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To enhance the practical application of intestinal organoids, it is imperative to establish standardized guidelines. This proposed standardization outlines a comprehensive framework to ensure consistency and reliability in the development, characterization, and application of intestinal organoids. The recommended guidelines encompass crucial parameters, including culture conditions, critical quality attributes, quality control measures, and functional assessments, aimed at fostering a standardized approach across diverse research initiatives. The implementation of these guidelines is anticipated to significantly contribute to the reproducibility and comparability of results in the burgeoning field of intestinal organoid research.

A fungal isolate belonging to the phylum Ascomycota was isolated and identified as Talaromyces veerkampii in 2017 during a survey of fungal diversity in field soils in Korea. This fungal isolate was identified and described based on macro- and micromorphological and molecular characterization. The identification was also based on partial 18S-ITS1-5.8S-ITS2-28S rDNA and calmodulin (CaM)-encoding gene sequencing data. Talaromyces veerkampii has not been previously reported in Korea. Thus, we report here a newly discovered species from soil in Korea along with its morphological and molecular characteristics.

Penicilliumpimiteouiense was discovered in South Korea during an investigation of fungal communities in soil collected from the Gyeongsangbuk-do province. In this study, we performed molecular analysis of this fungal isolate using internal transcribed spacer rDNA, β-tubulin, and Calmodulin gene sequences. We also performed morphological analysis using five agar media, potato dextrose, oatmeal, malt extract, czapek yeast extract, and yeast extract sucrose. In this study, the molecular and morphological analyses of P. pimiteouiense with detailed descriptions and figures has been carried out.

This study was performed to screen the efficacy of antagonistic bacterial isolates from various sources against the bacterial fruit blotch (BFB) causing pathogen (Acidovorax citrulli) in cucurbit crops. In addition, plant growth promoting traits of these antagonistic bacterial isolates were characterized. Two thousand seven hundred ninety-four microorganisms were isolated from the collected samples. Molecular identification revealed two A. citrulli out of 2,794 isolates. In vitro antagonistic results showed that, among the 28 antagonistic bacterial isolates, 24 and 14 bacterial isolates exhibited antagonism against HPP-3-3B and HPP-9-4B, respectively. Antagonistic and growth promotion characterization of the antagonistic bacterial isolates were further studied. Results suggested that, 4 antagonistic bacteria commonly showed both antagonism and growth promotion phenotypes. Moreover, 3 isolates possessed growth promoting activities. Overall results from this study suggests that BFB causing bacterial pathogen (A. citrulli) was suppressed in in vitro antagonism assay by antagonistic bacterial isolates. Furthermore, these antagonistic bacterial isolates possessed growth promotion and antagonistic enzyme production ability. Therefore, data from this study can provide useful basic data for the in vivo experiments which ultimately helps to develop the eco-friendly agricultural materials to control fruit rot disease in cucurbit crops in near future.

Metabolic syndrome is increasingly common, and closely related with overweight or obesity. In the obese state, macrophages infiltrate to the adipose tissue (AT), resulting in chronic inflammation and insulin resistance in the AT cells. Recently, attention has been paid to the role of AT macrophages in metabolic disorders should be applied to the initial drug screening step, but it was difficult to mimic the inflammatory adipocytes using the traditional 2-dimensional (2D) culture. In this study, we developed the 3-dimensional (3D) culture system to overcome this limitation. After adipogenic differentiation, lipid droplets were highly accumulated in cells, and differentiation of preadipocytes was not declined by macrophage co-culture. However, only co-cultured cells expressed the insulin resistance features. Compare to mono-cultured adipocytes, co-cultured adipocytes showed reduced glucose uptake and GLUT4 did not translocated to cell membrane even though treatment of high concentration of insulin. Using 3D co-culture model, we develop a microwell-scale drug screening protocol to test anti-obesity effect. 3D cultured cells reacted more sensitive to drugs, and PPARγ antagonist GW9662 (10, 20 μM) repressed adipogenic differentiation in a concentration-dependent manner in 3D co-cultured cells.

Knowledge and better understanding of functions of the microbial community are pivotal for crop management. This study was conducted to study bacterial structures including Acidovorax species community structures and diversity from the watermelon cultivated soils in different regions of South Korea. In this study, soil samples were collected from watermelon cultivation areas from various places of South Korea and microbiome analysis was performed to analyze bacterial communities including Acidovorax species community. Next generation sequencing (NGS) was performed by extracting genomic DNA from 92 soil samples from 8 different provinces using a fast genomic DNA extraction kit. NGS data analysis results revealed that, total, 39,367 operational taxonomic unit (OTU), were obtained. NGS data results revealed that, most dominant phylum in all the soil samples was Proteobacteria (37.3%). In addition, most abundant genus was Acidobacterium (1.8%) in all the samples. In order to analyze species diversity among the collected soil samples, OTUs, community diversity, and Shannon index were measured. Shannon (9.297) and inverse Simpson (0.996) were found to have the highest diversity scores in the greenhouse soil sample of Gyeonggi-do province (GG4). Results from NGS sequencing suggest that, most of the soil samples consists of similar trend of bacterial community and diversity. Environmental factors play a key role in shaping the bacterial community and diversity. In order to address this statement, further correlation analysis between soil physical and chemical parameters with dominant bacterial community will be carried out to observe their interactions.

11β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) converts inactive cortisone to the active cortisol. 11β-HSD1 may be involved in the resolution of inflammation. In the present study, we investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of 2-(3-benzoyl)-4-hydroxy-1,1-dioxo-2H-1,2-benzothiazine-2-yl-1-phenylethanone (KR-66344), a selective 11β-HSD1 inhibitor, in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated C57BL/6J mice and macrophages. LPS increased 11β-HSD1 activity and expression in macrophages, which was inhibited by KR-66344. In addition, KR-66344 increased survival rate in LPS treated C57BL/6J mice. HO-1 mRNA expression level was increased by KR-66344, and this effect was reversed by the HO competitive inhibitor, ZnPP, in macrophages. Moreover, ZnPP reversed the suppression of ROS formation and cell death induced by KR-66344. ZnPP also suppressed animal survival rate in LPS plus KR-66344 treated C57BL/6J mice. In the spleen of LPS-treated mice, KR-66344 prevented cell death via suppression of inflammation, followed by inhibition of ROS, iNOS and COX-2 expression. Furthermore, LPS increased NFκB-p65 and MAPK phosphorylation, and these effects were abolished by pretreatment with KR-66344. Taken together, KR-66344 protects against LPS-induced animal death and spleen injury by inhibition of inflammation via induction of HO-1 and inhibition of 11β-HSD1 activity. Thus, we concluded that the selective 11β-HSD1 inhibitor may provide a novel strategy in the prevention/treatment of inflammatory disorders in patients.

We conducted systemic assessments on the toxicity of silicon dioxide (SiO2) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles using different forms of normal colon cells (CCD-18Co), in vivo and in human colon organoids. The in vivo acute oral toxicity data showed that the LD50 values are greater than 2000 mg/kg for both the SiO2 and TiO2 nanoparticles; however, the SiO2 and TiO2 nanoparticles induced cytotoxicity in two-dimensional CCD-18Co cells and three-dimensional CCD-18Co spheroids and human colon organoids, with IC50 values of 0.6, 0.8 and 0.3 mM for SiO2 and 2.5, 1.1 and 12.5 mM for TiO2 nanoparticles, respectively. The data suggest that, when SiO2 and TiO2 are in nanoparticle form, cytotoxicity is induced; thus, care should be taken with these materials.

Dry eye syndrome is the most common eye disease and it is caused by various reasons. As the balance of the tear film that protects the eyes is broken due to various causes, it becomes impossible to properly protect the eyes. In this study, the protective effects and underlying mechanisms of topical (E)-4-(2-(6-(2,6-dichloro-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-4-methyl-1,1-dioxido-1,2,6-thiadiazinan-2-yl)acetamido)adamantan-1-carboxamide (KR-67607), a novel selective 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 (11β-HSD1) inhibitor, were investigated in benzalkonium chloride (BAC)-induced dry eye syndrome. BAC-treated rat eyes induced significant increases in ocular surface damage, decreased corneal thickness, corneal basement membrane destruction in the conjunctival epithelium, and expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-α and 11β-HSD1. These effects of BAC were reversed by topical KR-67607 treatment. Furthermore, KR-67607 decreased 4-hydroxynonenal expression and increased antioxidant and mucus secretion in BAC-treated rat eyes. Taken together, a novel selective 11β-HSD1 inhibitor can prevent BAC-induced dry eye syndrome by inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokine and reactive oxygen species expression via the inhibition of both 11β-HSD1 activity and expression.

The iron-rich solids formed during solidification of Al-Si alloys which are known to be detrimental to the mechanical, physical and chemical properties of the alloys should be removed. On the other hand, Al-Si hypereutectic alloys are used to extract the pure primary silicon which is suitable for photovoltaic cells in the solvent refining process. One of the important issues in iron removal and in solvent refining is the effective separation of the crystallized solids from the Al-Si alloy melts. This paper describes the separation methods of the primary solids from Al-Si alloy melts such as sedimentation, draining, filtration, electromagnetic separation and centrifugal separation, focused on the iron removal and on the separation of silicon in the solvent refining process.

Mitogen inducible gene-6 (Mig-6) is a feedback inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling pathway. The liver-specific knockout mice of the Mig-6 gene (Mig-6d/d) showed hepatomegaly and increased hypercholesterolemia. In this study, the biomarkers of insulin resistance and the effects of high-fat diets in the wild (Mig-6f/f) and Mig-6d/d mice were analyzed. The fasting plasma concentrations of glucose, triglyceride, cholesterols, free fatty acids, and HOMA-IR were measured and the glucose tolerance and insulin resistance tests were performed in the 25-week-old Mig-6f/f and the Mig-6d/d mice. The protein levels of active insulin receptor, glucose 6-phosphatase, and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase were analyzed in the liver and fat. The fasting plasma cholesterol and glucose concentration were higher in the Mig-6d/d mice than the Mig-6f/f mice with increased fat deposition in the liver. But the Mig-6d/d mice had the improved glucose intolerance and insulin resistance without increased amount of phosphoinsulin receptor after insulin infusion in the liver. The hepatic concentration of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase was increased in fasting Mig-6d/d mice. The feeding of high-fat diet accelerated the plasma lipids profiles and HOMA-IR in the Mig-6d/d mice but had no differential effects in oral glucose tolerance test and insulin tolerance test in both genotypes. These results suggest that the activated EGFR signaling might increase the fasting plasma glucose concentration through inducing the hepatic steatosis and the improved whole-body insulin resistance in the KO mice be caused by decreased adipogenesis in fat tissues.

This study demonstrates the feasibility of a novel casting process called tailored additive casting (TAC). The TAC process involves injecting the melt several times to fabricate a single component, with a few seconds of holding between successive injections. Using TAC, we can successfully produce commercial-grade automotive steering knuckles with a tensile strength of 383 ± 3 MPa and an elongation percentage of 10.7 ± 1.1%, from Al 6061 alloys. To produce steering knuckles with sufficient mechanical strength, the composition of an Al 6061 alloy is optimized with the addition of Zr, Zn, and Cu as minor elements. These minor elements influence the thermal properties of the melt and alloy, such as their thermal stress, strain rate, shrinkage volume, and porosity. Optimal conditions for heat treatment before and after forging further improve the mechanical strength of the steering knuckles produced by TAC followed by forging.

The resonant microwave transmission characteristics of several coupled subwavelength ridged circular aperture arrangements in a thin metallic film are investigated using the three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (3D FDTD) method. Simple equivalent circuits represented by the self and mutual conductances that have been quantitatively extracted for each resonance condition, including the mutual coupling effects, are also devised with the help of virtual magnetic current elements. Furthermore, a duality is identified between the ridged circular apertures and conventional half-wavelength dipole arrays based on comparing the respective resonance conditions.

ABSTRACT Mori folium, the leaf of Morus alba L. (Moraceae), has been traditionally used for various medicinal purposes from ancient times to the present. In this study, we examined the effects of water extract of Mori folium (WEMF) on the production of inflammatory mediators, such as nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated murine RAW 264.7 macrophages. Our data indicated that WEMF significantly suppressed the secretion of NO and PGE2 in RAW 264.7 macrophages without any significant cytotoxicity. The protective effects were accompanied by a marked reduction in their regulatory gene expression at the transcription level. WEMF attenuated LPS-induced intracellular ROS production in RAW 264.7 macrophages. It inhibited the nuclear translocation of the nuclear factor-kappa B p65 subunit and the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Furthermore, WEMF reduced LPS-induced NO production and ROS accumulation in zebrafish. Although more efforts are needed to fully understand the critical role of WEMF in the inhibition of inflammation, the findings of the present study may provide insights into the approaches for Mori folium as a potential therapeutic agent for inflammatory and antioxidant disorders.