Human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells engineered to overexpress growth factors accelerate outcomes in hair growth

Human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells (hUCB-MSCs) are used in tissue repair and regeneration; however, the mechanisms involved are not well understood. We investigated the hair growth-promoting effects of hUCB-MSCs treatment to determine whether hUCB-MSCs enhance the promotion of hair growth. Furthermore, we attempted to identify the factors responsible for hair growth. The effects of hUCB-MSCs on hair growth were investigated in vivo, and hUCB-MSCs advanced anagen onset and hair follicle neogeneration. We found that hUCB-MSCs co-culture increased the viability and up-regulated hair induction-related proteins of human dermal papilla cells (hDPCs) in vitro. A growth factor antibody array revealed that secretory factors from hUCB-MSCs are related to hair growth. Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were increased in co-culture medium. Finally, we found that IGFBP-1, through the co-localization of an IGF-1 and IGFBP-1, had positive effects on cell viability; VEGF secretion; expression of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), CD133, and b-catenin; and formation of hDPCs 3D spheroids. Taken together, these data suggest that hUCB-MSCs promote hair growth via a paracrine mechanism

18F-FDG PET/CT in Primary AL Hepatic Amyloidosis Associated with Multiple Myeloma

We report here on a rare case of primary AL hepatic amyloidosis associated with multiple myeloma in a 64-year-old woman. The patient was referred for evaluating her progressive jaundice and right upper quadrant pain. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) showed diffusely and markedly increased 18F-FDG uptake in the liver. Although there have been several case studies showing positive 18F-FDG uptake in pulmonary amyloidosis, to the best of our knowledge, the 18F-FDG PET/CT findings of hepatic amyloidosis or primary hepatic amyloidosis associated with multiple myeloma have not been reported previously

Kdm3b haploinsufficiency impairs the consolidation of cerebellum-dependent motor memory in mice

Histone modifications are a key mechanism underlying the epigenetic regulation of gene expression, which is critically involved in the consolidation of multiple forms of memory. However, the roles of histone modifications in cerebellum-dependent motor learning and memory are not well understood. To test whether changes in histone methylation are involved in cerebellar learning, we used heterozygous Kdm3b knockout (Kdm3b+/−) mice, which show reduced lysine 9 on histone 3 (H3K9) demethylase activity. H3K9 di-methylation is significantly increased selectively in the granule cell layer of the cerebellum of Kdm3b+/− mice. In the cerebellum-dependent optokinetic response (OKR) learning, Kdm3b+/− mice show deficits in memory consolidation, whereas they are normal in basal oculomotor performance and OKR acquisition. In addition, RNA-seq analyses revealed that the expression levels of several plasticity-related genes were altered in the mutant cerebellum. Our study suggests that active regulation of histone methylation is critical for the consolidation of cerebellar motor memory.This work was supported by grants to S.B.S. and Y.-S.L. (NRF2019R1A4A2001609), Y.-S.L. (NRF-2017M3C7A1026959), and S.J.K. (NRF2018R1A5A2025964) from the National Research Foundation of Korea

Effect of delayed hospitalization on 3-year clinical outcomes according to renal function in patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

Background: We evaluated the effect of delayed hospitalization (symptom-to-door time [STD] ≥ 24 h) on 3-year clinical outcomes according to renal function in patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) undergoing new-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation. Methods: A total of 4513 patients with NSTEMI were classified into chronic kidney disease (CKD) (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2, n = 1118) and non-CKD (eGFR ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m2, n = 3395) groups. They were further sub-classified into groups with (STD ≥ 24 h) and without (STD < 24 h) delayed hospitalization. The primary outcome was the occurrence of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE), defined as all-cause death, recurrent myocardial infarction, any repeat coronary revascularization, and stroke. The secondary outcome was stent thrombosis (ST). Results: After multivariable-adjusted and propensity score analyses, the primary and secondary clinical outcomes were similar in patients with or without delayed hospitalization in both CKD and non-CKD groups. However, in both the STD < 24 h and STD ≥ 24 h groups, MACCE (p < 0.001 and p < 0.006, respectively) and mortality rates were significantly higher in the CKD group than in the non-CKD group. However, ST rates were similar between the CKD and non-CKD groups and between the STD < 24 h and STD ≥ 24 h groups. Conclusions: Chronic kidney disease appears to be a much more important determinant of MACCE and mortality rates than STD in patients with NSTEMI

Multi-Session Surface Electromyogram Signal Database for Personal Identification

Surface electromyogram (sEMG) refers to a biosignal acquired from the skin surface during the contraction of skeletal muscles, and a different signal waveform is generated, depending on the motion performed. Therefore, in contrast to generic personal identification, which uses only a piece of registered information, the sEMG changes the registered information in a personal identification method. The sEMG database (DB) for conventional personal identification has shortcomings, such as a few subjects and the inability to verify sEMG signal variability. In order to solve the problems of DBs, this paper describes a method for constructing a multi-session sEMG DB for many subjects. Data were obtained in two channels when each of the 200 subjects performed 12 motions. There were three sessions, and each motion was repeated 10 times in time intervals of a day or longer between each session. Furthermore, to verify the effectiveness of the constructed sEMG DB, we conducted a personal identification experiment. According to the experimental results, the accuracy for five subjects was 74.19%, demonstrating the applicability of the constructed multi-session sEMG DB

Discrepancy between the Status Quo and Adjusted Risk of First-Onset Suicidal Ideation in Older Adults: A Longitudinal Study Based on the Korean Welfare Panel Study (2011–2021)

Whether older adults can more likely commit suicide than those in other age groups, after adjusting for other possible causes, remains unknown. We aimed to examine why elderly individuals are more likely to develop first-onset suicidal ideation than individuals in other age groups. We identified 2018 young, 3329 middle-aged, and 2714 elderly individuals without a history of suicidal ideation, from the Korean Welfare Panel Study 2011–2021. To determine key stressors that can induce suicidal ideation, selected groups of variables were adjusted progressively in a generalized estimating equation (GEE) model. Incidence rates of the elderly, middle-aged, and young individuals were 15.9, 22.0, and 11.3 per 1000 person-years, respectively. In GEE analysis, a positive association was not noted between age group and suicidal ideation after adjusting for stressor variables. Furthermore, the overly adjusted model (Full model) showed a strong negative association with aging; young [odds ratio (OR): 1.68, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.35–2.11] and middle-aged (OR: 1.94, 95% CI: 1.38–2.73) individuals were more likely to develop first-onset suicidal ideation than the elderly. We found that full models, particularly assessing wealth rather than income, can explain why the elderly have higher suicide rates than those in other age groups