Cross-Sectional Analysis of Clinical Trial Availability and North Carolina Neighborhood Social Vulnerability.

Purpose: Residents of communities facing social vulnerability (eg, poverty) have limited access to clinical trials, leaving them susceptible to experiencing poor health outcomes. We examined the association between North Carolina county-level social vulnerability and available multiple myeloma (MM) trials.

Methods: Using a novel data linkage between ClinicalTrials.

A de novo partial trisomy 9p with Dandy-Walker malformation and ventriculomegaly.

Objective: We present a female neonate with de novo trisomy 9p24.3-q21.2 presented with a neurological anomaly.

The changes of electroencephalography in mountaineers on Mount Jade, Taiwan: An observational study.

Background: The diagnosis of acute mountain sickness, which lacks a reliable and objective diagnostic tool, still depends on the clinical symptoms and signs and remains a major threat and unpredictable disease affecting millions of mountaineers.

Objectives: To record electroencephalography signals with small, convenient, wireless equipment and to test whether electroencephalography parameters, which are more sensitive and reliable markers, could predict the symptoms of acute mountain sickness.

Methods: Twenty-five participants were enrolled and separated into two groups to climb Mount Jade in Taiwan.

Quorum-based model learning on a blockchain hierarchical clinical research network using smart contracts.

Background: Collaborative privacy-preserving modeling across several healthcare institutions allows for the construction of more generalizable predictive models while protecting patient privacy.

Objective: We aim at addressing the site availability issue on a hierarchical network by designing an immutable/transparent/source-verifiable quorum mechanism.

Methods: We developed an approach to combine a hierarchical learning algorithm, a novel Proof-of-Quorum (PoQ) consensus protocol, and a design of blockchain smart contracts.

A receptor-binding domain-based nanoparticle vaccine elicits durable neutralizing antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2 and variants of concern.

Numerous vaccines have been developed to address the current COVID-19 pandemic, but safety, cross-neutralizing efficacy, and long-term protectivity of currently approved vaccines are still important issues. In this study, we developed a subunit vaccine, ASD254, by using a nanoparticle vaccine platform to encapsulate the SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) protein. As compared with the aluminum-adjuvant RBD vaccine, ASD254 induced higher titers of RBD-specific antibodies and generated 10- to 30-fold more neutralizing antibodies.

Chronic intermittent hypoxia worsens brain damage and sensorimotor behavioral abnormalities after ischemic stroke: Effect on autonomic nervous activity and sleep patterns.

Objective: Sleep apnea (SA) is characterized by intermittent hypoxia (IH), which increases sympathetic activity and sleep fragmentation, thus increasing the risk of stroke. SA is a highly prevalent disease and can worsen prognosis in patients with stroke. However, the correlation of changes in the cardiac autonomic nervous system and sleep patterns under IH with sensorimotor behavior and cerebral infarction after stroke remains unclear.

Learning-Based Image Damage Area Detection for Old Photo Recovery.

Most methods for repairing damaged old photos are manual or semi-automatic. With these methods, the damaged region must first be manually marked so that it can be repaired later either by hand or by an algorithm. However, damage marking is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process.

Impact of Lidocaine on Pain-Related Grooming in Cuttlefish.

Nociception is the neural process of encoding noxious stimuli and is typically accompanied by a reflex withdrawal response away from the potentially injurious stimulus. Studies on nociception in cephalopods have so far focused on octopus and squid, with no investigations to our knowledge on cuttlefish. Yet, these are an important species both in scientific and commercial use.

Metabolomics Characterization of Scleractinia Corals with Different Life-History Strategies: A Case Study about and in the South China Sea.

Life-history strategies play a critical role in susceptibility to environmental stresses for Scleractinia coral. Metabolomics, which is capable of determining the metabolic responses of biological systems to genetic and environmental changes, is competent for the characterization of species’ biological traits. In this study, two coral species (Pocillopora meandrina and Seriatopora hystrix in the South China Sea) with different life-history strategies (“competitive” and “weedy”) were targeted, and untargeted mass spectrometry metabolomics combined with molecular networking was applied to characterize their differential metabolic pathways.

MyPlate and urban low-income Asian Americans in the United States: a study to improve nutrition education.

This study describes barriers to using the MyPlate visual as a resource for communicating dietary recommendations to Asian American participants of a federally funded nutrition education program. To identify potential barriers to using MyPlate, an interdisciplinary team collected quantitative (n = 349) and qualitative (n = 40) data via a cross-sectional survey and a series of focus group interviews with convenience samples of Cambodian, Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean adult participants of a nutrition education class in downtown Los Angeles. Findings showed that 13.

Can Kidney Organoid Xenografts Accelerate Therapeutic Development for Genetic Kidney Disorders?

A number of genetic kidney diseases can now be replicated experimentally, using kidney organoids generated from human pluripotent stem cells. This methodology holds great potential for drug discovery. Under in vitro conditions, however, kidney organoids remain developmentally immature, develop scarce vasculature, and may contain undesired off-target cell types.

PDGF-AA activates AKT and ERK signaling for testicular interstitial Leydig cell growth via primary cilia.

Testes control the development of male reproductive system. The testicular interstitial Leydig cells (Leydig cells) synthesize testosterone for promoting spermatogenesis and secondary sexual characteristics. Type A platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-AA) is one of the most important growth factors in regulating Leydig cell growth and function.

Spindle cell lipoma of the epiglottis: a potential airway emergency.

Nil.

Haptoglobin-Conjugated Gold Nanoclusters as a Nanoantibiotic to Combat Bacteremia.

Gold nanoclusters have revealed great potential as nanoantibiotics due to their superior chemical and physical characteristics. In this study, a peptide with 83 amino acids derived from haptoglobin was utilized as a surface ligand to synthesize gold nanoclusters via a facile hydrothermal approach. Characterization of the structural and optical properties demonstrated the successful synthesis of derived haptoglobin-conjugated gold nanoclusters.

A Pervasive Pulmonary Function Estimation System with Six-Minute Walking Test.

Self-monitoring for spirometry is beneficial to assess the progression of lung disease and the effect of pulmonary rehabilitation. However, home spirometry fails to meet both accuracy and repeatability criteria in a satisfactory manner. The study aimed to propose a pervasive spirometry estimation system with the six-minute walking test (6MWT), where the system with information management, communication protocol, predictive algorithms, and a wrist-worn device, was developed for pulmonary function.

Pharmacological conversion of gut epithelial cells into insulin-producing cells lowers glycemia in diabetic animals.

As a highly regenerative organ, the intestine is a promising source for cellular reprogramming for replacing lost pancreatic β cells in diabetes. Gut enterochromaffin cells can be converted to insulin-producing cells by forkhead box O1 (FoxO1) ablation, but their numbers are limited. In this study, we report that insulin-immunoreactive cells with Paneth/goblet cell features are present in human fetal intestine.

Association of interferon-based therapy with risk of autoimmune diseases in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection: A population-based Taiwanese cohort study.

Background: Interferon in combination with ribavirin has been the standard of care for chronic hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) for the past few decades. However, its effect on the risk of autoimmune diseases (ADs) among patients with HCV infection remains unclear. We assessed the potential association between interferon-based therapy (IBT) and AD risk in patients with HCV infection.

Sex-Specific Effect of Obesity on Epiblepharon in Different Age Groups: A Case-Control Study.

Obesity has been regarded as a risk factor for several ocular diseases. This study aims to investigate the age- and sex-specific relationship between epiblepharon and obesity in children. A retrospective case-control study was conducted using the Chang Gung Research Database.

A proposal for T1 subclassification in hepatocellular carcinoma: reappraisal of the AJCC 8th edition.

Background: In the 8th edition of American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), tumor size is not considered in T1 stage. The present study aimed to find out the optimal cutoff for tumor size to further stratify patients with T1 HCC.

Methods: Operated HCC patients were identified from the Chang Gung Research Database (CGRD), and the patients with T1bN0M0 tumors were further divided into two groups based on the tumor size.

L-4-Fluorophenylglycine produces antidepressant-like effects and enhances resilience to stress in mice.

D-serine has attracted increasing attention for its possible role in depression. L-4-Fluorophenylglycine (L-4FPG), an inhibitor of the neutral amino acid transporter ASCT1/2, has been shown to regulate extracellular D-serine levels. The present study aimed to explore the potential antidepressant effects of L-4FPG.

The evolving privacy and security concerns for genomic data analysis and sharing as observed from the iDASH competition.

Concerns regarding inappropriate leakage of sensitive personal information as well as unauthorized data use are increasing with the growth of genomic data repositories. Therefore, privacy and security of genomic data have become increasingly important and need to be studied. With many proposed protection techniques, their applicability in support of biomedical research should be well understood.

Combined Effects of Polydopamine-Assisted Copper Immobilization on 3D-Printed Porous Ti6Al4V Scaffold for Angiogenic and Osteogenic Bone Regeneration.

Numerous studies have demonstrated that biological compounds and trace elements such as dopamine (DA) and copper ions (Cu) could be modified onto the surfaces of scaffolds using a one-step immersion process which is simple, inexpensive and, most importantly, non-cytotoxic. The development and emergence of 3D printing technologies such as selective laser melting (SLM) have also made it possible for us to fabricate bone scaffolds with precise structural designs using metallic compounds. In this study, we fabricated porous titanium scaffolds (Ti) using SLM and modified the surface of Ti with polydopamine (PDA) and Cu.