We aimed to assess the relationship between dietary soyfood and isoflavone intake and colorectal cancer risk in a case-control study. A total of 901 colorectal cancer cases and 2669 controls were ...recruited at the National Cancer Center, Korea. A semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to assess the usual dietary habits, and the isoflavone intake level was estimated from five soyfood items. A high intake of total soy products, legumes, and sprouts was associated with a reduced risk for colorectal cancer in men and women, although the middle quartiles of intake of total soy products were associated with an elevated risk. In contrast, a high intake of fermented soy paste was associated with an elevated risk for colorectal cancer in men. The groups with the highest intake quartiles of isoflavones showed a decreased risk for colorectal cancer compared to their counterparts with the lowest intake quartiles in men (odds ratio (OR): 0.67, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.51-0.89) and women (OR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.43-0.99). The reduced risk for the highest intake groups persisted for distal colon cancer in men and rectal cancer in women. The association between soyfood intake and colorectal cancer risk was more prominent among post-menopausal women than pre-menopausal women. In conclusion, a high intake of total soy products or dietary isoflavones was associated with a reduced risk for overall colorectal cancer, and the association may be more relevant to distal colon or rectal cancers.
Thermoresponsive polymers that exhibit phase transition in response to temperature change can be used as material for smart windows because they can control solar light transmission depending on the ...outside temperature. The development of thermoresponsive polymers for a smart window that can be used over a wide temperature range is required. Therefore, to obtain smart window materials that can be used at various temperatures, three-dimensional thermoresponsive P(NIPAm-co-BA) hydrogels were prepared by free radical polymerization from main monomer N-isopropylacrylamide, comonomer butyl acrylate, and crosslinking agent N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide (MBAm) in this study. This study examined the effect of BA content on the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) and the solar light transmittance of crosslinked P(NIPAm-co-BA) hydrogel films. The LCST of hydrogel films was found to be significantly decreased from 34.3 to 29.5°C with increasing BA content from 0 to 20 mol%. It was found that the transparent films at T=25°C (T<LCST) were converted to translucent films at a higher temperature (T=45°C) (T>LCST). These results suggested that the crosslinked P(NIPAm-co-BA) hydrogel materials prepared in this study could have high potential for application in smart window materials.
Urban particulate matter (UPM) is recognized as a grave public health problem worldwide. Although a few studies have linked UPM to ocular surface diseases, few studies have reported on retinal ...dysfunction. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of UPM on the retina and identify the main mechanism of UPM toxicity. In this study, we found that UPM significantly induced cytotoxicity with morphological changes in ARPE-19 human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and increased necrosis and autophagy but not apoptosis. Furthermore, UPM significantly increased G2/M arrest and simultaneously induced alterations in cell cycle regulators. In addition, DNA damage and mitochondrial dysfunction were remarkably enhanced by UPM. However, the pretreatment with the potent reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) effectively suppressed UPM-mediated cytotoxicity, necrosis, autophagy, and cell cycle arrest. Moreover, NAC markedly restored UPM-induced DNA damage and mitochondrial dysfunction. Meanwhile, UPM increased the expression of mitophagy-regulated proteins, but NAC had no effect on mitophagy. Taken together, although further studies are needed to identify the role of mitophagy in UPM-induced RPE injury, the present study provides the first evidence that ROS-mediated cellular damage through necrosis and autophagy is one of the mechanisms of UPM-induced retinal disorders.
Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai (P. pyrifolia) has been traditionally used in East Asia to treat diseases such as phlegm, cough, hangover, and fever. However, there is no investigation that evaluates the ...biological activities of the leaves of P. pyrifolia. This study aims at describing the anti-inflammatory effects of PP, a bioactive fraction from the leaves of P. pyrifolia, in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated THP-1 cells. Initially, PP decreased the protein and RNA expression of TNF-α, MCP-1, IL-8, and IL-6 induced by LPS. Moreover, PP attenuated the phosphorylation of p38, JNK, and ERK. In addition, after stimulation with LPS, the degradation of IκB-α was suppressed by PP, and the phosphorylation of IκB-α and p65 was suppressed by PP. Additionally, PP increased HO-1, which controls the production of inflammatory molecules, by activating Nrf2. These results indicated that PP could be used as an anti-inflammatory drug to promote wellness.
Ulcerative colitis is a complex inflammatory bowel disorder disease that can induce rectal and colonic dysfunction. Although the prevalence of IBD in Western countries is almost 0.5% of the general ...population, genetic causes are still not fully understood. In a recent discovery, itaconate was found to function as an immune-modulating metabolite in mammalian immune cells, wherein it is synthesized as an antimicrobial compound from the citric acid cycle intermediate cis-aconitic acid. However, the association between the Acod1 (Aconitate decarboxylase 1)-itaconate axis and ulcerative colitis has rarely been studied. To elucidate this, we established a DSS-induced colitis model with Acod1-deficient mice and then measured the mouse body weights, colon lengths, histological changes, and cytokines/chemokines in the colon. We first confirmed the upregulation of Acod1 RNA and protein expression levels in DSS-induced colitis. Then, we found that colitis symptoms, including weight loss, the disease activity index, and colon shortening, were worsened by the depletion of Acod1. In addition, the extent of intestinal epithelial barrier breakdown, the extent of immune cell infiltration, and the expression of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines in Acod1-deficient mice were higher than those in wild-type mice. Finally, we confirmed that 4-octyl itaconate (4-OI) alleviated DSS-induced colitis in Acod1-deficient mice and decreased the expression of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. To our knowledge, this study is the first to elucidate the role of the Acod1-itaconate axis in colitis. Our data clearly showed that Acod1 deletion resulted in severe DSS-induced colitis and substantial increases in inflammatory cytokine and chemokine levels. Our results suggest that Acod1 may normally play an important regulatory role in the pathogenesis of colitis, demonstrating the potential for novel therapies using 4-OI.
While recent studies have explored the maintenance of the effect of meditation on stress resilience, the underlying neural mechanisms have not yet been investigated. The present study conducted a ...highly controlled residential study of a 4-day meditation intervention to investigate the brain functional changes and long-term effects of meditation on mindfulness and resilience. Thirty participants in meditation practice and 17 participants in a relaxation retreat (control group) underwent magnetic resonance imaging scans at baseline and post-intervention and completed the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale (CAMS) and Resilience Quotient Test (RQT) at baseline, post-intervention, and the 3-month follow-up. All participants showed increased CAMS and RQT scores post-intervention, but only the meditation group sustained the enhancement after 3 months. Resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) between the left rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) and the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), precuneus, and angular gyrus was significantly increased post-intervention in the meditation group compared with the relaxation group. The changes in rACC-dmPFC rsFC mediated the relationship between the changes in the CAMS and RQT scores and correlated with the changes in the RQT score both immediately and at 3 months post-intervention. Our findings suggest that increased rACC-dmPFC rsFC
meditation causes an immediate enhancement in resilience that is sustained. Since resilience is known to be associated with the preventative effect of various psychiatric disorders, the improvement in stress-related neural mechanisms may be beneficial to individuals at high clinical risk.
Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) may reveal dynamic tumor status during therapy. We conducted serial ctDNA analysis to investigate potential association with clinical outcome in metastatic colorectal ...cancer (mCRC) patients receiving chemotherapy. Tissue KRAS/NRAS wild-type mCRC patients were enrolled and treated with first-line cetuximab-containing chemotherapy. ctDNA isolated from plasma were analyzed by next generation sequencing (NGS) with 16 targeted gene panel. Among 93 patients, 84 (90.3%) had at least 1 somatic mutation in baseline ctDNA samples (average 2.74). Five patients with KRAS or NRAS hotspot mutation in the ctDNA showed significantly worse progression-free survival (PFS) (p = 0.029). Changes in average variant allele frequency (VAF) in ctDNA showed significant correlation with tumor size change at the time of first response evaluation (p = 0.020) and progressive disease (PD) (p = 0.042). Patients whose average VAF decreased below cutoff (< 1%) at the first evaluation showed significantly better PFS (p < 0.001), and the average VAF change further discriminated the PFS in the patients in partial response (p = 0.018). At the time of PD, 54 new mutations including KRAS and MAP2K1 emerged in ctDNA. ctDNA sequencing can provide mutation profile that could better reflect tumor mutation status and predict treatment outcome.
There are a few studies on the postoperative changes in sagittal alignment and corresponding factors, including hand grip strength (HGS) and muscle performance tests for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). ...Thus, we aimed to determine whether HGS can be a surrogate marker for global sagittal alignment changes after decompression with fusion surgery for LSS. This retrospective observational study included 91 patients who underwent spine fusion surgery for LSS. Radiological spinopelvic parameters, including sagittal vertical axis (SVA), lumbar lordosis (LL), pelvic tilt (PT), pelvic incidence (PI), global tilt (GT), and T1 pelvic angle (T1PA), were analyzed preoperatively and 1 year after posterior decompression and fusion surgery. To assess muscle performance, the 6-m walk (SMT), timed up and go (TUGT), and sit-to-stand (STS) tests were conducted. The relationship between HGS and postoperative SVA was examined through multiple linear regression analysis. Additionally, the relationship between HGS and preoperative/postoperative radiologic spinopelvic parameters and muscle performance test results was analyzed through Pearson's correlation. HGS was significantly correlated with age, preoperative and postoperative SVA, and the muscle performance tests. Furthermore, HGS was a factor that can significantly influence postoperative SVA changes in multiple linear regression analyses. Therefore, HGS may be a good predictor of postoperative SVA change.
Teratomas are the most common congenital tumors and contain cells from the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. They are mainly located in the central axis of the body. The tumors are most commonly ...found in the sacrococcygeal region, followed by the gonadal site and mediastinum, and rarely in the head and neck. Teratomas can cause various clinical symptoms depending on the location of the mass and may result in feeding difficulties or respiratory distress. We present a case of oropharyngeal teratoma accompanied by respiratory distress and persistent feeding difficulties, leading to compression of the temporomandibular joint, which in turn caused subluxation.
This study investigated the association of four metabolic obesity phenotypes with incident coronary artery disease and stroke in a large-scale, community population-based, prospective Korean cohort ...observed for over 10 years.
The study participants included 7374 adults aged 40-69 years, drawn from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study. Participants with different metabolic obesity phenotypes were categorized according to body weight and metabolic health status into four groups: metabolically healthy nonobese (MHNO), metabolically healthy obese (MHO), metabolically unhealthy nonobese (MUHNO), and metabolically unhealthy obese (MUHO). Combined cardiovascular events were defined as coronary artery disease and stroke. We used multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models to prospectively assess hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for incident coronary artery disease or stroke over 10 years after the baseline survey.
During the follow-up period, newly developed coronary artery disease, stroke, and combined cardiovascular events were diagnosed in 151 (2.0%), 137 (1.9%), and 283 (3.8%) participants, respectively. After adjusting for confounding variables, the HRs (95% CIs) for incident combined cardiovascular events were 1.81 (1.34-2.46) in the MUHO group, 1.29 (0.92-1.81) in the MUHNO group, and 1.21 (0.81-1.79) in the MHO group compared with those in the MHNO group.
This study revealed distinct risks associated with four metabolic obesity phenotypes concerning incident coronary artery disease and stroke. After adjusting for potential confounding variables, the results indicated that MUHO, but not MUHNO or MHO, showed a higher risk of developing coronary artery disease and stroke than MHNO.
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