The First Survey of Forensically Important Entomofauna Collected from Medicolegal Autopsies in South Korea.

Forensic entomology applies insect evidence to legal problems such as the estimation of minimum postmortem interval (mPMI). For this purpose, knowledge of the insect fauna that are attracted to human cadavers in each geographic region is a prerequisite. Despite many studies investigating the insect fauna attracted to meat, there has been no survey of the entomofauna on human cadavers in the East Asian temperate climate zone, particularly in Korea.

Conductive hearing loss with an intact tympanic membrane due to non-inflammatory causes.

Objective: We analyzed audiologic and surgical findings in patients with conductive hearing loss (CHL) with an intact tympanic membrane (TM) that was of a non-inflammatory origin.

Methods: We reviewed data from patients who underwent exploratory tympanotomy for CHL with intact TM from January 1995 to November 2012. Patients with diseases of non-inflammatory origin were enrolled (69 patients; 79 ears).

Cancer-related Fatigue in Patients with Advanced Cancer Treated with Autonomic Nerve Pharmacopuncture.

The purpose of this study was to observe the effects of autonomic nerve pharmacopuncture (ANP) treatment on cancer-related fatigue (CRF) in patients with advanced cancer. This observational case study was conducted at the East West Cancer Center of Daejeon University's Dunsan Korean Medical Hospital. Two patients were observed.

RCARE: RNA Sequence Comparison and Annotation for RNA Editing.

The post-transcriptional sequence modification of transcripts through RNA editing is an important mechanism for regulating protein function and is associated with human disease phenotypes. The identification of RNA editing or RNA-DNA difference (RDD) sites is a fundamental step in the study of RNA editing. However, a substantial number of false-positive RDD sites have been identified recently.

Addition of tumor multiplicity improves the prognostic performance of the hepatoma arterial-embolization prognostic score.

Background & Aims: The hepatoma arterial-embolization prognostic (HAP) score predicts survival outcome in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with trans-arterial chemoembolization (TACE). We validated the HAP score in Korean subjects with HCC and investigated whether its prognostic performance is improved with additional parameters.

Methods: A total of 280 patients with HCC treated with TACE between 2003 and 2009 were included.

The effect of oncologists' exercise recommendations on the level of exercise and quality of life in survivors of breast and colorectal cancer: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: The purpose of the current study was to examine the effect of an oncologist's exercise recommendation with and without an exercise motivation package on the amount of exercise participation and quality of life (QOL) in survivors of breast and colorectal cancer.

Methods: A total of 162 survivors of early-stage breast and colorectal cancer who completed primary and adjuvant treatments were recruited for the current study. Participants were randomly assigned into 1 of 3 groups: 1) control (59 patients); 2) those receiving an oncologist's exercise recommendation (53 patients); and 3) those receiving an oncologist's exercise recommendation with an exercise motivation package (50 patients).

Overexpression of Id1 in transgenic mice promotes mammary basal stem cell activity and breast tumorigenesis.

Inhibitor of differentiation/DNA binding (Id)1 is a crucial regulator of mammary development and breast cancer progression. However, its effect on stemness and tumorigenesis in mammary epithelial cells remains undefined. Herein, we demonstrate that Id1 induces mammary tumorigenesis by increasing normal and malignant mammary stem cell (MaSC) activities in transgenic mice.

Successful salvage treatment of myxoid liposarcoma with multiple peritoneal seeding using helical tomotherapy-based intraperitoneal radiotherapy: a case report.

Background: Myxoid liposarcoma is the most common soft-tissue sarcoma that metastasizes to the peritoneal cavity. Recently, an advanced intensity-modulated radiotherapy, known as helical tomotherapy, has been introduced to improve target coverage, while reducing normal tissue radiation. Here, we report a case of myxoid liposarcoma with multiple peritoneal seeding that was chemotherapy-refractory, but was successfully salvaged by helical tomotherapy-based intraperitoneal radiotherapy.

Characteristics of attitude and recommendation of oncologists toward exercise in South Korea: a cross sectional survey study.

Background: The purpose of the present study was to examine 1) characteristics and attitudes of oncologists toward exercise and toward recommending exercise to their patients, 2) association among oncologists' own physical activity levels, exercise recommendations, and their attitudes toward recommending exercise.

Methods: A total of 167 oncologists participated in this survey study (41 surgeons, 78 medical oncologists, 25 radiation oncologists, and 21 others). Most oncologists included in the study treat more than one type of cancer, including colorectal, gastric, breast, lung, and liver cancer.

MEL-18 loss mediates estrogen receptor-α downregulation and hormone independence.

The polycomb protein MEL-18 has been proposed as a tumor suppressor in breast cancer; however, its functional relevance to the hormonal regulation of breast cancer remains unknown. Here, we demonstrated that MEL-18 loss contributes to the hormone-independent phenotype of breast cancer by modulating hormone receptor expression. In multiple breast cancer cohorts, MEL-18 was markedly downregulated in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

Comparison of Surgical Pleth Index-guided Analgesia with Conventional Analgesia Practices in Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: To compare surgical pleth index (SPI)-guided analgesia with conventional analgesia by evaluating intraoperative analgesic requirements, postoperative pain, and emergence agitation in children.

Methods: This study was designed as a parallel, two-arm, double-blind, randomized controlled trial. Forty-five children undergoing elective adenotonsillectomy were randomly allocated to SPI-guided group (SPI-guided analgesia group, n = 21) or control group (conventional analgesia group, n = 24).

Effects of age, sex, and menopausal status on blood cholesterol profile in the korean population.

Background And Objectives: To investigate age-specific and sex-specific distributions of blood cholesterol in the general Korean population.

Subjects And Methods: We analyzed data for 8284 men and 9246 women aged ≥10 years who participated in the fifth (2010-2012) Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Age-specific means, medians, and selected percentiles were calculated for men, premenopausal women, and postmenopausal women.

First report of external ophthalmomyiasis caused by Lucilia sericata Meigen in a healthy patient without predisposing risk factors.

A 72-year-old man with no medical history initially presented to the emergency room with severe tearing, redness, foreign body sensation, and pain in the left eye. He reported no previous history of any periocular trauma, malignancy, surgery, or systemic illness. On presentation, the patient only showed left periorbital edema and erythema in the left eyelid with no evidence of any skin malignancy.

Cancer pain control for advanced cancer patients by using autonomic nerve pharmacopuncture.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to report a case series of advanced cancer patients whose cancer pain was relieved by using autonomic nerve pharmacopuncture (ANP) treatment. ANP is a subcutaneous injection therapy of mountain ginseng pharmacopuncture (MGP) along the acupoints on the spine (Hua-Tuo-Jia-Ji-Xue; 0.5 cun lateral to the lower border of the spinous processes of vertebrae) to enhance the immune system and to balance autonomic nerve function.

Targeting BRG1 chromatin remodeler via its bromodomain for enhanced tumor cell radiosensitivity in vitro and in vivo.

Radiotherapy treats cancer by inducing DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) in tumor cells using ionizing radiation. However, DNA repair in tumor cells often leads to radioresistance and unsuccessful outcome. Inhibition of DNA repair by targeting repair proteins can increase radiosensitivity of tumor cells.

Effects of 12 weeks of probiotic supplementation on quality of life in colorectal cancer survivors: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Probiotics may help resolve bowel symptoms and improve quality of life. We investigated the effects of 12 weeks of probiotics administration in colorectal cancer patients.

Methods: We conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Aristolochic Acid I induces ovarian toxicity by inhibition of akt phosphorylation.

Aristolochic acids are natural products found in Chinese herbs of the Aristolochiaceae family. Aristolochic acid I (AAI) is a potent carcinogen and was found to be toxic in animal and clinical studies. Apoptosis is a rapid, selective process of physiological cell deletion that regulates the balance between cell proliferation and cell death and is induced by various kinds of damage.

CBX7 inhibits breast tumorigenicity through DKK-1-mediated suppression of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

Polycomb protein chromobox homolog 7 (CBX7) is involved in several biologic processes including stem cell regulation and cancer development, but its roles in breast cancer remain unknown. Here, we demonstrate that CBX7 negatively regulates breast tumor initiation. CD44(+)/CD24(-)/ESA(+) breast stem-like cells showed diminished CBX7 expression.

Rosai-dorfman disease in thoracic spine: a rare case of compression fracture.

Sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy known as Rosai-Dorfman disease is characterized by painless bilateral cervical lymphadenopathy. Extranodal manifestations are uncommon and spinal involvement is rare. A 15-year-old man presented with intermittent midthoracic back pain only.

Mesoporous organosilica hybrids with a tunable amphoteric framework for controlled drug delivery.

The chemical conversion of nitrile groups integrated in the pore wall frameworks of mesoporous organosilica hybrids (MSHs) into either carboxylic acid groups or amine groups by an acid or base hydrolysis method without altering the mesostructural order is suggested. By this approach, bifunctional derivatives could be produced in the silica pore walls. The nitrile groups integrated covalently into the pore walls of the mesoporous organosilica hybrids were converted to reactive functionalities, such as carboxylic acid (-COOH) or amine (-NH) groups, by treatment with HSO or LiAlH as the catalytic reagents.

Presence of calreticulin mutations in JAK2-negative polycythemia vera.

Calreticulin (CALR) mutations have been reported in Janus kinase 2 (JAK2)- and myeloproliferative leukemia (MPL)-negative essential thrombocythemia and primary myelofibrosis. In contrast, no CALR mutations have ever been reported in the context of polycythemia vera (PV). Here, we describe 2 JAK2(V617F)-JAK2(exon12)-negative PV patients who presented with a CALR mutation in peripheral granulocytes at the time of diagnosis.