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The increased use of plastics has led to severe environmental pollution, particularly by microplastics—plastic particles 5 mm or less in diameter. These particles are formed by environmental factors such as weathering and ultraviolet irradiation, thereby making environmental pollution worse. This environmental pollution intensifies human exposure to microplastics via food chains. Despite potential negative effects, few toxicity assessments on microplastics are available. In this study, two sizes of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) microplastics, approximately 5 μm and 10–50 μm, were manufactured and used for single and four-week repeated toxicity and pharmacokinetic studies. Toxicological effects were comprehensively evaluated with clinical signs, body weight, food and water consumption, necropsy findings, and histopathological and clinical-pathological examinations. Blood collected at 15, 30 60, and 120 min after a single administration of microplastics were analyzed by Raman spectroscopy. In the toxicity evaluation of single and four-week repeated oral administration of PTFE microplastics, no toxic changes were observed. Therefore, the lethal dose 50 (LD50) and no-observed-adverse-effect-level (NOAEL) of PTFE microplastics in ICR mice were established as 2000 mg/kg or more. PTFE microplastics were not detected in blood, so pharmacokinetic parameters could not be calculated. This study provides new insight into the long-term toxicity and pharmacokinetics of PTFE microplastics.

Currently, polypropylene (PP) is used in various products, thus leading to high daily exposure in humans. Thus, it is necessary to evaluate the toxicological effects, biodistribution, and accumulation of PP microplastics in the human body. In this study, administration of two particle sizes of PP microplastics (approximately 5 and 10–50 µm) did not lead to any significant changes in several toxicological evaluation parameters, including body weight and pathological examination, compared with the control group in ICR mice. Therefore, the approximate lethal dose and no-observed-adverse-effect level of PP microplastics in ICR mice were established as ≥2000 mg/kg. Furthermore, we manufactured cyanine 5.5 carboxylic acid (Cy5.5-COOH)-labeled fragmented PP microplastics to monitor real-time in vivo biodistribution. After oral administration of the Cy5.5-COOH-labeled microplastics to the mice, most of the PP microplastics were detected in the gastrointestinal tract and observed to be out of the body after 24 h in IVIS Spectrum CT. Therefore, this study provides a new insight into the short-term toxicity, distribution, and accumulation of PP microplastics in mammals.

The production, use, and waste of plastics increased worldwide, which resulted in environmental pollution and a growing public health problem. In particular, microplastics have the potential to accumulate in humans and mammals through the food chain. However, the toxicity of microplastics is not well understood. In this study, we investigated the toxicity of 10–50 μm polyethylene microplastics following single- and 28-day repeated oral administration (three different doses of microplastics of 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg/day) in ICR mice. For the investigation, we administered the microplastics orally for single- and 28-day repeated. Then, the histological and clinical pathology evaluations of the rodents were performed to evaluation of the toxicity test, and Raman spectroscopy was used to directly confirm the presence of polyethylene microplastics. In the single oral dose toxicity experiments, there were no changes in body weight and necropsy of the microplastics-treated group compared with that of controls. However, a histopathological evaluation revealed that inflammation from foreign bodies was evident in the lung tissue from the 28-day repeated oral dose toxicity group. Moreover, polyethylene microplastics were detected in the lung, stomach, duodenum, ileum, and serum by Raman spectroscopy. Our results corroborated the findings of lung inflammation after repeated oral administration of polyethylene microplastics. This study provides evidence of microplastic-induced toxicity following repeated exposure to mice.

Chronic allergic inflammatory skin disease—atopic dermatitis (AD)—is characterized by eczema, pruritus, xeroderma, and lichenification. Psychological stress is one cause of this disease; however, psychological stress will also result from the presence of AD symptoms. Previous studies have shown that psychological stress triggers neuroinflammation in the brain, where microRNAs (miRNAs) in the neuronal exosomes (nEVs) were analyzed to identify the composition of the miRNAs in the nEVs and how they were altered by AD. In this study, the AD model was induced by treatment with 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB). The expression patterns of neuroinflammation markers, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor, cyclooxygenase-2, and glial fibrillary acidic protein, were subsequently evaluated over time. Among these groups, there was a significant difference in DNCB 14 days expression compared with the control; therefore, nEVs were isolated from serum and next-generation sequencing was performed. The results demonstrate that 9 miRNAs were upregulated and 16 were downregulated in the DNCB 14 days compared with the control. Previous studies have shown that some of these miRNAs are associated with stress and stress-induced depression, which suggests that the miRNAs in nEVs may also be stress-related biomarkers.

We designed and fabricated silicon positive-intrinsic-negative (PIN) photodiodes coupled with a scintillator for radiation detection. The photodiodes were fabricated on an n-type double-sided polished silicon wafer with a diameter of 6-in., a high resistivity ( orientation. To increase the quantum efficiency (QE) of the photodiode, an anti-reflection coating (ARC) was provided on the side where light entered. It is difficult to realize an ARC with an uniform thickness in the sensor fabrication process. The effect of changes in the ARC thickness on the QE of the fabricated sensors was studied in detail. We measured the electrical characteristics and compared their quantum efficiencies as a function of the incident light wavelength for the photodiodes with different ARC thicknesses. In this paper, we present the design of the photodiodes and their measured electrical characteristics and photo-responses for different ARC thicknesses. From measurements of the wavelength-dependent QE, we determined the refractive index of the ARC layer to be 2.25 ± 0.15. The ARC layer improved the QE up to 56% and 63% at the wavelengths of 550 and 475 nm, which correspond to the wavelengths of the scintillation light from CsI(Tl) and CdWO4, respectively.

Background and objective: Stem cell (SC) therapy exhibits promising therapeutic efficiency against cardiovascular disease. The thymus adipose tissue (TAT) is familiar to cardiac surgeons with sternotomy; however, the application of TAT in SC therapy remains unknown. We assessed the effectiveness of TAT-derived mesenchymal SCs (TAT-MSCs) in the rat myocardial infarction (MI) model. Methods: The human TATs were obtained from the patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery. In cell studies, we performed the cumulative population doubling level assessment, fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis, and differentiation study. In animal studies, we segregated Sprague–Dawley rats (ischemia-reperfusion model) into three (sham, vehicle, and TAT-MSC) groups based on their corresponding treatment. Trans-thoracic echocardiogram (TTE) was obtained to assess the recovery of heart function in the 1st, 4th, 8th, and 12th week after surgical manipulations. After echocardiographic study, infarcted area of the heart was measured using triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) stain. Results: The sham group exhibited significantly better systolic and diastolic function (SDF) than the other groups did. After one week of TAT-MSC or vehicle injection, the TAT-MSC group exhibited a significant improvement in the E/E′ value (25.75 ± 1.09 vs. 24.20 ± 0.91, p

Stress is the physical and psychological tension felt by an individual while adapting to difficult situations. Stress is known to alter the expression of stress hormones and cause neuroinflammation in the brain. In this study, miRNAs in serum-derived neuronal exosomes (nEVs) were analyzed to determine whether differentially expressed miRNAs could be used as biomarkers of acute stress. Specifically, acute severe stress was induced in Sprague-Dawley rats via electric foot-shock treatment. In this acute severe-stress model, time-dependent changes in the expression levels of stress hormones and neuroinflammation-related markers were analyzed. In addition, nEVs were isolated from the serum of control mice and stressed mice at various time points to determine when brain damage was most prominent, this was found to be 7 days after foot shock. Next-generation sequencing was performed to compare neuronal exosomal miRNA at day 7 with the neuronal exosomal miRNA of the control group. From this analysis, 13 upregulated and 11 downregulated miRNAs were detected. These results show that specific miRNAs are differentially expressed in nEVs from an acute severe-stress animal model. Thus, this study provides novel insights into potential stress-related biomarkers.

Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSCs) release extracellular vesicles such as exosomes, apoptotic bodies, and microparticles. In particular, exosomes are formed inside cells via multivesicular bodies (MVBs), thus their protein, DNA, and RNA content are similar to those of the parent cells. Exosome research is rapidly expanding, with an increase in the number of related publications observed in recent years, therefore, the function and application of MSC-derived exosomes could emerge as cell-free therapeutics. Exosomes have been isolated from feline AD-MSCs and feline fibroblast cell culture media using ultracentrifugation. Feline exosomes have been characterized by FACS, nanoparticle tracking analysis, and transmission electron microscopy imaging. Moreover, cytokine levels were detected by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in exosomes and LPS-induced THP-1 macrophages. The size of the isolated exosomes was that of a typical exosome, i.e., approximately 150 nm, and they expressed tetraspanins CD9 and CD81. The anti-inflammatory factor IL-10 was increased in feline AD-MSC-derived exosomes. However, pro-inflammatory factors such as IL-1β, IL-8, IL-2, RANTES, and IFN-gamma were significantly decreased in feline AD-MSC-derived exosomes. This was the first demonstration that feline AD-MSC-derived exosomes enhance the inflammatory suppressive effects and have potential for the treatment of immune diseases or as an inflammation-inhibition therapy.

Fluorescent imaging agents with biocompatibility and high sensitivity are urgently required for the accurate detection of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs). Herein, we report the design of a novel quinoline-based fluorescent probe, designated KSNP117, which can be applied as a biomedical imaging agent in the sensitive and quantitative detection of SLNs. KSNP117 exerted no adverse effects on the proliferation of ovary and immune cells and also showed excellent serum stability with photo-brightening effects. In vivo fluorescent imaging revealed the accumulation of KSNP117 in the SLNs of nude mice within 10 min post injection, without in vivo toxicity, which was consistent with the findings of ex vivo imaging. These results support the potential of KSNP117 as a promising lymphatic tracer for biomedical imaging applications.

Simple Summary In this study, we confirmed the changes in hearing function and inner ear structure over a long period of time in DBA/2 mice, a laboratory animal model suitable for studying hearing loss. We believe that our study is the first to report findings regarding hearing function and structural changes in DBA/2 mice aged ≥34 weeks. These results are of significance for researchers and the scientific community using laboratory animal models. Abstract DBA/2 mice are a well-known animal model for hearing loss developed due to intrinsic properties of these animals. However, results on the phenotype of hearing loss in DBA/2 mice have been mainly reported at an early stage in mice aged ≤7 weeks. Instead, the present study evaluated the hearing ability at 5, 13, and 34 weeks of age using DBA/2korl mice. Auditory brainstem response test was performed at 8–32 KHz at 5, 13, and 34 weeks of age, and hearing loss was confirmed to be induced in a time-dependent manner. In addition, histopathological evaluation at the same age confirmed the morphological damage of the cochlea. The findings presented herein are the results of the long-term observation of the phenotype of hearing loss in DBA/2 mice and can be useful in studies related to aging-dependent hearing loss.

Despite the increasing clinical importance of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), little is known about its underlying pathogenesis or specific treatment. The senescence marker protein 30 (SMP30), which regulates the biosynthesis of vitamin C (VC) in many mammals, except primates and humans, was recently recognized as a gluconolactonase. However, the precise relation between VC and lipid metabolism in NAFLD is not completely understood. Therefore, this study aimed to clearly reveal the role of VC in NAFLD progression. SMP30 knockout (KO) mice were used as a VC-deficient mouse model. To investigate the precise role of VC on lipid metabolism, 13- to 15-week-old SMP30 KO mice and wild-type mice fed a 60% high-fat diet were exposed to tap water or VC-containing water (1.5 g/L) ad libitum for 11 weeks. Primary mouse hepatocytes isolated from the SMP30 KO and wild-type mice were used to demonstrate the relation between VC and lipid metabolism in hepatocytes. Long-term VC deficiency significantly suppressed the progression of simple steatosis. The high-fat diet-fed VC-deficient SMP30 KO mice exhibited impaired sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c activation because of excessive cholesterol accumulation in hepatocytes. Long-term VC deficiency inhibits de novo lipogenesis through impaired sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c activation.

The kainic acid-induced seizure mouse model is widely used in epilepsy research. In this study, we applied kainic acid to the subcutaneous injections of three different sources of DBA/2 mice to compare and evaluate the seizure response. The three mouse sources consisted of DBA/2Kor1 (Korea FDA source), DBA/2A (USA source), and DBA/2 (Japan source), and were purchased from different vendors. To compare the responses of DBA/2 mice to kainic acid injections, we examined the survival rate, seizure phenotype scoring, and behavioral changes. We also evaluated brain lesions using histopathological analysis. Following the administration of kainic acid, almost half of the cohort survived, and the seizure phenotype displayed a moderate level of sensitivity (2 ~ 4 out of 6). In the histopathologic analysis, there was no change in morphological features, and levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba-1) increased in the kainic acid-treated groups. However, there was no difference in the neuronal nuclei (NeuN) expression level. All the data showed that the responses in the kainic acid-treated group were similar across the three strains. In conclusion, our results suggest that the three sources of DBA/2 mice (DBA/2Kor1, DBA/2A, and DBA/2B) have similar pathological responses to kainic acid-induced seizures.

The incidence of myocardial infarction, among the causes of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, is increasing globally. In this study, left ventricular (LV) dysfunction, including LV systolic and diastolic function, was investigated in a rat myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury model with echocardiography. The homoisoflavanone sappanone A is known for its anti-inflammatory effects. Using echocardiography, we found that sappanone A administration significantly improved LV systolic and diastolic function in a rat myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury model, especially in the early phase development of myocardial infarction. Based on myocardial infarct size, serum cardiac marker assay, and histopathological evaluation, sappanone A showed higher efficacy at the doses used in our experiments than curcumin and was evaluated for its potential to improve LV function.

Study design Experimental study. Purpose To determine whether epidural fat (EF) tissue contains mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). Overview of literature Spine surgeons are unaware of the contents of EF tissue and the reason for its presence between the ligamentum flavum and the dura mater; therefore, EF tissues are routinely eliminated during surgical procedures. However, EF removal causes certain postoperative problems, such as post-laminectomy syndrome. We hypothesized that the EF tissue may play a significant supportive role for the neural structures and other nearby conditions. Methods EF tissues were obtained from consenting patients (n=3) during posterior decompression surgery of the lumbar spine. The primary cells were isolated and cultured as per previously described methods with some modifications, and the cell morphology and cumulation were examined. Thereafter, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), a fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis, and differentiation potency for differentiation into osteoblasts, chondroblasts, and adipocytes were investigated to identify whether the cells derived from EF are MSC. Results The cells from the EF tissue had a fibroblast or neuron-like morphology that persisted until the senescence at p18. MSCspecific genes, such as OCT4, SOX2, KLF4, MYC, and GAPDH were expressed in the RT-PCR study, while MSC-specific surface markers such as CD105, CD90, and CD73 were exhibited in the FACS analysis. The differentiation properties of EF-MSC for differentiation into the three types of cells (osteoblast, chondroblast, and adipocyte) were also confirmed. Conclusions Based on the cell culture, FACS analysis, RT-PCR analysis, and differentiation potent outcomes, all the features of the cells corresponded to MSC. This is the first study to identify EF-MSC derived from the EF tissue.

In previous studies, the increasing clinical importance of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been recognized. However, the specific therapeutic strategies or drugs have not been discovered. Vitamin C is a water-soluble antioxidant and is a cofactor in many important biosynthesis pathways. Recently, many researchers have reported that the mega-dose vitamin C treatment had positive effects on various diseases. However, the precise relationship between mega-dose vitamin C and NAFLD has not been completely elucidated. This study has been designed to discover the effects of mega-dose vitamin C on the progression of NAFLD. Twelve-week-old wild-type C57BL6 mice were fed chow diets and high-fat and high-fructose diet (fast-food diet) ad libitum for 11 weeks with or without of vitamin C treatment. Vitamin C was administered in the drinking water (1.5 g/L). In this study, 11 weeks of the mega-dose vitamin C treatment significantly suppressed the development of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) independently of the catabolic process. Vitamin C supplements in fast-food diet fed mice significantly decreased diet ingestion and increased water intake. Histopathological analysis revealed that the mice fed a fast-food diet with vitamin C water had a mild renal injury suggesting osmotic nephrosis due to fructose-mediated purine derivatives. These data suggest that the mega-dose vitamin C treatment suppresses high-fructose-diet-mediated NAFLD progression by decreasing diet ingestion and increasing water intake.

In this study, we manufactured silicon PIN photodiodes coupled with a scintillator for X-ray detection in cargo inspections. The classification of photodiodes is made based on their depletion characteristics into two categories: fully depleted (FD) sensor and non-fully depleted (NFD) sensor. We manufactured the photodiodes on an n-type silicon wafer of diameter 6-in., a high resistivity ( > 5 k Ω cm ) and low resistivity ( > 100 Ω cm ) for the FD and NFD sensors, respectively. The light entrance windows for the scintillation light were designed on the ohmic and junction sides of the FD and NFD sensors, respectively. Since the NFD sensor is not fully depleted, it can be operated at a lower bias voltage, and therefore has a lower leakage current. We measured the electrical characteristics, quantum efficiencies, and energy resolutions of the fabricated FD and NFD photodiodes coupled with or without a CsI(Tl) crystal using alpha particles from a 241Am radioactive source. We present results of the comparison between the FD and NFD sensors.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a life-threatening condition that leads to permanent disability with partial or complete loss of motor, sensory, and autonomic functions. SCI is usually caused by initial mechanical insult, followed by a cascade of several neuroinflammation and structural changes. For ameliorating the neuroinflammatory cascades, MSC has been regarded as a therapeutic agent. The animal SCI research has demonstrated that MSC can be a valuable therapeutic agent with several growth factors and cytokines that may induce anti-inflammatory and regenerative effects. However, the therapeutic efficacy of MSCs in animal SCI models is inconsistent, and the optimal method of MSCs remains debatable. Moreover, there are several limitations to developing these therapeutic agents for humans. Therefore, identifying novel agents for regenerative medicine is necessary. Extracellular vesicles are a novel source for regenerative medicine; they possess nucleic acids, functional proteins, and bioactive lipids and perform various functions, including damaged tissue repair, immune response regulation, and reduction of inflammation. MSC-derived exosomes have advantages over MSCs, including small dimensions, low immunogenicity, and no need for additional procedures for culture expansion or delivery. Certain studies have demonstrated that MSC-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes, exhibit outstanding chondroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects. Therefore, we reviewed the principles and patho-mechanisms and summarized the research outcomes of MSCs and MSC-derived EVs for SCI, reported to date.

An increased incidence of myocardial infarction (MI) has recently emerged as the cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality worldwide. In this study, cardiac function was investigated in a rat myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) model using echocardiography. Metformin administration significantly increased ejection fraction and fractional shortening values on Days 3 and 7 when MI occurred, indicating that metformin improved left ventricular systolic function. In the Sham + MET and MI + MET groups, the E&rsquo, value was significantly different up to Day 3 but not at Day 7. This may mean that left ventricular diastolic function was effectively restored to some extent by Day 7 when metformin was administered. These results suggest that diastolic dysfunction, assessed by echocardiography, does not recover in the early phase of ischemic reperfusion injury in the rat myocardial I/R model. However, administering metformin resulted in recovery in the early phase of ischemic reperfusion injury in this model. Further gene expression profiling of left ventricle tissues revealed that the metformin-treated group had notably attenuated immune and inflammatory profiles. To sum up, a rat myocardial I/R injury model and ultrasound-based assessment of left ventricular systolic and diastolic function can be used in translational research and for the development of new heart failure-related drugs, in addition to evaluating the potential of metformin to improve left ventricular (LV) diastolic function.

The photoelectric absorption of gamma rays in silicon occurs with such low probability that scintillation material is employed in the photostrip detector. We fabricate single-sided photostrip sensors which are sensitive to visible light. Two photodetectors in a photon counting mode are optically coupled with the scintillator with a sandwich structure. The photostrip sensors have 128 strips, a 200 μ m strip pitch and a size of 3 . 8 × 2 . 8 cm 2 . Sensor signals are read by a 128-channel VA1TA3 readout chip. A CsI(Tl) crystal is then optically combined to measure both of depths of interaction (DOI) and 2-D images, while the position of the LED are varied. We also performed a simulation of gamma ray irradiation at different locations inside the scintillator using the GEANT4 Monte Carlo simulation tool. We measured the 2-D position of incoming light with two photostrip sensors, and also measured the DOI and 2-D position of scintillating light by placing a scintillator between the photostrip sensors. The DOI measurement results and the GEANT4 simulation results were compared.

Botulinum-toxin A (BoNT/A) is a widely used not only for cosmetics but also for various experimental purposes including muscle-related research. In this study, we applied BoNT/A to mouse muscle of three different sources to compare and evaluate the biological and pathological response. The three different mouse sources consist of Korl:ICR (Korea FDA source), A:ICR (USA source) and B:ICR (Japan source) which were purchased from each different vendors. To compare the responses of ICR mice with BoNT/A muscle injection, we examined the body weight, hematological and serum biochemistry analysis. Also, we evaluated the muscle change by histopathological analysis and gene expression patterns of muscle-related target by qPCR. The body weight gain was decreased in the BoNT/A-treated group compared with the control group. In clinical pathologic analysis and gene expression patterns, the data showed that the responses in the BoNT/A-treated group were similar compared with the control group. Decreased muscle fiber was observed in BoNT/A-treated group compared with control group, while Korl:ICR showed a little low response with the other mouse sources. In conclusion, our results suggest that three different sources ICR mice (Korl:ICR, A:ICR and B:ICR) have a similar biological and pathological responses in BoNT/A muscle injection.

Hepatic fibrosis is a common liver disease caused by excessive collagen deposition in the liver. Since liver transplantation is the only current treatment for cirrhosis with worsened fibrosis, a new strategy to develop anti-fibrosis drugs with no adverse effects is necessary. In recent studies, amino acids have been applied as a type of therapy in various fields. l -serine plays a major role in antioxidant production via the maintenance of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate hydride production in the mitochondria. l -serine may reduce fibrotic lesions in a mouse model of chronic liver injury. This study used 27 six-week-old C57BL/6 mice and injected them three times a week for eight weeks with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) (1.5 mg/kg, 10% v/v CCl4 in olive oil) to create a hepatic fibrosis mouse model. The mice, which weighed approximately 20–30 g, were randomly classified into four groups: 1) the olive oil group, which received intraperitoneal injection of olive oil (1.5 mg/kg, 3 times per week for 8 weeks); 2) the CCl4-only group; 3) the CCl4 + losartan (10 mg/kg, PO, 5 days on, weekend off for 8 weeks) group; and 4) the CCl4 + l -serine (100 g/L, free access for 8 weeks) group. Hematoxylin and eosin staining and Masson's trichrome staining showed reduced inflammatory cell deposition and collagen deposition in the liver tissue in the l -serine supplemented group. l -serine was found to reduce the spread of hepatic fibrosis and has potential use in clinical settings. Based on these histopathological observations, l -serine is a potential anti-fibrosis drug.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are generated and secreted by cells into the circulatory system. Stem cell-derived EVs have a therapeutic effect similar to that of stem cells and are considered an alternative method for cell therapy. Accordingly, research on the characteristics of EVs is emerging. EVs were isolated from human epidural fat-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and human fibroblast culture media by ultracentrifugation. The characterization of EVs involved the typical evaluation of cluster of differentiation (CD antigens) marker expression by fluorescence-activated cell sorting, size analysis with dynamic laser scattering, and morphology analysis with transmission electron microscopy. Lastly, the secreted levels of cytokines and chemokines in EVs were determined by a cytokine assay. The isolated EVs had a typical size of approximately 30–200 nm, and the surface proteins CD9 and CD81 were expressed on human epidural fat MSCs and human fibroblast cells. The secreted levels of cytokines and chemokines were compared between human epidural fat MSC-derived EVs and human fibroblast-derived EVs. Human epidural fat MSC-derived EVs showed anti-inflammatory effects and promoted macrophage polarization. In this study, we demonstrated for the first time that human epidural fat MSC-derived EVs exhibit inflammatory suppressive potency relative to human fibroblast-derived EVs, which may be useful for the treatment of inflammation-related diseases.

We fabricated a pixelated silicon sensor with a junction field effect transistor (JFET) on a 650 μ m thick, high-resistivity ( > 5 k Ω ⋅ cm) n-type double-sided polished 6-in. silicon wafer using a double-sided fabrication process. The JFET, which had a cylindrical structure, acted as a switch to read out charges accumulated in the pixelated sensor. We investigated the electrical characteristics of the pixelated sensor, which had a size of 100 μ m × 100 μ m . We also measured the drain current as a function of the drain voltage for different gate voltages to examine the switching performance of the JFET and optimized the design parameters of the pixelated sensor for the proper functioning of the switch. Furthermore, the pixelated sensor’s responses under illumination by a light-emitting diode and X-rays were measured. The electrical characteristics and responses of the pixelated sensors are presented in this paper.

Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid) is well known as a free radical scavenger that protects cells against damage from oxidative stress. Herein, we investigated the effects of vitamin C against diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced hepatotoxicity. Male wild-type (C57BL/6) and senescence marker protein-30 (Smp30) knockout (KO) mice were used and divided in the following four groups: WT group (n=15): Wild-type (WT) mice fed vitamin C-free diet with tap water; WV group (n=14): WT mice fed vitamin C-free diet with water supplemented with 1.5 g/kg vitamin C; KT group (n=12): Smp30 KO mice fed vitamin C-free diet with tap water; and KV group (n=13): Smp30 KO mice fed vitamin C-free diet with water supplemented with 1.5 g/kg vitamin C. A single intraperitoneal injection of DEN (5 mg/kg body weight) was injected in the second week during the experimental period. Mice were sacrificed after 17 weeks of treatment to investigate the effect of dietary vitamin C on DEN-induced hepatotoxicity. The results showed that vitamin C significantly increased the mean lifespan (p

Capsosiphon fulvescens (green seaweed) and Hizikia fusiforme (brown seaweed) are marine algae consumed as food supplements, especially in Japan, China and Korea, and are considered traditional medicinal tonics for certain ailments. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible inhibitory effects of dietary C. fulvescens and H. fusiforme on azoxymethane (AOM)-induced colorectal cancer (CRC) in rats. F344 male rats (5 weeks, 150 g) were divided into six groups as follows. Group 1: Injected with normal saline solution and fed control diet (untreated control). Group 2: Injected with AOM and fed control diet (treated control). Group 3: Injected with AOM and fed 1% C. fulvescens diet. Group 4: Injected with AOM and fed 2% C. fulvescens diet. Group 5: Injected with AOM and fed 2% H. fusiforme diet. Group 6: Injected with AOM and fed 6% H. fusiforme diet. Test animals received subcutaneous injections of AOM (15 mg/1 ml/kg body weight) once a week for 2 weeks to induce aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in treated control and experimental groups. We evaluated the effects of dietary C. fulvescens and H. fusiforme at two different dose levels: 1 and 2% C. fulvescens, and 2 and 6% H. fusiforme, on colonic carcinogenesis by AOM in rats. Our results suggest that body weights were not significantly different amongst groups. We found that feeding C. fulvescens and H. fusiforme with a control diet significantly (p