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Purpose The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of incorporating virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR) programs into practical tests administered as part of the Korean Radiological Technologists Licensing Examination (KRTLE). This evaluation is grounded in a comprehensive survey that targeted enrolled students in departments of radiology across the nation. Methods In total, 682 students from radiology departments across the nation were participants in the survey. An online survey platform was used, and the questionnaire was structured into 5 distinct sections and 27 questions. A frequency analysis for each section of the survey was conducted using IBM SPSS ver. 27.0. Results Direct or indirect exposure to VR/AR content was reported by 67.7% of all respondents. Furthermore, 55.4% of the respondents expressed that VR/AR could be integrated into their classes, which signified a widespread acknowledgment of VR among the students. With regards to the integration of a VR/AR or mixed reality program into the practical tests for purposes of the KRTLE, a substantial amount of the respondents (57.3%) exhibited a positive inclination and recommended its introduction. Conclusion The application of VR/AR programs within practical tests of the KRTLE will be used as an alternative for evaluating clinical examination procedures and validating job skills.

As NPPs continue to operate, liquid waste continues to be generated, and containers are needed to store and transport them at low cost and high capacity. To transport and store liquid phase very low-level radioactive waste (VLLW), a container is designed by considering related regulations. The design was constructed based on the existing container design, which easily transports and stores liquid waste. The radiation shielding calculation was performed according to the composition change of barium sulfate (BaSO4) using the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) code. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) without mixing the additional BaSO4, represented the maximum dose of 1.03 mSv/hr (

Objective To evaluate the effect of fascia penetration and develop a new technique for lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN) conduction studies based on the fascia penetration point (PP) identified using ultrasound. Methods The fascia PP of the LFCN was localized in 20 healthy subjects, and sensory nerve action potentials (SNAPs) were obtained at four different stimulation points—2 cm proximal to the PP (2PPP), PP, 2 cm distal to the PP (2DPP), and 4 cm distal to the PP (4DPP). We compared the stimulation technique based on the fascia penetration point (STBFP) with the conventional technique. Results The SNAP amplitude of the LFCN was significantly higher when stimulation was performed at the PP and 2DPP than at other stimulation points. Using the STBFP, SNAP responses were elicited in 38 of 40 legs, whereas they were elicited in 32 of 40 legs using the conventional technique (p=0.041). STBFP had a comparable SNAP amplitude and slightly delayed negative peak latency compared to the conventional technique. In terms of the time required, the time spent on STBFP showed a more consistent distribution than the time spent on the conventional technique (two-sample Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, p

In this study, the antioxidant mechanism of Astragalus membranaceus fermented by Lactiplantibacillusplantarum MG5276 (MG5276F-AM) was evaluated in HepG2 cells and in an animal model. HPLC analysis was performed to confirm the bioconversion of the bioactive compounds in A. membranaceus by fermentation. Calycosin and formononetin, which were not detected before fermentation (NF-AM), were detected after fermentation (MG5276F-AM), and its glycoside was not observed in MG5276F-AM. In HepG2 cells, MG5276F-AM alleviated H2O2-induced oxidative stress by mediating lipid peroxidation and glutathione levels, and upregulated antioxidant enzymes including catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). In the tBHP-injected mouse model, administration of MG5276F-AM reduced hepatic aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, and lipid peroxidation. MG5276F-AM also modulated antioxidant enzymes as well as HepG2 cells. Thus, fermentation of A. membranaceus with L. plantarum MG5276 elevated the isoflavonoid aglycone by hydrolysis of its glycosides, and this bioconversion enhanced antioxidant activity both in vitro and in vivo.

Astragalus membranaceus (AM) has been used for anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and immunomodulatory activities. In this study, we confirmed that the anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects of AM were enhanced after it was fermented by Lactiplantibacillus plantarum. The anti-oxidative effect was measured by 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical levels, total phenolic contents (TPC), reducing power, and H2O2 levels. AM-LP MG5145 and MG5276 showed higher free radical scavenging activity than AM-NF (51.22%). In addition, AM-LP MG5145 and MG5276 showed higher TPC (49.11 mg GAE/mL), reducing power (OD700 = 0.37), and H2O2 (1.71 µM) than AM-NF. The calycosin contents determined to AM-NF (17.24 ng/mL), AM-LP MG5145 (139.94 ng/mL), and MG5276 (351.01 ng/mL) using UPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Anti-inflammatory effects were analyzed by investigating the inhibitory effects of fermented AM on cytotoxicity, NO production, and mRNA expression of COX-2, iNOS, NF-κB, and TNF-α in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. AM-LP MG5145 and MG5276 showed no cytotoxicity. AM-LP MG5145 (50.86%) and MG5276 (51.66%) inhibited NO production in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. Moreover, AM-LP MG5145 and MG5276 downregulated macrophage iNOS, COX2, TNF-α, and NF-κB expression. In conclusion, A. membranaceus fermented by L. plantarum MG5145 and MG5276 can be used in cosmetics and health foods as natural antioxidant compounds.

In this study, we investigated the clinical changes induced by a high fat diet (HFD) and caffeine consumption in a rat model. The mean body weight of the HFD with caffeine (HFDC)-fed rat was decreased compared to that of the HFD-fed rat without caffeine. The levels of cholesterol, triglycerides (TGs), and free fatty acid, as well as the size of adipose tissue altered by HFD, were improved by caffeine consumption. To investigate the metabolites that affected the change of the clinical factors, the urine and serum of rats fed a normal diet (ND), HFD, and HFDC were analyzed using ultra performance liquid chromatography quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS), gas chromatography (GC-TOF-MS), and linear trap quadruple mass spectrometry (LTQ-XL-MS) combined with multivariate analysis. A total of 68 and 52 metabolites were found to be different in urine and serum, respectively. After being fed caffeine, some glucuronide-conjugated compounds, lysoPCs, CEs, DGs, TGs, taurine, and hippuric acid were altered compared to the HFD group. In this study, caffeine might potentially inhibit HFD-induced obesity and we suggest possible biomarker candidates using MS-based metabolite profiling.

The attenuating effects of green tea supplements (GTS) against the ultraviolet (UV) radiation induced skin damages are distinguished. However, the concomitant effects of GTS on the large intestinal microbiomes and associated metabolomes are largely unclear. Herein, we performed an integrated microbiome-metabolome analysis to uncover the esoteric links between gut microbiome and exo/endogenous metabolome maneuvered in the large intestine of UVB-exposed mice subjected to dietary GTS. In UVB-exposed mice groups (UVB), class Bacilli and order Bifidobacteriales were observed as discriminant taxa with decreased lysophospholipid levels compared to the unexposed mice groups subjected to normal diet (NOR). Conversely, in GTS fed UVB-exposed mice (U+GTS), the gut-microbiome diversity was greatly enhanced with enrichment in the classes, Clostridia and Erysipelotrichia, as well as genera, Allobaculum and Lachnoclostridium. Additionally, the gut endogenous metabolomes changed with an increase in amino acids, fatty acids, lipids, and bile acids contents coupled with a decrease in nucleobases and carbohydrate levels. The altered metabolomes exhibited high correlations with GTS enriched intestinal microflora. Intriguingly, the various conjugates of green tea catechins viz., sulfated, glucuronided, and methylated ones including their exogenous derivatives were detected from large intestinal contents and liver samples. Hence, we conjecture that the metabolic conversions for the molecular components in GTS strongly influenced the gut micro-environment in UVB-exposed mice groups, ergo modulate their gut-microbiome as well as exo/endogenous metabolomes.

In this study, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) with antioxidative and probiotic activities were isolated from the vaginas of Korean women and from fermented food. Among 34 isolated LAB strains, four strains (MG4221, MG4231, MG4261, and MG4270) exhibited inhibitory activity against nitric oxide production. The MG4221 and MG4270 strains were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum, and MG4231 and MG4261 were identified as Lactobacillus fermentum. These strains were able to tolerate pepsin and pancreatin, which is required for probiotic potential. The antioxidant effects of culture filtrates obtained from selected strains included 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity. Most of the culture filtrates had effective DPPH scavenging activity.In conclusion, the selected strains have significant activities and are potentially applicable to the development of functional foods. These strains might also contribute to the prevention and control of several diseases associated with oxidative stress, when used as functional probiotics.

Penicillium spp. are known to harbor a wide array of secondary metabolites with cryptic bioactivities. However, the metabolomics of these species is not well-understood in terms of different fermentation models and conditions. The present study involved metabolomics profiling and transcriptomic analysis of Penicillium expansum 40815 under solid-state fermentation (SSF) and submerged fermentation (SmF). Metabolite profiling was carried out using ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry with multivariate analysis, followed by transcriptomic analyses of differentially expressed genes. In principal component analysis, the metabolite profiling data was studied under different experimental sets, including SSF and SmF. The significantly different metabolites such as polyketide metabolites (agonodepside B, rotiorin, verrucosidin, and ochrephilone) and corresponding gene transcripts (polyketide synthase, aromatic prenyltransferase, and terpenoid synthase) were primarily detected under SmF conditions. In contrast, the meroterpenoid compounds (andrastin A and C) and their genes transcripts were exclusively detected under SSF conditions. We demonstrated that the metabolite production and its corresponding gene expression levels in P. expansum 40815 were significantly influenced by the varying growth parameters and the immediate environment. This study further provides a foundation to produce specific metabolites by regulating fermentation conditions.

We used ultra-performance-liquid-chromatography with quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry to study the changes in metabolites in the mixture of Cudrania tricuspidata, Lonicera caerulea, and soybean (CLM) during fermentation. Additionally, the antiobesity effects of CLM and fermented-CLM (FCLM) were studied based on the analysis of plasma from high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. The levels of cyanidin and the glycosides of luteolin, quercetin, and cyanidin derived from L. caerulea were decreased, whereas the levels of luteolin and quercetin were increased during fermentation. Isoflavone glycosides and soyasaponins originating from the soybean were decreased, whereas their aglycones such as daidzein, glycitein, and genistein were increased. As for prenylated flavonoids from C. tricuspidata, these metabolites were decreased at the early stage of fermentation, and were increased at end of the fermentation. In terms of the functional food product, various metabolites derived from diverse natural products in CLM had complementary effects and demonstrated higher antioxidant and pancreatic lipase inhibition activities after fermentation; these activities were closely related to flavonoid aglycones including genistein, daidzein, glycitein, luteolin, and quercetin. In an in vivo experiment, several clinical parameters affected by HFD were improved by the administration of either CLM or FCLM, but there was a difference in the antiobesity effects. The levels of lysoPCs with C20:4, C16:0, and C22:6 were significantly attenuated by CLM administration, while the attenuated levels of lysoPCs with C20:4 and C18:2 were significantly restored by FCLM administration. These metabolites may explain the above-mentioned differences in antiobesity effects. Although only the changes in plasma lysophospholipids could not fully explain antiobesity effects between non-fermented and fermented plant mixtures from our results, we suggest that metabolomics approach could provide a way to reveal the metabolite alterations in the complex fermentation process and understand the differences or changes in bioactivity according to fermentation.

Glucosinolates, their hydrolysis products and primary metabolites were analyzed in five pak choi cultivars to determine the effect of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) on metabolite flux from primary metabolites to glucosinolates and their hydrolysis products. Among detected glucosinolates (total 14 glucosinolates; 9 aliphatic, 4 indole and 1 aromatic glucosinolates), indole glucosinolate concentrations (153–229%) and their hydrolysis products increased with MeJA treatment. Changes in the total isothiocyanates by MeJA were associated with epithiospecifier protein activity estimated as nitrile formation. Goitrin, a goitrogenic compound, significantly decreased by MeJA treatment in all cultivars. Changes in glucosinolates, especially aliphatic, significantly differed among cultivars. Primary metabolites including amino acids, organic acids and sugars also changed with MeJA treatment in a cultivar-specific manner. A decreased sugar level suggests that they might be a carbon source for secondary metabolite biosynthesis in MeJA-treated pak choi. The result of the present study suggests that MeJA can be an effective agent to elevate indole glucosinolates and their hydrolysis products and to reduce a goitrogenic compound in pak choi. The total glucosinolate concentration was the highest in “Chinese cabbage” in the control group (32.5 µmol/g DW), but indole glucosinolates increased the greatest in “Asian” when treated with MeJA.

We aimed to identify metabolites involved in the anti-obesity effects of Platycodon grandiflorum (PG) in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice using mass spectrometry (MS)-based metabolomic techniques. C57BL/6J mice were divided into four groups: normal diet (ND)-fed mice, HFD-fed mice, HFD with 1% PG extract-fed mice (HPGL), and HFD with 5% PG extract-fed mice (HPGH). After 8 weeks, the HFD group gained more weight than the ND group, while dietary 5% PG extract attenuated this change. The partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) score plots showed a clear distinction between experimental groups in serum and liver markers. We also identified 10 and 32 metabolites in the serum and liver, respectively, as potential biomarkers that could explain the effect of high-dose PG added to HFD-fed mice, which were strongly involved in amino acid metabolism (glycine, serine, threonine, methionine, glutamate, phenylalanine, ornithine, lysine, and tyrosine), TCA cycle (fumarate and succinate), lipid metabolism (linoleic and oleic acid methyl esters, oleamide, and cholesterol), purine/pyrimidine metabolism (uracil and hypoxanthine), carbohydrate metabolism (maltose), and glycerophospholipid metabolism (phosphatidylcholines, phosphatidylethanolamines, lysophosphatidylcholines, and lysophosphatidylethanolamines). We suggest that further studies on these metabolites could help us gain a better understanding of both HFD-induced obesity and the effects of PG.

Although many studies have been performed on the effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on the skin, only a limited number of reports have investigated these effects on non-skin tissue. This study aimed to describe the metabolite changes in the liver of hairless mice following chronic exposure to UVB radiation. We did not observe significant macroscopic changes or alterations in hepatic cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the liver of UVB-irradiated mice, compared with those for normal mice. In this study, we detected hepatic metabolite changes by UVB exposure and identified several amino acids, fatty acids, nucleosides, carbohydrates, phospholipids, lysophospholipids, and taurine-conjugated cholic acids as candidate biomarkers in response to UVB radiation in the mouse liver by using various mass spectrometry (MS)-based metabolite profiling including ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight (TOF)-MS, gas chromatography-TOF-MS and nanomate LTQ-MS. Glutamine exhibited the most dramatic change with a 5-fold increase in quantity. The results from altering several types of metabolites suggest that chronic UVB irradiation may impact significantly on major hepatic metabolism processes, despite the fact that the liver is not directly exposed to UVB radiation. MS-based metabolomic approach for determining regulatory hepatic metabolites following UV irradiation will provide a better understanding of the relationship between internal organs and UV light.

In this study, a personal gamma (γ) spectrometer was developed for use in applications in various fields, such as homeland security and environmental radiation monitoring systems. The prototype consisted of a 3 × 3 × 20 mm3 Ce-doped Gd–Al–Ga–garnet (Ce:GAGG) crystal that was coupled to a Si photomultiplier (SiPM) to measure γ radiation. The γ spectrometer could be accessed remotely via a mobile device. At room temperature, the implemented Ce:GAGG-SiPM spectrometer achieved energy resolutions of 13.5%, 6.9%, 5.8%, and 2.3% for 133Ba at 0.356 MeV, 22Na at 0.511 MeV, 137Cs at 0.662 MeV, and 60Co at 1.33 MeV, respectively. It consumed only about 2.7 W of power, had a mass of just 340 g (including the battery), and measured only 5.0 × 7.0 cm2.

Awareness of customer perception of service quality is a significant determinant of success for service organizations. This study aimed to investigate customer perception of service quality of the industrial solid waste collection service in Yangon, Myanmar and test the validity of the measurement scale of the SERVQUAL model in this context. Samples were collected using the convenience sampling technique in Shwe Pyi Thar Industrial zones in Yangon. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to examine the function of the SERVQUAL model, and gap score analysis was performed to evaluate service quality. The results showed that the model was fit to measure service quality. Furthermore, a significant difference was identified between respondents' expectations and perceptions, and service quality scored low in all dimensions. The respondents shared eight suggestions to improve service quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]