Introduction: The serine/threonine with-no-lysine (WNK) kinase family function in blood pressure control, electrolyte homeostasis, and cellular osmoregulation. These kinases and their downstream effectors are considered promising therapeutic targets in hypertension and stroke. However, the role of WNK kinases in immune cells remains poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOptimal timing of revascularization for patients who presented with non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction is unclear. A total of 386 NSTEMI patients with severe LV dysfunction from the nationwide, multicenter, and prospective Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry V (KAMIR-V) were enrolled. Severe LV dysfunction was defined as LV ejection fraction ≤ 35%.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLigand-engaged chemokine receptors trigger nucleotide exchange in heterotrimeric Gα proteins, which stimulates cytoskeletal reorganization and cell polarity changes. To better understand the signaling events responsible for these cellular changes, we focused on early changes in F-actin dynamics after engagement of the chemokine receptor CXCR5 in murine splenic B cells. Within 10 seconds of exposure to the CXCR5 ligand CXCL13, three-dimensional lamellar-like pseudopods and F-actin-rich ridges appeared.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFrequencies and phenotypes of immune cells differ between neonates and adults in association with age-specific immune responses. Lymph nodes (LN) are critical tissue sites to quantify and define these differences. Advances in flow cytometry have enabled more multifaceted measurements of complex immune responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe shape of flexible endoscopic surgical robot should be obtained to increase control accuracy and prevent unwanted tissue damage. To estimate the shape of flexible manipulator, space efficiency, cost-effectiveness, system complexity, and ease of calibration should be considered to integrate sensors into the manipulator. In this article, we propose a real-time method to estimate the shape of a hyper-redundant manipulator having embedded coiled fiber sensors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe research, which was designed as a "pre- and post-single group" study, included patients with lower-limb amputation and aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of self-directed physical-strength training and cardiovascular exercise using a novel digital healthcare management service three times a week for 12 weeks. Muscle strength, thigh circumference, lipid profile and glycated hemoglobin levels, pulmonary function, quality of life, and physical activity level were evaluated before and after the intervention, while satisfaction was measured after the study. Among the 14 included patients, the proportion of adherence to the physical-strength training and physical-strengthening activity were 85.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSoybean (SB) leaves (SLs) contain diverse flavonoids with health-promoting properties. To investigate the chemical constituents of SB and their correlations across phenotypes, growing periods, and environmental factors, a validated separation method for mass detection was used with targeted metabolomics. Thirty-six polyphenols (1 coumestrol, 5 flavones, 18 flavonols, and 12 isoflavones) were identified in SLs, 31 of which were quantified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The selection of appropriate contrast media (CM) remains an important issue in terms of renal preservation in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and renal impairment scheduled for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We compared the clinical outcomes of patients with AMI and renal impairment, depending on the CM type (iso-osmolar CM [IOCM] vs. low-osmolar CM [LOCM]) that was used during PCI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeutrophil trafficking, homeostatic and pathogen elicited, depends upon chemoattractant receptors triggering heterotrimeric G-protein Gαβ signaling, whose magnitude and kinetics are governed by RGS protein/Gα interactions. RGS proteins typically limit Gα signaling by reducing the duration that Gα subunits remain GTP bound and able to activate downstream effectors. Yet how in totality RGS proteins shape neutrophil chemoattractant receptor activated responses remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough essential for reconstructing hominin behaviour during the Early Palaeolithic, only a handful of Acheulean sites have been dated in the Eastern Sahara region. This is due to the scarcity of sites for this time period and the lack of datable material. However, recent excavations in the Atbara region (Sudan) have provided unique opportunities to analyse and date Acheulean stone tools.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnnu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc
July 2019
Perfluoroalkoxy alkane (PFA) film-based microelectrode arrays were fabricated in monolithic structure with pretreatment of plasma on the surface followed by patterning gold electrode array without additional adhesion metal layer. The encapsulation of patterned fluoropolymer layer was thermally laminated at the temperature of under its melting point, interleaved between Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) sheets which indicate formation of micro-corrugated pattern. The fabricated device was optically opaque, however, transparent in solution due to the diffraction of light.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Sahara Desert episodically became a space available for hominins in the Pleistocene. Mostly, desert conditions prevailed during the interpluvial periods, which were only periodically interrupted by enhanced precipitation during pluvial or interglacial periods. Responding to Quaternary climatic changes, hominin dispersal was channeled through vegetated corridors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRivaroxaban has emerged as a potential alternative to warfarin for the prevention of thromboembolism in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). However, there has been concern for the risk of major bleeding, especially in Asian patients. We investigated the efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban compared to warfarin in Korean real world practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNatural killer (NK) cell killing of melanoma cells involves perforin-mediated delivery of granzymes from NK cells to cancer cells; however, how melanoma cells die remains poorly characterized. Here, we examined the dying process of melanoma cells by using time-lapse imaging. Upon contact with NK cells, B16-F10 cells rounded and most of them showed membrane rupture (98 min); however, B16 parent cells showed writhing and delayed membrane rupture (235 min).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe combination of immunosuppressants and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is a promising therapeutic strategy for systemic lupus erythematosus, since this approach reduces doses of immunosuppressants while maintaining the same therapeutic outcome. However, it is unavoidable for MSCs to be exposed to immunosuppressants. Here, we examined the combination effect of prednisone (PD) or mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and MSCs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Comput Biol
April 2018
Anonymized electronic medical records are an increasingly popular source of research data. However, these datasets often lack race and ethnicity information. This creates problems for researchers modeling human disease, as race and ethnicity are powerful confounders for many health exposures and treatment outcomes; race and ethnicity are closely linked to population-specific genetic variation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnnu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc
July 2017
Inhibition of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymerization could be observed when spin-coated over vinyl substrates. The degree of polymerization, partially curing or fully curing, depended on the PDMS thickness coated over the vinyl substrate. This characteristic was exploited to achieve simple and fast PDMS patterning method using a vinyl adhesive layer patterned through a cutting plotter.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnnu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc
July 2017
Optokinetic nystagmus (OKN) is useful in evaluating visual function objectively, and the classical black-and-white-striped OKN drum is being replaced by video or computer monitor. However, the examinee may feel fatigue during test because of high contrast of luminous pattern from monitor. This paper suggests a plan to reduce eye fatigue of participant by decreasing contrast of patterns without reducing OKN response.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper proposes Fiber-Optic Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (FO LSPR) sensor combined with a micro fluidic channel, which enables continuous supply of fluid for bio-reaction. The proposed method prevents degradation of the sensing performance due to changes in measurement conditions. The feasibility of the FO LSPR sensor with a micro fluidic channel was demonstrated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multi-organ autoimmune disease characterized by autoantibody production. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) ameliorate SLE symptoms by targeting T cells, whereas the mechanisms of their efficacy remain incompletely understood. In this study, we show that transfer of human MSCs increased MRL.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer Immunol Immunother
February 2017
Cytotoxicity of cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells depends mainly on their encounters with target cells, but how many CIK cells are required to kill an individual cancer cell is unknown. Here we used time-lapse imaging to quantify the critical effector cell number required to kill an individual target cell. CIK cells killed MHC-I-negative and MHC-I-positive cancer cells, but natural killer (NK) cells destroyed MHC-I-negative cells only.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Guidelines for esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) in the West allow the continued use of warfarin under therapeutic international normalized ratio (INR) level. In Korea, no guidelines have been issued regarding warfarin treatment before EGD. The authors surveyed Korean cardiac surgeons about how Korean cardiac surgeons handle warfarin therapy before EGD using a questionnaire.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurdlan, a β-1,3-glucan isolated from Alcaligenes faecalis, is an agonist of dectin-1 in various immune cells, including dendritic cells (DCs). However, whether curdlan also activates DCs through other receptors remains unknown. In this study, we found that curdlan activates DCs through dectin-1 and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4).
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