The two oxidation states of ceria nanoparticles, Ce3+ and Ce4+, play a pivotal role in scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS). In particular, Ce3+ is largely responsible for removing O2− and .OH ...that are associated with inflammatory response and cell death. The synthesis is reported of 2 nm ceria–zirconia nanoparticles (CZ NPs) that possess a higher Ce3+/Ce4+ ratio and faster conversion from Ce4+ to Ce3+ than those exhibited by ceria nanoparticles. The obtained Ce0.7Zr0.3O2 (7CZ) NPs greatly improve ROS scavenging performance, thus regulating inflammatory cells in a very low dose. Moreover, 7CZ NPs are demonstrated to be effective in reducing mortality and systemic inflammation in two representative sepsis models. These findings suggest that 7CZ NPs have the potential as a therapeutic nanomedicine for treating ROS‐related inflammatory diseases.
An optimized ROS scavenging agent: 2 nm‐sized ceria–zirconia nanoparticles (CZ NPs) with increased Ce3+ ratios outperform ceria NPs as scavengers of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The composition‐tuned 7CZ (Ce0.7Zr0.3O2) NPs are superior in reducing inflammation in vitro and decrease the mortality in sepsis in vivo.
Saururus chinensis has been used in folk medicine in Korea for the treatment of edema, jaundice, gonorrhea, and several inflammatory diseases. Saururi chinensis extracts (SCE) have demonstrated ...anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities, as well as anti-asthmatic, antihypertensive, anti-angiogenic, and therapeutic activities for atopic dermatitis. However, the inhibitory activity of SCE on the melanogenesis signaling pathway is not completely understood. This study examined the effects of SCE on the melanogenesis signaling pathway activated by α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH). We found that SCE inhibited melanin production in a dose-dependent manner without causing cytotoxicity in B16F10 cells. Interestingly, SCE decreased α-MSH-induced tyrosinase activity in B16F10 cells but did not inhibit tyrosinase activity under cell-free conditions. The results of this study indicate that SCE may reduce pigmentation by way of an indirect, nonenzymatic mechanism. We also found that SCE decreased α-MSH-induced microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) and tyrosinase expression and induced the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). These results suggest that the depigmenting effect of SCE may result from downregulation of MITF and tyrosinase expression due to increased ERK activity. Thus, our results provide evidence that SCE might be useful as a potential skin-whitening agent.
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•NAFLD was associated with HCC development.•NAFLD was associated with colorectal cancer development in males.•NAFLD was associated with breast cancer development in females.•High NFS ...and high FIB-4 score were associated with developing all cancers and HCC.
Little is known about the association between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and cancer development. This study investigated the cancer incidence rates in NAFLD and analysed the association between NAFLD and cancer development.
This historical cohort study included subjects who were followed up for >1 year after having a heath checkup at a tertiary hospital in Korea from September 1, 2004 to December 31, 2005. NAFLD was diagnosed by ultrasonographic detection of hepatic steatosis in the absence of other known liver disease, including alcoholic or viral hepatitis. Cox proportional hazards regression model was conducted to assess the association between NAFLD and cancer development.
Of 25,947 subjects, 8,721 (33.6%) had NAFLD. During the total follow-up of 164,671 person-years (median 7.5 years), the cancer incidence rate of the NAFLD group was higher than that of the non-NAFLD group (782.9 vs. 592.8 per 100,000 person-years; hazard ratio HR 1.32; 95% confidence interval CI 1.17–1.49; p <0.001). When demographic and metabolic factors were adjusted for, NAFLD showed a strong association with three cancers: hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC; HR 16.73; 95% CI 2.09–133.85; p = 0.008), colorectal cancer in males (HR 2.01; 95% CI 1.10–3.68; p = 0.02), and breast cancer in females (HR 1.92; 95% CI 1.15–3.20; p = 0.01). A high NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS) and a high fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score were associated with the development of all cancers and HCC.
NAFLD was associated with the development of HCC, colorectal cancer in males, and breast cancer in females. A high NFS and a high FIB-4 score showed a strong association with the development of all cancers and HCC.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). There have been limited data on the association between NAFLD and extrahepatic cancers. This study demonstrated that patients with NAFLD showed a higher association with the development of HCC, colorectal cancer in males, and breast cancer in females. A high NAFLD fibrosis score and a high fibrosis-4 score showed a strong association with the development of all cancers and HCC.
Occupation ratio and fatty infiltration are important parameters for evaluating patients with rotator cuff tears. We analyzed the occupation ratio using a deep-learning framework and studied the ...fatty infiltration of the supraspinatus muscle using an automated region-based Otsu thresholding technique. To calculate the amount of fatty infiltration of the supraspinatus muscle using an automated region-based Otsu thresholding technique. The mean Dice similarity coefficient, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and relative area difference for the segmented lesion, measuring the similarity of clinician assessment and that of a deep neural network, were 0.97, 99.84, 96.89, 99.92, and 0.07, respectively, for the supraspinatus fossa and 0.94, 99.89, 93.34, 99.95, and 2.03, respectively, for the supraspinatus muscle. The fatty infiltration measure using the Otsu thresholding method significantly differed among the Goutallier grades (Grade 0; 0.06, Grade 1; 4.68, Grade 2; 20.10, Grade 3; 42.86, Grade 4; 55.79, p < 0.0001). The occupation ratio and fatty infiltration using Otsu thresholding demonstrated a moderate negative correlation (ρ = - 0.75, p < 0.0001). This study included 240 randomly selected patients who underwent shoulder magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from January 2015 to December 2016. We used a fully convolutional deep-learning algorithm to quantitatively detect the fossa and muscle regions by measuring the occupation ratio of the supraspinatus muscle. Fatty infiltration was objectively evaluated using the Otsu thresholding method. The proposed convolutional neural network exhibited fast and accurate segmentation of the supraspinatus muscle and fossa from shoulder MRI, allowing automatic calculation of the occupation ratio. Quantitative evaluation using a modified Otsu thresholding method can be used to calculate the proportion of fatty infiltration in the supraspinatus muscle. We expect that this will improve the efficiency and objectivity of diagnoses by quantifying the index used for shoulder MRI.
Uniform 3 nm‐sized ceria nanoparticles can protect against ischemic stroke by scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reducing apoptosis. PEGylated ceria nanoparticles showed protective effects ...against ROS‐induced cell death in vitro. Optimal doses of ceria nanoparticles reduced infarct volumes and the rate of ischemic cell death in vivo.
Abstract
Ependymal cells (ECs) are multiciliated neuroepithelial cells that line the ventricles of the brain and the central canal of the spinal cord (SC). How ependymal motile cilia are maintained ...remains largely unexplored. Here we show that zebrafish embryos deficient in Wnt signaling have defective motile cilia, yet harbor intact basal bodies. With respect to maintenance of ependymal motile cilia,
plcδ3a
is a target gene of Wnt signaling. Lack of Connexin43 (Cx43), especially its channel function, decreases motile cilia and intercellular Ca
2+
wave (ICW) propagation. Genetic ablation of
cx43
in zebrafish and mice diminished motile cilia. Finally,
Cx43
is also expressed in ECs of the human SC. Taken together, our findings indicate that gap junction mediated ICWs play an important role in the maintenance of ependymal motile cilia, and suggest that the enhancement of functional gap junctions by pharmacological or genetic manipulations may be adopted to ameliorate motile ciliopathy.
To quantify interobserver variation (IOV) in target volume and organs-at-risk (OAR) contouring across 31 institutions in breast cancer cases and to explore the clinical utility of deep learning ...(DL)-based auto-contouring in reducing potential IOV.
In phase 1, two breast cancer cases were randomly selected and distributed to multiple institutions for contouring six clinical target volumes (CTVs) and eight OAR. In Phase 2, auto-contour sets were generated using a previously published DL Breast segmentation model and were made available for all participants. The difference in IOV of submitted contours in phases 1 and 2 was investigated quantitatively using the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) and Hausdorff distance (HD). The qualitative analysis involved using contour heat maps to visualize the extent and location of these variations and the required modification.
Over 800 pairwise comparisons were analysed for each structure in each case. Quantitative phase 2 metrics showed significant improvement in the mean DSC (from 0.69 to 0.77) and HD (from 34.9 to 17.9 mm). Quantitative analysis showed increased interobserver agreement in phase 2, specifically for CTV structures (5–19 %), leading to fewer manual adjustments. Underlying IOV differences causes were reported using a questionnaire and hierarchical clustering analysis based on the volume of CTVs.
DL-based auto-contours improved the contour agreement for OARs and CTVs significantly, both qualitatively and quantitatively, suggesting its potential role in minimizing radiation therapy protocol deviation.
•We investigated the utility of a breast cancer deep-learning auto-contouring model.•Greater interobserver agreement in target volume and organs-at-risk was achieved.•Deep-learning models may reduce clinical trial radiation therapy protocol deviation.
A frost filter (FRF) was developed as a humidity pretreatment device (HPD) to improve the measurement of ambient ozone (O3). The FRF was produced in a tube, which was supercooled by a thermoelectric ...cooling device based on the Peltier effect. The relative humidity (RH) of the air samples varied from 30% to 80% at 25 °C, and the O3 concentration was set as 100 ppbv. Besides O3, SO2 at 150 ppbv was used for comparison. The density of the FRF was evaluated. Comparison studies on the humidity removal efficiencies and loss ratios of analytes among a FRF HPD, a short Nafion™ tube (NS), and a long Nafion™ tube (NL) HPDs were conducted. As results, the density of the FRF was dependent on the temperature at a fixed sampling flow rate. The outlet humidity of both the FRF and the NL HPDs were less than 8% RH at 25 °C. The mean concentrations of O3 and SO2 after the FRF HPD were similar to the initial concentrations at all humidity levels, whereas they were significantly different for both the NS and NL HPDs at higher humidity. This suggests that the FRF HPD is a reliable humidity pretreatment for O3 measurements.
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•A new humidity pretreatment device for the monitoring of O3 has been developed•Frost filter generated by a supercooled process were used to remove humidity•Humidity removal efficiency of the new device was higher than that of Nafion dryers•The loss ratio of O3 by the new device was lower than that by Nafion dryers
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