Presence and diversity of free-living amoebae and their potential application as water quality indicators.

Free-living amoebae (FLA) are found in diverse environments, such as soils, rivers, and seas. Hence, they can be used as bioindicators to assess the water quality based solely on their presence. In this study, we determined the presence of FLA in river water by filtering water samples collected from various sites and culturing the resulting filtrates.

Anti-Pseudomonal Effect of Nephrite-Impregnated Contact Lenses.

Purpose: This study compared the anti-pseudomonal effects between nephrite-impregnated contact lenses (CLs) and conventional and cosmetic CLs.

Methods: After inoculation with , we counted the number of bacteria on the CL surface and observed each surface using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). To estimate potential harm of nephrite-impregnated CLs, we conducted a safety test using a rabbit model, treated with all CL types.

Extract of Pericarps Exhibits a Parasiticidal Effect on the Nematode Parasite, .

Benzimidazole derivatives can effectively treat nematode parasitic infections; however, some derivatives demand distinct administrative strategies depending on plasma concentration and patient conditions. Numerous studies have examined the potential of natural extracts to exert parasiticidal activity with minimal side effects. Herein, we examined the potential parasiticidal effects of extract.

Exposure to Nickel Oxide Nanoparticles Induces Acute and Chronic Inflammatory Responses in Rat Lungs and Perturbs the Lung Microbiome.

Nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO NPs) are highly redox active nanoparticles. They can cause acute and chronic inflammation in rat lungs. Unlike the gut microbiome, the association between the lung microbiome's role and pulmonary inflammatory response to inhaled nanoparticles remains largely unexplored.

Extracellular vesicles of Echinococcus granulosus have therapeutic effects in allergic airway inflammation.

Background: Previous studies have shown that Echinococcus granulosus cystic fluid can alleviate Th2 allergic airway inflammatory responses by increasing the number of CD4 CD25 Foxp3 T (regulatory T; Treg) cells. Parasite-derived extracellular vesicles (EV) are known to not only promote parasite infection by communicating between parasites but also regulate the inflammatory response by acting as an immunomodulatory agent in the host.

Methods: To evaluate the effect of EV extracted from the cystic fluid of E.

Phylogenetic Positioning of a Strongyloides stercoralis Isolate Recovered from a Korean Patient and Comparison with Other Asian Isolates.

Strongyloidiasis is caused by Strongyloides stercoralis and is one of the most neglected tropical diseases in tropical and subtropical regions. Although several strongyloidiasis cases have been reported in Korea, genetic analysis of Korean isolates is still incomplete. In this study, a parasite was isolated from a 61-year-old man diagnosed with strongyloidiasis during the treatment of lymphoma on his retroperitoneal lymph node.

Trichinella spiralis infection ameliorated diet-induced obesity model in mice.

Obesity is an increasingly prevalent disease worldwide, and genetic and environmental factors are known to regulate the development of obesity and associated metabolic diseases. Emerging studies indicate that innate and adaptive immune cell responses in adipose tissue play critical roles in the regulation of metabolic homeostasis. Parasitic helminths are the strongest natural inducers of type 2 inflammatory responses, and several studies have revealed that helminth infections inversely correlate with metabolic syndrome.

Gametophyte and embryonic ontogeny: understanding the reproductive calendar of Cypripedium japonicum Thunb. (Cypripedoideae, Orchidaceae), a lady's slipper orchid endemic to East Asia.

Background: The genus Cypripedium L. is one of the five genera of the subfamily Cypripedioideae, members of which are commonly known as lady's slipper orchids. Cypripedium japonicum is a perennial herb native to East Asia, specifically China, Japan, and Korea.

Effects of lifelong spontaneous exercise on the M1/M2 macrophage polarization ratio and gene expression in adipose tissue of super-aged mice.

In the adipose tissue (AT), an increase in the M1 macrophage (M1Ø)/M2 macrophage (M2Ø) polarization ratio can be a risk factor enhancing the inflammatory response during aging, as well as increasing the risk of chronic disease, thereby reducing lifespan, or at least reducing "healthy" lifespan. The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare the AT M1Ø/M2Ø polarization ratio at the final lifespan stage in aged and control animals performing lifelong spontaneous wheel running. Based on flow cytometric analysis, the AT ratio of macrophages revealed M2Ø polarization following lifelong spontaneous exercise (LSE) regardless of age.

Correction to: The embryological insight into the relationship between Forsythia and Abeliophyllum (Forsythieae, Oleaceae).

In the original publication of the article, species name.

The embryological insight into the relationship between Forsythia and Abeliophyllum (Forsythieae, Oleaceae).

Forsythia saxatilis, a Korean native Forsythia, is recognized as an endangered species in the Korean Red List. We carried out a comprehensive embryological investigation, including a study of the pericarp development, of F. saxatilis and compared it with previously acquired information on the family Oleaceae and also with Abeliophyllum distichum, a close relative of Forsythia.

Release of -nitrosamines and -nitrosatable substances from baby bottle teats and rubber kitchen tools in Korea.

Ensuring the safety of baby bottle teats and kitchen tools made from rubber is critical. Therefore, the migration of -nitrosamines and -nitrosatable substances from 30 teats and 45 kitchen tools to artificial saliva was analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The method was validated by assessing the limits of detection (0.

Coronary stents with inducible VEGF/HGF-secreting UCB-MSCs reduced restenosis and increased re-endothelialization in a swine model.

Atherosclerotic plaques within the vasculature may eventually lead to heart failure. Currently, cardiac stenting is the most effective and least invasive approach to treat this disease. However, in-stent restenosis is a complex chronic side effect of stenting treatment.

Fast and simple determination and exposure assessment of bisphenol A, phenol, p-tert-butylphenol, and diphenylcarbonate transferred from polycarbonate food-contact materials to food simulants.

Polycarbonate (PC) plastics find extensive use in baby bottles, food storage containers, and various kitchen items. Possibly hazardous chemicals, bisphenol A (BPA), phenol, p-tert-butylphenol (TBP), and diphenylcarbonate (DPC), are source materials or by-products from PC production. Therefore, a fast and simple analytical method was developed to determine and assess the exposure of BPA, phenol, TBP, and DPC transferred from PC food-contact materials to four different food simulants (water, 4% acetic acid, 50% ethanol, and n-heptane) at different temperatures.

The organization of melanopsin-immunoreactive cells in microbat retina.

Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) respond to light and play roles in non-image forming vision, such as circadian rhythms, pupil responses, and sleep regulation, or image forming vision, such as processing visual information and directing eye movements in response to visual clues. The purpose of the present study was to identify the distribution, types, and proportion of melanopsin-immunoreactive (IR) cells in the retina of a nocturnal animal, i.e.

Localization of melanopsin-immunoreactive cells in the Mongolian gerbil retina.

Melanopsin-expressing intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) are involved in circadian rhythm and pupil responses. The purpose of this study was to reveal the organization of melanopsin-immunoreactive (IR) neurons in the Mongolian gerbil retina using immunocytochemistry. Melanopsin-IR cells were primarily located in the ganglion cell layer (GCL; M1c; 75.

Generation and Characterization of Recombinant Influenza A(H1N1) Viruses Resistant to Neuraminidase Inhibitors.

Objectives: To examine the effect of neuraminidase (NA) mutations on the NA inhibitor (NAI) resistance phenotype, the recombinant influenza A/Chungbuk/4448/2008(H1N1) virus isolated in South Korea during the 2008-2009 season was generated by reverse genetics.

Methods: Site-directed mutagenesis was introduced on the NA gene of A/Chungbuk/4448/2008(H1N1) virus, and a total of 23 single, double, and triple mutants were generated. Resistance phenotype of these recombinant viruses was determined by NA-inhibition (NAI) assays based on a fluorometric method using two NAIs (oseltamivir and zanamivir).

Production of tropane alkaloids during de-differentiation of Scopolia parviflora calli.

The production of tropane alkaloids during differentiation and de-differentiation of Scopolia parviflora calli was studied. Tropane alkaloid production drastically decreased during calli de-differentiation. Scopolamine (1) production decreased after 10 days of culture, whereas that of hyoscyamine (2) decreased during de-differentiation of root to calli.