Development of a novel complex inflammatory bowel disease mouse model: Reproducing human inflammatory bowel disease etiologies in mice.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), caused by environmental factors associated with the host's genetic traits, is represented by Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Despite the increasing number of patients with IBD, the current treatment is limited to symptomatic therapy. A complex IBD model mimicking the human IBD etiology is required to overcome this limitation.

Elimination of olfactory sensory neurons by zinc sulfate inoculation prevents SARS-CoV-2 infection of the brain in K18-hACE2 transgenic mice.

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), attributed to the severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has posed global health challenges since it first emerged in 2019, and its impact continues to persist. The neurotropic nature of SARS-CoV-2 remains undisclosed, though researchers are proposing hypotheses on how the virus is transmitted to the central nervous system. One of the prevailing hypotheses is that SARS-CoV-2 travels through the olfactory nerve system via the olfactory epithelium (OE).

A novel chronic obstructive pulmonary disease mouse model induced by intubation-mediated intratracheal co-administration of porcine pancreatic elastase and lipopolysaccharide.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a significant respiratory disorder in humans characterized by persistent airway constriction or obstruction due to chronic bronchitis and pulmonary emphysema. Various methods of inducing COPD in mouse models are frequently used in COPD research; however, these cannot completely reproduce histopathologic lesions. This study aimed to establish a new COPD mouse model that reproduces histopathological lesions closely resembling clinical COPD within a shorter induction time.

Spike-Based Neuromorphic Hardware for Dynamic Tactile Perception with a Self-Powered Mechanoreceptor Array.

A self-powered mechanoreceptor array is demonstrated using four mechanoreceptor cells for recognition of dynamic touch gestures. Each cell consists of a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) for touch sensing and a bi-stable resistor (biristor) for spike encoding. It produces informative spike signals by sensing a force of an external touch and encoding the force into the number of spikes.

Bio-Inspired Organic Synaptor with In Situ Ion-Doped Ultrathin Polyelectrolyte Containing Acetylcholine-Like Cation.

An ion-based synaptic transistor (synaptor) is designed to emulate a biological synapse using controlled ion movements. However, developing a solid-state electrolyte that can facilitate ion movement while achieving large-scale integration remains challenging. Here, a bio-inspired organic synaptor (BioSyn) with an in situ ion-doped polyelectrolyte (i-IDOPE) is demonstrated.

Cryptographic transistor for true random number generator with low power consumption.

We design a cryptographic transistor (cryptoristor)-based true random number generator (tRNG) with low power consumption and small footprint. This is the first attempt to use irregular and unpredictable operation-induced randomness of a cryptoristor as an entropy source. To extract discrete random numbers with a binary code from the cryptoristor, we developed a noise-coupling analog-to-digital converter.

A Nanoscale Bistable Resistor for an Oscillatory Neural Network.

Coupled oscillators construct an oscillatory neural network (ONN) by mimicking the interactions among neurons in the human brain. This work demonstrates a fully CMOS-based oscillator consisting of a bistable resistor (biristor), which shares a structure identical with that of a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor, except for the use of a gate electrode. The biristor-based oscillator (birillator) generates oscillating voltage signals in the form of spikes due to a single transistor latch phenomenon.

Cryptographic triboelectric random number generator with gentle breezes of an entropy source.

A wind-driven triboelectric nanogenerator (W-TENG) is a promising energy harvesting device due to its clean, ubiquitous and unexhausted properties. In addition, a W-TENG induces unpredictable chaotic outputs from wind flow that can serve as an entropy source for cryptography. This can be applied to a true random number generator (TRNG) for a secured system due to its inherent turbulent nature; thus, a W-TENG with a two-in-one structure can simultaneously generate both power and true random numbers.

Self-Mixed Biphasic Liquid Metal Composite with Ultra-High Stretchability and Strain-Insensitivity for Neuromorphic Circuits.

Neuromorphic circuits that can function under extreme deformations are important for various data-driven wearable and robotic applications. Herein, biphasic liquid metal particle (BMP) with unprecedented stretchability and strain-insensitivity (ΔR/R = 1.4@ 1200% strain) is developed to realize a stretchable neuromorphic circuit that mimics a spike-based biologic sensory system.

Neurologic Effects of SARS-CoV-2 Transmitted among Dogs.

SARS-CoV-2 induces illness and death in humans by causing systemic infections. Evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2 can induce brain pathology in humans and other hosts. In this study, we used a canine transmission model to examine histopathologic changes in the brains of dogs infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Vertically Integrated CMOS Ternary Logic Device with Low Static Power Consumption and High Packing Density.

A ternary logic system to realize the simplest multivalued logic architecture can enhance energy efficiency compared to a binary logic system by reducing the number of transistors and interconnections. For the ternary logic system, a ternary logic device to harness three stable states is needed. In this study, a vertically integrated complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor ternary logic device is demonstrated by monolithically integrating a thin-film transistor (TFT) over a transistor-based threshold switch (TTS).

Analyses of unpredictable properties of a wind-driven triboelectric random number generator.

Wind-driven triboelectric nanogenerators (W-TENGs) are a promising candidate for an energy harvester because wind itself possesses unexhausted, ubiquitous, and clean properties. W-TENG has also been used as a random number generator (RNG) due to the inherent chaotic properties of wind that is also an entropy source. Thus, a W-TENG which simultaneously generates both power and true random numbers with a two-in-one structure, is a wind-driven RNG (W-RNG) like the Janus.

3D Neuromorphic Hardware with Single Thin-Film Transistor Synapses Over Single Thin-Body Transistor Neurons by Monolithic Vertical Integration.

Neuromorphic hardware with a spiking neural network (SNN) can significantly enhance the energy efficiency for artificial intelligence (AI) functions owing to its event-driven and spatiotemporally sparse operations. However, an artificial neuron and synapse based on complex complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) circuits limit the scalability and energy efficiency of neuromorphic hardware. In this work, a neuromorphic module is demonstrated composed of synapses over neurons realized by monolithic vertical integration.

Leaky FinFET for Reservoir Computing with Temporal Signal Processing.

Reservoir computing can greatly reduce the hardware and training costs of recurrent neural networks with temporal data processing. To implement reservoir computing in a hardware form, physical reservoirs transforming sequential inputs into a high-dimensional feature space are necessary. In this work, a physical reservoir with a leaky fin-shaped field-effect transistor (L-FinFET) is demonstrated by the positive use of a short-term memory property arising from the absence of an energy barrier to suppress the tunneling current.

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant causes brain infection with lymphoid depletion in a mouse COVID-19 model.

Background: The Omicron variant has become the most prevalent SARS-CoV-2 variant. Omicron is known to induce milder lesions compared to the original Wuhan strain. Fatal infection of the Wuhan strain into the brain has been well documented in COVID-19 mouse models and human COVID-19 cases, but apparent infections into the brain by Omicron have not been reported in human adult cases or animal models.

COVID-19 spike polypeptide vaccine reduces the pathogenesis and viral infection in a mouse model of SARS-CoV-2.

The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which causes a respiratory disease called COVID-19, has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) and is still ongoing. Vaccination is the most important strategy to end the pandemic. Several vaccines have been approved, as evidenced by the ongoing global pandemic, but the pandemic is far from over and no fully effective vaccine is yet available.

Artificial Multisensory Neuron with a Single Transistor for Multimodal Perception through Hybrid Visual and Thermal Sensing.

An artificial multisensory device applicable to in-sensor computing is demonstrated with a single-transistor neuron (1T-neuron) for multimodal perception. It simultaneously receives two sensing signals from visual and thermal stimuli. The 1T-neuron transforms these signals into electrical signals in the form of spiking and then fires them for a spiking neural network at the same time.

Establishment of multicenter COVID-19 therapeutics preclinical test system in Republic of Korea.

Throughout the recent COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea led national efforts to develop vaccines and therapeutics for SARS-CoV-2. The project proceeded as follows: 1) evaluation system setup (including Animal Biosafety Level 3 (ABSL3) facility alliance, standardized nonclinical evaluation protocol, and laboratory information management system), 2) application (including committee review and selection), and 3) evaluation (including expert judgment and reporting). After receiving 101 applications, the selection committee reviewed pharmacokinetics, toxicity, and efficacy data and selected 32 final candidates.

Short-term carcinogenicity study of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea in FVB-Trp53 heterozygous mice.

Carcinogenicity tests predict the tumorigenic potential of various substances in the human body by studying tumor induction in experimental animals. There is a need for studies that explore the use of FVB/N-Trp53em2Hwl/Korl (FVB-Trp53+/-) mice, created by TALEN-mediated gene targeting in Korea, in carcinogenicity tests. This study was performed to determine whether FVB-Trp53+/- mice are a suitable model for short-term carcinogenicity studies.

Protective Role of the Toll-Like Receptor 5 Agonist KMRC011 against Murine Colitis Induced by and Dextran Sulfate Sodium.

This study aimed to identify the therapeutic ability of a novel toll-like receptor (TLR) 5 agonist, KMRC011, on ulcerative colitis induced by and dextran sulfate sodium in a C57BL/6N mouse model. Ulcerative colitis was induced in the mice by the oral administration of 1% dextran sulfate sodium in sterile drinking water for seven days , followed by infection on the seventh day by intra-gastric administration (DSS-CT group). KMRC011 was administered intramuscularly at both 24 h and 15 min before (Treatment 1 group), and at both 15 min and 24 h after (Treatment 2 group) the infection.

Nonclinical safety evaluation of food colorant lac dye systematic toxicity profiling with assessment of antigenic potential.

Lac dye is a natural colorant derived mainly from the insect (Kerr) and has been used in food and beverage as a red-coloring additive. Despite its increasing use for human consumption as an alternative for allergy-associated cochineal, its toxicity profile remained incomplete to sufficiently assess its safety for the intended use. In this study, we evaluated systemic and genetic toxicity by performing acute and subacute oral toxicity studies in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats using highly purified lac dye (LD) formulated in water and a battery of genotoxicity tests, respectively.

The gate injection-based field-effect synapse transistor with linear conductance update for online training.

Neuromorphic computing, an alternative for von Neumann architecture, requires synapse devices where the data can be stored and computed in the same place. The three-terminal synapse device is attractive for neuromorphic computing due to its high stability and controllability. However, high nonlinearity on weight update, low dynamic range, and incompatibility with conventional CMOS systems have been reported as obstacles for large-scale crossbar arrays.

Clinical evaluation of toll-like receptor-5 agonist for radiation-induced oral mucositis in beagle dogs.

This study aimed to evaluate the clinical safety and validate the radiomitigative effect of KMRC011, against radiation-induced oral mucositis in beagle dogs. Clinical safety was evaluated by assessing tolerability, complete blood tests, and plasma biochemistry after drug administration. The radiomitigative effect of KMRC011 was evaluated macropathologically and histopathologically after inducing oral mucositis iatrogenically using 20 Gy irradiation.

Immunization with Virus-Like Particle Vaccine Protects Rabbits against Hepatitis E-3 Virus Infection.

Here, rabbits were immunized with a virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine prepared by expressing 239 amino acids of the swine hepatitis E virus (HEV)-3 capsid protein using a baculovirus system. Thirty specific-pathogen-free rabbits were divided into five groups (negative and positive control and 10, 50, and 100 μg VLP-vaccinated). Positive control group rabbits showed viremia and fecal viral shedding, whereas rabbits vaccinated with 10 μg VLP showed transient fecal viral shedding, and rabbits vaccinated with 50 and 100 μg VLP did not show viremia or fecal viral shedding.