Comparing the effectiveness of encoding techniques on memory for vocabulary in a second language.

We compared the effectiveness of encoding techniques in learning a character-based language. During an encoding phase, participants naive to Korean were shown 40 English-Korean word pairs in Experiment 1 (80 in Experiment 2) and asked to either repeat aloud (produce) the Korean pronunciation or copy the image of the Korean character. Recognition was later assessed in two ways: On an auditory test, participants selected the correct pairing from two audio clips of Korean words, and on a visual test, they selected the correct pairing from among two visually presented Korean characters.

A basophil-fibroblast pro-inflammatory axis fuels type 2 skin inflammation.

Chronic inflammatory skin diseases arise from dysregulated interactions between tissue-resident and infiltrating cells, the complexity of which hinders disease understanding and treatment. To address this, here, we present a single-cell spatiotemporal atlas of murine type 2 skin inflammation using MERFISH and scRNA-seq. Analyzing ∼430,000 cells during MC903- and oxazolone-induced dermatitis, we identify 39 cell types, including pro-inflammatory fibroblasts that resemble those in human atopic dermatitis.

A Comprehensive and Modality Diverse Cervical Spine and Back Musculoskeletal Physical Exam Curriculum for Medical Students.

Audience: The target audience for this small group session focused on the cervical spine and back musculoskeletal physical exam is medical students of all levels, although it is most useful for those early in their career such as first- and second-year medical students. These videos can also be used for other health care professionals such as physicians, physician associates, nurses, or nurse practitioners learning or refreshing their physical exam skills.

Introduction: The physical exam (PE) is one of the core components of a physician's toolkit and learning to perform the neck and back exam is important.

A multidisciplinary Delphi consensus on the modern definition of pruritus: Sensation and disease.

Background: The definition of pruritus (synonym: itch) dates back to the 17th century and does not address the complexity of the sensation or the nature of pruritus as a disease.

Objective: Elaborate a new definition of pruritus comprising emotional aspects, stages and causal attributes.

Methods: In a pre-Delphi phase, stakeholders from pruritus-relevant global societies and patients elaborated itch definition proposals.

Induction of Human Pruriceptors from Pluripotent Stem Cells via Transcription Factors.

Pruriception is crucial for defense against external stimuli but can lead to chronic pruritus, a debilitating condition affecting millions worldwide. Our understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms behind the sensation of itch has been hindered by the lack of functional human models. Here, we address this limitation by developing a protocol to generate induced pruriceptors (iPruriceptors) from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs).

Regulation of Na/Ca exchange by cytoplasmic protons modifies intracellular calcium dynamics and the cardiac response to ischemia.

The cardiac sodium-calcium exchanger (NCX1) is a critical regulator of intracellular calcium (Ca) in cardiomyocytes. Although strongly regulated by pH, the role of NCX1 pH sensitivity in cardiac function and intracellular Ca regulation is not understood. We used CRISPR/Cas9 to produce a pH-resistant NCX1 mouse by replacing histidine 165 with alanine (H165A).

Letters of Recommendation by High School Counselors in Selective College Admissions: Differences by Race and Socioeconomic Status in Letter Length and Topics Discussed.

Unlabelled: Letters of recommendation from school counselors are required to apply to most selective universities. We use cutting-edge natural language processing techniques to algorithmically analyze a national dataset of over 600,000 student applications and counselor recommendation letters submitted through the Common Application. We examine how the length and topical content of letters (e.

Comparing donor selection barriers for living donor liver transplantation among Hispanic and non-Hispanic candidates in a large urban center.

Hispanics represent the largest-growing ethnic group awaiting liver transplantation. Though racial/ethnic barriers to living donor liver transplantation have been described among recipients, little is known about challenges for minority living liver donor (LLD) candidates during donor evaluation. We aimed to characterize LLD candidates and compare donor-related barriers by ethnicity through a single-center retrospective cohort study of all LLD referrals from December 2017 to August 2021.

Intraoperative Radiation Therapy (IORT) for Breast Cancer: The Final Analysis of a Prospective Cohort of 1828 Cases.

Background: Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) delivers the full course of radiation therapy during the initial surgical excision. In the early 2000s, IORT was a promising method of breast cancer treatment de-escalation, offering many advantages. This technique should have succeeded in the USA, but several factors hindered its widespread adoption.

Systemic Inflammatory Markers Correlate with Chronic Kidney Disease-Associated Pruritus and Response to Treatment.

Chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus) is a distressing condition with a poorly understood pathogenesis. We investigated the relationship between itch intensity and serum levels of 20 pruritic and inflammatory markers in patients with moderate-to-severe chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus. This was a retrospective analysis of data from 851 patients enrolled in 2 randomized phase 3 trials of difelikefalin, a selective kappa-opioid receptor agonist approved for treating moderate-to-severe chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus.

RAG suppresses group 2 innate lymphoid cells.

Antigen specificity is the central trait distinguishing adaptive from innate immune function. Assembly of antigen-specific T cell and B cell receptors occurs through V(D)J recombination mediated by the Recombinase Activating Gene endonucleases RAG1 and RAG2 (collectively called RAG). In the absence of RAG, mature T and B cells do not develop and thus RAG is critically associated with adaptive immune function.

The sensory neuroimmune frontier.

Sensing and recognition are key properties of both the immune and nervous systems. In the immune system, pattern recognition or antigen-specific receptors represent classic motifs in innate and adaptive immunity, respectively. In the nervous system, there is a major anatomic division between how we sense stimuli from within the body (vagal sensory nervous system) and the outside world (somatosensory nervous system).

Establishing the Validity of Low Sampling Rates for Assessing Force/Torque-Time Variables During Isometric Strength Tests.

Purpose: Skeletal-muscle function is commonly assessed during isometric strength tests for both athletic and clinical populations. To assess neuromuscular performance, these are often analyzed by calculating peak force/torque and rate of force/torque development (RFD/RTD) variables using dynamometers, load cells, or force plates. These devices record a specific number of data points per second, known as the sampling rate, measured in samples per second (in hertz).

An interorgan neuroimmune circuit promotes visceral hypersensitivity.

Visceral pain disorders such as interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) often manifest concurrently in the bladder and colon. Yet, the mechanistic basis of such comorbidities and the transmission of neural hypersensitivity across organ systems has remained a mystery. Here, we identify a mast cell-sensory neuron circuit that initiates bladder inflammation and simultaneously propagates neural hypersensitivity to the colon in a murine model of IC/BPS.

Enteric neuronal Piezo1 maintains mechanical and immunological homeostasis by sensing force.

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract experiences a myriad of mechanical forces while orchestrating digestion and barrier immunity. A central conductor of these processes, the enteric nervous system (ENS), detects luminal pressure to regulate peristalsis independently of extrinsic input from the central and peripheral nervous systems. However, how the ∼500 million enteric neurons that reside in the GI tract sense and respond to force remains unknown.

Erasable hippocampal neural signatures predict memory discrimination.

Memories involving the hippocampus can take several days to consolidate, challenging efforts to uncover the neuronal signatures underlying this process. Here, we use calcium imaging in freely moving mice to track the hippocampal dynamics underlying memory consolidation across a 10-day contextual fear conditioning task. We find two neural signatures that emerge following learning and predict memory performance: context-specific place field remapping and coordinated neural activity prior to memory recall (freezing).

Fighting off a gut feeling: A gut-brain-lung neuroimmune circuit.

In this issue of Neuron, Chen et al. identify a postprandial neuroimmune axis by which feeding-induced stimulation of the gastrointestinal tract triggers type 2 immunity in the lung. This study hints that there are likely distinct sensory and motor circuits coordinated by the brain across different tissues to drive neuroinflammation.

Atopic skin inflammation promotes systemic anaphylactic responses via IL-13 signaling in conventional dendritic cells.

Cutaneous allergen sensitization (CAS) underlies atopic dermatitis (AD) and leads to various allergic symptoms, including food allergy and anaphylaxis. IL-13 expression by T follicular helper T (T) has been reported to be involved in generating high-affinity IgE antibodies and causing systemic anaphylaxis. However, the mechanisms by which IL-13 triggers IgE-mediated allergic responses remain poorly defined.

Magnetically confined surface and bulk excitons in a layered antiferromagnet.

The discovery of two-dimensional van der Waals magnets has greatly expanded our ability to create and control nanoscale quantum phases. A unique capability emerges when a two-dimensional magnet is also a semiconductor that features tightly bound excitons with large oscillator strengths that fundamentally determine the optical response and are tunable with magnetic fields. Here we report a previously unidentified type of optical excitation-a magnetic surface exciton-enabled by the antiferromagnetic spin correlations that confine excitons to the surface of CrSBr.

Onset and Long-Term Maintenance of Optimal Itch Response in Adult Patients with Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis Treated with Dupilumab: Post Hoc Analysis from Two Phase 3 Trials.

Introduction: The treat-to-target concept established goals to guide treatment with systemic therapies in atopic dermatitis (AD), including goals for itch improvement, reported as the most burdensome symptom. The aim of this study is to assess optimal itch response onset and long-term maintenance using treat-to-target criteria in dupilumab-treated patients.

Methods: This post hoc analysis assessed patients ≥ 18 years with moderate-to-severe AD in two phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies.