Evaluation of the reasons for preferring root canal treatment in mature permanent teeth potentially indicated for pulp preservation: a clinical case/photo-based questionnaire study.

Background: With advances in pulp preservation procedures (PPP), indications for PPP extend to exposed pulp with symptoms in teeth with carious lesions. Scenario/text-based questionnaire studies report a high preference for PPP for exposed pulp with no pulpal symptoms. However, negative perceptions towards PPP for exposed pulp in carious teeth are prevalent among dentists.

Effectiveness and Safety of Recombinant Human Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (Follitrope™) in Inducing Controlled Ovarian Stimulation in Infertile Women in Real-World Practice: a Prospective Cohort Study.

To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone (rhFSH [Follitrope™]) in infertile women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). To identify predictors of ovarian response that induce optimal clinical outcomes. This multicenter prospective study enrolled infertile women who were scheduled to undergo IVF after ovarian stimulation with rhFSH (Follitrope™) following the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist or GnRH antagonist protocol.

Association of coffee drinking with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in over 190,000 individuals: data from two prospective studies.

We examined the association of coffee drinking with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a pooled analysis of two Korean prospective cohort studies: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study. We included 192,222 participants, and a total of 6057 deaths were documented. Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and the HRs were combined using a random-effects model.

Interactions of Habitual Coffee Consumption by Genetic Polymorphisms with the Risk of Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes Combined.

Habitual coffee consumption and its association with health outcomes may be modified by genetic variation. Adults aged 40 to 69 years who participated in the Korea Association Resource (KARE) study were included in this study. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on coffee consumption in 7868 Korean adults, and examined whether the association between coffee consumption and the risk of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes combined was modified by the genetic variations in 4054 adults.

Coffee Consumption, Genetic Polymorphisms, and the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Pooled Analysis of Four Prospective Cohort Studies.

The association between coffee consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes may vary by genetic variants. Our study addresses the question of whether the incidence of type 2 diabetes is related to the consumption of coffee and whether this relationship is modified by polymorphisms related to type 2 diabetes. We performed a pooled analysis of four Korean prospective studies that included 71,527 participants; median follow-up periods ranged between 2 and 13 years.

OleB from Bacterial Hydrocarbon Biosynthesis Is a β-Lactone Decarboxylase That Shares Key Features with Haloalkane Dehalogenases.

OleB is an α/β-hydrolase found in bacteria that biosynthesize long-chain olefinic hydrocarbons, but its function has remained obscure. We report that OleB from the Gram-negative bacterium Xanthomonas campestris performs an unprecedented β-lactone decarboxylation reaction, to complete cis-olefin biosynthesis. OleB reactions monitored by H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed a selectivity for decarboxylating cis-β-lactones and no discernible activity with trans-β-lactones, consistent with the known configuration of pathway intermediates.

Transformation of Cortex-wide Emergent Properties during Motor Learning.

Learning involves a transformation of brain-wide operation dynamics. However, our understanding of learning-related changes in macroscopic dynamics is limited. Here, we monitored cortex-wide activity of the mouse brain using wide-field calcium imaging while the mouse learned a motor task over weeks.

Subtype-specific plasticity of inhibitory circuits in motor cortex during motor learning.

Motor skill learning induces long-lasting reorganization of dendritic spines, principal sites of excitatory synapses, in the motor cortex. However, mechanisms that regulate these excitatory synaptic changes remain poorly understood. Here, using in vivo two-photon imaging in awake mice, we found that learning-induced spine reorganization of layer (L) 2/3 excitatory neurons occurs in the distal branches of their apical dendrites in L1 but not in the perisomatic dendrites.

Clinical outcomes of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma treated with sorafenib: a retrospective study of routine clinical practice in multi-institutions.

Background: Sorafenib is an orally administered multikinase inhibitor with antiangiogenic and antiproliferative properties. The results of large clinical trials demonstrate that sorafenib prolongs survival and the time to progression of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of the present study was to determine the outcomes of such patients who were routinely treated with sorafenib at multi-institutions in Korea, in contrast to formal clinical trials.

Long-term treatment outcomes of clevudine in antiviral-naive patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Aim: To evaluate the treatment outcomes of clevudine compared with entecavir in antiviral-naive patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of CHB patients treated with clevudine 30 mg/d and compared their clinical outcomes with patients treated with entecavir 0.5 mg/d.

Fyn mediates transforming growth factor-beta1-induced down-regulation of E-cadherin in human A549 lung cancer cells.

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) signaling positively contributes to the regulation of tumor metastasis. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are less well defined. We here show that Fyn, a member of Src family tyrosine kinases, plays a critical role in mediating TGF-β1-induced down-regulation of E-cadherin in human A549 lung cancer cells.

Efficacy of initial treatment with clevudine in naive patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Background/aims: Clevudine, a pyrimidine nucleoside analogue, has potent antiviral effects in patients with chronic viral hepatitis B (CHB). We report the efficacy of initial treatment with clevudine in naïve patients with CHB living in Daejeon and Chungcheong Province, South Korea.

Methods: One hundred five adults with CHB were administered 30 mg of clevudine per day for an average of 51 weeks.

Up-regulation of heme oxygenase-1 expression through CaMKII-ERK1/2-Nrf2 signaling mediates the anti-inflammatory effect of bisdemethoxycurcumin in LPS-stimulated macrophages.

We have identified a novel anti-inflammatory signaling pathway that leads to the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in response to bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC), an analog of curcumin. Treatment with BDMC suppressed inducible nitric oxide synthase expression and nitric oxide (NO) production by down-regulating NF-kappaB activity in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages.

[Efficacy of initial treatment with peginterferon alpha-2a versus peginterferon alpha-2b in combination with ribavirin in naive chronic hepatitis C patients living in Daejeon and Chungcheong Province in Korea: a comparative study].

Backgrounds/aims: Peginterferon alpha-2a or -2b is the standard treatment regimen in chronic hepatitis C. However, there have been few comparative studies of the efficacies of these two types of peginterferon. We evaluated their efficacies in combination with ribavirin as a initial treatment for chronic hepatitis C.

Acute drug-induced hepatitis caused by albendazole.

Albendazole binds to parasite's tubulin inhibiting its glucose absorption. Its common adverse effects are nausea, vomiting, constipation, thirst, dizziness, headache, hair loss and pruritus. Although mainly metabolized in the liver, abnormal liver function tests were a rare adverse effect during clinical trials and we found no literature about albendazole-induced hepatitis requiring admission.

[A randomized, prospective, comparative, multicenter study of rabeprazole and ranitidine in the treatment of reflux esophagitis].

Background/aims: This study was done to evaluate the efficacy of rabeprazole (proton-pump-inhibitor) and ranitidine (H(2)-receptor antagonist) in the symptom relief and treatment of erosive esophagitis diagnosed by endoscopy.

Methods: A total of 110 patients with typical gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms were enrolled in this multicenter study. They were randomized into rabeprazole group (53 patients) and ranitidine group (57 patients) respectively.