Optimized-SopungSunkiwon, a Herbal Formula, Attenuates A β

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common form of dementia, is an age-related neurodegenerative disease that is characterized by memory dysfunction, neuronal cell damage, and neuroinflammation. It is believed that AD-related pathology is mostly due to the overproduction of Aβ, especially the oligomeric form (AβO), in the brain. Evidence of the effects of multifunctional medicinal herbs in the treatment of AD has been steadily increasing. Optimized-SopungSunkiwon (OSS), a multiherbal formulation that is composed of six medicinal herbs derived from SopungSunkiwon, is a traditional medicine that is prescribed for neurodegenerative disorders in elderly patients. We previously reported that OSS showed an antiamnesic and memory enhancing effect in mice, but it is unknown whether OSS has a protective effect against AβO neurotoxicity. In this study, we investigated the effects of OSS in AD models induced by AβO in vitro and in vivo. We found that OSS protected neuronal cells and inhibited the generation of nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species against AβO toxicity in vitro. These results were confirmed by in vivo data that oral administration of OSS for 14 days attenuated memory impairments and neuronal cell death by modulating gliosis, glutathione depletion, and synaptic damage in the mouse hippocampus induced by AβO

Li+ Storage Sites in Amorphous V2O5 Prepared by Precipitation Method

Amorphous vanadium oxide (a-V2O5) powders were prepared by acidifying aqueous NH4VO3 solution with concentrated nitric acid. Samples having a different degree of layer stacking and surface area were obtained either by changing the NH4VO3 concentration or by employing additional solvent exchange process. The pentane-exchanged precipitate gave the largest surface area (60 m2 g-1) after vacuum drying at 100°C for 24 h. This electrode material delivered an initial discharge capacity of 426 mAh g21 in the voltage range of 1.5-4.0 V ~vs. Li/Li1), which amounts to 2.9 equiv Li1 ions per mol of V2O5 . X-ray absorption near-edge spectra ~XANES! clearly showed a vanadium reduction down to V~III! when Li1 ions were inserted at Li1/V2O5 . 2.0. The Li1 storage sites were analyzed by correlating the peak intensity in differential capacity plots to the surface area and degree of layer stacking, from which two different Li1 storage sites were identified. The discharging capacity at 1.7 V was strongly correlated with the surface area of electrode material, suggesting that Li1 ions are inserted into the amorphous region at this potential. The intensity of 2.5 V peak was, however, proportional to the peak intensity of ~001! diffraction, illustrating that Li1 ions are inserted into the quasi-ordered layer stacking region at this potential. The latter feature was further confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis, whereby it was found that the interlayer spacing decreases most significantly near 2.5 V along with a sharp decrease in the ~001! diffraction intensity.This work was supported by KOSEF via the Research Center for Energy Conversion and Storage, and also by the Ministry of Information and Communication in Korea ~2002-5-013!. The authors are grateful to authorities at the Pohang Light Source for X-ray absorption spectroscopic measurement

A Novel Magnetic Resonance Quality Assurance Phantom (KMRP-4): Multi-Site Comparison With the American College of Radiology Phantom

Purpose: To propose a novel standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) phantom, hereafter called the Korea Magnetic Resonance Phantom-4th edition (KMRP-4). Its related quality control (QC) assessment protocols and its comparison with the American College of Radiology (ACR) phantom and its QC assessment protocols. / Materials and Methods: Internally, the KMRP-4 phantom is composed of cubic and triangular vessels, brain tissue structures, and a uniform region designed to facilitate a variety of QC protocols. Using magnetic resonance (MR) images of these structures, we quantitatively evaluated a total of 10 parameters, seven from those of existing ACR protocols (i.e., geometric accuracy, high-contrast spatial resolution, slice thickness accuracy, slice position accuracy, image intensity uniformity, percent signal ghosting, and low-contrast object detectability) and three additional parameters for evaluating vessel conspicuity, brain tissue contrast, and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) introduced in the KMRP-4 protocols. Twentyt-wo MRI systems of 0.32–3.0 T static magnetic field strength were tested using both ACR and KMRP-4 phantoms. Mann–Whitney U-tests were performed on the seven evaluation items of the ACR method to compare KMRP-4 and ACR methods. / Results: The results of Mann–Whitney U-test demonstrated that p-values were more than 0.05 for all seven items that could be assessed with both ACR and KMRP-4, indicating similar results between the two methods. Additionally, assessments of vessel conspicuity, brain tissue contrast, and SNR using the KMRP-4 method demonstrated utility of the KMRP-4 phantom. / Conclusion: A novel standard phantom and related QC methods were developed to perform objective, observer-independent, and semi-automatic QC tests. Quantitative comparisons of MR images with KMPR-4 and ACR phantoms were performed. Results demonstrated the utility of the newly proposed KMRP-4 phantom and its related QC methods

Effects of education on low-phosphate diet and phosphate binder intake to control serum phosphate among maintenance hemodialysis patients: A randomized controlled trial.

Background:For phosphate control, patient education is essential due to the limited clearance of phosphate by dialysis. However, well-designed randomized controlled trials about dietary and phosphate binder education have been scarce. Methods:We enrolled maintenance hemodialysis patients and randomized them into an education group (n = 48) or a control group (n = 22). We assessed the patients' drug compliance and their knowledge about the phosphate binder using a questionnaire. Results:The primary goal was to increase the number of patients who reached a calcium-phosphorus product of lower than 55. In the education group, 36 (75.0%) patients achieved the primary goal, as compared with 16 (72.7%) in the control group (P = 0.430). The education increased the proportion of patients who properly took the phosphate binder (22.9% vs. 3.5%, P = 0.087), but not to statistical significance. Education did not affect the amount of dietary phosphate intake per body weight (education vs. control: -1.18 ± 3.54 vs. -0.88 ± 2.04 mg/kg, P = 0.851). However, the dietary phosphate-to-protein ratio tended to be lower in the education group (-0.64 ± 2.04 vs. 0.65 ± 3.55, P = 0.193). The education on phosphate restriction affected neither the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment score (0.17 ± 4.58 vs. -0.86 ± 3.86, P = 0.363) nor the level of dietary protein intake (-0.03 ± 0.33 vs. -0.09 ± 0.18, P = 0.569). Conclusion:Education did not affect the calcium-phosphate product. Education on the proper timing of phosphate binder intake and the dietary phosphate-to-protein ratio showed marginal efficacy

Prospective Multi-Center Trial for the Efficacy of Ecabet Sodium on the Relief of Dyspepsia in Korean Patients with Chronic Gastritis

Anti-peptic and anti-inflammatory actions of ecabet sodium might be beneficial in either improving gastritis or relieving dyspeptic symptoms. This study was designed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of ecabet sodium on dyspeptic symptoms and to elucidate the molecular mechanism attributable to symptom relief in patients with chronic gastritis. Two hundred and sixty eight chronic gastritis patients with persistent dyspepsia received ecabet sodium 1 g b.i.d. for 2 weeks, after which dyspeptic symptoms were reassessed with a questionnaires as before. The changes of interleukin-8 (IL-8), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels in gastric juices were measured by ELISA. The changes of nitrotyrosine in gastric mucosa were measured by immunohistochemical staining. The most common dyspeptic symptom in Korean patients with chronic gastritis was epigastric soreness (76.8%), which was improved significantly after ecabet sodium treatment (81.7%, p<0.001). Ecabet sodium was more effective in patients with epigastric pain than vague abdominal discomfort (p = 0.02), especially in patients with old age. Complete relief of discomfort was more highly achieved in patients with positive Helicobacter pylori than without (p = 0.01). In spite of clear tendency that the decreased levels of IL-8, iNOS, and PGE2 and increased levels of VEGF were measured in gastric juices after ecabet sodium treatment, no statistical significance was noted, which might be due to high inter-individual variations. The nitrotyrosine expressions were significantly decreased after ecabet sodium treatment than before (p<0.01). In conclusion, ecabet sodium treatment was very useful for the relief of dyspeptic symptoms in chronic gastritis, to which both attenuated inflammatory and enhanced regenerative mechanisms were contributive

A Cdo–Bnip-2–Cdc42 signaling pathway regulates p38α/β MAPK activity and myogenic differentiation

The p38α/β mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway promotes skeletal myogenesis, but the mechanisms by which it is activated during this process are unclear. During myoblast differentiation, the promyogenic cell surface receptor Cdo binds to the p38α/β pathway scaffold protein JLP and, via JLP, p38α/β itself. We report that Cdo also interacts with Bnip-2, a protein that binds the small guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) Cdc42 and a negative regulator of Cdc42, Cdc42 GTPase-activating protein (GAP). Moreover, Bnip-2 and JLP are brought together through mutual interaction with Cdo. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments with myoblasts indicate that the Cdo–Bnip-2 interaction stimulates Cdc42 activity, which in turn promotes p38α/β activity and cell differentiation. These results reveal a previously unknown linkage between a cell surface receptor and downstream modulation of Cdc42 activity. Furthermore, interaction with multiple scaffold-type proteins is a distinctive mode of cell surface receptor signaling and provides one mechanism for specificity of p38α/β activation during cell differentiation

Interfacial Engineering at Quantum Dot-Sensitized TiO2 Photoelectrodes for Ultrahigh Photocurrent Generation

Metal oxide semiconductor/chalcogenide quantum dot (QD) heterostructured photoanodes show photocurrent densities >30 mA/cm2 with ZnO, approaching the theoretical limits in photovoltaic (PV) cells. However, comparative performance has not been achieved with TiO2. Here, we applied a TiO2(B) surface passivation layer (SPL) on TiO2/QD (PbS and CdS) and achieved a photocurrent density of 34.59 mA/cm2 under AM 1.5G illumination for PV cells, the highest recorded to date. The SPL improves electron conductivity by increasing the density of surface states, facilitating multiple trapping/detrapping transport, and increasing the coordination number of TiO2 nanoparticles. This, along with impeded electron recombination, led to enhanced collection efficiency, which is a major factor for performance. Furthermore, SPL-treated TiO2/QD photoanodes were successfully exploited in photoelectrochemical water splitting cells, showing an excellent photocurrent density of 14.43 mA/cm2 at 0.82 V versus the Reversible Hydrogen Electrode (RHE). These results suggest a new promising strategy for the development of high-performance photoelectrochemical devices.Funding for open access charge: CRUE-Universitat Jaume IThis work was supported by the Korea Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (KCAP) of Sogang University, funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning (MSIP) through a National Research Foundation of Korea (Grant no. 2009-0093883). This work also was supported by a grant from the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (NRF-2019R1A2C1003429) and by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2018R1A6A1A03024231). Also, this work was supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacio′n y Universidades of Spain through the project ENE2017–85087-C3-1-R. Therefore, the authors acknowledge and thank the Korean and Spanish governments for technical and financial support. S. D. G

Comparison of infarct-related artery vs multivessel revascularization in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction with multivessel disease: Analysis from Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry

Background: Many ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients have multivessel disease. There is still controversy in treatment strategy in STEMI patients with multivessel disease. We compared clinical outcomes of multivessel revascularization with infarct- related artery (IRA) revascularization in STEMI patients. Methods: The 1,644 STEMI patients with multivessel disease (1,106 in IRA group, 538 in multivessel group) who were received primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were analyzed from a nationwide Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry. Primary endpoint was 12-month major adverse cardiac events (MACE, defined as death, myocardial infarction, and repeated revascularization). Secondary endpoints were 1-month MACE and each component, stent thrombosis during 12 month follow-up, and each components of the 12-month MACE. Results: There were more patients with unfavorable baseline conditions in IRA group. 12-month MACE occurred in 165 (14.9%) patients in IRA group, 81 (15.1%) patients in multivessel group (p = 0.953). There were no statistical significance in the rate of 1-month MACE, each components of 1-month MACE, and stent thrombosis during 12 month follow-up. Each components of 12-month MACE were occurred similarly in both groups except for target lesion revascularization (2.4% in IRA group vs 5.9% in multivessel group, p < 0.0001). After adjusting for confounding factors, multivessel revascularization was not associated with reduced 12-month MACE (OR 1.096, 95% CI 0.676&#8211;1.775, p = 0.711). Conclusions: There were no significant differences in clinical outcomes between both groups except for high risk of target lesion revascularization in multivessel revascularization group

Anesthetic experience of an adult patient with an unrecognized tracheal bronchus -A case report-

We present a case of problematic tracheal intubation in an adult patient with an unrecognized tracheal bronchus. Immediately after tracheal intubation and position change to prone, bilateral breath sounds were almost absent, and there was a diminished tidal volume. In order to resolve the ventilatory difficulty, the wire-reinforced tube was replaced with a conventional tube, and proper positioning of the tube was completed under fiberoptic guidance. A tracheal bronchus (originating about 1.2 cm above the carina, and supplying the right upper lobe) was found on the postoperative chest CT. In the presence of tracheal bronchus, tracheal intubation may cause pulmonary complications. Anesthesiologists should keep in mind the anesthetic implications of tracheal bronchus, and must be familiar with the use of fiberoptic bronchoscopy for proper positioning of endotracheal tube