The antioxidant xanthorrhizol prevents amyloid-β-induced oxidative modification and inactivation of neprilysin

Activity of neprilysin (NEP), the major protease which cleaves amyloid-β peptide (Aβ), is reportedly reduced in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Accumulation of Aβ generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE), and then reduces activities of Aβ-degrading enzymes including NEP. Xanthorrhizol (Xan), a natural sesquiterpenoid, has been reported to possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory proper- ties. The present study examined the effects of Xan on HNE- or oligomeric Aβ42-induced ox- idative modification of NEP protein. Xan was added to the HNE- or oligomeric Aβ42-treated SK-N-SH human neuroblastoma cells and then levels, oxidative modification and enzymatic activities of NEP protein were measured. Increased HNE levels on NEP proteins and re- duced enzymatic activities of NEP were observed in the HNE- or oligomeric Aβ42-treated cells. Xan reduced HNE levels on NEP proteins and preserved enzymatic activities of NEP in HNE- or oligomeric Aβ42-treated cells. Xan reduced Aβ42 accumulation and protected neurones against oligomeric Aβ42-induced neurotoxicity through preservation of NEP ac- tivities. These findings indicate that Xan possesses therapeutic potential for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, including AD, and suggest a potential mechanism for the neuroprotective effects of antioxidants for the prevention of AD

Esports Players’ Transition out of Esports: Is There Life After Esports?

The purpose of this study is to explore retired/retiring esports players’ experience of transitioning out of esports. To provide in-depth insights into esports players’ transition experiences that may contribute to young players being better prepared for their own transitions, a qualitative approach was applied and four retired professional esports players in South Korea were interviewed. Thematic analysis was applied, and four themes were identified: Pressure and Uncertainty; Lack of Pre-Retirement Planning; Need for Mentorship; Need for Realism about Talent. The findings highlight that esports players experience pressure and struggle with job/finance insecurity during their careers, and that this contributes significantly to their retirement decisions. Lack of pre-retirement planning causes them to be ill-prepared for their life after esports. The study provides empirical evidence which should encourage the industry and stakeholders to establish structured systems to support esports players’ transitions out of esports

Analysis of differences in variables related to health and safety according to the employment type of Korean workers

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to understand the differences in variables related to health and safety according to the employment type of Korean workers, specifically to identify the differences by employment type on in health status, the likelihood of wearing protective gear when working, access to manuals on emotional expression, and access to information on risk factors related to health and safety. Methods: The secondary data of four items on employment type, health type of workers and safety among the 5th Korean Working Condition Survey conducted in 2017 in Korea was used in this study. The data of workers were processed by using SPSS/WIN 23.0 Program and R 3.1.2, and demographic characteristics were quantified as frequency and percentage.  Results: A total of 30,300 employed people were surveyed. The result shows that part-time workers have poorer health than full-time workers (c2 = 540.7155, p < 0.05), insufficiently wore protective gear (c2 = 24.8702, p < 0.05), had insufficient access to manuals on emotional expression (c2 = 27.7612, p < 0.05) and lacked information about risk factors (c2 = 185.0082, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Health and safety manager will need to have education and consultation, development of manual and perform an early intervention to improve safety environment as primary health care providers by understanding factors related to health and safety of part-time workers

Study on correlation between cavitation and pressure fluctuation signal using high-speed camera system

This paper is presenting the correlation between the cavitation and the pressure fluctuation of a propeller. Cavitation images and pressure fluctuation signals were simultaneously acquired by a high-speed camera system connected to pressure sensors for the correlation analysis. The analysis is focusing on the growing and collapsing process of the cavitation and its corresponding patterns of pressure signals. Especially, the relationship between the shape variations of the pressure fluctuation signal and the variations of pressure amplitudes for both the first and second blade frequency components is also studied. From the analysis on the correlation between cavitation behaviors and pressure fluctuation signals, comprehensive explanations on the fundamental mechanisms of the pressure signal generation and on the moment of the peak creation in the pressure signals are found. The shape of overall pressure fluctuation signal on hull surface is affected by not only the effect of cavitation from a single blade but also the superposition of the pressure signals from two adjacent blades when the collapsing of the foregoing blade's cavity and the growing of the following blade's cavity are happening at the same time. In this manner, the overlapping phenomena cause the changes of combination of amplitude levels of each blade frequency.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/84231/1/CAV2009-final27.pd

Stability of hydrogenation states of graphene and conditions for hydrogen spillover

The hydrogen spillover mechanism has been discussed in the field of hydrogen storage and is believed to have particular advantage over the storage as metal or chemical hydrides. We investigate conditions for practicality realizing the hydrogen spillover mechanism onto carbon surfaces, using first-principles methods. Our results show that contrary to common belief, types of hydrogenation configurations of graphene (the aggregated all-paired configurations) can satisfy the thermodynamic requirement for room-temperature hydrogen storage. However, the peculiarity of the paired adsorption modes gives rise to a large kinetic barrier against hydrogen migration and desorption. It means that an extremely high pressure is required to induce the migration-derived hydrogenation. However, if mobile catalytic particles are present inside the graphitic interstitials, hydrogen migration channels can open and the spillover phenomena can be realized. We suggest a molecular model for such a mobile catalyst which can exchange hydrogen atoms with the wall of graphene.open151

GPS-GLASS: Learning Nighttime Semantic Segmentation Using Daytime Video and GPS data

Semantic segmentation for autonomous driving should be robust against various in-the-wild environments. Nighttime semantic segmentation is especially challenging due to a lack of annotated nighttime images and a large domain gap from daytime images with sufficient annotation. In this paper, we propose a novel GPS-based training framework for nighttime semantic segmentation. Given GPS-aligned pairs of daytime and nighttime images, we perform cross-domain correspondence matching to obtain pixel-level pseudo supervision. Moreover, we conduct flow estimation between daytime video frames and apply GPS-based scaling to acquire another pixel-level pseudo supervision. Using these pseudo supervisions with a confidence map, we train a nighttime semantic segmentation network without any annotation from nighttime images. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method on several nighttime semantic segmentation datasets. Our source code is available at https://github.com/jimmy9704/GPS-GLASS.Comment: ICCVW 202

Transitioning Out of Esports: Exploring the Experiences of Professional Esports Players in South Korea

This study explored the experiences of retired esports players, focusing particularly on their transition out of esports. Utilizing a qualitative approach, interviews were conducted with four retired professional esports players in South Korea. A thematic analysis revealed four recurring themes: career pressure and uncertainty, lack of preretirement planning, demand for mentorship support, and necessity for a realistic perspective on talent. The findings indicated that significant pressure and financial insecurity during their careers often catalyzed the players’ decisions to retire. Players were unprepared for postesports life due to inadequate preretirement planning. This study highlights the crucial roles of mentorship and realistic talent assessments in facilitating smoother career transitions. The main contribution of this research lies in its empirical evidence, which stresses the need for structured support systems for esports players transitioning out of professional gaming. Stakeholders within the esports industry can utilize these findings to formulate policies and programs aimed at providing financial assistance, career planning, mentorship, and guidance to players during their careers and upon retirement. The outcomes of this study can serve as a foundation for future research by clarifying the necessity for broader investigations into the experiences of esports players and the development of practical strategies to mitigate their transition challenges

Fighting for Olympic dreams and life beyond: Olympian judokas on striving for glory and tackling post-athletic challenges

ObjectivesThis study explores the experiences of Olympian judokas, examining both their pursuit of excellence to compete at the Olympics and their subsequent transition out of judo. The aim is to offer empirical evidence regarding the challenges they face in realizing their Olympic dreams, and to shed light on the transitional challenges, available resources, and needs they face as they move toward post-athletic lives.MethodsWe conducted semi-structured interviews with eight Olympian judokas: five males and three females, all of whom have retired from competitive judo. These participants are from Portugal (n = 1), Republic of Korea (n = 2), and the United Kingdom (n = 5). We employed thematic analysis, which led to the identification of five main themes: (a) From Dreams to Olympic Reality, (b) Facing the Void: Loss of Goals and Identity, (c) The Crucial Role of Social Support, (d) Dual Aspects of Pre-Retirement Planning, and (e) The Double Edge of Organizational Support.FindingsThe findings highlight the significant challenges faced by Olympian judokas, including goal and identity loss post-retirement, and the need for comprehensive and accessible organizational support, particularly psychological assistance, to assist in their transition to post-athletic life.ImplicationsThe findings not only enhance our understanding of judokas’ experiences during transition but also offer insights that could guide the development of tailored support programs. It is critical for sport governing bodies and practitioners to apply these insights in creating comprehensive and easily accessible support systems, which will ensure a smoother transition to post-athletic life for high-performance athletes