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Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most prevalent mental disorders during adolescence, and early diagnosis and treatment are important. We aimed to characterize the microstructure of the brain in medication-naïve adolescents with first-episode MDD.Methods: Patients with MDD (N = 31) and healthy controls (N = 27) participated in this study and severity of depressive symptoms, duration of untreated depressive episode, demographic data, and diffuse tensor imaging data were collected. A comparative analysis of patients and healthy controls was performed, and the effect of medication on the brain`s integrity was investigated through comparison before and after 3 months of treatment in the patient group. Tract-based spatial statistics was used for diffusion tensor image analysis.Results: In the patient group, functional anisotropy (FA) values were significantly higher at the genu of the corpus callosum, body of the corpus callosum, and right anterior corona radiata than in healthy controls. After 3 months of treatment, FA values were significantly decreased in the left anterior limb of the internal capsule, left posterior limb of the internal capsule, and left superior longitudinal fasciculus.Limitations: The sample size is relatively small and 3-month treatment period was relatively short.Conclusion: FA values of patients with MDD were increased compared to healthy controls and decreased after treatment. These results suggested that pharmacological treatments in the early stages of MDD might restore the brain`s integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study will provide to better understand the needs for physiotherapy services during the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games (POG) from two polyclinics. It is necessary to understand the needs and what physiotherapists do during the Olympic Winter games for first time. An observational study. 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games. Athletes who visited the physiotherapy department of polyclinics. During 25 the days of the POG, a total of 125 athletes (n = 125, 83 males, 42 females) visited the two polyclinics. Of all visits, 69.6% were from the mountain polyclinic and 30.4% from the city. There were three reasons for visit, most of the reason for visit was injury and injury with recovery or injury prevention. Overall, the injury rate (per 1000 athletes) was 42.8 across 13 sports visited the physiotherapy department during the POG. Total numbers of treatments sessions were 823 provided and electrophysical modalities (36.2%) was the most utilized service in POG. And also there were significant differences in the physiotherapy services provided at the two polyclinics. As each polyclinic differed in location, they addressed different populations of athletes; hence, the study provides insights into the injury trends and different physiotherapy treatments. • During 25 the days of the POG, a total of 125 athletes (n = 125, 83 males, 42 females) visited the two polyclinics. • Overall, the injury rate (per 1000 athletes) was 42.8 across 13 sports visited the physiotherapy department during the POG. • Total cumulative numbers of treatments sessions were 823 provided during the 25 days of POG. • Electrophysical modalities was the most utilized service in POG. • And also there were significant differences in treatment modalities at the two polyclinics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Thomson scattering diagnostic system is designed for Versatile Experiment Spherical Torus (VEST) to measure the spatial profiles of the electron temperature. The system is carefully designed to collect a sufficient number of photoelectrons and to reduce the noise sources, since relatively low electron densities and temperatures are expected in VEST due to the limited power capacity at present. The target electron temperature and the density are 10–200 eV and 5 × 10 18 m −3 , respectively which are extrapolated from the data of triple Langmuir probes measuring the edge plasma parameters at R = 0.75 m by assuming a parabolic density profile. The collecting optics is designed to have a wide-view angle and low cost by using a commercial photographic lens of low f-number and high transmittance optical fiber bundle. The bandwidths of the interference filters in the polychromator are designed for reliable measurements within the target electron temperature range. As a photo detector which is coupled with the filters, an avalanche photodiode (APD) with a low dark current and an adequate quantum efficiency near the laser wavelength is selected for the high signal-to-noise ratio. The number of photons transferred to the polychromator and the number of photoelectrons in the APD are calculated. At the commissioning phase, an oscilloscope with a high sampling rate will be adopted to check the necessity of the noise reduction by multi-shot signal accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: The role of C-type lectin receptor, a type of pattern recognition receptor, in otitis media with effusion (OME) is unclear. We assayed the levels of expression of C-type lectin receptor mRNA in children with OME and evaluated its relationship to the presence of bacteria, accompanying diseases, and characteristics of exudates. Subjects and Methods: The study population consisted of 73 children with OME who had undergone ventilating tube insertion. The levels of expression of Dectin-1, MR1, MR2, DC-SIGN, Syk, Card-9, Bcl-10, Malt-1, Src, Dec-205, Galectin-1, Tim-3, Trem-1, and DAP-12 mRNA in middle ear effusion were determined by real-time PCR. The level of expression of each mRNA was correlated with the presence of bacteria, accompanying diseases, and exudates characteristics. Results: The levels of expression of C-type lectin receptor mRNAs were not associated with bacterial presence or exudates characteristics (p >0.05 each). Levels of expression, however, were significantly higher in patients with sinusitis, adenoid vegetation or adenoiditis, and allergic rhinitis (p <0.05 each). Conclusions: Levels of expression of C-type lectin receptor mRNA may be associated with the pathogenesis of OME, being significantly higher in patients with than without accompanying sinusitis, adenoid vegetation or adenoiditis, and allergic rhinitis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Internet music market is a new profit-making entity and is growing rapidly due to its extension into the mobile device market. Introduction of the portable multimedia player (PMP), which is the next generation of MP3-players, will influence a customer’s audio and video service preference. The Internet music market needs to develop a new business model (BM) for PMPs. This article examines new BMs for customer preference via a conjoint analysis. In addition, we investigate customers’ willingness to pay (WTP) using a multinomial logit model. The study helps with the decision-making procedure for designing a BM adaptable to new technology development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A 10-week feeding experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary lipid source and n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (n-3 HUFA) level on growth, body composition and blood chemistry of juvenile starry flounder. Three replicate groups of fish (average weight 1.9 g) were fed diets containing different n-3 HUFA levels ranging from 0.0% to 2.7% adjusted by either lauric acid as sole lipid source or different proportions of corn oil, linseed oil and squid liver oil at 10% of total lipid. Survival was not affected by dietary lipid source or n-3 HUFA level. Weight gain, feed efficiency and protein efficiency ratio of fish fed the diets containing squid liver oil were significantly higher than those fed the diets containing lauric acid, corn oil or linseed oil as the sole lipid source. However, there were no significant differences in weight gain, feed efficiency and protein efficiency ratio among fish fed the diets containing different n-3 HUFA levels ranging from 0.6% to 2.7%. Dietary n-3 HUFA requirement when using a broken line model was estimated at 0.9% for weight gain of fish. Crude lipid content of fish fed the diet containing lauric acid was significantly lower than that of other groups. Fatty acid compositions of neutral and polar lipid of fish were directly reflected by dietary fatty acid composition. The highest 14:0, 18:2n-6, 18:3n-3 and n-3 HUFA contents were observed in fish fed the diets containing lauric acid, corn oil, linseed oil and squid liver oil, respectively. The contents of n-3 HUFA in fish linearly increased with increasing dietary squid liver oil. Plasma cholesterol concentration and aspartate aminotransferase activity were affected by dietary lipid sources. These results indicate that dietary n-3 HUFA are essential and a value of at least 0.9% of n-3 HUFA in the diet could be recommended for optimum growth and efficient feed utilization of juvenile starry flounder. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recent advances in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have resulted in many studies on resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in depressed patients. Previous studies have shown alterations between multiple brain areas, such as the prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and basal ganglia, but there are very few prospective studies with a longitudinal design on adolescent depression patients. We therefore investigated the change in positive rsFC in a homogeneous drug-naïve adolescent group after 12 weeks of antidepressant treatment. Functional neuroimaging data were collected and analyzed from 32 patients and 27 healthy controls. Based on previous literature, the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), insula, hippocampus, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) were selected as seed regions. Seed-to-voxel analyses were performed between pre- and post-treatment states as well as between the patients and controls at baseline. The positive rsFC between the right DLPFC and the left putamen/right frontal operculum were shown to be higher in patients than in the controls. The positive rsFC between the left DLPFC and left putamen/left lingual gyrus was also higher in the patients than in the controls. The positive rsFC between the right dorsal ACC and the left precentral gyrus had reduced after the 12-week antidepressant treatment. Regions involved in the frontolimbic circuit showed changes in the positive rsFC in the depressed adolescents as compared to in the healthy controls. There were also significant changes in the positive rsFC after 12-weeks of antidepressant treatment. The involved regions were associated with emotional regulation, cognitive functioning, impulse control, and visual processing. • Resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) is altered in patients with depression. • rsFC of depressed adolescents was analyzed pre- and post-12-week-treatment. • Connectivity in regions involved in the frontolimbic circuit showed alterations. • Regions associated with emotional regulation, cognitive functioning, and impulse control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scaffolds for the production of cultivated meat, a promising sustainable meat alternative, should exhibit physical and chemical properties that enable three-dimensional animal cell culture, along with biological characteristics that support cell attachment, proliferation, and differentiation. Additionally, the scaffold should be crafted from edible materials and offer textural similarities to meat and have minimal influence on flavor and taste. Herein, an edible alginate-based alginate-cellulose hydrogel (ACe-gel) scaffold derived from the brown alga Undaria pinnatifida is developed. In terms of physical characteristics, the scaffold had porosity (119.5 ± 37.2 μm) and moisture-holding capacity (73.03 ± 3.82, 68.66 ± 9.54, and 84.17 ± 9.94 at 25 °C, 37 °C, and 60 °C, respectively) suitable for three-dimensional culture and differentiation of bovine muscle stem cells (bMuSCs). Accordingly, the scaffold was superior to a commercial alginate scaffold in terms of the attachment and proliferation of bMuSCs (5.5-fold over 72 h), and its performance was comparable with that of a lyophilized collagen scaffold (7.8-fold over 72 h, compared with the pure alginate). The bMuSCs cultured on the ACe-gel scaffold were capable of differentiating into muscle fibers, as verified by gene expression profile analysis. Furthermore, the scaffold exhibited minimal heavy metal contents and distinct seaweed odorants, while the stress-strain characteristics of the scaffold cultured with bMuSC (Young's modulus of raw ACe-gel: 285.19 ± 83.37 kPa, cooked ACe-gel meat: 880.60 ± 485.60 kPa) closely resembled that of meat (raw beef: 267.76 ± 156.42 kPa, cooked beef: 1331.94 ± 762.43 kPa). These findings highlight that the seaweed-derived and animal-free ACe-gel scaffold has strong potential for utilization as a food technology for cultured meat production in the future. [Display omitted] • The alginate-cellulose hydrogel (ACe-gel) from brown algae is developed for cultivated meat. • The ACe-gel possesses chemicophysical properties conducive to 3D animal cell culture. • The ACe-gel provides an environment for differentiation of bovine muscle stem cells. • The ACe-gel has the potential to emulate the textural characteristics of traditional meat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights from the article: Machine learning classification of first-onset drug-naïve MDD using structural MRI We wanted to know whether it is possible to reliably train a predictive classification with a high accuracy even in the first-onset drug-naïve adolescent MDD just using structural MRI without using any other clinical data. A total of six classification models were used to build the adolescent MDD classification model: treebased bagging, random forest, multi-layered feedforward neural network, adaptive boosting, gradient boosting machine, and support vector machine.