Using a theorem of Ulam and Hyers, we will prove the Hyers-Ulam stability of two-dimensional Lagrange's mean value points $(\eta, \xi)$ which satisfy the equation, $f(u, v) - f(p, q) = (u-p) f_x(\eta, \xi) + (v-q) f_y(\eta, \xi)$, where $(p, q)$ and $(u, v)$ are distinct points in the plane. Moreover, we introduce an efficient algorithm for applying our main result in practical use.

The present study investigated the effect of different ambient temperature and relative humidity (RH) but equal temperature-humidity index (THI) on laying performance, egg quality, heterophil to lymphocyte ratio (H/L ratio), corticosterone (CORT) concentration in blood, yolk and albumen, and plasma biochemical parameters in laying hens. One hundred and twenty commercial hens (Hy-Line Brown) aged 60 weeks were allocated into 2 environmental chambers. Laying hens were subjected to either one of two thermal treatments, i.e., 26ºC and 70% RH (LH75) and 30ºC and 30% RH (HL75) for 28 days. Both thermal treatments had equal THI being 75. Neither LH75 nor HL75 affected (P > 0.05) laying performance including egg production, egg weight, egg mass, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio. Plasma biochemical parameters such as total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus was not altered (P > 0.05) by thermal treatments. As to the stress indicators, both environment regimes failed (P > 0.05) to affect blood H/L ratio and CORT levels in plasma, yolk and albumen although albumen CORT levels were elevated (P < 0.05) in LH75 vs. HL75 at days 3, 7, and 28. In conclusion, our study suggests that laying hens performed and responded equally when they were exposed to equal THI environment conditioned from either 26ºC and 70% RH or 30ºC and 30% RH. The results of this study will be served as a scientific basis for management decisions and handling under thermally challenging conditions.

Marine algae have been considered as abundant source of bioactive compounds with cosmeceutical potential. Recently, a great deal of interest has focused on the health-promoting effects of marine bioactive compounds. Carbohydrate is a major and abundant constitute of marine algae that have been utilized in cosmetic formulations, such as moisturizing and thickening agents. In addition, marine carbohydrates have been suggested as promising bioactive biomaterials for various skin beneficial properties, such as anti-oxidant, anti-melanogenic and anti-skin aging. Therefore, marine algae carbohydrates have potential of skin health benefits for value-added cosmeceutical application. The present review focused on the various biological capacities and potential skin health benefits of bioactive marine carbohydrates.

This study investigated the presence of human Norovirus (HuNoV) by genotype in 1,486 groundwater samples, collected from 843 groundwater wells suspected of contamination during 2007-2016, in Republic of Korea. We identified and genotyped 186 HuNoV sequences in 178 HuNoV-positive samples using the RIVM-NoroNet norovirus genotyping tool (NGT) and phylogenetic tree analysis based on RIVM-NoroNet reference sequences. HuNoV GII was more prevalent than GI. The major genotypes detected were HuNoV GII.4 (43.0%), GII.22 (15.6%), GI.5 (10.2%) and GI.1 (8.6%); 14 genotypes accounted for < 5.0%. Increasing HuNoV GII.17 has displayed a worldwide trend, including in Europe and Asia since 2010, and it was the dominant HuNoV genotype during 2013-2014 in Korea. However, HuNoV GII.4 was the major genotype detected in groundwater in Korea in 2015-2016, and it is becoming increasingly prevalent similar to HuNoV GII.17.

The number of patients with bone metabolic disorders including osteoporosis is increasing worldwide. These disorders often facilitate bone fractures, which seriously impact the patient’s quality of life and could lead to further health complications. Bone homeostasis is tightly regulated to balance bone resorption and formation. However, many anti-osteoporotic agents are broadly categorized as either bone forming or anti-resorptive, and their therapeutic use is often limited due to unwanted side effects. Therefore, safe and effective therapeutic agents are needed for osteoporosis. This study aims to clarify the bone protecting effects of oat bran water extract (OBWE) and its mode of action. OBWE inhibited RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation by blocking c-Fos/NFATc1 through the alteration of I-κB. Furthermore, we found that OBWE enhanced BMP-2-stimulated osteoblast differentiation by the induction of Runx2 via Smad signaling molecules. In addition, the anti-osteoporotic activity of OBWE was also evaluated using an in vivo model. OBWE significantly restored ovariectomy-induced bone loss. These in vitro and in vivo results showed that OBWE has the potential to combat bone metabolic disorders including osteoporosis

The present study was conducted to investigate the comparative effects of organic and inorganic forms of sulfur, methyl sulfonyl methane (MSM) and sodium sulfate (SS), on laying performance, egg quality, ileal morphology, ileal volatile fatty acids, and antioxidant and stress markers in various biological samples in aged laying hens. A total of 144, 73-week-old Lohman Brown-Lite laying hens were randomly assigned to one of three experimental diets: basal diet (CONT), CONT + 0.2% MSM (MSM), and CONT + 0.3% SS (SS). The trial lasted for 12 weeks. MSM and SS groups contained 0.07% of sulfur, either organic or inorganic. Dietary MSM did not affect egg production and feed conversion ratio at 12 weeks compared with the CONT group. Dietary sulfur did not affect egg quality except for Haugh unit at 4 weeks which was lowered (P &lt; 0.05) in the SS group. Compared with the CONT group, higher (P &lt; 0.05) villus height and crypt depth ratio was observed in the SS group. None of dietary sulfur affected the percentages of short-chain fatty acids in the ileum. Total antioxidant capacity of liver increased (P &lt; 0.05) in laying hens fed MSM- and SS-added diets compared with the CONT group. The MSM and SS groups lowered (P &lt; 0.05) malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in serum samples compared with the CONT. Finally, dietary MSM had the lowest (P &lt; 0.05) MDA concentrations in yolk samples. Taken together, our study showed that dietary organic and inorganic sulfur have positive effects on ileal morphology and antioxidant capacity in laying hens. However, SS-mediated inhibition in laying performance needs to be clarified.

The present study was conducted to evaluate encapsulated essential oils as an alternative anticoccidial in coccidiosis vaccine challenged broiler chickens. A total of 600 day-old male broiler chicks were provided with no-added corn-soybean meal-based control diet or diets that contained either salinomycin or EO at 60 and 120 mg per kg of diet. On day 21, half of the control groups were orally challenged with a coccidiosis vaccine at 25 times higher than the recommended vaccine dose. During 22 to 28 days (i.e., one-week post coccidiosis vaccine challenge), the challenged chickens had decrease (P < 0.05) in body weight gain and feed intake but increase in feed conversion ratio compared with the non-challenged, naïve control chickens. However, dietary EO significantly counteracted (P < 0.05) coccidiosis vaccine-induced depression in body weight gain and feed intake. Increasing dietary EO linearly decreased (P < 0.05) the concentrations of the volatile fatty acids. Dietary SAL and EO affected gut morphology in chickens at 20 days posthatch. Increasing dietary EO linearly (P = 0.073) increased serum catalase activity. Collectively, our study shows that dietary EO increased coccidiosis vaccine-induced growth depression and altered gut physiology in broiler chickens.

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a complex disease resulting from chronic liver injury associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and inflammation. Recently, multi-target drugs have been proposed to treat complex diseases including NASH; however, their manufacturing pro-cesses remain time- and cost-intensive and inefficient. Therefore, to overcome these limitations, we developed UniStac, a novel enzyme-mediated conjugation platform for multi-specific drug development. UniStac demonstrated high conjugation yields, optimal thermal stabilities, and robust biological activities. Through such platform, we designed a tetra-specific compound, C-192, targeting Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), Glucagon (GCG), Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), and Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) simultaneously for the treatment of NASH. The biological activity and treatment efficacy of C-192 were confirmed both in vitro and in vivo using a methionine–choline-deficient (MCD) diet-induced mouse model. C-192 exhibited profound therapeutic efficacies compared to conventional drugs, including liraglutide and dulaglutide. C-192 significantly improved alanine transaminase levels, triglyceride accumula-tion, and the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease activity score. Our results collectively provide clin-ical feasibility of UniStac for developing multi-specific drugs, and C-192 as an innovative thera-peutic opportunity for severe NASH, as it exerts synergistic effects across multiple targets.