Publications by authors named "Chung Cho"

Alga-dominated geothermal spring communities in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), USA, have been the focus of many studies, however, relatively little is known about the composition and community interactions which underpin these ecosystems. Our goal was to determine, in three neighboring yet distinct environments in Lemonade Creek, YNP, how cells cope with abiotic stressors over the diurnal cycle. All three environments are colonized by two photosynthetic lineages, and , both of which are extremophilic Cyanidiophyceae red algae.

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  • White adipose tissue (WAT) plays a crucial role in storing lipids and maintaining energy balance, making adipocyte formation and stability important for addressing obesity and metabolic disorders.
  • Researchers identified PATZ1 as a significant adipogenic transcription factor involved in the development of adipocytes, as it promotes adipogenesis through specific protein interactions and DNA binding.
  • Experiments revealed that removing PATZ1 in mice resulted in decreased adipocyte precursor cells and fat mass, highlighting its essential regulatory role in adipocyte differentiation and overall fat tissue development.
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  • * Conducted as a double-blind, phase III trial, it involved 185 adults with specific HbA1c and LDL-C levels, and after 16 weeks of treatment, the combination group showed significant improvements in both HbA1c and LDL-C compared to those only on either drug.
  • * The results indicated that using metformin with atorvastatin led to better management of blood sugar and cholesterol levels, suggesting this combination could be beneficial for patients struggling to control their conditions with lifestyle changes alone. *
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  • Rapid phosphorylation of histone H2A.X (γH2A.X) is triggered by DNA damage, which helps initiate the DNA damage response (DDR) in animals via the MDC1 protein.
  • In this study, researchers identified BCP1-4 proteins in Arabidopsis that also possess tBRCT domains and play a role in DDR, with BCP4 binding to γH2A.X and localizing to DNA damage sites.
  • A phylogenetic analysis shows that key proteins involved in DDR evolved independently in plants and animals, highlighting the unique mechanisms plants use to respond to DNA damage.
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Increased interest in consumption of insects in recent years has led to an increased focus on associated food safety concerns, and allergy is one of the most relevant. In the United States, crustacean shellfish are regulated as a major allergenic food group per the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act. Insects and crustacean shellfish are both arthropods, and clinical cross-reactivity between the two groups has been demonstrated.

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The mobility of transposable elements (TEs) contributes to evolution of genomes. Their uncontrolled activity causes genomic instability; therefore, expression of TEs is silenced by host genomes. TEs are marked with DNA and H3K9 methylation, which are associated with silencing in flowering plants, animals, and fungi.

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White adipose tissue stores fatty acid (FA) as triglyceride in the lipid droplet organelle of highly specialized cells known as fat cells or adipocytes. Depending on the nutritional state and energy demand, hormonal and biochemical signals converge on activating an elegant and fundamental process known as lipolysis, which involves triglyceride hydrolysis to FAs. Almost six decades of work have vastly expanded our knowledge of lipolysis from enzymatic processes to complex protein assembly, disassembly, and post-translational modification.

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  • Cold exposure activates sympathetic nerves that increase fat cell (adipocyte) thermogenesis through a protein called uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), which varies by sex and fat location.
  • Mammary gland duct cells in female mice influence UCP1 expression in subcutaneous white adipose tissue (scWAT) by releasing factors called 'mammokines.'
  • Research shows that these mammokines, particularly lipocalin 2, can limit UCP1 expression, resulting in lower fat oxidation and energy expenditure in females compared to males, highlighting sex-specific differences in fat metabolism.
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Background: Even though home deaths have been reported to improve quality of life, satisfy patients and families, and reduce healthcare expenditures, not enough is known about the factors that influence home deaths in Korea.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the factors associated with home deaths among middle-aged and older adults in South Korea.

Methods: This secondary data analysis used core interview and exit interview data of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging conducted between 2008 and 2018.

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Eukaryotic organelle genomes are generally of conserved size and gene content within phylogenetic groups. However, significant variation in genome structure may occur. Here, we report that the Stylonematophyceae red algae contain multipartite circular mitochondrial genomes (i.

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The Cyanidiophyceae, an extremophilic red algal class, is distributed worldwide in extreme environments. Species grow either in acidic hot environments or in dim light conditions (e.g.

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The high temperature, acidity, and heavy metal-rich environments associated with hot springs have a major impact on biological processes in resident cells. One group of photosynthetic eukaryotes, the Cyanidiophyceae (Rhodophyta), has successfully thrived in hot springs and associated sites worldwide for more than 1 billion years. Here, we analyze chromosome-level assemblies from three representative Cyanidiophyceae species to study environmental adaptation at the genomic level.

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Background: Educational intervention along with medical treatment is important to improve the quality of life of children with food allergies and their parents. This systematic review was designed to investigate the effects of education programs for parents and children with food allergies to provide a direction for developing an intervention program to improve their quality of life.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.

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Extremophiles have always garnered great interest because of their exotic lifestyles and ability to thrive at the physical limits of life. In hot springs environments, the Cyanidiophyceae red algae are the only photosynthetic eukaryotes able to live under extremely low pH (0-5) and relatively high temperature (35ºC to 63ºC). These extremophiles live as biofilms in the springs, inhabit acid soils near the hot springs, and form endolithic populations in the surrounding rocks.

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Background: Group II introns are mobile genetic elements that can insert at specific target sequences, however, their origins are often challenging to reconstruct because of rapid sequence decay following invasion and spread into different sites. To advance understanding of group II intron spread, we studied the intron-rich mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) in the unicellular red alga, Porphyridium.

Results: Analysis of mitogenomes in three closely related species in this genus revealed they were 3-6-fold larger in size (56-132 kbp) than in other red algae, that have genomes of size 21-43 kbp.

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Coaxial core/shell electrospun nanofibers consisting of ferroelectric P(VDF-TrFE) and relaxor ferroelectric P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) are tailor-made with hierarchical structures to modulate their mechanical properties with respect to their constituents. Compared with two single and the other coaxial membranes prepared in the research, the core/shell-TrFE/CTFE membrane shows a more prominent mechanical anisotropy between revolving direction (RD) and cross direction (CD) associated with improved resistance to tensile stress for the crystallite phase stability and good strength-ductility balance. This is due to the better degree of core/shell-TrFE-CTFE nanofiber alignment and the crystalline/amorphous ratio.

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The xMAP food allergen detection assay (xMAP FADA) is an advanced multiplex immunoassay with multiple antibodies for each of 15 target food allergens and gluten, allowing for signal confirmation and antigenic profiling to occur in a single analysis. Botanicals used as spices are complex matrices for allergen analysis because they can exhibit inherent cross-reactivity with antibodies employed by the assays. Preliminary examinations of botanicals revealed chili peppers to have notably high levels of cross-reactivity with Brazil nut and hazelnut antibody bead sets in the xMAP FADA.

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Olfactory receptors are ectopically expressed in extra-nasal tissues. The gut is constantly exposed to high levels of odorants where ectopic olfactory receptors may play critical roles. Activation of ectopic olfactory receptor 544 (Olfr544) by azelaic acid (AzA), an Olfr544 ligand, reduces adiposity in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) by regulating fuel preference to fats.

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We report the complete plastid genome of also known as . The plastid genome was 174,192 bp in size. Annotation showed there were 193 protein coding genes, three ribosomal RNAs, and 29 transfer RNAs.

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The protein/peptide profiles of gluten during yogurt fermentation were evaluated using an optimized multiplex-competitive ELISA by preparing yogurts incurred with gluten at different concentrations and by varying certain fermentation conditions. Analysis indicated that epitope-specific responses with antibody binding to glutenin epitopes decreased less during longer fermentation times or at higher starter culture concentrations relative to gliadins. Incomplete proteolysis was observed after 24 h of fermentation, which became more efficient as fermentation time was increased.

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The xMAP Food Allergen Detection Assay (xMAP FADA) is a powerful analytical method by virtue of its ability to simultaneously detect multiple antigenic elements with a repertoire of antibodies targeting 15 food allergens plus gluten. Further, by incorporating multiple levels of redundancy, it can also be used to distinguish between homologous cross-reactive analytes. The power of its analytical capabilities is especially critical when working with botanicals.

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  • This text discusses a specific species within the Halymeniales order of red algae (Rhodophyta) and describes the recovery of its complete mitochondrial genome, which is 26,142 base pairs long with 31% GC content.
  • A total of 49 functional genes were identified, consisting of 24 protein-coding genes, 23 transfer RNA genes, and 2 ribosomal RNA genes.
  • The gene arrangement is similar to other species in the same order, but this species uniquely lacks an intron and intronic Open Reading Frame (ORF) found in other related species.
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The gut microbiota, which includes Akkermansia muciniphila, is known to modulate energy metabolism, glucose tolerance, immune system maturation and function in humans. Although A. muciniphila is correlated with metabolic diseases and its beneficial causal effects were reported on host metabolism, the molecular mechanisms involved have not been identified.

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Background: The Cyanidiophyceae is an early-diverged red algal class that thrives in extreme conditions around acidic hot springs. Although this lineage has been highlighted as a model for understanding the biology of extremophilic eukaryotes, little is known about the molecular evolution of their mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes).

Results: To fill this knowledge gap, we sequenced five mitogenomes from representative clades of Cyanidiophyceae and identified two major groups, here referred to as Galdieria-type (G-type) and Cyanidium-type (C-type).

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