Decreased Pattern-Recognition Receptor-Mediated Cytokine mRNA Expression in Obese Children With Otitis Media With Effusion

ObjectivesTo assess innate and humoral immune responses in middle ear effusion of obese pediatric patients with otitis media with effusion (OME).MethodsWe evaluated 219 children with OME, of whom 21 were obese and 198 were non-obese. We compared the expression in middle ear effusion of mRNAs encoding toll-like receptors (TLR) 2, 4, 5, and 9; nucleotide-binding oligomerization domains (NOD) 1 and 2; retinoic acid-inducible gene (RIG)-I; interleukins (IL)-6, -10, and -12; interferon (IFN)-γ; and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α mRNAs. We also compared the expression of immunoglobulins IgG, IgA, and IgM and the bacterial detection rate in the two groups.ResultsTLR2-mediated expression of IL-6 mRNA, TLR4-mediated expression of IL-6 and IL-10 mRNA, TLR5-mediated expression of IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α mRNA, TLR9-mediated expression of IL-6 mRNA, and NOD2-mediated expression of IL-6, IL-12, and TNF-α mRNA were significantly lower in obese than in non-obese children (P0.05).ConclusionMean body mass index was higher and pattern-recognition receptor-mediated cytokine mRNA expression was lower in obese than in non-obese children with OME

Characteristics of primary and immortalized fibroblast cells derived from the miniature and domestic pigs

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The pig, <it>Sus scrofa domestica </it>includes both the miniature and commercial domestic breed. These animals have influenced the human life and economies and have been studied throughout history. Although the miniature breeds are more recent and have increasingly been used in a variety of biomedical studies, their cell lines have rarely been established. Therefore, we sought to establish primary and immortal cell lines derived from both the miniature and domestic pig to better enable insight into possible <it>in vivo </it>growth differences.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The <it>in vitro </it>lifespan of primary domestic pig fibroblast (PF) and miniature pig fibroblast (MPF) cells using a standard 3T3 protocol was determined. Both of the primary PF and MPF cells were shown to have a two-step replicative senescence barrier. Primary MPF cells exhibited a relatively shorter lifespan and slower proliferation rate compared to those of primary PF cells. Beyond senescence barriers, lifespan-extended PF and MPF cells were eventually established and indicated spontaneous cellular immortalization. In contrast to the immortalized PF cells, immortal MPF cells showed a transformed phenotype and possessed more frequent chromosomal abnormalities and loss of p53 regulatory function. The lifespan of primary MPF and PF cells was extended by inactivation of the p53 function using transduction by SV40LT without any detectable senescent phenotype.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results suggest that p53 signaling might be a major determinant for the replicative senescence in the MPF cells that have the shorter lifespan and slower growth rate compared to PF cells <it>in vitro</it>.</p

Accelerated chemical science with AI

In light of the pressing need for practical materials and molecular solutions to renewable energy and health problems, to name just two examples, one wonders how to accelerate research and development in the chemical sciences, so as to address the time it takes to bring materials from initial discovery to commercialization. Artificial intelligence (AI)-based techniques, in particular, are having a transformative and accelerating impact on many if not most, technological domains. To shed light on these questions, the authors and participants gathered in person for the ASLLA Symposium on the theme of ‘Accelerated Chemical Science with AI’ at Gangneung, Republic of Korea. We present the findings, ideas, comments, and often contentious opinions expressed during four panel discussions related to the respective general topics: ‘Data’, ‘New applications’, ‘Machine learning algorithms’, and ‘Education’. All discussions were recorded, transcribed into text using Open AI's Whisper, and summarized using LG AI Research's EXAONE LLM, followed by revision by all authors. For the broader benefit of current researchers, educators in higher education, and academic bodies such as associations, publishers, librarians, and companies, we provide chemistry-specific recommendations and summarize the resulting conclusions

Analysis of Endoscopic Electronic Image of Intramucosal Gastric Carcinoma Using a Software Program for Calculating Hemoglobin Index

Hemoglobin is the predominent pigment in the gastrointestinal mucosa, and the development of electronic endoscopy has made it possible to quantitatively measure the mucosal hemoglobin volume, by using a hemoglobin index (IHb). The aims of this study were to make a software program to calculate the IHb and then to investigate whether the mucosal IHb determined from the electronic endoscopic data is a useful marker for evaluating the color of intramucosal gastric carcinoma with regard to its value for discriminating between the histologic types. We made a software program for calculating the IHb in the endoscopic images. By using this program, the mean values of the IHb for the carcinoma (IHb-C) and those of the IHb for the surrounding non-cancerous mucosa (IHb-N) were calculated in 75 intestinal-type and 34 diffuse-type intramucosal gastric carcinomas. We then analyzed the ratio of the IHb-C to the IHb-N (C/N ratio). The C/N ratio in the intestinal-type carcinoma group was higher than that in the diffuse-type carcinoma group (p<0.001). In the diffuse-type carcinoma group, the C/N ratio in the body was lower than that in the antrum (p=0.022). The accuracy rate, sensitivity, specificity, and the positive and negative predictive values for the differential diagnosis of the diffuse-type carcinoma from the intestinal-type carcinoma were 94.5%, 94.1%, 94.7%, 88.9% and 97.3%, respectively. IHb is useful for making quantitative measurement of the endoscopic color in the intramucosal gastric carcinoma, and the C/N ratio by using the IHb would be helpful for distinguishing the diffuse-type carcinoma from the intestinal-type carcinoma

Ultraviolet nanoimprinted polymer nanostructure for organic light emitting diode application

Light extraction efficiency of a conventional organic light emitting diode (OLED) remains limited to approximately 20% as most of the emission is trapped in the waveguide and glass modes. An etchless simple method was developed to fabricate two-dimensional nanostructures on glass substrate directly by using ultraviolet (UV) curable polymer resin and UV nanoimprint lithography in order to improve output coupling efficiency of OLEDs. The enhancement of the light extraction was predicted by the three-dimensional finite difference time domain method. OLEDs integrated on nanoimprinted substrates enhanced electroluminance intensity by up to 50% compared to the conventional device

Expression of TLR2, TLR4, and TLR9 in dermatomyositis and polymyositis

The aim of this study was to investigate the expressions of Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2, TLR4, TLR9, and their correlations with the expression of cytokines that are associated with activation of CD4+ T cells and inflammation including interferon γ (IFNγ), interleukin 4 (IL4), interleukin 17 (IL17), and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) in muscle tissues of patients with dermatomyositis (DM) and polymyositis (PM). The expressions of TLR2, TLR4, TLR9, IFNγ, IL4, IL17, and TNFα were measured by real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction in muscle tissues from 14 patients with DM and PM (nine patients with DM, five patients with PM) and three controls. The expressions of TLR2, TLR4, and TLR9 were also localized with immunohistochemistry. The expression levels of TLR2, TLR4, TLR9, IFNγ, IL4, IL17, and TNFα were significantly high in patients with DM and PM compared with those in the controls, and the expression levels of TLR4 and TLR9 had significant positive correlations with the expressions of IFNγ, IL4, IL17, and TNFα. Immunohistochemistry showed that TLR2, TLR4, and TLR9 were expressed by infiltrating cells of perimysium in DM, whereas they were expressed by infiltrating cells of endomysium in PM. These results suggest that the involvement of TLR4 and TLR9 in immunopathogenesis of DM and PM might be connected with activation of CD4+ T cells

Inhalation toxicity of humidifier disinfectants as a risk factor of children’s interstitial lung disease in Korea: a case-control study

Abstract Background: The occurrence of numerous cases of interstitial lung disease in children (chILD) every spring in Korea starting in 2006 raised suspicion about a causal relationship with the use of humidifier disinfectants (HDs). The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between HD use and the risk of chILD