Estimating treatment effect on timed 25-foot walk in multiple sclerosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background And Objectives: Timed 25-foot walk (T25FW) is a common and reliable measure of ambulatory impairment in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). There is a lack of evidence evaluating the treatment effects on T25FW in MS. This study aimed to estimate treatment effects on T25FW in MS through a systematic review and meta-analysis.

A genome-wide association study of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in a large Korean population highlights its genetic relationship with cholesterol metabolism.

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) is a representative biomarker of systemic inflammation and is associated with numerous chronic diseases. To explore the biological pathways and functions underlying chronic inflammation, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and several post-GWAS analyses of the hsCRP levels. This study was performed on data from 71,019 Koreans and is one of the largest East Asian studies.

Hidden hearing loss in a Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A mouse model.

Hidden hearing loss (HHL), a recently described auditory neuropathy characterized by normal audiometric thresholds but reduced sound-evoked cochlear compound action potentials, has been proposed to contribute to hearing difficulty in noisy environments in people with normal hearing thresholds and has become a widespread complaint. While most studies on HHL pathogenesis have focused on inner hair cell (IHC) synaptopathy, we recently showed that transient auditory nerve (AN) demyelination also causes HHL in mice. To test the effect of myelinopathy on hearing in a clinically relevant model, we studied a mouse model of Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A (CMT1A), the most prevalent hereditary peripheral neuropathy in humans.

Hidden hearing loss in a Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A mouse model.

Hidden hearing loss (HHL), a recently described auditory neuropathy characterized by normal audiometric thresholds but reduced sound-evoked cochlear compound action potentials, has been proposed to contribute to hearing difficulty in noisy environments in people with normal hearing thresholds, a widespread complaint. While most studies on HHL pathogenesis have focused on inner hair cell (IHC) synaptopathy, we recently showed that transient auditory nerve (AN) demyelination also causes HHL in mice. To test the impact of myelinopathy on hearing in a clinically relevant model, we studied a mouse model of Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A (CMT1A), the most prevalent hereditary peripheral neuropathy in humans.

Experience-dependent flexibility in a molecularly diverse central-to-peripheral auditory feedback system.

Brainstem olivocochlear neurons (OCNs) modulate the earliest stages of auditory processing through feedback projections to the cochlea and have been shown to influence hearing and protect the ear from sound-induced damage. Here, we used single-nucleus sequencing, anatomical reconstructions, and electrophysiology to characterize murine OCNs during postnatal development, in mature animals, and after sound exposure. We identified markers for known medial (MOC) and lateral (LOC) OCN subtypes, and show that they express distinct cohorts of physiologically relevant genes that change over development.

Supporting Equity and Inclusion of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Individuals in Professional Organizations.

Disability is an important and often overlooked component of diversity. Individuals with disabilities bring a rare perspective to science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) because of their unique experiences approaching complex issues related to health and disability, navigating the healthcare system, creatively solving problems unfamiliar to many individuals without disabilities, managing time and resources that are limited by physical or mental constraints, and advocating for themselves and others in the disabled community. Yet, individuals with disabilities are underrepresented in STEMM.

Bringing Art to Life: Social and Activity Engagement through Art in Persons Living with Dementia.

Objectives: The Bringing Art to Life (BATL) program was created as an art therapy intervention to increase social engagement, intergenerational engagement, and creative expression among persons living with dementia (PWD) in an adult day service. This is an evaluation of BATL program efficacy.

Methods: A modified behavioral observation tool was used to quantify meaningful engagements as recorded in ethnographic field notes and test the hypotheses that: 1) engagements increase across art therapy sessions, and 2) engagements were more social than activity or art related.

Accessibility to Hearing Healthcare in Rural and Urban Populations of Alabama: Perspectives and A Preliminary Roadmap for Addressing Inequalities.

Hearing loss is a growing public health concern and has been associated with poor cardiovascular health, diabetes, increased social isolation and poor cognitive functioning. Addressing this issue, especially in rural communities, will require increased awareness of hearing loss and its link to emotional and physical well-being. The purpose of this study was to understand the challenges that those with hearing loss living in rural and urban communities experience and to examine the feasibility of using primary care physicians to assist with improving access to hearing healthcare in rural communities.

Cervical collar makes difficult airway: a simulation study using the LEMON criteria.

Objective: Endotracheal intubation is extremely difficult to perform in patients wearing a cervical collar for a head and neck injury. Therefore, we analyzed actual measurements using the look externally, evaluate 3-3-2, Mallampati score, obstruction, and neck mobility (LEMON) criteria before and after cervical collar application to investigate the causes of a difficult airway.

Methods: This simulation study was performed in 76 healthy volunteers.

Is an Emerging Cause of Mastitis Especially in Patients With Psychiatric Illness on Antipsychotic Medication.

This retrospective study of patients with infections revealed a predominance of mastitis and a potential association with psychiatric illnesses. At least one third of our patients with mastitis had psychiatric illness, and >92% received antipsychotic medications. Drug-induced hyperprolactinemia may be an important modifiable risk factor in these patients.

Delayed lower cranial neuropathy after oropharyngeal intensity-modulated radiotherapy: A cohort analysis and literature review.

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine swallowing-related lower cranial nerve palsy (LCNP) in oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) survivors after intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT).

Methods: Patients treated with definitive IMRT (66-72 Gy) were pooled from institutional trial databases. Prospective analyses on parent trials included videofluoroscopy, clinical LCNP examination, and questionnaires pre-IMRT, 6 months post-IMRT, 12 months post-IMRT, and 24 months post-IMRT.

Multigenerational effect of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) on the individual fitness and population growth of Daphnia magna.

We investigated the multigenerational effect of PFOS to individual fitness (e.g., body weight, acetylcholinesterase and glutathione S-transferase) and population growth (e.

Late radiation-associated dysphagia with lower cranial neuropathy in long-term oropharyngeal cancer survivors: video case reports.

Background: Lower cranial neuropathies are a late effect of radiotherapy (RT), typically reported in nasopharyngeal cancer survivors. Limited data examine these neuropathies after oropharyngeal cancer, particularly as it relates to late radiation-associated dysphagia (late-RAD).

Methods: Two cases were examined over 4 to 6 years.

In vivo colonization profile study of Bordetella bronchiseptica in the nasal cavity.

Bordetella bronchiseptica chronically infects a wide range of mammals, and resides primarily in the nasal cavity of the infected host. Multiple virulence factors of Bordetella species have been studied in the context of lower respiratory tract infections, but relatively less is known about the bacterial life cycle in the nasal cavity. Evidences were discovered for Bvg intermediate (Bvg(i)) phase expression in vivo and that the major adhesin filamentous hemagglutinin plays a major role in the colonization of B.

Bordetella bronchiseptica modulates macrophage phenotype leading to the inhibition of CD4+ T cell proliferation and the initiation of a Th17 immune response.

Bordetella bronchiseptica is a Gram-negative bacterium equipped with several colonization factors that allow it to establish a persistent infection of the murine respiratory tract. Previous studies indicate that B. bronchiseptica adenylate cyclase toxin (ACT) and the type III secretion system (TTSS) synergize to drive dendritic cells into an altered phenotype to down-regulate the host immune response.

Expression of the primary carbohydrate component of the Bordetella bronchiseptica biofilm matrix is dependent on growth phase but independent of Bvg regulation.

We previously showed that the Bvg virulence control system regulates biofilm formation in Bordetella bronchiseptica (Y. Irie, S. Mattoo, and M.

Bordetella type III secretion modulates dendritic cell migration resulting in immunosuppression and bacterial persistence.

Chronic bacterial infection reflects a balance between the host immune response and bacterial factors that promote colonization and immune evasion. Bordetella bronchiseptica uses a type III secretion system (TTSS) to persist in the lower respiratory tract of mice. We hypothesize that colonization is facilitated by bacteria-driven modulation of dendritic cells (DCs), which leads to an immunosuppressive adaptive host response.

A genome-wide screen identifies a Bordetella type III secretion effector and candidate effectors in other species.

Bordetella bronchiseptica utilizes a type III secretion system (TTSS) for induction of non-apoptotic cytotoxicity in host cells and modulation of host immunity. The identity of Bordetella TTSS effectors, however, has remained elusive. Here we report a genome-wide screen for TTSS effectors based on shared biophysical and functional characteristics of class I chaperones and their frequent colocalization with TTSS effectors.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa rhamnolipids disperse Bordetella bronchiseptica biofilms.

We have previously reported that the respiratory pathogen Bordetella bronchiseptica can form biofilms in vitro. In this report, we demonstrate the disruption of B. bronchiseptica biofilms by rhamnolipids secreted from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Suppression of NF-kappaB-mediated beta-defensin gene expression in the mammalian airway by the Bordetella type III secretion system.

Expression of innate immune genes such as beta-defensins is induced in airway epithelium by bacterial components via activation of NF-kappaB. We show here that live Gram-negative bacteria can similarly stimulate this pathway, resulting in upregulation of the beta-defensin tracheal antimicrobial peptide (TAP) in primary cultures of bovine tracheal epithelial cells (TECs), by a Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-mediated pathway. The Gram-negative airway pathogen Bordetella bronchiseptica possesses a type III secretion system previously suggested to inhibit the nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB in a cell line by immunohistochemistry.

Downregulation of mitogen-activated protein kinases by the Bordetella bronchiseptica Type III secretion system leads to attenuated nonclassical macrophage activation.

Bordetella bronchiseptica utilizes a type III secretion system (TTSS) to establish a persistent infection of the murine respiratory tract. Previous studies have shown that the Bordetella TTSS mediated cytotoxicity in different cell types, inhibition of NF-kappaB in epithelial cells, and differentiation of dendritic cells into a semimature state. Here we demonstrate modulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways and altered cytokine production in macrophages and dendritic cells by the Bordetella TTSS.

The Bvg virulence control system regulates biofilm formation in Bordetella bronchiseptica.

Bordetella species utilize the BvgAS (Bordetella virulence gene) two-component signal transduction system to sense the environment and regulate gene expression among at least three phases: a virulent Bvg+ phase, a nonvirulent Bvg- phase, and an intermediate Bvgi phase. Genes expressed in the Bvg+ phase encode known virulence factors, including adhesins such as filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) and fimbriae, as well as toxins such as the bifunctional adenylate cyclase/hemolysin (ACY). Previous studies showed that in the Bvgi phase, FHA and fimbriae continue to be expressed, but ACY expression is significantly downregulated.

Bordetella type III secretion and adenylate cyclase toxin synergize to drive dendritic cells into a semimature state.

Bordetella bronchiseptica establishes persistent infection of the murine respiratory tract. We hypothesize that long-term colonization is mediated in part by bacteria-driven modulation of dendritic cells (DCs) leading to altered adaptive immune responses. Bone marrow-derived DCs (BMDCs) from C57BL/6 mice infected with live B.