Proton Pump Inhibitor Use and Its Association with Lung Cancer Likelihood and Mortality: A Nationwide Nested Case-Control Study in Korea.

Background/objectives: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are widely used for acid-related gastrointestinal disorders, but their potential association with lung cancer risk and mortality remains underexplored and debated. This study sought to investigate the association between PPI use and lung cancer likelihood and mortality, focusing on the impact of PPI exposure history and duration.

Methods: This study utilized data from 6795 lung cancer patients, 27,180 matched controls, and 4257 deceased and 2538 surviving lung cancer patients from the Korean National Health Insurance Service's Health Screening Cohort (2002-2019).

Clinical Characteristics and Long-Term Prognosis of Colorectal Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue Lymphoma According to the Endoscopic Classification and Treatment Modality: A Multicenter Study.

: The clinical characteristics of colorectal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma remain poorly defined, and there is no standardized treatment for the disease. Therefore, we investigated the clinical characteristics of colorectal MALT lymphoma and its prognosis based on different treatment modalities. : A retrospective analysis was performed on patients diagnosed with colorectal MALT lymphoma from 2003 to 2021 across six hospitals in Korea's Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam area.

Considerations for repetitive intrathecal procedures in long-term nusinersen treatment for non-ambulatory spinal muscular atrophy.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a progressive neuromuscular disorder characterized by progressive motor function loss and skeletal muscular atrophy. Nusinersen, an antisense oligonucleotide, is the first FDA-approved therapy to achieve a significant milestone in SMA management. However, its high molecular weight requires intrathecal administration, posing challenges for clinical implementation.

Optimizing drug sensitivity assays in patient-derived tumor organoids: a comparison of IC50 estimation methods and experimental parameters.

Patient-derived tumor organoids (PDOs) hold immense potential for personalized drug sensitivity testing, but accurate efficacy determination is crucial for clinical translation. This study investigated factors influencing the accuracy and reproducibility of drug sensitivity measurements in PDOs, focusing on half-maximal-inhibitory-concentration (IC50) calculation methods, drug concentration numbers, and plate types. PDOs were established from six primary cancer tissues, including two cervical resections, one lung biopsy, one lung pleural effusion, one breast biopsy, and one gastric resection.

Global epidemiology, seasonality and climatic drivers of the four human parainfluenza virus types.

Objectives: Human parainfluenza viruses (hPIV) are a common cause of acute respiratory infections, especially in children under five years and the elderly. hPIV can be subclassified as types 1-4: these showed various seasonality patterns worldwide, and it is unclear how climatic factors might consistently explain their global epidemiology.

Methods: This study collected time-series incidence data from the literature and hPIV surveillance programs worldwide (47 locations).

A comprehensive transcriptional profiling of developing gonads reveals the role of TGFβ signaling in female gonadal asymmetry in chickens.

Asymmetrical gonadal development is an intriguing phenomenon observed in the majority of female birds. In chickens, the left gonad of female embryos develops into a functional ovary, while the right gonad undergoes degeneration during embryogenesis. This sexually dimorphic trait is primarily induced by the spatial differential expression of the paired like homeodomain 2 (PITX2) gene.

Effects of Heat Shock Protein 70 Gene Polymorphism on Heat Resistance in Beef and Dairy Calves Based on Proliferation and Heat Shock Protein 70 Gene Expression in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells and Hair Follicles.

The study objectives were to investigate the heat resistance using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and hair follicles in beef and dairy calves based on heat shock protein (HSP) 70 genetic polymorphisms. The hair follicle samples from sixty calves (6 months old; 30 Korean native beef calves and 30 Holstein dairy calves) were collected for DNA extraction. The HSP70 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was genotyped using a 5'-exonuclease activity (TaqMan) assay.

Radiomic Analysis of Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Breast Cancer with Mutation: A Single Center Study.

: Radiomics is a non-invasive and cost-effective method for predicting the biological characteristics of tumors. In this study, we explored the association between radiomic features derived from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and genetic alterations in patients with breast cancer. : We reviewed electronic medical records of patients with breast cancer patients with available targeted next-generation sequencing data available between August 2018 and May 2021.

Connective tissue disease is associated with the risk of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome following lung transplantation in Korea.

Background: Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a rare complication of lung transplantation with poorly understood risk factors and clinical characteristics. This study aimed to examine the occurrence, risk factors, and clinical data of patients who developed PRES following lung transplantation.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 147 patients who underwent lung transplantation between February 2013 and December 2023.

Effect of onion peel extract and quercetin at an equivalent concentration in the extract on the improvement of dyslipidemia induced by high fat diet in rats.

In this study, we quantified quercetin content in onion peel extract (OPE) and investigated the effects of OPE and the equivalent amount of quercetin on lipid disorder induced by high fat diet (HDF). OPE reduced triglyceride (TG) level in oral lipid tolerance test. OPE administration improved lipid profile by lowering the level of total cholesterol (T-Chol) and LDL and by improving HDL/T-Chol ratio in HFD-fed rats.

Supplemental effects of rumen-protected L-tryptophan at various levels on starch digestion, melatonin and gastrointestinal hormones in Holstein steers.

The effects of different level of rumen-protected L-tryptophan (RPL-T) supplementation on starch digestion, melatonin (MEL) and gastrointestinal (GI) hormones secretion in Holstein steers were evaluated. Four Holstein steers (201 ± 24 kg) were employed in a 4×4 Latin square design. The dietary treatments were the control (basal diet) and RPL-T groups of basal diet + 191.

Hybrid Electro-optical Stimulation Improves Ischemic Brain Damage by Augmenting the Glymphatic System.

Ischemic brain injury not only results in significant neurological, motor, and cognitive impairment but also contributes to the accumulation of toxic solutes and proinflammatory cytokines in the infarction region, exacerbating ischemic brain damage. The glymphatic system, which is crucial for brain waste clearance and homeostasis, is impaired by ischemic injury, highlighting the importance of developing therapeutic strategies for poststroke complications. Herein, a novel hybrid electro-optical stimulation device is proposed that integrates near-infrared micro-light-emitting diode with transparent microneedles, enabling efficient noninvasive stimulation of the cortical area for ischemic stroke treatment.

Ergonomic Impact of an Automated Device for Endoscopic Tool Insertion and Transfer.

Background And Aims: Endoscopists frequently experience musculoskeletal injuries, particularly in the distal upper extremities, due to substantial forces, awkward postures, and repetitive movements during procedures. A significant but underexplored risk factor is the repetitive exchange of endoscopic instruments. This study aimed to develop and evaluate an automatic endoscopic instrument insertion and transfer device, "INSERTrument," to reduce ergonomic strain and assess its impact on wrist movements and postures.

Identification of Key Proteomic Markers for Enhanced Conjugated Linoleic Acid Biosynthesis in Lactating Goats via Linseed Oil Supplementation.

This study investigated the effects of linseed oil (LO) supplementation on conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) biosynthesis in lactating Saanen goats. Goats (DIM = 96 ± 14 days) were divided into control ( = 6) and LO treatment ( = 6) groups. LO supplementation was implemented in both short- and long-term experimental settings.

Selective STING Activation in Intratumoral Myeloid Cells via CCR2-Directed Antibody Drug Conjugate TAK-500.

The tumor microenvironment (TME) in solid tumors contains myeloid cells that modulate local immune activity. STING signaling activation in these myeloid cells enhances local type I interferon (IFN) production, inducing an innate immune response that mobilizes adaptive immunity and reprograms immunosuppressive myeloid populations to drive antitumor immunity. Here, we generated TAK-500, an immune cell directed antibody drug conjugate (iADC), to deliver a STING agonist to CCR2+ human cells and drive enhanced antitumor activity relative to non-targeted STING agonists.

Bloodless Management of Severe Refractory ITP and Acute Hemorrhage in a Jehovah's Witness Patient.

In patients with severe refractory immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), especially those unable to receive blood transfusions due to religious beliefs, alternative non-cytotoxic therapies are important to avoid worsening cytopenias. Immunomodulatory agents such as mycophenolate mofetil and daratumumab should be used alongside traditional therapies including steroids, IVIG and rituximab.

Sarcopenic Obesity: A Comprehensive Approach for Postmenopausal Women.

Sarcopenic obesity, characterized by the concurrent presence of muscle loss and obesity, poses significant health challenges, especially in the elderly. This review explores the impact of sarcopenic obesity on disability, metabolic health, comorbidities, and potential management strategies. With the aging global population, the prevalence of sarcopenic obesity is expected to increase, necessitating a comprehensive management approach.

A three-dimensional mouse liver organoid platform for assessing EDCs metabolites simulating liver metabolism.

Hepatic metabolism is an important process for evaluate the potential activity and toxicity of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) metabolites. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has advocated the development of in vitro assays that mimic in vivo hepatic metabolism to eventually replace classical animal tests. In response to this need, we established a 3D mouse liver organoid (mLO) platform that mimics the animal model and is distinct from existing models.

An exploratory multi-omics study reveals distinct molecular signatures of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease and their correlation with disease activity.

Clinically heterogeneous spectrum and molecular phenotypes of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remain to be comprehensively elucidated. This exploratory multi-omics study investigated the serum molecular profiles of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), in association with elevated fecal calprotectin and disease activity states. The serum proteome, metabolome, and lipidome of 75 treated IBD patients were profiled.

DPAR: Decoupled Graph Neural Networks with Node-Level Differential Privacy.

Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) have achieved great success in learning with graph-structured data. Privacy concerns have also been raised for the trained models which could expose the sensitive information of graphs including both node features and the structure information. In this paper, we aim to achieve node-level differential privacy (DP) for training GNNs so that a node and its edges are protected.

Changes in the Epidemiology of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Diseases in Korea During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Nationwide Analysis.

There is limited evidence regarding the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the epidemiology of thoracic and cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed to investigate changes in medical visits for these conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed the entire Korean population (~50 million) for monthly medical visits for 15 common thoracic and cardiovascular conditions, including pneumothorax, large bullae, lung cancer, esophageal cancer, thymoma, empyema, mediastinitis, esophageal rupture, multiple rib fractures, hemothorax, rib mass, varicose vein, pectus excavatum, aortic dissection, aortic aneurysm, and valve disease from January 2019 to December 2021.

Smart Packaging with Disposable NFC-enabled Wireless Gas Sensors for Monitoring Food Spoilage.

Gas sensors present an alternative to traditional off-package food quality assessment, due to their high sensitivity and fast response without the need of sample pretreatment. The safe integration of gas sensors into packaging without compromising sensitivity, response rate, and stability, however, remains a challenge. Such packaging integration of spoilage sensors is crucial for preventing food waste and transitioning toward more sustainable supply chains.