The effects of the first reading experience of infancy on reading and academic achievement of elementary first graders

The purpose of this study was to analyze the structural relationship among the age of first reading, child’s reading motivation, reading ability, and academic achievement in elementary first graders. A total of 267 pairs of elementary first graders and their mothers and teachers were sampled in Gyeonggi province, South Korea. First graders were tested with tasks to measure reading ability and mothers’ responses and teachers’ evaluation were collected to measure students’ age of first reading, reading motivation, and academic achievement. The results were as follows. First, first reading, reading motivation, reading ability, and academic achievement were partly different by socio-demographic factors. Second, earlier age of first reading was associated with higher reading motivation, reading ability, and academic achievement in the first grade. Third, SEM analysis showed that reading motivation and reading ability fully mediated the effect of the age of first reading on academic achievement

In Situ Self-Cross-Linkable, Long-Term Stable Hyaluronic Acid Filler by Gallol Autoxidation for Tissue Augmentation and Wrinkle Correction

Copyright © 2019 American Chemical Society.Injectable fillers mainly aim to augment tissue volume and correct wrinkles in cosmetic and plastic reconstructions. However, the development of long-lasting, injectable fillers with minimal complications of pain, toxicity, and displacement has been challenging because of the absence of reliable cross-linking chemistry. Here, we report a novel cross-linker-free injectable hydrogel formulated by autoxidation as a highly biocompatible, easily injectable, and long-term volumetrically stable filler agent. Self-cross-linkable hyaluronic acid (SC-HA) with gallol moieties could form a hydrogel via autoxidation of gallols in vivo without additional cross-linking agents. The gelation of SC-HA in situ after injection is accelerated by the self-production of oxygen species and endogenous peroxidase in vivo. The SC-HA filler does not require a high injection force, thus minimizing pain, bleeding, and tissue damage-associated complications. In addition, improved tissue adhesiveness of the SC-HA hydrogel by oxidized gallols (shear strength; 2 kPa) prevented displacement of the filler constructs from the injection site. The SC-HA filler retained its mechanical properties in vivo (600-700 Pa) for wrinkle correction and volumetric augmentation up to 1 year after injection. Overall, the performance of the SC-HA hydrogel as an injectable dermal filler was superior to that of commercially available, chemically cross-linked biphasic HA filler composites in terms of injectability, tissue adhesiveness, and long-term volumetric augmentation. Our injectable HA hydrogel with no need of cross-linkers provides a long-lasting filler that has clinical utility for cosmetic applications11sciescopu

Mucoadhesive Phenolic Pectin Hydrogels for Saliva Substitute and Oral Patch

Oral disease is one of the most common conditions worldwide, negatively affecting general health, reducing the quality of life, and often developing into systemic illness. However, the design of therapeutic agents for oral diseases is challenging due to various unique features of the oral cavity, including its wet and dynamic environment and curved shape. Herein, the development of highly biocompatible mucoadhesive functional hydrogels for oral applications is reported, generated by introducing bio-inspired phenolic moieties into a pectin polymer. Pyrogallol-functionalized pectin (Pec-PG) can be crosslinked in situ via autoxidation without chemical agents and readily fabricated as various formulations. Sprayable Pec-PG hydrogel exhibits strong mucoadhesion and outstanding hydration ability ex vivo and in vivo, thus displaying significant potential as a novel saliva substitute for dry mouth. The authors further show that topical application of mucoadhesive Pec-PG patches pre-loaded with corticosteroid significantly promotes the repair of diabetic oral ulcer tissue via prolonged drug release, free radical scavenging, and physical barrier effects. Moreover, similar applications for oral ulcer treatment using a pectin hydrogel modified with catechol (Pec-CA), another phenolic moiety are demonstrated. Together, these findings suggest that mucoadhesive phenolic pectin derivatives can provide highly biocompatible, convenient, and effective hydrogel platforms for treating oral diseases. © 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.11Nsciescopu

Chenodeoxycholic Acid Reduces Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1α Protein and Its Target Genes.

This study evaluated HIF-1α inhibitors under different hypoxic conditions, physiological hypoxia (5% O2) and severe hypoxia (0.1% O2). We found that chenodeoxy cholic acid (CDCA) reduced the amount of HIF-1α protein only under physiological hypoxia but not under severe hypoxia without decreasing its mRNA level. By using a proteasome inhibitor MG132 and a translation inhibitor cyclohexamide, we showed that CDCA reduced HIF-1α protein by decreasing its translation but not by enhancing its degradation. The following findings indicated that farnesoid X receptor (FXR), a CDCA receptor and its target gene, Small heterodimer partner (SHP) are not involved in this effect of CDCA. Distinctly from CDCA, MG132 prevented SHP and an exogenous FXR agonist, GW4064 from reducing HIF-1α protein. Furthermore a FXR antagonist, guggulsterone failed to prevent CDCA from decreasing HIF-1α protein. Furthermore, guggulsterone by itself reduced HIF-1α protein even in the presence of MG132. These findings suggested that CDCA and guggulsterone reduced the translation of HIF-1α in a mechanism which FXR and SHP are not involved. This study reveals novel therapeutic functions of traditional nontoxic drugs, CDCA and guggulsterone, as inhibitors of HIF-1α protein

A Microfluidic Approach to Investigating a Synergistic Effect of Tobramycin and Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate on Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms

In recent years, a microfluidic technology has contributed a significant role in biological research, specifically for the study of biofilms. Bacterial biofilms are a source of infections and contamination in the environment due to an extra polymeric matrix. Inadequate uses of antibiotics make the bacterial biofilms antibiotic resistant. Therefore, it is important to determine the effective concentration of antibiotics in order to eliminate bacterial biofilms. The present microfluidic study was carried out to analyze the activities of tobramycin and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) against Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms with a continuous flow in order to achieve a greater delivery of the agents. The results show that a co-treatment of tobramycin and SDS significantly reduced the biomass of biofilms (by more than 99%) after 24 h. Tobramycin and SDS killed and detached bacteria in the cores of biofilms. Evidently, our data suggest that a microchannel would be effective for both quantitative and qualitative evaluations in order to test combinatorial effect of drugs and chemicals on a complexed biological system including biofilm. © 2016 The Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry.FALS

Untersuchung des Sprechaktes der Entschuldigung im Koreanischen, Deutschen und Englischen

Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit den Unterschieden zwischen Realisierungsmustern für den Sprechakt der Entschuldigung (Engl. speech act realization patterns of apology) in den Sprachen Koreanisch, Englisch (Amerikanisches Englisch) und Deutsch. Ausgehend von der Annahme, dass sich der Sprechakt der Entschuldigung je nach kulturellem Kontext unterschiedlich darstellt, soll in vorliegender Arbeit eine intersprachliche Untersuchung vorgenommen werden. Ziel ist es, sowohl einen Vergleich zwischen den Realisierungsmustern der jeweiligen Sprachen anzustellen (strategischer Aspekt) als auch die Realisierungsbedingungen des Sprechaktes der Entschuldigung, d. h. die situativen Gegebenheiten des Sprechaktes, miteinander zu vergleichen (soziokultureller Aspekt)