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Aim: We assessed the efficacy of anti-hyperkalemic agents for alleviating hyperkalemia and improving clinical outcomes in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Methods: This was a single-center, retrospective observational study of OHCA patients treated at tertiary hospitals between 2010 and 2020. Adult patients aged 18 or older who were in cardiac arrest at the time of arrival and had records of potassium levels measured during cardiac arrest were included. A linear regression model was used to evaluate the relationship between changes in potassium levels and use of anti-hyperkalemic medications. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was performed to analyze the relationship between the use of anti-hyperkalemic agents and the achievement of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Results: Among 839 episodes, 465 patients received anti-hyperkalemic medication before ROSC. The rate of ROSC was higher in the no anti-hyperkalemic group than in the anti-hyperkalemic group (55.9 % vs 47.7 %, P = 0.019). The decrease in potassium level in the anti-hyperkalemic group from pre-ROSC to post-ROSC was significantly greater than that in the no anti-hyperkalemic group (coefficient 0.38, 95 % confidence interval [CI], 0.13–0.64, P = 0.003). In Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, the use of anti-hyperkalemic medication was related to a decreased ROSC rate in the overall group (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.66, 95 % CI, 0.54–0.81, P

Abstract Obesity has been increasing in many regions of the world, including Europe, USA, and Korea. To manage obesity, we should consider it as a disease and apply therapeutic methods for its treatment. Molecular and therapeutic approaches for obesity management involve regulating biomolecules such as DNA, RNA, and protein in adipose-derived stem cells to prevent to be fat cells. Multiple factors are believed to play a role in fat differentiation, with one of the most effective factor is Ca2+. We recently reported that the electromagnetic perceptive gene (EPG) regulated intracellular Ca2+ levels under various electromagnetic fields. This study aimed to investigate whether EPG could serve as a therapeutic method against obesity. We confirmed that EPG serves as a modulator of Ca2+ levels in primary adipose cells, thereby regulating several genes such as CasR, PPARγ, GLU4, GAPDH during the adipogenesis. In addition, this study also identified EPG-mediated regulation of myogenesis that myocyte transcription factors (CasR, MyoG, MyoD, Myomaker) were changed in C2C12 cells and satellite cells. In vivo experiments carried out in this study confirmed that total weight/ fat/fat accumulation were decreased and lean mass was increased by EPG with magnetic field depending on age of mice. The EPG could serve as a potent therapeutic agent against obesity.

Introduction: In this study we aimed to investigate the prognostic accuracy for predicting in-hospital mortality using respiratory Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores by the conventional method of missing-value imputation with normal partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2)- and oxygen saturation (SpO2)-based estimation methods. Methods: This was a single-center, retrospective cohort study of patients with suspected infection in the emergency department. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. We compared the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUROC) and calibration results of the conventional method (normal value imputation for missing PaO2) and six SpO2-based methods: using methods A, B, PaO2 is estimated by dividing SpO2 by a scale; with methods C and D, PaO2 was estimated by a mathematical model from a previous study; with methods E, F, respiratory SOFA scores was estimated by SpO2 thresholds and respiratory support use; with methods A, C, E are SpO2-based estimation for all PaO2 values, while methods B, D, F use such estimation only for missing PaO2 values. Results: Among the 15,119 patients included in the study, the in-hospital mortality rate was 4.9%. The missing PaO2was 56.0%. The calibration plots were similar among all methods. Each method yielded AUROCs that ranged from 0.735–0.772. The AUROC for the conventional method was 0.755 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.736–0.773). The AUROC for method C (0.772; 95% CI 0.754–0.790) was higher than that of the conventional method, which was an SpO2-based estimation for all PaO2 values. The AUROC for total SOFA score from method E (0.815; 95% CI 0.800–0.831) was higher than that from the conventional method (0.806; 95% CI 0.790–0.822), in which respiratory SOFA was calculated by the predefined SpO2 cut-offs and oxygen support. Conclusion: In non-ICU settings, respiratory SOFA scores estimated by SpO2 might have acceptable prognostic accuracy for predicting in-hospital mortality. Our results suggest that SpO2-based respiratory SOFA score calculation might be an alternative for evaluating respiratory organ failure in the ED and clinical research settings.

Abstract We report a high-performance multi graphics processing unit (GPU) implementation of the Kohn–Sham time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) within the Tamm–Dancoff approximation. Our algorithm on massively parallel computing systems using multiple parallel models in tandem scales optimally with material size, considerably reducing the computational wall time. A benchmark TDDFT study was performed on a green fluorescent protein complex composed of 4353 atoms with 40,518 atomic orbitals represented by Gaussian-type functions, demonstrating the effect of distant protein residues on the excitation. As the largest molecule attempted to date to the best of our knowledge, the proposed strategy demonstrated reasonably high efficiencies up to 256 GPUs on a custom-built state-of-the-art GPU computing system with Nvidia A100 GPUs. We believe that our GPU-oriented algorithms, which empower first-principles simulation for very large-scale applications, may render deeper understanding of the molecular basis of material behaviors, eventually revealing new possibilities for breakthrough designs on new material systems.

Abstract A central challenge in practically using high‐capacity silicon (Si) as anode materials for lithium‐ion batteries is alleviating significant volume change of Si during cycling. One key to resolving the failure issues of Si is exploiting carefully designed polymer binders exhibiting mechanical robustness to retain the structural integrity of Si electrodes, while concurrently displaying elasticity and toughness to effectively dissipate external stresses exerted by the volume changes of Si. Herein, a highly elastic and tough polymer binder is proposed by interweaving polyacrylic acid (PAA) with poly(urea‐urethane) (PUU) elastomer for Si anodes. By systematically tuning molecular parameters, including molecular weights of hard/soft segments and structures of hard segment components, it is demonstrated that the mechanical properties of polymer binders, such as elasticity, toughness, and stress relaxation ability, strongly affect the cycling performance of Si electrodes. This study provides new insight into the rational design of polymer binders capable of accommodating the volume changes of Si, primarily by judicious modulation of the mechanical properties of polymer binders.

Background: We compared the prognostic accuracy of in-hospital mortality of the initial Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFAini) score at the time of sepsis recognition and resuscitation and the maximum SOFA score (SOFAmax) using the worst variables in the 24 h after the initial score measurement in emergency department (ED) patients with septic shock. Methods: This was a retrospective observational study using a multicenter prospective registry of septic shock patients in the ED between October 2015 and December 2019. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. The prognostic accuracies of SOFAini and SOFAmax were evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC) curve. Results: A total of 4860 patients was included, and the in-hospital mortality was 22.1%. In 59.7% of patients, SOFAmax increased compared with SOFAini, and the mean change of total SOFA score was 2.0 (standard deviation, 2.3). There was a significant difference in in-hospital mortality according to total SOFA score and the SOFA component scores, except cardiovascular SOFA score. The AUC of SOFAmax (0.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.69–0.72) was significantly higher than that of SOFAini (AUC, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.66–0.69) in predicting in-hospital mortality. The AUCs of all scores of the six components were higher for the maximum values. Conclusion: The prognostic accuracy of the initial SOFA score at the time of sepsis recognition was lower than the 24-h maximal SOFA score in ED patients with septic shock. Follow-up assessments of organ failure may improve discrimination of the SOFA score for predicting mortality.

Objective We evaluated the performance of diastolic shock index (DSI) and lactate in predicting vasopressor requirement among hypotensive patients with suspected infection in an emergency department. Methods This was a single-center, retrospective observational study for adult patients with suspected infection and hypotension in the emergency department from 2018 to 2019. The study population was split into derivation and validation cohorts (70/30). We derived a simple risk score to predict vasopressor requirement using DSI and lactate cutoff values determined by Youden index. We tested the score by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). We performed a multivariable regression analysis to evaluate the association between the timing of vasopressor treatment and 28-day mortality. Results A total of 1,917 patients were included. We developed a score, assigning 1 point each for the high DSI (≥2.0) and high lactate (≥2.5 mmol/L) criteria. The AUCs of the score were 0.741 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.715–0.768) at hypotension and 0.736 (95% CI, 0.708–0.763) after initial fluid challenge in the derivation cohort and 0.676 (95% CI, 0.631–0.719) at hypotension and 0.688 (95% CI, 0.642–0.733) after initial fluid challenge in the validation cohort, respectively. In patients with scores of 2 points, early vasopressor therapy initiation was significantly associated with decreased 28-day mortality (adjusted odds ratio, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.14–0.94). Conclusion A prediction model with DSI and lactate levels might be useful to identify patients who are more likely to need vasopressor administration among hypotensive patients with suspected infection.

Abstract To determine the minimum number of endotracheal intubation (ETI) attempts necessary for a novice emergency medicine (EM) trainee to become proficient with this procedure. This single-center study retrospectively analyzed data obtained from the institutional airway registry during the period from April 2014 to March 2021. All ETI attempts made by EM trainees starting their residency programs between 2014 and 2018 were evaluated. We used a first attempt success (FAS) rate of 85% as a proxy for ETI proficiency. Generalized linear mixed models were used to evaluate the association between FAS and cumulative ETI experience. The number of ETI attempts required to achieve an FAS rate of ≥ 85% was estimated using the regression coefficients obtained from the model. The study period yielded 2077 ETI cases from a total of 1979 patients. The FAS rate was 78.6% (n = 1632/2077). After adjusting for confounding factors, the cumulative number of ETI cases was associated with increased FAS (adjusted odds ratio, 1.010 per additional ETI case; 95% confidence interval 1.006–1.013; p

Background and Objectives: Cerebral ischemia is one of the major preoperative complications. Dexmedetomidine is a well-known sedative–hypnotic agent that has potential organ-protective effects. We examine the miRNAs associated with preconditioning effects of dexmedetomidine in cerebral ischemia. Materials and Methods: Transient infarcts were induced in mice via reperfusion after temporary occlusion of one side of the middle cerebral artery. A subset of these mice was exposed to dexmedetomidine prior to cerebral infarction and miRNA profiling of the whole brain was performed. We administered dexmedetomidine and miRNA-323-5p mimic/inhibitor to oxygen–glucose deprivation/reoxygenation astrocytes. Additionally, we administered miR-323-5p mimic and inhibitor to mice via intracerebroventricular injection 2 h prior to induction of middle cerebral artery occlusion. Results: The infarct volume was significantly lower in the dexmedetomidine-preconditioned mice. Analysis of brain samples revealed an increased expression of five miRNAs and decreased expression of three miRNAs in the dexmedetomidine-pretreated group. The viability of cells significantly increased and expression of miR-323-5p was attenuated in the dexmedetomidine-treated oxygen–glucose deprivation/reoxygenation groups. Transfection with anti-miR-323-5p contributed to increased astrocyte viability. When miRNA-323-5p was injected intraventricularly, infarct volume was significantly reduced when preconditioned with the miR-323-5p inhibitor compared with mimic and negative control. Conclusions: Dexmedetomidine has a protective effect against transient neuronal ischemia–reperfusion injury and eight specific miRNAs were profiled. Also, miRNA-323-5p downregulation has a cell protective effect under ischemic conditions both in vivo and in vitro. Our findings suggest the potential of the miR-323-5p inhibitor as a therapeutic agent against cerebral infarction.

With the development of deep learning, abnormal detection methods have been widely presented to improve performances in various applications, including visual inspection systems. However, there remains difficult to be directly applied to real-world applications, which often include the lack of abnormal samples and diversity. This paper proposes contra embedding that adopts progressive autoencoder with contrastive learning to address these difficulties. The autoencoder is trained progressively to reproduce the details of the original images, and modified CutPaste augmentation helps to learn to recover normal images. Especially, contrastive learning based on normal embedding vectors effectively reduces false positives caused by the autoencoder. The proposed method is also helpful when normal data have complex shapes, sizes, and colors. In experiments, MVTec AD dataset is used to show the generalization ability of the proposed method in various real-world applications. It achieves over 98.0% AUROCs in detection and 97.7% AUROCs in the localization, respectively, without using the ImageNet pre-trained model as in previous methods.

Abstract An effective wound management strategy needs accurate assessment of wound status throughout the whole healing process. This can be achieved by examining molecular biomarkers including proteins, DNAs, and RNAs. However, existing methods for quantifying these biomarkers such as immunohistochemistry and quantitative polymerase chain reaction are usually laborious, resource‐intensive, and disruptive. This article reports the development and utilization of mRNA nanosensors (i.e., NanoFlare) that are topically applied on cutaneous wounds to reveal the healing status through targeted and semi‐quantitative examination of the mRNA biomarkers in skin cells. In 2D and 3D in vitro models, the efficacy and efficiency of these nanosensors are demonstrated in revealing the dynamic changes of mRNA biomarkers for different stages of wound development. In mouse models, this platform permits the tracking and identification of wound healing stages and a normal and diabetic wound healing process by wound healing index in real time.

Abstract To utilize thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) technology for future displays, it is necessary to develop host materials which harness the full potential of blue TADF emitters. However, no publication has reported such hosts yet. Although the most popular host for blue TADF, bis[2‐(diphenylphosphino)phenyl]ether oxide (DPEPO) guarantees high‐maximum external quantum efficiency (EQEmax) TADF devices, they exhibit very short operational lifetimes. In contrast, long‐lifespan blue TADF devices employing stable hosts such as 3′,5‐di(9H‐carbazol‐9‐yl)‐[1,1′‐biphenyl]‐3‐carbonitrile (mCBP‐CN) exhibit much lower EQEmax than the DPEPO‐employed devices. Here, an elaborative approach for designing host molecules is suggested to achieve simultaneously stable and efficient blue TADF devices. The approach is based on engineering the molecular geometry, ground‐ and excited‐state dipole moments of host molecules. The engineered hosts significantly enhance delayed fluorescence quantum yields of TADF emitters, as stabilizing the charge‐transfer excited states of the TADF emitters and suppressing exciton quenching, and improve the charge balance. Moreover, they exhibit both photochemical and electrochemical stabilities. The best device employing one of the engineered hosts exhibits 79% increase in EQEmax compared to the mCBP‐CN‐employed device, together with 140% and 92‐fold increases in operational lifetime compared to the respective mCBP‐CN‐ and the DPEPO‐based devices.

Abstract Although the organic light‐emitting diode (OLED) has been successfully commercialized, the development of deep‐blue OLEDs with high efficiency and long lifetime remains a challenge. Here, a novel hyperfluorescent OLED that incorporates the Pt(II) complex (PtON7‐dtb) as a phosphorescent sensitizer and a hydrocarbon‐based and multiple resonance‐based fluorophore as an emitter (TBPDP and ν‐DABNA) in the device emissive layer (EML), is proposed. Such an EML system can promote efficient energy transfer from the triplet excited states of the sensitizer to the singlet excited states of the fluorophore, thus significantly improving the efficiency and lifetime of the device. As a result, a deep‐blue hyperfluorescent OLED using a multiple resonance‐based fluorophore (ν‐DABNA) with Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage chromaticity coordinate y below 0.1 is demonstrated, which attains a narrow full width at half maximum of ≈17 nm, fourfold increased maximum current efficiency of 48.9 cd A−1, and 19‐fold improved half‐lifetime of 253.8 h at 1000 cd m−2 compared to a conventional phosphorescent OLED. The findings can lead to better understanding of the hyperfluorescent OLEDs with high performance.

Functional recovery following traumatic brain injury (TBI) is limited due to progressive neuronal damage resulting from secondary injury-associated neuroinflammation. Steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as dexamethasone (DX), can reduce neuroinflammation by activated microglia and infiltrated macrophages. In our previous work, we developed hydrolytically degradable poly(ethylene) glycol-bis-(acryloyloxy acetate) (PEG-bis-AA) hydrogels with dexamethasone (DX)-conjugated hyaluronic acid (HA-DXM) and demonstrated that dexamethasone-loaded hydrogels (PEG-bis-AA/HA-DXM) can reduce neuroinflammation, apoptosis, and lesion volume and improve neuronal cell survival and motor function recovery at seven days post-injury (DPI) in a rat mild-TBI model. In this study, we investigate the effects of the local application of PEG-bis-AA/HA-DXM hydrogels on motor function recovery at 7 DPI and cognitive functional recovery as well as secondary injury at 14 DPI in a rat mild-CCI TBI model. We observed that PEG-bis-AA/HA-DXM-treated animals exhibit significantly improved motor functions by the rotarod test and cognitive functions by the Morris water maze test compared to untreated TBI animals. We also observed that PEG-bis-AA/HA-DXM hydrogels reduce the inflammatory response, apoptosis, and lesion volume compared to untreated animals at 14 DPI. Therefore, PEG-bis-AA/HA-DXM hydrogels can be promising a therapeutic intervention for TBI treatment.

The prognostic value of low vitamin C levels has not been well investigated in patients with septic shock. We aimed to evaluate the association of vitamin C deficiency with mortality in patients with septic shock. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 165 patients with septic shock from a prospective multicenter trial and institutional sepsis registry between April 2018 and January 2020. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality. The patients were categorized into vitamin C deficiency and normal groups based on a vitamin C cutoff level of 11.4 mmol/L. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was performed to examine the association between vitamin C levels and 28-day mortality. A total of 165 patients was included for analysis and 77 (46.7%) had vitamin C deficiency. There was no significant difference in the 28-day mortality rate between the vitamin C deficiency group and the normal group (23.4% (n = 18/77) vs. 13.6% (n = 12/88), p = 0.083). Multivariable Cox proportional hazard analysis showed vitamin C deficiency to be associated with increased risk of 28-day mortality (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.65, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.08–6.45; p = 0.032). Initial vitamin C deficiency was associated with a higher risk of 28-day mortality in patients with septic shock after adjusting for intravenous administration of vitamin C and thiamine, baseline characteristics, laboratory findings, and severity of illness.

The family of emergency surgery patients experience psychological pressure due to the uncertainty of the surgery. The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of information delivery intervention provided by an operation theater nurse on anxiety and satisfaction levels of the family of emergency surgery patients. A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control group design is used. A total of 60 participants were included in the study as the family of patients undergoing emergency surgery within 6 hr in the emergency room of K hospital in Seoul, Korea (intervention: n = 30, control: n = 30). The information delivery intervention consisted of information on the operating room environment and surgery progress. The tools included the Anxiety scale to examine the anxiety levels and Perioperative Family Needs Questionnaire (PFNQ) to measure family satisfaction levels. Participants in the intervention group had a lower anxiety level ( p < .001) and higher family satisfaction with the intervention ( p < .001) than that of the control group. The information delivery intervention provided by an operation theater nurse was effective. It decreased the anxiety level and increased the satisfaction for the family member of emergency surgery patients. These findings can be used as clinical evidence to explore nursing interventions or strategies for the patient’s family during an emergency surgery.

Summary: Recent breakthroughs in neuroanatomical tracing methods have helped unravel complicated neural connectivity in whole-brain tissue at single-cell resolution. However, in most cases, analysis of brain images remains dependent on highly subjective and sample-specific manual processing, preventing precise comparison across sample animals. In the present study, we introduce AMaSiNe, software for automated mapping of single neurons in the standard mouse brain atlas with annotated regions. AMaSiNe automatically calibrates misaligned and deformed slice samples to locate labeled neuronal positions from multiple brain samples into the standardized 3D Allen Mouse Brain Reference Atlas. We exploit the high fidelity and reliability of AMaSiNe to investigate the topographic structures of feedforward projections from the lateral geniculate nucleus to the primary visual area by reconstructing rabies-virus-injected brain slices in 3D space. Our results demonstrate that distinct organization of neural projections can be precisely mapped using AMaSiNe.

Purpose. To investigate the effect of refractive error on the physiologic thinning rate of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) in healthy eyes. Materials and Methods. This study analyzed 223 eyes of 141 healthy subjects followed for more than 5 years and underwent at least five serial spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) examinations. Longitudinal RNFL measurements were analyzed by linear mixed models incorporating follow-up duration, baseline RNFL thickness, spherical equivalent (SE), age, intraocular pressure, and visual field mean deviation. Thinning rates were classified according to SE into three groups: nonmyopic (NM; >0 D), mild-to-moderately myopic (MM; >–6 D and ≤0 D), and highly myopic (HM; ≤–6 D). Results. The overall slopes of change in RNFL thickness over time in the NM, MM, and HM groups were −0.305 ± 0.128, −0.294 ± 0.068, and −0.208 ± 0.097 μm/yr, respectively. Slopes of RNFL thickness changes in these groups were −0.514 ± 0.248, −0.520 ± 0.133, and −0.528 ± 0.188 μm/yr, in the superior quadrant; −0.084 ± 0.145, 0.107 ± 0.082, and −0.161 ± 0.112 μm/yr, in the temporal quadrant; −0.807 ± 0.242, −0.794 ± 0.130, and −0.727 ± 0.183 μm/yr, in the inferior quadrant; and 0.160 ± 0.157, 0.118 ± 0.084, and 0.429 ± 0.119 μm/yr, in the nasal quadrant. Overall and in all four quadrants, there was no significant difference in the rate of RNFL thickness change among the three groups. Conclusions. Refractive error did not affect the physiologic thinning rate of RNFL when assessed by SD OCT.

The four members of the LRRTM family (LRRTM1-4) are postsynaptic adhesion molecules essential for excitatory synapse development. They have also been implicated in neuropsychiatric diseases. Here, we focus on LRRTM3, showing that two distinct LRRTM3 variants generated by alternative splicing regulate LRRTM3 interaction with PSD-95, but not its excitatory synapse-promoting activity. Overexpression of either LRRTM3 variant increased excitatory synapse density in dentate gyrus (DG) granule neurons, whereas LRRTM3 knockdown decreased it. LRRTM3 also controlled activity-regulated AMPA receptor surface expression in an alternative splicing-dependent manner. Furthermore, Lrrtm3-knockout mice displayed specific alterations in excitatory synapse density, excitatory synaptic transmission and excitability in DG granule neurons but not in CA1 pyramidal neurons. Lastly, LRRTM3 required only specific splice variants of presynaptic neurexins for their synaptogenic activity. Collectively, our data highlight alternative splicing and differential presynaptic ligand utilization in the regulation of LRRTMs, revealing key regulatory mechanisms for excitatory synapse development.

Klebsiella pneumoniae KCTC2242 has high potential in the production of a high-value chemical, 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO). However, accumulation of metabolites such as lactate during cell growth prevent large-scale production of 2,3-BDO. Consequently, we engineered K. pneumoniae to redistribute its carbon flux toward 2,3-BDO production. The ldhA gene deletion and gene overexpression (budA and budB) were conducted to block a pathway that competitively consumes reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and to redirect carbon flux toward 2,3-BDO biosynthesis, respectively. These steps allowed efficient glucose conversion to 2,3-BDO under slightly acidic conditions (pH 5.5). The engineered strain SGSB105 showed a 40% increase in 2,3-BDO production from glucose compared with that of the host strain, SGSB100. Genes closely related to 2,3-BDO biosynthesis were observed at the gene transcription level by cultivating the SGSB100, SGSB103, SGSB104, and SGSB105 strains under identical growth conditions. Transcription levels for budA, budB, and budC increased approximately 10% during the log phase of cell growth relative to that of SGSB100. Transcription levels of 2,3-BDO genes in SGSB105 remained high during the log and stationary phases. Thus, the carbon flux was redirected toward 2,3-BDO production. Data on batch culture and gene transcription provide insight into improving the metabolic network for 2,3-BDO biosynthesis for industrial applications.

Background: Lactate is a commonly used biomarker for sepsis, although it has limitations in certain cases, suggesting the need for novel biomarkers. We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of plasma renin concentration and renin activity for mortality and kidney outcomes in patients with sepsis with hypoperfusion or hypotension. Methods: This was a multicenter, prospective, observational study of 117 patients with septic shock treated at three tertiary emergency departments between September 2021 and October 2022. The accuracy of renin activity, renin, and lactate concentrations in predicting 28-day mortality, acute kidney injury (AKI), and renal replacement requirement was assessed using the area under the ROC curve (AUC) analysis. Results: The AUCs of initial renin activity, renin, and lactate concentrations for predicting 28-day mortality were 0.66 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.55–0.77), 0.63 (95% CI, 0.52–0.75), and 0.65 (95% CI, 0.53–0.77), respectively, and those at 24 hrs were 0.74 (95% CI, 0.62–0.86), 0.70 (95% CI, 0.56–0.83), and 0.67 (95% CI, 0.54–0.79). Renin concentrations and renin activity outperformed initial lactate concentrations in predicting AKI within 14 days. The AUCs of renin and lactate concentrations were 0.71 (95% CI, 0.61–0.80) and 0.57 (95% CI, 0.46–0.67), respectively (P =0.030). The AUC of renin activity (0.70; 95% CI, 0.60–0.80) was also higher than that of lactate concentration (P =0.044). Conclusions: Renin concentration and renin activity show comparable performance to lactate concentration in predicting 28-day mortality in patients with septic shock but superior performance in predicting AKI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In this study we aimed to investigate the prognostic accuracy for predicting in-hospital mortality using respiratory Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores by the conventional method of missing-value imputation with normal partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2)- and oxygen saturation (SpO2)-based estimation methods. Methods: This was a single-center, retrospective cohort study of patients with suspected infection in the emergency department. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. We compared the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUROC) and calibration results of the conventional method (normal value imputation for missing PaO2) and six SpO2-based methods: using methods A, B, PaO2 is estimated by dividing SpO2 by a scale; with methods C and D, PaO2 was estimated by a mathematical model from a previous study; with methods E, F, respiratory SOFA scores was estimated by SpO2 thresholds and respiratory support use; with methods A, C, E are SpO2-based estimation for all PaO2 values, while methods B, D, F use such estimation only for missing PaO2 values. Results: Among the 15,119 patients included in the study, the in-hospital mortality rate was 4.9%. The missing PaO2 was 56.0%. The calibration plots were similar among all methods. Each method yielded AUROCs that ranged from 0.735-0.772. The AUROC for the conventional method was 0.755 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.736-0.773). The AUROC for method C (0.772; 95% CI 0.754-0.790) was higher than that of the conventional method, which was an SpO2-based estimation for all PaO2 values. The AUROC for total SOFA score from method E (0.815; 95% CI 0.800-0.831) was higher than that from the conventional method (0.806; 95% CI 0.790-0.822), in which respiratory SOFA was calculated by the predefined SpO2 cut-offs and oxygen support. Conclusion: In non-ICU settings, respiratory SOFA scores estimated by SpO2 might have acceptable prognostic accuracy for predicting in-hospital mortality. Our results suggest that SpO2-based respiratory SOFA score calculation might be an alternative for evaluating respiratory organ failure in the ED and clinical research settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adolescent social experience is essential for the maturation of the prefrontal cortex in mammalian species. However, it still needs to be determined which cortical circuits mature with such experience and how it shapes adult social behaviors in a sex-specific manner. Here, we examined social-approaching behaviors in male and female mice after postweaning social isolation (PWSI), which deprives social experience during adolescence. We found that the PWSI, particularly isolation during late adolescence, caused an abnormal increase in social approaches (hypersociability) only in female mice. We further found that the PWSI female mice showed reduced parvalbumin (PV) expression in the left orbitofrontal cortex (OFCL). When we measured neural activity in the female OFCL, a substantial number of neurons showed higher activity when mice sniffed other mice (social sniffing) than when they sniffed an object (object sniffing). Interestingly, the PWSI significantly reduced both the number of activated neurons and the activity level during social sniffing in female mice. Similarly, the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockdown of PV in the OFCL during late adolescence enhanced sociability and reduced the social sniffing-induced activity in adult female mice via decreased excitability of PV+ neurons and reduced synaptic inhibition in the OFCL. Moreover, optogenetic activation of excitatory neurons or optogenetic inhibition of PV+ neurons in the OFCL enhanced sociability in female mice. Our data demonstrate that the adolescent social experience is critical for the maturation of PV+ inhibitory circuits in the OFCL; this maturation shapes female social behavior via enhancing social representation in the OFCL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are used to investigate the effects of solute polarizability on solvation and solute transport in the room-temperature ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (EM[I.sup.+]P[F.sub.6.sup.-]). The MD analysis has shown that the inclusion of solute polarizability in MD simulations has yielded a better agreement with measurements than nonpolarizable solutes.