Publications by authors named "Kyung Ko"

: Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease (LCPD) is characterized by idiopathic avascular necrosis of the femoral head in children. There are several hypotheses regarding the cause of LCPD; however, the exact cause remains unclear. Studies on comorbidities can provide better insight into the disease.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • This study examined the effectiveness of hemi-epiphysiodesis in treating adolescents with idiopathic genu varum and valgum, focusing on the impact of the distal femur and proximal tibia.
  • Results showed that in the varus group, the proximal tibia contributed significantly to the deformity, while in the valgus group, both the distal femur and the proximal tibia played roles, with distal femur being more prominent.
  • The findings highlight the need for tailored surgical planning based on the specific contributions of these bone areas to effectively address each condition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

: To investigate postoperative courses after hemi-percutaneous epiphysiodesis using transphyseal screws (PETS) for genu varum. We especially focused on the degree of skeletal maturation that results in undercorrection. : We identified patients with idiopathic genu varum treated with hemi-PETS at the proximal tibia and followed-up to the completion of skeletal maturation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Kawasaki disease (KD) is a serious condition that can lead to heart problems in children, and incomplete Kawasaki disease (IKD) lacks certain classic symptoms, making it hard to diagnose.
  • This study reviewed medical records of 111 pediatric patients with IKD to investigate the role of anterior uveitis (AU) as a potential diagnostic marker and its effect on preventing coronary artery lesions (CALs).
  • The findings indicated that patients with AU were diagnosed about two days earlier and had a significantly lower incidence of CALs, suggesting AU might help in early detection and treatment, but more studies are needed to confirm these results.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Prediction of histologic prognostic markers is important for determining management strategy and predicting prognosis.

Purpose: To identify important features of ultrafast and conventional dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) that can predict histopathologic prognostic markers in patients with breast cancer.

Material And Methods: Preoperative MRI scans of 158 consecutive women (mean age = 54.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of group therapy on the stress coping skills of Chinese students in Korea using a pre-test post-test control group design.

Methods: Thirty participants were randomly placed into an experimental group (EG;  = 15) and a control group (CG;  = 15). The EG completed eight 120-min sessions of group art therapy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Patella baja is a common complication after operative treatment for patellar fracture. This study aimed to investigate (1) the serial changes in patellar height and (2) the potential predictive factors for patellar height changes after tension band wiring (TBW) for patellar fractures. Forty-one patients who underwent TBW for patellar fracture between March 2019 and September 2022 were enrolled.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) allows researchers to examine gene expression variations at a single-cell level, providing valuable information on cell differences and disease mechanisms.
  • Despite its benefits, scRNA-seq faces technical issues like low capture rates and dropout events that can complicate data analysis.
  • The article introduces a deep learning tool, the dynamic batching adversarial autoencoder (DB-AAE), designed to reduce noise in scRNA-seq data, and outlines the setup and training process for its implementation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate factors determining the final outcomes of hemipercutaneous epiphysiodesis using transphyseal screw (PETS) for the genu valgum, especially focusing on postoperative courses after screw removal.

Methods: Fifty-five patients with idiopathic genu valgum treated with hemi-PETS were included. The mechanical lateral distal femoral angle (mLDFA) and medial proximal tibial angle (MPTA) were measured to calculate the degree of correction and rebound.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

By satisfying bioenergetic demands, generating biomass, and providing metabolites serving as cofactors for chromatin modifiers, metabolism regulates adult stem cell biology. Here, we report that a branch of glycolysis, the serine biosynthesis pathway (SBP), is activated in regenerating muscle stem cells (MuSCs). Gene inactivation and metabolomics revealed that Psat1, one of the three SBP enzymes, controls MuSC activation and expansion of myogenic progenitors through production of the metabolite α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) and α-KG-generated glutamine.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) helps researchers understand variations in gene expression among individual cells, offering insights into cell type diversity and disease processes.
  • Despite its advantages, scRNA-seq can face issues like low capture rates and data dropout, leading to noisy results.
  • The study introduces a new deep learning model called the dynamic batching adversarial autoencoder (DB-AAE), which effectively denoises scRNA-seq data, improves the accuracy of biological signals, and enhances the performance of other algorithms used in analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Although China and South Korea share a similar East Asian culture, owing to major social and cultural differences, international students encounter several difficulties, which can lead to various psychological problems.

Objective: To explore the experiences of eight Chinese doctoral students in South Korea participating in mandala-based art therapy.

Method: Data for this phenomenological study were gathered through individual interviews and visual art from April 5 to 20, 2022.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Stroke is a major cause of morbidity and mortality, and its incidence increases with age. While acute therapies for stroke are currently limited to intravenous thrombolytics and endovascular thrombectomy, recent studies have implicated an important role for the gut microbiome in post-stroke neuroinflammation. After stroke, several immuno-regulatory pathways, including the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) pathway, become activated.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * CVD risk may increase for cancer survivors due to long-term complications from cancer and its treatments, with cellular senescence playing a significant role in this relationship.
  • * The article seeks to explore the mechanisms connecting premature cellular aging to CVD in cancer survivors and suggests future research directions for a deeper understanding of this complex issue.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • SENP2 is a crucial protein that helps protect against atherosclerosis; however, when phosphorylated at T368 under disturbed flow, it loses its function and leads to endothelial cell activation.
  • Researchers developed a specific antibody and used CRISPR/Cas9 to create mice with a mutation at the S344 phosphorylation site of SENP2 and studied its effects on endothelial cell behavior under different flow conditions.
  • The study found that normal flow (L-flow) causes phosphorylation of SENP2 at S344, which inhibits harmful endothelial cell activation, while mutations in this site lead to increased inflammation, migration, and cell proliferation, making atherosclerosis worse, especially in female mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Research has shown that international students, specifically Chinese graduate students in South Korea, are vulnerable to stress and depression because of various factors. These include environmental changes, economic constraints, interpersonal difficulties, discrimination, and cultural conflict.

Objective: This study investigates the effectiveness of group art therapy in reducing acculturative stress and academic stress among Chinese graduate students in South Korea.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: ERK5 (extracellular signal-regulated kinase 5) is a dual kinase transcription factor containing an N-terminal kinase domain and a C-terminal transcriptional activation domain. Many ERK5 kinase inhibitors have been developed and tested to treat cancer and inflammatory diseases. However, recent data have raised questions about the role of the catalytic activity of ERK5 in proliferation and inflammation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Workflows are presented for merging separate transcriptomic and chromatin accessibility datasets for multiomics analysis.
  • The process includes integrating measurements and analyzing them in samples to understand their interactions.
  • The method is exemplified using data from mouse embryonic stem cells that are differentiating into different cell types like mesoderm-like, myogenic, or neurogenic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Organismal homeostasis and regeneration are predicated on committed stem cells that can reside for long periods in a mitotically dormant but reversible cell-cycle arrest state defined as quiescence. Premature escape from quiescence is detrimental, as it results in stem cell depletion, with consequent defective tissue homeostasis and regeneration. Here, we report that Polycomb Ezh1 confers quiescence to murine muscle stem cells (MuSCs) through a non-canonical function.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) activate innate immunity in response to pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). The ectodomain of a TLR directly senses a PAMP and the intracellular TIR domain dimerizes to initiate a signaling cascade. The TIR domains of TLR6 and TLR10, which belong to the TLR1 subfamily, have been structurally characterized in a dimer, whereas those of other subfamilies, including TLR15, have not been explored at the structural or molecular level.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Recent trends suggest novel natural compounds as promising treatments for cardiovascular disease. The authors examined how neopetroside A, a natural pyridine nucleoside containing an α-glycoside bond, regulates mitochondrial metabolism and heart function and investigated its cardioprotective role against ischemia/reperfusion injury. Neopetroside A treatment maintained cardiac hemodynamic status and mitochondrial respiration capacity and significantly prevented cardiac fibrosis in murine models.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Radiation therapy (RT) to the chest increases the patients' risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). A complete understanding of the mechanisms by which RT induces CVD could lead to specific preventive, therapeutic approaches. It is becoming evident that both genotoxic chemotherapy agents and radiation induce mitochondrial dysfunction and cellular senescence.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Microbiome research has been on the rise recently for a more in-depth understanding of gout. Meanwhile, there is a need to understand the gut microbiome related to uric acid-lowering drug resistance. In this study, 16S rRNA gene-based microbiota analysis was performed for a total of 65 stool samples from 17 healthy controls and 48 febuxostat-treated gout patients (including 28 controlled subjects with decreased uric acid levels and 20 uncontrolled subjects with non-reduced uric acid levels).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Spermidine is a cationic polyamine that plays key roles in diverse biological processes, including biofilm formation and cell viability in bacteria. In some human gastrointestinal bacteria, such as Helicobacter pylori and Campylobacter jejuni, spermidine is biosynthesized using carboxyspermidine dehydrogenase (CASDH) and carboxyspermidine decarboxylase through an alternative pathway rather than the classical pathway found in most bacteria and eukaryotes. CASDH condenses putrescine and aspartate β-semialdehyde into carboxyspermidine in an NADPH-dependent manner.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The substance P-neurokinin 1 receptor pathway has been proposed as a therapeutic target for tendinopathy. However, there is a lack of evidence regarding its practical applications.

Purpose: To investigate the therapeutic effects of substance P inhibitor (SPI) on inflamed tenocytes in vitro and in a collagenase-induced rat model of tendinopathy in vivo.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF