Relationship between cerebrospinal fluid cytokines/chemokines and clinical impact of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disorders in children.

Background: Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) has been increasingly reported in children at the first presentation of an acquired central nervous system (CNS) demyelinating disorder and can have a relapsing course. This study aimed to evaluate cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytokine/chemokine profiles in children with acute-phase inflammatory demyelinating disorders according to MOG-IgG positivity and/or recurrent relapses.

Methods: A total of 24 cytokines/chemokines were measured using multiplex immunoassay in the CSF of 85 children, who were divided into serum MOG-IgG positive (MOG-P, n = 28) [acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (n = 19), optic neuritis (n = 8), neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (n = 1)] group, MOG-negative (MOGN, n = 27) demyelinating disorder group, and control (n = 30) group.

CaMKK2 Regulates Macrophage Polarization Induced by Matrix Stiffness: Implications for Shaping the Immune Response in Stiffened Tissues.

Macrophages are essential for immune responses and maintaining tissue homeostasis, exhibiting a wide range of phenotypes depending on their microenvironment. The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a vital component that provides structural support and organization to tissues, with matrix stiffness acting as a key regulator of macrophage behavior. Using physiologically relevant 3D stiffening hydrogel models, it is found that increased matrix stiffness alone promoted macrophage polarization toward a pro-regenerative phenotype, mimicking the effect of interleukin-4(IL-4) in softer matrices.

Automated chest CT three-dimensional quantification of body composition: adipose tissue and paravertebral muscle.

This retrospective study developed an automated algorithm for 3D segmentation of adipose tissue and paravertebral muscle on chest CT using artificial intelligence (AI) and assessed its feasibility. The study included patients from the Boston Lung Cancer Study (2000-2011). For adipose tissue quantification, 77 patients were included, while 245 were used for muscle quantification.

Acute Three-Dimensional Hypoxia Regulates Angiogenesis.

Hypoxia elicits a multitude of tissue responses depending on the severity and duration of the exposure. While chronic hypoxia is shown to impact development, regeneration, and cancer, the understanding of the threats of acute (i.e.

Bio-orthogonal tuning of matrix properties during 3D cell culture to induce morphological and phenotypic changes.

Described herein is a protocol for producing a synthetic extracellular matrix that can be modified in situ during three-dimensional cell culture. The hydrogel platform is established using modular building blocks employing bio-orthogonal tetrazine (Tz) ligation with slow (norbornene, Nb) and fast (trans-cyclooctene, TCO) dienophiles. A cell-laden gel construct is created via the slow, off-stoichiometric Tz/Nb reaction.

Assessing the prognostic utility of clinical and radiomic features for COVID-19 patients admitted to ICU: challenges and lessons learned.

Severe cases of COVID-19 often necessitate escalation to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where patients may face grave outcomes, including mortality. Chest X-rays play a crucial role in the diagnostic process for evaluating COVID-19 patients. Our collaborative efforts with Michigan Medicine in monitoring patient outcomes within the ICU have motivated us to investigate the potential advantages of incorporating clinical information and chest X-ray images for predicting patient outcomes.

Bayesian Inference for High Dimensional Cox Models with Gaussian and Diffused-Gamma Priors: A Case Study of Mortality in COVID-19 Patients Admitted to the ICU.

Bayesian approaches have been utilized to address the challenge of variable selection and statistical inference in high-dimensional survival analysis. However, the discontinuity of the -norm prior, including the useful spike-and-slab prior, may lead to computational and implementation challenges, potentially limiting the widespread use of Bayesian methods. The Gaussian and diffused-gamma (GD) prior has emerged as a promising alternative due to its continuous-and-differentiable -norm approximation and computational efficiency in generalized linear models.

Hydrogels to Recapture Extracellular Matrix Cues That Regulate Vascularization.

The ECM (extracellular matrix) is a 3-dimensional network that supports cellular responses and maintains structural tissue integrity in healthy and pathological conditions. The interactions between ECM and cells trigger signaling cascades that lead to phenotypic changes and structural and compositional turnover of the ECM, which in turn regulates vascular cell behavior. Hydrogel biomaterials are a powerful platform for basic and translational studies and clinical applications due to their high swelling capacity and exceptional versatility in compositions and properties.

Downregulation of YAP Activity Restricts P53 Hyperactivation to Promote Cell Survival in Confinement.

Cell migration through confining three dimensional (3D) topographies can lead to loss of nuclear envelope integrity, DNA damage, and genomic instability. Despite these detrimental phenomena, cells transiently exposed to confinement do not usually die. Whether this is also true for cells subjected to long-term confinement remains unclear at present.

What evidence is needed to inform postoperative opioid consumption guidelines? A cohort study of the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative.

Introduction: To balance adequate pain management while minimizing opioid-related harms after surgery, opioid prescribing guidelines rely on patient-reported use after surgery. However, it is unclear how many patients are required to develop precise guidelines. We aimed to compare patterns of use, required sample size, and the precision for patient-reported opioid consumption after common surgical procedures.

Use of machine learning to assess the prognostic utility of radiomic features for in-hospital COVID-19 mortality.

As portable chest X-rays are an efficient means of triaging emergent cases, their use has raised the question as to whether imaging carries additional prognostic utility for survival among patients with COVID-19. This study assessed the importance of known risk factors on in-hospital mortality and investigated the predictive utility of radiomic texture features using various machine learning approaches. We detected incremental improvements in survival prognostication utilizing texture features derived from emergent chest X-rays, particularly among older patients or those with a higher comorbidity burden.

Toddler-teacher interaction and teachers' sensitivity as predictors of toddler's development during COVID-19: Stability or change over time.

This study examined the stability and change patterns among toddlers' interactions with their teachers, teachers' sensitivity, and toddlers' development during the COVID-19 pandemic and the three plausible paths were tested to identify which of the study variables affected the development of toddlers in subsequent periods over time. The subjects of this study were 63 toddlers and 6 head teachers who attended a subsidized child care center, located in Kyunggi province, Korea. In order to carry out the research objectives, a non-experimental survey research design was undertaken, and the qualitative data was obtained via on-site observations by trained researchers.

Predictors of Progression of Tricuspid Regurgitation in Patients with Persistent Atrial Fibrillation.

Previous studies have shown that tricuspid regurgitation (TR) can be developed in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) due to annular dilatation. This study aimed to investigate the incidence and predictors of the progression of TR in patients with persistent AF. A total of 397 patients (66.

Matrix Adhesiveness Regulates Myofibroblast Differentiation from Vocal Fold Fibroblasts in a Bio-orthogonally Cross-linked Hydrogel.

Repeated mechanical and chemical insults cause an irreversible alteration of extracellular matrix (ECM) composition and properties, giving rise to vocal fold scarring that is refractory to treatment. Although it is well known that fibroblast activation to myofibroblast is the key to the development of the pathology, the lack of a physiologically relevant model of vocal folds impedes mechanistic investigations on how ECM cues promote myofibroblast differentiation. Herein, we describe a bio-orthogonally cross-linked hydrogel platform that recapitulates the alteration of matrix adhesiveness due to enhanced fibronectin deposition when vocal fold wound healing is initiated.

Tunable Synthesis of Hydrogel Microfibers via Interfacial Tetrazine Ligation.

Crosslinked, degradable, and cell-adhesive hydrogel microfibers were synthesized via interfacial polymerization employing tetrazine ligation, an exceptionally fast bioorthogonal reaction between strained -cyclooctene (TCO) and -tetrazine (Tz). A hydrophobic TCO crosslinker and homo-difunctional poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based macromers with the tetrazine group conjugated to PEG via a stable carbamate (PEG-Tz1) bond or a labile hydrazone (PEG-Tz2) linkage were synthesized. After laying an ethyl acetate solution of TCO over an aqueous solution of Tz macromers, mechanically robust microfibers were continuously pulled from the oil-water interface.

The Development of ICT-Based Exercise Rehabilitation Service Contents for Patients with Musculoskeletal Disorders and Stroke.

Exercise rehabilitation services connecting hospitals and communities increase patient participation and improve quality of life by reducing medical expenses. South Korea's multi-ministerial governments have been working together to develop ICT-based hospital-community-linked services to create an exercise program that the public can easily use. This study aims to develop the exercise rehabilitation service components for the application and prescription of ICT-based exercise programs implemented in hospitals and communities.

Development and Evaluation of a Classified and Tailored Community-Based Exercise Program According to the Mobility Level of People with Stroke Using the Knowledge to Action Framework.

Attempts to classify the mobility levels of people with stroke (PWS) for a tailored exercise program in community settings have been few. We developed and evaluated a classified and tailored community-based (CTC) exercise program according to the mobility level of PWS. Forty-two PWS were classified into the Supine and Sitting, Sitting and Standing, and Standing and Gait groups, based on a newly developed classification model and participated in a group-based CTC exercise program for 1 h/day twice/week for 10 weeks.

Characterization of Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Constituents from Using LC-MS Coupled with a Bioassay Method.

An effective and previously demonstrated screening method for active constituents in natural products using LC-MS coupled with a bioassay was reported in our earlier studies. With this, the current investigation attempted to identify bioactive constituents of through LC-MS coupled with a bioassay. Peaks at broadly 17-20 and 24-25 min on the MS chromatogram displayed an inhibitory effect on NO production in lipopolysaccharide-induced BV2 microglia cells.

Feasibility study on evaluating uranium enrichment with the High Resolution Gamma-Ray Spectrometry and X-ray fluorescence.

The uranium enrichment of the environmental sample should be analyzed to verify the declared information for the nuclear safeguards. The High-Resolution Gamma Spectrometry (HRGS) and Monochromatic Micro X-ray Fluorescence (MMXRF) is able to analyze the sample with a short detection time and high reproducibility. These are the advantage to measure the samples for screening before laboratory analysis.

Rapid Bioorthogonal Chemistry Enables in Situ Modulation of the Stem Cell Behavior in 3D without External Triggers.

Chemical modification of engineered microenvironments surrounding living cells represents a means for directing cellular behaviors through cell-matrix interactions. Presented here is a temporally controlled method for modulating the properties of biomimetic, synthetic extracellular matrices (ECM) during live cell culture employing the rapid, bioorthogonal tetrazine ligation with trans-cyclooctene (TCO) dienophiles. This approach is diffusion-controlled, cytocompatible, and does not rely on light, catalysts, or other external triggers.

A rare case of multiple pituitary adenomas in an adolescent Cushing disease presenting as a vertebral compression fracture.

Cushing disease in children and adolescents, especially with multiple pituitary adenomas (MPAs), is very rare. We report 17-year-old boy with MPAs. He presented with a vertebral compression fracture, weight gain, short stature, headache, and hypertension.

Mediating effect of emotional/behavioral problems and academic competence between parental abuse/neglect and school adjustment.

The current study examined the mediating effects of emotional/behavioral problems and academic competence between parental abuse/neglect and a child's school adjustment by investigating 2070 student surveys from the Korean Child Youth Panel Study (KCYPS). A path analysis yielded the following key findings. Firstly, childhood abuse and neglect showed a significant negative and direct effect on school adjustment.

Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction for Identification of Shigellae and Four Shigella Species Using Novel Genetic Markers Screened by Comparative Genomics.

In the detection of Shigella species using molecular biological methods, previously known genetic markers for Shigella species were not sufficient to discriminate between Shigella species and diarrheagenic Escherichia coli. The purposes of this study were to screen for genetic markers of the Shigella genus and four Shigella species through comparative genomics and develop a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of shigellae and Shigella species. A total of seven genomic DNA sequences from Shigella species were subjected to comparative genomics for the screening of genetic markers of shigellae and each Shigella species.

Relationship of the Cold-Heat Sensation of the Limbs and Abdomen with Physiological Biomarkers.

The present study explored the relationship between the regional Cold-Heat sensation, the key indicator of the Cold-Heat patterns in traditional East Asian medicine (TEAM), and various biomarkers in Korean population. 734 apparently healthy volunteers aged 20 years and older were enrolled. Three scale self-report questions on the general thermal feel in hands, legs, and abdomen were examined.