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Infiltration of inflammatory cells

Microbial carboxyl and catechol siderophores have been shown to have natural iron-chelating abilities, suggesting that hyaluronic acid (HA) and the catechol compound, gallic acid (GA), may have iron-coordinating activities. Here, a photoresponsive self-gelling hydrogel that was both injectable and could be applied to the skin was developed on the basis of the abilities of HA and GA to form coordination bonds with ferric ions (Fe3+). The conjugate of HA and GA (HA–GA) instantly formed hydrogels in the presence of ferric ions and showed near-infrared (NIR)-responsive photothermal properties. Following their subcutaneous injection into mice, HA–GA and ferric ion formed a hydrogel, which remained at the injection site for at least 8 days. Intratumoral injection of HA-GA/Fe hydrogel into mice allowed repeated exposure of the tumor to NIR irradiation. This repeated NIR irradiation resulted in complete tumor ablation in KB carcinoma cell–xenografted mice and suppressed lung metastasis of 4T1-Luc orthotopic breast tumors. Application of HA-GA/Fe hydrogel to the skin of A375 melanoma-xenografted tumor sites, followed by NIR irradiation, also resulted in complete tumor ablation. These findings demonstrate that single applications of HA–GA/Fe hydrogel have photothermal anticancer effects against both solid tumors and skin cancers.Significance:These findings provide new insights into noninvasive anticancer phototherapy using self-gelling hydrogels. Application of these hydrogels in preclinical models reduces the sizes of solid tumors and skin cancers without surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy.

Self-gelling of HA-GA/Fe hydrogel

PurposeThis study aims to understand the benefits and challenges associated with the adoption of a blockchain-based identity management system in public services by conducting an academic literature review, and to explore the design of such a system that can be applied to the Korean government.Design/methodology/approachThis study explores the adoption of a blockchain-based identity management system using a literature review and an actual design case intended for use by the government sector.FindingsBlockchain-based identity management systems can significantly improve transparency, accountability, and reliability in the user control of one's own data while reducing the time and cost needed to deliver public services, as well as increasing administrative efficiency. However, it is not always easy to implement such systems, and introducing new technologies in the government field requires a complicated, time-consuming process. There is currently an appetite for research extending beyond the typical technology-driven approach to elucidate the government adoption of new technologies and explore its implications.Practical implicationsThe idea behind this system is that by storing and managing personal information on the blockchain and providing mobile apps to customers, users can log in or retrieve previously authenticated personal information without having to go through an authentication process. Since users do not need to go through the verification process every time, it is expected that they will be able to access only the necessary personal information more quickly and conveniently without having to deal with unnecessary details. In addition, the blockchain-based operation of a public service effectively increases the transparency and reliability of that service and reduces the social costs caused by personal information leakage.Originality/valueThis study introduces the design of a blockchain-based identity management system that can be used in public services, specifically in the Korean government sector for the first time. Along with a literature review, the implications that this study gleans from these real-world use cases can contribute to this field of research.

Periodontal diseases have been associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases. Accumulating evidences have indicated that Porphyromonas gingivalis , a major periodontopathic pathogen, plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. In the present study, we demonstrated that P. gingivalis lipopolysaccharide (LPS) increases the mRNA and protein expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in rat vascular smooth muscle cells. We showed that the MMP-9 expression induced by P. gingivalis LPS is mediated by the activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in vascular smooth muscle cells. Furthermore, the inhibition of STAT3 activity reduced P. gingivalis LPS-induced migration of vascular smooth muscle cells. Overall, our findings indicate that P. gingivalis LPS stimulates the migration of vascular smooth muscle cells via STAT3-mediated MMP-9 expression.

Mixed metal oxide (MMO) is one of the widely utilized ceramic materials in various industries. In order to obtain high performance, the specific surface area of MMO should be controlled. Calcination of layered double hydroxide (LDH) is a versatile way to prepare MMO with homogeneous metal distribution and well-developed porosity. Although researchers found that the specific surface area of LDH-originated MMO was relatively high, it had not been systematically investigated how the surface area is controlled under a certain parameter. In this review, we summarized LDH-originated MMO with various starting composition, calcination temperature, and pore developing agent in terms of specific surface area and porosity. Briefly, it was represented that MMOs with Mg-Al components generally had higher specific surface area than Mg-Fe or Zn-Al components. Calcination temperature in the range 300–600 °C resulted in the high specific surface area, while upper or lower temperature reduced the values. Pore developing agent did not result in dramatic increase in MMO; however, the pore size distribution became narrower in the presence of pore developing agents.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Here, we report a tannic acid-Fe3+ coordination complex coating that confers magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) theranostic properties to inert nanomaterials. Boron nitride nanosheets (BNS), which lack magnetic field and light responsiveness, were used as a model nonfunctional nanomaterial. Among various catechol derivatives tested (i.e., dopamine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, gallic acid, and tannic acid), a coating of tannic acid-Fe3+ coordination complex provided the highest magnetic field relaxivity and near infrared (NIR) laser light responsiveness. An in vitro study showed that KB tumor cells treated with tannic acid-Fe3+ coordination complex adsorbed on BNS (TA-Fe/BNS) exhibited higher T1-weighted magnetic resonance contrast compared with plain BNS, and BNS coated with tannic acid or Fe alone. NIR irradiation at 808 nm caused a significant increase in KB tumor cell death after treatment with TA-Fe/BNS compared with other treatments. In vivo MRI imaging revealed tumor accumulation of intravenously administered TA-Fe/BNS. Guided by MRI information, application of focused laser irradiation onto tumor tissues resulted in complete tumor ablation. These results support the potential of TA-Fe/BNS for MRI theranostics. Moreover, this study suggests the wide applicability of TA-Fe noncovalent coating as biocompatible and facile tool for converting nonfunctional early-generation nanomaterials into functional new nanomaterials, opening new opportunities for their use in translational biomedical applications such as MRI theranostics.

For applications involving sodium-ion capacitor (SIC) with high energy and high power, it is necessary to develop cathode materials with high operating voltage, high capacity, and excellent cyclic stability. Prussian blue and its analogs are considered promising candidates for cathode materials owing to their high energy and high stability resulting from their open framework structure. We demonstrate that the Prussian blue-graphene oxide composite (PBGO) can be applied to SIC as a battery-type cathode. PBGO is synthesized by a single-step decomposition method and has a morphology in which graphene oxide covered Prussian blue, which has a uniform cubic structure. PBGO exhibit a high capacity of 165 mAh g-1 at 20 mA g-1, as well as 68 mAh g-1 at a high current density of 4 A g-1. The SIC is fabricated using PBGO as the cathode materials and activated carbon (AC) as a capacitor-type anode, and it exhibit a high specific energy density of 65.3 Wh kg-1 and a superior capacity retention of 78.8% after 10,000 cycles. The use of battery-type cathodes presents a promising strategy for developing SIC with high energy and long lifespan.

Fold, Hexagonal presents the impossibility of entering into the language of others and suggests the ways in which such an exclusion can open up a space of imagination around words. This space of imagination includes the visual and bodily experiences of language as well as the physical space that writing occupies. The “Hexagonal” of the title alludes to the infinite hexagonal rooms featured in Jorge Luis Borges's short story “The Library of Babel” and also evokes an open-ended linguistic space. The project features hexagonal forms staged on folded, lined paper, reflected and fragmented by multiple mirrors that alter their directions and dimensions and suggest the ruin of Borges's library. Sentences describing the folding, reflecting, and refracting of lines, diagonals, squares, rectangles and hexagons are written with English letters forced into squares designed for Korean syllabic blocks. These form grammatically correct but scarcely legible forms whose process of inscription slows the apprehension of their meaning. What Walter Benjamin calls “pure language” is imagined here through a process of translation that is always a becoming, a translation that follows the unending continuation of a fold.

Universities engage in entrepreneurship education to increase social value creation, through students' new opportunities recognition. However, there are not enough of empirical researches on whether the current entrepreneurship education can be differentiated from other curriculum to improve the opportunity recognition process. This study argues that it is very important for cognitive abilities to be manifested as behavior when students in university are new opportunities recognition. For this purpose, the relationship between problem solving ability, innovation behavior, and opportunity perception was verified empirically. This study was conducted on 203 students who took entrepreneurship education courses at Korean universities. The results of this study showed that problem solving ability positively influenced innovation behavior and opportunity perception. Innovation behavior was identified as a key parameter that partially mediated the relationship between problem solving ability and innovation behavior. The implication of this study is to prove the relationship between individual 's problem - solving ability considering the characteristics of education in Korea and the opportunity through innovative behavior and various learning strategies to help entrepreneurship education to design better courses for the future It has important implications for strategic pedagogy that can enhance behavioral elements in development.

People use social media to help them solve problems and enhance performance. Users may engage in diverse social interactions online, increasing their knowledge base through both weak and strong tie...

The purpose of this study is to examine the decision-making process for responsible tourism (RT) using a theoretical framework of the Model of Goal-directed Behavior (MGB). Because ethics is essential to protect the natural environment, respect the local culture, and benefit local communities that are significantly important for RT, this study also investigates the role of perceived ethics in the decision-making processes of responsible tourists by incorporating the three ethics into the original MGB. A quota sampling method was employed based on gender, age, and residential district, and the data were analyzed using a partial least squares-structural equation modeling approach. Results suggest that perceived ethics (economic, socio-cultural, and environmental concerns) has a significant effect on attitudes toward, desire for, and behavioral intention to participate in RT. Subjective norms and anticipated emotions have significant impacts on the desire for RT, and perceived behavioral control over RT also influences both desire and behavioral intention. In particular, desire is an important antecedent in predicting behavioral intention of responsible tourists. This study contributes to extending knowledge of responsible tourist behavior and identifies the significant role of perceived ethics in RT. Further, this study provides managerial implications to RT stakeholders (e.g., locals, tourism businesses, tourists).

Smart devices such as smart phone play an important role in networked environments as connecting to other network devices and Internet Things. Smart phone combines the features of cell phone and a personal computer operating system. And it has become one of vital elements for modern people and society. However, smartphone has drawbacks like spam and security. Globally, people are exposed to spam call that they receive promotion calls from twice to dozens of times a day, spam call and voice phishing due to hacking and personal information leak in the internet environment. This phenomenon can cause personal stress, anxiety due to phone bank fraud, waste of time for receiving spam call, disturbance during work, criminal and the other serious social problems. In the present study, Humming Call system has been studied and developed to provide the measurement for evaluation and activation of service to prevent spam call in advance as a solution for the aforementioned problem. Hamming call is a service which receives information to help call through differentiation from existing service related to anti-spam system from DB (Internal DB) and Server. Then it provides the information for incoming call and outgoing call. To measure the actual performance by utilizing the system of this present study, DB has used CUBRID DBMS for 6 months and data stored in DB have been extracted through SQL Statement. The results indicate that this system prevents such problem for over 30%. If main function among various functions of this system is specialized and developed focusing on management of spam call from phone number, the system would perform more effectively.

Pentraxin-3 (PTX3) is recognized as a modulator of inflammation and a mediator of tissue repair. In this study, we characterized the role of PTX3 on some biological functions of human dental pulp stem cells (HDPSCs). The expression level of PTX3 significantly increased during osteogenic/odontogenic differentiation of HDPSCs, whereas the knockdown of PTX3 decreased this differentiation. Silencing of PTX3 in HDPSCs inhibited their migration and C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) expression. Our present study indicates that PTX3 is involved in osteogenic/odontogenic differentiation and migration of HDPSCs, and may contribute to the therapeutic potential of HDPSCs for regeneration and repair.

Microbial carboxyl and catechol siderophores have been shown to have natural iron-chelating abilities, suggesting that hyaluronic acid (HA) and the catechol compound, gallic acid (GA), may have iron-coordinating activities. Here, a photoresponsive self-gelling hydrogel that was both injectable and could be applied to the skin was developed on the basis of the abilities of HA and GA to form coordination bonds with ferric ions (Fe3+). The conjugate of HA and GA (HA–GA) instantly formed hydrogels in the presence of ferric ions and showed near-infrared (NIR)-responsive photothermal properties. Following their subcutaneous injection into mice, HA–GA and ferric ion formed a hydrogel, which remained at the injection site for at least 8 days. Intratumoral injection of HA-GA/Fe hydrogel into mice allowed repeated exposure of the tumor to NIR irradiation. This repeated NIR irradiation resulted in complete tumor ablation in KB carcinoma cell–xenografted mice and suppressed lung metastasis of 4T1-Luc orthotopic breast tumors. Application of HA-GA/Fe hydrogel to the skin of A375 melanoma-xenografted tumor sites, followed by NIR irradiation, also resulted in complete tumor ablation. These findings demonstrate that single applications of HA–GA/Fe hydrogel have photothermal anticancer effects against both solid tumors and skin cancers. Significance: These findings provide new insights into noninvasive anticancer phototherapy using self-gelling hydrogels. Application of these hydrogels in preclinical models reduces the sizes of solid tumors and skin cancers without surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy.

Lipid-based carriers, including liposomes and emulsions, have been studied as antigen delivery systems to improve humoral and cellular immune responses. Lipid-based delivery systems have been tailored based on the physicochemical properties of antigens and administration routes. Non-covalent encapsulation or chemical conjugation of antigens onto the surface of nanocarriers has been reported to load high amounts of antigen, protect antigens from degradation, and enhance cellular uptake by immune cells. Moreover, active targeting to antigen-presenting cells can be achieved through surface modification of lipid-based nanostructures. Antigens, which include proteins, peptides and nucleic acids, have been delivered by appropriate lipid-based delivery systems, and antigen-loaded lipid nanoparticles have been shown to cause greater immune responses compared with naked antigens. For in vivo applications, both invasive and non-invasive routes have been adopted for vaccination with antigen-loaded lipid nanocarriers. In this review, we address recent progress, current status, and clinical applications of lipid-based antigen delivery systems.

Purpose: Many studies have investigated the impact of prosthetic treatment on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). However, most of these have been performed among fully or partially edentulous patients. Studies involving patients with a single missing tooth are limited. The purpose of this study was to compare the OHRQoL between patients treated by single-tooth implants and three-unit fixed partial dentures (FPDs) for single missing tooth restoration. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Korea with patients drawn by stratified purposive sampling based on age. OHRQoL was measured using the Korean version of the 14-item Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14K) questionnaire. Pre- and posttreatment OHIP-14K scores were compared by paired t test. Single-tooth implants and three-unit FPDs were compared by two-sample t test. In addition, multiple regression analysis was used to evaluate the impact of treatment mode on OHIP-14K total score after adjusting the effect of demographics and clinical factors. Results: Thirty-five patients with single-tooth implants and 36 patients with three-unit FPDs were included. All participants had a significant improvement in OHRQoL compared with before the treatment (P < .0001). However, there was no statistically significant difference in the change of OHIP-14K score between the two treatment modes. In addition, the treatment mode had no significant impact on the change of OHIP-14K total score after adjusting the influence of covariates (P = .170). Conclusion: Both single-tooth implants and three-unit FPDs for single missing tooth replacement resulted in significant and similar improvement of OHRQoL.

Background For understanding and evaluating a more realistic and accurate assessment of ecosystem carbon balance related with environmental change or difference, it is necessary to analyze the various interrelationships between soil respiration and environmental factors. However, the soil temperature is mainly used for gap filling and estimation of soil respiration (Rs) under environmental change. Under the fact that changes in precipitation patterns due to climate change are expected, the effects of soil moisture content (SMC) on soil respiration have not been well studied relative to soil temperature. In this study, we attempt to analyze relationship between precipitation and soil respiration in temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest for 2 years in Gwangneung. Results The average soil temperature (Ts) measured at a depth of 5 cm during the full study period was 12.0 °C. The minimum value for monthly Ts was − 0.4 °C in February 2015 and 2.0 °C in January 2016. The maximum monthly Ts was 23.6 °C in August in both years. In 2015, annual precipitation was 823.4 mm and it was 1003.8 mm in 2016. The amount of precipitation increased by 21.9% in 2016 compared to 2015, but in 2015, it rained for 8 days more than in 2016. In 2015, the pattern of low precipitation was continuously shown, and there was a long dry period as well as a period of concentrated precipitation in 2016. 473.7 mm of precipitation, which accounted for about 51.8% of the precipitation during study period, was concentrated during summer (June to August) in 2016. The maximum values of daily Rs in both years were observed on the day when precipitation of 20 mm or more. From this, the maximum Rs value in 2015 was 784.3 mg CO2 m−2 h−1 in July when 26.8 mm of daily precipitation was measured. The maximum was 913.6 mg CO2 m−2 h−1 in August in 2016, when 23.8 mm of daily precipitation was measured. Rs on a rainy day was 1.5~1.6 times higher than it without precipitation. Consequently, the annual Rs in 2016 was about 12% higher than it was in 2015. It was shown a result of a 14% increase in summer precipitation from 2015. Conclusions In this study, it was concluded that the precipitation pattern has a great effect on soil respiration. We confirmed that short-term but intense precipitation suppressed soil respiration due to a rapid increase in soil moisture, while sustained and adequate precipitation activated Rs. In especially, it is very important role on Rs in potential activating period such as summer high temperature season. Therefore, the accuracy of the calculated values by functional equation can be improved by considering the precipitation in addition to the soil temperature applied as the main factor for long-term prediction of soil respiration. In addition to this, we believe that the accuracy can be further improved by introducing an estimation equation based on seasonal temperature and soil moisture.

This study was carried out to provide a basis for the development of a safety manual for kitchen accident prevention by identifying the safety situation and awareness through risk assessment of kitchen areas. The study was conducted in two phases. First, kitchen accidents and area risk assessment were investigated from February 2014 to September 2014, after which safety awareness of hospital foodservice employees was assessed in a survey. The results of this study were as followes. All of the respondents were women. The evaluation point of kitchen area risk assessment was reduced by 14%. After improvement, an initial score of 108 points decreased to 93 points. The number of accidents was also reduced by 78%; 14 accidents were decreased to three. The most common area of accidents was the kitchen area (58.8%), and burns was the most common accident (35.3%). Most of the employees deemed “enough staff” as the most major factor for good foodservice. “High indoor temperature and poor ventilation in the kitchen area” was chos-en as the most common problem in the foodservice workplace. Taken together, our study quantitatively evaluated safety issues in hospital foodservice kitchen areas and provides a basis for the development of a safety manual for kitchen accident prevention.Key words : safety accidents, hospital foodservice employee, kitchen area risk assessment

Here, we designed biomimetic DNA nanoballs for delivery of multiple antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs). DNA templates with ASOs-complementary sequences were amplified by rolling circle amplification (RCA). RCA products were loaded with two types of ASOs by hybridization, condensed using adenovirus-derived Mu peptide, and coated with hyaluronic acid (HA) for delivery into CD44-overexpressing tumor cells. HA-coated, Mu peptide-condensed, dual ASO-loaded DNA nanoballs (HMA nanoballs) showed considerable cellular entry of Cy5-incorporated RCA product DNA and fluorescent ASOs, whereas Mu peptide-condensed, dual ASO-loaded DNA nanoballs (MA nanoballs) revealed limited uptake. Dual ASOs, Dz13 and OGX-427, delivered by HMA nanoballs could reduce the levels of protein targets and exert anticancer effects. Enhanced tumor distribution was observed for fluorescent HMA nanoballs than the corresponding MA nanoballs. Upon intravenous co-administration with doxorubicin, HMA nanoballs exerted the greatest anti-tumor effects among the groups. These results suggest HMA nanoballs as a nanoplatform for sequence-specific delivery of multiple ASOs and other functional oligonucleotides.

Social media platforms are an indispensable part of entrepreneurship practices. They offer entrepreneurs a platform for business growth and brand development. However, little is known about the effect of social media use on identifying entrepreneurial opportunities. Utilizing social cognition theory, this research focuses on how certain factors—prior knowledge, alertness, and social media—may impact two aspects of opportunity: the discovery and the creation of entrepreneurial opportunity. This study focuses on the investigation of the moderating role of social media use on entrepreneurial opportunities. The findings have important practical and academic implications for how social media impacts entrepreneurship and can be used to increase the ability of entrepreneurs to find new opportunities.

As the fourth industrial revolution has been emerging, there are concerns of labor forces being replaced by technology, recent interest on the work-life balance, and the quality of employment has received attention. This study investigates the role of technology startups on employment and innovative performance. Using empirical data from workplace panel data provided by the Korea Labor Institute, this study reveals that technology startups impact the employment quality and innovative performance by the action of technological innovation. The results highlight the quality of employment as a driver for innovative performance in technology startups. The results of this study will provide practical implications for enhancing technology entrepreneurship.

Despite the progress of conventional vaccines, improvements are clearly required due to concerns about the weak immunogenicity of these vaccines, intrinsic instability in vivo, toxicity, and the need for multiple administrations. To overcome such problems, nanotechnology platforms have recently been incorporated into vaccine development. Nanocarrier-based delivery systems offer an opportunity to enhance the humoral and cellular immune responses. This advantage is attributable to the nanoscale particle size, which facilitates uptake by phagocytic cells, the gut-associated lymphoid tissue, and the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue, leading to efficient antigen recognition and presentation. Modifying the surfaces of nanocarriers with a variety of targeting moieties permits the delivery of antigens to specific cell surface receptors, thereby stimulating specific and selective immune responses. In this review, we introduce recent advances in nanocarrier-based vaccine delivery systems, with a focus on the types of carriers, including liposomes, emulsions, polymer-based particles, and carbon-based nanomaterials. We describe the remaining challenges and possible breakthroughs, including the development of needle-free nanotechnologies and a fundamental understanding of the in vivo behavior and stability of the nanocarriers in nanotechnology-based delivery systems.

Graphene-based nanosheets (GNS) are atomic-thickness monolayers of hexagonally arranged, graphite-derived carbon atoms that may be composed of graphene, graphene oxide, or reduced graphene oxide. They have attracted tremendous interest for their potential in pharmaceutical applications, due to their unique physical, chemical, and mechanical properties GNS exhibit highly uniform surface areas and may have hydroxyl (-OH), epoxide (-O-), and carboxyl functional groups at their basal surfaces and plane edges, depending on their oxidized and reduced surface properties. GNS show high-level optical absorption of near infrared (NIR) light and elevate the temperature of nearby environments. Furthermore, they can be loaded with anticancer drugs via hydrophobic interactions, π-π stacking, or electrostatic binding. Given these properties, GNS can be used in chemotherapy, photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy, and theranostics. However, although GNS appear to have far-reaching potential in the field of biomedical research, their widespread pharmaceutical application has been limited by issues such as poor stability in physiological buffers, undefined mechanisms of cellular uptake, toxicity problems, and a lack of standard preparation methods. Here, we review the current pharmaceutical applications of GNS, focusing on chemotherapy, phototherapy, combo therapy and theranostic applications with challenging issues.

Nucleic acid-based bioactive substances have recently emerged as a new class of next-generation therapeutics, but their development has been limited by their relatively weak delivery into target cells. Cationic liposomes have been studied as a means to enhance the stability of nucleic acid therapeutics in the bloodstream and improve their cellular delivery. As nucleic acid therapeutics, siRNA and plasmid DNA have been extensively tested for delivery using cationic liposomes. This review discusses recent progress in the application of cationic liposomes for the delivery of nucleic acid therapeutics.