Depression, Depression Literacy, and Sociodemographic Characteristics of Korean Americans: A Preliminary Investigation

Despite the rapid growth in the number of Korean Americans (KAs) and the alarmingly high prevalence of depression in this population, relatively little is known about the impact of depression literacy on KAs’ depression. This study investigated the prevalence of depressive symptoms among a community-based sample of KA adults; the associations among socio-demographic characteristics, depression literacy, and depressive symptoms; and predictors related to depressive symptoms. A sample of 600 KAs completed depression and depression literacy scales, as well as socio-demographic questionnaires. Data analyses were conducted to assess the association between depressive symptoms, depression literacy, and the covariates. Forty-five percent of participants showed elevated depressive symptoms. Marital status attained educational level, perceived mental health, and depression literacy were significant predictors of depressive symptoms. Given the high prevalence of depressive symptoms in this population, future research should investigate the causal relationships of various predictors of depression and depression literacy, which will facilitate the development of culturally-appropriate interventions and policies concerning mental health for KAs, and early mental health screening for them

Reinvestigation of aminoacyl-TRNA synthetase core complex by affinity purification-mass spectrometry reveals TARSL2 as a potential member of the complex

10.1371/journal.pone.0081734PLoS ONE812-POLN

RNAseq Analyses Identify Tumor Necrosis Factor-Mediated Inflammation as a Major Abnormality in ALS Spinal Cord

ALS is a rapidly progressive, devastating neurodegenerative illness of adults that produces disabling weakness and spasticity arising from death of lower and upper motor neurons. No meaningful therapies exist to slow ALS progression, and molecular insights into pathogenesis and progression are sorely needed. In that context, we used high-depth, next generation RNA sequencing (RNAseq, Illumina) to define gene network abnormalities in RNA samples depleted of rRNA and isolated from cervical spinal cord sections of 7 ALS and 8 CTL samples. We aligned \u3e50 million 2X150 bp paired-end sequences/sample to the hg19 human genome and applied three different algorithms (Cuffdiff2, DEseq2, EdgeR) for identification of differentially expressed genes (DEG’s). Ingenuity Pathways Analysis (IPA) and Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) identified inflammatory processes as significantly elevated in our ALS samples, with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) found to be a major pathway regulator (IPA) and TNFα-induced protein 2 (TNFAIP2) as a major network “hub” gene (WGCNA). Using the oPOSSUM algorithm, we analyzed transcription factors (TF) controlling expression of the nine DEG/hub genes in the ALS samples and identified TF’s involved in inflammation (NFkB, REL, NFkB1) and macrophage function (NR1H2::RXRA heterodimer). Transient expression in human iPSC-derived motor neurons of TNFAIP2 (also a DEG identified by all three algorithms) reduced cell viability and induced caspase 3/7 activation. Using high-density RNAseq, multiple algorithms for DEG identification, and an unsupervised gene co-expression network approach, we identified significant elevation of inflammatory processes in ALS spinal cord with TNF as a major regulatory molecule. Overexpression of the DEG TNFAIP2 in human motor neurons, the population most vulnerable to die in ALS, increased cell death and caspase 3/7 activation. We propose that therapies targeted to reduce inflammatory TNFα signaling may be helpful in ALS patients

Reduced level of arousal and increased mortality in adult acute medical admissions: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background Reduced level of arousal is commonly observed in medical admissions and may predict in-hospital mortality. Delirium and reduced level of arousal are closely related. We systematically reviewed and conducted a meta-analysis of studies in adult acute medical patients of the relationship between reduced level of arousal on admission and in-hospital mortality. Methods We conducted a systematic review (PROSPERO: CRD42016022048), searching MEDLINE and EMBASE. We included studies of adult patients admitted with acute medical illness with level of arousal assessed on admission and mortality rates reported. We performed meta-analysis using a random effects model. Results From 23,941 studies we included 21 with 14 included in the meta-analysis. Mean age range was 33.4 - 83.8 years. Studies considered unselected general medical admissions (8 studies, n=13,039) or specific medical conditions (13 studies, n=38,882). Methods of evaluating level of arousal varied. The prevalence of reduced level of arousal was 3.1%-76.9% (median 13.5%). Mortality rates were 1.7%-58% (median 15.9%). Reduced level of arousal was associated with higher in-hospital mortality (pooled OR 5.71; 95% CI 4.21-7.74; low quality evidence: high risk of bias, clinical heterogeneity and possible publication bias). Conclusions Reduced level of arousal on hospital admission may be a strong predictor of in-hospital mortality. Most evidence was of low quality. Reduced level of arousal is highly specific to delirium, better formal detection of hypoactive delirium and implementation of care pathways may improve outcomes. Future studies to assess the impact of interventions on in-hospital mortality should use validated assessments of both level of arousal and delirium

Evaluating the use of the Child and Adolescent Intellectual Disability Screening Questionnaire (CAIDS-Q) to estimate IQ in children with low intellectual ability

In situations where completing a full intellectual assessment is not possible or desirable the clinician or researcher may require an alternative means of accurately estimating intellectual functioning. There has been limited research in the use of proxy IQ measures in children with an intellectual disability or low IQ. The present study aimed to provide a means of converting total scores from a screening tool (the Child and Adolescent Intellectual Disability Screening Questionnaire: CAIDS-Q) to an estimated IQ. A series of linear regression analyses were conducted on data from 428 children and young people referred to clinical services, where FSIQ was predicted from CAIDS-Q total scores. Analyses were conducted for three age groups between ages 6 and 18 years. The study presents a conversion table for converting CAIDS-Q total scores to estimates of FSIQ, with corresponding 95% prediction intervals to allow the clinician or researcher to estimate FSIQ scores from CAIDS-Q total scores. It is emphasised that, while this conversion may offer a quick means of estimating intellectual functioning in children with a below average IQ, it should be used with caution, especially in children aged between 6 and 8 years old

Characterisation of the Immunophenotype of Dogs with Primary Immune-Mediated Haemolytic Anaemia

Immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia (IMHA) is reported to be the most common autoimmune disease of dogs, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality in affected animals. Haemolysis is caused by the action of autoantibodies, but the immunological changes that result in their production have not been elucidated.To investigate the frequency of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and other lymphocyte subsets and to measure serum concentrations of cytokines and peripheral blood mononuclear cell expression of cytokine genes in dogs with IMHA, healthy dogs and dogs with inflammatory diseases.19 dogs with primary IMHA, 22 dogs with inflammatory diseases and 32 healthy control dogs.Residual EDTA-anti-coagulated blood samples were stained with fluorophore-conjugated monoclonal antibodies and analysed by flow cytometry to identify Tregs and other lymphocyte subsets. Total RNA was also extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells to investigate cytokine gene expression, and concentrations of serum cytokines (interleukins 2, 6 10, CXCL-8 and tumour necrosis factor α) were measured using enhanced chemiluminescent assays. Principal component analysis was used to investigate latent variables that might explain variability in the entire dataset.There was no difference in the frequency or absolute numbers of Tregs among groups, nor in the proportions of other lymphocyte subsets. The concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines were greater in dogs with IMHA compared to healthy controls, but the concentration of IL-10 and the expression of cytokine genes did not differ between groups. Principal component analysis identified four components that explained the majority of the variability in the dataset, which seemed to correspond to different aspects of the immune response.The immunophenotype of dogs with IMHA differed from that of dogs with inflammatory diseases and from healthy control dogs; some of these changes could suggest abnormalities in peripheral tolerance that permit development of autoimmune disease. The frequency of Tregs did not differ between groups, suggesting that deficiency in the number of these cells is not responsible for development of IMHA

Comparison of two high-throughput semiconductor chip sequencing platforms in noninvasive prenatal testing for Down syndrome in early pregnancy

Background: Noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) to detect fetal aneuploidy using next-generation sequencing on ion semiconductor platforms has become common. There are several sequencers that can generate sufficient DNA reads for NIPT. However, the approval criteria vary among platforms and countries. This can delay the introduction of such devices and systems to clinics. A comparison of the sensitivity and specificity of two different platforms using the same sequencing chemistry could be useful in NIPT for fetal chromosomal aneuploidies. This would improve healthcare authorities' confidence in decision-making on sequencing-based tests. Methods: One hundred and one pregnant women who were predicted at high risk of fetal defects using conventional prenatal screening tests, and who underwent definitive diagnosis by full karyotyping, were enrolled from three hospitals in Korea. Most of the pregnant women (69.79 %) received NIPT during weeks 11-13 of gestation and 30.21 % during weeks 14-18. We used Ion Torrent PGM and Proton semi-conductor-based sequencers with 0.3x sequencing coverage depth. The average total reads of 101 samples were approximately 4.5 and 7.6 M for PGM and Proton, respectively. A Burrows-Wheeler Aligner (BWA) algorithm was used for the alignment, and a z-score was used to decide fetal trisomy 21. Interactive dot diagrams from the sequencing data showed minimal z-score values of 2.07 and 2.10 to discriminate negative versus positive cases of fetal trisomy 21 for the two different sequencing systems. Results: Our z-score-based discrimination method resulted in 100 % positive and negative prediction values for both ion semiconductor PGM and Proton sequencers, regardless of their sequencing chip and chemistry differences. Both platforms performed well at an early stage (11-13 weeks of gestation) compared with previous studies. Conclusions: These results suggested that, using two different sequencers, NIPT to detect fetal trisomy 21 in early pregnancy is accurate and platform-independent. The data suggested that the amount of sequencing and the application of common, simple, and robust statistical analyses are more important than sequencing chemistry and platform types. This result has practical implications in countries where PGM is approved for NIPT but the Proton system is not.ope