Boosting chondrocyte bioactivity with ultra-sulfated glycopeptide supramolecular polymers.

Although autologous chondrocyte transplantation can be effective in articular cartilage repair, negative side effects limit the utility of the treatment, such as long recovery times, poor engraftment or chondrogenic dedifferentiation, and cell leakage. Peptide-based supramolecular polymers have emerged as promising bioactive systems to promote tissue regeneration through cell signaling and dynamic behavior. We report here on the development of a series of glycopeptide amphiphile supramolecular nanofibers with chondrogenic bioactivity.

Learning using privileged information with logistic regression on acute respiratory distress syndrome detection.

The advanced learning paradigm, learning using privileged information (LUPI), leverages information in training that is not present at the time of prediction. In this study, we developed privileged logistic regression (PLR) models under the LUPI paradigm to detect acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), with mechanical ventilation variables or chest x-ray image features employed in the privileged domain and electronic health records in the base domain. In model training, the objective of privileged logistic regression was designed to incorporate data from the privileged domain and encourage knowledge transfer across the privileged and base domains.

PathGPS: discover shared genetic architecture using GWAS summary data.

The increasing availability and scale of biobanks and "omic" datasets bring new horizons for understanding biological mechanisms. PathGPS is an exploratory data analysis tool to discover genetic architectures using Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) summary data. PathGPS is based on a linear structural equation model where traits are regulated by both genetic and environmental pathways.

Association between systemic immunity-inflammation index and sex hormones in children and adolescents aged 6-19.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and sex hormones in children and adolescents aged 6-19 years.

Methods: Data were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted between 2013 and 2016. Inclusion criteria comprised subjects aged 6-19 years with complete data on both SII and sex hormones.

Leveraging Multi-Annotator Label Uncertainties as Privileged Information for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Detection in Chest X-ray Images.

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening lung injury for which early diagnosis and evidence-based treatment can improve patient outcomes. Chest X-rays (CXRs) play a crucial role in the identification of ARDS; however, their interpretation can be difficult due to non-specific radiological features, uncertainty in disease staging, and inter-rater variability among clinical experts, thus leading to prominent label noise issues. To address these challenges, this study proposes a novel approach that leverages label uncertainty from multiple annotators to enhance ARDS detection in CXR images.

Increasing efficiency of SVMp+ for handling missing values in healthcare prediction.

Missing data presents a challenge for machine learning applications specifically when utilizing electronic health records to develop clinical decision support systems. The lack of these values is due in part to the complex nature of clinical data in which the content is personalized to each patient. Several methods have been developed to handle this issue, such as imputation or complete case analysis, but their limitations restrict the solidity of findings.

Paeonol attenuates Substance P-induced urticaria by inhibiting Src kinase phosphorylation in mast cells.

Background: Treatment of chronic urticaria is challenging, the discovery of effective therapeutic drugs is urgently in demand.

Purpose: To study the effect and mechanism of Paeonol targeting mast cells and its therapeutic effect on chronic urticaria.

Study Design: We developed a chronic urticaria model in vivo and mast cell model in vitro examined the effect of Paeonol in the treatment of chronic urticaria and its mechanism of action in mast cells.

Graphene nanoplatelet/cellulose acetate film with enhanced antistatic, thermal dissipative and mechanical properties for packaging.

Unlabelled: With the increased concern over environment protection, cellulose acetate (CA) has drawn great interests as an alternative for packaging material due to its biodegradability and abundant resources; whereas, the poor antistatic property and thermal conductivity restrict its application in packaging. In this work, we proposed a simple but effective strategy to produce high performance graphene nanoplatelet (GNP)/CA composite films via the consecutive homogenization and solvent casting processes. Relying on the spontaneous absorption of CA during homogenization, the GNP/CA produced shows an excellent dispersibility in the N,N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) solution and many fewer structural defects compared with GNPs alone.

Synthesis and Testing of Analogs of the Tuberculosis Drug Candidate SQ109 against Bacteria and Protozoa: Identification of Lead Compounds against and Malaria Parasites.

SQ109 is a tuberculosis drug candidate that has high potency against and is thought to function at least in part by blocking cell wall biosynthesis by inhibiting the MmpL3 transporter. It also has activity against bacteria and protozoan parasites that lack MmpL3, where it can act as an uncoupler, targeting lipid membranes and Ca homeostasis. Here, we synthesized 18 analogs of SQ109 and tested them against , , , , and , as well as against the protozoan parasites , , , , and .

Comparative efficacy and safety of prophylactic norepinephrine and phenylephrine in spinal anesthesia for cesarean section: A systematic review and meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis.

Phenylephrine is the first-line drug used to maintain blood pressure in cesarean delivery. However, it poses a high risk of bradycardia and depression of cardiac activity in pregnant women. Consequently, norepinephrine has gained popularity over the recent years, as an alternative to Phenylephrine because it is thought that prophylactic use of vasopressors may reduce the incidence of hypotension after spinal anesthesia.

Efficacy and Safety of Esketamine Combined with Antidepressants for Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Meta-Analysis.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of esketamine + antidepressant in treatment-resistant depression.

Methods: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CNKI, and Wanfang databases to obtain published information on esketamine + antidepressant from inception to July 2022. We searched for randomized controlled studies on the treatment of depression with a double-blind induction phase.

Robot-assisted all-epiphyseal anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in skeletally immature patients: a retrospective study.

Purpose: To review a series of adolescent patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries surgically treated with robot-assisted all-epiphyseal ACL reconstruction (ACLR), and to compare with the traditional freehand group.

Methods: This retrospective clinical study included 16 patients with ACL injuries who underwent ACLR by robot-assisted technique or traditional freehand method from June 2018 to March 2020. All patients were divided into the robot-assisted group (6 patients) or the traditional surgery group (10 patients).

Modified presurgical nasoalveolar molding for patients with neonatal complete bilateral cleft lip and palate having a severely malpositioned premaxilla.

Objective: To develop a modified presurgical nasoalveolar molding (MPNAM) with a premaxillary appliance, connected with two stainless steel wires and evaluate its therapeutic efficacy in newborns with complete bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP).

Method: A total of 41 patients with neonatal complete BCLP having a severely protruded and deviated premaxilla were retrospectively selected from January 2017 to November 2019. All patients received the MPNAM device with a premaxillary appliance which was worn until cheilorrhaphy.

Effect of charcoal grilling on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs): content, composition, and health risk in edible fish in Japan.

The content and composition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) induced by charcoal grilling of fish were determined in this study. Using HPLC-DAD, the simultaneously quantitative method for 16 priority PAHs was developed and applied to three common Japanese fish: mackerel, pacific saury, and sardine. Charcoal grilling largely increased the content of both total and representative PAHs.

Vessel segmentation for X-ray coronary angiography using ensemble methods with deep learning and filter-based features.

Background: Automated segmentation of coronary arteries is a crucial step for computer-aided coronary artery disease (CAD) diagnosis and treatment planning. Correct delineation of the coronary artery is challenging in X-ray coronary angiography (XCA) due to the low signal-to-noise ratio and confounding background structures.

Methods: A novel ensemble framework for coronary artery segmentation in XCA images is proposed, which utilizes deep learning and filter-based features to construct models using the gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) and deep forest classifiers.

Motion-based camera localization system in colonoscopy videos.

Optical colonoscopy is an essential diagnostic and prognostic tool for many gastrointestinal diseases, including cancer screening and staging, intestinal bleeding, diarrhea, abdominal symptom evaluation, and inflammatory bowel disease assessment. However, the evaluation, classification, and quantification of findings from colonoscopy are subject to inter-observer variation. Automated assessment of colonoscopy is of interest considering the subjectivity present in qualitative human interpretations of colonoscopy findings.

Comparison of different anesthesia modalities during percutaneous kyphoplasty of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures.

Local and general anesthesia are the main techniques used during percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP); however, both are associated with adverse reactions. Monitored anesthesia with dexmedetomidine may be the appropriate sedative and analgesic technique. Few studies have compared monitored anesthesia with other anesthesia modalities during PKP.

Full-Endoscopic Decompression with the Application of an Endoscopic-Matched Ultrasonic Osteotome for Removal of Ossification of the Thoracic Ligamentum Flavum.

Background: Resection of the ossification of the thoracic ligamentum flavum (OTLF) with a high-speed burr may cause a high rate of perioperative complications, such as dural laceration and/or iatrogenic spinal cord injury.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the safety and feasibility of the endoscopic-matched ultrasonic osteotome in full-endoscopic spinal surgery for direct removal of OTLF.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Assessment of heterogeneous treatment effect estimation accuracy via matching.

We study the assessment of the accuracy of heterogeneous treatment effect (HTE) estimation, where the HTE is not directly observable so standard computation of prediction errors is not applicable. To tackle the difficulty, we propose an assessment approach by constructing pseudo-observations of the HTE based on matching. Our contributions are three-fold: first, we introduce a novel matching distance derived from proximity scores in random forests; second, we formulate the matching problem as an average minimum-cost flow problem and provide an efficient algorithm; third, we propose a match-then-split principle for the assessment with cross-validation.

HPLC with spectrophotometric or mass spectrometric detection for quantifying very-long chain fatty acids in human plasma and its association with cardiac risk factors.

Background: We developed and compared two liquid chromatography methods, one with UV/Visible spectrophotometric detection (HPLC) and the other with mass spectrometric detection (LC-MS), for quantifying very-long chain fatty acids (VLCFA) in human plasma. Association of VLCFA with various cardiovascular risk factors were evaluated.

Method: Fasting blood samples were collected from 541 human volunteers (242 men and 299 women; mean age ±SD, 58.