Machine learning-based classification analysis of knowledge worker mental stress.

The aim of this study is to analyze the performance of classifying stress and non-stress by measuring biosignal data using a wearable watch without interfering with work activities at work. An experiment is designed where participants wear a Galaxy Watch3 to measure HR and photoplethysmography data while performing stress-inducing and relaxation tasks. The classification model was constructed using k-NN, SVM, DT, LR, RF, and MLP classifiers. The performance of each classifier was evaluated using LOSO-CV as a verification method. When the top 9 features, including the average and minimum value of HR, average of NNI, SDNN, vLF, HF, LF, LF/HF ratio, and total power, were used in the classification model, it showed the best performance with an accuracy of 0.817 and an F1 score of 0.801. This study also finds that it is necessary to measure physiological data for more than 2 or 3 min to accurately distinguish stress states.

Effect of Seawater Temperature Increase on the Occurrence of Coastal Vibrio vulnificus Cases: Korean National Surveillance Data from 2003 to 2016.

The purpose of this study was to assess the association between seawater temperature and Vibrio vulnificus cases in coastal regions of Korea. All V. vulnificus cases in coastal regions notified to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency between 2003 and 2016 were included in this work. Data for seawater temperature on the south, west, and east coast during the study period were provided by the Korea Oceanographic Data Center of the National Institute of Fisheries Science. We used a generalized additive model and performed a negative binomial regression analysis. In total, 383 notified cases were analyzed (west coast: 196 cases, south coast: 162, and east coast: 25). The maximum seawater temperature was the most significant predictor of V. vulnificus cases on the south and east coasts (relative risk according to the 1 °C increase in seawater temperature (RR) = 1.35 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.19-1.53) and 1.30 (95% CI: 1.06-1.59), respectively). However, the mean seawater temperature was the most significant predictor for the west coast (RR = 1.34 (95% CI: 1.20-1.51)). These results indicate that continuously monitoring seawater temperature increase in each coastal area is crucial to prevent V. vulnificus infections and protect high-risk groups, such as persons with liver disease.

Discovery of a Novel Highly Selective Histamine H4 Receptor Antagonist for the Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis.

The histamine H4 receptor (H4R), a member of the G-protein coupled receptor family, has been considered as a potential therapeutic target for treating atopic dermatitis (AD). A large number of H4R antagonists have been disclosed, but no efficient agents controlling both pruritus and inflammation in AD have been developed yet. Here, we have discovered a novel class of orally available H4R antagonists showing strong anti-itching and anti-inflammation activity as well as excellent selectivity against off-targets. A pharmacophore-based virtual screening system constructed in-house successfully identified initial hit compound 9, and the subsequent homology model-guided optimization efficiently led us to discover pyrido[2,3- e]tetrazolo[1,5- a]pyrazine analogue 48 as a novel chemotype of a potent and highly selective H4R antagonist. Importantly, orally administered compound 48 exhibits remarkable efficacy on antipruritus and anti-inflammation with a favorable pharmacokinetic (PK) profile in several mouse models of AD. Thus, these data strongly suggest that our compound 48 is a promising clinical candidate for treatment of AD.

Glucose metabolism of visceral adipose tissue measured by 18F-FDG PET/CT is related to the presence of colonic adenoma.

This study investigated the relationships between the area and metabolic activity of adipose tissue and the presence of colorectal adenoma (CRA). Our institutional review board approved the study and waived informed consent. A total of 212 subjects who underwent fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) and colonoscopy for routine health check-ups were enrolled. The volumetric parameters of areas of visceral (VATav), subcutaneous (SATav), and total adipose tissue (TATav) and calculated visceral-to-subcutaneous adipose tissue ratio (VSR) and visceral-to-total adipose tissue ratio (VAR) were considered. Metabolic parameters of standardized uptake value (SUV) of visceral (vcSUVmax, vcSUVmean), subcutaneous (scSUVmax, scSUVmean), and calculated visceral-to-subcutaneous adipose tissue ratio (VSRmax, VSRmean) were considered. Anthropometric data of height, weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), body fat mass (BFM), skeletal muscle mass (SMM), and diverse laboratory data were also considered as variables. Sixty-six subjects were placed in the CRA group and 146 subjects in the non-CRA group. The presence of CRA was significantly correlated with older age (P  =  .001), male sex (P  =  .041), higher BMI (P  =  .004), higher WC (P  =  .001), higher BFM (P  =  .024), higher VATav (P < .001), higher TATav (P  =  .004), higher VSR (P < .001), higher VAR (P < .001), lower vcSUVmax (P  =  .002), lower vcSUVmean (P < .001), and lower VSRmean (P  =  .002). On multiple regression analysis, vcSUVmax and vcSUVmean were independently associated with the presence of CRA (P  =  .009 and P  =  .045). Lower glucose metabolism of visceral adipose tissue was related to the presence of CRA. Our findings identify the value of visceral metabolic dysfunction as a potential surrogate marker of elevated risk for CRA.

Clinical Dimensions of Bloating in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Bloating is common bothersome symptoms and most studies conducted in the Western countries found that bloating was frequently associated with lower gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms but many patients complaint bloating as upper GI symptoms in the clinical setting. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of bloating, and to identify symptom grouping and finally document the impact of bloating in the diagnosis of functional GI disorders. METHODS: Participants in a comprehensive health-screening cohort were enrolled. They were asked about demographic, medical, and social history and upper and lower GI symptoms by using a validated questionnaire. Factor analysis with principal component analysis method with varimax rotation was used. RESULTS: Among the total of 1050 subjects (mean age, 44.6 ± 10.2 years; females, 46.4%), significant bloating symptoms were found in 282 (26.9%); the prevalence of functional bloating was 6.9%. Factor analysis revealed a 5-component structure with upper GI symptoms, constipation, diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), constipation-predominant IBS, and fecal incontinence. Abdominal bloating loaded on both the upper GI symptoms (0.51 of loadings) and constipation (0.40). On logistic regression analysis, bloating was more predictable for IBS (OR, 7.5; P < 0.001) than functional dyspepsia (FD; OR, 3.7; P = 0.002). Bloating was more frequently combined with IBS according to their severity, but this association was not detected in patients with FD. CONCLUSIONS: Abdominal bloating is common symptom in about a quarter of patients and appears as upper as well as lower GI symptoms. However, abdominal bloating is more predictable for IBS, especially constipation-predominant IBS, than FD.

New benzoxanthone derivatives as topoisomerase inhibitors and DNA cross-linkers.

We synthesized 12 benzoxanthone derivatives classified as three different groups based on the tetracyclic ring shapes and evaluated their pharmacological activities to find potential anticancer agents. In the cytotoxicity test, most compounds showed effective cancer cell growth inhibition against the HT29 and DU145 cell lines. Among the compounds tested, compound 19 was the most effective in the cancer cell lines tested. Compound 9 showed dual inhibitory activities against DNA relaxation by topoisomerases I and II. The% inhibition of compound 9 on topoisomerase I was comparable to that of camptothecin. Compound 9 efficiently blocked topoisomerase II function by almost threefold than etoposide at 20 microM. Compound 19 had selective topoisomerase II inhibitory activity at 100 microM. The DNA cross-linking test revealed that only compounds 8 and 19, which possess epoxy groups, cross-linked DNA duplex, while 14 did not. From the combined pharmacological results, we proposed that the target through which compound 19 inhibits cancer cell growth may be the DNA duplex itself and/or DNA-topoisomerase II complex.

New insight for fluoroquinophenoxazine derivatives as possibly new potent topoisomerase I inhibitor.

Fluoroquinolones, represented by ciproxacin and norfloxacin, are well-known clinical antimicrobial agents, and their phenyl ring expanded quinophenoxazines are reported as possible antitumor active compounds. These quinophenoxazines are known to inhibit DNA topoisomerase II essential for cell replication cycle. But there were no reports for topoisomerase I inhibition study for these compounds. In this report, we have prepared a few quinophenoxazine analogues and tested their topoisomerases I and II inhibitory activities and cytotoxicity. From the result, we found that quinophenoxazine analogues possessed strong topoisomerase I inhibitory capacity as well as topoisomerase II inhibition. Among the compounds prepared, A-62176 analogues showed strong topoisomerases I and II inhibitory activities. Interestingly, compound 8 missing the 3-aminopyrrolidine moiety at C2 position has similar potent inhibitory capacity against topoisomerases I and II at higher concentrations (20 and 10 microM, respectively). But compound 8 inhibited topoisomerase I function more selectively at lower concentration, 2 microM. Our observation might strongly implicate that fluoroquinophenoxazines can be developed as efficient topoisomerase I inhibitor with the elaborate modification.

Development of immunochromatography strip-test using nanocolloidal gold-antibody probe for the rapid detection of aflatoxin B1 in grain and feed samples.

An immunochromatography (ICG) strip test using a nanocolloidal gold-antibody probe was developed and optimized for the rapid detection of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). A monoclonal antibody specific to AFB1 was produced from the cloned hybridoma cell (AF78), coupled with nanocolloidal gold, and distributed on the conjugate pad of the ICG strip test. The visual detection limit of the ICG strip test was 0.5 ng/ml, and this method showed a cross-reaction to aflatoxin B2, G1, and G2. In total, 172 grain and feed samples were collected and analyzed by both the ICG strip test and HPLC. The results of the ICG strip test showed a good agreement with those obtained by HPLC. These results indicated that the ICG strip test has a potential use as a rapid and cost-effective screening tool for the determination of AFB1 in real samples and could be applied to the preliminary screening of mycotoxin in food and agricultural products, generating results within 15 min without complicated steps.

[Association of Internet addiction with health promotion lifestyle profile and perceived health status in adolescents].

OBJECTIVES: To identify the relationship between the internet addiction of adolescents and their Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile and Perceived Health Status, and thereby to detect the impact of internet addiction on the health of adolescents, produce the basic information necessary to develop a prevention program for internet addiction and to plan for a health promotion program. METHODS: This study was designed as a cross-sectional study, and the subjects were the second-grade students of three junior-high and three high schools located in the city of K in Kyung Gi Province. Out of 769 subjects, 764 completed the questionnaires (99.3%); 369 (48.3%) junior-high school students and 395 (51.7%) high school students. The questionnaires were composed of Young's Internet Addiction, Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile, Perceived Health Status, and general characteristics. We used t-test, ANOVA in means comparison between groups, chi2-test in frequency analysis, and multiple regression analysis in multivariate analysis, using the SAS 8.1 program. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference in Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile according to internet addiction status (severe addiction vs. other status, P < 0.0001). The Perceived Health Status scores was lowest in the severe addiction group (P < 0.001). There was also a significant negative correlation between internet addiction and Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile (P < 0.0001). The results of multiple regression showed that Young's Addiction Score was significant for the subjects' Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile after controlling for other variables (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the severe internet addiction group had the lowest score in Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile and Perceived Health Status, which suggests that the addiction could have a negative effect on the health status of adolescents.

Effect of disodium cromoglycate on mast cell-mediated immediate-type allergic reactions.

We investigated the effect of disodium cromoglycate (DSCG) on mast cell-mediated immediate-type hypersensitivity. DSCG inhibited systemic allergic reaction induced by compound 48/80 dose-dependently. Passive cutaneous anaphylaxis was inhibited by 71.6% by oral administration of DSCG (1 g/kg). When DSCG was pretreated at concentration rang from 0.01-1000 g/kg, the serum histamine levels were reduced in a dose dependent manner. DSCG also significantly inhibited histamine release from rat peritoneal mast cell (RPMC) by compound 48/80. We confirmed that DSCG inhibited compound 48/80-induced degranulation of RPMC by alcian blue/nuclear fast red staining. In addition, DSCG showed a significant inhibitory effect on anti-dinitrophenyl IgE-mediated tumor necrosis factor-alpha production. These results indicate that DSCG inhibits mast cell-mediated immediate-type allergic reaction.

[Effects of a closed endotracheal suction system on oxygen saturation, ventilator-associated pneumonia, and nursing efficacy].

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a closed endotracheal suction system(CES) on oxygen saturation, ventilator associated pneumonia(VAP), and nursing efficacy in mechanically ventilated patients. METHOD: This study was conducted in the intensive care unit of a University Hospital in Gwangju City. Data was collected from July to October, 2003. Seventy mechanically ventilated patients were randomly divided into two groups; 32 for CES and 38 for open endotracheal suction system(OES) protocol. Twenty one nurses were also involved to examine the nurses' attitude of usefulness about CES. RESULT: SaO(2) was significantly different between CES and OES. The incidence of VAP in CES was lower than that of OES. Nursing efficacy was related to time, cost, and usefulness of the suction system. Time of suctioning in CES was shorter than that of OES. CES also contributed significantly to lower the cost of treatment than OES. The usefulness score of CES increased after 6 months of use. CONCLUSION: CES prevented VAP, was cost effective, and a safe suctioning system. CES ncan be used with patients with sensitivity to hypoxygenation and with a high risk of VAP.

Synthesis of Indium Amide Compounds.

Indium trichloride reacts with 3 equiv of lithium amide in diethyl ether to give In(NRR')(3) (R = Ph or t-Bu, R' = SiMe(3); R = t-Bu, R' = SiHMe(2)) and with 3 or 4 equiv of LiNMe(SiMe(3)) to yield Li[In{NMe(SiMe(3))}(4)]. The chloride also reacts with LiNPh(2) in THF to give the salt Li[In(NPh(2))(3)Cl] and with LiNRR' in pyridine to yield the neutral adduct In(NRR')(3)(py) (R = R' = Ph; R = Me, R' = SiMe(3)). The volatile liquids In[N(t-Bu)(SiHMe(2))](3) and In[NMe(SiMe(3))](3)(py) react with p-Me(2)Npy to form the solid compounds In[N(t-Bu)(SiHMe(2))](3)(p-Me(2)Npy) and In[NMe(SiMe(3))](3)(p-Me(2)Npy), respectively. X-ray crystallographic studies show that In(NPh(2))(3)(py), In[N(t-Bu)(SiHMe(2))](3)(p-Me(2)Npy), and the ether adduct of In[NPh(SiMe(3))](3) contain nearly planar In(amide)(3) fragments. Crystallographic studies also show that the anion in the salt [Li(THF)(4)][In(NPh(2))(3)Cl] is nearly tetrahedral and in [Li(p-Me(2)Npy)][In{NMe(SiMe(3))}(4)] the tetrahedral-like anion is bound to the Li cation via two amide nitrogens. The Li in the latter structure is also bonded to p-Me(2)Npy, resulting in a planar three-coordinate geometry for Li. Crystal data are the following. C(31)H(52)N(3)OSi(3)In at -50 degrees C: P2(1)/n (monoclinic), a = 11.003(2) Å, b = 18.678(3) Å, c = 17.618(3) Å, beta = 95.42(1) degrees, and Z = 4. C(41)H(35)N(4)In.C(7)H(8) at -50 degrees C: P&onemacr; (triclinic), a = 10.112(2) Å, b = 12.786(3) Å, c = 15.870(5) Å, alpha = 87.42(2) degrees, beta = 74.95(2) degrees, gamma = 78.15(2) degrees, and Z = 2. C(25)H(58)N(5)Si(3)In at -50 degrees C: P2(1)/c (monoclinic), a = 9.797(3) Å, b = 18.203(6) Å, c = 19.592(5) Å, beta = 100.27(2) degrees, and Z = 4. C(52)H(62)ClInLiN(3)O(4) at 23 degrees C: P2(1)/n (monoclinic), a = 16.076(2) Å, b = 17.185(2) Å, c = 18.447(3) Å, beta = 97.41(1) degrees, and Z = 4. C(23)H(58)InLiN(6)Si(4) at 23 degrees C: P&onemacr; (triclinic), a = 15.792(3) Å, b = 16.345(3) Å, c = 16.678(3) Å, alpha = 62.69(1) degrees, beta = 81.00(1) degrees, gamma = 86.94(1) degrees, and Z = 4.