Effects of Socioeconomic Status on the Health of Menopausal Mothers in Multicultural Families in Korea: A Test of the Reserve Capacity Model.

Based on the Reserve Capacity Model, this study examined the effect of SES(socioeconomic status) on health status on the health status of menopausal mothers of multicultural families, focusing on mediating effects of self-esteem, assimilation, integration, separation, marginalization, and daily life stress. This is a cross-sectional survey study with secondary analysis of national data on 683 perimenopausal mothers in multicultural families from the 9th Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study surveyed by the Korea Youth Policy Institute in 2019. The subjects were women aged 45-55 years and foreign nationals by origin.

1.3-µm identical active electro-absorption modulated laser with quantum well intermixed passive waveguide.

Quantum well intermixing (QWI) is an effective method for simple and well-defined monolithic integration of photonic devices. We introduce an identical-active electro-absorption modulated laser (IA-EML) with optimized QWI, which is applied to reduce the absorptive waveguide region. To determine the optimal intermixed IA-EML structure, we conduct a comparative analysis between the cases of an IA-EML with only an intermixed waveguide region and with both intermixed waveguide and electro-absorption modulator (EAM) regions, as well as the case without QWI.

[The Effect of Socioeconomic Status to Depression of Perimenopause Women: Pathway Analysis Using the Reserve Capacity Model].

Purpose: Based on the Reserve Capacity Model, this study investigated the effects of pre- and postmenopausal women's socioeconomic status (SES) on depression, focusing on the mediating effects of self-esteem, happiness, and family relationship satisfaction with social network relationships.

Methods: This cross-sectional study involved secondary analysis of national data on 771 perimenopause women gathered from the 16th Korea Welfare Panel Study (KOWEPS) 2021. A path analysis model was constructed to evaluate the relationship between SES, social network satisfaction, self-esteem, perceived health status, and depression.

Tumor-targeting oxidative stress nanoamplifiers as anticancer nanomedicine with immunostimulating activity.

Compared to normal cells, cancer cells are more susceptible to insults of prooxidants that generate ROS (reactive oxygen species) or scavenge antioxidants such as glutathione (GSH). Cancer cells undergo immunogenic cell death (ICD) by elevated oxidative stress. Herein, we report rationally designed F-ssPBCA nanoparticles as a tumor-targeting prooxidant, which generates ROS and scavenges GSH simultaneously to cooperatively amplify oxidative stress, leading to ICD.

Effectiveness and Safety of Regdanvimab in Patients With Mild-To-Moderate COVID-19: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Regdanvimab has decreased the time to clinical recovery from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and lowered the rate of oxygen therapy according to the results from phase 2/3 randomized controlled trial. More information is needed about the effects and safety of regdanvimab.

Methods: We analyzed data for patients with high-risk mild or moderate COVID-19 being admitted to Busan Medical Center between December 1, 2020 and April 16, 2021.

Cross-scale dynamics and the evolutionary emergence of infectious diseases.

When emerging pathogens encounter new host species for which they are poorly adapted, they must evolve to escape extinction. Pathogens experience selection on traits at multiple scales, including replication rates within host individuals and transmissibility between hosts. We analyze a stochastic model linking pathogen growth and competition within individuals to transmission between individuals.

Tumor-Targeting HO-Responsive Photosensitizing Nanoparticles with Antiangiogenic and Immunogenic Activities for Maximizing Anticancer Efficacy of Phototherapy.

Phototherapy including photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) uses photosensitizers and light to kill cancer cells and has become a promising therapeutic modality because of advantages such as minimal invasiveness and high cancer selectivity. However, PTT or PDT as a single treatment modality has insufficient therapeutic efficacy. Moreover, oxygen consumption by PDT activates angiogenic factors and leads to cancer recurrence and progression.

Diagnosis and Simultaneous Treatment of Musculoskeletal Injury Using HO-Triggered Echogenic Antioxidant Polymer Nanoparticles in a Rat Model of Contusion Injury.

Ultrasound is clinically used for diagnosis and interventions for musculoskeletal injuries like muscle contusion, but contrast of ultrasonography still remains a challenge in the field of the musculoskeletal system. A level of hydrogen peroxide (HO) is known to be elevated during mechanical tissue damage and therefore HO can be exploited as a diagnostic and therapeutic marker for mechanical injuries in the musculoskeletal system. We previously developed poly(vanillin-oxalate) (PVO) as an inflammation-responsive polymeric prodrug of vanillin, which is designed to rapidly respond to HO and exert antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.

Blume and Siebold & Zucc Mixed Extract Suppress Platelet Aggregation and Thrombosis.

Blood vessel thrombosis causes blood circulation disorders, leading to various diseases. Currently, various antiplatelet and anticoagulant drugs, such as aspirin, warfarin, heparin, and non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs), are used as the major drugs for the treatment of a wide range of thrombosis. However, these drugs have a side effect of possibly causing internal bleeding due to poor hemostasis when taken for a long period of time.

pH-Responsive Amphiphilic Polyether Micelles with Superior Stability for Smart Drug Delivery.

Despite widespread interest in the amphiphilic polymeric micelles for drug delivery systems, it is highly desirable to achieve high loading capacity and high efficiency to reduce the side effects of therapeutic agents while maximizing their efficacy. Here, we present a novel hydrophobic epoxide monomer, cyclohexyloxy ethyl glycidyl ether (CHGE), containing an acetal group as a pH-responsive cleavable linkage. A series of its homopolymers, poly(cyclohexyloxy ethyl glycidyl ether)s (PCHGEs), and block copolymers, poly(ethylene glycol)--poly(cyclohexyloxy ethyl glycidyl ether)s (PEG--PCHGE), were synthesized via anionic ring-opening polymerization in a controlled manner.

Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness in Children at the Emergency Department during the 2018-2019 Season: the First Season School-aged Children Were Included in the Korean Influenza National Immunization Program.

Background: For the 2018-2019 season, the national influenza immunization program expanded to cover children aged from 6 months to 12 years in Korea. This study aimed to analyze vaccine effectiveness (VE) against influenza in children visiting the pediatric emergency room at a tertiary hospital during the 2018-2019 season.

Methods: Patients tested for influenza antigens from October 1st 2018 to May 31st 2019 at the pediatric emergency room of Samsung Medical Center were included.

Sustained Release of Exendin 4 Using Injectable and Ionic-Nano-Complex Forming Polymer Hydrogel System for Long-Term Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Daily treatment of diabetes to stabilize blood glucose level poses a challenge for patients with diabetes mellitus. Diabetes is a long-term metabolic disorder, and the treatment lasts for the rest of the patient's life after diagnosis. We presented a new injectable hydrogel depot system using exendin 4 (Ex-4) interactive and complex forming polymeric ionic-nano-particles for long-term antidiabetes treatment.

Selective morphological analysis of cerium metal in electrodeposit recovered from molten LiCl-KCl eutectic by radiography and computed tomography.

This paper presents, for the first time, a study to analyze the surface morphology of metal extracted from a high temperature molten salt medium in the electrodeposit using x-ray radiography and computed tomography. Widely used methods such as scanning electron microscopy and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry/mass spectrometry are destructive and the related processes are often subject to the air condition. The x-ray imaging can provide rich information of the target sample in a non-destructive way without invoking hydrolysis or oxidation of a hygroscopic sample.

Validation of Prediction Models for Critical Care Outcomes Using Natural Language Processing of Electronic Health Record Data.

Importance: Accurate prediction of outcomes among patients in intensive care units (ICUs) is important for clinical research and monitoring care quality. Most existing prediction models do not take full advantage of the electronic health record, using only the single worst value of laboratory tests and vital signs and largely ignoring information present in free-text notes. Whether capturing more of the available data and applying machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) can improve and automate the prediction of outcomes among patients in the ICU remains unknown.

A weighted rebinned backprojection-filtration algorithm from partially beam-blocked data for a single-scan cone-beam CT with hybrid type scatter correction.

Purpose: Scatter contamination constitutes a dominant source of degradation of image quality in cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). We have recently developed an analytic image reconstruction method with a scatter correction capability from the partially blocked cone-beam data out of a single scan. Despite its easy implementation and its computational efficiency, the developed method may result in additional image artifacts for a large cone angle geometry due to data inconsistency.

Geographic and Patient Characteristics Associated With Election of Prophylactic Mastectomy in Young Breast Cancer Patients With Early Disease.

Objectives: To examine the association between geography and utilization rates of contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) relative to patient-level factors in patients with early stage breast cancer.

Materials And Methods: Using the Truven Health MarketScan Commercial Database, a descriptive analysis of geographic variation in genetic testing and CPM rates of 38,108 women ages 18 to 64 years treated with surgery for invasive unilateral breast cancer between 2010 and 2012 was conducted. Multivariate hierarchical analysis was used to examine the relationship between CPM likelihood and patient characteristics, with metropolitan statistical area (MSA) serving as a random effect.

Geographic Variation in Postoperative Imaging for Low-Risk Breast Cancer.

The objective of this study was to examine the presence and magnitude of US geographic variation in use rates of both recommended and high-cost imaging in young patients with early-stage breast cancer during the 18 month period after surgical treatment of their primary tumor. Using the Truven Health MarketScan Commercial Database, a descriptive analysis was conducted of geographic variation in annual rates of dedicated breast imaging and high-cost body imaging of 36,045 women aged 18 to 64 years treated with surgery for invasive unilateral breast cancer between 2010 and 2012. Multivariate hierarchical analysis examined the relationship between likelihood of imaging and patient characteristics, with metropolitan statistical area (MSA) serving as a random effect.

A Feasibility Study of Low-Dose Single-Scan Dual-Energy Cone-Beam CT in Many-View Under-Sampling Framework.

A single-scan dual-energy low-dose cone-beam CT (CBCT) imaging technique that exploits a multi-slit filter is proposed in this paper. The multi-slit filter installed between the x-ray source and the scanned object is reciprocated during a scan. The x-ray beams through the slits would generate relatively low-energy x-ray projection data, while the filtered beams would make high-energy projection data.

Isoflurane Postconditioning Inhibits tPA-Induced Matrix Metalloproteinases Activation After Hypoxic Injury via Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor-Related Protein and Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase Pathway.

Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is the only recommended pharmacological treatment for acute ischemic stroke. However, tPA can induce intracerebral hemorrhage by blood-brain barrier breakdown through an increase in matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Previously, we showed that isoflurane postconditioning reduced intracranial hemorrhage following tPA treatment after cerebral ischemia.

Antitumor and Immunomodulatory Effect of Gastrodia elata on Colon Cancer In Vitro and In Vivo.

Gastrodia elata Blume (GE) is a well-known kind of herb that has been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years. The extrusion of raw materials from it could improve flavor and enhance bioavailability in food and drug development. The purpose of this study is to investigate antitumor and immune boosting effects of extruded GE in human colon carcinoma cells, splenocytes, and mice-bearing CT26 colon carcinoma cell.

Home Return After Surgery in Patients Aged over 85 Years is Associated with Preoperative Albumin Levels, the Type of Surgery, and APACHE II Score.

Background: Owing to an aging society, both the number of operations for patients aged >85 years and the average age of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) are rapidly increasing. However, mortality is not an appropriate outcome measurement in patients aged >85 years; a more important outcome is home return (HR), because quality of life is valuable to these patients. We identified predictors for HR of patients aged >85 years admitted to the ICU after surgery.

An Image-Based Reduction of Metal Artifacts in Computed Tomography.

Objective: Various strategies have been developed in the past to reduce the excessive effects of metal artifacts in computed tomography images. From straightforward sinogram inpainting-based methods to computationally expensive iterative methods, all have been successful in improving the image quality up to a certain degree. We propose a novel image-based metal artifact subtraction method that achieves a superior image quality and at the same time provides a quantitatively more accurate image.

Mapping influenza transmission in the ferret model to transmission in humans.

The controversy surrounding 'gain-of-function' experiments on high-consequence avian influenza viruses has highlighted the role of ferret transmission experiments in studying the transmission potential of novel influenza strains. However, the mapping between influenza transmission in ferrets and in humans is unsubstantiated. We address this gap by compiling and analyzing 240 estimates of influenza transmission in ferrets and humans.

Data consistency-driven scatter kernel optimization for x-ray cone-beam CT.

Accurate and efficient scatter correction is essential for acquisition of high-quality x-ray cone-beam CT (CBCT) images for various applications. This study was conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of using the data consistency condition (DCC) as a criterion for scatter kernel optimization in scatter deconvolution methods in CBCT. As in CBCT, data consistency in the mid-plane is primarily challenged by scatter, we utilized data consistency to confirm the degree of scatter correction and to steer the update in iterative kernel optimization.