Intravascular Ultrasound Guided Endovascular Therapy for Femoropopliteal Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical benefits of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) vs. angiography guidance in endovascular therapy through systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data Sources: A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library from inception through to 1 August 2024.

Virus Against Cancer: Paradigm-Shifting Biological Concepts.

Purpose Of Review: Virotherapy has emerged as a promising approach to cancer treatment. Over the past two decades, early-phase clinical trials have demonstrated the safety and promising efficacy of virotherapy in subsets of cancer patients. However, a significant knowledge gap needs to be filled to propel the field further and achieve substantial anti-cancer benefits for more than the current 10-20% of treated patients.

Urinary apolipoprotein A4 as a biomarker for renal allograft injury in kidney transplant recipients.

Chronic renal allograft injury (CRAI) is a major cause of allograft loss in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations of urinary apolipoprotein A4 (ApoA-IV) levels with renal function and rapid renal function decline in KTRs. This study included 50 KTRs.

Spironolactone vs Amiloride for Resistant Hypertension: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Amiloride has been proposed as an alternative to spironolactone for treating resistant hypertension. However, no randomized clinical trials have compared the efficacy of spironolactone and amiloride in patients with resistant hypertension.

Objective: To determine whether amiloride is noninferior to spironolactone in reducing home-measured systolic blood pressure (SBP) in patients with resistant hypertension.

Impact of using oral spherical carbon adsorbent in predialysis chronic kidney disease period on cardiovascular outcome after dialysis therapy.

The oral spherical carbon adsorbent (OSCA), AST-120, has demonstrated efficacy in slowing the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study assessed the impact of OSCA administration during predialysis CKD period on cardiovascular outcomes after dialysis therapy. We conducted a retrospective cohort study with 294 patients, including 98 who received OSCA before dialysis (OSCA group) and 196 matched control by age and sex (control group).

An acoustic bellows-type round window transducer for middle-ear implants.

Background: This study describes the development of output devices for round window middle-ear. To overcome the problems of output devices that apply sound pressure directly to the round window, an acoustic bellows-type round window transducer was implemented by combining a small bellows, acoustic tube, and balanced armature driver.

Methods: The output characteristics of the proposed acoustic bellows-type round window transducer were confirmed through bench tests and distortion measurements.

Long-term outcomes of percutaneous transluminal renal artery intervention: a retrospective study at a single center.

Background: The indications, benefits, and outcomes of percutaneous transluminal renal artery intervention (PTRI) remain controversial. The study purpose was to evaluate the long-term outcomes of PTRI in clinical practice.

Methods: A retrospective review of 217 subjects (254 renal arteries; mean age, 59.

Effects of hydrogen permeation on the mechanical characteristics of electroless nickel-plated free-cutting steel for application to the hydrogen valves of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles.

Electroless nickel plating is a suitable technology for the hydrogen industry because electroless nickel can be mass-produced at a low cost. Investigating in a complex environment where hydrogen permeation and friction/wear work simultaneously is necessary to apply it to hydrogen valves for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. In this research, the effects of hydrogen permeation on the mechanical characteristics of electroless nickel-plated free-cutting steel (SUM 24L) were investigated.

A novel negative pressure isolation device reduces aerosol exposure: A randomized controlled trial.

Background And Aim: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a proliferation of intubation barriers designed to protect healthcare workers from infection. We developed the Suction-Assisted Local Aerosol Containment Chamber (SLACC) and tested it in the operating room. The primary objectives were to determine the ease and safety of airway management with SLACC, and to measure its efficacy of aerosol containment to determine if it significantly reduces exposure to health care workers.

Optimal antithrombotic strategy in patients with atrial fibrillation beyond 1 year after drug-eluting stent implantation: Design and rationale of the randomized ADAPT AF-DES trial.

Background: Both anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapies are recommended after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Although contemporary guidelines recommend discontinuation of antiplatelet therapy 1 year after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation due to excessive bleeding risk, supporting randomized trials are still lacking.

Methods: The ADAPT AF-DES trial is a multicenter, prospective, open-label, randomized, non-inferiority trial, enrolling 960 patients with AF with a CHADS-VASc score > 1, who underwent PCI with DES implantation at least 12 months before enrollment.

Comparing Montreal Cognitive Assessment Performance in Parkinson's Disease Patients: Age- and Education-Adjusted Cutoffs vs. Machine Learning.

Objective: The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is recommended for general cognitive evaluation in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. However, age- and education-adjusted cutoffs specifically for PD have not been developed or systematically validated across PD cohorts with diverse education levels.

Methods: In this retrospective analysis, we utilized data from 1,293 Korean patients with PD whose cognitive diagnoses were determined through comprehensive neuropsychological assessments.

Chimeric oncolytic adenovirus evades neutralizing antibodies from human patients and exhibits enhanced anti-glioma efficacy in immunized mice.

Oncolytic viruses are a promising treatment for patients with high-grade gliomas, but neutralizing antibodies can limit their efficacy in patients with prior virus exposure or upon repeated virus injections. Data from a previous clinical trial using the oncolytic adenovirus Delta-24-RGD showed that generation of anti-viral neutralizing antibodies may affect the long-term survival of glioma patients. Past studies have examined the effects of neutralizing antibodies during systemic virus injections, but largely overlooked their impact during local virus injections into the brain.

Proton pump inhibitors and chronic kidney disease risk: a comparative study with histamine-2 receptor antagonists.

This observational study explored the association between proton pump inhibitor (PPI) and histamine-2 receptor antagonist (H2RA) use and the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Using the National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort (NHIS-NSC) and six-hospital electronic health record (EHR) databases, CKD incidence was analyzed among PPI and H2RA users. Propensity score matching was used to balance baseline characteristics, with 1,869 subjects each in the PPI and H2RA groups from the NHIS-NSC, and 5,967 in EHR databases.

Association Between Body Mass Index and Clinical Outcomes According to Diabetes in Patients Who Underwent Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Background And Objectives: We evaluated the effect of diabetes on the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and clinical outcomes in patients following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stent implantation.

Methods: A total of 6,688 patients who underwent PCI were selected from five different registries led by Korean Multicenter Angioplasty Team. They were categorized according to their BMI into the following groups: underweight (<18.

Modulation of warm temperature-sensitive growth using a phytochrome B dark reversion variant, phyB[G515E], in Arabidopsis and rice.

Introduction: Ambient temperature-induced hypocotyl elongation in Arabidopsis seedlings is sensed by the epidermis-localized phytochrome B (phyB) and transduced into auxin biosynthesis via a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, phytochrome-interacting factor 4 (PIF4). Once synthesized, auxin travels down from the cotyledons to the hypocotyl, triggering hypocotyl cell elongation. Thus, the phyB-PIF4 module involved in thermosensing and signal transduction is a potential genetic target for engineering warm temperature-insensitive plants.

Direct oral anti-Xa anticoagulants versus warfarin in newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation and CKD: the Korean National Health Insurance Data.

Introduction: Despite the benefits of direct oral anti-Xa anticoagulants (DOACs), the risk-benefit profile of DOAC therapy compared to warfarin therapy in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF) and chronic kidney disease (CKD), including end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is uncertain.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study using the Korea National Health Insurance Database from 2013 to 2018. We evaluated patients with incident non-valvular AF and CKD.

Fibroblast growth factor-23 and cardiovascular disease among prevalent hemodialysis patients focusing on residual kidney function.

Background: In patients undergoing incident hemodialysis, increased fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23) levels are associated with the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD), but the influence of residual kidney function (RFK) on this association is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association between FGF-23 levels, RKF, and CVD in patients undergoing prevalent hemodialysis.

Methods: This cross-sectional and longitudinal observational study included 296 patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis for at least three months who were followed up for a median of 44 months.

Perioperative Antiplatelet Strategy in Patients Undergoing Noncardiac Surgery Within One Year After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Background: The optimal antiplatelet therapy (APT) for patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery within 1 year after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is not yet established.

Methods: Patients who underwent non-cardiac surgery within 1 year after second-generation drug-eluting stent implantation were included from a multicenter prospective registry in Korea. The primary endpoint was 30-day net adverse clinical event (NACE), including all-cause death, major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE), and major bleeding events.

Vitamin D and narrowband ultraviolet B phototherapy for chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus.

Background: In addition to improving the serum vitamin D balance, narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) phototherapy can effectively treat chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus (CKD-aP). We investigated the degree of CKD-aP amelioration according to changes in the serum vitamin D level after NB-UVB phototherapy.

Methods: This was a before-after clinical study in patients with refractory CKD-aP on hemodialysis.

Body mass index affecting ticagrelor monotherapy vs. ticagrelor with aspirin in patients with acute coronary syndrome: A pre-specified sub-analysis of the TICO randomized trial.

Background: Although ticagrelor monotherapy after 3-month dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) results in a significantly greater net clinical benefit over that with ticagrelor-based 12-month DAPT in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), it remains uncertain whether this effect is dependent on body mass index (BMI). We aimed to evaluate the BMI-dependent effect of these treatment strategies on clinical outcomes.

Methods: This was a pre-specified subgroup analysis from the TICO trial (Ticagrelor Monotherapy After 3 Months in Patients Treated With New Generation Sirolimus-eluting Stent for Acute Coronary Syndrome), evaluating the interaction between BMI and treatment strategies for the primary outcome [composite of major bleeding and adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE): death, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, stroke, or target-vessel revascularization].

Nationwide survey of internal medicine hospitalists in Korea: motivation and sustainability of a hospitalist career.

Background/aims: Although a management fee for hospitalist service was established in Korea, the number of hospitalists required for the system to run remains outmatched.

Methods: In January 2020 and February 2022, before and after the establishment of the hospitalist fee system respectively, cross-sectional online surveys were conducted among internal medicine board-certified hospitalists.

Results: There were 59 and 64 respondents in the 2020 and 2022 surveys, respectively.

Stent expansion evaluated by optical coherence tomography and subsequent outcomes.

Regarding stent expansion indices, previous optical coherence tomography (OCT) studies have shown minimal stent area (MSA) to be most predictive of adverse events. We sought to evaluate the impact of various stent expansion and apposition indices by post-stent OCT on clinical outcomes and find OCT-defined optimal stent implantation criteria. A total of 1071 patients with 1123 native coronary artery lesions treated with new-generation drug-eluting stents with OCT guidance and final post-stent OCT analysis were included.