The carbon anode material for lithium-ion battery was prepared by pyrolysis fuel oil and waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) additive. The pitch was synthesized as a medium material for carbon anode by heat treatment. The waste PET additive improved the softening point and thermal stability of the pitch. La and Lc of the anode material (heat-treated pitch) increased at higher treatment temperature but decreased by waste PET additive. The electric capacity was evaluated based on effects of defective cavity and developed graphite interlayer, respectively. When the La and Lc of the anode material decreased, the electric capacity by cavity increased based on defective graphite structure. Therefore, the addition of waste PET causes the improved capacity by the cavity. The anode material which has a high efficiency (over 95%) and C-rate (95%, 2 C/0.1 C) was obtained by controlling the process of heat treatment and PET addition. The mechanism of lithium-ion insertion was discussed based on effects of defective cavity and developed graphite interlayer.

Background: Adults with forward head posture (FHP) often suffer from thoracic hyperkyphosis and thoracic dysfunction, and including reduction of the craniovertebral angle (CV angle) and tightening of the superficial neck muscles. In order to treat thoracic dysfunction, interventions aimed at improving thoracic mobility are necessary. Objectives: To examine the effects of maitland manual mobilization therapy on the thoracic spine in adults with FHP. Design: Single-blind randomized controlled trial. Methods: Thirty adults with FHP who met the selection criteria were randomized to the thoracic multiple joint mobilization (TMJM; n=15) group and the thoracic general joint mobilization (TGJM; n=15) group. Joint mobilizations were performed for 23 minutes a day for 4 weeks continuously, two times per week. Outcome measures were ImageJ, BTS FREE EMG 1000, neck disability Index (NDI). Results: Although changes in the left sternocleidomastoid muscle activity and NDI scores over time between the two groups differed, other variables were noted only changes observed over time. Muscle activity in the right sternocleidomastoid increased again in the TGJM group post-intervention and 2 weeks after the end of the experiment, but changes in other variables were retained or improved, confirming the lasting effects of thoracic joint mobilization. Conclusion: Thoracic multiple joint mobilization may be recommended as a more effective intervention for adults with FHP.

Background: Patients with stroke have core muscle weakness and limited rib cage movement, resulting in restrictive lung disease. Objectives: To examine the comparison of effects of rib cage joint mobilization combined with diaphragmatic breathing exercise and diaphragmatic breathing exercise on the pulmonary function and chest circumference in patients with stroke. Design: A cluster randomized controlled trial. Methods: Twenty-four patients were randomly assigned to an experimental group (rib cage joint mobilization combined with diaphragmatic breathing exercise group) and control group (diaphragmatic breathing exercise group). Patients in the experimental group underwent rib cage joint mobilization for 15 min and diaphragmatic breathing exercise for 15 min. The control group underwent diaphragmatic breathing exercise for 30 min. Both groups underwent exercise thrice a week for 4 weeks. The pulmonary function and chest circumference were measured using the MicroLab spirometer and a tape measure, respectively. Results: After the intervention, the pulmonary function and chest circumference significantly improved in both groups. These improvements were significantly higher in the experimental group than those in the control group. Conclusion: Rib cage joint mobilization combined with diaphragmatic breathing exercise improves pulmonary function and chest circumference in patients with stroke.

Radioisotope ADME (RI-ADME) studies are enabling visualization of the biodistribution in molecular imaging. We applied RI-ADME to investigate the tumor targeting capacity and biodistribution of trastuzumab-monomethyl auristatin F (LCB14-0110) in JIMT-1 xenograft mice and healthy marmoset. The LCB14-0110 was labelled with 125I. 125I-LCB14-0110 was intravenously administered to the animals. The gamma-count and single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) was conducted for biodistributioon and bioimaging of the biopharmaceutics. Tumor uptake in xenograft mice was highest at three-day after 125I-LCB14-0110 administration in both the biodistribution and SPECT/CT bioimaging. Alternatively, blood and organ tissues showed gradual decrease in radioactivity over time. In marmosets, radioactivity in all organ tissues rapidly reduced and no specific targeting of organs was observed in the biodistribution study and SPECT/CT imaging. Hence, 125ILCB14- 0110 demonstrated effective tumor targeting capacity and accumulated in JIMT-1 cell-bearing mice. However, accumulation did not occur in the organs of xenograft mice. Additionally, marmosets showed rapidly decrease in radioactivity throughout the entire body without accumulation in the normal organs. We also confirmed that the drug distribution was similar in normal organs between the two experimental animal species except spleen. Therefore, 125I is expected to be a useful tool in the study of RI-ADME in biopharmaceuticals through minimal antibody modification.

Supply chain management can be defined as an information system that connects the inside and outside of a company. Its purpose is to systematically and strategically manage the flow of information, resources and services to improve the long-term performance of the entire organization, including individual companies connected to the supply chain, and the quality of service provided to customers. The ultimate goal of SCM is to create synergy through organic integration of supply and demand based on cooperation and collaboration with stakeholders in the supply chain. This study is based on the hypothesis that the company's management performance will improve as the level of SCM improves. Most of the previous studies dealt with the relationship between corporate performance and SCM in the IT area. In this study, research was conducted through human capacity with IT system. The causal relationship was demonstrated, and there was a difference in the perception of the results of this study depending on whether or not smart factories were consulted in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution. There is a need to examine the links between management's value chain and its causal relationship.

Lysyl oxidase-variant 2 (LOX-v2) is a novel variant of lysyl oxidase (LOX) that functions as an amine oxidase for the formation of lysine-mediated crosslinks found in collagen and elastin fibrils. In addition to the amine oxidase activity in the extracellular matrix, several novel functions, such as tumor suppression, tumor progression, chemotaxis, cellular senescence, and modification of histones, have been assigned to LOX. In recent years, it has been reported that LOX is also present in nuclear locations, suggesting a novel functional role of LOX in the nucleus. To test the amine oxidase activity of LOX and LOX-v2 to nuclear histone proteins, we expressed and purified LOX and LOX-v2 as recombinant forms and then assessed the amine oxidase activity toward histone H2A in in vitro peroxidase-coupled fluorometric assays. Both LOX and LOX-v2 proteins showed significant levels of amine oxidase activity toward histone H2A in a β -aminopropionitrile-inhibitable manner. In immunofluorescence staining after ectopic expression in cultured cells, LOX was observed in the perinuclear, cytoplasmic, and extracellular areas, whereas LOX-v2 was predominantly detected in the nucleoplasm with a punctuate pattern. These findings suggest that LOX-v2 may play a novel functional role in the nucleus through the amine oxidase activity to the nuclear histone proteins. Elucidation of the specific functional roles of LOX-v2, such as substrate specificity toward different types of nuclear proteins and detailed analysis on subnuclear localization, will provide a significant clue in understanding the diverse functional roles currently assigned to a single enzyme, LOX.

This study investigated the efficacy of four Brucella (B.) abortus recombinant proteins, namely adenylate kinase (Adk), nucleoside diphosphate kinase (Ndk), 50S ribosomal protein (L7/L12) and preprotein translocase subunit (SecB), as a combined subunit vaccine (CSV) against B. abortus infection in BALB/c mice. Immunoblotting assay showed that these four recombinant proteins as well as pcold-TF vector reacted individually with Brucella-positive serum, but not with Brucella-negative serum. The peripheral blood CD4+ T cell population was increased in CSV-immunized mice compared to PBS and pcold-TF vector groups. In addition, CSV and pcold-TF groups displayed induced IgG1 and IgG2a antibodies production compared to PBS and RB51 group, whereas IgG2a titer was higher than IgG1 titer in CSV group. The secretion profiles of IgG1 and IgG2a production together with an enhancement of CD4+ T cell population suggested that CSV did not only induce T helper 1 (Th1) T cell immunity but also humoral immunity. Therein, Th1 T cell immunity is more predominant in eliminating intracellular bacteria B. abortus. Furthermore, CSV immunization significantly reduced the bacterial burden in the spleen as well as the spleen weight in comparison to PBS and pcold-TF groups. Altogether, combination of these antigens could be potential to induce protective immunity against B. abortus infection in animals.

Bilobalide isolated from the leaves of Ginkgo biloba has several pharmacological activities such as neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, and anticonvulsant. However, the effect of bilobalide on cancer has not been clearly established. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of bilobalide on cell growth and apoptosis induction in FaDu human pharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. This was examined by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, nuclear 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride staining, DNA fragmentation analysis, and immunoblotting. Bilobalide inhibited the growth of FaDu cells in dose- and time-dependent manners. Treatment with bilobalide resulted in nuclear condensation and DNA fragmentation in FaDu cells. Furthermore, it promoted the proteolytic cleavage of procaspase-3/-7/-8/-9 with increase in the amount of cleaved caspase-3/-7/-8/-9. Bilobalide-induced apoptosis in FaDu cells was mediated by the expression of Fas and the activation of caspase-8, caspase-3, and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. Immunoblotting revealed that the antiapoptotic mitochondrial protein Bcl-2 was downregulated, but the proapoptotic protein Bax was upregulated by bilobalide in FaDu cells. Bilobalide significantly increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio. These results suggest that bilobalide inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in FaDu human pharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma via both the death receptor-mediated extrinsic apoptotic pathway and the mitochondrial-mediated intrinsic apoptotic pathway.