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Kyung Soo Woo, Su Hyun Bong, Tae Young Choi, Jun Won Kim Department of Psychiatry, Daegu Catholic University School of Medicine, Daegu, Republic of KoreaCorrespondence: Jun Won KimDepartment of Psychiatry, Daegu Catholic University School of Medicine, 33 Duryugongwon-ro 17-gil, Nam-gu, Daegu, 42472, Republic of KoreaTel +82-53-650-4332Fax +82-53-623-1694Email f_affection@naver.comPurpose: The excessive use of smartphones for social interaction is associated with mental health. However, few studies have considered the purpose of smartphone usage and screen time together. Therefore, we investigated the impact of smartphone purpose and screen time on mental health using data from the 2017 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBS).Participants and Methods: A total of 54,243 adolescents answered items on purpose and screen time of smartphone use, stress perception, sleep dissatisfaction, depressive symptoms, and suicide-related indicators. The purpose of smartphone usage was categorized as social interaction and non-social interaction, and the daily smartphone screen time was classified into three categories: < 2 hours, ≥ 2 hours but < 4 hours, ≥ 4 hours per day.Results: We determined that, on weekdays, stress perception, sleep satisfaction, depressive symptoms, and suicide-related indicators worsened in both groups that used smartphones for ≥ 4 hours per day. When using smartphone for ≥ 2 hours but < 4 hours per day on weekdays, depending on the smartphone use purpose, mental health outcomes differed between the two groups. On weekends, using smartphones for ≥ 2 hours but < 4 hours per day worsened sleep satisfaction but decreased suicide-related indicators in both groups. Mental health outcomes improved when participants used smartphones for ≥ 2 hours but < 4 hours per day but worsened when smartphones were used for ≥ 4 hours per day on weekends.Conclusion: Recommended screen time of smartphone is different depending on the purpose of smartphone use, and the risk of uncontrolled usage is emphasized, rather than the absolute screen time.Keywords: mental health, smartphone addiction, social interaction, social media

BACKGROUND: Danshen and gegen (D&G) have long been used in treatment of angina and other cardiac symptoms in Chinese materia medica. Recent pharmacological studies suggest their therapeutic values. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Salvia miltiorrhiza (danshen) and Pueraria lobata (gegen) in secondary prevention. METHODS: One hundred (100) consecutive coronary patients (mean age 58 +/- 8 years) were randomized to adjunctive treatment with D&G combination (3 g) or placebo (6 capsules) for 24 weeks in double-blind parallel fashion, followed by optional open-label D&G (1.5 g/day) for 6 more months. Brachial flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) were measured using ultrasound. RESULTS: Baseline characteristics were similar between the 2 groups. After 24 weeks and compared with baseline, there were no significant changes in blood pressures, blood hematological and biochemical profiles, or folate and homocysteine levels in both groups, but there was a mild decrease in low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in both groups (p < 0.05). Brachial FMD improved during D&G (p < 0.001) and less so during placebo treatment (p < 0.05), while improvement in carotid IMT was observed only in the D&G group (p < 0.05). After open-label D&G treatment for 6 more months (n = 45), further improvement in both brachial FMD (p < 0.0001) and carotid IMT (p < 0.0001) was observed. Eight (8) adverse events were reported-6 during placebo and 2 during D&G treatment-requiring treatment termination in 2 patients (on placebo). CONCLUSIONS: D&G adjunctive treatment in coronary patients was well tolerated and effective in improving vascular function and structure. These two herbs may become a novel agent for secondary prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The association between occupational psychosocial factors and mental health has been studied in several systematic reviews. However, few systematic reviews exist that specifically address suicidal ideation. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the associations between long working hours, shift work, and suicidal ideation., Methods: We systematically screened and collected studies published between January 1970 and September 2022 from three electronic databases and Google Scholar. We conducted a meta-analysis using a random-effects model and assessed the risk of bias using a navigation guide. Additionally, the grading of recommendations assessment, development and evaluation (GRADE) approach was used to consider five items, including the risk of bias and publication bias., Results: Twenty-eight articles were included in this meta-analysis. After adjusting for covariates, the overall odds ratio (OR) for long working hours and shift work were 1.44 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.26-1.63] and 1.34 (95% CI 1.22-1.47), respectively. Compared with those who worked <40 hours per week, those who worked >55 hours per week had a 1.65 (95% CI 1.37-1.98) higher risk of suicidal ideation, and fixed night shift workers had 1.37 (95% CI 1.03-1.83) higher risk than non-shift workers., Conclusions: Evidence has shown associations between long working hours, shift work, and suicidal ideation. Implementing evidence-based interventions to address these risk factors may help prevent the progression of suicidal ideation. However, further studies are critically needed, especially those using standardized exposure definitions and longitudinal data.

Introduction: Sweetpotato faces breeding challenges due to physiological and genomic issues. Gamma radiation is a novel approach for inducing genetic variation in crops. We analyzed the transcriptomic changes in gamma ray-induced sweetpotato mutants with altered stem development compared with those in the wild-type 'Tongchaeru' cultivar., Methods: RNA sequencing analyses were performed to identify changes in the expression of genes related to stem development., Results: Transcriptomic analysis identified 8,931 upregulated and 6,901 downregulated genes, including the upregulation of the auxin-responsive SMALL AUXIN UP RNA ( SAUR ) and three PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 4 ( PIF4 ) genes. PIF4 is crucial for regulating the expression of early auxin-responsive SAUR genes and stem growth in Arabidopsis thaliana . In the mutant, several genes related to stem elongation, including PIF4 and those involved in various signaling pathways such as auxin and gibberellin, were upregulated., Discussion: Our results suggest that gamma ray-induced mutations influence auxin-dependent stem development by modulating a complex regulatory network involving the expression of PIF4 and SAUR genes, and other signaling pathways such as gibberellin and ethylene signaling genes. This study enhances our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms underlying stem growth in sweetpotato, providing valuable insights for genomics-assisted breeding efforts., Competing Interests: Author TL was employed by Macrogen Inc. The remaining 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 Lee, Shim, Chung, Lee, Park, Kim, Lee, Woo, Nam, Kim and Lee.)

Neuromorphic computing promises an energy-efficient alternative to traditional digital processors in handling data-heavy tasks, primarily driven by the development of both volatile (neuronal) and nonvolatile (synaptic) resistive switches or memristors. However, despite their energy efficiency, memristor-based technologies presently lack functional tunability, thus limiting their competitiveness with arbitrarily programmable (general purpose) digital computers. This work introduces a two-terminal bilayer memristor, which can be tuned among neuronal, synaptic, and hybrid behaviors. The varying behaviors are accessed via facile control over the filament formed within the memristor, enabled by the interplay between the two active ionic species (oxygen vacancies and metal cations). This solution is unlike single-species ion migration employed in most other memristors, which makes their behavior difficult to control. By reconfiguring a single crossbar array of hybrid memristors, two different applications that usually require distinct types of devices are demonstrated - reprogrammable heterogeneous reservoir computing and arbitrary non-Euclidean graph networks. Thus, this work outlines a potential path toward functionally reconfigurable postdigital computers.

In this study, changes in bioactive compound contents and the in vitro biological activity of mixed grains, including oats, sorghum, finger millet, adzuki bean, and proso millet, with eight different blending ratios were investigated. The total phenolic compounds and flavonoid contents ranged from 14.43-16.53 mg gallic acid equivalent/g extract and 1.22-5.37 mg catechin equivalent/g extract, respectively, depending on the blending ratio. The DI-8 blend (30% oats, 30% sorghum, 15% finger millet, 15% adzuki bean, and 10% proso millet) exhibited relatively higher antioxidant and anti-diabetic effects than other blending samples. The levels of twelve amino acids and eight organic acids in the grain mixes were measured. Among the twenty metabolites, malonic acid, asparagine, oxalic acid, tartaric acid, and proline were identified as key metabolites across the blending samples. Moreover, the levels of lactic acid, oxalic acid, and malonic acid, which are positively correlated with α-glucosidase inhibition activity, were considerably higher in the DI-blending samples. The results of this study suggest that the DI-8 blend could be used as a functional ingredient as it has several bioactive compounds and biological activities, including anti-diabetic activity., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Compact but precise feature-extracting ability is core to processing complex computational tasks in neuromorphic hardware. Physical reservoir computing (RC) offers a robust framework to map temporal data into a high-dimensional space using the time dynamics of a material system, such as a volatile memristor. However, conventional physical RC systems have limited dynamics for the given material properties, restricting the methods to increase their dimensionality. This study proposes an integrated temporal kernel composed of a 2-memristor and 1-capacitor (2M1C) using a W/HfO 2 /TiN memristor and TiN/ZrO 2 /Al 2 O 3 /ZrO 2 /TiN capacitor to achieve higher dimensionality and tunable dynamics. The kernel elements are carefully designed and fabricated into an integrated array, of which performances are evaluated under diverse conditions. By optimizing the time dynamics of the 2M1C kernel, each memristor simultaneously extracts complementary information from input signals. The MNIST benchmark digit classification task achieves a high accuracy of 94.3% with a (196×10) single-layer network. Analog input mapping ability is tested with a Mackey-Glass time series prediction, and the system records a normalized root mean square error of 0.04 with a 20×1 readout network, the smallest readout network ever used for Mackey-Glass prediction in RC. These performances demonstrate its high potential for efficient temporal data analysis., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

While digital computers rely on software-generated pseudo-random number generators, hardware-based true random number generators (TRNGs), which employ the natural physics of the underlying hardware, provide true stochasticity, and power and area efficiency. Research into TRNGs has extensively relied on the unpredictability in phase transitions, but such phase transitions are difficult to control given their often abrupt and narrow parameter ranges (e.g., occurring in a small temperature window). Here we demonstrate a TRNG based on self-oscillations in LaCoO 3 that is electrically biased within its spin crossover regime. The LaCoO 3 TRNG passes all standard tests of true stochasticity and uses only half the number of components compared to prior TRNGs. Assisted by phase field modeling, we show how spin crossovers are fundamentally better in producing true stochasticity compared to traditional phase transitions. As a validation, by probabilistically solving the NP-hard max-cut problem in a memristor crossbar array using our TRNG as a source of the required stochasticity, we demonstrate solution quality exceeding that using software-generated randomness., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Information security and computing, two critical technological challenges for post-digital computation, pose opposing requirements - security (encryption) requires a source of unpredictability, while computing generally requires predictability. Each of these contrasting requirements presently necessitates distinct conventional Si-based hardware units with power-hungry overheads. This work demonstrates Cu 0.3 Te 0.7 /HfO 2 ('CuTeHO') ion-migration-driven memristors that satisfy the contrasting requirements. Under specific operating biases, CuTeHO memristors generate truly random and physically unclonable functions, while under other biases, they perform universal Boolean logic. Using these computing primitives, this work experimentally demonstrates a single system that performs cryptographic key generation, universal Boolean logic operations, and encryption/decryption. Circuit-based calculations reveal the energy and latency advantages of the CuTeHO memristors in these operations. This work illustrates the functional flexibility of memristors in implementing operations with varying component-level requirements., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Bayesian networks and Bayesian inference, which forecast uncertain causal relationships within a stochastic framework, are used in various artificial intelligence applications. However, implementing hardware circuits for the Bayesian inference has shortcomings regarding device performance and circuit complexity. This work proposed a Bayesian network and inference circuit using a Cu 0.1 Te 0.9 /HfO 2 /Pt volatile memristor, a probabilistic bit neuron that can control the probability of being 'true' or 'false.' Nodal probabilities within the network are feasibly sampled with low errors, even with the device's cycle-to-cycle variations. Furthermore, Bayesian inference of all conditional probabilities within the network is implemented with low power (<186 nW) and energy consumption (441.4 fJ), and a normalized mean squared error of ∼7.5 × 10 -4 through division feedback logic with a variational learning rate to suppress the inherent variation of the memristor. The suggested memristor-based Bayesian network shows the potential to replace the conventional complementary metal oxide semiconductor-based Bayesian estimation method with power efficiency using a stochastic computing method., Competing Interests: The authors declare they have no conflict of interest., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Multiple switching modes in a Ta 2 O 5 /HfO 2 memristor are studied experimentally and numerically through a reservoir computing (RC) simulation to reveal the importance of nonlinearity and heterogeneity in the RC framework. Unlike most studies, where homogeneous reservoirs are used, heterogeneity is introduced by combining different behaviors of the memristor units. The chosen memristor for the reservoir units is based on a Ta 2 O 5 /HfO 2 bilayer, in which the conductances of the Ta 2 O 5 and HfO 2 layers are controlled by the oxygen vacancies and deep/shallow traps, respectively, providing both volatile and non-volatile resistive switching modes. These several control parameters make the second-order Ta 2 O 5 /HfO 2 memristor system present different behaviors in agreement with its history-dependent conductance and allow the fine-tuning of the behavior of each reservoir unit. The heterogeneity in the reservoir units improves the pattern recognition performance in the heterogeneous memristor RC system with a similar physical structure.

Memristor-based physical reservoir computing (RC) is a robust framework for processing complex spatiotemporal data parallelly. However, conventional memristor-based reservoirs cannot capture the spatial relationship between the time-varying inputs due to the specific mapping scheme assigning one input signal to one memristor conductance. Here, a physical "graph reservoir" is introduced using a metal cell at the diagonal-crossbar array (mCBA) with dynamic self-rectifying memristors. Input and inverted input signals are applied to the word and bit lines of the mCBA, respectively, storing the correlation information between input signals in the memristors. In this way, the mCBA graph reservoirs can map the spatiotemporal correlation of the input data in a high-dimensional feature space. The high-dimensional mapping characteristics of the graph reservoir achieve notable results, including a normalized root-mean-square error of 0.09 in Mackey-Glass time series prediction, a 97.21% accuracy in MNIST recognition, and an 80.0% diagnostic accuracy in human connectome classification., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Fusarium root rot, caused by Fusarium solani , is a major post-harvest disease in sweet potatoes ( Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.). An effective strategy for controlling this disease is the development of resistant varieties. In this study, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted on 96 sweet potato genotypes to identify novel candidate loci and dissect the genetic basis of Fusarium root rot resistance. Genotyping was performed using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS), and 44,255 SNPs were identified after filtering. The genotypes (n = 96) were evaluated through resistance tests in 2021 and 2022, separately and combined. The GWAS identified two significant SNP markers (LG3&#95;22903756 and LG4&#95;2449919) on chromosomes 3 and 4 associated with Fusarium root rot resistance, respectively. Lesion length showed significant differences between homozygous A and G alleles of LG3&#95;22903756, which can potentially be used to develop molecular markers for selecting accessions resistant to Fusarium root rot. Expression analysis of 11 putative genes flanking the significant SNPs revealed the alteration in the expression of nine genes, indicating their possible involvement in Fusarium root rot resistance. The results of this study will aid in the marker-assisted selection and functional analysis of candidate genes for Fusarium root rot resistance in sweet potatoes., 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 © 2023 Kim, Kim, Park, Woo, Lee, Chung, Lee, Lee, Lee, Nam, Jo and Lee.)

Many big data have interconnected and dynamic graph structures growing over time. Analyzing these graphical data requires the hidden relationship between the nodes in the graphs to be identified, which has conventionally been achieved by finding the effective similarity. However, graphs are generally non-Euclidean, which does not allow finding it. In this study, the non-Euclidean graphs are mapped to a specific crossbar array (CBA) composed of self-rectifying memristors and metal cells at the diagonal positions. The sneak current, an intrinsic physical property in the CBA, allows for the identification of the similarity function. The sneak-current-based similarity function indicates the distance between the nodes, which can be used to predict the probability that unconnected nodes will be connected in the future, connectivity between communities, and neural connections in a brain. When all bit lines of the CBA are connected to the ground, the sneak current is suppressed, and the CBA can be used to search for adjacent nodes. This work demonstrates the physical calculation methods applied to various graphical problems using the CBA composed of the self-rectifying memristor based on the HfO 2 switching layer. Moreover, such applications suffer less from the memristors' inherent issues related to their stochastic nature., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Background: Atherosclerosis is one of the most important global health hazards and air pollution (AP, PM2.5) has been implicated. In addition to traditional risk factors hyperhomocysteinemia (HC) has been recognized in many parts of China related to risk of stroke., Methods: To evaluate the impact of HC (homocysteine >14μmol/l) and PM2.5 air pollution on atherogenesis in modernizing China, we studied 756 asymptomatic Chinese in China from 1998-2007. PM2.5 exposure, HC, folate, and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C/T genotype were evaluated. Brachial flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) were measured by ultrasound. Locations were categorized as zones 1, 2 and 3, with increasing PM2.5 exposure., Results: HC was higher (19.4±13.1 and 27.1±25.1μmol/l) in high PM2.5-polluted zones 2 and 3 than in zone 1 (9.7±4.5μmol/l, p<0.0015). The top HC tertile was characterized by lower folate and vitamin B12, but a higher proportion of the MTHFR TT genotype, Metabolic Syndrome (MS) and PM2.5 level (p=0.0018). FMD was significantly lower (7.3±2.3%) and carotid IMT thicker (0.63±0.12mm) in the top HC tertile, compared with low HC tertile (8.4±2.5%, p<0.0001; 0.57±0.1mm, p<0.0001 respectively). Similar differences in FMD and IMT were seen in zones 2 and 3, compared with zone 1 (p<0.0001). On multivariate regression, HC was related to male gender (beta=0.106, p=0.021), MTHFR-TT (beta=0.935, p<0.0001), locations (beta=0.230, p<0.0001) and folate-MTHFR interaction (beta=-0.566, p<0.0001). FMD was related to age (beta= -0.221; p<0.0001), male gender (beta= -0.194, p=0.001) PM2.5 and location (beta=-0.285 to -0.303, p<0.0001). Carotid IMT was related to PM2.5 (beta=0.173, p<0.0001), HC (0.122, p=0.006) but not to MTHFR or location, independent of age, gender, MS, and LDL-C. No significant HC-PM2.5 interaction effect on FMD and IMT was observed., Conclusion: HC and PM2.5 pollution but not MTHFR genotype were both related to carotid IMT, independent of other traditional risk factors. This has potential implications in dietary and AP strategies for atherosclerosis prevention in China., Competing Interests: Timothy CY Kwok: Declares no Conflict of Interest; Poon YK Peter: Declares no Conflict of Interest; Chook P: Declares no Conflict of Interest; Guo DS: Declares no Conflict of Interest; Lin CQ: Declares no Conflict of Interest; Yin YH: Declares no Conflict of Interest; Celermajer DS: Declares no Conflict of Interest; Woo KS: Declares no Conflict of Interest.

A computing scheme that can solve complex tasks is necessary as the big data field proliferates. Probabilistic computing (p-computing) paves the way to efficiently handle problems based on stochastic units called probabilistic bits (p-bits). This study proposes p-computing based on the threshold switching (TS) behavior of a Cu 0.1 Te 0.9 /HfO 2 /Pt (CTHP) diffusive memristor. The theoretical background of the p-computing resembling the Hopfield network structure is introduced to explain the p-computing system. P-bits are realized by the stochastic TS behavior of CTHP diffusive memristors, and they are connected to form the p-computing network. The memristor-based p-bit is likely to be '0' and '1', of which probability is controlled by an input voltage. The memristor-based p-computing enables all 16 Boolean logic operations in both forward and inverted operations, showing the possibility of expanding its uses for complex operations, such as full adder and factorization., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objectives: Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric disorders in adolescents and seem to occur the earliest among all forms of psychopathology. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of anxiety severity with health risk behaviors and mental health in adolescents., Methods: Data from the 2020 Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey were analyzed. A total of 54948 adolescents responded to the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) for the assessment of their anxiety severity as well as to the mental health and health risk behavior survey. Logistic regression analysis, t tests, and variance analysis of a complex sample general linear model were used to examine the association of anxiety severity with health behaviors and mental health., Results: After statistical adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics, the subjects in the severe anxiety group were significantly more likely to be current smokers (odds ratio [OR]: 2.08, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.72-2.50), current drinkers (OR: 1.91, 95% CI: 1.67-2.19), experience habitual substance use (OR: 10.89, 95% CI: 8.22-14.42), have sexual intercourse (OR: 2.10, 95% CI: 1.76-2.51), and have unprotected intercourse (OR: 2.21, 95% CI: 1.67-2.92) than those in the normal group. Anxiety severity negatively correlated with sleep satisfaction and happiness, but positively correlated with stress perception, loneliness, depressive symptoms, and suicidality., Conclusion: Adolescent anxiety is associated with health risk behaviors and poor mental health. Thus, early screening and intervention for anxiety in adolescents could contribute to the management and coping of youth health risk behaviors in the community., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2021 Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.)

Recent advances in physical reservoir computing, which is a type of temporal kernel, have made it possible to perform complicated timing-related tasks using a linear classifier. However, the fixed reservoir dynamics in previous studies have limited application fields. In this study, temporal kernel computing was implemented with a physical kernel that consisted of a W/HfO 2 /TiN memristor, a capacitor, and a resistor, in which the kernel dynamics could be arbitrarily controlled by changing the circuit parameters. After the capability of the temporal kernel to identify the static MNIST data was proven, the system was adopted to recognize the sequential data, ultrasound (malignancy of lesions) and electrocardiogram (arrhythmia), that had a significantly different time constant (10 -7 vs. 1 s). The suggested system feasibly performed the tasks by simply varying the capacitance and resistance. These functionalities demonstrate the high adaptability of the present temporal kernel compared to the previous ones., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: Air pollution has been associated with an increase in cardiovascular diseases incidence. To evaluate whether air pollution can accelerate atherogenic processes, we assessed the effects of air pollution on important surrogate markers of atherosclerosis [brachial flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT)]., Methods: A total of 1656 Han Chinese (mean age 46.0 + 11.2 years; male 47%) in Hong Kong, Macau, Pun Yu, Yu County and the 3-Gorges Territories (Yangtze River) were studied between 1996 and 2007 [Chinese Atherosclerosis in the Aged and Young Project (the CATHAY Study)]. Cardiovascular risk profiles were evaluated. Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <2.5 µm (PM2.5) parameters were computed from satellite sensors. Brachial FMD and carotid IMT were measured by ultrasound., Results: Health parameters [age, gender, body mass index, waist : hip ratio (WHR) and glucose)] were similar in lowest and highest PM2.5 exposure tertiles, systolic and diastolic blood pressures and triglycerides were higher (P < 0.001) and low-density cholesterol (LDL-C) was lower in the top PM2.5 tertile (P < 0.001). Brachial FMD [7.84 ± 1.77, 95% confidence interval (CI) 7.59-8.10%, vs 8.50 ± 2.52, 95% CI 8.23-8.77%, P < 0.0001) was significantly lower and carotid IMT (0.68 ± 0.13 mm, 95% CI 0.67-0.69 mm vs 0.63 mm ± 0.15 mm 95% CI 0.62-0.64 mm; P < 0.0001) was significantly thicker in the top PM2.5 tertile compared with the lowest tertile. On multiple regression, FMD was inversely related to PM2.5 (beta = 0.134, P = 0.015) independent of gender, age and blood pressure (model R2 = 0.156, F-value = 7.6, P < 0.0001). Carotid IMT was significantly correlated with PM2.5 exposure (beta = 0.381, P < 0.0001) independent of age, location, gender, WHR, blood pressure and LDL-C (model R2 = 0.408, F-value = 51.4, P-value <0.0001)., Conclusions: Air pollution is strongly associated with markers of early atherosclerosis, suggesting a potential target for preventive intervention., (© The Author(s) 2020; all rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.)

Background: Atherosclerosis is an important medical problem of modern society. High environmental tobacco smoke in casino is associated with an accelerated atherogenic process. We have previously shown vitamin B12 and C supplementation improves vascular reactivity and may be beneficial in vascular protection., Objective: To evaluate the impact of vitamin supplementation on atherosclerosis (brachial artery reactivity FMD and carotid intima-media thickness IMT) in subjects exposed to high environmental tobacco smoke., Design: Double-blind 2x2 factorial design fashion., Setting: Computer randomization in 4 treatment groups: placebo (n=24), vitamin B12 (n=21), vitamin C (n=23) and vitamin B12+C (n=23) groups., Participants: 91 passive-smoking casino employees (19.2% male, mean age 45.0±8.2 years)., Intervention: Subjects were randomized to receive vitamin B12 (500µg daily), vitamin C (200mg daily), vitamin B12+C or image-matched placebo capsules for 1 year., Measurement: Brachial FMD and carotid IMT (surrogate atherosclerotic markers) were measured by ultrasound at baseline and on completion at 12 months., Methods: 91 passive smoking casino employees (19.2% male, mean age 45.0±8.2 years) were randomized to receive vitamin B12 (500µg daily), vitamin C (200mg daily), vitamin B12+C or image-matched placebo capsules in double-blind 2 x 2 factorial design fashion for 1 year. Brachial FMD and carotid IMT (surrogate atherosclerotic markers) were measured by ultrasound at baseline and 12 months., Results: Of the 78 (85.7%) passive-smoking employees completed the study, 11.5% had hypertension, 5.1% diabetes mellitus and 15.4% hypercholesterolemia. There were no significant changes in their blood pressures, lipid profiles, glucose and body mass index after supplementation for 1 year, but mild decrease in DBP (p<0.001) and blood creatinine (p<0.01) after combined vitamin B12 and C, and significant increase in blood B12 after vitamin B12 (p<0.01) and vitamin B12+C supplementations (p<0.001). Brachial FMD and cartotid IMT improved after the 3 vitamin supplementations (p<0.001), but not after placebo, being more significant after combined vitamin supplementations (p<0.0001). No adverse effects were reported., Conclusion: Vitamin B12 or C supplementation in passive smokers improved vascular reactivity and structures at 1 year, with implication in long term atherosclerosis prevention., Competing Interests: All authors declare no conflict of interest.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of heat treatment on the phenolics and antioxidant activity of rice hull. Heat treatment was performed at temperatures 80∼140°C for 1∼5 h, and the heated rice hull was extracted with 80% (v/v) methanol in an ultrasonic bath. The highest total polyphenol and flavonoid content (10.68 mg gallic acid equivalents/g and 1.83 mg catechin equivalents/g, respectively) occurred in rice hull heated at 130°C for 5 h. During heat treatment, the content of free phenolic acids increased compared with that of the bound phenolic acids. The highest 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical scavenging activity and reducing power was observed in rice hull heated at 140°C for 3 h. The highest OH radical scavenging activity was 75.30% in rice hull heated at 140°C for 5 h. These results suggested that heat treatment was an efficient method to enhance the antioxidant characteristics of rice hull., Competing Interests: AUTHOR DISCLOSURE STATEMENT The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 by The Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition. All rights Reserved.)

The objective of this study was to investigate the structural and physicochemical properties of starch from seven sweet potato cultivars (Shinyulmi, Sinjami, Hogammi, Jeonmi, Jinyulmi, Juhwangmi, and Pungwonmi). Jeonmi and Jinyulmi had amylose contents of 40.04% and 37.39%, respectively, whereas Juhwangmi and Pungwonmihad amylose contents of 30.95% and 32.37%, respectively. As a result of amylopectin polymerization, the seven cultivars were found to have high (>48%) contents of the degree of polymerization (DP) 13∼24 fraction, whereas the DP≥37 fraction content was <3.45%. The level of resistant starch was highest in Jeonmi (>30%) and lowest in Pungwonmi (<5%). The in vitro digestibility of Pungwonmi was greater than that of the other cultivars. Starch X-ray patterns did not differ among the cultivars. The results of this study provide useful information for the food industry regarding the application of sweet potato starches., Competing Interests: AUTHOR DISCLOSURE STATEMENT The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 by The Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition. All rights Reserved.)

Introduction: Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are known to be induced by various factors. In this study, we tried to identify circulating levels of NETs in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and to confirm its suitability as a new circulating marker in their detection., Methods: We prospectively enrolled 95 patients with a diagnosis of ACS (N = 37) or AIS (N = 58) in Dong-A University Hospital, Busan, Korea. The control group was selected from healthy adults (N = 25) who visited the hospital for health screening. Circulating levels of NETs were evaluated by measuring plasma concentrations of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) and DNA-histone complex., Results: The concentrations of dsDNA were statistically higher in patients with ACS or AIS than those in the control group (both P < .001). In the univariable and multivariable analyses, statistically significant risk factors were troponin I (TnI) level and dsDNA concentration in the ACS group (P = .046 and P = .015, respectively) and only dsDNA concentration in the AIS group (P = .002). In the receiver operating characteristic curve analyses, the area under the curve values for TnI level and dsDNA concentration in the ACS group were 0.878 and 0.968, respectively, and the value for dsDNA concentration in the AIS group was 0.859., Conclusions: In this study, it was confirmed that the circulating level of NETs was increased in patients with ACS and AIS at initial presentation. Findings in this study show that NETs could be used as a new circulating marker for the initial diagnosis of ACS or AIS., (© 2020 The Authors. Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Background: Modernization of Chinese adults is associated with increased atherosclerotic diseases. Over 1 million farmers have been resettled upland since 1996 in the Three Gorges dam project of the Yangtze River, with job and other lifestyle changes. We aimed to evaluate the impact of such rapid lifestyle changes on indices of cardiometabolic health. Methods: Ninety-five ex-farmers in Wu Shan (WS) (aged 49.7 ± 9 years) resettled uphill for 3-5 years and 87 age and gender-matched farmers in Da Chang (DC) (aged 48.8 ± 10 years) studied before resettlement were compared. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) was measured by ultrasound. Results: Ninety-nine percent WS residents adopted nonfarming jobs or were retired. WS ex-farmers had higher waist-hip ratio ( P  < 0.0001), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol ( P  = 0.001), triglycerides ( P  = 0.001), and prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) (43.2% vs. 17.2%, P  = 0.01) compared with DC farmers. Smoking status, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and fasting glucose were similar. Carotid IMT was significantly higher in WS residents (0.71 ± 0.16 mm) than in DC farmers (0.64 ± 0.11 mm) ( P  < 0.001). MS correlated with job changes to more sedentary nature ( β  = 0.453, P  < 0.0001), but not to leisure exercise activities, nor any specific dietary habits. On multivariate regression, carotid IMT was associated with WS location ( β  = 0.196, P  = 0.021) and presence of MS ( β  = 0.208, P  = 0.021), independent of other traditional vascular risk factors (model R 2 value = 0.444, F -value 12.0, P  < 0.0001). Conclusion: Rapid lifestyle and job changes in ex-farmers in the Three Gorges region are associated with significantly worse cardiometabolic profiles and subclinical atherosclerosis, with potentially important implications for atherosclerosis prevention in modernizing China.

Background: The ability of heat treatment with a soaking solvent to increase soluble phenolic compounds due to the liberation or breakdown of the cell matrix has been investigated in various plants. This study investigated the changes in phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities of 12 sweet potato cultivars after heat treatment with distilled water or prethanol A., Results: The highest total polyphenol content (134.67 mg gallic acid equivalents/g extract residue) and flavonoid content (65.43 mg catechin equivalents/g extract residue) was observed in the 'Jami' (JM) cultivar after heat treatment with prethanol A. Higher polyphenol and flavonoid content was generally observed in the purple sweet potato cultivars. Salicylic acid was the major phenolic acid, followed by protocatechuic acid or chlorogenic acid in almost all untreated sweet potato cultivars. The salicylic acid, vanillic acid, gallic acid, and caffeic acid content of the sweet potatoes increased after the heat treatment, whereas the protocatechuic acid and chlorogenic acid content decreased. The highest 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2-azinobis(3-ethyl benzothiazoline)-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) radical scavenging activity levels were observed in the JM cultivar subjected to heat treatment with prethanol A (48.15 and 80.00 mg TE/g extract residue, respectively)., Conclusion: These results suggest that heat treatment with a soaking solvent is an efficient method to enhance the antioxidant characteristics of Korean sweet potato cultivars. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Background: Several factors contribute to differences in Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype distribution. We investigated the serotype distribution and antimicrobial resistance of S. pneumoniae isolated between 2014 and 2016 in Korea., Methods: We collected a total of 1,855 S. pneumoniae isolates from 44 hospitals between May 2014 and May 2016, and analyzed the serotypes by sequential multiplex PCR. We investigated the distribution of each serotype by patient age, source of the clinical specimen, and antimicrobial resistance pattern., Results: The most common serotypes were 11A (10.1%), followed by 19A (8.8%), 3 (8.5%), 34 (8.1%), 23A (7.3%), and 35B (6.2%). The major invasive serotypes were 3 (12.6%), 19A (7.8%), 34 (7.8%), 10A (6.8%), and 11A (6.8%). Serotypes 10A, 15B, 19A, and 12F were more common in patients ≤5 years old, while serotype 3 was more common in patients ≥65 years old compared with the other age groups. The coverage rates of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV)7, PCV10, PCV13, and pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine 23 were 11.8%, 12.12%, 33.3%, and 53.6%, respectively. Of the 1,855 isolates, 857 (46.2%) were multi-drug resistant (MDR), with serotypes 11A and 19A predominant among the MDR strains. The resistance rates against penicillin, cefotaxime, and levofloxacin were 22.8%, 12.5%, and 9.4%, respectively., Conclusions: There were significant changes in the major S. pneumoniae serotypes in the community. Non-PCV13 serotypes increased in patients ≤5 years old following the introduction of national immunization programs with the 10- and 13-polyvalent vaccines., Competing Interests: No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported., (© The Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine.)

Chalcogenide materials have been regarded as strong candidates for both resistor and selector elements in passive crossbar arrays owing to their dual capabilities of undergoing threshold and resistance switching. This work describes the bipolar resistive switching (BRS) of amorphous GeSe thin films, which used to show Ovonic threshold switching (OTS) behavior. The behavior of this new functionality of the material follows filament-based resistance switching when Ti and TiN are adopted as the top and bottom electrodes, respectively. The detailed analysis revealed that the high chemical affinity of Ti to Se produces a Se-deficient Ge x Se 1- x matrix and the interfacial Ti-Se layer. Electroforming-free BRS behavior with reliable retention and cycling endurance was achieved. The performance improvement was attributed to the Ti-Se interfacial layer, which stabilizes the composition of GeSe during the electrical switching cycles by preventing further massive Se migration to the top electrode. The conduction mechanism analysis denotes that the resistance switching originates from the formation and rupture of the high-conductance semiconducting Ge-rich Ge x Se 1- x filament. The high-resistance state follows the modified Poole-Frenkel conduction.

Introduction: Abbott Alinity hq is a next-generation automated hematology analyzer providing complete blood count (CBC) with 6-part white blood cells (WBC) differential counts. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of the analyzer to verify the diagnostic and clinical utility of the Abbott Alinity hq automated system., Methods: We evaluated specimen stability, precision, linearity, carry-over, and method comparison to assess the performance of Alinity hq. For comparison of the Alinity hq with Sysmex XN-9000, totally 314 samples from adult and pediatric patients including both normal and abnormal hematology profiles were analyzed in parallel. The Alinity hq was also compared with the manual differential counts for the same 314 samples., Results: At 4°C, the Alinity hq analyzer showed no significant changes in CBC and WBC differential count up to 48 hours. When stored at room temperature (18-25°C), all parameters except the mean platelet volume (MPV) were stable up to 36 hours. The Abbott Alinity hq analyzer demonstrated excellent reproducibility and between-batch precision for all CBC and WBC differential parameters. WBC, red blood cells (RBC), hemoglobin (HGB), and platelets showed good linearity and acceptable carry-over. Comparison with a Sysmex XN-9000 analyzer and manual 400-cell differential showed excellent correlation for CBC and WBC differential count parameters (correlation coefficient = 0.815-0.999) except for mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) and basophils., Conclusion: We performed initial validation studies and confirmed performance specifications on specimen stability, precision, linearity, carry-over, and method comparison. The Abbott Alinity hq analyzer showed good analytical performance for all standard CBC parameters., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The flesh color of sweet potatoes varies based on the antioxidant pigments in the cultivar. In this study, the antioxidant characteristics of various flesh color sweet potato cultivars (Jinyulmi, Juhwangmi, Pungwonmi, and Sinjami) were investigated. The polyphenol contents were highest in the purple-fleshed cultivar, Sinjami (39, 68, and 71 μg gallic acid equivalent/g in distilled water, fermented ethanol, and ethanol extracts, respectively). The Sinjami cultivar contained 29 mg/100 g of anthocyanin, which is the major component resulting in increased concentrations of polyphenols. Using 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, and ferric reducing ability of plasma assays, Sinjami showed greater antioxidant activity than the other cultivars. Additionally, the Sinjami extracts could recover cellular reactive oxygen species levels in tert -butyl hydroperoxide-stimulated HepG2 cells to a normal level. In conclusion, anthocyanin-enriched Sinjami has strong antioxidant activities and could improve health by suppressing oxidative damage., Competing Interests: AUTHOR DISCLOSURE STATEMENT The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2019 by The Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition.)