Enhancing toxicity prediction for natural products in herbal medicine and dietary supplements: Integrating (Q)STR models and in vitro assays.

New approach methods (NAMs) are required to predict human toxicity effectively, particularly due to limitations in conducting in vivo studies. While NAMs have been established for various industries, such as cosmetics, pesticides, and drugs, their applications in natural products (NPs) are lacking. NPs' complexity (multiple ingredients and structural differences from synthetic compounds) complicates NAM development.

Enhanced electrophysiological activity and neurotoxicity screening of environmental chemicals using 3D neurons from human neural precursor cells purified with PSA-NCAM.

The assessment of neurotoxicity for environmental chemicals is of utmost importance in ensuring public health and environmental safety. Multielectrode array (MEA) technology has emerged as a powerful tool for assessing disturbances in the electrophysiological activity. Although human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived neurons have been used in MEA for neurotoxicity screening, obtaining a substantial and sufficiently active population of neurons from hESCs remains challenging.

Disparities in the Quality of Working Life Among Older Workers: Housing Conditions and Life Satisfaction With Latent Class Analysis.

Little empirical research informs understanding of the disparate active aging experiences among working older adults, especially in terms of the association with living circumstances and life satisfaction. To address this knowledge gap, this study used latent class analysis on data from the 2020 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) core interview and focused on 1,194 employed adults aged 50 and above. The results revealed four subtypes of the quality of working life in older workers.

Safety assessment and gastrointestinal retention of orally administered cerium oxide nanoparticles in rats.

Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO NPs, NM-212) are well-known for their catalytic properties and antioxidant potential, and have many applications in various industries, drug delivery, and cosmetic formulations. CeO NPs exhibit strong antimicrobial activity and can be used to efficiently remove pathogens from different environments. However, knowledge of the toxicological evaluation of CeO NPs is too limited to support their safe use.

Hepa-ToxMOA: a pathway-screening method for evaluating cellular stress and hepatic metabolic-dependent toxicity of natural products.

In the field of drug discovery, natural products have emerged as therapeutic agents for diseases such as cancer. However, their potential toxicity poses significant obstacles in the developing effective drug candidates. To overcome this limitation, we propose a pathway-screening method based on imaging analysis to evaluate cellular stress caused by natural products.

Housing insecurity and employment stability: An investigation of working mothers.

Little evidence informs the relationship between housing insecurity and employment for working mothers. The present study aimed to identify variation in work schedules and supports, as well as the link from housing insecurity to employment experiences in a sample of at-risk mothers. Latent class analysis identified subtypes of employment stability; multinomial logistic regression estimated links from housing insecurity to class membership.

Investigation of Ifosfamide Toxicity Induces Common Upstream Regulator in Liver and Kidney.

Ifosfamide is an alkylating agent, a synthetic analogue of cyclophosphamide, used to treat various solid cancers. In this study, the toxicity of ifosfamide was evaluated using single-and multiple-dose intraperitoneal administration in rats under Good Laboratory Practice guidelines, and an additional microarray experiment was followed to support toxicological findings. A single dose of ifosfamide (50 mg/kg) did not induce any pathological changes.

Facility and Family Communication during the COVID-19 Visit Restriction: Early Perspectives of Family Members.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, family concerns regarding residents in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) increased due to a high proportion of COVID cases and deaths among residents and restrictions that made it impossible to visit. These changes created numerous challenges for facilities communicating with families, and between families and residents. However, little is known about how these facilities addressed these communication challenges and how those communication strategies were related to family perceptions about the facility.

Impedance Measurement System for Assessing the Barrier Integrity of Three-Dimensional Human Intestinal Organoids.

Human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived intestinal organoids (HIOs) hold unprecedented promise for basic biology and translational applications. However, developing a quantitative method to evaluate the epithelial cell membrane integrity of HIOs as an intestinal barrier model is a major challenge because of their complex three-dimensional (3D) structure. In this study, we developed an impedance system to measure the change in electrical resistance of 3D HIOs depending on the integrity of the intestinal epithelial cell membrane, which can reflect functionality and maturity.

Construction of a non-contact community treatment centre for asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The explosive outbreak of COVID-19 led to a shortage of medical resources, including isolation rooms in hospitals, healthcare workers (HCWs) and personal protective equipment. Here, we constructed a new model, non-contact community treatment centres to monitor and quarantine asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patients who recorded their own vital signs using a smartphone application. This new model in Korea is useful to overcome shortages of medical resources and to minimise the risk of infection transmission to HCWs.

TNFα enhances trovafloxacin-induced in vitro hepatotoxicity by inhibiting protective autophagy.

Trovafloxacin (TVX) is associated with idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (iDILI) and inflammation-mediated hepatotoxicity. However, the inflammatory stress-regulated mechanisms in iDILI remain unclear. Herein, we elucidated the novel role of tumor-necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), an inflammatory stress factor, in TVX-induced in vitro hepatotoxicity and synergistic toxicity.

Competition Among Mental Health Organizations: Environmental Drivers and Strategic Responses.

While mental health system reforms have sought to leverage competition in the private sector to improve service quality and costs, competition among mental health organizations is poorly understood. To inform future studies about the impact of policy and system reforms on mental health organizations and service delivery, this qualitative study explores (1) resources for which organizations compete most intensively, (2) drivers of competition, and (3) leaders' strategic organizational responses. Semi-structured phone interviews were conducted with 15 organizational leaders (CEO's, executive directors) representing about 22% of organizations in the regional mental health market.

Does Self-Efficacy and Team Leader Equity Matter for Older Workers' Mental Health?

Background And Objectives: Prolonged working life is not necessarily associated with good mental health. Despite the importance of healthy working life in later years, little research has been conducted on predictors of mental health in the workplace among older workers. This study aimed to investigate how personal (self-efficacy) and team (leader equity) factors are associated with older workers' mental health through work engagement.

Chronic encapsulated expanding hematoma after stereotactic radiosurgery of cerebral arteriovenous malformation.

Stereotactic radiosurgery has become excellent alternative treatment for cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVM). This technique has expanded to treatment of larger AVM which is not amenable to surgical management. However, its variable adverse effects should be also taken into considerations sincerely because of radiobiological characteristics such as delayed onset and progressive neurological deteriorations.

Dysregulation of the miRNA biogenesis components DICER1, DROSHA, DGCR8 and AGO2 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma in both a Korean cohort and the cancer genome atlas kidney clear cell carcinoma cohort.

Impairment of microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis may be involved in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). The objective of the present study was to investigate the mRNA levels of important miRNA machinery components, , DiGeroge syndrome critical region gene 8 (), and Argonaute 2 (), and their correlations with clinicopathological characteristics of ccRCC using mRNA expression data from The Cancer Genome Atlas kidney clear cell carcinoma (TCGA KIRC) cohort and a Korean ccRCC cohort. mRNA levels of , and were significantly decreased in both cohorts.

Identification of clinical characteristics and factors predicting favorable treatment outcomes in elderly patients with traumatic brain injury.

Age is an important prognostic factor for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), and worse treatment outcomes have been reported in elderly patients. Therefore, proper treatment is needed for the increasing number of elderly patients with TBI. We aimed to analyze predictive factors of favorable treatment outcomes (FTO) in elderly patients.

Age-friendly communities and perceived disconnectedness: the role of built environment and social engagement.

To examine the effect of access to outdoor space and buildings and social or community events on elders' perceived disconnectedness. Data were from a representative survey conducted as part of an age-friendly community initiative in a large midwestern city in the United States. Hierarchical logistic regression was employed to examine the relationships between environment, engagement, and connection.

Intimate Partner Violence in India: Abuse in India's Empowered Action Group States.

Married women in India experience intimate partner violence (IPV) at alarming rates. This study explores regional differences in Indian women's physical IPV experiences by looking at the effect of living in eight Empowered Action Group (EAG) states. It is hypothesized that women in EAG states will be more likely to have experienced physical IPV than women living outside EAG states.

Comparative omics analyses of hepatotoxicity induced by oral azole drugs in mice liver and primary hepatocytes.

Ketoconazole (KTZ) and itraconazole (ITZ) are antifungal agents that have a broad spectrum of activity against fungal pathogens. However, the therapeutic indications of many antifungal drugs, including those of the azole group, are restricted due to possible hepatotoxicity. We performed toxicogenomic analyses using and models to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the hepatotoxicity of two azole antifungal drugs.

Access to Employment, Volunteer Activities, and Community Events and Perceptions of Age-Friendliness: The Role of Social Connectedness.

The aim of this study was to investigate the direct and indirect effects of access to employment, volunteer opportunities, and community events on older adults' perception of age-friendliness and feelings of connectedness. Data were from an age-friendly community survey conducted in a Midwestern city in the United States. We analyzed the responses of 264 older adult residents (50 years and older) using path analysis.

Identifying candidates for gamma knife radiosurgery among elderly patients with brain metastases.

We investigated the outcomes of gamma knife radiosurgery (GKRS) for elderly patients (≥ 65 years) with brain metastases, and identified survival-associated factors. We retrospectively analyzed data from 115 patients treated with GKRS for 1-15 brain metastases. The median patient age was 72 years; most primary tumors were pulmonary (n = 83).

Severe Facial Fracture is Related to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.

Background: Facial fractures frequently occur with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The relationship between facial fractures and brain trauma remains controversial. The objective of this study was to analyze the correlation between facial fracture and TBI.