Occupational neck disability is a prevalent issue, especially among line workers, who are often exposed to elevated levels of cervical ergonomic stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of neck posture and insulating stick use on neck disability in a specific occupational group in Korea.

Occupational neck disability is a prevalent issue, especially among line workers, who are often exposed to elevated levels of cervical ergonomic stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of neck posture and insulating stick use on neck disability in a specific occupational group in Korea.

Occupational neck disability is a prevalent issue, especially among line workers, who are often exposed to elevated levels of cervical ergonomic stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of neck posture and insulating stick use on neck disability in a specific occupational group in Korea.

BACKGROUND: Immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy (IgAN) is one of an important cause of progressive kidney disease and occurs when IgA settles in the kidney resulted in disrupts kidney’s ability to filter waste and excess water.Hydrogels are promising material for medical applications owing to their excellent adaptability and filling ability. Herein, we proposed a hyaluronic acid/gelatin (CHO-HA/Gel-NH2 ) bioactive hydrogel as a cell carrier for therapeutic kidney regeneration in IgAN. METHODS: CHO-HA/Gel-NH2 hydrogel was fabricated by Schiff-base reaction without any additional crosslinking agents. The hydrogel concentrations and ratios were evaluated to enhance adequate mechanical properties and biocompatibility for further in vivo study. High serum IgA ddY mice kidneys were treated with human urine-derived renal progenitor cells encapsulated in the hydrogel to investigate the improvement of IgA nephropathy and kidney regeneration. RESULTS: The stiffness of the hydrogel was significantly enhanced and could be modulated by altering the concentrations and ratios of hydrogel. CHO-HA/Gel-NH2 at a ratio of 3/7 provided a promising milieu for cells viability and cells proliferation. From week four onwards, there was a significant reduction in blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine level in Cell/Gel group, as well as well-organized glomeruli and tubules. Moreover, the expression of pro-inflammatory and profibrotic molecules significantly decreased in the Gel/Cell group, whereas anti-inflammatory gene expression was elevated compared to the Cell group. CONCLUSION Based on in vivo studies, the renal regenerative ability of the progenitor cells could be further increased by this hydrogel system.

BACKGROUND: Immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy (IgAN) is one of an important cause of progressive kidney disease and occurs when IgA settles in the kidney resulted in disrupts kidney’s ability to filter waste and excess water.Hydrogels are promising material for medical applications owing to their excellent adaptability and filling ability. Herein, we proposed a hyaluronic acid/gelatin (CHO-HA/Gel-NH2 ) bioactive hydrogel as a cell carrier for therapeutic kidney regeneration in IgAN. METHODS: CHO-HA/Gel-NH2 hydrogel was fabricated by Schiff-base reaction without any additional crosslinking agents. The hydrogel concentrations and ratios were evaluated to enhance adequate mechanical properties and biocompatibility for further in vivo study. High serum IgA ddY mice kidneys were treated with human urine-derived renal progenitor cells encapsulated in the hydrogel to investigate the improvement of IgA nephropathy and kidney regeneration. RESULTS: The stiffness of the hydrogel was significantly enhanced and could be modulated by altering the concentrations and ratios of hydrogel. CHO-HA/Gel-NH2 at a ratio of 3/7 provided a promising milieu for cells viability and cells proliferation. From week four onwards, there was a significant reduction in blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine level in Cell/Gel group, as well as well-organized glomeruli and tubules. Moreover, the expression of pro-inflammatory and profibrotic molecules significantly decreased in the Gel/Cell group, whereas anti-inflammatory gene expression was elevated compared to the Cell group. CONCLUSION Based on in vivo studies, the renal regenerative ability of the progenitor cells could be further increased by this hydrogel system.

Background: Female farmers have a high prevalence of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) in South Korea. Femoral bowing has been reported to be related to KOA by increasing load on the mechanical axis. This study aimed to investigate factors related to femoral bowing in Korean female farmers. Methods: We analyzed the legs of 264 female farmers registered with the Korea farmers' knee cohort of Jeonnam Center for Farmers' Safety and Health. A structured questionnaire was used to determine sociodemographic variables, agricultural career, cumulative squatting working time (CSWT), and cumulative heavy lifting working time. Femoral bone density was measured and Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grades were obtained from the knee radiographs.Mechanical axis angle (MAA), femoral bowing angle (FBA), anatomical lateral distal femoral angle (aLDFA), anatomical medial proximal tibial angle (aMPTA), and condylar-plateau angle (CPA) were measured. We examined the relationship between the FBA and related factors by using multiple linear regression. Results: The proportion of individuals with radiographic KOA (≥ KL grade 2) in this study was 37.9%. As KL grades increased, MAA, FBA, and CPA increased, whereas aLDFA and aMPTA decreased. FBA increased with age. Multiple linear regression analyses using FBA as a dependent variable showed relationship with higher age, lower height, higher BMI, lower bone mineral density, longer CSWT, and longer agricultural careers. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that external factors related to agricultural work in female farmers was associated with femoral bowing, in addition to internal factors such as age, bone density, height, and obesity.

Background: Female farmers have a high prevalence of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) in South Korea. Femoral bowing has been reported to be related to KOA by increasing load on the mechanical axis. This study aimed to investigate factors related to femoral bowing in Korean female farmers. Methods: We analyzed the legs of 264 female farmers registered with the Korea farmers' knee cohort of Jeonnam Center for Farmers' Safety and Health. A structured questionnaire was used to determine sociodemographic variables, agricultural career, cumulative squatting working time (CSWT), and cumulative heavy lifting working time. Femoral bone density was measured and Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grades were obtained from the knee radiographs.Mechanical axis angle (MAA), femoral bowing angle (FBA), anatomical lateral distal femoral angle (aLDFA), anatomical medial proximal tibial angle (aMPTA), and condylar-plateau angle (CPA) were measured. We examined the relationship between the FBA and related factors by using multiple linear regression. Results: The proportion of individuals with radiographic KOA (≥ KL grade 2) in this study was 37.9%. As KL grades increased, MAA, FBA, and CPA increased, whereas aLDFA and aMPTA decreased. FBA increased with age. Multiple linear regression analyses using FBA as a dependent variable showed relationship with higher age, lower height, higher BMI, lower bone mineral density, longer CSWT, and longer agricultural careers. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that external factors related to agricultural work in female farmers was associated with femoral bowing, in addition to internal factors such as age, bone density, height, and obesity.

Gliosarcoma (GS) is a rare variant (2%) of glioblastoma (GBM) that poses clinical genomic challenges because of its poor prognosis and limited genomic information. To gain a comprehensive view of the genomic alterations in GS and to understand the molecular etiology of GS, we applied whole-exome sequencing analyses for 28 GS cases (6 blood-matched fresh-frozen tissues for the discovery set, 22 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues for the validation set) and copy-number variation microarrays for 5 blood-matched fresh-frozen tissues. TP53 mutations were more prevalent in the GS cases (20/28, 70%) compared to the GBM cases (29/90, 32%), and the GS patients with TP53 mutations showed a significantly shorter survival (multivariate Cox analysis, hazard ratio=23.9, 95% confidence interval, 2.87–199.63, P=0.003). A pathway analysis showed recurrent alterations in MAPK signaling (EGFR, RASGRF2 and TP53), phosphatidylinositol/calcium signaling (CACNA1s, PLCs and ITPRs) and focal adhesion/tight junction (PTEN and PAK3) pathways. Genomic profiling of the matched recurrent GS cases detected the occurrence of TP53 mutations in two recurrent GS cases, which suggests that TP53 mutations play a role in treatment resistance. Functionally, we found that TP53 mutations are associated with the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) process of sarcomatous components of GS. We provide the first comprehensive genome-wide genetic alternation profiling of GS, which suggests novel prognostic subgroups in GS patients based on their TP53 mutation status and provides new insight in the pathogenesis and targeted treatment of GS.
Glioblastoma ; Gliosarcoma* ; Humans ; Prevalence* ; Prognosis

Bone defects are common disease requiring thorough treatments since the bone is a complex vascularized tissue that is composed of multiple cell types embedded within an intricate extracellular matrix (ECM). For past decades, tissue engineering using cells, proteins, and scaffolds has been suggested as one of the promising approaches for effective bone regeneration. Recently, many researchers have been interested in designing effective platform for tissue regeneration by orchestrating factors involved in microenvironment around tissues. Among factors affecting bone formation, vascularization during bone development and after minor insults via endochondral and intramembranous ossification is especially critical for the long-term support for functional bone. In order to create vascularized bone constructs, the interactions between human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and endothelial cells (ECs) have been investigated using both direct and indirect co-culture studies. Recently, various culture methods including micropatterning techniques, three dimensional scaffolds, and microfluidics have been developed to create micro-engineered platforms that mimic the nature of vascularized bone formation, leading to the creation of functional bone structures. This review focuses on MSCs co-cultured with endothelial cells and micro-engineered platforms to determine the underlying interplay between co-cultured MSCs and vascularized bone constructs, which is ultimately necessary for adequate regeneration of bone defects.
Bone and Bones* ; Bone Development ; Bone Regeneration ; Coculture Techniques ; Endothelial Cells ; Extracellular Matrix ; Humans ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells* ; Microfluidics ; Osteogenesis ; Regeneration ; Stem Cells ; Tissue Engineering

The facial artery is the largest and main arterial supply of the face, and the inferior and superior labial arteries supply blood to the lower and upper lips and intersect on the opposite site. The aim of this study was to provide quantitative data on the course of facial artery and the distribution of inferior and superior labial artery in perioral region. The location, distance, course, and diameter of the facial artery, inferior labial artery, and superior labial artery were measured directly on 50 hemifacial cadavers of Koreans and statistically analyzed using oneway ANOVA. The facial artery was located 18.50 mm lateral to the mouth corners (Cheilions). The inferior labial artery at its origin was located 15.11 mm inferior and 19.63 mm lateral to the Cheilions. The superior labial artery at its origin was located 5.83 mm superior and 11.28 mm lateral to the Cheilions. The diameter of facial artery, inferior labial artery, and superior labial artery was 2.19, 1.56, and 1.48 mm, respectively. The courses of the facial artery and it's branches showed no significant differences on laterality except for the diameter of the superior labial artery (p=0.026). The buccal branch of facial artery was showed in 44% of the cases in the deep layer of perioral region. In conclusion, this study provides that the data will be useful in predicting the courses of the facial artery and helpful for reconstructive surgery in perioral region.
Arteries* ; Cadaver ; Lip ; Mouth