Increased understanding of complex neuronal circuits in the cerebellar cortex.

The prevailing belief has been that the fundamental structures of cerebellar neuronal circuits, consisting of a few major neuron types, are simple and well understood. Given that the cerebellum has long been known to be crucial for motor behaviors, these simple yet organized circuit structures seemed beneficial for theoretical studies proposing neural mechanisms underlying cerebellar motor functions and learning. On the other hand, experimental studies using advanced techniques have revealed numerous structural properties that were not traditionally defined.

Intracellular pyruvate as one of the major bioactive substances of lactic acid bacteria isolated from kimchi.

The present study aimed to identify the metabolites associated with the physiological activity of kimchi-derived lactic acid bacteria (LAB). A clear difference was observed between the 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) radical scavenging rates when the pyruvate content was high (273.5 ng/µL; radical removal speed 6.

Blockchain-Based Caching Architecture for DApp Data Security and Delivery.

Decentralized applications (DApps) built on blockchain technology offer a promising solution to issues caused by centralization. However, traditional DApps leveraging off-chain storage face performance challenges due to factors such as storage location, network speed, and hardware conditions. For example, decentralized storage solutions such as IPFS suffer from diminished download performance due to I/O constraints influenced by data access patterns.

Kimchi Lactic Acid Bacteria Starter Culture: Impact on Fermented Malt Beverage Volatile Profile, Sensory Analysis, and Physicochemical Traits.

Starter cultures used during the fermentation of malt wort can increase the sensory characteristics of the resulting beverages. This study aimed to explore the aroma composition and flavor recognition of malt wort beverages fermented with lactic acid bacteria ( WiKim0194) isolated from kimchi, using metabolomic profiling and electronic tongue and nose technologies. Four sugars and five organic acids were detected using high-performance liquid chromatography, with maltose and lactic acid present in the highest amounts.

Metabolites of Kimchi Lactic Acid Bacteria, Indole-3-Lactic Acid, Phenyllactic Acid, and Leucic Acid, Inhibit Obesity-Related Inflammation in Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

Given the diversity of vegetables utilized in food fermentation and various lactic acid bacteria (LAB) populations in these materials, comprehensive studies on LAB from vegetable foods, including kimchi, are imperative. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the obesity-related inflammation response of three metabolites-phenyllactic acid (PLA), indole-3-lactic acid (ILA), and leucic acid (LA)-produced by LAB ( WiKim39 and WiKim0124) isolated from kimchi. Their effects on tumor necrosis factor-α-induced changes in adipokines and inflammatory response in adipose-derived human mesenchymal stem cells were examined.

Transcriptome responses of lactic acid bacteria isolated from kimchi under hydrogen peroxide exposure.

In this study, five species of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from kimchi were analyzed in terms of their potential antioxidant activity. Latilactobacillus curvatus WiKim38, Companilactobacillus allii WiKim39, and Lactococcus lactis WiKim0124 exhibited higher radical scavenging activity, reducing power, and lipid peroxidation inhibition than the reference strain and tolerated hydrogen peroxide (HO) exposure up to a concentration of 2.5 mM.

Anti-obesity effect of vegetable juice fermented with lactic acid bacteria isolated from kimchi in C57BL/6J mice and human mesenchymal stem cells.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of fermented vegetable juice (VJ) obtained from a blend of four crops ( var. , var. , L.

Eggshell membrane as a bioactive agent in polymeric nanotopographic scaffolds for enhanced bone regeneration.

A bone regeneration scaffold is typically designed as a platform to effectively heal a bone defect while preventing soft tissue infiltration. Despite the wide variety of scaffold materials currently available, such as collagen, critical problems in achieving bone regeneration remain, including a rapid absorption period and low tensile strength as well as high costs. Inspired by extracellular matrix protein and topographical cues, we developed a polycaprolactone-based scaffold for bone regeneration using a soluble eggshell membrane protein (SEP) coating and a nanotopography structure for enhancing the physical properties and bioactivity.

Tendon-Inspired Nanotopographic Scaffold for Tissue Regeneration in Rotator Cuff Injuries.

Acute and chronic rotator cuff (RC) tears are common etiologies of shoulder disabilities. Despite the advanced surgical techniques and graft materials available for tendon repair, the high re-tear rate remains a critical challenge in RC healing. Inspired by the highly organized nanotopography of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in tendon tissue of the shoulder, nanotopographic scaffolds are developed using polycaprolactone for the repair and regeneration of RC tendons.

Graphene-Layered Eggshell Membrane as a Flexible and Functional Scaffold for Enhanced Proliferation and Differentiation of Stem Cells.

The eggshell membrane (ESM) is usually regarded as an agricultural byproduct waste, even though it has unique properties as a biomaterial. In particular, the ESM has a flexible and highly pure microfibrous network structure that can be used as an artificial extracellular matrix (ECM) platform for engraftment or as a tissue-engineered scaffold. In this study, flexible and functional scaffolds were constructed using an ESM and graphene, and their applicability for stem cell and tissue engineering was analyzed.

Temporal variation in riverine organic carbon concentrations and fluxes in two contrasting estuary systems: Geum and Seomjin, South Korea.

In this study, surface water samples were collected at sites located in the lowest reaches of closed (Geum) (i.e. with an estuary dam at the river mouth) and open (Seomjin) estuary systems between May 2016 and May 2018.

Mechanisms for Hfq-Independent Activation of by DsrA, a Small RNA, in .

Many small RNAs (sRNAs) regulate gene expression by base pairing to their target messenger RNAs (mRNAs) with the help of Hfq in . The sRNA DsrA activates translation of the mRNA in an Hfq-dependent manner, but this activation ability was found to partially bypass Hfq when DsrA is overproduced. The precise mechanism by which DsrA bypasses Hfq is unknown.

Nanopatterned Scaffolds for Neural Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine.

Biologically inspired approaches employing nanoengineering techniques have been influential in the progress of neural tissue repair and regeneration. Neural tissues are exposed to complex nanoscale environments such as nanofibrils. In this chapter, we summarize representative nanotechniques, such as electrospinning, lithography, and 3D bioprinting, and their use in the design and fabrication of nanopatterned scaffolds for neural tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Confined Nucleation and Growth of PdO Nanocrystals in a Seed-Free Solution inside Hollow Nanoreactor.

This paper reports a novel and adaptable hollow nanoreactor system containing a solution of cucurbituril (CB) inside a silica nanoparticle (CB@h-SiO) which enables the nucleation and formation of nanocrystals (NCs) to be confined at the seed-free interior solution inside the cavity. The above nanospace confinement strategy restricted the volume of medium available for NC formation to the solution inside the cavity to a few tens of nanometers in size and allowed homogeneous NC nucleation to be examined. Harboring of CB@h-SiO in a Pd complex solution confined the nucleation and formation of PdO NCs to the well-isolated nanosized cavity protected by the silica nanoshell, allowing the convoluted formation of clustered PdO NCs to be thoroughly examined.

Asymmetric silica encapsulation toward colloidal Janus nanoparticles: a concave nanoreactor for template-synthesis of an electocatalytic hollow Pt nanodendrite.

A novel reverse microemulsion strategy was developed to asymmetrically encapsulate metal-oxide nanoparticles in silica by exploiting the self-catalytic growth of aminosilane-containing silica at a single surface site. This strategy produced various colloidal Janus nanoparticles, including Au/Fe3O4@asy-SiO2, which were converted to an Au-containing silica nanosphere, Au@con-SiO2, by reductive Fe3O4 dissolution. The use of Au@con-SiO2 as a metal-growing nanoreactor allowed the templated synthesis of various noble-metal nanocrystals, including a hollow dendritic Pt nanoshell which exhibits significantly better electrocatalytic activities for the oxygen reduction reaction than commercial Pt/C catalysts.

Identification of novel sRNAs involved in biofilm formation, motility, and fimbriae formation in Escherichia coli.

Bacterial small RNAs (sRNAs) are known regulators in many physiological processes. In Escherichia coli, a large number of sRNAs have been predicted, among which only about a hundred are experimentally validated. Despite considerable research, the majority of their functions remain uncovered.

Comparison of Alcian Blue, Trypan Blue, and Toluidine Blue for Visualization of the Primo Vascular System Floating in Lymph Ducts.

The primo vascular system (PVS), floating in lymph ducts, was too transparent to be observed by using a stereomicroscope. It was only detectable with the aid of staining dyes, for instance, Alcian blue, which was injected into the lymph nodes. Some dyes were absorbed preferentially by the PVS than the lymph wall.

Roles of rpoS-activating small RNAs in pathways leading to acid resistance of Escherichia coli.

Escherichia coli and related enteric bacteria can survive under extreme acid stress condition at least for several hours. RpoS is a key factor for acid stress management in many enterobacteria. Although three rpoS-activating sRNAs, DsrA, RprA, and ArcZ, have been identified in E.

Monodisperse conducting colloidal dipoles with symmetric dimer structure for enhancing electrorheology properties.

This study introduces an electrorheological (ER) approach that allows us to obtain remarkably enhanced ER properties by using monodisperse colloidal dimer particles. Two sets of colloidal particles, which are spheres and symmetric dimers, were synthesized employing the seeded polymerization technique. The aspect ratio of dimer particles was ~1.