Short-term effects of Theracurmin dose and exercise type on pain, walking ability, and muscle function in patients with knee osteoarthritis

The purpose of this study was to investigate the short-term of Theracurmin dose and exercise type on pain, walking ability, and muscle function in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Twenty-five patients with knee osteoarthritis randomly selected to Theracurmin intake (T) group and Theracurmin in combined with exercise (T+E) group. T group (n= 13) was taken orally a capsule of 700 mg, 3 times per day, (total 2,100 mg, 35 mg/kg-body weight). T+E group (n= 12) performed aerobic training of 30-min walking and weight training for increasing leg muscular strength. After treatment, the number of steps, muscle mass, range of motion of knee, and the muscle strength in flexion and extension significantly increased. The percent body fat, visual analogue scale, The Western Ontario and McMaster score, centers of pressure with closed eye, 10-m walking ability, stair ascending speed were significantly decreased after treatment. Although no difference observed between the T and T+E groups, the 4-week intake of Theracurmin with and without exercise appeared to be effective in reducing the pain and enhancing muscular and balancing function. Therefore, Theracurmin intake for early symptoms and additional exercise as symptoms alleviate might be an effective way of delaying and managing osteoarthritis, and additional studies investigating the effects of Theracurmin and exercise on osteoarthritis could be beneficial

Low estrogen levels and obesity are associated with shorter telomere lengths in pre-and postmenopausal women

The aim of this study was to determine whether there is an association between leukocyte telomere length (LTL), and estrogen level, oxidative stress, cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in pre-and postmenopausal obese women. Fifty-four obese women (premenopausal, n= 25; postmenopausal, n= 29) were selected to participate in this study. The outcome measurements in the pre-and postmenopausal groups were compared using independent t-tests and Pearson correlation analysis. The estrogen level (P< 0.001), LTL (P< 0.05), high-density lipoprotein level (P< 0.05), and CRF (P< 0.001) were higher in premenopausal women than in postmenopausal women. The body fat percentage (P< 0.05) and triglyceride concentration (P< 0.05) were lower in premenopausal women than in postmenopausal women. There were no significant associations between LTL, CVD risk, CRF, and oxidative stress and antioxidant enzyme activity in premenopausal women. The body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage in postmenopausal women were negatively associated with LTL (P< 0.05). When all women were considered (i.e., both pre-and postmenopause), the BMI, percentage of fat, and waist circumference had a negative association with LTL (P < 0.05), and estrogen levels were positively associated with LTL (P< 0.05). Decreased estrogen levels after menopause, a pivotal factor in the biology of aging, and obesity were more associated with shorter telomere lengths in pre-and postmenopausal women than aerobic capacity and other CVD risk factors

Meteorin regulates mesendoderm development by enhancing nodal expression

During gastrulation, distinct lineage specification into three germ layers, the mesoderm, endoderm and ectoderm, occurs through an elaborate harmony between signaling molecules along the embryonic proximo-distal and anterior-posterior axes, and Nodal signaling plays a key role in the early embryonic development governing embryonic axis formation, mesoderm and endoderm specification, and left-right asymmetry determination. However, the mechanism by which Nodal expression is regulated is largely unknown. Here, we show that Meteorin regulates Nodal expression and is required for mesendoderm development. It is highly expressed in the inner cell mass of blastocysts and further in the epiblast and extra-embryonic ectoderm during gastrulation. Genetic ablation of the Meteorin gene resulted in early embryonic lethality, presumably due to impaired lineage allocation and subsequent cell accumulation. Embryoid body culture using Meteorin-null embryonic stem (ES) cells showed reduced Nodal expression and concomitant impairment of mesendoderm specification. Meteorin-null embryos displayed reduced levels of Nodal transcripts before the gastrulation stage, and impaired expression of Goosecoid, a definitive endoderm marker, during gastrulation, while the proximo-distal and anterior-posterior axes and primitive streak formation were preserved. Our results show that Meteorin is a novel regulator of Nodal transcription and is required to maintain sufficient Nodal levels for endoderm formation, thereby providing new insights in the regulation of mesendoderm allocation.open1113sciescopu

Optimal Frequency Intensity of Physical Activity to Reduce the Risk of Hypertension in the Korean Population

PURPOSE: Regular physical activity (PA) is an effective lifestyle modification for preventing hypertension. This study aimed to analyze the optimal frequency of PA required to reduce the incidence of hypertension in the Korean population. Most Korean studies have included only small samples and limited age ranges. METHODS: The present study analyzed 16,299,865 participants aged ≥20 years (44.25±12.74 years) from the 2009 to 2012 Korean National Health Insurance Corporation Survey database. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to assess the frequency and intensity of physical activity. Hazard ratios for incident hypertension were analyzed by physical activity participation, age, and sex using multivariable Cox proportional hazard models, with a non-regular physical activity group as reference. RESULTS: A total of 1,322,674 cases of incident hypertension were identified during the mean follow-up period of over 3 years. Hazard ratios for incident hypertension increased with age, with values of 50.4 and 56.1 for men and women in the older age group, respectively. Hazard ratios for incident hypertension were significantly lower in the regular PA group of middle-aged (4%) and older (7%) adults than in the non-regular PA group. The study revealed that moderate-to-vigorous-intensity PA 3-5 times/week was most effective in reducing the risk of incident hypertension in middle-aged and older adults but not in young adults. We observed no additional lowering of incident hypertension risk in the group undergoing moderate-to-vigorous PA at a frequency of 6-7 days/week compared to the 35 days/week group. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest PA at a frequency of 3-5 times/week for the prevention of incident hypertension in Korean adults

Characterization of LysB4, an endolysin from the Bacillus cereus-infecting bacteriophage B4

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Bacillus cereus </it>is a foodborne pathogen that causes emetic or diarrheal types of food poisoning. The incidence of <it>B. cereus </it>food poisoning has been gradually increasing over the past few years, therefore, biocontrol agents effective against <it>B. cereus </it>need to be developed. Endolysins are phage-encoded bacterial peptidoglycan hydrolases and have received considerable attention as promising antibacterial agents.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The endolysin from <it>B. cereus </it>phage B4, designated LysB4, was identified and characterized. <it>In silico </it>analysis revealed that this endolysin had the VanY domain at the N terminus as the catalytic domain, and the SH3_5 domain at the C terminus that appears to be the cell wall binding domain. Biochemical characterization of LysB4 enzymatic activity showed that it had optimal peptidoglycan hydrolase activity at pH 8.0-10.0 and 50°C. The lytic activity was dependent on divalent metal ions, especially Zn²⁺. The antimicrobial spectrum was relatively broad because LysB4 lysed Gram-positive bacteria such as <it>B. cereus, Bacillus subtilis </it>and <it>Listeria monocytogenes </it>and some Gram-negative bacteria when treated with EDTA. LC-MS analysis of the cell wall cleavage products showed that LysB4 was an <smcaps>L</smcaps>-alanoyl-<smcaps>D</smcaps>-glutamate endopeptidase, making LysB4 the first characterized endopeptidase of this type to target <it>B. cereus</it>.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>LysB4 is believed to be the first reported <smcaps>L</smcaps>-alanoyl-<smcaps>D</smcaps>-glutamate endopeptidase from <it>B. cereus</it>-infecting bacteriophages. The properties of LysB4 showed that this endolysin has strong lytic activity against a broad range of pathogenic bacteria, which makes LysB4 a good candidate as a biocontrol agent against <it>B. cereus </it>and other pathogenic bacteria.</p

Development and Demonstration of a ReaxFF Reactive Force Field for Ni-Doped MoS2_2

The properties of $\mathrm{MoS_2}$ can be tuned or optimized through doping. In particular, Ni doping has been shown to improve the performance of $\mathrm{MoS_2}$ for various applications, including catalysis and tribology. To enable investigation of Ni-doped $\mathrm{MoS_2}$ with reactive molecular dynamics simulations, we developed a new ReaxFF force field to describe this material. The force field parameters were optimized to match a large set of density-functional theory (DFT) calculations of 2H-$\mathrm{MoS_2}$ doped with Ni, at four different sites (Mo-substituted, S-substituted, octahedral intercalation, and tetrahedral intercalation), under uniaxial, biaxial, triaxial, and shear strain. The force field was evaluated by comparing ReaxFF- and DFT-relaxed structural parameters and the tetrahedral/octahedral energy difference in doped 2H, energies of doped 1H and 1T monolayers, and doped 2H structures with vacancies. We demonstrated the force field with reactive simulations of sputtering deposition and annealing of Ni-doped MoS$_2$ films. Results show that the developed force field can accurately model the phase transition of Ni-doped $\mathrm{MoS_2}$ from amorphous to crystalline. The newly developed force field can be used in subsequent investigations to study the properties and behavior of Ni-doped $\mathrm{MoS_2}$ using reactive molecular dynamics simulations.Comment: 39 pages, 11 figure

Highly Oriented Liquid Crystal Semiconductor for Organic Field-Effect Transistors

We report a mesogenic compound which introduces nematic liquid crystal (LC) ordering into the benzothienobenzothiophene (BTBT) family of LCs, creating a new class of LC semiconducting materials which respond in a facile way to anisotropic surfaces, and can, thereby, be effectively processed into highly oriented monodomains. Measurement on these domains of the electrical conductivity, with in situ monitoring of domain quality and orientation using LC birefringence textures in electroded cells, brings a new era of precision and reliability to the determination of anisotropic carrier mobility in LC semiconductors

The Effect of Resistance and Balance Training on Postural Control and Physical Fitness in Adults with Down Syndrome

Abstracts PURPOSE This study aimed to examine the effects of resistance and balance training on physical function and postural control in individuals with Down syndrome (DS). METHODS Ten adults with DS constituted the experimental group (EX) and attended an 8-week resistance and balance training program. The results were compared with those of the control group (CON), which consisted of 10 patients who did not undergo any physical training. Body composition, postural stability, and physical fitness were measured before and after the training program. Resistance and balance training were performed for 60 minutes, three times a week for 8 weeks. RESULTS Body weight, body mass index, body fat percentage, and waist circumference decreased significantly in the EX group after completing the 8-week resistance and balance training program. The center of pressure and the difference between standing foot pressure on the left and right were significantly improved in the EX group. Physical fitness including sit-to-stand repetitions and 10 m shuttle duration significantly improved in the EX and CON groups. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that resistance and balance training to improve musculoskeletal problems is an effective strategy to prevent injury, fatigue, and falls during exercise and to improve general health in individuals with DS