WILL NFTS BE THE BEST DIGITAL ASSET FOR THE METAVERSE?

The purpose of the current research is to explore the concept of non-fungible tokens created by blockchain technology and its applicability in the Metaverse. Metaverse is a hypothesized and an iteration of the real world. Metaverse is not a new concept. The concept itself has appeared in the 1990s and some of the online games tried to realize the Metaverse world (e.g., Second Life and Cyworld). Nowadays, Metaverse becomes feasible under supported by technologies, including virtual reality, augmented reality, cloud computing, Internet-of-Things, 5G, and Big Data. In Metaverse, there is no doubt that residents in Metaverse may trade or transact assets or goods with one another. Our research tries to tie the concept of non-fungible tokens in Metaverse as the best digital asset to secure the originality of the goods in Metaverse. Detailed discussions are made in the following section

Ectopic cardiovascular fat in middle-aged men: effects of race/ethnicity, overall and central adiposity. The ERA JUMP study.

Background/objectivesHigher volumes of ectopic cardiovascular fat (ECF) are associated with greater risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Identifying factors that are associated with ECF volumes may lead to new preventive efforts to reduce risk of CHD. Significant racial/ethnic differences exist for overall and central adiposity measures, which are known to be associated with ECF volumes. Whether racial/ethnic differences also exist for ECF volumes and their associations with these adiposity measures remain unclear.Subjects/methodsBody mass index (BMI), computerized tomography-measured ECF volumes (epicardial, pericardial and their summation) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) were examined in a community-based sample of 1199 middle-aged men (24.2% Caucasians, 7.0% African-Americans, 23.6% Japanese-Americans, 22.0% Japanese, 23.2% Koreans).ResultsSignificant racial/ethnic differences existed in ECF volumes and their relationships with BMI and VAT. ECF volumes were the highest among Japanese-Americans and the lowest among African-Americans. The associations of BMI and VAT with ECF differed by racial/ethnic groups. Compared with Caucasians, for each 1-unit increase in BMI, African-Americans had lower, whereas Koreans had higher increases in ECF volumes (P-values<0.05 for both). Meanwhile, compared with Caucasians, for each 1-unit increase in log-transformed VAT, African-Americans, Japanese-Americans and Japanese had similar increases, whereas Koreans had a lower increase in ECF volumes (P-value<0.05).ConclusionsRacial/ethnic groups differed in their propensity to accumulate ECF at increasing level of overall and central adiposity. Future studies should evaluate whether reducing central adiposity or overall weight will decrease ECF volumes more in certain racial/ethnic groups. Evaluating these questions might help in designing race-specific prevention strategy of CHD risk associated with higher ECF

Integration of airborne and ground observations of nitryl chloride in the Seoul metropolitan area and the implications on regional oxidation capacity during KORUS-AQ 2016

Nitryl chloride (ClNO2) is a radical reservoir species that releases chlorine radicals upon photolysis. An integrated analysis of the impact of ClNO2 on regional photochemistry in the Seoul metropolitan area (SMA) during the Korea-United States Air Quality Study (KORUS-AQ) 2016 field campaign is presented. Comprehensive multiplatform observations were conducted aboard the NASA DC-8 and at two ground sites (Olympic Park, OP; Taehwa Research Forest, TRF), representing an urbanized area and a forested suburban region, respectively. Positive correlations between daytime Cl2 and ClNO2 were observed at both sites, the slope of which was dependent on O3 levels. The possible mechanisms are explored through box model simulations constrained with observations. The overall diurnal variations in ClNO2 at both sites appeared similar but the nighttime variations were systematically different. For about half of the observation days at the OP site the level of ClNO2 increased at sunset but rapidly decreased at around midnight. On the other hand, high levels were observed throughout the night at the TRF site. Significant levels of ClNO2 were observed at both sites for 4-5 h after sunrise. Airborne observations, box model calculations, and back-trajectory analysis consistently show that these high levels of ClNO2 in the morning are likely from vertical or horizontal transport of air masses from the west. Box model results show that chlorine-radical-initiated chemistry can impact the regional photochemistry by elevating net chemical production rates of ozone by 25% in the morning

Surface acoustic waves induced micropatterning of cells in gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogels

Acoustic force patterning is an emerging technology that provides a platform to control the spatial location of cells in a rapid, accurate, yet contactless manner. However, very few studies have been reported on the usage of acoustic force patterning for the rapid arrangement of biological objects, such as cells, in a three-dimensional (3D) environment. In this study, we report on a bio-acoustic force patterning technique, which uses surface acoustic waves (SAWs) for the rapid arrangement of cells within an extracellular matrix-based hydrogel such as gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA). A proof-of-principle was achieved through both simulations and experiments based on the in-house fabricated piezoelectric SAW transducers, which enabled us to explore the effects of various parameters on the performance of the built construct. The SAWs were applied in a fashion that generated standing SAWs (SSAWs) on the substrate, the energy of which subsequently was transferred into the gel, creating a rapid, and contactless alignment of the cells (<10 s, based on the experimental conditions). Following ultraviolet radiation induced photo-crosslinking of the cell encapsulated GelMA pre-polymer solution, the patterned cardiac cells readily spread after alignment in the GelMA hydrogel and demonstrated beating activity in 5-7 days. The described acoustic force assembly method can be utilized not only to control the spatial distribution of the cells inside a 3D construct, but can also preserve the viability and functionality of the patterned cells (e.g. beating rates of cardiac cells). This platform can be potentially employed in a diverse range of applications, whether it is for tissue engineering, in vitro cell studies, or creating 3D biomimetic tissue structures

Tissue factor in antiphospholipid antibody-induced pregnancy loss:a pro-inflammatory molecule

Fetal loss in patients with antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) has been ascribed to thrombosis of placental vessels. However, we have shown that inflammation, specifically complement activation with generation of the anaphylotoxin C5a, is an essential mediator of fetal injury. We have analysed the role of tissue factor (TF) in a mouse model of aPL-induced pregnancy loss. TF is the major cellular activator of the coagulation cascade but also has cell signaling activity. Mice that received aPL-IgG showed strong TF staining throughout the decidua and on embryonic debris. This TF staining was not associated with either fibrin staining or thrombi in deciduas. The absence of fibrin deposition and thrombi suggests that TF-dependent activation of coagulation does not mediate aPL-induced pregnancy loss. We found that either blockade of TF with a monoclonal antibody in wild type mice or a genetic reduction of TF prevented aPL-induced inflammation and pregnancy loss indicated a pathogenic role for TF in aPL-induced pregnancy complications. In response to aPL-generated C5a, neutrophils express TF potentiating inflammation in the deciduas and leading to miscarriages. Importantly, we showed that TF in myeloid cells, but not fetal-derived cells (trophoblasts), was associated with fetal injury, suggesting that the site for pathologic TF expression is neutrophils. We found that TF expression in neutrophils contributes to respiratory burst and subsequent trophoblast injury and pregnancy loss induced by aPL. The identification of TF, acting as an important pro-inflammatory mediator in aPL-induced fetal injury, provides a new target for therapy to prevent pregnancy loss in the aPL syndrome

Persistence of anticancer activity in berry extracts after simulated gastrointestinal digestion and colonic fermentation

Fruit and vegetable consumption is associated at the population level with a protective effect against colorectal cancer. Phenolic compounds, especially abundant in berries, are of interest due to their putative anticancer activity. After consumption, however, phenolic compounds are subject to digestive conditions within the gastrointestinal tract that alter their structures and potentially their function. However, the majority of phenolic compounds are not efficiently absorbed in the small intestine and a substantial portion pass into the colon. We characterized berry extracts (raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants) produced by in vitro-simulated upper intestinal tract digestion and subsequent fecal fermentation. These extracts and selected individual colonic metabolites were then evaluated for their putative anticancer activities using in vitro models of colorectal cancer, representing the key stages of initiation, promotion and invasion. Over a physiologically-relevant dose range (0–50 µg/ml gallic acid equivalents), the digested and fermented extracts demonstrated significant anti-genotoxic, anti-mutagenic and anti-invasive activity on colonocytes. This work indicates that phenolic compounds from berries undergo considerable structural modifications during their passage through the gastrointestinal tract but their breakdown products and metabolites retain biological activity and can modulate cellular processes associated with colon cancer

The effect of Ku on telomere replication time is mediated by telomere length but is independent of histone tail acetylation

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Mutant K-ras oncogene regulates steroidogenesis of normal human adrenocortical cells by the RAF-MEK-MAPK pathway

The result of our previous study has shown that the K-ras mutant (pK568MRSV) transfected human adrenocortical cells can significantly increase cortisol production and independently cause cell transformation. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of the active K-ras oncogene on the cortisol production in normal human adrenocortical cells. First we used isopropyl thiogalactoside to induce the inducible mutant K-ras expression plasmid, pK568MRSV, in the stable transfected human adrenocortical cells. The result showed that the increase of RasGTP levels in transfected cells was time-dependent after isopropyl thiogalactoside induction. Additionally, results from Western blot analysis revealed significant elevation in phosphorylation of c-Raf-1 and Mitogen-activated protein kinase. We also detected the levels of mRNA encoding Cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme (P450SCC), 17α-Hydroxylase/17,20-lyase (P450c17) and 3β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3βHSD) were increased in human adrenocortical cells transfected with mutant K-ras after IPTG treatment. The increase of mRNA amount in P450scc P450c17 and 3βHSD and the elevation of cortisol level were inhibited with a pretreatment of PD098059, a specific extracellular signal-regulated kinase inhibitor. In our previous report, we proved that lovastatin, a pharmacological inhibitor of p21ras function, also reversed the increase of cortisol level in mutant K-ras stably transfected human adrenocortical cells. Taken together, these findings proved that the active mutant Ras enhanced not only cell proliferation but also steroidogenesis in steroidogenic phenotype cells by activating Raf-MEK-MAPK related signal transduction pathway. Therefore, we believe that K-ras mutants influence regulation of steroidogenesis in adrenocortical cells through RAF-MEK-MAPK pathway

Genetic relationships between Candida albicans strains isolated from dental plaque, trachea, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from mechanically ventilated intensive care unit patients

Candida albicans often resides in the oral cavity of healthy humans as a harmless commensal organism. This opportunistic fungus can cause significant disease in critically ill patients, such as those undergoing mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit (ICU) having compromised local airway defense mechanisms. The goal of this study was to determine the intra- and inter-patient genetic relationship between strains of C. albicans recovered from dental plaque, tracheal secretions, and the lower airway by bronchoalveolar lavage of patients undergoing mechanical ventilation. Three pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing methods were used to determine the genetic relatedness of the C. albicans strains, including electrophoretic karyotyping (EK) and restriction endonuclease analysis of the genome using SfiI (REAG-S) and BssHII (REAG-B). The C. albicans isolates from dental plaque and tracheo-bronchial sites from the same patient were genetically indistinguishable and retained over time, whereas strains from different patients usually separated into different genotypes. Among the three methods, REAG-B proved to be the most discriminatory method to differentiate isolates. The finding of genetically similar strains from the oral and tracheo-bronchial sites from the same patient supports the notion that the oral cavity may serve as an important source for C. albicans spread to the trachea and lung of mechanically ventilated patients