Effective combination of corticosteroid and cyclosporine A for immunoglobulin A nephropathy with membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis features: a case report.

Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common primary glomerulonephritis worldwide with heterogeneous histopathological phenotypes. Although IgAN with membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN)-like features has been reported in children and adults, treatment strategies for this rare IgAN subtype have not been established. Here, we present the case of a 56-year-old man with no history of kidney disease who initially presented with nephrotic syndrome.

Long-term use of proton pump inhibitors was associated with rapid progression to end stage kidney disease in a Korean nationwide study.

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are among the most widely used drugs worldwide. However, their influence on the progression of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in established chronic kidney disease (CKD) cases is unclear. Using the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment database encoded by the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership-Common Data Model (OMOP-CDM), patients with stage 3 or 4 CKD initiating PPIs or histamine-2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs) for over 90 days were enrolled from 2012 through 2021.

Prognostic value of pseudotime from texture parameters of FDG PET/CT in locally advanced rectal cancer with neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy.

Texture analysis generates image parameters from F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG PET/CT). Although some parameters correlate with tumor biology and clinical attributes, their types and implications can be complex. To overcome this limitation, pseudotime analysis was applied to texture parameters to estimate changes in individual sample characteristics, and the prognostic significance of the estimated pseudotime of primary tumors was evaluated.

Histological effects of combined therapy involving scar resection, decellularized scaffolds, and human iPSC-NS/PCs transplantation in chronic complete spinal cord injury.

Chronic complete spinal cord injury (SCI) is difficult to treat because of scar formation and cavitary lesions. While human iPS cell-derived neural stem/progenitor cell (hNS/PC) therapy shows promise, its efficacy is limited without the structural support needed to address cavitary lesions. Our study investigated a combined approach involving surgical scar resection, decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) hydrogel as a scaffold, and hNS/PC transplantation.

Association between stress hyperglycemia ratio and mortality in patients with heart failure complicated by sepsis.

Individuals afflicted with heart failure complicated by sepsis often experience a surge in blood glucose levels, a phenomenon known as stress hyperglycemia. However, the correlation between this condition and overall mortality remains unclear. 869 individuals with heart failure complicated by sepsis were identified from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care-IV (MIMIC-IV) database and categorized into five cohorts based on their stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR).

Metabolic profiling reveals altered amino acid and fatty acid metabolism in children with Williams Syndrome.

Williams Syndrome (WS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder with a prevalence of 1 in 7500 to 1 in 20,000 individuals, caused by a microdeletion in chromosome 7q11.23. Despite its distinctive clinical features, the underlying metabolic alterations remain largely unexplored.

Endograft-specific hemodynamics after endovascular aneurysm repair: a CFD analysis.

Intraluminal prosthetic graft thrombus (IPT) has been described in case of endovascular aortic pathology repair. This study aimed to assess hemodynamic indicators associated with various anatomical morphologies following endovascular aortic repair (EVAR), aiming to offer further references for the choice of clinical therapy. Six model models (normal, iliac compression, aortic compression, aortoiliac compression, iliac distortion, and long-leg stent) were established based on common anatomical morphologies following EVAR.

Nonlinear association between the serum uric acid-to-creatinine ratio and all cause mortality in patients with hypertension: a ten-year cohort study using the NHANES database.

The serum uric acid-to-creatinine ratio (UCR) may be a simple method for assessing xanthine oxidase overactivation, which may contribute to an increase in serum uric acid production and oxidative stress. In this study, we investigated the nonlinear association between the UCR and long-term mortality in patients with hypertension. Data were acquired from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database, and a total of 11,346 patients with hypertension were included.

Tuberculosis Preventive Treatment in High TB-Burden Settings: A State-of-the-Art Review.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. The burden is highest in some low- and middle-income countries. One-quarter of the world's population is estimated to have been infected with TB, which is the seedbed for progressing from TB infection to the deadly and contagious disease itself.

Structural MRI study of Pareidolia and Visual Hallucinations in Drug-Naïve Parkinson's disease.

Visual hallucinations (VH) and pareidolia, a type of minor hallucination, share common underlying mechanisms. However, the similarities and differences in their brain regions remain poorly understood in Parkinson's disease (PD). A total of 104 drug-naïve PD patients underwent structural MRI and were assessed for pareidolia using the Noise Pareidolia Test (NPT) were enrolled.

Comparison of CT findings between basaloid squamous cell carcinoma and non-basaloid squamous cell carcinoma of the lung.

This study aimed to compare computed tomography (CT) findings between basaloid lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and non-basaloid SCC. From July 2003 to April 2021, 39 patients with surgically proven basaloid SCC were identified. For comparison, 161 patients with surgically proven non-basaloid SCC from June 2018 to January 2019 were selected consecutively.

PLK1 overexpression suppresses homologous recombination and confers cellular sensitivity to PARP inhibition.

The overexpression of Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) is associated with poor clinical outcomes in various malignancies, making it an attractive target for anticancer therapies. Although recent studies suggest PLK1's involvement in homologous recombination (HR), the impact of its overexpression on HR remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the effect of PLK1 overexpression on HR using bioinformatics and experimental approaches.

The electricity cost burden of durable medical equipment in the United States.

Those who rely on durable medical equipment (DME) for their health are more likely to be energy insecure and face higher energy burdens than those who do not. In this article, we evaluate the costs of electricity to run DMEs. We find that the average cost across the most common types of high-frequency DMEs-including oxygen concentrators, continuous positive airway pressure machines, and peritoneal kidney dialysis machines-is between $120 and $333 per year, depending on device size and usage frequency.

S100A4 contributes to colorectal carcinoma aggressive behavior and to chemoradiotherapy resistance in locally advanced rectal carcinoma.

To investigate the functional role of S100A4 in advanced colorectal carcinoma (Ad-CRC) and locally advanced rectal carcinoma (LAd-RC) receiving neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT). We analyzed histopathological and immunohistochemical sections from 150 patients with Ad-CRC and 177 LAd-RC patients treated with NCRT. S100A4 knockout (KO) HCT116 cells were also used.

Profiling and comprehensive analysis of microbiome and ARGs of nurses and nursing workers in China: a cross-sectional study.

Hospital-acquired infection (HAI) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represent major challenges in healthcare system. Despite numerous studies have assessed environmental and patient samples, very few studies have explored the microbiome and resistome profiles of medical staff including nursing workers. This cross-sectional study was performed in a tertiary hospital in China and involved 25 nurses (NSs), 25 nursing workers (NWs), and 55 non-medical control (NC).

Altered neurovascular coupling and structure-function coupling in Moyamoya disease affect postoperative collateral formation.

Chronic ischemia in moyamoya disease (MMD) impaired white matter microstructure and neural functional network. However, the coupling between cerebral blood flow (CBF) and functional connectivity and the association between structural and functional network are largely unknown. 38 MMD patients and 20 sex/age-matched healthy controls (HC) were included for T1-weighted imaging, arterial spin labeling imaging, resting-state functional MRI and diffusion tensor imaging.

Short-chain fatty acids play a key role in antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 infection in people living with HIV.

High SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody levels can protect against SARS-CoV-2 reinfection. The gut microbiome can affect a host's immune response. However, its role in the antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 in people living with HIV (PLWH) remains poorly understood.

Risk factors for metabolic syndrome in the premetabolic state assessed using hierarchical clustering study in a health screening group.

Early detection of a premetabolic status that is at risk for metabolic syndrome (MetS) but not meeting the criteria is crucial. This study examined 27,623 participants aged 20-50 (mean: 40.7) years who underwent initial health screening at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital (2011-2019), focusing on individuals with one or two MetS components.

Predicting host health status through an integrated machine learning framework: insights from healthy gut microbiome aging trajectory.

The gut microbiome, recognized as a critical component in the development of chronic diseases and aging processes, constitutes a promising approach for predicting host health status. Previous research has underscored the potential of microbiome-based predictions, and the rapid advancements of machine learning techniques have introduced new opportunities for exploiting microbiome data. To predict various host nonhealthy conditions, this study proposed an integrated machine learning-based estimation pipeline of Gut Age Index (GAI) by establishing a health aging baseline with the gut microbiome data from healthy individuals.

Muscle synergy in several locomotor modes in chimpanzees and Japanese macaques, and its implications for the evolutionary origin of bipedalism through shared muscle synergies.

Recent evidence indicates that human ancestors utilized a combination of quadrupedal walking, climbing, and bipedal walking. Therefore, the origin of bipedalism may be linked to underlying mechanisms supporting diverse locomotor modes. This study aimed to elucidate foundations of varied locomotor modes from the perspective of motor control by identifying muscle synergies and demonstrating similarities in synergy compositions across different locomotor modes in chimpanzees and Japanese macaques.

Antifungal activity of essential oils and their potential synergistic effect with amphotericin B.

Candida albicans is a common opportunistic pathogen, causing infections ranging from superficial to bloodstream infections. The limited antifungal options and rising drug resistance challenge clinical treatment. We screened 98 essential oils and identified 48 with antifungal activity against Candida albicans at 1% concentration, determining their minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC).

Comprehensive Mass Spectral Libraries of Human Thyroid Tissues and Cells.

Thyroid nodules are a common endocrine condition with an increasing incidence over the decades. Data-independent acquisition has been widely utilized in discovery proteomics to identify disease biomarkers and therapeutic targets. To analyze the thyroid disease-related proteome in a high-throughput, reproducible and reliable manner, we introduce thyroid-specific peptide spectral libraries.

Swab Testing to Optimize Pneumonia treatment with empiric Vancomycin (STOP-Vanc): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Vancomycin, an antibiotic with activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), is frequently included in empiric treatment for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) despite the fact that MRSA is rarely implicated in CAP. Conducting polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing on nasal swabs to identify the presence of MRSA colonization has been proposed as an antimicrobial stewardship intervention to reduce the use of vancomycin. Observational studies have shown reductions in vancomycin use after implementation of MRSA colonization testing, and this approach has been adopted by CAP guidelines.

HIF-1α mediates hypertension and vascular remodeling in sleep apnea via hippo-YAP pathway activation.

Background: Sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) is associated with hypertension and vascular remodeling. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and the Hippo-YAP pathway are implicated in these processes, but their specific roles remain unclear. This study investigated the HIF-1α/Hippo-YAP pathway in SAS-related hypertension.