Abstract 4287: Peroxiredoxin 2 has a crucial role in the survival of gastric cancer cells by regulating β-catenin and TNF signaling

Gastric cancer (GC) is globally the fifth most common cancer and third leading cause of cancer death. Functional activation of β-catenin is necessary for early events in gastric carcinogenesis and GC with mutation of APC gene, similar to colorectal tumorigenesis, occur during the early stages of gastric adenoma development. Mammalian 2-Cys peroxiredoxin (Prx) enzymes are overexpressed in most cancer tissues, but the effect of Prx2 expression on GC survival remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that Prx2 deletion markedly reduces the active β-catenin levels and the expression of β-catenin target genes in GC cells. Furthermore, the TNF α-induced activation of ERK1/2 was inhibited and reciprocally, JNK phosphorylation and cleaved caspase3 was increased in Prx2-knockdown GC cells. Prx2 deletion also can suppress the viability, invasion and colony formation of GC cells. The proof-of-concept experiment using conoidinA as a Prx2 inhibitor shows it can significantly ablates the growth of 5-FU-resistant SNU620. Thus, our findings reveal that Prx2 is a key regulator of β-catenin and TNF signaling pathway in GC, and also suggest a pharmacologic strategy to effectively overcome drug-resistant GC.

Note: This abstract was not presented at the meeting.

Citation Format: Hee Sung Kim, Tae Hyeong Lee, Dong Hoon Kang, Peter Chang-Whan Lee, Byung Sik Kim. Peroxiredoxin 2 has a crucial role in the survival of gastric cancer cells by regulating β-catenin and TNF signaling [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4287.

The relationship between decreased pulmonary function and atrial fibrillation in general population: Findings from Ansung-Ansan cohort of the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study

BACKGROUND

Decreased pulmonary function is a possible risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF). However, data on this relationship in Asian populations are scant. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between decreased pulmonary function and the incidence of AF in a prospective cohort of Koreans aged 40-69 years.

METHODS

We assessed AF in 9631 Korean people enrolled in the community-based cohort who were followed for up to 12 years. AF at baseline was identified by electrocardiography (ECG) performed during the baseline visit and/or the self-reported history of physician-determined diagnosis made before the baseline visit. Similarly, AF newly developed after the baseline visit was also identified by biennially performed ECGs and/or the self-reported history of physician-determined diagnosis that occurred between each biennial visit. If AF was identified by both ECGs and the history in the same subject, the earlier identification date was considered the time of AF development.

RESULTS

The median age was 50 (interquartile range, 44-60) years, and 4633 (48.1%) were male. The prevalence of AF at baseline was significantly higher in subjects with lower quartiles of forced expiratory volume in second (FEV₁)% predicted (1.2% in the lowest quartile versus 0.3% in the highest quartile; p<0.001). After adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors, FEV₁% predicted and forced vital capacity (FVC)% predicted were independent risk factors for AF at baseline. Over a median follow-up period of 138 (interquartile range, 70-141) months, AF was newly documented in 162 subjects (1.7%). The lowest quartiles of FEV₁% predicted (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.59; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-2.50) was associated with a higher risk of incident AF than the highest quartiles.

CONCLUSIONS

In this large community-based cohort study with a long-term follow-up, decreased pulmonary function was found to be an independent risk factor for AF in the general Korean population.

The Impact of Aversive Advice During Percutaneous Coronary Intervention on Smoking Cessation in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome

BACKGROUND

Smoking cessation is important to prevent recurrence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), but even in patients with ACS, smoking is hard to quit.

OBJECTIVES

This study hypothesized that aversive advice during the percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedure works effectively to promote smoking cessation in patients with ACS.

METHODS

This study was conducted as a prospective, single-blinded, randomized controlled trial. A total of 66 patients were randomly assigned to an aversive advice group or a control group and instructed to visit the outpatient clinic 1, 4, and 24 weeks after discharge. In the aversive advice group, a physician who did not participate in the patient follow-up said the following 3 sentences to the patients during the PCI procedure: "Smoking caused your chest pain"; "If you do not stop smoking right now, this pain will come again"; and "The next time you feel this pain you will probably die." All patients received usual advice on the importance of quitting smoking.

RESULTS

At 24 weeks after discharge, the smoking cessation rate was higher in the aversive advice group than in the control group. In a multivariable logistic regression analysis, after adjustment for age, smoking quantity, alcohol consumption, and disease severity, the result was maintained (odds ratio = 4.47, 95% confidence interval: 1.50 to 13.34).

CONCLUSIONS

Aversive advice during a PCI procedure is effective at smoking cessation in patients with ACS. A physician's attention and involvement during the PCI procedure improves the rate of smoking cessation in patients with ACS.

PIN1 is a new therapeutic target of craniosynostosis

Gain-of-function mutations in fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) cause congenital skeletal anomalies, including craniosynostosis (CS), which is characterized by the premature closure of craniofacial sutures. Apert syndrome (AS) is one of the severest forms of CS, and the only treatment is surgical expansion of prematurely fused sutures in infants. Previously, we demonstrated that the prolyl isomerase peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase interacting 1 (PIN1) plays a critical role in mediating FGFR signaling and that Pin1+/- mice exhibit delayed closure of cranial sutures. In this study, using both genetic and pharmacological approaches, we tested whether PIN1 modulation could be used as a therapeutic regimen against AS. In the genetic approach, we crossbred Fgfr2S252W/+, a mouse model of AS, and Pin1+/- mice. Downregulation of Pin1 gene dosage attenuated premature cranial suture closure and other phenotypes of AS in Fgfr2S252W/+ mutant mice. In the pharmacological approach, we intraperitoneally administered juglone, a PIN1 enzyme inhibitor, to pregnant Fgfr2S252W/+ mutant mice and found that this treatment successfully interrupted fetal development of AS phenotypes. Primary cultured osteoblasts from Fgfr2S252W/+ mutant mice expressed high levels of FGFR2 downstream target genes, but this phenotype was attenuated by PIN1 inhibition. Post-translational stabilization and activation of Runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) in Fgfr2S252W/+ osteoblasts were also attenuated by PIN1 inhibition. Based on these observations, we conclude that PIN1 enzyme activity is important for FGFR2-induced RUNX2 activation and craniofacial suture morphogenesis. Moreover, these findings highlight that juglone or other PIN1 inhibitors represent viable alternatives to surgical intervention for treatment of CS and other hyperostotic diseases.

Moderate hearing loss is related with social frailty in a community-dwelling older adults: The Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study (KFACS)

OBJECTIVES

To determine whether hearing loss is associated with social frailty in older adults.

METHODS

Cross-sectional analysis of cohort study data. Hearing was measured using of Pure-tone audiometry. Hearing loss was determined based on the average of hearing thresholds at 0.5, 1, and 2 kHz in the ear that had better hearing. Social frailty was defined based on the summation of the following 5 social components (1. Neighborhood meeting attendance 2. Talking to friend(s) sometimes 3.Someone gives you love and affection 4. Living alone 5. Meeting someone every day). Participants who had no correspondence to the components were considered non-social frailty; those with 1-2 components were considered social prefrailty; and those having 3 or more components were considered social frailty.

RESULTS

The prevalence of non-social frailty, social prefrailty, social frailty was 27.6%, 60.7% and 11.7% respectively. Of the five questions, two components (Neighborhood meeting attendance and Presence of someone who shows love and affection to the participants) were associated with hearing loss (p < 0.001). Compared to non-social frailty, the odds ratio of social frailty for hearing loss was 2.24 (95% CI 1.48-3.38) after adjusting for age, residential area, economic status, smoking, depressive disorder and MMSE, and 2.17 (95% CI 1.43-3.30) after further adjustments with physical frailty.

CONCLUSION

Hearing loss was associated with social frailty even after controlling confounding factors even including physical frailty.

Strong One-Dimensional Characteristics of Hole-Carriers in ReS2 and ReSe2

Each plane of layered ReS₂ and ReSe₂ materials has 1D chain structure, from which intriguing properties such as 1D character of the exciton states and linearly polarized photoluminescence originate. However, systematic studies on the 1D character of charge carriers have not been done yet. Here, we report on systematic and comparative studies on the energy-momentum dispersion relationships of layered transition metal dichalcogenides ReS₂ and ReSe₂ by angle resolved photoemission. We found that the valence band maximum or the minimum energy for holes is located at the high symmetric Z-point for both materials. However, the out-of-plane (\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${k}_{z}$$\end{document}kz) dispersion for ReSe₂ (20 meV) is found to be much smaller than that of ReS₂ (150 meV). We observe that the effective mass of the hole carriers along the direction perpendicular to the chain is about 4 times larger than that along the chain direction for both ReS₂ and ReSe₂. Remarkably, the experimentally measured hole effective mass is about twice heavier than that from first principles calculation for ReS₂ although the in-plane anisotropy values from the experiment and calculations are comparable. These observation indicate that bulk ReS₂ and ReSe₂ are unique semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides having strong one-dimensional characters.

Long-term survival outcome with tyrosine kinase inhibitors and surgical intervention in patients with metastatic or recurrent gastrointestinal stromal tumors: A 14-year, single-center experience

The long‐term effects of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), including imatinib, and surgical intervention on advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) were evaluated. All 379 patients had metastatic or recurrent GIST and started 400 mg/d imatinib at the Asan Medical Center in periods 1 and 2 [2001‐2007 (33.2%) and 2008‐2014 (66.8%), respectively]. Men constituted 60.4%; median patient age and tumor size at the initiation of imatinib were 58.6 (14.6‐85.5) years and 51 (0‐324) mm, respectively, without differences between periods except for older age and less preimatinib surgery in period 2. Response and disease control rates with imatinib in measurable GIST were 63.1% and 94.3%, respectively, without differences between periods. More patients in period 2 underwent surgical resection for TKI‐responsive diseases within the first 2 years (24.9%, P = 0.006). With a median follow‐up of 6.1 years (2.5‐16.0) in survivors, median progression‐free survival (PFS) was 5.4 years [95% confidence interval (CI), 4.0‐6.9]. Subsequent sunitinib (P = 0.066) and regorafenib (P = 0.003) were more commonly administered in period 2. Median overall survival (OS) was 8.8 years (95% CI, 7.8‐9.7). PFS with imatinib (P = 0.002) and OS (P = 0.019) were significantly longer in period 2. Young age, smaller tumor size at the initiation of imatinib, KIT exon 11 mutation, surgical intervention, and period 2 were favorable factors for PFS and OS. Patients with advanced GIST showed better prognosis with the optimal use of imatinib, along with active surgical intervention and more common use of subsequent TKIs in period 2.

Proteogenomic Characterization of Human Early-Onset Gastric Cancer

We report proteogenomic analysis of diffuse gastric cancers (GCs) in young populations. Phosphoproteome data elucidated signaling pathways associated with somatic mutations based on mutation-phosphorylation correlations. Moreover, correlations between mRNA and protein abundances provided potential oncogenes and tumor suppressors associated with patient survival. Furthermore, integrated clustering of mRNA, protein, phosphorylation, and N-glycosylation data identified four subtypes of diffuse GCs. Distinguishing these subtypes was possible by proteomic data. Four subtypes were associated with proliferation, immune response, metabolism, and invasion, respectively; and associations of the subtypes with immune- and invasion-related pathways were identified mainly by phosphorylation and N-glycosylation data. Therefore, our proteogenomic analysis provides additional information beyond genomic analyses, which can improve understanding of cancer biology and patient stratification in diffuse GCs.

Sleep Latency in Men and Sleep Duration in Women Can Be Frailty Markers in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: The Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study (KFACS)

OBJECTIVES

To test whether sleep disturbances are associated with frailty in older men and women.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional analysis of cohort study data. The participants were 1168 community-dwelling older adults aged 70 to 84 years who took part in the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study and completed both self-reported sleep parameters and assessment of frailty. Univariate and multivariate survey logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for frailty. Frailty was defined using the Fried's criteria.

RESULTS

Frailty was associated with sleep latency in men. The odds ratio for this association was 3.39 (95% CI 1.31-8.76) after adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI), physical activity, and select comorbidities, and 2.16 (95% CI 0.75-6.23) after further adjusting for depression. Frailty was associated with long sleep duration of more than 8 hours a night in women. The odds ratio for this association was 3.95 (95% CI, 1.27-12.33) after adjusting for age, BMI, physical activity, select comorbidities, and the number of medications.

CONCLUSION

Prolonged sleep latency (≥60 minutes) in men and long sleep duration (>8hr per night) in women were each independently associated with higher odds of frailty. Long sleep latency in elderly men and long sleep duration in elderly women may suggest they have a high chance of frailty.

Length of hospital stay after hip fracture surgery and 1-year mortality

There is ongoing effort to discharge patients early after hip fracture surgery to reduce the medical and economic burden. We tried to find whether there is any related side effect, and discovered that early discharge, especially before 10 days after surgery, is associated with higher mortality.

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study was to analyze the association between the length of hospital stay after hip fracture and 1-year mortality in older adults aged ≥ 65 years old.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the Korean National Health Insurance Service data to identify patients who were discharged after hip fracture surgery from 2007 to 2009 among 487,460 older adults of age ≥ 65 years. The lengths of stay involving hip fracture surgery were categorized at 10-day interval, and analyzed in relation to 1-year mortality from the date of hospital discharge.

RESULTS

A total of 4213 patients were discharged after hip fracture surgery, of whom 604 (14.3%) died within 1 year of discharge. The average length of stay was 30.7 days (standard deviation 24.5 days). The 1-year mortality was the highest for the length of stay ≤ 10 days group at 21.7%, followed by 15.2%, 14.3%, 13.3%, and 12.4% for > 40, 21-30, 31-40, and 11-20 days groups, respectively (p value 0.05). On Cox proportional hazard regression, the adjusted hazard ratio for length of stay ≤ 10 days group was 1.56 (95% confidence interval 1.14-2.12) against the reference group (11-20 days), while other groups did not show statistical significance. Higher risk of death was associated with increasing age, male gender, Charlson comorbidity index ≥3, subtrochanteric fracture, and discharge to tertiary care hospitals and long-term care hospitals.

CONCLUSION

Older adults discharged within 10 days of hospital admission for hip fracture surgery have higher 1-year mortality after discharge.

Large anomalous Hall current induced by topological nodal lines in a ferromagnetic van der Waals semimetal

Topological semimetals host electronic structures with several band-contact points or lines and are generally expected to exhibit strong topological responses. Up to now, most work has been limited to non-magnetic materials and the interplay between topology and magnetism in this class of quantum materials has been largely unexplored. Here we utilize theoretical calculations, magnetotransport and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to propose Fe₃GeTe₂, a van der Waals material, as a candidate ferromagnetic (FM) nodal line semimetal. We find that the spin degree of freedom is fully quenched by the large FM polarization, but the line degeneracy is protected by crystalline symmetries that connect two orbitals in adjacent layers. This orbital-driven nodal line is tunable by spin orientation due to spin-orbit coupling and produces a large Berry curvature, which leads to a large anomalous Hall current, angle and factor. These results demonstrate that FM topological semimetals hold significant potential for spin- and orbital-dependent electronic functionalities.

Dietary vitamin D intake and vitamin D related genetic polymorphisms are not associated with gastric cancer in a hospital-based case-control study in Korea

There have been few studies on the association between vitamin D levels and gastric cancer in Asian populations, but no studies have been performed on the interactions between vitamin D intake and polymorphisms in the vitamin D pathway. The effects of vitamin D intake, vitamin D related genetic polymorphisms, and their association with the incidence of gastric cancer were investigated in a hospital case-control study, including 715 pairs of newly diagnosed gastric cancer patients and controls matched for age and sex. Correlations between vitamin D intake and plasma vitamin D concentrations were also assessed in a subset of subjects. No statistically significant difference was observed in the dietary intake of vitamin D between the patients and controls, nor were there any evident associations between vitamin D intake and risk of gastric cancer in multivariate analyses. Vitamin D intake significantly correlated with the circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, but not with the active form of the vitamin, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. There were no statistically significant interactions between vitamin D intake, and VDR or TXNIP polymorphisms. This study suggests that dietary vitamin D intake is not associated with gastric cancer risk, and the genetic polymorphisms of vitamin D-related genes do not modulate the effect of vitamin D with respect to gastric carcinogenesis.

Combinatory RNA-Sequencing Analyses Reveal a Dual Mode of Gene Regulation by ADAR1 in Gastric Cancer

BACKGROUND

Adenosine deaminase acting on RNA 1 (ADAR1) is known to mediate deamination of adenosine-to-inosine through binding to double-stranded RNA, the phenomenon known as RNA editing. Currently, the function of ADAR1 in gastric cancer is unclear.

AIMS

This study was aimed at investigating RNA editing-dependent and editing-independent functions of ADAR1 in gastric cancer, especially focusing on its influence on editing of 3' untranslated regions (UTRs) and subsequent changes in expression of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) as well as microRNAs (miRNAs).

METHODS

RNA-sequencing and small RNA-sequencing were performed on AGS and MKN-45 cells with a stable ADAR1 knockdown. Changed frequencies of editing and mRNA and miRNA expression were then identified by bioinformatic analyses. Targets of RNA editing were further validated in patients' samples.

RESULTS

In the Alu region of both gastric cell lines, editing was most commonly of the A-to-I type in 3'-UTR or intron. mRNA and protein levels of PHACTR4 increased in ADAR1 knockdown cells, because of the loss of seed sequences in 3'-UTR of PHACTR4 mRNA that are required for miRNA-196a-3p binding. Immunohistochemical analyses of tumor and paired normal samples from 16 gastric cancer patients showed that ADAR1 expression was higher in tumors than in normal tissues and inversely correlated with PHACTR4 staining. On the other hand, decreased miRNA-148a-3p expression in ADAR1 knockdown cells led to increased mRNA and protein expression of NFYA, demonstrating ADAR1's editing-independent function.

CONCLUSIONS

ADAR1 regulates post-transcriptional gene expression in gastric cancer through both RNA editing-dependent and editing-independent mechanisms.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts promote gastric tumorigenesis through EphA2 activation in a ligand-independent manner

PURPOSE

Under physiologic conditions, the binding of erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular (Eph) A2 receptor and its ligand ephrinA1 results in decreased EphA2 level and tumor suppression. However, EphA2 and ephrinA1 are highly expressed in human cancers including gastric adenocarcinoma. In this study, we tested our hypothesis that cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) promote gastric tumorigenesis through EphA2 signaling in a ligand-independent manner.

METHODS

Expression of EphA2 protein in primary tumor tissues of 91 patients who underwent curative surgery for gastric adenocarcinoma was evaluated by immunohistochemistry and western blotting. Conditioned medium of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF-CM) was used to evaluate the tumorigenic effect of CAFs on gastric cancer cell lines. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were assessed. EphrinA1-Fc ligand was used to determine the suppressor role of EphA2 receptor-ligand binding.

RESULTS

CAF-CM-induced EMT and promoted cancer cell motility even without cell-cell interaction. Treatment with a selective EphA2 inhibitor (ALW-II-41-27) or EphA2-targeted siRNA markedly reduced CAF-CM-induced gastric tumorigenesis. EphrinA1-Fc ligand treatment showing ligand-dependent tumor suppression diminished the EphA2 expression and EMT progression. In contrast, ephrinA1-targeted siRNA did not significantly affect CAF-CM-mediated increases in EphA2 expression and EMT progression. Treatment with VEGF showed effects like CAF-CM in terms of EphA2 activation and EMT progression.

CONCLUSION

CAFs may contribute to gastric tumorigenesis by activating EphA2 signaling pathway in a ligand-independent manner. Our results suggest that ligand-independent activation of EphA2 was triggered by VEGF released from CAF-CM. Our result may partially explain why ligand-dependent tumor suppressor roles of EphA2 are not evident in gastric cancer despite the prominent level of ephrinA1.

E/E' and D-shaped Left Ventricle Severity in Patients with Increased Pulmonary Artery Pressure

BACKGROUND

D-shaped left ventricle (D-LV) is an interesting echocardiographic finding in pulmonary hypertension (PH) and is the result of structural distortion of the interventricular septum. The eccentricity index (EI) is a quantitative measure used to evaluate the severity of D-LV in patients with increased pulmonary artery pressure (PAP). However, D-LV and EIs have rarely been studied in terms of their association with hemodynamic factors.

METHODS

A total of 526 patients with a maximal tricuspid regurgitation velocity (VmaxTR) > 2.8 m/s on echocardiography identified between January 2012 and December 2017 were enrolled. After exclusion, a total of 289 patients were analyzed. The association between D-LV and hemodynamic factors were analyzed using logistic regression. Furthermore, factors that impacted the severity of the D-LV, as defined by EIs, were also analyzed using the multiple linear regression model.

RESULTS

In the multivariate logistic regression model, higher pulmonary artery pressure (PAP, p = 0.001), lower tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE, p = 0.048), and E/E' (p = 0.017) were found to be significant risk factors for the presence of D-LV. Additional analysis with age and body mass index added to independent variables, PAP (p = 0.008), TAPSE (p = 0.028), and age (p < 0.001) were significant risk factors for the presence of D-LV. In patients with D-LV, only E/E' was independently associated with EIs (R2 = 0.666, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with increased PAP, D-LV is associated with PAP, TAPSE, E/E', and age. EIs are associated with left ventricular filling pressure, represented as E/E'.

Prediction of egg freshness during storage using electronic nose

The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential of a fast gas chromatography (GC) e-nose for freshness discrimination and for prediction of storage time as well as sensory and internal quality changes during storage of hen eggs. All samples were obtained from the same egg production farm and stored at 20 °C for 20 d. Egg sampling was conducted every 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 16, and 20 d. During each sampling time, 4 egg cartons (each containing 10 eggs) were randomly selected: one carton for Haugh units, one carton for sensory evaluation and 2 cartons for the e-nose experiment. The e-nose study included 2 independent test sets; calibration (35 samples) and validation (28 samples). Every sampling time, 5 replicates were prepared from one egg carton for calibration samples and 4 replicates were prepared from the remaining egg carton for validation samples. Sensors (peaks) were selected prior to multivariate chemometric analysis; qualitative sensors for principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant factor analysis (DFA) and quantitative sensors for partial least square (PLS) modeling. PCA and DFA confirmed the difference in volatile profiles of egg samples from 7 different storage times accounting for a total variance of 95.7% and 93.71%, respectively. Models for predicting storage time, Haugh units, odor score, and overall acceptability score from e-nose data were developed using calibration samples by PLS regression. The results showed that these quality indices were well predicted from the e- nose signals, with correlation coefficients of R² = 0.9441, R² = 0.9511, R² = 0.9725, and R² = 0.9530 and with training errors of 0.887, 1.24, 0.626, and 0.629, respectively. As a result of ANOVA, most of the PLS model results were not significantly (P > 0.05) different from the corresponding reference values. These results proved that the fast GC electronic nose has the potential to assess egg freshness and feasibility to predict multiple egg freshness indices during its circulation in the supply chain.

Predictive modeling for monitoring egg freshness during variable temperature storage conditions

The overall aim of this research was to develop egg freshness prediction models in terms of selected quality indices. Six experiments (4 constant temperatures and 2 variable temperatures) were carried out on hen eggs for a total period of 10, 21, 26, 13, and 105 d at storage temperatures of 30, 20, 20 to 10, 30 to 10, and 5 and 10°C, to observe trends in the relative weight loss (RWL), Haugh unit (HU), yolk index (YI), albumin index (AI), yolk pH, and albumin pH. The results showed that there was an increasing trend in the RWL and a decreasing trend in the YI, AI, and HU for all temperature conditions. The changes in the yolk and albumin pH were not uniform. The data from the constant temperature conditions were used to determine the coefficients of the egg quality prediction models, which consisted of the primary model controlling the change rate of the quality indicator at a temperature condition in differential equation form, and the secondary model controlling the change rate with temperature, which was in quadratic polynomial form. The models were applied to the data from the fluctuating temperature conditions, and the zeroth, third, and eighth order kinetic models described the stepwise change in the RWL, HU, and YI, respectively. The accuracy and bias factor values for the RWL, HU, and YI were 1.116 and 0.940, 1.028 and 1.001, and 1.038 and 0.966, respectively. It can be concluded that the models can be used to predict egg freshness in terms of the RWL, HU, and YI at any temperature condition with in the range of 5 to 30°C during storage.

Long-term outcomes of endoscopic submucosal dissection versus surgery in early gastric cancer meeting expanded indication including undifferentiated-type tumors: a criteria-based analysis

BACKGROUND

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for early gastric cancer (EGC) meeting the expanded indication is considered investigational. We aimed to compare long-term outcomes of ESD and surgery for EGC in the expanded indication based on each criterion.

METHODS

This study included 1823 consecutive EGC patients meeting expanded indication conditions and treated at a tertiary referral center: 916 and 907 patients underwent surgery or ESD, respectively. The expanded indication included four discrete criteria: (I) intramucosal differentiated tumor, without ulcers, size >2 cm; (II) intramucosal differentiated tumor, with ulcers, size ≤3 cm; (III) intramucosal undifferentiated tumor, without ulcers, size ≤2 cm; and (IV) submucosal invasion <500 μm (sm1), differentiated tumor, size ≤3 cm. We selected 522 patients in each group by propensity score matching and retrospectively evaluated each group. The primary outcome was overall survival (OS); the secondary outcomes were disease-specific survival (DSS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and treatment-related complications.

RESULTS

In all patients and subgroups meeting each criterion, OS and DSS were not significantly different between groups (OS and DSS, all patients: p = 0.354 and p = 0.930; criteria I: p = 0.558 and p = 0.688; criterion II: p = 1.000 and p = 1.000; criterion III: p = 0.750 and p = 0.799; and criterion IV: p = 0.599 and p = 0.871). RFS, in all patients and criterion I, was significantly shorter in the ESD group than in the surgery group (p < 0.001 and p < 0.003, respectively). The surgery group showed higher rates of late and severe treatment-related complications than the ESD group.

CONCLUSIONS

ESD may be an alternative treatment option to surgery for EGCs meeting expanded indications, including undifferentiated-type tumors.

The relationship between clinical characteristics including presence of exposed lesions and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with psoriasis: analysis from the nationwide epidemiologic study for psoriasis in Korea (EPI-PSODE study)

BACKGROUND

Psychological aspect and quality of life should be considered in treating patients with psoriasis.

OBJECTIVE

We sought to ascertain which clinical characteristics including presence of exposed lesions are associated with impairment of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with psoriasis.

METHODS

The EPI-PSODE study was a nationwide, multicenter, cross-sectional study conducted in Korea that included 1260 adult patients with psoriasis. In addition to clinical characteristics including presence of exposed lesions, data were collected using the Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) Screening and Evaluation (PASE), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire Psoriasis (WPAI: PSO) and Medication Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ).

RESULTS

Patients with a DLQI score > 5 (n = 990) were younger, had an earlier onset of psoriasis, scored higher on the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), had higher body surface area (BSA) and had higher PASE scores than patients with DLQI ≤ 5 (n = 266). The group of patients with exposed lesions (n = 871) were younger and male predominance, earlier onset of psoriasis, longer disease duration, higher PASI/BSA score and a higher proportion with drinking and smoking history each than the group of patients without exposed lesions (n = 389). Presence of exposed lesions negatively influenced DLQI, 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) (mental component), presenteeism, total work productivity impairment and total activity impairment in the WPAI: PSO. In multiple regression model, PASI score was the only variable which was significantly associated with all HRQoL measures. Presence of exposed lesions was a significant factor affecting DLQI and SF-36 (mental).

CONCLUSION

The presence of exposed lesions has a negative impact on quality of life, mental health and work productivity. Therefore, effective treatments are particularly needed for psoriasis patients with exposed lesions.

Transformative piezoelectric enhancement of P(VDF-TrFE) synergistically driven by nanoscale dimensional reduction and thermal treatment

Despite the significant potential of organic piezoelectric materials in the electro-mechanical or mechano-electrical applications that require light and flexible material properties, the intrinsically low piezoelectric performance as compared to traditional inorganic materials has limited their full utilization. In this study, we demonstrate that dimensional reduction of poly(vinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) at the nanoscale by electrospinning, combined with an appropriate thermal treatment, induces a transformative enhancement in piezoelectric performance. Specifically, the piezoelectric coefficient (d₃₃) reached up to -108 pm V^-1, approaching that of inorganic counterparts. Electrospun mats composed of thermo-treated 30 nm nanofibers with a thickness of 15 μm produced a consistent peak-to-peak voltage of 38.5 V and a power output of 74.1 μW at a strain of 0.26% while sustaining energy production over 10k repeated actuations. The exceptional piezoelectric performance was realized by the enhancement of piezoelectric dipole alignment and the materialization of flexoelectricity, both from the synergistic effects of dimensional reduction and thermal treatment. Our findings suggest that dimensionally controlled and thermally treated electrospun P(VDF-TrFE) nanofibers provide an opportunity to exploit their flexibility and durability for mechanically challenging applications while matching the piezoelectric performance of brittle, inorganic piezoelectric materials.

EuroQol Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS) as a Predicting Tool for Frailty in Older Korean Adults: The Korean Frailty an Aging Cohort Study (KFACS)

OBJECTIVES

This study was conducted to determine the cutoff value and efficacy of the EuroQol Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS) for predicting frailty.

DESIGN

The EQ-VAS medians (Interquartile Range) were compared and analyzed against the FFI.

PARTICIPANTS

The subjects were 1471 older adults aged 70 to 84 years who had completed both EQ-VAS and Fried Frailty index (FFI) in the first baseline year (2016) of the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study.

RESULTS

Of the 1471 subjects,600 were classified as robust, 716 as pre-frail, and 155 as frail. The median EQ-VAS scores were 80.00 (20.00) for robust, 75.00 (25.00) for pre-frail, and 60.00 (25.00) for frail subjects.The medians of all five components of the FFI, weight loss (70.00 vs. 80.00), grip strength (70.00 vs. 80.00), exhaustion (70.00 vs. 80.00), walking velocity (70.00 vs. 80.00), and physical activity (70.00 vs. 80.00), were lower in the abnormal groups. We tested the efficacy of EQ-VAS as a diagnostic tool to predict frailty, and the area under the curve of EQ-VAS was 0.71 withthe optimal cut-off value of 72.

CONCLUSION

EQ-VAS presented negative correlation with FFI, and the optimal cut off value for frailty was 72. These results suggest that EQ-VAS is a valuable tool for assessing frailty andmay be a good predictor of frailty in Korean elderly population.