Dissecting the heterogeneity of autism spectrum disorder with sensory behavior, brain, and epigenetic factors.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a disorder with heterogeneous etiology, is characterized by abnormal behavioral responses to sensory inputs. However, there is still limited understanding of how brain and epigenetic factors, along with behavioral abnormality, contribute to ASD. After completing Adolescent-Adult Sensory Profile, a self-report questinnaire, 34 individuals with ASD and 72 controls underwent neuroimaging scans to measure brain structural (cortical and subcortical volume) and functional (thalamo-cortical resting-state functional connectivity) characteristics.

Leveraging gamma and alpha spectrometry optimizes gross alpha measurements for miscellaneous radioactive waste.

Determination of alpha emitter concentration is crucial for ensuring safety and compliance in radioactive waste disposal. This study uses gamma and alpha spectrometry to optimize gross alpha measurements for radioactive waste by selecting appropriate calibration curves. The lack of a priori knowledge about the compositions of alpha emitters often results in discrepancies between the gross alpha activities and the summed activities of all alpha emitters when a single mass efficiency curve, such as based on Am, is applied.

Altered diversity and composition of gut microbiota in Korean children with food allergy.

Background: This study aimed to comprehensively characterize the gut microbiome and identify individual and grouped gut microbes associated with food allergy (FA) using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

Methods: Fecal samples were collected from children with IgE-mediated FA and from sex- and age-matched controls. The V3-V4 variable regions of the 16S rRNA gene of the gut microbiome were profiled using next-generation sequencing (Illumina, USA).

Diagnostic Decision Points of Specific Immunoglobulin E Concentrations for Seafood Allergies in Korean Children: A Nationwide Multicenter Study.

Shellfish and fish are common causes of food allergy (FA) in Asia, with significant prevalence rates reported across various countries. This study aimed to identify the diagnostic decision points (DDPs) for shrimp, crab, and cod allergies in Korean children. We enrolled participants aged 18 years or younger with suspected shrimp, crab, or cod allergies through a retrospective review of medical records from a nationwide 14-center study between January 2018 and March 2022.

Development and Validation of Parental Self-Efficacy Scale for Dietary Management of Children with Food Allergies.

Background: It is necessary to evaluate the parental ability to achieve nutritional adequacy while avoiding allergens for children with food allergies (FA), yet this area is currently understudies. Our study aimed to develop and validate the Parental Self-Efficacy Scale for Dietary Management of Children with Food Allergies (PSED-FA).

Methods: PSED-FA was developed through a literature review and semi-structured interviews refined by a panel of five allergists and five dietitians, and validated using responses from caregivers of children with FA.

Alterations in functional connectivity in the salience network shared by depressive symptoms and smartphone overuse.

Globally, the age when children start using smartphones has decreased. Concurrently, the increased use of smartphones among children in developmental stages has caused serious effects, such as depression. While neuroimaging studies have predicted a significant overlap between the neurobiological changes caused by depression and smartphone overuse, few have simultaneously examined them.

Improvement of androgenic alopecia by extracellular vesicles secreted from hyaluronic acid-stimulated induced mesenchymal stem cells.

Background: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a common form of hair loss. Androgens, such as testosterone and dihydrotestosterone, are the main causes of AGA. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can reduce AGA.

Home-based up-dosing of wheat oral immunotherapy: Real-world effectiveness and predictive factor analysis.

Background: Wheat allergy is one of the most prevalent allergens in Korea, decreasing quality of life and causing nutritional repercussions.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of the home-based wheat oral immunotherapy (OIT) using wheat noodles in children with a wheat allergy.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study involving 72 children aged 3 to 17 years diagnosed with a wheat allergy.

Validity and Reliability of the Korean Versions of the Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire-Child Form and Teenager Form.

We aimed to assess the validity and reliability of the Korean versions of the Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire-Child Form (K-FAQLQ-CF) and the Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire-Teenager Form (K-FAQLQ-TF). Patients aged 8-17 years with food allergy (FA) were enrolled and completed the Korean versions of the questionnaires, including the K-FAQLQ-CF, the Food Allergy Independent Measure-Child Form (K-FAIM-CF), and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ (K-PedsQL™ 4.0) for children and the K-FAQLQ-TF, the Food Allergy Independent Measure-Teenager Form (K-FAIM-TF), and the K-PedsQL™ 4.

Initial updosing phase of oral immunotherapy improves quality of life and psychological burden in parents of children with food allergy.

Oral immunotherapy (OIT) can impose psychological burdens on patients and their parents due to the necessary preparations and repeated adverse reactions. To investigate changes in quality of life (QoL) and psychological burden in parents of children receiving OIT for food allergy (FA). Children aged 3-13 years with FA were enrolled.

Effects of functional polymorphisms of opioid receptor mu 1 and catechol-O-methyltransferase on the neural processing of pain.

Aim: Pain is reconstructed by brain activities and its subjectivity comes from an interplay of multiple factors. The current study aims to understand the contribution of genetic factors to the neural processing of pain. Focusing on the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of opioid receptor mu 1 (OPRM1) AG (rs1799971) and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) valmet (rs4680), we investigated how the two pain genes affect pain processing.

Vasotocin receptor gene genotypes moderate the relationship between cortical thickness and sensory processing.

Sensory processing is the process by which the central nervous system gathers, interprets, and regulates sensory stimuli in response to environmental cues. However, our understanding of the genetic factors and neuroanatomical correlations that influence sensory processing is limited. The vasotocin system modulates sensory input responsiveness, making it a potential candidate for further investigation.

Autoencoder and restricted Boltzmann machine for transfer learning in functional magnetic resonance imaging task classification.

Deep neural networks (DNNs) have been adopted widely as classifiers for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, advancing beyond traditional machine learning models. Consequently, transfer learning of the pre-trained DNN becomes crucial to enhance DNN classification performance, specifically by alleviating an overfitting issue that occurs when a substantial number of DNN parameters are fitted to a relatively small number of fMRI samples. In this study, we first systematically compared the two most popularly used, unsupervised pretraining models for resting-state fMRI (rfMRI) volume data to pre-train the DNNs, namely autoencoder (AE) and restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM).

Psychological Distress and Perceived Burden in Parents of Korean Children With IgE-Mediated Food Allergy.

Background: Food allergy (FA) can have a profound effect on quality of life (QoL), stress, and anxiety in the family. We aimed to validate the Korean version of the Food Allergy Quality of Life-Parental Burden (FAQL-PB) and identify factors related to the parental psychosocial burden of caring for children with FAs.

Methods: Parents of children aged between 6 months and 17 years with immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated FAs from the Pediatric Allergy Department of five university hospitals in Korea were enrolled in the study.

Child Developmental MRI (CDM) project: protocol for a multi-centre, cross-sectional study on elucidating the pathophysiology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder through a multi-dimensional approach.

Introduction: Neuroimaging studies on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have demonstrated differences in extensive brain structure, activity and network. However, there remains heterogeneity and inconsistency across these findings, presumably because of the diversity of the disorders themselves, small sample sizes, and site and parameter differences in MRI scanners, and their overall pathogenesis remains unclear. To address these gaps in the literature, we will apply the travelling-subject approach to correct site differences in MRI scanners and clarify brain structure and network characteristics of children with ADHD and ASD using large samples collected in a multi-centre collaboration.

Region-based analysis of sensory processing using diffusion tensor imaging.

The caudate nucleus has been thought to be involved in the control of motor commands by the cerebrum, and recent studies suggest that it may play a role in the control of attachment behavior, cognition, emotion, and mental functions. Implied by the basal ganglia's involvement in the execution, planning and control of movement, the caudate nucleus functions in a situation-dependent manner where processing of external stimuli is important on the basis of learning and memory. Sensory processing, which determines the response to external stimuli, has been shown to be related to various brain regions but it remains unknown how sensory processing is associated with the structure of the caudate nucleus and white matter microstructures of the caudate.

Alterations of Epidermal Lipid Profiles and Skin Microbiome in Children With Atopic Dermatitis.

Purpose: We aimed to investigate epidermal lipid profiles and their association with skin microbiome compositions in children with atopic dermatitis (AD).

Methods: Specimens were obtained by skin tape stripping from 27 children with AD and 18 healthy subjects matched for age and sex. Proteins and lipids of stratum corneum samples from nonlesional and lesional skin of AD patients and normal subjects were quantified by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

Quality of Life in Food Allergy: Validation of the Korean Version of the Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire Parent Form (K-FAQLQ-PF) and Risk Factor Analysis.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire-Parent Form (K-FAQLQ-PF) and to identify clinical characteristics related to low quality of life (QoL) in Korean children with food allergy (FA).

Methods: Parents of 0-12-year-old patients with FA were enrolled. The English version of FAQLQ-PF was translated into Korean.

Neural representations of the perception of handwritten digits and visual objects from a convolutional neural network compared to humans.

We investigated neural representations for visual perception of 10 handwritten digits and six visual objects from a convolutional neural network (CNN) and humans using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Once our CNN model was fine-tuned using a pre-trained VGG16 model to recognize the visual stimuli from the digit and object categories, representational similarity analysis (RSA) was conducted using neural activations from fMRI and feature representations from the CNN model across all 16 classes. The encoded neural representation of the CNN model exhibited the hierarchical topography mapping of the human visual system.

Extracellular vesicles from IFN-γ-primed mesenchymal stem cells repress atopic dermatitis in mice.

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder characterized by immune dysregulation, pruritus, and abnormal epidermal barrier function. Compared with conventional mesenchymal stem cell (MSC), induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived mesenchymal stem cell (iMSC) is recognized as a unique source for producing extracellular vesicles (EVs) because it can be obtained in a scalable manner with an enhanced homogeneity. Stimulation of iMSCs with inflammatory cytokines can improve the immune-regulatory, anti-inflammatory, and tissue-repairing potential of iMSC-derived EVs.

Challenges of diet planning for children using artificial intelligence.

Background/objectives: Diet planning in childcare centers is difficult because of the required knowledge of nutrition and development as well as the high design complexity associated with large numbers of food items. Artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to provide diet-planning solutions via automatic and effective application of professional knowledge, addressing the complexity of optimal diet design. This study presents the results of the evaluation of the utility of AI-generated diets for children and provides related implications.