Influence of body shape on health-related quality of life in Korean adults: The mediating effect of self-rated health.

A Body Shape Index (ABSI) predicts mortality independent of body mass index and had a negative relationship with self-rated health (SRH), which had a positive effect on the EuroQol (EQ)-5D index. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between ABSI and the EQ-5D index and to verify the mediating effect of SRH in Korean adults. This study included 13,381 participants aged ≥20 years from the 7th (2016-2018) Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES).

Beneficial Effects of Fermentation of Red Chili Pepper Using . RPG-HL-0136 in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Mice.

Red chili pepper is a beneficial natural spicy food that has antiobesity and antitype II diabetes effects, but it is not conducive to in-depth research as a dietary strategy to treat obesity. This study aims to investigate the beneficial effects of red chili pepper, fermented with a novel RPG-HL-0136. LC-MS/MS analysis is conducted to detect the content of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin, and no significant difference is observed between the nonfermented red chili pepper (NFP) (W/W) and the prepared RPG-HL-0136fermented chili mixture (LFP).

Bone Regeneration with 3D-Printed Hybrid Bone Scaffolds in a Canine Radial Bone Defect Model.

Background: The repair of large bone defects remains a significant challenge in clinical practice and requires bone grafts or substitute materials. In this study, we developed a unique hybrid bone scaffold comprising a three dimensional (3D)-printed metal plate for weight bearing and a biodegradable polymer tube serving as bone conduit. We assessed the long-term effect of the hybrid bone scaffold in repairing radial bone defects in a beagle model.

The Risk of Gastrointestinal Cancer on Daily Intake of Low-Dose BaP in C57BL/6 for 60 Days.

Background: Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) is a carcinogenic compound in contaminated foodstuffs. The effect of oral intake of the environmental carcinogen BaP under low doses and frequent exposure on a digestive system has not been thoroughly verified.

Methods: In this regard, this study was conducted to prove the toxicity effects of BaP on the stomach and colon tissue after exposure to C57BL/6 mouse (3 and 6 µg/kg) following daily oral administration for 60 days.

Efficiency Enhancement by Insertion of ZnO Recombination Barrier Layer in CdS Quantum Dot-Sensitized Solar Cells.

In this investigation we report the formation of thin ZnO recombination barrier layer at TiO₂/CdS interface aimed for the improvement in performance of CdS sensitized solar cell. The film was deposited upon nanocrystalline mesoporous TiO₂ surface by following a simple chemical process and characterized, using UV-Visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and electron dispersive X-ray measurements. The insertion of ZnO thin layer enhances the QDSC (Quantum dot sensitized solar cell) performance, contributed mainly by an increase in open circuit voltage () due to reduced electron back transfer from TiO₂ conduction band.

A Situation-Aware Indoor Localization (SAIL) System Using a LF and RF Hybrid Approach.

Recently, studies focusing on identifying user's current location for use in a wide variety of differentiated location-based and localization services have steadily increased. In particular, location awareness using wireless communication is gaining attention in indoor environments composed of many obstacles, where GPS signals cannot reach. Previously, studies have focused mostly on location precision, which resulted in using many beacon nodes, not considering the initial installation and maintenance costs, communication robustness, or power consumption.

Opportunistic and Location-Based Collaboration Architecture among Mobile Assets and Fixed Manufacturing Processes.

Research into integrating the concept of the internet of things (IoT) into smart factories has accelerated, leading to the emergence of various smart factory solutions. Most ideas, however, focus on the automation and integration of processes in factory, rather than organic cooperation among mobile assets (e.g.

The Association between Smoking Status and Influenza Vaccination Coverage Rate in Korean Adults: Analysis of the 2010-2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Background: Globally, smoking is one of the biggest challenges in public health and is a known cause of several important diseases. Influenza is preventable via annual vaccination, which is the most effective and cost-beneficial method of prevention. However, subjects who smoke have some unhealthy behaviours such as alcohol, low physical activity, and low vaccination rate.

Sex differences in the association between stroke and bone mineral density in elderly Koreans: The Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2008-2010.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate whether osteoporosis is more prevalent in elderly Korean people who have had a stroke and whether the association differs by sex.

Study Design: A total of 3806 elderly subjects (1951 men and 1855 women) from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were included in this study. Stroke history was determined by self-administered questionnaire.

Lanthanum-catalysed synthesis of microporous 3D graphene-like carbons in a zeolite template.

Three-dimensional graphene architectures with periodic nanopores—reminiscent of zeolite frameworks—are of topical interest because of the possibility of combining the characteristics of graphene with a three-dimensional porous structure. Lately, the synthesis of such carbons has been approached by using zeolites as templates and small hydrocarbon molecules that can enter the narrow pore apertures. However, pyrolytic carbonization of the hydrocarbons (a necessary step in generating pure carbon) requires high temperatures and results in non-selective carbon deposition outside the pores.

Phlebosclerotic Colitis in a Healthy Young Woman.

Phlebosclerotic colitis is a rare disease of intestinal ischemia and differentiating it from the typical ischemic colitis. It is caused by venous obstruction due to colonic and mesenteric venous calcification. We report a 36-year-old woman presenting with intermittent abdominal pain.

Dexmedetomidine and remifentanil in the perioperative management of an adolescent undergoing resection of pheochromocytoma -A case report-.

A 15-year-old adolescent with unilateral multiple adrenal pheochromocytoma had an episode of subcortical intracerebral hemorrhage and seizure 6 weeks before the surgery. He was pretreated with terazosin, losartan, atenolol and levetiracetam for 2 weeks. Dexmedetomidine was started in the preoperative waiting area, and a combination of dexmedetomidine and remifentanil was continuously infused for most of anesthetic time.

Impedance changes according to the degree of atopi dermatitis in mice.

Variations in electrical impedance over frequency might be used to distinguish the degree of atopic dermatitis (AD), even if the mechanisms of the skin barrier impairment due to AD are still unknown. We observed the skin bioimpedance of normal mice and of abnormal mice having atopic with instrument measuring electrical impedance. Electrical impedance was measured from 20 Hz to 1 MHz at many frequencies and normalized with several indices such as IMP, PIX, IMIX, RIX, and et al.

Efficient deep-blue organic light-emitting diodes with a 1,4-(dinaphthalen-2-yl)-naphthalene.

Deep-blue organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with nearly 5% external quantum efficiency were demonstrated using a 1,4-(dinaphthalen-2-yl)-naphthalene (DNN) host. The 4,4'-bis(9-ethyl-3-carbazovinylene)-1,1'-biphenyl (BCzVBi) dopant that was used in this experiment effectively accepted energy from the DNN host via Förster energy transfer because the photoluminescence spectrum of the DNN host showed better spectra overlap with the ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption spectrum of the BCzVBi dopant than the photoluminescence spectrum of the 2-methyl-9,10-bis(naphthalen-2-yl)anthracene host did. Moreover, the DNN host had a higher energy bandgap (3.

Heat-killed Lactobacillus acidophilus La205 enhances NK cell cytotoxicity through increased granule exocytosis.

Heat-killed lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are known to be important immunomodulators that stimulate tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and nitric oxide (NO) production as well as increase phagocytic activity in macrophages. NK cells play a critical role in innate immune response and induce spontaneous killing of tumor cells and virus-infected cells. However, the effect of heat-killed LAB on NK cells is still unclear.

Reduced residual renal function is associated with endothelial dysfunction in patients receiving peritoneal dialysis.

Background: Endothelial dysfunction, which contributes to atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis, commonly accompanies end-stage renal disease (ESRD). However, little is known about the role of residual renal function (RRF) in endothelial protection in ESRD patients. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between endothelial function and RRF in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD).

Effect of thermal degradation of SFF-based PLGA scaffolds fabricated using a multi-head deposition system followed by change of cell growth rate.

Solid free-form fabrication (SFF) technology is used to fabricate scaffolds with controllable characteristics including well-defined pore size and porosity. The multi-head deposition system (MHDS), one form of SFF technology, may be more advantageous than others for fabricating scaffolds because a MHDS does not require the use of a cytotoxic solvent. This method, however, may induce the thermal degradation of raw materials and a subsequent decrease in the material's molecular weight, whereby hydrolytic degradation, resulting in acidic by-products, might be accelerated.

Effect of cross-linking reagents for hyaluronic acid hydrogel dermal fillers on tissue augmentation and regeneration.

A novel, biocompatible, and nontoxic dermal filler using hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogels was successfully developed for tissue augmentation applications. Instead of using highly reactive cross-linkers such as divinyl sulfone (DVS) for Hylaform, 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether (BDDE) for Restylane, and 1,2,7,8-diepoxyoctane (DEO) for Puragen, HA hydrogels were prepared by direct amide bond formation between the carboxyl groups of HA and hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) with an optimized carboxyl group modification for effective tissue augmentation. The HA-HMDA hydrogels could be prepared within 5 min by the addition of HMDA to HA solution activated with 1-ethyl-3-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]carbodiimide (EDC) and 1-hydroxybenzotriazole monohydrate (HOBt).

Synchrotron X-ray bioimaging of bone regeneration by artificial bone substitute of MegaGen Synthetic Bone and hyaluronate hydrogels.

Synchrotron X-ray bioimaging was successfully carried out to observe bone regeneration by a novel artificial bone substitute of bioactive MegaGen Synthetic Bone (MGSB) and hyaluronate (HA) hydrogels. A biphasic calcium phosphate of MGSB was prepared by chemical precipitation method, with a porous spherical morphology. On the basis of the fact that HA plays important roles in bone regeneration and promotes the differentiation, vascularization, and migration of stem cells, HA-cystamine (CYS) hydrogels with cleavable disulfide linkages were prepared to supply HA continuously for effective bone regeneration by their controlled degradation in vivo.

Guided bone regeneration by poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) grafted hyaluronic acid bi-layer films for periodontal barrier applications.

A novel protocol for the synthesis of biocompatible and degradation controlled poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) grafted hyaluronic acid (HA-PLGA) was successfully developed for periodontal barrier applications. HA was chemically modified with adipic acid dihydrazide (ADH) in the mixed solvent of water and ethanol, which resulted in a high degree of HA modification up to 85 mol.%.

Development of clindamycin-loaded wound dressing with polyvinyl alcohol and sodium alginate.

To develop a clindamycin-loaded wound dressing, cross-linked hydrogel films were prepared using freeze-thawing method with various mixtures of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and sodium alginate (SA). The physicochemical properties such as swelling ratio, tensile strength and elongation of hydrogels were evaluated. The drug release from this clindamycin-loaded hydrogel, in vitro protein adsorption test and in vivo wound healing observations in rats were then performed.

Novel oxidized derivatives of antifungal pyrrolnitrin from the bacterium Burkholderia cepacia K87.

The screening of antifungal active compounds from the fermentation extracts of soil-borne bacterium Burkholderia cepacia K87 afforded pyrrolnitrin (1) and two new pyrrolnitrin analogs, 3-chloro-4-(3-chloro-2-nitrophenyl)-5-methoxy-3-pyrrolin-2-one (2) and 4-chloro-3-(3-chloro-2-nitrophenyl)-5-methoxy-3-pyrrolin-2-one (3). Pyrrolnitrin showed strong antifungal activity against Rhizoctonia solani but the analogs (2 and 3) were found to be marginally active. The isolates, 2 and 3, are believed to be biodegraded derivatives of pyrrolnitrin.

Development of polyvinyl alcohol-sodium alginate gel-matrix-based wound dressing system containing nitrofurazone.

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/sodium alginate (SA) hydrogel matrix-based wound dressing systems containing nitrofurazone (NFZ), a topical anti-infective drug, were developed using freeze-thawing method. Aqueous solutions of nitrofurazone and PVA/SA mixtures in different weight ratios were mixed homogeneously, placed in petri dishes, freezed at -20 degrees C for 18h and thawed at room temperature for 6h, for three consecutive cycles, and evaluated for swelling ratio, tensile strength, elongation and thermal stability of the hydrogel. Furthermore, the drug release from this nitrofurazone-loaded hydrogel, in vitro protein adsorption test and in vivo wound healing observations in rats were performed.