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Background Septic arthritis of shoulder is a rare clinical entity as the metaphysis is extracapsular and there is no communication between epiphyseal and metaphyseal vessels. Septic arthritis of the shoulder joint is a diagnostic and surgical emergency because joint destruction develops rapidly and can cause significant morbidity and mortality. Unusual complications of septic arthritis of the shoulder joint may include extra‐articular abscess extension to the upper arm through the biceps groove and osteomyelitis of the greater tuberosity. Case Presentation Septic arthritis of the shoulder, if left untreated, can lead to complications such as extra‐articular abscess extension and osteomyelitis. Three patients with septic arthritis of the shoulder joint with no clear history of trauma were reported in this study. The initial presentation was pseudoparalysis with upper arm swelling. MRI diagnosed septic arthritis of shoulder joint together with an upper arm abscess. Arthroscopic debridement with through irrigation and open drainage of the extra‐articular abscess extension to the upper arm improved both the shoulder pain and abscess completely. However, if shoulder pain or abnormalities in laboratory findings continue after initial treatment, uncontrolled septic arthritis or secondary osteomyelitis are possibilities that should be concerned. MRI is a useful tool for detecting those atypical complications. Conclusions Rarely, septic arthritis of the shoulder joint can extend to the upper arm through the biceps tendon groove and cause an abscess. Also, acute osteomyelitis of the tuberosity should be considered in patients with long‐standing refractory septic arthritis of the shoulder joint who have continued pain and uncontrolled laboratory findings after initial treatment.

BackgroundDespite several studies on self-evaluation of health and body shape, existing research on the risk factors of self-perceived overweight is insufficient, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. ObjectiveThis study aims to identify the risk factors affecting self-perceived overweight and examine how the prevalence of self-perceived overweight has changed before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, we analyzed the impact of altered lifestyles due to COVID-19 on this phenomenon. MethodsThe data used in the study were obtained from middle and high school students who participated in the Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (N=1,189,586). This survey was a 2-stage stratified cluster sampling survey representative of South Korean adolescents. We grouped the survey results by year and estimated the slope in the prevalence of self-perceived overweight before and during the pandemic using weighted linear regression, as well as the prevalence tendencies of self-perceived overweight according to various risk factors. We used prevalence ratios to identify the risk factors for self-perceived overweight. In addition, we conducted comparisons of risk factors in different periods to identify their associations with the COVID-19 pandemic. ResultsThe prevalence of self-perceived overweight was much higher than BMI-based overweight among 1,189,586 middle and high school participants (grade 7-12) from 2005 to 2022 (female participants: n=577,102, 48.51%). From 2005 to 2019 (prepandemic), the prevalence of self-perceived overweight increased (β=2.80, 95% CI 2.70-2.90), but from 2020 to 2022 (pandemic) it decreased (β=–0.53, 95% CI –0.74 to –0.33). During the pandemic, individuals with higher levels of stress or lower household economic status exhibited a more substantial decrease in the rate of self-perceived overweight. The prevalence of self-perceived overweight tended to be higher among individuals with poor academic performance, lower economic status, poorer subjective health, and a higher stress level. ConclusionsOur nationwide study, conducted over 18 years, indicated that self-perceived overweight decreased during the COVID-19 period while identifying low academic performance and economic status as risk factors. These findings suggest the need for policies and facilities to address serious dieting and body dissatisfaction resulting from self-perceived overweight by developing counseling programs for adolescents with risk factors such as lower school performance and economic status.

Abstract Previous studies have examined the prevalence of allergic diseases in adolescents 1–2 years after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, more data is needed to understand the long-term impact of COVID-19 on allergic diseases. Thus, we aimed to examine the trend of the atopic dermatitis prevalence in Korean adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic across 14 years. Additionally, we analyze the risk factors of atopic dermatitis (AD) based on the results. The Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency conducted the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey from 2009 to 2022, from which the data for this study were obtained. Prevalence trends were compared across subgroups, and the β difference (βdiff) was calculated. We computed odds ratios to examine changes in the disease prevalence before and during the pandemic. This study included a total of 917,461 participants from 2009 to 2022. The prevalence of atopic dermatitis increased from 6.79% (95% CI 6.66–6.91) in 2009–2011 to 6.89% (95% CI 6.72–7.05) in 2018–2019, then decreased slightly to 5.82% (95% CI 5.60–6.04) in 2022. Across the 14 years, middle school student status, low parent’s highest education level, low household income, non-alcohol consumption, non-smoker smoking status, no suicidal thoughts, and no suicide attempts were associated with increased risk of atopic dermatitis, while female sex, rural residence, high BMI, low school performance, low household income, and no feelings of sadness and despair was associated with a small increase. This study examined the prevalence of atopic dermatitis across an 18-year, and found that the prevalence increased in the pre-pandemic then decreased during the start of the pandemic and remained constant throughout the pandemic. This trend could be explained mainly by the large scale social and political changes that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Organometallic compounds (OMCs) have attracted tremendous attention in various fields, such as photovoltaic cell and high-k dielectric application, due to their beneficial properties. Despite their potential, the progression of OMCs into industrial applications is hindered by the limited databases available for their properties and the absence of efficient surrogate models. To address this, in this study, optimally selected feature-based surrogate models for predicting the electronic properties of OMCs are constructed via various multiscale features and extensive database. To this end, high-throughput calculation was performed to obtain electronic properties of more than 18k materials generally known as organometallics, augmenting around 12k organic materials obtained from the public open data set, OMDB-GAP1. For generating features closely related to OMCs, descriptors encapsulating the information ranging local to global, also other widely-used composition-, structure-based features (more than 3.5k in total) were employed. Among these descriptors, we identified 48 critical features that elucidates the physicochemical underpinnings of OMCs’ properties, suggesting their impact on the properties of OMCs. The light gradient boosting machine model achieved high-accuracy predictions across the entire database with just 1 % of the total descriptors, sufficiently compared to the entire sets (decreased of around 0.01 by R2 score and 0.01 eV by MAE). Furthermore, the efficacy of active learning process was demonstrated to find OMCs with optimal properties rapidly. As a result, expected improvement outperforms other methods by identifying 69 % of the target materials only searching 46 % of the total search space. Our constructed platform with a high-throughput calculated database can pave the way for the rapid screening of OMCs for the targeted industrial application, and suggest a comprehensive grasp of the intrinsic properties of OMCs and related compounds.

The rapidly increasing prevalence of obesity and overweight, especially in children and adolescents, has become a serious societal issue. Although various genetic and environmental risk factors for pediatric obesity and overweight have been identified, the problem has not been solved. In this study, we examined whether environmental nanoplastic (NP) pollutants can act as environmental obesogens using mouse models exposed to NPs derived from polystyrene and polypropylene, which are abundant in the environment. We found abnormal weight gain in the progeny until 6 weeks of age following the oral administration of NPs to the mother during gestation and lactation. Through a series of experiments involving multi-omic analyses, we have demonstrated that NP-induced weight gain is caused by alterations in the lipid composition (lysophosphatidylcholine/phosphatidylcholine ratio) of maternal breast milk and he gut microbiota distribution of the progeny. These data indicate that environmental NPs can act as obesogens in childhood.

Background Total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) can fail for several reasons, such as component loosening, periprosthetic fracture, instability, infection, soft tissue failure, or joint overstuffing. Severe metallosis without loose glenoid components after TSA may result in the need for revision to reverse TSA. Case presentation Four years before the current presentation, an 86‐year‐old woman suffered from right shoulder pain and swelling. The initial diagnosis was osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint, for which she underwent TSA. Four years later, she complained of shoulder joint pain, swelling, and limited range of motion. On sonography, subscapularis and supraspinatus tendon tears were identified. Plain radiographs and computed tomography (CT) scans showed metallosis around the shoulder joint. Due to the rocking horse mechanism, wear of the upper portion of the glenoid component and bearing caused a foreign‐body reaction and severe metallosis around the joint. Due to a massive rotator cuff tear combined with glenoid component wear, the patient eventually underwent reverse TSA (RTSA) and was satisfied with the final results. Conclusions Severe metallosis due to glenoid component wear combined with a massive rotator cuff tear in TSA may cause the need for revision to RTSA.

Particulate matter (PM) contributes to human diseases, particularly lung disease; however, the molecular mechanism of its action is yet to be determined. Herein, we found that prolonged PM exposure induced the cellular senescence of normal lung fibroblasts via a DNA damage-mediated response. This PM-induced senescence (PM-IS) was only observed in lung fibroblasts but not in A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells. Mechanistic analysis revealed that reactive oxygen species (ROS) activate the DNA damage response signaling axis, increasing p53 phosphorylation, ultimately leading to cellular senescence via an increase in p21 expression without affecting the p16-pRB pathway. A549 cells, instead, were resistant to PM-IS due to the PM-induced ROS production suppression. Water-soluble antioxidants, such as vitamin C and N-Acetyl Cysteine, were found to alleviate PM-IS by suppressing ROS production, implying that antioxidants are a promising therapeutic intervention for PM-mediated lung pathogenesis.

MoO2 micro-powders with a mean pore size of 3.4 nm and specific surface area of 2.5 g/cm3 were compacted by dry pressing, then pressureless sintered at a temperature of 1000–1150 °C for 2 h or for a sintering time of 0.5–12 h at 1050 °C in an N2 atmosphere. Then, their microstructure evolution for morphology, crystallite, and grain growth were investigated. By sintering at a certain temperature and times, the irregular shape of the MoO2 powders transformed into an equiaxed structure, owing to the surface energy, which contributed to faster grain growth at the initial stage of sintering. The crystallite and grain sizes exponentially increased with the sintering time, and the growth exponent, n, was approximately 2.8 and 4, respectively. This indicates that the crystallite growth is governed by dislocation-mediated lattice diffusion, and the grain growth is determined by surface diffusion-controlled pore mobility. The increase in sintering temperature increased both crystallite and grain size, which obeyed the Arrhenius equation, and the activation energies were determined to be 95.65 and 76.95 kJmol−1 for crystallite and grain growths, respectively.

Abstract Gut health though is not well defined the role of gastrointestinal tract is vital if an animal must perform well. Apart from digestion, secretion, and absorption gut is harbored with consortium of microbiota which plays a key role in one’s health. Enzymes, one of the alternatives for antibiotics with beneficial effects on digestion and consistency of food and its effect on gut health. The effect of enzyme supplementation on gut health is not well established and the objective of this meta-analysis is to investigate if the enzyme supplement has influence on gut. This meta-analysis includes 1221 experiments which has single enzyme studies and or studies with multiple enzyme complexes but not challenged. The ratio of Lactobacillus and E. coli is related to ADFI which showed comparatively lower negative correlation coefficient, with − 0.052 and − 0.035, respectively, whose I 2 values are below 25%, showing that these studies show a significantly lower level of heterogeneity. Correlation between villus height, crypt depth, their ratio and fatty acid is also assessed, and it showed that when the animal is supplemented with two enzyme complexes resulted in positive gut health rather than the single or more than two enzymes.

Abstract This work reports on a rapid diagnostic platform for the detection of Plasmodium falciparum lactate dehydrogenase (PfLDH), a representative malaria biomarker, using a microfluidic microplate-based immunoassay. In this study, the microfluidic microplate made it possible to diagnose PfLDH with a small volume of sample (only 5 μL) and short time (

With an increase in the annealing temperature, the hydrothermally synthesized BaTiO _3 nanopowders increased in particle sizes from 100 to 260 nm and decreased in pore volume from 7.2 to 2.82 cm ^3 g ^−1 , while the pore size remained constant at 3.06 nm. Samples with different initial particle sizes were sintered in the temperature range of 1210 °C–1300 °C and for periods of 0.5–48 h at 1270 °C. The kinetic grain-growth exponent of the sintered BaTiO _3 samples, n , was proportional to the increase of an initial particle size and the decrease of pore volume, and the grain growth obeyed the Arrhenius equation. The activation energies for the grain growth of the sintered BaTiO _3 samples with initial particle size of 100, 155 and 260 nm were 737, 702 and 755 kJ mol ^−1 , respectively, indicating that the activation energy was independent of the initial particle size in the range of 100–300 nm under identical purity conditions, and pore volume was supposed to be attributed to the velocity of grain growth.

The ingestion of microplastics by diverse marine organisms induces behavioral disorders, physiological changes, and immune and stress responses. The negative effects of microplastic exposure in penaeid shrimps are still unclear despite the annual increase in the consumption of these food sources by humans and in marine aquaculture. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the potential negative effects of microplastic exposure and gain a deeper understanding of its impacts on culturing penaeid shrimp. We generated RNA sequencing data from the whiteleg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) artificially exposed to microplastics and analyzed the differentially expressed genes. Based on transcriptional comparisons, exposure to microplastics induces cardiac muscle dysfunction and promotes stress and immune responses in whiteleg shrimp. Thus, we confirmed the negative impact of microplastic exposure in whiteleg shrimp. These results provide a foundation for studies on the biological effects of microplastic ingestion on aquaculture species and their potential impact on humans through their consumption of these important marine resources.

Abstract A fluorescent fullerene nanoparticle (NP)-based lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA) was developed for the rapid and quantitative detection of C-reactive protein (CRP) in serum. The polyclonal CRP-antibody-conjugated fullerene NPs were simply prepared by 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethyllaminopropyl)-carbodiimide hydrochloride coupling after carboxylation of fluorescent fullerene NPs. By applying the CRP-antibody-conjugated fullerene NPs to a lateral flow test strip, quantitative analysis of CRP in serum was possible at a concentration range of 0.1–10 ng/ml within 15 min. We anticipate that this novel fluorescent fullerene NP-based LFIA can be useful for the rapid and accurate sensing of biological and chemical species, contributing to the disease diagnosis and prognosis, environmental monitoring, and food safety.

Abstract Calcium phosphate cements (CPCs) are synthetic bioactive cements widely used as hard tissue substitutes. Critical limitations of use include their poor mechanical properties and poor anti-washout behaviour. To address those limitations, we combined CPC with genetically engineered elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs). We investigated the effect of the ELPs on the physical properties and biocompatibility of CPC by testing ELP/CPC composites with various liquid/powder ratios. Our results show that the addition of ELPs improved the mechanical properties of the CPC, including the microhardness, compressive strength, and washout resistance. The biocompatibility of ELP/CPC composites was also comparable to that of the CPC alone. However, supplementing CPC with ELPs functionalized with octaglutamate as a hydroxyapatite binding peptide increased the setting time of the cement. With further design and modification of our biomolecules and composites, our research will lead to products with diverse applications in biology and medicine.

Abstract Background Major amino acids in pig diets are Lys, Met, Thr, and Trp, but little is known about the requirements for the other essential amino acids, especially on odorous compounds and microbial characteristics in feces of growing-finishing pigs. To this end, different levels of amino acid composition added to diets to investigate the effects of amino acid composition on microbial characteristics and odorous compounds concentration. Methods A total eight (n = 8) barrows (Landrace × Yorkshire × Duroc) with an average bodyweight of 89.38 ± 3.3 kg were individually fed diets formulated by Korean Feeding Standards 2007 (old version) or 2012 (updated with ideal protein concept) in metabolism crates with two replication. After 15-day adaptation period, fresh faecal samples were collected directly from pigs every week for 4 weeks and analysed for total volatile fatty acids (VFA), phenols and indoles by using gas chromatography. The nitrogen was determined by Kjeldahl method. Bacterial communities were detected by using a 454 FLX titanium pyrosequencing system. Results Level of VFA tended to be greater in 2012 than 2007 group. Among VFAs, 2012 group had greater (p

Objective The main objective of this study was to determine the effect of different diets for early-weaned (EW) calves on rumen development, and how this affects fat deposition in the longissimus dorsi of adult Korean Hanwoo beef cattle. Methods Three EW groups were established (each n = 12) in which two- week-old Hanwoo calves were fed for ten weeks with milk replacer+concentrate (T1), milk replacer+concentrate+ roughage (T2), or milk replacer+concentrate+30% starch (T3); a control group (n = 12) was weaned as normal. At six months, 5 calves of each group were slaughtered and their organs were assessed and rumen papillae growth rates were measured. The remaining calves (n = 7 in each group) were raised to 20 months for further analysis. Results Twenty-month-old EW calves had a higher body weight (BW), backfat thickness (BF), longissimus dorsi muscle area (LMA) and intramuscular fat (IMF) than the control (p

The use of a good vaccine adjuvant may induce a higher immunogenicity profile of vaccine antigens. Here, we developed a new adjuvant by combining poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) with alum (PGA/Alum) and investigated its ability to enhance the immunogenicity and the cross-reactive efficacy of pandemic H1N1 (pH1N1) influenza vaccine antigen. PGA/Alum enhanced antigen delivery to draining lymph nodes and antigen-specific immunogenicity in mice using OVA as a model antigen. It also greatly increased OVA-specific antibody production, cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity, and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). These abilities of PGA/Alum improved the protective efficacy of pH1N1 vaccine antigen by increasing hemagglutination-inhibition titers, enhancing ADCC and CTL activity, and speeding viral clearance following homologous viral challenge. Importantly, the cross-protective efficacy of pH1N1 vaccine against heterologous viruses [A/Puerto Rico/8/34 (H1N1) and A/Hong Kong/1/1968 (H3N2)] was significantly enhanced by PGA/Alum, and cross-reactive ADCC and CTL activities were observed. Together, our results strongly suggest that PGA/Alum may be a promising vaccine adjuvant for preventing influenza and other infectious diseases.

Anesthetic management of pediatric liver transplantation in a patient with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) requires tough decisions and comprehensive considerations of the cascade of effects that may arise and the required monitoring. Total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) with propofol and remifentanil was chosen as the main anesthetic strategy. Malignant hyperthermia (MH), skeletal fragility, anhepatic phase during liver transplantation, uncertainties of TIVA in children, and propofol infusion syndrome were considered and monitored. There were no adverse events during the operation. Despite meticulous precautions with regard to the risk of MH, there was an episode of high fever (40℃) in the ICU a few hours after the operation, which was initially feared as MH. Fortunately, MH was ruled out as the fever subsided soon after hydration and antipyretics were given. Although the delivery of supportive care and the administration of dantrolene are the core principles in the management of MH, perioperative fever does not always mean a MH in patients at risk for MH, and other common causes of fever should also be considered.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria present a global threat because the infections they cause are difficult to treat. Therefore, it is highly important to develop advanced methods for the identification of antibiotic resistance gene in the virulent bacteria. Here, we report the development of novel nanoprobes for fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and the application of the nanoprobe to the detection of ampicillin-resistant Escherichia coli. The nanoprobe for FISH was synthesized by the modified sol–gel chemistry and the synthesized nanoprobe provided strong fluorescent signals and pH stability even under natural light condition. For the double-identification of bacteria species and ampicillin-resistance with a single probe in situ, the nanoprobes were conjugated to the two kinds of biotinylated probe DNAs; one for E. coli-species specific gene and the other for a drug-resistant gene. By using the nanoprobe-DNA conjugants, we successfully detected the ampicillin-resistant E. coli through the FISH technique. This result suggests the new insight into light stable FISH application of the nanoprobe for a pathogenic antibiotic-resistance bacterium.

A silver nanoparticle is one of the representative engineered nanomaterials with excellent optical, electrical, antibacterial properties. Silver nanoparticles are being increasingly used for medical products, water filters, and cosmetics, etc. However, silver nanoparticles are known to cause adverse effects on the ecosystem and human health. To utilize silver nanoparticles with minimized negative effects, it is important to understand the behavior of silver nanoparticles released to the environment. In this study, we compared toxicity behaviors of citrate-stabilized silver nanoparticles with polyethylene glycol coated silver nanoparticles in two different ionic environments, which are aquatic environments for developing zebrafish embryo. Depending on the composition of the ionic environment, citrate-stabilized silver nanoparticles and polyethylene glycol coated silver nanoparticles exhibited different behaviors in dissolution, aggregation, or precipitation, which governed the toxicity of silver nanoparticles on zebrafish embryos.

Aflatoxins (AFs) are highly toxic compounds that can cause both acute and chronic toxicity in humans. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is considered the most toxic of AFs. Therefore, the rapid and on-site detection of AFB1 is critical for food safety management. Here, we report the on-site detection of AFB1 in grains by a portable surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor. For the detection of AFB1, the surface of an SPR Au chip was sequentially modified by cysteine-protein G, AFB1 antibody, and bovine serum albumin (BSA). Then, the sample solution and AFB1-BSA conjugate were flowed onto the Au chip in serial order. In the absence of AFB1, the SPR response greatly increased due to the binding of AFB1-BSA on the Au chip. In the presence of AFB1, the SPR response showed little change because the small AFB1 molecule binds on the Au chip instead of the large AFB1-BSA molecule. By using this portable SPR-based competitive immunoassay, the sensor showed low limits of detection (2.51 ppb) and quantification (16.32 ppb). Furthermore, we successfully detected AFB1 in rice, peanut, and almond samples, which suggests that the proposed sensing method can potentially be applied to the on-site monitoring of mycotoxins in food.

Three-dimensional SiO2-based inverse opal (SiO2-IO) nanostructures were prepared for use as biosensors. SiO2-IO was fabricated by vertical deposition and calcination processes. Antibodies were immobilized on the surface of SiO2-IO using 3-aminopropyl trimethoxysilane (APTMS), a succinimidyl-[(N-maleimidopropionamido)-tetraethyleneglycol] ester (NHS-PEG4-maleimide) cross-linker, and protein G. The highly accessible surface and porous structure of SiO2-IO were beneficial for capturing influenza viruses on the antibody-immobilized surfaces. Moreover, as the binding leads to the redshift of the reflectance peak, the influenza virus could be detected by simply monitoring the change in the reflectance spectrum without labeling. SiO2-IO showed high sensitivity in the range of 103–105 plaque forming unit (PFU) and high specificity to the influenza A (H1N1) virus. Due to its structural and optical properties, SiO2-IO is a promising material for the detection of the influenza virus. Our study provides a generalized sensing platform for biohazards as various sensing strategies can be employed through the surface functionalization of three-dimensional nanostructures.