Choroidal Hyperreflective Foci as Biomarkers of Severity in Stargardt Disease.

Purpose: To investigate the clinical implications of choroidal hyperreflective foci (HF) as biomarkers of disease severity in Stargardt disease (STGD).

Methods: 129 eyes from 66 patients with STGD were included. The primary outcome was the correlation between the number of foveal choroidal HF and indicators of disease severity.

Vaginal lactobacilli produce anti-inflammatory β-carboline compounds.

The optimal vaginal microbiome is a Lactobacillus-dominant community. Apart from Lactobacillus iners, the presence of Lactobacillus species is associated with reduced vaginal inflammation and reduced levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Loss of Lactobacillus-dominance is associated with inflammatory conditions, such as bacterial vaginosis (BV).

Cancer therapeutic potential of hovetrichoside C from Jatropha podagrica on apoptosis of MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells.

Phytochemical analysis of the methanolic extracts of Jatropha podagrica stalks and roots using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) led to the isolation of six compounds: corchoionoside C (1), isobiflorin (2), fraxin (3), hovetrichoside C (4), fraxetin (5), and corillagin (6). The isolated compounds (1-6) were tested for their cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells. Remarkably, compound 4 (hovetrichoside C) exhibited robust cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 cells, displaying an IC value of 50.

Association between depressive symptoms and the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality among US adults.

Depression is a preventable and treatable mental health condition. Therefore, there are important clinical implications for identifying people with the highest mortality risk in a nationally representative sample. This study included 26,207 participants aged ≥18 years from the 2005-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in USA.

Socio-economic factors associated with mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea.

Background: Individuals are at an increased risk of adverse mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. To reduce the impact on mental health outcomes that were induced by national-level policies, which may influence an individual at the community level, exploring the comprehensive relations between individual and environmental factors are needed. The aim is to examine socio-ecological factors associated with mental health outcomes, including depressive and anxiety symptoms, with the perspective of support to provide interventions that help the community during future disease outbreaks.

Association between Electronic Cigarettes Use and Asthma in the United States: Data from the National Health Interview Survey 2016-2019.

Purpose: This article aimed to investigate 1) whether electronic cigarette (EC) users are more likely to experience asthma attacks or emergency room (ER) visits due to asthma than non-users and 2) how age and smoking behaviors moderate the effect size of the association.

Materials And Methods: We used National Health Interview Survey data from 2016-2019. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the association between current EC use and having an asthma attack and ER visitation due to asthma.

The Clinical Usefulness of Ultrasonographic Measurement Technique in Patients with Lower Extremity Lymphedema.

A previous study reported a new ultrasonography (US) measurement technique to evaluate the cross-sectional area (ΔCSA) of lymphedema in the upper extremity. This ΔCSA correlated well with parameters, such as the circumference, volumetry, and bioimpedance analysis (BIA) in healthy people and upper extremity lymphedema patients. This study examined whether a US measurement technique is clinically useful in patients with lymphedema in the lower extremity.

The Impact of COVID-19 Protocols on the Continuity of Care for Patients with Hypertension.

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the continuity of care (COC) for patients with hypertension. Additionally, the factor of whether participants were treated via telemedicine was also considered. This study used the National Health Insurance and Medical Aid claims data of the Republic of Korea between 2019 and 2020.

pH-Dependent interaction mechanism of lignin nanofilms.

Lignin has been spotlighted as an abundant renewable bioresource for use in material technologies and applications such as biofuels, binders, composites, and nanomaterials for drug delivery. However, owing to its complex and irregular structure, it is difficult to investigate its fundamental interaction mechanism, which is necessary to promote its use. In this study, a surface forces apparatus (SFA) was used to investigate the pH-dependent molecular interactions between a lignin nanofilm and five functionalized self-assembled monolayers (SAMs).

The Effects of Social Media Use on Preventive Behaviors during Infectious Disease Outbreaks: The Mediating Role of Self-relevant Emotions and Public Risk Perception.

While there has been increasing attention to the role of social media during infectious disease outbreaks, relatively little is known about the underlying mechanisms by which social media use affects risk perception and preventive behaviors during such outbreaks. Using data collected during the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak in South Korea, this study explores the relationships among social media use, risk perception, and preventive behaviors by examining the mediating role of two self-relevant emotions: fear and anger. The findings demonstrate that social media use is positively related to both of these emotions, which are also positively related to the public's risk perception.

Establishment of a platform of non-small-cell lung cancer patient-derived xenografts with clinical and genomic annotation.

Background: Preclinical models that can better predict therapeutic activity in clinical trials are needed in this era of personalized cancer treatment. Herein, we established genomically and clinically annotated patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) from non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and investigated whether these PDXs would faithfully recapitulate patient responses to targeted therapy.

Methods: Patient-derived tumors were implanted in immunodeficient mice and subsequently expanded via re-implantation.

Gender gap in self-rated health in South Korea compared with the United States.

Addressing the gender gap issue is a key to the reduction of the health gap between and within nations. This study aimed to describe gender differences in SRH of populations in South Korea and the United States (U.S.

Sexually Transmitted Infections and First Sexual Intercourse Age in Adolescents: The Nationwide Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are major causes of medical and psychological problems globally, while adolescents in South Korea have recently shown rapid changes in sexual behaviors.

Aims: We aimed to examine the association between the age of first sexual intercourse and the experience of STIs among adolescents. Additionally, in which specific time period would more likely to get infected from sexual intercourse.

Is secondhand smoke associated with stress in smokers and non-smokers?

Background: Secondhand Smoking (SHS) has been suggested as a major health problem in the world and is known to cause various negative health effects that have in turn caused the deaths of almost 600,000 people per year. Evidence has suggested that SHS may have an effect on health problems and such findings have influenced the implementation of smoking-free areas. However, few studies have investigated the effects of SHS on stress which is considered major risk factor for mental health.

Associations of volume and other hospital characteristics on mortality within 30 days of acute myocardial infarction in South Korea.

Objective: The mortality for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has declined worldwide. However, improvements in care for AMI in South Korea have lagged slightly behind those in other countries. Therefore, it is important to investigate how factors such as hospital volume, structural characteristics of hospital and hospital staffing level affect 30-day mortality due to AMI in South Korea.

Effects of social activity on health-related quality of life according to age and gender: an observational study.

Background: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between types and amount of social activity and health-related quality of life according to gender and age group.

Methods: This study used data from the Community Health Survey (CHS), which was collected in 2011 and consisted of 229,226 participants aged 19 or older. A linear mixed effects model was used to evaluate the factors influencing health-related quality of life among individuals tracked in the CHS and, in particular, to analyze the associations between the amount and types of social activities participated in and the EuroQol EQ-5D assessment.

The outcomes of psychiatric inpatients by proportion of experienced psychiatrists and nurse staffing in hospital: New findings on improving the quality of mental health care in South Korea.

Readmission rates for mental health care are higher in South Korea than other Organization for Economic Development (OECD) countries. Therefore, it is worthwhile to continue investigating how to reduce readmissions. Taking a novel approach, we determined the relationship between psychiatrist experience and mental health care readmission rates.

Quality of life correlation with socioeconomic status in Korean hepatitis-B patients: a cross sectional study.

Background: In Korea, more than two-thirds of hepatocellular carcinoma patients are hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen-seropositive. The effects of HBV infection on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are important aspects in the overall management of HBV infection. However, other effects of other parameters on HBV patient HRQoL remain unknown and require clarification.

Positive correlation between care given by specialists and registered nurses and improved outcomes for stroke patients.

Background: Cerebrovascular diseases are the second-highest cause of death in South Korea (9.6% of all causes of mortality in 2013). South Korea has a shortage of trained medical personnel compared with other countries and the demands for health care are continuously increasing.

The impact of job status on quality of life: general population versus long-term cancer survivors.

Objective: Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Recently, survival rates of cancer patients have been improving. Many patients are diagnosed with cancer at an age when their career is an important component of their lives, and job status can have a significant impact on health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

Synergistic effect of interaction between perceived health and social activity on depressive symptoms in the middle-aged and elderly: a population-based longitudinal study.

Objective: To examine the synergistic effect of interaction between perceived health and social activity on depressive symptoms.

Methods: We investigated whether the interaction between perceived health and social activity has a synergistic effect on depressive symptoms in the middle-aged and elderly using data from 6590 respondents aged 45 and older in the Korean Longitudinal Study on Aging (KLoSA), 2006-2012. A generalised linear mixed-effects model was used to investigate the association in a longitudinal data form.