The Effects of Heat and Massage Application on Autonomic Nervous System

∙ The authors have no financial conflicts of interest. © Copyright: Yonsei University College of Medicine 2011 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Licens

A Fomitopsis pinicola Jeseng Formulation Has an Antiobesity Effect and Protects against Hepatic Steatosis in Mice with High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity

This study investigated the antiobesity effect of an extract of the Fomitopsis pinicola Jeseng-containing formulation (FAVA), which is a combination of four natural components: Fomitopsis pinicola Jeseng; Acanthopanax senticosus; Viscum album coloratum; and Allium tuberosum. High-fat diet-(HFD-) fedmale C57BL/6J mice were treated with FAVA (200 mg/kg/day) for 12 weeks to monitor the antiobesity effect and amelioration of nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases (NAFLD). Body and white adipose tissue (WAT) weights were reduced in FAVA-treated mice, and a histological examination showed an amelioration of fatty liver in FAVA-treated mice without decreasing food consumption. Additionally, FAVA reduced serumlipid profiles, leptin, and insulin levels compared with the HFD control group. The FAVA extract suppressed lipogenic mRNA expression levels from WAT concomitantly with the cholesterol biosynthesis level in the liver. These results demonstrate the inhibitory effects of FAVA on obesity and NAFLD in the diet-induced obese (DIO) mouse model. Therefore, FAVA may be an effective therapeutic candidate for treating obesity and fatty liver caused by a high-fat diet.110Nsciescopu

Breathing silicon anodes for durable high-power operations

Silicon anode materials have been developed to achieve high capacity lithium ion batteries for operating smart phones and driving electric vehicles for longer time. Serious volume expansion induced by lithiation, which is the main drawback of silicon, has been challenged by multi-faceted approaches. Mechanically rigid and stiff polymers (e.g. alginate and carboxymethyl cellulose) were considered as the good choices of binders for silicon because they grab silicon particles in a tight and rigid way so that pulverization and then break-away of the active mass from electric pathways are suppressed. Contrary to the public wisdom, in this work, we demonstrate that electrochemical performances are secured better by letting silicon electrodes breathe in and out lithium ions with volume change rather than by fixing their dimensions. The breathing electrodes were achieved by using a polysaccharide (pullulan), the conformation of which is modulated from chair to boat during elongation. The conformational transition of pullulan was originated from its a glycosidic linkages while the conventional rigid polysaccharide binders have beta linkagesopen1

Achieving Fairness-aware Two-level Scheduling for Heterogeneous Distributed Systems

In a heterogeneous distributed system composed of various types of computing platforms such as supercomputers, grids, and clouds, a two-level scheduling approach can be used to effectively distribute resources of the platforms to users in the first-level, and map tasks of the users in nodes for each platform in the second-level for executing many-task applications. When scheduling heterogeneous resources, service providers of the system should consider the fairness among multiple users as well as the system efficiency. However, the fairness cannot be achieved by simply distributing an equal amount of resources from each platform to every user. In this paper, we investigate how to address the fairness issue among multiple users in a heterogeneous distributed system. We present three first-level resource allocation policies of a provider affinity first policy, an application affinity first policy, and a platform affinity based round-robin policy, and two second-level task mapping policies of a most affected first policy and a co-runner affinity based round-robin policy. Using trace-based simulations, we evaluate the performance of various combinations of the first and second level scheduling policies. Our extensive simulation results demonstrate that the first-level policy plays a crucial role to achieve relatively good fairness

Rosarugosides A and D from osa rugosa Flower Buds: Their Potential Anti-Skin-Aging Effects in TNF-α-Induced Human Dermal Fibroblasts

This present study investigated the anti-skin-aging properties of Rosa rugosa. Initially, phenolic compounds were isolated from a hot water extract of Rosa rugosa\u27s flower buds. Through repeated chromatography (column chromatography, MPLC, and prep HPLC), we identified nine phenolic compounds (1-9), including a previously undescribed depside, rosarugoside D (1). The chemical structure of 1 was elucidated via NMR, HR-MS, UV, and hydrolysis. Next, in order to identify bioactive compounds that are effective against TNF-α-induced NHDF cells, we measured intracellular ROS production in samples treated with each of the isolated compounds (1-9). All isolates reduced the level of ROS at a concentration of 10 μM. Particularly, two depsides-rosarugosides A and D (2 and 1)-significantly inhibited ROS expression in TNF-α-induced NHDFs compared to the other phenolic compounds. Subsequently, the production of MMP-1 and procollagen type Ι α1 by these two depsides was examined. Remarkably, rosarugoside A (2) significantly decreased MMP-1 secretion at all concentrations. In contrast, rosarugoside D (1) regulated the expression of procollagen type Ι α1. These findings collectively suggest that Rosa rugosa extracts and their isolated compounds, rosarugosides A (2) and D (1), hold significant potential for protecting against aging and skin damage. Overall, these findings suggest that Rosa rugosa extracts and their isolated compounds, rosarugosides A (2) and D (1), have the potential to prevent and protect against aging and skin damage, although more specific quantitative analysis is needed

Holistic VM Placement for Distributed Parallel Applications in Heterogeneous Clusters

In a heterogeneous cluster, virtual machine (VM) placement for a distributed parallel application is challenging due to numerous possible ways of placing the application and complexity of estimating the performance of the application. This study investigates a holistic VM placement technique for distributed parallel applications in a heterogeneous cluster, aiming to maximize the efficiency of the cluster and consequently reduce the costs for service providers and users. The proposed technique accommodates various factors that have an impact on performance in a combined manner. First, we analyze the effects of the heterogeneity of resources, different VM configurations, and interference between VMs on the performance of distributed parallel applications with a wide diversity of characteristics, including scientific and big data analytics applications. We then propose a placement technique that uses a machine learning algorithm to estimate the runtime of a distributed parallel application. To train a performance estimation model, a distributed parallel application is profiled against synthetic workloads that mostly utilize the dominant resource of the application, which strongly affects the application performance, reducing the profiling space dramatically. Through experimental and simulation studies, we show that the proposed placement technique can find good VM placement configurations for various workloads

Analyzing the advantages of subcutaneous over transcutaneous electrical stimulation for activating brainwaves

Transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) is a widely accepted neuromodulation modality for treating brain disorders. However, its clinical efficacy is fundamentally limited due to the current shunting effect of the scalp and safety issues. A newer electrical stimulation technique called subcutaneous electrical stimulation (SES) promises to overcome the limitations of TES by applying currents directly at the site of the disorder through the skull. While SES seems promising, the electrophysiological effect of SES compared to TES is still unknown, thus limiting its broader application. Here we comprehensively analyze the SES and TES to demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of SES. Beagles were bilaterally implanted with subdural strips for intracranial electroencephalography and electric field recording. For the intracerebral electric field prediction, we designed a 3D electromagnetic simulation framework and simulated TES and SES. In the beagle model, SES induces three to four-fold larger cerebral electric fields compared to TES, and significant changes in power ratio of brainwaves were observed only in SES. Our prediction framework suggests that the field penetration of SES would be several-fold larger than TES in human brains. These results demonstrate that the SES would significantly enhance the neuromodulatory effects compared to conventional TES and overcome the TES limitations.11Ysciescopu

30 inch Roll-Based Production of High-Quality Graphene Films for Flexible Transparent Electrodes

We report that 30-inch scale multiple roll-to-roll transfer and wet chemical doping considerably enhance the electrical properties of the graphene films grown on roll-type Cu substrates by chemical vapor deposition. The resulting graphene films shows a sheet resistance as low as ~30 Ohm/sq at ~90 % transparency which is superior to commercial transparent electrodes such as indium tin oxides (ITO). The monolayer of graphene shows sheet resistances as low as ~125 Ohm/sq with 97.4% optical transmittance and half-integer quantum Hall effect, indicating the high-quality of these graphene films. As a practical application, we also fabricated a touch screen panel device based on the graphene transparent electrodes, showing extraordinary mechanical and electrical performances

Longitudinal relationship between depression and antisocial behaviors in Korean adolescents

BackgroundIt is well known that depression and delinquency in adolescents are highly correlated, but longitudinal studies on the causal relationship between them are not active in East Asia compared to in Western culture. In addition, even the results of research on causal models and sex differences are inconsistent.ObjectivesThis study examines the longitudinal reciprocal effects between depression and delinquent behavior in Korean adolescents based on sex differences.MethodsWe conducted multiple-group analysis by using an autoregressive cross-lagged model (ACLM). Longitudinal data from 2,075 individuals (2011–2013) were used for analysis. The longitudinal data are from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS), and data were used beginning with students at 14 years old (in the second grade of middle school) and tracked them until they were 16 (in the first grade of high school).ResultsBoys’ delinquent behaviors at 15 years (the third grade of middle school) affected their depression at 16 years (the first grade of high school). In contrast, girls’ depression at 15 years (the third grade of middle school) influenced their delinquent behaviors at 16 years (the first grade of high school).DiscussionThe findings support the failure model (FM) among adolescent boys and the acting-out model (ACM) among girls. The results imply that strategies to effectively prevent and treat delinquency and depression in adolescents must consider sex effects