Clinical Efficacy of MiSight 1 day Soft Contact Lenses in Korean Myopic Children.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the clinical efficacy of MiSight 1 day soft contact lenses (MiSight CL) in Korean children with mild-to-moderate myopia. In addition, the study compared the effects of MiSight CL in children who had or had not previously used orthokeratology contact lenses (Ortho-K). METHODS: A total of 66 children aged 5 to 16 years, who were prescribed MiSight CL, were included in the study. Based on a myopia degree of -4 diopters (D), children were divided into mild and severe myopia groups to compare the effectiveness of myopia suppression. In addition, 55 eyes previously using Ortho-K were compared with 76 eyes using MiSight CL for the first time. RESULTS: The average follow-up period was 6.58±3.74 months. The average refractive value before using MiSight CL was 3.64±1.56 D, and there was no significant change in the final visit. Comparing myopia suppression between different degrees of myopia and previous use of Ortho-K lenses, there was no significant change in refractive error before and after using MiSight CL (unpaired t test, P>0.05). The main reason for Ortho-K failure was low visual acuity after correction. Regardless of Ortho-K history, children showed good visual acuity after wearing MiSight CL, and no other side effects were observed. CONCLUSIONS: MiSight CL effectively inhibited the progression of myopia in Korean children with mild-to-moderate myopia. MiSight CL offer the advantage of easy application, making them a viable alternative when Ortho-K are not suitable.

Speakers-Used as sensors for detecting acoustic loads with artificial intelligence.

Previous research demonstrated the potential of using speakers as sensors to detect ear canal conditions. This study continues that effort by using a single speaker to measure electrical impedance across various acoustic loads. Electrical impedance data were collected and preprocessed for machine learning model training. Different image forms were tested, including magnitude only and combined magnitude phase. Using 2100 data samples with convolutional neural network-based models (AlexNet, ResNet, and DenseNet), binary and multiclass classifications achieved average accuracies of 0.9716 and 0.907, respectively. This innovative approach is set to revolutionize acoustic sensing through artificial intelligence.

One-hit kill: On the inactivation of RNA viruses by ultraviolet (UV)-C-induced genomic damage.

Large scale outbreaks of infectious respiratory disease have repeatedly plagued the globe over the last 100 years. The scope and strength of the outbreaks are getting worse as pathogenic RNA viruses are rapidly evolving and highly evasive to vaccines and anti-viral drugs. Germicidal UV-C is considered as a robust agent to disinfect RNA viruses regardless of their evolution. While genomic damage by UV-C has been known to be associated with viral inactivation, the precise relationship between the damage and inactivation remains unsettled as genomic damage has been analyzed in small areas, typically under 0.5 kb. In this study, we assessed genomic damage by the reduced efficiency of reverse transcription of regions of up to 7.2 kb. Our data seem to indicate that genomic damage was directly proportional to the size of the genome, and a single hit of damage was sufficient for inactivation of RNA viruses. The high efficacy of UV-C is already effectively adopted to inactivate airborne RNA viruses.

Site-specific mutagenesis screening in KRASG12D mutant library to uncover resistance mechanisms to KRASG12D inhibitors.

KRAS plays a crucial role in regulating cell survival and proliferation and is one of the most commonly mutated oncogenes in human cancers. The novel KRASG12D inhibitor, MRTX1133, demonstrates promising antitumor efficacy in vitro and in vivo. However, the development of acquired resistance in treated patients presents a considerable challenge to sustained therapeutic effectiveness. In response to this challenge, we conducted site-specific mutagenesis screening to identify potential secondary mutations that could induce resistance to MRTX1133. We screened a range of KRASG12D variants harboring potential secondary mutations, and 44 representative variants were selected for in-depth validation of the pooled screening outcomes. We identified eight variants (G12D with V9E, V9W, V9Q, G13P, T58Y, R68G, Y96W, and Q99L) that exhibited substantial resistance, with V9W showing notable resistance, and downstream signaling analyses and structural modeling were conducted. We observed that secondary mutations in KRASG12D can lead to acquired resistance to MRTX1133 and BI-2865, a novel pan-KRAS inhibitor, in human cancer cell lines. This evidence is critical for devising new strategies to counteract resistance mechanisms and, ultimately, enhance treatment outcomes in patients with KRASG12D-mutant cancers.

Primary small lymphocytic lymphoma of the breast: a rare presentation of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Primary Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma of the breast is a rare presentation of Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In this report, we present the case of primary small lymphocytic lymphoma of the breast in a 65-year-old female who presented with an abnormal breast ultrasound significant for a nodule of the right breast consistent with BI-RADS 4, indicating follow-up with ultrasound-guided biopsy for further diagnostic evaluation. The patient had no prior history of extramammary lymphoma or widespread disease. A sample of the breast mass was obtained via ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy and the pathology report revealed low-grade B-cell Lymphoma. After discussion with medical oncology and the explanation of risks, benefits and alternatives to surgery, a lumpectomy was performed, and the final pathology report of the mass revealed primary low-grade B-cell lymphocytic lymphoma of the breast. On follow up, the PET scan was unremarkable and showed no evidence of abnormal glucose metabolism or adenopathy.

The clinical efficacy of preoperative flash visual evoked potential (VEP) for mature cataracts without a response to pattern VEP.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to assess the effectiveness of the preoperative flash visual evoked potential (VEP) test in predicting postoperative visual acuity for monocular mature cataract cases when compared to the contralateral normal eye. METHODS: The study included 60 patients, each with a monocular mature cataract diagnosis, who underwent preoperative flash VEP testing showing no pattern VEP response. Subsequently, phacoemulsification was performed. The relationship between the flash VEP test latency values (P1, N2, P2) and amplitude value (N2-P2), and the degree of visual acuity recovery 3 months post-cataract surgery, was evaluated using the LogMAR scale. Furthermore, a linear regression analysis was conducted to explore the connection between preoperative flash VEP components and postoperative visual acuity. RESULTS: The average age of the patients was 65.4 ± 13.6 years, with a range of 43 to 87 years. The study included 36 males and 24 females. A significant disparity in visual acuity was observed between the preoperative and 3-month postoperative stages (p < 0.001). The preoperative flash VEP test for mature cataracts revealed significant delays in P1, N2, and P2 latency, as well as a reduction in N2-P2 amplitude potential when compared to the contralateral normal eye (p < 0.001). Notably, delayed P2 latency and reduced N2-P2 amplitude potential were particularly indicative of poor visual acuity prognosis after cataract surgery in the multiple regression analysis (p < 0.05). The N2-P2 amplitude potential was the important value that exhibited statistically significant results, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 80% sensitivity and 88% specificity, using a cutoff value of 6.07 µV. CONCLUSIONS: In cases of monocular mature cataract, a reduction in N2-P2 amplitude potential compared to the contralateral normal eye emerged as the most reliable predictor of postoperative visual prognosis following cataract surgery.

Multifocal multiview imaging and data compression based on angular-focal-spatial representation.

Multifocal multiview (MFMV) is an emerging high-dimensional optical data that allows to record richer scene information but yields huge volumes of data. To unveil its imaging mechanism, we present an angular-focal-spatial representation model, which decomposes high-dimensional MFMV data into angular, spatial, and focal dimensions. To construct a comprehensive MFMV dataset, we leverage representative imaging prototypes, including digital camera imaging, emerging plenoptic refocusing, and synthesized Blender 3D creation. It is believed to be the first-of-its-kind MFMV dataset in multiple acquisition ways. To efficiently compress MFMV data, we propose the first, to our knowledge, MFMV data compression scheme based on angular-focal-spatial representation. It exploits inter-view, inter-stack, and intra-frame predictions to eliminate data redundancy in angular, focal, and spatial dimensions, respectively. Experiments demonstrate the proposed scheme outperforms the standard HEVC and MV-HEVC coding methods. As high as 3.693 dB PSNR gains and 64.22% bitrate savings can be achieved.

Exosome proteomes reveal glycolysis-related enzyme enrichment in primary canine mammary gland tumor compared to metastases.

OBJECTIVE: Numerous evidence has highlighted the differences between primary tumors and metastases. Nonetheless, the differences in exosomal proteins derived from primary tumor and metastases remain elusive. Here, we aimed to identify differentially expressed exosomal proteins from primary canine mammary gland tumor and metastases to understand how they shape their own tumor microenvironment. METHODS: We clearly distinguished primary canine mammary gland tumors (CHMp) from metastases (CHMm) and profiled the proteins within their secreted exosomes using LC-MS/MS. Moreover, the abundance of glycolysis enzymes (GPI, LDHA) in CHMp exosome was verified with Western blotting, To broaden the scope, we extended to human colorectal cancer-derived exosomes (SW480 vs. SW620) for comparison. RESULTS: We identified significant differences in 87 and 65 proteins derived from CHMp and CHMm, respectively. Notably, glycolysis enzymes (GPI, LDHA, LDHB, TPI1, and ALDOA) showed specific enrichment in exosomes from the primary tumor. CONCLUSION: We observed significant differences in the cellular proteome between primary tumors and metastases, and intriguingly, we identified a parallel heterogeneity the protein composition of exosomes. Specifically, we reported that glycolysis enzymes were significantly enriched in CHMp exosomes compared to CHMm exosomes. We further demonstrated that this quantitative difference in glycolysis enzymes persisted across primary and metastases, extending to human colorectal cancer-derived exosomes (SW480 vs. SW620). Our findings of the specific enrichment of glycolysis enzymes in primary tumor-derived exosomes contribute to a better understanding of tumor microenvironment modulation and heterogeneity between primary tumors and metastases.

Enhancing microbial CO2 electrocatalysis for multicarbon reduction in a wet amine-based catholyte.

Microbial CO2 electroreduction (mCO2ER) offers a promising approach for producing high-value multicarbon reductants from CO2 by combining CO2 fixing microorganisms with conducting materials (i. e., cathodes). However, the solubility and availability of CO2 in an aqueous electrolyte pose significant limitations in this system. This study demonstrates the efficient production of long-chain multicarbon reductants, specifically carotenoids (~C40), within a wet amine-based catholyte medium during mCO2ER. Optimizing the concentration of the biocompatible CO2 absorbent, monoethanolamine (MEA), led to enhanced CO2 fixation in the electroautotroph bacteria. Molecular biological analyses revealed that MEA in the catholyte medium redirected the carbon flux towards carotenoid biosynthesis during mCO2ER. The faradaic efficiency of mCO2ER with MEA for carotenoid production was 4.5-fold higher than that of the control condition. These results suggest the mass transport bottleneck in bioelectrochemical systems could be effectively addressed by MEA-assissted mCO2ER, enabling highly efficient production of valuable products from CO2.

ARID3C Acts as a Regulator of Monocyte-to-Macrophage Differentiation Interacting with NPM1.

ARID3C is a protein located on human chromosome 9 and expressed at low levels in various organs, yet its biological function has not been elucidated. In this study, we investigated both the cellular localization and function of ARID3C. Employing a combination of LC-MS/MS and deep learning techniques, we identified NPM1 as a binding partner for ARID3C's nuclear shuttling. ARID3C was found to predominantly localize with the nucleus, where it functioned as a transcription factor for genes STAT3, STAT1, and JUNB, thereby facilitating monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation. The precise binding sites between ARID3C and NPM1 were predicted by AlphaFold2. Mutating this binding site prevented ARID3C from interacting with NPM1, resulting in its retention in the cytoplasm instead of translocation to the nucleus. Consequently, ARID3C lost its ability to bind to the promoters of target genes, leading to a loss of monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation. Collectively, our findings indicate that ARID3C forms a complex with NPM1 to translocate to the nucleus, acting as a transcription factor that promotes the expression of the genes involved in monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation.

A Multicenter Validity Study of Four Smartphone Hearing Test Apps in Optimized and Home Environments.

OBJECTIVE: Pure tone audiometry (PTA) is the gold standard for hearing assessment. However, it requires access to specialized equipment. Smartphone audiometry applications (apps) have been developed to perform automated threshold audiometry and could allow patients to perform self-administered screening or monitoring. This study aimed to assess the validity and feasibility of patients using apps to self-assess hearing thresholds at home, with comparison to PTA. METHODS: A multi-center, prospective randomized study was conducted amongst patients undergoing PTA in clinics. Participants were randomly allocated to one of four publicly-available apps designed to measure pure tone thresholds. Participants used an app once in optimal sound-treated conditions and a further three times at home. Ear-specific frequency-specific thresholds and pure tone average were compared using Pearson correlation coefficient. The percentage of app hearing tests with results within ±10 dB of PTA was calculated. Patient acceptability was assessed via an online survey. RESULTS: One hundred thirty-nine participants submitted data. The results of two at-home automated smartphone apps correlated strongly/very strongly with PTA average and their frequency-specific median was within ±10 dB accuracy. Smartphone audiometry performed in sound-treated and home conditions were very strongly correlated. The apps were rated as easy/very easy to use by 90% of participants and 90% would be happy/very happy to use an app to monitor their hearing. CONCLUSION: Judicious use of self-performed smartphone audiometry was both valid and feasible for two of four apps. It could provide frequency-specific threshold estimates at home, potentially allowing assessments of patients remotely or monitoring of fluctuating hearing loss. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2 Laryngoscope, 134:2864-2870, 2024.

Cystoid macular edema after vitrectomy and after phacovitrectomy for epiretinal membrane.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the incidence of cystoid macular edema (CME) after vitrectomy and CME after phacovitrectomy in patients requiring epiretinal membrane (ERM) removal. DESIGN: A retrospective, comparative, interventional study. METHODS: Medical records of patients who had undergone vitrectomy or phacovitrectomy for ERM removal by a single surgeon were retrospectively reviewed. Phacovitrectomy was performed in all phakic eyes and vitrectomy was performed in all pseudophakic eyes. Increased macular thickness (IMT) was defined as an increase in macular thickness by more than 10% at the postoperative week 4 visit compared to the measurements at baseline. RESULTS: There were 214 and 53 eyes in the Phacovitrectomy group and the Vitrectomy group, respectively. IMT occurred in 15.4% of the Phacovitrectomy group, which was higher than the incidence of 3.8% in the Vitrectomy group (p=0.023). CONCLUSIONS: IMT, that is suspected to be a type of CME, was not uncommon (15.4%) after phacovitrectomy in phakic eyes but was uncommon (3.8%) after vitrectomy alone in pseudophakic eyes. Irvine-Gass syndrome appears to be triggered by crystalline lens removal itself rather than intraocular surgery or surgical trauma alone.

High dimensional optical data - varifocal multiview imaging, compression and evaluation.

Varifocal multiview (VFMV) is an emerging high-dimensional optical data in computational imaging and displays. It describes scenes in angular, spatial, and focal dimensions, whose complex imaging conditions involve dense viewpoints, high spatial resolutions, and variable focal planes, resulting in difficulties in data compression. In this paper, we propose an efficient VFMV compression scheme based on view mountain-shape rearrangement (VMSR) and all-directional prediction structure (ADPS). The VMSR rearranges the irregular VFMV to form a new regular VFMV with mountain-shape focusing distributions. This special rearrangement features prominently in enhancing inter-view correlations by smoothing focusing status changes and moderating view displacements. Then, the ADPS efficiently compresses the rearranged VFMV by exploiting the enhanced correlations. It conducts row-wise hierarchy divisions and creates prediction dependencies among views. The closest adjacent views from all directions serve as reference frames to improve the prediction efficiency. Extensive experiments demonstrate the proposed scheme outperforms comparison schemes by quantitative, qualitative, complexity, and forgery protection evaluations. As high as 3.17 dB gains of peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and 61.1% bitrate savings can be obtained, achieving the state-of-the-art compression performance. VFMV is also validated could serve as a novel secure imaging format protecting optical data against the forgery of large models.

Comparative outcomes of the pathogen in cultured Jones tubes used in lacrimal bypass surgery according to follow up periods.

AIM: To evaluate the pathogens in cultured Jones tubes used in lacrimal bypass surgery according to the postoperative periods and to obtain data for the prevention of infection of functional lacrimal stent invention. METHODS: Totally 71 patients (81 eyes) who underwent the removal of Jones tubes were enrolled in study. All the removed Jones tubes were cultured for bacterial and fungal identification and tested for bacterial antibiotic sensitivity. The results were analyzed according to the duration of the inserted Jones tube after lacrimal bypass surgery. RESULTS: Of the 81 eyes, bacteria were isolated from 69 eyes (85.2%) and fungi from 6 eyes (7.4%). Among 69 eyes, 40.6% showed Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), 11.6% were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa). Gram-positive bacteria were isolated more than Gram-negative bacteria, but Gram-negative bacteria showed a higher incidence in the Jones tube implanted for over 10y (P=0.035). The antibiotic sensitivity test showed that 46.4% of S. aureus were resistant to oxacillin. In terms of antibiotics commonly used in ocular clinical practice, vancomycin was sensitive to S. aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae), amikacin responded to P. aeruginosa and Proteus mirabilis (P. mirabilis). Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX) was all sensitive to S. aureus, S. pneumoniae and P. mirabilis except P. aeruginosa. CONCLUSION: S. aureus is the most commonly found organism in the Jones tube after lacrimal bypass surgery, and 46.4% of them are methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), sensitive to vancomycin. Especially, P. mirabilis responded with amikacin is dominantly detected in the Jones tubes implanted for more than 10y.

Possible involvement of microglial P2RY12 and peripheral IL-10 in postpartum depression.

Postpartum depression (PPD) is another type of depression, including emotional fluctuation, fatigue, and anxiety. Based on the specific event like giving birth, it can be speculated that PPD might have its specific mechanism. Here, we confirmed that dexamethasone (DEX) administration during pregnancy (gestational days 16-18) induced depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors in dam (DEX-dam) after weaning period (3 weeks). DEX-dam showed anxiety-like behaviors in open-field test (OFT) and light-dark test (LD). In addition, DEX-dam exhibited depressive-like behaviors with the increased immobility time in forced swimming test (TST). Molecular analysis confirmed that microglia, rather than neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes, are involved in anxiety-/depressive-like behaviors. Notably, P2ry12, homeostatic gene, and purinoceptor, along with hyper-ramified form, were reduced in the hippocampus of DEX-dam. In addition, we found that IL-10 mRNA was reduced in lymph nodes without alteration of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6. Interestingly, anxiety-/depressive-like behaviors of DEX-dam were restored with the normalization of P2ry12 and IL-10 after 10 weeks postpartum without antidepressants. Our results propose that stress hormone elevation during pregnancy might be associated with PPD via microglial P2RY12 and peripheral IL-10.

An Unusual Case of Acute Cholecystitis Caused by Lactobacillus paracasei.

Lactobacillus paracasei is a gram-positive rod commonly found in probiotic foods and is well known to promote healthy gastrointestinal tracts. However, there have been a few case reports that have found Lactobacillus paracasei to be the causative agent in complications such as endocarditis, meningitis, peritonitis, pancreatitis, and cholecystitis. We present the case of a 76-year-old woman who was admitted for decompensated heart failure. The patient also reported abdominal pain in the right upper quadrant. Ultrasound findings suggested cholelithiasis and a subsequent hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid (HIDA) scan confirmed acute cholecystitis. This patient was not a good candidate for cholecystectomy because of the risk of cardiac complications. Hence, percutaneous cholecystostomy tube (PCT) placement was done, and the aspirate drained during the procedure was sent for pathology. This bile culture was positive for Lactobacillus paracasei and negative for any other kinds of bacteria. The incidence of Lactobacillus species-induced cholecystitis makes up only 0.08% to 0.2% of cases, which makes this an unusual case of acute cholecystitis caused by Lactobacillus paracasei. We will discuss several pathogenic aspects of Lactobacillus paracasei, such as its ability to generate biofilms, pore-forming toxins, drug transporters, and antibiotic susceptibility.

CCL20 inhibition for treating inflammation in ankylosing spondylitis.

OBJECTIVES: Th17 cells are known to play a significant role in AS. C-C motif chemokine ligand 20 (CCL20) binds to C-C chemokine receptor 6 (CCR6) on Th17 cells, promoting their migration to inflammation sites. The aim of this research is to examine the effectiveness of CCL20 inhibition in treating inflammation in AS. METHODS: Mononuclear cells from peripheral blood (PBMC) and SF (SFMC) were collected from healthy individuals and AS. Flow cytometry was used to analyse cells producing inflammatory cytokines. CCL20 levels were determined using ELISA. The impact of CCL20 on Th17 cell migration was verified using a Trans-well migration assay. The in vivo efficacy of CCL20 inhibition was evaluated using an SKG mouse model. RESULTS: The presence of Th17 cells and CCL20 expressing cells was higher in SFMCs from AS patients compared with their PBMCs. The CCL20 level in AS SF was significantly higher than in OA patients. The percentage of Th17 cells in PBMCs from AS patients increased when exposed to CCL20, whereas the percentage of Th17 cells in SFMCs from AS patients decreased when treated with CCL20 inhibitor. The migration of Th17 cells was found to be influenced by CCL20, and this effect was counteracted by the CCL20 inhibitor. In the SKG mouse model, the use of CCL20 inhibitor significantly reduced joint inflammation. CONCLUSION: This research validates the critical role of CCL20 in AS and suggests that targeting CCL20 inhibition could serve as a novel therapeutic approach for AS treatment.

Massively parallel evaluation and computational prediction of the activities and specificities of 17 small Cas9s.

Recently, various small Cas9 orthologs and variants have been reported for use in in vivo delivery applications. Although small Cas9s are particularly suited for this purpose, selecting the most optimal small Cas9 for use at a specific target sequence continues to be challenging. Here, to this end, we have systematically compared the activities of 17 small Cas9s for thousands of target sequences. For each small Cas9, we have characterized the protospacer adjacent motif and determined optimal single guide RNA expression formats and scaffold sequence. High-throughput comparative analyses revealed distinct high- and low-activity groups of small Cas9s. We also developed DeepSmallCas9, a set of computational models predicting the activities of the small Cas9s at matched and mismatched target sequences. Together, this analysis and these computational models provide a useful guide for researchers to select the most suitable small Cas9 for specific applications.

HEVC extension for phase hologram compression.

Compressing digital holograms have growing attention nowadays due to their huge amount of original data sizes. Although many progresses have been reported for full-complex holograms, the coding performance for phase-only holograms (POHs) has been quite limited so far. In this paper, we present a very efficient compression method for POHs. It extends the conventional video coding standard HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) in such a way that the standard can be able to compress not only the natural images but also the phase images effectively. First, we suggest a proper way to calculate differences, distances and clipped values for phase signals by considering the inherent periodicity of phases. Then, some of the HEVC encoding and decoding processes are modified accordingly. The experimental results show that the proposed extension significantly outperforms the original HEVC for POH video sequences; specifically, average BD-rate reductions of 63.3% and 65.5% are achieved in phase domain and numerical reconstruction domain, respectively. It is worth mentioning that the modified encoding & decoding processes are very minimal and also applicable to the VVC (Versatile Video Coding), which is a successor of the HEVC.