Research for association and correlation between stress at workplace and individual mental health.

Background: Occupational stress negatively affects mental health and productivity. Managing worker mental health has been equated to assessing workplace stressors, although there are challenges in screening and managing the mental health of vulnerable workers. This study aimed to determine the correlation between workplace stress characteristics and two depression assessment questionnaires to guide workplaces on assessing job stress more effectively.

Durable Muscle Extracellular Matrix Engineered with Adhesive Phenolic Moieties for Effective Skeletal Muscle Regeneration in Muscle Atrophy.

Muscle atrophy detrimentally impacts health and exacerbates physical disability, leading to increased mortality. In particular, sarcopenia, aging-related degenerative muscle loss, necessitates urgent remedies. Current approaches for treating muscle atrophy include exercise and nutrition, while drug exploration remains in its early stages.

The pathophysiology of visceral adipose tissues in cardiometabolic diseases.

Central pattern of fat distribution, especially fat accumulation within the intraabdominal cavity increases risks for cardiometabolic diseases. Portal hypothesis combined with a pathological remodeling in visceral fat is considered the major etiological factor explaining the independent contribution of visceral obesity to cardiometabolic diseases. Excessive remodeling in visceral fat during development of obesity leads to dysfunctions in the depot, characterized by hypertrophy and death of adipocytes, hypoxia, inflammation, and fibrosis.

Metabolic and structural remodeling during browning of primary human adipocytes derived from omental and subcutaneous depots.

Objective: This study investigated remodeling of cellular metabolism and structures during browning of primary human adipocytes derived from both visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissues. Effects of glucocorticoids on the browning were also assessed.

Methods: Differentiated omental and subcutaneous human adipocytes were treated with rosiglitazone, with or without dexamethasone, and expression levels of brite adipocyte markers, lipolysis, and lipid droplet and mitochondrial structures were examined.

Adhesive Hydrogel Patch-Mediated Combination Drug Therapy Induces Regenerative Wound Healing through Reconstruction of Regenerative Microenvironment.

Regenerative wound healing involves the scarless wound healing as observed in fetal skin. Multiple features of regenerative wound healing have been well studied; however, the practical application of pro-regenerative materials to recapitulate the regenerative wound healing in adult skins has not yet been achieved. In this study, the authors identified that their novel pro-regenerative material, pyrogallol-functionalized hyaluronic acid (HA-PG) patches in combination with protein transduction domain-fused Dishevelled (Dvl)-binding motif (PTD-DBM), a peptide inhibiting the CXXC-type zinc finger protein 5 (CXXC5)-Dvl interaction, promoted regenerative wound healing in mice.

l-Arginine supplementation regulates energy-substrate metabolism in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue of diet-induced obese rats.

Dietary supplementation with l-arginine has been reported to reduce white fat mass in diet-induced obese rats and in obese humans. This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that the arginine treatment regulates glucose and fatty acid metabolism in insulin-sensitive tissues. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (4-week-old) were fed either low- or high-fat diets for 15 weeks ( = 16/diet).

Evaluation of Barley and Wheat Germplasm for Resistance to Head Blight and Mycotoxin Production by Fusarium asiaticum and F. graminearum.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is one of the most serious diseases in barley and wheat, as it is usually accompanied by the production of harmful mycotoxins in the grains. To identify FHB-resistant breeding resources, we evaluated 60 elite germplasm accessions of barley (24) and wheat (36) for FHB and mycotoxin accumulation. Assessments were performed in a greenhouse and five heads per accession were inoculated with both Fusarium asiaticum (Fa73, nivalenol producer) and F.

Remodeling of Adipose Tissues by Fatty Acids: Mechanistic Update on Browning and Thermogenesis by n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids.

Enhancing thermogenesis by increasing the amount and activity of brown and brite adipocytes is a potential therapeutic target for obesity and its associated diseases. Diet plays important roles in energy metabolism and a myriad of dietary components including lipids are known to regulate thermogenesis through recruitment and activation of brown and brite adipocytes. Depending on types of fatty acids (FAs), the major constituent in lipids, their health benefits differ.

pH-Universal Catechol-Amine Chemistry for Versatile Hyaluronic Acid Bioadhesives.

Catechol, a major mussel-inspired underwater adhesive moiety, has been used to develop functional adhesive hydrogels for biomedical applications. However, oxidative catechol chemistry for interpolymer crosslinking and adhesion is exclusively effective under alkaline conditions, with limited applications in non-alkaline conditions. To overcome this limitation, pH-universal catechol-amine chemistry to recapitulate naturally occurring biochemical events induced by pH variation in the mussel foot is suggested.

Functional roles of all five putative hydrophobin genes in growth, development, and secondary metabolism in Fusarium graminearum.

Fusarium graminearum is the causal agent of Fusarium head blight in cereal crops. As in other filamentous ascomycetes, F. graminearum contains genes encoding putative hydrophobins, which are small secreted amphiphilic proteins with eight conserved cysteine residues.

Effect of Steam and Smoke Cooking Processes on Web-Foot Octopus ( sp.) Home Meal Replacement Product.

In Korea, the web-foot octopus ( sp.) is commonly consumed , a spicy stir-fried octopus dish. Using steaming and smoking methods, we made home meal replacement (HMR) products.

Effects of Vacuum Frying on the Preparation of Ready-to-Heat Batter-Fried and Sauced Chub Mackerel ().

Chub mackerel (CM) is a commercial fish in Korea, owing to its availability and nutritional values. This study aimed to develop a ready-to-heat (RTH) Korean preparation of CM, known as We utilized vacuum frying technology to fry the CM and evaluated its quality. Conventional frying with a deep fryer was performed in parallel to assess the superiority of the vacuum fryer.

Vitamin D Inhibits Adipokine Production and Inflammatory Signaling Through the Vitamin D Receptor in Human Adipocytes.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of vitamin D on adipokine expression and inflammation in human adipose tissues and adipocytes and evaluate the molecular mechanisms involved.

Methods: Omental and abdominal subcutaneous human adipose tissues were treated with 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH) D ), and adipokine levels were measured. Vitamin D effects were measured with or without dexamethasone because glucocorticoids are known to affect vitamin D actions.

Vitamin D regulation of adipogenesis and adipose tissue functions.

Vitamin D insufficiency is associated with obesity and its related metabolic diseases. Adipose tissues store and metabolize vitamin D and expression levels of vitamin D metabolizing enzymes are known to be altered in obesity. Sequestration of vitamin D in large amount of adipose tissues and low vitamin D metabolism may contribute to the vitamin D inadequacy in obesity.

A MicroRNA Linking Human Positive Selection and Metabolic Disorders.

Positive selection in Europeans at the 2q21.3 locus harboring the lactase gene has been attributed to selection for the ability of adults to digest milk to survive famine in ancient times. However, the 2q21.

CIDEA Transcriptionally Regulates UCP1 for Britening and Thermogenesis in Human Fat Cells.

Our study identifies a transcriptional role of cell death-inducing DNA fragmentation factor-like effector A (CIDEA), a lipid-droplet-associated protein, whereby it regulates human adipocyte britening/beiging with consequences for the regulation of energy expenditure. The comprehensive transcriptome analysis revealed CIDEA's control over thermogenic function in brite/beige human adipocytes. In the absence of CIDEA, achieved by the modified dual-RNA-based CRISPR-Cas9n system, adipocytes lost their britening capability, which was recovered upon CIDEA re-expression.

Rosiglitazone remodels the lipid droplet and britens human visceral and subcutaneous adipocytes ex vivo.

Treatment with PPARγ agonists in vivo improves human adipocyte metabolism, but the cellular mechanisms and possible depot differences in responsiveness to their effects are poorly understood. To examine the ex vivo metabolic effects of rosiglitazone (Rosi), we cultured explants of human visceral (omental) and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissues for 7 days. Rosi increased mRNA levels of transcriptional regulators of brite/beige adipocytes (PGC1α, PRDM16), triglyceride synthesis (GPAT3, DGAT1), and lipolysis (ATGL) similarly in adipose tissues from both depots.

Impaired Glucocorticoid Suppression of TGFβ Signaling in Human Omental Adipose Tissues Limits Adipogenesis and May Promote Fibrosis.

Visceral obesity is associated with insulin resistance and higher risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic diseases. A limited ability of adipose tissues to remodel through the recruitment and differentiation of adipose stem cells (ASCs) is associated with adipose tissue inflammation and fibrosis and the metabolic syndrome. We show that the lower adipogenesis of omental (Om) compared with abdominal subcutaneous (Abdsc) ASCs was associated with greater secretion of TGFβ ligands that acted in an autocrine/paracrine loop to activate SMAD2 and suppress adipogenesis.

Aortic carboxypeptidase-like protein enhances adipose tissue stromal progenitor differentiation into myofibroblasts and is upregulated in fibrotic white adipose tissue.

White adipose tissue expands through both adipocyte hypertrophy and hyperplasia and it is hypothesized that fibrosis or excess accumulation of extracellular matrix within adipose tissue may limit tissue expansion contributing to metabolic dysfunction. The pathways that control adipose tissue remodeling are only partially understood, however it is likely that adipose tissue stromal and perivascular progenitors participate in fibrotic remodeling and also serve as adipocyte progenitors. The goal of this study was to investigate the role of the secreted extracellular matrix protein aortic carboxypeptidase-like protein (ACLP) on adipose progenitor differentiation in the context of adipose tissue fibrosis.

Transforming growth factor beta superfamily regulation of adipose tissue biology in obesity.

Accumulation of dysfunctional white adipose tissues increases risks for cardiometabolic diseases in obesity. In addition to white, brown or brite adipose tissues are also present in adult humans and increasing their amount may be protective. Therefore, understanding factors regulating the amount and function of each adipose depot is crucial for developing therapeutic targets for obesity and its associated metabolic diseases.

A role for long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase-4 (ACSL4) in diet-induced phospholipid remodeling and obesity-associated adipocyte dysfunction.

Objective: Regulation of fatty acid (FA) metabolism is central to adipocyte dysfunction during diet-induced obesity (DIO). Long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase-4 (ACSL4) has been hypothesized to modulate the metabolic fates of polyunsaturated FA (PUFA), including arachidonic acid (AA), but the in vivo actions of ACSL4 are unknown. The purpose of our studies was to determine the in vivo role of adipocyte ACSL4 in regulating obesity-associated adipocyte dysfunction.

Hormonal Regulation of Adipogenesis.

Adipose tissue includes multiple anatomical depots that serve as an energy reserve that can expand or contract to maintain metabolic homeostasis. During normal growth and in response to overnutrition, adipose tissue expands by increasing the volume of preexisting adipocytes (hypertrophy) and/or by generating new adipocytes (hyperplasia) via recruitment and differentiation of adipose progenitors. This so-called healthy expansion through hyperplasia is thought to be beneficial in that it protects against obesity associated metabolic disorders by allowing for the "safe" storage of excess energy.

Sex-dependent Depot Differences in Adipose Tissue Development and Function; Role of Sex Steroids.

Men and women are different in their fat mass and distribution pattern. The gynoid-type fat distribution, accumulation in lower-body, is considered to be protective while the android-type accumulation in upper-body, both in abdominal subcutaneous and visceral depots, is detrimental. Sex-dependent depot differences in adipose metabolic and endocrine functions are thought to contribute to the sexual disparity in fat distribution as well as its association with cardiometabolic risks.