The Development of the Brooding Scale

Ji-Hyun Kim,Yanhong Piao,Woo-Sung Kim,Jeong-Jae Park,Nam-In Kang,Keon-Hak Lee,Young-Chul Chung 대한신경정신의학회 2019 PSYCHIATRY INVESTIGATION Vol.16 No.6

Objective The purpose of this study was to develop a Brooding Scale (BS) and to confirm its psychometric properties. Methods A preliminary questionnaire was developed based on a literature review and face-to-face interviews with healthy subjects. To evaluate reliability and construct validity, a 15-item BS was administered to 124 healthy subjects. Convergent validity was tested by assessing the relationship between the BS and the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS). Discriminant validity was confirmed in 58 patients with schizophrenia. Results The internal consistency for the BS was excellent. An exploratory factor analysis yielded two factors: the emotional (six items) and cognitive (five items) domains, which explained 33.83% and 23.69% of the variance, respectively. The BS total score and scores for factors 1 and 2 showed significant positive correlations with the RRS. The total score and sub-factor scores of the BS were significantly higher in patients with schizophrenia than in healthy subjects. Conclusion The BS can be used as a reliable and valid tool to assess brooding in healthy adults. In addition, it had good discriminant validity for patients with schizophrenia.

Regulating surface-pore structure of PES UF membrane by addition of ‘‘active” nano-CaCO3

Mantong Gao,Shenghuan Wang,Yanhong Ji,Zhengyu Cui,Feng Yan,Mohammad Younas,Jianxin Li,Benqiao He 한국공업화학회 2022 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.111 No.-

A small surface-pore ultrafiltration membrane with a high surface porosity was fabricated from a polyethersulfone (PES) dope solution containing a small quantity of CaCO3 nanoparticles (nano-CaCO3),which coagulated in dilute HCl solution. During membrane formation, CO2 nanobubbles were in-situ generatedto delay phase inversion, which ameliorated the membrane structure and performance becauseCO2 nanobubbles are amphiphobic to water and solvent. With increasing nano-CaCO3 content (from 0to 0.15%) in the dope solution, the surface porosity and the surface-pore density of the obtained PESUF membrane were markedly increased from 1.76 to 6.50% and from 8.31 1014 to 5.08 1015 m2,respectively. Nonetheless, the surface-pore size decreased from 13.35 to 8.29 nm, and so as the distribution. The optimal membrane exhibited a high pure water flux (698.2 Lm2h1) and a high rejection tobovine serum album (>99%) with a moderate anti-fouling ability. This work would be of great significancefor precision separation in biopharmaceutical, food processing, and other related applications.

Aloe-Emodin-Mediated Photodynamic Therapy Attenuates Sepsis-Associated Toxins in Selected Gram-Positive Bacteria In Vitro

( Woodvine Otieno ),( Chengcheng Liu ),( Yanhong Ji ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2021 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.31 No.9

Sepsis is an acute inflammatory response that leads to life-threatening complications if not quickly and adequately treated. Cytolysin, hemolysin, and pneumolysin are toxins produced by grampositive bacteria and are responsible for resistance to antimicrobial drugs, cause virulence and lead to sepsis. This work assessed the effects of aloe-emodin (AE) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) on sepsis-associated gram-positive bacterial toxins. Standard and antibiotic-resistant Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pneumonia bacterial strains were cultured in the dark with varying AE concentrations and later irradiated with 72 J/cm-2 light. Colony and biofilm formation was determined. CCK-8, Griess reagent reaction, and ELISA assays were done on bacteriainfected RAW264.7 cells to determine the cell viability, NO, and IL-1β and IL-6 pro-inflammatory cytokines responses, respectively. Hemolysis and western blot assays were done to determine the effect of treatment on hemolysis activity and sepsis-associated toxins expressions. AE-mediated PDT reduced bacterial survival in a dose-dependent manner with 32 μg/ml of AE almost eliminating their survival. Cell proliferation, NO, IL-1β, and IL-6 cytokines production were also significantly downregulated. Further, the hemolytic activities and expressions of cytolysin, hemolysin, and pneumolysin were significantly reduced following AE-mediated PDT. In conclusion, combined use of AE and light (435 ± 10 nm) inactivates MRSA, S. aureus (ATCC 29213), S. pneumoniae (ATCC 49619), MDR-S. pneumoniae, E. faecalis (ATCC 29212), and VRE (ATCC 51299) in an AE-dose dependent manner. AE and light are also effective in reducing biofilm formations, suppressing proinflammatory cytokines, hemolytic activities, and inhibiting the expressions of toxins that cause sepsis.

Dietary spray-dried plasma supplementation in late-gestation and lactation enhanced productive performance and immune responses of lactating sows and their litters

( Kwangwook Kim ),( Byeonghyeon Kim ),( Hyunjin Kyoung ),( Yanhong Liu ),( Joy M. Campbell ),( Minho Song ),( Peng Ji ) 한국축산학회 2021 한국축산학회지 Vol.63 No.5

The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of spray-dried plasma (SDP) supplementation during late gestation and lactation on productive performance and immune responses of sows and their litters. Twelve sows (227.78 ± 2.16 kg average body weight; 2.0 average parity) were randomly allotted to two dietary treatments: a basal diet (CON) and the basal diet supplemented with 1% SDP. Sows were fed experimental diets from d 30 before farrowing to weaning of their piglets. Blood samples were collected from sows on d 1, 3, and 7 of lactation and from two randomly selected nursing pigs per litter on d 3 and 7 after birth, and d 1, 3, and 7 after weaning. Productive performance and immune responses of sows and their piglets were measured. There was a trend of less body weight loss in sows supplemented with SDP (p < 0.10) during the lactation period and a trend of greater (p < 0.10) average daily gain in SDP piglets compared to those in the CON group. Sows in the SDP group tended to have lower (p < 0.10) serum concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), and cortisol on d 3 and lower serum concentration of TNF-α on d 7 compared with sows in CON group. In comparison with CON piglets, piglets from SDP sows tended to have lower (p < 0.10) serum concentrations of TNF-α, TGF-β1, and cortisol on d 7 after birth, lower (p < 0.10) serum TNF-α and C-reactive protein on d 3 and 7 after weaning, and greater (p < 0.10) average daily gain after weaning. Moreover, weaned pigs from sows fed SDP had significantly lower (p < 0.05) serum concentrations of cortisol and TGF-β1 on d 3 and 7 postweaning, respectively, than CON piglets. In conclusion, SDP supplementation in sow diets from late gestation to weaning improved the productive performance of sows and their offspring; the beneficial effects of SDP may be mediated in part through modulation of immune responses of both sows and piglets.

Madecassic acid protects human periodontal ligament fibroblasts against hydrogen peroxide-induced cell damage by maintaining mitochondrial membrane potential

Jin Yuqin,Li Jialing,Ding Liang,Zhao Qing,Song Yuxian,Li Guifeng,Ji Jun,Ni Yanhong,Hu Qingang 대한독성 유전단백체 학회 2022 Molecular & cellular toxicology Vol.18 No.1

Background Oxidative stress is involved in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory diseases, such as periodontitis. When periodontitis occurs, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are overproduced and cannot be balanced by the antioxidant defense system, resulting in tissue damage. Madecassic acid (MA), an abundant triterpenoid in Centella asiatica (L.) Urban, has been used as a wound healing, antiinflammatory, and anticancer agent. Moreover, recent studies have shown that MA has an antioxidative effect, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Objective Here, we established an effective oxidative stress model induced by hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) in human periodontal ligament fi broblasts (hPDLFs) to investigate the antioxidant and protective effects of MA against cell damage and its underlying mechanism of action. Results Pretreatment with MA inhibited cell apoptosis and promoted cell invasion and migration against oxidative injury induced by H 2 O 2 . In addition, MA was able to maintain mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) under oxidative stress. Notably, we found that MA restored redox balance by reducing intracellular ROS production. Furthermore, we investigated apoptosis-related proteins and found that the levels of anti-apoptosis markers Bcl-xL and Bcl-2 were remarkably upregulated, whereas that of the pro-apoptotic marker Bax was strikingly downregulated. Conclusions Collectively, these findings suggest that MA inhibits H 2 O 2 -induced oxidative stress and apoptosis of hPDLFs by reducing intracellular ROS production to maintain ΔΨm stability.