Evaluating major element hydrogeochemistry and fluoride occurrence in groundwater of crystalline bedrock aquifers and associated controlling factors of Eumseong basin area, South Korea.

Long-term intake of high-fluoride water can cause fluorosis in bones and teeth or damage to organs. Fluoride in groundwater is primarily derived from reactions with rocks containing fluorine-related minerals, and fluoride concentrations are elevated in groundwater that has been reacting with these rocks for a long time. The purpose of this study is to investigate the origin and distribution of fluoride in groundwater and to assess the influence of various factors, including geology, on fluoride concentrations in groundwater.

Complications of Intracanal Irrigation During Root Canal Therapy of a Maxillary Canine Tooth in a Cat.

This case describes a previously unreported complication of maxillary canine root canal therapy in a cat. A 5-year-old Russian Blue cat was presented with a complicated crown fracture (pulp exposure) of its left maxillary canine tooth (204). To salvage the tooth, root canal therapy was initiated but not completed due to hemorrhage within the canal.

Hyperperfusion Syndrome Following Tissue Plasminogen Activator Administration: A Case Report with Radiological Evidence.

Cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome is a rare complication that can occur following carotid artery revascularization procedures in patients with chronic carotid artery stenosis. Cases of hyperperfusion syndrome resulting solely from intravenous tissue plasminogen activator administration, without a history of revascularization, are extremely rare. Only four of such cases have been reported with imaging evidence.

Synergistic antibacterial effect of 405 nm blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and gelatin film for inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium on stainless steel and fresh fruit peel.

A combined antibacterial effect of 405 nm blue LEDs (BL) and gelatin film (G) was investigated on stainless steel (SUS) and fresh fruit peel for the inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium. On the SUS, the sum of the individual treatments of G for 20 min and BL at 20 J/cm was <1 log reduction (log CFU/cm). In comparison, combination treatment of G and BL (G + BL) at 20 J/cm exhibited 2.

Selective direct motor cortical influence during naturalistic climbing in mice.

It remains poorly resolved when and how motor cortical output directly influences limb muscle activity through descending projections, which impedes mechanistic understanding of cortical movement control. Here we addressed this in mice performing an ethologically inspired all-limb climbing behavior. We quantified the direct influence of forelimb primary motor cortex (caudal forelimb area, CFA) on muscle activity across the muscle activity states that occur during climbing.

Strategies to prevent cardiovascular disease in Singapore: A call to action from Singapore Heart Foundation, Singapore Cardiac Society and Chapter of Cardiologists of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore.

Introduction: In 2022, the Minister for Health of Singapore launched Healthier SG, a national strategy in championing the shift towards a population health approach.

Method: The Singapore Heart Foundation conducted a series of roundtable discussions, also attended by representatives of the Singapore Cardiac Society and the Chapter of Cardiologists of the Academy of Medicine Singapore. During the meetings, the authors formulated interventions supportive of Healthier SG that specifically aimed to uplift the state of cardiovascular (CV) preventive care in Singapore.

Case report: Unusual breast cancer metastasis manifesting as a scalp lesion in a patient with invasive lobular carcinoma.

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women globally, often leading to distant metastasis in the lung, liver, or bones. Cutaneous metastasis represents an uncommon pattern in breast cancer, but when observed, it tends to manifest in the thorax and upper abdomen, primarily due to lymph node involvement. Therefore, occurrences of cutaneous metastasis on the scalp and extremities are infrequent.

Preclinical Rodent Models for Human Bone Disease, Including a Focus on Cortical Bone.

Preclinical models (typically ovariectomized rats and genetically altered mice) have underpinned much of what we know about skeletal biology. They have been pivotal for developing therapies for osteoporosis and monogenic skeletal conditions, including osteogenesis imperfecta, achondroplasia, hypophosphatasia, and craniodysplasias. Further therapeutic advances, particularly to improve cortical strength, require improved understanding and more rigorous use and reporting.

Intratumoral 99mTc-DPD Uptake on Bone Scintigraphy in a Patient With Invasive Micropapillary Breast Carcinoma: A Pathologic Review.

Invasive micropapillary carcinoma (IMPC) is a rare and aggressive subtype of breast cancer with a poorer prognosis due to high local recurrence and lymphovascular invasion. Interestingly, IMPC often does not show suspicious patterns of calcifications related to malignancy on mammography. Therefore, the lack of suspicious calcifications makes it difficult to detect breast cancer on mammography.

The Diagnostic Accuracy of a Retrograde Voiding Trial for Restoration of Spontaneous Voiding Function after Prolapse and Urinary Incontinence Surgery.

Study Objective: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of a retrograde voiding trial for the restoration of spontaneous voiding function after prolapse and urinary incontinence surgery and thereby determine whether the retrograde method can be a reliable alternative to the spontaneous voiding trial.

Design: A retrospective cohort study.

Setting: A single tertiary hospital in South Korea.

Resistance to Chemotherapeutic 5-Fluorouracil Conferred by Modulation of Heterochromatic Integrity through Ino80 Function in Fission Yeast.

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a conventional chemotherapeutic drug widely used in clinics worldwide, but development of resistance that compromises responsiveness remains a major hurdle to its efficacy. The mechanism underlying 5-FU resistance is conventionally attributed to the disruption of nucleotide synthesis, even though research has implicated other pathways such as RNA processing and chromatin dysregulation. Aiming to clarify resistance mechanisms of 5-FU, we tested the response of a collection of fission yeast () null mutants, which confer multiple environmental factor responsiveness (MER).

Experiences of environmental services workers in a tertiary hospital in Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study.

Background: The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on all walks of life, in particular, environmental services workers in healthcare settings had higher workload, increased stress and greater susceptibility to COVID-19 infections during the pandemic. Despite extensive literature describing the impact of the pandemic on healthcare workers such as doctors and nurses, studies on the lived experiences of environmental services workers in healthcare settings are sparse and none has been conducted in the Asian context. This qualitative study thus aimed to examine the experiences of those who worked for a year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The impact of obesity: a narrative review.

Obesity is a disease with a major negative impact on human health. However, people with obesity may not perceive their weight to be a significant problem and less than half of patients with obesity are advised by their physicians to lose weight. The purpose of this review is to highlight the importance of managing overweight and obesity by discussing the adverse consequences and impact of obesity.

Systematic scoping review on moral distress among physicians.

Background: Concepts of moral distress (MD) among physicians have evolved and extend beyond the notion of psychological distress caused by being in a situation in which one is constrained from acting on what one knows to be right. With many accounts involving complex personal, professional, legal, ethical and moral issues, we propose a review of current understanding of MD among physicians.

Methods: A systematic evidence-based approach guided systematic scoping review is proposed to map the current concepts of MD among physicians published in PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Science, SCOPUS, ERIC and Google Scholar databases.

A qualitative study of Singaporean perspectives on returning to work after stroke.

Background: Post-stroke return-to-work (RTW) rates reported in Singapore ranged between 38% and 55%, indicating challenges in the RTW process among individuals with stroke.

Objective: We sought to understand the lived experience of returning to work among individuals with stroke in Singapore.

Methods: This was a qualitative study using a phenomenological approach.

Role of cardiac imaging in acute chest pain.

Chest pain is the second most common complaint in the emergency department. The need to diagnose the cause of chest pain in a timely manner and appropriately direct care is crucial. This article discusses the role of imaging in acute chest pain, after first differentiating chest pain into cardiac and non-cardiac causes with upfront clinical and biochemical assessment.

Evolution of Shore Hardness under Uniaxial Tension/Compression in Body-Temperature Programmable Elastic Shape Memory Hybrids.

Body-temperature programmable elastic shape memory hybrids (SMHs) have great potential for the comfortable fitting of wearable devices. Traditionally, shore hardness is commonly used in the characterization of elastic materials. In this paper, the evolution of shore hardness in body-temperature programmable elastic SMHs upon cyclic loading, and during the shape memory cycle, is systematically investigated.

Assessing professional identity formation (PIF) amongst medical students in Oncology and Palliative Medicine postings: a SEBA guided scoping review.

Background: Introduction to a multi-professional team who are working and caring for the dying, and facing complex moral and ethical dilemmas during Oncology and Palliative Medicine postings influence a medical student's professional identity formation (PIF). However, limited appreciation of PIF, inadequate assessments and insufficient support jeopardise this opportunity to shape how medical students think, feel and act as future physicians. To address this gap, a systematic scoping review (SSR) of PIF assessment methods is proposed.

Freestanding and Scalable Force-Softness Bimodal Sensor Arrays for Haptic Body-Feature Identification.

Tactile technologies that can identify human body features are valuable in clinical diagnosis and human-machine interactions. Previously, cutting-edge tactile platforms have been able to identify structured non-living objects; however, identification of human body features remains challenging mainly because of the irregular contour and heterogeneous spatial distribution of softness. Here, freestanding and scalable tactile platforms of force-softness bimodal sensor arrays are developed, enabling tactile gloves to identify body features using machine-learning methods.

Lot-to-lot reagent verification: Effect of sample size and replicate measurement on linear regression approaches.

Background: We investigate the simulated impact of varying sample size and replicate number using ordinary least squares (OLS) and Deming regression (DR) in both weighted and unweighted forms, when applied to paired measurements in lot-to-lot verification.

Methods: Simulation parameter investigated in this study were: range ratio, analytical coefficient of variation, sample size, replicates, alpha (level of significance) and constant and proportional biases. For each simulation scenario, 10,000 iterations were performed, and the average probability of bias detection was determined.

Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology Consensus Statements on the Diagnosis and Management of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease.

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is strongly associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, evidence supporting this association in the Asian population is scarce. Given the differences in the epidemiology of CVD and cardiovascular risk factors, as well as differences in the availability of healthcare resources between Asian and Western countries, an Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology (APSC) working group developed consensus recommendations on the management of OSA in patients with CVD in the Asia-Pacific region.