2,479 research outputs found
E-Learning Nutrition Education Program for Low-Income Adults: Perspectives of Key Stakeholders
Through focus group interviews, we examined the perceptions of Extension peer nutrition educators (n = 6) and low-income adults (n = 8) regarding the feasibility of an e-learning nutrition education program, titled Food eTalk, tailored to Georgians eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed). Findings indicated two themes: (a) Participants have regular smartphone-based Internet access, and nutrition education e-learning programs should be designed to match typical smartphone use patterns and (b) recommendations to increase Food eTalk engagement involve carefully selected content and consideration to mandate SNAP-Ed participation. These findings are informing user-centered development of Food eTalk and may be of use to others creating such programs
The effect of alpha lipoic acid in a porcine in-stent restenosis model
SummaryBackgroundThe aim of this study was to investigate the effect of alpha lipoic acid (α-LA) on a porcine in-stent restenosis (ISR) model.MethodsIn protocol 1, porcine vascular smooth muscle cells (PVSMC) were stimulated by granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) in the presence or absence of α-LA. MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl] 2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay and western blotting were used to determine the cell growth inhibitory rate and anti-inflammatory effect associated with nuclear factor-κb (NF-κb) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). In protocol 2, 28 days after balloon overdilation injuries, 24 bare metal stents were placed in coronary artery of 12 pigs. The pigs were randomly divided to receive control diet with or without α-LA (100mg/kg). In protocol 3, 8 control stents and 8 α-LA coated stents were randomly implanted in 2 coronary arteries of 8 pigs and follow-up coronary angiogram and histopathologic assessment were performed 4 weeks after stenting.ResultsProtocol 1. The proliferation of PVSMC was inhibited and protein expression of NF-κb and ERK were attenuated by α-LA pretreatment. Protocol 2. On histopathologic analysis, the neointimal area (4.0±1.0mm2 vs. 1.5±0.7mm2, p<0.001) and histopathologic area of stenosis (66.7±10.7% vs. 24.2±9.7%, p<0.001) were reduced in the α-LA feeding group compared to controls. Protocol 3. On histopathologic analysis, the neointimal area (3.9±0.8mm2 vs. 1.0±0.4mm2, p<0.001), and the histopathologic area of stenosis (67.1±8.8% vs. 17.4±10.0%, p<0.001) were reduced in the α-LA coated stent group compared to the control stent group.Conclusionsα-LA feeding and α-LA coated stents inhibit neointimal hyperplasia in porcine ISR, possibly through inhibiting the activation of NF-κb pathway and proliferation of PVSMC
First-principles study of surface properties of PuO2: Effects of thickness and O-vacancy on surface stability and chemical activity
The (111), (110), and (001) surfaces properties of PuO2 are studied by using
density-functional theory+U method. The total-energy static calculations
determine the relative order of stability for low-index PuO2 surfaces, namely,
O-terminated (111) > (110) > defective (001) > polar (001). The effect of
thickness is shown to modestly modulate the surface stability and chemical
activity of the (110) surface. The high work function of 6.19 eV indicates the
chemical inertia of the most stable (111) surface, and the surface O-vacancy
with concentration C_V=25% can efficiently lower the work function to 4.35 eV,
which is a crucial indicator of the difference in the surface chemical
activities between PuO2 and \alpha-Pu2O3. For the polar (001) surface, 50%
on-surface O-vacancy can effectively quench the dipole moment and stabilize the
surface structure, where the residual surface oxygen atoms are arranged in a
zigzag manner along the direction. We also investigate the relative
stability of PuO2 surfaces in an oxygen environment. Under oxygen-rich
conditions, the stoichiometric O-terminated (111) is found to be the most
stable surface. Whereas under O-reducing conditions, the on-surface O-vacancy
of C_V = 1/9 is stable, and for high reducing conditions, the (111) surface
with nearly one monolayer subsurface oxygen removed (C_V = 8/9) becomes most
stable.Comment: 9 JNM pages, 7 figure
Deep Learning Enables Large Depth-of-Field Images for Sub-Diffraction-Limit Scanning Superlens Microscopy
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is indispensable in diverse applications
ranging from microelectronics to food processing because it provides large
depth-of-field images with a resolution beyond the optical diffraction limit.
However, the technology requires coating conductive films on insulator samples
and a vacuum environment. We use deep learning to obtain the mapping
relationship between optical super-resolution (OSR) images and SEM domain
images, which enables the transformation of OSR images into SEM-like large
depth-of-field images. Our custom-built scanning superlens microscopy (SSUM)
system, which requires neither coating samples by conductive films nor a vacuum
environment, is used to acquire the OSR images with features down to ~80 nm.
The peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity index measure
values indicate that the deep learning method performs excellently in
image-to-image translation, with a PSNR improvement of about 0.74 dB over the
optical super-resolution images. The proposed method provides a high level of
detail in the reconstructed results, indicating that it has broad applicability
to chip-level defect detection, biological sample analysis, forensics, and
various other fields.Comment: 13 pages,7 figure
Role of Amphipathic Helix of a Herpesviral Protein in Membrane Deformation and T Cell Receptor Downregulation
Lipid rafts are membrane microdomains that function as platforms for signal transduction and membrane trafficking. Tyrosine kinase interacting protein (Tip) of T lymphotropic Herpesvirus saimiri (HVS) is targeted to lipid rafts in T cells and downregulates TCR and CD4 surface expression. Here, we report that the membrane-proximal amphipathic helix preceding Tip's transmembrane (TM) domain mediates lipid raft localization and membrane deformation. In turn, this motif directs Tip's lysosomal trafficking and selective TCR downregulation. The amphipathic helix binds to the negatively charged lipids and induces liposome tubulation, the TM domain mediates oligomerization, and cooperation of the membrane-proximal helix with the TM domain is sufficient for localization to lipid rafts and lysosomal compartments, especially the mutivesicular bodies. These findings suggest that the membrane-proximal amphipathic helix and TM domain provide HVS Tip with the unique ability to deform the cellular membranes in lipid rafts and to downregulate TCRs potentially through MVB formation
Protection by Chrysanthemum zawadskii extract from liver damage of mice caused by carbon tetrachloride is maybe mediated by modulation of QR activity
Our previous study demonstrated that methanolic extract of Chrysanthemum zawadskii Herbich var. latilobum Kitamura (Compositae) has the potential to induce detoxifying enzymes such as NAD(P)H:(quinone acceptor) oxidoreductase 1 (EC 1.6.99.2) (NQO1, QR) and glutathione S-transferase (GST). In this study we further fractionated methanolic extract of Chrysanthemum zawadskii and investigated the detoxifying enzyme-inducing potential of each fraction. The fraction (CZ-6) shown the highest QR-inducing activity was found to contain (+)-(3S,4S,5R,8S)-(E)-8-acetoxy-4-hydroxy-3-isovaleroyloxy-2-(hexa-2,4-diynyliden)-1,6-dioxaspiro [4,5] decane and increased QR enzyme activity in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, CZ-6 fraction caused a dose-dependent enhancement of luciferase activity in HepG2-C8 cells generated by stably transfecting antioxidant response element-luciferase gene construct, suggesting that it induces antioxidant/detoxifying enzymes through antioxidant response element (ARE)-mediated transcriptional activation of the relevant genes. Although CZ-6 fraction failed to induce hepatic QR in mice over the control, it restored QR activity suppressed by CCl4 treatment to the control level. Hepatic injury induced by CCl4 was also slightly protected by pretreatment with CZ-6. In conclusion, although CZ-6 fractionated from methanolic extract of Chrysanthemum zawadskii did not cause a significant QR induction in mice organs such as liver, kidney, and stomach, it showed protective effect from liver damage caused by CCl4
Effectiveness and safety of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants in patients with atrial fibrillation with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
Association between Obesity and Physical Fitness, and Hemoglobin A1c Level and Metabolic Syndrome in Korean Adults
BACKGROUND: The purpose of the current study was to investigate the association of obesity level, physical fitness level, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level and metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk factors among Korean adults.
METHODS: A total of 557 adults (272 males and 285 females) who underwent medical check-up at local hospital were recruited. In addition to regular health check-up, cardiopulmonary fitness, muscular endurance were measured and their association were analyzed.
RESULTS: The prevalence of MetS was 31.7% for males and 23.7% for females. Females with the higher muscular endurance had lower waist circumference, triglyceride level, and HbA1c level than those with the lower muscular endurance. Males with the higher level of cardiopulmonary fitness had lower diastolic blood pressure, lower high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level and higher high density lipoprotein cholesterol level than males with the lower level of cardiopulmonary fitness. Females with the higher level of cardiopulmonary fitness had lower body weight, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, and fasting blood glucose level than females with the lower level of cardiopulmonary fitness. Participants with the higher level of adiposity and the lower level of physical fitness were 5.26 times (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.19 to 12.62), 5.71 times (95% CI, 2.23 to 14.60) more likely to have MetS, respectively, in male and female compared to participants who were neither obese nor have the lower level of fitness.
CONCLUSION: This study suggests that maintaining a healthy body weight as well as a certain level of fitness is important for the prevention of MetS.ope
Investigating the Effects of Conditioned Media from Stem Cells of Human Exfoliated Deciduous Teeth on Dental Pulp Stem Cells
Pulp regeneration has recently attracted interest in modern dentistry. However, the success ratio of pulp regeneration is low due to the compromising potential of stem cells, such as their survival, migration, and odontoblastic differentiation. Stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) have been considered a promising tool for regenerative therapy due to their ability to secrete multiple factors that are essential for tissue regeneration, which is achieved by minimally invasive procedures with fewer ethical or legal concerns than those of other procedures. The aim of this study is to investigate the potency of SHED-derived conditioned media (SHED CM) on dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs), a major type of mesenchymal stem cells for dental pulp regeneration. Our results show the promotive efficiency of SHED CM on the proliferation, survival rate, and migration of DPSCs in a dose-dependent manner. Upregulation of odontoblast/osteogenic-related marker genes, such as ALP, DSPP, DMP1, OCN, and RUNX2, and enhanced mineral deposition of impaired DPSCs are also observed in the presence of SHED CM. The analysis of SHED CM found that a variety of cytokines and growth factors have positive effects on cell proliferation, migration, anti-apoptosis, and odontoblast/osteogenic differentiation. These findings suggest that SHED CM could provide some benefits to DPSCs in pulp regeneration
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