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Objective The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of dietary β-mannanase supplementation on growth performance, intestinal morphology, digesta viscosity, and dietary nutrient utilization in broiler chickens through a meta-analysis. The effects were further examined by a meta-regression analysis with activity levels of β-mannanase in broiler diets. Methods A total of 23 studies, which were conducted in 11 countries and completed between December 2003 and August 2023, were selected for this meta-analysis. The standardized mean difference and its 95% confidence interval were calculated as the effect size metrics using random effect model, with I2 value being utilized to measure heterogeneity. Investigated measurements included body weight gain (BWG), feed intake, feed conversion ratio (FCR), villus height (VH), crypt depth (CD), VH:CD ratio, digesta viscosity, nitrogen-corrected metabolizable energy (AMEn), apparent ileal digestibility (AID), and apparent total tract retention (ATTR) of dry matter (DM), gross energy (GE), and nitrogen (N). All statistical analyses were performed using R version 4.3.3. Results Results revealed significant positive effects of dietary β-mannanase supplementation on BWG (p = 0.005), FCR (p

Objective The current study aimed to investigate the effect of increasing β-mannanase supplementation in diets containing copra meal (CM) on growth performance, meat quality, liver health, intestinal morphology, and nutrient utilization in broiler chickens. Methods A total of 1,600 3-d-old Ross 308 broiler chickens (initial body weight±standard deviation = 43.3±1.08 g) were randomly allotted to 1 of 5 treatment groups with 8 replicates. One group was fed a corn-soybean meal-based diet (control). Other 4 diets were prepared by inclusion of 10% commercial CM in the control diet with 0, 400, 800, and 1,600 U β-mannanase/kg. Experiments lasted for 32 d. Results Birds fed the control diet had less (p = 0.001) feed conversion ratio (FCR) than those fed diets containing 10% CM without β-mannanase supplementation. Increasing supplementation of β-mannanase in diets containing 10% CM had no linear and quadratic effects on body weight gain, feed intake, and FCR in broiler chickens. The control diet had greater (p

While evidence indicates that exposure to oil spill incidents can affect mental health, it is unclear whether the mental health effects result from the incident itself or from exposure to associated chemicals. Oil contains chemicals that can impact mental health and these chemicals may have long-term effects due to their persistence in the environment. To address the gap in current knowledge, we conducted cross-sectional and prospective analyses of data from adults who participated in the Health Effects of the Hebei Spirit Oil Spill study. To assess chemical exposure from oil spills, we used indirect exposure indicators such as distance from the contaminated oil band to residences and duration of clean-up work, along with direct exposure indicators such as urine metabolite concentrations of volatile organic compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Mental health assessments covered posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, state anxiety, and trait anxiety. In the cross-sectional analyses, all four mental health issues were found to be associated with proximity to the oil band (p-value

Abstract Background Despite significant advancements in treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, the survival rate for patients with asbestos-related cancers remains low. Numerous studies have provided evidence suggesting that air pollution induces oxidative stress and inflammation, affecting acute respiratory diseases, lung cancer, and overall mortality. However, because of the high case fatality rate, there is limited knowledge regarding the effects of air pollution exposures on survival following a diagnosis of asbestos-related cancers. This study aimed to determine the effect of air pollution on the survival of patients with malignant mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer. Methods We followed up with 593 patients with malignant mesothelioma and 998 patients with lung cancer identified as asbestos victims between 2009 and 2022. Data on five air pollutants—sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, fine particulate matter with a diameter

Chronic respiratory disease is among the most common non-communicable diseases, and particulate materials (PM) are a major risk factor. Meanwhile, evidence of the relationship between the physicochemical characteristics of PM and pulmonary toxicity mechanism is still limited. Here, we collected particles (CPM) from the air of a port city adjacent to a cement factory, and we found that the CPM contained various elements, including heavy metals (such as arsenic, thallium, barium, and zirconium) which are predicted to have originated from a cement plant adjacent to the sampling site. We also delivered the CPM intratracheally to mice for 13 weeks to investigate the pulmonary toxicity of inhaled CPM. CPM-induced chronic inflammatory lesions with an increased total number of cells in the lung of mice. Meanwhile, among inflammatory mediators measured in this study, levels of IL-1β, TNF-α, CXCL-1, and IFN-γ were elevated in the treated group compared with the controls. Considering that the alveolar macrophage (known as dust cell) is a professional phagocyte that is responsible for the clearance of PM from the respiratory surfaces, we also investigated cellular responses following exposure to CPM in MH-S cells, a mouse alveolar macrophage cell line. CPM inhibited cell proliferation and formed autophagosome-like vacuoles. Intracellular calcium accumulation and oxidative stress, and altered expression of pyrimidine metabolism- and olfactory transduction-related genes were observed in CPM-treated cells. More interestingly, type I-LC3B and full-length PARP proteins were not replenished in CPM-treated cells, and cell cycle changes, apoptotic and necrotic cell death, and caspase-3 cleavage were not significantly detected in cells exposed to CPM. Taken together, we conclude that dysfunction of alveolar macrophages may contribute to CPM-induced pulmonary inflammation. In addition, given the possible transformation of heart tissue observed in CPM-treated mice, we suggest that further study is needed to clarify the systemic pathological changes and the molecular mechanisms following chronic exposure to CPM.

Abstract Here, we propose a quantum asymmetric key cryptography scheme using Grover’s quantum search algorithm. In the proposed scheme, Alice generates a pair of public and private keys, keeps the private keys safe, and only discloses public keys to the outside. Bob uses Alice's public key to send a secret message to Alice and Alice uses her private key to decrypt the secret message. Furthermore, we discuss the safety of quantum asymmetric key encryption techniques based on quantum mechanical properties.

Abstract 2D transition‐metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) materials are promising candidates with excellent thermoelectric (TE) properties owing to their low dimensionality in electronic and phonon transport. However, the considerable coupling of the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity in such TE materials eventually results in the limit of the TE power factor increase, which severely hinders potential TE device applications. Herein, an alternative approach is demonstrated for breaking the strong coupling between the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity in single TE materials by adopting a novel stacked PtSe2/PtSe2 homostructure. By alternately piling low‐resistance (LR) PtSe2 (3 nm) onto high‐resistance (HR) PtSe2 (2 nm) as one unit, the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity of such stacked homostructures can be greatly enhanced with slightly improved electrical conductivity, ultimately resulting in a TE power factor in three‐unit‐stacked homostructures that is ≈1,648% higher than that of a single PtSe2 (15 nm) layer with the same thickness. This enhancement is attributed to an independent increase in the Seebeck coefficient, which depends on the interface among the LR and HR PtSe2 layers. The findings pave the way for a method that, unlike power factor optimization in conventional thermoelectric materials, can only utilize the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity of each layer in a stacked homostructure.

Malignant mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer are typically associated with a poor prognosis. However, it has been observed that some patients with these cancers survive significantly longer than the average survival period. While many preliminary studies have investigated factors influencing patient survival, the specific impact of asbestos exposure has not been thoroughly explored. We followed up with 546 patients with malignant mesothelioma and 902 patients with asbestos-related lung cancer, all identified as asbestos victims between 2009 and 2021. In both malignant mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer, patients with occupational asbestos exposure exhibited not only shorter median survival times but also lower 3- and 5-year survival rates compared to those with environmental exposure. Additionally, a longer duration of occupational exposure and closer proximity to the source of asbestos were linked to shorter survival times and lower survival rates. Among the patients with occupational asbestos exposure, the highest hazard ratios (HRs) were observed in those who worked in the production of asbestos-containing products across both cancer types. In contrast, significant HRs were only noted in mesothelioma patients who lived near asbestos industries, slate houses, and redevelopment areas, within the environmentally exposed group.

Abstract When a thermoelectric (TE) material is deposited with a secondary TE material, the total Seebeck coefficient of the stacked layer is generally represented by a parallel conductor model. Accordingly, when TE material layers of the same thickness are stacked vertically, the total Seebeck coefficient in the transverse direction may change in a single layer. Here, an abnormal Seebeck effect in a stacked two‐dimensional (2D) PtSe2/PtSe2 homostructure film, i.e., an extra in‐plane Seebeck voltage is produced by wet‐transfer stacking at the interface between the PtSe2 layers under a transverse temperature gradient is reported. This abnormal Seebeck effect is referred to as the interfacial Seebeck effect in stacked PtSe2/PtSe2 homostructures. This effect is attributed to the carrier‐interface interaction, and has independent characteristics in relation to carrier concentration. It is confirmed that the in‐plane Seebeck coefficient increases as the number of stacked PtSe2 layers increase and observed a high Seebeck coefficient exceeding ≈188 µV K−1 at 300 K in a four‐layer‐stacked PtSe2/PtSe2 homostructure.

Abstract Background Nonhuman primates (NHPs) are superior model for ocular research due to its morphological and physiological similarities with humans. Thus, the effect of four different anesthetic combinations [ketamine (10 mg/kg), ketamine + xylazine (7 + 0.6 mg/kg), zoletil (4 mg/kg), and zoletil + xylazine (4 + 0.2 mg/kg)] on intraocular pressure (IOP) was determined in cynomolgus monkeys. Results The administration of ketamine + xylazine or zoletil + xylazine resulted in lower IOP compared to ketamine or zoletil alone. Moreover, the IOP in male monkeys was higher than in females. The difference between the right and left eye was not found. Conclusions Anesthetics affected the IOP, and gender differences should be considered when measuring the IOP of nonhuman primates (NHPs).

Despite the use of large amounts of asbestos in the 1990s, few studies have been conducted in Korea on occupational and environmental asbestos exposure and lung cancer risk. The main aim of this study was to estimate the risk of lung cancer development caused by occupational and environmental asbestos exposures in residents of South Chungcheong Province, where about half of the asbestos mines in Korea operated. We conducted a case-control study, for which the information on asbestos exposure history and demographic characteristics was provided by the Environmental Health Center for asbestos of Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital. After adjusting for all covariates, the odds ratios for lung cancer tended to increase with higher exposure probability for both occupational as well as environmental asbestos. The relative risk of occupational asbestos exposure was higher than that of environmental exposure; the interaction of co-exposure was not statistically significant. The estimated means of the latency period were significantly shorter in participants who were engaged in the production of asbestos-containing products and in those who lived near asbestos industries as compared to other groups.

Abstract We design an optical scheme to generate hyperentanglement correlated with degrees of freedom (DOFs) via quantum dots (QDs), weak cross-Kerr nonlinearities (XKNLs), and linearly optical apparatuses (including time-bin encoders). For generating hyperentanglement having its own correlations for two DOFs (polarization and time-bin) on two photons, we employ the effects of optical nonlinearities using a QD (photon-electron), a parity gate (XKNLs), and time-bin encodings (linear optics). In our scheme, the first nonlinear multi-qubit gate utilizes the interactions between photons and an electron of QD confined in a single-sided cavity, and the parity gate (second gate) uses weak XKNLs, quantum bus, and photon-number-resolving measurement to entangle the polarizations of two photons. Finally, for efficiency in generating hyperentanglement and for the experimental implementation of this scheme, we discuss how the QD-cavity system can be performed reliably, and also discuss analysis of the immunity of the parity gate (XKNLs) against the decoherence effect.

Background: The purpose of this study was to identify the epidemiologic characteristics and prognostic factors for malignant pleural mesothelioma in Korea, which are currently insufficient. The data were derived from malignant mesothelioma patients who registered under the Asbestos Injury Relief Act; Methods: A total of 728 patients received compensation from the Asbestos Injury Relief Act due to malignant mesothelioma between 2011 and 2015. Of these, 313 patients (43.0%) with malignant pleural mesothelioma were included in the study. The study variables were sex (male, female), age at diagnosis (

Although cigarette smoking has been postulated to be a potential risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the toxic mechanism is still unclear. Additionally, astrocytes have been identified as a potential target, given they play multiple roles in maintaining normal brain function. In this study, we explored the toxic mechanism of whole cigarette smoke condensates (WCSC) using murine astrocytes. Cell proliferation, the percentage of cells in the G2/M phase, and LDH concentrations in the cell supernatants were all reduced in WCSC-treated cells. In addition, oxidative stress was induced, together with shortening of processes, structural damage of organelles, disturbances in mitochondrial function, blockage of autophagic signals, accumulation of amyloid β precursor protein, and loss of chemotactic functions. Based on these results, we hypothesize that dysfunction of astrocytes may contribute to the occurrence of cigarette-smoking-induced AD.

We have developed a quantum message authentication protocol that provides authentication and integrity of an original message using single qubit unitary operations. Our protocol mainly consists of two parts: quantum encryption and a correspondence check. The quantum encryption part is implemented using linear combinations of wave plates, and the correspondence check is performed using Hong–Ou–Mandel interference. By analyzing the coincidence counts of the Hong–Ou–Mandel interference, we have successfully proven the proposed protocol experimentally, and also showed its robustness against an existential forgery.