People with depression often suffer from comorbid, chronic physical diseases. Little is known about how demographic characteristics such as age and sex influence the prevalence of chronic physical diseases comorbid with depression. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the age and sex differences in the prevalence of diverse, chronic physical diseases comorbid with depression.

To determine the genetic association between qualitative and quantitative traits of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and neuregulin 1 (NRG1)-a schizophrenia candidate gene-we examined six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in NRG1 using a family-based association test (FBAT) in Korean families with ASD. rs35753505 and rs6994992 SNPs in NRG1 revealed a statistically significant family-based association with three quantitative traits for sociality.

We previously demonstrated that P. aeruginosa isolates that persisted in children with cystic fibrosis (CF) despite inhaled tobramycin treatment had increased anti-Psl antibody binding in vitro compared to those successfully eradicated. We aimed to validate these findings by directly visualizing P. aeruginosa in CF sputum. This was a prospective observational study of children with CF with new-onset P. aeruginosa infection who underwent inhaled tobramycin eradication treatment. Using microbial identification passive clarity technique (MiPACT), P. aeruginosa was visualized in sputum samples obtained before treatment and classified as persistent or eradicated based on outcomes. Pre-treatment isolates were also grown as biofilms in vitro. Of 11 patients enrolled, 4 developed persistent infection and 7 eradicated infection. P. aeruginosa biovolume and the number as well as size of P. aeruginosa aggregates were greater in the sputum of those with persistent compared with eradicated infections (p < 0.01). The amount of Psl antibody binding in sputum was also greater overall (p < 0.05) in samples with increased P. aeruginosa biovolume. When visualized in sputum, P. aeruginosa had a greater biovolume, with more expressed Psl, and formed more numerous, larger aggregates in CF children who failed eradication therapy compared to those who successfully cleared their infection.

Kaempferol, a natural flavonoid abundantly found in plants, is known to have pharmacological properties, such as anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects. In this study, we investigated the antiviral effects of kaempferol against a varicella-zoster virus (VZV) clinical isolate in vitro. We found that kaempferol significantly inhibited VZV replication without exhibiting cytotoxicity. Kaempferol exerted its antiviral effect at a similar stage of the VZV life cycle as acyclovir, which inhibits VZV DNA replication. Taken together, our results suggest that kaempferol inhibits VZV infection by blocking the DNA replication stage in the viral life cycle.

Recent anti-malarial resistance monitoring in Angola has shown efficacy of artemether-lumefantrine (AL) in certain sites approaching the key 90% lower limit of efficacy recommended for artemisinin-based combination therapy. In addition, a controversial case of malaria unresponsive to artemisinins was reported in a patient infected in Lunda Sul Province in 2013.

The World Health Organization recommends regular therapeutic efficacy studies (TES) to monitor the performance of first and second-line anti-malarials. In 2016, efficacy and safety of artemether-lumefantrine (AL) for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria were assessed through a TES conducted between April and October 2016 at four sentinel sites of Kibaha, Mkuzi, Mlimba, and Ujiji in Tanzania. The study also assessed molecular markers of artemisinin and lumefantrine (partner drug) resistance.

The cerebellum is an important region responsible for adolescent cognitive function and sleep, and their correlation is expected to show different patterns depending on age and gender. We examined the regional cerebellar gray matter volume (GMV), executive function (EF) and insomnia symptoms to identify their correlation and gender differences in adolescents. Data for a total of 55 subjects' (M = 31, F = 24, 14.80 ± 1.39 years old) were analyzed. The correlations between cerebellar regional GMV and Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST) subcategories showed that EF was better with larger GMV both in males and females. Far more overall correlations with cerebellar regions were observed in boys, with corresponding correlation strength being higher, and differences in localization were also observed in contrast to girls. Larger cerebellar GMV corresponded to better EF in adolescents. Insomnia did not influence the correlations between cerebellar regional GMV and EF, but more severe insomnia in boys correlated to smaller GMV in the right flocculonodular lobe. These results might implicate that the adolescent cerebellum is involved differently in EF dependent on gender.

The ability to identify mixed-species infections and track the origin of Plasmodium parasites can further enhance the development of treatment and prevention recommendations as well as outbreak investigations. Here, we explore the utility of using the full Plasmodium mitochondrial genome to classify Plasmodium species, detect mixed infections, and infer the geographical origin of imported P. falciparum parasites to the United States (U.S.). Using the recently developed standardized, high-throughput Malaria Resistance Surveillance (MaRS) protocol, the full Plasmodium mitochondrial genomes of 265 malaria cases imported to the U.S. from 2014-2017 were sequenced and analyzed. P. falciparum infections were found in 94.7% (251/265) of samples. Five percent (14/265) of samples were identified as mixed- Plasmodium species or non-P. falciparum, including P. vivax, P. malariae, P. ovale curtisi, and P. ovale wallikeri. P. falciparum mitochondrial haplotypes analysis revealed greater than eighteen percent of samples to have at least two P. falciparum mitochondrial genome haplotypes, indicating either heteroplasmy or multi-clonal infections. Maximum-likelihood phylogenies of 912 P. falciparum mitochondrial genomes with known country origin were used to infer the geographical origin of thirteen samples from persons with unknown travel histories as: Africa (country unspecified) (n = 10), Ghana (n = 1), Southeast Asia (n = 1), and the Philippines (n = 1). We demonstrate the utility and current limitations of using the Plasmodium mitochondrial genome to classify samples with mixed-infections and infer the geographical origin of imported P. falciparum malaria cases to the U.S. with unknown travel history.

Background: North Korean refugees (NKRs) are often exposed to traumatic events in North Korea and during their defection. Furthermore, they face sociocultural barriers in adapting to the new society to which they have defected. Objective: To integrate previous findings on this mentally vulnerable population, we systematically reviewed articles on the mental health of NKRs in South Korea. Method: We searched for empirical studies conducted in the last 10 years in six online databases (international journals: Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science; Korean journals: DBPIA, KMbase) through June 2017. Only quantitative studies using new empirical data on the mental health of NKRs were included. We summarized the 56 studies ultimately selected in terms of NKRs' mental health status and three domains of associated factors: pre- and post-settlement factors and personal factors. Results: NKRs had a high prevalence and severity of psychiatric symptoms, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. We identified nine risk factors consistently found in previous studies, including traumatic experience, longer stay periods in third country, forced repatriation, acculturative stress, low income, older age, poor physical health, and female and male sex, as well as four protective factors, including educational level in North Korea, social support, family relationship quality, and resilience. Conclusions: We suggest that future studies focus on the causal interactions between different risk and protective factors and mental health outcomes among NKRs from a longitudinal perspective. Furthermore, comprehensive policies for NKRs' psychological adaptation are needed, particularly the development of evidence-based mental health interventions.

Sexually reproducing pathogens such as Cyclospora cayetanensis often produce genetically heterogeneous infections where the number of unique sequence types detected at any given locus varies depending on which locus is sequenced. The genotypes assigned to these infections quickly become complex when additional loci are analysed. This genetic heterogeneity confounds the utility of traditional sequence-typing and phylogenetic approaches for aiding epidemiological trace-back, and requires new methods to address this complexity. Here, we describe an ensemble of two similarity-based classification algorithms, including a Bayesian and heuristic component that infer the relatedness of C. cayetanensis infections. The ensemble requires a set of haplotypes as input and assigns arbitrary distances to specimen pairs reflecting their most likely relationships. The approach was applied to data generated from a test cohort of 88 human fecal specimens containing C. cayetanensis, including 30 from patients whose infections were associated with epidemiologically defined outbreak clusters of cyclosporiasis. The ensemble assigned specimens to plausible clusters of genetically related infections despite their complex haplotype composition. These relationships were corroborated by a significant number of epidemiological linkages (P < 0.0001) suggesting the ensemble's utility for aiding epidemiological trace-back investigations of cyclosporiasis.

The current first-line treatments for uncomplicated malaria recommended by the National Malaria Control Programme in Mali are artemether-lumefantrine (AL) and artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ). From 2015 to 2016, an in vivo study was carried out to assess the clinical and parasitological responses to AL and ASAQ in Sélingué, Mali.

We describe the Wellness and Health Omics Linked to the Environment (WHOLE) personalized medicine profile for a 50-year-old Caucasian male living in Atlanta, Georgia. Based on the principle that genomic medicine will be most effective when presented in the context of an individual's clinical and lifestyle data, we propose the use of a "risk radar" that summarizes health risks in eight domains. Rather than providing overwhelming lists of potentially deleterious genetic variants, we argue that profiles should be palatable, actionable, reproducible, and teachable: the PART principle. Genetic risk scores for this individual are strikingly concordant for his height, body mass index (BMI), waist hip ration (WHR), and cholesterol, and blood transcriptome data agrees with and complements his complete blood counts. Despite enjoying currently good health, his risk radar highlights metabolic disease as his major health concern.

Targeted amplicon deep sequencing (TADS) of the 16S rRNA gene is commonly used to explore and characterize bacterial microbiomes. Meanwhile, attempts to apply TADS to the detection and characterization of entire parasitic communities have been hampered since conserved regions of many conserved parasite genes, such as the 18S rRNA gene, are also conserved in their eukaryotic hosts. As a result, targeted amplification of 18S rRNA from clinical samples using universal primers frequently results in competitive priming and preferential amplification of host DNA. Here, we describe a novel method that employs a single pair of universal primers to capture all blood-borne parasites while reducing host 18S rRNA template and enhancing the amplification of parasite 18S rRNA for TADS. This was achieved using restriction enzymes to digest the 18S rRNA gene at cut sites present only in the host sequence prior to PCR amplification.

Parenting style is one potential contributor to the development of adolescents' cognitions, self-esteem and emotional problems. This study examined the relationship between maternal parenting attitudes and adolescents' negative cognitions, and depressive symptoms according to gender.

The objective of this study was to investigate the Korean public's recognition of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), revealing underlying factors regarding perception relative to etiology and treatment of ASD, and examining variables related to those factors.

Accurate diagnosis of malaria infections continues to be challenging and elusive, especially in the detection of submicroscopic infections. Developing new malaria diagnostic tools that are sensitive enough to detect low-level infections, user friendly, cost effective and capable of performing large scale diagnosis, remains critical. We have designed novel self-quenching photo-induced electron transfer (PET) fluorogenic primers for the detection of P. ovale by real-time PCR. In our study, a total of 173 clinical samples, consisting of different malaria species, were utilized to test this novel PET-PCR primer. The sensitivity and specificity were calculated using nested-PCR as the reference test. The novel primer set demonstrated a sensitivity of 97.5% and a specificity of 99.2% (95% CI 85.2-99.8% and 95.2-99.9% respectively). Furthermore, the limit of detection for P. ovale was found to be 1 parasite/μl. The PET-PCR assay is a new molecular diagnostic tool with comparable performance to other commonly used PCR methods. It is relatively easy to perform, and amiable to large scale malaria surveillance studies and malaria control and elimination programs. Further field validation of this novel primer will be helpful to ascertain the utility for large scale malaria screening programs.

Cyclosporiasis is an infection caused by Cyclospora cayetanensis, which is acquired by consumption of contaminated fresh food or water. In the United States, cases of cyclosporiasis are often associated with foodborne outbreaks linked to imported fresh produce or travel to disease-endemic countries. Epidemiologic investigation has been the primary method for linking outbreak cases. A molecular typing marker that can identify genetically related samples would be helpful in tracking outbreaks. We evaluated the mitochondrial junction region as a potential genotyping marker. We tested stool samples from 134 laboratory-confirmed cases in the United States by using PCR and Sanger sequencing. All but 2 samples were successfully typed and divided into 14 sequence types. Typing results were identical among samples within each epidemiologically defined case cluster for 7 of 10 clusters. These findings suggest that this marker can distinguish between distinct case clusters and might be helpful during cyclosporiasis outbreak investigations.

Intellectual disability (ID) is a neurodevelopmental disorder defined by below-average intelligence (intelligence quotient of <70) accompanied by adaptive behavior deficits. Defects in the functions of neural stem cells during brain development are closely linked to the pathogenesis of ID. To understand the molecular etiology of ID, we examined neural stem cells from individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a genetic disorder in which approximately one-third of the patients exhibit ID. In this study, we generated induced pluripotent stem cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cells from a normal individual and DMD patients with and without ID to identify ID-specific functional and molecular abnormalities. We found defects in neural ectoderm formation in the group of DMD patients with ID. Our transcriptome analysis of patient-derived neural stem cells revealed altered expression of genes related to the hippo signaling pathway and neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, implicating these in the pathogenesis of ID in patients with DMD.

Anti-malarial resistance is a threat to recent gains in malaria control. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ) and artemether-lumefantrine (AL) in the management of uncomplicated malaria and to measure the prevalence of molecular markers of resistance of Plasmodium falciparum in sentinel sites in Maferinyah and Labé Health Districts in Guinea in 2016.

Conventional CD4+ T cells are differentiated into CD4+CD8αα+ intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) in the intestine; however, the roles of intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) are poorly understood. Here, we showed that IECs expressed MHC class II (MHC II) and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) induced by the microbiota and IFN-γ in the distal part of the small intestine, where CD4+ T cells were transformed into CD4+CD8αα+ IELs. Therefore, IEC-specific deletion of MHC II and PD-L1 hindered the development of CD4+CD8αα+ IELs. Intracellularly, PD-1 signals supported the acquisition of CD8αα by down-regulating the CD4-lineage transcription factor, T helper-inducing POZ/Krüppel-like factor (ThPOK), via the Src homology 2 domain-containing tyrosine phosphatase (SHP) pathway. Our results demonstrate that noncanonical antigen presentation with cosignals from IECs constitutes niche adaptation signals to develop tissue-resident CD4+CD8αα+ IELs.