Sex-specific NLRP3 activation in neutrophils promotes neutrophil recruitment and NETosis in the murine model of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage.

Objectives: Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) is a life-threatening complication of systemic lupus erythematosus and small vessel vasculitis. We previously showed that neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) were associated with the pathogenesis of pristane-induced DAH and demonstrated that neutrophil NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome assembly participated in NET generation under sterile stimulation. We investigated whether NLRP3 inflammasome assembly in neutrophils may drive pulmonary NETosis in a mouse model of pristane-induced DAH.

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation: Indications, Methods, and Challenges.

Over the past two decades, as the importance of gut microbiota to human health has become widely known, attempts have been made to treat diseases by correcting dysbiosis of gut microbiota through fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). Apart from current knowledge of gut microbiota, FMT to treat disease has a long history, from the treatment of food poisoning in the fourth century to the treatment of Clostridioides difficile infections in the twentieth century. In 2013, FMT was recognized as a standard treatment for recurrent C.

Evaluating the SarQoL Questionnaire as a Screening Tool for Sarcopenia among Korean Older Adults.

Background/objectives: Sarcopenia, characterized by the progressive loss of muscle mass and strength, poses significant risks to physical health, leading to a reduced quality of life (QoL), increased disability, and higher mortality rates among older adults. Early detection and intervention are crucial to prevent the cascading effects of sarcopenia, including falls, fractures, and hospitalization. This study determined an optimal cut-off point of the SarQoL score that can serve as an effective screening tool among community-dwelling Korean older adults.

Effect of Earthing Mats on Sleep Quality in Rats.

Grounding, a therapeutic technique involving direct contact with the earth, has been proposed by various studies to potentially have beneficial effects on pressure, sleep quality, stress, inflammation, and mood. However, the scientific evidence supporting its sedative effects remains incomplete. This study examined the sedative effectiveness of an earthing mat on sleep quality and investigated the underlying neural mechanisms using electroencephalography (EEG) analysis in rodents, focusing on orexin and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels in the brain.

Performance Evaluation of Ultrasound Images Using Non-Local Means Algorithm with Adaptive Isotropic Search Window for Improved Detection of Salivary Gland Diseases: A Pilot Study.

Speckle noise in ultrasound images (UIs) significantly reduces the accuracy of disease diagnosis. The aim of this study was to quantitatively evaluate its feasibility in salivary gland ultrasound imaging by modeling the adaptive non-local means (NLM) algorithm. UIs were obtained using an open-source device provided by SonoSkills and FUJIFILM Healthcare Europe.

GENETIC ABLATION OF THE C-TYPE LECTIN RECEPTOR CLEC2D INCREASES PERITONITIS MORTALITY, INFLAMMATION, AND PHYSIOLOGY WITHOUT DIMINISHING ORGAN INJURY.

Background: Sepsis accounts for substantial morbidity and mortality motivating investigators to continue the search for pathways and molecules driving the pathogenesis of the disease. The current study examined if the novel C-type lectin receptor (CLR), Clec2d, plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of sepsis. Methods: Clec2d knockout (KO) mice were fully backcrossed onto the C57/BL6 background.

Discriminant analysis of ecological factors influencing sarcopenia in older people in South Korea.

This study aimed to investigate the ecological system factors that influence discrimination of sarcopenia among older individuals living in contemporary society. Data analysis included information from 618 older adults individuals aged 65 years or older residing in South Korea. To assess variations in ecological system factors related to SARC-F scores, we conducted correlation analysis and t-tests.

Establishing an optimal diagnostic criterion for respiratory sarcopenia using peak expiratory flow rate.

Background: The skeletal muscle changes as aging progresses, causing sarcopenia in the older adult population, which affects the respiratory muscles' mass, strength, and function. The optimal cut-off point of peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) for respiratory sarcopenia (RS) diagnosis in accordance with sarcopenia identification is needed.

Aim: To establish an optimal cut-off point of PEFR for RS diagnosis in community-dwelling Asian older women.

Prohibitin modulates periodontium differentiation in mice development.

Prohibitin (PHB) is an essential scaffold protein that modulates signaling pathways controlling cell survival, metabolism, inflammation, and bone formation. However, its specific role in periodontium development remains less understood. This study aims to elucidate the expression pattern and function of PHB in periodontium development and its involvement in alveolar bone formation.

Is Surgical Treatment Necessary for the Treatment of a Jones Fracture?: A Retrospective Study.

Background: Jones fractures are common injuries that can be treated conservatively or surgically. However, the optimal treatment approach remains controversial. This study aimed to compare the clinical outcomes of conservative and operative treatments for Jones fractures and determine whether surgical treatment is necessary.

A clinically attenuated double-mutant of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus-2 that does not prompt overexpression of proinflammatory cytokines during co-infection with a secondary pathogen.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is known to suppress the type I interferon (IFNs-α/β) response during infection. PRRSV also activates the NF-κB signaling pathway, leading to the production of proinflammatory cytokines during infection. In swine farms, co-infections of PRRSV and other secondary bacterial pathogens are common and exacerbate the production of proinflammatory cytokines, contributing to the porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC) which is clinically a severe disease.

Metaheuristic-Based Feature Selection Methods for Diagnosing Sarcopenia with Machine Learning Algorithms.

This study explores the efficacy of metaheuristic-based feature selection in improving machine learning performance for diagnosing sarcopenia. Extraction and utilization of features significantly impacting diagnosis efficacy emerge as a critical facet when applying machine learning for sarcopenia diagnosis. Using data from the 8th Korean Longitudinal Study on Aging (KLoSA), this study examines harmony search (HS) and the genetic algorithm (GA) for feature selection.

Impact of Perceived and Collective Norms on COVID-19 Preventive Behaviors in 23 Countries: A Multi-Level Approach.

Social norms can be studied at both the individual and societal levels. While the influence of individual perceived norms on health behaviors has been well-documented, the role of societal-level factors in social normative influence remains unclear. We adopted a multilevel approach to investigate the impact of individual-level perceived norms, country-level collective norms, and individualistic culture on mask-wearing behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic.

NF-κB p65 and TCF-4 interactions are associated with LPS-stimulated IL-6 secretion of macrophages.

Proinflammatory cytokine plays a central role in host defense and acute inflammatory responses. Both positive and negative correlations of NF-κB and Wnt/β-catenin pathways have been reported depending on cell types in response to inflammatory stimuli for IL-6 cytokine production. Macrophages are vital to the regulation of immune responses and the development of inflammation, but the crosstalk between two pathways has not been elucidated so far in macrophages.

Promising Effect of the Children in Disaster: Evaluation and Recovery Intervention on Trauma Symptoms and Quality of Life for Children and Adolescents: A Controlled Study.

Objective: The Children in Disaster: Evaluation and Recovery (CIDER) program in Korea was developed to treat children and adolescents exposed to trauma. This study aimed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the CIDER through a comparison with controls.

Methods: A total of 85 participants consisted of the intervention group (n=41) and control group (n=44).

Exploring the Role of Community Exercise Rehabilitation Centers through the Rehabilitation Experiences of Patients with Musculoskeletal Disorders: A Qualitative Study.

We investigated the perception of community sport rehabilitation centers by examining the experiences of living lab participants and discussing the centers' roles. From 50 living lab participants in the exercise rehabilitation center, in-depth interviews were conducted with the 10 among them (three males and seven females) who had high participation rates and consented voluntarily. The data collected through participant observation and a review of the literature were analyzed through inductive categorization.

Application of entire dental panorama image data in artificial intelligence model for age estimation.

Background: Accurate age estimation is vital for clinical and forensic purposes. With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence(AI) technologies, traditional methods relying on tooth development, while reliable, can be enhanced by leveraging deep learning, particularly neural networks. This study evaluated the efficiency of an AI model by applying the entire panoramic image for age estimation.

Developmental roles of glomerular epithelial protein-1 in mice molar morphogenesis.

Glomerular epithelial protein-1 (Glepp1), a R3 subtype family of receptor-type protein tyrosine phosphatases, plays important role in the activation of Src family kinases and regulates cellular processes such as cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. In this study, we firstly examined the functional evaluation of Glepp1 in tooth development and morphogenesis. The precise expression level and developmental function of Glepp1 were examined by RT-qPCR, in situ hybridization, and loss and gain of functional study using a range of in vitro organ cultivation methods.

Machine Learning for Sarcopenia Prediction in the Elderly Using Socioeconomic, Infrastructure, and Quality-of-Life Data.

Since the WHO's 2021 aging redefinition emphasizes "healthy aging" by focusing on the elderly's ability to perform daily activities, sarcopenia, which is defined as the loss of skeletal muscle mass, is now becoming a critical health concern, especially in South Korea with a rapidly aging population. Therefore, we develop a prediction model for sarcopenia by using machine learning (ML) techniques based on the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) data 2008-2011, in which we focus on the role of socioeconomic status (SES), social infrastructure, and quality of life (QoL) in the prevalence of sarcopenia. We successfully identify sarcopenia with approximately 80% accuracy by using random forest (RF) and LightGBM (LGB), CatBoost (CAT), and a deep neural network (DNN).

GenHPF: General Healthcare Predictive Framework for Multi-task Multi-source Learning.

Despite the remarkable progress in the development of predictive models for healthcare, applying these algorithms on a large scale has been challenging. Algorithms trained on a particular task, based on specific data formats available in a set of medical records, tend to not generalize well to other tasks or databases in which the data fields may differ. To address this challenge, we propose General Healthcare Predictive Framework (GenHPF), which is applicable to any EHR with minimal preprocessing for multiple prediction tasks.

The pathophysiology of diabetic foot: a narrative review.

An aging population and changes in dietary habits have increased the incidence of diabetes, resulting in complications such as diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). DFUs can lead to serious disabilities, substantial reductions in patient quality of life, and high financial costs for society. By understanding the etiology and pathophysiology of DFUs, their occurrence can be prevented and managed more effectively.

Neoroseomonas alba sp. nov., Neoroseomonas nitratireducens sp. nov., Paraoseomonas indoligenes sp. nov and Paraoseomonas baculiformis sp. nov., isolated from the rhizosphere of paddy soil.

Four novel Gram-stain negative bacteria, designated as HAJ6, PWR1, SG15 and SSH11, were isolated from the soil sample of paddy fields from Goyang in the Republic of Korea. The isolated strains were aerobic, short-rod or rod shaped, non-sporulating. They grew optimally at 30 °C, pH 7 and without additional NaCl.

Aerobic Exercise Ameliorates Muscle Atrophy Induced by Methylglyoxal Increasing Gastrocnemius and Extensor Digitorum Longus Muscle Sensitivity.

Muscle atrophy is characterized by the loss of muscle function. Many efforts are being made to prevent muscle atrophy, and exercise is an important alternative. Methylglyoxal is a well-known causative agent of metabolic diseases and diabetic complications.