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In the cases of infants and children, there is a special form of accidental asphyxia that occurs in an unsafe sleeping environment. Rarely, some infants and children unexpectedly die in the day care centers. This also occurs during the process when teachers put the infants and children to sleep. This analysis was performed on national forensic autopsy cases from January 1, 2001, to October 31, 2022. The 97,402 cases were selected to provide their incident overview, the cause of death and the manner of death. The cases of infants and children asphyxia at day care centers were 43 cases (0.04%). The major cause of death was sudden infants and children death syndrome which included the possibility of accidental asphyxia (31 cases). This was followed by chocking (8 cases), complicated asphyxia (2 cases), smothering (1 case), and positional asphyxia (1 case). Two cases were a result of homicide, 10 cases were accidents, and 31 cases had unknown manner of death. There were four cases of asphyxia that occurred in the process of teachers putting infants and children to sleep. In all cases, there were no specific findings in the autopsy and there were CCTV footage including contact with the day care center teacher while taking a nap. Reporting these results provides information and awareness to social members related with infants and children, specially day care centers, and serves as basis for establishing social systems such as mandatory of CCTVs, helping to reduce the occurrence of similar death on infants and children.

A medicolegal autopsy is usually performed to determine the cause and manner of death based on judicial or administrative directives applicable in cases of unusual deaths. Social interest in medicolegal autopsies is increasing in recent times. In this study, we investigated medicolegal autopsy rates in Korea and compared these with rates reported by other countries. We obtained data regarding autopsies performed between 2016 and 2020 from the relevant institutions. We calculated the autopsy rate using mortality data from Statistics Korea. The number of medicolegal autopsies performed increased from 8,382 in 2016 to 9,308 in 2020, with an annual increase in numbers. The medicolegal autopsy rate of total deaths increased from 2.98% in 2016 to 3.05% in 2020, and the medicolegal autopsy rates of unusual deaths increased from 12.45% to 13.12% during the same period. However, it repeated an increase and a decrease by year during the study period. In conclusion, the numbers of medicolegal autopsies performed in Korea have been increasing since 2016; however, the medicolegal autopsy rate has been maintained.

Identifying remains is an important role of forensic medicine. For identification, dating, i.e., estimating the birth year and death year, is expected as useful, however has not yet been practically applied. A dating method using radiocarbon analysis was recently introduced and related studies have been reported. In this study, we conducted radiocarbon analysis on teeth and aimed to develop a formula to estimate the birth year. Fifteen autopsy cases from the National Forensic Service, from December 2014 to December 2020, with known birth year were selected for inclusion. For each case, dentin of the first molar in mandible was taken, radiocarbon analysis was carried out and the corresponding estimated birth year were calculated using the bomb peak curve. The differences between the birth year and the teeth year were determined and analyzed on the influence of variables. A formula for estimating the birth year was developed and the applicability of the formula was determined. The difference between the birth year and the teeth year was 2.6 years on average for cases born before 1963, and 5.7 years for those born after 1963. The estimation formula of birth year was as follows: (Before 1963) Birth year=0.565×(Tooth year)–0.446×(Age)+875.001, (After 1963) Birth year=Tooth year–5.7. This study is meaningful in that it reduced the error by using only the first molars of the lower jaw as a sample, and presented an estimation formula of birth year that can be applied in practice through radiocarbon analysis of teeth.

Background: Calcified coronary lesions can cause stent under-expansion, malapposition, and polymer degradation, hence increasing the risk of adverse clinical outcomes. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) guided by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) has been used regularly to improve outcomes. Our primary aim was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of IVUS-guided PCI in calcified coronary lesions. Methods: From August 2018 to December 2021, we prospectively included 300 patients in the CAPIRO study (CAlcified plaque in patients receiving Resolute Onyx®) at three educational hospitals in Jeonbuk Province. We studied 243 patients (265 lesions) who were followed up for over a year. Based on coronary calcification by IVUS analysis, the patient population was categorized into two groups (Group I: non/mild calcification; Group II: moderate/severe calcification (maximum calcium arc >180° and calcium length > 5 mm)). One-to-one Propensity Score Matching was used to match the baseline characteristics. The stent expansion rate was analyzed by recent criteria. The primary clinical outcome was Major Adverse Cardiac Events (MACE), which included Cardiac death, Myocardial Infarction (MI), and Target Lesion Revascularization (TLR). Results: After follow-up time, the MACE rate in Group I was 1.99%, comparable to Group II’s 1.09% (p = 0.594). The components of MACE did not significantly differ between the two groups. Based on absolute MSA or MSA/MVA at MSA site criteria, the stent expansion rate in Group II was lower than that of Group I. Nevertheless, based on recent relative criteria, the stent expansion rate in both groups was comparable. Conclusions: After more than a year of follow-up, IVUS-guided PCI in moderate/severe calcification lesions was associated with good clinical outcomes, which was comparable with non/mild calcification lesions. Future studies with a larger sample size and a more extended follow-up period are required to clarify our findings.

Bovine diarrhea is a major concern in the global bovine industry because it can cause significant financial damage. Of the many potential infectious agents that can lead to bovine diarrhea, bovine rotavirus (BRV) is a particular problem due to its high transmissibility and infectivity. Therefore, it is important to prevent the proliferation of BRV using an early detection system. This study developed an affinity peptide-based electrochemical method for use as a rapid detection system for BRV. A BRV-specific peptide was identified via the phage display technique and chemically synthesized. The synthetic peptide was immobilized on a gold electrode through thiol-gold interactions. The performance of the BRV specific binding peptides was evaluated using square wave voltammetry. The developed detection system exhibited a low detection limit (5 copies/mL) and limit of quantitation (2.14 × 10

Despite the high mortality rate associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), no clinical autopsy has been reported among the deceased during the pandemic by the Korean quarantine authorities. Notably, since 2020, forensic autopsies are performed in suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection. The first case of death secondary to COVID-19 pneumonia in Korea was reported in November 2021. We recently performed a forensic autopsy of a couple (85-year-old man and 81-year-old woman) who were discovered dead at home. Gross examination showed lobar consolidation of lungs, and microscopic evaluation revealed diffuse alveolar injury in the acute phase and thrombi in small arterioles; these findings were consistent with those reported by previous studies that have described COVID-19 pneumonia. Based on the aforementioned findings, we concluded that the couple died of COVID-19, and our study is the second Korean study to report these findings.

Glutathione, a tripeptide consisting of cysteine, glutamic acid, and glycine, has multiple beneficial effects on human health. Previous studies have focused on producing glutathione in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by overexpressing γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase (GSH1) and glutathione synthetase (GSH2), which are the rate-limiting enzymes involved in the glutathione biosynthetic pathway. However, the production yield and titer of glutathione remain low due to the feedback inhibition on GSH1. To overcome this limitation, a synthetic isozyme system consisting of a novel bifunctional enzyme (GshF) from Gram-positive bacteria possessing both GSH1 and GSH2 activities, in addition to GSH1/GSH2, was introduced into S. cerevisiae, as GshF is insensitive to feedback inhibition. Given the HSP60 chaperonin system mismatch between bacteria and S. cerevisiae, co-expression of Group-I HSP60 chaperonins (GroEL and GroES) from Escherichia coli was required for functional expression of GshF. Among various strains constructed in this study, the SKSC222 strain capable of synthesizing glutathione with the synthetic isozyme system produced 240 mg L

3D 프린팅 모르타르는 온도에 따라 굳지 않은 모르타르의 레올로지 특성 및 경화 모르타르의 강도발현 특성이 변화되기 때문에 현장 온도를 고려하여 3D 프린팅 모르타르를 제조해야 작업성 및 압축강도 등을 확보할 수 있다. 기온이 낮은 동절기에는 모르타르의 경화속도가 늦어져 초기강도가 저하되는 문제가 발생되어 모르타르의 초기강도 확보를 위한 모르타르 배합을 조정하거나 초기강도 증진용 화학 혼화제를 적용하여 이를 개선해야 할 것이고, 기온이 높은 하절기에는 모르타르 수화반응 촉진에 기인해 모르타르 제조 후 시간이 경과함에 따라 모르타르 유동성 저하가 빠르게 진행되기 때문에 압송성 및 작업성이 저하되어 3D 프린팅 모르타르의 품질 문제가 발생할 수 있으므로 이를 대비해야 한다. 본 연구에서는 20 ℃ 환경을 기준으로 10 ℃ 저온 및 30 ℃ 고온에서의 3D 프린팅 모르타르의 기초적 특성을 평가하였는데, 저온환경에서 3D 프린팅 모르타르는 초기강도가 크게 저하되어 20 ℃ 환경의 약 17 % 수준의 압축강도를 나타내었다. 이에 초기강도 증진용 첨가제를 적용하여 초기강도 발현특성을 확인한 결과 초기강도 증진용 첨가제를 분체량 대비 2 % 사용 시 20 ℃ 환경과 비슷한 수준의 초기강도를 확보할 수 있었다. 한편, 30 ℃ 고온환경에서는 3D 프린팅 모르타르의 유동성 저하가 20 ℃ 환경보다 2배정도 빠르게 진행되었고, 고유지형 감수제의 사용으로 30 ℃ 환경에서 기존의 20 ℃ 환경 대비 동등 이상의 유지성능을 확보할 수 있었다.

PurposeFirms continue to struggle with end users who do not follow recommended actions for safeguarding information security. Thus, the authors utilize insights gained from studies on heuristic processing of risk information to design cues in fear appeal messages more effectively so as to more strongly engender fear among users, which can in turn lead them to take protective actions toward information security. Specifically, four types of fear appeal cues are identified: numeric risk communication, social distance and goal framing in verbal risk communication and visual risk communication.Design/methodology/approachDrawing from protection motivation theory, the authors hypothesize that these fear appeal cues can engender fear among users to a greater extent. In addition, the authors hypothesize that users will perceive a higher level of severity and susceptibility when they perceive a large amount of fear. The research hypotheses were tested employing data collected through a laboratory experiment. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and regression analyses were performed to analyze the data.FindingsThe study's results suggest that numeric and visual risk communication cues in security notices can significantly increase the amount of fear felt by users. In addition, social distance was found to marginally increase the amount of fear felt by users. However, unlike our expectation, goal framing was not found to increase the amount of fear when the other three types of fear appeal cues were also given in a security notice. It was also found that induced fear can increase the severity and susceptibility of threats as perceived by users.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the literature on fear appeal cues designed to promote users' security protection behaviors. No prior study has designed security notices featuring the four different types of fear appeal cues and empirically tested the effectiveness of those cues in inducing fear among users. The findings suggest that the design of fear appeal cues can be improved by understanding individuals' heuristic processing of risk information, which can be subject to cognitive biases.

Development of drug-delivery systems that allow simultaneous in vivo imaging has gained much interest. We report a novel strategy to encapsulate metal nanoparticles (NPs) within alginate gel for in vivo imaging. The cell lysate of recombinant Escherichia coli strain, expressing Arabidopsis thaliana phytochelatin synthase and Pseudomonas putida metallothionein genes, was encapsulated within the alginate gel. Incubation of alginate gel with metal ion precursors followed by UV irradiation resulted in the synthesis of high concentrations of metal NPs, such as Au, Ag, CdSe, and EuSe NPs, within the gel. The alginate gel with metal NPs was used as a drug-delivery system by further co-encapsulating doxorubicin and rifampicin, the release of which was made to be pH-dependent. This system can be conveniently and safely used for in vitro and in vivo bioimaging, enabled by the metal NPs formed within the gel matrix without using toxic reducing reagents or surfactants.

Influenza viruses can cause epidemics through inter-human transmission, and the social consequences of viral transmission are incalculable. Current diagnostics for virus detection commonly relies on antibodies or nucleic acid as recognition reagent. However, a more advanced and general method for the facile development of new biosensors is increasing in demand. In this study, we report the fabrication of an ultra-sensitive peptide-based nanobiosensor using a nickel oxide (NiO)-reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/MXene nanocomposite to detect active influenza viruses (H1N1 and H5N2) and viral proteins. The sensing mechanism is based on the signal inhibition, the specific interaction between H1N1 (QMGFMTSPKHSV) and H5N1 (GHPHYNNPSLQL) binding peptides anchored on the NiO-rGO/MXene/glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface and the viral surface protein hemagglutinin (HA) is the critical factor for the decrease in the peak current of the sensor. In this strategy, the NiO-rGO/MXene nanocomposite results in synergistic signal effects, including electrical conductivity, porosity, electroactive surface area, and active site availability when viruses are deposited on the electrode. Based on these observations, the results showed that the developed nanobiosensor was capable of highly sensitive and specific detection of their corresponding influenza viruses and viral proteins with a very low detection limit (3.63 nM of H1N1 and 2.39 nM for H5N1, respectively) and good recovery. The findings demonstrate that the proposed NiO-rGO/MXene-based peptide biosensor can provide insights for developing a wide range of clinical screening tools for detecting affected patients.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting supply chain disruption have rekindled crucial needs for safe storage and transportation of essential items. Despite recent advances, existing temperature monitoring technologies for cold chain management fall short in reliability, cost, and flexibility toward customized cold chain management for various products with different required temperature. In this work, we report a novel capsule-based colorimetric temperature monitoring system with precise and readily tunable temperature ranges. Triple emulsion drop-based microfluidic technique enables rapid production of monodisperse microcapsules with an interstitial phase-change oil (PCO) layer with precise control over its dimension and composition. Liquid-solid phase transition of the PCO layer below its freezing point triggers the release of the encapsulated payload yielding drastic change in color, allowing user-friendly visual monitoring in a highly sensitive manner. Simple tuning of the PCO layer's compositions can further broaden the temperature range in a precisely controlled manner. The proposed simple scheme can readily be formulated to detect both temperature rise in the frozen environment and freeze detection as well as multiple temperature monitoring. Combined, these results support a significant step forward for the development of customizable colorimetric monitoring of a broad range of temperatures with precision.

ObjectiveThe mechanisms underlying type 2 diabetes resolution after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) are unclear. We suspected that glucose excretion may occur in the small bowel based on observations in humans. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mechanisms underlying serum glucose excretion in the small intestine and its contribution to glucose homeostasis after bariatric surgery.Design2-Deoxy-2-[18F]-fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) was measured in RYGB-operated or sham-operated obese diabetic rats. Altered glucose metabolism was targeted and RNA sequencing was performed in areas of high or low FDG uptake in the ileum or common limb. Intestinal glucose metabolism and excretion were confirmed using 14C-glucose and FDG. Increased glucose metabolism was evaluated in IEC-18 cells and mouse intestinal organoids. Obese or ob/ob mice were treated with amphiregulin (AREG) to correlate intestinal glycolysis changes with changes in serum glucose homeostasis.ResultsThe AREG/EGFR/mTOR/AKT/GLUT1 signal transduction pathway was activated in areas of increased glycolysis and intestinal glucose excretion in RYGB-operated rats. Intraluminal GLUT1 inhibitor administration offset improved glucose homeostasis in RYGB-operated rats. AREG-induced signal transduction pathway was confirmed using IEC-18 cells and mouse organoids, resulting in a greater capacity for glucose uptake via GLUT1 overexpression and sequestration in apical and basolateral membranes. Systemic and local AREG administration increased GLUT1 expression and small intestinal membrane translocation and prevented hyperglycaemic exacerbation.ConclusionBariatric surgery or AREG administration induces apical and basolateral membrane GLUT1 expression in the small intestinal enterocytes, resulting in increased serum glucose excretion in the gut lumen. Our findings suggest a novel, potentially targetable glucose homeostatic mechanism in the small intestine.

Muscle tissue influences energy and protein metabolism throughout the body. Earlier reports demonstrated that bone morphogenetic protein 11 (BMP11) could inhibit skeleton muscle proliferation and development. However, the role of BMP11 in the fatty acid metabolism of muscle has not been explored. In this study, we investigated the physiological functions of exogenous BMP11 on lipid metabolism in C2C12 cells using recombinant BMP11 (rBMP11). Treatment by rBMP11 inhibits myogenesis while inducing lipid accumulation in C2C12 cells. Moreover, induction of rBMP11 inhibits not only fatty acid uptake by downregulation of the fatty acid transport proteins CD36, FATP1, FATP4, and FABP3 but also suppresses fatty acid oxidation by decreasing the levels of p-HSL, ATGL, ACSL, and CGI-58 via Smad 2/3 pathway. Taken together, BMP11 negatively regulates lipid metabolism in muscle cells, which is an opposite result to that in adipocytes where BMP11 improves metabolic homeostasis. Considering the contrasting roles of BMP11 in adipocytes and muscle cells, BMP11 could be a promising target for pharmacological intervention in the treatment of metabolic diseases.

Compound Luolong Jiangu Capsule (CLJC) is a classic traditional Chinese medicine prescription for patients with osteoporosis. This study explored the potential mechanisms of the protective effects of CLJC on glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis in rats. After oral administration of CLJC for 8 weeks, osteoporosis was induced in the rats by dexamethasone treatment for twice a week. The expression levels of HP, ALP, TRAP, IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1β in bone samples as well as the concentrations of MDA and SOD in serum samples were determined using ELISA reagent kits. Besides, Western blotting was used to assess the expression levels of proteins involved in NF-κB/Nrf-2/HO-1 pathway. Our results showed that oral CLJC noticeably reduced the pathological damage of glucocorticoidinduced osteoporosis, decreased oxidative stress and suppressed the expression of inflammatory cytokines in bone and serum samples. It was also observed that oral administration of CLJC significantly suppressed the protein expression of Nrf-2, HO-1, p65/p-p65 and IkBa/p-IkBa. In conclusion, CLJC can play a protective role in glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis by enhancing the antioxidant system and reducing inflammatory responses.

Dioscorea batatas Decne (DBD) has been used to heal various illnesses of the kidney and intestine as an herbal medicine in Asia. As a source of therapeutic agents, many glycoproteins have been isolated from mushrooms and plants, but the functional role of glycoprotein in intestinal epithelial wound healing has not been understood yet. In the present study, we investigated the wound healing potentials of the 30 kDa glycoprotein (DBD glycoprotein) isolated from DBD in human intestinal epithelial (INT-407) cells. We found that DBD glycoprotein (100 μg·mL-1) significantly increased the motility of INT-407 cells for 24 h by activating protein kinase C (PKC). DBD glycoprotein stimulated the activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), which is responsible for the phosphorylation of NF-κB inhibitor α (IκBα). DBD glycoprotein increased the level of profilin-1 (PFN1), α-actinin and F-actin expression via activation of transcription factor, nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) during its promotion of cell migration. Experimental mouse colitis was induced by adding dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) to the drinking water at a concentration of 4% (W/V) for 7 days. We figured out that administration of DBD glycoprotein (10 and 20 mg·kg-1) lowers the levels of disease activity index and histological inflammation in DSS-treated ICR mice. In this regard, we suggest that DBD glycoprotein has ability to promote the F-actin-related migration signaling events via activation of PKC and NF-κB in intestinal epithelial cells and prevent inflammatory bowel disease.

In nature, individual cells are compartmentalized by a membrane that protects the cellular elements from the surrounding environment while simultaneously equipped with an antioxidant defense system to alleviate the oxidative stress resulting from light, oxygen, moisture, and temperature. However, this mechanism has not been realized in cellular mimics to effectively encapsulate and retain highly reactive antioxidants. Here, we report cell-inspired hydrogel microcapsules with an interstitial oil layer prepared by utilizing triple emulsion drops as templates to achieve enhanced retention of antioxidants. We employ ionic gelation for the hydrogel shell to prevent exposure of the encapsulated antioxidants to free radicals typically generated during photopolymerization. The interstitial oil layer in the microcapsule serves as an stimulus-responsive diffusion barrier, enabling efficient encapsulation and retention of antioxidants by providing an adequate pH microenvironment until osmotic pressure is applied to release the cargo on-demand. Moreover, addition of a lipophilic reducing agent in the oil layer induces a complementary reaction with the antioxidant, similar to the nonenzymatic antioxidant defense system in cells, leading to enhanced retention of the antioxidant activity. Furthermore, we show the complete recovery and even further enhancement in antioxidant activity by lowering the storage temperature, which decreases the oxidation rate while retaining the complementary reaction with the lipophilic reducing agent.