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Background and Objective: Acupuncture is widely used in complementary and alternative medicine to reduce body weight. However, a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess an effect of acupuncture has not yet been performed. Aim of this study is to critically assess evidence for reduction of body weight and to evaluate adverse events of acupuncture therapy based on the results of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluate the effect of various types of acupuncture therapies. Data sources: A total of 19 electronic databases, including English, Korean, Japanese and Chinese databases, were systematically searched for RCTs of acupuncture for reduction of body weight or improvement in obesity up to March 2008 with no language restrictions. Methods: RCTs for acupuncture compared either with placebo controlled or with comparator intervention were considered. Studies' methodological qualities were assessed using the Jadad scale. If no evidence of heterogeneity existed across study results, statistical pooling of data was performed using a fixed effects model; otherwise, a random effects model was used. Publication bias was assessed using funnel plots. Subgroup analyses were performed according to types of acupuncture. Results: A total of 31 studies, which comprised a total of 3013 individual cases, were systematically reviewed. Owing to insufficient data in 2 RCTs, 29 RCTs were used for meta-analysis. About two-thirds of the trials (20 out of 31) showed the lowest score of the Jadad. Compared to control of lifestyle, acupuncture was associated with a significant reduction of average body weight (95% confidence interval, CI) of 1.72 kg (0.50-2.93 kg) and associated with an improvement in obesity (relative risk=2.57; 95% CI, 1.98-3.34). Acupuncture significantly reduced a body weight of 1.56 kg (0.74-2.38 kg), on average, compared to placebo or sham treatments. Acupuncture also showed more improved outcomes for body weight (mean difference=1.90 kg; 1.66-2.13 kg), as well as for obesity (relative risk=1.13; 1.04-1.22), than conventional medication. Only four RCTs reported acupuncture-related adverse events, which were mostly minimal. Conclusions: Our review suggests that acupuncture is an effective treatment for obesity. However, the amount of evidence is not fully convincing because of the poor methodological quality of trials reviewed. In conclusion, there is an urgent need for well-planned, long-term studies to address the effectiveness of acupuncture for treating obesity.

Abnormality in mitochondria has been suggested to be associated with development of allergic airway disorders. In this study, to evaluate the relationship between mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) and NLRP3 inflammasome activation in allergic asthma, we used a newly developed mitochondrial ROS inhibitor, NecroX-5. NecroX-5 reduced the increase of mitochondrial ROS generation in airway inflammatory cells, as well as bronchial epithelial cells, NLRP3 inflammasome activation, the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor- κ B, increased expression of various inflammatory mediators and pathophysiological features of allergic asthma in mice. Finally, blockade of IL-1 β substantially reduced airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness in the asthmatic mice. These findings suggest that mitochondrial ROS have a critical role in the pathogenesis of allergic airway inflammation through the modulation of NLRP3 inflammasome activation, providing a novel role of airway epithelial cells expressing NLRP3 inflammasome as an immune responder.

We show in bryophytes that abscisic acid (ABA) pretreatment of moss (Physcomitrella patens) cells confers desiccation tolerance. In angiosperms, both ABA and the transcriptional regulator ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE 3 (ABI3) are required to protect the seed during desiccation. ABA was not able to protect moss cells in stable deletion lines of ABI3 (ΔPpabi3). Hence, moss has the same functional link between ABA, ABI3, and the desiccation tolerance phenotype that is found in angiosperms. Furthermore, we identified 22 genes that were induced during ABA pretreatment in wild-type lines. When their expression was compared with that of ΔPpabi3 during ABA pretreatment and immediately after desiccation, a new target of ABI3 action appears to be in the recovery period.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic bacterial pathogen that causes chronic infection in humans by forming protective, multicellular structures called biofilms. The strong natural resistance of bacterial biofilms to antibiotic and immune clearance presents a major therapeutic obstacle in P. aeruginosa disease management. As these structures often assemble on surfaces, i.e. host tissues or indwelling medical devices, the ability of P. aeruginosa to sense and respond to surface contact is a key step in initiating biofilm formation. We report that the Cpx signaling system in P. aeruginosa is activated upon surface attachment and operates independently of other known surface-sensing systems. Cpx responds to cellular stress, particularly disruptions to cell-surface proteins, suggesting that stress generated by bacterial surface adhesion is a relevant biofilm-inducing signal. These findings expand knowledge of surface-sensing mechanisms in P. aeruginosa and link surface recognition to a variety of other disease-related cellular processes regulated by the Cpx system.

The study aims to develop GIS technology for managing pathogen contamination disaster situations to cope with the occurrence of disaster situations caused by the climate crisis. This study was conducted in a situation where the budgets of institutions with many emergency rescue workers are being invested worldwide, and there are various risks such as water pollution due to climate change, so it is necessary to develop technologies to respond to them.In this study, methods and technical means for emergency response to pathogen contamination were prepared through professional analysis results based on spatial information, and rapid and accurate pathogen detection, situation recognition, event control and response methods, risk assessment and epidemiological investigation methods, and technologies were developed.Technological means include collecting and analyzing water quality data using satellites and drones, and evaluating the severity and degree of water pollution using social media data and photos. Through these technologies, a GIS platform that can effectively manage and provide data sources, data collection, interoperability, data harmonization, data management, and data processing is established, and commercialization is aimed at real users and field-oriented. These technology developments enable rapid response and response in disaster situations, and can reduce threats to life and safety.

The FeSe nematic phase has been the focus of recent research on iron-based superconductors (IBSs) due to its unusual properties, which are distinct from those of the pnictides. A series of theoretical/experimental studies were performed to determine the origin of the nematic phase. However, they yielded conflicting results and caused additional controversies. Here, we report the results of angle-resolved photoemission and X-ray absorption spectroscopy studies on FeSe detwinned by a piezo stack. We fully resolved band dispersions with orbital characters near the Brillouin zone (BZ) corner, and revealed an absence of any Fermi pocket at the Y point in the 1-Fe BZ. In addition, the occupation imbalance between d x z and d y z orbitals was the opposite of that of iron pnictides, consistent with the identified band characters. These results resolve issues associated with the FeSe nematic phase and shed light on the origin of the nematic phase in IBSs. Twinning is a phenomenon which describes the intergrowth between two identical crystals, and can complicate the analysis of their intrinsic properties both from a physical and structural perspective. Here, the authors use a piezo stack to detwin FeSe crystals and then investigate the band dispersions using photoelectron and X-ray absorption spectroscopies in order to further clarify the origins of the nematic phase in FeSe.

Objective: Few studies have investigated the relationships between visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and coronary stenosis and noncalcified plaques at the subclinical stage. The aim of this study was to investigate relationship between VAT and coronary lesions assessed by coronary computed tomography (CT) in an apparently healthy population. Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study. Subjects: One thousand six hundred and fifty-eight subjects free of cardiovascular disease underwent coronary CT and abdominal fat CT as part of a routine medical examination. Measurement: VAT area was measured at the level of the umbilicus using CT. Coronary stenoses and plaques were evaluated using coronary CT. Results: The mean age of the study population was 55.9±8.0 years, and 1198 (72.3%) subjects were men. There were 201 subjects (12.1%) with coronary stenosis <50% and 144 (8.7%) had significant stenosis. Noncalcified plaques were observed in 108 (6.5%) subjects. Coronary stenosis <50% and noncalcified plaques increased steadily as the VAT area increased ( P <0.001). The 4th quartile of VAT area was significantly associated with prevalence of coronary stenosis <50% and the presence of noncalcified plaques when compared with the first through third VAT quartiles in the cardiovascular risk factor-adjusted model (odds ratio (OR): 1.58, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.09–2.30 and OR: 1.66; 95% CI: 1.02–2.68, respectively). Conclusion: Excess VAT area was associated with coronary stenosis <50% and noncalcified plaques, independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, in an asymptomatic population without a history of coronary artery disease.

Restoration is carried out in order to restore damaged antiquities to their original form. Recently, research has been active in obtaining the target three-dimensional (3D) model by optical scanning and X-ray computed tomography (CT), as well as restoring artifacts via modeling. Because the cultural artifacts are restored in a virtual environment without direct contact with the cultural artifacts, secondary damage can be preserved. Furthermore, the restoration results can be used for the physical restoration of cultural artifacts via 3D printing. In this study, multi-digital modeling technology was used to restoration horse-shaped earthenware artifact that still had its missing part. After 3D printing, the restoration part was applied to the artifact. In order to record the shape of the artifact in detail, a high-precision 3D scanner was used to construct the shape of the artifact into a 3D model. Two models were then built as a reference for restoration: The legs of the excavated horse-shaped earthenware are believed to have been bent during burning, but they were reproduced in their entirety for restoration by conducting rigging and keyframe animation. For the restoration of the missing horse body, horse and rider-shaped vessels excavated from the same site were used as references. However, since the decorations on the reference surfaces obscured the horse body, a 3D model of the horse shape was obtained through X-ray CT segmentation modeling. Using the obtained model, the missing 3D horse body was restored. For the hind legs, the leg geometry reconstructed by the rigging was used as a reference. The hollow space inside the artifact and the structures that could be restored were further modeled. The finished model was completed by outputting a mock-up using a material extrusion system 3D printer, conducting a bonding test with actual artifacts, and finally creating the restoration model. Afterward, a photopolymerization system 3D printer is used to output the restoration part, and then it is applied to the artifacts through post-processing. A study for restoration artifacts based on multi-modeling techniques was proposed in this work. In particular, rigging and x-ray CT segmentation modeling were used to restoration the artifacts based on their original form and historical research. As such, multi-modeling techniques are an effective way to not only restore artifacts, but also to build a reference for restoration.

Background: To test the hypotheses that breast cancer patients with one to three positive lymph nodes (pN1) consist of heterogeneous prognostic subsets and that the ratio of positive nodes to total nodes dissected (lymph node ratio, LNR) might discriminate patients with a higher risk as candidates for post-mastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT). Methods: Using information from 7741 node-positive patients, we first identified cutoff values of the LNR using the nonparametric bootstrap method. Focusing on 3477 patients with pN1 disease, we then evaluated the clinical relevance of the LNR categorised by the estimated cutoff values (categorised LNR, cLNR). Results: Among 3477 patients with pN1 disease, 3059 and 418 patients were assigned into the low and intermediate cLNR groups, respectively, based on a cutoff value of 0.18. The prognostic factors associated with poor overall survival (OS) included younger age, T2 stage, negative oestrogen/progesterone receptors, high histologic grade, and intermediate cLNR. Post-mastectomy radiation therapy significantly increased OS in patients assigned to the intermediate cLNR (hazard ratio, 0.39; 95% confidence interval, 0.17–0.89; P =0.0248), whereas patients in the low cLNR group derived no additional survival benefit from PMRT. Conclusion: This study suggests that PMRT should be recommended for patients with pN1 disease and an intermediate cLNR.