Intention to Use Long-Term Care Facilities: Differences between Korean Pre-elderly and Korean Baby-boomers

With the rapidly increasing number of older adults, dealing with long-term care (LTC) needs becomes an emerging issue in South Korea. This study aims to examine factors affecting the intention to use longtermcare facilities with two groups of young-old adults: (1) Korean pre-elderly (KPE) and (2) Korean babyboomers (KBB). Guided by Andersen's behavioral model of health service use and prior research, predisposing characters, enabling resources, need factors, availabilities of informal care and self-care activities were used as predictors. In the final analyses, 803 KPE and 966 KBB were included. The results of logistic regression analyses showed different findings in two groups. Age, education, spouse's physicalhealth, and self-care activities for relationship with family and friends are significantly associated with intention to use LTC facilities among KPE. However, income, physical health of respondents, and relationship satisfaction with children are significantly related to intention of use LTC facilities in the group of KBB. This study suggests different LTC needs between KPE and KBB. Health care professionals and policy makers need to consider such differences to provide quality LTC care for them

Death Attitudes Among Middle-Aged Koreans: Role of End-of-Life Care Planning and Death Experiences

The purpose of this study was to examine factors affecting death attitudes among middle-aged Koreans. In addition, the study explored the interaction effect between knowledge about end-of-life care planning and the experience of death of family or friends on death attitudes. The sample was obtained from a national survey with middle-aged adults in South Korea (n = 2,026). Multivariate regression analysis revealed significant main effects and an interaction effect between knowledge about end-of-life care planning and the experience of death on death attitudes. Greater knowledge of end-of-life care planning was associated with more positive attitudes toward death; however, the effect was stronger for those who had not experienced the death of family or friends. Being older and having greater life satisfaction were also associated with more positive attitudes toward death. This study suggests that end-of-life education can help middle-aged adults embrace the final stage of life and prepare for their own death

The Korean Pokchang Tradition and the Placing of Objects in Buddhist Statues

Robson James, Lee Seunghye, Kim Youn-mi. The Korean Pokchang Tradition and the Placing of Objects in Buddhist Statues. In: Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie, vol. 28, 2019. Pokchang. Image Consecration in Korean Buddhism / Consécration des images dans le bouddhisme coréen. pp. 1-21

Conditioned medium from asbestos-exposed fibroblasts affects proliferation and invasion of lung cancer cell lines.

The importance of the role of fibroblasts in cancer microenvironment is well-recognized. However, the relationship between fibroblasts and asbestos-induced lung cancer remains underexplored. To investigate the effect of the asbestos-related microenvironment on lung cancer progression, lung cancer cells (NCI-H358, Calu-3, and A549) were cultured in media derived from IMR-90 lung fibroblasts exposed to 50 mg/L asbestos (chrysotile, amosite, and crocidolite) for 24 h. The kinetics and migration of lung cancer cells in the presence of asbestos-exposed lung fibroblast media were monitored using a real-time cell analysis system. Proliferation and migration of A549 cells increased in the presence of media derived from asbestos-exposed lung fibroblasts than in the presence of media derived from normal lung fibroblasts. We observed no increase in proliferation and migration in lung cancer cells cultured in asbestos-exposed lung cancer cell medium. In contrast, increased proliferation and migration in lung cancer cells exposed to media from asbestos-exposed lung fibroblasts was observed for all types of asbestos. Media derived from lung fibroblasts exposed to other stressors, such as hydrogen peroxide and UV radiation didn't show as similar effect as asbestos exposure. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based cytokine array identified interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8, which show pleiotropic regulatory effects on lung cancer cells, to be specifically produced in higher amounts by the three types of asbestos-exposed lung fibroblasts than normal lung fibroblasts. Thus, the present study demonstrated that interaction of lung fibroblasts with asbestos may support the growth and metastasis of lung cancer cells and that chrysotile exposure can lead to lung cancer similar to that caused by amphibole asbestos (amosite and crocidolite)

Heterogeneity in chromatic distance in images and characterization of massive painting data set.

Painting is an art form that has long functioned as a major channel for the creative expression and communication of humans, its evolution taking place under an interplay with the science, technology, and social environments of the times. Therefore, understanding the process based on comprehensive data could shed light on how humans acted and manifested creatively under changing conditions. Yet, there exist few systematic frameworks that characterize the process for painting, which would require robust statistical methods for defining painting characteristics and identifying human's creative developments, and data of high quality and sufficient quantity. Here we propose that the color contrast of a painting image signifying the heterogeneity in inter-pixel chromatic distance can be a useful representation of its style, integrating both the color and geometry. From the color contrasts of paintings from a large-scale, comprehensive archive of 179 853 high-quality images spanning several centuries we characterize the temporal evolutionary patterns of paintings, and present a deep study of an extraordinary expansion in creative diversity and individuality that came to define the modern era

The Clinicopathological and Prognostic Significance of Nrf2 and Keap1 Expression in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Nuclear factor E2-related factor2 (Nrf2) activation is associated with both cytoprotective effects and malignant behavior of cancer cells. This study aimed to evaluate the clinicopathological implications of the expression of Nrf2, pNrf2, and its regulator Keap1 in human hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs). Tissue microarrays consisting of 285 surgically resected HCCs were immunohistochemically stained with pNrf2, Nrf2, Keap1, stemness-related markers (keratin 19 (K19), epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM)), carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX), epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related markers (ezrin, uPAR, E-cadherin), and p53, and the results were correlated with the clinicopathological features. pNrf2 expression was significantly associated with increased proliferative activity, as well as EpCAM, ezrin, p53, and CAIX expression and E-cadherin loss (p < 0.05, all). Strong cytoplasmic Nrf2 expression was associated with CAIX and ezrin expression (p < 0.05, both). Keap1 was associated with increased proliferative activity, portal vein invasion, EMT-related markers, and p53 expression in CAIX-negative HCCs (p < 0.05, all). Both pNrf2 and cytoplasmic Nrf2 expression were associated with decreased overall survival (p < 0.05, both), and cytoplasmic Nrf2 expression was an independent predictor of decreased overall survival on multivariate analysis (hazard ratio 4.15, p < 0.001). Both pNrf2 and cytoplasmic Nrf2 expression were associated with poor survival and aggressive behavior of HCC. In addition, Keap1 expression was also associated with aggressive HCC behavior in CAIX-negative HCCs, suggesting that Keap1 expression should be interpreted in the context of hypoxia status

Human Endothelial Progenitor Cells Protect the Kidney against Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury via the NLRP3 Inflammasome in Mice

Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is a major cause of acute kidney injury (AKI) and progression to chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, no effective therapeutic intervention has been established for ischemic AKI. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have major roles in the maintenance of vascular integrity and the repair of endothelial damage; they also serve as therapeutic agents in various kidney diseases. Thus, we examined whether EPCs have a renoprotective effect in an IRI mouse model. Mice were assigned to sham, EPC, IRI-only, and EPC-treated IRI groups. EPCs originating from human peripheral blood were cultured. The EPCs were administered 5 min before reperfusion, and all mice were killed 72 h after IRI. Blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, and tissue injury were significantly increased in IRI mice; EPCs significantly improved the manifestations of IRI. Apoptotic cell death and oxidative stress were significantly reduced in EPC-treated IRI mice. Administration of EPCs decreased the expression levels of NLRP3, cleaved caspase-1, p-NF-κB, and p-p38. Furthermore, the expression levels of F4/80, ICAM-1, RORγt, and IL-17RA were significantly reduced in EPC-treated IRI mice. Finally, the levels of EMT-associated factors (TGF-β, α-SMA, Snail, and Twist) were significantly reduced in EPC-treated IRI mice. This study shows that inflammasome-mediated inflammation accompanied by immune modulation and fibrosis is a potential target of EPCs as a treatment for IRI-induced AKI and the prevention of progression to CKD