Publications by authors named "Kwan Hong"

Article Synopsis
  • Cell-based immunotherapies show promise for cancer treatment, but there's a need for better experimental models that mimic clinical settings to study their effects.
  • This study investigates using three-dimensional (3D) scaffold-based cell cultures to support immune cell growth and continuous cancer cell monitoring, particularly focusing on A549 lung cancer cells and natural killer (NK) cells.
  • The results indicate that 3D cultures reveal greater drug resistance in solid tumor cells and increased expression of markers related to cancer progression compared to traditional 2D cultures, making 3D models a valuable tool for understanding and improving NK cell therapies.
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Article Synopsis
  • * The study introduces a new imaging technique that non-invasively tracks NK cell activation by using a genetic modification to bind the STAT1 protein when NK cells are activated.
  • * Engineered NK cells (GAS-NK) show their effectiveness through various tests and real cancer models, providing a promising way to enhance monitoring of NK cell activity and potentially improving cancer treatment outcomes.
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Recently, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been developed as therapeutic targets for various diseases. Biodistribution is crucial for EVs intended for therapeutic purposes because it can determine the degree of on- and off-target effects. This study aimed to explore techniques to evaluate the biodistribution of unmodified EVs.

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Background: Silica nanoparticles (SNPs) have immense potential in biomedical research, particularly in drug delivery and imaging applications, owing to their stability and minimal interactions with biological entities such as tissues or cells.

Results: With synthesized and characterized cyanine-dye-doped fluorescent SNPs (CSNPs) using cyanine 3.5, 5.

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Background/aim: A lightwand is a stylet with a light bulb at its tip that can be used to guide intubation by confirming the illumination through the anterior neck. We aimed to determine the factors affecting the illumination intensity during lightwand endotracheal intubation.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively collected data from 180 patients who underwent lightwand endotracheal intubation.

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Background: Exosomes are small extracellular vesicles that play important roles in intercellular communication and have potential therapeutic applications in regenerative medicine. Dermal mesenchymal stem cells (DMSCs) are a promising source of exosomes due to their regenerative and immunomodulatory properties. However, the molecular mechanisms regulating exosome secretion from DMSCs are not fully understood.

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The impact of bacteria on cancer progression and treatment is becoming increasingly recognized. Cancer-associated bacteria are linked to metastases, reduced efficacy, and survival challenges. In this study, we present a sensitive hypoxia-activated prodrug, , which comprises an antibiotic combined with a chemotherapeutic.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study in Korea evaluated the effectiveness of 1-dose versus 2-dose varicella vaccinations using national health data.
  • The analysis showed that while the 1-dose vaccine had a low effectiveness of 16.8%, the 2-dose vaccine had a high effectiveness of 98.6% against confirmed cases.
  • The results support the implementation of a 2-dose vaccination strategy to improve varicella prevention in Korea.
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Introduction: As the etiology of Kawasaki disease (KD) remains unknown, identifying spatiotemporal clusters with proper stratification of KD could provide further evidence for investigating the triggers of KD. However, spatiotemporal distributions of KD with sex stratification have never been reported. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the spatiotemporal patterns of KD by sex in South Korea.

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Article Synopsis
  • Natural killer (NK) cells are immune cells that could be used for advanced cancer treatments, but traditional therapies focused on one target can struggle due to tumor heterogeneity and relapse.
  • A new system called the split and universal cotinine-CAR (Cot-CAR) was developed, which allows NK cells to target multiple tumor antigens without needing extensive re-engineering.
  • The effectiveness of the Cot-CAR system was tested on various tumor cells, proving that it offers improved specificity, adaptability, and potential to better manage tumor relapse and cytolytic activity in cancer therapies.
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Ideally, the flow delivery of an infusion system is proportional only to the rate of mechanical actuation of the syringe pump plunger. However, in the real world, overall infusion system compliance may be affected by components such as an extension of tubing lines, or different sizes of syringes. With higher compliance, there may be greater chances of flow irregularity.

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Background: Recent studies have highlighted the cardio-cerebrovascular manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the likelihood of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular manifestations among patients with COVID-19-positive individuals in South Korea.

Methods: A cohort database for COVID-19 from the National Health Insurance Service was used which included patients diagnosed with COVID-19 between January 1 and June 4, 2020.

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Objectives: Effective infection control measures, based on a sound understanding of geographical community-specific health behavioral characteristics, should be implemented from the early stage of disease transmission. However, few studies have explored health behaviors as a possible contributor to COVID-19 infection in the spatial context. We investigated health behaviors as potential factors of COVID-19 incidence in the early phase of transmission in the spatial context.

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Upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) have been extensively investigated for nanophotonics and biomedical applications. However, establishing a unified view of their emission characteristics to elucidate the underlying photophysics and expand the application fields of these materials is a great challenge due to their sophisticated internal energy transfer and lack of standardized single-particle spectroscopy (SPS) platform. Here, we present an SPS technique called multiband single-particle irradiance-dependent imaging (multiband SPIDI).

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Varicella (chickenpox) is an infectious disease caused by the highly contagious varicella zoster virus with a secondary attack rate greater than 90%. From this perspective, we aimed to establish the basis for a national varicella vaccine policy by reviewing vaccination programs and policies of countries that have introduced universal varicella vaccinations. As a result of the spread of varicella, an increasing number of countries are providing 2-dose vaccinations and universally expanding their use.

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Dengue fever has been endemic in Paraguay since 2009 and is a major cause of public-health-management-related burdens. However, Paraguay still lacks information on the association between climate factors and dengue fever. We aimed to investigate the association between climatic factors and dengue fever in Asuncion.

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Purpose: After weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), the radial artery pressure is frequently lower than the central pressure as reflected by femoral pressure. This discrepancy may cause improper blood pressure management. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the risk factors related to developing a significant postbypass femoral-to-radial pressure gradient, including the incidence of complications related to femoral pressure monitoring.

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Correction for 'Visualization of intercellular cargo transfer using upconverting nanoparticles' by Yeongchang Goh , , 2022, https://doi.org/10.1039/d2nr01999j.

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The heterotypic CIC structures formed of cancer and immune cells have been observed in tumor tissues. We aimed to assess the feasibility of using heterotypic CICs as a functional biomarker to predict NK susceptibility and drug resistance. The heterotypic CIC-forming cancer cells showed a lower response to NK cytotoxicity and higher proliferative ability than non-CIC cancer cells.

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Cell-cell communication is important for cellular differentiation, organ function, and immune responses. In intercellular communication, the extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a significant role in delivering the cargo molecules such as genes, proteins, and enzymes, to regulate and control the ability of the recipient cells. In this study, the observation of intercellular cargo transfer dual-colour imaging using upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) has been demonstrated.

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From 2003 to 2017, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) epidemics, particularly H5N1, H5N8, and H5N6 infections in poultry farms, increased in South Korea. More recently, these subtypes of HPAI virus resurged and spread nationwide, heavily impacting the entire poultry production and supply system. Most outbreaks in poultry holdings were concentrated in the southwestern part of the country, accounting for 58.

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Article Synopsis
  • Hypoxia is common in solid tumors and influences their growth, making its detection important for better cancer treatment outcomes.
  • Researchers developed a dual-action probe that combines magnetic resonance and optical imaging to detect hypoxia in tumors, enhancing imaging signals under low-oxygen conditions.
  • In experiments with CT26 cells and mouse models, this probe improved tumor detection via imaging, suggesting its potential for use in diagnosing and monitoring solid tumors.
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Background: There has been growing concern regarding the impact of air pollution, especially fine dust, on human health. However, it is difficult to estimate the toxicity of fine dust on the human body because of its diverse effects depending on the composition and environmental factors.

Results: In this study, we focused on the difference in the biodistribution of fine dust according to the size distribution of particulate matter after inhalation into the body to predict its impact on human health.

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Revealing the clustering risks of COVID-19 and prediction is essential for effective quarantine policies, since clusters can lead to rapid transmission and high mortality in a short period. This study aimed to present which regional and social characteristics make COVID-19 cluster with high risk. By analyzing the data of all confirmed cases (14,423) in Korea between January 10 and August 3, 2020, provided by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, we manually linked each case and discovered clusters.

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Concerns about alopecia areata (AA) in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients have emerged among dermatologists. However, most of the extant kinds of literature have limited implications by relying on cross-sectional studies with restricted study subjects without the control group. Our study aims to investigate the risk of developing AA among COVID-19 patients in South Korea using national representative data.

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