Research Trends on Atopic Dermatitis an Autoimmune Disease and Exercise

PURPOSE Autoimmune diseases attack the organs and tissues of the body because of abnormalities in the immune system, causing health issues such as inflammation and atopic dermatitis. Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with a multifactorial pathogenesis that presents with an itchy, dry dermis. Atopic dermatitis can be alleviated or worsened by environmental factors, and studies have reported that exercise has various effects on atopic dermatitis. METHODS This review collected and analyzed data on the effects of exercise and atopic dermatitis from previous studies obtained through online databases and search engines, including PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. RESULTS Moderate exercise has a positive effect on the health of patients with atopic dermatitis. During moderate- and high-intensity exercise, the thickness of the dermis and epidermis of atopic skin, serum immunoglobulin (Ig)E levels, and cytokine levels decreased. However, conflicting results showed that high-intensity swimming exercises increased the severity of atopic dermatitis. Additionally, patients with atopic dermatitis and lower physical activity levels showed increased disease severity. CONCLUSION These results indicate that several exercises have therapeutic potential against atopic diseases. Further studies are required to investigate the effects of exercise on atopic dermatitis, including the limitations

The Therapeutic Potential of Copper Peptides on Atopic Dermatitis Lesions in BALB/c mice and Human Keratinocytes

PURPOSE Atopic dermatitis (AD), often referred to as eczema, is a chronic disease characterized by skin inflammation, itchiness, irritation, and dryness. It is caused mainly by immune dysregulation. Copper peptides (CP) have been used for a variety of skin-related purposes. In this study, we examined the effect of CP on AD induced in BALB/c mice. METHODS BALB/c mice were separated into the following five groups: control, AD-only, AD+CP10, AD+CP100, and AD+CERA. AD was induced using house dust mite (HDM) extract and 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB). The mice received CP or ceramide (CERA; positive control) based on their group allocation. Histopathological analysis was performed to assess the effect of CP on mast cell infiltration. Dermal and epidermal thickness were measured using microphotographs of hematoxylin-and-eosin-stained tissue. We examined the serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels and mRNA gene expression of pathogenic cytokines in the mouse ear tissue and in human keratinocytes. RESULTS CP treatment decreased dermal and epidermal mouse ear thickness and mast cell infiltration in the ear tissue in a dose-dependent manner. It also decreased the serum IgE levels and the mRNA gene expression of pathogenic cytokines in the ear tissue and in the human keratinocytes. Interestingly, the therapeutic effect of CP was more robust than that of CERA. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that CP may have therapeutic potential against AD

Nanotechnology for Early Cancer Detection

Vast numbers of studies and developments in the nanotechnology area have been conducted and many nanomaterials have been utilized to detect cancers at early stages. Nanomaterials have unique physical, optical and electrical properties that have proven to be very useful in sensing. Quantum dots, gold nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, gold nanowires and many other materials have been developed over the years, alongside the discovery of a wide range of biomarkers to lower the detection limit of cancer biomarkers. Proteins, antibody fragments, DNA fragments, and RNA fragments are the base of cancer biomarkers and have been used as targets in cancer detection and monitoring. It is highly anticipated that in the near future, we might be able to detect cancer at a very early stage, providing a much higher chance of treatment

Ionothermal Synthesis of Metal-Organic Framework

Ionothermal synthesis employs ionic liquids for synthesis of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) as solvent and template. The cations and anions of ionic liquids may be finely adjusted to produce a great variety of reaction environments and thus frameworks. Organisation of the structures synthesised from related ionic liquid combinations give rise to provocative chemical trends that may be used to predict future outcomes. Further analysis of their structures is possible by reducing the complex framework to its underlying topology, which by itself brings more precision to prediction. Through reduction, many seemingly different, but related classes of structures may be merged into larger groups and provide better understanding of the nanoscopic structures and synthesis conditions that gave rise to them. Ionothermal synthesis has promised to enable us to effectively plan the synthesis ahead for a given purpose. However, for its promise to be kept, several difficult limitations must be overcome, including the inseparable cations from the solvent that reside in the framework pore

Histidine 454 plays an important role in polymerization of human glutamate dehydrogenase

AbstractAlthough previous chemical modification studies have suggested several residues to be involved in the maintenance of the quaternary structure of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), there are conflicting views for the polymerization process and no clear evidence has been reported yet. In the present study, cassette mutagenesis at seven putative positions (Lys333, Lys337, Lys344, Lys346, Ser445, Gly446, and His454) was performed using a synthetic human GDH gene to examine the polymerization process. Of the mutations at the seven different sites, only the mutagenesis at His454 results in depolymerization of the hexameric GDH into active trimers as determined by HPLC gel filtration analysis and native gradient polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The mutagenesis at His454 has no effects on expression or stability of the protein. The KM values for NADH and 2-oxoglutarate were 1.5-fold and 2.5-fold greater, respectively, for the mutant GDH than for wild-type GDH, indicating that substitution at position 454 had appreciable effects on the affinity of the enzyme for both NADH and 2-oxoglutarate. The Vmax values were similar for wild-type and mutant GDH. The kcat/KM value of the mutant GDH was reduced up to 2.8-fold. The decreased efficiency of the mutant, therefore, results from the increase in KM values for NADH and 2-oxoglutarate. The results with cassette mutagenesis and HPLC gel filtration analysis suggest that His454 is involved in the polymerization process of human GDH

The association between sialolithiasis and smoking, alcohol drinking and obesity in Korea: a nested case-control study

Smoking and alcohol consumption are the most common social habits in patients with sialolithiasis. Moreover, obesity has been reported to have a significant association with poor oral hygiene, one of the causes of sialolithiasis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationships among tobacco smoking, drinking alcohol, obesity and sialolithiasis in a Korean population. The Korean National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening Cohort, which includes patients ≥40 years old, was assessed from 2002 to 2013. A total of 947 sialolithiasis participants were matched with 3788 control subjects at a ratio of 1:4 with respect to age group, sex, income group, region of residence, hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia. We analyzed the participants previous histories of smoking (current or past smokers compared to nonsmokers) and alcohol consumption (≥ 1 time per week compared to < 1 time per week) in the sialolithiasis and control groups. Obesity was measured using body mass index (BMI, kg/m2), which was categorized as < 18.5 (underweight), ≥ 18.5 and < 23 (normal), ≥ 23 and < 25 (overweight), ≥ 25 and < 30 (obese I), and ≥ 30 (obese II). Crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using conditional logistic regression analyses. The rate of smoking was higher in the sialolithiasis group (32.4% [307/947]) than in the control group (29.1% [1103/3788], P = 0.047). The adjusted OR of smoking for the sialolithiasis group was 1.31 (95% CI = 1.08–1.59, P = 0.006). Alcohol consumption and obesity were not statistically significantly related to sialolithiasis. The odds of smoking were increased in sialolithiasis patients compared with control subjects in the population ≥ 40 years of age.This work was supported in part by a research grant (NRF-2018-R1D1A1A0– 2085328 and NRF-2019-R1G1A1–099842) from the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea

Perception of precocious puberty among school-aged children in South Korea with the experience of treatment for precocious puberty: a Q methodological approach

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of precocious puberty and elucidate the distinct characteristics of each type of perception related to precocious puberty among school-aged children who had undergone treatment for the condition. Methods This study applied the Q methodology to identify and classify the perceptions of precocious puberty among school-aged children who had undergone treatment for the condition. The analysis involved 34 questions from the Q sample and data from 35 individuals in the P sample, using the PC-QUANL Program for analysis. Results The perceptions of precocious puberty among school-aged children who had undergone precocious puberty treatment were classified into the following four types: "shyness - passive self-management," "resentment - suppression," "anxiety - fear," and "adaptation - acceptance." Conclusion This study investigated the experiences and perceptions of children who have undergone treatment for precocious puberty. Through the identification of four types of perceptions, we can see that there is a need to develop an intervention program for nursing that is tailored to the specific type of precocious puberty

Data for Korean college students&apos; anxious and avoidant attachment, self-compassion, anxiety and depression

The data presented in this article are from 473 Korean college students׳ responses to an online survey consisting of measures of anxious and avoidant attachment (the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised Scale: ECR-R), self-compassion (Neff׳s Self-Compassion Scale: SCS), depression (the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale: CES-D) and anxiety (the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-the Trait Anxiety Scale: STAT-T). Each variable was measured by a Korean version of the instrument. Participants were recruited from three universities in South Korea: 288 were men and 185 were women; 199 were undergraduate and 273 were graduate students. The online program used to collect the data prompted for but did not require responses to items; 26 surveys were not completed, and data from these surveys were not included in the dataset. Major findings based on the data presented here are reported in the article “Insecure attachment and emotional distress: Fear of self-compassion and self-compassion as mediators” (Joeng et al., 2017) [1]. The data, an SPSS file, are included as supplementary material.111Yscopu