1) smoking status or intensity (pack-years) and 2) risk of suicide mortality in South Korea., Methods: We analyzed data from 3,966,305 individuals aged ≥20 who underwent health examinations conducted by the South Korean National Health Insurance Service in 2009 and were followed until December 2021. Participants were categorized based on their baseline smoking status and intensity. We performed a Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis with subgroup analysis by age, sex, body mass index, alcohol consumption, regular exercise, and depression., Results: During an 11.1-year follow-up period, 12,326 individuals died by suicide. Compared with never-smokers, increased hazard ratios of suicide mortality were observed in current smokers (1.64, 95 % CI = 1.56-1.72), but not in ex-smokers. The suicide mortality risk of current smokers increased for all types of smoking intensity without a dose-response relationship. The association between smoking and suicide mortality risk was stronger among women, non-drinkers, adults aged <40 years, non-obese patients, and individuals without depression., Limitation: Given that the study used retrospective data, the causal relationship remains unclear., Conclusion: Current smoking is associated with a significant increased risk of suicide mortality. Smoking cessation is crucial to prevent suicide, especially among young adults, non-obese individuals, non-drinkers, women, and those without depression. Government policies in South Korea should focus on raising awareness about smoking hazards and providing cessation education to reduce the suicide mortality., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Objective: To evaluate the physiological and psychological changes in cancer survivors who engage in repeated forest therapy in a living environment., Methods: This study included stay-based forest therapy for female cancer survivors aged ≥40 years. The program was conducted in two cycles, each spanning 3 weeks and consisting of a 2-night, 3-day stay, followed by daily life integration. The cycles were repeated from July 2, 2022, to August 18, 2022. Participant assessment included standard physical health parameters and a questionnaire on general characteristics, lifestyle habits, stress levels, and health status., Results: Thirty-seven female cancer survivors participated in the forest healing program, 56.8% of whom had a history of breast cancer. The median body mass index (BMI) was 23.80 kg/m2 (range, 21.00-25.60). More than half of the patients reported mild-to-moderate fatigue, chronic pain, and mild-to-moderate depression (81%, 65%, and 73%, respectively). After two cycles of forest therapy, no significant differences were observed in terms of fatigue, pain, or BMI levels. However, significant improvements were found in quality of life measures, particularly the psychological quality of life (mean score 12.54 at baseline vs. 13.48 after cycle 2; P=0.007). Positive improvements were also observed in terms of stress (mean score 17.03 vs. 13.76; P=0.002) and depression (mean score 8.35 vs. 6.11; P=0.002) levels., Conclusion: Our forest-healing program demonstrated that nature-based therapies improve the mental health and quality of life of female cancer survivors, suggesting the need for further research on nature-based interventions to better support cancer survivors.

Background: Evidence on the association between obesity parameters, including body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), and osteoarthritis is limited. This study aimed to investigate these associations in Korean adults., Methods: This nationwide cross-sectional study used data from 24,101 adults aged ≥19 years who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2016-2020. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for osteoarthritis according to BMI and WC were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression analyses., Results: The prevalence of osteoarthritis was higher in individuals with general (10.0%) and abdominal obesity (12.8%) compared with those without. Greater BMI and WC were associated with a higher prevalence (P<0.001) and risk of osteoarthritis (Model 3, P for trend <0.001). Individuals with general and abdominal obesity were associated with a 1.50-fold (OR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.35-1.67) and 1.64-fold (OR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.47-1.84) increased risk of osteoarthritis, compared with those without. Similar associations were observed in subgroups according to age, sex, smoking status, and presence of diabetes mellitus. The odds of osteoarthritis 1.73-fold increased (OR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.53-1.95) in individuals with both general and abdominal obesity compared with those without any of them., Conclusion: Greater BMI, WC, and general and abdominal obesity were associated with an increased risk of osteoarthritis in Korean adults. Appropriate management of abdominal and general obesity may be important to reduce the risk of osteoarthritis.

Natural killer (NK) cells are key effectors in cancer immunosurveillance, eliminating a broad spectrum of cancer cells without major histocompatibility complex (MHC) specificity and graft-versus-host diseases (GvHD) risk. The use of allogeneic NK cell therapies from healthy donors has demonstrated favorable clinical efficacies in treating diverse cancers, particularly hematologic malignancies, but it requires cytokines such as IL-2 to primarily support NK cell persistence and expansion. However, the role of IL-2 in the regulation of activating receptors and the function of NK cells expanded for clinical trials is poorly understood and needs clarification for the full engagement of NK cells in cancer immunotherapy. Here, we demonstrated that IL-2 deprivation significantly impaired the cytotoxicity of primary expanded NK cells by preferentially downregulating NKp30 but not NKp46 despite their common adaptor requirement for expression and function. Using NK92 and IL-2-producing NK92MI cells, we observed that NKp30-mediated cytotoxicity against myeloid leukemia cells such as K562 and THP-1 cells expressing B7-H6, a ligand for NKp30, was severely impaired by IL-2 deprivation. Furthermore, IL-2 deficiency-mediated NK cell dysfunction was overcome by the ectopic overexpression of an immunostimulatory NKp30 isoform such as NKp30a or NKp30b. In particular, NKp30a overexpression in NK92 cells improved the clearance of THP-1 cells in vivo without IL-2 supplementation. Collectively, our results highlight the distinct role of IL-2 in the regulation of NKp30 compared to that of NKp46 and suggest NKp30 upregulation, as shown here by ectopic overexpression, as a viable modality to harness NK cells in cancer immunotherapy, possibly in combination with IL-2 immunocytokines., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Kim, Yi, Lee, Park and Kim.)