Reproductive potential decreases with age. A decrease in male fertility is due to a combination of morphological and molecular alterations in the testes. Transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor-1 (TRPV1) is associated with aging and lifespan, and its activation causes apoptotic cell death in various cell types. However, the effect of TRPV1 on testicular apoptosis in aged mice has not yet been reported. TRPV1 knockout (KO) mice had a longer lifespan than that of wild-type (WT) mice. Lifespan was increased by 11.8% in male TRPV1 KO mice compared to that in WT mice. TRPV1 KO males lived approximately 100 days longer than WT males on average, and the maximum lifespan was markedly extended in TRPV1 KO mice compared with that in WT mice. The TRPV1 expression levels were highly increased in the testes of older mice. TRPV1 was expressed in the entire testes region of the old mice. In addition, old TRPV1 KO mice had lower testicular apoptosis than that of WT mice. Our results show that TRPV1 induces testicular apoptosis and suggest that TRPV1 may be associated with testicular aging.

The oral care probiotic strain Weissella cibaria CMU (oraCMU) inhibits volatile sulphur compounds associated with halitosis, presumably by inhibiting the growth of associated oral pathogens. In the present study, we investigated whether oraCMU inhibits the production of these compounds by suppressing the expression of mgl . This gene encodes L-methionine-α-deamino-γ-mercaptomethane-lyase (METase) and is involved in the production of methyl mercaptan (CH3SH) by Porphyromonas gingivalis . Therefore, we specifically investigated the effects of oraCMU on the growth, CH3SH production, METase activity, and mgl expression of P. gingivalis . The minimum inhibitory concentrations of cell-free supernatant and secreted proteins from oraCMU were 125 mg/mL and 800 µg/mL, respectively. At sub-minimum inhibitory concentration levels, these metabolites inhibited CH3SH production, but they also reduced P. gingivalis viability. Only heat-killed oraCMU decreased CH3SH production without affecting P. gingivalis viability. Heat-killed oraCMU also inhibited METase activity toward L-methionine and mgl mRNA expression (p < 0.05). In summary, we demonstrated the inhibition of volatile sulphur compounds via the antimicrobial action of oraCMU and, for the first time, the inhibition of such compounds by heat-killed oraCMU, which occurred at the molecular level.

A 7-year-old, intact, female Siberian husky was presented to the Veterinary Medical Center of Chungbuk National University because of vomiting and diarrhea after a fight with a cohabiting dog. Physical examination, radiography, abdominal ultrasonography, and laboratory examination were performed. The dog was diagnosed with pyometra and 10% dehydration. On electrolyte, Na and Cl ion concentration were lower than normal values and Ca ion concentration was slightly lower than normal values. On blood chemistry, blood urea nitrogen and alkaline phosphatase value were extremely higher than normal values. Neutrophil was observed as hypersegmentation. On ultrasonography, enlarged uterine body was observed. Uterus was enlarged and filled with echogenic fluid that is seemed to be pus. Uterine horn was rubbing the bladder. In bacterial culture, the colony morphology was smooth, mucoid, and hemolytic. Also, on molecular diagnosis test, both samples from uterine and abdominal fluid were confirmed to be E. coli. This case describes that uterine pus was leakage to abdominal cavity through oviduct, and pus leakage from uterus may be cause septic peritonitis and death. Also, this case must be considered that physical event such as fight against cohabiting dog, strenuous exercise and kiss-off can cause uterine rupture or pus leakage through oviduct from uterus in dog with pyometra.

This study aimed to examine the effect of a mild elevation in serum cholesterol level in a porcine coronary overstretch restenosis model using a balloon angioplasty catheter or drug-eluting coronary stent. Pigs were divided into two groups and were fed a commercial normal diet (CND, n = 4) or a high-fat diet (HFD, n = 4) for 5 weeks. Coronary overstretch injury by balloon angioplasty or stent implantation was induced in the left anterior descending and left circumflex artery after 1 week of feeding. Histopathological analysis was performed at 4 weeks after coronary injury. During the experiment, the total cholesterol level in the HFD group increased by approximately 44.9% (from 65.9 ± 3.21 mg/dL at baseline to 95.5 ± 9.94 mg/dL at 5 weeks). The lumen area in the CND group was reduced in comparison with that in the HFD group after balloon angioplasty. After stent implantation, the injury score showed no significant difference. There were significant differences in the neointimal area (2.7 ± 0.33 mm2 in the CND group vs. 3.3 ± 0.34 mm2 in the HFD group, p<0.05), lumen area (2.6 ± 0.54 mm2 in the CND group vs. 2.0 ± 0.33 mm2 in the HFD group, p<0.05), and percent area stenosis (52.0 ± 7.96% in the CND group vs. 62.4 ± 5.15% in the HFD group, p<0.05). Body weight change was not different between the two groups. Increased serum cholesterol level activated vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation in the porcine coronary overstretch model.

Although the use of Grammatical Metaphor (GM) has been regarded as one of the representative features of academic writing in the framework of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), not many studies have explored its role in second or foreign language writers’ writing quality. This study aimed to discover the potential relationship between GM development and argumentative writing quality of advanced Korean EFL learners, while controlling for their overall language proficiency and reading comprehension ability. The findings from this study unveiled significant contribution of the use of both premature and mature GM and also identified transcategorization as the specific GM that has relatively stronger predictability of writing quality. The results from current research yield meaningful pedagogical implications for writing instruction in Korean EFL contexts.