Bacteroides vulgatus SNUG 40005 Restores Akkermansia Depletion by Metabolite Modulation.

Background & Aims: Weight loss and exercise intervention have been reported to increase the interaction between Bacteroides spp and Akkermansiamuciniphila (Am), although the underlying mechanisms and consequences of the interaction remain unknown.

Methods: Using a healthy Korean twin cohort (n = 582), we analyzed taxonomic associations with host body mass index. B vulgatus strains were isolated from mice and human subjects to investigate the strain-specific effect of B vulgatus SNUG 40005 (Bvul) on obesity.

Simulation of the mucosal environment in the re-construction of the synthetic gut microbial ecosystem.

Human gut surface-attached mucosal microbiota plays significant roles in human health and diseases. This study sought to simulate the mucosal environment using mucin-agar gel and synthetic mucosal microbial community in vitro. To select suitable culture media, microbial communities were assembled and cultured in seven different media at 37 °C for 36 h.

Accurate Segmentation of Nuclear Regions with Multi-Organ Histopathology Images Using Artificial Intelligence for Cancer Diagnosis in Personalized Medicine.

Accurate nuclear segmentation in histopathology images plays a key role in digital pathology. It is considered a prerequisite for the determination of cell phenotype, nuclear morphometrics, cell classification, and the grading and prognosis of cancer. However, it is a very challenging task because of the different types of nuclei, large intraclass variations, and diverse cell morphologies.

Light-weighted ensemble network with multilevel activation visualization for robust diagnosis of COVID19 pneumonia from large-scale chest radiographic database.

Currently, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) pandemic has killed more than one million people worldwide. In the present outbreak, radiological imaging modalities such as computed tomography (CT) and X-rays are being used to diagnose this disease, particularly in the early stage. However, the assessment of radiographic images includes a subjective evaluation that is time-consuming and requires substantial clinical skills.

Akkermansia muciniphila secretes a glucagon-like peptide-1-inducing protein that improves glucose homeostasis and ameliorates metabolic disease in mice.

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.

Synthetic gut microbiome: Advances and challenges.

An exponential rise in studies regarding the association among human gut microbial communities, human health, and diseases is currently attracting the attention of researchers to focus on human gut microbiome research. However, even with the ever-growing number of studies on the human gut microbiome, translation into improved health is progressing slowly. This hampering is due to the complexities of the human gut microbiome, which is composed of >1,000 species of microorganisms, such as bacteria, archaea, viruses, and fungi.

A wearable battery-free wireless and skin-interfaced microfluidics integrated electrochemical sensing patch for on-site biomarkers monitoring in human perspiration.

In this study, an ultra-high sensitive, flexible, wireless, battery-free, and fully integrated (no external analysis equipment) electrochemical sensing patch system, including a microfluidic-sweat collecting unit, was newly developed for the on-site monitoring of the [K] concentration in human sweat. Multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and MXene-TiCT based hybrid multi-dimensional networks were applied to obtain a high surface activation area and faster charge transfer rate, strongly adsorbing the valinomycin membrane to protect the ionophore for effective transshipment and immobilization of the [K]. Furthermore, the controllable porosity of carbon-based materials can accelerate the kinetic process of ion diffusion.

Highly flexible and conductive poly (3, 4-ethylene dioxythiophene)-poly (styrene sulfonate) anchored 3-dimensional porous graphene network-based electrochemical biosensor for glucose and pH detection in human perspiration.

The patterned LIG flakes are generally not interconnected due to the line gap of the laser ray, leading to lower uniform conductivity and fragile graphene. Thus, the fabrication of a highly conductive and mechanically robust LIG-based biosensing platform remains challenging. In this study, the fabrication of a flexible electrochemical biosensor is reported based on poly (3, 4-ethylene dioxythiophene)-poly (styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) modified 3-dimensional (3D) stable porous laser-induced graphene (LIG) for the detection of glucose and pH.

Artificial Intelligence-Based Thyroid Nodule Classification Using Information from Spatial and Frequency Domains.

Image-based computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems have been developed to assist doctors in the diagnosis of thyroid cancer using ultrasound thyroid images. However, the performance of these systems is strongly dependent on the selection of detection and classification methods. Although there are previous researches on this topic, there is still room for enhancement of the classification accuracy of the existing methods.

Alcohol dependence treating agent, acamprosate, prevents traumatic brain injury-induced neuron death through vesicular zinc depletion.

Acamprosate, also known as N-acetyl homotaurine, is an N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antagonist that is used for treating alcohol dependence. Although the exact mechanism of acamprosate has not been clearly established, it appears to work by promoting a balance between the excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters, glutamate, and gamma-aminobutyric acid, respectively. Several studies have demonstrated that acamprosate provides neuroprotection against ischemia-induced brain injury.

Faster R-CNN and Geometric Transformation-Based Detection of Driver's Eyes Using Multiple Near-Infrared Camera Sensors.

Studies are being actively conducted on camera-based driver gaze tracking in a vehicle environment for vehicle interfaces and analyzing forward attention for judging driver inattention. In existing studies on the single-camera-based method, there are frequent situations in which the eye information necessary for gaze tracking cannot be observed well in the camera input image owing to the turning of the driver's head during driving. To solve this problem, existing studies have used multiple-camera-based methods to obtain images to track the driver's gaze.

A highly stretchable and conductive 3D porous graphene metal nanocomposite based electrochemical-physiological hybrid biosensor.

Recently, highly stretchable and flexible electrodes essential for wearable electronic devices has been reported. However, their electrical resistances are high, the fabrication processes are complicated and involve a high cost, and deformations such as stretching can lead to the degradation on electrical performance. To address these issues, a novel fabrication process (both inexpensive and simple) for the highly stretchable and conductive electrodes using well patterned 3D porous laser-induced graphene silver nanocomposite was developed.

Effects of fermented milk treatment on microbial population and metabolomic outcomes in a three-stage semi-continuous culture system.

We investigated the impact of a fermented milk product on gut microbiota and their metabolism in 3 different conditions of the colon with a systemic viewpoint. An in vitro semi-continuous anaerobic cultivation was used to assess the colon compartment-specific influence of fermented milk, followed by a multiomics approach combining 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The microbiome profiling and metabolomic features were significantly different across three colon compartments and after fermented milk treatment.

Convolutional Neural Network-Based Classification of Driver's Emotion during Aggressive and Smooth Driving Using Multi-Modal Camera Sensors.

Because aggressive driving often causes large-scale loss of life and property, techniques for advance detection of adverse driver emotional states have become important for the prevention of aggressive driving behaviors. Previous studies have primarily focused on systems for detecting aggressive driver emotion via smart-phone accelerometers and gyro-sensors, or they focused on methods of detecting physiological signals using electroencephalography (EEG) or electrocardiogram (ECG) sensors. Because EEG and ECG sensors cause discomfort to drivers and can be detached from the driver's body, it becomes difficult to focus on bio-signals to determine their emotional state.

A wearable electrochemical glucose sensor based on simple and low-cost fabrication supported micro-patterned reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite electrode on flexible substrate.

In this study, a reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-based nanostructured composite working electrode of high quality was successfully microfabricated and micro-patterned on a flexible polyimide substrate using simple low-cost fabrication processes. Gold and platinum alloy nanoparticles were electrochemically deposited onto the microfabricated rGO surface and chitosan-glucose oxidase composites were integrated onto the modified surface of the working electrode to develop a human sweat-based wearable glucose sensor application. The fabricated biosensor exhibited excellent amperometric response to glucose at a detection range of 0-2.

Deep Learning-Based Gaze Detection System for Automobile Drivers Using a NIR Camera Sensor.

A paradigm shift is required to prevent the increasing automobile accident deaths that are mostly due to the inattentive behavior of drivers. Knowledge of gaze region can provide valuable information regarding a driver's point of attention. Accurate and inexpensive gaze classification systems in cars can improve safe driving.

Spoof Detection for Finger-Vein Recognition System Using NIR Camera.

Finger-vein recognition, a new and advanced biometrics recognition method, is attracting the attention of researchers because of its advantages such as high recognition performance and lesser likelihood of theft and inaccuracies occurring on account of skin condition defects. However, as reported by previous researchers, it is possible to attack a finger-vein recognition system by using presentation attack (fake) finger-vein images. As a result, spoof detection, named as presentation attack detection (PAD), is necessary in such recognition systems.

Distinct pattern of immune tolerance in dendritic cells treated with lipopolysaccharide or lipoteichoic acid.

Cytokine induction is often critical for the host defense during acute immune responses while, if not tightly regulated, it may cause an immunological pathology coincident with tissue damage. Despite the fact that gram-positive bacterial infection has become increasingly prevalent, immune modulation induced by lipoteichoic acid (LTA), the major cell wall component of gram-positive bacteria has not been studied thoroughly at the cellular level. In the current study, tolerance induction in mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) treated with single or repeated stimulation of Staphylococcus aureus LTA was compared with those of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Empirical Study on Designing of Gaze Tracking Camera Based on the Information of User's Head Movement.

Gaze tracking is the technology that identifies a region in space that a user is looking at. Most previous non-wearable gaze tracking systems use a near-infrared (NIR) light camera with an NIR illuminator. Based on the kind of camera lens used, the viewing angle and depth-of-field (DOF) of a gaze tracking camera can be different, which affects the performance of the gaze tracking system.

The effect of heritability and host genetics on the gut microbiota and metabolic syndrome.

Objective: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) arises from complex interactions between host genetic and environmental factors. Although it is now widely accepted that the gut microbiota plays a crucial role in host metabolism, current knowledge on the effect of host genetics on specific gut microbes related to MetS status remains limited. Here, we investigated the links among host genetic factors, gut microbiota and MetS in humans.

Analysis of the association between host genetics, smoking, and sputum microbiota in healthy humans.

Recent studies showing clear differences in the airway microbiota between healthy and diseased individuals shed light on the importance of the airway microbiota in health. Here, we report the associations of host genetics and lifestyles such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity with the composition of the sputum microbiota using 16S rRNA gene sequence data generated from 257 sputum samples of Korean twin-family cohort. By estimating the heritability of each microbial taxon, we found that several taxa, including Providencia and Bacteroides, were significantly influenced by host genetic factors.

Endogenous somatostatin inhibits interaction of insulin and cholecystokinin on exocrine secretion of isolated, perfused rat pancreas.

Introduction: Although somatostatin inhibits pancreatic exocrine secretion, the inhibitory mechanism of endogenous somatostatin is not clearly understood.

Aim: To investigate the effect of endogenous somatostatin on the interaction between endogenous insulin and exogenous cholecystokinin (CCK) in exocrine secretion of the totally isolated, perfused rat pancreas.

Methodology: Endogenous releases of somatostatin and insulin were induced by 18 mM glucose.