Secreted LGALS3BP facilitates distant metastasis of breast cancer.

Background: Patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer (BC) can be treated with endocrine therapy targeting ER, however, metastatic recurrence occurs in 25% of the patients who have initially been treated. Secreted proteins from tumors play important roles in cancer metastasis but previous methods for isolating secretory proteins had limitations in identifying novel targets.

Methods: We applied an in situ secretory protein labeling technique using TurboID to analyze secretome from tamoxifen-resistant (TAMR) BC.

Fedratinib combined with ropeginterferon alfa-2b in patients with myelofibrosis (FEDORA): study protocol for a multicentre, open-label, Bayesian phase II trial.

Background: Myelofibrosis (MF) is a clonal haematopoietic disease, with median overall survival for patients with primary MF only 6.5 years. The most frequent gene mutation found in patients is JAK2, causing constitutive activation of the kinase and activation of downstream signalling.

Isolation of New Strains of Lactic Acid Bacteria from the Vaginal Microbiome of Postmenopausal Women and their Probiotic Characteristics.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB), traditionally consumed as fermented foods, are now being applied to the medical field beyond health-functional food as probiotics. Therefore, it is necessary to continuously discover and evaluate new strains with suitable probiotic characteristics, mainly focusing on safety. In this study, we isolated eight new strains from postmenopausal vaginal fluid using culturomics approaches, an emerging area of interest.

Wintering loons in South Korea face an ongoing threat from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Shifting sources and potential DNA damage.

Diving birds, particularly those sharing coastal habitats with fishing grounds, are at risk from oil pollution. Despite documented cases of bird mortality, the specific role of oil pollution in these death remains unclear. To address this knowledge gap, this study examined polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination, its sources, and its impact on loon health.

Longitudinal relations among online social activities, peer relationship problems, and well-being in children: The moderating effect of extraversion.

Prior research has predominantly examined the relations between online social activities (OSA) and mental health among adolescents and adults, with comparatively less emphasis placed on children, particularly concerning positive indicators of subjective health, such as well-being. The relations between OSA and well-being are likely intricate and necessitate meticulously designed methodologies to investigate the associations and their underlying mechanisms. This longitudinal study employed the random intercept cross-lagged panel models to explore the dynamic relations between OSA and well-being, considering peer relationship problems as a potential mediator and extraversion as a moderator of the associations, while distinguishing between- and within-person effects.

Environmental noise exposure and autoimmune diseases: Evidence from a national cohort study.

Exposure to environmental noise is an inevitable factor and may pose a risk to health conditions, even potentially affecting the immune system. However, the relationship between noise exposure and autoimmune diseases has not been well explored. This study aimed to investigate whether noise exposure is associated with an increased risk of autoimmune diseases in South Korea.

A gender breakdown of unexpected benefits generated by work from home in STEM fields - A qualitative analysis of the WiMPBME Task Group survey.

Background: Working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic was perceived differently by men and women working in STEM fields. The aim of this paper is to highlight the unexpected benefits generated by working from home during the pandemic.

Methods: Qualitative methodology was used to analyze data, collected via survey.

Advanced control parameter optimization in DC motors and liquid level systems.

In recent times, there has been notable progress in control systems across various industrial domains, necessitating effective management of dynamic systems for optimal functionality. A crucial research focus has emerged in optimizing control parameters to augment controller performance. Among the plethora of optimization algorithms, the mountain gazelle optimizer (MGO) stands out for its capacity to emulate the agile movements and behavioral strategies observed in mountain gazelles.

Progress towards the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in four counties of Eastern Equatoria State, Republic of South Sudan.

Background: Trachoma is targeted by the World Health Organization (WHO) for elimination as a public health problem by 2030. Trachoma impact surveys using standardised methodology are recommended to monitor progress towards elimination and to determine eligibility for continued surgery, antibiotics, facial cleanliness, and environmental improvement (SAFE) interventions. From 2007 to 2015, four counties of Eastern Equatoria State, South Sudan, received three to five rounds of mass drug administration with antibiotics.

Geospatial mapping of drug-resistant tuberculosis prevalence in Africa at national and sub-national levels.

Objective: To map subnational and local prevalence of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) across Africa.

Methods: We assembled a geolocated dataset from 173 sources across 31 African countries, comprising drug susceptibility test results and covariate data from publicly available databases. We used Bayesian model-based geostatistical framework with multivariate Bayesian logistic regression model to estimate DR-TB prevalence at lower administrative levels.

Triple-action cancer therapy using laser-activated NO-releasing metallomicellar nanophotosensitizer for pyroptosis-driven immune reprogramming.

Cancer photoimmunotherapy represents an intelligent and highly efficient therapeutic approach that harnesses the photothermal effect to precisely target and ablate tumor tissues, while simultaneously modulating the immune system to achieve tumor elimination. The integration of multifunctional therapeutic modalities for combined photoimmunotherapy requires advanced drug delivery systems. However, the design of a single nanoagent capable of serving as a multifunctional nanophotosensitizer remains a significant challenge.

Ectopic expression of DNMT3L in human trophoblast stem cells restores features of the placental methylome.

The placental DNA methylation landscape is unique, with widespread partially methylated domains (PMDs). The placental "methylome" is conserved across mammals, a shared feature of many cancers, and extensively studied for links with pregnancy complications. Human trophoblast stem cells (hTSCs) offer exciting potential for functional studies to better understand this epigenetic feature; however, whether the hTSC epigenome recapitulates primary trophoblast remains unclear.

PFAS contamination in tap water: Target and suspect screening of zwitterionic, cationic, and anionic species across Canada and beyond.

This study investigated the occurrence of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including anionic, cationic, and zwitterionic compounds, in drinking water. Between 2021-2023, an expanded list of 76 target PFAS was screened in tap water samples mainly from Canada, but also including tap water samples from the Eastern United States, Mexico, South America (Argentina), the Caribbean (Dominican Republic, Cuba), Africa (Algeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Morocco, Rwanda, Tunisia), Europe (France, Greece, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) and Asia (Japan, Vietnam, Iran, and Türkiye). An additional ∼ 200 suspect-target PFAS were screened using high-resolution Orbitrap mass spectrometry.

Superstable lipid vacuoles endow cartilage with its shape and biomechanics.

Conventionally, the size, shape, and biomechanics of cartilages are determined by their voluminous extracellular matrix. By contrast, we found that multiple murine cartilages consist of lipid-filled cells called lipochondrocytes. Despite resembling adipocytes, lipochondrocytes were molecularly distinct and produced lipids exclusively through de novo lipogenesis.

Mild behavioral impairment in idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder and Lewy body disease continuum.

To investigate the clinical impact of mild behavioral impairment (MBI) in a predefined cohort with Lewy body disease (LBD) continuum. Eighty-four patients in the LBD continuum participated in this study, including 35 patients with video-polysomnography-confirmed idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) and 49 clinically established LBD. Evaluations included the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS), neuropsychological tests, and MBI Checklist (MBI-C).

Predictive Methods and Probabilistic Mapping of Subcortical Brain Components in Fossil Carnivora.

Paleoneurology reconstructs the evolutionary history of nervous systems through direct observations from the fossil record and comparative data from extant species. Although this approach can provide direct evidence of phylogenetic links among species, it is constrained by the availability and quality of data that can be gleaned from the fossil record. Here, we sought to translate brain component relationships in a sample of extant Carnivora to make inferences about brain structure in fossil species.

Biomarkers.

Background: Normative percentile (NP) quantifies brain atrophy by comparing regional brain volumes of a subject against age and sex-matched cognitively normal populations. Accurate intracranial volume (ICV) adjustment is vital in NP quantification to minimize the effect of an individual's head size. However, which intracranial volume adjustment method yields reliable normative percentiles remains unclear.

Biomarkers.

Background: Glymphatic system dysfunction as characterized by increased MRI-visible Perivascular Spaces (PVS) is speculated to play a role in the acceleration of amyloid accumulation in Alzheimer's Disease (AD). However, while PVS is also prevalent amongst Vascular Dementia (VD), the pathological distinctions between regional PVS in AD- and VD-driven cohorts remain largely unknown. Through a mixed dementia cohort, we examined these pathology-driven localization patterns via automated PVS segmentations from T2-weighted MRI.

Biomarkers.

Background: To investigate the neuroanatomical characteristics at the whole-brain level associated with progression from amyloid-positive preclinical to prodromal Alzheimer's disease (AD) in relation to amyloid deposition and regional atrophy.

Method: We included 45 participants with amyloid-positive preclinical AD and 135 participants with prodromal AD matched 1:3 by age, sex, and education, from participants in the Korean Longitudinal Study on Cognitive Aging and Dementia and visitors to the dementia clinic of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. All participants underwent F-florbetaben positron emission tomography and 3D structural T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging.

Biomarkers.

Background: Spectrum Domain-Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT) is a non-invasive technology that acquires cross-sectional images of retinal structures allowing neural fundus integrity assessment. Macular thickness and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness measured by an SD-OCT have been used as a indicator of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). However which portion of retinal RNFL is the most sensitive area among normal control, aMCI and AD is not clear yet.

Biomarkers.

Background: Clinical diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) can be challenging, requiring an accurate tool dedicated to this diagnostic hurdle. Since FTD exhibits distinct regional atrophy patterns on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), AI-aided automated brain volume analysis could enhance the clinical diagnostic assessment of FTD, including the detection of the disease and the classification of subtypes, which encompass behavioral variant (BV), semantic variant (SV), and progressive non-fluent aphasia (PNFA). In this study, we leverage automated brain volumetry software to approach both FTD detection and the differential diagnosis among its subtypes.

Biomarkers.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) presents typically gray matter atrophy and white matter abnormalities in neuroimaging, suggesting that the gray-white matter boundary could be altered in individuals with AD. The purpose of this study was to explore differences in gray-white matter boundary Z-score (gwBZ) and its tissue volume (gwBTV) between patients with AD, amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and cognitively normal (CN) elderly participants.

Method: Three-dimensional T1-weight images of a total of 227 participants were prospectively obtained to map gwBZ and gwBTV on images using a 3-T MR system.

Biomarkers.

Background: We aimed to investigate whether the quantitative analysis of plasma biomarkers could distinguish the pathology stages indicated by positron emission tomography (PET)-based Thal phase of amyloid and Braak stage of tau.

Method: A total of 232 participants were enrolled, all of whom underwent F-florbetaben (FBB), F-flortaucipir (FTP) PET, plasma p-tau217/np-tau217 ratio, p-tau217, and Aβ ratio. To differentiate between image-based Thal phases and Braak stages, region-of-interests (ROIs) were constructed, and cut-off points were established at each stage using Gaussian mixture modeling.

Biomarkers.

Background: In the era of disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer's disease (AD), accurate detection of underlying AD pathology is critical. Blood-based biomarkers for AD are increasingly available, but their diagnostic performance is not well-understood across the spectrum of neurodegenerative disease, especially when AD presents as co-pathology in non-AD syndromes. We investigated the diagnostic performance of three plasma biomarkers (phosphorylated tau 217 [p-tau217], neurofilament light chain [NfL], and glial fibrillary acidic protein [GFAP]) to detect AD, confirmed by autopsy, across 12 clinical neurodegenerative syndromes with various underlying etiologies.

Biomarkers.

Background: Brain volume is influenced by several factors that can change throughout the day. In addition, most of these factors are influenced by sleep quality. This study investigated diurnal variation in brain volume and its relation to overnight sleep quality.