Evaluation of the vascular protective effects of new oral anticoagulants in high-risk patients with atrial fibrillation (PREFER-AF): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is known to be associated with several pathophysiological mechanisms including endothelial dysfunction of the heart and arterial vessels. Recent evidence suggests that new oral anticoagulant (NOAC) treatment may improve endothelial function and the inflammatory process involved in atherosclerosis in AF patients. This study is designed to determine the efficacy of NOAC therapy in the prevention of endothelial dysfunction and the progression of atherosclerosis of AF subjects.

Efficacy and Tolerability of GCSB-5 for Hand Osteoarthritis: A Randomized, Controlled Trial.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of GCSB-5, a mixture of 6 purified herbal extracts, in treating hand osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial enrolled 220 patients with hand OA who had baseline a visual analog scale joint pain score of >30 of 100 mm at 3 hospitals between September 2013 and November 2014. After randomization, patients were allocated to receive oral GCSB-5 600 mg or placebo, bid for 12 weeks.

Quality Improvement of Pork Loin by Dry Aging.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of dry aging on the quality of pork loin. Longissimus lumborum muscles were dissected from the right half of five pork carcasses and were used as the control samples. The left halves of the carcasses were aged at 2±1℃ and a relative humidity of 80% for 40 d.

Factors associated with late recurrence after completion of 5-year adjuvant tamoxifen in estrogen receptor positive breast cancer.

Background: Recent large trials have shown the survival benefits of 10-year use of tamoxifen by reducing late recurrence compared with 5-year therapy in estrogen receptor(ER)-positive breast cancer. We tried to identify clinical factors associated with the late recurrence.

Methods: We reviewed our database of ER-positive patients who had received operations between 1996 and 2006 in two institutions.

Prognostically Distinctive Subgroup in Pathologic N3 Breast Cancer.

Purpose: The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate whether there are prognostically different subgroups among patients with pathologic N3 (pN3) breast cancer.

Methods: The records of 220 patients who underwent surgery for pN3 breast cancer from January 2006 to September 2012 were reviewed. All patients received adjuvant therapy according to standard protocols.

Inhibition of Carbonyl Reductase 1 Safely Improves the Efficacy of Doxorubicin in Breast Cancer Treatment.

Aims: Doxorubicin (DOX) is a chemotherapeutic drug that is used to treat many cancers, but its use is limited by cardiotoxic side effect. Carbonyl reductase 1 (CBR1) is an NADPH-dependent oxidoreductase that reduces DOX to doxorubicinol (DOXOL), a less potent derivative that is responsible for DOX cardiotoxicity. Thus, we aimed to demonstrate that inhibition of CBR1 enhances the chemotherapeutic efficacy of DOX and attenuates cardiotoxicity.

In Vitro Ectopic Behavior of Porcine Spermatogonial Germ Cells and Testicular Somatic Cells.

Embryonic body-like colony formation is a unique pattern in male germ cell cultures, including spermatogonial stem cells. However, detailed information of the colony formation has not yet been sufficiently reported in male germ cell culture. To elucidate the formation of germ cell-derived colony (GDC), glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor receptor alpha-1 (GFRα-1)-positive pig germ cells were isolated using an immunomagnetic cell isolation method and labeled with red- or green-fluorescent dye.

A case of portal hypertension by presumed as plexiform neurofibroma at the hepatic hilum.

Neurofibromas can occur anywhere in the body, but they usually involve the head, neck, pelvis, and extremities. Abdominal visceral involvement is rare, and intrahepatic involvement is even less common. We describe a patient who suffered from plexiform neurofibromatosis with liver involvement.

Immunomodulatory Effects of Deokgu Thermomineral Water Balneotherapy on Oxazolone-Induced Atopic Dermatitis Murine Model.

Background: Although the therapeutic mechanism of balneotherapy for atopic dermatitis has not been clarified, many atopic patients who visit thermomineral springs have shown clinical improvements.

Objective: This study was aimed to evaluate the immunomodulatory effect of thermomineral water balneotherapy on the atopic dermatitis murine model.

Methods: The oxazolone-induced atopic dermatitis murine model was used to evaluate the therapeutic effect of balneotherapy with Deokgu thermomineral water compared with distilled water.

Airway centered invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in an immunocompetent patient: case report and literature review.

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is a major problem that occurs in severely immunocompromised patients. Airway centered invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is rare in patients with normal immunity or those without critical illness. Computed tomography (CT) is a very useful diagnostic modality, yielding characteristic imaging findings for early diagnosis of this infection in immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients.

The Dose-Dependent Organ-Specific Effects of a Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitor on Cardiovascular Complications in a Model of Type 2 Diabetes.

Objective: Although dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors have been suggested to have a non-glucoregulatory protective effect in various tissues, the effects of long-term inhibition of DPP-4 on the micro- and macro-vascular complications of type 2 diabetes remain uncertain. The aim of the present study was to investigate the organ-specific protective effects of DPP-4 inhibitor in rodent model of type 2 diabetes.

Methods: Eight-week-old diabetic and obese db/db mice and controls (db/m mice) received vehicle or one of two doses of gemigliptin (0.

Gray and white matter changes linking cerebral small vessel disease to gait disturbances.

Objective: To investigate the topographic changes of white matter (WM) integrity and cortical thickness related to gait disturbances and determine whether these neural correlates mediate the association between cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) and gait disturbances.

Methods: A total of 129 patients with subcortical vascular cognitive impairment were included. CSVD severity was quantified as global and regional WM hyperintensities (WMH) volume and lacune and microbleed numbers.

Vitrified canine testicular cells allow the formation of spermatogonial stem cells and seminiferous tubules following their xenotransplantation into nude mice.

Belgian Malinois (BM), one of the excellent military dog breeds in South Korea, is usually castrated before sexual maturation. Therefore, the transfer of their genetic features to the next generation is difficult. To overcome this, testicular cells from 4-month-old BMs were frozen.

Additional Effects of Back-Shu Electroacupuncture and Moxibustion in Cardioprotection of Rat Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury.

Many preclinical studies show that electroacupuncture (EA) on PC6 and ST36 can reduce infarct size after ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury. Yet studies to enhance the treatment effect size are limited. The purpose of this study was to explore whether EA has additional myocardial protective effects on an ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury rat model when back-shu EA and moxibustion are added.

Subculture of Germ Cell-Derived Colonies with GATA4-Positive Feeder Cells from Neonatal Pig Testes.

Enrichment of spermatogonial stem cells is important for studying their self-renewal and differentiation. Although germ cell-derived colonies (GDCs) have been successfully cultured from neonatal pig testicular cells under 31°C conditions, the short period of in vitro maintenance (<2 months) limited their application to further investigations. To develop a culture method that allows for in vitro maintenance of GDCs for long periods, we subcultured the GDCs with freshly prepared somatic cells from neonatal pig testes as feeder cells.

Most Low-Abundance "Background" Symbiodinium spp. Are Transitory and Have Minimal Functional Significance for Symbiotic Corals.

Speculation surrounds the importance of ecologically cryptic Symbiodinium spp. (dinoflagellates) that occur at low abundances in reef-building corals and in the surrounding environment. Evidence acquired from extensive sampling, long-term monitoring, and experimental manipulation can allow us to deduce the ecology and functional significance of these populations and whether they might contribute to the response of coral-dinoflagellate mutualisms to climate change.

Distinctive Resting State Network Disruptions Among Alzheimer's Disease, Subcortical Vascular Dementia, and Mixed Dementia Patients.

Background: Recent advances in resting-state functional MRI have revealed altered functional networks in Alzheimer's disease (AD), especially those of the default mode network (DMN) and central executive network (CEN). However, few studies have evaluated whether small vessel disease (SVD) or combined amyloid and SVD burdens affect the DMN or CEN.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether SVD or combined amyloid and SVD burdens affect the DMN or CEN.

Mediation Effect of Oral Hygiene on the Relationship Between Cognitive Function and Oral Health in Older Adults.

Poor oral health is a common problem among older adults in general and particularly among those with cognitive impairment. The current study was conducted to (a) explore direct and indirect relationships between cognitive function and oral health outcomes and (b) test the mediating effect of oral hygiene on the relationship between cognitive function and oral health. The current study used data from 327 community-dwelling older adults in West Virginia who completed an oral health evaluation, comprehensive cognitive assessment, and questionnaire about oral hygiene.

Triplet cytotoxic chemotherapy with gemcitabine, 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin for advanced pancreatic cancer.

In advanced or relapsed pancreatic cancer, mono- or duo-therapy has shown modest efficacy at best. The present study evaluated the efficacy of a triplet combination in relapsed or advanced pancreatic cancer. A total of 37 patients with adenocarcinoma of the pancreas in stage III/IV or with relapsed disease were treated with a gemcitabine, 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin (GFP) regimen every 3 weeks.

Elevated Coexpression of KITENIN and the ErbB4 CYT-2 Isoform Promotes the Transition from Colon Adenoma to Carcinoma Following APC loss.

Purpose And Experimental Design: The molecular events in the malignant progression of colon adenoma after loss of adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) are not fully understood. KITENIN (KAI1 C-terminal interacting tetraspanin) increases the invasiveness of colorectal cancer cells, and we identified a novel EGFR-independent oncogenic signal of EGF that works under coexpressed KITENIN and ErbB4. Here we tested whether elevated KITENIN and ErbB4 contribute to further progression of intestinal adenoma following APC loss.

Consensus Guidelines for the Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis in Korea (Part II): Systemic Treatment.

Background: Since the treatment guidelines for atopic dermatitis (AD) were issued by the Korean Atopic Dermatitis Association (KADA) work group in 2006, there have been further advances in the systemic treatment of AD.

Objective: We aimed to establish updated evidence- and experience-based systemic treatment guidelines for Korean AD.

Methods: We compiled a database of references from relevant systematic reviews and guidelines regarding the systemic management of AD, including antihistamines, antimicrobials, systemic immunomodulators, allergen-specific immunotherapy, phototherapy, adjunctive treatment, and complementary and alternative medicines.

Consensus Guidelines for the Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis in Korea (Part I): General Management and Topical Treatment.

Background: Since the treatment guidelines for atopic dermatitis (AD) were released by the Korean Atopic Dermatitis Association (KADA) work group in 2006, there have been several advances in AD management.

Objective: We aimed to establish updated evidence- and experience-based treatment guidelines for Korean AD.

Methods: We collected a database of references from relevant systematic AD reviews and guidelines regarding general AD management such as bathing and skin care, avoidance of exacerbating factors, education and psychosocial support, and the use of moisturizers and topical anti-inflammatory and antipruritic drugs.