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Objectives: To investigate the risk of flare-ups after COVID-19 vaccination in patients with rheumatic disease. Methods: A total of 1,617 patients with rheumatic diseases were identified from three rheumatology clinics. Patients were interviewed for demographic data, disease activity, and vaccination status. Disease flare-up was determined clinically by independent rheumatologists. Change of serum markers and medications were retrieved from medical records. The risk of exacerbation of rheumatic disease, change in serum markers, and escalation of rheumatic medications between vaccinated and nonvaccinated patients were determined using Cox, linear, and logistic regression models, respectively. Possible confounding factors were also taken into consideration. Results: Among 562 (34.76%) patients who received COVID-19 vaccination, rheumatic disease (HR = 2.10, [Formula: see text] 0.001), inflammatory arthritis (HR = 2.71, [Formula: see text] 0.001), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (HR = 2.03, [Formula: see text] = 0.002), spondyloarthritis (SpA) (HR = 4.78, [Formula: see text] 0.001), autoimmune disease (HR = 1.77, [Formula: see text] = 0.01), and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (HR = 1.99, [Formula: see text] = 0.02) were associated with postvaccination clinical flare-up. Adult Still’s disease (B = 12.76, [Formula: see text] = 0.03) was associated with increased serum C-reactive protein (CRP). No association was found between vaccination and escalation of rheumatic medication. Subgroup analyses showed that only the mRNA vaccine was associated with flare-ups. Conclusion: COVID-19 vaccination was associated with minor disease flare-up but not escalation of rheumatic medications. In the absence of absolute contraindications, COVID-19 vaccination is recommended in patients with rheumatic disease. KEY MESSAGES 1. Vaccination is effective in the prevention of morbidity due to COVID-19 in patients with autoimmune diseases. 2. The mRNA vaccine was associated with mild rheumatic disease flare-up. 3. Inactivated virus vaccine is preferable to mRNA vaccine in patients with active autoimmune disease.

Skill learning is instantiated by changes to functional connectivity within premotor circuits, but whether the specificity of learning depends on structured changes to inhibitory circuitry remains unclear. We used slice electrophysiology to measure connectivity changes associated with song learning in the avian analog of primary motor cortex (robust nucleus of the arcopallium, RA) in Bengalese Finches. Before song learning, fast-spiking interneurons (FSIs) densely innervated glutamatergic projection neurons (PNs) with apparently random connectivity. After learning, there was a profound reduction in the overall strength and number of inhibitory connections, but this was accompanied by a more than two-fold enrichment in reciprocal FSI-PN connections. Moreover, in singing birds, we found that pharmacological manipulations of RA's inhibitory circuitry drove large shifts in learned vocal features, such as pitch and amplitude, without grossly disrupting the song. Our results indicate that skill learning establishes nonrandom inhibitory connectivity, and implicates this patterning in encoding specific features of learned movements.

PurposeTeachers’ mental health is concerning due to high stress at work. Its association with job-related stressors has been well-documented. Little is known; however, about how traumatic life events and trauma reactions might contribute to their psychological distress. This paper is to explore whether Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following past traumatic event would predict burnout and psychiatric co-morbidity among Chinese k-12 school teachers and whether this prediction would be mediated by forgiveness after controlling for work-related factors.MethodsTwo hundred and seventy-nine Chinese teachers (F = 223, M = 56) from primary and secondary schools completed demographic information, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS), General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educator’s Survey (MBI-ES), and a series of measures assessing work-related factors.ResultsStructured equation modeling (SEM) showed that after controlling for work-related factors, PTSD following past trauma was positively associated with burnout and general psychological problems but negatively associated with levels of forgiveness. Forgiveness carried the impact of PTSD onto burnout rather than general psychological distress.ConclusionTo conclude, regardless of the level of stress experienced from working in school, primary and secondary teachers with PTSD from past trauma found it more difficult forgiving which in turn could affect their levels of burnout.

Target identification is a core challenge in chemical genetics. Here we use chemical similarity to computationally predict the targets of 586 compounds that were active in a zebrafish behavioral assay. Among 20 predictions tested, 11 compounds had activities ranging from 1 nM to 10,000 nM on the predicted targets. The roles of two of these targets were tested in the original zebrafish phenotype. Prediction of targets from chemotype is rapid and may be generally applicable.

Target identification is a core challenge in chemical genetics. Here we use chemical similarity to computationally predict the targets of 586 compounds that were active in a zebrafish behavioral assay. Among 20 predictions tested, 11 compounds had activities ranging from 1 nM to 10,000 nM on the predicted targets. The roles of two of these targets were tested in the original zebrafish phenotype. Prediction of targets from chemotype is rapid and may be generally applicable.

ObjectivesPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms following past trauma could lead to psychological distress. Little is known, however, about the roles of defense mechanisms and alexithymia may play in the process. The current study aimed to examine the potential impact of alexithymia and defense mechanisms on the relationship between past trauma and distress among Chinese university students.Method455 university students completed a set of questionnaires: PTSD Checklists for DSM-5, Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), Defense Style Questionnaire, and General Health Questionnaire-28.ResultsPTSD following past trauma was associated with increased psychological distress. Alexithymia and defenses (especially immature defense) mediated the path between PTSD and psychological co-morbidities.ConclusionFollowing past trauma, people developed PTSD and other psychological symptoms. The severity of these distress symptoms was influenced by the way they defended themselves psychologically, and their ability to identify, express, and process distressing emotions.

Considering the alterations in gait patterns and increase in metabolic demands during walking on an inclined surface, inclined treadmill training (ITT) may be an alternative treatment to non-inclined treadmill training (NITT) for improving gait and balance among people with chronic stroke. We searched eight electronic databases (August 2021), assessed risk of bias (Cochrane RoB 2.0 tool), and meta-analysed data (RevMan 3.5). Results were reported according to the PRISMA guidelines. Outcomes were gait parameters such as walking speed and balance-related outcome measures such as Berg Balance Scale scores. Risk of bias assessment was performed according to Version 2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomised trials (RoB 2). Of the screened citations, four met our inclusion criteria. Quantitative analysis showed ITT was significant in improving walking speed, stride length, paretic step length, Berg Balance Scale scores and Overall Stability Index (p < 0.05) but not in cadence, non-paretic step length, stance time on the non-paretic and paretic leg (p > 0.05). Only one study was rated low risk of bias. There was limited evidence for the superiority of ITT over NITT, in adjunct to other conventional intervention, for improving gait and balance among chronic stroke patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emphysema is one of the pathological hallmarks of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We have recently reported that radiofrequency therapy improves lung function in rodent models of emphysema. However, preclinical data using large animals is necessary for clinical translation. Here, we describe the work performed to establish a unilateral porcine emphysema model. Different doses of porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE) were instilled into the left lung of 10 Yucatan pigs. Three additional pigs were used as controls. Six weeks after instillation, lungs were harvested. Lung compliance was measured by a water displacement method and plethysmography. Systematic uniform random sampling of the left and right lungs was performed independently to measure alveolar surface area using micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and histology. In pigs instilled with 725-750 U/kg of PPE (PPE group, n = 6), the compliance of the left lung was significantly higher by 37.6% than that of the right lung (P = 0.03) using the water displacement method. With plethysmography, the volume of the left lung was significantly larger than that of the right lung at 3, 5, and 10 cmH2O. Measurements from either micro-CT or histology images showed a significant decrease in alveolar surface area by 14.2% or 14.5% (P = 0.031) in the left lung compared with the right lung of the PPE group. A unilateral model for mild emphysema in Yucatan pigs has been established, which can now be used for evaluating novel therapeutics and interventional strategies. NEW & NOTEWORTHY For clinical translation, preclinical data using large animal models is necessary. However, papers describing an emphysema model in pigs, which are anatomically and physiologically similar to humans, are lacking. Here, we report success in creating a unilateral mild-emphysema model in pigs with only one single dose of porcine pancreatic elastase. This model will be useful in bringing novel technologies and therapies from small animals to humans with emphysema. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]