Publications by authors named "Myeong-Jin Kim"

BiVO has garnered substantial interest as a promising photoanode material for photoelectrochemical water-splitting due to its narrow band gap and appropriate band edge positions for water oxidation. Nevertheless, its practical use has been impeded by poor charge transport and sluggish water oxidation kinetics. Here, a hybrid composite photoanode is fabricated by uniformly embedding SnS nanoparticles near the surface of a BiVO thin film, creating a type II heterostructure with strong interactions between the nanoparticles and the film for efficient charge separation.

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  • The study aimed to compare two types of MRI (ECA-MRI and HBA-MRI) to see which better predicts important features of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the likelihood of complications like microvascular invasion (MVI) and early recurrence.
  • 102 at-risk patients with single HCC were analyzed, using statistical tests to compare the prognostic features noted in both MRI types.
  • Results showed no significant differences in prognostic features between the MRIs, suggesting both types are similarly effective for assessing HCC in patients.
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Recent research has emphasized the role of macrophage-secreted factors on skeletal muscle metabolism. We studied Sargassum Serratifolium ethanol extract (ESS) in countering lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced changes in the macrophage transcriptome and their impact on skeletal muscle. Macrophage-conditioned medium (MCM) from LPS-treated macrophages (LPS-MCM) and ESS-treated macrophages (ESS-MCM) affected C2C12 myotube cells.

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Atopic dermatitis is a chronic complex inflammatory skin disorder that requires sustainable treatment methods due to the limited efficacy of conventional therapies. Sargassum serratifolium, an algal species with diverse bioactive substances, is investigated in this study for its potential benefits as a therapeutic agent for atopic dermatitis. RNA sequencing of LPS-stimulated macrophages treated with ethanolic extract of Sargassum serratifolium (ESS) revealed its ability to inhibit a broad range of inflammation-related signaling, which was proven in RAW 264.

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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive solid malignancies. A specific mechanism of its metastasis has not been established. In this study, we investigated whether Neural Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (N-WASP) plays a role in distant metastasis of PDAC.

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Objectives: To predict tumor recurrence in patients who underwent surgical resection of ampullary adenocarcinoma using preoperative magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings combined with clinical findings.

Methods: In this multicenter study, a total of 113 patients (mean age, 62.9 ± 9.

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As the body's largest organ, the skin is located at the internal and external environment interface, serving as a line of defense against various harmful stressors. Recently, marine-derived physiologically active ingredients have attracted considerable attention in the cosmeceutical industry due to their beneficial effects on skin health. , a genus of brown macroalgae, has traditionally been consumed as food and medicine in several countries and is rich in bioactive compounds such as meroterpenoids, sulfated polysaccharides, fucoidan, fucoxanthin, flavonoids, and terpenoids.

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Background/aim: Gadolinium-ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (EOBMRI) further enhances the identification of additional hepatic nodules compared with computed tomography (CT) alone; however, the optimal treatment for such additional nodules remains unclear. We investigated the long-term oncological effect of aggressive treatment strategies for additional lesions identified using EOB-MRI in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: Data from 522 patients diagnosed with solitary HCC using CT between January 2008 and December 2012 were retrospectively reviewed.

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Exsolution generates metal nanoparticles anchored within crystalline oxide supports, ensuring efficient exposure, uniform dispersion, and strong nanoparticle-perovskite interactions. Increased doping level in the perovskite is essential for further enhancing performance in renewable energy applications; however, this is constrained by limited surface exsolution, structural instability, and sluggish charge transfer. Here, hybrid composites are fabricated by vacuum-annealing a solution containing SrTiO photoanode and Co cocatalyst precursors for photoelectrochemical water-splitting.

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Macrophages are versatile immune cells that play crucial roles in tissue repair, immune defense, and the regulation of immune responses. In the context of skeletal muscle, they are vital for maintaining muscle homeostasis but macrophage-induced chronic inflammation can lead to muscle dysfunction, resulting in skeletal muscle atrophy characterized by reduced muscle mass and impaired insulin regulation and glucose uptake. Although the involvement of macrophage-secreted factors in inflammation-induced muscle atrophy is well-established, the precise intracellular signaling pathways and secretion factors affecting skeletal muscle homeostasis require further investigation.

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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a type of cancer with high morbidity and mortality rates worldwide. Owing to a lack of therapeutic options, the overall survival rate of patients with pancreatic cancer is low. Gemcitabine has been mainly used to treat patients with pancreatic cancer, but its efficacy is limited by chemoresistance.

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Pancreatic cancer is characterized by a poor prognosis, with its five-year survival rate lower than that of any other cancer type. Gemcitabine, a standard treatment for pancreatic cancer, often has poor outcomes for patients as a result of chemoresistance. Therefore, novel therapeutic targets must be identified to overcome gemcitabine resistance.

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This study aims to explore the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of sargachromenol in both RAW 264.7 cells and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated mice, as previous reports have suggested that sargachromenol possesses anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and neuroprotective properties. Although the precise mechanism behind its anti-inflammatory activity remains unclear, pretreatment with sargachromenol effectively reduced the production of nitric oxide, prostaglandin E, and interleukin (IL)-1 in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.

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Gemcitabine is considered a standard treatment for pancreatic cancer, but developing drug resistance greatly limits the effectiveness of chemotherapy and increases the rate of recurrence. Lysyl oxide-like 2 (LOXL2) is highly expressed in pancreatic cancer and is involved in carcinogenesis and EMT regulation. However, studies on the role of LOXL2 in drug resistance are limited.

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Article Synopsis
  • Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly aggressive cancer with low survival rates, and its prognostic biomarkers are still not well understood.
  • Recent research identified the receptor CD74 as a factor influencing cancer properties, but its exact role in PDAC was unclear until this study.
  • The study found that silencing CD74 in pancreatic cancer cells reduced their growth, migration, and invasion, while also decreasing harmful inflammatory markers, suggesting CD74 could serve as a valuable diagnostic biomarker and a target for treatment in pancreatic cancer.
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Purpose: Clinical prognostic criteria using preoperative factors were not developed for post-neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) surgery of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). We aimed to identify preoperative factors associated with overall survival (OS) in PDAC patients who underwent post-NAT curative-intent surgery and develop risk stratification criteria.

Materials And Methods: Consecutive PDAC patients who underwent post-NAT curative-intent surgeries between 2007 and 2020 were retrospectively analyzed.

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Insulin resistance is a crucial factor in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and other metabolic disorders. Skeletal muscle, the body's largest insulin-responsive tissue, plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of T2DM due to defects in insulin signaling. Recently, there has been growing evidence that macrophages, immune cells essential for tissue homeostasis and injury response, also contribute to the development of skeletal muscle insulin resistance.

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Purpose: To develop a practical methodfor differentiating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from angiomyolipoma (AML) in individuals who are not at-risk for HCC.

Method: We retrospectively enrolled consecutive patients who underwent gadoxetic acid-enhanced liver magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and pathological confirmation between January 2008 and April 2022. Patients who underwent prior treatment, those with multiple lesions, or those at-risk for HCC were excluded.

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  • This study compared the 2022 and 2018 KLCA-NCC imaging criteria for diagnosing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in high-risk patients using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
  • It involved 415 treatment-naïve patients, analyzing 535 lesions to evaluate the diagnostic performance for HCC using different types of contrast agents (extracellular vs. hepatobiliary).
  • The results showed that HBA-MRI had higher sensitivity than ECA-MRI for "definite" HCC, and the 2022 criteria improved sensitivity for "definite" or "probable" HCC diagnoses compared to 2018, without losing specificity.
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Background & Aims: Fatty change is commonly observed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, the characteristics of steatotic and steatohepatitic HCCs are not well understood.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients with HCCs who underwent resection between January 2014 and December 2019 to evaluate clinicopathological and magnetic resonance imaging features. Tumours were categorized as magnetic resonance imaging-steatotic, pathology-steatotic and steatohepatitic HCCs and were defined as HCCs with ≥50% steatosis on in-and-oppose phase images, ≥34% tumour cells with lipid droplets and ≥50% tumour areas with steatohepatitic features on light microscopy respectively.

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Recently, interest in three-dimensional (3D) cell or tissue organoids that may, in vitro, overcome not only the practical problems associated with fetal tissue transplantation, but also provide a potential source for the regeneration of injured spinal cords, has been increasing steadily. In this study, we showed that human neural precursor cells (hNPCs) derived from the fetal spinal cord could be incubated in serum free medium at two dimensional (2D), three dimensional (3D) and tissue organoid-systems. Additionally, we investigated morphological changes over time along with the expression of proteoglycans, collagen, or myelin in 2D, 3D and tissue-like organoids.

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Objectives: To validate the modified simplified magnetic resonance index of activity (sMARIA) score using DWI on non-contrast magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) to evaluate active inflammation in patients with Crohn's disease (CD), compared to the original sMARIA scoring system, with and without contrast enhancement.

Methods: This retrospective study included 275 bowel segments from 55 CD patients who underwent ileocolonoscopy and MRE within a 2-week period. Two blinded radiologists evaluated original sMARIA on both conventional MRE (CE-sMARIA) and non-contrast MRE (T2-sMARIA).

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Purpose: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the per-lesion sensitivity and specificity of the Korean Liver Cancer Association-National Cancer Center (KLCA-NCC) 2022 criteria for the noninvasive diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with intraindividual comparison of the diagnostic performance of magnetic resonance imaging with extracellular agents (ECA-MRI) and hepatobiliary agents (HBA-MRI).

Materials And Methods: Patients at high risk for HCC who were referred to a tertiary academic institution for hepatic lesions with size ≥ 10 mm between July 2019 and June 2022 were enrolled. A total of 91 patients (mean age, 58.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to determine how well preoperative CT scans can predict circumferential resection margin (CRM) involvement in patients with retroperitonealized colon cancer and its impact on patient outcomes.
  • It involved 274 patients, revealing that 24.5% had positive CRM, with a 79.6% accuracy rate for CT scans predicting pathological CRM (pCRM).
  • The results indicated that positive CRM assessed by CT was a significant risk factor for disease-free survival and systemic recurrence, but not for local recurrence.
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