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Various statistical approaches can be applied to integrate traditional and omics biomarkers, allowing the discovery of prognostic markers to classify subjects into poor and good prognosis groups in terms of responses to nutritional interventions. Here, we performed a prototype study to identify metabolites that predict responses to an intervention against oxidative stress and inflammation, using a data set from a randomized controlled trial evaluating Korean black raspberry (KBR) in sedentary overweight/obese subjects. First, a linear mixed-effects model analysis with multiple testing correction showed that four-week consumption of KBR significantly changed oxidized glutathione (GSSG, q = 0.027) level, the ratio of reduced glutathione (GSH) to GSSG (q = 0.039) in erythrocytes, malondialdehyde (MDA, q = 0.006) and interleukin-6 (q = 0.006) levels in plasma, and seventeen NMR metabolites in urine compared with those in the placebo group. A subsequent generalized linear mixed model analysis showed linear correlations between baseline urinary glycine and N-phenylacetylglycine (PAG) and changes in the GSH:GSSG ratio (p = 0.008 and 0.004) as well as between baseline urinary adenine and changes in MDA (p = 0.018). Then, receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed that a two-metabolite set (glycine and PAG) had the strongest prognostic relevance for future interventions against oxidative stress (the area under the curve (AUC) = 0.778). Leave-one-out cross-validation confirmed the accuracy of prediction (AUC = 0.683). The current findings suggest that a higher level of this two-metabolite set at baseline is useful for predicting responders to dietary interventions in subjects with oxidative stress and inflammation, contributing to the emergence of personalized nutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous animal studies suggested that Chlorella, a unicellular green alga, has a preventive role in maintaining serum cholesterol levels against excess dietary cholesterol intake. This study aimed to conduct a pioneering investigation to clarify this issue in healthy subjects by adopting a dietary cholesterol challenge, which has not been used previously in similar studies of Chlorella in hypercholesterolemia.Methods: In this double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, 34 participants ingested 510 mg of dietary cholesterol from three eggs concomitantly with a usual dose of Chlorella (5 g/d) or a matched placebo for 4 weeks.Results: The dietary cholesterol challenge induced consistently higher concentrations of serum total cholesterol (TC, P < 0.001), LDL-C (P = 0.004), and HDL-C (P = 0.010) compared with baseline values, suggesting that the challenge was reliable. Thus, we observed a preventive action of Chlorella in maintaining serum TC versus placebo levels (3.5 % versus 9.8 %, respectively; P = 0.037) and LDL-C versus placebo levels (1.7 % versus 14.3 %, respectively; P = 0.012) against excessive dietary cholesterol intake and in augmenting HDL-C versus placebo levels (8.3 % versus 3.8 %, respectively). Furthermore, serum α-carotene showed the best separation between the placebo and Chlorella groups (R(2)X and R(2)Y > 0.5; Q(2) > 0.4).Conclusion: The results suggest that a fully replicated dietary cholesterol challenge may be useful in assessing the effectiveness of dietary supplements in maintaining the serum lipid profiles of adults whose habitual diets are high in cholesterol.Trial Registration: WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform ( KCT0000258 ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this study is to verify the feasibility of using silk fibroin (SF) as a potential membrane for guided bone regeneration (GBR). Methods: Various cellular responses (i.e., cell attachment, viability, and proliferation) of osteoblast-like MG63 cells cultured on an SF membrane were quantified. After culturing on an SF membrane for 1, 5, and 7 days, the attachment and surface morphology of MG63 cells were examined by optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cell viability was determined using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, and cell proliferation was quantified using 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) fluorescence staining. Results: Optical microscopy revealed that MG63 cells cultured on the SF membrane proliferated over the 7-day observation period. The viability of cells cultured on SF membranes (SF group) and on control surfaces (control group) increased over time ( P < 0.05); however, at respective time points, cell viability was not significantly different between the two groups ( P > 0.05). In contrast, cell proliferation was significantly higher in the SF membrane group than in the control group at 7 days ( P < 0.05). Conclusions: These results suggest that silk fibroin is a biocompatible material that could be used as a suitable alternative barrier membrane for GBR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An outbreak of nosocomial infections with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus occurred in South Korea in May 2015. Spike glycoprotein genes of virus strains from South Korea were closely related to those of strains from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, virus strains from South Korea showed strain-specific variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In May 2015, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection was laboratory confirmed in South Korea. Patients were a man who had visited the Middle East, his wife, and a man who shared a hospital room with the index patient. Rapid laboratory confirmation will facilitate subsequent prevention and control for imported cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to chronic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, obesity and autoimmune disease. However, data on the vitamin D status and its association with precocious puberty in girls are limited. We aimed to investigate the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) and precocious puberty in girls. Methods: A total of 60 girls with central precocious puberty (CPP) and 30 control girls were enrolled. Anthropometric measurement and serum level of 25OHD were estimated for all subjects. Results: There was a significant difference in the mean serum 25OHD concentration between the precocious puberty group and the control group (17.1±4.5 ng/mL vs. 21.2±5.0 ng/mL, P<0.05). Forty-two of the 60 girls with CPP (70%) had vitamin D deficiency (defined as serum 25OHD<20 ng/mL) and 18 (30%) had vitamin D insufficiency. Of the 30 girls in the control group, vitamin D deficiency was seen in 13 subjects (43.3%), 15 subjects (50%) had vitamin D insufficiency, and 2 subjects (6.7%) had sufficient serum vitamin D (defined as serum 25OHD>30 ng/mL). Vitamin D deficient girls had a significantly higher odds ratio (OR, 3.05; 95% CI, 1.22-7.57, P=0.021). Conclusion: These results showed that vitamin D levels may be associated with pre- cocious puberty. Further studies are required to establish the potential effect of vitamin D status on puberty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We evaluated the efficacy, safety and psychological aspect of monthly administrations of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa), leuprolide acetate depot (Luphere depot 3.75 mg), in patients with precocious puberty. Methods: A total of 54 girls with central precocious puberty were administered with leuprolide acetate (Luphere depot 3.75 mg) every four weeks over 24 weeks. We evaluated the percentage of children exhibiting a suppressed luteinizing hormone (LH) response to GnRH (LH peak≤3 IU/L), peak LH/follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) ratio of GnRH stimulation test less than 1, change in bone age/chronologic age ratio, change in the Tanner stage and change in eating habit and psychological aspect. Results: (1) The percentage of children exhibiting a suppressed LH response to GnRH, defined as an LH peak≤3 IU/L at 24 weeks was 96.3 % (52/54). (2) The percentage of children exhibiting peak LH/FSH ratio <1 at 24 weeks of the study was 94.4 % (51/54). (3) The ratio of bone age and chronological age significantly declined from 1.27±0.07 to 1.24±0.01 after the 6 months of the study. (4) The mean Tanner stage manifested a significant change 2.3±0.48 at baseline, down to 1.70±0.61 at 24 weeks. (5) Based on the questionnaires, the score for eating habits showed a significant change from the baseline 34.0±6.8 to 31.3±6.8. (6) The psychological assessment did not exhibit a significant difference except with scores for sociability, problem behavior total score and other problems. Conclusion: The leuprolide 3.75 mg (Luphere depot) is useful and safety for treating children with central precocious puberty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among emerging devices propelling the growth of mobile devices, smartphones and tablet-PCs are among the most recognizable. In this study, a research model is designed for exploring acceptance-diffusion strategies for tablet-PCs from the viewpoint of consumer perception, which is verified through a survey. The results of this study show that tablet- PCs have great potential to be versatile, multifunctional devices, even though they are currently considered mostly as entertainment-oriented rather than fulfilling the essential needs of everyday life. An analysis of the acceptance model for tablet-PCs revealed that playability, cost level, functionality, and complexity significantly affect user acceptance. An analysis of the diffusion model, on the other hand, showed that playability and user interface have a significant influence on satisfaction, trust, and positive behavioral intention. We also found that cost level is not a major hindrance in the market diffusion of tablet-PCs. The results of this study can be used to establish effective acceptance and diffusion strategies for tablet-PCs and other emerging devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Conical 9 well dish (C9 well dish) is characterized by a decreasing cross-sectional area towards the base. This design was hypothesized to enhance embryonic development by emulating the in vivo physical environment through density modulation. Comparative analyses revealed no significant difference in nuclear maturation rates between the C9 well dish and the 5-well dish. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was lower in the C9 well dish compared to the 5-well dish; however, this difference was not statistically significant. On the second day of in vitro culture, the cleavage rate in the C9 well dish was 4.66% higher, although not statistically significant, and the rates of blastocyst development were similar across both dishes. No significant differences were observed in the intracellular levels of glutathione (GSH) and ROS, as well as in the total cell number within the blastocysts between the dish types. The expression of mitogen-related factors, TGFα and IGF-1, in the blastocysts was consistent between the dishes. However, PDGFβ expression was significantly lower in the C9 well dish compared to the 35 mm petri dish. Similarly, the expression of the apoptosis factor Bax/Bcl2l2 showed no significant differences between the two dishes. Despite the marked difference in PDGFβ expression, its impact on blastocyst formation appeared negligible. The study also confirmed the feasibility of culturing a small number of oocytes per donor, collected via Ovum Pick-Up (OPU), with reduced volumes of culture medium and mineral oil, thus offering economic advantages. In conclusion, the present study indicates that the C9 well dish is effective for in vitro development of a small quantity of oocytes and embryos, presenting it as a viable alternative to traditional cell culture dishes.

Lievens discussed how two personnel selection methods, situational judgment tests and assessment centre exercises, can be used as potentially useful, indirect measurement methods for personality, thus helping to build a bridge between two separate streams of research on personality assessment and personnel selection and ultimately improving the ecological and predictive validity of personality. We provide some alternative perspectives regarding several assumptions and cost-effectiveness issues underlying Lievens's arguments and suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete genome sequence of human respiratory syncytial virus genotype A (HRSV-A) with a 72-nucleotide duplication in the C-terminal part of the attachment protein G gene was determined and analyzed. The genome was 15,277 bp in length, and 0.46 to 6.03% variations were identified at the nucleotide level compared with the previously reported complete genome of HRSV-A. Characterization of the genome will improve understanding of the diversity of the HRSV-A major antigens and enable an in-depth analysis of its genetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Kimchi is a Korean traditional fermented food which is one of the most popular ethnic fermented foods in Korea and consumed daily. The purpose of this review was to systematically evaluate all prospective clinical studies of kimchi and to estimate the effectiveness of kimchi for health in general. Three English databases, four Korean databases, and two clinical trial registries were searched until November 7, 2022. Two independent reviewers extracted and tabulated the data. The outcomes of this review were any health-related outcomes that studied on kimchi or kimchi-derived probiotics. Eleven randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included in this review, with 638 participants enrolled in total and 608 participants completing the trials. Most of the included RCTs examined serum lipid profiles and clinical parameters and found that kimchi interventions showed decrease in serum lipids, cholesterols and body fats. Kimchi interventions may be safe and effective treatment option for the treatment of general health, obesity, and irritable bowel syndrome, regardless of the lack of adequate trials. In the future, research that can verify the conflicting results on the health benefits of kimchi should be conducted rigorously to provide the scientific basis for the benefits of kimchi.

An abstract of the study "Hashimoto's Thyroiditis in Children and Adolescents: At Presentation and During Long-Term Follow Up" by You Jin Kim et al is presented.

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of high-carbohydrate(HC) or high-fat(HF) diet with hydroxycitric acid(HCA) on food intake, body weight gain, lipid profile in plasma and liver, fecal lipid excretions, hepatic citrate lyase and carnitine palmitoyltransferase(CPT) activities in rats. Male 8-wk-old Sprague-Dawley rats(n=70) were randomly divided into 7 groups and raised with experimental diets containing different HCA level(0, 1.6, 3.2%) and calorie source(carbohydrate, fat) for 8 wks. Food intake was significantly reduced in rats fed HC diet with HCA compared with HC diet without HCA. Body weight gain was significantly reduced in HCA groups. Plasma total lipid and TG levels of HCA groups in HC groups were significantly lower than those of HC group without HCA. There were no significant differences in food intake, plasma lipid profile in HF diet groups. The activity of hepatic citrate lyase tended to be lower and CPT tended to be higher with increasing HCA level in HC diet. In conclusion, HC diet with HCA was more effective in reduction of food intake, body weight gain and plasma lipid contents than those of HF diet with HCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionGrowth-associated protein 43 (GAP-43) is known as a neuronal plasticity protein because it is widely expressed at high levels in neuronal growth cones during axonal regeneration. GAP-43 expressed in mature adult neurons is functionally important for the neuronal communication of synapses in learning and memory. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is closely related to neurodegeneration and synaptic plasticity during the aging process. However, the molecular mechanisms regulating neurodegeneration and synaptic plasticity underlying the pathogenesis and progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) still remain incompletely understood.MethodsRemarkably, the expressions of GAP-43 and BDNF perfectly match in various neurons in the Human Brain Atlas database. Moreover, GAP-43 and BDNF are highly expressed in a healthy adults' hippocampus brain region and are inversely correlated with the amyloid beta (Aβ), which is the pathological peptide of amyloid plaques found in the brains of patients with AD.ResultsThese data led us to investigate the impact of the direct molecular interaction between GAP-43 and BDNF in hippocampal neuron fate. In this study, we show that GAP-43 and BDNF are inversely associated with pathological molecules for AD (Tau and Aβ). In addition, we define the three-dimensional protein structure for GAP-43 and BDNF, including the predictive direct binding sites via analysis using ClusPro 2.0, and demonstrate that the deprivation of GAP-43 and BDNF triggers hippocampal neuronal death and memory dysfunction, employing the GAP-43 or BDNF knock-down cellular models and 5XFAD mice.ConclusionThese results show that GAP-43 and BDNF are direct binding partners in hippocampal neurons and that their molecular signaling might be potential therapeutic targets for AD.

The soils in urban greenery considerably contribute to providing ecosystem services. However, appropriate tools to assess and manage urban soil quality under consideration of ecosystem services and soil functions are unavailable. In this study, we aimed to 1) provide detailed instructions for assessing a novel urban soil quality index (uSQI) and 2) propose the application of uSQI in urban soil quality management. The uSQI is the average of the scores for six soil functions. Each soil function was estimated by several measurable indicators that have high correlation with soil functions. The measurable soil indicators are bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity, litter-layer depth, mineral-associated organic matter, clay + silt content, inorganic nitrogen concentration, fluorescein diacetate hydrolytic activity, cation exchange capacity, concentrations of potentially toxic elements, and pH. The uSQI effectively identified the soils with low quality due to disturbances. The radar chart of six soil functions comprising uSQI could suggest the direction of management for urban stakeholders. • The uSQI represents soil functions necessary for urban greenery to provide ecosystem services. • The uSQI successfully identified the soils with low quality due to disturbances.

Abstract Background A healthy diet is a key determinant of an individual’s health status and is closely related to mental health and quality of life (QoL); however, the exact nature of the relationship is unknown. This study hypothesized that a higher diet quality score is associated with a lower observance of symptoms of depression and anxiety and a higher QoL. Methods This study evaluated 1,295 adults (521 men; 774 women) aged 19–64 years, who participated in the 2014–2015 National Fitness Award Project. Diet quality was measured by the recommended food score (RFS), and mental health and QoL were assessed by the beck depression inventory (BDI), beck anxiety inventory (BAI), and the World Health Organization QoL–Brief (WHOQoL–BREF). Results After adjusting for covariates, the individuals with depression had a significantly lower RFS value compared to those without depression, and the group with a QoL score above the median had a higher RFS value than the group with a QoL score below the median. These trends occurred in both men and women. Subjects in the highest tertile of RFS showed a lower odds of depression (OR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.32–0.81, p-trend = 0.0043) and a QoL score below the median (OR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.30–0.54, p-trend

Abstract Background A single nutrient or dietary pattern has been associated with physical performance. However, little is still known about the association of overall dietary quality with physical performance. This study aimed to investigate the link between the recommended food score (RFS), defined as an indicator of overall diet quality, and physical performance among the Korean elderly aged over 65 years. Methods The study subjects consisted of 622 participants (294 men and 328 women) aged over 65 years from the 2014–2015 National Fitness Award project. Results The mean value of RFS was higher in elderly women (30.7 ± 7.6) than elderly men (29.5 ± 8.8), but the difference was only marginally significant (P = 0.065). In elderly women, multiple regression linear models, adjusted for potential confounders, showed that RFS was positively related to absolute hand grip strength (kg) (ß = 0.066, 95% CI = 0.010 to 0.122) and relative hand grip strength (%) (ß =0.109, 95% CI = 0.016 to 0.201); other physical performance indicators did not show any association with RFS. In elderly men, none of the physical performance indexes were associated with RFS. Conclusions These results suggest that a better overall diet quality may be associated with improved grip strength among elderly women in Korea.

By automatically classifying the stomach, small bowel, and colon, the reading time of the wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) can be reduced. In addition, it is an essential first preprocessing step to localize the small bowel in order to apply automated small bowel lesion detection algorithms based on deep learning. The purpose of the study was to develop an automated small bowel detection method from long untrimmed videos captured from WCE. Through this, the stomach and colon can also be distinguished. The proposed method is based on a convolutional neural network (CNN) with a temporal filtering on the predicted probabilities from the CNN. For CNN, we use a ResNet50 model to classify three organs including stomach, small bowel, and colon. The hybrid temporal filter consisting of a Savitzky–Golay filter and a median filter is applied to the temporal probabilities for the “small bowel” class. After filtering, the small bowel and the other two organs are differentiated with thresholding. The study was conducted on dataset of 200 patients (100 normal and 100 abnormal WCE cases), which was divided into a training set of 140 cases, a validation set of 20 cases, and a test set of 40 cases. For the test set of 40 patients (20 normal and 20 abnormal WCE cases), the proposed method showed accuracy of 99.8% in binary classification for the small bowel. Transition time errors for gastrointestinal tracts were only 38.8 ± 25.8 seconds for the transition between stomach and small bowel and 32.0 ± 19.1 seconds for the transition between small bowel and colon, compared to the ground truth organ transition points marked by two experienced gastroenterologists.

Transcription initiation by RNA polymerase (RNP) carrying the house-keeping σ subunit, σ70 (Eσ70), is repressed by H-NS at a number of promoters including hdeABp in Escherichia coli, while initiation with RNP carrying the stationary phase σ, σ38 (Eσ38), is not. We investigated the molecular mechanism of selective repression by H-NS to identify the differences in transcription initiation by the two forms of RNPs, which show indistinguishable promoter selectivities in vitro. Using hdeABp as a model promoter, we observed with purified components that H-NS, acting at a sequence centered at -118, selectively repressed transcription by Eσ70. This selective repression is attributed to the differences in the interactions between hdeABp and the two forms of RNPs, since no other factor is required for the repression. We observed that the two forms of RNPs could form an open initiation complex (RPO) at hdeABp, but that Eσ70 failed to initiate transcription in the presence of H-NS. Interestingly, KMnO4 assays and high-resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed that hdeABp DNA wrapped around Eσ70 more tightly than around Eσ38 resulting in the potential crossing over of the DNA arms that project out of Eσ70 ⋅ RPO but not out of Eσ38 ⋅ RPO. Based on these observations, we postulated that H-NS bound at -118 laterally extends by the cooperative recruitment of H-NS molecules to the promoter-downstream sequence joined by wrapping of the DNA around Eσ70 ⋅ RPO, resulting in effective sealing of the DNA loop and trapping of Eσ70. Such a ternary complex of H-NS ⋅ Eσ70 ⋅ hdeABp was demonstrated by AFM. In this case, therefore, Eσ70 acts as a cofactor for DNA looping. Expression of this class of genes by Eσ38 in the stationary phase is not due to its promoter specificity but to the architecture of the promoter ⋅ Eσ38 complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]