Peer Reviewed

Immunity in Chronic Hepatitis B and innovative treatment development

A group of researchers in Thailand has replicated "Hydroxy-xanthones", the vital extracts rich in antioxidants found in mangosteen peels that kill germs and halt infections in the intestinal mucosa. It hopes to expand to include health products for humans and animals in the future.

A study led by researchers from Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) has demonstrated that a multifunctional organic compound named F-SLOH has the potential to treat Alzheimer’s disease (AD) at an early stage. The team found that it can inhibit the aggregation of amyloid-beta (Aβ), and reduce the hyperphosphorylation of tau proteins and neuroinflammation in the brain to improve the pathological features of AD. The findings have been published in the international academic journal Redox Biology.

Researchers led by Osaka University performed RNA-sequencing analysis of whole blood samples from patients with severe COVID-19 and healthy controls to evaluate differences in messenger RNA and microRNA expression. The interferon signaling pathway was found to be activated in patients with severe COVID-19, and measurement of interferon proteins in the plasma revealed that interferon-β and interferon-λ1 play an important role in the severity of COVID-19.

Two new approaches could help scientists use existing sequencing technology to better-distinguish RNA changes that affect how their genetic code is read.

A baby’s cry is a form of communication used to attract attention from adult caregivers, and every baby cries in a similar but distinct way. An international research team has studied the vocal behavior of baby mice, called pups, to determine how the age of the father affects the pups’ vocal communication and body weight development. Their study will help them better understand vocal development in human babies.

A research group led by Osaka University has found a new class of proteins in the red algae Cyanidioschyzon merolae that are involved in moving proteins across the membranes of chloroplasts – subcompartments that conduct photosynthesis within the cells of organisms such as plants and algae. These findings could be used to boost photosynthesis in several groups of algae that contribute considerably to marine biomass and are commercially farmed.

Scientists show that there is a close association between clinical cases of COVID-19 and viral loads in wastewater, with the viral loads picking up to two days before the cases were detected.

Osaka Metropolitan University researchers have successfully synthesized fumarate (fumaric acid), a raw material for unsaturated polyester resin, by combining carbon dioxide (CO2) with pyruvate (derived from biomass), using two biocatalysts: malate dehydrogenase and fumarase. Fumarate is currently used to make biodegradable plastic like polybutylene succinate from petroleum. However, this research has enabled the synthesis of fumarate without petroleum, consuming only CO2 and biomass-derived pyruvate.

Researchers led by Osaka University shed light on a metabolic network integrated by an oral microbe Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum). Analysis of co-cultures of F. nucleatum with other commensal oral bacteria revealed that metabolic cross-feeding enables F. nucleatum to increase the production of the polyamines putrescine and cadaverine, thereby promoting the development of periodontitis. The nutritional interactions of F. nucleatum may serve as potential targets for the development of new methods to prevent periodontal disease.

Adults self-report their pain on a one to 10 numerical score, while children can point to an equivalent face scale — from a green smiling face to a red crying face — to indicate their pain. Newborns, however, cannot say a number or point to a face, leaving it up to their caregivers to identify and evaluate any pain they may be in. Until the turn of this century, a significant number of clinicians did not recognize that neonates could even experience pain, resulting in infrequent, nonstandard training for medical workers. Now, researchers are reporting that a flexible e-learning program improves neonate pain management knowledge and skills for nurses.

A research group led by Professor Akitoshi Hayashi at the Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Engineering has successfully developed a high-capacity capacitor, an energy storage device—using a solid electrolyte with high deformability—that can operate at high temperatures. With this discovery, high-capacity capacitors can now be made which do not require cooling, this increases their efficiency and allows for new suitable applications.

The flash of lightning and the dance of auroras contain a fourth state of matter known as plasma, which researchers have harnessed to produce a gas that may activate plant immunity against wide-spread diseases. The team, based at Tohoku University in Japan, published their findings on June 24 in PLOS One.

Two novel hypotheses have been proposed that address the “two-fold cost of sex”: one of the biggest enigmas in the evolution of sexual reproduction.

Osaka University researchers used a large dataset of trauma patients in Japan to determine the characteristics and biomarkers most strongly associated with mortality risk by employing machine learning methods. This work may help improve the practice of emergency medicine.

Osaka University researcher devises a scale for quantifying of the ability of android to produce artificial facial expressions. By measuring the range of motion compared with humans, this work may lead to more expressive robot helpers.

Rare earth metals, when linked, can act as a conduit for energy flow, and show promise for the development of novel materials.

Human brains learn patterns over time and we don’t even realize it. New insight into how this works could improve learning and other cognitive processes.

- DGIST Professor Seo Dae-ha's team developed a super-resolution microscopy that can observe 3D rotational motion of endosomes using gold nanoparticles - By understanding cell transport more accurately through the observation of minute 3D rotation in intracellular transport, it is expected to develop into a disease diagnosis technology.

- DGIST Professor Park Sang-Hyun's research team developed a deep learning technology that accurately detects cancer sites with little information through joint research with a research team led by Professor Nam Su-jeong and Professor Ko Hyeon-Jeong of Seoul Asan Medical Center - Expected to make significant contribution to enhancing the efficiency of deep learning models, which needed an accurately drawn dataset to detect cancer sites.

- Joint research team comprising the DGIST Thin Film Solar Cell Research Center and the Department of New Material Engineering of Kyungnam University discovers the cause of pore formation in thin film solar cells of general-purpose materials and developed technology to resolve the problem - Suggested strategies for developing eco-friendly general-purpose thin film solar cells by suppressing pore formation

- DGIST Professor Seo Dae-ha's team developed an experimental strategy to control and observe the chemical reaction of a single nanocatalyst using an optical microscope - Expected to contribute to catalyst design based on accurate understanding of the photocatalytic reaction through an analysis method that helps understanding the electron excitation phenomenon and transition path.

- Joint research team of DGIST and Korea Institute of Industrial Technology developed the first technology that removes microplastics in water through triboelectric nanogenerator - Expected to solve the problem of various microtoxic particles in water including microplastics, which have emerged as a huge environmental concern

- Developed technology to accurately inspect the quality of red blood cells stored for a certain period of time with AI-based holography technology - Possible to inject clean, healthy red blood cells into the patient. Expected to help minimize side effects of blood transfusion after surgery.

- Clarified the relationship between the form of piezoelectric fiber components and their piezoelectric performance - Accelerated commercialization of energy harvesting textile materials that can recycle energy wasted or consumed in everyday life

Highest-level international certification on safety and health granted to organizations that excel in preventing risk factors related to safety accidents

Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo have used thermal treatments to improve modern recycling of concrete. This work will add value to construction waste and contribute to sustainable development

Strigolactones (SLs) trigger parasitism and symbiosis in the rhizosphere and function as a hormone in plants. Yoneyama et al. demonstrate that rice plants sense SLs in the rhizosphere and regulate their SL biosynthesis and exudation, suggesting that SLs act as a cue for a plant-plant communication in rice plants.

Reaction design framework proposed by computations leads to the discovery of a wealth of reactions, opening new paths for drug development.

Scientists from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, demonstrate that accounting for liquid preordering is essential to predicting crystal growth