Relationship between menopausal hormone therapy and colorectal cancer: a cohort study utilizing the health insurance database in South Korea (HISK)-II.

Objective: Many studies have demonstrated that menopausal hormone therapy is associated with a reduced risk for colorectal cancer. This study investigated the relationship between specific hormone therapy regimens and colorectal cancer risk in postmenopausal women in South Korea using national insurance claims data.

Methods: This population-based, retrospective cohort study used insurance data provided by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service between 2007 and 2020.

The increased risk of colorectal cancer in the women who underwent hysterectomy from the South Korean National Health Insurance Database.

Background: Several population-based studies and observational studies have shown that oophorectomy is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC), and hormone replacement therapy has been associated with a reduction in the risk of colorectal cancer. This study was carried out to investigate whether hysterectomy, which may affect the levels of female hormones, is associated with a risk of cancer of the specific gastrointestinal tract.

Methods: This population-based retrospective cohort study was conducted using insurance data provided by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) from January 1, 2007, to December 31, 2020.

Advancements of remote data acquisition and processing in unmanned vehicle technologies for water quality monitoring: An extensive review.

Regular water quality monitoring is becoming desirable due to the increase in water pollution caused by both climate change and the generation of industrial chemicals. Unmanned vehicles have emerged as key technologies for remote data acquisition, providing fast and accurate methods for water quality monitoring. However, current research on unmanned vehicles has not systematically examined their features and limitations, which are crucial for identifying future research directions and applications of unmanned vehicle technologies.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Rehabilitation Using Digital Healthcare on Musculoskeletal Pain and Quality of Life.

Rehabilitation using digital healthcare (DHC) has the potential to enhance the effectiveness of treatment for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and associated pain by improving patient outcomes, while being cost-effective, safe, and measurable. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of musculoskeletal rehabilitation using DHC. We searched PubMed, Ovid-Embase, Cochrane Library, and PEDro Physiotherapy Evidence Database from inception to October 28, 2022 for controlled clinical trials comparing DHC to conventional rehabilitation.

Augmented ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials in postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.

Purpose: To delineate the association between otolith function and changes in mean orthostatic blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) in patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).

Methods: Forty-nine patients with POTS were prospectively recruited. We analyzed the results of ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMPs) and cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMPs), as well as head-up tilt table tests using a Finometer.

Prognostic Factors Affecting Disease-Free Survival and Overall Survival in T4 Colon Cancer.

Purpose: It is known that as the T stage of a carcinoma progresses, the prognosis becomes poorer. However, there are few studies about factors that affect the prognosis of T4 advanced colon cancer. This study aimed to identify the prognostic factors associated with disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in T4 colon cancer.

Prognostic Factors and Management for Left Colonic Perforation: Can Hartmann's Procedure Be Preventable?

Purpose: To identify factors significantly associated with the mortality of patients with left colonic perforation, and to compare the outcome of Hartmann's procedure (HP) and primary repair (PR) or primary anastomosis (PA) in patients with left colonic perforation without factors associated with mortality.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients who underwent surgery for left colonic perforation from January 2009 to February 2018. Preoperative factors related to postoperative mortality, including vital signs, laboratory findings, and intraoperative findings, were analyzed by type of operation.

Unmodifiable Clinicopathological Risk Factors of Shoulder Tip or Subcostal Pain after Laparoscopic Appendectomy.

Purpose: Appendectomy, which comprises most benign intra-abdominal surgeries, is currently assisted by laparoscopy in most cases. However, many patients complain of postoperative shoulder or subcostal pain after laparoscopic surgery. In some cases, the pain lasts even several weeks after surgery.

WITHDRAWN: Risk factors and management for left colonic perforation.

Ahead of Print article withdrawn by publisher.

Factors Predicting the Need for Early Surgical Intervention for Small Bowel Obstruction.

Purpose: Small bowel obstruction (SBO) is a common disease that requires hospitalization. The most common cause of SBO is postoperative adhesion. Delayed timing of operations in patients who need surgical intervention results in mortality or morbidity.

Factors affecting the negative predictive value of positron emission tomography/computed tomography for axillary lymph node staging in breast cancer patients.

Background/objective: Axillary lymph node staging (ALNS) is an important step in the treatment of breast cancer and sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a standard procedure for ALNS. Recently, the use of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) for whole body staging in patients with breast cancer has been increasing. The negative predictive value (NPV) of the specific diagnostic modality is the crucial value for excluding axillary lymph node metastasis (ALNM) and guiding the decision not to proceed with axillary lymph node dissection.

Low-level laser therapy with 850 nm recovers salivary function via membrane redistribution of aquaporin 5 by reducing intracellular Ca overload and ER stress during hyperglycemia.

The overall goal is to study the effect of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on membrane distribution of major water channel protein aquaporin 5 (AQP5) in salivary gland during hyperglycemia. Par C10 cells treated with high glucose (50 mM) showed a reduced membrane distribution of AQP5. The functional expression of AQP5 was downregulated due to intracellular Ca overload and ER stress.

Predictive Factors Affecting the Clinical Course of Patients With Diverticulitis: Who Needs Hospital Management?

Purpose: The aim of this study is to determine the predictable factors that affect the clinical course, especially the hospital stay, the operation performed, and to determine factors that will be helpful in deciding whether in-hospital or outpatient treatment is appropriate.

Methods: We retrospectively collected medical data for patients who had been diagnosed with acute diverticulitis at Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital between January and December 2016. In total, 117 patients were enrolled in this study.

Perioperative Serum Carcinoembryonic Antigen Ratio Is a Prognostic Indicator in Patients With Stage II Colorectal Cancer.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the perioperative carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) ratio could be used as a determinant for adjuvant therapy after curative surgery in stage II colorectal cancer.

Methods: Data for 119 patients with stage II colorectal cancer who underwent radical surgery between 2010 and 2013 were collected. The perioperative CEA ratio was defined as the postoperative/preoperative serum CEA level, and the patients were grouped according to their perioperative CEA ratios: high ratio (≥0.

A comparison of the shoulder and trunk muscle activity according to the various resistance condition during push up plus in four point kneeling.

[Purpose] This study was to compare the shoulder and trunk muscle activity according to the various resistance condition during knee push-up-plus. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty healthy adults participated in this study (9 males and 11 females). The subjects performed dominant-leg-extended knee push-up-plus apply to resistance in the direction of abduction, adduction, extension and the flexion.

Inhibition of senescence and promotion of the proliferation of chondrocytes from articular cartilage by CsA and FK506 involves inhibition of p38MAPK.

Cyclosporine A (CsA) and tacrolimus (FK506) are the most important immunosuppressive compounds that block the activation of helper T-cells. In this study, we investigated the effects of CsA and FK506 on growth and senescence of articular chondrocytes. Chondrocytes from young rabbit cartilage entered senescence after 8.

Identification of a novel anti-apoptotic E3 ubiquitin ligase that ubiquitinates antagonists of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins SMAC, HtrA2, and ARTS.

Identification of new anti-apoptotic genes is important for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying apoptosis and tumorigenesis. The present study identified a novel anti-apoptotic gene named AREL1, which encodes a HECT (homologous to E6-AP carboxyl terminus) family E3 ubiquitin ligase. AREL1 interacted with and ubiquitinated IAP antagonists such as SMAC, HtrA2, and ARTS.

DNA damage induces the IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway, which has anti-senescence and growth-promoting functions in human tumors.

IL-6 is a multifunctional cytokine that is important for immune responses, cell survival, apoptosis, and proliferation. However, little is known about the correlation between the IL-6 signaling pathway and DNA damage in human tumors. The present study demonstrates the role of the IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway in human tumor cells exposed to DNA damage.

NF-Y binds to both G1- and G2-specific cyclin promoters; a possible role in linking CDK2/Cyclin A to CDK1/Cyclin B.

We previously reported that CDK2/Cyclin A can phosphorylate and activate the transcription factor NF-Y. In this study, we investigated a potential regulatory role for NF-Y in the transcription of Cyclin A and other cell cycle regulatory genes. Gel-shift assays demonstrate that NF-Y binds to CCAAT sequences in the Cyclin A promoter, as well as to those in the promoters of cell cycle G2 regulators such as CDC2, Cyclin B and CDC25C.

Extracellular HMGB1 released by NMDA treatment confers neuronal apoptosis via RAGE-p38 MAPK/ERK signaling pathway.

High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) was originally identified as ubiquitously expressed nonhistone DNA-binding protein, but recently, it was found to act as an endogenous danger molecule, which signals danger and traumatic cell death. Previously, the authors showed that HMGB1 is massively released immediately after an ischemic insult and that it subsequently activates microglia and induces inflammation in the postischemic brain. Here, we showed the endogenous danger molecule-like function of HMGB1 in primary cortical cultures.

Glucosamine exerts a neuroprotective effect via suppression of inflammation in rat brain ischemia/reperfusion injury.

We investigated the neuroprotective effect of glucosamine (GlcN) in a rat middle cerebral artery occlusion model. At the highest dose used, intraperitoneal GlcN reduced infarct volume to 14.3% ± 7.

Neuroprotection by biodegradable PAMAM ester (e-PAM-R)-mediated HMGB1 siRNA delivery in primary cortical cultures and in the postischemic brain.

Although RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated gene silencing provides a powerful strategy for modulating specific gene functions, difficulties associated with siRNA delivery have impeded the development of efficient therapeutic applications. In particular, the efficacy of siRNA delivery into neurons has been limited by extremely low transfection efficiencies. e-PAM-R is a biodegradable arginine ester of PAMAM dendrimer, which is readily degradable under physiological conditions (pH 7.

Behavioral stress accelerates plaque pathogenesis in the brain of Tg2576 mice via generation of metabolic oxidative stress.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by genetic and non-genetic factors. Most AD cases may be triggered and promoted by non-genetic environmental factors. Clinical studies have reported that patients with AD show enhanced baseline levels of stress hormones in the blood, but their physiological significance with respect to the pathophysiology of AD is not clearly understood.