Association between elevated glycosylated hemoglobin and cognitive impairment in older Korean adults: 2009-2010 Ansan cohort of the Korean genome and epidemiology study.

Objective: Cohort studies on the risk of cognitive impairment in the older population of S. Korea based on glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels are exceedingly rare. This study aimed to analyze the association between HbA1c levels and cognitive impairment in older Korean adults without dementia.

Vaccine Effectiveness Against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Reinfection by Type and Frequency of Vaccine: A Community-Based Case-Control Study.

Background: Although guidelines recommend vaccination for individuals who have recovered from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection to prevent reinfection, comprehensive evaluation studies are limited. We aimed to evaluate vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 reinfection according to the primary vaccination status, booster vaccination status, and vaccination methods used.

Methods: This population-based case-control study enrolled all SARS-CoV-2-infected patients in Seoul between January 2020 and February 2022.

COVID-19 vaccine safety: Background incidence rates of anaphylaxis, myocarditis, pericarditis, Guillain-Barré Syndrome, and mortality in South Korea using a nationwide population-based cohort study.

Background: To properly assess an association between vaccines and specific adverse events requires a comparison between the observed and background rates; however, studies in South Korea are currently limited. Therefore, in this study, we estimated the background incidence of anaphylaxis, myocarditis, pericarditis, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), and mortality in South Korea.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the National Sample Cohort (NSC) data.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on infection control nurses: A path analysis of job stress, burnout, and turnover intention.

Background: A infection control nurse (ICN) has played substantial roles in infection control and epidemiology programs in hospitals to protect patients and coworkers during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to explore the association between intention to leave in ICNs and job stress and burnout.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among ICNs working in hospitals with ≥200 beds in South Korea from October 1 to 22, 2021.

Enzymatic Activity and Amino Acids Production of Predominant Fungi from Traditional Meju during Soybean Fermentation.

To investigate the effect of the predominant fungal species from Korean traditional meju and doenjang on soybean fermentation, the enzymatic activity and amino acid production of twenty-two fungal strains were assessed through solid- and liquid-state soybean fermentation. Enzymatic activity analyses of solid-state fermented soybeans revealed different enzyme activities involving protease, leucine aminopeptidase (LAP), carboxypeptidase (CaP), glutaminase, γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and amylase, depending on the fungal species. These enzymatic activities significantly affected the amino acid profile throughout liquid-state fermentation.

Complete genome sequence of sp. strain DOX410, a bacterium potentially degrading 1,4-dioxane isolated from river sediment.

sp. strain DOX410 was isolated from a systematic enrichment culture to investigate strains with 1,4-dioxane degradation potential. The genome of strain DOX410 consists of five complete contigs and contained genes related to degradation of the aromatic ring structure of 1,4-dioxane.

Effects of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Vaccination on Reinfection: A Community-Based Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a disease that is characterized by frequent reinfection. However, the factors influencing reinfection remain poorly elucidated, particularly regarding the effect of COVID-19 vaccination on preventing reinfection and its effects on symptomatology and the interval until reinfection.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study examined patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus reinfection between January 2020 and February 2022.

Assessment of severity scoring systems for predicting mortality in critically ill patients receiving continuous renal replacement therapy.

The incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) is increasing every year and many patients with AKI admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) require continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). This study compared and analyzed severity scoring systems to assess their suitability in predicting mortality in critically ill patients receiving CRRT. Data from 612 patients receiving CRRT in four ICUs of the Korea University Medical Center between January 2016 and November 2018 were retrospectively collected.

Signal detection of COVID-19 vaccines adverse events using spontaneous reports from South Korea.

Purpose: Studies on the detection of COVID-19 vaccine signals in South Korea are insufficient. Therefore, to investigate adverse events (AEs) that might be associated with COVID-19 vaccines, signals were detected using spontaneous reports from South Korea. We compared the signals with the vaccine insert lists of the regulators in the four countries.

Spatiotemporal clusters of Kawasaki disease in South Korea from 2008 to 2017: A municipal-level ecological study.

Introduction: As the etiology of Kawasaki disease (KD) remains unknown, identifying spatiotemporal clusters with proper stratification of KD could provide further evidence for investigating the triggers of KD. However, spatiotemporal distributions of KD with sex stratification have never been reported. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the spatiotemporal patterns of KD by sex in South Korea.

Cardio-cerebrovascular complications in COVID-19 patients: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Recent studies have highlighted the cardio-cerebrovascular manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the likelihood of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular manifestations among patients with COVID-19-positive individuals in South Korea.

Methods: A cohort database for COVID-19 from the National Health Insurance Service was used which included patients diagnosed with COVID-19 between January 1 and June 4, 2020.

Health behaviors and the risk of COVID-19 incidence: A Bayesian hierarchical spatial analysis.

Objectives: Effective infection control measures, based on a sound understanding of geographical community-specific health behavioral characteristics, should be implemented from the early stage of disease transmission. However, few studies have explored health behaviors as a possible contributor to COVID-19 infection in the spatial context. We investigated health behaviors as potential factors of COVID-19 incidence in the early phase of transmission in the spatial context.

Fermentative features of Bacillus velezensis and Leuconostoc mesenteroides in doenjang-meju, a Korean traditional fermented soybean brick.

To investigate the fermentative characteristics of Bacillus and lactic acid bacteria, the key microbes known to be involved in doenjang-meju (a Korean traditional fermented soybean brick) fermentation, we prepared and analyzed two sets of doenjang-meju inoculated with either Aspergillus oryzae and Bacillus velezensis (BDM) or A. oryzae and Leuconostoc mesenteroides (LDM). A large decrease in pH was observed during the early fermentation period in LDM, whereas the pH remained relatively constant in BDM.