Combined Treatment of Metformin and Resveratrol Promotes Myogenesis Through Increased Irisin Release in C2C12 Cells.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the additive effects of a combination of metformin and resveratrol on irisin expression in C2C12 cells.

Methods: The study involved treating C2C12 cells with metformin and resveratrol, either alone or in combination, and analyzing their effects on myogenesis and irisin release. The activation of signaling pathways, including AMPK/SIRT1/PGC1α, as well as the relative mRNA and protein expression levels of MyoD, myogenin, and Myh were also assessed.

Alloferon and IL-22 receptor expression regulation on the pathogenesis of imiquimod-induced psoriasis.

Psoriasis is an immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease. IL-22, a proinflammatory cytokine, is implicated in psoriasis pathogenesis; however, there is currently no established biological treatment targeting IL-22 or its receptor, IL-22Rα. Alloferon is a short peptide that has an antiinflammatory effect on skin disorders; however, little is known about its anti-inflammatory activity in psoriasis.

Comparison of musculoskeletal pain in neck, trunk, and upper limbs among Korean and Chinese smartphone users by posture: A cross-sectional survey.

Background: Posture during smartphone use is an important factor that affects musculoskeletal pain.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of musculoskeletal pain in the neck, trunk, and upper extremities during smartphone use.

Methods: A total of 326 Chinese and Korean smartphone users participated in an online survey on smartphone posture, addiction, and musculoskeletal pain.

The espresso protocol as a tool for sensory quality evaluation.

Espresso is prepared differently from filter coffee as pressure extracts flavor components from ground coffee. Nowadays it is enjoyed by many as it is or in espresso-based drinks. The Espresso Protocol (TEP) is a new method for assessing the quality of espressos by utilizing sensory evaluation techniques, such as the just-about-right (JAR) scale and the check-all-that-apply (CATA).

Assessing the Economic Impact of Cancer Care: A Study on Out-of-Pocket Expenditures and Utilization in South Korea.

Introduction: Cancer remains one of the leading causes of mortality and financial distress worldwide. In South Korea, the government introduced a benefit extension system in 2013 aimed at mitigating the financial strain associated with cancer treatment. However, cancer patients continue to bear significant out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses.

Associations of Healthcare Utilization and Health Expenditures in Older Adults With Osteoarthritis: Korean Health Panel Survey Study.

Background: This study investigated the association between healthcare utilization and expenditures, including non-covered services in Korean older adults with osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the 2019 Korean Health Panel (KHP) annual data of participants aged ≥ 60 years who had OA. Healthcare utilization and expenditures were determined by hospitalization, outpatient, and emergency visits.

Comprehensive 24-hour ground-level ozone monitoring: Leveraging machine learning for full-coverage estimation in East Asia.

Cloud cover often hinders satellite-derived ozone (O) concentration estimation, leading to incomplete spatial coverage. To address this limitation and obtain gap-free hourly ground-level O estimates, this study developed a novel all-sky O estimation model based on a light gradient boosting machine, combining clear- (cLearGBM) and cloudy-sky (cLoudGBM) models. Unlike earlier studies focusing mainly on daytime, this study provides comprehensive O variations over a full 24-h cycle at an hourly 2 km resolution.

Influence of waist circumference measurement site on the cardiometabolic risk factors in Korean adults.

Background: Waist circumference (WC) has been recognized as a simple anthropometric measure of abdominal obesity and associated health risk. We compared WC values at five measurement sites, and examined whether measurement sites influence the relationships between WC and cardiometabolic risk in Korean adults.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, participants included 180 men and 176 women (age: 30-60 years, BMI: 18.

The Small Cycloamylose (CA15) Synthesizing Properties of 4-α-Glucanotransferase from Hyperthermophilic Archaeon with Its Distinct Disproportionation Activity.

4-α-Glucanotransferase (4-α-GTase, EC 2.4.1.

Association Between Diabetes Mellitus Education and Self-Management Pre- and Post-COVID-19.

Purpose: This study explored the association between diabetes education and self-management during different COVID-19 periods.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Korea Community Health Survey (2019, 2021, and 2022) and the data from Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

Social group size alters social behavior and dopaminergic and serotonergic systems.

Social behavior is affected by social structure type, but how neural function changes with social type remains unclear. We investigated whether social group size affects social behaviors based on dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) systems. Four-week-old male mice were housed under different social group sizes: one, two, four, and eight mice per cage (1mpc, 2mpc, 4mpc, 8mpc, respectively).

Deciphering the toxic effects of polystyrene nanoparticles on erythropoiesis at single-cell resolution.

Polystyrene nanoparticles pose significant toxicological risks to aquatic ecosystems, yet their impact on zebrafish ( ) embryonic development, particularly erythropoiesis, remains underexplored. This study used single-cell RNA sequencing to comprehensively evaluate the effects of polystyrene nanoparticle exposure on erythropoiesis in zebrafish embryos. validation experiments corroborated the transcriptomic findings, revealing that polystyrene nanoparticle exposure disrupted erythrocyte differentiation, as evidenced by the decrease in mature erythrocytes and concomitant increase in immature erythrocytes.

The Validity of a Smartphone-Based Application for Assessing Cognitive Function in the Elderly.

The early detection of individuals at risk of cognitive impairment is a clinical imperative. With the recent advancement of digital devices, smartphone application-based cognitive assessment is considered a promising tool for cognitive screening and monitoring inside and outside the clinic. This study examined whether a smartphone-based cognitive assessment, Brain OK, was valid for evaluating cognitive performance and identifying people at risk of cognitive impairment.

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Aptamin C in Pulmonary Fibrosis Induced by Bleomycin.

: Vitamin C is a well-known antioxidant with antiviral, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory properties. However, its therapeutic applications are limited by rapid oxidation due to heat and light sensitivity. Aptamin C, which employs aptamers to bind vitamin C, has demonstrated enhanced stability and efficacy.

sp. nov., a novel basidiomycetous yeast species isolated from pine tree bark in Gyeongju, South Korea.

A novel yeast species, isolated from the bark of pine trees in Gyeongju, South Korea, and designated as KCTC 37304 (ex-type KACC 410729), is characterized by its genetic, morphological and physiological properties. Molecular phylogenetic analysis involving the D1/D2 domain of the 26S LSU rRNA gene and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region confirms that it belongs to the genus . In comparison to CBS:10065, the type strain of its closest relative, KCTC 37304 exhibits 8 nucleotide substitutions (~2.

Simulate Scientific Reasoning with Multiple Large Language Models: An Application to Alzheimer's Disease Combinatorial Therapy.

Motivation: This study aims to develop an AI-driven framework that leverages large language models (LLMs) to simulate scientific reasoning and peer review to predict efficacious combinatorial therapy when data-driven prediction is infeasible.

Results: Our proposed framework achieved a significantly higher accuracy (0.74) than traditional knowledge-based prediction (0.

Effects of long-term treatment with low concentration butylparaben on prostate organoids.

Endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), such as butylparaben (BP), which are used as preservatives in food and cosmetics, have been shown to negatively affect male reproductive health. Organs under the control of hormones such as androgens and estrogens, such as the prostate, are vulnerable to EDC stimulation. It is well known that BP can cause hormonal imbalances in the prostate and lead to various prostate diseases.

Association Between Air Pollution and Osteoporosis with High-Risk Populations: A Narrative Review.

Purpose Of Review: Air pollution has been raised as a novel risk factor for osteoporosis, which impose a huge burden on both individuals and society. Thus, summarizing and discussing previous results on the association between ambient air pollution and osteoporosis can be informative in synthesizing the current evidence and improving relevant action plans.

Recent Findings: Recent studies reported that long-term exposure to ambient air pollution is associated with an increased risk of osteoporosis and related outcomes; however, the studied populations, air pollutants, areas, and results on high-risk populations are heterogeneous.

Boltzmann-Distribution-Driven Cathodoluminescence Thermometry in Transmission Electron Microscopy.

Nanothermometry in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is useful for comprehending the functioning mechanisms of the heterogeneous matter through real-time observations. Herein, we introduce a Boltzmann-distribution-driven cathodoluminescence (CL) nanothermometry for local temperature probing in TEM. The population distribution across the close-lying Stark sublevels of dysprosium ions in an yttrium vanadate matrix follows the Boltzmann distribution, enabling the use of the CL-intensity ratio as a thermometry over a wide temperature range of 103-435 K with a relative sensitivity exceeding 3% K and precision of ±2%.

Peptide-Based Prodrug Approaches for Cancer Nanomedicine.

Peptide-based prodrugs, such as peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs), are currently being developed for cancer therapy. PDCs are considered single-component nanomedicines with various functionalities. The peptide moieties provide stability to the PDCs, which self-assemble into nanostructures in an aqueous medium.

Utilization of a hierarchical electrocardiogram classification model for enhanced biometric identification.

Emerging research on artificial intelligence (AI) has leveraged the unique properties of electrocardiogram (ECG) signals for user identification. ECG signals, known for their resistance to forgery and tampering, offer security advantages. However, these signals fluctuate in response to physical and cognitive stress.

Exploring associative relationships: Family functions, anxiety, and fear of missing out as predictors of smartphone addiction among Thai adolescents.

Past research has recognized family functions and psychological factors like anxiety and Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) as significant influencers on smartphone addiction (SA) among adolescents. However, the precise association links between these elements have remained elusive. This study, grounded in family systems and structural family theories, and the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) Model, examines these relationships among adolescent students.

Amplifying mutational profiling of extracellular vesicle mRNA with SCOPE.

Sequencing of messenger RNA (mRNA) found in extracellular vesicles (EVs) in liquid biopsies can provide clinical information such as somatic mutations, resistance profiles and tumor recurrence. Despite this, EV mRNA remains underused due to its low abundance in liquid biopsies, and large sample volumes or specialized techniques for analysis are required. Here we introduce Self-amplified and CRISPR-aided Operation to Profile EVs (SCOPE), a platform for EV mRNA detection.

Clinical outcome-guided deep temporal clustering for disease progression subtyping.

Objective: Complex diseases exhibit heterogeneous progression patterns, necessitating effective capture and clustering of longitudinal changes to identify disease subtypes for personalized treatments. However, existing studies often fail to design clustering-specific representations or neglect clinical outcomes, thereby limiting the interpretability and clinical utility.

Method: We design a unified framework for subtyping longitudinal progressive diseases.

Integration of Palliative Care in Neurosurgical Critical Care : Insights from a Single-Center Perspective.

Objective: Palliative care is a specialized approach designed to enhance the quality of life for both patients and their families, offering patient-centered care through comprehensive assessment and care planning. However, the integration of palliative care within neurocritical care settings has been relatively understudied. This descriptive study aims to identify the characteristics, palliative care needs, and outcomes of patients referred to palliative care services during admission to the neurosurgical intensive care unit (NS-ICU).