Association of Sleep Spindle Rate With Memory Consolidation in Children With Rolandic Epilepsy.

Background And Objectives: Rolandic epilepsy (RE), the most common childhood focal epilepsy syndrome, is characterized by a transient period of sleep-activated epileptiform activity in the centrotemporal regions and variable cognitive deficits. Sleep spindles are prominent thalamocortical brain oscillations during sleep that have been mechanistically linked to sleep-dependent memory consolidation in animal models and healthy controls. Sleep spindles are decreased in RE and related sleep-activated epileptic encephalopathies.

Challenges and perspectives with understanding the concept of mental fatigue.

Mental fatigue is referred to as a psychophysiological or neurobiological state caused by prolonged periods of demanding cognitive activity. Sports and exercise science research have investigated the effects of experimentally induced mental fatigue on cognitive performance, with mixed results. It has been suggested that negative effects of mental fatigue on cognition performance in laboratory studies could translate to impaired sport performance.

3D Culture of MSCs for Clinical Application.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) play an important role in regenerative medicine and drug discovery due to their multipotential differentiation capabilities and immunomodulatory effects. Compared with traditional 2D cultures of MSCs, 3D cultures of MSCs have emerged as an effective approach to enhance cell viability, proliferation, and functionality, and provide a more relevant physiological environment. Here, we review the therapeutic potential of 3D-cultured MSCs, highlighting their roles in tissue regeneration and repair and drug screening.

Sliding Hydrogels Reveal the Modulation of Mechanosensing Attenuates the Inflammatory Phenotype of Osteoarthritic Chondrocytes in 3D.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalen degenerative joint disease with no FDA-approved therapies that can halt or reverse its progression. Current treatments address symptoms like pain and inflammation, but not underlying disease mechanisms. OA progression is marked by increased inflammation and extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation of the joint cartilage.

Restrictive versus Liberal Transfusion in Myocardial Infarction - A Patient-Level Meta-Analysis.

Background: Clinical guidelines have concluded that there are insufficient data to provide recommendations for the hemoglobin threshold for the use of red cell transfusion in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) and anemia. After the recent publication of the Myocardial Infarction and Transfusion (MINT) trial, we performed an individual patient-level data meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of restrictive versus liberal blood transfusion strategies.

Methods: We conducted searches in major databases.

Personalized bone organoid using iPSC-derived cells for clinically relevant applications.

Patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)-based modeling potentially recapitulates the pathology and mechanisms more faithfully than cell line models and general animal models. Utilizing iPSC-derived cells for personalized bone formation research offers a powerful tool to better understand the role of individual differences in bone health and disease and provide more precise information for personalized bone regeneration therapies. Here we generated iPSC-derived mesenchymal progenitor cells (iMPCs), endothelial cells (iECs), and macrophages (iMØ), from different donors.

Correction: Using machine learning to understand age and gender classification based on infant temperament.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Utilization of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonist at the Time of Total Hip Arthroplasty for Patients Who Have Morbid Obesity.

Background: Morbid obesity negatively affects outcomes after total hip arthroplasty (THA). The optimal strategy for weight loss before THA has not been identified. Recently, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA) have become increasingly popular as an effective pharmacologic weight loss agent.

Metformin Modulates Cell Oxidative Stress to Mitigate Corticosteroid-Induced Suppression of Osteogenesis in a 3D Model.

Background: Corticosteroids provide well-established therapeutic benefits; however, they are also accompanied by adverse effects on bone. Metformin is a widely used medication for managing type 2 diabetes mellitus. Recent studies have highlighted additional therapeutic benefits of metformin, particularly concerning bone health and oxidative stress.

Prioritising domains of glucocorticoid therapy to measure in trials: Results from a modified delphi exercise from the OMERACT glucocorticoid impact working group.

Introduction: There is no consensus amongst patients and healthcare professionals about how to measure important adverse effects of glucocorticoids (GCs) that includes the patient's perspective. The OMERACT GC Impact working group sought to identify the domains of greatest importance to both patients and healthcare professionals for use in a proposed core outcome set.

Methods: Patients and healthcare professionals participated in a Delphi consensus exercise to rate the importance of previously identified candidate domains.

Electronic Feedback Alone Versus Electronic Feedback Plus in-Person Debriefing for a Serious Game Designed to Teach Novice Anesthesiology Residents to Perform General Anesthesia for Cesarean Delivery: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: EmergenCSim is a novel researcher-developed serious game (SG) with an embedded scoring and feedback tool that reproduces an obstetric operating room environment. The learner must perform general anesthesia for emergent cesarean delivery for umbilical cord prolapse. The game was developed as an alternative teaching tool because of diminishing real-world exposure of anesthesiology trainees to this clinical scenario.

Quantification of Empty Lacunae in Tissue Sections of Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head Using YOLOv8 Artificial Intelligence Model.

Histomorphometry is an important technique in the evaluation of non-traumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). Quantification of empty lacunae and pyknotic cells on histological images is the most reliable measure of ONFH pathology, yet it is time and manpower consuming. This study focused on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to tissue image evaluation.

Disrupting the RNA polymerase II transcription cycle through CDK7 inhibition ameliorates inflammatory arthritis.

Macrophages are key drivers of inflammation and tissue damage in autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis. The rate-limiting step for transcription of more than 70% of inducible genes in macrophages is RNA polymerase II (Pol II) promoter-proximal pause release; however, the specific role of Pol II early elongation control in inflammation, and whether it can be modulated therapeutically, is unknown. Genetic ablation of a pause-stabilizing negative elongation factor (NELF) in macrophages did not affect baseline Pol II occupancy but enhanced the transcriptional response of paused anti-inflammatory genes to lipopolysaccharide followed by secondary attenuation of inflammatory signaling in vitro and in the K/BxN serum transfer mouse model of arthritis.

Disease Activity and Bone Microarchitectural Phenotype in Patients With Axial Spondyloarthritis.

Background: Axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA) is a chronic rheumatic disease characterized by spine inflammation, abnormal bone growth, and paradoxically osteoporosis and vertebral fractures. The pathogenesis of skeletal deficits in this disease is poorly understood.

Purpose: We sought to evaluate volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) and bone microarchitecture in patients with AxSpA and to identify disease-related factors associated with skeletal abnormalities.

The mononuclear phagocyte system obscures the accurate diagnosis of infected joint replacements.

Introduction: Diagnosing infected joint replacements relies heavily on assessing the neutrophil response to bacteria. Bacteria form biofilms on joint replacements. Biofilms are sessile bacterial communities encased in a protective extracellular matrix, making them notoriously difficult to culture, remarkably tolerant to antibiotics, and able to evade phagocytosis.

Barriers to Total Joint Arthroplasty: A Comparison of High-Poverty and Low-Poverty Communities.

Objective: Our aim was to determine the most significant barriers to total joint arthroplasty (TJA) for people living in high-poverty communities relative to low-poverty communities.

Methods: We created a 21-question survey based on interviews with underrepresented minority patients with osteoarthritis targeting five barriers to TJA: trust in surgeon, recovery concerns, cost and/or insurance issues, fear of poor surgical outcomes, and timing considerations. Participants rated the importance of each barrier on a 5-point Likert scale, dichotomized into "very or extremely important" and "not as important.

Relative Benefit of Dual Versus Single Antiplatelet Therapy Among Patients With Atrial Fibrillation on Oral Anticoagulation According to Time After ACS and PCI: Insights From the AUGUSTUS Trial.

Background: In the AUGUSTUS trial (An Open-Label, 2 x 2 Factorial, Randomized Controlled, Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Safety of Apixaban vs Vitamin K Antagonist and Aspirin vs Aspirin Placebo in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Acute Coronary Syndrome or Percutaneous Coronary Intervention), the combination of dual antiplatelet therapy plus oral anticoagulation increased the risk of bleeding without reducing ischemic events compared with a P2Y12 inhibitor plus oral anticoagulation among patients with atrial fibrillation and acute coronary syndrome or elective percutaneous coronary intervention. However, AUGUSTUS enrolled patients up to 14 days after acute coronary syndrome or percutaneous coronary intervention, and there may be a benefit to dual antiplatelet therapy plus oral anticoagulation early after an ischemic event.

Methods: In this secondary analysis of AUGUSTUS, we divided patients into groups based on whether they were enrolled <6 days (early) or ≥6 days (later) after their index acute coronary syndrome or percutaneous coronary intervention, and tested the interaction between time from the index event to enrollment and randomized treatment (apixaban versus vitamin K antagonist and aspirin versus placebo) on 30-day and 6-month clinical outcomes using Cox proportional hazards models.

Implementing Patient Health Questionnaire Depression Screening in Inflammatory Arthritis Clinic: Insights From a Quality Improvement Project at a Tertiary Rheumatology Center.

Objective: This quality improvement project evaluates the feasibility and sustainability of adopting the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) depression screening tool into routine clinical care at a rheumatology fellows' inflammatory arthritis (IA) clinic at a large tertiary center. The aim was to achieve 50% compliance in documentation of PHQ after five months.

Methods: Providers received a 30-minute education on the importance of depression screening in patients with IA.

Periprosthetic Joint Infection in Patients With Inflammatory Arthritis: Optimal Tests to Differentiate From Flares.

Objective: Diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) in patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA) is challenging, as features of IA flares can mimic infection. We aimed to cross-sectionally determine if the optimal tests to diagnose PJI in osteoarthritis were present in patients with IA flares.

Methods: We enrolled patients from October 2020 to July 2022 in 3 groups: (a) PJI-total joint arthroplasty patients undergoing revision for infection, (b) IA Flare-IA patients with a flaring native joint, and (c) IA Aseptic-total joint arthroplasty patients with IA undergoing aseptic arthroplasty revision.

Extracellular DNA-protein interactions.

Intracellular DNA primarily serves as the cellular genetic material both in eukaryotes and prokaryotes. This function is often regulated by alterations in the DNA structure to accommodate transcription, recombination, and DNA replication. Extracellularly, both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells take advantage of DNA plenty in addition to a permissive environment and create novel structures to fulfill multiple new roles.