Influence of taekwondo as security martial arts training on anaerobic threshold, cardiorespiratory fitness, and blood lactate recovery.

[Purpose] This study was conducted to determine the influence of Taekwondo as security martial arts training on anaerobic threshold, cardiorespiratory fitness, and blood lactate recovery. [Subjects and Methods] Fourteen healthy university students were recruited and divided into an exercise group and a control group (n = 7 in each group). The subjects who participated in the experiment were subjected to an exercise loading test in which anaerobic threshold, value of ventilation, oxygen uptake, maximal oxygen uptake, heart rate, and maximal values of ventilation / heart rate were measured during the exercise, immediately after maximum exercise loading, and at 1, 3, 5, 10, and 15 min of recovery.

Efficacy and safety of radotinib in chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia patients with resistance or intolerance to BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

Radotinib (IY5511HCL), a novel and selective BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has shown pre-clinical and phase I activity and safety in chronic myeloid leukemia. This phase II study investigated the efficacy and safety of radotinib in Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic phase-chronic myeloid leukemia patients with resistance and/or intolerance to BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Patients received radotinib 400 mg twice daily for 12 cycles based on results from the phase I trial.

Effect of exercise intervention on changes in free Fatty Acid levels and metabolic risk factors in stroke patients.

[Purpose] The present study investigated the effects of regular exercise on the improvement of free fatty acid (FFA) levels and metabolic risk factors of stroke patients. [Methods] The subjects were 20 male patients aged 47-59 years who were diagnosed as having hemiplegia resulting from stroke. Exercise was conducted using a stationary bicycle, a rehabilitative exercise machine.

Mycobacterium massiliense bacteremia as a consequence of M. massiliense pneumonia in a patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

A 52-year-old woman with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia was diagnosed with Mycobacterium massiliense pneumonia after 4 months of chemotherapy. She developed M. massiliense bacteremia 1 month later.

Multicenter study evaluating the impact of hypomethylating agents as bridging therapy to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in myelodysplastic syndromes.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) is currently the only curative treatment modality for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). The treatment paradigm for MDS has changed in recent years with the introduction of hypomethylating agents (HMAs). The present retrospective multicenter study was designed to assess the effects of pre-transplant HMA on transplant outcome and determine which patients would benefit most from this therapy.

A prospective longitudinal study evaluating the usefulness of the interferon-gamma releasing assay for predicting active tuberculosis in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients.

Objective: There is little information on the efficacy of interferon-gamma-releasing assays for predicting subsequent active tuberculosis in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) recipients.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled adult patients admitted for allogeneic HCT during a 3-year period in an intermediate-tuberculosis-burden country. All the patients underwent QuantiFERON-TB In-Tube (QFT-TB) assay, while those enrolled during the first 2-year period also received the tuberculin skin test (TST).

Donor-derived natural killer cells infused after human leukocyte antigen-haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplantation: a dose-escalation study.

The doses of donor-derived natural killer (NK) cells that can be given safely after human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) remain to be defined. Forty-one patients (ages 17 to 75 years) with hematologic malignancy underwent HLA-haploidentical HCT after reduced-intensity conditioning containing busulfan, fludarabine, and antithymocyte globulin. Cell donors (ages 7 to 62 years) underwent growth factor-mobilized leukapheresis for 3 to 4 days.

Effects of a 'drug holiday' on bone mineral density and bone turnover marker during bisphosphonate therapy.

Background: Recently long-term safety of bisphosphonate raises issues about the duration of therapy. We examined the effects of a drug holiday (DH) on bone mineral density (BMD) and bone turnover markers.

Methods: In Korean, 125 women of 50 years of age or older with T-score≤-3.

Treadmill exercise reduces spinal cord injury-induced apoptosis by activating the PI3K/Akt pathway in rats.

Apoptosis occurring secondary to spinal cord injury (SCI) causes further neural damage and functional loss. In this study, a rat model was used to investigate the effect of treadmill exercise on SCI-induced apoptosis and expression of neurotrophic factors. To produce SCI, a contusion injury (10 g × 25 mm) was applied subsequent to laminectomy at the T9-T10 level.

Prospective, multicenter, phase II study on reducing the dosage of idarubicin and FLAG for patients younger than 65 years with resistant acute myeloid leukemia: a comparison with a higher dosage trial.

We previously assessed continuous infusion (CI) of fludarabine and cytarabine plus idarubicin (CI-FLAG1) for patients under 65 years of age with resistant acute myeloid leukemia. Induction chemotherapy consisted of idarubicin (IDA) plus fludarabine and cytarabine (ARAC) as a 24-hour CI. In response to induction, 31.

Automatic nuchal translucency measurement from ultrasonography.

This paper proposes a fully automatic approach for computing Nuchal Translucency (NT) measurement in an ultrasound scans of the mid-sagittal plane of a fetal head. This is an improvement upon current NT measurement methods which require manual placement of NT measurement points or user-guidance in semi-automatic segmentation of the NT region. The algorithm starts by finding the pose of the fetal head using discriminative learning-based detectors.

Antibody light chain variable domains and their biophysically improved versions for human immunotherapy.

We set out to gain deeper insight into the potential of antibody light chain variable domains (VLs) as immunotherapeutics. To this end, we generated a naïve human VL phage display library and, by using a method previously shown to select for non-aggregating antibody heavy chain variable domains (VHs), we isolated a diversity of VL domains by panning the library against B cell super-antigen protein L. Eight domains representing different germline origins were shown to be non-aggregating at concentrations as high as 450 µM, indicating VL repertoires are a rich source of non-aggregating domains.

Endometrial Stromal Sarcomas: A clinico-pathological analysis of 27 patients.

Objective: To evaluate clinico-pathological features and prognostic valuses of Endometrial stromal sarcomas (ESS) through comparison of the two grade groups (low- and high-grade disease).

Methodology: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 27 patients who were diagnosed with ESS at a single institute between March 1988 and November 2009. Our retrospective chart review was approved by our local institutional Review Board (IRB).

2-{2-[4-(Dimethylamino)phenyl]-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-ylidene}malononitrile: a colorimetric and fluorescent chemosensor for low pH values.

For developing intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) chemosensors for low pH values, 2-{2-[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-ylidene}malononitrile (DPM) was designed and synthesized. The spectroscopic and pH-sensing properties of DPM were investigated by UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. This sensor exhibited a pH-dependent ratiometric absorption property in the range of pH 0-3, along with a reversible color change from yellow to colorless with increasing acid concentration.

High CXCR4 and low VLA-4 expression predicts poor survival in adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Data regarding the prognostic significance of CXCR4 and VLA-4 in ALL are limited. Especially, VLA-4 has not been evaluated at the time of diagnosis in both adult and childhood ALL patients. We prospectively analyzed the expression of VLA-4 and CXCR4 in 54 patients (VLA-4 in 29 adults and 25 children and CXCR4 in 22 adults and 24 children) newly diagnosed with ALL by flow cytometry.

Enantioselective organocatalytic oxidative enamine catalysis-1,5-hydride transfer-cyclization sequences: asymmetric synthesis of tetrahydroquinolines.

The first organocatalytic enantioselective intramolecular oxidative enamine catalysis and 1,5-hydride transfer-ring closure reaction cascade is described. This neutral reaction cascade allows for the efficient formation of ring-fused tetrahydroquinolines with high enantioselectivities.

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation in adult patients with myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms.

Background: In adults, the 2 main types of myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms (MDS/MPN) are chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) and atypical chronic myeloid leukemia (aCML). Both are associated with a poor prognosis. Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is the only known curative treatment modality for these diseases, but data on outcomes following such treatment are limited.

Suppression of TRIF-dependent signaling pathway of toll-like receptors by (E)-1-(2-(2-nitrovinyl)phenyl)pyrrolidine.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play an important role in the recognition of microbial pathogens and induce innate immune responses. The recognition of microbial components by TLRs triggers the activation of myeloid differential factor 88 (MyD88)- and toll-interleukin-1 receptor domain-containing adapter inducing interferon-β (TRIF)-dependent downstream signaling pathways. Previously, we synthesized (E)-1-(2-(2-nitrovinyl)phenyl)pyrrolidine (NVPP), which contains a nitrovinyl-phenyl and pyrrolidine.

Vertical alignment of liquid crystals with zinc oxide nanorods.

The alignment of liquid crystals (LCs) on zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods grown vertically on an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer has been investigated as an alternative alignment layer for the vertical alignment of LCs. We found that the degree of vertical alignment strongly depends on the length and density of the vertically aligned ZnO nanorods on the ITO layer and also that a uniform vertical alignment using the proposed structure can be achieved. Finally, vertically aligned LC cells with ZnO nanorods were fabricated and their electro-optical properties were evaluated and compared with those of a conventional vertically aligned LC cell with a polymer alignment layer.

Effects of metabolic syndrome on fibrosis in chronic viral hepatitis.

Background/aims: Metabolic syndrome, comprising diabetes, hypertension, central obesity, and dyslipidemia, is increasingly prevalent worldwide. We aimed to study the relationship between metabolic syndrome and the risk of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and chronic hepatitis C (CHC).

Methods: In total, 954 patients (CHB, 850; CHC, 104 patients) with liver biopsy were included in the retrospective analysis.

Hepatitis B core antigen expression in hepatocytes reflects viral response to entecavir in chronic hepatitis B patients.

Background/aims: Hepatitis B core antigen is known to be a major target for virus-specific T cells and also reflects the progression of liver dissease and viral replication. Hepatitis B core antigen expression in hepatocytes leads to altered histological activity, viral replication, and immune response. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether the topographical distribution of hepatitis B core antigen expression can predict the viral response to entecavir in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Suppression of inducible nitric oxide synthase expression induced by Toll-like receptor agonists by (E)-1-(2-(2-nitrovinyl)phenyl)pyrrolidine.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) recognize many pathogen-associated molecular patterns and induce innate immunity. TLR signaling pathways induce the activation of various transcription factors, such as nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), leading to the induction of pro-inflammatory gene products, such as inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Here, we investigated the effect of an (E)-1-(2-(2-nitrovinyl)phenyl)pyrrolidine (NVPP), previously synthesized in our laboratory, on inflammation by modulating NF-κB activation and iNOS expression induced by TLR agonists in murine macrophages.

The effect of Korean red ginseng on allergic inflammation in a murine model of allergic rhinitis.

Korean red ginseng (KRG) is reported to have anti-allergic properties, including beneficial effects on asthma and atopic dermatitis. However, its effect on allergic rhinitis has not been studied extensively. This study examined how KRG affected allergic inflammation of the nasal cavity in an allergic mouse model.