Abstract
To increase mechanical strength of porous ceramics, here, an effective two‐step sintering (TSS) technique capable of producing highly porous alumina with enhanced mechanical strength is ...suggested. Based on the sintering theories, here, a significantly lower activation energy for densification at low temperature region allowed a beneficial temperature range for the TSS to be deduced. With a specific TSS regime (
T
1
= 1550°C and
T
2
= 1400°C), significantly higher compressive strength levels (8.00–15.24 MPa) were measured with an apparent porosity of 56.49% compared to conventional sintering (1.03–1.86 MPa) with similar apparent porosity of 57.84%. Specifically, another TSS regime (
T
1
= 1550°C and
T
2
= 1380°C) left submicron‐sized open pores within the lamellar walls, providing a hierarchical porous structure with enhanced mechanical strength. An evaluation of the mechanical stability by a finite element analysis indicated outstanding compressive strength even with small pores in the lamella walls.
SMURF2 is a member of the HECT family of E3 ubiquitin ligases that have important roles as a negative regulator of transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β) signaling through ubiquitin‐mediated ...degradation of TGF‐β receptor I. However, the regulatory mechanism of SMURF2 is largely unknown. In this study, we identified that micro(mi)R‐195 and miR‐497 putatively target SMURF2 using several target prediction databases. Both miR‐195 and miR‐497 bind to the 3′‐UTR of the SMURF2 mRNA and inhibit SMURF2 expression. Furthermore, miR‐195 and miR‐497 regulate SMURF2‐dependent TβRI ubiquitination and cause the activation of the TGF‐β signaling pathway in lung cancer cells. Upregulation of miR‐195 and miR‐497 significantly reduced cell viability and colony formation through the activation of TGF‐β signaling. Interestingly, miR‐195 and miR‐497 also reduced the invasion ability of lung cancer cells when cells were treated with TGF‐β1. Subsequent in vivo studies in xenograft nude mice model revealed that miR‐195 and miR‐497 repress tumor growth. These findings demonstrate that miR‐195 and miR‐497 act as a tumor suppressor by suppressing ubiquitination‐mediated degradation of TGF‐β receptors through SMURF2, and suggest that miR‐195 and miR‐497 are potential therapeutic targets for lung cancer.
We demonstrated that ectopic expression of miR‐195 and miR‐497 by mimics suppressed TβR1 ubiquitination and degradation through the repression of SMURF2. These results suggest that the reduction of SMURF2 gene expression by miR‐195 or miR‐497, which results in activation of transforming growth factor‐β signaling, has an important role in inhibiting lung cancer.
Collagen hydrolysate is a well-known nutritional supplement for the improvement of healthy skin. Here, collagen peptide NS (CPNS) from fish scale was prepared, and its physicochemical properties were ...investigated. Gly-Pro was revealed as a representative low molecular weight peptide of CPNS, by performing prep-HPLC and LC-MS/MS. CPNS treatment attenuated matrix metalloproteinase-1 production and increased the synthesis of type 1 procollagen in HDF cells. After orally administering CPNS to rats, the plasma concentrations of Gly-Pro and Pro-Hyp increased dramatically. To examine the protective effects of CPNS against ultraviolet B (UVB)-induced photoaging in vivo, the dorsal skins of hairless mice were exposed to UVB and supplemented with CPNS for 12 weeks. The CPNS consumption significantly attenuated UVB-induced wrinkle formation, transepidermal water loss, and epidermis thickness, and increased skin hydration. Collectively, these results suggest that bioactive peptides of CPNS, Gly-Pro and Pro-Hyp, exert beneficial effects on skin health.
Low molecular weight collagen peptides, Gly-Pro and Pro-Hyp, effectively prevent skin aging.
Abstract
BACKGROUND
The safety of PipelineTM Embolization Device (PED; Medtronic Inc, Dublin, Ireland) in posterior circulation aneurysms is still controversial.
OBJECTIVE
To study complications ...associated with the treatment of posterior circulation aneurysms by conducting a subgroup analysis from the International Retrospective Study of PED registry.
METHODS
Data from 91 consecutive patients with 95 posterior circulation aneurysms at 17 centers between July 2008 to February 2013 were analyzed. The primary endpoint was defined as any complication leading to neurological morbidity or death. The outcome predictors were calculated using Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression methods.
RESULTS
The mean aneurysm size was 13.8 mm. Aneurysm types were saccular (36.8%), fusiform (29.5%), dissecting (28.4%), and others (5.3%). The median follow-up was 21.1 mo. Twelve (13.2%) patients encountered a primary endpoint event. In multivariate analysis for the primary endpoint, use of ≥3 PEDs and fusiform shape compared with other shapes had hazard ratios (HRs) of 7.77 (95% confidence interval CI, 2.48-25.86; P = .0007) and 3.48 (95% CI, 1.06-13.39; P = .0488), respectively. The multivariate HR of aneurysm size for neurological morbidity after PED implantation was 1.11 (95% CI, 1.04-1.18; P = .0015), and HRs of ruptured aneurysm and age for neurological mortality were 8.1 (95% CI, 1.31-41.26; P = .0197) and 1.07 (95% CI, 1.02-1.15; P = .0262), respectively. Basilar artery aneurysm had an HR of 3.54 (95% CI, 1.12-14.18, P = .0529) in the univariate analysis for major outcomes.
CONCLUSION
PED implantation may be considered for the treatment of posterior circulation aneurysms, especially of saccular or dissecting type. Our major complications appear to be comparable to those reported previously after clipping and coiling in the literature. Neurointerventionists should consider the shape, size, rupture, and location of complex posterior circulation aneurysms as well as age and PED number before the PED placement.
•Tourists’ preference is explored in the context of tour-based mode choice.•Tour-based stated preference choice experiments are designed for MaaS in tourism.•Differences of tourists' choice behavior ...between a trip and a tour are exhibited.•Trip sequence and interaction between modes have influence on tourists’ preferences.
This study explores a tourists’ preference for tour mode bundle, defined as a set of preferable travel modes for multiple trips in a tour, under Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS). In the context of tourism, MaaS could improve transportation sustainability by providing integrated information about sustainable transportation modes. To develop a systematic understanding of tourists’ preference for tour mode bundle, we design a tour-based stated preference (SP) choice experiment based on bundle configuration of travel modes in MaaS including a shared van as a paratransit mode in combination with the existing bus and taxi services. A web-based SP survey is conducted for 331 individuals who visited Jeju Island in Korea. Two mixed logit models are estimated to reveal differences between the trip- and tour-based mode choice situations. The estimation results reveal that the trip sequence significantly influences the preference for travel mode in a tour mode bundle, which has significant cross effects with individual and travel context attributes. A shared van is the most preferred in both a trip and a tour. Persistence to using the same mode and synergy of using different modes are captured through significant cross effects of sequence-specific travel modes in a tour mode bundle. Based on these findings that can only be identified through tour-based choice situations, MaaS can be more effectively designed in tourism.
Three-dimensional particle tracking velocimetry (3D-PTV) technique is widely used to acquire the complicated trajectories of particles and flow fields. It is known that the accuracy of 3D-PTV depends ...on the mapping function to reconstruct three-dimensional particles locations. The mapping function becomes more complicated if the number of cameras is increased and there is a liquid–vapor interface, which crucially affect the total computation time. In this paper, using a shallow neural network model, we dramatically decrease the computation time with a high accuracy to successfully reconstruct the three-dimensional particle positions, which can be used for real-time particle detection for 3D-PTV. The developed technique is verified by numerical simulations and applied to measure a complex solutal Marangoni flow patterns inside a binary mixture droplet.
Graphic abstract
Under dark conditions, we systematically study on antibacterial mechanism of ZnO nanoparticles and found that the antimicrobial activity of ZnO nanoparticles results from the attachment of ZnO to ...bacterial cell walls and subsequent release of Zn2+ ions to the bacterial cytoplasm.
Display omitted
To evaluate the antibacterial activity of zinc oxide (ZnO) in the absence of a light source, we examined three different types of nanoparticles that vary in size and the number of oxygen defect sites. Colony forming units (CFU) and various microscopic investigations revealed that the antibacterial activity of ZnO nanoparticles under dark conditions was not related to reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and nanoparticles transfection, but depended on the ZnO attachment to bacterial cell walls and increasing concentrations of Zn2+ ions in the bacterial cytoplasm due to local dissolution of the attached ZnO.
Objective
This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and safety values of activated clotting time (ACT)–guided systemic heparinization in reducing periprocedural thrombosis and bleeding ...complications during coil embolization of unruptured intracranial aneurysms.
Methods
A total of 228 procedures performed on 213 patients between 2016 and 2021 were included in the retrospective analysis. The target ACT was set at 250 s. Logistic regression was performed to assess predictors for the occurrence of thrombosis and bleeding. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were employed to determine the optimal cut-off values for ACT, heparinization, and procedure time.
Results
Most (85.1%) of procedures were stent-assisted embolization. The mean baseline ACT was 128.8 ± 45.7 s. The mean ACT at 20 min after the initial intravenous heparin loading of 78.2 ± 18.8 IU/kg was 185 ± 46.4 s. The mean peak ACT was 255.6 ± 63.8 s with 51.3% (117 cases) achieving the target ACT level. Peak ACT was associated with symptomatic thrombosis (OR per second, 1.008; 95% CI, 1.000–1.016;
P
= 0.035) (cut-off value, 275 s; area under ROC (AUROC), 0.7624). Total administered heparin dose per body weight was negatively associated with symptomatic thrombosis (OR per IU/kg, 0.972; 95% CI, 0.949–0995;
P
= 0.018) (cut-off value, 294 IU/kg; AUROC, 0.7426) but positively associated with significant bleeding (OR, 1.008 per IU/kg; 95% CI, 1.005–1.012;
P
<0 .001) (cut-off value, 242 IU/kg; AUROC, 0.7391). Procedure time was significantly associated with symptomatic thrombosis (OR per minute, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.017–1.084;
P
value = 0.002) (cut-off value, 158 min; area under ROC, 0.8338).
Conclusion
This study demonstrated that ACT-guided systemic heparinization was feasible to achieve the target ACT value and proposes probable safety thresholds to prevent periprocedural complications through reducing procedure time during coil embolization of unruptured intracranial aneurysms in the stent era.
Background
Incidence, prevalence, and long-term survival outcomes in patients with moyamoya angiopathy (MMA) according to stroke presentation type and age group have not been clearly elucidated.
...Methods
We investigated mortality in patients with MMA (moyamoya disease, probable moyamoya disease, moyamoya syndrome) of whose International Classification Disease 10 code was I67.5 from 2006 to 2015 using the Korean National Health Insurance database. MMA at diagnosis was classified into 3 types (ischemic, hemorrhagic, and asymptomatic or else) according to stroke presentation. Survival analysis was performed according to stroke presentation type and age group (< 15 years and ≥ 15 years) using the Kaplan–Meier method.
Results
There were 12,146 newly diagnosed moyamoya cases, with a female-to-male ratio of 1.81; the ischemic type was identified in 3671 (30.2%) patients, the hemorrhagic type in 2449 (20.2%) patients, and the asymptomatic or else type in 6026 (49.6%) patients. The mean age at diagnosis according to stroke presentation was 33.1 (± 14.8) years in asymptomatic or else type, 41.2 (± 17.3) years in ischemic type, and 45.4 (± 14.3) years in hemorrhagic type (
P
< 0.001). The 10-year survival rates in ischemic-, hemorrhagic-, and asymptomatic or else-type patients were 88.9%, 76.3%, and 94.3%, respectively (log-rank test;
P
< 0.001). Pediatric MMA (< 15 years) and adult MMA (≥ 15 years) showed different survival curves according to stroke presentation type (log-rank test;
P
= 0.017,
P
< 0.001, respectively).
Conclusions
Our study showed that moyamoya patients had different diagnosis ages and distinct survival courses according to stroke presentation type. Adult moyamoya patients with hemorrhagic presentation had the worst survival outcomes.
The triplicate A2 variant is one of several common anomalies of the anterior cerebral artery. An anterior communicating artery aneurysm with triplicate A2 variant in close proximity to the aneurysm ...neck is challenging to treat due to potential unilateral/bilateral corpus callosum or parietal lobe infarction. Alternate simultaneous bilateral carotid angiography can differentiate triplicate A2 branches through time-difference alternate injection of contrast into the carotid arteries bilaterally, which can enhance anatomic understanding of complex anterior communicating artery aneurysms during complex endovascular treatment. In this case, a complex aneurysm with an associated triplicate A2 variant was treated successfully with Y-stent−assisted coil embolization using alternate simultaneous bilateral carotid angiography.
PDF
