Relationship Between Histological Features of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Ectopic Fat on Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Children and Adolescents

Objectives: To investigate the association between ectopic fat content in the liver and pancreas, obesity-related metabolic components, and histological findings of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in children.Methods: This cross-sectional study investigated 63 children with biopsy-proven NAFLD who underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), anthropometry, laboratory tests, and body composition analysis. Clinical and metabolic parameters, MRI-measured hepatic fat fraction (HFF) and pancreatic fat fraction (PFF), and histological findings were analyzed.Results: In a total of 63 children (48 boys, median age 12.6 years, median body mass index z-score 2.54), HFF was associated with histological steatosis [10.4, 23.7, and 31.1% in each steatosis grade, P < 0.001; Spearman's rho coefficient (rs) = 0.676; P < 0.001] and NAFLD activity score (rs = 0.470, P < 0.001), but not with lobular inflammation, hepatocyte ballooning, and hepatic fibrosis. PFF was not associated with any histological features of the liver. Waist circumference-to-height ratio and body fat percentage were associated with the steatosis grade (P = 0.006 and P = 0.004, respectively). Alanine aminotransferase was not associated with steatosis but was associated with lobular inflammation (P = 0.008). Lobular inflammation was also associated with high total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and metabolic syndrome (P = 0.015, P = 0.036, and P = 0.038, respectively).Conclusions: Hepatic steatosis on MRI was only associated with the histological steatosis grade, while elevated serum levels of liver enzymes and lipids were related to the severity of lobular inflammation. Therefore, MRI should be interpreted in conjunction with the anthropometric and laboratory findings in pediatric patients

Economic Ripple Effect Analysis of New Converging Industry: Focusing on Inter-Industrial Analysis of Fintech Industry in South Korea, China and the United States

116–121The Fintech industry is the convergence of the financial industry and the ICT (Information and Communications Technology) industry. It not only replaces the services provided by traditional financial services such as remittances, settlements, and asset management, but also creates new industries combined with ICT technology such as Cloud funding, P2P, and Internet Professional Bank. Therefore, this research focuses on the economic ripple effect of the Fintech industry on the national economy by inter-industrial analysis. At the same time, in order to learn the different circumstances of Fintech industry worldwide, this study conducted comparative research on Fintech leading countries in the United States and China with South Korea. All the economic ripple effects of South Korea, China, and the United States Fintech industry are relatively low among all industries, and the industrial characteristics are analyzed to be 'intermediate primary production' type industry. This study, as the first attempt, analyzes the current economic impact of Fintech in each country, and inspires future development direction of Fintech industrial policy

Curcumin induces expression of 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase in gastric mucosal cells and mouse stomach in vivo: AP-1 as a potential target

15-Hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH) catalyzes the conversion of oncogenic prostaglandin E-2 to non-tumerigenic 15-keto prostaglandin E-2. In the present study, we found that curcumin, a yellow coloring agent present in the rhizome of Curcuma Tonga Linn (Zingiberaceae), induced expression of 15-PGDH at the both transcriptional and translational levels in normal rat gastric mucosal cells. By using deletion constructs of 15-PGDH promoter, we were able to demonstrate that activator protein-1 (AP-1) is the principal transcription factor responsible for regulating curcumin-induced 15-PGDH expression. Curcumin enhanced the expression of c-jun and cFos that are functional subunits of AP-1, in the nuclear fraction of cells. Silencing of c-jun suppressed curcumin-induced expression of 15-PGDH. Moreover, the chromatin immunoprecipitation assay revealed curcumin-induced binding of c-Jun to the AP-1 consensus sequence present in the 15-PGDH promoter. Curaimin increased phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and JNK. and pharmacologic inhibition of these kinases abrogated the curcumin-induced phosphorylation of clun and 15-PGDH expression. In contrast, tetrahydrocurcumin which lacks the alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl group failed to induce 15-PGDH expression, suggesting that the electrophilic carbonyl group of curcumin is essential for its induction of 15-PGDH expression. Curcumin restored the expression of 15-PGDH which is down-regulated by Helicobater pylori through suppression of DNA methyltransferase 1. In addition, oral administration of curcumin increased the expression of 15-PGDH and its regulators such as p-ERK1/2, p-JNK and c-Jun in the mouse stomach. Taken together, these findings suggest that curcumin-induced upregulation of 15-PGDH may contribute to chemopreventive effects of this phytochemical on inflammation-associated gastric carcinogenesis. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Economic Ripple Effect Analysis of New Converging Industry: Focusing on Inter-Industrial Analysis of Fintech Industry in South Korea, China and the United States

The Fintech industry is the convergence of the financial industry and the ICT (Information and Communications Technology) industry. It not only replaces the services provided by traditional financial services such as remittances, settlements, and asset management, but also creates new industries combined with ICT technology such as Cloud funding, P2P, and Internet Professional Bank. Therefore, this research focuses on the economic ripple effect of the Fintech industry on the national economy by inter-industrial analysis. At the same time, in order to learn the different circumstances of Fintech industry worldwide, this study conducted comparative research on Fintech leading countries in the United States and China with South Korea. All the economic ripple effects of South Korea, China, and the United States Fintech industry are relatively low among all industries, and the industrial characteristics are analyzed to be 'intermediate primary production' type industry. This study, as the first attempt, analyzes the current economic impact of Fintech in each country, and inspires future development direction of Fintech industrial policy

Nanostructured, Self-Assembling Peptide K5 Blocks TNF-α and PGE2 Production by Suppression of the AP-1/p38 Pathway

Nanostructured, self-assembling peptides hold promise for a variety of regenerative medical applications such as 3D cell culture systems, accelerated wound healing, and nerve repair. The aim of this study was to determine whether the self-assembling peptide K5 can be applied as a carrier of anti-inflammatory drugs. First, we examined whether the K5 self-assembling peptide itself can modulate various cellular inflammatory responses. We found that peptide K5 significantly suppressed the release of tumor-necrosis-factor- (TNF-) α and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) from RAW264.7 cells and peritoneal macrophages stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Similarly, there was inhibition of cyclooxygenase- (COX-) 2 mRNA expression assessed by real-time PCR, indicating that the inhibition is at the transcriptional level. In agreement with this finding, peptide K5 suppressed the translocation of the transcription factors activator protein (AP-1) and c-Jun and inhibited upstream inflammatory effectors including mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK), p38, and mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 3/6 (MKK 3/6). Whether this peptide exerts its effects via a transmembrane or cytoplasmic receptor is not clear. However, our data strongly suggest that the nanostructured, self-assembling peptide K5 may possess significant anti-inflammatory activity via suppression of the p38/AP-1 pathway

Prevalence of sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity in Korean adults: The Korean Sarcopenic Obesity Study (KSOS)

*Context:* Sarcopenic obesity (SO), a combination of excess weight and reduced muscle mass and/or strength, is suggested to be associated with an increased risk of adverse health outcomes. 
*Objectives:* To examine the prevalence and characteristics of Sarcopenic and SO defined by using different indices such as Appendicular Skeletal muscle Mass (ASM)/height^2^ and Skeletal Muscle Index (SMI (%): skeletal muscle mass (kg)/weight (kg) × 100) for Korean adults. 
*Methods:* 591 participants were recruited from the Korean Sarcopenic Obesity Study (KSOS) which is an ongoing prospective observational cohort study. Analysis was conducted in 526 participants (328 women, 198 men) who had complete data on body composition using Dual X-ray absorptiometry and computed tomography. 
*Results:* The prevalence of sarcopenia and SO increases with aging. Using two or more standard deviations (SD) of ASM/height^2^ below reference values from young, healthy adults as a definition of sarcopenia, the prevalence of sarcopenia and SO was 6.3% and 1.3% in men and 4.1% and 1.7% in women over 60 years of age. However, using two or more SD of SMI, the prevalence of sarcopenia and SO was 5.1% and 5.1% respectively in men and 14.2% and 12.5% respectively in women. As defined by SMI, subjects with SO had 3 times the risk of metabolic syndrome (OR = 3.03, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.26-7.26) and subjects with non-sarcopenic obesity had approximately 2 times the risk of metabolic syndrome (OR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.18-3.02) compared with normal subjects. 
*Conclusion:* Obese subjects with relative sarcopenia were associated with a greater likelihood for metabolic syndrome. As Koreans were more obese and aging, the prevalence of SO and its impact on health outcomes are estimated to be rapidly grow. Further research is requested to establish the definition, cause and consequences of SO.
&#xa

Crystal structures of murine norovirus-1 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase in complex with 2-thiouridine or ribavirin

AbstractMurine norovirus-1 (MNV-1) shares many features with human norovirus (HuNoV) and both are classified within the norovirus genus of Caliciviridae family. MNV-1 is used as the surrogate for HuNoV research since it is the only form that can be grown in cell culture. HuNoV and MNV-1 RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) proteins with the sequence identity of 59% show essentially identical conformations. Here we report the first structural evidence of 2-thiouridine (2TU) or ribavirin binding to MNV-1 RdRp, based on the crystal structures determined at 2.2Å and 2.5Å resolutions, respectively. Cellular and biochemical studies revealed stronger inhibitory effect of 2TU on the replication of MNV-1 in RAW 264.7 cells, compared to that of ribavirin. Our complex structures highlight the key interactions involved in recognition of the nucleoside analogs which block the active site of the viral RNA polymerase