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Mood disorders and antidepressant therapy involve alterations of monoaminergic and glutamatergic transmission. The protein S100A10 (p11) was identified as a regulator of serotonin receptors, and it has been implicated in the etiology of depression and in mediating the antidepressant actions of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Here we report that p11 can also regulate depression-like behaviors via regulation of a glutamatergic receptor in mice. p11 directly binds to the cytoplasmic tail of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5). p11 and mGluR5 mutually facilitate their accumulation at the plasma membrane, and p11 increases cell surface availability of the receptor. Whereas p11 overexpression potentiates mGluR5 agonist-induced calcium responses, overexpression of mGluR5 mutant, which does not interact with p11, diminishes the calcium responses in cultured cells. Knockout of mGluR5 or p11 specifically in glutamatergic neurons in mice causes depression-like behaviors. Conversely, knockout of mGluR5 or p11 in GABAergic neurons causes antidepressant-like behaviors. Inhibition of mGluR5 with an antagonist, 2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)pyridine (MPEP), induces antidepressant-like behaviors in a p11-dependent manner. Notably, the antidepressant-like action of MPEP is mediated by parvalbumin-positive GABAergic interneurons, resulting in a decrease of inhibitory neuronal firing with a resultant increase of excitatory neuronal firing. These results identify a molecular and cellular basis by which mGluR5 antagonism achieves its antidepressant-like activity.

The advanced molybdenum-based rare process experiment (AMoRE) aims to search for neutrinoless double beta decay (\\[0\\nu \\beta \\beta \\]) of \\[^{100}\\]Mo with \\[\\sim 100\\,\\hbox {kg}\\] of \\[^{100}\\]Mo-enriched molybdenum embedded in cryogenic detectors with a dual heat and light readout. At the current, pilot stage of the AMoRE project we employ six calcium molybdate crystals with a total mass of 1.9 kg, produced from \\[^{48}\\]Ca-depleted calcium and \\[^{100}\\]Mo-enriched molybdenum (\\[^{48{{\\text {depl}}}\\hbox {Ca}^{100}\\hbox {MoO}_{4}\\]). The simultaneous detection of heat (phonon) and scintillation (photon) signals is realized with high resolution metallic magnetic calorimeter sensors that operate at milli-Kelvin temperatures. This stage of the project is carried out in the Yangyang underground laboratory at a depth of 700 m. We report first results from the AMoRE-Pilot \\[0\\nu \\beta \\beta \\] search with a 111 kg day live exposure of \\[^{48{{\\text {depl}}}\\hbox {Ca}^{100}\\hbox {MoO}_{4}\\] crystals. No evidence for \\[0\\nu \\beta \\beta \\] decay of \\[^{100}\\]Mo is found, and a upper limit is set for the half-life of \\[0\\nu \\beta \\beta \\] of \\[^{100}\\]Mo of \\[T^{0\\nu }_{1/2} > 9.5\\times 10^{22}~\\hbox {years}\\] at 90% C.L. This limit corresponds to an effective Majorana neutrino mass limit in the range \\[\\langle m_{\\beta \\beta }\\rangle \\le (1.2-2.1)\\,\\hbox {eV}\\].

Background/Objectives: The purpose of diet-quality indices is to assess and guide individual dietary intake for the promotion of health and prevention of disease, and food based dietary-quality indices need to be applied by using each country's own unique diet. We assessed the relationships between relatively simple dietary quality scores modified for a Korean diet, such as the Recommended Food Score (RFS) and alternate Mediterranean Diet Score (aMDS), and oxidative stress biomarkers in Korean adults. Subjects/Methods: A total of 976 adults were recruited for the Biomarker Monitoring for Environmental Health Study between April and December 2005 in Seoul and Incheon, Korea. RFS and aMDS were calculated by using a food-frequency questionnaire. We used regression analyses to assess the associations between diet quality scores and urinary malondialdehyde (MDA) and 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). Results: RFS and aMDS were negatively associated with urinary MDA concentrations ( P =0.032 for RFS, P =0.043 for aMDS), but not with 8-OHdG after adjusted for potential covariates. After stratified analyses by sex, negative associations between the both scores and urinary MDA concentrations were not significant in both men and women. There were no significant associations of RFS and aMDS with urinary 8-OHdG concentrations. Conclusions: Higher RFS and aMDS scores were related to lower oxidative stress. Therefore, good quality of diet may be useful in reducing oxidative stress.

We have developed ultra-low-background NaI(Tl) crystals to reproduce the DAMA results with the ultimate goal of achieving purity levels that are comparable to or better than those of the DAMA/LIBRA crystals. Even though the achieved background level does not approach that of DAMA/LIBRA, it is crucial to have a quantitative understanding of the backgrounds. We have studied background simulations toward a deeper understanding of the backgrounds and developed background models for a 9.16-kg NaI(Tl) crystal used in the test arrangement. In this paper we describe the contributions of background sources quantitatively by performing Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations that are fitted to the measured data to quantify the unknown fractions of the background compositions. In the fitted results, the overall simulated background spectrum well describes the measured data with a 9.16-kg NaI(Tl) crystal and shows that the background sources are dominated by surface 210 Pb and internal 40 K in the 2–6-keV energy interval, which produce 2.4 counts/day/keV/kg (dru) and 0.5 dru, respectively.

Summary The administration of teriparatide (TPTD) in conjunction with periodontal care could provide faster and more favorable clinical outcomes in previously refractory bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaws (BRONJ) cases compared to conventional dental care, combination of surgery and antimicrobial treatment. We also found that underlying vitamin D levels might influence the response to TPTD treatment. Introduction Treatment of BRONJ is quite challenging and there are no standard treatment modalities. In this retrospective, longitudinal study, we examined whether additional TPTD administration could be beneficial for the resolution of BRONJ lesions compared to conservative management, such as antimicrobial treatment with or without surgery, and also studied the factors influencing the response to TPTD. Methods Twenty-four cases of intractable BRONJ were included: 15 subjects were assigned to the TPTD group and the other 9 subjects, who refused TPTD administration, were assigned to the non-TPTD group. All subjects in both groups continued calcium and vitamin D supplementation and the TPTD group additionally received a daily subcutaneous injection of 20 μg TPTD for 6 months. Results While 60.0 % of the non-TPTD group showed one stage of improvement in BRONJ, 40.0 % of the group did not show any improvement in disease status. In the TPTD group, 62.5 % of the treated subjects showed one stage of improvement and the other 37.5 % demonstrated a marked improvement, including two stages of improvement or complete healing, and there was not a single case that did not improve. The clinical improvement of BRONJ was statistically better in the TPTD group after the 6-month treatment ( p  < 0.05). Moreover, patients with higher baseline serum 25(OH)D levels showed better clinical therapeutic outcomes with TPTD. Conclusions We observed the beneficial effects of TPTD on BRONJ, and subjects with optimal serum vitamin D concentrations seemed to reap the maximum therapeutic effects of TPTD. A prospective, randomized, controlled trial should be needed to further evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of TPTD in the resolution of BRONJ.

Background: Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) display cellular heterogeneity and contain cancer stem cells (CSCs). Sex-determining region Y [SRY]-box (SOX)2 is an important regulator of embryonic stem cell fate and is aberrantly expressed in several types of human tumours. Nonetheless, the role of SOX2 in HNSCC remains unclear. Methods: We created cells ectopically expressing SOX2 from previously established HNSCC cells and examined the cell proliferation, self-renewal capacity, and chemoresistance of these cells compared with control cells. In addition, we knocked down SOX2 in primary spheres obtained from HNSCC tumour tissue and assessed the attenuation of stemness-associated traits in these cells in vitro and in vivo . Furthermore, we examined the clinical relevance of SOX2 expression in HNSCC patients. Results: SOX2 is aberrantly expressed in primary tissue of HNSCC patients but not in healthy tissue. SOX2 expression correlated with tumour recurrence and poor prognosis of HNSCC patients. Ectopic expression of SOX2 induced cell proliferation via cyclin B1 expression and stemness-associated features, such as self-renewal and chemoresistance. In addition, a knockdown of SOX2 in HNSCC CSCs attenuated their self-renewal capacity, chemoresistance (through ABCG2 suppression), invasion capacity (via snail downregulation), and in vivo tumorigenicity. Conclusions: These results suggest that SOX2 may have important roles in the ‘stemness’ and progression of HNSCC. Targeting SOX2-positive tumour cells (CSCs) could be a new therapeutic strategy in HNSCCs.

Background/Objectives: To investigate the association of antioxidant nutritional status with the risk of atopic dermatitis (AD) in young children in a case–control, population-based study. Subjects/Methods: Identified from preschools by using the Korean version of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). Final analysis included 180 AD (mean age 5.3±0.9 years) and 242 non-AD (mean age 5.2±1.0 years) children. Diet was assessed using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Fasting blood samples were used for analyses of fat-soluble vitamins (retinol, α-tocopherol, and β-carotene) and vitamin C. Results: AD was associated negatively with intakes of antioxidant-related nutrients. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were 0.44 (0.22–0.88) for the highest (vs lowest) quintile of β-carotene. A similar association was observed for dietary vitamin E (OR=0.33, 95% CI=0.16–0.67), folic acid (OR=0.37, 95% CI=0.18–0.73), and iron (OR=0.39, 95% CI=0.19–0.79). Reduced AD risk was found with 1 s.d. increase of serum α-tocopherol [OR=0.64, 95% CI=0.41–0.98) and retinol (OR=0.74, 95% CI=0.58–0.96) concentrations, and marginally with that of serum β-carotene levels (P=0.0749 for trend). There was no relationship of AD risk with dietary and plasma vitamin C as well as nutrient supplement intake regardless of nutrient type. AD was predicted better by the intake measure than the corresponding blood biomarker regarding vitamin E and β-carotene. Conclusions: These findings suggest that higher antioxidant nutritional status reduces the risk of AD and that such risk-reduction effects depend on nutrient type.

The Korea Invisible Mass Search (KIMS) collaboration has developed low-background NaI(Tl) crystals that are suitable for the direct detection of WIMP dark matter. Building on experience accumulated during the KIMS-CsI programs, the KIMS-NaI experiment will consist of a 200 kg NaI(Tl) crystal array surrounded by layers of shielding structures and will be operated at the Yangyang underground laboratory. The goal is to provide an unambiguous test of the DAMA/LIBRA annual modulation signature. Measurements of six prototype crystals show progress in the reduction of internal contamination from radioisotopes. Based on our understanding of these measurements, we expect to achieve a background level in the final detector configuration that is less than 1 count/day/keV/kg for recoil energies around 2 keV. The annual modulation sensitivity for the KIMS-NaI experiment shows that an unambiguous 7 σ test of the DAMA/LIBRA signature would be possible with a 600 kg year exposure with this system.

Job’s tears (Coix lacryma-jobi) stalk was used as a possible raw material for particleboard. A urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin was synthesised in the laboratory with resin solids at 50% content as a particleboard binder. The physical characteristics of the synthesised UF resin were analysed for solids content, specific gravity, viscosity, gel time, pH and free formaldehyde content. The laboratory particleboards were made using Job’s tears stalk and wood particles based on a Job’s tears stalk oven-dry weight of 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40% with UF resin. The physical and mechanical properties of the particleboard were tested according to the ASTM D 1037-99 procedure. Internal bond, bending strength properties of the particleboards made using the UF resin decreased gradually with increasing Job’s tears stalk content. However, the acceptable physical and mechanical properties of all particleboards showed that Job’s tears stalk is a suitable raw material for manufacturing of particleboard.

Pharmaceuticals have gained significant attention in recent years due to the environmental risks posed by their versatile application and occurrence in the natural aquatic environment. The transportation and distribution of pharmaceuticals in the environmental media mainly depends on their sorption behavior in soils, sediment–water systems and waste water treatment plants, which varies widely across pharmaceuticals. Sorption of ibuprofen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, onto various soil minerals, viz., kaolinite, montmorillonite, goethite, and activated carbon, as a function of pH (3–11), ionic strength (NaCl concentration: 0.001–0.5 M), and the humic acid concentration (0–1,000 mg/L) was investigated through batch experiments. Experimental results showed that the sorption of ibuprofen onto all sorbents was highest at pH 3, with highest sorption capacity for activated carbon (28.5 mg/g). Among the minerals, montmorillonite sorbed more ibuprofen than kaolinite and goethite, with sorption capacity increasing in the order goethite (2.2 mg/g) < kaolinite (3.1 mg/g) < montmorillonite (6.1 mg/g). The sorption capacity of the selected minerals increased with increase in ionic strength of the solution in acidic pH condition indicating that the effect of pH was predominant compared to that of ionic strength. An increase in humic acid concentration from low to high values made the sorption phenomena very complex in the soil minerals. Based on the experimental observations, montmorillonite, among the selected soil minerals, could serve as a good candidate to remove high concentrations of ibuprofen from aqueous solution.