Strong Hydrophobic Interaction of High Molecular Weight Chitosan in Aqueous Solution.

Chitosan is a versatile bioactive polysaccharide in various industries, such as pharmaceuticals and environmental applications, owing to its abundance, biodegradability, biocompatibility, and antibacterial properties. To effectively harness its potential for various purposes, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms of its interaction in water. This study investigates the interactions between high molecular weight (HMW, >150 kDa) chitosan and four different functionalized self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) at three different pHs (3.

Navigating the Discussion of Mental Illness With Korean Americans.

Korean Americans have one of the highest rates of depression of the Asian subgroups in the United States, and they have culture-related factors that affect their mental health. It is important for health care providers to understand the cultural considerations of Korean Americans to better address their mental health. This review article delves into the pertinent cultural practices of Korean Americans for navigating discussions of mental health.

Deep neuromuscular blockade during radiofrequency catheter ablation under general anesthesia reduces the prevalence of atrial fibrillation recurrence when compared to moderate neuromuscular blockade: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Proper anesthesia management is required to maintain immobilization and stable breathing of the patient to improve catheter contact and stability during catheter ablation for PVI. However, it remains unclear whether the depth of neuromuscular blockade affects the results of RFCA under general anesthesia.

Methods: The patients were randomly assigned to either the moderate neuromuscular blockade group (Group M, train-of-four 1 to 2) or the deep neuromuscular blockade group (Group D, posttetanic count 1-2).

Impact of Atrial Fibrillation Diagnosis-to-Ablation Time on 24-Month Efficacy and Safety Outcomes in the Cryo Global Registry.

Background And Aims: Early rhythm-control therapy in atrial fibrillation (AF) results in higher freedom from atrial arrhythmia (AA) recurrence and improved cardiovascular outcomes. The optimal timing of Cryoballoon ablation (CBA) is unknown.

Methods: We evaluated AA recurrence and procedure-related complications of early vs.

The Longitudinal Effect of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Risk of All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality in Korean Adults: Results From the Health Examinees Study.

Objective: High consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is associated with an increased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality; however, the data and results for Asian populations, particularly in Korea, are limited and unclear. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate the association between types of SSB consumption and risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality in South Korean adults.

Methods: This prospective study included Korean adults aged 40 to 79 who participated in the Health Examinees Study.

Machine Learning-Based Diagnosis of Chronic Subjective Tinnitus With Altered Cognitive Function: An Event-Related Potential Study.

Objectives: Due to the absence of objective diagnostic criteria, tinnitus diagnosis primarily relies on subjective assessments. However, its neuropathological features can be objectively quantified using electroencephalography (EEG). Despite the existing research, the pathophysiology of tinnitus remains unclear.

Harnessing Large Language Models to Collect and Analyze Metal-Organic Framework Property Data Set.

This research focused on the efficient collection of experimental metal-organic framework (MOF) data from scientific literature to address the challenges of accessing hard-to-find data and improving the quality of information available for machine learning studies in materials science. Utilizing a chain of advanced large language models (LLMs), we developed a systematic approach to extract and organize MOF data into a structured format. Our methodology successfully compiled information from more than 40,000 research articles, creating a comprehensive and ready-to-use data set.

Age at Menopause and Development of Type 2 Diabetes in Korea.

Importance: There is limited evidence regarding the association between age at menopause and incident type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Objective: To investigate whether age at menopause and premature menopause are associated with T2D incidence in postmenopausal Korean women.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This population-based cohort study was conducted among a nationally representative sample from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database of 1 125 378 postmenopausal women without T2D who enrolled in 2009.

Probing Surface Reactions on Multicomponent Glass Using Reflection-Absorption Infrared Spectroscopy.

The chemical reactivity of glass surfaces is often studied with elemental analysis techniques, and although such characterization methods provide insights on compositional changes from exposure to specific chemical conditions, molecule-specific chemical reactions are not determined unambiguously. This study demonstrates the use of reflection-absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS) to detect molecular species on alkali-free boroaluminosilicate and alkali aluminosilicate glasses, using acetic acid vapor as a model reactant to probe reaction sites at the surface with or without pretreatment by aqueous solutions of varied pH. With the assistance of the theoretical calculation of spectral changes based on refractive indices of bulk materials, it was possible to identify the molecular species being removed and produced at the glass surface.

Cellulose Elementary Fibrils as Deagglomerated Binder for High-Mass-Loading Lithium Battery Electrodes.

Amidst the ever-growing interest in high-mass-loading Li battery electrodes, a persistent challenge has been the insufficient continuity of their ion/electron conduction pathways. Here, we propose cellulose elementary fibrils (CEFs) as a class of deagglomerated binder for high-mass-loading electrodes. Derived from natural wood, CEF represents the most fundamental unit of cellulose with nanoscale diameter.

Role of radiofrequency ablation in the treatment of symptomatic distant metastasis of thyroid cancer.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for the treatment of symptomatic distant metastasis of differentiated thyroid carcinoma.

Materials And Methods: The medical records of 12 patients who underwent RFA for the palliative treatment of 18 symptomatic distant metastases from thyroid cancer between January 2008 and December 2020 were analyzed. All patients were assessed for their degree of discomfort and underwent periodical evaluations as outpatients, including clinical examination, imaging, and serologic markers.

Incorporating Lymph Node Size at CT as an N1 Descriptor in Clinical N Staging for Lung Cancer.

Background The ninth edition of the TNM classification for lung cancer revised the N2 categorization, improving patient stratification, but prognostic heterogeneity remains for the N1 category. Purpose To define the optimal size cutoff for a bulky lymph node (LN) on CT scans and to evaluate the prognostic value of bulky LN in the clinical N staging of lung cancer. Materials and Methods This retrospective study analyzed patients who underwent lobectomy or pneumonectomy for lung cancer between January 2013 and December 2021, divided into development (2016-2021) and validation (2013-2015) cohorts.

Development of a novel fluorescence light-up Pb sensor using a G-quadruplex complex with modified thioflavin T.

Here, we developed a novel, cost-effective fluorescence light-up biosensor for Pb detection based on a label-free G-quadruplex combined with modified thioflavin T (ThT) derivatives. Among the various G-quadruplex sequences tested, only T2 exhibited fluorescence light-up properties upon interacting with the modified ThT derivatives in the presence of Pb. To enhance the Pb sensing system, we also compared modified ThT derivatives, including the newly synthesized propyl-substituted ThT (ThT-P) and butyl-substituted ThT (ThT-B).

Synthesis of IrCu/CoO hybrid nanostructures and their enhanced catalytic properties toward oxygen evolution reaction under both acidic and alkaline conditions.

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a half-reaction that occurs at the anode during water electrolysis, and owing to its slow kinetics, it is the rate-limiting step in the process. Alloying with transition metal and combining with transition metal oxide supports are effective methods for modifying the electronic structure of noble metal catalysts and improving their catalytic properties. In this study, we synthesized IrCu/CoO hybrid nanostructures by attaching IrCu alloy nanoparticles onto CoO nanosheets.

A Korean Patient With Leber Congenital Amaurosis and a Homozygous RPE65 Variant Originating From a Paternal Uniparental Isodisomy.

Background: Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), the most severe form of inherited retinal dystrophy, is a rare, heterogeneous, genetic eye disease associated with severe congenital visual impairment. RPE65, one of the causative genes for LCA, encodes retinoid isomerohydrolase, an enzyme that plays a critical role in regenerating visual pigment in photoreceptor cells.

Methods: Exome sequencing (ES) was performed on a patient with suspected LCA.

Spontaneous Formation of Single-Crystalline Spherulites in a Chiral 2D Hybrid Perovskite.

In two-dimensional (2D) chiral metal-halide perovskites (MHPs), chiral organic spacers induce structural chirality and chiroptical properties in the metal-halide sublattice. This structural chirality enables reversible crystalline-glass phase transitions in (-NEA)PbBr, a prototypical chiral 2D MHP where NEA represents 1-(1-naphthyl)ethylammonium. Here, we investigate two distinct spherulite states of (-NEA)PbBr, exhibiting either radial-like or stripe-like banded patterns depending on the annealing conditions of the amorphous film.

Danshensu sodium salt alleviates muscle atrophy via CaMKII-PGC1α-FoxO3a signaling pathway in D-galactose-induced models.

Sarcopenia is an age-related muscle atrophy syndrome characterized by the loss of muscle strength and mass. Although many agents have been used to treat sarcopenia, there are no successful treatments to date. In this study, we identified Danshensu sodium salt (DSS) as a substantial suppressive agent of muscle atrophy.

χ-sepnet: Deep Neural Network for Magnetic Susceptibility Source Separation.

Magnetic susceptibility source separation (χ-separation), an advanced quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) method, enables the separate estimation of paramagnetic and diamagnetic susceptibility source distributions in the brain. Similar to QSM, it requires solving the ill-conditioned problem of dipole inversion, suffering from so-called streaking artifacts. Additionally, the method utilizes reversible transverse relaxation ( ) to complement frequency shift information for estimating susceptibility source concentrations, requiring time-consuming data acquisition for (e.

Timing for a surgically safe and oncologically prompt pancreatoduodenectomy after preoperative biliary drainage in patients with bile duct cancer.

Background: Preoperative biliary drainage (PBD) is commonly performed in patients with bile duct cancer (BDC). However, data regarding the timing of pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) after PBD are insufficient. This study aimed to investigate the optimal timing for surgically and oncologically safe PD after PBD.

Evaluation of the Therapeutic Potential of the Methanolic Extract and Fractions of Datura stramonium in Paracetamol-intoxicated Rabbits.

Introduction: Datura stramonium (DS) possesses strong medicinal and therapeutic potential but has been rarely evaluated in this context.

Methods: The present study was intended to evaluate the antioxidant, hepatoprotective, and nephroprotective potential of the crude methanolic leaf extract and ethyl acetate, chloroform, n-hexane, and aqueous fractions of DS in paracetamol-intoxicated rabbits. Paracetamol (2 g/Kg BW) was applied to induce liver and kidney injury in rabbits while the methanolic extract and fractions of DS were applied in the dose range of 150 mg/Kg to 300 mg/Kg body weight for 21 days.

Mechanistic Insights into the Eco-Friendly Conifer Cone Extract's Corrosion Inhibition on Steel Rebar and Cement Mortar: An Experimental and Simulation Approach.

This study investigates the corrosion inhibition effects of eco-friendly conifer cone extract (CCE) on steel rebars embedded in cement mortar exposed to 3.5% NaCl under alternate wet/dry cycles. CCE concentrations of 0, 0.

Perforator-Based Propeller Flap Application in Pressure Ulcer Reconstruction: A Comparative Analysis With Advancement Flaps.

Background: Pressure ulcers are a prevalent and debilitating condition, often necessitating surgical reconstruction. Various flap techniques, such as Advancement Flaps (AF) and Perforator-based Propeller Flaps (PBPF), are commonly used for pressure sore reconstruction. While both techniques have proven effective, there is limited research comparing their outcomes in different clinical scenarios.

Ganglioside-incorporating lipid nanoparticles as a polyethylene glycol-free mRNA delivery platform.

Incorporation of polyethylene glycol (PEG) is widely used in lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulation in order to achieve adequate stability due to its stealth properties. However, studies have detected the presence of anti-PEG neutralizing antibodies after PEGylated LNP treatment, which are associated with anaphylaxis, accelerated LNP clearance and premature release of cargo. Here, we report the development of LNPs incorporating ganglioside, a naturally occurring stealth lipid, as a PEG-free alternative.