The impact of common and rare genetic variants on bradyarrhythmia development.

To broaden our understanding of bradyarrhythmias and conduction disease, we performed common variant genome-wide association analyses in up to 1.3 million individuals and rare variant burden testing in 460,000 individuals for sinus node dysfunction (SND), distal conduction disease (DCD) and pacemaker (PM) implantation. We identified 13, 31 and 21 common variant loci for SND, DCD and PM, respectively.

Gastric Stenosis Four Years After Adjustable Gastric Band Removal Surgery-A Video Case Report.

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) is a type of bariatric surgery. Gastric stenosis or obstruction is a known complication of LAGB; however, its occurrence after band removal is extremely rare. A 60-year-old female, who had undergone LAGB 6 years earlier and band removal 4 years prior, presented to the hospital with recurrent vomiting.

Hidden route of protein damage through oxygen-confined photooxidation.

Oxidative modifications can disrupt protein folds and functions, and are strongly associated with human aging and diseases. Conventional oxidation pathways typically involve the free diffusion of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which primarily attack the protein surface. Yet, it remains unclear whether and how internal protein folds capable of trapping oxygen (O) contribute to oxidative damage.

Influence of Organ-Specific Extranodal Involvement on Survival Outcomes in Stage IV Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.

Background: The prognostic significance of extranodal sites in stage IV diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) remains uncertain, making it challenging to select appropriate treatment strategies for individual patients. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the influence of different extranodal sites on prognosis in young patients with stage IV DLBCL who achieved complete remission (CR) following initial chemo-immunotherapy and to explore the potential of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (ASCT) as a consolidation treatment for specific patient subgroups.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data from 119 patients with DLBCL aged < 60 years who achieved CR after chemo-immunotherapy between 2008 and 2020.

Management of eosinophilic otitis media in the era of biological therapy: systematic review and proportion meta-analysis.

Background: Eosinophilic otitis media (EOM) is a recently recognised type 2 inflammatory disease, strongly associated with asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps. Known as a difficult-to-treat condition, EOM is often refractory to traditional therapies for (chronic) otitis media. This review aims to assess the success rates of the different interventions for patients with EOM including newly available biological therapy.

Synthetic polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography using contrastive unpaired translation.

Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) measures the polarization state of backscattered light from tissues and provides valuable insights into the birefringence properties of biological tissues. Contrastive unpaired translation (CUT) was used in this study to generate a synthetic PS-OCT image from a single OCT image. The challenges related to extensive data requirements relying on labeled datasets using only pixel-wise correlations that make it difficult to efficiently regenerate the periodic patterns observed in PS-OCT images were addressed.

Integrated analysis of rumen metabolomics and metataxonomics to understand changes in metabolic and microbial community in Korean native goats under heat stress.

Heat stress (HS) is an impactful condition in ruminants that negatively affects their physiological and rumen microbial composition. However, a fundamental understanding of metabolomic and metataxonomic mechanisms in goats under HS conditions is lacking. Here, we analyzed the rumen metabolomics, metataxonomics, and serum metabolomics of goats (n = 10, body weight: 41.

Automated Measurement of Effective Radiation Dose by F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography.

Background/objectives: Calculating the radiation dose from CT in F-PET/CT examinations poses a significant challenge. The objective of this study is to develop a deep learning-based automated program that standardizes the measurement of radiation doses.

Methods: The torso CT was segmented into six distinct regions using TotalSegmentator.

High p16 expression in glioblastoma is associated with senescence phenotype and better prognosis.

Glioblastoma, isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-wildtype (GBM), is the most malignant brain tumor in adults, with limited therapeutic intervention. Previous studies have identified a few prognostic markers for GBM, including the methylation status of O-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter, TERT promoter mutation, EGFR amplification, and CDKN2A/2B deletion. However, the classification of GBM remains incomplete, necessitating a comprehensive analysis.

Prevalence and outcomes of nonmass lesions detected on screening breast ultrasound based on ultrasound features.

Purpose: To determine how often non-mass lesions are seen in screening breast ultrasounds, and analyze their ultrasound features according to the ultrasound lexicon to find features suggestive of malignant non-mass lesions.

Methods: This study is a single center retrospective study for nonmass lesions on screening breast ultrasound. Among 21,604 patients who underwent screening breast US, there were 279 patients with nonmass lesions.

Outcomes of Acute Subdural Hematoma in Adults with a GCS Score of 3 : An Analysis from Five Regional Trauma Centers.

Objective: Acute Subdural Hematoma (A-SDH) in patients with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 3 presents significant challenges in clinical decision-making owing to high mortality rates and the likelihood of severe disability. Here, we analyzed data to assess the number of surgical treatments and overall treatment outcomes for patients with A-SDH admitted in a comatose state and discussed the value of such aggressive surgical interventions based on these findings.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using data from five regional trauma centers in Korea registered with the Korean Neurotrauma Data Bank System.

Application of apparent diffusion coefficient of extraocular muscles from diffusion tensor imaging scanning in the assessment of disease activity of thyroid eye disease.

Purpose: To evaluate the utility of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of extraocular muscles (EOMs) in differentiating activity of thyroid eye disease (TED).

Method: Forty-two TED patients who underwent diffusion tensor imaging(DTI) were retrospectively enrolled in this study, including 29 patients in analysis group and 13 patients in validation group. The mean, maximum and minimum ADC value of each EOM were regarded as ADCmean, ADCmax and ADCmin.

Willingness to pay to reduce mortality risks from particulate matter and value of statistical life: Evidence from stated air purifier rental choices in South Korea.

This paper investigates individuals' averting behavior that utilizes a durable good, high-functioning air purifiers, to reduce risk from exposure to coarse (PM) and fine (PM) particulate matter, to estimate a value of statistical life (VSL) for use in benefit-cost analysis in South Korea. We present an interactive risk ladder, developed specifically for this study, to 1218 respondents in a national web-based contingent valuation survey to elicit their perceived risks from the exposure to PM and PM with and without the use of high-functioning air purifiers (i.e.

Predicting the replicability of social and behavioural science claims in COVID-19 preprints.

Replications are important for assessing the reliability of published findings. However, they are costly, and it is infeasible to replicate everything. Accurate, fast, lower-cost alternatives such as eliciting predictions could accelerate assessment for rapid policy implementation in a crisis and help guide a more efficient allocation of scarce replication resources.

Patterns of Extraocular Muscle Enlargement in Graves' Orbitopathy and Acromegaly.

Extraocular muscle (EOM) enlargement occurs in both acromegaly and Graves' disease, but the degree and pattern of enlargement have not been directly compared in these patient groups. This study investigated whether acromegaly and Graves' orbitopathy (GO) are associated with different patterns of EOM enlargement at the time of diagnosis. Retrospective cohort.

In situ forming and self-crosslinkable protein hydrogels for localized cancer therapy and topical wound healing.

Proteins, inherently biocompatible and biodegradable, face a challenge in forming stable hydrogels without external chemical crosslinkers. Here, we construct a ring-shaped trimeric SpyTag-fused Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen Protein (ST-PCNA) as a core protein building block, and a dumbbell-shaped tandem dimeric SpyCatcher (SC-SC) as a bridging component. Self-crosslinked PCNA/SC-SC Protein (2SP) hydrogels are successfully formed by simply mixing the solutions of ST-PCNA and SC-SC, without chemical crosslinkers.

Monocyte to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio as a predictor of the activity of thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy.

Aim: To evaluate the relationship between monocyte to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR) and the disease activity of thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO).

Methods: A total of 87 patients were classified into two groups based on clinical activity score (CAS) scoring criteria: high CAS group (=62, the CAS score was ≥3); low CAS group (=25, the CAS score was <3). In addition, a group of healthy people (=114) were included to compared the MHR.

Protective humoral immunity induced by virus-like particles expressing Toxoplasma gondii CST1 or MIC8.

Protective efficacy assessment of toxoplasmosis vaccines, at least at the preclinical level, frequently involves lethal dose challenge infection. Nonetheless, their efficacies remain largely unexplored against low infection doses which better reflects how humans become infected in the real world. In this study, we compared the immunity elicited in mice that were heterologously immunized with recombinant baculovirus and virus-like particles expressing either the cyst wall protein (CST1) or microneme protein 8 (MIC8) of Toxoplasma gondii (T.

Nonmass Lesions on Breast Ultrasound: Interreader Agreement and Associations With Malignancy.

Nonmass lesions (NMLs) on breast ultrasound lack clear definition and encompass a broad range of benign and malignant entities. Given the anticipated inclusion of NMLs in the BI-RADS 6th edition, a thorough understanding of these lesions will be critical for their optimal management. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate interreader agreement for classification of lesions observed on breast ultrasound as NMLs and to identify the imaging features associated with malignancy in these lesions.

A retrospective comparison of Coronal Plane Alignment of the Knee.

Background: Unicompartmental arthritic degeneration is treated by unicompartmental knee arthroplasties (UKA). The two current standards are mechanical alignment, where knee placement is perpendicular to the leg's mechanical axis and kinematic alignment, that consists of aligning the knee with the angles specific to the patient's innate bone structure. The purpose of this study was to compare knee alignment between mechanical and kinematic UKA.

The value of signal intensity ratios of orbital tissue to white matter of orbital MRI in evaluating graves' orbitopathy.

Absract: PURPOSE: To investigate the signal intensity ratio (SIR) of orbital tissue to white matter in orbital magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for assessing graves' orbitopathy (GO).

Methods: This study enrolled a total of 42 patients (79 eyes) with GO as the GO group, 10 patients (20 eyes) diagnosed with graves' disease (GD) without orbitopathy during the same period as the GD group, and 23 normal individuals with negative MRI results and no thyroid or eye diseases as the healthy control (HC) group. The signal intensity of the lacrimal gland (LG), extraocular muscle (EOM), ipsilateral temporal muscle (TM), ramus mandibulae, and white matter (WM) on MRI images was measured.

Reductive Dissolution Mechanisms of Manganese Oxide Mediated by Algal Extracellular Organic Matter and the Effects on 17α-Ethinylestradiol Removal.

Reductive dissolution of manganese oxide (MnO) is a major process that improves the availability of manganese in natural aquatic environments. The extracellular organic matter (EOM) secreted by algae omnipresent in eutrophic waters may affect MnO dissolution thus the fate of organic micropollutants. This study investigates the mechanisms of MnO reductive dissolution mediated by EOM and examines the effects of this process on 17α-ethinylestradiol degradation.

If it is a solid tumor target, then it may be a hematologic cancer target: Bridging the great divide.

Tumor-agnostic US Food and Drug Administration approvals are transforming oncology. They include larotrectinib/entrectinib/repotrectinib (NTRK fusions), selpercatinib (RET fusions), dabrafenib/trametinib (BRAF mutations), pembrolizumab/dostarlimab (microsatellite instability), pembrolizumab (high tumor mutational burden), and trastuzumab deruxtecan (HER2 3+ expression) (all solid cancers). Pemigatinib is approved for FGFR1-rearranged myeloid/lymphoid neoplasms.

Usefulness of computed tomography findings for predicting soft tissue sarcoma grades.

Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) constitute a heterogeneous group of tumors that originate from mesenchymal cells. Imaging plays an important role in the assessment of the oncological stage of STSs. Computed tomography findings facilitate the identification of the tumor location and margins in relation to the surrounding anatomic boundaries and thereby enable preoperative planning of tumor management.

Antibacterial and Anti-biofilm Effects of Thymoquinone Against Carbapenem-Resistant Uropathogenic .

Carbapenem antibiotics are widely used for their broad antibacterial effects, but the emergence of carbapenem-resistant has recently become a global problem. To solve this problem, research is needed to find compounds that increase antibiotic activity. Therefore, this study aimed to validate the antibacterial and anti-biofilm effects, as well as the inhibition of gene expression of thymoquinone, an extract of commonly used as a spice in many dishes.