BACKGROUND: Sarcopenia is common in children after liver transplantation (LTx). Resistance training (RT) may be effective in combating sarcopenia.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to test the feasibility and impact of a 12-week RT program on skeletal muscle mass (SMM), muscle strength, physical performance (PP), and child-parent perspectives about RT.
METHODS: Children (6-18 years) post-LTx and healthy controls (HC) underwent progressive RT using resistance bands. SMM and adipose tissue (MRI: abdomen and thigh), muscle strength (handgrip, push-ups, sit-to-stand), and PP (6-minute walk test [6MWT], timed-up-and-down-stair test [TUDS]) were measured before and after 12-weeks of RT.
RESULTS: Ten children post-LTx (11.9 ± 3.5 years) and 13 HC (11.7 ± 3.9 years) participated. LTx children significantly increased abdominal SM-index (+4.6% LTx vs. a -2.7% HC; p = 0.01) and decreased visceral adipose tissue-index (-18% LTx vs. -0.8% HC; p = 0.04) compared to HC. No thigh SMI changes were noted. Significant increases in 6MWT distance (LTx; p = 0.04), number of push-ups (p = 0.04), and greater reduction times for TUDS (-10.6% vs. +1.7%; p = 0.05) occurred after 12 weeks. Higher thigh muscle-fat content was associated with worse physical performance. These results were impacted by adherence (≥75% vs. <75%) and family engagement.
CONCLUSIONS: RT in children post-LTx is feasible and effective. RT in children post-LTx may alleviate adverse outcomes associated with sarcopenia.

Pain is a widespread and troubling clinical and social problem with important effects on society and individuals. The purpose is to assess the relationship between pain and eating behavior, macro-micronutrient intake, and dietary inflammation index. The study was carried with a total of 80 patients, consisting of 40 patients diagnosed with pain and 40 patients not diagnosed with pain, who applied to a private hospital in Istanbul as outpatients with a questionnaire face-to-face consisting of questions about sociodemographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, pain-related information, Eating Attitude Test (EAT-19), and 24-hour food consumption record. The statistical analysis of the data was conducted with SPSS v27 package program. People who had pain had higher levels of disrupted eating attitudes than those who did not have pain. The \"Bulimia\" subfactor mean score of the EAT-19 was higher in those with pain (P < .05). No difference was found between the case-control groups regarding the mean dietary inflammation index (DII) score and energy, macro- and micronutrient consumption values (P > .05). No difference was detected between the case-control groups with disrupted eating attitudes regarding the median DII score (P > .05). The median DII score was significantly higher in individuals with pain and normal eating attitudes than in those without pain and with disrupted eating attitudes (P < .05). There is a relationship between pain, eating attitudes, and DII, the median DII score of those who had pain and had normal eating attitudes was higher.

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence shows that free fatty acids (FFA) are associated with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). However, most of the studies focus on a few specific types of FFA, such as α-linolenic acid (C18:3n3) and Arachidonic acid (C20:4n6) or a total level of FFA.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to test the association between a variety of FFAs during the first trimester and the risk of GDM.
METHODS: The participants came from the Zhoushan Pregnant Women Cohort (ZWPC). A 1:2 nested case-control study was conducted: fifty mothers with GDM were matched with 100 mothers without GDM by age, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), month of oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and parity. Thirty-seven FFAs (including 17 saturated fatty acids (SFA), 8 monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), 10 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and 2 trans fatty acids (TFA)) in maternal plasma during the first trimester were tested by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Conditional logistic regression models were performed to assess the associations of FFA with the risk of GDM.
RESULTS: Nine FFAs were respectively associated with an increased risk of GDM (P < 0.05), and four FFAs were respectively associated with a decreased risk of GDM (P < 0.05). SFA risk score was associated with a greater risk of GDM (OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.12-1.60), as well as UFA risk score (OR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.11-1.44), MUFA risk score (OR = 1.70, 95%CI: 1.27-2.26), PUFA risk score (OR = 1.32, 95%CI: 1.09-1.59) and TFA risk score (OR = 2.51, 95%CI: 1.23-5.13). Moreover, joint effects between different types of FFA risk scores on GDM were detected. For instance, compared with those with low risk scores of SFA and UFA, women with high risk scores of SFA and UFA had the highest risk of GDM (OR = 8.53, 95%CI: 2.41-30.24), while the Odds ratio in those with a low risk score of SFA and high risk score of UFA and those with a high risk score of SFA and low risk score of UFA was 6.37 (95%CI:1.33- 30.53) and 4.25 (95%CI: 0.97-18.70), respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: Maternal FFAs during the first trimester were positively associated with the risk of GDM. Additionally, there were joint effects between FFAs on GDM risk.
CONCLUSIONS: Elevated FFA levels in the first trimester increased the risk of GDM.

This study investigated gaze behavior during visuo-cognitive-motor tasks with a change of movement direction in glaucoma patients and healthy controls. Nineteen glaucoma patients (10 females, 9 males) and 30 healthy sighted controls (17 females, 13 males) participated in this cross-sectional study. Participants performed two visuo-cognitive-motor tasks with a change of movement direction: (i) the \"Speed-Court-Test\" that involved stepping on different sensors in response to a visual sign displayed on either a large or small screen (165″ and 55″, respectively); (ii) the \"Trail-Walking-Test\" that required walking to 15 cones labeled with numbers (1-8) or letters (A-G) in an alternately ascending order. During these tasks, the time needed for completing each task was determined and the gaze behavior (e.g., saccade duration, fixation duration) was recorded via eye tracking. Data were analyzed with repeated measures analyses of covariance (ANCOVA; GROUP × SCREEN) and one-way ANCOVA. No differences between groups were found for the time needed to complete the tasks. However, during the \"Trail-Walking-Test\", the fixation duration was longer for glaucoma patients than for controls (p = 0.016, η p 2  = 0.131). Furthermore, during the \"Speed-Court-Test\", there was a screen size effect. Irrespective of group, saccade amplitudes were lower (p < 0.001, η p 2  = 0.242) and fixation durations were higher (p = 0.021, η p 2  = 0.125) for the small screen. Fixation durations were longer in glaucoma patients during the cognitively demanding \"Trail-Walking-Test\", which might indicate a strategy to compensate for their visual impairment.

Background: Human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) is a pivotal protein involved in immune regulation and tolerance, while systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multifaceted autoimmune condition influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Research indicates that variations and mutations in HLA-G may impact SLE development. Objective: This study aimed to explore the relationship between polymorphisms in the 3\'-untranslated region (UTR) of the HLA-G gene and SLE. Methods: DNA from 100 SLE patients and 100 controls was analyzed using polymerase chain reaction to amplify the target sequence. Allele and genotype frequencies were determined, and haplotypes were assessed using Haploview v.4.2 software, with linkage disequilibrium calculated. Results: Findings revealed that the +2960 Ins allele was significantly linked to SLE as a risk factor, with the Del allele showing a protective effect. In addition, the +3010C allele and +3187A allele were significantly associated with SLE at both allele and genotype levels. The +3142 GG homozygote was notably linked to SLE at the genotype level. Haplotype analysis identified UTR-2 haplotypes as risk factors for SLE, whereas the UTR-1 haplotype was protective, shedding light on genetic factors influencing SLE risk. Conclusion: This study underscores the importance of HLA-G gene 3\'-UTR polymorphisms in SLE susceptibility, suggesting their potential as diagnostic or therapeutic targets.

BACKGROUND: In light of several epidemiological studies, the etiology of recurrent pregnancy loss is complex. One of the most frequent causes of women experiencing inexplicable recurrent pregnancy loss is maternal thrombophilia. Hence, the association between genetic polymorphisms causing thrombophilia and recurrent pregnancy loss needs to be explored.
OBJECTIVE: Is to study the relation of polymorphisms affecting folate pathway mainly, 5-Methytetrahydrofolate-Homocysteine Methyltransferase (MTR A2756G) and 5-Methytetrahydrofolate-Homocysteine MethyltransferaseReductase (MTRR A66G) with recurrent pregnancy loss.
METHODS: It is a case-control study. Four hundred participants were enrolled. Two hundred participants with unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss (case group) and two hundred healthy fertile participants (control group). All participants were screened for (MTR A2756G) and (MTRR A66G). DNA was extracted using salting out method followed by genotyping via Real-time PCR.
RESULTS: Mutant homozygous genotype (GG) in MTRR A66G was statistically significantly among RPL group in comparison to controls. (GG vs. AA) had odds ratio and confidence interval of 1.22(1.12-2.23), P = 0.012. (GG) increased the liability 1.2 folds for recurrent pregnancy loss. Mutant homozygous genotype (GG) in MTR A2756G was not correlated with the risk of recurrent pregnancy loss. (GG vs.AA) = (1.13(0.56-2.29)), P = 0.7 CONCLUSION: MTRR A66G increases susceptibly for recurrent pregnancy loss among Egyptian women.

UNASSIGNED: IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is intimately linked to mucosal immune responses, with nasopharyngeal and intestinal lymphoid tissues being crucial for its abnormal mucosal immunity. The specific pathogenic bacteria in these sites associated with IgAN, however, remain elusive. Our study employs 16S rRNA sequencing and machine learning (ML) approaches to identify specific pathogenic bacteria in these locations and to investigate common pathogens that may exacerbate IgAN.
UNASSIGNED: In this cross-sectional analysis, we collected pharyngeal swabs and stool specimens from IgAN patients and healthy controls. We applied 16SrRNA sequencing to identify differential microbial populations. ML algorithms were then used to classify IgAN based on these microbial differences. Spearman correlation analysis was employed to link key bacteria with clinical parameters.
UNASSIGNED: We observed a reduced microbial diversity in IgAN patients compared to healthy controls. In the gut microbiota of IgAN patients, increases in Bacteroides, Escherichia-Shigella, and Parabacteroides, and decreases in Parasutterella, Dialister, Faecalibacterium, and Subdoligranulum were notable. In the respiratory microbiota, increases in Neisseria, Streptococcus, Fusobacterium, Porphyromonas, and Ralstonia, and decreases in Prevotella, Leptotrichia, and Veillonella were observed. Post-immunosuppressive therapy, Oxalobacter and Butyricoccus levels were significantly reduced in the gut, while Neisseria and Actinobacillus levels decreased in the respiratory tract. Veillonella and Fusobacterium appeared to influence IgAN through dual immune loci, with Fusobacterium abundance correlating with IgAN severity.
UNASSIGNED: This study revealing that changes in flora structure could provide important pathological insights for identifying therapeutic targets, and ML could facilitate noninvasive diagnostic methods for IgAN.

In this study, we aimed to examine the relationship between the serum cytokine levels of patients with pemphigus vulgaris (PV) and the Pemphigus Disease Area Index (PDAI), along with the presence of anti-desmoglein (Dsg) 1 antibody, anti-Dsg3 antibody and co-infection among patients with pemphigus vulgaris. This retrospective study included 62 PV patients and 59 healthy individuals who attended the Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University from November 2014 to November 2022. The serum concentrations of cytokines and chemokines were assessed using the Luminex 200 System (a high-throughput cytokine detection method). Additionally, anti-Dsg1 and anti-Dsg3 antibodies were determined through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, while disease severity was evaluated using the PDAI scoring system. The PV group exhibited elevated levels of Th1 cytokines (such as interleukin (IL)-1RA, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-12p70, GM-CSF, TNF-α, IL-18, IFN-γ), Th2 cytokines (IL-5, IL-10, IL-13) and Th17/Th22-related cytokines (IL-17A, IL-22) compared to the healthy control group (p < 0.05). Conversely, the levels of chemokines (macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha (MIP-1α), stromal cell-derived factor-1 alpha (SDF-1α), interferon-inducible protein-10 (IP-10), Regulated on Activation in Normal T-Cell Expressed And Secreted (RANTES), growth-regulated on-gene-alpha (GRO-α), MIP-1β) and Th2 (IL-31) were lower in the PV group compared to the healthy control group (p < 0.05). No significant differences were observed in other cytokines and chemokines (p > 0.05). Additionally, IL-7, IFN-γ, IL-18 and GRO-α showed positive correlations with PDAI, IL-6 correlated positively with anti-Dsg3 antibody levels, and IL-12p70, IL-18, and IFN-γ correlated positively with anti-Dsg1 antibody levels. Furthermore, IL-15 exhibited a positive association with skin infections. PV patients have elevated levels of various cytokines and chemokines, and there are different degrees of elevation in cytokines and chemokines associated with the activation of various T cell subsets. PDAI and the Dsg1 antibody levels are mainly related to the Th1-related cytokines.

BACKGROUND: Reinfection rates after two-stage revision (TSR) for prosthetic joint infection (PJI) range from 7.9 to 14%. Many factors, including sinus tracts, are associated with reinfection after this procedure. This study aimed to delineate whether the presence of sinus tract could increase reinfection rate after TSR and to investigate other potential risk factors for reinfection after TSR.
METHODS: We conducted a case-control study by retrospectively reviewing patients who underwent TSR for prosthetic hip joint infection from 2002 to 2022. The case group included patients who developed reinfection after TSR, while the control group consisted of patients who did not experience reinfection. PJI and reinfection after TSR were defined based on Delphi-based international consensus criteria. Patient demographics, past medical history, clinical manifestations, laboratory results, interval between stages, microbiological culture results were collected. Univariate analyses were utilized to assess the effect of sinus tract on reinfection and to identify other risk factors for reinfection after TSR.
RESULTS: Six patients with reinfection after TSR were included as the case group and 32 patients without reinfection were in the control group. Significant difference was observed in percentage of patients with sinus tracts between the two groups (67% in the case group versus 19% in the control group, p = 0.031, OR = 8.7). Significant difference was also found in percentage of patients with positive cultures of synovial fluid and synovium harvested during the first-stage revision between the two groups (100% in the case group versus 50% in the control group, p = 0.030). Additionally, patients in the case group had a significantly higher C-reactive protein (CRP) level prior to the second stage revision than that of patients in the control group (8.80 mg/L versus 2.36 mg/L, p = 0.005), despite normal CRP levels in all patients.
CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that the presence of sinus tracts could significantly increase risk of postoperative reinfection after TSR. Positive cultures during the first stage revision and elevated CRP level prior to the second stage revision could also increase the risk of reinfection after TSR. Further studies with a larger sample size are required.
BACKGROUND: Retrospectively registered.

HPV-positive and HPV-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are recognized as distinct entities. There remains uncertainty surrounding the causal effects of smoking and alcohol on the development of these two cancer types. Here we perform multivariable Mendelian randomization (MR) to evaluate the causal effects of smoking and alcohol on the risk of HPV-positive and HPV-negative HNSCC in 3431 cases and 3469 controls. Lifetime smoking exposure, as measured by the Comprehensive Smoking Index (CSI), is associated with increased risk of both HPV-negative HNSCC (OR = 3.03, 95%CI:1.75-5.24, P = 7.00E-05) and HPV-positive HNSCC (OR = 2.73, 95%CI:1.39-5.36, P = 0.003). Drinks Per Week is also linked with increased risk of both HPV-negative HNSCC (OR = 7.72, 95%CI:3.63-16.4, P = 1.00E-07) and HPV-positive HNSCC (OR = 2.66, 95%CI:1.06-6.68, P = 0.038). Smoking and alcohol independently increase the risk of both HPV-positive and HPV-negative HNSCC. These findings have important implications for understanding the modifying risk factors between HNSCC subtypes.