Background: Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) affects between 2 and 10% of pregnancies in the United States, with trends of increasing prevalence and a significant amount of variability across race and ethnicity, maternal age, and insurance status. Asian and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders (NHOPI) have been documented to have a higher prevalence and risk of developing GDM compared to non-Hispanic white populations and have been under-studied in health disparities research.
Methods: Using data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) 2016-2022 surveys, we conducted analyses for the overall PRAMS sample as well as within-group analyses among participants who identify as Asian and NHOPI to identify risk factors for GDM.
Breast Cancer Res
November 2024
Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women and is closely associated with obesity. Gremlin-2 (GREM2), an antagonist for bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), has been considered an inhibitor of adipogenic differentiation in adipose-derived stromal/stem cells. However, the role of GREM2 in breast cancer cells remains largely unknown, and its signaling mechanism has yet to be clarified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic exposure to particulate matter (PM) causes brain damage through intestinal imbalance. This study was estimated to confirm the regulatory activity of green tea against chronic PM exposure-induced abnormal gut-brain axis (GBA) in BALB/c mice. The green tea, as an aqueous extract of matcha (EM), ameliorated the colon length, short chain fatty acid contents, antioxidant biomarkers, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, and serum inflammatory cytokines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/aim: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) or lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) accounts for the majority of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and overexpression of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) in these cells is known to induce tumor immune evasion or drug resistance. However, detailed studies are needed to determine whether microRNAs (miRNAs) that reduce PD-L1 expression can suppress drug resistance in NSCLC.
Materials And Methods: Kaplan Meier plotter and Receiver Operating Characteristic plotter were used to determine the effect of specific miRNAs on survival and chemotherapy response in NSCLC patients.
Background: Endometriosis and uterine fibroids are benign conditions frequently linked to subfertility/infertility. Recent research has highlighted the importance of epithelial-mesenchymal transition between embryonic and endometrial cells in the context of embryo implantation. Additionally, the adverse endometrial environment during implantation has been proposed as a mechanism contributing to infertility in endometriosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Lenvatinib (LEN) is the standard treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In clinical practice, gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms such as fatigue and loss of appetite often lead to dose reduction or treatment discontinuation. This study aimed to identify the predictors of patients who will experience dose reduction or treatment discontinuation owing to fatigue or GI symptoms during LEN treatment for HCC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To evaluate the clinical characteristics and management of patients with an anteriorly and nasally inserted superior oblique tendon.
Design: Retrospective interventional case series.
Methods: Institutional clinical records between 2020 and 2024 were retrospectively reviewed for 9 consecutive patients in whom the superior oblique (SO) tendon was inserted anterior to the equator and nasal to the superior rectus muscle.
This study investigated the neuroprotective effect of 70% ethanol extract of (EE) in amyloid beta (Aβ)-induced cognitive deficit mice. As a result of analyzing the bioactive compounds in EE, nine compounds were identified using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS). In particular, the diekcol content was quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection (DAD-HPLC).
View Article and Find Full Text PDF, known as black chokeberry, is rich in polyphenols, comprising flavonoids, such as anthocyanins, flavanols, and flavonols, and phenolic acids, such as chlorogenic acid. These polyphenols endow with preventive and therapeutic properties against various human diseases. has beneficial effects against diseases such as diabetes, inflammation, and hypertension.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer Immunol Immunother
August 2024
B cells surveil the body for foreign matter using their surface-expressed B cell antigen receptor (BCR), a tetrameric complex comprising a membrane-tethered antibody (mIg) that binds antigens and a signaling dimer (CD79AB) that conveys this interaction to the B cell. Recent cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of IgM and IgG isotype BCRs provide the first complete views of their architecture, revealing that the largest interaction surfaces between the mIg and CD79AB are in their transmembrane domains (TMDs). These structures support decades of biochemical work interrogating the requirements for assembly of a functional BCR and provide the basis for explaining the effects of mutations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPolymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the gold standard for nucleic acid amplification and quantification in diverse fields such as life sciences, global health, medicine, agricultural science, forensic science, and environmental science for global sustainability. However, implementing a cost-effective PCR remains challenging for rapid preventive medical action to the widespread pandemic diseases due to the absence of highly efficient and low-cost PCR chip-based POC molecular diagnostics. Here, this work reports an ultrafast metaphotonic PCR chip as a solution of a cost-effective and low-power-consumption POC device for the emerging global challenge of sustainable healthcare.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPapain-like protease (PLpro) is an attractive drug target for SARS-CoV-2 because it is essential for viral replication, cleaving viral poly-proteins pp1a and pp1ab, and has de-ubiquitylation and de-ISGylation activities, affecting innate immune responses. We employ Deep Mutational Scanning to evaluate the mutational effects on PLpro enzymatic activity and protein stability in mammalian cells. We confirm features of the active site and identify mutations in neighboring residues that alter activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for the treatment of cancer aim to achieve selective delivery of a cytotoxic payload to tumor cells while sparing normal tissue. In vivo, multiple tumor-dependent and -independent processes act on ADCs and their released payloads to impact tumor-versus-normal delivery, often resulting in a poor therapeutic window. An ADC with a labeled payload would make synchronous correlations between distribution and tissue-specific pharmacological effects possible, empowering preclinical and clinical efforts to improve tumor-selective delivery; however, few methods to label small molecules without destroying their pharmacological activity exist.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Although multidisciplinary clinics improve outcomes in chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI), their role in addressing socioeconomic disparities is unknown. Our institution treats patients with CLTI at both traditional general vascular clinics and a multidisciplinary Limb Preservation Program (LPP). The LPP is in a minority community, providing expedited care at a single facility by a consistent team.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe rate of medical cannabis use has increased in parallel with the number of states legalizing its use. Parkinson's disease (PD) patients are of particular concern due to their higher cannabis use rate than in the general US population (25-40 % PD patient cannabis users vs. ∼18 % in the general population), as well as their susceptibility to environmental contaminants in cannabis, including pesticides, toxic elements, solvents, microbes, and mycotoxins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAtezolizumab plus bevacizumab (Atez/BV) as first-line therapy and lenvatinib (LEN) as second-line therapy are the recommended treatments for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. Adverse immune events caused by immune checkpoint inhibitors (such as Atez) generally only occur several months after administration; therefore, the potential influence of the first-line treatment on second-line treatment is not clear. The present study investigated the safety of second-line LEN treatment (2nd LEN) by comparing the adverse events (AEs) of 2nd LEN after first-line Atez/BV treatment for unresectable liver cancer, with those of first-line LEN treatment (1st LEN).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Infants born <31 weeks gestational age with birth weight ≤ 1,500 grams receive routine eye examinations to screen for Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) while in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to help prevent vision threatening complications; however, preterm infants' sensory systems are underdeveloped, and repeated exposure to painful stimuli is associated with worse developmental outcomes.
Methods: An interdisciplinary NICU team designed a collaborative eye exam model (CEEM) incorporating best practice recommendations for infant pain control during exams. Pain scores and vital signs were recorded before, during, and after exams.