Performance evaluation of a new matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, ASTA MicroIDSys system, in bacterial identification against clinical isolates of anaerobic bacteria.

Introduction: Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been introduced for bacterial identification. The ASTA MicroIDSys system (ASTA, Suwon, Korea) is a new MALDI-TOF MS system developed for species identification of microorganisms. We evaluated the performance of MicroIDSys against clinical isolates of anaerobic bacteria.

Evaluation of Outcomes of the Busan Community-based Palliative Care Project in Korea.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of a community-based palliative care project conducted in Busan city, Korea, from 2013 to 2015.

Methods: We selected four outcome indices based on the project's outcomes derived from a logic model and used a longitudinal and cross-sectional comparative design approach depending on the outcome index.

Results: The utilization rate of palliative care increased from 9.

Machine learning-based identification of genetic interactions from heterogeneous gene expression profiles.

The identification of disease-related genes and disease mechanisms is an important research goal; many studies have approached this problem by analysing genetic networks based on gene expression profiles and interaction datasets. To construct a gene network, correlations or associations among pairs of genes must be obtained. However, when gene expression data are heterogeneous with high levels of noise for samples assigned to the same condition, it is difficult to accurately determine whether a gene pair represents a significant gene-gene interaction (GGI).