Amelioration of Alzheimer’s disease by neuroprotective effect of sulforaphane in animal model

Kim, Hyunjin Vincent,Kim, Hye Yun,Ehrlich, Hanna Y.,Choi, Seon Young,Kim, Dong Jin,Kim, YoungSoo Informa UK, Ltd. 2013 Amyloid Vol.20 No.1

<P>Pathophysiological evidences of AD have indicated that aggregation of Aβ is one of the principal causes of neuronal dysfunction, largely by way of inducing oxidative stresses such as free radical formation. We hypothesized that the known antioxidative attribute of SFN could be harnessed in Alzheimer’s treatment. SFN is an indirect, potent antioxidant derived from broccoli that has previously been found to stimulate the Nrf2-ARE pathway and facilitate several other cytoprotective mechanisms. In this study, administration of SFN ameliorated cognitive function of Aβ-induced AD acute mouse models in Y-maze and passive avoidance behavior tests. Interestingly, we found that the therapeutic effect of SFN did not involve inhibition of Aβ aggregation. While the exact mechanism of interaction of SFN in AD has not yet been ascertained, our results suggest that SFN can aid in cognitive impairment and may protect the brain from amyloidogenic damages.</P><P><B>Abbreviations:</B> Aβ, amyloid-β; AD, Alzheimer’s disease; PBS, phosphate buffered saline; DMSO, dimethyl sulfoxide; ROS, reactive oxygen species; SFN, sulforaphane; DMEM, Dulbecco’s modified eagle medium; FBS, fetal bovine serum; ICR, imprinting control region; MTT, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide; DW, deionized water; ThT, thioflavin T; PA, passive avoidance; ARE, antioxidant response element.</P>

A Corpus-based Linguistic Profiling of Marine Humanities Discourse

( Vincent B Y Ooi ) 부경대학교 글로벌지역학연구소 2017 Journal of Global and Area Studies(JGA) Vol.1 No.2

“Marine humanities” is a very recent term to characterize an interdisciplinary field that examines the continuing narrative and construal of underwater and ocean environments, with the ultimate goal of understanding and preserving these environments. As “narrative” centrally makes use of language, this paper proposes a corpus linguistic-critical discourse analytic methodology that can be of assistance in the characterization and further understanding of marine humanities discourse. In order to demonstrate this methodology, the identification of ecological terms for study is first done by examining the 23-million word EcoLexicon corpus which is a multimodal terminological database reified by ‘word sketches’ using the Sketch Engine corpus tool. In order to corroborate the richness of the EcoLexicon corpus and to show the latest linguistic trends in the use of the term, the News of the World (NOW) Corpus of (currently) 5 billion words provides an overall indication of the frequency of distribution of each term across 20 countries in the trans-pacific region: the U.S., Australia, Kenya, Singapore, New Zealand, and other leading countries for which English is a native or near-native language. While varying in their views, these analytic tools and attendant corpora should provide a more inclusive perspective of marine humanities discourse and demonstrate the ability of corpus linguistics and ‘big data’ analysis to contribute to the wider inter-disciplinary conversation of marine humanities that relates human beings to their oceanic and wider ecological environments.

Current status of high-intensity focused ultrasound for the management of uterine adenomyosis

Vincent Y. T. Cheung 대한초음파의학회 2017 ULTRASONOGRAPHY Vol.36 No.2

While high-intensity focused ultrasound has been used for some time in the management of uterine fibroids, its effectiveness and safety in managing adenomyosis is less well established. A literature review was performed of all eligible reports using this modality as a treatment for adenomyosis. Relevant publications were obtained from the PubMed electronic database from inception through March 2016. Eleven articles, including information from 1,150 treatments and follow-up data from 990 patients, were reviewed. High-intensity focused ultrasound appears to be effective and safe in the management of symptomatic adenomyosis, and can be considered as an alternative uterine-sparing option for women with this condition.

Ultrasonography of benign vulvar lesions

Vincent Y. T. Cheung 대한초음파의학회 2018 ULTRASONOGRAPHY Vol.37 No.4

With the increasing applications of ultrasonography in the field of dermatology, this imagingmodality can be extended to identify and characterize common vulvar lesions, with a particularfocus on their location, size, vascularity, and content. This pictorial essay provides an introductionto vulvar ultrasonography, including technical considerations, ultrasonographic anatomy, and theultrasonographic appearances of some vulvar conditions.

Prediction of welding residual distortions of large structures using a local/global approach

Y. G. Duan,Y. Vincent,F. Boitout,J. B. Leblond,J. M. Bergheau 대한기계학회 2007 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.21 No.10

Temporal Pattern of cAMP Concentrations and α-Actin mRNA Expression in Skeletal Muscle of Cimaterol-Fed Rats

Kim, Y.S.,Duguies, M.V.,Kim, Y.H.,Vincent, D.L. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 1997 Animal Bioscience Vol.10 No.5

Twenty four female Sprague-Dawley rats weighing about 190 g were used to examine changes in muscle cAMP concentrations and steady-state levels of skeletal muscle ${\alpha}$-actin mRNA during chronic administration of cimaterol, a ${\beta}$-adrenergic agonist. Cimaterol was mixed in a powdered rat diet at 10 mg/kg diet. At 3 and 21 days after the start of treatment, skeletal muscle and heart samples were collected for the measurement of cAMP concentrations and skeletal muscle ${\alpha}$-actin mRNA levels. Cimaterol increased (p < 0.01) body weight gain gradually during the first seven days of the trial period, but not thereafter. Most skeletal muscle weights and the ratio of muscle weight to body weight were increased (p < 0.05) by cimaterol treatment both at 3 and 21 days. Heart weight was also increased (p < 0.05) by cimaterol treatment at 3 and 21 days, but the ratio of heart weight to body weight was increased (p < 0.05) only at 3 day. Cimaterol decreased (p < 0.05) cAMP concentration of gastrocnemius muscle at both 3 and 21 days after treatment. However, cimaterol tended (p = 0.07) to increase cAMP concentration at 3 days in the heart. Cimaterol tended (p = 0.08) to increase the steady-state level of ${\alpha}$-actin mRNA by 60% in gastrocnemius muscle at 3 days but had no effect at 21 days. The results indicate that the pattern of hypertrophic response to chronic dietary administration of cimaterol is different between cardiac and skeletal muscle. In skeletal muscles it appears that the hypertrophy induced by cimaterol is partly due to stimulated myofibrillar protein synthesis at a pre-translational level.

Validation of Self-administrated Questionnaire for Psychiatric Disorders in Patients with Functional Dyspepsia

( Ada W. Y. Tse ),( Larry H. Lai ),( C. C. Lee ),( Kelvin K. F. Tsoi ),( Vincent W. S. Wong ),( Yawen Chan ),( Joseph J. Y. Sung ),( Francis K. L. Chan ),( Justin C. Y. Wu ) 대한소화기기능성질환·운동학회 2010 Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (JNM Vol.16 No.1

Introduction: Psychiatric comorbidity is common in patients with functional dyspepsia (FD) but a good screening tool for psychiatric disorders in gastrointestinal clinical practice is Lacking. Aims: 1) Evaluate the performance and optimal cut-off of 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) as a screening tool for psychiatric disorders in FD patients; 2) Compare health-related quality of Life (HRQoL) in FD patients with and without psychiatric comorbidities. Methods: Consecutive patients fulfilling Rome III criteria for FD without medical co-morbidities and gastroesophageal reflux disease were recruited in a gastroenterology clinic. The followings were conducted at 4 weeks after index oesophagogastroduodenoscopy: self-administrated questionnaires on socio-demographics, dyspeptic symptom severity (4-point Likert scale), GHQ-12, and 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36). Psychiatric disorders were diagnosed with Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID) by a trained psychiatrist, which served as reference standard. Results: 55 patients underwent psychiatrist-conducted interview and questionnaire assessment. 27 (49.1%) had current psychiatric disorders as determined by SCID (anxiety disorders: 38.2%, depressive disorders: 16.4%). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of GHQ-12 revealed an area under curve of 0.825 (95%CI: 0.698-0.914). Cut-off of GHQ-12 at 3 gave a sensitivity of 63.0% (95%CI = 42.4-80.6%) and specificity of 92.9% (95%CI = 76.5%-98.9%). Subjects with co-existing psychiatric disorders scored significantly Lower in multiple domains of SF-36 (mental component summary, general health, vitality and mental health). By multivariate Linear regression analysis, current psychiatric morbidities (Beta = -0.396, p = 0.002) and family history of psychiatric illness (Beta = -0.299, p = 0.015) were independent risk factors for poorer mental component summary in SF-36, while dyspepsia severity was the only independent risk factor for poorer physical component summary (Beta = -0.332, p = 0.027). Conclusions: Concomitant psychiatric disorders adversely affect HRQoL in FD patients. The use of GHQ-12 as a reliable screening tool for psychiatric disorders allows early intervention and may improve clinical outcomes of these patients.(J Neurogastroenterol Motil 2010;16:52-60)

Comment on: Delayed intestinal perforation and vertebral osteomyelitis after high-intensity focused ultrasound treatment for uterine leiomyoma

( Jennifer K. Y. Ko ),( Vincent Y. T. Cheung ) 대한산부인과학회 2018 Obstetrics & Gynecology Science Vol.61 No.2

Multi-layered Regulation of SPL15 and Cooperation with SOC1 Integrate Endogenous Flowering Pathways at the Arabidopsis Shoot Meristem

Hyun, Y.,Richter, R.,Vincent, C.,Martinez-Gallegos, R.,Porri, A.,Coupland, G. ELSEVIER SCIENCE B.V. AMSTERDAM 2016 DEVELOPMENTAL CELL Vol.37 No.3

Flowering is initiated in response to environmental and internal cues that are integrated at the shoot apical meristem (SAM). We show that SPL15 coordinates the basal floral promotion pathways required for flowering of Arabidopsis in non-inductive environments. SPL15 directly activates transcription of the floral regulators FUL and miR172b in the SAM during floral induction, whereas its paralog SPL9 is expressed later on the flanks of the SAM. The capacity of SPL15 to promote flowering is regulated by age through miR156, which targets SPL15 mRNA, and gibberellin (GA), which releases SPL15 from DELLAs. Furthermore, SPL15 and the MADS-box protein SOC1 cooperate to promote transcription of their target genes. SPL15 recruits RNAPII and MED18, a Mediator complex component, in a GA-dependent manner, while SOC1 facilitates active chromatin formation with the histone demethylase REF6. Thus, we present a molecular basis for assimilation of flowering signals and transcriptional control at the SAM during flowering.

A duplex β″-Al₂O₃ solid electrolyte consisting of a thin dense layer and a porous substrate

Kim, Jin Y.,Canfield, Nathan L.,Bonnett, Jeff F.,Sprenkle, Vincent L.,Jung, Keeyoung,Hong, Inchul Elsevier 2015 Solid state ionics Vol.278 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>To improve the performance of Na-beta batteries at intermediate temperatures (≤200°C) where much improved cyclability and reduced degradation can be achieved, there is a need to lower the resistance/polarization originated from β″-Al<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>3</SUB> solid electrolyte (BASE) while maintaining its good strength. In this paper, the concept of a duplex BASE consisting of a thin dense electrolyte and a porous support was proposed as a solution to achieve low area-specific resistance (ASR) with good mechanical strength supported by the porous substrate. The effects of various factors including porosity, composition, and homogeneity of ingredients on the flexural strength of duplex BASEs were examined. In summary, lower porosity, higher YSZ content in the structure, and attrition milling of raw powders resulted in improved strength. The ASR measurement exhibited that the resistance of duplex BASEs was mainly originated from a dense layer. Overall, the maximum strength of 260MPa and the ASR value of 0.31Ωcm<SUP>2</SUP> (at 350°C) was achieved from a duplex BASE consisting of a 50μm thick dense layer (Al<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>3</SUB>:YSZ=7:3 in volume) and a 500μm thick porous support (Al<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>3</SUB>:YSZ=4:6 in volume with 19% open porosity). The effects of various factors on the properties of duplex BASEs will be discussed in detail.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> As a method to lower the ASR, the concept of duplex BASEs is presented. </LI> <LI> A duplex BASEs consists of a thin dense β″-alumina layer and a mechanically strong porous support. </LI> <LI> Processing factors including conversion, porosity, composition, and homogeneity influence the strength of a duplex BASE. </LI> <LI> The minimum ASR value of 0.31Ωcm<SUP>2</SUP> was achieved at 350°C with decent strength of 260MPa. </LI> </UL> </P>