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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are associated with immune dysregulation. We aimed to estimate the pro- and anti-inflammatory activity/balance in ASD and ADHD patients at a little-studied adolescent age with respect to sex. We evaluated 20 ASD patients (5 girls, average age: 12.4 ± 1.9 y), 20 ADHD patients (5 girls, average age: 13.4 ± 1.8 y), and 20 age- and gender-matched controls (average age: 13.2 ± 1.9 y). The evaluated parameters included (1) white blood cells (WBCs), neutrophils, monocytes, lymphocytes, platelets, platelet distribution width (PDW), mean platelet volume, and derived ratios, as well as (2) cytokines—interferon-gamma, interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and derived profiles and ratios. ASD adolescents showed higher levels of WBC, monocytes, IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10, macrophages (M)1 profile, and anti-inflammatory profile than the controls, with ASD males showing higher monocytes, IL-6 and IL-10, anti-inflammatory profile, and a lower T-helper (Th)1/Th2+T-regulatory cell ratio than control males. The ADHD adolescents showed higher levels of PDW, IL-1β and IL-6, TNF-α, M1 profile, proinflammatory profile, and pro-/anti-inflammatory ratio than the controls, with ADHD females showing a higher TNF-α and pro-/anti-inflammatory ratio than the control females and ADHD males showing higher levels of IL-1β and IL-6, TNF-α, and M1 profile than the control males. Immune dysregulation appeared to be different for both neurodevelopmental disorders in adolescence.

•The Tri-Ponderal Mass Index (TMI) is an important emerging tool for the early screening of obesity in adolescent populations.•This study showed that TMI compared with anthropometric measures, such as hip circumference, neck circumference, waist circumference, waist-height ratio, and waist-hip ratio, demonstrated the highest Youden Index for both overweight and obese adolescents, indicating its superior predictive ability for early screening of these conditions.•Ethnic-based age-specific, sex-specific, and age-plus-sex-specific reference TMI thresholds are established for estimating overweight and obesity among Indian adolescents. This study was designed to examine the reliability of the Tri-Ponderal Mass Index (TMI) for early screening of adolescent obesity compared with anthropometric measures such as hip circumference, neck circumference, waist circumference, waist-height ratio, waist-hip ratio, and body mass index. A school-based, cross-sectional study was conducted between July and December 2019 among 1101 school-going adolescents (both sexes) aged 12 to 17 years, in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, India. Anthropometric measurements were collected using well-calibrated equipment, and age- and sex-specific BMI percentile cutoff values recommended by the Indian Academy of Pediatrics were used to define overweight and obesity. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software version 16.0. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was conducted, and optimal cutoff values for anthropometric measurements were determined using the Youden Index (sensitivity + specificity – 1). Of 1101 study participants, 71.5% (n = 787) and 28.5% (n = 314) were males and females, respectively. The prevalences of overweight and obesity were 10.4% and 4.1%, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was conducted and TMI exhibited the highest Youden Index both in terms of overweight (0.835) and obesity (0.869) among adolescents. The optimal TMI cutoff values for overweight and obese males and females were >12 kg/m³ and >14 kg/m³ and >13 kg/m³ and >16 kg/m³, respectively. The TMI demonstrated superior predictive capacity for early screening of adolescent obesity, as indicated by high discriminative power, sensitivity, and specificity. The TMI can be used as a simple, reliable tool for early screening of overweight and obesity among adolescents.

The impact of non-native species, together with their pervasiveness, necessitates a means of identifying which species are most likely to pose an elevated risk of becoming invasive. This is amongst the first applications of the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK) decision support tool in Southeast Asia, and specifically for Vietnam. In total, 30 extant and horizon non-native aquatic species were screened for their potential invasiveness in Vietnam. A threshold score of 6.75 was identified for distinguishing between species likely to pose a high and low-to-medium risk of becoming invasive in Vietnam for both the basic risk assessment (BRA) and the climate change assessment (BRA + CCA) components of the screening process. However, the absence of nationally-consistent predictions on climate change impacts in Vietnam restricted the applicability of the climate change assessment component. Based on the BRA threshold, of the 30 species screened, 25 were classified as high risk, four as medium risk, and one as low risk. For the BRA, the highest-scoring species were Hypostomus plecostomus, Pomacea canaliculata and Lithobates catesbeianus. This study reliably identified and discriminated between non-invasive and potentially invasive aquatic species in Vietnam, thereby providing appropriate AS-ISK score thresholds with which to guide policy and decision-making. This suggests that the AS-ISK could be successfully employed to screen non-native aquatic species in other parts of Southeast Asia.

ObjectiveTo identify standard clinical parameters that can predict the presence and severity of obstructive sleep apnea.Subjects and methodsAdult patients with habitual snoring completed comprehensive polysomnography and anthropometric measurements, including sex, age, body mass index (BMI), neck circumference, tonsil size grading, modified Mallampati score, and nasofibroscopy-assisted Muller’s maneuver (NMM). Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used to screen the significant variables. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was then conducted to identify the independent variables. receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to quantify the predictability of the formed oropharyngeal obstruction scoring system.ResultsA total of 163 adults (127 men) were enrolled in the study. Tonsil size grading, modified Mallampati score, and NMM grading maneuver were predictive of OSA and incorporated into a scoring system. This score ranged between 3 and 12, and threshold values of ≥ 8 and ≥ 9 seemed to be appropriate to identify patients at an increased risk of at least mild (AHI ≥ 5/h; AUROC = 0.935, 95%CI = 0.900–0.970, P < 0.001) and severe OSA (AHI ≥ 30/h; AUROC = 0.939, 95%CI = 0.899–0.969, P < 0.001), respectively.ConclusionThis study established an evaluation score for assessing the degree of oropharhygeal obstruction. The findings of the study suggest that the score may help identify patients at risk of oropharyngeal-related OSA who should have a full sleep evaluation.

Finite element (FE) models are often used to study the biomechanical effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Measures based on mechanical responses, such as principal strain or invariants of the strain tensor, are used as a metric to predict the risk of injury. However, the reliability of inferences drawn from these models depends on the correspondence between the mechanical measures and injury data, as well as the establishment of accurate thresholds of tissue injury. In the current study, a validated anisotropic FE model of the human head is used to evaluate the hypothesis that strain in the direction of fibers (axonal strain) is a better predictor of TBI than maximum principal strain (MPS), anisotropic equivalent strain (AESM) and cumulative strain damage measure (CSDM). An analysis of head kinematics-based metrics, such as head injury criterion (HIC) and brain injury criterion (BrIC), is also provided. Logistic regression analysis is employed to compare binary injury data (concussion/no concussion) with continuous strain/kinematics data. The threshold corresponding to 50% of injury probability is determined for each parameter. The predictive power (area under the ROC curve, AUC) is calculated from receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The measure with the highest AUC is considered to be the best predictor of mTBI. Logistic regression shows a statistical correlation between all the mechanical predictors and injury data for different regions of the brain. Peaks of axonal strain have the highest AUC and determine a strain threshold of 0.07 for corpus callosum and 0.15 for the brainstem, in agreement with previously experimentally derived injury thresholds for reversible axonal injury. For a data set of mild TBI from the national football league, the strain in the axonal direction is found to be a better injury predictor than MPS, AESM, CSDM, BrIC and HIC.

We evaluated the effectiveness of the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) in screening for alcohol use disorder (AUD) among 500 men and women seeking HIV testing. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine the utility of the AUDIT in discriminating between AUD caseness and non-caseness. For men, a cut-off score of 10 on the AUDIT predicted AUD with 81% sensitivity and 77% specificity. For women, a cut-off score of 7 yielded optimal sensitivity (82%) and specificity (82%). For men, the AUDIT yielded a positive predictive value (PPV) of 49% and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 94%; for women the PPV and NPV were 49 and 96%, respectively. While the AUDIT can be used to rapidly screen large numbers of men and women seeking HIV testing, the instrument’s low PPV indicates that individuals who screen positive may need to undergo further evaluation to detect cases of AUD.

Objective Utilizing data from the National Health Insurance Sharing Service database, this study explored significant risk factors for pancreatic cancer in a cohort of 1,120,377 South Korean individuals over a 10‐year period (2009–2019). Methods Propensity score matching was employed to ensure comparability between 3535 pancreatic cancer patients and a control group with a common cold diagnosis. The study analyzed various lifestyle factors and biochemical markers, including smoking status, alcohol consumption, fasting blood glucose (FBS) levels, liver enzyme levels, and Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) scores. Results The findings revealed that current smoking, frequent alcohol consumption, and elevated levels of FBS and liver enzymes were associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. Conversely, engaging in high‐intensity exercise (≥ 20 min, twice weekly) was correlated with a 20% reduction in pancreatic cancer risk (p < 0.05). Additionally, optimal thresholds for total cholesterol (179.50 mg/dL), GGT (29.50 U/L), low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (104.50 mg/dL), and CCI score (2.50) were identified, which may facilitate early diagnosis and intervention. Conclusions These findings underscore the importance of modifiable lifestyle factors in managing pancreatic cancer risk and highlight the potential of personalized, evidence‐based interventions—such as high‐intensity exercise programs—in improving prevention and treatment outcomes.

To explore circulating miRNA-302 family members for acute heart failure (AHF) diagnosis. Three groups of subjects, in other words, AHF patients, AHF free patients and healthy controls were recruited. Circulating levels of miR-302 family members were measured and analyzed for AHF diagnosis. Plasma miR-302s except miR-302f were significantly elevated in AHF patients. MiR-302b-3p had the highest area under curve value of 0.87. There were strong positive correlations between miR-302s and NT-proBNP levels. MiR-302b-3p levels were significantly higher in left ventricular ejection fraction ≤45% and New York Heart Association class IV patients compared with left ventricular ejection fraction >45% and New York Heart Association class II patients, respectively. Levels of circulating miR-302s, miR-302b-3p in particular, could be potentially applied for AHF diagnosis and the differentiation of disease severity.

Background/Objectives: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of risk factors that significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, including type 2 diabetes, etc. Assessing the predictive diagnostic power of anthropometric indicators for MetS is crucial for the early identification and prevention of related health issues. This study focuses on the Korean adult population while providing insights that may be applicable to broader global contexts. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the predictive diagnostic capabilities of various anthropometric indicators, including body mass index (BMI), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), muscle mass-to-fat mass ratio (MFR), muscle mass-to-waist ratio (MWR), and body shape index (ABSI), in relation to MetS in Korean adults. Methods: Data from 13,725 participants of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2008–2011) were analyzed. The diagnostic power of each indicator was assessed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, and the area under the curve (AUC) values were compared. Participants were classified into normal (NG) and abnormal (AG) groups based on established cutoff values, and logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the odds of MetS in each group. Results: WHtR showed the highest AUC values (0.792 for men and 0.768 for women), indicating superior diagnostic accuracy compared to the other indicators (p < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis indicated that both the unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (OR) for MetS were significantly higher in the AG than in the NG across all indicators (p < 0.001). Specifically, the adjusted OR (95% confidence interval) for WHtR in the AG was 6.793 (5.929–7.784) for men and 4.665 (4.151–5.423) for women, representing the highest values among all indicators (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Among the various anthropometric indicators, WHtR is the most reliable and practical for predicting MetS in Korean adults. It is useful for early intervention and prevention in both clinical and public health settings.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between stream water quality and the surface runoff rate defined as the ratio of annual surface runoff to annual average precipitation. The surface runoff rate was first estimated in the Han River basin located in South Korea using the calibrated and validated HSPF model. Then a linear regression analysis was performed to investigate the correlation between the computed surface runoff rate and the observed water quality. It was found that there were statistically significant relationships between the surface runoff rate and concentrations of BOD, COD, and T-P and higher surface runoff rate led to the deterioration of water quality in streams. Finally, the applicability of the surface runoff rate as an indicator to measure the impact of land development on stream water quality was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The ROC curve analysis indicated that the surface runoff rate could be utilized as a useful indicator to illustrate the degradation of stream water quality at the watershed scale. The results from this study also suggest that the surface runoff rate needs to be managed and controlled within about 15% to prevent the degradation of stream water quality.