The purpose of the current study was to examine the risk factors of young children’s smartphone addiction in a longitudinal study design. Data collected from 313 participants (mean age, 4.5 ± 0.82 years; male, 49.8%) over 4 years for Kids Cohort for Understanding of Internet Addiction Risk Factors in Early Childhood were analyzed in this study. Mixed effect models were used to evaluate the influence of various variables on the repeated measures of smartphone addiction tendency in young children over time. The multi-level analysis showed that parents’ lack of control over children’s smartphone use (t = −4.523; 95% confidence interval [CI], −7.32, −1.72), and parents’ higher smartphone addiction proneness (t = 6.340;95% CI, 0.23, 0.440) predicted higher smartphone addiction tendency in young children.The responsibility of the parents to prevent their children from becoming addicted to smartphones should start in a very early age when they start using the smartphones.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the risk factors of young children’s smartphone addiction in a longitudinal study design. Data collected from 313 participants (mean age, 4.5 ± 0.82 years; male, 49.8%) over 4 years for Kids Cohort for Understanding of Internet Addiction Risk Factors in Early Childhood were analyzed in this study. Mixed effect models were used to evaluate the influence of various variables on the repeated measures of smartphone addiction tendency in young children over time. The multi-level analysis showed that parents’ lack of control over children’s smartphone use (t = −4.523; 95% confidence interval [CI], −7.32, −1.72), and parents’ higher smartphone addiction proneness (t = 6.340;95% CI, 0.23, 0.440) predicted higher smartphone addiction tendency in young children.The responsibility of the parents to prevent their children from becoming addicted to smartphones should start in a very early age when they start using the smartphones.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the risk factors of young children’s smartphone addiction in a longitudinal study design. Data collected from 313 participants (mean age, 4.5 ± 0.82 years; male, 49.8%) over 4 years for Kids Cohort for Understanding of Internet Addiction Risk Factors in Early Childhood were analyzed in this study. Mixed effect models were used to evaluate the influence of various variables on the repeated measures of smartphone addiction tendency in young children over time. The multi-level analysis showed that parents’ lack of control over children’s smartphone use (t = −4.523; 95% confidence interval [CI], −7.32, −1.72), and parents’ higher smartphone addiction proneness (t = 6.340;95% CI, 0.23, 0.440) predicted higher smartphone addiction tendency in young children.The responsibility of the parents to prevent their children from becoming addicted to smartphones should start in a very early age when they start using the smartphones.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the risk factors of young children’s smartphone addiction in a longitudinal study design. Data collected from 313 participants (mean age, 4.5 ± 0.82 years; male, 49.8%) over 4 years for Kids Cohort for Understanding of Internet Addiction Risk Factors in Early Childhood were analyzed in this study. Mixed effect models were used to evaluate the influence of various variables on the repeated measures of smartphone addiction tendency in young children over time. The multi-level analysis showed that parents’ lack of control over children’s smartphone use (t = −4.523; 95% confidence interval [CI], −7.32, −1.72), and parents’ higher smartphone addiction proneness (t = 6.340;95% CI, 0.23, 0.440) predicted higher smartphone addiction tendency in young children.The responsibility of the parents to prevent their children from becoming addicted to smartphones should start in a very early age when they start using the smartphones.

PURPOSE: T cell-mediated immune responses, and particularly activation of polyfunctional T cells that simultaneously produce multiple cytokines, are necessary for the control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In the present study, we examined if DNA immunization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis resuscitation-promoting factor B (RpfB) elicits polyfunctional T cell responses in mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: C57BL/6 mice were immunized intramuscularly three times, at 3-week intervals, with RpfB-expressing plasmid DNA. For comparison, protein immunization was performed with recombinant RpfB in control mice. After immunization, RpfB-specific T cell responses were assessed by interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot assay and intracellular cytokine staining (ICS), and T cell polyfunctionality was assessed from the ICS data. RESULTS: RpfB DNA immunization induced not only humoral immune responses, but also CD8+ and CD4+ T cell responses. Immunodominant T-cell epitopes were identified within RpfB by assays with overlapping peptides. RpfB DNA immunization elicited a polyfunctional CD8+ T cell response that was dominated by a functional phenotype of IFN-gamma+/TNF-alpha+/IL-2-/CD107a+. CONCLUSION: RpfB DNA immunization elicits polyfunctional CD8+ T cell responses, suggesting that RpfB DNA immunization might induce protective immunity against tuberculosis.
Animals ; Complement Factor B* ; Cytokines ; DNA* ; Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte ; Immunity, Humoral ; Immunization* ; Interferon-gamma ; Mice ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis* ; Peptides ; Phenotype ; Plasmids ; T-Lymphocytes ; Tuberculosis ; Vaccines, DNA

Purpose: To assess the prevalence of food allergy, with a focus on oral allergy syndrome (OAS) in a population of children and to investigate relevant allergen sensitization associated with these adverse reactions. Methods: This study involved 1,660 children (aged 4 to 13 years) experiencing seasonal allergy symptoms, who were enrolled in the 2015 prospective Seongnam Atopy Project (SAP 2015) in a South Korean municipality. Parents completed a structured questionnaire to assess children with OAS, collecting information on the duration, severity, and factors related to symptoms. Skin prick tests (n = 498) and blood sampling (n= 464) were performed to measure allergic sensitizations, total eosinophil counts, and levels both total immunoglobulin E (IgE) and birch-specific IgE. Results: The prevalence of OAS among the children enrolled in this study was 4.4% (95% confidence interval, 3.7%–5.1%). The most common symptom was mouth itching (n= 106, 65.0%), and the primary food allergen associated with symptoms was kiwi (n= 48, 29.5%). Peanut sensitization (14.8% vs. 57.1%, P< 0.001) and sensitization to other nut products (15.6% vs. 47.6%, P= 0.001) were linked to a higher incidence of systemic reactions. Conclusion The prevalence of 4.4% underscores the significant health impact of OAS, especially in children experiencing food allergy-related symptoms. Notably, common allergens, such as kiwi, and the potential for additional systemic reactions associated with this condition highlight the importance of raising awareness.

Ribavirin is an antiviral drug used in combination with pegylated interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Recently, ribavirin was reported to inhibit the suppressive activity of regulatory T (Treg) cells. In the present study, we re-evaluated the effect of ribavirin on Foxp3+CD4+CD25+ Treg cells from normal donors. First, we examined the expression of CTLA-4 and CD39, which are known to play a role in the suppressive function of Treg cells. We found that ribavirin treatment did not modulate the expression of CTLA-4 and CD39 in Treg cells. We also studied the effect of ribavirin on Treg cells in the presence of IFN-alpha; however, the expression of CTLA-4 and CD39 in Treg cells was not changed by ribavirin in the presence of IFN-alpha. Next, we directly evaluated the effect of ribavirin on the suppressive activity of Treg cells in the standard Treg suppression assay, by co-culturing CFSE-labeled non-Treg CD4+ T cells with purified Treg cells. We found that ribavirin did not attenuate the suppressive activity of Treg cells. Taken together, while ribavirin reversed Treg cell-mediated suppression of effector T cells in the previous study, we herein demonstrate that ribavirin does not impair the suppressive activity of Treg cells.
Hepacivirus ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha ; Ribavirin ; T-Lymphocytes ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; Tissue Donors

OBJECTIVES: Many studies have demonstrated comorbidities and overlapping symptoms in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). The purpose of this study was to examine the functional impairment in subjects with ADHD, ODD, and in those with both ADHD and ODD. METHODS: 172 male subjects, aged 6 to 15 years old, were enrolled in this study. Based on diagnoses made by applying the Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Present and Lifetime (K-SADS-PL), the subjects were categorized into four groups: ADHD group (n=64), ODD group (n=17), ADHD+ODD group (n=28), and control group (n=63). The Child and Adolescent Functioning Impairment Scale (CAFIS) was used to measure the functional impairment of the subjects. CAFIS consists of four subscales : Family relationship, Teacher relationship, Peer relationship, and Academic achievement scales. A high CAFIS score implies high functional impairment. Analysis of covariance was conducted to compare the scores between the four groups. RESULTS: Both the ODD and the ADHD+ODD groups had significantly high scores for Parent relationship compared to that of the ADHD group. Compared to the control group, both the ADHD and the ADHD+ODD group had significantly higher scores for Peer relationship and Academic achievement, whereas, the ODD group showed no significant difference from the control group on those two subscales. CONCLUSION The present study showed that subjects with ADHD and ODD have different functional impairment characteristics. The subjects' relationships with their parents were worsened by the presence of ODD. Peer relationships and Academic achievements were significantly affected by the presence of ADHD.