Comparison of Two Paclitaxel-Coated Balloons with Different Excipients for the Treatment of Femoropopliteal Artery Disease.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a novel drug-coated balloon (DCB), Genoss DCB (Genoss) using shellac plus vitamin E as an excipient, compared to a reference DCB using urea.

Materials And Methods: Patients with femoropopliteal arterial disease under Rutherford classes 2-5 were enrolled in this prospective, multicenter, non-inferiority clinical trial, and randomly assigned 1:1 to Genoss DCB and IN.PACT Admiral (Medtronic).

Comparison of Clinical Outcomes Between Two Types of Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitors in Posttransplant Diabetes Mellitus in Kidney Transplantation Recipients: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study in Korea.

Background: Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4i) are antidiabetic drugs known for their minimal side effects and limited drug interaction witih immunosuppressants, making them suitable for patients with diabetes and kidney transplant recipients. However, there is limited real-world information regarding the use of DPP-4 inhibitors in patients with post transplant diabetes mellitus (PTDM).

Method: We performed a retrospective observational cohort study of 13,828 kidney transplant recipients form Janary 1, 2002, through December 21, 2018, using the Korean National Health Information Database.

Predictive Mortality and Gastric Cancer Risk Using Clinical and Socio-Economic Data: A Nationwide Multicenter Cohort Study.

Gastric cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality, particularly in East Asia, with a notable burden in Republic of Korea. This study aimed to construct and develop machine learning models for the prediction of gastric cancer mortality and the identification of risk factors. All data were acquired from the Korean Clinical Data Utilization for Research Excellence by multiple medical centers in South Korea.

Activation of glutamine synthetase (GS) as a new strategy for the treatment of major depressive disorder and other GS-related diseases.

Glutamine synthetase (GS) plays a crucial role in the homeostasis of the glutamate-glutamine cycle in the brain. Hypoactive GS causes depressive behaviors. Under chronic stress, GS has no change in expression, but its activity is decreased due to nitration of tyrosine (Tyr).

Deficiency of purinergic P2Y2 receptor impairs the recovery after renal ischemia-reperfusion injury and accelerates renal fibrosis and tubular senescence in mice.

Chronic kidney disease is defined as a progressive loss of kidney function associated with impaired recovery after acute kidney injury. Renal ischemia-reperfusion (IR) induces oxidative stress and inflammatory responses leading to severe tissue damage, where incomplete or maladaptive repair accelerates renal fibrosis and aging. To investigate the role of the purinergic P2Y2 receptor (P2Y2R) in these processes, we used P2Y2R knockout (KO) mice subjected to IR.

Cryoballoon Pulmonary Vein Isolation With Versus Without Additional Right Atrial Linear Ablation for Persistent Atrial Fibrillation: The CRALAL Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) alone is less effective in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) compared with those with paroxysmal AF. We investigate whether additional linear ablation from the superior vena cava to the right atrial septum and cavotricuspid isthmus ablation improves the rhythm outcome of patients with persistent AF undergoing cryoballoon PVI (Cryo-PVI).

Methods: In this investigator-initiated, multicenter, randomized clinical trial, 289 patients with persistent AF refractory to antiarrhythmic drug therapy were randomized 1:1 to either Cryo-PVI with additional right atrium (RA) linear ablation or Cryo-PVI alone.

Activation of Purinergic P2Y2 Receptor Protects the Kidney Against Renal Ischemia and Reperfusion Injury in Mice.

Extracellular ATP plays an important role in renal physiology as well as the pathogenesis of acute kidney injury induced by renal ischemia and reperfusion (IR). Expression of the purinergic P2Y2 receptor has been shown on inflammatory and structural cells of the kidney, and P2Y2R is preferably activated by ATP (or UTP). Here, we investigated the molecular mechanism of P2Y2R during IR injury by using P2Y2R knockout (KO) mice and a selective P2Y2R agonist, MRS2768.

Automated Non-Supervised Eye Disorder Screening System Using Virtual Reality.

Background: Neglecting eye disorders can lead to visual impairment or even vision loss, making early diagnosis and medical treatment crucial. This paper presents the development of an automated non-supervised eye disorder screening system that utilises Virtual Reality (VR) to provide a preliminary screening for common eye disorders.

Methods: The system integrates advanced pupil-tracking techniques, image-processing methods, and eye disorder screening algorithms into one package for comprehensive eye disorder monitoring, including a strabismus test, a pupil test, and a contrast sensitivity test.

Mortality Prediction Modeling for Patients with Breast Cancer Based on Explainable Machine Learning.

: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide, requiring strategic efforts to reduce its mortality. This study aimed to develop a predictive classification model for breast cancer mortality using real-world data, including various clinical features. : A total of 11,286 patients with breast cancer from the National Cancer Center were included in this study.

Forms of Calling and Helping Behaviors at Work: Psychological Entitlement and Moral Duty as Mediators.

Even though calling researchers have identified two major forms of calling, namely modern and neoclassical, existing studies do not agree on whether these two forms are consistent or different in their mechanisms and outcomes. This study aimed to investigate whether modern and neoclassical calling are both indirectly related to unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) through the mediating roles of psychological entitlement and moral duty. Additionally, this study also aimed to investigate whether psychological entitlement functions as a mediator greater in magnitude for modern calling, whereas moral duty functions as a mediator greater in magnitude for neoclassical calling.

Water-Borne Fluorinated Polyimide Dielectric for Large-Area IGZO Transistors and Logic Gates.

Thin-film transistors offer excellent and uniform electrical properties over large areas, making them a promising option for various future electronic devices. Polyimide dielectrics are already widely used in various electronic devices because of their exceptional dielectric properties, thermal stability, and desirable mechanical flexibility, which make them suitable for harsh environments. However, the current research on polyimide dielectric materials has certain limitations, such as the use of toxic solvents, high-temperature processes, and deficient coating properties.

Oyster hydrolysate ameliorates UVB-induced skin dehydration and barrier dysfunction.

Ultraviolet (UV) exposure triggers skin aging primarily by disrupting skin barrier function, resulting in dry skin and wrinkle formation. Oyster hydrolysate (OH), as a functional food, has been reported for anti-cancer, anti-oxidant and anti-apoptotic effects. This study investigated the underlying mechanism of OH effect on UVB-induced skin aging in SKH1 hairless mice.

Modeling the population-level impact of a third dose of MMR vaccine on a mumps outbreak at the University of Iowa.

Mumps outbreaks among fully vaccinated young adults have raised questions about potential waning of immunity over time and need for a third dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. However, there are currently limited data on real-life effectiveness of the third-dose MMR vaccine in preventing mumps. Here, we used a deterministic compartmental model to infer the effectiveness of the third-dose MMR vaccine in preventing mumps cases by analyzing the mumps outbreak that occurred at the University of Iowa between August 24, 2015, and May 13, 2016.

Achieving the sustainable waste management of medical plastic packaging using a life cycle assessment approach.

Hospital waste management often classifies all waste, including uncontaminated plastic packaging, as hazardous, leading to incineration as the primary treatment method. While effective for safe treatment, incineration incurs high costs and significant environmental impacts. This study explores an alternative approach through the segregation and sustainable management of plastic packaging waste derived from medical device use to mitigate these environmental consequences.

The effects of extracorporeal shock wave therapy on cutaneous radiation injury in a mouse model.

Background: Although radiation-induced skin injuries are a concern in patients receiving radiation therapy, there are few effective treatments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the protective effects of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) on irradiated fibroblasts and mouse skin.

Methods: In the in vitro study of human dermal fibroblasts, the experimental group was subjected to ESWT following irradiation (20 Gy).

Predicting the Progression of Mild Cognitive Impairment to Alzheimer's Dementia Using Recurrent Neural Networks With a Series of Neuropsychological Tests.

Background And Purpose: The prevalence of Alzheimer's dementia (AD) is increasing as populations age, causing immense suffering for patients, families, and communities. Unfortunately, no treatments for this neurodegenerative disease have been established. Predicting AD is therefore becoming more important, because early diagnosis is the best way to prevent its onset and delay its progression.

Associations between Nicotine Dependence, Smartphone Usage Patterns, and Expected Compliance with a Smoking Cessation Application among Smokers.

Objectives: Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease. However, smokers have shown poor compliance with smoking cessation clinics. Smartphone applications present a promising opportunity to improve this compliance.

Evaluation of ventricular pacing suppression algorithms in dual chamber pacemaker: Results of "LEADER" study.

Background: There is limited research on the intra-individual efficacy of ventricular pacing minimization algorithms developed by Biotronik-the Ventricular Pace Suppression algorithm (VpS) and the Intrinsic Rhythm Support plus algorithm (IRSplus) (BIOTRONIK SE & Co. KG, Berlin, Germany). We performed a randomized pilot trial that evaluated the efficacy of two algorithms in patients with symptomatic sinus node dysfunction (SND) who received a dual-chamber pacemaker.

Interfacial Engineering for Controlled Crystal Mosaicity in Single-Crystalline Perovskite Films.

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites have attracted significant attention for optoelectronic applications due to their efficient photoconversion properties. However, grain boundaries and irregular crystal orientations in polycrystalline films remain issues. This study presents a method for producing crystalline-orientation-controlled perovskite single-crystal films using retarded solvent evaporation.

Fitting Epidemic Models to Data: A Tutorial in Memory of Fred Brauer.

Fred Brauer was an eminent mathematician who studied dynamical systems, especially differential equations. He made many contributions to mathematical epidemiology, a field that is strongly connected to data, but he always chose to avoid data analysis. Nevertheless, he recognized that fitting models to data is usually necessary when attempting to apply infectious disease transmission models to real public health problems.