Towards Meaningful Interpretation of Molecular Data: Insights Gained from HMMD Challenges in Detection for Future NGS Integration in Clinical Microbiology.

With advancements in molecular diagnostics, including Highly Multiplexed Microbiological/Medical Countermeasure Diagnostic Devices (HMMDs) and the impending integration of Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) into clinical microbiology, interpreting the flood of nucleic acid data in a clinically meaningful way has become a crucial challenge. This study focuses on the Luminex xTAG Gastrointestinal Pathogen Panel (GPP) for detection, evaluating the impact of MFI threshold adjustments on diagnostic accuracy and exploring the need for an "indeterminate" result category to enhance clinical utility in molecular diagnostics. A retrospective review of -positive cases detected via the Luminex xTAG GPP was conducted from June 2016 to November 2023.

Improved Consistency of Lung Nodule Categorization in CT Scans with Heterogeneous Slice Thickness by Deep Learning-Based 3D Super-Resolution.

: Accurate volumetric assessment of lung nodules is an essential element of low-dose lung cancer screening programs. Current guidance recommends applying specific thresholds to measured nodule volume to make the following clinical decisions. In reality, however, CT scans often have heterogeneous slice thickness which is known to adversely impact the accuracy of nodule volume assessment.

Automatic Reproduction of Natural Head Position in Orthognathic Surgery Using a Geometric Deep Learning Network.

: Accurate determination of the natural head position (NHP) is essential in orthognathic surgery for optimal surgical planning and improved patient outcomes. However, traditional methods encounter reproducibility issues and rely on external devices or patient cooperation, potentially leading to inaccuracies in the surgical plan. : To address these limitations, we developed a geometric deep learning network (NHP-Net) to automatically reproduce NHP from CT scans.

Controlled Tensile Behavior of Pre-Cured PDMS via Advanced Bonding Techniques.

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is extensively employed in applications ranging from flexible electronics to microfluidics due to its elasticity, transparency, and biocompatibility. However, enhancing interfacial adhesion and tensile properties remains a challenge for applications demanding high mechanical stability. To this end, this study introduced a novel bonding technique using crosslinkers as adhesive layers to improve the mechanical performance of PDMS.

Impact of mild traumatic brain injury on health behaviors.

Health-related behavioral changes may occur following traumatic brain injury. We focused on understanding the impact of mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) on health-related behaviors and identifying factors associated with such changes. We utilized health check-up records from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database spanning January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2017.

Patient satisfaction and feasibility with a novel drug-injectable urethral catheter set for hyaluronic acid administration: a multicenter randomized trial.

Reducing the risk of urethral strictures after transurethral surgery for patients with bladder cancer requires effective strategies. We compared the clinical outcomes of a novel drug-injectable urethral catheter set (NIUS) with hyaluronic acid (HA) with those of the conventional intraurethral HA injection method. This six-center, prospective, randomized, single-blind trial included 192 male patients aged ≥ 20 years scheduled to undergo transurethral surgery.

GC1126A, a novel ADAMTS13 mutein, evades autoantibodies in immune-mediated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.

Immune-mediated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (iTTP) is a rare and life-threatening blood disorder characterized by the formation of blood clots in small blood vessels. It is caused by antibodies targeting the A disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin type 1 repeats, member 13 (ADAMTS13), which plays a role in cleaving von Willebrand factor. Most patients with iTTP have autoantibodies against specific domains of the ADAMTS13 protein, particularly the cysteine-rich and spacer domains.

Increased local DNA methylation disorder in AMLs with DNMT3A-destabilizing variants and its clinical implication.

The mechanistic link between the complex mutational landscape of de novo methyltransferase DNMT3A and the pathology of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has not been clearly elucidated so far. Motivated by a recent discovery of the significance of DNMT3A-destabilizing mutations (DNMT3A) in AML, we here investigate the common characteristics of DNMT3A AML methylomes through computational analyses. We present that methylomes of DNMT3A AMLs are considerably different from those of DNMT3A AMLs in that they exhibit increased intratumor DNA methylation heterogeneity in bivalent chromatin domains.

Clinically significant hemoptysis and all-cause mortality in patients with nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease.

Background: Hemoptysis is one of the major symptoms in patients with nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD). However, its prevalence, incidence, and impact on long-term prognosis remain uncertain. We evaluated the incidence of clinically significant hemoptysis, and determined its association with mortality in patients with NTM-PD.

Microplastic pollution in the marine environment: Distribution factors and mitigation strategies in different oceans.

As the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, plastic usage spiked, and microplastic (MP) generation has increased dramatically. It is documented that MP can transfer from the source to the ocean environment where they accumulate as the destination. Therefore, it is essential to understand their transferring pathways and effective environmental factors to determine the distribution of MPs in the marine environment.

Dietary exposure assessment of 9 food emulsifiers to Korean population and their health effects.

In this study, dietary exposures to 9 food emulsifiers, including 4 polysorbates and 5 esters of fatty acids, were assessed in Korean population. For the exposure assessment, three scenarios of the consumption, including mean and P95 in whole population and mean in consumed population, were applied. As a result, the EDIs of 9 emulsifiers were overall low compared to the ADIs.

Influence of temperature on growth and reproduction of keystone species, Crangon hakodatei (Caridea, Crangonidae) in the East Sea of Korea.

The rapid rise in temperature due to climate change has raised concerns about its impact on the keystone species Crangon hakodatei in the East Sea of Korea. However, no studies have examined the population characteristics of C. hakodatei or its response to temperature change along the coast.

Development and validation of spatial disorientation scenarios using virtual reality and motion simulator.

Spatial Disorientation (SD) can cause critical aviation accidents by adversely affecting the pilot's ability to perform a flight mission. One of the strategies to improve pilots' ability to deal with SD is to perform SD training using Virtual Reality and Motion Simulator (VRMS) system. However, there is still a lack of studies that investigated the application of VRMS for SD training.

Current understanding of the etiology, diagnosis, treatment, and management of peri-implant diseases: a narrative review for the consensus report of the Korean Academy of Periodontology.

Over the past few decades, dental implants have been successfully utilized to replace teeth lost due to periodontal disease and other conditions. However, similar to natural teeth, dental implants are vulnerable to inflammatory peri-implant diseases, which can compromise their long-term viability. This review aims to summarize the current understanding of peri-implant diseases and discuss effective strategies for their diagnosis, treatment, and long-term management.

Increased Risk of End-Stage Kidney Disease After Traumatic Amputation: Nationwide Cohort Study.

Background: Amputation confers disabilities upon patients and is associated with substantial cardiovascular and metabolic morbidity and mortality. We aimed to compare the incidence of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) between individuals with amputation and the general population.

Methods: A population-based retrospective cohort study was performed using the Nationwide Health Insurance Service database for the period between 2010 and 2018.

Rise in intraluminal temperature during ureteroscopy: Is this a concern?

The global increase in urolithiasis prevalence has led to a shift towards minimally invasive procedures, such as retrograde intrarenal surgery, supported by advancements in laser technologies for lithotripsy. Pulsed lasers, particularly the holmium YAG and the newer thulium fiber laser, have significantly transformed the management of upper urinary tract stones. However, the use of high-power lasers in these procedures introduces risks of heat-related injury.

Comparison of GastroPanel and GENEDIA in Diagnosing Infection and Gastric Lesions.

Serological tests for needs local validation as the diagnostic accuracy may vary depending on the prevalence of . . This study examined the diagnostic performance of two ELISA, GastroPanel (GastroPanel ELISA; Biohit Oyj) and GENEDIA (GENEDIA .

Non-canonical Function of Prolyl Hydroxylase Domain 2 in Breast Cancer Cell Growth and Progression: Role of Peptidyl-prolyl Cis-trans Isomerase NIMA-interacting 1.

Prolyl hydroxylase domain 2 (PHD2) is the primary oxygen sensing enzyme involved in hydroxylation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF). Under normoxic conditions, PHD2 hydroxylates specific proline residues in HIF-1α and HIF-2α, promoting their ubiquitination and subsequent proteasomal degradation. Although PHD2 activity decreases in hypoxia, notable residual activity persists, but its function in these conditions remains unclear Peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase NIMA-interacting 1 (Pin1) targets proteins with phosphorylated serine/threonine-proline (pSer/Thr-Pro) motifs.

Relationship between Cancer Incidence and Health Behaviors from Ecological Study in Korea.

The aim of this ecological study was to examine the correlation between cancer incidence and health behaviors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and obesity, and investigated whether there were differences in this correlation between metropolitan areas and other regions. Data on health behaviors exposure/prevalence and cancer incidence rates for 227 administrative districts (cities and counties) were obtained. The average exposure proportion measured annually from 2008 to 2011 in the Korea Community Health Survey data and the age-standardized cancer incidence data from 2014 to 2018, obtained through the cancer registry data, were downloaded from the Statistics Korea website.

Secreted LGALS3BP facilitates distant metastasis of breast cancer.

Background: Patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer (BC) can be treated with endocrine therapy targeting ER, however, metastatic recurrence occurs in 25% of the patients who have initially been treated. Secreted proteins from tumors play important roles in cancer metastasis but previous methods for isolating secretory proteins had limitations in identifying novel targets.

Methods: We applied an in situ secretory protein labeling technique using TurboID to analyze secretome from tamoxifen-resistant (TAMR) BC.

A robust multimodal brain MRI-based diagnostic model for migraine: validation across different migraine phases and longitudinal follow-up data.

Inter-individual variability in symptoms and the dynamic nature of brain pathophysiology present significant challenges in constructing a robust diagnostic model for migraine. In this study, we aimed to integrate different types of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), providing structural and functional information, and develop a robust machine learning model that classifies migraine patients from healthy controls by testing multiple combinations of hyperparameters to ensure stability across different migraine phases and longitudinally repeated data. Specifically, we constructed a diagnostic model to classify patients with episodic migraine from healthy controls, and validated its performance across ictal and interictal phases, as well as in a longitudinal setting.