Basin-specific pollution and impoundment effects on greenhouse gas distributions in three rivers and estuaries.

Large uncertainties exist regarding the combined effects of pollution and impoundment on riverine greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It has also been debated whether river eutrophication can transform downstream estuaries into carbon sinks. To assess human impacts on the riverine and estuarine distributions of CO, CH, and NO, two source-to-estuary surveys along three impounded rivers in Korea were combined with multiple samplings at five or six estuarine sites.

Optical and molecular indices of dissolved organic matter for estimating biodegradability and resulting carbon dioxide production in inland waters: A review.

Biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) constitutes the most labile fraction of dissolved organic matter (DOM), which also functions as a source of CO emissions from inland waters. However, no systematic review is available on DOM indicators of BDOC and CO production potential. Optical and molecular indices can be used to track small changes in DOM composition during biodegradation.

Comparison between Pediatric Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis at Diagnosis in Korea: Results from a Multicenter, Registry-Based, Inception Cohort Study.

Background/aims: We aimed to compare the differences in pediatric Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) at diagnosis in Korea.

Methods: This was a multicenter, registry-based, inception cohort study conducted at five centers in Korea between 2013 and 2017. Baseline demographics, clinical characteristics, and results from laboratory, endoscopic, radiologic examinations were compared between pediatric CD and UC patients who were <19 years old at diagnosis.

Behavioral Reserve in Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia.

"Reserve" refers to the individual clinical differences in response to a neuropathological burden. We explored the behavioral reserve (BR) and associated neural substrates in 40 participants with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) who were assessed with the frontal behavioral inventory (FBI) and magnetic resonance imaging. Because neuroimaging abnormality showed a high negative correlation with the FBI negative (but not positive) symptom scores, we developed a linear model only to calculate the nBR (BR for negative symptoms) marker using neuroimaging abnormalities and the FBI score.

Generalised autonomic failure as a prognostic factor in systemic light-chain (AL) amyloidosis.

Background: In the present study, it was investigated whether autonomic dysfunction could predict prognosis in light-chain (AL) amyloidosis patients.

Patients And Methods: Seventy-two patients with biopsy-proven AL amyloidosis were included and underwent an autonomic function test (AFT) between January 2016 and June 2019. Autonomic failure was evaluated using the Composite Autonomic Severity Score (CASS).

NUDT15 intermediate metabolisers are associated with lower loss of response in paediatric Crohn's disease patients treated by combination treatment with infliximab and azathioprine.

Background: NUDT15 polymorphisms are associated with leukopenia during treatment with thiopurines. However, data regarding its effect on treatment outcomes are scarce.

Aims: To investigate the outcomes between NUDT15 normal and intermediate metabolisers in paediatric patients with Crohn's disease (CD) treated with a combination therapy of infliximab (IFX) and azathioprine (AZA).

Reassessing riverine carbon dioxide emissions from the Indian subcontinent.

Anthropogenic perturbations are increasing uncertainties in estimating CO emissions via air-water CO flux (F) from large rivers of the Indian subcontinent. This study aimed to provide an improved estimate of the total F from the subcontinental rivers by combining calculations of the partial pressure of CO (pCO) in eight major rivers with new measurements in the Ganges and Godavari. The average pCO in the two newly surveyed rivers, including tributaries, wastewater drains, and impoundments, were 3-6 times greater than the previously reported values.

Does Medicaid expansion influence county health spending? A case of New York counties.

We investigated the impacts of Medicaid expansion on New York county total health spending and specifics of health spending, including health services, public health facilities and public health administration. Little research considered the financial effect of Medicaid expansion on local governments while well reported are its influences on uninsured rates and health services utilization. New York counties have contributed to health in their boundaries by providing or funding public health services, and supporting a part of the non-federal share of Medicaid expenditures and uncompensated care.

Phytoplankton nutrient use and CO dynamics responding to long-term changes in riverine N and P availability.

Long-term trends in riverine nutrient availability have rarely been linked to both phytoplankton composition and functioning. To explore how the changing availability of N and P affects not only phytoplankton abundance and composition but also the resource use efficiency of N, P, and CO, a 25-year time series of water quality in the lower Han River, Korea, was combined with additional measurements of riverine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and CO. Despite persistent eutrophication, recent decreases in P relative to N have been steep in the lowest reach, increasing the annual mean mass ratio of N to P (N/P) from 24 (1994-2015) to 65 (2016-2018).

Pediatric Crohn's disease with severe morbidity manifested by gastric outlet obstruction: two cases report and review of the literature.

Crohn's disease (CD) presenting as gastric outlet obstruction is rare but serious clinical presentation of CD causing severe morbidity. However, there have been few case reports concerning this disorder in East Asian children and adolescents. The current case report describes 2 pediatric patients with CD who had had gastric outlet obstruction as an initial symptom of CD.

Temperature control on wastewater and downstream nitrous oxide emissions in an urbanized river system.

Although eutrophic urban rivers receiving loads of wastewater represent an important anthropogenic source of NO, little is known as to how temperature and other environmental factors affect temporal variations in NO emissions from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and downstream rivers. Two-year monitoring at a WWTP and five river sites was complemented with available water quality data, laboratory incubations, and stable isotopes in NO and NO to explore how wastewater effluents interact with seasonal changes in environmental conditions to affect downstream metabolic processes and NO emissions from the lower Han River traversing the megacity Seoul. Water quality data from four WWTPs revealed significant inverse relationships between water temperature and the concentrations or fluxes of total N (TN) in effluents.

Variability of water quality and metal pollution index in the Ganges River, Bangladesh.

The Ganges River is one of the biggest transboundary streams in the Indian sub-continent. The significant part of this waterway channel drains one of the most densely populated areas on the planet so it is unequivocally influenced by human activities. Unprecedented high-temporal-resolution samples were collected for investigating the seasonal variability of water quality.

State strategies to address medicaid prescription spending: negotiated pricing vs price transparency.

This research longitudinally examines the association between levels of state Medicaid prescription spending and the state strategies intended to constrain cost increases: the negotiated pricing strategy, as indicated by state rebate programs, and the price transparency strategy, as indicated by state operation of All-Payer Claims Databases. The findings demonstrate evidence that state Medicaid prescription spending is influenced by the negotiated pricing strategy, especially Managed Care Organization (MCO) rebates under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but not influenced by the price transparency strategy. State decisions for MCO rebates, such as carving prescription benefits into managed care benefits, were effective in containing levels of Medicaid prescription spending over time, while other single- and multi-state rebate programs were not.

Synergistic effects of urban tributary mixing on dissolved organic matter biodegradation in an impounded river system.

Dams and wastewater may greatly perturb riverine fluxes of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and CO, yet little is known about the relationships between altered DOM quality and CO emission in eutrophic impounded river systems. A basin-wide field survey of surface water CO and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was combined with laboratory incubations to examine how dams and urban tributaries delivering treated wastewater influence longitudinal patterns in DOM properties and CO along the impounded Han River traversing Seoul metropolitan area. Fluorescent DOM indices including parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) components were used to characterize DOM in relation to biodegradable DOC (BDOC).

Comparison of gait parameters between drug-naïve patients diagnosed with multiple system atrophy with predominant parkinsonism and Parkinson's disease.

Introduction: Even though gait symptoms are prominent in patients diagnosed with multiple system atrophy with predominant parkinsonism (MSA-P) compared with Parkinson's disease (PD), the gait patterns of MSA-P were not clearly elucidated. We investigated postural instability and gait disturbances in MSA-P compared with PD.

Methods: We enrolled 34 drug-naïve patients with PD and 26 with MSA-P, and 18 normal controls in this study.

Bilateral subthalamic deep brain stimulation is an effective and safe treatment option for the older patients with Parkinson's disease.

Objectives: We aimed to provide evidence that subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective and safe treatment option for older patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Patients And Methods: Bilateral STN DBS was performed in 55 patients with PD from 2012 to 2016 at Samsung Medical Center. We divided them into two groups based on the age at DBS: younger group (<65 years, n = 38) and older group (≥65 years, n = 17).

A case report of isolated orbital vasculitis mimicking retinal migraine: A potential cause of recurrent transient monocular blindness and ipsilateral headache.

Background: Retinal migraine is an important differential diagnosis of recurrent transient monocular blindness accompanied by headache when other etiologies are excluded. Here, we report a case of orbital vasculitis which initially mimicked retinal migraine.

Case Report: A 47-year-old woman had recurrent episodes of fully reversible transient monocular blindness accompanied by ipsilateral headache for 15 months.

Low prevalence of mupirocin resistance in Staphylococcus pseudintermedius isolates from canine pyoderma in Korea.

Background: Mupirocin is a topical antibacterial drug used for the treatment of staphylococcal infections, including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP). The recent emergence of resistance to mupirocin is a major concern in many countries.

Objectives: This study investigated the prevalence and genotype of mupirocin-resistant S.

CO Outgassing from an Urbanized River System Fueled by Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluents.

Continuous underway measurements were combined with a basin-scale survey to examine human impacts on CO outgassing in a highly urbanized river system in Korea. While the partial pressure of CO (pCO) was measured at 15 sites using syringe equilibration, 3 cruises employing an equilibrator were done along a 30 km transect in the Seoul metropolitan area. The basin-scale survey revealed longitudinal increases in surface water pCO and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the downstream reach.

A multi-radionuclide approach to evaluate the suitability of (239+240)Pu as soil erosion tracer.

Fallout radionuclides have been used successfully worldwide as tracers for soil erosion, but relatively few studies exploit the full potential of plutonium (Pu) isotopes. Hence, this study aims to explore the suitability of the plutonium isotopes (239)Pu and (240)Pu as a method to assess soil erosion magnitude by comparison to more established fallout radionuclides such as (137)Cs and (210)Pbex. As test area an erosion affected headwater catchment of the Lake Soyang (South Korea) was selected.