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Exosomes are a type of extracellular vesicles containing mRNA, miRNA, and proteins of origin cells, which can control the characteristics of other cells or surroundings. Despite increasing evidence on oncogenic properties of tumor-derived exosomes, fibrosarcoma-derived exosomes remain largely unrevealed. While the proper extraction and characterization of exosomes is critical in exosomes research, there are various limitations in techniques to measure the size and homogeneity of exosomes. Here, we analyzed exosomes from a fibrosarcoma cell line WEHI-164 compared with a breast cancer cell line MDA-MD-231 as a control. Results from dot blot and western blot analysis demonstrated that GM1 ganglioside, and TSG101, HSC70 and GAPDH proteins were contained in exosomes from the WEHI-164 fibrosarcoma cell line. The existence of tetraspanins such as CD81, CD63 and CD9 was confirmed in the exosomes by ExoView analysis. The results obtained from TEM showed their sphere-like shapes of around 50 to 70 nm in radius. Through DLS, we found out that the mean radius of the exosomes derived from WEHI-164 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines was 94.4 nm and 107.8 nm, respectively, with high homogeneity. When comparing the radius measured by TEM with the radius measured by DLS, it was revealed that the difference between the two methods was about 40 nm. This study has significance in characterizing the molecular properties of exosomes from a fibrosarcoma, which has not been researched much before, and in providing clear evidence that DLS can be used as an efficient, convenient and noninvasive technique to simply check the homogeneity and size of exosomes.

Degrons are minimal protein features that are sufficient to target proteins for degradation. In most cases, degrons allow recognition by components of the cytosolic ubiquitin proteasome system. Currently, all of the identified degrons only function within the cytosol. Using Saccharomyces cerevisiae , we identified the first short linear sequences that function as degrons from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) lumen. We show that when these degrons are transferred to proteins, they facilitate proteasomal degradation through the endoplasmic reticulum associated degradation (ERAD) system. These degrons enable degradation of both luminal and integral membrane ER proteins, expanding the types of proteins that can be targeted for degradation in budding yeast and mammalian tissue culture. This discovery provides a framework to target proteins for degradation from the previously unreachable ER lumen and builds toward therapeutic approaches that exploit the highly conserved ERAD system.

Currently, reliable biomarkers that can be used to distinguish rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from other inflammatory diseases are unavailable. To find possible distinctive metabolic patterns and biomarker candidates for RA, we performed global metabolite profiling of synovial fluid samples. Synovial fluid samples from 38 patients with RA, ankylosing spondylitis, Behçet's disease, and gout were analyzed by gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC/TOF MS). Orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant and hierarchical clustering analyses were performed for the discrimination of RA and non-RA groups. Variable importance for projection values were determined, and the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test and the breakdown and one-way analysis of variance were conducted to identify potential biomarkers for RA. A total of 105 metabolites were identified from synovial fluid samples. The score plot of orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis showed significant discrimination between the RA and non-RA groups. The 20 metabolites, including citrulline, succinate, glutamine, octadecanol, isopalmitic acid, and glycerol, were identified as potential biomarkers for RA. These metabolites were found to be associated with the urea and TCA cycles as well as fatty acid and amino acid metabolism. The metabolomic analysis results demonstrated that global metabolite profiling by GC/TOF MS might be a useful tool for the effective diagnosis and further understanding of RA.

This study shows that geostationary satellites are critical to estimate the accurate cloud feedback strength over the tropical western Pacific (TWP). Cloud feedback strength was calculated by the simultaneous relation between cloud cover and sea surface temperature (SST) over the TWP [120°E–170°E, 20°S–20°N]. During 2011–2018, the cloud cover was obtained by geostationary earth orbit satellite (GEO) and low‐level earth orbit satellite (LEO) (AGEO, ALEO), and the NOAA's all‐sky SST (To) was weighted with the clear‐sky fraction observed by GEO and LEO (TwGEO; TwLEO). The linear regression coefficients between clouds and SST are very different: −7.93%K−1 (AGEO/TwGEO), −6.94%K−1 (ALEO/TwGEO), −1.35%K−1 (AGEO/TwLEO), −0.69%K−1 (ALEO/TwLEO), −0.02 %K−1 (AGEO/To), and −0.50 %K−1 (ALEO/To). Among these, only the TwGEO values provided a valid cloud feedback signal. This is because GEO's field of view is large enough to simultaneously capture cloud cover over the entire TWP. Plain Language Summary Geostationary satellites are essential for accurately estimating cloud feedback strength over the tropical western Pacific (TWP). Cloud feedback strength is the change in cloudiness that results from a change in sea surface temperature (SST). When using data from both geostationary and low‐earth orbit satellites, the resulting cloud feedback signals are very different. This is because geostationary satellites have a large enough field of view to capture cloud cover over the entire TWP, while low‐earth orbit satellites do not. Therefore, geostationary satellites are the only reliable source of data for estimating cloud feedback strength over the TWP. This is important because cloud feedback is a major uncertainty in climate models. Key Points In the tropical western Pacific (TWP), the cloud‐sea surface temperature (SST) relation has been subject to the analysis methods with satellite observations The negative relationship is revealed only when the daily SST is weighted with the clear‐sky fraction from a geostationary satellite This disparity arises from the capability of geostationary satellites to simultaneously capture a snapshot of the entire TWP area

Bone health has been associated with oxidative stress and antioxidants have received interest to this end. Serum uric acid (SUA), an end product of purine metabolism in humans, has recently shown antioxidant properties regarding bone health, but there are conflicting results. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between SUA levels and lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) in clinically apparently healthy males aged 40–60 years. We performed a cross-sectional study of 6588 Korean males who completed a health-screening program from January 2011 to December 2014. Of the study participants, the mean age was 48.2 ± 10.7 years. Multiple regression analyses resulted in a significant positive association with lumbar spine BMD across SUA quintiles in a dose–response manner after adjusting for various confounding factors (p = 0.013); for each 1 mg/dl increase of SUA, BMD rose by 0.0054 g/cm2 (p = 0.004). Stratified analyses revealed that this association between SUA and lumbar spine BMD was consistently observed across all clinically relevant subgroups. The present study demonstrated a positive association in males between SUA and lumbar spine BMD, suggesting that SUA could have a profitable effect on bone metabolism.

Gout has been correlated with the risk of incident benign prostatic hyperplasia. In line with increasing prevalence of hyperuricemia, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between serum uric acid (SUA) level and the incidence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) among clinically healthy middle-aged men. We performed a cohort study in 101,091 Korean men without LUTS at baseline who completed health checkups between 2011 and 2016. LUTS were evaluated using the International Prostate Symptom Score, where a score ≥ 8 was defined as significant LUTS. Men were divided into six groups according to their SUA levels in mg/dL (<5.5, 5.5–6.4, 6.5–7.4, 7.5–8.4, 8.5–9.4, and ≥9.5). Throughout the follow-up—encompassing a total of 358,982.6 person years—13,424 people had significant LUTS (37.3 per 1000 person years for incidence rate). The multivariable models demonstrated that the highest level of SUA (≥9.5 mg/dL) was related to the lowest risk of significant LUTS compared with the reference category (<5.5 mg/dL) (0.77 (95% CI 0.59–0.99) for adjusted HR). In this large cohort composed of middle-aged men, higher SUA levels were related to a reduced risk of LUTS. This result suggests another potential role of SUA in restraining LUTS. Additional studies are needed to explain the underlying biological mechanisms of this phenomenological relationship.

This study evaluated the simulation performance of mesoscale convective system (MCS)-induced precipitation, focusing on three selected cases that originated from the Yellow Sea and propagated toward the Korean Peninsula. The evaluation was conducted for the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) analysis data, as well as the simulation result using them as initial and lateral boundary conditions for the Weather Research and Forecasting model. Particularly, temperature and humidity profiles from 3D dropsonde observations from the National Center for Meteorological Science of the Korea Meteorological Administration served as validation data. Results showed that the ECMWF analysis consistently had smaller errors compared to the NCEP analysis, which exhibited a cold and dry bias in the lower levels below 850 hPa. The model, in terms of the precipitation simulations, particularly for high-intensity precipitation over the Yellow Sea, demonstrated higher accuracy when applying ECMWF analysis data as the initial condition. This advantage also positively influenced the simulation of rainfall events on the Korean Peninsula by reasonably inducing convective-favorable thermodynamic features (i.e., warm and humid lower-level atmosphere) over the Yellow Sea. In conclusion, this study provides specific information about two global analysis datasets and their impacts on MCS-induced heavy rainfall simulation by employing dropsonde observation data. Furthermore, it suggests the need to enhance the initial field for MCS-induced heavy rainfall simulation and the applicability of assimilating dropsonde data for this purpose in the future.

Bilingualism has been linked with improved function regarding certain aspects of linguistic processing, e.g., novel word acquisition and learning unfamiliar sound patterns. Two non mutually-exclusive approaches might explain these results. One is related to executive function, speculating that more effective learning is achieved through actively choosing relevant information while inhibiting potentially interfering information. While still controversial, executive function enhancements attributed to bilingual experience have been reported for decades. The other approach, understudied to date, emphasizes the role of sensory mechanisms, specifically auditory sensory memory. Bilinguals outperformed monolinguals in tasks involving auditory processing and episodic memory recall, but the questions whether (1) bilinguals’ auditory sensory memory skills are also enhanced, and (2) phonetic skill and auditory sensory memory are correlated, remain open, however. Our study is innovative in investigating phonetic learning skills and auditory sensory memory in the same speakers from two groups: monolinguals and early bilinguals. The participants were trained and tested on an artificial accent of English and their auditory sensory memory was assessed based on a digit span task. The results demonstrated that, compared to monolinguals, bilinguals exhibit enhanced auditory sensory memory and phonetic and phonological learning skill, and a correlation exists between them.

ObjectiveWhile many studies on the increased risk of cancer in patients with psoriasis are available, data on the risk of cancer in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) are still scarce. We assessed the risk of cancer in patients with PsA in a nationwide population-based cohort in Korea.MethodsFrom 2010 to June 2021, patients newly diagnosed with PsA and 1:10 age-matched and sex-matched controls were included in this study. The outcome was the incidence of overall and specific cancers.ResultsTotal 162 cancers occurred in 4688 PsA patients (incidence rate 83.2 (95% CI 70.8 to 97.0) per 10 000 person-years) and 1307 cancers occurred in 46 880 controls (incidence rate 66.9 (95% CI 63.3 to 70.6) per 10 000 person-years). The adjusted HR (aHR) of overall cancer in PsA patients was 1.20 (95% CI 1.02 to 1.41). However, this significance disappeared when non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) was excluded (aHR 1.16, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.37). Among specific cancers, the risk of NMSC (aHR 3.64 (95% CI 1.61 to 8.23)), lymphoma (aHR 2.63 (95% CI 1.30 to 5.30)) and thyroid cancer (aHR 1.83 (95% CI 1.18 to 2.85)) was higher in patients with PsA than in controls.ConclusionThe risk of overall cancer was higher in patients with PsA than in the general population. Patients with PsA had increased risks of NMSC, lymphoma and thyroid cancer compared with the general population. Our findings suggest a need to conduct cancer screening by a detailed history and comprehensive clinical examination in patients with PsA.

The purpose of this study was to provide basic data on cognitive therapy and to improve social support programs for the elderly with dementia by identifying the difficulties they experienced in emotional communication by identifying how they recognized emotions in verbal reactions to facial expressions using Ekman’s photographs of facial expressions and comparing their responses with the general elderly population. There were 141 participants in this study. Data collection was conducted from 3 April 2019 to 30 June 2019 in Seoul, in the Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do provinces of South Korea. This study performed descriptive research in which subjects made participative decisions with their guardian through recruitment. The tools used in this study included a general characteristic questionnaire and the Ekman 6 facial expressions photographs tool, which underwent intensive validity studies. The collected data were analyzed using the R version 3.5.1 statistic computing platform. The ability of the elderly with dementia to associate verbal expressions with facial expressions differed from that of the general elderly population. The rates of correct associations of verbal expressions to facial expressions were similar across dementia grades. There was a significant difference in the proportion of correct associations between positive and negative emotions in the elderly with dementia compared to the general elderly population. In the elderly with dementia, pictures showing fear, anger, and disgust had higher wrong rates of incorrect answers than correct answers. The average score of elderly with dementia in associating verbal expressions with six facial expressions was 2.69, which was even lower when they were asked to associate verbal expressions with pictures showing facial expressions of anger or disgust. This study shows that elderly persons with dementia have difficulties identifying two negative emotions (anger, disgust) and find it much easier to identify a positive emotion of happiness represented by a smiling face. Since the ability of the elderly with dementia to interpret verbal expressions to facial expressions was different from that of the general elderly population, careful attention and consideration are needed to support and communicate emotions to the elderly with dementia.