Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive loss of cognitive abilities and memory leading to dementia. Electroacupuncture (EA) is a complementary ...alternative medicine approach, applying an electrical current to acupuncture points. In clinical and animal studies, EA causes cognitive improvements in AD and vascular dementia. However, EA-induced changes in cognition and microglia-mediated amyloid β (Aβ) degradation have not been determined yet in AD animals. Therefore, this study investigated the EA-induced molecular mechanisms causing cognitive improvement and anti-inflammatory activity in five familial mutation (5XFAD) mice, an animal model of AD.
5XFAD mice were bilaterally treated with EA at the Taegye (KI3) acupoints three times per week for 2 weeks. To evaluate the effects of EA treatment on cognitive functions, novel object recognition and Y-maze tests were performed with non-Tg, 5XFAD (Tg), and EA-treated 5XFAD (Tg + KI3) mice. To examine the molecular mechanisms underlying EA effects, western blots, immunohistochemistry, and micro-positron emission tomography scans were performed. Furthermore, we studied synapse ultrastructures with transmission electron microscopy and used electrophysiology to investigate EA effects on synaptic plasticity in 5XFAD mice.
EA treatment significantly improved working memory and synaptic plasticity, alleviated neuroinflammation, and reduced ultrastructural degradation of synapses via upregulation of synaptophysin and postsynaptic density-95 protein in 5XFAD mice. Furthermore, microglia-mediated Aβ deposition was reduced after EA treatment and coincided with a reduction in amyloid precursor protein.
Our findings demonstrate that EA treatment ameliorates cognitive impairment via inhibition of synaptic degeneration and neuroinflammation in a mouse model of AD.
In this study, we engineered liposomal indocyanine green (ICG) to maximize its photothermal effects while maintaining the fluorescence intensity. Various liposomal formulations of ICG were prepared ...by varying the lipid composition and the molar ratio between total lipid and ICG, and their photothermal characteristics were evaluated under near-infrared irradiation. We showed that the ICG dispersity in the liposomal membrane and its physical interaction with phospholipids were the main factors determining the photothermal conversion efficiency. In phototherapeutic studies, the optimized formulation of liposomal ICG showed greater anticancer effects in a mouse tumor model compared with other liposomal formulations and the free form of ICG. Furthermore, we utilized liposomal ICG to visualize the metastatic lymph node around the primary tumor under fluorescence imaging guidance and ablate the lymph node with the enhanced photothermal effect, indicating the potential for selective treatment of metastatic lymph node.
Plastic waste discharged into the aquatic environment decomposes into microplastics (MP), which have toxic effects on fish species. Korean bullhead, Pseudobagrus fulvidraco is widely distributed in ...freshwater ecosystems in Korea, and it is important as an ecological indicator species to evaluate MP toxicity in Korea. In this study, the accumulation and physiological effects of juvenile P. fulvidraco exposed to microplastics (Polyethylene: PE-MPs with white surface and spherical shape) at control (0 mg/L), 100, 200, 5000 and 10,000 mg/L for 96 h were confirmed. Exposure to PE-MPs showed significant bioaccumulation of P. fulvidraco, and the accumulation profile was in the order of gut > gills > liver. Hematological parameters such as the red blood cell (RBC), hemoglobin (Hb) and hematocrit (Ht) were significantly decreased over 5000 mg/L In plasma components, calcium, magnesium and total protein were significantly decreased over 5000 mg/L, whereas glucose, cholesterol, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were significantly increased over 5000 mg/L or at 10,000 mg/L In antioxidant responses, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) were significantly increased over 5000 mg/L, whereas glutathione (GSH) was significantly decreased over 5000 mg/L. The results of this study suggest that acute exposure to PE-MPs induced all physiological changes in a concentration-dependent manner, and it affects the hematological parameters, plasma components and antioxidant response of juvenile P. fulvidraco after accumulation in specific tissues.
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•Pseudobagrus fulvidraco were exposed to polyethylene microplastics (PE-MPs).•The order of accumulation after PE-MP exposure was intestine > gill > liver.•Acute PE-MPs exposure at high concentrations was toxic to P. fulvidraco.•PE-MPs affect hematological parameters, plasma components and antioxidative responses.
The safety of bee venom as a therapeutic compound has been extensively studied, resulting in the identification of potential adverse events, which range from trivial skin reactions that usually ...resolve over several days to life-threating severe immunological responses such as anaphylaxis. In this systematic review, we provide a summary of the types and prevalence of adverse events associated with bee venom therapy.
We searched the literature using 12 databases from their inception to June 2014, without language restrictions. We included all types of clinical studies in which bee venom was used as a key intervention and adverse events that may have been causally related to bee venom therapy were reported.
A total of 145 studies, including 20 randomized controlled trials, 79 audits and cohort studies, 33 single-case studies, and 13 case series, were evaluated in this review. The median frequency of patients who experienced adverse events related to venom immunotherapy was 28.87% (interquartile range, 14.57-39.74) in the audit studies. Compared with normal saline injection, bee venom acupuncture showed a 261% increased relative risk for the occurrence of adverse events (relative risk, 3.61; 95% confidence interval, 2.10 to 6.20) in the randomized controlled trials, which might be overestimated or underestimated owing to the poor reporting quality of the included studies.
Adverse events related to bee venom therapy are frequent; therefore, practitioners of bee venom therapy should be cautious when applying it in daily clinical practice, and the practitioner's education and qualifications regarding the use of bee venom therapy should be ensured.
•Lead (Pb) is a highly toxic metal in aquatic animals, especially in fish.•The Pb exposure induces a significant bioaccumulation in specific tissues in fish.•Oxidative stress, neurotoxicity, and ...immune alterations are caused by the Pb exposure.
Lead (Pb) is a highly toxic metal in aquatic environments. Fish are at the top of the food chain in most aquatic environments, and are the most susceptible to the toxic effects of Pb exposure. In addition, fish are one of the most abundant vertebrates, and they can directly affect humans through food intake; therefore, fish can be used to assess the extent of environmental pollution in an aquatic environment. Pb-induced toxicity in fish exposed to toxicants is primarily induced by bioaccumulation in specific tissues, and the accumulation mechanisms vary depending on water habitat (freshwater or seawater) and pathway (waterborne or dietary exposure). Pb accumulation in fish tissues causes oxidative stress due to excessive ROS production. Oxidative stress by Pb exposure induces synaptic damage and neurotransmitter malfunction in fish as neurotoxicity. Moreover, Pb exposure influences immune responses in fish as an immune-toxicant. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to examine the various toxic effects of Pb exposure, including bioaccumulation, oxidative stress, neurotoxicity, and immune responses, and to identify indicators to evaluate the extent of Pb toxicity by based on the level of Pb exposure.
White LEDs were invented the 1990's. Since then they have been extensively researched and applied in various ways. Compared with conventional lighting devices, the white LED has lower power ...consumption, lower voltage requirements, longer lifetime, smaller size, faster response, and cooler operation. The white LED will eventually replace incandescent or fluorescent lights in offices and homes. We have proposed an indoor visible light wireless communication system that utilizes multiple white LED lighting equipment. In this system, the equipment is used not only for illuminating rooms but also for an optical wireless communication system. The system has significantly higher power levels than infrared wireless communication systems, since it also functions as the main lighting equipment. One problem is we tend to install many lighting sources on a ceiling in order to illuminate the room as evenly as possible. While the number of sources permits site diversity transmission over LOS links, the optical path difference between the multiple sources triggers intersymbol interference (ISI), which significantly degrades system performance. This paper overcomes the ISI problem by proposing an adaptive equalization system. We elucidate the most effective training sequence interval for channel estimation in a mobile environment. And we show that the adaptive equalization system with the effectual interval alleviates the influence of shadowing.
Global climate change accompanied by continuous increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration and temperature affects the growth and yield of important crops. The present study ...investigated the effect of elevated temperature and CO2 concentrations on the growth, yield, and photosynthesis of potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Superior) crops using Korean Soil-Plant-Atmosphere-Research chambers that allow the regulation of temperature and CO2 concentration under daylight conditions. Based on the average temperature from 1991 to 2010 in the Jeonju area, South Korea, potato plants were exposed to four different conditions: ambient weather (400 μmol mol-1, aCaT), elevated temperature (+4°C, aCeT), elevated CO2 concentration (800 μmol mol-1, eCaT), and concurrently elevated CO2 concentration and temperature (eCeT). Under aCeT conditions, the temperature exceeded the optimal growth temperature range towards the late growth phase that decreased stomatal conductance and canopy net photosynthetic rate and subsequently reduced biomass and tuber yield. Stomatal conductance and chlorophyll concentration were lower under eCaT conditions than under aCaT conditions, whereas late-growth phase biomass and tuber yield were greater. Compared to other conditions, eCeT yielded a distinct increase in growth and development and canopy net photosynthetic rate during tuber initiation and bulking. Consequently, biomass and canopy net photosynthesis increased, and tuber yield increased by 20.3%, which could be attributed to the increased tuber size, rather than increased tuber number. Elevated CO2 reduced chlorophyll, magnesium, and phosphorus concentrations; reducing nitrogen concentration (by approximately 39.7%) increased the C:N ratio. The data indicate that future climate conditions will likely change nutrient concentration and quality of crops. The present study shows that while elevated temperature may negatively influence the growth and yield of potato crops, especially towards the late-growth phase, the concurrent and appropriate elevation of CO2 and temperature could promote balanced development of source and sink organs and positively effect potato productivity and quality.
Shrimp is one of the most valuable aquaculture species globally, and the most internationally traded seafood product. Consequently, shrimp aquaculture practices have received increasing attention due ...to their high value and levels of demand, and this has contributed to economic growth in many developing countries. The global production of shrimp reached approximately 6.5 million t in 2019 and the shrimp aquaculture industry has consequently become a large-scale operation. However, the expansion of shrimp aquaculture has also been accompanied by various disease outbreaks, leading to large losses in shrimp production. Among the diseases, there are various viral diseases which can cause serious damage when compared to bacterial and fungi-based illness. In addition, new viral diseases occur rapidly, and existing diseases can evolve into new types. To address this, the review presented here will provide information on the DNA and RNA of shrimp viral diseases that have been designated by the World Organization for Animal Health and identify the latest shrimp disease trends.
Bacterial cellulose nanofiber (BCNF) with high thermal stability produced by an ecofriendly process has emerged as a promising solution to realize safe and sustainable materials in the large-scale ...battery. However, an understanding of the actual thermal behavior of the BCNF in the full-cell battery has been lacking, and the yield is still limited for commercialization. Here, we report the entire process of BCNF production and battery manufacture. We systematically constructed a strain with the highest yield (31.5%) by increasing metabolic flux and improved safety by introducing a Lewis base to overcome thermochemical degradation in the battery. This report will open ways of exploiting the BCNF as a “single-layer” separator, a good alternative to the existing chemical-derived one, and thus can greatly contribute to solving the environmental and safety issues.
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