Cardioprotection via mitochondrial transplantation supports fatty acid metabolism in ischemia-reperfusion injured rat heart.

In addition to cellular damage, ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury induces substantial damage to the mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum. In this study, we sought to determine whether impaired mitochondrial function owing to IR could be restored by transplanting mitochondria into the heart under ex vivo IR states. Additionally, we aimed to provide preliminary results to inform therapeutic options for ischemic heart disease (IHD). Healthy mitochondria isolated from autologous gluteus maximus muscle were transplanted into the hearts of Sprague-Dawley rats damaged by IR using the Langendorff system, and the heart rate and oxygen consumption capacity of the mitochondria were measured to confirm whether heart function was restored. In addition, relative expression levels were measured to identify the genes related to IR injury. Mitochondrial oxygen consumption capacity was found to be lower in the IR group than in the group that underwent mitochondrial transplantation after IR injury (p < 0.05), and the control group showed a tendency toward increased oxygen consumption capacity compared with the IR group. Among the genes related to fatty acid metabolism, Cpt1b (p < 0.05) and Fads1 (p < 0.01) showed significant expression in the following order: IR group, IR + transplantation group, and control group. These results suggest that mitochondrial transplantation protects the heart from IR damage and may be feasible as a therapeutic option for IHD.

Soft, adhesive and conductive composite for electroencephalogram signal quality improvement.

Since electroencephalogram (EEG) is a very small electrical signal from the brain, it is very vulnerable to external noise or motion artifact, making it difficult to measure. Therefore, despite the excellent convenience of dry electrodes, wet electrodes have been used. To solve this problem, self-adhesive and conductive composites using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in adhesive polydimethylsiloxane (aPDMS), which can have the advantages of both dry and wet electrodes, have been developed by mixing them uniformly with methyl group-terminated PDMS. The CNT/aPDMS composite has a low Young's modulus, penetrates the skin well, has a high contact area, and excellent adhesion and conductivity, so the signal quality is enhanced. As a result of the EEG measurement test, although it was a dry electrode, results comparable to those of a wet electrode were obtained in terms of impedance and motion noise. It also shows excellent biocompatibility in a human fibroblast cell test and a week-long skin reaction test, so it can measure EEG with high signal quality for a long period of time.

Effectiveness of mobile-based intervention Self-care for Pregnant Women at Work: A randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: While the number of employed women has increased worldwide, they still have difficulties in practicing prenatal care at work. Previous studies have found that smartphone-based prenatal education has increased access to healthcare and contributed to improving pregnant women's health. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a mobile-based intervention-Self-care for Pregnant Women at Work (SPWW)-in enhancing the self-care practices of pregnant women who work. METHODS: A randomized repeated measures design was used in the study. The 126 women were randomly assigned to either an intervention group that used the SPWW mobile application for 4 weeks or a control group that used an application that only had surveys. Both groups completed surveys at preintervention, week 2, and week 4 of their participation in the study. The primary study variables were work stress, pregnancy stress, fear of childbirth, pregnancy experience, and health practices in pregnancy. RESULTS: A total of 116 participants' data (60 in the intervention group and 56 in the control group) were analyzed. Significant group-by-time interaction effects were noted for pregnancy stress, pregnancy hassles, and health practices in pregnancy. The effect size of the intervention was small to medium for pregnancy stress (d = -0.425), pregnancy uplifts (d = 0.333), pregnancy hassles (d = -0.599), and health practices in pregnancy (d = 0.490). CONCLUSIONS: A mobile-based intervention using a comprehensive health application is effective in pregnant women at work. Developing educational content and methods targeted at this population would be helpful.

Comparison of pregnancy stress, impact and fear of COVID-19 between working and non-working pregnant women in Korea.

The purpose of the study was to investigate and compare the pregnancy stress, impact and fear of COVID-19 between working and non-working pregnant women in Korea. The influencing factors of pregnancy stress considering the pandemic situation were explored in each group. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used in the study. A total of 150 participants were recruited from Korean online communities where only women can register and exchange information about pregnancy and childbirth. The survey questionnaires included the Prenatal Distress Questionnaire, Pregnancy Experience Scale - brief, COVID-19 Experiences, and Fear of COVID-19. The survey data of 140 participants (74 working pregnant women and 66 non-working pregnant women) were analyzed. Working pregnant women appeared to have more pregnancy stress than non-pregnant women (p < 0.05). They described more concerns about labor and delivery, and caring for infant. Non-working pregnant women were having more negative impact of COVID-19 on pregnancy experience (p < 0.05). They had more concerns related to prenatal care, obtaining living supplies, and giving birth during the pandemic situation. There were no significant differences in fear of COVID-19 between groups. In both groups, negative pregnancy experience and pregnancy types were significantly related with higher pregnancy stress (p < 0.05). While pregnancy stress was significantly higher in the working pregnant women, the negative impact of COVID-19 on pregnancy experience was greater in the non-working pregnant women group. We suggest tailored prenatal management, education, and social supports considering the differences in psychological distress between the groups. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-04105-8.

Validation of loop-mediated isothermal amplification to detect Helicobacter pylori and 23S rRNA mutations: A prospective, observational clinical cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Identifying point mutations in 23S rRNA closely associated with clarithromycin resistance can increase the eradication rate of Helicobacter pylori (H pylori). In this study, we verified the sensitivity, specificity, and reliability of a newly developed loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay kit to detect H pylori and 2143G and 2182C mutations in 23S rRNA. METHODS: LAMP assay to detect H pylori and a mutant strain with 2143G and 2182C was conducted with the Isopollo® H pylori & ClaR kit. A prospective, open-label, observational study was conducted to validate the reliability of the LAMP assay in both a development cohort and a bedside direct LAMP cohort. RESULTS: The LAMP assay had good sensitivity, as it could detect as few as 10-100 copies of H pylori and mutants with 2143G and 2182C in 23S rRNA, and good specificity, as it did not react with other bacterial species. In the development cohort with 622 participants, the LAMP assay showed good agreement with RUT for detecting H pylori (kappa value 0.923, P < .001) and had exactly the same results as sequencing analysis for 2143G and 2182C point mutations. The direct LAMP cohort including 93 patients had 97.7% (42/43) of concordance in detecting 2143G and 2182C point mutations compared to the PCR-based sequencing analysis. CONCLUSION: The Isopollo® H pylori & ClaR LAMP assay was a valid method for detecting H pylori and for 2143G and 2182C point mutations in 23S rRNA in a clinical setting.

A Reference-Less Time-Division-Duplex Transceiver IC for a 5-Fr 6-Electrode Renal Denervation Catheter in 0.18-µm 70-V BCDMOS.

This paper presents the first time-division-duplex transceiver IC for a 5-Fr 6-electrode renal denervation (RDN) catheter for treatment of resistant hypertension. Each IC encapsulated in a platinum electrode implements an RDN catheter with 37.5 % of diameter reduction, which enables minimally invasive surgery with reduced complications. The six electrodes sharing only four electrical wires perform packet communication with an external power control unit for independent operation and deliver the designated RF energy to the renal artery wall while measuring local temperature and impedance. Two 500- kHz 21-Vrms AC signals with ±35-V DC potentials are used as supplies to transfer up to 6-W RF ablation signal with 120-Vpp swing while maintaining the maximum DC supply voltages of the ICs less than the break-down voltage of 70 V. The proposed RDN IC fabricated in 0.18-µm HV BCDMOS occupies 2.1 mm2.

Clinical relevance of point mutations in the 23S rRNA gene in Helicobacter pylori eradication: A prospective, observational study.

Clarithromycin-based triple therapy is prescribed worldwide for Helicobacter pylori eradication. However, increases in the clarithromycin resistance of H pylori are thought to be responsible for eradication failure. Here, we studied whether point mutations in domain V of the 23S rRNA gene can affect H pylori eradication failure in a prospective, open-label, observational study. Of the 755 enrolled patients, 299 patients (39.6%) had positive Campylobacter-like organism (CLO) tests. DNA sequencing analysis of H pylori 23S rRNA in 295 patients revealed that 2143G was the most frequent point mutation (24.7% of patients), followed by the 2182T mutation (11.5%). The overall eradication failure rate was 20.9% (42/201) in clarithromycin-based triple therapy. Patients with the 2143G had an approximately 60% eradication failure rate, which suggested that 2143G was a high-risk genotype for eradication failure. Patients with the 2182C genotype without 2143G had an 8.7% failure rate, and patients without 2143G or 2182C had only a 4.3% failure rate. The presence of 2143G, which was associated with previous eradication history and female sex, was an independent risk factor for eradication failure. In conclusion, the 2143G point mutation in the 23S rRNA of H pylori was an independent risk factor for eradication failure in clarithromycin-based triple therapy. Personalized tailored therapy based on the genotypes of 23S rRNA can increase eradication success rates in H pylori infections.

Flexible deep brain neural probe for localized stimulation and detection with metal guide.

In this paper, we present the design, fabrication, and performance evaluation of a polyimide-based flexible neural probe for the precise site stimulation and recording in the deep brain. The probe consists of five electrodes: one for stimulation, another for ground and the other three for recording electrodes. This probe is designed to be foldable, enabling easy insertion into the deep brain via temporary tungsten guide sticks. Because of its small cross-sectional area and the flexibility of the polyimide, the probe causes minimum damage to the neural tissue and does not show any evidence of serious immune reactions such as high density of macrophage or microglia. Around the simulation electrodes, an additional ground electrode prevents the stimulation of the undesired sites in the brain. To ensure we stimulate the target point specifically, for instance STh in this study, we confirm through both finite element analyses and in vitro tests. With the additional ground electrodes, we observe the leakage power decreased by about 80%. To check the performance of the probe, we demonstrate animal experiments using rats, and neural spike signals from STh in the 7-mm deep brain are successfully recorded after implantation.