The efficacy of second-line chemotherapy for advanced biliary tract cancer: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Background: This network meta-analysis (NMA) aims to provide evidence-based guidance for selecting the second-line chemotherapy for biliary tract cancer (BTC).

Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted on PubMed, Cochrane, and EMBASE through July 2024. Inclusion criteria involved: (1) patients underwent second-line chemotherapy following platinum-based first-line therapy, (2) intervention/comparator groups consisted of various chemotherapeutic agents, and (3) outcomes measured as hazard ratio (HR) of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies.

Diagnostic performance of biomarkers for differentiating active tuberculosis from latent tuberculosis: a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis.

Background: PCR and culture tests are used together to confirm the diagnosis of active tuberculosis (TB). Due to the long culture period, if the PCR test is negative, it takes a significant amount of time for the culture result to be available. Interferon- release assays (IGRAs), which are widely used to diagnose TB or latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), cannot effectively discriminate TB from LTBI.

Wearable Photomedicine for Neonatal Jaundice Treatment Using Blue Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs): Toward Textile-Based Wearable Phototherapeutics.

Neonatal jaundice is a very common disease in newborns and can lead to brain damage or death in severe cases. Phototherapy with light-emitting diode (LED) arrays is widely used as the easiest and fastest way to relieve jaundice in newborns, but it has distinct disadvantages such as loss of water in the patient, damage to the retina, and separation from parents. In this paper, a novel light source-based phototherapy for neonatal jaundice is proposed using a textile-based wearable organic light-emitting diode (OLED) platform that can move flexibly and conform to the curvature of the human body.

Serum Exosomal miRNA-1915-3p Is Correlated With Disease Activity of Korean Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Background/aim: It has been found that microRNAs (miRNA) affect rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathophysiology. This study aimed to identify novel serum exosomal miRNAs related to RA disease activity in patients with an inadequate treatment response.

Patients And Methods: The sample population comprised clinical remission (CR) and non-clinical remission (non-CR) groups of RA patients.

Development of a Novel Diagnostic Biomarker Set for Rheumatoid Arthritis Using a Proteomics Approach.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that starts with inflammation of the synovial membrane. Studies have been conducted to develop methods for efficient diagnosis of RA and to identify the mechanisms underlying RA development. Blood samples can be useful for detecting disturbance of homeostasis in patients with RA.

Internal standard metabolites for obtaining absolute quantitative information on the components of bloodstains by standardization of samples.

Analysis of the components of bloodstains found at crime scenes can provide important information for solving the crime. However, components of blood and bloodstains vary with volume and various other unpredictable factors. Therefore, it is necessary to specify the volume of the initial liquid blood droplet and standardize the analysis.

Estimation of Age of Bloodstains by Mass-Spectrometry: A Metabolomic Approach.

Bloodstains are common evidence in crime scenes, containing significant information, including genetic information. Although efforts have been made to reliably determine the time of incident by analyzing the elapsed time of the bloodstain, there has been limited success. To identify candidate metabolites in bloodstains over time, we prepared bloodstain samples using filter paper and analyzed the metabolites by high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS)/MS over a 21-day period.

Proteomics Analysis for Verification of Rheumatoid Arthritis Biomarker Candidates Using Multiple Reaction Monitoring.

Purpose: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease in which autoantibodies attack the synovial membrane, causing joint inflammation. Blood tests would offer a powerful, minimally invasive method for early diagnosis of RA. However, no reliable biomarkers for RA are presently available.

Determining Genotypic Drug Resistance by Ion Semiconductor Sequencing With the Ion AmpliSeq™ TB Panel in Multidrug-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isolates.

Background: We examined the feasibility of a full-length gene analysis for the drug resistance-related genes inhA, katG, rpoB, pncA, rpsL, embB, eis, and gyrA using ion semiconductor next-generation sequencing (NGS) and compared the results with those obtained from conventional phenotypic drug susceptibility testing (DST) in multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MDR-TB) isolates.

Methods: We extracted genomic DNA from 30 pure MDR-TB isolates with antibiotic susceptibility profiles confirmed by phenotypic DST for isoniazid (INH), rifampin (RIF), ethambutol (EMB), pyrazinamide (PZA), amikacin (AMK), kanamycin (KM), streptomycin (SM), and fluoroquinolones (FQs) including ofloxacin, moxifloxacin, and levofloxacin. Enriched ion spheres were loaded onto Ion PI Chip v3, with 30 samples on a chip per sequencing run, and Ion Torrent sequencing was conducted using the Ion AmpliSeq TB panel (Life Technologies, USA).

Modeling of aceclofenac metabolism to major metabolites in healthy volunteers.

Aceclofenac has been used widely as a potent analgesic and anti-inflammatory drug. Aceclofenac is converted to 4'-hydroxyaceclofenac and diclofenac via CYP2C9-mediated hydroxylation and hydrolysis, respectively. CYP2C9 also mediates the hydroxylation of diclofenac to yield 4'-hydroxydiclofenac and the hydrolysis of 4'-hydroxyaceclofenac to 4'-hydroxydiclofenac.

Exosome cargo reflects TGF-β1-mediated epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) status in A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cells.

It has been suggested that tumor cells secrete exosomes to modify the local microenvironment, which then promotes intercellular communication and metastasis. Although exosomes derived from cancer cells may contribute to the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in untransformed cells, few studies have defined exosome cargo upon induction of EMT. In this study, we investigated the changes in exosomal cargo from the epithelial to mesenchymal cell phenotype by inducing EMT with transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 in A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cells.

Rapid DNA extraction from dried blood spots on filter paper: potential applications in biobanking.

Objectives: Dried blood spot (DBS) technology is a microsampling alternative to traditional plasma or serum sampling for pharmaco- or toxicokinetic evaluation. DBS technology has been applied to diagnostic screening in drug discovery, nonclinical, and clinical settings. We have developed an improved elution protocol involving boiling of blood spots dried on Whatman filter paper.

The p.R168Q mutation is associated with the Bw phenotype and a predicted decrease in the stability of the resulting ABO glycosyltransferase.

Background: Mutation of ABO glycosyltransferase (GT) can cause protein stability changes that can result in a weak ABO phenotype. To explain the Bw phenotype of a novel ABO*Bw allele, a protein stability of the mutant GT, which enhances the information of the three-dimensional (3D) structural analysis, was calculated.

Study Design And Methods: ABO serology and genotyping were performed on a neonate and her five family members.

Multicenter evaluation of Seegene Anyplex TB PCR for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in respiratory specimens.

Culture is the gold standard for diagnosis of tuberculosis, but it takes 6 to 8 weeks to confirm the result. This issue is complemented by the detection method using polymerase chain reaction, which is now widely used in a routine microbiology laboratory. In this study, we evaluated the performance of the Seegene Anyplex TB PCR to assess its diagnostic sensitivity and specificity, and compared its results with the Roche Cobas TaqMan MTB PCR, one of the most widely used assays in the world.

Application of volume-of-fluid method to analyze the viscosity effect on the spine formation of bloodstains.

In bloodstain pattern analysis, the blood droplet volume and surface impact velocity play an important role, and many related experimental studies have been carried out. If an appropriate computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model that could solve bloodstain patterns, especially spine formation bloodstain patterns, can be obtained, the blood droplet volume and impact speeds at various crime scenes can be predicted more accurately. For this purpose, Flow-3D software using the volume-of-fluid method was applied to analyze the behavior of human blood droplets during an impact event, especially focusing on the viscous effect on splashing, which forms the spine which can be used to predict the impact velocity.

A simple and smart telemedicine device for developing regions: a pocket-sized colorimetric reader.

We have proposed a novel mobile healthcare platform, combining a pocket-sized colorimetric reader (13.5 × 6.5 × 2.

Comparison of familial and sporadic chronic lymphocytic leukaemia using high resolution array comparative genomic hybridization.

Approximately 10% of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) have a family history of the disease or a related lymphoproliferative disorder, yet the relationship of familial CLL to genomic abnormalities has not been characterized in detail. We therefore studied 75 CLL patients, half familial and half sporadic, using high-resolution array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), in order to better define the relationship of genomic abnormalities to familial disease and other biological prognostic factors. Our results showed that the most common high-risk deletion in CLL, deletion 11q, was significantly associated with sporadic disease.

SERPINE1 intron polymorphisms affecting gene expression are associated with diffuse-type gastric cancer susceptibility.

Background: A primary inhibitor of plasminogen activators, SERPINE1 (serpin peptidase inhibitor 1, clade E, member 1, also known as plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1), is an important regulator in tumorigenesis and is highly expressed in many cancers.

Methods: Five tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 1 insertion polymorphism within SERPINE1 were genotyped in 1101 unrelated Korean individuals (a case group of 612 patients with gastric cancer and a control group of 489 healthy individuals). Associations with susceptibility to diffuse-type gastric cancer (DGC) and intestinal-type gastric cancer were assessed using multivariate logistic regression analyses adjusted for age and sex.

The usefulness of multiplex PCR for the identification of bacteria in joint infection.

Background: The diagnosis of septic arthritis (SA) relies on synovial analysis and conventional culture. But, these methods lack of sensitivity and culture is time consuming to establish a definite diagnosis. This study evaluated a new multiplex PCR assay which entailed screening PCR for Gram typing and identification PCR for species identification using two primer mixes.

The M142T mutation causes B3 phenotype: three cases and an in vitro expression study.

The B3 phenotype is the most common B subtype in Korea. The B305 allele (425 T>C, M142T) was first reported in 2 Chinese individuals; however, it has not yet been reported in the Koreans, and the impact of the M142T mutation on the expression of the B3 phenotype has also not been studied. To resolve an ABO discrepancy between a group O neonate and her group O father and A(1)B(3) mother, blood samples from these individuals and other family members were referred to our laboratory for ABO gene analysis.

A regulatory polymorphism at position -309 in PTPRCAP is associated with susceptibility to diffuse-type gastric cancer and gene expression.

PTPRCAP (CD45-AP) is a positive regulator of protein tyrosine phosphatase PTPRC (CD45), which activates Src family kinases implicated in tumorigenesis. Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs869736 located at position -309 of the PTPRCAP promoter was associated with susceptibility to diffuse-type gastric cancer in the current case-control study. The minor-allele homozygote was significantly associated with a 2.

Genetic variants A1826H and D2937Y in GAG-beta domain of versican influence susceptibility to intestinal-type gastric cancer.

Purpose: Versican regulates adhesion, migration, proliferation, and survival of cells, and plays an important role in cancer development. A case-control association study was performed to test genetic association of versican polymorphisms with susceptibility to gastric cancer.

Methods: In this study, 1,101 unrelated Korean subjects including 612 gastric cancer patients and 489 healthy controls were genotyped for all 21 exonic polymorphisms in the versican gene (VCAN) encoding amino acid changes in versican.

Does IL-17 play a role in hepatic dysfunction of scrub typhus patients?

Scrub typhus is a zoonotic disease that is caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi. Although hepatic dysfunction occurred in 77-96.7% of the scrub typhus patients, its mechanism is unknown.