Aryl hydrocarbon receptor and IL-13 signaling crosstalk in human keratinocytes and atopic dermatitis.

Introduction: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is an allergic skin disease mediated by skin barrier impairment and IL-13-driven immune response. Activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) has shown promise in early clinical trials for AD; however, the mechanism by which AHR partially ameliorates AD is not well known.

Methods: Gene expression data from human biopsies were analyzed, and compared to gene expression from RNA-sequencing in our HaCaT cell model system.

Corrosion-Fatigue Performance of 3D-Printed (L-PBF) AlSi10Mg.

Additive manufacturing (AM) allows for optimized part design, reducing weight compared to conventional manufacturing. However, the microstructure, surface state, distribution, and size of internal defects (e.g.

Achieving Precision Medicine in Allergic Disease: Progress and Challenges.

Allergic diseases (atopic dermatitis, food allergy, eosinophilic esophagitis, asthma and allergic rhinitis), perhaps more than many other traditionally grouped disorders, share several overlapping inflammatory pathways and risk factors, though we are still beginning to understand how the relevant patient and environmental factors uniquely shape each disease. Precision medicine is the concept of applying multiple levels of patient-specific data to tailor diagnoses and available treatments to the individual; ideally, a patient receives the right intervention at the right time, in order to maximize effectiveness but minimize morbidity, mortality and cost. While precision medicine in allergy is in its infancy, the recent success of biologics, development of tools focused on large data set integration and improved sampling methods are encouraging and demonstrates the utility of refining our understanding of allergic endotypes to improve therapies.

Tensile Properties of 21-6-9 Austenitic Stainless Steel Built Using Laser Powder-Bed Fusion.

Alloy 21-6-9 is an austenitic stainless steel with high strength, thermal stability at high temperatures, and retained toughness at cryogenic temperatures. This type of steel has been used for aerospace applications for decades, using traditional manufacturing processes. However, limited research has been conducted on this alloy manufactured using laser powder-bed fusion (LPBF) Therefore, in this work, a design of experiment (DOE) was performed to obtain optimized process parameters with regard to low porosity.

Definition and classification of hereditary angioedema.

Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is defined as a rare genetic disease with recurrent episodes of localized bradykinin-mediated swelling of the deep tissues of the skin, respiratory, and gastrointestinal tracts that can be life threatening. Classification of HAE has evolved over time with our further understanding of clinical phenotypes, underlying causes, and available testing. In most cases, HAE is caused by a deficiency of C1-esterase inhibitor (C1-INH) on the Serpin Family G Member 1 (SERPING1) gene, either through decreased amounts of C1-INH protein (C1-INH-HAE, type 1) or decreased function of C1-INH (C1-INH-HAE, type 2).

Resolving Clinical Phenotypes into Endotypes in Allergy: Molecular and Omics Approaches.

Allergic diseases are highly complex with respect to pathogenesis, inflammation, and response to treatment. Current efforts for allergic disease diagnosis have focused on clinical evidence as a binary outcome. Although outcome status based on clinical phenotypes (observable characteristics) is convenient and inexpensive to measure in large studies, it does not adequately provide insight into the complex molecular determinants of allergic disease.

Effectiveness of a Technology-Based Intervention to Teach Evidence-Based Practice: The EBR Tool.

Background: As the world becomes increasingly digital, advances in technology have changed how students access evidence-based information. Research suggests that students overestimate their ability to locate quality online research and lack the skills needed to evaluate the scientific literature. Clinical nurses report relying on personal experience to answer clinical questions rather than searching evidence-based sources.

Loss of Hif-2α Rescues the Hif-1α Deletion Phenotype of Neonatal Respiratory Distress In Mice.

Hypoxia is a state of decreased oxygen reaching the tissues of the body. During prenatal development, the fetus experiences localized occurrences of hypoxia that are essential for proper organogenesis and survival. The response to decreased oxygen availability is primarily regulated by hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs), a family of transcription factors that modulate the expression of key genes involved in glycolysis, angiogenesis, and erythropoiesis.

Deep penetrating nevus-like borderline tumors: A unique subset of ambiguous melanocytic tumors with malignant potential and normal cytogenetics.

Background: Deep penetrating nevi (DPN) are a relatively uncommon subtype of melanocytic nevi. A small subset of these lesions exhibit atypical features (cytologic and architectural atypia, mitotic activity) seen in melanoma. These lesions we term the deep penetrating nevus-like borderline tumor.

Loss of hypoxia-inducible factor 2 alpha in the lung alveolar epithelium of mice leads to enhanced eosinophilic inflammation in cobalt-induced lung injury.

Hard metal lung disease (HMLD) is an occupational lung disease specific to inhalation of cobalt-containing particles whose mechanism is largely unknown. Cobalt is a known hypoxia mimic and stabilizer of the alpha subunits of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs). Previous work revealed that though HIF1α contrib utes to cobalt toxicity in vitro, loss of HIF1α in the alveolar epithelial cells does not provide in vivo protection from cobalt-induced lung inflammation.

Neonatal epithelial hypoxia inducible factor-1α expression regulates the response of the lung to experimental asthma.

Allergic airway disease is characterized by a T helper type 2 cell-mediated airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness. Little is known about the role of hypoxia-mediated signaling in the progression of the disease. To address this knowledge gap, a mouse model was created in which doxycycline exposure induces the functional deletion of hypoxia inducible factor-1α from alveolar type II and Clara cells of the lung.

Equally poor outcomes to pegylated interferon-based therapy in African Americans and Hispanics with chronic hepatitis C infection.

Objectives: Treatment response to pegylated interferon based regimen is different between African Americans and Whites, but little comparable data is available comparing Hispanics and African Americans.

Patients: We retrospectively evaluated the rate of success in the treatment completion and response to peginterferon alpha-2a or alpha-2b plus ribavirin in 103 (male:female-69:34) hepatitis C virus (HCV)-polymerase chain reaction positive patients that included 68 Hispanic and 35 African Americans.

Methods: Patients were treated with peginterferon alpha-2a 180 mcg/wk (n=25) or peginterferon alpha-2b 1.

Functional outcomes of arthroscopic capsular release of the elbow.

Purpose: Elbow contracture is a common and difficult problem to manage. The purpose of this study was to determine the functional outcomes of arthroscopic capsular release in the management of elbow contractures.

Methods: A total of 22 patients (14 males, 8 females; mean age, 42 years) undergoing arthroscopic contracture release were retrospectively reviewed at a minimum follow-up of 1 year (mean, 25 months).

Correlation between Bankart and Hill-Sachs lesions in anterior shoulder dislocation.

Background: Bankart lesions and Hill-Sachs lesions are commonly associated with anterior shoulder dislocations. The presence of Bankart lesion indicates the need for surgical repair. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been shown to be sensitive in detecting these two lesions.

Essiac tea: scavenging of reactive oxygen species and effects on DNA damage.

Essiac, a tea reportedly developed by the Ojibwa tribe of Canada and widely publicized as a homeopathic cancer treatment, is prepared from a mixture of four herbs Arctium lappa, Rumex acetosella, Ulmus rubra and Rheum officinale. Each of these herbs has been reported to possess antioxidant and anti-cancer activity. Essiac itself has also been reported to demonstrate anti-cancer activity in vitro, although its effects in vivo are still a matter of debate.

Peritumoral fibrosis in basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma mimicking perineural invasion: potential pitfall in Mohs micrographic surgery.

Background: Perineural invasion (PI) in cutaneous basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is linked to an aggressive course. We describe a histologic mimic for PI that we termed peritumoral fibrosis (PF).

Objective: To describe the morphologic changes associated with PF and to determine the incidence of PF and PI in Mohs frozen sections of BCC and SCC.

Limbic hyperreactivity in bipolar II disorder.

Objective: The authors' goal was to determine whether patients with bipolar II disorder had altered regional brain responses to novel motor sequences.

Method: Regional cerebral blood flow was measured with positron emission tomography in 13 patients with bipolar II disorder and 14 healthy comparison subjects. Participants performed a serial reaction time task in which they were visually cued to press one of four buttons at a time.

An alternate approach for harvesting Mohs specimens with a flexible scalpel.

Background: Mohs micrographic surgery is a highly successful technique for removing skin cancers while conserving normal tissue. However, conservation of the deep margins can often be difficult to achieve when using a standard scalpel. An inability to conserve normal tissue at the deep margins can greatly impact the complexity of repair, duration of surgery, aesthetic result, and patient morbidity.

Conscious and unconscious processing of nonverbal predictability in Wernicke's area.

The association of nonverbal predictability and brain activation was examined using functional magnetic resonance imaging in humans. Participants regarded four squares displayed horizontally across a screen and counted the incidence of a particular color. A repeating spatial sequence with varying levels of predictability was embedded within a random color presentation.

Solitary fibrous tumor of the skin.

Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is an uncommon mesenchymal tumor that typically arises in the pleural cavity. Comprised of spindled cells characteristically arranged in diverse architectural patterns, SFT histologically simulates a variety of benign and malignant mesenchymal tumors. The diagnosis of SFT has been refined by the availability of newer immunohistochemical markers such as CD-34 and factor XIIIa, facilitating the identification of SFTs arising in multiple extrapleural sites, including the skin.