The Circular Economy: Take-Back Systems for Textile Recycling

Waste management issues in the textile and clothing industry can be related to either pre-consumer or post-consumer waste. An effective take-back system for post-consumer clothing waste plays a critical role in maximizing reuse and recycling of textile wastes. The purpose of this study was to investigate emerging technologies regarding the development of robust take-back systems as well as further design development and consumer involvement

Prevalent Multidrug-resistant Nonvaccine Serotypes in Pneumococcal Carriage of Healthy Korean Children Associated with the Low Coverage of the Seven-valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine

AbstractObjectivesOur previous longitudinal multicenter-based carriage study showed that the average carriage rate of Streptococcus pneumoniae was 16.8% in 582 healthy children attending kindergarten or elementary school in Seoul, Korea. We assessed serotype-specific prevalence and antimicrobial resistance among colonizing pneumococcal isolates from young children in the era of low use of the seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7).MethodsSerotypes were determined by an agglutination test with specific antisera or by a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. An antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed with broth microdilution in Korean 96-well panels from Dade-MicroScan (Sacramento, CA, USA).ResultsPneumococcal colonization patterns were dynamic and longterm persistent carriage was rare, which indicated a sequential turnover of pneumococcal strains. Of the 369 pneumococci (except for 23 killed isolates), 129 (34.9%) isolates were PCV7 vaccine serotypes (VTs); 213 (57.8%) isolates were nonvaccine serotypes (NVTs); and the remaining 27 (7.2%) isolates were nontypable (NT). The highest rates of multidrug resistance (MDR) were observed in VTs (86.0%; 111/129 isolates) and NVTs (70.0%; 149/213 isolates).ConclusionThis study overall showed the frequent carriage of VTs and NVTs with MDR in healthy children attending kindergarten or elementary school. Efforts should be directed toward reducing the extensive prescription of antibiotics and using new broader vaccines to reduce the expansion of MDR strains of NVTs in our community

Unleashing the full potential of Hsp90 inhibitors as cancer therapeutics through simultaneous inactivation of Hsp90, Grp94, and TRAP1

Cancer therapeutics: Extending a drug's reach A new drug that blocks heat shock proteins (HSPs), helper proteins that are co-opted by cancer cells to promote tumor growth, shows promise for cancer treatment. Several drugs have targeted HSPs, since cancer cells are known to hijack these helper proteins to shield themselves from destruction by the body. However, the drugs have had limited success. Hye-Kyung Park and Byoung Heon Kang at Ulsan National Institutes of Science and Technology in South Korea and coworkers noticed that the drugs were not absorbed into mitochondria, a key cellular compartment, and HSPs in this compartment were therefore not being blocked. They identified a new HSP inhibitor that can reach every cellular compartment and inhibit all HSPs. Testing in mice showed that this inhibitor effectively triggered death of tumor cells, and therefore shows promise for anti-cancer therapy. The Hsp90 family proteins Hsp90, Grp94, and TRAP1 are present in the cell cytoplasm, endoplasmic reticulum, and mitochondria, respectively; all play important roles in tumorigenesis by regulating protein homeostasis in response to stress. Thus, simultaneous inhibition of all Hsp90 paralogs is a reasonable strategy for cancer therapy. However, since the existing pan-Hsp90 inhibitor does not accumulate in mitochondria, the potential anticancer activity of pan-Hsp90 inhibition has not yet been fully examined in vivo. Analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas database revealed that all Hsp90 paralogs were upregulated in prostate cancer. Inactivation of all Hsp90 paralogs induced mitochondrial dysfunction, increased cytosolic calcium, and activated calcineurin. Active calcineurin blocked prosurvival heat shock responses upon Hsp90 inhibition by preventing nuclear translocation of HSF1. The purine scaffold derivative DN401 inhibited all Hsp90 paralogs simultaneously and showed stronger anticancer activity than other Hsp90 inhibitors. Pan-Hsp90 inhibition increased cytotoxicity and suppressed mechanisms that protect cancer cells, suggesting that it is a feasible strategy for the development of potent anticancer drugs. The mitochondria-permeable drug DN401 is a newly identified in vivo pan-Hsp90 inhibitor with potent anticancer activity

Inflammatory bowel disease–associated intestinal fibrosis

Fibrosis is characterized by a proliferation of fibroblasts and excessive extracellular matrix following chronic inflammation, and this replacement of organ tissue with fibrotic tissue causes a loss of function. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, and intestinal fibrosis is common in IBD patients, resulting in several complications that require surgery, such as a stricture or penetration. This review describes the pathogenesis and various factors involved in intestinal fibrosis in IBD, including cytokines, growth factors, epithelial-mesenchymal and endothelial-mesenchymal transitions, and gut microbiota. Furthermore, histopathologic findings and scoring systems used for stenosis in IBD are discussed, and differences in the fibrosis patterns of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are compared. Biomarkers and therapeutic agents targeting intestinal fibrosis are briefly mentioned at the end

Ninjurin1 positively regulates osteoclast development by enhancing the survival of prefusion osteoclasts

Osteoclasts (OCs) are bone-resorbing cells that originate from hematopoietic stem cells and develop through the fusion of mononuclear myeloid precursors. Dysregulation of OC development causes bone disorders such as osteopetrosis, osteoporosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Although the molecular mechanisms underlying osteoclastogenesis have been well established, the means by which OCs maintain their survival during OC development remain unknown. We found that Ninjurin1 (Ninj1) expression is dynamically regulated during osteoclastogenesis and that Ninj1(-/-) mice exhibit increased trabecular bone volume owing to impaired OC development. Ninj1 deficiency did not alter OC differentiation, transmigration, fusion, or actin ring formation but increased Caspase-9-dependent intrinsic apoptosis in prefusion OCs (preOCs). Overexpression of Ninj1 enhanced the survival of mouse macrophage/preOC RAW264.7 cells in osteoclastogenic culture, suggesting that Ninj1 is important for the survival of preOCs. Finally, analysis of publicly available microarray data sets revealed a potent correlation between high NINJ1 expression and destructive bone disorders in humans. Our data indicate that Ninj1 plays an important role in bone homeostasis by enhancing the survival of preOCs

Does Tumor Size Influence the Diagnostic Accuracy of Ultrasound-Guided Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytology for Thyroid Nodules?

Background. Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is diagnostic standard for thyroid nodules. However, the influence of size on FNAC accuracy remains unclear especially in too small or too large thyroid nodules. The objective of this retrospective cohort study was to investigate the effect of nodule size on FNAC accuracy. Methods. All consecutive patients who underwent thyroidectomy for nodules in 2010 were enrolled. FNAC results (according to the Bethesda system) were compared to pathological diagnosis. The nodules were categorized into groups A–E on the basis of maximal diameter on ultrasound (≤0.5, >0.5–1, >1-2, >2–4, and >4 cm, resp.). Results. There were 502 cases with 690 nodules. Overall FNAC sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy were 95.4%, 98.2%, 99.4%, 86.4%, and 96.0%, respectively. False-negative rates (FNRs) of groups A–E were 3.2%, 5.1%, 1.3%, 13.3%, and 50%, respectively. Accuracy rates of groups A–E were 96.8%, 94.8%, 99%, 94.7%, and 87.5%, respectively. Conclusion. Although accuracy rates of FNAC in thyroid nodules smaller than 0.5 cm are comparable to the other group, thyroid nodules larger than 4 cm with benign cytology carry a higher risk of malignancy, which suggest that those should be considered for intensive follow-up or repeated biopsy

Decreased C-reactive protein induces abnormal vascular structure in a rat model of liver dysfunction induced by bile duct ligation

Background/Aims Chronic liver disease leads to liver fibrosis, and although the liver does have a certain regenerative capacity, this disease is associated with dysfunction of the liver vessels. C-reactive protein (CRP) is produced in the liver and circulated from there for metabolism. CRP was recently shown to inhibit angiogenesis by inducing endothelial cell dysfunction. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of CRP levels on angiogenesis in a rat model of liver dysfunction induced by bile duct ligation (BDL). Methods The diameter of the hepatic vein was analyzed in rat liver tissues using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. The expression levels of angiogenic factors, albumin, and CRP were analyzed by real-time PCR and Western blotting. A tube formation assay was performed to confirm the effect of CRP on angiogenesis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) treated with lithocholic acid (LCA) and siRNA-CRP. Results The diameter of the hepatic portal vein increased significantly with the progression of cirrhosis. The expression levels of angiogenic factors were increased in the cirrhotic liver. In contrast, the expression levels of albumin and CRP were significantly lower in the liver tissue obtained from the BDL rat model than in the normal liver. The CRP level was correlated with the expression of albumin in hepatocytes treated with LCA and siRNA-CRP. Tube formation was significantly decreased in HUVECs when they were treated with LCA or a combination of LCA and siRNA-CRP. Conclusion CRP seems to be involved in the abnormal formation of vessels in hepatic disease, and so it could be a useful diagnostic marker for hepatic disease

Idiopathic erythrocytosis in a patient on chronic hemodialysis

AbstractA 78-year-old man on hemodialysis presented to our hospital with erythrocytosis. He had started hemodialysis 4 years previously, with a hemoglobin level of 9.8g/dL, and was administered erythropoiesis stimulating agents and ferrous sulfate. Two years previously, his hemoglobin level increased to 14.5g/dL and the treatment for anemia was discontinued. He continued hemodialysis thrice weekly; however, the hemoglobin level had increased to 17.0g/dL at the time of presenting to our hospital. His serum erythropoietin level was 31.4mIU/mL (range, 3.7–31.5mIU/mL), carboxyhemoglobin level was 0.6% (range, 0–1.5%), and oxygen saturation in ambient air was 95.4%. The JAK2 V617F mutation was not observed and other bone marrow abnormalities were not identified. The patient was diagnosed with bladder cancer and a transurethral resection was performed. Eight months after the treatment of bladder cancer, his hemoglobin level was 15.1g/dL, and he was diagnosed with idiopathic erythrocytosis

Regeneration of a full-thickness defect of rotator cuff tendon with freshly thawed umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells in a rat model

Background It is difficult to immediately use mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for the patient with rotator cuff disease because isolation and culture time are required. Thus, the MSCs would be prepared in advanced in cryopreserved condition for an off-the-shelf usage in clinic. This study investigated the efficacy of freshly thawed MSCs on the regeneration of a full-thickness tendon defect (FTD) of rotator cuff tendon in a rat model. Methods We evaluated morphology, viability, and proliferation of cultured umbilical cord-derived MSCs (C-UC MSCs) and freshly thawed umbilical cord-derived MSCs (T-UC MSCs) at passage 10 in vitro. In animal experiments, we created a FTD in the supraspinatus of rats and injected the injured tendon with saline, cryopreserved agent (CPA; control), C-UC MSCs, and T-UC MSCs, respectively. Two and 4 weeks later, macroscopic, histological, biomechanical, and cell trafficking were evaluated. T test and ANOVA were used with SPSS. Differences with p < .05 were considered statistically significant. Results T-UC MSCs had fibroblast-like morphology and showed greater than 97% viability and stable proliferation comparable to the C-UC MSCs at passage 10. In animal experiments, compared with the control group, the macroscopic appearance of the T-UC MSCs was more recovered at 2 and 4 weeks such as inflammation, defect size, neighboring tendon, swelling/redness, the connecting surrounding tissue and slidability. Histologically, the nuclear aspect ratio, orientation angle of fibroblasts, collagen organization, and fiber coherence were improved by 33.33%, 42.75%, 1.86-fold, and 1.99-fold at 4 weeks, and GAG-rich area decreased by 88.13% and 94.70% at 2 and 4 weeks respectively. Further, the T-UC MSCs showed enhanced ultimate failure load by 1.55- and 1.25-fold compared with the control group at both 2 and 4 weeks. All the improved values of T-UC MSCs were comparable to those of C-UC MSCs. Moreover, T-UC MSCs remained 8.77% at 4 weeks after injury, and there was no significant difference between C-UC MSCs and T-UC MSCs. Conclusions The morphology, viability, and proliferation of T-UC MSCs were comparable to those of C-UC MSCs. Treatment with T-UC MSCs could induce tendon regeneration of FTD at the macroscopic, histological, and biomechanical levels comparable to treatment with C-UC MSCs.This study was supported by a grant (NRF-2015M3A9E6028412) of the Bio & Medical Technology Development Program and a grant (NRF2017R1A2B2010995) awarded by the Basic Science Research Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea