The nutria, (Myocastor coypus), is a semiaquatic rodent native to the subtropical and temperate regions of South America. The species was introduced to South Korea for meat and fur production ...purposes and a wild population has become established. The species subsequently invaded aquatic ecosystems and destroyed aquatic vegetation and cultivated crops. Thus, it is essential to understand their current distribution and future range expansion for effective control and eradication strategies to reduce the risk of colonization into new regions. In this study, we used niche modeling procedure to identify potentially suitable habitats for M. coypus under current and future predicted climate change using the maximum entropy algorithm. We found that the main habitat area of M. coypus is expected to expand under a warming climate from ~ 4069 km
in the southern and southeastern regions of South Korea, to the northern border of the country, with estimated ranges of 21,744 km
, 55,859 km
, and 64,937 km
by 2030, 2050, and 2070, respectively. The findings of the present study assist in identifying the future distribution and potential dispersion routes of M. coypus in South Korea, which is important for informing the government regarding essential management actions plans at regional and local scales.
Melatonin suppresses tumor development. However, the exact relationship between melatonin and cancer stem cells (CSCs) is poorly understood. This study found that melatonin inhibits colon CSCs by ...regulating the PrPC‐Oct4 axis. In specimens from patients with colorectal cancer, the expressions of cellular prion protein (PrPC) and Oct4 were significantly correlated with metastasis and tumor stages. Co‐treatment with 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) and melatonin inhibited the stem cell markers Oct4, Nanog, Sox2, and ALDH1A1 by downregulating PrPC. In this way, tumor growth, proliferation, and tumor‐mediated angiogenesis were suppressed. In colorectal CSCs, PRNP overexpression protects Oct4 against inhibition by 5‐FU and melatonin. In contrast, Nanog, Sox2, and ALDH1A1 have no such protection. These results indicate that PrPC directly regulates Oct4, whereas it indirectly regulates Nanog, Sox2, and ALDH1A1. Taken together, our findings suggest that co‐treatment with anticancer drug and melatonin is a potential therapy for colorectal cancer. Furthermore, PrPC maintains cancer stemness during tumor progression. Therefore, targeting the PrPC‐Oct4 axis may prove instrumental in colorectal cancer therapy.
•We present density weighted support vector data description (DW-SVDD).•DW-SVDD improves classification accuracy by introducing density weight into the SVDD.•Density weight is relative density of ...each data points using the k-nearest neighbor (k-NN) approach.•DW-SVDD prioritizes data points in high-density regions by applying density weight into the search of description of SVDD.•Experimental results demonstrated that the DW-SVDD improved the classification accuracy.
One-class classification (OCC) has received a lot of attention because of its usefulness in the absence of statistically-representative non-target data. In this situation, the objective of OCC is to find the optimal description of the target data in order to better identify outlier or non-target data. An example of OCC, support vector data description (SVDD) is widely used for its flexible description boundaries without the need to make assumptions regarding data distribution. By mapping the target dataset into high-dimensional space, SVDD finds the spherical description boundary for the target data. In this process, SVDD considers only the kernel-based distance between each data point and the spherical description, not the density distribution of the data. Therefore, it may happen that data points in high-density regions are not included in the description, decreasing classification performance. To solve this problem, we propose a new SVDD introducing the notion of density weight, which is the relative density of each data point based on the density distribution of the target data using the k-nearest neighbor (k-NN) approach. Incorporating the new weight into the search for an optimal description using SVDD, this new method prioritizes data points in high-density regions, and eventually the optimal description shifts to these regions. We demonstrate the improved performance of the new SVDD by using various datasets from the UCI repository.
Emerging data indicate that interferon‐induced transmembrane protein 1 (IFITM1) plays an important role in many cancers. However, it remains unclear whether IFITM1 is functionally indispensable in ...nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Here, using NSCLC cell lines and patient‐derived samples, we show that IFITM1 is essentially required for the progression of NSCLC in vitro and in vivo. Specifically, IFITM1 depletion resulted in a significant reduction in sphere formation, migration, and invasion of NSCLC cells in vitro; these events were inversely correlated with the ectopic expression of IFITM1. In addition, tumor development was significantly impaired in the absence of IFITM1 in vivo. Mechanistically, epidermal growth factor receptor/sex‐determining region Y‐box 2 (EGFR/SOX2) signaling axis was compromised in the absence of IFITM1, and the ectopic expression of SOX2 partially rescued the defects caused by IFITM1 depletion. More importantly, using 226 patient‐derived samples, we demonstrate that a high level of IFITM1 expression is associated with a poor overall survival (OS) rate in adenocarcinoma but not in squamous cell carcinoma. Collectively, these data suggest that IFITM1 is a poor prognostic marker of adenocarcinoma and an attractive target to develop novel therapeutics for NSCLC.
What's new?
Interferon response genes play key roles in pathogen defense but emerging evidence also link them with cancer. The authors report that interferon‐induced transmembrane protein 1 (IFITM1) critically regulates epidermal growth factor receptor‐mediated signaling in nonsmall lung cancer models and is associated with a poor prognosis of patients with adenocarcinoma. This expands the function of this innate defense factor and might lead to improved clinical management of individuals afflicted with lung cancer.
Subsurface VOC monitoring has been mainly based on manual sampling, transport, and analysis, which would require a sufficient amount of samples to ensure data accuracy and reliability, and additional ...costs to ensure sample quality. Therefore, a continuous on-site monitoring system is desirable for accurate measurement and subsequent risk assessment. In this study, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) were continuously monitored by the system based on a thermal desorber (TD) and gas chromatography (GC) in an oil-contaminated site that consisted of saturated and unsaturated zones. For the saturated zone, fully automated groundwater sampling and purging processes were performed, and the gasified samples were applied to the TD-GC system. For the unsaturated zone, the gaseous sample in the site was directly applied to the TD-GC system. After verifying the accuracy and precision of the monitoring system, the continuous monitoring system was successfully operated for more than a month in the field. The monitoring system used in this study is applicable to other sites for continuous monitoring, thus providing a scientific background for advanced risk assessment and policy development.
HJURP is a key factor for CENP-A deposition and maintenance in centromeres. The role of mis-regulation of histone chaperones in cancer initiation and progression has been studied. However, its role ...in colorectal cancer is still unclear. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the expression of HJURP in 162 colorectal cancer tissue. To investigate the function of HJURP in the colorectal cancer cell, we suppressed HJURP expression by siRNA and confirmed proliferation, migration, invasion, and anchorage independent of colony forming ability. The association between HJURP expression levels and clinicopathological factors was evaluated in 162 CRC tissues using immunohistochemistry. The overall survival rate in patients of HJURP high expression was higher than those in HJURP low expression in CRC. Suppressing HJURP expression decreased cellular proliferation, invasion, and migration in four CRC cell lines: HT29, HCT116, SW480, SW620 in vitro study. Our findings revealed that the knockdown of HJURP suppressed the proliferation, migration, invasion, and tumorigenicity in CRC cells. Due to its strong association with CRC, HJURP could be a potential prognostic biomarker and a novel target for drug discovery.
Cancer is a major disease and the leading cause of death worldwide, with colorectal cancer (CRC) being the third-most common cancer in Korea. The survival rate associated with CRC reduces as the ...disease stage increases. Therefore, its early detection and treatment can greatly increase patient survival rates. In this study, we identified the tetraspanin 5 (
) gene as an important biomarker for predicting the prognosis of patients with CRC. A TMA slide was used for statistical analysis. pN and clinical stage were found to be significant factors according to chi-square analysis, whereas pT, pN, metastasis, clinical stage, and TSPAN5 expression were significant according to Cox regression analysis. In order to prove the usefulness of TSPAN5, which is overexpressed in patients with metastatic CRC, as a biomarker, proliferation, migration, invasion, and tumorigenicity were examined using cell lines inhibited using small interfering RNA. The evaluations confirmed that
suppression, in turn, suppressed proliferation, migration, invasion, and tumorigenesis, which are characteristic of cancer cells. Therefore, the evaluation of TSPAN5 expression may help observe the prognosis of CRC and determine an appropriate treatment method for patients with CRC.
Antibacterial films have gained attention since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, the impact of metals contained in antibacterial films on human safety have not been sufficiently ...investigated. This study reports on the important features that must be considered when assessing the bioaccessibility of Ag, Cu, and Zn in antibacterial films. Specifically, the effects of the artificial sweat component (i.e., amino acid and pH), surface weathering of antibacterial films, wipe sampling, and sebum were carefully examined. Our findings suggest that amino acids greatly affect bioaccessibility as amino acids act as ligands to facilitate metal ion leaching. In addition, constant exposure to ultraviolet C causes the film surface to oxidize, which significantly increases metal bioaccessibility due to the electrostatic repulsion between metal oxides and organic substrates. The presence of sebum in artificial sweat and physical damage to the film surface had no significant effects. Furthermore, the wipe sampling used to mimic the realistic dermal contact suggests the feasibility of applying this method for the assessment of bioaccessibility of metals in antibacterial films. The method offers significant advantages for evaluating the human safety aspects of skin contact with consumer products in future research.
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•Effect of artificial sweat components on dermal metal bioaccessibility was tested.•Amino acids facilitated metal leaching.•The presence of sebum and surface deterioration had no effect on bioaccessibility.•Surface oxidation caused by UVC exposure significantly changed bioaccessibility.•Wipe sampling is feasible to realistically assess bioaccessibility.
Climate simulation is often used for evaluation of the sustainability of a species in global scale but not applicable for our study because the global data is too coarse to be used in small and ...fragmented habitat areas. We examined a weather forecasting model for the habitat analysis of the endangered species of the Korean long-tailed goral (Naemorhedus caudatus raddeanus). The weather research forecasting (WRF) model is implemented to downscale global climate data for a small fragmented habitat of the goral. The coordinates of goral fecal samples were collected during winter 2005 and summer 2006 using GPS and the goral habitat was set with the elevations of fecal samples mostly found. The atmospheric parameters of the habitat were then simulated by WRF and defined as the atmospheric signature of the goral suitable habitat. A series of temperature changes was then projected for the period from 2010s to 2090s to evaluate the change of the habitat for summer (June) and winter (December) seasons. As a result, the suitable habitat of the Korean long-tailed goral would be significantly declined and almost disappeared in the 2070s for summer or 2050s for winter under the climate scenarios of RCP 8.5 by IPCC.
Humans, especially infants, are exposed to harmful substances through various means, including non-nutritive sucking behaviors. Here, we compared the “one-compartment model” and the ...“three-compartment model” within the “suck model” to assess the oral bioaccessibility of heavy metals in various products and evaluated whether these models can be employed to assess 12 heavy metals present in consumer products. Several certified reference materials, including plastic, paint, glass, and metals, were employed to ensure sample homogeneity. By comparing the two models, we validated that a considerable amount of complexes were formed between saliva components and the extracted heavy metals and that some of these complexes dissociated during reactions with the gastric/intestinal fluids. Furthermore, we observed that in the cases of Cu and Pb, additional complexes were formed as a result of reactions with gastric/intestinal fluids. We measured the total concentrations of the extracted heavy metals using artificial saliva through acid digestion and found that up to 99.7% of the heavy metals participated in the formation of complexes, depending on the characteristics of the sample (e.g., composition) and the target element. This result indicates that the current suck model may notably underestimate the oral bioaccessibility of heavy metals in products associated with sucking behaviors. Therefore, we propose a more conservative and simpler test method for assessing oral bioaccessibility of heavy metals that involves measuring the total concentrations of heavy metals extracted from consumer products using artificial saliva. By doing so, we can account for potential variations in the digestive milieu (e.g., due to ingested food) and the inconsistency in complex formation-dissociation characteristics.
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•We compared two models for assessing heavy metal oral bioaccessibility in products.•Complexes formed between extracted heavy metals and the digestive fluid components.•Up to 99.7% of the heavy metals participated in complex formation.•We propose a simpler method to assess the oral bioaccessibility of heavy metal.
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