Summary
Background
Recent studies suggest that Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin sensitization is a risk factor for asthma. However, there is a paucity of epidemiologic evidence on adult‐onset asthma ...in community‐based populations.
Objective
We sought to evaluate the epidemiology and the clinical significance of staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization in community‐based adult populations.
Methods
The present analyses were performed using the baseline data set of Korean adult population surveys, consisting of 1080 adults (mean age = 60.2 years) recruited from an urban and a rural community. Questionnaires, methacholine challenge tests, and allergen skin tests were performed for defining clinical phenotypes. Sera were analysed for total IgE and enterotoxin‐specific IgE using ImmunoCAP.
Results
Staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization (≥ 0.35 kU/L) had a prevalence of 27.0%. Risk factors were identified as male sex, current smoking, advanced age (≥ 61 years), and inhalant allergen sensitization. Current asthma was mostly adult onset (≥ 18 years old) and showed independent associations with high enterotoxin‐specific IgE levels in multivariate logistic regression tests. In multivariate linear regressions, staphylococcal enterotoxin‐specific IgE level was identified as the major determinant factor for total IgE level.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance
Staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization was independently associated with adult‐onset asthma in adult community populations. Strong correlations between the enterotoxin‐specific IgE and total IgE levels support the clinical significance. The present findings warrant further studies for the precise roles of staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization in the asthma pathogenesis.
A memory cell consisting of a Pt/VO2/Pt switch element and a Pt/NiO/Pt memory element connected in series. By applying a voltage higher than Vth of 0.6 V, the switch element reaches the on state and ...the cell can be accessed. Since reset and set voltages are higher than Vth, information can be written by simply applying an appropriate voltage to a selected cell. By applying a voltage lower than Vth to the other cells, we can keep the other cells in the off state and prevent interference between the selected cell and the others.
Accurate and timely classification of diseases during strawberry planting can help growers deal with them in timely manner, thereby reducing losses. However, the classification of strawberry diseases ...in real planting environments is facing severe challenges, including complex planting environments, multiple disease categories with small differences, and so on. Although recent mobile vision technology based deep learning has achieved some success in overcoming the above problems, a key problem is how to construct a non-destructive, fast and convenient method to improve the efficiency of strawberry disease identification for the multi-region, multi-space and multi-time classification requirements. We develop and evaluate a rapid, low-cost system for classifying diseases in strawberry cultivation. This involves designing an easy-to-use cloud-based strawberry disease identification system, combined with our novel self-supervised multi-network fusion classification model, which consists of a Location network, a Feedback network and a Classification network to identify the categories of common strawberry diseases. With the help of a novel self-supervision mechanism, the model can effectively identify diseased regions of strawberry disease images without the need for annotations such as bounding boxes. Using accuracy, precision, recall and F1 to evaluate the classification effect, the results of the test set are 92.48, 90.68, 86.32 and 88.45%, respectively. Compared with popular Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) and five other methods, our network achieves better disease classification effect. Currently, the client (mini program) has been released on the WeChat platform. The mini program has perfect classification effect in the actual test, which verifies the feasibility and effectiveness of the system, and can provide a reference for the intelligent research and application of strawberry disease identification.
Objectives
High salt intake results in various harmful effects on human health including hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and reduced bone density. Despite this, there are very few studies in ...the literature that have investigated the association between sodium intake and osteoarthritis (OA). Therefore, we aimed to explore these associations in a Korean population.
Methods
This study used cross-sectional data from adult subjects aged 50–75 years from two consecutive periods of the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey V–VII (2010–2011 and 2014–2016). The estimated 24-hour urinary sodium excretion (24HUNa) was used as a surrogate marker of salt intake. In the 2010–2011 dataset, knee OA (KOA) was defined as the presence of the radiographic features of OA and knee pain. The association between KOA and salt intake was analysed using univariable and multivariable logistic regression methods. For the sensitivity analysis, the same procedures were conducted on subjects with self-reported OA (SR-OA) with knee pain in the 2010–2011 dataset and any site SR-OA in the 2014–2016 dataset.
Results
Subjects with KOA had significantly lower energy intake, but higher 24HUNa than those without KOA. The restricted cubic spline plots demonstrated a J-shaped distribution between 24HUNa and prevalent KOA. When 24HUNa was stratified into five groups (<2, 2–3, 3–4, 4–5 and ≥5 g/day), subjects with high sodium intake (≥5 g/day) had a higher risk of KOA (odds ratio OR = 1.64, 95% confidence interval CI 1.03–2.62) compared to the reference group (3–4 g/day) after adjusting for covariates. The sensitivity analysis based on SR-OA with knee pain showed that high sodium intake was also significantly associated with increased prevalence of OA (OR = 1.84, 95% CI 1.10–3.10) compared with the reference group. Regarding SR-OA at any site in the 2014–2016 dataset, estimated 24HUNa showed a significantly positive association with the presence of SR-OA after adjusting for potential confounders.
Conclusions
This nationwide Korean representative study showed a significant association between symptomatic KOA and high sodium intake (≥5 g/day). Avoidance of a diet high in salt might be beneficial as a non-pharmacologic therapy for OA.
The cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis has important clinical implications for cancer therapeutics because of the proposed role of CSCs in chemoresistance. The aim of this study was to investigate ...changes in the CSC populations before and after primary systemic therapy (PST) and their prognostic role in human breast cancer.
Paired samples (before and after PST) of breast cancer tissue were obtained from clinical stage II or III patients (n=92) undergoing PST with the regimen of doxorubicin plus docetaxel (AD) (n=50) or doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide (AC) (n=42) and subsequent breast resection. The proportions of putative CSCs with CD44+/CD24- or aldehyde dehydrogenase 1+ (ALDH1+) phenotypes were determined by immunohistochemistry.
A higher proportion of CD44+/CD24- tumour cells and ALDH1 positivity in pre-chemotherapy tissue was correlated with higher histologic grade, oestrogen receptor (ER) negativity, high Ki-67 proliferation index and basal-like subtype of breast cancer. Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 positivity in pre-chemotherapy biopsy was also associated with a higher rate of pathologic complete response following PST. In comparisons of putative CSC populations before and after PST, the proportions of CD44+/CD24- and ALDH1+ tumour cells were significantly increased after PST. The cases with increased CD44+/CD24- tumour cell populations after PST showed high Ki-67 proliferation index in post-chemotherapy specimens and those with increased ALDH1+ tumour cell population after PST were associated with ER negativity and p53 overexpression. Furthermore, cases showing such an increase had significantly shorter disease-free survival time than those with no change or a reduced number of CSCs, and the survival difference was most notable with regard to the changes of ALDH1+ tumour cell population in the patients who received AC regimen.
The present study provides the clinical evidence that the putative CSCs in breast cancer are chemoresistant and are associated with tumour progression, emphasising the need for targeting of CSCs in the breast cancer therapeutics.
Summary
Introduction
Post‐colonoscopy colorectal cancers (PCCRCs) have been proposed as a performance metric for colonoscopy quality assurance programs. Previously, there was no standardised ...terminology or reporting methods. In 2018, the World Endoscopy Organization (WEO) advised standardised definitions and prevalence calculation methodology.
Aims
To assess PCCRC burden using WEO standardised methods, to explore causes of heterogeneity, and to review changes in prevalence over time
Methods
We updated a prior systematic review by searching Ovid MEDLINE and EMBASE databases from 1 January 2013 to 31 January 2021 to identify population‐based studies (or multicentre studies representative of the local population) reporting PCCRC prevalence (PROSPERO CRD42020183796). Two authors independently determined study eligibility, assessed quality, and extracted data. We estimated the PCCRC 3‐year prevalence using WEO‐recommended methodologies and investigated between‐study sources of heterogeneity. We examined changes in prevalence over time.
Results
Fifteen studies reporting on 25 872 PCCRC cases met eligibility criteria. Pooled PCCRC 3 year prevalence was 8.2% (95% CI = 6.9%‐9.4%, I2 = 98.2%) across four European studies using WEO precise methodology. Proximal PCCRC prevalence was greater than distal (9.7% 95% CI = 7.0%‐12.4% vs 5.4% 95% CI = 2.9%‐7.8%, I2 = 99.2%). Seven studies reporting PCCRC rates over time showed no consistent trend: four showed a decrease, one an increase and two were unchanged. Between‐study heterogeneity was high.
Conclusions
Pooled 3‐year PCCRC prevalence was 8.2% (95% CI = 6.9%‐9.4%). Despite WEO standardised methodology to define and calculate PCCRC rates, there was significant heterogeneity among studies. Comparing rates between populations remains challenging and additional studies are needed to better understand the global PCCRC burden to inform quality assurance programs.
Four studies used WEO endorsed nomenclature and methods to define PCCRC prevalence. Between‐study heterogeneity was high, suggesting that consistent methods for determining PCCRC prevalence are necessary but may not be sufficient for benchmarking. Additional population‐based studies using standardised nomenclature from different countries are required to more accurately assess the global burden of PCCRC.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory autoimmune disease, characterized by chronic, erosive polyarthritis and by the presence of various autoantibodies in serum and synovial fluid. ...Since rheumatoid factor (RF) was first described, a number of other autoantibodies have been discovered in RA patients. The autoantigens recognized by these autoantibodies include cartilage components, chaperones, enzymes, nuclear proteins and citrullinated proteins. However, the clinical significances and pathogenic roles of these antibodies are largely unknown except for RF and anticitrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs), whose clinical usefulness has been acknowledged due to their acceptable sensitivities and specificities, and prognostic values. This review presents and discusses the current state of the art regarding RF and ACPA in RA.
Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) leads to loss of vision in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in adult population over 50 years old. In this study, we developed ...intravenously administered, nanoparticulate, targeted nonviral retinal gene delivery systems for the management of CNV. CNV was induced in Brown Norway rats using a 532 nm laser. We engineered transferrin, arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) peptide or dual-functionalized poly-(lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles to target delivery of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) intraceptor plasmid to CNV lesions. Anti-VEGF intraceptor is the only intracellularly acting VEGF inhibitory modality. The results of the study show that nanoparticles allow targeted delivery to the neovascular eye but not the control eye on intravenous administration. Functionalizing the nanoparticle surface with transferrin, a linear RGD peptide or both increased the retinal delivery of nanoparticles and subsequently the intraceptor gene expression in retinal vascular endothelial cells, photoreceptor outer segments and retinal pigment epithelial cells when compared to nonfunctionalized nanoparticles. Most significantly, the CNV areas were significantly smaller in rats treated with functionalized nanoparticles as compared to the ones treated with vehicle or nonfunctionalized nanoparticles. Thus, surface-functionalized nanoparticles allow targeted gene delivery to the neovascular eye on intravenous administration and inhibit the progression of laser-induced CNV in a rodent model.
Prediction of the
(IDH1)-mutation and 1p/19q-codeletion status of World Health Organization grade ll gliomas preoperatively may assist in predicting prognosis and planning treatment strategies. Our ...aim was to characterize the histogram and texture analyses of apparent diffusion coefficient and fractional anisotropy maps to determine
-mutation and 1p/19q-codeletion status in World Health Organization grade II gliomas.
Ninety-three patients with World Health Organization grade II gliomas with known
mutation and 1p/19q-codeletion status (18
wild-type, 45
mutant and no 1p/19q codeletion, 30
mutant and 1p/19q codeleted tumors) underwent DTI. ROIs were drawn on every section of the T2-weighted images and transferred to the ADC and the fractional anisotropy maps to derive volume-based data of the entire tumor. Histogram and texture analyses were correlated with the
-mutation and 1p/19q-codeletion status. The predictive powers of imaging features for
wild-type tumors and 1p/19q-codeletion status in
-mutant subgroups were evaluated using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator.
Various histogram and texture parameters differed significantly according to
-mutation and 1p/19q-codeletion status. The skewness and energy of ADC, 10th and 25th percentiles, and correlation of fractional anisotropy were independent predictors of an
wild-type in the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator. The area under the receiver operating curve for the prediction model was 0.853. The skewness and cluster shade of ADC, energy, and correlation of fractional anisotropy were independent predictors of a 1p/19q codeletion in
-mutant tumors in the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator. The area under the receiver operating curve was 0.807.
Whole-tumor histogram and texture features of the ADC and fractional anisotropy maps are useful for predicting the
-mutation and 1p/19q-codeletion status in World Health Organization grade II gliomas.
Summary
In this population-based cohort study on comparative osteoporotic fracture risks between different biologic disease-modifying drugs among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), we did not ...find a significant difference in the risk of osteoporotic fractures between RA patients receiving TNF inhibitors versus abatacept or tocilizumab.
Introduction
We aimed to investigate the comparative risk of osteoporotic fractures between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who initiated TNF inhibitors (TNFis) versus abatacept or tocilizumab.
Methods
Using the Korea National Health Insurance Service datasets from 2002 to 2016, RA patients who initiated TNFis, abatacept, or tocilizumab were identified. The primary outcome was a composite end point of non-vertebral fractures and hospitalized vertebral fractures; secondary outcomes were two components of the primary outcome and fractures occurring at the humerus/forearm. Propensity score (PS) matching with a variable ratio up to 10 TNFi initiators per 1 comparator drug initiator was used to adjust for > 50 baseline confounders. We estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of fractures comparing TNFi initiators to abatacept and to tocilizumab by Cox proportional hazard models stratified by a matching ratio.
Results
After PS-matching, 2307 TNFi initiators PS-matched on 588 abatacept initiators, and 2462 TNFi initiators on 640 tocilizumab initiators were included. A total of 77 fractures occurred during a mean follow-up of 454 days among TNFi and abatacept initiators and 83 fractures during 461 days among TNFi and tocilizumab initiators. The PS-matched HR (95% CI) was 0.91 (0.48–1.71) comparing TNFi versus abatacept initiators, and 1.00 (0.55–1.83) comparing TNFi versus tocilizumab initiators. Analysis on vertebral and non-vertebral fractures showed similar results.
Conclusions
In this nationally representative cohort, we did not find a significant difference in the risk of fractures between TNFi initiators versus abatacept or tocilizumab among RA patients.
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