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Gna Ahn,1,2,* Hyo-Won Yoon,1,* Ju Hwan Jeong,3,4,* Yang-Hoon Kim,1,* Woo-Ri Shin,1,5,6 Min-Suk Song,3 Ji-Young Ahn1 1Department of Microbiology, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Republic of Korea; 2Center for Ecology and Environmental Toxicology, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Republic of Korea; 3Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine and Medical Research Institute, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Republic of Korea; 4Functional Biomaterial Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Jeongeup, Republic of Korea; 5Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; 6Department of Animal Bioscience & Integrated Biotechnology, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Ji-Young Ahn; Min-Suk Song, Tel +82-43-261-2301 ; +82-43-261-3778, Email jyahn@chungbuk.ac.kr; songminsuk@chungbuk.ac.krPurpose: Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) derived from Gram-negative bacteria naturally serve as a heterologous nano-engineering platform, functioning as effective multi-use nanovesicles for diagnostics, vaccines, and treatments against pathogens. To apply refined OMVs for human theranostic applications, we developed naturally exposed receptor-binding domain (RBD) OMVs grafted with antigen 43 as a minimal modular system targeting angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).Methods: We constructed E. coli-derived OMVs using the antigen 43 autotransporter system to display RBD referred to as viral mimetic Ag43β 700_RBD OMVs. Based on this, Ag43β 700_RBD protein were expressed onto Escherichia coli (E. coli) membrane. Artificial viral mimetic Ag43β 700_RBD OMVs were fabricated by self-assembly through membrane disruption of the Ag43β 700_RBD E. coli using a chemical detergent mainly containing lysozyme. Through serial centrifugation to purify fabricated OMVs, spherical Ag43β 700_RBD OMVs with an average diameter of 218 nm were obtained. The confirmation of the RBD expressed on OMVs was performed using trypsin treatment.Results: Our viral mimetic Ag43β 700_RBD OMVs had an impact on the theranostic studies: (i) angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 blockade assay, (ii) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the OMVs, and (iii) intracellular uptake and neutralization assay. As serodiagnostic surrogates, Ag43β 700_RBD OMVs were applied to ACE2 blockade and OMVs-ELISA assay to quantify neutralization antibodies (nAbs). They reduced the robust immune response in vitro, especially IL-6 and IL-1β. Experiments in mice, Ag43β 700_RBD OMVs was successfully proven to be safe and effective; they produced a detectable level of nAbs with 39– 58% neutralisation and reduced viral titres in the lungs and brain without weight loss.Conclusion: The developed viral mimetic Ag43β 700_RBD OMVs may therefore be applied as a nanovesicle-theranostic platform for further emerging infectious disease-related diagnosis, vaccination, and treatment. Keywords: outer membrane vesicle, antigen 43 autotransporters, targeted delivery vehicle, theranostics, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2

Backgrounds/aims: In recent years, many minimally invasive techniques have been introduced to reduce the number of ports in laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), offering benefits such as reduced postoperative pain and improved cosmetic outcomes. ArtiSential ® is a new multi-degree-of-freedom articulating laparoscopic instrument that incorporates the ergonomic features of robotic surgery, potentially overcoming the spatial limitations of laparoscopic surgery. ArtiSential ® LC can be performed using only two ports. This study aims to compare the surgical outcomes of ArtiSential ® LC with those of single-fulcrum LC., Methods: This retrospective study compared ArtiSential ® LC and single-fulcrum LC among LCs performed for gallbladder (GB) stones at the same center, analyzing the basic characteristics of patients; intraoperative outcomes, such as operative time, estimated blood loss, and intraoperative GB rupture; and postoperative outcomes, such as length of hospital stay, incidence of postoperative complications, and postoperative pain., Results: A total of 88 and 63 patients underwent ArtiSential ® LC and single-fulcrum LC for GB stones, respectively. Analysis showed that ArtiSential ® LC resulted in significantly fewer cases of surgeries longer than 60 minutes (30 vs. 35 min, p = 0.009) and intraoperative GB ruptures (2 vs. 10, p = 0.007). In terms of postoperative outcomes, ArtiSential ® LC showed better results in the respective visual analog scale (VAS) scores immediately after surgery (2.59 vs. 3.73, p < 0.001), and before discharge (1.44 vs. 2.02, p = 0.01)., Conclusions: ArtiSential ® LC showed better results in terms of surgical outcomes, especially postoperative pain. Thus, ArtiSential ® LC is considered the better option for patients, compared to single-fulcrum LC.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of buspirone as an adjunctive therapy for alleviating anxiety symptoms in patients with depressive disorders who are already taking antidepressants., Methods: This was an open-label prospective multicenter non-interventional observational study conducted over 12 weeks. We enrolled 180 patients diagnosed with depressive disorders according to DSM-5 criteria and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) scores ≥ 18. Participants were already taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or serotoninnorepinephrine reuptake inhibitors and were prescribed adjunctive buspirone. Efficacy was assessed using HAMA, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), Clinical Global Impression Scale-Improvement, Clinical Global Impression Scale-Severity, Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), and WHO-5 Well-Being Index., Results: The efficacy analysis included 161 patients. HAMA scores decreased significantly from 25.2 ± 6.7 at baseline to 15.4 ± 8.6 at 12 weeks ( p < 0.001), whereas HAMD scores decreased from 19.4 ± 4.6 to 12.7 ± 5.7 ( p < 0.001). WHO-5 and SDS scores showed significant improvements. The HAMA response rate was 39.1% and the remission rate was 13.7% at 12 weeks. Adverse drug reactions were reported in 3.7% of participants. Subgroup analyses showed no significant differences in treatment response based on buspirone dosage, baseline anxiety/depression severity, or benzodiazepine use., Conclusion: Adjunctive buspirone therapy effectively improved anxiety symptoms in depressed patients taking antidepressants, regardless of baseline symptom severity or buspirone dosage. The treatment was well-tolerated with few adverse events. Future studies using a control group are needed.

This study investigates the role of 25-hydroxycholesterol (25HC), a metabolite produced by cholesterol hydroxylase encoded by the Ch25h gene, in modulating microglial function and its potential implications in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. We demonstrated that 25HC impairs microglial surveillance, reduces phagocytic capacity, and increases the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. In vivo two-photon microscopy revealed that 25HC administration diminishes microglial response to brain lesions, while flow cytometry confirmed reduced phagocytosis in both in vivo and in vitro models. Additionally, amyloid-beta (Aβ) was shown to upregulate Ch25h expression and elevate 25HC levels in microglia, exacerbating these functional impairments. Mechanistically, 25HC was found to enhance cholesterol esterification, disrupt cell membrane dynamics, and further reduce microglial mobility and phagocytosis. Treatment with Avasimibe, a cholesterol esterification inhibitor, restored membrane dynamics and microglial function, leading to attenuated AD pathology in a 5XFAD mouse model. These findings suggest that 25HC-induced changes in microglial function contribute to AD progression, and targeting cholesterol metabolism could offer therapeutic potential., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethical approval: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Flexible sensors are revolutionizing wearable and implantable devices, with conductive hydrogels emerging as key materials due to their biomimetic structure, biocompatibility, tunable transparency, and stimuli-responsive electrical properties. However, their fragility and limited durability pose significant challenges for broader applications. Drawing inspiration from the self-healing capabilities of natural organisms like mussels, researchers are embedding self-repair mechanisms into hydrogels to improve their reliability and lifespan. This review highlights recent advances in self-healing (SH) conductive hydrogels, focusing on synthesis methods, healing mechanisms, and strategies to enhance multifunctionality. It also explores their wide-ranging applications, including in vivo signal monitoring, wearable biochemical sensors, supercapacitors, flexible displays, triboelectric nanogenerators, and implantable bioelectronics. While progress has been made, challenges remain in balancing self-healing efficiency, mechanical strength, and sensing performance. This review offers insights into overcoming these obstacles and discusses future research directions for advancing SH hydrogel-based bioelectronics, aiming to pave the way for durable, high-performance devices in next-generation wearable and implantable technologies.

Objective: This study aimed to prepare oxygen-microbubbles incorporating ferrous porphyrin to emulate the oxygen-capturing ability of hemoglobin porphyrin in red blood cells., Results: We synthesized poly(2-hydroxyethyl aspartamide) (PHEA) grafted with ferrous porphyrins (Iron-P-PHEA) and created microbubbles using 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine. These microbubbles trapped oxygen and retained it over a 2 h period. The O 2 -microbubbles demonstrated an enhanced photoacoustic effect as an ultrasound contrast agent, as confirmed by Doppler ultrasound testing., Conclusions: The innovative strategy for O 2 -microbubble preparation enhances the efficiency of targeted delivery in molecular optical and ultrasound imaging., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors have not disclosed any competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and psychiatric disorders often coexist, affecting patient outcomes and treatment responses. This relationship, particularly the risk of psychiatric conditions in OSA patients, merits further investigation considering age and sex differences., Methods: Utilizing the South Korean National Health Insurance claims database (2010-2019), this nationwide-population-based, retrospective study identified OSA patients and matched them with controls based on age and sex. Psychiatric disorders were defined using ICD-10 codes for depression and anxiety. Multivariable logistic regression models, adjusted for demographics and comorbidities, evaluated the association between OSA and psychiatric disorders, with detailed subgroup analyses by age and sex., Results: Among the 103,785 matched pairs, OSA patients had significantly higher odds of depressive disorders [adjusted OR = 1.62 (95 % CI: 1.60-1.63)] and anxiety disorders [adjusted OR = 1.56 (95 % CI: 1.54-1.58)] compared to controls. Females with OSA were particularly susceptible to these psychiatric conditions. The risk of psychiatric disorders in OSA patients increased with age, peaking for depression between 60 and 79 years and for anxiety between 40 and 59 years, before slightly declining in the oldest cohort., Conclusion: OSA is significantly associated with an increased risk of depressive and anxiety disorders, with pronounced vulnerabilities observed among females and specific age groups. These findings underscore the need for age- and sex-specific considerations in managing OSA and its psychiatric comorbidities, emphasizing a more individualized approach to treatment to enhance patient outcomes., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None declared., (Copyright © 2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background and Aims: Antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) are the primary treatment for maintaining sinus rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). While amiodarone is mainly used in patients with structural heart disease, its effects on all-cause mortality compared to other AADs remain unclear. Methods: This study utilized nationwide healthcare insurance data involving patients with new-onset AF from 2013 to 2019. We identified patients who were prescribed with AADs ≥ six months within the first year of diagnosis (medication possession ratio ≥ 0.5). All-cause mortality was assessed between amiodarone and other AAD users up to three years post-AAD-prescription. Results: Among 770,977 new-onset AF patients, 12,243 were amiodarone users and 33,036 were prescribed with other AADs. Significant differences in mean age and prevalence of medical conditions such as heart failure, myocardial infarction, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, and dyslipidemia were noted. After propensity score matching, 12,017 amiodarone users were compared to an equal number of other AAD users with similar baseline characteristics. Multivariate analysis indicated a 2.9-fold increase in all-cause mortality for amiodarone users (hazard ratio = 2.88; 95% confidence interval = 2.64-3.15; p < 0.001). This increased risk was more pronounced among women compared with men (hazard ratio = 3.38 vs. 2.56; p for interaction = 0.004). Amiodarone was associated with increased mortality in AF patients with heart failure and myocardial infarction. Conclusions: Amiodarone, compared with non-amiodarone AADs, was associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality in AAD-naive new-onset AF patients. Increased all-cause mortality associated with amiodarone was consistent throughout various subgroups. Significant interaction was observed with the sex category, with women being more vulnerable to amiodarone.

An important aspect of precision medicine focuses on characterizing diverse responses to treatment due to unique patient characteristics, also known as heterogeneous treatment effects (HTE) or individualized treatment effects (ITE), and identifying beneficial subgroups with enhanced treatment effects. Estimating HTE with right-censored data in observational studies remains challenging. In this paper, we propose a pseudo-ITE-based framework for analyzing HTE in survival data, which includes a group of meta-learners for estimating HTE, a variable importance metric for identifying predictive variables to HTE, and a data-adaptive procedure to select subgroups with enhanced treatment effects. We evaluate the finite sample performance of the framework under various observational study settings. Furthermore, we applied the proposed methods to analyze the treatment heterogeneity of a written asthma action plan (WAAP) on time-to-ED (Emergency Department) return due to asthma exacerbation using a large asthma electronic health records dataset with visit records expanded from pre- to post-COVID-19 pandemic. We identified vulnerable subgroups of patients with poorer asthma outcomes but enhanced benefits from WAAP and characterized patient profiles. Our research provides valuable insights for healthcare providers on the strategic distribution of WAAP, particularly during disruptive public health crises, ultimately improving the management and control of pediatric asthma., (© 2025 The Author(s). Statistics in Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Introduction: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is considered a preclinical manifestation of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recent research suggests that subtle cognitive changes in SCD are linked to an increased risk of clinical decline. This study investigates the longitudinal trajectories of both objective and self-reported cognitive functions in individuals with SCD, with a focus on the impact of subtle cognitive impairment (SCI)., Methods: A total of 107 individuals with SCD, with at least two annual follow-ups, were included in this study. We analyzed the trajectories of both objective and subjective cognitive functions, assessed changes in medial temporal lobe regional volumes, and compared baseline AD biomarkers between SCD individuals with SCI (n = 22, SCI group) and without SCI (n = 85)., Results: SCD individuals with SCI showed a faster decline in objective cognitive function over time compared to those without SCI, who exhibited cognitive improvement. Self-reported cognitive complaints showed no differences between groups at baseline or in annual changes over time. The SCI group had lower baseline entorhinal cortical volumes and greater volume reductions over time, and also exhibited more abnormalities in AD biomarkers, including higher amyloid PET positivity, a lower Aβ 42/40 ratio, and elevated p-tau181., Conclusion: SCI status in SCD individuals is associated with significant cognitive decline, along with more abnormal AD biomarkers. These findings suggest that early identification of SCI status in individuals with SCD may improve the prediction of cognitive decline. However, self-reported cognitive complaints may have a limited role in monitoring clinical changes in SCD., (S. Karger AG, Basel.)

SARS-CoV-2 infection can lead to severe COVID-19, particularly in elderly individuals and those with compromised immunity. Cellular senescence has been implicated as a key pathogenic mechanism. This study investigated the therapeutic potential of regorafenib, a previously characterized senomorphic drug, for severe COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 virus-infected K18-hACE2 mice, overexpressing the human ACE2 receptor, exhibited 100% mortality by 10 days post infection. Regorafenib treatment significantly improved survival rates, approximately 43% remaining alive. Mechanistically, regorafenib effectively suppressed type I and II interferon and cytokine signaling. Notably, regorafenib inhibited NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation, a key driver of the cytokine storm associated with severe COVID-19. Our findings elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying therapeutic effects of regorafenib and suggest its potential use as a promising treatment option for severe COVID-19., (© 2025 The Author(s). FEBS Open Bio published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Federation of European Biochemical Societies.)

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is now diagnosed biologically. Since subjective cognitive decline (SCD) may indicate preclinical AD, assessing AD-biomarkers is crucial. We investigated cognitive and neurodegenerative trajectories in SCD over 24 months based on biomarker positivity, and evaluated the predictive value of plasma biomarkers., Methods: The CoSCo prospective cohort included older adults with SCD. Participants were categorized into high- and low-risk groups based on plasma biomarkers (amyloid beta [Aβ] 42/40, phosphorylated tau 181 [p-tau181], and glial fibrillary acidic protein [GFAP]), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings to compare outcomes., Results: High-risk SCDs (n = 23, 23%) revealed greater decline in general cognition, memory recall, frontal function, and hippocampal volumes compared to low-risk SCDs. Combined scores of plasma and MRIs yielded the best predictions compared with other biomarker categories., Discussion: SCD participants with high-risk experience faster cognitive and neurodegenerative declines. A combination of plasma biomarkers and MRIs could be used for screening and prognosis., Highlights: This is part of a multicenter prospective cohort study in Korea. We investigated cognitive and atrophic trajectories in SCD over 24 months. High risk SCDs revealed greater cognitive decline and hippocampal atrophy. Integration of plasma and MRIs yielded better predictions than other categories. Risk stratification using plasma and MRIs can be used for screening and prognosis., (© 2024 The Author(s). Alzheimer's & Dementia published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.)

Background/aim: Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) plays a key role in the cellular response to hypoxia, which plays a crucial role in the induction of abnormal angiogenesis and metastasis. Understanding the mechanism for the regulation of angiogenesis by HIF-1α-regulating miRNA will contribute to developing the strategy to prevent metastasis., Materials and Methods: We conducted a functional screening for HIF-1α-inhibiting miRNAs by evaluating the effects of miRNA mimics on HIF-1α expression and identified miR-5586-5p as an angiogenesis inhibitor through a mechanistic study. Angiogenic activity was assessed by tube formation assays using HUVEC cells exposed to conditioned media from miRNA-transfected breast cancer cells. In vivo activity of miR-5586-5p was examined through intratumoral injection of miRNA in orthotopic xenograft mice established by injecting MDA-MB-231 cells into the mammary fat pads of BALB/c nu/nu mice., Results: The expression of the critical proangiogenic factors vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) and angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4) was inhibited by miR-5586-5p. Migration and tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells were reduced in the conditioned medium prepared from miR-5586-5p-transfected cells. miR-5586-5p also suppressed the expression of heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HBEGF) and a disintegrin and metalloprotease 17 (ADAM17), which play a role in hypoxic signaling to induce the expression of VEGFA and ANGPTL4. HIF-1α, HBEGF, and ADAM17 were verified as the direct targets of miR-5586-5p responsible for the angiogenesis-suppressing function of miR-5586-5p. Expression levels of miR-5586-5p were lower in tumor tissues than in neighboring normal tissues of breast cancer patients. The expression of miR-5586-5p was inversely correlated to those of HIF-1α, HBEGF, ADAM17, VEGFA, and ANGPTL4. Angiogenesis and subsequent tumor growth were suppressed by intratumoral injection of miR-5586-5p in orthotopic MDA-MB-231 xenografts in mice., Conclusion: A potent tumor-suppressive function of miR-5586-5p applicable for the development of a novel cancer treatment strategy is herein described., (Copyright © 2025 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the treatment efficacy of a discourse-based working memory (WM) protocol for individuals with the amnestic type of mild cognitive impairment (MCI)., Method: The current study employed a randomised, single-blind design. Fourteen individuals with MCI participated in the study ( n  = 7 treatment group and n  = 7 control group). The treatment protocol consisted of 10 sessions two times per week, and treatment was individually administered only to the treatment group. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test was performed to verify pre-post comparisons within each group. Mann-Whitney nonparametric tests were conducted to confirm the differences between the treatment and control groups for the post-treatment scores., Result: The treatment group demonstrated a significant increase in story-retelling outcomes for both the treated stories and untreated novel stories compared to the control group. Furthermore, the treatment group presented transfer effects for WM span measures and controlled word association tasks., Conclusion: The results indicated that a discourse-based WM treatment protocol is efficacious for the amnestic type of mild cognitive impairment with the effects transferred to frontal lobe functions, as measured by WM tasks and semantic word fluency measures. Further studies are needed to track the trajectory of performance across sessions.

Purpose: The current study aimed to examine the linguistic characteristics of Korean-speaking individuals diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia(PPA)., Methods: Two individuals with agrammatic/non-fluent variants of nfvPPA and two with semantic variants of svPPA participated in this study. Picture description tasks were used to collect connected speech samples. Analysis focused on linguistic variables, including quantitative(number of utterances, words, nouns, and verbs), syntactic(mean length of utterance in morphemes, case markers per utterance, predicates per utterance), and semantic variables(correct information units, verb types). Additionally, participants completed two types of confrontation naming tasks., Results: The nfvPPA group exhibited fewer linguistic units overall compared to the svPPA group, with noun-verb dissociation apparent only in the nfvPPA group. The svPPA group showed poorer performance in content-related linguistic variables. A notable clinical symptom specific to Korean, case marker deficits, was observed in the nfvPPA group., Discussion: The study identified distinct linguistic patterns associated with the subtype of PPA in Korean speakers. The evaluation and interpretation of Korean-specific linguistic variables are crucial for classifying Korean-speaking individuals with PPA. Understanding these variables can enhance our comprehension of the unique linguistic deficits present in Korean PPA, particularly in relation to confrontation naming tasks and their implications for diagnosis and classification.

Introduction: We investigated the efficacy of a multidomain intervention (MI) via face-to-face and video communication platforms using a tablet personal computer application in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI)., Methods: Three hundred participants with MCI and ≥ 1 modifiable dementia risk factor, aged 60-85 years, were randomly assigned to either the MI group, who underwent a 24-week intervention, or the control group, who received usual care., Results: The overall adherence rate to MI was 84.7%. The adjusted mean change from baseline at 24 weeks in the total scale index score of the repeatable battery for the assessment of neuropsychological status was 8.43 in the MI group and 4.26 in the control group (difference, 4.17; 95% confidence interval, 1.92-6.43; p < 0.001). MI showed significant beneficial effects on cognition in both apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 carriers and noncarriers., Discussion: MI can exert beneficial effects on the cognition of patients with MCI., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05023057 HIGHLIGHTS: Although the controls also demonstrated improved performance in cognition, multidomain interventions showed significantly greater benefits for cognition in MCI compared to the controls in a randomized controlled trial. Multidomain interventions improved depression and quality of life. Multidomain interventions significantly positively impacted cognition in both APOE ε4 carriers and noncarriers. Multidomain interventions may be more effective for amnestic than nonamnestic MCI., (© 2025 The Author(s). Alzheimer's & Dementia published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.)

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the safety, efficacy, and oncologic outcomes of thermal ablation techniques, including radiofrequency, laser, and microwave ablation, in treating primary thyroid cancer compared with surgical resection., Method: We conducted a systematic review and network meta-analysis, which included 21 comparative studies and 40 noncomparative studies., Results: The three thermal ablation techniques showed significant superiority over surgical resection in terms of operative time, pain, cost, quality of life, and complications. Three years after the procedure, the tumor volume reduction and complete disappearance rates for the three thermal ablation techniques were similar, at approximately 99% and 93%-95%, respectively. The recurrence rate remained comparable (approximately 2%-3%) among the three thermal ablation techniques and surgical resection during a follow-up period exceeding 3 years., Conclusions: The safety, efficacy, and oncologic outcomes of thermal ablation techniques may be acceptable and comparable to surgical resection for selected cases of primary thyroid cancer., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objective: Aspirated foreign bodies (FB) are potentially life-threatening conditions which can be challenging to diagnose in children. The previous similar study from our hospital, published in 2014, created a guideline suggesting when to proceed to laryngobronchoscopy (LB) in suspected FB aspiration with over 99 % sensitivity. The grading system included the presence or absence of acute history, positive examination, and/or radiological findings, including witnessed choking, dysphonia, stridor, wheezing, or reduced air entry on examination or abnormal radiological findings. The current study reviewed a further 10 years and 5 months of data to re-evaluate the ongoing diagnostic usefulness of the three positive findings in children with suspicion of aspirated FB., Methods: We undertook a retrospective review of all LB performed at our institution for suspected acute FB aspiration from August 2013 to January 2023. We analysed patient characteristics, clinical examination, radiological findings, and outcomes., Results: We found a total of 100 children under the age of 16 years who underwent LB for suspected FB aspiration. The mean age of our study population was 2.6 years. The population demographics were similar to the results from the previous study from our institution, with Māori and Pasifika children having the highest probability of finding a FB on LB. Male children presenting for suspected FB aspiration are 1.39 times more likely than female children to have a foreign body at LB (p = 0.04). Overall, having two or more positive findings had a sensitivity of 100 %. History or examination alone are more sensitive (both 95.6 %) but less specific (12.5 % and 31.3 %, respectively). Abnormal radiology alone was more specific (75.0) but less sensitive (77.9 %). The most common site of FB was the right bronchial tree (45.6 %), followed by the left (39.7 %). 95 % of FB were organic, and 54 % were nuts. The negative bronchoscopy rate was 32 %., Conclusion: Two or more positive indicators in history, examination and radiological findings continue to be highly sensitive predictors for the presence of an aspirated foreign body in our paediatric population. We recommend a future large-scale multicentre study to confirm how applicable these findings would be to a broader cohort of patients., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The objective of this study is to fabricate and develop hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) hydrogel (HG)-based composite bone cements with incorporation of hydroxyapatite (HA), beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP), and with/without polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) for vertebroplasty. For animal study, twenty female Wister rats (250-300 g, 12 weeks of age) were divided into four groups including a two non-ovariectomy (NOVX) groups and two ovariectomy (OVX)-induced osteoporosis groups. Two prepared biocomposites including HG/β-TCP/HA and HG/β-TCP/HA/PMMA were injected into the tibial defects of both OVX and NOVX rats for evaluating in vivo osteogenesis after 12 weeks. Micro-computed tomography and histological analysis using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Masson's trichrome stains of the two composite cements implanted into the tibial defects of OVX and NOVX rats revealed enhanced bone regeneration potential. However, no statistically significant differences were noted among the groups based on new bone formation, demonstrating that the injected composite cements showed similar osteogenesis effects in both OVX and NOVX rats. These findings suggest that the newly developed composite bone cement composed of HG, β-TCP, HA and/or PMMA may be a promising and professional tool for treating osteoporotic and non-osteoporotic vertebral fractures., Competing Interests: Compliance with ethical standards. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval: This study was conformed to the ethical guidelines of the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki. The animal experiment study was reviewed and approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital, Bucheon, South Korea (Approval no. SCHBCA2021-01)., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

For potential application in advanced memory devices such as dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) or NAND flash, nanolaminated indium oxide (In-O) and gallium oxide (Ga-O) films with five different vertical cation distributions were grown and investigated by using a plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) process. Specifically, this study provides an in-depth examination of how the control of individual layer thicknesses in the nanolaminated (NL) IGO structure impacts not only the physical and chemical properties of the thin film but also the overall device performance. To eliminate the influence of the cation composition ratio and overall thickness on the IGO thin film, these parameters were held constant across all conditions. Thin-film transistors (TFTs) with a homogeneous In 0.72 Ga 0.29 O x channel layer (referred to as IGO18) exhibited a reasonable field-effect mobility (μ FE ) of 58.1 cm 2 /(V s) and I ON/OFF ratio of >10 8 . A significant improvement (∼94.1 cm 2 /(V s)) in μ FE was observed for TFTs with an In 2 O 3 /Ga 2 O 3 heterojunction stack (referred to as IGO1). Because the channel layers of both devices had an identical average cation composition and physical thickness, the superior performance of the latter can be attributed to the emergence of a quasi-two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) and the attainment of high-quality crystallinity. This study underscores the criticality of supercycle duty design to prevent cation intermixing, enabling the exploitation of the 2DEG effect in high-performance oxide TFTs for memory device applications.

Solar hydrogen production using photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells requires the selection of cost-effective materials with high photoactivity and durability. CuBi 2 O 4 photocathodes possess an appropriate bandgap for efficient hydrogen production. However, their performance is limited by poor charge transport and interface voids formed due to the porous structure during annealing, which complicates the deposition of passivation overlayers. To address this, effective suppression of the porous structure in CuBi 2 O 4 is essential. Here, the study proposes the strategic use of an Sb-Cu 2 O buffer layer with a uniform (111) crystal orientation prior to the electrodeposition of Cu-Bi-O. This buffer layer facilitates 2D film growth during electrodeposition, enhancing Cu supply via out-diffusion from the buffer during annealing. Moreover, the uniform orientation of the buffer layer promotes the crystallization of CuBi 2 O 4 , significantly improving charge transport efficiency. By incorporating an Al-ZnO/TiO 2 overlayer, the study achieves a photocurrent of 2.56 mA cm -2 at 0 V RHE and an onset potential of 1.04 V RHE , with excellent stability exceeding 60 hours. In a glycerol oxidation reaction coupled with hydrogen production, an unassisted PEC cell with a BiVO 4 photoanode demonstrates the highest H 2 production (750.5 µmol cm -2 ) among Cu-based ternary oxides, with 97% Faradaic efficiency over 20 hours while producing DHA, and formic acid., (© 2025 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Background: Superagers, older adults with exceptional cognitive abilities, show preserved brain structure compared to typical older adults. We investigated whether superagers have biologically younger brains based on their structural integrity., Methods: A cohort of 153 older adults (aged 61-93) was recruited, with 63 classified as superagers based on superior episodic memory and 90 as typical older adults, of whom 64 were followed up after two years. A deep learning model for brain age prediction, trained on 899 diverse-aged adults (aged 31-100), was adapted to the older adult cohort via transfer learning. Brain age gap (BAG), a metric based on brain structural patterns, defined as the difference between predicted and chronological age, and its annual rate of change were calculated to assess brain aging status and speed, respectively, and compared among subgroups., Results: Lower BAGs correlated with more favorable cognitive status in memory and general cognitive function. Superagers exhibited a lower BAG than typical older adults at both baseline and follow-up. Individuals who maintained or attained superager status at follow-up showed a slower annual rate of change in BAG compared to those who remained or became typical older adults., Conclusions: Superaging brains manifested maintained neurobiological youthfulness in terms of a more youthful brain aging status and a reduced speed of brain aging. These findings suggest that cognitive resilience, and potentially broader functional resilience, exhibited by superagers during the aging process may be attributable to their younger brains., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to American Aging Association.)

Abstract: Reviews of the effectiveness of medicinal cannabis for chronic pain vary in their conclusions. IASP has identified that a key missing evidence in this debate is data from observational cohort studies, analyzed with comparative effectiveness methods. In a medically supervised context to the use of marijuana for chronic pain, we identified 440 patients certified for medical marijuana by pain specialists in a single healthcare system. They were characterized by a battery of patient-reported outcomes stored electronically in the University of Pittsburgh Patient Outcomes Repository for Treatment (PORT). At 3 months, 38.6% were responders, based on clinically meaningful improvements in pain, function, or global impression of change, and maintained this response at 6 months. In the 157 patients who were coprescribed opioids, at 6 months there was a mean 39.3% decrease in morphine milligram equivalents (P < 0.05 for the difference vs baseline). In addition, 8114 patients treated in the same pain clinics with prescription pain medications instead (nonopioid or opioid) during the same timeframe were selected from PORT as a control group for comparison. They had a 34.9% rate of response at 3 months. Using the causal inference method of stratified modeling, logistic regression revealed an odds ratio of 2.6 in favor of medical marijuana vs medication treatment (P < 0.01). Potential harms data were not available in the PORT registry. Medical marijuana was comparatively more effective than prescription medications for the treatment of chronic pain at 3 months, although the populations compared were slightly different., (Copyright © 2025 International Association for the Study of Pain.)

Background: This network meta-analysis (NMA) aims to provide evidence-based guidance for selecting the second-line chemotherapy for biliary tract cancer (BTC)., Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted on PubMed, Cochrane, and EMBASE through July 2024. Inclusion criteria involved: (1) patients underwent second-line chemotherapy following platinum-based first-line therapy, (2) intervention/comparator groups consisted of various chemotherapeutic agents, and (3) outcomes measured as hazard ratio (HR) of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies., Results: Outcomes were measured as HR of OS and PFS in RCTs and cohort studies. The eight studies consisting of 1621 patients were selected. In the NMA for OS, 5FU&#95;plus&#95;Plat (fluorouracil plus oxaliplatin or cisplatin; HR 0.52, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.30-0.91), nal-IRI&#95;5FU&#95;LV (nano-liposomal irinotecan plus fluorouracil and LV; HR 0.54 [95% CI: 0.32-0.92]), and FOLFOX (fluorouracil plus oxaliplatin; HR 0.69 [95% CI: 0.50-0.96]) demonstrated significant benefits in OS when compared to control. For PFS, nal-IRI&#95;5FU&#95;LV (HR 0.61 [95% CI: 0.44-0.85]) provided a significant advantage over 5FU., Conclusions: Second-line chemotherapy for BTC after the failure of gemcitabine plus platinum as first-line therapy, nal-IRI&#95;5FU&#95;LV appears to be the most promising second-line therapy in terms of both OS and PFS., (© 2025 Japanese Society of Hepato‐Biliary‐Pancreatic Surgery.)

Silicon nanowires (Si NWs) have attracted considerable interest owing to their distinctive properties, which render them promising candidates for a wide range of advanced applications in electronics, photonics, energy storage, and sensing. However, challenges in achieving large-scale production, high uniformity, and shape control limit their practical use. This study presents a novel fabrication approach combining nanoimprint lithography, nanotransfer printing, and metal-assisted chemical etching to produce highly uniform and shape-controlled Si NW arrays. By optimizing the process parameters, Si NWs with various diameters (100, 200, and 400 nm) are successfully fabricated on 6-inch wafers, achieving high uniformity confirmed through statistical and surface reflection analyses. Furthermore, a conformal coating of titanium nitride on the uniform Si NWs enables broadband absorption with average absorption of 75% in the wavelength range from 250 to 2500 nm, demonstrating their potential for next-generation optoelectronic devices. These findings provide valuable insights for the scalable production of Si NWs and their integration into high-performance electronic systems., (© 2025 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Wide spread adaptation of green hydrogen can help to mitigate the serious climate issues, increasing global energy demands and the development of advanced electrocatalysts robust under industrial conditions is one of the key technological challenges. Herein, chromium-doped nickel-boride-phosphide (Cr/NiBP) micro sphere (MS) electrocatalyst is demonstrated via a two-step hydrothermal approach along with post-annealing. The Cr/NiBP MS demonstrates low hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evaluation reaction over potentials of 78 and 250 mV at 100 mA cm -2 in 1 m KOH, out performing most of the reported catalysts. The Cr/NiBP ǁ Cr/NiBP exhibits only 1.54 V at 100 mA cm -2 in 1 m KOH and surpasses the benchmark of RuO 2 (+) ǁ Pt/C (-) up to 2000 mA cm -2 , which sets it as one of the best bifunctional electrocatalysts. Impressively, it maintains stable performance for over 240 h at 1000 mA cm -2 in 6 m KOH at 60°C, demonstrating rapid response, anti-corrosion resistance, and robust structural integrity to meet the industrial operational conditions. Further, Cr/NiBP ǁ Pt/C exhibits a super-low cell-voltage of 2.25 V at 2000 mA cm -2 . The small amount of Cr atoms incorporation can significantly enhance active sites and intrinsic properties, accelerating water dissociation and rapid intermediate formation., (© 2025 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Based on 6.1  fb^{-1} of e^{+}e^{-} annihilation data collected at center-of-mass energies from 4.600 to 4.843 GeV with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider, a partial wave analysis of Λ&#95;{c}^{+}→Λπ^{+}η is performed, and branching fractions and decay asymmetry parameters of intermediate processes are determined. The process Λ&#95;{c}^{+}→Λa&#95;{0}(980)^{+} is observed for the first time, and evidence for the pentaquark candidate Σ(1380)^{+} decaying into Λπ^{+} is found with statistical significance larger than 3σ with mass and width fixed to theoretical predictions. The branching fraction product B[Λ&#95;{c}^{+}→Λa&#95;{0}(980)^{+}]B[a&#95;{0}(980)^{+}→π^{+}η] is determined to be (1.05±0.16&#95;{stat}±0.05&#95;{syst}±0.07&#95;{ext})%, which is larger than theoretical calculations by 1-2 orders of magnitude. Here the third (external) systematic is from B(Λ&#95;{c}^{+}→Λπ^{+}η). Finally, we precisely obtain the absolute branching fraction B(Λ&#95;{c}^{+}→Λπ^{+}η)=(1.94±0.07&#95;{stat}±0.11&#95;{syst})%.

In this study, we investigate the origins of low-frequency noise (LFN) and 1/ f noise in Cu 2 O thin-film transistors (TFTs). The static direct current (DC) I - V characterization demonstrates that the channel resistance ( R ch ) contributes significantly to mobility degradation in the TFTs, with channel thickness ( t ch ) controlled through the plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) process. The 1/ f noise followed the Hooge mobility fluctuation (HMF) model, and it was observed that both Coulomb and phonon scattering within the channel, which increased with a decrease in t ch , contributed simultaneously. Increased R ch contributed more significantly to the 1/ f noise than to the contact resistance ( R C ), as evidenced by the R C configuration of the measurements, which also revealed that R C depends upon t ch . This study demonstrates that t ch is a major noise source in Cu 2 O TFTs and presents guidelines for the development of Cu 2 O TFTs and potential high-mobility p-type oxide semiconductors.

In light of the transition of COVID-19 from a pandemic to an endemic phase, there is still a dire need to address challenges associated with drug resistance, particularly among immunocompromised and high-risk populations. This review explores the current state of research on SARS-CoV-2 drug resistance and underscores the ongoing need for effective therapeutic strategies. It critically evaluates existing knowledge on resistance mechanisms and therapeutic options, aiming to consolidate information and highlight areas for future research. By examining the complex interactions between the virus and its host, the review advocates for a multifaceted approach, including combination therapies, targeted drug development, and continuous surveillance of viral mutations. It also emphasizes the impact of evolving viral variants on antiviral efficacy and suggests adaptive treatment protocols. This review aims to enhance our understanding of SARS-CoV-2 drug resistance and contribute to more effective management of COVID-19 through a discussion of promising strategies such as drug repurposing and combination therapies., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Purpose: Estrogen receptor (ER) expression and heterogeneity affect endocrine therapy efficacy. 18 F-fluoroestradiol ( 18 F-FES) PET/CT is an effective non-invasive method to analyze systemic ER expression. This study aimed to examine the predictive/prognostic value of 18 F-FES PET/CT for patients treated with endocrine therapy plus cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK4/6) inhibitors., Methods: Patients were identified from a prospective cohort for post-marketing surveillance of 18 F-FES enrolled between April 2021 and April 2023 at Asan Medical Center. In this retrospective analysis, patients with ER-positive, HER2-negative recurrent/metastatic breast cancer who underwent CDK4/6 inhibitor-based endocrine therapy and pre-treatment 18 F-FES PET/CT were included., Results: A total of 127 women were included. The endocrine therapy used was aromatase inhibitors in 96 patients (76%) and fulvestrant in 31 patients (24%). There were 25 (20%) and 102 (80%) patients in the "with FES-negative" (3 completely negative, 22 mixed) and "FES-positive" groups, respectively. 18 F-FES status correlated with progression-free survival (PFS) following endocrine therapy with CDK4/6 inhibitors and overall survival (OS) ("with FES-negative" group: hazard ratio for PFS, 3.9, p < 0.001; for OS, 3.7, p = 0.008). Reduced benefit from endocrine treatment in the "with FES-negative" group was consistent across subgroups including menopausal status, endocrine sensitivity, and treatment regimen., Conclusion: ER expression determined by 18 F-FES PET/CT predicted the efficacy of CDK4/6 inhibitor-based endocrine therapy and was prognostic for survival in recurrent/metastatic ER-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflicts of interest: The authors have declared no conflicts of interest. Ethical approval: The study protocol was approved and the requirement for informed consent in this sub-analysis of a cohort study was waived by the IRB of Asan Medical Center (IRB No. 2024–0921). This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and the International Conference on Harmonization Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice., (© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

We perform the first amplitude analysis of D&#95;{s}^{+}→π^{+}π^{+}π^{-}π^{0} decays based on data samples of electron-positron collisions recorded with the BESIII detector at center-of-mass energies between 4.128 and 4.226 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 7.33  fb^{-1}. We report the observation of D&#95;{s}^{+}→f&#95;{0}(980)ρ(770)^{+} with a statistical significance greater than 10σ and determine the branching fractions B(D&#95;{s}^{+}→π^{+}π^{+}π^{-}π^{0}|&#95;{non-η})=(2.04±0.08&#95;{stat}±0.05&#95;{syst})% and B(D&#95;{s}^{+}→ηπ^{+})=(1.56±0.09&#95;{stat}±0.04&#95;{syst})%. Moreover, we measure the relative branching fraction between ϕ→π^{+}π^{-}π^{0} and ϕ→K^{+}K^{-} to be [B(ϕ(1020)→π^{+}π^{-}π^{0})/B(ϕ(1020)→K^{+}K^{-})]=0.230±0.014&#95;{stat}±0.010&#95;{syst}., which deviates from the world average value by more than 4σ.

One of the main goals of studying semileptonic decays in flavor physics is to gain a better understanding of hadronic transitions in the nonperturbative region of Quantum Chromodynamics. This involves measuring Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix elements, understanding form factors, and comparing them with theoretical predictions. We report a first study of the semileptonic decay D^{0}→K^{-}π^{0}μ^{+}ν&#95;{μ} by analyzing an e^{+}e^{-} annihilation data sample of 7.93  fb^{-1} collected at the center-of-mass energy of 3.773 GeV with the BESIII detector. The absolute branching fraction of D^{0}→K^{-}π^{0}μ^{+}ν&#95;{μ} is measured for the first time, providing necessary input for extracting the c→s Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element through this process. This measurement allows us to test lepton flavor universality, with no indication of violation found. Furthermore, a series of hadronic form factors have been determined and compared with theoretical predictions, which will impose stricter constraints on theoretical models.

In breast-conserving surgery (BCS), clear resection margins are crucial to prevent recurrence. Accurate imaging is vital for precise BCS, with MRI being the most accurate. However, MRI has limitations in identifying the exact extent of breast cancer in patients who have undergone neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). A 3D-Printed Breast Surgical Guide (3DP-BSG) can address this issue by effectively pinpointing cancer extent in NACT patients, thus enhancing surgical accuracy. This retrospective single-institution cohort study focused on female patients diagnosed with invasive breast cancer who underwent NACT. Between November 2015 and October 2021, patients received BCS with the aid of a 3DP-BSG. Personalized 3DP-BSG targeted tumors by tracking changes in breast and tumor anatomy on MRI before and after NACT. 203 patients with invasive breast cancer were enrolled in the study. According to exclusion criteria, 197 patients were analyzed. The median follow-up period was 35.3 months (range: 2.2-96.8 months). 3 patients (1.5%) had positive resection margins. During the follow-up period, 17 patients (8.6%) experienced recurrence, with one patient (0.5%) confirmed local recurrences. The application of MRI-based 3DP-BSG is effective in achieving low positive margins and local recurrence in patients undergoing BCS after NACT, offering a promising approach for improving surgical outcomes., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Little is known about age and clinical intervention after implantable loop recorder (ILR) insertion. This study investigated the association between age and clinical intervention after ILR implantation., Methods and Results: Data were obtained from a multicenter registry of ILR in Korea (2017-2020, n = 795). ILRs were inserted with indications of unexplained syncope, recurrent palpitation, or cryptogenic stroke. The primary outcome was clinically actionable event that was a composite of the newly detected atrial fibrillation (AF), pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation, catheter ablation, and anticoagulation initiation. The mean age was 64.3 years, and the mean follow-up duration was 20.6 months. Clinically actionable events were observed in 322 (40.5%) patients. Compared to younger age (< 50 years), older age (≥ 50 years) showed higher prevalence of newly detected AF (3.7% vs. 15.8%; p = 0.001), pacemaker implantation (11.2% vs. 21.2%; p = 0.022), and initiation of anticoagulation (3.7% vs. 18.6%; p < 0.001). No significant differences were found in ICD implantation (1.9% vs. 1.3%; p = 0.996) or catheter ablation (3.8% vs. 6.0%; p = 0.512). The older age group more frequently experienced clinically actionable events compared to the younger age group (hazard ratio 2.52, 95% confidence interval: 1.86-3.41; p < 0.001). A significant association was found in the increase of age (per 1-year) and the risk of clinically actionable events (adjusted hazard ratio 1.03, 95% confidence interval 1.02-1.04; p < 0.001)., Conclusion: Advanced age is a significant risk factor for clinical intervention after ILR insertion. ILR should be considered more actively in older patients requiring prolonged rhythm monitoring., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: We investigated whether nutritional intake is associated with physical activity (PA) and handgrip strength (HGS) in individuals with airflow limitation., Methods: This study analyzed data from the 2014 and 2016 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We assessed total protein intake (g/day), caloric intake (kcal/day), and other nutritional intakes, using a 24-hour dietary recall questionnaire. HGS was measured three times for each hand using a digital grip strength dynamometer, and PA was assessed as health-enhancing PA. Airflow limitation was defined as a forced expiratory volume/forced vital capacity ratio of 0.7 in individuals over 40 years of age. Participants were categorized into groups based on their PA levels and HGS measurements: active aerobic PA vs. non-active aerobic PA, and normal HGS vs. low HGS., Results: Among the 622 individuals with airflow limitation, those involved in active aerobic PA and those with higher HGS had notably higher total food, calorie, water, protein, and lipid intake. The correlations between protein and caloric intake with HGS were strong (correlation coefficients=0.344 and 0.346, respectively). The forest plots show that higher intakes of food, water, calories, protein, and lipids are positively associated with active aerobic PA, while higher intakes of these nutrients are inversely associated with low HGS. However, in the multivariate logistic regression analysis, no significant associations were observed between nutritional intake and active aerobic PA or HGS., Conclusion: Nutritional intake was found to not be an independent factor associated with PA and HGS. However, the observed correlations suggest potential indirect effects that warrant further investigation.

Importance: This study is essential for comprehending the zoonotic transmission, antimicrobial resistance, and genetic diversity of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC)., Objective: To improve our understanding of EPEC, this study focused on analyzing and comparing the genomic characteristics of EPEC isolates from humans and companion animals in Korea., Methods: The whole genome of 26 EPEC isolates from patients with diarrhea and 20 EPEC isolates from companion animals in Korea were sequenced using the Illumina HiSeq X (Illumina, USA) and Oxford Nanopore MinION (Oxford Nanopore Technologies, UK) platforms., Results: Most isolates were atypical EPEC, and did not harbor the bfpA gene. The most prevalent virulence genes were found to be ompT (humans: 61.5%; companion animals: 60.0%) followed by lpfA (humans: 46.2%; companion animals: 60.0%). Although pan-genome analyses showed no apparent correlation among the origin of the strains, virulence profiles, and antimicrobial resistance profiles, isolates included in clade A obtained from both humans and companion animals exhibited high similarity. Additionally, all the isolates included in clade A encoded the ompT gene and did not encode the hlyE gene. The two isolates from companion animals harbored an incomplete bundle-forming pilus region encoding bfpA and bfpB . Moreover, the type IV secretion system-associated genes tra and trb were found in the bfpA -encoding isolates from humans., Conclusions and Relevance: Whole-genome sequencing enabled a more accurate analysis of the phylogenetic structure of EPEC and provided better insights into the understanding of EPEC epidemiology and pathogenicity., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© 2025 The Korean Society of Veterinary Science.)

Electrochemical water splitting has been considered as a key pathway to generate environmentally friendly green hydrogen energy and it is essential to design highly efficient electrocatalysts at affordable cost to facilitate the redox reactions of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this work, a novel micro-clustered Ru/CuMnBP electrocatalyst is introduced, prepared via hydrothermal deposition and soaking-assisted Ru doping approaches on Ni foam substrate. Ru/CuMnBP micro-clusters exhibit relatively low HER/OER turnover overpotentials of 11 mV and 85 mV at 10 mA/cm 2 in 1 M KOH. It also demonstrates a low 2-E turnover cell voltage of 1.53 V at 10 mA/cm 2 for the overall water-splitting, which is comparable with the benchmark electrodes of Pt/C||RuO 2 . At a super high-current density of 2000 mA/cm 2 , the dual functional Ru/CuMnBP demonstrates an exceptionally low 2-E cell voltage of 3.13 V and also exhibits superior stability for over 10 h in 1 M KOH. Excellent electrochemical performances originate from the large electrochemical active surface area with the micro cluster morphology, high intrinsic activity of CuMnBP micro-clusters optimized through component ratio adjustment and the beneficial Ru doping effect, which enhances active site density, conductivity and stability. The usage of Ru in small quantities via the simple soaking doping approach significantly improves electrochemical reaction rates for both HER and OER, making Ru/CuMnBP micro-clusters promising candidates for advanced electrocatalytic applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Plasma phosphorylated tau (p-tau) biomarkers have improved Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis, but data from diverse Asian populations are limited. This study evaluated plasma p-tau217 and p-tau181 levels in Korean and Taiwanese populations., Methods: All participants (n = 270) underwent amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) and blood tests. Plasma p-tau model-derived probabilities of amyloid PET positivity (amyloid beta [Aβ]+) classified participants into low-, intermediate-, or high-risk groups., Results: In both cohorts, plasma p-tau217 outperformed p-tau181, especially in cognitively unimpaired participants (area under the curve = 0.921 [p-tau217] vs. 0.769 [p-tau181], P difference  = 0.022). Including apolipoprotein E status and glial fibrillary acidic protein improved model fit. The negative predictive value of the low-risk group and positive predictive value of the high-risk group were 97.5% and 86.0%, respectively., Discussion: Plasma p-tau217 and p-tau181 effectively predict Aβ+ among culturally different Asian populations. P-tau217 performed better, especially in the early stages of AD. Plasma p-tau217-based models reduced intermediate-risk classifications, suggesting fewer amyloid PET scans needed to confirm the diagnosis., Highlights: The efficacy of plasma phosphorylated tau (p-tau)217 and p-tau181 was analyzed in two Asian populations. Plasma p-tau217 performs better in predicting amyloid positron emission tomography positivity, especially in cognitively unimpaired subjects. Adding apolipoprotein E and glial fibrillary acidic protein to p-tau improved model accuracy. The models from each cohort were confirmed in the other cohort. Plasma p-tau-based risk stratification may reduce the need for confirmatory tests., (© 2025 The Author(s). Alzheimer's & Dementia published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.)

The recent prediction of the new magnetic class, altermagnetism, has drawn considerable interest, fueled by its potential to host novel phenomena and to be utilized in next-generation spintronics devices. Among many promising candidates, rutile RuO 2 is a prototypical candidate for realizing the prospects of altermagnetism. However, the experimental studies on RuO 2 are still in the early stages. In this study, the magnetic responses in RuO 2 film are investigated by the Planar Hall effect (PHE). By rotating the external field (H ext ), the PHE exhibits twofold behaviors. Moreover, the planar Hall conductivity shows a nonlinear response to the H ext . These observed features in PHE resemble those in ferromagnet and topologically nontrivial systems, suggesting the field-induced magnetic response in rutile antiferromagnet. The work provides a strategy for detecting intriguing magnetic responses in altermagnetic materials, promoting further research in altermagnet-based spintronics and novel phenomena., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Background: Numerous studies have explored the role of vitamin D in various cancers; however, its impact on advanced biliary tract cancers (BTC) within a prospective cohort remains to be investigated. This preplanned subgroup analysis of the NIFTY trial evaluated the prognostic implications of serum vitamin D levels in patients with advanced BTC undergoing second-line chemotherapy., Methods: From the 174 patients in the NIFTY trial, a total of 173 patients (99.4%) were included in this analysis comparing a liposomal irinotecan plus 5-FU/leucovorin group (n = 87) and a 5-FU/leucovorin alone group (n = 86). Baseline serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels, an indicator of vitamin D status, were analyzed for their association with baseline characteristics and overall survival (OS) in patients undergoing second-line chemotherapy. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression and a restricted cubic spline function were used to assess the association with OS., Results: There were no significant associations between baseline characteristics and serum 25(OH)D levels. Baseline serum 25(OH)D levels were not associated with OS in either the multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression or restricted cubic spline analysis. In the subgroup analysis, however, higher serum 25(OH)D levels were significantly associated with poorer OS in female patients, while no significant association was observed in male patients, indicating a significant interaction by sex. Additionally, a marginally significant interaction was observed between body mass index and serum 25(OH)D levels for OS, with higher levels associated with better OS in patients who were underweight., Conclusions: Our preplanned subgroup analysis of the NIFTY trial indicates that the serum 25(OH)D levels did not have a significant effect on OS in the overall patient population with advanced BTC. However, higher serum 25(OH)D levels were associated with worse OS in female patients, underscoring the need for further investigation into the role of vitamin D in BTC., (© 2025 The Author(s). Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Predicting early treatment response in schizophrenia is pivotal for selecting the best therapeutic approach. Utilizing machine learning (ML) technique, we aimed to formulate a model predicting antipsychotic treatment outcomes. Data were obtained from 299 patients with schizophrenia from three multicenter, open-label, non-comparative clinical trials. For prediction of treatment response at weeks 4, 8, and 24, psychopathology (both objective and subjective symptoms), sociodemographic and clinical factors, functional outcomes, attitude toward medication, and metabolic characteristics were evaluated. Various ML techniques were applied. The highest area under the curve (AUC) at weeks 4, 8 and 24 was 0.711, 0.664 and 0.678 with extreme gradient boosting, respectively. Notably, our findings indicate that BMI and attitude toward medication play a pivotal role in predicting treatment responses at all-time points. Other salient features for weeks 4 and 8 included psychosocial functioning, negative symptoms, subjective symptoms like psychoticism and hostility, and the level of prolactin. For week 24, positive symptoms, depression, education level and duration of illness were also important. This study introduced a precise clinical model for predicting schizophrenia treatment outcomes using multiple readily accessible predictors. The findings underscore the significance of metabolic parameters and subjective traits., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Chronic pain significantly affects daily activities, mental health, and the interpersonal relationships of patients. Consequently, physicians use various treatments to manage pain. This study investigated the perceptions of treatment, accompanying symptoms, and other problems in patients with chronic pain., Methods: The authors enrolled patients with chronic pain from 19 university hospitals in South Korea. Data was collected on age, gender, diagnosis, disease duration, severity of pain, perception of pain treatment, and accompanying symptoms or problems using an anonymous survey comprising 19 questions., Results: In total, 833 patients with chronic pain completed the survey, and 257 (31.0%) and 537 (64.5%) patients expressed concerns about the potential adverse effects of medication and opioid addiction, respectively. Personality changes such as irritability or anger were the most frequent accompanying symptoms in 507 (63.8%) patients, followed by depression and sleep disturbance in 462 (58.1%) and 450 (54.5%) patients, respectively. Depression ( P = 0.001) and anxiety ( P = 0.029) were more common among women, whereas divorce ( P = 0.016), family conflict ( P < 0.001), unemployment ( P < 0.001), suicide attempts ( P < 0.001), and restrictions on economic activity ( P < 0.001) were more common among men. The frequency of accompanying symptoms, except for suicidal ideation, was higher in the younger patients aged ≤ 40 years than in the older patients aged > 40 years., Conclusions: Many patients with chronic pain had concerns about adverse effects or medication tolerance and experienced anxiety, depression, or sleep disturbances. The prevalence of accompanying problems varies according to age and gender.