Cell viability measured by cytotoxicity assay as a biomarker of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation: a prospective cohort study.

Acute severe exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is related to high mortality; however, a robust blood biomarker for COPD exacerbation has not been established. Impaired clearance of apoptotic cells is a possible pathogenesis of COPD development. We evaluated the clinical utility of serum cell viability as a predictive biomarker for COPD exacerbation.

Incidence and Risk Factors of Tuberculosis-Associated Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Purpose: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is influenced by multiple factors. Varying prevalences of tuberculosis-associated COPD exist. However, studies on its incidence or risk factors are limited.

Diagnostic Yield and Synergistic Impact of Needle Aspiration and Forceps Biopsy With Electromagnetic Navigation Bronchoscopy for Peripheral Pulmonary Lesions: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB) is an advanced imaging-guided technique used to diagnose peripheral pulmonary lesions. However, the optimal strategy for selecting biopsy devices remains unclear.

Research Question: Does the combination of needle aspiration and forceps biopsy improve diagnostic yield compared with using a single device alone?

Study Design And Methods: We conducted a randomized crossover study during ENB performed under moderate sedation.

Gender Disparities and Lung Cancer Screening Outcomes Among Individuals Who Have Never Smoked.

Importance: Lung cancer in individuals who have never smoked (INS) is a growing global concern, with a rapidly increasing incidence and proportion among all lung cancer cases. Particularly in East Asia, opportunistic lung cancer screening (LCS) programs targeting INS have gained popularity. However, the sex-specific outcomes and drawbacks of screening INS remain unexplored, with data predominantly focused on women.

Clinical Efficacy and Safety of an Automatic Closed-Suction System in Mechanically Ventilated Patients with Pneumonia: A Multicenter, Prospective, Randomized, Non-Inferiority, Investigator-Initiated Trial.

Endotracheal suctioning is an essential but labor-intensive procedure, with the risk of serious complications. A brand new automatic closed-suction device was developed to alleviate the workload of healthcare providers and minimize those complications. We evaluated the clinical efficacy and safety of the automatic suction system in mechanically ventilated patients with pneumonia.

Real-World Efficacy of Regdanvimab on Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Mild to Moderate COVID-19.

Background: This study aims to evaluate the real-world effectiveness of regdanvimab on clinical outcomes in patients with mild to moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Methods: This retrospective observational study included 152 patients (89 received regdanvimab and 63 did not) diagnosed with mild to moderate COVID-19 between August 2021 and October 2021 and admitted to Armed Forces Goyang Hospital. We collected information on the use of regdanvimab, remdesivir, dexamethasone, and supplemental oxygen; symptom severity score (SSS); and laboratory test results.

Developmental endothelial locus-1 as a potential biomarker for the incidence of acute exacerbation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Despite the high disease burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and risk of acute COPD exacerbation, few COPD biomarkers are available. As developmental endothelial locus-1 (DEL-1) has been proposed to possess beneficial effects, including anti-inflammatory effects, we hypothesized that DEL-1 could be a blood biomarker for COPD.

Objective: To elucidate the role of plasma DEL-1 as a biomarker of COPD in terms of pathogenesis and for predicting acute exacerbation.

Chest computed tomography scan as an initial diagnostic method for tuberculosis infection detected by mass screening.

Background/aims: We assessed the diagnostic yield of chest computed tomography (CT) as an initial diagnostic method for patients with a tuberculosis (TB) infection detected by mass screening in a country with an intermediate TB burden.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on patients with TB infection detected by mass screening performed between January 2015 and March 2018. The patients were classified according to whether they had a chest X-ray (CXR) or CT scan as an initial diagnostic test to exclude active TB.

Dual role of respiratory syncytial virus glycoprotein fragment as a mucosal immunogen and chemotactic adjuvant.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of severe lower respiratory tract disease in infancy and early childhood. Despite its importance as a pathogen, there is no licensed vaccine to prevent RSV infection. The G glycoprotein of RSV, a major attachment protein, is a potentially important target for protective antiviral immune responses and has been shown to exhibit chemotactic activity through CX3C mimicry.

Sublingual immunization with M2-based vaccine induces broad protective immunity against influenza.

Background: The ectodomain of matrix protein 2 (M2e) of influenza A virus is a rationale target antigen candidate for the development of a universal vaccine against influenza as M2e undergoes little sequence variation amongst human influenza A strains. Vaccine-induced M2e-specific antibodies (Abs) have been shown to display significant cross-protective activity in animal models. M2e-based vaccine constructs have been shown to be more protective when administered by the intranasal (i.

OspF directly attenuates the activity of extracellular signal-regulated kinase during invasion by Shigella flexneri in human dendritic cells.

Shigella spp., Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria, deliver various effector molecules into the host cell cytoplasm through their type III secretion system to facilitate their invasive process and control the host innate immune responses. Although the function of these effectors is well characterized in epithelial cells during Shigella infection, it has not been elucidated in the dendritic cell (DC), a major antigen presenting cell playing an important role in the initiation of immune responses.