An attempt was made to investigate the removal of high nutrient contents from polluted water. This study focused on the comparisons between nitrogen and phosphorus removal rates by area-based ...calculation and biomass-based calculation using various kinds of aquatic plants (18 emergent and 3 floating plants). Results showed that all floating plants performed maximum nutrient removal rates based on plant weight calculation while most emergent plants performed maximum nutrient removal rates based on planted area calculation. The reason is that the weights of rooted mass by emergent plants are heavier than their shoots, resulting to low nutrient removal efficiencies in terms of their total weight. The study suggests that the planted area and the plant's geometries (such as roots and shoots) should be considered for the effective design in aquatic plant treatment systems.
Atherosclerosis is a major cause of coronary heart disease. As a result of the development of atherosclerotic lesions, the walls of blood vessels become thicker and inhibit blood circulation. ...Atherosclerosis is caused by a high-fat diet and vascular injury. Chronic arterial inflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. In particular, secretion of the pro-atherogenic cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α induces expression of endothelial adhesion molecules including P-selectin, vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), and intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), which mediate attachment of circulating monocytes and lymphocytes. In this study, we examined the anti-atherosclerotic effect of sorghum, which is known to have anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. A 50% ethanol extract of
Sorghum bicolor
L. Moench fermented with
Aspergillus oryzae
NK (
f
SBE) was used for experiments. In vitro expression of endothelial adhesion molecules VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 and pro-inflammatory factor cyclooxygenase-2 was significantly decreased and that of the anti-atherogenic factor heme oxygenase-1 significantly increased by
f
SBE (
P
< 0.05). At the in vivo level, we examined fat droplets of liver tissue, and aortic thickness via histological analysis, and determined the blood lipid profile through chemical analysis.
f
SBE at a dose of 200 mg/kg significantly improved blood and vascular health (
P
< 0.05). Taken together, these results demonstrate that
f
SBE has potential as a therapeutic anti-atherosclerotic agent.
In this study, a marine microalga Spirulina sp.-derived protein was hydrolyzed using gastrointestinal enzymes to produce an angiotensin I (Ang I)-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptide. Following ...consecutive purification, the potent ACE inhibitory peptide was composed of 7 amino acids, Thr-Met‑Glu‑Pro‑Gly‑Lys-Pro (molecular weight, 759 Da). Analysis using the Lineweaver-Burk plot and molecular modeling suggested that the purified peptide acted as a mixed non-competitive inhibitor of ACE. The inhibitory effects of the peptide against the cellular production of vascular dysfunction-related factors induced by Ang II were also investigated. In human endothelial cells, the Ang II-induced production of nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species was inhibited, and the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) was downregulated when the cells were cultured with the purified peptide. Moreover, the peptide blocked the activation of p38 mitogen‑activated protein kinase. These results indicated that this Spirulina sp.-derived peptide warrants further investigation as a potential pharmacological inhibitor of ACE and vascular dysfunction.
Despite scientific evidence regarding laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG) for advanced gastric cancer treatment, its application in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy remains uncertain.
We used ...the 2019 Korean Gastric Cancer Association nationwide survey database to extract data from 489 patients with primary gastric cancer who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. After propensity score matching analysis, we compared the surgical outcomes of 97 patients who underwent LG and 97 patients who underwent open gastrectomy (OG). We investigated the risk factors for postoperative complications using multivariate analysis.
The operative time was significantly shorter in the OG group. Patients in the LG group had significantly less blood loss than those in the OG group. Hospital stay and overall postoperative complications were similar between the two groups. The incidence of Clavien-Dindo grade ≥3 complications in the LG group was comparable with that in the OG group (1.03% vs. 4.12%, P=0.215). No statistically significant difference was observed in the number of harvested lymph nodes between the two groups (38.60 vs. 35.79, P=0.182). Multivariate analysis identified body mass index (odds ratio OR, 1.824; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.029-3.234; P=0.040) and extent of resection (OR, 3.154; 95% CI, 1.084-9.174; P=0.035) as independent risk factors for overall postoperative complications.
Using a large nationwide multicenter survey database, we demonstrated that LG and OG had comparable short-term outcomes in patients with gastric cancer who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Background
The Korean College of Helicobacter and Upper Gastrointestinal Research has studied Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) prevalence since 1998 and found a dynamic change in its prevalence in ...Korea. The aim of this study was to determine the recent H. pylori prevalence rate and compare it with that of previous studies according to socioeconomic variables.
Methods
We planned to enroll 4920 asymptomatic Korean adults from 21 centers according to the population distribution of seven geographic areas (Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Chungcheong, Kyungsang, Cholla, and Jeju). We centrally collected serum and tested H. pylori serum IgG using a chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay.
Results
We analyzed 4917 samples (4917/4920 = 99.9%) from January 2015 to December 2016. After excluding equivocal serologic results, the H. pylori seropositivity rate was 51.0% (2414/4734). We verified a decrease in H. pylori seroprevalence compared with previous studies performed in 1998, 2005, and 2011 (P < .0001). The H. pylori seroprevalence rate differed by area: Cholla (59.5%), Chungcheong (59.2%), Kyungsang (55.1%), Jeju (54.4%), Gangwon (49.1%), Seoul (47.4%), and Gyeonggi (44.6%). The rate was higher in those older than 40 years (38.1% in those aged 30‐39 years and 57.7% in those aged 40‐49 years) and was lower in city residents than in noncity residents at all ages.
Conclusions
Helicobacter pylori seroprevalence in Korea is decreasing and may vary according to population characteristics. This trend should be considered to inform H. pylori‐related policies.
Pinus densiflora Siebold & Zucc. (Pinaceae) needle extracts ameliorate oxidative stress, but research into their anti-inflammatory effects is limited.
To investigate antioxidant and anti-inflammatory ...effects of a Pinus densiflora needles (PINE) ethanol extract in vitro and in vivo.
We measured levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and inflammatory mediators in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells at various PINE concentrations (25, 50 and 100 μg/mL; but 6.25, 12.5 and 25 μg/mL for interleukin-1β and prostaglandin E
2
(PGE
2
)). Thirty ICR mice were randomized to six groups: vehicle, control, PINE pre-treatment (0.1, 0.3 and 1 mg/left ear for 10 min followed by arachidonic acid treatment for 30 min) and dexamethasone. The posttreatment ear thickness and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity were measured.
PINE 100 μg/mL significantly decreased ROS (IC
50
, 70.93 μg/mL, p < 0.01), SOD (IC
50
, 30.99 μg/mL, p < 0.05), malondialdehyde (p < 0.01), nitric oxide (NO) (IC
50
, 27.44 μg/mL, p < 0.01) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (p < 0.05) levels. Interleukin-1β (p < 0.05) and PGE
2
(p < 0.01) release decreased significantly with 25 μg/mL PINE. PINE 1 mg/ear inhibited LPS-stimulated expression of cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible NO synthase in RAW264.7 macrophages and significantly inhibited ear oedema (36.73-15.04% compared to the control, p < 0.01) and MPO activity (167.94-105.59%, p < 0.05).
PINE exerts antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the production of inflammatory mediators. Identified flavonoids such as taxifolin and quercetin glucoside can be attributed to effect of PINE.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
We propose to use cRFP (common Repository of FBS Proteins) in the MS (mass spectrometry) raw data search of cell secretomes. cRFP is a small supplementary sequence list of highly abundant fetal ...bovine serum proteins added to the reference database in use. The aim behind using cRFP is to prevent the contaminant FBS proteins from being misidentified as other proteins in the reference database, just as we would use cRAP (common Repository of Adventitious Proteins) to prevent contaminant proteins present either by accident or through unavoidable contacts from being misidentified as other proteins. We expect it to be widely used in experiments where the proteins are obtained from serum-free media after thorough washing of the cells, or from a complex media such as SILAC, or from extracellular vesicles directly.
Postoperative minimal residual disease (MRD) detection using circulating-tumour DNA (ctDNA) requires a highly sensitive analysis platform. We have developed a tumour-informed, hybrid-capture ctDNA ...sequencing MRD assay.
Personalised target-capture panels for ctDNA detection were designed using individual variants identified in tumour whole-exome sequencing of each patient. MRD status was determined using ultra-high-depth sequencing data of plasma cell-free DNA. The MRD positivity and its association with clinical outcome were analysed in Stage II or III colorectal cancer (CRC).
In 98 CRC patients, personalised panels for ctDNA sequencing were built from tumour data, including a median of 185 variants per patient. In silico simulation showed that increasing the number of target variants increases MRD detection sensitivity in low fractions (<0.01%). At postoperative 3-week, 21.4% of patients were positive for MRD by ctDNA. Postoperative positive MRD was strongly associated with poor disease-free survival (DFS) (adjusted hazard ratio 8.40, 95% confidence interval 3.49-20.2). Patients with a negative conversion of MRD after adjuvant therapy showed significantly better DFS (P < 0.001).
Tumour-informed, hybrid-capture-based ctDNA assay monitoring a large number of patient-specific mutations is a sensitive strategy for MRD detection to predict recurrence in CRC.
Background/Aims: After esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) with biopsy, some patients experience gastrointestinal symptoms. This study investigated the effect of sodium alginate on biopsy-related ...gastrointestinal symptoms.
Methods: In this open-label, randomized, controlled trial, patients undergoing EGD with biopsy were randomly assigned to a treatment or control group. In the treatment group, sodium alginate was orally administered for 3 days after EGD. Patients completed questionnaires about their gastrointestinal symptoms at baseline (past week), the day after returning home, and after another 3 days. Gastrointestinal symptoms, including abdominal pain, epigastric pain/soreness, heartburn, acid reflux, nausea/vomiting, borborygmus, abdominal distension, and belching, were rated using an upper gastrointestinal symptom rating scale (GSRS).
Results: A total of 210 persons (138 men) who underwent EGD with biopsy were enrolled and allocated to the treatment (n=104) or control (n=106) group. At baseline, the demographic factors and GSRS scores were not different between the control and treatment groups. The epigastric pain/soreness score increased in the control group after endoscopic biopsy (+0.056), whereas the score was decreased in the treatment group (-0.067) (p=0.042). In the treatment group, the scores for acid regurgitation and epigastric soreness decreased during follow-up from those at baseline (p<0.05), whereas there were no significant reductions in the control group. The scores for belching and borborygmus decreased during follow-up only in the treatment group. Abdominal bloating decreased in both the control and treatment groups.
Conclusions: Sodium alginate reduced epigastric pain/soreness after EGD with biopsy. Therefore, the prescription of sodium alginate should be considered after endoscopic biopsy. (Gut Liver 2022;16:37-43)
•Methanol extract of Sedum oryzifolium exhibits significant anti-cancerous properties in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cells.•Slug can be a valuable molecular target against tumor invasion of ...OSCC cells.•Methanol extract of Sedum oryzifolium and its constituent, trehalose, can inhibit the migration, invasion, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition of OSCC cells via downregulation of Slug.
Sedum species are reported to possess diverse pharmacological activities in various solid tumors. However, the anticancer functions of Sedum orizyfolium and its constituents have never been determined in human cancers.
The present study focused on addressing the inhibition efficacy of the methanol extract of S. orizyfolium (MESO) and its constituents and the molecular mechanism underlying invasion and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cell lines.
After MESO treatment, a wound-healing assay, an invasion assay, and immunocytochemistry were performed in OSCC cell lines, coupled with in silico analysis and immunohistochemistry in OSCC patient samples, to investigate the role of the EMT transcription factor Slug. Trehalose, an active component of MESO, was identified through gas chromatography–mass spectrometry.
Among the methanol extracts of 18 various wild plants from South Korea, MESO exhibited the highest anticancer functionality in OSCC cells by downregulating Slug expression. In silico analysis and immunohistochemistry indicated that elevated Slug levels are remarkably associated with tumor progression and invasion in patients with OSCC, suggesting that changes in Slug expression alter EMT progression and invasion in OSCC. Notably, treatment with trehalose, a sugar component of MESO, inhibited invasiveness and Slug expression in OSCC cells.
Cumulatively, this study highlighted the beneficial role of MESO and trehalose in the inhibition of invasiveness of OSCC cells via suppression of Slug expression and suggested a new design for potential chemotherapeutic drugs against OSCC.
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