OBJECTIVE: To assess the reliability of quantitative muscle ultrasonography (US) in healthy subjects and to evaluate the correlation between quantitative muscle US findings and electrodiagnostic study results in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). The clinical significance of quantitative muscle US in CTS was also assessed. METHODS: Twenty patients with CTS and 20 age-matched healthy volunteers were recruited. All control and CTS subjects underwent a bilateral median and ulnar nerve conduction study (NCS) and quantitative muscle US. Transverse US images of the abductor pollicis brevis (APB) and abductor digiti minimi (ADM) were obtained to measure muscle cross-sectional area (CSA), thickness, and echo intensity (EI). EI was determined using computer-assisted, grayscale analysis. Inter-rater and intra-rater reliability for quantitative muscle US in control subjects, and differences in muscle thickness, CSA, and EI between the CTS patient and control groups were analyzed. Relationships between quantitative US parameters and electrodiagnostic study results were evaluated. RESULTS: Quantitative muscle US had high inter-rater and intra-rater reliability in the control group. Muscle thickness and CSA were significantly decreased, and EI was significantly increased in the APB of the CTS group (all p<0.05). EI demonstrated a significant positive correlation with latency of the median motor and sensory NCS in CTS patients (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that quantitative muscle US parameters may be useful for detecting muscle changes in CTS. Further study involving patients with other neuromuscular diseases is needed to evaluate peripheral muscle change using quantitative muscle US.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome* ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Neuromuscular Diseases ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; Ulnar Nerve ; Ultrasonography*

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the factors affecting turnover intention of nurse who work in comprehensive nursing care service wards. Methods: The study design was a cross-sectional study. We recruited participants in 5 general hospitals located in Gyeonggi. Data were collected using structured questionnaires. Data of 150 nurses were included in the final analysis. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify the influencing factors on turnover intention. Results: Work in the thoracic surgery department (β=.158, p=.045), Emotional labor (β=.282, p=.004), occupational stress (β=.222, p=.004), and burnout (β=.249, p=.003) were identified as factors influencing turnover intention. These factors explained 39.1% of the variance of turnover intention. Conclusion The findings suggest that it is important to reduce emotional labor and occupational stress to reduce turnover intention for nurse in comprehensive nursing care service wards.

PURPOSE: The aims of this study were to investigate outcomes corresponding to age at diagnosis as categorized into 5-year intervals and to explore whether endocrine-responsive tumors display clinical benefits from endocrine therapy after chemotherapy among young breast cancer patients. METHODS: A total of 1,171 patients who were under 40 years old at diagnosis between 1985 and 2007 were divided into 3 subgroups: < or =30 years (Group I, 13.3%), 31-35 years (Group II, 30.5%), and 36-40 years (Control group, 56.2%). Clinicopathological factors and outcomes were compared using a chi-square test, the Kaplan-Meier method, and Cox's hazards models. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the characteristics and treatment patterns between the 3 groups, except for the grade, hormone receptors expression, and use of endocrine therap. Group I showed the worst survival and subsequently Group II presented worse outcomes than the Control group, mainly among hormone receptors-positive patients. Groups I and II showed increased risks of recurrence and death in multivariate analyses. Among 529 hormone receptors-positive patients who received chemotherapy, favorable outcomes for patients who were treated with endocrine agents were demonstrated, mainly in patients aged 35 years or less. However, interaction tests between the use of endocrine therapy and age at diagnosis were not significant. CONCLUSION: Age at diagnosis is an independent prognostic factor and the age of 35 years is a rational cut-off among young patients. Our subgroup analysis suggests that endocrine therapy may provide additional benefits even in young breast cancers. Therefore, further researches should be directed towards improving outcomes for this population.
Aged ; Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Humans ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prognosis ; Recurrence

DA-6034, a eupatilin derivative of flavonoid, has shown potent effects on the protection of gastric mucosa and induced the increases in fluid and glycoprotein secretion in human and rat corneal and conjunctival cells, suggesting that it might be considered as a drug for the treatment of dry eye. However, whether DA-6034 induces Ca2+ signaling and its underlying mechanism in epithelial cells are not known. In the present study, we investigated the mechanism for actions of DA-6034 in Ca2+ signaling pathways of the epithelial cells (conjunctival and corneal cells) from human donor eyes and mouse salivary gland epithelial cells. DA-6034 activated Ca2+-activated Cl- channels (CaCCs) and increased intracellular calcium concentrations ([Ca2+]i) in primary cultured human conjunctival cells. DA-6034 also increased [Ca2+]i in mouse salivary gland cells and human corneal epithelial cells. [Ca2+]i increase of DA-6034 was dependent on the Ca2+ entry from extracellular and Ca2+ release from internal Ca2+ stores. Interestingly, these effects of DA-6034 were related to ryanodine receptors (RyRs) but not phospholipase C/inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate (IP3) pathway and lysosomal Ca2+ stores. These results suggest that DA-6034 induces Ca2+ signaling via extracellular Ca2+ entry and RyRs-sensitive Ca2+ release from internal Ca2+ stores in epithelial cells.
Animals ; Calcium ; Calcium Signaling ; Epithelial Cells* ; Gastric Mucosa ; Glycoproteins ; Humans ; Mice ; Phospholipases ; Rats ; Ryanodine Receptor Calcium Release Channel ; Salivary Glands ; Tissue Donors

Nanobodies derived from camelids and sharks offer unique advantages in therapeutic applications due to their ability to bind to epitopes that were previously inaccessible. Traditional methods of nanobody development face challenges such as ethical concerns and antigen toxicity. Our study presents a synthetic, phagedisplayed nanobody library using trinucleotide-directed mutagenesis technology, which allows precise amino acid composition in complementarity-determining regions (CDRs), with a focus on CDR3 diversity. This approach avoids common problems such as frameshift mutations and stop codon insertions associated with other synthetic antibody library construction methods. By analyzing FDA-approved nanobodies and Protein Data Bank sequences, we designed sub-libraries with different CDR3 lengths and introduced amino acid substitutions to improve solubility. The validation of our library through the successful isolation of nanobodies against targets such as PD-1, ATXN1 and STAT3 demonstrates a versatile and ethical platform for the development of high specificity and affinity nanobodies and represents a significant advance in biotechnology.

Nanobodies derived from camelids and sharks offer unique advantages in therapeutic applications due to their ability to bind to epitopes that were previously inaccessible. Traditional methods of nanobody development face challenges such as ethical concerns and antigen toxicity. Our study presents a synthetic, phagedisplayed nanobody library using trinucleotide-directed mutagenesis technology, which allows precise amino acid composition in complementarity-determining regions (CDRs), with a focus on CDR3 diversity. This approach avoids common problems such as frameshift mutations and stop codon insertions associated with other synthetic antibody library construction methods. By analyzing FDA-approved nanobodies and Protein Data Bank sequences, we designed sub-libraries with different CDR3 lengths and introduced amino acid substitutions to improve solubility. The validation of our library through the successful isolation of nanobodies against targets such as PD-1, ATXN1 and STAT3 demonstrates a versatile and ethical platform for the development of high specificity and affinity nanobodies and represents a significant advance in biotechnology.

Nanobodies derived from camelids and sharks offer unique advantages in therapeutic applications due to their ability to bind to epitopes that were previously inaccessible. Traditional methods of nanobody development face challenges such as ethical concerns and antigen toxicity. Our study presents a synthetic, phagedisplayed nanobody library using trinucleotide-directed mutagenesis technology, which allows precise amino acid composition in complementarity-determining regions (CDRs), with a focus on CDR3 diversity. This approach avoids common problems such as frameshift mutations and stop codon insertions associated with other synthetic antibody library construction methods. By analyzing FDA-approved nanobodies and Protein Data Bank sequences, we designed sub-libraries with different CDR3 lengths and introduced amino acid substitutions to improve solubility. The validation of our library through the successful isolation of nanobodies against targets such as PD-1, ATXN1 and STAT3 demonstrates a versatile and ethical platform for the development of high specificity and affinity nanobodies and represents a significant advance in biotechnology.

Nanobodies derived from camelids and sharks offer unique advantages in therapeutic applications due to their ability to bind to epitopes that were previously inaccessible. Traditional methods of nanobody development face challenges such as ethical concerns and antigen toxicity. Our study presents a synthetic, phagedisplayed nanobody library using trinucleotide-directed mutagenesis technology, which allows precise amino acid composition in complementarity-determining regions (CDRs), with a focus on CDR3 diversity. This approach avoids common problems such as frameshift mutations and stop codon insertions associated with other synthetic antibody library construction methods. By analyzing FDA-approved nanobodies and Protein Data Bank sequences, we designed sub-libraries with different CDR3 lengths and introduced amino acid substitutions to improve solubility. The validation of our library through the successful isolation of nanobodies against targets such as PD-1, ATXN1 and STAT3 demonstrates a versatile and ethical platform for the development of high specificity and affinity nanobodies and represents a significant advance in biotechnology.

Nanobodies derived from camelids and sharks offer unique advantages in therapeutic applications due to their ability to bind to epitopes that were previously inaccessible. Traditional methods of nanobody development face challenges such as ethical concerns and antigen toxicity. Our study presents a synthetic, phagedisplayed nanobody library using trinucleotide-directed mutagenesis technology, which allows precise amino acid composition in complementarity-determining regions (CDRs), with a focus on CDR3 diversity. This approach avoids common problems such as frameshift mutations and stop codon insertions associated with other synthetic antibody library construction methods. By analyzing FDA-approved nanobodies and Protein Data Bank sequences, we designed sub-libraries with different CDR3 lengths and introduced amino acid substitutions to improve solubility. The validation of our library through the successful isolation of nanobodies against targets such as PD-1, ATXN1 and STAT3 demonstrates a versatile and ethical platform for the development of high specificity and affinity nanobodies and represents a significant advance in biotechnology.