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Abstract The prevalence of food allergies is increasing worldwide, affecting approximately 8% of children. Food allergies that develop early in life can persist throughout an individual's life. Dietary patterns, particularly those involving fatty acids (FAs), play an important role in the regulation of immune cells, thereby affecting the development of food allergies. Aimed to investigate the effects of different FA patterns on food allergies, this study established a sensitised infant rat model and fed it with feeds containing different types of FAs. We then assessed the clinical allergy symptoms, immune balance, and gut microbiota. Our animal allergy model revealed that diets rich in specific FAs exerted different regulatory effects on food allergies. Notably, n‐3 long‐chain polyunsaturated FAs exhibited the strongest inhibitory effect on food allergies, accompanied by a reduction in allergy symptoms, lower serum antibody levels, and modulation of T cell differentiation. By contrast, high levels of medium‐chain FAs promoted the occurrence and progression of food allergies. In addition, various dietary FA patterns have varying impacts on the gut microbiota, influencing overall diversity, microbial composition, and function. N‐3 long‐chain polyunsaturated FAs may be associated with a significant increase in the copy number of 15‐cis‐phytoene synthase in the intestinal flora. These findings suggest that dietary intake of different FAs during early life can affect an individual's susceptibility to food allergies by shaping the gut microbiota, which may offer a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of food allergies.

Background: Continuous retrograde flow across the aortic valve from left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy can result in cusp damage and progressive aortic regurgitation, potentially triggering recurrent heart and multiorgan failure. The management of aortic regurgitation after LVAD implantation has not been well defined. Methods: This study retrospectively reviewed the investigators’ experience with the management of de novo aortic regurgitation requiring intervention in patients with continuous-flow LVAD. Results: Six patients who had undergone LVAD implantation and who required intervention were identified. Two patients underwent redo sternotomy with bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement, and 4 patients underwent percutaneous management, including Amplatzer device (Abbott) placement and transcatheter aortic valve replacement. All patients had resolution of aortic regurgitation with improved hemodynamics and relief from heart failure. One early and 2 late deaths occurred. Valve function was intact, with all valves opening intermittently without greater than trivial aortic regurgitation. Conclusions: Multiple treatment modalities exist for LVAD-induced aortic valve regurgitation, including open surgical and percutaneous strategies. With a tailored risk-adjusted approach, acceptable results may be achieved.

The frozen elephant trunk (FET) technique can be applied to extensive aortic pathology, including lesions in the aortic arch and proximal descending thoracic aorta. FET is useful for tear-oriented surgery in dissections, managing malperfusion syndrome, and promoting positive aortic remodeling. Despite these benefits, complications such as distal stent-induced new entry and spinal cord ischemia can pose serious problems with the FET technique. To prevent these complications, careful sizing and planning of the FET are crucial. Additionally, since the FET technique involves total arch replacement, meticulous surgical skills are essential, particularly for young surgeons. In this article, we propose several techniques to simplify surgical procedures, which may lead to better outcomes for patients with extensive aortic pathology. In the era of precision medicine, the next-generation FET device could facilitate the treatment of complex aortic diseases through a patient- tailored approach.

This article interrogates the veneer of Orientalism in the course content related to dance practices from East Asia, reflecting on pedagogy and experience in teaching the topic of "Chinese" dance, within the demographics of a majority White university. It examines how existing curriculum structure shapes the ways students learn about dance forms other than Euro-American dance forms. Strategies and practices are discussed, and examples from a classroom and a production are provided, in order to add to the larger conversations happening in the United States and elsewhere, about decolonizing our curricula and harnessing the transformative power of dance. This is a call to action to revolutionize the ways we learn and educate.

The General Education Foundation (GEF) Programme, consisting of two seminar courses, namely "In Dialogue with Humanity" and "In Dialogue with Nature," has been a common core requirement of The Chinese University of Hong Kong since 2012. Aided by selected classics, students from all faculties engage in dialogues with their teachers and each other to reflect on what it means to have a good life, what an ideal society is, and the nature of intellectual pursuit in the sciences. Reading classics and discussing serious questions in class, however, can be challenging for some students. To help students meet these challenges, Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) were introduced in the pilot stage of GEF in 2010 and, with subsequent refinements, continue to this day. The seminar-style and interdisciplinary nature of GEF makes it an atypical case for PASS. This paper will examine and evaluate how PASS can improve student learning in seminar-style courses like GEF with a mixed-method study from a student perspective. According to evidence from online surveys and focus group interviews, PASS successfully (1) improves students' understanding of the course content at a cognitive level; (2) assists and motivates them to prepare better for seminar discussions, effecting a behavioural change; and (3) facilitates affective learning outcomes in terms of confidence and motivation. Major challenges--including students' misperceptions about PASS, differences in leaders' approaches and organisational difficulties--are identified. Proposed solutions to these challenges will also be discussed.

Eosinophilia serves as an indicator of allergy and parasite infestation. Eosinophil granules are believed to have adverse effects on cells and contribute to oxidative stress. In our current study, we investigated the relationship between eosinophilia and healthy subjects in terms of nuclear DNA damage in peripheral leukocytes. The comet assay was employed to test whole blood samples from 52 subjects in each group. The results revealed that eosinophilia subjects exhibited significantly higher levels of nuclear DNA damage in leukocytes compared to healthy subjects. Additionally, a weak positive association was observed between eosinophil counts and DNA damage. Our findings suggest that eosinophilia is linked to systemic oxidative DNA damage.

Collective cell behavior contributes to all stages of cancer progression. Understanding how collective behavior emerges through cell-cell interactions and decision-making will advance our understanding of cancer biology and provide new therapeutic approaches. Here, we summarize an interdisciplinary discussion on multicellular behavior in cancer, draw lessons from other scientific disciplines, and identify future directions.

Prenatal alcohol exposure is the foremost preventable etiology of intellectual disability and leads to a collection of diagnoses known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Alcohol (EtOH) impacts diverse neural cell types and activity, but the precise functional pathophysiological effects on the human fetal cerebral cortex are unclear. Here, we used human cortical organoids to study the effects of EtOH on neurogenesis and validated our findings in primary human fetal neurons. EtOH exposure produced temporally dependent cellular effects on proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis. In addition, we identified EtOH-induced alterations in post-translational histone modifications and chromatin accessibility, leading to impairment of cAMP and calcium signaling, glutamatergic synaptic development, and astrocytic function. Proteomic spatial profiling of cortical organoids showed region-specific, EtOH-induced alterations linked to changes in cytoskeleton, gliogenesis, and impaired synaptogenesis. Finally, multi-electrode array electrophysiology recordings confirmed the deleterious impact of EtOH on neural network formation and activity in cortical organoids, which was validated in primary human fetal tissues. Our findings demonstrate progress in defining the human molecular and cellular phenotypic signatures of prenatal alcohol exposure on functional neurodevelopment, increasing our knowledge for potential therapeutic interventions targeting FASD symptoms.

Post-menopausal persons living with HIV (PWH) report elevated levels of psychological stress and monocyte activation compared to persons living without HIV (PWOH). Resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) of mesolimbic brain regions underpinning stress and emotion regulation are susceptible to inflammatory insult. Although psychological stress is elevated, rsFC reduced, and CD16+ monocytes overexpressed in the brains of PWH, it is unclear whether the relationships amongst these variables differ compared to PWOH.An ethnically diverse sample of postmenopausal women, 24 PWH and 30 PWOH provided self-report mood surveys and provided peripheral blood specimens to quantify LPS-stimulated CD16+/− expression of TNF-α via flow cytometric analysis. An anatomical and resting state functional MRI scan were used to derive time-series metrics of connectivity between the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) as well as the amygdala.A positive association was observed between levels of perceived stress and CD16+/− TNF-α in both LPS-stimulated and unstimulated cells. PLWH showed lower connectivity between mPFC and NAcc. In turn, lower rsFC between these regions predicted greater psychological stress and proportion of CD16−, but not CD16+, cells expression of TNF-α.Neuroimmune effects of monocyte inflammation on the functional connectivity of mesolimbic regions critical for discrimination of uncertainty-safety and reward signals were observed in an ethnically diverse sample of postmenopausal women living with and without HIV. PWH showed lower mPFC-NAcc functional connectivity, which in turn was associated with greater perceived stress.

Non-caseating granulomatous infiltration of the myocardium is the hallmark of cardiac sarcoidosis (CS). CS manifests clinically as conduction disturbance, ventricular arrhythmia, sudden cardiac death and/or heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Other than confirmation through endomyocardial biopsy, a diagnosis of probable CS can be established by histological evidence of systemic sarcoidosis in addition to characteristic clinical or advanced imaging findings. Cardiac Magnetic Resonance imaging (CMR) and 18F-flurodeoxyglycose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) are imaging modalities indispensable in the diagnosis and monitoring of CS. FDG-PET is the method of choice for identifying the active inflammatory phase of CS and in the monitoring and modifying of immunosuppressive treatment. CMR is better suited for assessing cardiac morphology and function. Both modalities are more effective in detecting CS when used in combination than either is alone. Management of CS is primarily based upon observational data of low quality due to a paucity of randomized controlled trials. Corticosteroid therapy and/or tiered-immunosuppression are the mainstays of treatment in reducing myocardial inflammation. Steroid-sparing agents aim to limit the unfavorable side-effects of a significant steroid burden. Antiarrhythmics and guideline-directed medical therapies are utilized for control of ventricular arrhythmia and left ventricular dysfunction respectively. CS necessitates multidisciplinary care in specialized centers to most effectively diagnose and manage the disease. Additional randomized trials are warranted to further our understanding of medical optimization in CS.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a heterogeneous, chronic, inflammatory musculoskeletal disease that can lead to peripheral and axial damage and loss of function. A clear difference between PsA and other forms of inflammatory arthritis is the different forms of bone remodeling seen in PSA which incorporates not only increased bone resorption with bone erosions, osteolysis, and loss of bone mineral density but also increased bone formation with periostitis, syndesmophytes, enthesiophytes, and ankylosis. PsA, if diagnosed late, will lead to significant structural damage, the most severe form of which is known as arthritis mutilans, and loss of physical function. Imaging plays a crucial role in diagnosing and monitoring both peripheral and axial conditions associated with PsA. Radiography is currently the main modality used to monitor structural damage in PsA though commonly used scoring systems do not include bony proliferation as a criterion. Besides, radiography is limited in determining the presence and cause of periarticular soft tissue thickening, which may arise from tendinosis, tenosynovitis, synovial proliferation, bursitis, or enthesitis. Recently, much more attention has been paid to determining the imaging characteristics of PsA, which enables more precise identification of disease and severity assessment. Newer imaging technologies also enable variations in normal bone microstructure to be distinguished from disease-related abnormality. This review discusses the current state of innovative imaging modalities in PsA, specifically concentrating on their roles in PsA diagnosis and treatment, improving the early detection of PsA, and identifying patients with skin psoriasis at risk of developing psoriatic arthritis.

Giant cell tumor of the tendon sheath (GCTTS) originates from the synovial cells of the tendon sheath. It is one of the most common benign soft-tissue tumors of the foot and ankle affecting the joints, bursae, and tendon sheaths and can behave in a locally aggressive manner. Complete surgical resection with long-term follow-up is the preferred treatment. Because GCTTS is a benign condition, the equilibrium between the quality of the surgical margins and functional preservation should be considered. If more aggressive resection is applied, the outcome may negatively affect quality of life, whereas incomplete resection may lead to recurrence. The purpose of this technical note is to describe the details of endoscopic en bloc resection of GCTTS of the anterior ankle. This endoscopic approach can provide a magnified view of the operative site, allowing accurate surgical assessment to ensure complete resection of the lesion without damage to the adjacent normal structures.

AbstractAnalyses of women dermatology literature authorship from 2018 to 2022 reveal a slight increase in total female authors, female first authors, and female senior authors with no substantial immediate impact of COVID-19 on current trends, encouraging future examination of long-term effects and ongoing promotion of systemic initiatives to support gender equity.

AbstractTikTok is a social media platform that can educate users about dermatology, but this longitudinal analysis of skin of color–related TikTok hashtags from 2021 to 2022 suggests that nondermatologist influencers continue to dominate content creation, highlighting the need for more participation from board-certified dermatologists to actively counter misinformation and address potential disparities in skin-of-color health care.