Clinical Features and Vaccination Effects among Children with Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 in Taiwan.

Background: Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) affects patients after recovering from acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study investigates the impact of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on PASC symptoms in children in Taiwan during the Omicron pandemic.

Methods: We enrolled children under 18 years with PASC symptoms persisting for more than 4 weeks.

Oral administration of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis LDL557 attenuates airway inflammation and changes the gut microbiota in a Der p-sensitized mouse model of allergic asthma.

Background: Lactic acid bacteria may be used as probiotics to prevent or treat various diseases, and Lactobacillus delbrueckii has an inhibitory effect on the development of atopic diseases.

Objective: This study explored the effects of L. delbrueckii subsp.

Moonlighting glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase of Lactobacillus gasseri inhibits keratinocyte apoptosis and skin inflammation in experimental atopic dermatitis.

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder affecting up to 20% of children in developed countries. Although probiotics have shown promise as adjuvant treatments for AD, their mechanisms are not well understood.

Objective: Building upon our previous studies, we investigated whether Lactobacillus gasseri and its moonlighting glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), namely LGp40, could be beneficial in AD management.

Evaluation of You-Gui-Wan critical compounds inhibiting ALOX-5 and HDC gene expression in RBL-2H3 cells using a fractional factorial design.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) You-Gui-Wan (YGW) has been used to treat asthma for hundreds of years.

Aim Of The Study: YGW is composed of 10 types of medicinal materials. However, the immune mechanism of YGW in asthma treatment has not been elucidated.

Antimicrobial Peptide LCN2 Inhibited Uropathogenic Infection in Bladder Cells in a High-Glucose Environment through JAK/STAT Signaling Pathway.

JAK/STAT plays a key role in regulating uropathogenic (UPEC) infection in urothelial cells, probably via antimicrobial peptide (AMP) production, in diabetic patients with urinary tract infections. Whether multiple pathways regulate AMPs, especially lipid-carrying protein-2 (LCN2), to achieve a vital effect is unknown. We investigated the effects of an LCN2 pretreatment on the regulation of the JAK/STAT pathway in a high-glucose environment using a bladder cell model with GFP-UPEC and phycoerythrin-labeled TLR-4, STAT1, and STAT3.

Surfactant protein D inhibits lipid-laden foamy macrophages and lung inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Increased levels of surfactant protein D (SP-D) and lipid-laden foamy macrophages (FMs) are frequently found under oxidative stress conditions and/or in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are also chronically exposed to cigarette smoke (CS). However, the roles and molecular mechanisms of SP-D and FMs in COPD have not yet been determined. In this study, increased levels of SP-D were found in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and sera of ozone- and CS-exposed mice.

Moonlighting glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) protein of Lactobacillus gasseri attenuates allergic asthma via immunometabolic change in macrophages.

Background: The extra-intestinal effects of probiotics for preventing allergic diseases are well known. However, the probiotic components that interact with host target molecules and have a beneficial effect on allergic asthma remain unknown. Lactobacillus gasseri attenuates allergic airway inflammation through the activation of peroxisome proliferator- activated receptor γ (PPARγ) in dendritic cells.

Effectiveness of mental simulation practices after total knee arthroplasty in patients with knee osteoarthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Mental simulation practices, such as motor imagery, action observation, and guided imagery, have been an intervention of interest in neurological and musculoskeletal rehabilitation. Application of such practices to postoperative patients in orthopedics, particularly after total knee arthroplasty, has resulted in favorable physical function outcomes. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we wish to determine the effectiveness of mental simulation practices with standard physical therapy compared to standard physical therapy alone in patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty in terms of postoperative pain, physical functions, and patient-reported outcome measures.

Two-Photon-Near Infrared-II Antimicrobial Graphene-Nanoagent for Ultraviolet-Near Infrared Imaging and Photoinactivation.

Nitrogen doping and amino group functionalization through chemical modification lead to strong electron donation. Applying these processes to a large -conjugated system of graphene quantum dot (GQD)-based materials as electron donors increases the charge transfer efficiency of nitrogen-doped amino acid-functionalized GQDs (amino-N-GQDs), resulting in enhanced two-photon absorption, post-two-photon excitation (TPE) stability, TPE cross-sections, and two-photon luminescence through the radiative pathway when the lifetime decreases and the quantum yield increases. Additionally, it leads to the generation of reactive oxygen species through two-photon photodynamic therapy (PDT).

Nasal Microbiome Change During and After Exacerbation in Asthmatic Children.

Airway and gut microbiota are important in asthma pathogenesis. Although several studies have revealed distinct microbiota in asthmatic airways at baseline compared to healthy controls, limited studies compared microbiota during acute exacerbation (AE) and in the recovery phase (RP) in the same asthmatic children. We aim to investigate association between microbiota and asthma status in children and explore their relationship with clinical features of asthma.

Nitrogen Functionalities of Amino-Functionalized Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Quantum Dots for Highly Efficient Enhancement of Antimicrobial Therapy to Eliminate Methicillin-Resistant and Utilization as a Contrast Agent.

There is an urgent need for materials that can efficiently generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) and be used in photodynamic therapy (PDT) as two-photon imaging contrast probes. In this study, graphene quantum dots (GQDs) were subjected to amino group functionalization and nitrogen doping (amino-N-GQDs) via annealing and hydrothermal ammonia autoclave treatments. The synthesized dots could serve as a photosensitizer in PDT and generate more ROS than conventional GQDs under 60-s low-energy (fixed output power: 0.

Early-life EV-A71 infection augments allergen-induced airway inflammation in asthma through trained macrophage immunity.

Virus-induced asthma is prevalent among children, but its underlying mechanisms are unclear. Accumulated evidence indicates that early-life respiratory virus infection increases susceptibility to allergic asthma. Nonetheless, the relationship between systemic virus infections, such as enterovirus infection, and the ensuing effects on allergic asthma development is unknown.

Use and effectiveness of dapagliflozin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a multicenter retrospective study in Taiwan.

Aims/introduction: To investigate the clinical outcomes of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who initiated dapagliflozin in real-world practice in Taiwan.

Materials And Methods: In this multicenter retrospective study, adult patients with T2DM who initiated dapagliflozin after May 1 2016 either as add-on or switch therapy were included. Changes in clinical and laboratory parameters were evaluated at 3 and 6 months.

Goat Milk Consumption Enhances Innate and Adaptive Immunities and Alleviates Allergen-Induced Airway Inflammation in Offspring Mice.

Goat milk (GM), as compared to cow milk (CM), is easier for humans to digest. It also has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects and can improve minor digestive disorders and prevent allergic diseases in infants. It is unclear whether GM consumed in pregnant mothers has any protective effects on allergic diseases in infants.

Phomaketide A Inhibits Lymphangiogenesis in Human Lymphatic Endothelial Cells.

Lymphangiogenesis is an important biological process associated with cancer metastasis. The development of new drugs that block lymphangiogenesis represents a promising therapeutic strategy. Marine fungus-derived compound phomaketide A, isolated from the fermented broth of sp.

The alteration of gut microbiota in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients.

Objectives: Gut microbiota dysbiosis is known to be associated with diabetes; however, the findings of previous studies are conflicting. To clarify the association between type 2 diabetes and the gut microbiota, the present study analyzed the composition of fecal gut microbiota and its correlation with specific clinical parameters in newly diagnosed, treatment-naive diabetic patients and healthy controls.

Methods: A total of 50 patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes and 50 healthy control participants were enrolled in the study.

Correction to: Metformin improved health-related quality of life in ethnic Chinese women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

The original article [1] contains a number of statements that the authors would like to be disregarded, noted ahead.

Distribution of Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte-Associated Antigen-4 Promoter Polymorphisms in Taiwanese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with chronic inflammation, suggesting the metabolic abnormalities are originated from or exacerbated by cytokine overproduction. Cytokines and counter-regulatory molecules are crucial in keeping the balance of immune responses and, therefore, are potential candidates involved in T2DM etiology, development and complications. Our previous reports identify several significant associations between the genotypes of cytokine genes and T2DM and/or the clinical lipid parameters, which strongly suggest the participation of immune-regulatory molecules in lipid metabolism.

Effect of morphokinetics and morphological dynamics of cleavage stage on embryo developmental potential: A time-lapse study.

Objective: Using a non-invasive method to select the most competent embryo is essential in in vitro fertilization (IVF). Since the beginning of clinical application of time-lapse technology, several studies have proposed models using the time-lapse imaging system for predicting the IVF outcome. This study used both morphokinetic and morphological dynamic parameters to select embryos with the highest developmental potential.

Single Drop Whole Blood Diagnostics: Portable Biomedical Sensor for Cardiac Troponin I Detection.

Detection of disease biomarkers from whole blood is very important in disease prevention and management. However, new generation assays like point-of-care or mobile diagnostics face a myriad of challenges in detecting proteins from whole blood. In this research, we have designed, fabricated, and characterized a portable biomedical sensor for the detection of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) directly from whole blood, without sample pretreatments.