Effect of shade and thickness on the microhardness of resin-based composite specimens at different points considering curing light beam's inhomogeneity.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have reported the inhomogeneity in the light emitted by dental light-curing units (LCUs). It is essential to understand how this uneven light distribution affects the physical properties of resin-based composites (RBCs) at various points across their surfaces. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of LCU beam's inhomogeneity on the microhardness of RBCs with different shades and thicknesses. METHODS: Four body (A1B, A2B, A3B, and A4B), one dentin (A3D), and one enamel shade (A3E) of RBC (Filtek Z350 XT) were examined. The specimens were fabricated in four thicknesses (1, 2, 3, and 4 mm) and subjected to a 40-second light-curing. Vickers microhardness testing was performed at the center point, and 3 mm left and right from the center at the bottom surface of each sample. The LCU beam profile was characterized using a beam profiler, while irradiance after specimen passage was measured using a spectrometer. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's post-hoc tests were used to analyze the effects of shades and thicknesses on irradiance and microhardness, respectively. One-way repeated-measures ANOVA was used to compare the microhardness across different points. Pearson's correlation analysis examined the relationship between irradiance and microhardness. RESULTS: The beam profile of LCU revealed inhomogeneous light distribution. Light irradiance was decreased with both the increase in thickness and darker shade of the specimens (p < 0.05). Microhardness was found to decline with an increase in sample thickness (p < 0.05), and was consistently higher at the center point compared to the periphery, particularly in thicker (3 and 4 mm) and darker shades (A3B, A4B, and A3D). A positive correlation was found between the irradiance and microhardness across all evaluated points (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Inhomogeneous light emission from LCU significantly influences the microhardness of RBC samples, depending on the thicknesses and shades. The findings underline the importance of considering LCU beam inhomogeneity in clinical settings to ensure optimal polymerization of RBC.

NRF2 is a spatiotemporal metabolic hub essential for the polyfunctionality of Th2 cells.

Upon encountering allergens, CD4+ T cells differentiate into IL-4-producing Th2 cells in lymph nodes, which later transform into polyfunctional Th2 cells producing IL-5 and IL-13 in inflamed tissues. However, the precise mechanism underlying their polyfunctionality remains elusive. In this study, we elucidate the pivotal role of NRF2 in polyfunctional Th2 cells in murine models of allergic asthma and in human Th2 cells. We found that an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) in immune cells infiltrating the lungs is necessary for the development of eosinophilic asthma and polyfunctional Th2 cells in vivo. Deletion of the ROS sensor NRF2 specifically in T cells, but not in dendritic cells, significantly abolished eosinophilia and polyfunctional Th2 cells in the airway. Mechanistically, NRF2 intrinsic to T cells is essential for inducing optimal oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis capacity, thereby driving Th2 cell polyfunctionality independently of IL-33, partially by inducing PPARγ. Treatment with an NRF2 inhibitor leads to a substantial decrease in polyfunctional Th2 cells and subsequent eosinophilia in mice and a reduction in the production of Th2 cytokines from peripheral blood mononuclear cells in asthmatic patients. These findings highlight the critical role of Nrf2 as a spatial and temporal metabolic hub that is essential for polyfunctional Th2 cells, suggesting potential therapeutic implications for allergic diseases.

The Efficacy and Tolerability of Radiosurgery in Treating Benign Meningiomas: A Dose Comparison Study from a Single-Center Analysis.

This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the impact of radiation dose on the outcomes of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for benign meningiomas and determine an optimal dosing strategy for balancing tumor control and treatment-related toxicity. Clinical data of 147 patients with 164 lesions treated between 2014 and 2022 were reviewed. Primary outcomes included progression-free survival (PFS), local control rate (LCR), and radiation-induced toxicity, with secondary outcomes focusing on LCR and radiation-induced peritumoral edema (PTE) in two dose groups (≥14 Gy and <14 Gy). The results revealed a median follow-up duration of 47 months, with 1-year, 2-year, and 5-year PFS rates of 99.3%, 96.7%, and 93.8%, respectively, and an overall LCR of 95.1%. Radiation-induced toxicity was observed in 24.5% of patients, primarily presenting mild symptoms. Notably, no significant difference in LCR was found between the two dose groups (p = 0.628), while Group 2 (<14 Gy) exhibited significantly lower PTE (p = 0.039). This study concludes that SRS with a radiation dose < 14 Gy demonstrates comparable tumor control with reduced toxicity, advocating consideration of such dosing to achieve a balance between therapeutic efficacy and safety.

Development of an In-Pipe Inspection Robot for Large-Diameter Water Pipes.

This paper describes the development of an in-pipe inspection robot system designed for large-diameter water pipes. The robot is equipped with a Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) sensor module. The robot system is intended for pipes with diameters ranging from 900 mm to 1200 mm. The structure of the in-pipe inspection robot consists of the front and rear driving parts, with the inspection module located centrally. The robot is powered by 22 motors, including eight wheels with motors positioned at both the bottom and the top for propulsion. To ensure that the robot's center aligns with that of the pipeline during operation, lifting units have been incorporated. The robot is equipped with cameras and LiDAR sensors at the front and rear to monitor the internal environment of the pipeline. Pipeline inspection is conducted using the MFL inspection modules, and the robot's driving mechanism is designed to execute spiral maneuvers while maintaining contact with the pipeline surface during rotation. The in-pipe inspection robot is configured with wireless communication modules and batteries, allowing for wireless operation. Following its development, the inspection robot underwent driving experiments in actual pipelines to validate its performance. The field test bed used for these experiments is approximately 1 km in length. Results from the driving experiments on the field test bed confirmed the robot's ability to navigate various curvatures and obstacles within the pipeline. It is posited that the use of the developed in-pipe inspection robot can reduce economic costs and enhance the safety of inspectors when examining aging pipes.

Hashimoto Thyroiditis and Mortality in Patients with Differentiated Thyroid Cancer: The National Epidemiologic Survey of Thyroid Cancer in Korea and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGRUOUND: Many studies have shown that Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) acts as a protective factor in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), but little is known about its effects on mortality. Therefore, this study was performed to reveal the prognosis of HT on mortality in patients with DTC. METHODS: This study included two types of research. RESULTS: retrospective cohort study using the National Epidemiologic Survey of Thyroid cancer (NEST) in Korea and meta-analysis study with the NEST data and eight selected studies. RESULTS: Of the 4,398 patients with DTC in NEST, 341 patients (7.8%) died during the median follow-up period of 15 years (interquartile range, 12.3 to 15.6). Of these, 91 deaths (2.1%) were related to DTC. HT was associated with a smaller tumor size and less aggressive DTC. In Cox regression analysis after adjusting for age and sex, patients with HT showed a significantly lower risk of all-cause death (hazard ratio [HR], 0.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.52 to 0.96) and DTC-related death (HR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.14 to 0.77). The analysis with inverse probability of treatment weight data adjusted for age, sex, and year of thyroid cancer registration showed similar association. The meta-analysis showed that patients with HT showed a lower risk of all-cause mortality (risk ratio [RR], 0.24; 95% CI, 0.13 to 0.47) and thyroid cancer-related mortality (RR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.13 to 0.40) in comparison with patients without HT. CONCLUSION: This study showed that DTC co-presenting with HT is associated with a low risk of advanced DTC and presents a low risk for all-cause and DTC-related death.

Proposition of Adaptive Read Bias: A Solution to Overcome Power and Scaling Limitations in Ferroelectric-Based Neuromorphic System.

Hardware neuromorphic systems are crucial for the energy-efficient processing of massive amounts of data. Among various candidates, hafnium oxide ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs) are highly promising for artificial synaptic devices. However, FTJs exhibit non-ideal characteristics that introduce variations in synaptic weights, presenting a considerable challenge in achieving high-performance neuromorphic systems. The primary objective of this study is to analyze the origin and impact of these variations in neuromorphic systems. The analysis reveals that the major bottleneck in achieving a high-performance neuromorphic system is the dynamic variation, primarily caused by the intrinsic 1/f noise of the device. As the device area is reduced and the read bias (VRead ) is lowered, the intrinsic noise of the FTJs increases, presenting an inherent limitation for implementing area- and power-efficient neuromorphic systems. To overcome this limitation, an adaptive read-biasing (ARB) scheme is proposed that applies a different VRead to each layer of the neuromorphic system. By exploiting the different noise sensitivities of each layer, the ARB method demonstrates significant power savings of 61.3% and a scaling effect of 91.9% compared with conventional biasing methods. These findings contribute significantly to the development of more accurate, efficient, and scalable neuromorphic systems.

Effect of Attenuated Light Through Translucent Zirconia on the Interfacial Adaptation and Polymerization of Resin Cements.

PURPOSE: The first objective was to determine if dual-curing of resin cement with reduced light could affect interfacial adaptations of zirconia restoration. The second objective was to examine whether cement type and pretreatment method of universal adhesive affected interfacial adaptation. The final objective was to compare the polymerization degree of cement under different reduced-light conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Inlay cavities were prepared on extracted third molars. Translucent zirconia restorations were milled using Katana UTML (Kuraray Noritake) in three groups with restoration thicknesses of 1, 2, and 3 mm, respectively. Each group had three subgroups using different cementation methods. For subgroup 1, restorations were cemented with self-adhesive cement. For subgroup 2, universal adhesive was applied and light cured. After the restoration was seated with conventional resin cement, light curing was performed. For subgroup 3, after adhesive was applied, the restoration was seated with conventional resin cement. Light curing was performed for the adhesive and cement simultaneously. After thermocycling, interfacial adaptation at the restoration-tooth interface was investigated using swept-source optical coherence tomography imaging. Finally, polymerization shrinkage of the cement was measured using a linometer and compared under the conditions of different zirconia thicknesses and light-curing durations. RESULTS: Interfacial adaptation varied signficantly depending on the zirconia thickness, pretreatment, polymerization mode and cements used (p < 0.05). The effects of the adhesive and polymerization shrinkage differed signficantly, depending on the reduced light under the zirconia (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Lower curing-light irradiance may lead to inferior adaptation and lower polymerization of the cement. Polymerization of resin cement can differ depending on the light irradiance and exposure duration.

Reconfigurable neuromorphic computing block through integration of flash synapse arrays and super-steep neurons.

Neuromorphic computing (NC) architecture inspired by biological nervous systems has been actively studied to overcome the limitations of conventional von Neumann architectures. In this work, we propose a reconfigurable NC block using a flash-type synapse array, emerging positive feedback (PF) neuron devices, and CMOS peripheral circuits, and integrate them on the same substrate to experimentally demonstrate the operations of the proposed NC block. Conductance modulation in the flash memory enables the NC block to be easily calibrated for output signals. In addition, the proposed NC block uses a reduced number of devices for analog-to-digital conversions due to the super-steep switching characteristics of the PF neuron device, substantially reducing the area overhead of NC block. Our NC block shows high energy efficiency (37.9 TOPS/W) with high accuracy for CIFAR-10 image classification (91.80%), outperforming prior works. This work shows the high engineering potential of integrating synapses and neurons in terms of system efficiency and high performance.

Thrap3 promotes nonalcoholic fatty liver disease by suppressing AMPK-mediated autophagy.

Autophagy functions in cellular quality control and metabolic regulation. Dysregulation of autophagy is one of the major pathogenic factors contributing to the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Autophagy is involved in the breakdown of intracellular lipids and the maintenance of healthy mitochondria in NAFLD. However, the mechanisms underlying autophagy dysregulation in NAFLD remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that the hepatic expression level of Thrap3 was significantly increased in NAFLD conditions. Liver-specific Thrap3 knockout improved lipid accumulation and metabolic properties in a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced NAFLD model. Furthermore, Thrap3 deficiency enhanced autophagy and mitochondrial function. Interestingly, Thrap3 knockout increased the cytosolic translocation of AMPK from the nucleus and enhanced its activation through physical interaction. The translocation of AMPK was regulated by direct binding with AMPK and the C-terminal domain of Thrap3. Our results indicate a role for Thrap3 in NAFLD progression and suggest that Thrap3 is a potential target for NAFLD treatment.

Macrophage transcription factor TonEBP promotes systemic lupus erythematosus and kidney injury via damage-induced signaling pathways.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by autoreactive B cells and dysregulation of many other types of immune cells including myeloid cells. Lupus nephritis (LN) is a common target organ manifestations of SLE. Tonicity-responsive enhancer-binding protein (TonEBP, also known as nuclear factor of activated T-cells 5 (NFAT5)), was initially identified as a central regulator of cellular responses to hypertonic stress and is a pleiotropic stress protein involved in a variety of immunometabolic diseases. To explore the role of TonEBP, we examined kidney biopsy samples from patients with LN. Kidney TonEBP expression was found to be elevated in these patients compared to control patients - in both kidney cells and infiltrating immune cells. Kidney TonEBP mRNA was elevated in LN and correlated with mRNAs encoding inflammatory cytokines and the degree of proteinuria. In a pristane-induced SLE model in mice, myeloid TonEBP deficiency blocked the development of SLE and LN. In macrophages, engagement of various toll-like receptors (TLRs) that respond to damage-associated molecular patterns induced TonEBP expression via stimulation of its promoter. Intracellular signaling downstream of the TLRs was dependent on TonEBP. Therefore, TonEBP can act as a transcriptional cofactor for NF-κB, and activated mTOR-IRF3/7 via protein-protein interactions. Additionally, TonEBP-deficient macrophages displayed elevated efferocytosis and animals with myeloid deficiency of TonEBP showed reduced Th1 and Th17 differentiation, consistent with macrophages defective in TLR signaling. Thus, our data show that myeloid TonEBP may be an attractive therapeutic target for SLE and LN.

The effects of gingival blood flow on pulpal blood flow detection using ultrasound Doppler flowmetry: animal study.

Objectives: This study evaluated the effect of adjacent gingival blood flow on detection of pulpal blood flow (PBF) using ultrasound Doppler flowmetry (UDF) through animal study. Materials and Methods: The study included 36 right and left maxillary the third incisors and canines in 9 experimental dogs. The study included 2 main steps: In the first step, the pulse sound level (PSL) was recorded on the cervical part of each tooth without flap elevation (Group 1), with flap elevation (Group 2), and after it was repositioned in place (Group 3). In the second step, the PSL was recorded on the cervical part of each tooth (Group 4), after pulpotomy (Group 5), after partial pulp extirpation (Group 6), after complete extirpation (Group 7), and after canal filling (Group 8). In Groups 5-8, the study was performed with and without flap elevation in the left and right teeth, respectively. The PSL was graded as follows: 0, inaudible; 1, heard faintly; and 2, heard well. The difference between each group was analyzed using Friedman's test with Wilcoxon signed-rank tests (α = 0.05). Results: In step 1, the PSL results were Group 1 > 2 and 3. In step 2, there was no significant difference between the groups when the flap was not elevated, while PSL results were Group 4 > 5 ≥ 6 and 7 ≥ 8 when the flap was elevated. Conclusions: PBF is affected by gingival blood flow when measured with UDF. UDF measurements require isolation of gingiva from the tooth.

In-Memory-Computed Low-Frequency Noise Spectroscopy for Selective Gas Detection Using a Reducible Metal Oxide.

Concerns about indoor and outdoor air quality, industrial gas leaks, and medical diagnostics are driving the demand for high-performance gas sensors. Owing to their structural variety and large surface area, reducible metal oxides hold great promise for constructing a gas-sensing system. While many earlier reports have successfully obtained a sufficient response to various types of target gases, the selective detection of target gases remains challenging. In this work, a novel method, low-frequency noise (LFN) spectroscopy is presented, to achieve selective detection using a single FET-type gas sensor. The LFN of the sensor is accurately modeled by considering the charge fluctuation in both the sensing material and the FET channel. Exposure to different target gases produces distinct corner frequencies of the power spectral density that can be used to achieve selective detection. In addition, a 3D vertical-NAND flash array is used with the fast Fourier transform method via in-memory-computing, significantly improving the area and power efficiency rate. The proposed system provides a novel and efficient method capable of selectively detecting a target gas using in-memory-computed LFN spectroscopy and thus paving the way for the further development in gas sensing systems.

Efficacy and Safety of MED-01 Probiotics on Vaginal Health: A 12-Week, Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common disease in women of childbearing age and is caused by the growth of abnormal microbiota in the vagina. Probiotic consumption can be an effective alternative treatment to preserve or improve vaginal health. In the present study, MED-01, a complex of five strains of probiotic candidates isolated from the vagina of Korean women, was used. This study was designed as a 12-week, randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of MED-01 on vaginal health. A total of 101 reproductive-aged women with a Nugent score of 4-6 took MED-01 (5.0 × 109 CFU) or a placebo once a day, and 76 participants completed the procedure. MED-01 significantly reduced the Nugent score compared with the placebo. Quantitative PCR analysis confirmed that Lactobacillus plantarum was significantly increased in the vagina, whereas harmful bacteria such as Mobiluncus spp., Gardnerella vaginalis, and Atopobium vaginae were suppressed after 12 weeks of MED-01 ingestion. No adverse events to the test food supplements were observed in the participants. These results confirmed that MED-01 can be used as a probiotic for treating BV, as it improves the vaginal microbiota.

Lactate oxidase/catalase-displaying nanoparticles efficiently consume lactate in the tumor microenvironment to effectively suppress tumor growth.

The aggressive proliferation of tumor cells often requires increased glucose uptake and excessive anaerobic glycolysis, leading to the massive production and secretion of lactate to form a unique tumor microenvironment (TME). Therefore, regulating appropriate lactate levels in the TME would be a promising approach to control tumor cell proliferation and immune suppression. To effectively consume lactate in the TME, lactate oxidase (LOX) and catalase (CAT) were displayed onto Aquifex aeolicus lumazine synthase protein nanoparticles (AaLS) to form either AaLS/LOX or AaLS/LOX/CAT. These complexes successfully consumed lactate produced by CT26 murine colon carcinoma cells under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Specifically, AaLS/LOX generated a large amount of H2O2 with complete lactate consumption to induce drastic necrotic cell death regardless of culture condition. However, AaLS/LOX/CAT generated residual H2O2, leading to necrotic cell death only under hypoxic condition similar to the TME. While the local administration of AaLS/LOX to the tumor site resulted in mice death, that of AaLS/LOX/CAT significantly suppressed tumor growth without any severe side effects. AaLS/LOX/CAT effectively consumed lactate to produce adequate amounts of H2O2 which sufficiently suppress tumor growth and adequately modulate the TME, transforming environments that are favorable to tumor suppressive neutrophils but adverse to tumor-supportive tumor-associated macrophages. Collectively, these findings showed that the modular functionalization of protein nanoparticles with multiple metabolic enzymes may offer the opportunity to develop new enzyme complex-based therapeutic tools that can modulate the TME by controlling cancer metabolism.

Variations in the morphology of apical constriction affecting electronic readings: An in vitro investigation using 3D-printed tooth models.

We investigated the interference of apical constriction position and diameter on the accuracy of electronic apex locators using 3D-printed tooth models. Single-rooted tooth models with the same length, canal taper and major foramen, but variation in apical constriction position or size, were designed and 3D-printed. A mounting model was custom-made for precise measurement of both marks (0.5 and APEX/0.0) of two electronic apex locators. The electronic measurements of both devices were correlated significantly to the major foramen rather than apical constriction. The mean measurements of the group with 0.45 mm in apical constriction width were significantly shorter than those of the other groups for both marks of the two devices (p < 0.05). The variations in apical constriction position and width negatively affected the precision of the 0.5 mark of the tested devices. The 0.0 or APEX mark was consistently located the major foramen.

Effect of thickness on the translucency of resin-based composites and glass-ceramics.

This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of thickness (1, 2, 3, and 4 mm) on the translucency of resin-based composites (RBCs) and glass-ceramics, and compare the influence of the thickness of those materials on the translucency parameter (TP) value. The materials were divided into two groups, eight RBCs in Group 1 and five glass-ceramics in Group 2 and TP, ΔL*, Δa*, and Δb* were compared. Statistically significant differences were present in the 2, 3, and 4 mm in the TP, in the 2 and 4 mm in ΔL*, and in all thicknesses in Δa* and Δb* betweent the two groups. The TP of RBCs and glass-ceramics decreased as thickness increased, especially from 1 mm to 2 mm. The TP values of the RBCs were more significantly decreased as the thickness of the material increased from 2 mm to 4 mm than those of the glass-ceramics.

RANKL-responsive epigenetic mechanism reprograms macrophages into bone-resorbing osteoclasts.

Monocyte/macrophage lineage cells are highly plastic and can differentiate into various cells under different environmental stimuli. Bone-resorbing osteoclasts are derived from the monocyte/macrophage lineage in response to receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL). However, the epigenetic signature contributing to the fate commitment of monocyte/macrophage lineage differentiation into human osteoclasts is largely unknown. In this study, we identified RANKL-responsive human osteoclast-specific superenhancers (SEs) and SE-associated enhancer RNAs (SE-eRNAs) by integrating data obtained from ChIP-seq, ATAC-seq, nuclear RNA-seq and PRO-seq analyses. RANKL induced the formation of 200 SEs, which are large clusters of enhancers, while suppressing 148 SEs in macrophages. RANKL-responsive SEs were strongly correlated with genes in the osteoclastogenic program and were selectively increased in human osteoclasts but marginally presented in osteoblasts, CD4+ T cells, and CD34+ cells. In addition to the major transcription factors identified in osteoclasts, we found that BATF binding motifs were highly enriched in RANKL-responsive SEs. The depletion of BATF1/3 inhibited RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation. Furthermore, we found increased chromatin accessibility in SE regions, where RNA polymerase II was significantly recruited to induce the extragenic transcription of SE-eRNAs, in human osteoclasts. Knocking down SE-eRNAs in the vicinity of the NFATc1 gene diminished the expression of NFATc1, a major regulator of osteoclasts, and osteoclast differentiation. Inhibiting BET proteins suppressed the formation of some RANKL-responsive SEs and NFATc1-associated SEs, and the expression of SE-eRNA:NFATc1. Moreover, SE-eRNA:NFATc1 was highly expressed in the synovial macrophages of rheumatoid arthritis patients exhibiting high-osteoclastogenic potential. Our genome-wide analysis revealed RANKL-inducible SEs and SE-eRNAs as osteoclast-specific signatures, which may contribute to the development of osteoclast-specific therapeutic interventions.

Evaluation of the Quality and Influence of YouTube as a Source of Information on Robotic Myomectomy.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to evaluate the usefulness of YouTube videos for helping patients become informed about robotic myomectomy. METHODS: We searched YouTube using "robotic myomectomy" and "Da Vinci myomectomy." Videos were sorted by view count, with the 150 most highly viewed videos being selected. From each video, content type, source, view count, video length, time on YouTube, likes, and dislikes were extracted. A scoring system was used to evaluate video quality. RESULTS: The most prevalent content was recordings of actual surgical procedures of robotic myomectomy, and the most common provider was gynecologic surgeons. Videos directly related to robotic myomectomy were mainly provided by medical groups, had been present on YouTube for a significantly longer time (p = 0.003), and had a higher rate of no responses from viewers (p = 0.014) than videos indirectly related to robotic myomectomy. Videos uploaded by nonmedical groups had more likes, more dislikes, and a higher view ratio (p = 0.029, 0.042, and 0.042, respectively). Scores reflecting video quality did not differ between the two groups. Multiple logistic regression revealed that low-quality videos (less than score 5) were significantly correlated with content indirectly related to robotic myomectomy, poor general quality, fewer views, fewer likes, and no response by viewers. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who want to get informed about robotic myomectomy on YouTube should exclude low-quality videos according to such parameters as content, views, and response by viewers. In addition, medical groups should provide videos of good quality for instructing patients about this procedure.

Comparison of Surgical Outcomes of Robotic versus Conventional Laparoscopic Hysterectomy of Large Uterus with Gynecologic Benign Disease.

Hysterectomy is commonly performed for benign gynecological diseases. Minimally invasive surgical approaches offer several advantages. Unfortunately, few studies have compared the outcomes of different types of minimally invasive surgeries. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the surgical outcomes of robotic hysterectomy (RH) and conventional laparoscopic hysterectomy (CLH) in benign gynecologic diseases. We performed a retrospective cohort study at a single center between January 2014 and July 2022. A total of 397 patients (RH: 197 and CLH: 200) who underwent minimally invasive hysterectomy for benign diseases with uterine size exceeding 250 g were enrolled, and factors related to the surgical outcomes were compared. The median age was 46 (range, 35-74) years, and the median uterine weight was 400 (range, 250-2720) g. There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding age, body mass index, uterine weight, hospital stay, estimated blood loss, or operating time. Intraoperative and postoperative complication rates were not significantly different between the two groups. RH was not inferior to CLH in terms of perioperative and immediate postoperative outcomes in our study.

2'-5' oligoadenylate synthetase­like 1 (OASL1) protects against atherosclerosis by maintaining endothelial nitric oxide synthase mRNA stability.

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) decreases following inflammatory stimulation. As a master regulator of endothelial homeostasis, maintaining optimal eNOS levels is important during cardiovascular events. However, little is known regarding the mechanism of eNOS protection. In this study, we demonstrate a regulatory role for endothelial expression of 2'-5' oligoadenylate synthetase-like 1 (OASL1) in maintaining eNOS mRNA stability during athero-prone conditions and consider its clinical implications. A lack of endothelial Oasl1 accelerated plaque progression, which was preceded by endothelial dysfunction, elevated vascular inflammation, and decreased NO bioavailability following impaired eNOS expression. Mechanistically, knockdown of PI3K/Akt signaling-dependent OASL expression increased Erk1/2 and NF-κB activation and decreased NOS3 (gene name for eNOS) mRNA expression through upregulation of the negative regulatory, miR-584, whereas a miR-584 inhibitor rescued the effects of OASL knockdown. These results suggest that OASL1/OASL regulates endothelial biology by protecting NOS3 mRNA and targeting miR-584 represents a rational therapeutic strategy for eNOS maintenance in vascular disease.