Cross-modal embedding integrator for disease-gene/protein association prediction using a multi-head attention mechanism.

Knowledge graphs, powerful tools that explicitly transfer knowledge to machines, have significantly advanced new knowledge inferences. Discovering unknown relationships between diseases and genes/proteins in biomedical knowledge graphs can lead to the identification of disease development mechanisms and new treatment targets. Generating high-quality representations of biomedical entities is essential for successfully predicting disease-gene/protein associations.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Incidence of Pediatric Acute Otitis Media in Seoul, South Korea.

Objective: The implementation of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may affect the incidence of infectious diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the changes in the incidence of pediatric acute otitis media (AOM) after the COVID-19 outbreak in Seoul, South Korea.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort.

Association of Central Auditory Processing Dysfunction With Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease.

Objective: To investigate whether central auditory processing dysfunction measured by the dichotic digit test-1 digit (DDT1) is present in preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) individuals who are cognitively normal (CN) older adults with the cerebral beta-amyloid (Aβ) deposition and to explore the potential of the DDT1 as a screening test for preclinical AD.

Study Design: Cross-sectional design.

Setting: A prospective observational cohort study.

LSTM model for predicting the daily number of asthma patients in Seoul, South Korea, using meteorological and air pollution data.

Asthma is a common respiratory disease that is affected by air pollutants and meteorological factors. In this study, we developed models that predict the daily number of patients receiving treatment for asthma using air pollution and meteorological data. A neural network with long short-term memory (LSTM) and fully connected (FC) layers was used.

Machine Learning Models for Predicting the Occurrence of Respiratory Diseases Using Climatic and Air-Pollution Factors.

Objectives: Because climatic and air-pollution factors are known to influence the occurrence of respiratory diseases, we used these factors to develop machine learning models for predicting the occurrence of respiratory diseases.

Methods: We obtained the daily number of respiratory disease patients in Seoul. We used climatic and air-pollution factors to predict the daily number of patients treated for respiratory diseases per 10,000 inhabitants.

Changes in respiratory diseases in South Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic: an interrupted time series study.

Introduction: In South Korea, non-pharmaceutical interventions such as mask-wearing, hand washing and social distancing were strictly implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19 after a national crisis alert was raised to the highest level early in the pandemic (23 February 2020). We aimed to investigate changes in the occurrence of respiratory diseases at the national level after the COVID-19 outbreak.

Methods: The study period was from 1 January to 1 August 2019 (213 days) and from 1 January to 31 July 2020 (213 days).

Development of prediction models for the incidence of pediatric acute otitis media using Poisson regression analysis and XGBoost.

Otitis media has profound health and economic impact, and its occurrence is known to be influenced by air pollution and climate. The purpose of this study was to develop prediction models using climate and air pollution indicators for the occurrence of acute otitis media (AOM). The study was conducted from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2019, and included pediatric patients (age < 12 years) diagnosed on their emergency room visit in our tertiary medical institution.

Is the posterior cingulate cortex an on-off switch for tinnitus?: A comparison between hearing loss subjects with and without tinnitus.

As the human brain works in a Bayesian manner to minimize uncertainty toward external stimuli, the deafferented brain may generate tinnitus in an attempt to fill in missing auditory information, e.g. due to hearing loss.

CS-VIBE accelerates cranial nerve MR imaging for the diagnosis of facial neuritis: comparison of the diagnostic performance of post-contrast MPRAGE and CS-VIBE.

Objective: We aimed to compare the diagnostic performance of post-contrast 3D compressed sensing volume-interpolated breath-hold examination (CS-VIBE) and 3D T1 magnetization-prepared rapid-acquisition gradient-echo (MPRAGE) in detecting facial neuritis.

Materials And Methods: Between February 2019 and September 2019, 60 patients (30 facial palsy patients and 30 controls) who underwent contrast-enhanced cranial nerve MRI with both conventional MPRAGE and CS-VIBE (scan time: 6 min 8 s vs. 2 min 48 s) were included in this retrospective study.

Role of microRNA‑375‑3p‑mediated regulation in tinnitus development.

Changes in the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) following exposure to noise play an important role in the development of tinnitus. As the development of several diseases is known to be associated with microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs), the aim of the present study was to identify the miRNAs that may be implicated in pathogenic changes in the DCN, resulting in tinnitus. A previously developed tinnitus animal model was used for this study.

Impact of air pollution on benign paroxysmal positional vertigo incidence: a retrospective study of the citizens of Seoul, South Korea.

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is among the most common inner ear diseases. Although BPPV is one of the most common causes of dizziness, its pathogenesis remains unknown. Air pollutants might reach the middle ear through the eustachian tube and be absorbed into the inner ear through the round window membrane, increasing the risk of BPPV.

The effects of climate on the incidence of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is one of the most common vestibular disorders. An investigation into the factors related to BPPV could contribute to its prevention and appropriate management. We investigated the association between climatic factors and incidence of BPPV in this study.

MicroRNAs Related to Cognitive Impairment After Hearing Loss.

Objectives: Our research group has previously demonstrated that hearing loss might be a risk factor for synaptic loss within the hippocampus and impairment of cognition using an animal model of Alzheimer disease. In this study, after inducing hearing loss in a rat model of Alzheimer disease, the associations of various microRNAs (miRNAs) with cognitive impairment were investigated.

Methods: Rats were divided randomly into two experimental groups: the control group, which underwent sham surgery and subthreshold amyloid-β infusion and the deaf group, which underwent bilateral cochlear ablation and subthreshold amyloid-β infusion.

Can Osteopenia Induce Residual Dizziness After Treatment of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo?

Objective: This study aimed to determine whether there is an association between osteopenia and residual dizziness after successful treatment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).

Methods: In all, 62 patients with canalolithiasis-type BPPV were included in the study. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence of residual dizziness after resolution of BPPV.

Axonal sprouting in the dorsal cochlear nucleus affects gap‑prepulse inhibition following noise exposure.

One of the primary theories of the pathogenesis of tinnitus involves maladaptive auditory‑somatosensory plasticity in the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN), which is assumed to be due to axonal sprouting. Although a disrupted balance between auditory and somatosensory inputs may occur following hearing damage and may induce tinnitus, examination of this phenomenon employed a model of hearing damage that does not account for the causal relationship between these changes and tinnitus. The present study aimed to investigate changes in auditory‑somatosensory innervation and the role that axonal sprouting serves in this process by comparing results between animals with and without tinnitus.

Hearing loss as a risk factor for cognitive impairment and loss of synapses in the hippocampus.

Although epidemiological studies have identified an association between hearing loss and cognitive impairment, there is a lack of biological evidence detailing the mechanisms underlying this association. The present study investigated the effects of hearing loss on cognitive impairment using an at-risk model. In this animal model, amyloid-β (Aβ) was administered to the brain to such an extent that it did not cause cognitive impairments but made the brain vulnerable to risk factors.

Impact of control of blood glucose level during treatment of sudden deafness in diabetics: relationship with prognosis.

The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of control of blood glucose level during treatment of sudden deafness. A retrospective study was performed involving 197 patients from January, 2011 to September, 2015. All patients were administrated prednisolone (Pharmaprednisolone tab, 5 mg/T; KoreaPharma) p.

A novel wedge technique to correct the curved deviation of the cartilaginous nasal septum.

Objective: To introduce a novel wedge technique in endonasal septoplasty to correct the curved deviation of the cartilaginous septum and describe the surgical procedure and results.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 17 patients who had septoplasty using the wedge technique to correct the curved deviation of their cartilaginous septum. A 2-2.

Post-intubation tracheoesophageal fistula with posterior glottic web.

Tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) after prolonged intubation could present as chronic aspiration and could be mistaken as unilateral or bilateral vocal fold palsy, especially when there was combined posterior glottic synechia. We present a case of post-intubation TEF which was successfully treated with tracheal resection and anastomosis with primary esophageal closure. The accompanying posterior glottic web was treated by endoscopic technique of web lysis, with topical application of mitomycin C solution.

No packing versus packing after endoscopic sinus surgery: pursuit of patients' comfort after surgery.

Background: This study was designed to evaluate the necessity of postoperative nasal packing and to find factors relevant in determining if nasal packing was required after endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS).

Methods: From January 2007 through June 2007, 64 consecutive patients who underwent ESS were evaluated. The decision whether or not to perform nasal packing depended on the surgeon's judgment of the bleeding after surgery.