A Case of Nasolacrimal Duct Obstruction Caused by a Lacrimal Sac Retention Cyst.

Acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction may result from chronic infection, lacrimal stones, anatomical variations such as aberrant ethmoid cells, facial fractures, or complications following nasal surgery. In Korea, there has been no reported case of secondary nasolacrimal duct obstruction due to a retention cyst in the lacrimal sac. Recently, the authors encountered a 65-year-old female patient who presented with epiphora, was diagnosed with a lacrimal sac retention cyst, and was successfully treated with endoscopic marsupialization.

Application of operating scenarios and analysis of unstable flow characteristics at various angles of inlet guide vane.

In this study, we analyzed the performance characteristics of an axial flow pump with different angles of internally installed inlet guide vanes (IGVs). We predicted the pump's performance based on changes in the IGV angle and analyzed the impact of these angle variations on pump operation in the low-flow region. Additionally, we used real operational data from two sewage treatment plants to propose efficient operational scenarios.

Spiking neural networks for physiological and speech signals: a review.

The integration of Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs) into the analysis and interpretation of physiological and speech signals has emerged as a groundbreaking approach, offering enhanced performance and deeper insights into the underlying biological processes. This review aims to summarize key advances, methodologies, and applications of SNNs within these domains, highlighting their unique ability to mimic the temporal dynamics and efficiency of the human brain. We dive into the core principles of SNNs, their neurobiological underpinnings, and the computational advantages they bring to signal processing, particularly in handling the temporal and spatial complexities inherent in physiological and speech data.

Analysis of taVNS effects on autonomic and central nervous systems in healthy young adults based on HRV, EEG parameters.

Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS), a non-invasive method of stimulating the vagus nerve, simultaneously affects the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and central nervous system (CNS) through efferent and afferent pathways. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of taVNS on the ANS and CNS through heart rate variability (HRV) and electroencephalography (EEG) parameters of identified responders.Two sets of data were collected from each of 10 healthy adult male subjects in their 20 s, and five HRV parameters from the time domain (RMSSD, pNN50, pNN30, pNN20, ppNNx) and two EEG parameters (power of alpha band, power of delta band) were extracted.

Multiscale distribution entropy analysis of short epileptic EEG signals.

This paper proposes an information-theoretic measure for discriminating epileptic patterns in short-term electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings. Considering nonlinearity and nonstationarity in EEG signals, quantifying complexity has been preferred. To decipher abnormal epileptic EEGs, i.

Effects of Game-Related Tasks for the Diagnosis and Classification of Gaming Disorder.

Gaming disorder (GD) is an addictive behavior characterized by an insatiable need to play video games and shares similar symptoms with the failure of self-control due to a decline in cognitive function. Current GD diagnostic and screening tools rely on questionnaires and behavioral observations related to cognitive functions to assess an individual's capacity to maintain self-control in everyday life. However, current GD screening approaches rely on subjective symptoms, and a reliable diagnosis requires long-term clinical follow-up.

Numerical study on the hydrodynamic performance and internal flow of an axial-flow pump with various inlet flow angles.

In this study, numerical simulation was employed to predict the performance and internal flow characteristics of the inlet of an axial-flow pump by assigning an absolute flow angle to the inlet guide vane (IGV) trailing-edge flow. Further, the finite volume method based on the three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations was employed to discretize the governing equations. The shear stress transport model was used as the turbulence model, and an appropriate number of nodes were selected for the hexahedral grid system through a grid-dependency test.

Multiscale Cumulative Residual Dispersion Entropy with Applications to Cardiovascular Signals.

Heart rate variability (HRV) is used as an index reflecting the adaptability of the autonomic nervous system to external stimuli and can be used to detect various heart diseases. Since HRVs are the time series signal with nonlinear property, entropy has been an attractive analysis method. Among the various entropy methods, dispersion entropy (DE) has been preferred due to its ability to quantify the time series' underlying complexity with low computational cost.

HGTree v2.0: a comprehensive database update for horizontal gene transfer (HGT) events detected by the tree-reconciliation method.

HGTree is a database that provides horizontal gene transfer (HGT) event information on 2472 prokaryote genomes using the tree-reconciliation method. HGTree was constructed in 2015, and a large number of prokaryotic genomes have been additionally published since then. To cope with the rapid rise of prokaryotic genome data, we present HGTree v2.

Effects of Task-Based LSVT-BIG Intervention on Hand Function, Activity of Daily Living, Psychological Function, and Quality of Life in Parkinson's Disease: A Randomized Control Trial.

Previous studies have demonstrated that the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment-BIG (LSVT-BIG) program can improve motor functions such as balance and gait in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. However, no study has investigated the effects of a task-based LSVT-BIG intervention on hand function, psychological function, and quality of life in PD patients. Herein, we investigate the effects of a task-based LSVT-BIG intervention, which reflects the needs of PD patients, on hand function, activity of daily living (ADL), psychological function, and quality of life.

Numerical investigation on functional limitations of the anti-stall fin for an axial fan: one-factor analyses.

The stall in an axial fan is directly related to detrimental phenomena such as performance degradation, vibration, noise, and flow instability at low flow rates. As a kind of passive control method to handle the stall, two-dimensional plates so-named anti-stall fin (ASF) were suggested by ourselves and were attached inside the casing. In this study, the ASF's effect on the internal flow pattern was visually investigated in the flow passage, and its tendency was discussed with the performance curve.

The increased analgesic efficacy of cold therapy after an unsuccessful analgesic experience is associated with inferior parietal lobule activation.

Prior experiences of successful and failed treatments are known to influence the efficacy of a newly applied treatment. However, whether that carry-over effect applies to non-pharmacological treatments is unknown. This study investigated how a failed treatment history with placebo analgesic cream affected the therapeutic outcomes of cold-pack treatment.

Positive Effect of Lactobacillus acidophilus EG004 on Cognitive Ability of Healthy Mice by Fecal Microbiome Analysis Using Full-Length 16S-23S rRNA Metagenome Sequencing.

Evidence for the concept of the "gut-brain axis" (GBA) has risen. Many types of research demonstrated the mechanism of the GBA and the effect of probiotic intake. Although many studies have been reported, most were focused on neurodegenerative disease and, it is still not clear what type of bacterial strains have positive effects.

Influential Factors for Sustainable Intention to Visit a National Park during COVID-19: The Extended Theory of Planned Behavior with Perception of Risk and Coping Behavior.

Despite the danger of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, visits to natural tourism destinations such as national parks are continuing, though people are using less congested trails or minimizing personal contact. Given the danger from COVID-19, the purpose of our study was to use an expanded theory of planned behavior to analyze whether tourists intend to continue to visit national parks. Another purpose for our study was to compare an extant research model based on the theory of planned behavior with the extended model we developed.

Complete Genome Sequence of the Newly Developed Strain With Improved Thermal Adaptability.

() is a representative probiotic and is widely used in many industrial products for its beneficial effects on human and animal health. This bacterium is exposed to harsh environments such as high temperatures for manufacturing industrial products, but cell yield under high temperatures is relatively low. To resolve this issue, we developed a new strain with improved heat resistance while retaining the existing beneficial properties through the adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) method.

Enhancing SSVEP-Based Brain-Computer Interface with Two-Step Task-Related Component Analysis.

Among various methods for frequency recognition of the steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)-based brain-computer interface (BCI) study, a task-related component analysis (TRCA), which extracts discriminative spatial filters for classifying electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, has gathered much interest. The TRCA-based SSVEP method yields lower computational cost and higher classification performance compared to existing SSVEP methods. In spite of its utility, the TRCA-based SSVEP method still suffers from the degradation of the frequency recognition rate in cases where EEG signals with a short length window are used.

Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Low-Level Laser Therapy in Patients with Perennial Allergic Rhinitis: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a common disease that interferes with the daily activities and reduces the quality of life. Conventional treatments often do not provide complete resolution of the symptoms, and many new treatment modalities have been tried. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) for AR in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Dexamethasone and post-adenotonsillectomy pain in children: Double-blind, randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To assess the impact of intraoperative intravenous dexamethasone on the reduction of postoperative morbidity in children undergoing adenotonsillectomy.

Methods: A double blind randomized controlled trial conducted among children undergoing adenotonsillectomy at a tertiary hospital in Korea from November 2018 to June 2019. Children were randomly assigned to receive dexamethasone (0.

Correlation between short-time and whole-night obstruction level tests for patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Identification of obstructive level is crucial for successful surgical outcomes in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Unfortunately, most of the dynamic airway evaluations are performed for a short duration under drug-induced sleep; therefore, it is uncertain whether they represent airway events that occur during a whole night of sleep. This study was aimed to evaluate the correlation between obstructive levels that were identified by a short-time and a whole-night test in patients with OSA.

Increased Risk of Psychopathological Abnormalities in Subjects With Unilateral Hearing Loss: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objectives: Although unilateral hearing loss (UHL) has been proven to be associated with educational and behavioral problems, few studies have investigated psychopathological abnormalities in this population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychopathological influence of UHL among Korean 19-year-old males.

Methods: The authors retrospectively compared the objective personality test profiles of 602 subjects with UHL with those of 23,790 peers with normal hearing.

Evaluation of the Esthetic and Functional Outcomes of Extracorporeal Septoplasty for Rhinoplasty in Asian Patients.

Objectives: In extracorporeal septoplasty (ECS), the entire septal cartilage is harvested, and a neo-L strut is built extracorporeally. Thus, ECS can simultaneously achieve septum straightening and tip projection. This study evaluated the functional and esthetic outcomes of the ECS technique for rhinoplasty in Asian patients.

Multiscale Distribution Entropy Analysis of Short-Term Heart Rate Variability.

Electrocardiogram (ECG) signal has been commonly used to analyze the complexity of heart rate variability (HRV). For this, various entropy methods have been considerably of interest. The multiscale entropy (MSE) method, which makes use of the sample entropy (SampEn) calculation of coarse-grained time series, has attracted attention for analysis of HRV.

Results of Hearing Outcome According to the Alloplastic Ossicular Prosthesis Materials.

The aim of this study is to compare the functional results and extrusion rates according to the type of ossciular alloplastic prosthesis. In this study, a retrospective analysis was performed. Sixty-one patients were involved in partial ossicular replacement (POR) cases and 70 patients were involved in total osscicular replacement (TOR) cases.

Effects of Mixed Bone and Brisket Meat on Physico-Chemical Characteristics of Shank Bone and Rib Extracts from Hanwoo.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of mixed bone and brisket meat on the quality characteristics and nutritional components of shank bone extract and rib extract from Hanwoo. The pH values were influenced by the raw bones, mixed bone, brisket meat and their interactions (p<0.05).