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Mangifera indica L., a member of the Anacardiaceae family, is widely cultivated across the globe. The leaves of M. indica are renowned for their medicinal properties, attributed to the abundance of bioactive compounds. This study investigated the effects of mango leaf extract on oxidative stress in HeLa cells. Notably, the n-hexane fraction (MLHx) significantly enhanced antioxidant response element (ARE)-luciferase activity at a concentration of 100 µg/mL, surpassing other fractions. MLHx also promoted the expression of HO-1 mRNA by increasing nuclear NRF2 levels. The molecular mechanism of MLHx involves increased phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and stabilization of NRF2. Bioactivity-guided isolation resulted in the identification of six oxylipins: 13(R)-hydroxy-octadeca-(9Z,11E,15Z)-trienoic acid (C-1), 9(R)-hydroxy-octadeca-(10E,12Z,15Z)-trienoic acid (C-2), 13(R)-hydroxy-(9Z,11E)-octadecadienoic acid (C-3), 9(R)-hydroxy-(10E,12Z)-octadecadienoic acid (C-4), 9-oxo-(10E,12E)-octadecadienoic acid (C-5), and 9-oxo-(10E,12Z)-octadecadienoic acid (C-6). These structures were elucidated using comprehensive spectroscopic techniques, including MS and 1H NMR. Additionally, compounds C-7 (9-oxo-(10E,12Z,15Z)-octadecatrienoic acid) and 8 (13-oxo-(9E,11E)-octadecadienoic acid) were characterized by LC-MS/MS mass fragmentation. This study reports the isolation of compounds 1–6 from M. indica for the first time. When tested for their effect on NRF2 activity in HeLa cells, compounds 3, 5, and 6 showed strong stimulation of ARE-luciferase activity in a dose-dependent manner.

Purpose: To investigate whether preoperative ultrasonographic (US) features of the index cancer and metastatic lymph nodes (LNs) are associated with level II LN metastasis in N1b papillary rmfthyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients. Materials and methods: We enrolled 517 patients (mean age, 42 [range, 6–80] years) who underwent total thyroidectomy and lateral compartment LN dissection between January 2009 and December 2015. We reviewed the clinicopathologic and US features of the index cancer and metastatic LNs in the lateral neck. Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze features associated with level II LN metastasis. Results: Among the patients, 196 (37.9%) had level II metastasis on final pathology. In the preoperative model, larger tumor size (odds ratios [ORs], 1.031; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.011–1.051, p = 0.002), nonparallel tumor shape (OR, 1.963; 95% CI: 1.322–2.915, p = 0.001), multilevel LN involvement (OR, 1.906; 95% CI: 1.242–2.925, p = 0.003), and level III involvement (OR, 1.867; 95% CI: 1.223–2.850, p = 0.004), were independently associated with level II LN metastasis. In the postoperative model, non-conventional pathology remained a significant predictor for level II LN metastasis (OR, 1.951; 95% CI: 1.121–3.396; p = 0.018), alongside the presence of extrathyroidal extension (OR, 1.867; 95% CI: 1.060–3.331; p = 0.031), and higher LN ratio (OR, 1.057; 95% CI: 1.039–1.076; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Preoperative US features of the index tumor and LN may be helpful in guiding surgery in N1b PTC. These findings could enhance preoperative planning and decision-making, potentially reducing surgical morbidities by identifying those at higher risk of level II LN metastasis and tailoring surgical approaches accordingly.

In smart surveillance and urban mobility applications, camera-equipped embedded platforms with deep learning technology have demonstrated applicability and effectiveness in identifying various targets. These use cases can be found in a variety of contexts and locations. It is critical to collect relevant data from the location where the application will be deployed. In this paper, we propose an integrated vehicle type and license plate recognition system using YOLOv4, which consists of vehicle type detection, license plate detection, and license plate character detection to better support the context of Korean vehicles in multilane highway and urban environments. Using our dataset of one to four multilane images, our system detected six vehicle classes and license plates with mAP of 98.0%, 94.0%, 97.1%, and 84.6%, respectively. On our dataset and a publicly available open dataset, our system demonstrated mAP of 99.3% and 99.4% for the detected license plates, respectively. From 4K high-resolution images, our system was able to detect minuscule license plates as small as 100 pixels wide. We believe that our system can be used in densely populated regions to address the high demands for enhanced visual sensitivity in smart cities and Internet-of-Things.

Studies on cell separation with inertial microfluidics are often carried out with solid particles initially. When this condition is applied for actual cell separations, the efficiency typically becomes lower because of the polydispersity and deformability of cells. Therefore, the understanding of deformability-induced lift force is essential to achieve highly efficient cell separation. We investigate the inertial focusing positions of viscous droplets in a triangular channel while varying Re, deformability, and droplet size. With increasing Re and decreasing droplet size, the top focusing position splits and shifts along the sidewalls. The threshold size of the focusing position splitting increases for droplets with larger deformability. The overall path of the focusing position shifts with increasing Re also has a strong dependency on deformability. Consequently, droplets of the same size can have different focusing positions depending on their deformability. The feasibility of deformability-based cell separation is shown by different focusing positions of MCF10a and MCF7 cells.

The recent discovery of genetically distinct hantaviruses in multiple species of shrews and moles prompted a further exploration of their host diversification by analyzing frozen, ethanol-fixed and RNAlater®-preserved archival tissues and fecal samples from 533 bats (representing seven families, 28 genera and 53 species in the order Chiroptera), captured in Asia, Africa and the Americas in 1981–2012, using RT-PCR. Hantavirus RNA was detected in Pomona roundleaf bats (Hipposideros pomona) (family Hipposideridae), captured in Vietnam in 1997 and 1999, and in banana pipistrelles (Neoromicia nanus) (family Vespertilionidae), captured in Côte d’Ivoire in 2011. Phylogenetic analysis, based on the full-length S- and partial M- and L-segment sequences using maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods, demonstrated that the newfound hantaviruses formed highly divergent lineages, comprising other recently recognized bat-borne hantaviruses in Sierra Leone and China. The detection of bat-associated hantaviruses opens a new era in hantavirology and provides insights into their evolutionary origins.

Dryopteris crassirhizoma Nakai is a plant with significant medicinal properties, such as anticancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities, making it an attractive research target. Our study describes the isolation of major metabolites from D. crassirhizoma, and their inhibitory activities on α-glucosidase were evaluated for the first time. The results revealed that nortrisflavaspidic acid ABB (2) is the most potent α-glucosidase inhibitor, with an IC50 of 34.0 ± 0.14 μM. In addition, artificial neural network (ANN) and response surface methodology (RSM) were used in this study to optimize the extraction conditions and evaluate the independent and interactive effects of ultrasonic-assisted extraction parameters. The optimal extraction conditions are extraction time of 103.03 min, sonication power of 342.69 W, and solvent-to-material ratio of 94.00 mL/g. The agreement between the predicted models of ANN and RSM and the experimental values was notably high, with a percentage of 97.51% and 97.15%, respectively, indicating that both models have the potential to be utilized for optimizing the industrial extraction process of active metabolites from D. crassirhizoma. Our results could provide relevant information for producing high-quality extracts from D. crassirhizoma for functional foods, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceutical industries.

Phloroglucinols—one of the major secondary metabolites in Dryopteris crassirhizoma—exhibit various pharmacological effects, such as antiviral, antioxidant, and antidiabetic activities. This study evaluated 30 phloroglucinols isolated from the rhizomes of D. crassirhizoma for their inhibitory activity on β-glucuronidase via in vitro assays. Among them, dimeric phloroglucinols 13–15 moderately inhibited β-glucuronidase, and trimeric phloroglucinols 26–28 showed strong inhibitory effects, with IC50 values ranging from 5.6 to 8.0 μM. Enzyme kinetic analysis confirmed all six active compounds to be in a competitive mode of inhibition. Molecular docking simulations revealed the key binding interactions with the active site of β-glucuronidase protein and the binding mechanisms of these active metabolites. Our results suggest that the rhizomes of D. crassirhizoma and trimeric compounds 26–28 may serve as potential candidates for discovering and developing new β-glucuronidase inhibitors.

The enzyme tyrosinase plays a key role in the early stages of melanin biosynthesis. This study evaluated the inhibitory activity of anthocyanidin (1) and anthocyanins (2–6) on the catalytic reaction. Of the six derivatives examined, 1–3 showed inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 3.7 ± 0.1, 10.3 ± 1.0, and 41.3 ± 3.2 μM, respectively. Based on enzyme kinetics, 1–3 were confirmed to be competitive inhibitors with Ki values of 2.8, 9.0, and 51.9 μM, respectively. Molecular docking analysis revealed the formation of a binary encounter complex between 1–3 and the tyrosinase catalytic site. Luteolinidin (1) and petunidin 3-O-glucoside (2) may serve as tyrosinase inhibitors to block melanin production.

Cinnamomum cassia L. is used as a spice and flavoring agent as well as a traditional medicine worldwide. Diterpenoids, a class of compounds present in C. cassia, have various pharmacological effects, such as anti-inflammatory, antitumor, and antibacterial activities; however, there are insufficient studies on the metabolism of diterpenoids. In this study, the metabolism of seven diterpenoids, namely, anhydrocinnzeylanol, anhydrocinnzeylanine (AHC), cinncassiol A, cinncassiol B, cinnzeylanol, cinnzeylanone, and cinnzeylanine, obtained from the bark of C. cassia was studied in human liver microsomes (HLMs). All studied diterpenoids, except for AHC, exhibited strong metabolic stability; however, AHC was rapidly metabolized to 3% in HLMs in the presence of β-NADPH. Using a high-resolution quadrupole-orbitrap mass spectrometer, 20 metabolites were identified as dehydrogenated metabolites (M1–M3), dehydrogenated and oxidated metabolites (M4–M10), mono-oxidated metabolites (M11–M13), or dioxidated metabolites (M14–M20). In addition, CYP isoforms involved in AHC metabolism were determined by profiling metabolites produced after incubation in 11 recombinant cDNA-expressed CYP isoforms. Thus, the diterpenoid compound AHC was identified in a metabolic pathway involving CYP3A4 in HLMs.