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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been the most pressing health challenge in recent years. Meanwhile, prevention for other diseases, such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been less prioritized during the pandemic. COVID-19, a novel infectious disease, both had a direct impact on public health and provoked changes in health-related behaviors, including those for CVD prevention. This study sought to examine changes in CVD-related health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic and related sociodemographic factors.Methods: We used data from the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Awareness Survey conducted in Korea in June 2022. A total of 2,000 adults across Korea’s 17 provinces completed a structured questionnaire online or on a mobile device. Self-reported changes in CVD-related health behaviors were investigated. We used unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression models to explore the associations between negative changes and sociodemographic factors. Results: In smoking, drinking, and healthcare service use, the proportion of those with positive changes surpassed the proportion of respondents who reported negative changes. In contrast, negative changes predominated for diet, exercise, and stress. Most individuals (52.6%) reported a deterioration of psychological distress. These negative changes were significantly associated with age, sex, marital status, and the presence of cardiometabolic disease.Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected CVD-related health behaviors. Based on these changes, CVD prevention should be encouraged with appropriate and prioritized strategies.

Background: The burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is significant in Korea. Ultimately, public knowledge and awareness of CVD risk factors and prevention are essential to reduce its burden. Hence, this study aimed to examine the level of public awareness of CVD risk factors and prevention in Korea in 2022. Methods: We used data from the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Awareness Survey conducted by the Korean Society of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in June 2022. Using a structured web-based questionnaire, 2,000 individuals aged 20 years or more were surveyed on computers or mobile devices. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, the presence of cardiometabolic disease, CVD concerns and self-assessed likelihood, and awareness of CVD prevention were analyzed. Results: Cancer (44.3%) was the most feared disease, followed by CVD (19.5%). Nevertheless, most respondents stated that they were likely to develop CVD in their lifetime (67.4%). Only 9.2% of respondents were aware of the details of recommendations to prevent CVD, and this level of knowledge was also low among respondents with cardiometabolic diseases (10.7%). Not smoking, being physically active, eating a healthy diet, and reducing alcohol consumption were deemed easy to implement. On the contrary, reducing stress, being physically active, and eating a healthy diet were considered the most difficult recommendations to practice.Conclusions: Public awareness of CVD risk factors and prevention appeared to be insufficient in Korea. Our research suggests that simple but practical recommendations should be conveyed and promoted to raise public awareness, which is currently inadequate.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which has recently undergone a change in its definition and acronym to “metabolic dysfunction associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD),” is clinically significant as an increasingly prevalent independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Insulin resistance is considered to be a key mechanism in the development and progression of NAFLD/MAFLD, and fatty liver disease itself may exacerbate insulin resistance. In this review, we describe the mechanisms underlying the interaction between insulin resistance and fatty liver, and we summarize the therapeutic attempts based on those mechanisms.

Background Few studies have assessed the correlation between coexisting mental disorders in participants with diabetes mellitus (DM) and the risk of heart failure (HF). Herein, we conducted a cohort study to determine the association between the accumulation of mental disorders in participants with DM and the risk of HF. Methods The Korean National Health Insurance Service records were assessed. 2,447,386 adults with DM who underwent health screening between 2009 and 2012 were analyzed. Participants with major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, insomnia, or anxiety disorders were included. In addition, participants were categorized based on the number of coexisting mental disorders. Each participant was followed until December 2018 or until the onset of HF. Cox proportional hazard modelling with confounding factors adjustment was conducted. In addition, a competing risk analysis was conducted. Subgroup analysis assessed the impact of clinical variables on the association between the accumulation of mental disorders and the risk of HF. Results The median follow-up duration was 7.09 years. The accumulation of mental disorders was associated with a risk of HF (zero mental disorder (0), reference; 1 mental disorder, adjusted hazard ratio (aHR): 1.222, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.207–1.237; 2 mental disorders, aHR: 1.426, CI: 1.403–1.448; ≥3 mental disorders, aHR: 1.667, CI: 1.632–1.70. In the subgroup analysis, the strength of association was the strongest in the younger age group (inter Conclusions Comorbid mental disorders in participants with DM are associated with an increased risk of HF. In addition, the association was stronger in a younger age group. Participants with DM and mental disorders should be monitored with increased frequency for signs of HF; for which they have a higher risk than the general population.

In mountainous areas in the Republic of Korea, landslides occur primarily due to heavy rainfall in the summer monsoon season. While these landslides tend to occur seasonally in summer, the rainfalls that have triggered landslides are complex and varied. Temporal prediction of landslides based on the variables of rainfall events mainly uses two variables: intensity-duration or cumulative event rainfall-duration. However, it does not consider the antecedent rainfall, another critical factor that could characterize various complex rainfalls regarding landslide occurrences. Here, we first attempted to determine critical rainfall variables and their threshold values for landslide occurring using the decision tree method necessary to consider multiple rainfall variables simultaneously. We then classified landslide-triggering rainfall based on the identified critical variables using the K-means clustering method. We chose as the study area Chuncheon in the middle of the Korean Peninsula, an eroded granite basin surrounded by schist and gneiss mountains, since it has not been affected hardly by earthquakes and thus is suitable for studying rainfall-induced landslides. According to the decision tree analysis, cumulative rainfall and 5-day antecedent rainfalls were determined as critical variables, implying that considering antecedent and cumulative rainfall simultaneously is significant for landslide prediction. The K-means clustering analysis classified landslide-triggering rainfalls into four types: 1) low cumulative rainfall (198.6 ± 90.9 mm) with high antecedent rainfall for seven days prior to the landslide, 2) medium cumulative rainfall (308.3 ± 81.1 mm) with a gradual increase in antecedent rainfall for four weeks, 3) high cumulative rainfall (534.5 ± 85.7 mm) with low antecedent rainfall for four weeks, and 4) high cumulative rainfall (538.4 ± 59.8 mm) with a gradual decrease in antecedent rainfall for four weeks. In particular, the high cumulative rainfall after gradually decreased antecedent rainfall caused the most frequent landslides. Our results suggest that the threshold of cumulative rainfall varies with the antecedent rainfall pattern and that antecedent rainfall data of at least four weeks have meaningful information in forecasting and preparedness for landslide occurrence.

Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are the germline stem cells that are essential for the maintenance of spermatogenesis in the testis. However, it has not been sufficiently understood in amphibians, reptiles, and fish because numerous studies have been focused mainly on mammals. The aim of this review is to discuss scientific ways to elucidate SSC models of nonmammals in the context of the evolution of testicular organization since rodent SSC models. To further understand the SSC models in nonmammals, we point out common markers of an SSC pool (undifferentiated spermatogonia) in various types of testes where the kinetics of the SSC pool appears. This review includes the knowledge of (1) common molecular markers of vertebrate type A spermatogonia including putative SSC markers, (2) localization of the markers on the spermatogonia that have been reported in previous studies, (3) highlighting the most common markers in vertebrates, and (4) suggesting ways of finding SSC models in nonmammals.

A persistent intake of excess calories increases plasma levels of free fatty acids, particularly the saturated form that has been shown to exert toxic effects on pancreatic beta cells by inducing dysfunction and apoptosis (i.e., lipotoxicity). An insufficient supply of insulin due to beta cell failure is a major factor in the onset and progression of type 2 diabetes; therefore, it is crucial to understand the cellular mechanisms of lipotoxicity to prevent beta cell failure. Many studies on the effects of lipotoxicity have demonstrated the various factors responsible for beta cell impairment, but the mechanisms of dysfunction and apoptosis resulting from lipotoxicity have not been fully described. This review discusses lipotoxicity-induced alterations of cellular mechanisms, and assesses drugs such as incretin mimetics, thiazolidinedione, and clusterin. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of lipotoxicity-induced beta cell failure is useful in guiding the development of new therapeutic targets for diabetes treatment.

Background: Exercise and estrogen play key roles in preventing diabetes and obesity. Women’s risk of diabetes could increase due to the loss of the protective effect of estrogen after menopause. Therefore, we investigated the relationship of the intensity and frequency of exercise with diabetes risk in Korean women.Methods: Hazard ratios (HRs) for the development of diabetes were analyzed in 926,807 premenopausal and 1,188,346 postmenopausal women without diabetes over the age of 40 who underwent the Korean National Health Examination in 2009 and were followed up until 2018. The number of days of physical activity according to exercise intensity and metabolic equivalent of task-minutes per week (MET-min/wk) were calculated.Results: In total, 38,096 premenopausal (4.1%) and 120,605 postmenopausal (10.2%) women were newly diagnosed with diabetes. Regardless of menopausal history, the risk of diabetes was significantly lower in groups with higher MET-min/wk than in sedentary participants (0 MET-min/wk, reference), although this effect disappeared in postmenopausal women with the highest level of MET-min/wk (MET-min/wk ≥1,500) after adjusting for all variables (HR, 1.0; 95% confidence interval, 0.97–1.02). Participants who exercised for more than 1 day per week had a significantly lower risk of diabetes, regardless of the intensity. However, this benefit was lost in women with near-daily exercise (≥6 days/wk).Conclusions: Exercise was effective in preventing diabetes in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women. A moderate amount of exercise should be actively encouraged to lower the risk of diabetes in women, especially after menopause, while simultaneously considering the insignificant benefits of excessive exercise.

Different extraction pH values obtain polysaccharides with tailored structures and novel functionalities. This study investigated the influence of different extraction pH values (4.2, 6.8, and 9.2) on the physicochemical compositions and structural and functional properties of okra leaf polysaccharides (OLPs). The extraction yield (2.74–7.34%), molecular weights (68.5–85.4 kDa), total sugar contents (64.87–95.68%), degree of acetylation (18.28–22.88%), and methylation (8.97–15.20%) of OLPs varied significantly (p < 0.05). The monosaccharide composition reflected OLPs as pectic polysaccharides, with varied compositions of galacturonic acid, galactose, rhamnose, and arabinose. However, the differences in their sugar molar ratios, such as their side-chain and backbone chain compositions, greatly affected their functional properties. Additionally, notable differences due to extraction pH were observed in physical properties, thermal stability, and crystallinity. However, FTIR and NMR spectra revealed that extraction pH had negligible effects on the primary structure of OLPs. All OLPs showed non-Newtonian fluid behavior in the aqueous system with different apparent viscosities correlating with their molecular weights. Furthermore, the OLPs fractions stabilized oil-in-water emulsions differently and had distinct radical scavenging activities related to their compositions. This study provides a basis for selecting appropriate extraction pH to prepare OLPs with specific characteristics and applications in food-related disciplines.

Peony root is a medicinal plant containing potent bioactive compounds. This study used response surface methodology (RSM) to optimize ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) conditions of antioxidant compounds from peony roots. A central composite design consisting of extraction temperature (30-70°C), ethanol concentration (20-100% v/v), and extraction time (15-55 min) was used to determine the significance of each extraction condition on the total polyphenol, paeoniflorin, and myricetin contents and 2,2¢-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS)- scavenging activity of the extracts. The ABTS-scavenging activity and myricetin content increased with an increasing extraction temperature. Further, at low ethanol concentrations, paeoniflorin and myricetin contents increased. Superimposition of 4D graphs revealed that an extraction temperature of 60-65°C, ethanol concentration of 40-50%, and extraction time of 40-50 min were optimal extraction conditions for peony root. A validation experiment was conducted using 45% ethanol at 63°C for 45 min. Under these UAE conditions, the experimental values of total polyphenol, paeoniflorin, and myricetin contents, and ABTS-scavenging activity were 101.80 mg GAE/g, 46.87 mg/g, 184.30 mg/g, and 23.13%, respectively. The validation experiment revealed slight differences between the experimental and predicted values (less than 10%), confirming the optimal UAE conditions for obtaining peony root antioxidant compounds via RSM. This study provides valuable information in developing functional food, medicine, and cosmetic using peony root extracts.

Background: Exercise is recommended for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients to prevent cardiovascular disease. However, the effects of physical activity (PA) for reducing the risk of heart failure (HF) has yet to be elucidated. We aimed to assess the effect of changes in patterns of PA on incident HF, especially in newly diagnosed diabetic patients.Methods: We examined health examination data and claims records of 294,528 participants from the Korean National Health Insurance Service who underwent health examinations between 2009 and 2012 and were newly diagnosed with T2DM. Participants were classified into the four groups according to changes in PA between before and after the diagnosis of T2DM: continuously inactive, inactive to active, active to inactive, and continuously active. The development of HF was analyzed until 2017.Results: As compared with those who were continuously inactive, those who became physically active after diagnosis showed a reduced risk for HF (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.79; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.66 to 0.93). Those who were continuously active had the lowest risk for HF (aHR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.62 to 0.96). As compared with those who were inactive, those who exercised regularly, either performing vigorous or moderate PA, had a lower HF risk (aHR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.69 to 0.91).Conclusion: Among individuals with newly diagnosed T2DM, the risk of HF was reduced in those with higher levels of PA after diagnosis was made. Our results suggest either increasing or maintaining the frequency of PA after the diagnosis of T2DM may lower the risk of HF.

Background: Dulaglutide, a long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA), has been shown to reduce body weight and liver fat content in patients with type 2 diabetes. Family with sequence similarity 3 member A (FAM3A) plays a vital role in regulating glucose and lipid metabolism. The aim of this study was to determine the mechanisms by which dulaglutide protects against hepatic steatosis in HepG2 cells treated with palmitic acid (PA).Methods: HepG2 cells were pretreated with 400 μM PA for 24 hours, followed by treatment with or without 100 nM dulaglutide for 24 hours. Hepatic lipid accumulation was determined using Oil red O staining and triglyceride (TG) assay, and the expression of lipid metabolism-associated factor was analyzed using quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. Results: Dulaglutide significantly decreased hepatic lipid accumulation and reduced the expression of genes associated with lipid droplet binding proteins, de novo lipogenesis, and TG synthesis in PA-treated HepG2 cells. Dulaglutide also increased the expression of proteins associated with lipolysis and fatty acid oxidation and FAM3A in PA-treated cells. However, exendin-(9-39), a GLP-1R antagonist, reversed the expression of FAM3A, and fatty acid oxidation-associated factors increased due to dulaglutide. In addition, inhibition of FAM3A by siRNA attenuated the reducing effect of dulaglutide on TG content and its increasing effect on regulation of fatty acid oxidation. Conclusion: These results suggest that dulaglutide could be used therapeutically for improving nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and its effect could be mediated in part via upregulation of FAM3A expression through a GLP-1R-dependent pathway.

Background: Since a sedentary lifestyle is considered a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), physical activity (PA) is recommended for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients to prevent CVD. We investigated the association between different levels of PA and the risk for CVD and all-cause mortality in patients with T2DM using nationwide data. Methods: We examined health examination data and claims records of 2,745,637 participants with T2DM at baseline from the Korean National Health Insurance Service who underwent health examinations between 2009 and 2012. We excluded subjects with a history of myocardial infarction or stroke. Each participant was asked to report their weekly PA levels according to three categories: vigorous, moderate, and walking. The incidence of CVD and death was analyzed until 2017.Results: The risk of CVD was lower in regular exercisers than in nonexercisers after adjusting for confounding variables. A dose-response trend was evident in the association between the degree of PA and CVD risk. All categories of PA were inversely associated with CVD risk and mortality. The reduction in CVD risk and all-cause mortality was more profound in patients aged ≥65 years. Conclusions: Augmenting PA might have positive effects on the prevention of CVD and all-cause death, especially in the elderly. The benefits of PA were consistently observed in various subgroups regardless of the presence of chronic conditions. Therefore, clinicians should encourage elderly patients with T2DM to increase their daily PA.

The increased flash page sizes cause a large number of subpage requests due to the difference in host and flash I/O units. The subpage requests may degrade the space utilization, response time, and lifetime of NAND flash memories. Addressing the subpage issue, a few studies in the past have proposed merging subpages to generate full pages. Although these subpage schemes may improve performance and lifetime, they incur immense DRAM space for storing the sector information of merged pages. Moreover, they do not consider the update frequencies of the subpages for merging and thus an update request to a subpage causes partial page invalidation, which leads to garbage collection (GC) overhead. To address these issues, our proposed scheme considers the update frequencies of the subpages for merging in order to avoid partial page invalidation, which in turn improves the GC efficiency. Further, the proposed scheme uses a sector information table (SIT) in flash pages to store the fine-grained sector information of merged subpages. In the light of experiment results, our scheme, on average, reduces DRAM footprint, flash writes, and block erasures by 29%, 18%, and 13%, respectively.

Background: Fibrosis is the most important prognostic factor for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Insulin resistance plays a key role of fibrosis progression. We evaluated the association between changes in homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) values and changes in fibrosis status in NAFLD.Methods: We analyzed the data of 15,728 participants with NAFLD (86% men, mean age 40.5 years) who had no diabetes at baseline and visited our centers for health check-ups both in 2012 and 2016. The participants were classified into four groups according to the degree of change in HOMA-IR values from baseline to the end of follow-up: G1 (1.00). NAFLD was assessed by ultrasonography, and fibrosis status was evaluated by the NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS) and the aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI).Results: After the 4-year follow-up, the multivariable-adjusted odds ratio (OR) for progression of fibrosis probability increased with increasing HOMA-IR values (OR, 2.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.87 to 2.71 for NFS; and OR, 2.55; 95% CI, 2.05 to 3.18 for APRI, G4). This tendency remained consistent throughout the subgroup analyses, except in those for female sex and a body mass index

Previous researchers have suggested that people with disabilities have a higher prevalence and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus than the general population. As diabetes is a well-known risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), developing strategies to prevent and delay its occurrence in people with disabilities is important to reduce the burden of CVD. However, people with disabilities are often excluded from studies and have received little attention from public health authorities and researchers. These unmet needs for health care and being left out of research may affect the progression of diabetes in people with disabilities. Herein, we would like to briefly discuss the increased risk of diabetes and related conditions in people with disabilities and suggest that more attention should be given to this population.

Background: Patients with diabetes have a higher risk of requiring repeated percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) than non-diabetic patients. We aimed to evaluate and compare the effects of anti-diabetic drugs on the secondary prevention of myocardial infarction among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.Methods: We analyzed the general health check-up dataset and claims data of the Korean National Health Insurance Service of 199,714 participants (age ≥30 years) who underwent PCIs between 2010 and 2013. Those who underwent additional PCI within 1 year of their first PCI (n=3,325) and those who died within 1 year (n=1,312) were excluded. Patients were classified according to their prescription records for glucose-lowering agents. The primary endpoint was the incidence rate of coronary revascularization.Results: A total of 35,348 patients were included in the study. Metformin significantly decreased the risk of requiring repeat PCI in all patients (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.77). In obese patients with body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m2, patients treated with thiazolidinedione (TZD) exhibited a decreased risk of requiring repeat revascularization than those who were not treated with TZD (aHR, 0.77; 95% confidence interval, 0.63 to 0.95). Patients treated with metformin showed a decreased risk of requiring revascularization regardless of their BMI. Insulin, meglitinide, and alpha-glucosidase inhibitor were associated with increased risk of repeated PCI.Conclusion: The risk of requiring repeat revascularization was lower in diabetic patients treated with metformin and in obese patients treated with TZD. These results suggest that physicians should choose appropriate glucose-lowering agents for the secondary prevention of coronary artery disease.

Snowfall prediction is important in winter and early spring because snowy conditions generate enormous economic damages. However, there is a lack of previous studies dealing with snow prediction, especially using land surface models (LSMs). Numerical weather prediction models directly interpret the snowfall events, whereas LSMs evaluate the snow cover, snow albedo, and snow depth through interaction with atmospheric conditions. Most LSMs include parameters based on empirical relations, resulting in uncertainties in model solutions. When the initially developed empirical parameters are local or inadequate, we need to optimize the parameter sets for a certain region. In this study, we seek the optimal parameter values in the snow-related processes – snow cover, snow albedo, and snow depth – of the Noah LSM, for South Korea, using the micro-genetic algorithm and the in situ surface observations and remotely sensed satellite data. Snow data from observation stations representing five land cover types – deciduous broadleaf forest, mixed forest, woody savanna, cropland, and urban and built-up lands – are used to optimize five snow-related parameters that calculate the fractional snow cover, maximum snow albedo of fresh snow, and fresh snow density associated with the snow depth. Another parameter, reflecting the dependence of fractional snow cover on the land cover types, is also optimized. Optimization of these six snow-related parameters has led to improvement in the root mean squared errors by 17.0 %, 6.2 %, and 3.3 % in snow depth, snow albedo, and fractional snow cover, respectively. In terms of the mean bias, the underestimation problems of snow depth and overestimation problems of snow albedo have been alleviated through optimization of parameters calculating the fresh snow by about 44.2 % and 31.0 %, respectively.

In this study, single-layer coating using chitosan (Ch) and sodium alginate (SA) solutions and their gel coating (ChCSA) formed by layer-by-layer (LbL) electrostatic deposition using calcium chloride (C) as a cross linking agent were prepared to improve storage qualities and shelf-life of fresh-cut purple-flesh sweet potatoes (PFSP). The preservative effects of single-layer coating in comparison with LbL on the quality parameters of fresh-cut PFSP, including color change, weight loss, firmness, microbial analysis, CO2 production, pH, solid content, total anthocyanin content (TAC), and total phenolic content (TPC) were evaluated during 16 days of storage at 5 °C. Uncoated samples were applicable as a control. The result established the effectiveness of coating in reducing microbial proliferation (~2 times), color changes (~3 times), and weight loss (~4 times) with negligible firmness losses after the storage period. In addition, TAC and TPC were better retained in the coated samples than in the uncoated samples. In contrast, quality deterioration was observed in the uncoated fresh cuts, which progressed with storage time. Relatively, gel-coating ChCSA showed superior effects in preserving the quality of fresh-cut PFSP and could be suggested as a commercial method for preserving fresh-cut purple-flesh sweet potato and other similar roots.

Background: Weight loss through lifestyle modification is recommended for patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Recent studies have suggested that repeated loss and gain of weight is associated with worse health outcomes. This study aimed to examine the association between weight variability and the risk of NAFLD in patients without diabetes.Methods: We examined the health-checkup data of 30,708 participants who had undergone serial examinations between 2010 and 2014. Weight variability was assessed using coefficient of variation and the average successive variability of weight (ASVW), which was defined as the sum of absolute weight changes between successive years over the 5-year period divided by 4. The participants were classified according to the baseline body mass index and weight difference over 4 years.Results: On dividing the participants into four groups according to ASVW quartile groups, those in the highest quartile showed a significantly increased risk of NAFLD compared to those in the lowest quartile (odds ratio [OR], 1.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.63 to 2.19). Among participants without obesity at baseline, individuals with high ASVW showed increased risk of NAFLD (OR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.61 to 2.01). Participants with increased weight over 4 years and high ASVW demonstrated higher risk of NAFLD compared to those with stable weight and low ASVW (OR, 4.87; 95% CI, 4.29 to 5.53).Conclusion: Regardless of participant baseline obesity status, high weight variability was associated with an increased risk of developing NAFLD. Our results suggest that further effort is required to minimize weight fluctuations after achieving a desirable body weight.

Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are crucial for maintaining spermatogenesis, studying germ line stem cell biology, and producing transgenic animals. Growth factors, including leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), are essential for in vitro culture of SSCs as well as their self-renewal and maintenance. In this study, we investigated the effects of these growth factors on porcine spermatogonial germ cell (pSGC) colony formation. We determined round alkaline phosphatase (AP)-positive pSGC colonies in the presence and absence of growth factors after 7 days of pSGC culture. EGF was found to be essential to support the formation of AP-positive pSGC colonies. The expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and Erb-B2 receptor tyrosine kinase 2 (ERBB2) was also altered in cultured pSGCs compared to that in feeder cells. We verified the effect of EGF signaling on pSGC colony formation using AG1478 as an EGFR inhibitor and AG879 as an ERBB2 inhibitor. pSGC colonies were observed in low dose AG1478-treated groups with EGF, whereas a high dose of AG1478 suppressed pSGC colony formation. AP-positive colonies were also observed in all AG879-treated groups. Taken together, EGFR and EGF signaling play a critical role in the initiation of colony formation of pSGCs. Our study provides insights into the mechanisms of EGF-mediated colony formation by SGCs derived from porcine testes, and will aid the development of transplantation techniques for the production of transgenic offspring.

Ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) using response surface methodology (RSM) was employed for the highly efficient extraction of bioactive compounds such as polyphenols and antioxidants from cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) seeds. A central composite design (CCD) consisting of three variables and five levels was used to estimate the significance of each process variable in the application of UAE for cumin seed extraction. Process variables optimized were ethanol concentration (0-80%, v/v), extraction time (15-75 min), and extraction temperature (15-75°C). RSM was employed to determine the optimal extraction conditions for the bioactive compounds. Four-dimensional surface plots were generated to indicate polynomial equations of good-fit models. The optimal conditions were then predicted by superimposing these four-dimensional surface plots. Based on the graph for the overlapped contour plots, the optimal UAE conditions: ethanol concentration of 40% v/v, extraction time of 51 min, and temperature of 39°C, were found to give predicted maximal values for yield (20.31%), total polyphenol content (27.11 mg GAE/g), antioxidant activity DPPH (52.47%), and ABTS (41.04%). Verification experiments were carried out under optimal conditions, and there was a good fit between the estimated and experimental values, suggesting that the model was valid and accurate for the design of UAE process. In conclusion, UAE showed effectiveness in the recovery of valuable antioxidant compounds from cumin.

Weakly supervised learning attempts to construct predictive models by learning with weak supervision. In this paper, we concentrate on weakly supervised object localization and semantic segmentation tasks. Existing methods are limited to focusing on narrow discriminative parts or overextending the activations to less discriminative regions even on backgrounds. To mitigate these problems, we regard the background as an important cue that guides the feature activation to cover the entire object to the right extent, and propose two novel objective functions: 1) contrastive attention loss and 2) foreground consistency loss. Contrastive attention loss draws the foreground feature and its dropped version close together and pushes the dropped foreground feature away from the background feature. Foreground consistency loss favors agreement between layers and provides early layers with a sense of objectness. Using both losses leads to balanced improvements over localization and segmentation accuracy by boosting activations on less discriminative regions but restraining the activation in the target object extent. For better optimizing the above losses, we use the non-local attention blocks to replace channel-pooled attention leading to enhanced attention maps considering the spatial similarity. Finally, our method achieves state-of-the-art localization performance on CUB-200-2011, ImageNet, and OpenImages benchmarks regarding top-1 localization accuracy , MaxBoxAccV2 , and PxAP . We also demonstrate the effectiveness of our method in improving segmentation performance measured by mIoU on the PASCAL VOC dataset.

In this study, the quality characteristics of carrot jellies prepared using different gelling agents (gelatin and carrageenan) and sugar substitutes (sucrose, sorbitol, and xylitol) were evaluated. The effects of gelling agents and sugar substitutes on the pH, °Brix, color, syneresis, melting-down rate, textural properties, and sensory acceptance of the jellies were determined. Textural analysis indicated that gelatin-based jellies containing sugar substitutes sorbitol and xylitol showed higher hardness than that of gelatin-based jelly containing sucrose. Among all samples, jellies containing 1.5% (w/v) carrageenan showed higher hardness, cohesiveness, and chewiness than those of other jellies, regardless of the sugar substitute. The pH and °Brix of carrageenan-based jellies were lower than those of gelatin-based jellies. The instrumental color values of jellies containing gelatin decreased with an increase in gelatin concentration. Gelatin-based jellies (3 and 5 %) containing sucrose and gelatin-based jelly (5%) containing xylitol showed lower syneresis than that in other jellies. Jelly containing 5% gelatin content had a lower melting-down rate compared with that containing 3% gelatin content. Moreover, carrageenan-based jellies showed a lower melting-down rate than that of gelatin-based jellies Carrot jellies containing 3% gelatin and xylitol showed a high score for sensory acceptance. Based on the results, the utilization of 3% gelatin and xylitol as a sugar substitute is suitable for producing carrot jellies showing high sensory preference and stability.

(1) Background: The amount of physical activity most adults perform is less than the recommended amount, and the resulting decrease in physical strength makes them vulnerable to various diseases. A decrease in muscle size and strength due to damage caused by disease or aging negatively affects functional strength. Muscle evaluation in adults can yield results that are predictive indicators of aging and unexpected disability. In addition, balance ability is essential to prevent falls and injuries in daily life and maintain functional activities. It is important to develop and strengthen balance in the lower extremities and core muscles to maintain and enhance overall body balance. This study aimed to analyze the effects of core balance training on muscle tone and balance ability in adults. (2) Methods: The participants of this study were 32 adult male and female university students (male: mean age = 21.3 ± 1.9 years, weight = 74.2 ± 12.6 kg, BMI = 23.4 + 2.5, n = 14; female: mean age = 21.0 ± 1.4 years, weight = 64.6 + 1.2 kg, BMI = 22.4 ± 2.4, n =18). Thirty-two adults (training group: 16, control group: 16; male: 16, female: 16) participated in the Myoton PRO (gastrocnemius lateral/medial, tibialis anterior), Pedalo balance system, and Y-balance test. (3) Results: The following results were obtained for muscle elasticity, stiffness, and dynamic/static balance ability after 10 weeks of core balance training. 1. There was no significant difference in muscle elasticity (gastrocnemius lateral/medial, tibialis anterior) (p < 0.05). 2. Muscle stiffness (gastrocnemius lateral/medial, tibialis anterior) significantly increased (p < 0.05). 3. Dynamic/static balance ability significantly increased (p < 0.05). (4) Conclusions: In future, data for the age and sex of various participants, should be accumulated by recruiting participants to study muscle characteristics, such as muscle elasticity and stiffness. Estimating the appropriate injury range and optimal exercise capacity is possible through follow-up studies. The findings can then be used as a basis for predicting injuries or determining and confirming the best time to resume exercise.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of patient-driven lifestyle modification using intermittently scanned continuous glucose monitoring (isCGM) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We conducted a 12-week, open-label, randomized controlled trial. A total of 126 participants were 1:1 randomized to either the intervention group (structured education + isCGM) or the control group (standard care with blood glucose monitoring). The Self-Evaluation Of Unhealthy foods by Looking at the postprandial glucose (SEOUL) algorithm was developed and applied to aid structured education by guiding patients to follow healthy eating behavior depending on the postprandial glycemic response. The primary endpoint was the change in HbA1c level from baseline. RESULTS Implementation of the SEOUL algorithm with isCGM was associated with a greater improvement in HbA1c than standard care (risk-adjusted difference, –0.50%, 95% CI, –0.74 to –0.26%, P < 0.001). Participants in the intervention group had a greater reduction in fasting blood glucose and body weight (−16.5 mg/dL, 95% CI, −30.0 to −3.0 mg/dL, P = 0.017; −1.5 kg, 95% CI, −2.7 to −0.3 kg, P = 0.013, respectively). The score sum for the Korean version of the revised summary of diabetes self-care activities increased in both groups but to a greater extent in the intervention group (mean difference 4.8, 95% CI, 1.7–8.0, P = 0.003). No severe hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia was reported in either group of patients. CONCLUSIONS Patient-driven lifestyle modification primarily focused on eating behavior using isCGM effectively lowered HbA1c levels in patients with T2D.

Cryptorchidism, a condition in which testes fail to descend from the abdomen into the scrotum, is a risk factor for infertility and germ cell cancer. Normally, tight junctions between adjacent Sertoli cells in the testes form a blood–testes barrier that regulates spermatogenesis; however, the effect of cryptorchidism on tight junctions is not well-understood. We established a model of heat-induced testicular damage in dogs using surgical cryptorchidism. We sequenced RNA to investigate whether certain transcripts are expressed at higher rates in heat-damaged versus normally descended testes. Claudins, cell adhesion molecules, were relatively highly expressed in cryptorchid testes: claudins 2, 3, 5, 11, and 18 were significantly increased in cryptorchid testes and reduced by orchiopexy. SOX9-positive Sertoli cells were present in the seminiferous tubules in both cryptorchid and control testes. Using real-time PCR and Western blot analysis to compare Sertoli cells cultured at 34 °C and 37 °C, we found that Sertoli cell claudins 2, 3, 5, 11, and 18 were significantly increased at 37 °C; however, accumulation was higher in the G0/G1 phase in Sertoli cells cultured at 34 °C. These results indicate that testicular hyperthermia caused by cryptorchidism affects claudin expression, regulated germ cell death, and the proliferation of Sertoli cells.

This study evaluated whether glomerular hyperfiltration (GHF) could predict nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and fibrosis. A longitudinal cohort study including 147,479 participants aged 20–65 years without NAFLD and kidney disease at baseline was performed. GHF cutoff values were defined as age- and sex-specific estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFRs) above the 95th percentile, and eGFR values between the 50th and 65th percentiles were used as reference groups. NAFLD was diagnosed via abdominal ultrasonography, and the fibrosis status was evaluated using the NAFLD fibrosis score and Fibrosis-4. During 598,745 person years of follow-up (median, 4.6 years), subjects with GHF at baseline had the highest hazard ratio (HR) for the development of NAFLD (HR 1.21; 95% CI 1.14–1.29) and fibrosis progression (HR 1.42; 95% CI 1.11–1.82) after adjusting for confounding factors. A higher baseline eGFR percentile maintained a higher risk of NAFLD and fibrosis probability. The persistent GHF group during follow-up had the highest HR for NAFLD compared to the persistent non-GHF group (HR 1.31; 95% CI 1.14–1.51). These results were consistent in all subgroups and statistically more prominent in participants without diabetes. GHF was positively associated with increased risk of NAFLD and probability of liver fibrosis in healthy adults.