The importance of digital technology is increasing among older adults. In this study, the digital health technology utilization status, purpose, and satisfaction of older adults were investigated according to frailty. A face-to-face survey was conducted among adults aged 65 years or older. Frailty was defined using the Korean version of the fatigue, resistance, ambulation, illnesses, and loss of weight scale. A total of 505 participants completed the survey, with 153 (30.3%) identified as pre-frail or frail and 352 (69.7%) as healthy. All respondents used smartphones; 440 (87.1%) were application users, and 290 (57.4%) were healthcare application users. Wearable devices were used by only 36 patients (7.1%). Pre-frail or frail respondents used social media more frequently than healthy respondents (19.4% vs. 7.4%, P < 0.001). Among the respondents, 319 (63.2%) were not able to install or delete the application themselves, and 277 (54.9%) stated that the application was recommended by their children (or partner). Pre-frail and frail respondents used more healthcare applications to obtain health information (P = 0.002) and were less satisfied with wearable devices (P = 0.02). The usage rate of digital devices, including mobile phones among older adults in Korea is high, whereas that of wearable devices is low. There was a notable difference in the services used by pre-frail and frail respondents compared to healthy respondents. Therefore, when developing digital devices for pre-frail and frail older adults, it is crucial to incorporate customized services that meet their unique needs, particularly those services that they frequently use.

ABSTRACT Objective This study compared metaverse counseling with in-person counseling, using in-person counseling as a comparison group. To achieve this, we assessed whether metaverse counseling, a novel treatment approach, is comparable to traditional in-person counseling. Method: A total of 60 participants voluntarily participated in the study. Among the participants, 28 preferred in-person counseling, whereas 32 selected metaverse counseling as their preferred treatment option. Results and Conclusion: The findings indicated no statistically significant differences in the psychological symptom change patterns between the two counseling modalities. Both metaverse and in-person counseling demonstrated a common pattern of reduced symptom levels from pre-to post-session (Metaverse counseling Cohen’s d = 1.04, In-person counseling Cohen’s d = .62), which remained stable from post-session to follow-up regardless of the chosen counseling modality. Furthermore, the study revealed that the metaverse counseling group exhibited a higher level of working alliances than the in-person counseling group. Additionally, there was a slight tendency toward higher levels of counseling satisfaction in the metaverse counseling group than in the in-person counseling group. The results of this study support the use of synchronous metaverse programs to treat college students. The implications and limitations of this study are discussed. (195 words)

Polymer electrolytes with bicontinuous nanostructures for lithium metal batteries were prepared by UV-polymerization of hydrophobic domains in microemulsions of ionic liquids, amphiphilic ionic liquids, lithium salts and monomers.

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 &amp;lt;2 in August and October, and the ΩAr values measured at some of the bottom water stations in August were &amp;lt;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.

In this study, we describe the effects of Lactobacillus paracasei HY7015 (HY7015) on promoting mouse hair growth. Since our purpose was to increase hair growth through oral administration, medicinal yeast, at a suitable concentration for application in mice, was used as a positive control. First, experiments were conducted to determine the effect of HY7015 on proliferation of hair follicle dermal papilla cells (HFDPC), which are important contributors to hair growth. HY7015 stimulated HFDPC proliferation in vitro and increased their secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor and insulin-like growth factor-1. In mouse experiments, oral administration of HY7015 promoted hair growth and hair follicle maturation in the dorsal skin, as well as increasing growth factor levels in mouse serum. In summary, we demonstrate that L. paracasei HY7015 consumption can promote hair growth by stimulating HFDPC proliferation and growth factor secretion. Follow-up studies are warranted to determine the underlying mechanism, using various approaches, including investigation of changes in intestinal microbiota and alteration of gene and protein expression.

Ginseng (the root of Panax ginseng Meyer) has been reported to have many biologic therapeutic effects, including anti-inflammatory properties, and ginsenosides are considered as one of the factors responsible for these therapeutic effects. To improve their therapeutic action, probiotic bacteria are used to ferment and chemically transform ginsenosides in red ginseng (RG). In this study, we aimed to investigate the beneficial effects of RG fermented by probiotic bacteria (FRG) against ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergic rhinitis in a mouse model. We induced the mouse model via OVA inhalation; experimental results revealed increased immunoglobulin E (IgE) and interleukin (IL)-4 levels, leading to Th2-type cytokine response. The mice with induced allergy were then orally administered RG and FRG over 2 weeks, as a result of which, IL-4 and IgE levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, nasal fluid, and serum were found to be ameliorated more effectively by FRG than by RG, suggesting that FRG has better immune regulatory effects than RG. FRG also downregulated immune cell levels, such as those of eosinophils and basophils, and significantly decreased the thickness of OVA-induced respiratory epithelium compared to RG. Collectively, the results showed that FRG treatment alleviates inflammation, thereby extending a protective effect to mice with OVA-induced inflammatory allergic rhinitis.

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.

Skin aging occurs inevitably as a natural result of physiological changes over time. In particular, solar exposure of the skin accounts for up to 90% of skin damage. Numerous studies have examined the ability of dietary constituents to prevent skin aging, and recent research has emphasized the role of functional probiotics in intestinal function and skin aging. However, the mechanism of the interactions between aging and probiotics has not been elucidated yet. The aim of this study was to determine the role of exopolysaccharides (EPS) produced by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) identified as Lactobacillus plantarum HY7714 in regulating tight junctions in intestinal epithelial cells and increasing moisture retention in human dermal fibroblasts cells. We observed that HY7714 EPS controlled intestinal tight junctions in Caco-2 cells by upregulating the genes encoding occludin-1 (OCL-1) and zonula occluden-1 (ZO-1). In addition, HY7714 EPS effectively improved UVB-induced cytotoxicity and hydration capacity in HS68 cells by downregulating production of metalloproteinases (MMPs) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). In summary, HY7714 EPS is an effective anti-aging molecule in skin and may have therapeutic potential against skin diseases and UVB-induced damage. Therefore, HY7714 EPS serves as a functional substance in skin–gut axis communication.

Maintaining probiotic effectiveness represents the most important task for the development of functional foods. Gastrointestinal stability and intestinal adhesion properties comprise one criterion for probiotic selection. Here, we investigated the benefits of milk fermented with Lactobacillus casei HY2782 at different fermentation times. The probiotic strain used was L. casei HY2782 and the reference strain was L. casei ATCC393 for comparisons. The samples were fermented for 7 days at 30 °C. We determined the pH, CFU/mL, survival rate during simulated gastrointestinal digestion, adhesion ability to HT-29 cells, and gene expression of tight-junction proteins known to regulate intestinal permeability in Caco-2 cells. L. casei HY2782 exhibited significantly higher survival rates in simulated gastrointestinal digestion during long-term fermentation than L. casei ATCC393. The adhesion ability to HT-29 cells was significantly increased with L. casei HY2782 (3.3% to 8.7%) after 7 days of fermentation; however, only a slight increase was observed for L. casei ATCC393 (3.1% to 4.7%). In addition, L. casei HY2782 can significantly increase the expression of genes encoding tight-junction proteins during long-term fermentation of milk. In conclusion, we confirmed that long-term fermentation could be a novel manufacturing process for fermented milk containing L. casei HY2782 and showed the beneficial effects.