Argonaute2 modulates megakaryocyte development and sex-specific control of platelet protein expression and reactivity.

Platelets are enriched in miRNAs and harbor Ago2 as the principal RNA silencing Argonaute. However, roles in thrombopoiesis and platelet function remain poorly understood. We generated megakaryocyte/platelet-specific Ago2-deleted (Ago2 KO) mice and assessed proteomic and functional effects.

Preliminary evidence of immune infiltration and neutrophil degranulation in peripheral blood of non-obese OSA patients related to cognitive decline.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients have varying degrees of cognitive impairment, but the specific pathogenic mechanism is still unclear. Meanwhile, poor compliance with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in OSA prompts better solutions. This study aimed to identify differentially expressed genes between the non-obese OSA patients and healthy controls, and to explore potential biomarkers associated with cognitive impairment.

Isolation of PCSK9-specific nanobodies from synthetic libraries using a combined protein selection strategy.

Nanobodies (Nbs) hold great potential to replace conventional antibodies in various biomedical applications. However, conventional methods for their discovery can be time-consuming and expensive. We have developed a reliable protein selection strategy that combines magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS)-based screening of yeast surface display (YSD) libraries and functional ligand-binding identification by Tat-based recognition of associating proteins (FLI-TRAP) to isolate antigen-specific Nbs from synthetic libraries.

Clinical characteristics and predictive biomarkers of intensive care unit-acquired weakness in patients with cardiogenic shock requiring mechanical circulatory support.

Intensive care unit-acquired weakness (ICU-AW) is recognized as newly-acquired bilateral muscle weakness, which is a complication of critical illness in the ICU; however, there are no reports on the pathogenesis and early predictors of ICU-AW specifically associated with cardiogenic shock (CS). Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of ICU-AW in patients with CS requiring mechanical circulatory support (MCS). This study was a single-center, prospective, and observational study.

Large language models improve the identification of emergency department visits for symptomatic kidney stones.

Recent advancements of large language models (LLMs) like generative pre-trained transformer 4 (GPT-4) have generated significant interest among the scientific community. Yet, the potential of these models to be utilized in clinical settings remains largely unexplored. In this study, we investigated the abilities of multiple LLMs and traditional machine learning models to analyze emergency department (ED) reports and determine if the corresponding visits were due to symptomatic kidney stones.

Spinal CRH facilitates the micturition reflex via the CRH2 receptor in rats with normal bladder and bladder outlet obstruction.

Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) significantly affect patient quality of life. Treatment options for bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) (a common cause of LUTS) are insufficient to relieve discomfort. As the incidence of BPH is increasing, new pharmacological targets for LUTS treatment are required.

Association between ethylene oxide exposure and cognitive function in older adults from NHANES data.

Ethylene Oxide (EO), a volatile organic compound, has garnered considerable attention for its potential impact on human health. Yet, the ramifications of EO exposure on the cognitive functionality of the elderly remain unclear. The aim of this study is to determine whether EO exposure in the elderly correlates with cognitive function.

The effect of sarpogrelate compared to aspirin in high- or very-high-risk diabetes for primary prevention.

The benefit of aspirin in primary prevention for atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD) is questionable due to bleeding complications. We analyzed the Korean National Health Insurance data to compare the efficacy and overall bleeding of sarpogrelate, an antiplatelet agent with lower bleeding risk, versus aspirin in high-/very-high-risk diabetic populations without prior ASCVD. The primary endpoint was net adverse clinical events (NACE), defined as a composite of efficacy and overall bleeding.

A pediatric emergency prediction model using natural language process in the pediatric emergency department.

This study developed a predictive model using deep learning (DL) and natural language processing (NLP) to identify emergency cases in pediatric emergency departments. It analyzed 87,759 pediatric cases from a South Korean tertiary hospital (2012-2021) using electronic medical records. Various NLP models, including four machine learning (ML) models with Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) and two DL models based on the KM-BERT framework, were trained to differentiate emergency cases using clinician transcripts.

Discovery of two novel Flavobacterium species with potential for complex polysaccharide degradation.

Polysaccharides are recognized for their extensive biological functions, holding significant promise for applications in both medicine and food industries. However, their utilization is frequently constrained by challenges such as high molecular weights and indistinct sugar chain structures. Recently, two novel bacterial strains, N6 and J3, were isolated from the Nakdong River in Korea.

Comparative analysis of salivary cytokine profiles in newly diagnosed pediatric patients with cancer and healthy children.

Salivary cytokines have the potential to serve as biomarkers for evaluating cancer progression and treatment response in specific cancer types. This study explored salivary cytokine profiles in pediatric cancer patients and healthy controls, examining changes during chemotherapy. We conducted a prospective study involving newly diagnosed cancer patients and healthy controls under 19 years old.

Risk of second primary malignancies among survivors of cutaneous melanoma: A nationwide population-based study in the Republic of Korea.

There is limited data on the risk of second primary malignancies (SPMs) in Asian melanoma survivors. This study aimed to identify the risk of SPMs in Asian melanoma survivors. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated for overall and specific SPMs.

The association between age at menarche (AAM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in the MASHAD cohort study.

Age at menarche may be associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors in different ethnic groups. The purpose of this study was to identify the association of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors with age at menarche (AAM) in Mashhad, the second biggest city in Iran. This was a cross- sectional study based on cohort data of 2353 women (35-65 years) from Mashhad, Iran for whom the age at menarche was reported.

The link between sleep bruxism and oxidative stress based on a polysomnographic study.

Oxidative stress is proven to increase cardiovascular risk and to diminish healthy life expectancy. Sleep bruxism (SB) is a prevalent masticatory muscle activity during sleep characterized by heterogeneous etiology and inadequately recognized pathophysiology. Recent theories have proposed a potential association between SB and oxidative stress.

Calcium to magnesium ratio as a superior biomarker for nephrolithiasis detection in primary hyperparathyroidism.

Primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) is marked by mineral imbalances, often leading to nephrolithiasis and osteoporosis. While imaging remains the cornerstone for stone detection, there is growing interest in biochemical markers that could enhance diagnostic accuracy. This study investigates the calcium-to-magnesium (Ca/Mg) ratio as a novel biomarker for nephrolithiasis, comparing its utility to traditional 24-h urinary calcium excretion and exploring its broader clinical implications.

Biological correlates associated with high-risk breast cancer patients identified using a computational method.

Using a novel unsupervised method to integrate multi-omic data, we previously identified a breast cancer group with a poor prognosis. In the current study, we characterize the biological features of this subgroup, defined as the high-risk group, using various data sources. Assessment of three published hypoxia signatures showed that the high-risk group exhibited higher hypoxia scores (p < 0.

Association between airway microbiota and systemic inflammation markers in non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Growing evidences have suggested the airway microbiota may participate in lung cancer progression. However, little was known about the relationship between airway microbiota and lung cancer associated systemic inflammation. Here we aimed to explore the association between sputum microbiota and systemic inflammation in lung cancer.

Bias-corrected serum creatinine from UK Biobank electronic medical records generates an important data resource for kidney function trajectories.

Loss of kidney function is a substantial personal and public health burden. Kidney function is typically assessed as estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) based on serum creatinine. UK Biobank provides serum creatinine measurements from study center assessments (SC, n = 425,147 baseline, n = 15,314 with follow-up) and emerging electronic Medical Records (eMR, "GP-clinical") present a promising resource to augment this data longitudinally.

Decreased nitric oxide production is a novel therapeutic target for salt-induced nocturnal polyuria in aging.

Nocturnal polyuria is a major cause of nocturia, which affects quality of life. Aging-related decreases in nitric oxide production have been reported to contribute to salt-induced nocturnal polyuria. We posited that enhanced nitric oxide production from exercise could mitigate salt-induced nocturnal polyuria.

Combined delivery of IL12 and an IL18 mutant without IL18BP-binding activity by an adenoviral vector enhances tumor specific immunity.

Cytokines play pivotal roles in anticancer immune response. We previously reported that adenovirus armed with an IL18 variant (DR18) that overcomes IL18BP neutralizing effect displayed powerful therapeutic effects in local and distant tumors when delivered intratumorally. Here, we tested a combined delivery of IL12 and DR18 in tumor models since IL12 and IL18 are known to act synergistically in potentiating IFNγ production and antitumor immunity.

Symptom-based depression subtypes: brain dynamic specificity and its association with gene expression profiles.

At least 227 combinations of symptoms meet the criteria for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). However, in clinical practice, patients consistently present symptoms in a regular rather than random manner, and the neural basis underlying the MDD subtypes remains unclear. To help clarify the neural basis, patients with MDD were clustered by symptom combinations to investigate the neural underpinning of each subtype using functional resonance imaging (fMRI).

Experience with the implementation of central venous catheters by medical oncologists in a non-surgical setting.

Totally implantable central venous catheters (CVCs) are widely used in the management of patients with malignant diseases. Conventionally, port implantations were carried out by general surgeons and vascular radiologists. In recent years, the medical staff of the Medical Oncology department at the Central University Hospital of Asturias (HUCA) has developed a simplified methodology for the routine implantation of these devices.

A mutation in LXRα uncovers a role for cholesterol sensing in limiting metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.

Liver x receptor alpha (LXRα) functions as an intracellular cholesterol sensor that regulates lipid metabolism at the transcriptional level in response to the direct binding of cholesterol derivatives. We have generated mice with a mutation in LXRα that reduces activity in response to endogenous cholesterol derived LXR ligands while still allowing transcriptional activation by synthetic agonists. The mutant LXRα functions as a dominant negative that shuts down cholesterol sensing.

Convergent evolution of oxidized sugar metabolism in commensal and pathogenic microbes in the inflamed gut.

Inflammation-associated perturbations of the gut microbiome are well characterized, but poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that disparate taxa recapitulate the metabolism of the oxidized sugars glucarate and galactarate, utilizing enzymatically divergent, yet functionally equivalent, gud/gar pathways. The divergent pathway in commensals includes a putative 5-KDG aldolase (GudL) and an uncharacterized ABC transporter (GarABC) that recapitulate the function of their non-homologous counterparts in pathogens.

Polygenic burden of short tandem repeat expansions promotes risk for Alzheimer's disease.

Studies of the genetics of Alzheimer's disease (AD) have largely focused on single nucleotide variants and short insertions/deletions. However, most of the disease heritability has yet to be uncovered, suggesting that there is substantial genetic risk conferred by other forms of genetic variation. There are over one million short tandem repeats (STRs) in the genome, and their link to AD risk has not been assessed.