We develop a nontoxic unentangled star-shape poly(ε-caprolactone) (UESPCL) plasticizer with excellent migration resistance for the production of phthalate-free flexible poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) by means of the ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone, initiated from the multifunctional core, combined with end-capping, and vacuum purification processes. UESPCL is a transparent liquid at room temperature and exhibits unentangled Newtonian behavior because of its extremely short branched segments. UESPCL is biologically safe without producing an acute toxicity response. Torque analysis measurements reveals that UESPCL offers a faster fusion rate and a higher miscibility with PVC compared to a typical plasticizer, di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). The solid-state (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum reveals that PVC and UESPCL are miscible with an average domain size of less than 8 nm. The flexibility and transparency of the PVC/UESPCL mixture, that is, phthalate-free flexible PVC, are comparable to the corresponding properties of the PVC/DEHP mixture, and the stretchability and fracture toughness of PVC/UESPCL are superior to the corresponding properties of the PVC/DEHP system. Most of all, PVC/UESPCL shows excellent migration resistance with a weight loss of less than 0.6% in a liquid phase, whereas DEHP migrated out of PVC/DEHP into a liquid phase with a weight loss of about 10%.

The results suggested that AP ameliorated the obesity-induced skeletal muscle atrophy by attenuating mitochondrial dysfunction.

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Hypoglycemia symptoms were confirmed to be a predictor of fatigue. Consequently, it is essential to consider age, and disease duration as well as hypoglycemia symptoms to intervene fatigue effectively among patients with type II diabetes mellitus.

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Purpose: The study was conducted to develop and test a hypothetical model which explains self-care behavior in patients with type 2 diabetes was established based on the Self-Determination Theory. Methods: The participants were 218 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus enrolled in an outpatient clinic of one endocrine center in Korea. The data were collected using questionnaires from April 5 through May 7, 2010. The descriptive and correlation statistics were analyzed using the SPSS/ WIN 15.0 and the structural equation modeling procedure was performed using the AMOS 7.0 program. Results: The results of this study showed that competence and autonomous motivation were the strong factors influencing self-care behavior in patients in this sample. Support from health provider for autonomy was a significant indirect factor on self-care behavior. These factors explained 64.9% of variance in the participants' self care behavior. The proposed model was concise and extensive in predicting self-care behavior of the participants. Conclusion: Findings may provide useful assistance in developing effective nursing interventions for maintaining and promoting self-care behavior in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Bizarre parosteal osteochondromatous proliferation (BPOP) is a rare benign lesion predominantly involving the small bones of the hands and feet. Malignant transformation in BPOP has not been documented in the English literature. This report presents the coexistence of fibrosarcoma with BPOP in the right distal fibula of an 18-year-old woman.

There has been great interest in the browning of fat for the treatment of obesity. Although b-lapachone (BLC) has potential therapeutic effects on obesity, the fat-browning effect and thermogenic capacity of BLC on obesity have never been demonstrated. Here, we showed that BLC stimulated the browning of white adipose tissue (WAT), increased the expression of brown adipocyte-specific genes (e.g., uncoupling protein 1 [UCP1]), decreased body weight gain, and ameliorated metabolic parameters in mice fed a high-fat diet. Consistently, BLC-treated mice showed significantly higher energy expenditure compared with control mice. In vitro, BLC increased the expression of brown adipocyte-specific genes in stromal vascular fraction-differentiated adipocytes. BLC also controlled the expression of miR-382, which led to the upregulation of its direct target, Dio2. Upregulation of miR-382 markedly inhibited the differentiation of adipocytes into beige adipocytes, whereas BLC recovered beige adipocyte differentiation and increased the expression of Dio2 and UCP1. Our findings suggest that the BLC-mediated increase in the browning of WAT and the thermogenic capacity of BAT significantly results in increases in energy expenditure. Browning of WAT by BLC was partially controlled via the regulation of miR-382 targeting Dio2 and may lead to the prevention of diet-induced obesity.