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Abstract Electrical conductivity is a pivotal biophysical factor for neural interfaces, though optimal values remain controversial due to challenges isolating this cue. To address this issue, conductive substrates made of carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide nanoribbons, exhibiting a spectrum of conductivities from 0.02 to 3.2 S m−1, while controlling other surface properties is designed. The focus is to ascertain whether varying conductivity in isolation has any discernable impact on neural lineage specification. Remarkably, neural‐tissue‐like low conductivity (0.02–0.1 S m−1) prompted neural stem/progenitor cells to exhibit a greater propensity toward neuronal lineage specification (neurons and oligodendrocytes, not astrocytes) compared to high supraphysiological conductivity (3.2 S m−1). High conductivity instigated the apoptotic process, characterized by increased apoptotic fraction and decreased neurogenic morphological features, primarily due to calcium overload. Conversely, cells exposed to physiological conductivity displayed epigenetic changes, specifically increased chromatin openness with H3acetylation (H3ac) and neurogenic‐transcription‐factor activation, along with a more balanced intracellular calcium response. The pharmacological inhibition of H3ac further supported the idea that such epigenetic changes might play a key role in driving neuronal specification in response to neural‐tissue‐like, not supraphysiological, conductive cues. These findings underscore the necessity of optimal conductivity when designing neural interfaces and scaffolds to stimulate neuronal differentiation and facilitate the repair process.

Background : : Parkinson’s disease (PD) lacks disease-modifying drugs or sustainable interventions, creating an unmet treatment need. Investigating complementary and alternative medicines aims to improve PD patients’ quality of life by alleviating symptoms and delaying the course of the disease.Objectives: In this single-center, prospective, observational, single-arm study, we aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture combined with exercise therapy and the Meridian Activation Remedy System (MARS).Methods : : From March to October 2021, 13 PD patients with Hoehn and Yahr stages 1 to 3 were recruited. For 8 weeks, MARS intervention was carried out twice a week. T-statistics were used to evaluate functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and GAITRite outcomes. All of the remaining outcome variables were evaluated using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.Results : : The MARS intervention significantly reduced PD patients’ Movement Disorder Society-Sponsored Revision of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDSUPDRS) Part III score (from 20.0 ± 11.8 to 8.8 ± 5.5, p = 0.003), 10-meter walk test speed (from 9.5 ± 1.8 to 8.7 ± 1.3 seconds, p = 0.040), and timed up and go time (from 9.8 ± 1.8 to 8.9 ± 1.4 seconds, p = 0.040). Moreover, the MDS-UPDRS Part II, fNIRS hemodynamics, 360-degree turn test, fall efficacy scale, and Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire 39 scores improved but not significantly. All participants completed the 8-week intervention without any adverse reactions.Conclusion : : An 8-week MARS intervention improved motor symptoms in PD patients. In particular, improvements in UPDRS Part III scores exhibited large clinically important differences. The findings are encouraging, and a randomized controlled trial will be conducted to determine the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of MARS intervention.

Jaeumgeonbi-Tang (JGT), a traditional herbal medicine, has been used to treat dizziness and vertigo in Korea and China for hundreds of years. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pharmacological properties of JGT in chronic subjective dizziness (CSD) patients. A randomized, double-blind, parallel-group and placebo-controlled trial was performed with a total of 50 CSD patients. The patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups: JGT or placebo (n = 25 for each). All participants received the treatment (placebo or JGT, 24 g/day) for 4 weeks. We analyzed the serum levels of oxidative stressors, antioxidants, and stress hormones. Serum levels of lipid peroxidation, but not nitric oxide, were significantly decreased in the JGT group. JGT not only prevented the decline of serum total glutathione contents and total antioxidant capacity, but it also increased superoxide dismutase and catalase activities. Serum levels of stress hormones including cortisol, adrenaline, and serotonin were notably normalized by JGT treatment, but noradrenaline levels were not affected. Regarding the safety and tolerability of JGT, we found no allergic, adverse, or side effects in any of the participants. JGT showed beneficial effects on CSD patients by improving redox status and balancing psycho-emotional stress hormones.

Nighttime light pollution is linked to metabolic and cognitive dysfunction. Many patients with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) show disturbances in their sleep/wake cycle, and may be particularly vulnerable to the impact of circadian disruptors. In this study, we examined the impact of exposure to dim light at night (DLaN, 5 lx) in a model of ASD: the contactin associated protein-like 2 knock out (Cntnap2 KO) mice. DLaN was sufficient to disrupt locomotor activity rhythms, exacerbate the excessive grooming and diminish the social preference in Cntnap2 mutant mice. On a molecular level, DLaN altered the phase and amplitude of PER2:LUC rhythms in a tissue-specific manner in vitro. Daily treatment with melatonin reduced the excessive grooming of the mutant mice to wild-type levels and improved activity rhythms. Our findings suggest that common circadian disruptors such as light at night should be considered in the management of ASD.

Yukmijihwang-Tang is widely used in traditional Korean medicine to treat age-related disorders. In the present study, we re-prescribed Gami-Yukmijihwang-Tang (YJT), which is slightly modified from Yukmijihwang-Tang by adding more medicinal plants to evaluate its pharmacological effects on underlying mechanisms against repeated lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-injection-induced neuroinflammation in the hippocampus regions. C57BL/6J male mice (16–24 weeks old) were divided into six groups: (1) the control group (DW with 0.9% saline injection), (2) LPS group (DW with LPS injection), YJT groups ((3) 100, (4) 200, or (5) 400 mg/kg of YJT with LPS injection), and (6) glutathione (GSH) group (100 mg/kg of GSH with LPS injection), respectively. Mice were orally administrated with various doses of YJT or glutathione (GSH) for the first five days. Neuroinflammation in the hippocampus region was induced by repeated injection of LPS during the last three days. As predicted, LPS not only increased oxidative stress–related markers including malondialdehyde, 4-hydroxynonenal, nitrotryptophan, and hydrogen peroxide, but also drastically enhanced inflammatory reactions including nitric oxide, inducible nitric oxide synthase, p65, and toll-like receptor 4, respectively. YJT administration, on the other hand, notably decreased the above pathological alterations by enhancement of antioxidant capacities such as superoxide dismutase and catalase activities. To explain the underlying pharmacological actions of YJT, we focused on a representative epigenetic regulator, a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide + (NAD+)–dependent chromatin enzyme, Sirtuin 6 (Sirt6). Neuroinflammation in hippocampus regions depleted Sirt6 at the protein level and this alteration directly affected the nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor (Nrf2)/hemeoxygenase (HO)-1 signaling pathway in the LPS group; however, YJT significantly recovered the Sirt6 protein levels, and it could recover the abnormal status of Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathways in the hippocampus regions. Additionally, Sirt6 led to the up-regulation of GSH sub-enzymes of mRNA expression and protein levels of total GSH content. These findings suggest that YJT can protect against LPS-induced neuroinflammation and oxidative stress by regulating the Sirt6-related pathways and normalizing the GSH redox cycle.

Abstract Abstract Lung cancer has a high mortality rate and is often diagnosed at the metastatic stage. Gefitinib is a targeted molecular therapeutic drug used to treat patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Korean herbal medicines may also have therapeutic efficacy against lung cancer, reduce the side effects associated with ch

Mice lacking a functional Biogenesis of Lysosome-related Organelles Complex 1 (BLOC-1), such as those of the pallid line, display cognitive and behavioural impairments reminiscent of those presented by individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Although disturbances in the sleep/wake cycle are commonly lamented by these individuals, the underlying mechanisms, including the possible role of the circadian timing system, are still unknown. In this paper, we have explored sleep/circadian malfunctions and underlying mechanisms in BLOC-1-deficient pallid mice. These mutants exhibited less sleep behaviour in the beginning of the resting phase than wild-type mice with a more broken sleeping pattern in normal light-dark conditions. Furthermore, the strength of the activity rhythms in the mutants were reduced with significantly more fragmentation and lower precision than in age-matched controls. These symptoms were accompanied by an abnormal preference for the open arm in the elevated plus maze in the day and poor performance in the novel object recognition at night. At the level of the central circadian clock (the suprachiasmatic nucleus, SCN), loss of BLOC-1 caused subtle morphological changes including a larger SCN and increased expression of the relative levels of the clock gene Per2 product during the day but did not affect the neuronal activity rhythms. In the hippocampus, the pallid mice presented with anomalies in the cytoarchitecture of the Dentate Gyrus granule cells, but not in CA1 pyramidal neurones, along with altered PER2 protein levels as well as reduced pCREB/tCREB ratio during the day. Our findings suggest that lack of BLOC-1 in mice disrupts the sleep/wake cycle and performance in behavioural tests associated with specific alterations in cytoarchitecture and protein expression.

This study examined the transition process of clinical laboratory technologists’ national examination and job definition in Korea and compared the differences in the national examination between Korea and neighboring countries, such as Japan and Taiwan. In Korea, the number of questions made for it was 200 (1965), 200 (1977), 300 (1982), 250 (1992), 330 (2006), and 280 (2015). The practice of clinical physiology is important for real-time monitoring, given the characteristics of physiological testing. On the other hand, there are conflicts between other occupations in the working area. Clinical molecular biology needs to be established as a new major subject considering the diagnostic importance of molecular biological tests and the speed of science and technology development. Clinical laboratory operations provide policy and guidance recommendations to technologist staff. The proposed clinical laboratory technologists’ national examination comprises major subjects: clinical biochemistry, clinical hematology, clinical transfusionology, clinical immunology, clinical microbiology, clinical molecular biology, clinical histology, clinical cytology, clinical physiology, and clinical laboratory operations. In addition, this study proposes the job definition of clinical laboratory technologists, revising various chemical or physiological testing to biomedical or physiological testing required for medical practice.

This study attempted to provide the basic data for developing a system to identify the role of medical technologists and ensure an efficient response for quick and accurate diagnostic tests in the COVID-19 era. The research method involved using focus group interviews for a survey and analysis of 15 medical institutions. Eleven sample collection institutions, 10.4 medical technologists, 2.1 minutes of collection time, 5.4 hours of test time, 9,670 tests, 6.2 member test workforce size, and 7 screening center operating institutions were surveyed. The results of the focus group interview analysis revealed that there were no standardized guidelines covering working hours, area, and environment to protect sample collectors and testers in relation to the COVID-19 tests. Also, legal protection measures were insufficient in the event of accidental infections and there were no personnel regulations related to COVID-19. In addition, the professional training of sample collectors and molecular diagnostic testers was required for reliable COVID-19 testing. In conclusion, it is necessary to provide professional education through special test short-term training institutions to cope with emergency infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Legal systems should be put in place to protect the workforce and ensure stability.

In mammals, photic information delivered to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) via the retinohypothalamic tract (RHT) plays a crucial role in synchronizing the master circadian clock located in the SCN to the solar cycle. It is well known that glutamate released from the RHT terminals initiates the synchronizing process by activating ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) on retinorecipient SCN neurons. The potential role of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) in modulating this signaling pathway has received less attention. In this study, using extracellular single-unit recordings in mouse SCN slices, we investigated the possible roles of the Gq/11 protein-coupled mGluRs, mGluR1 and mGluR5, in photic resetting. We found that mGluR1 activation in the early night produced phase advances in neural activity rhythms in the SCN, while activation in the late night produced phase delays. In contrast, mGluR5 activation had no significant effect on the phase of these rhythms. Interestingly, mGluR1 activation antagonized phase shifts induced by glutamate through a mechanism that was dependent upon CaV1.3 L-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channels (VGCCs). While both mGluR1-evoked phase delays and advances were inhibited by knockout (KO) of CaV1.3 L-type VGCCs, different signaling pathways appeared to be involved in mediating these effects, with mGluR1 working via protein kinase G in the early night and via protein kinase A signaling in the late night. We conclude that, in the mouse SCN, mGluR1s function to negatively modulate glutamate-evoked phase shifts.

This study reviewed the quality addition rate, calculation, and application criteria needed to identify the possibility of additional medical technologists in the field for new certification and professional manpower to provide a superior laboratory. The six institutions that participated in the study were the size of large hospitals with more than 1,000 beds, with an average of five full-time laboratory physicians (also called clinical pathologists) and an average of 53 medical technologists, with 10.6 per laboratory physician. An analysis of the time required for each activity category of medical technologists revealed decreasing behavior during the analysis. In contrast, the ratio of the com-prehensive pre-analysis activities was high due to the strengthening of laboratory operations and quality control. During the analysis, the proportion of biochemistry tests was high, and post-analysis of most of the results was performed. Hence, improving the quality of sample testing requires significant time, and appropriate personnel are required. In conclusion, the recruitment of medical technologists is also a key component to improving the sample quality, and corresponding personnel regulations are necessary.

This study examines and presents reasonable improvement measures for the operation and revision of the relative value scoring system, and the basis for performance of a medical technologist. Seven hospitals were enrolled in the study, and included 5 resident laboratory medicine specialists and 53 medical technologists, giving a ratio of 10.6 technologists per laboratory medicine specialist. The average of professional manpower scores was 18, and the average of each medical institution's total score was 78. Ratings and additional rates were in the range 2∼3%, and quality-added ratios were 2∼3%, with no significance. Excluding pathological testing and assessing physiological functions, the average number of diagnostic tests for health insurance claims were 9,618,062, including 4,378,146 points for 5% of the total relative value scores. According to the DEA, the appropriate number of medical technologist is one person per 49,974 points of relative value. In conclusion, our study results indicate that it would be desirable to set the appropriate workforce for medical technologist to one person per 50,000 points of relative value. Our data could be used as a basis for enhancing productivity of the workforce and balancing health care resources.

BACKGROUND:The present study was conducted to assess gender difference in the relationship between the ferritin and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and beta cell function (HOMA-B) in non-diabetic Korean adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS:A sample including 5,414 adults (2,279 men, 1,529 postmenopausal women, and 1,606 premenopausal women) aged ≥ 20 years from the fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES V-1, 2010) was analyzed. RESULTS:There were several key findings in the present study. First, in men, HOMA-IR (β = 0.119, 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.304 to 8.003) constituted the independent factor determining ferritin, but this was not the case for HOMA-B (β = -0.042, 95% CI, -0.100 to 0.011). Second, in postmenopausal women, HOMA-IR (β = 0.087, 95% CI, 0.899 to 5.238) was the independent factor determining ferritin, but this was not the case for HOMA-B (β = -0.043, 95% CI, -0.065 to 0.010). Third, in premenopausal women, neither HOMA-IR (β = -0.050, 95% CI, -3.056 to 0.364) nor HOMA-B (β = -0.009, 95% CI, -0.028 to 0.020) constituted the independent factors determining ferritin. CONCLUSIONS:Ferritin was positively associated with insulin resistance in non-diabetic Korean men and postmenopausal women, but not in non-diabetic Korean premenopausal women.

Abstract.: Shengmai-san (SMS) is a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat diverse symptoms including cardiovascular and neurological disorders. Here we investigated the effects of SMS on regenerative responses of spinal cord axons in rats that were given contusion injury at the lower thoracic level. The injury cavity was confined to a restricted area by SMS treatment, and the signals of glial scar protein chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan (CSPG) and inflammatory cell marker protein CD11β were heavily observed within the injury cavity in SMS-treated animals. Anterograde tracing of DiI-labeled corticospinal tract (CST) axons revealed increases in collateral arborization around and within the injury cavity and caudal elongation by SMS treatment. Furthermore, SMS treatment facilitated neurite elongation of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) sensory neurons that were co-cultured with non-neuronal cells prepared from injured spinal cord. Phospho-Erk1/2 was strongly induced in both spinal cord and motor cortical areas after spinal cord injury (SCI), and it was further unregulated in the motor cortex by SMS treatment. In contrast, upregulation of cell division cycle 2 (Cdc2) production by SMS treatment was limited to a local, SCI area. These data suggest that SMS may play an active role in regenerative responses and facilitate axonal regrowth after SCI. Keywords:: Shengmai-san, spinal cord injury, axonal regeneration, Erk1/2, cell division cycle 2 (Cdc2)

Hyperexcitatory behaviors occurring after sevoflurane anesthesia are of serious clinical concern, but the underlying mechanism is unknown. These behaviors may result from the potentiation by sevoflurane of GABAergic depolarization/excitation in neocortical neurons, cells implicated in the genesis of consciousness and arousal. The current study sought to provide evidence for this hypothesis with rats, the neocortical neurons of which are known to respond to GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) with depolarization/excitation at early stages of development (i.e., until the second postnatal week) and with hyperpolarization/inhibition during adulthood. Employing behavioral tests and electrophysiological recordings in neocortical slice preparations, we found: (1) sevoflurane produced PAHBs (post-anesthetic hyperexcitatory behaviors) in postnatal day (P)1–15 rats, whereas it failed to elicit PAHBs in P16 or older rats; (2) GABAergic PSPs (postsynaptic potentials) were depolarizing/excitatory in the neocortical neurons of P5 and P10 rats, whereas mostly hyperpolarizing/inhibitory in the cells of adult rats; (3) at P14–15,