Korea Yakult (South Korea)

Globally, the burden of skin diseases is considerable, being the fourth largest cause of disability (1). Diet is a modifiable risk factor for many dermatological conditions and one of the mechanisms by which nutrition influences skin health is via the gut microbiome. Oral probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics may have the potential to improve functional indicators of skin health and delay skin ageing (2).This scoping review aimed to map the body of literature on the role of oral probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics in maintaining and optimising skin health and function, and preventing and managing skin conditions, through the life course. The first stage of the scoping review, reported here, was the mapping of systematic reviews. The ongoing second stage involves the mapping of experimental and observational studies.The scoping review was conducted in accordance with the JBI methodology for scoping reviews (3). Six electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CINAHL, Scopus and Web of Science) were systematically searched without limits on language or date, along with sources of grey literature. All sources were considered for inclusion by two reviewers based on previously established criteria using the participants, concept and context framework.The titles and abstracts of 8,972 studies were screened and subsequently 1,034 full texts were retrieved. Finally, 521 studies were included in the scoping review of which 72 were systematic reviews and are analysed here.Most reviews analysed the efficacy of oral probiotics (93%), with 13% and 18% of reviews considering oral prebiotics and oral synbiotics respectively. These interventions were most reviewed in infants aged 0-12 months (78%), pregnant mothers (47%), and/or younger children (43%) inclusively. Only 28% and 19% of reviews considered adults up to, and above, 60 years respectively. Most systematic reviews included participants who were either diagnosed with (42%), or at risk of a skin disease (28%) with just 4% reviewing effects in primarily healthy populations (24% did not confirm the included populations).Outcomes related to preventing and managing a skin condition were studied by 97% of reviews; just 2 reviews examined optimising skin health and function (namely skin hydration, and epidermal thickness) in healthy populations. Atopic dermatitis (AD) was the most studied skin disease; 33 of 36 meta-analyses indicated a positive effect on its prevention, compared to 19 of 26 meta-analyses on AD severity. The remaining reviews investigated psoriasis (n=2), urticaria (n=2), and acne (n=2).This review has identified a plethora of evidence synthesis on oral probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics in AD, particularly in infants and children, and a paucity of evidence synthesis in healthy populations. The second stage of the review considering the underlying experimental and observational evidence will determine the scope for further evidence synthesis or confirm gaps in the experimental data to inform future research.

BackgroundCognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is an effective treatment for insomnia treatment, but access is limited. Digital CBT-I (dCBT-I) may help to address this access issue. Numerous studies worldwide have demonstrated the beneficial effects of dCBT-I. However, there is a lack of studies comparing dCBT-I with a control group using the same interface.Aims & ObjectivesThis study assessed the efficacy and the safety of the smartphone-based dCBT-I app compared with the sham app.MethodsData were pooled from 2 double-blind, sham-controlled RCT studies. A total of 120 patients with insomnia were randomized to dCBT-I app “WELT-I” (n=60) or a sham app (n=60) group. WELT-I is a multicomponent intervention such as sleep hygiene education, stimulus control, sleep restriction, cognitive restructuring, and relaxation therapy. The Sham app was designed to match WELT-I on installation, log-in, engagement, and delivery of content to ensure double-blindness, except the content had no therapeutic effect. The primary outcome was the change in sleep efficiency from baseline after 6 weeks of intervention. The first trial was a conventional trial with face-to-face onsite visits, and the second trial was a fully decentralized clinical trial (DCT) except for the informed consent, which was obtained onsite.ResultsThe final analysis included 106 patients. Both the WELT-I and sham app groups exhibited improvements in sleep outcomes. The WELT-I group had a significantly greater improvement in sleep efficiency (SE) from baseline (63.5 %, standard deviation [SD] 14.9) to post-intervention (76.0 %, SD 14.5) than sham app group (from 59.6 % [SD 11.7] to 65.8 % [SD 14.6]; estimated mean difference 7.70 (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.1 to 12.3; partial η2 0.10; p=0.001). Sleep onset latency (SOL) was also significantly reduced in WELT-I group (from 58.64 min [SD 41.0] to 33.5 min [SD 45.3]) compared to sham app group (from 67.5 min [SD 50.7] to 54.1 min [SD 39.3]; estimated mean difference -16.7 (95% CI -31.4 to -2.0; partial η2 0.05; p=0.026). As for the safety assessment, no instances of temporarily halting the application of apps or fatalities occurred due to adverse events in WELT-I group.Discussion & ConclusionThe results of this pooled analysis demonstrate the robust efficacy of dCBT-I app in improving insomnia symptoms. These findings support the possibility of widespread dissemination of dCBT-I. DCT can facilitate participant recruitment, reduce geographical barriers and provide a platform for evaluating the efficacy and safety of digital therapeutics. Future studies of DCT with larger sample sizes in real-world settings are needed to validate its efficacy and evaluate its generalizabilityReferencesLEE, S., OH, J. W., PARK, K. M., LEE, S. &LEE, E. 2023. Digital cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia on depression and anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis. npj Digital Medicine, 6, 52.VEDAA, Ø., KALLESTAD, H., SCOTT, J., SMITH, O. R. F., PALLESEN, S., MORKEN, G., LANGSRUD, K., GEHRMAN, P., THORNDIKE, F. P., RITTERBAND, L. M., HARVEY, A. G., STILES, T. &SIVERTSEN, B. 2020. Effects of digital cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia on insomnia severity: a large-scale randomised controlled trial. Lancet Digit Health, 2, e397-e406.

Mixed results have been reported on the evaluation of the coastal carbon cycle and its contribution to the global carbon cycle, mainly due to the shortage of observational data and the considerable spatiotemporal variability arising from complex biogeochemical factors. In this study, the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) and related environmental factors were measured in the Jinhae–Geoje–Tongyeong bay region of the southeastern Korean Peninsula in February 2014, August 2014, April 2015, and October 2015. The mean pCO2 of surface seawater ranged from 215 to 471 μatm and exhibited a high correlation with the surface seawater temperature when data for August were excluded (R2 = 0.69), indicating that the seasonal variation in CO2 could be largely attributed to the variation in seawater temperature. However, a severe red tide event occurred in August 2014, when the lowest pCO2 value was observed despite a relatively high seawater temperature. It is considered that the active biological production of phytoplankton related to red tides counteracted the summer increase in pCO2. Based on the correlation between pCO2 and temperature, the estimated decrease in pCO2 caused by non-thermal factors was approximately 200 μatm. During the entire study period, the air–sea CO2 flux ranged from −14.2 to 3.7 mmol m–2 d–1, indicating that the study area served as an overall sink for atmospheric CO2, and only functioned as a weak source during October. The mean annual CO2 flux estimated from the correlation with temperature was −5.1 mmol m–2 d–1. However, because this estimate did not include reductions caused by sporadic events of biological production, such as red tides and phytoplankton blooms, the actual uptake flux is considered to be higher. The mean saturation state (ΩAr) value of carbonate aragonite was 2.61 for surface water and 2.04 for bottom water. However, the mean ΩAr of bottom water was <2 in August and October, and the ΩAr values measured at some of the bottom water stations in August were <1. Considering that the period from August to October corresponds to the reproduction and growth stages of shellfish, such low ΩAr values could be very damaging to shellfish production and the aquaculture industry.

Abstract Microphysiological systems (MPSs), based on microfabrication technologies and cell culture, can faithfully recapitulate the complex physiology of various tissues. However, 3D tissues formed using MPS have limitations in size and accessibility; their use in regenerative medicine is, therefore, still challenging. Here, an MPS‐inspired scale‐up vascularized engineered tissue construct that can be used in regenerative medicine is designed. Endothelial cell‐laden hydrogels are sandwiched between two through‐hole membranes. The microhole array in the through‐hole membranes enables the molecular transport across the hydrogel layer, allowing long‐term cell culture. Furthermore, the time‐controlled delamination of through‐hole membranes enables the harvesting of cell‐cultured hydrogel constructs without damaging the capillary network. Importantly, when the tissue constructs are implanted in a mouse ischemic model, they protect against necrosis and promoted functional recovery to a greater extent than implanted cells, hydrogels, and simple gel–cell mixtures.

The incidence of respiratory diseases, such as asthma, has substantially increased in recent times owing to environmental changes, such as air pollution. Induction of a chronic inflammatory response begins with production of biologically active mediators from the airway epithelium, which attracts and recruits inflammatory cells into the lung airway. In our previous study, we confirmed that Lactobacillus casei HY2782 and Bifidobacterium animalis spp. lactis HY8002 could improve lung inflammation in the COPD animal model. In this study, we investigated the effect of the HY2782 complex against airway hyperresponsiveness by using an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced animal model. An orally administered HY2782 complex on OVA-induced allergic asthma in a BALB/c mouse model was used. The present results showed that the HY2782 complex suppressed total immunoglobulin E in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). The cytokine production profile in BALF and serum revealed that the HY2782 complex showed reduced levels of Th2 cytokines among immune factors released due to the elevated allergic response. Levels of inflammatory mediators in BALF, MCP-1, MIP-2, and CXCL-9 were decreased by oral administration of the HY2782 complex. Lower numbers of eosinophils and neutrophils in BALF suggested that inflammation was ameliorated by the HY2782 complex. Histological observation of lung sections also showed infiltration of fewer cells. From results, we suggested that the HY2782 complex effectively responds to improvement of the immune response and airway hypersensitivity reaction because of the anti-inflammatory effect of the Pueraria lobata root extract and antioxidant effect of HY2782.

In addition to intestinal balance, probiotics are known to have beneficial effects on skin inflammation, metabolic diseases, and emotions. Previously, we have reported the skin anti-aging effects of Lactobacillus plantarum HY7714 (HY7714) in a clinical trial. To prove the protective skin effects of HY7714 through the intestinal tight junction (TJ), we investigated the effects of HY7714 on the intestines through tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α induced TJ defects in Caco-2 cells. Specifically, 24 h treatment with HY7714 restored the decreased expression of zonula occludens-1, occludin, and claudin-1 compared to the TNF-α-treated groups (P<0.05). It also attenuated the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6, 8, and 1β. Further, increases in the mRNA levels of Elk-1, nuclear factor-κB, and myosin light chain kinase expression induced by TNF-α were recovered by HY7714. These findings imply that HY7714 improves intestinal barrier integrity and is a potential therapeutic agent for dysfunctions derived from TJ defects.

The intestinal microflora plays important roles in the health of the host, such as nutrient processing and the modulation of intestinal immune responses. The constituents of the diet greatly affect the composition of the microbiota and its metabolites. The human intestinal microbiota is made up of around 100 trillion microbial cells encompassing at least 300 species. Consuming probiotics may lead to changes in the intestinal microflora that influence host health. Metabolomics is a powerful tool for revealing metabolic changes in biofluids, tissues, and organs of hosts induced by the consumption of probiotics, and lipidomics in particular is a technical approach that focuses on the analysis of lipids in various cells and biofluids. Metabolomics and lipidomics have been used to investigate intracellular and extracellular metabolites as well as for the nontargeted profiling and fingerprinting of metabolites. Based on metabolomics and lipidomics investigations, we reviewed the effects of consuming probiotics on metabolic profiles in controlled intestinal environments. We also discuss the associations between metabolic changes and human diseases after consuming probiotics in uncontrolled intestinal environments. In addition, we review the metabolic changes that take place within the food matrix during probiotic fermentation.

This paper proposes a new active tension system which is used in coil winding machine for BLDC motor manufacturing. A comparison of winding condition between normal coil such as round shape coil, rectangle shape coil and BLDC coil is presented. To overcome the harsh winding condition of BLDC coil winding, a new wire accumulator is proposed to store or release a wire when the wire is stretched or sagging. Wire accumulator consists of a pneumatic cylinder which is driven by a servo valve and a spring. The system modeling result shows that this tension system is a MISO system. The traditional PID controller is adopted and drives the real tension according to the given reference tension. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of wire accumulator and the performance of the proposed controller, some simulation results are carried out.