A robust pleiotropy method with applications to lipid traits and to inflammatory bowel disease subtypes with sample overlap.

Pleiotropy, the phenomenon where a genetic region confers risk to multiple traits, is widely observed, even among seemingly unrelated traits. Knowledge of pleiotropy can improve understanding of biological mechanisms of diseases/traits, and can potentially guide identification of molecular targets or help predict side-effects in drug development. However, statistical approaches for identifying pleiotropy genome-wide are limited, particularly for two correlated traits or case-control traits with unknown sample overlap or for disease traits from family studies.

Triazine-Functionalized Covalent Organic Framework Ultrathin Films for Enhancing Local CO Concentrations in Electrochemical CO Reduction.

Electrochemical CO reduction (COR) with transition-metal catalysts often suffers from low selectivity for value-added products. Organic layers have been explored to enhance selectivity by modifying local environments and adjusting the CO and CO adsorption, but their role remains unclear due to structural and mechanical instability. Here, we designed a well-defined organic layer model consisting of ∼4 nm-thick covalent organic framework (COF) films with ∼3 nm pores and a cm-scale area.

When politics meets policy: a realist review of how political context shapes the impact of public health legal interventions.

Background: Public health laws-whether focusing on taxation, bans, mandates, or licensing-are powerful tools for reducing risk behaviors and improving population health. However, identical legal interventions often produce starkly different outcomes across jurisdictions. Political and social contexts are increasingly recognized as key determinants of such variability.

Surgical outcomes of minimally invasive microscopic debridement in thoracolumbar pyogenic spondylodiscitis.

Thoracolumbar infectious spondylodiscitis is a serious condition that often requires surgical intervention if conservative treatment fails. Debridement and drainage are crucial in removing infected tissues and achieving adequate control of the source of infection. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the surgical outcomes of microscopic debridement in patients with thoracolumbar spondylodiscitis.

Augmented reality-guided pedicle screw fixation: an experimental study.

Study Design: Cadaveric experimental study.

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of pedicle screw placement using a custom-developed augmented reality-assisted pedicle screw fixation (ARPSF) system in a porcine spine model.

Overview Of Literature: Conventional pedicle screw placement techniques face limitations including potential inaccuracy, radiation exposure, and workflow disruption.

The Accuracy and Safety of Free-Hand C7 Laminar Screw Fixation: A Clinical Study of 43 Consecutive Patients.

Study Design: Retrospective case series.

Background: C7 laminar screw is a feasible substitute for C7 pedicle screw with the potential to decrease neurovascular complications and minimize the requirement for intraoperative fluoroscopic guidance. Nevertheless, the clinical evidence regarding their accuracy and safety is still limited.

Tuning surface oxides on PdIn(111) alloys for selective CO activation pathways at ambient pressure.

Redox-mediated tuning of surface oxides on PdIn(111) alloys has been elucidated by atomic-scale AP-STM imaging and synchrotron-based AP-XPS. The segregation of Pd-In-O nanoclusters onto the topmost layer creates reactive interfacial oxide sites on Pd-In alloy surfaces, which modulate selective reaction pathways of catalytic CO activation under gaseous CO environments.

Beneath the rhetoric of global justice: Reinforcement of global hegemonic governmentality by South Korea's Global Vaccine Hub Project.

Background: During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the South Korean government initiated the Global Vaccine Hub Project (GVHP) purportedly to address global vaccine inequality. This study analyzes the strategies and underlying epistemology of GVHP through the perspective of global governmentality. Critical Discourse Study (CDS) approaches were used to identify governmental technologies and explain how their embedded knowledge is related to power relations.

Photo-Cross-Linked Polyimide Dielectric for Mechanically Reliable High-Performance Flexible Metal Oxide Thin-Film Transistors.

A critical challenge in flexible high-performance thin-film transistors (TFTs) is ensuring the reliability of the dielectric layer with a high-mobility semiconductor, which must maintain its insulating properties while withstanding repeated mechanical deformation. In this study, we investigate photo-cross-linkable photosensitive polyimide (PSPI), 4,4'-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic anhydride-3,5-diaminobenzyl cinnamate (6FDA/DABC), as a dielectric material in oxide TFTs using zinc tin oxide or indium gallium zinc oxide as the channel materials. The photo-cross-linked PSPI dielectric exhibited a high areal capacitance of 17.

Potential for omitting sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive or triple negative breast cancer with non-breast pCR after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Background: Pathologic complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) predicts favorable outcomes in HER2-positive and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). While breast and axillary pCR often coexist, some patients with residual breast disease still achieve axillary pCR. This study evaluated axillary pCR rates and factors in this subgroup, and the potential to omit sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in selected patients.

Compound K-enriched Korean red ginseng prevents lung cancer progression by targeting cancer cells and fibroblasts.

Background: Despite the efficacy of anticancer drugs, patients frequently experience relapse, metastasis, and resistance. A promising therapeutic approach not only targets cancer cell growth but also modulates cancer-associated fibroblasts, which support malignancies. Compound K (CK), a metabolite derived from red ginseng, has demonstrated anticancer properties.

Pediatric computed tomography scan and subsequent risk of malignancy: a nationwide population-based cohort study in Korea using National Cancer Institute dosimetry system for computed tomography (NCICT).

Background: Computed tomography (CT) has advanced medical diagnostics by offering detailed anatomical imaging, but its use in children raises concerns due to higher radiation doses and increased vulnerability. This study enhances prior research by using organ-specific radiation dose calculations for a more precise cancer risk assessment, investigating the associations between pediatric cancers and radiation doses in a large population cohort.

Methods: This nationwide cohort study analyzed National Health Insurance Service claims data from 2007 to 2015 with a focus on individuals < 20 years of age who underwent CT scans.

An optimal disc height changes for successful indirect decompression with OLIF.

This retrospective study included 63 patients in whom 104 vertebral levels were surgically involved. Data on the efficacy of oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) for canal and foraminal stenosis of the lumbar spine were analyzed for a follow-up period as long as one year post-surgery. The factors associated with successful indirect decompression were evaluated by measuring disc height and spinal canal width changes.

Comparative analysis of osteoporotic versus pathologic fracture in metastatic colorectal cancer patients.

Unlabelled: In metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients, the incidence rate of osteoporotic fracture (OF) was comparable to that of pathologic fracture (4.5% vs 4.2% over 2 years), and even higher in those aged ≥ 70.

Predicting the Onset Date of Cucumber Powdery Mildew Based on Growing Degree Days and Leaf Wetness Duration in Greenhouse Environment.

Cucumber powdery mildew, caused by Podosphaera xanthii, can lead to significant yield losses in greenhouse cultivation. A calendar-based fungicide spray program is commonly employed by farmers, often leading to excessive spraying irrespective of disease conduciveness under certain weather conditions. Therefore, a disease model that can predict the onset of symptoms for determining when to start the first spray applications during a season is needed.

Alizarin, which reduces ExoS, attenuates inflammation by P. aeruginosa in H292 cells.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is resistant to several drugs as well as antibiotics and is thus classified as multidrug resistant and extensively drug resistant. These bacteria have a secretion system called the "type 3 secretion system (T3SS)", which facilitates infection by delivering an effector protein.

Generic Versus Brand-Name Immunosuppression Following Heart Transplant: An Analysis of the UNOS Database.

Background: Immunosuppressant medications, such as tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), are crucial for preventing graft rejection after heart transplantation (HTx). Generic formulations have become available, offering potential cost savings, but concerns exist regarding their clinical bioequivalence compared to brand-name formulations. Current guidelines suggest no increased risk with generic use, but research remains limited.

Safety and efficacy of flexible articulated instrument (ArtiSential) in laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer.

Background: Laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer remains challenging because of limited joint motion during dissection in the deep and narrow pelvis. Handheld multiarticulated instruments have been developed to address these limitations. This study aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of a flexible articulated instrument, the ArtiSential (Livsmed Co, Korea), at reducing the duration of laparoscopic rectal cancer surgery.

Observations of CO Activation on the PdIn(111) Alloy Surface at Ambient Pressures.

The CO activation process has been investigated on the palladium-indium (PdIn) (111) alloy surface using ambient pressure scanning tunneling microscopy (AP-STM) and synchrotron-based X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS). Pd and In atoms diffuse onto the topmost layer after annealing at 840 K, which adopts intermetallic PdIn alloy geometries in an ultrahigh vacuum. AP-STM reveals that interfacial Pd-InO nanostructures are created on the alloy surface by dissociative CO adsorption under CO(g) environments even at 300 K.

High cellular prion protein expression in cholangiocarcinoma: A marker for early postoperative recurrence and unfavorable prognosis.

Background: The cellular prion protein (PrP), traditionally associated with neurodegenerative disorders, plays an important role in cancer progression and metastasis by inhibiting apoptosis.

Aim: To investigate the influence of PrP expression in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) on patient outcomes following surgical resection.

Methods: Patients who underwent curative surgical resection for either intrahepatic or hilar CCA were enrolled in this retrospective study.

An ensemble approach improves the prediction of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea.

Background: Modelling can contribute to disease prevention and control strategies. Accurate predictions of future cases and mortality rates were essential for establishing appropriate policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, no single model yielded definite conclusions, with each having specific strengths and weaknesses.

Composite quantile regression approach to batch effect correction in microbiome data.

Background: Batch effects refer to data variations that arise from non-biological factors such as experimental conditions, equipment, and external factors. These effects are considered significant issues in the analysis of biological data since they can compromise data consistency and distort actual biological differences, which can severely skew the results of downstream analyses.

Method: In this study, we introduce a new approach that comprehensively addresses two types of batch effects: "systematic batch effects" which are consistent across all samples in a batch, and "nonsystematic batch effects" which vary depending on the variability of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) within each sample in the same batch.

Is Overweight Protective Against Fracture Occurrence? Age and Site-Dependent Different Association Between Body Mass Index and the Incidence of Hip and Vertebral Fractures.

Study Design: Retrospective observational study.

Objective: To investigate the effects of body mass index (BMI), age, and sex on the occurrence of hip and vertebral fractures in the South Korean population.

Methods: We enrolled participants who underwent routine health screenings conducted by the Korean National Health Insurance Service in 2009 and followed up from 2010 to 2018.

Nanoscale Resolution Imaging of Whole Mouse Embryos Using Expansion Microscopy.

Nanoscale imaging of whole vertebrates is essential for the systematic understanding of human diseases, yet this goal has not yet been achieved. Expansion microscopy (ExM) is an attractive option for accomplishing this aim; however, the expansion of even mouse embryos at mid- and late-developmental stages, which have fewer calcified body parts than adult mice, is yet to be demonstrated due to the challenges of expanding calcified tissues. Here, we introduce a state-of-the-art ExM technique, termed whole-body ExM, that utilizes cyclic digestion.