Cardiac Biomarkers and Risk Stratification in Liver Transplantation for Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure: Refining Current Risk Models for Improved Prediction of Post-transplant Mortality.

Background: Cardiovascular complications are the leading cause of mortality following liver transplantation (LT) in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). However, the extent of cardiac impairment in these patients remains unclear. Current risk models, including the CLIF-C-organ failure (CLIF-C-OF), NACSELD-ACLF, and the novel Sundaram ACLF-LT-mortality (SALT-M) scores primarily focus on blood pressure and the use of cardiovascular drugs, without directly assessing biomarkers of cardiac injury.

Replication stress-induced nuclear hypertrophy alters chromatin topology and impacts cancer cell fitness.

Microscopic examination of biopsy tissues remains essential for cancer diagnosis, despite advancements in sequencing technologies. Alterations in nuclear size or the nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio are hallmark features of cancer cells and often correlate with disease progression. However, the mechanisms underlying nuclear size abnormalities and their impact on tumor progression remain unclear.

Automatic brain segmentation in cognitive impairment: Validation of AI-based AQUA software in the Southeast Asian BIOCIS cohort.

Introduction: Interpretation and analysis of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in clinical settings comprise time-consuming visual ratings and complex neuroimage processing that require trained professionals. To combat these challenges, artificial intelligence (AI) techniques can aid clinicians in interpreting brain MRI for accurate diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases but they require extensive validation. Thus, the aim of this study was to validate the use of AI-based AQUA (Neurophet Inc.

Comparison of Cost-Effectiveness Between Digital Health Interventions and Pharmacotherapy for Depression: Systematic Review.

Background: Owing to the unique characteristics of digital health interventions (DHIs), a tailored approach to economic evaluation is needed-one that is distinct from that used for pharmacotherapy. However, the absence of clear guidelines in this area is a substantial gap in the evaluation framework.

Objective: This study aims to systematically review and compare the economic evaluation literature on DHIs and pharmacotherapy for the treatment of depression.

Comparative Safety of JAK Inhibitors vs TNF Antagonists in Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Importance: Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors are highly effective medications for several immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs). However, safety concerns have led to regulatory restrictions.

Objective: To compare the risk of adverse events with JAK inhibitors vs tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists in patients with IMIDs in head-to-head comparative effectiveness studies.

Predictors of change in sleep disturbance in Canadian long-term care facilities: a longitudinal analysis based on interRAI assessments.

Purpose: Sleep disturbance is prevalent in long-term care facilities (LTCFs), yet there is limited understanding of individual factors predicting changes in sleep within these populations. Our objective was to determine predictors of sleep disturbance in LTCFs and investigate variation in prevalence across facilities in two Canadian provinces-New Brunswick and Saskatchewan.

Method: This retrospective longitudinal cohort study used interRAI comprehensive health assessment data from 2016 to 2021, encompassing 21,394 older adults aged ≥ 65 years across 228 LTCFs.

Molecular phylogeny of Psoroptes ovis isolated from ear canker in a domestic rabbit from South India.

Background: Ear canker in domestic rabbits is caused by infestations of non-burrowing parasitic mites, Psoroptes spp., but the specific species responsible for these infestations remains unclear. This study reports the clinical signs and performs the molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of Psoroptes ovis isolated from the ear canal of a domestic rabbit in South India.

Pseudoduganella rhizocola sp. nov., Isolated from Rhizospheric Soil.

A novel bacterial strain, SM-13 was isolated from the rhizospheric soil of Epipremnum aureum (Jade Pothos) sampled in Suwon, Republic of Korea. The isolate was Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, motile, rod-shaped, cream-coloured, oxidase- and catalase-positive. Strain SM-13 grew at the range of 15-37 °C (optimum, 25 °C), at pH 6.

Pressure-Driven Structural and Optoelectronic Tuning of Cl-Substituted 2D Lead Halide Perovskite (ClPMA)PbI.

We present a systematic high-pressure investigation of the chlorine-functionalized two-dimensional hybrid perovskite (ClPMA)PbI, integrating high-pressure synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction (HP-PXRD), photoluminescence spectroscopy (HP-PL), and first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Under hydrostatic compression up to 6.18 (±0.

Associations Between IgE-Allergen Sensitization and Glaucoma: An Analysis of Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Prcis: Analysis of 1,175 Korean adults in the 2019 KNHANES study found that sensitization to house dust mites and birch pollen significantly increased glaucoma risk, while oak pollen sensitization showed a protective effect.

Background: The relationship between allergen sensitization and glaucoma remains poorly understood. This study investigated the association between specific allergen sensitization patterns and glaucoma risk using data from the 2019 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Structurally Engineered All-Polymeric Microneedle Sensor for Highly Sensitive and Real-Time Monitoring of Glucose in Interstitial Fluids.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by persistent hyperglycemia with multiple clinical manifestations and complications, such as cardiovascular disease, kidney dysfunction, retinal impairment, and peripheral neuropathy. Continuous and minimally invasive glucose monitoring is essential for effective DM management. Microneedles (MNs)-based sensing platforms offer a promising solution; however, conventional polymeric MNs suffer from limited electrochemical sensitivity due to their insufficient electroactive surface area and inefficient loading of catalytic and enzymatic components.

Multimodal machine learning for staging laparoscopy: a combined image analysis and morphologic tool for the discrimination of peritoneal metastasis.

Background: Staging laparoscopy (SL) is an essential procedure for peritoneal metastasis (PM) detection. Although surgeons are expected to differentiate between benign and malignant lesions intraoperatively, this task remains difficult and error-prone. The aim of this study was to develop a novel multimodal machine learning (MML) model to differentiate PM from benign lesions by integrating morphologic characteristics with intraoperative SL images.

Pregnancy Outcomes After HIV Diagnosis in Women Living With HIV in Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: A Brief Report.

The study analyzed pregnancy outcomes among 498 women living with HIV in East Asia. We found 15% had pregnancies postdiagnosis, with 57% resulting in live births. Older age at antiretroviral therapy initiation and higher pre-antiretroviral therapy viral loads were negatively associated with pregnancy.

Acoustic shock wave-induced phase transition from an 3-distorted rhombohedral to an 3-rhombohedral perovskite structure: bandgap tunability and morphological evolution of porous BiFeO microparticles.

Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO) is a semiconductor with multiferroic properties, synthesized by the sol-gel method. While static high-pressure studies have advanced our understanding of the phase behavior of BiFeO, the effects of dynamic pressure acoustic shock waves remain unexplored. In this study, BiFeO was subjected to 100 shock pulses with 0.

Self-Assembled CuP@NiCoO Core-Shell Heterostructure Electrodes for High-Energy All-Solid-State Supercapacitor.

Core-shell electrodes provide a potential and innovative approach for significantly enhancing the performance and capacity of supercapacitors (SCs) by combining two distinct materials. The capabilities of these advanced electrodes surpass those of conventional single electrodes. Specifically, these exhibit better energy storage, higher power density, and improved overall performance.

Machine Learning-Based Prediction Model for Health-Related Quality of Life in Diabetic Patients.

The increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and patients' lack of self-management awareness have led to a decline in health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Studies identifying potential risk factors for HRQoL in DM patients and presenting generalized models are relatively scarce. The study aimed to develop and evaluate a machine learning (ML)-based model to predict the HRQoL in adult diabetic patients and to examine the important factors affecting HRQoL.

The Big Five Inventory-2 in Korea: Validation and Cross-Cultural Comparisons with the U.S. and Chinese Versions.

The Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2) has enjoyed global popularity due to its good balance of content coverage and brevity and has been officially translated into 12 languages in addition to the original English version. The current study aimed to further enhance the cultural accessibility of the BFI-2 by translating it into the Korean language and comprehensively validating the Korean version in two South Korean samples: working adults and college students. Across the two samples, the Korean BFI-2 demonstrated good reliability (e.

Thermal Cross-linked Electron Transport Polymers for Suppressing Efficiency Roll-off in Green Solution-Processed Inverted OLEDs.

Solution-processed phosphorescent inverted organic light-emitting diodes (s-IOLEDs) have garnered significant attention due to their excellent stability and high performance. However, frequently used inorganic electron transport layers usually cause exciton dissociation at the emitting layer interface, leading to low device efficiency and severe efficiency roll-off. In this work, we designed a cross-linkable triazine-grafted electron transport copolymer (PPDPT--PBCB) with a high triplet energy (3.

Effects of Combined Exercise Training on Modulating Fine Particulate Matter-Induced Skeletal Muscle Damage in Offspring Gestationally Exposed.

Background: Fine particulate matter has developmental toxicity, and midgestation is an important period for the development of foetal skeletal muscle. The ability of exercise to modulate skeletal muscle damage in mice exposed to PM during gestation remains unclear.

Methods: Pregnant C57BL/6 mice were exposed to 50 μg/m PM for 2 h on five consecutive days starting at embryonic day 12.

Lithium Metal Ingrowth Toward a Porous Structure via Coble Creep along Lithium-Carbon Interface Without Ionic Conductors.

All-solid-state batteries (ASSBs), equipped with highly ion-conductive sulfide solid electrolytes and utilizing lithium plating/stripping as anode electrochemistry, suffer from 1) chemical vulnerability of the electrolytes with lithium and 2) physical growth of lithium to penetrate the electrolytes. By employing an ordered mesoporous graphitic carbon (OMGC) framework between a sulfide electrolyte layer and a copper current collector in ASSB, the concerns by are addressed 1) minimizing the chemically vulnerable interface (CVI) between electric conductor and solid electrolyte, and 2) allowing lithium ingrowth toward the porous structure via Coble creep, a diffusional deformation mechanism of lithium metal along the lithium-carbon interface. The void volume of the framework is fully filled with lithium metal, despite ionic pathways not being provided separately, even without additional lithiophiles, when an enough amount of lithium is allowed to be plated.

Geographic variation in chemical composition and bioactivity of Valeriana wallichii root oils: implications for botanical fumigant development against stored-product insects.

Background: Stored-product insects (Sitophilus spp., Plodia interpunctella, Sitotroga cerealella) drive substantial postharvest losses and increasingly resist synthetic fumigants. Valeriana wallichii roots yield volatile oils rich in short-chain acids and sesquiterpenes.

Wafer-scale integration of monolayer MoS residue-free support layer etching and angular strain suppression.

A crack-free and residue-free transfer technique for large-area, atomically-thin 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) such as MoS and WS is critical for their integration into next-generation electronic devices, either as channel materials replacing silicon or as back-end-of-line (BEOL) components in 3D-integrated nano-systems on CMOS platforms. However, cracks are frequently observed during the debonding of TMDCs from their growth substrates, and polymer or metal residues are often left behind after the removal of adhesive support layers wet etching. These issues stem from excessive angular strain accumulated during debonding and the incomplete removal of support layers due to their low solubility.

Ultrasonographic Analysis of Site-Specific Plantar Skin Thickness for Melanoma Staging and Excision.

Plantar melanomas present unique diagnostic and surgical challenges owing to substantial regional variations in skin thickness. Although the Breslow thickness remains the primary criterion for staging and surgical excision, its application on plantar melanoma is complicated by the inherent thickness of the glabrous plantar epidermis, which may lead to tumor depth overestimation. Accurate assessment of plantar skin thickness is essential for optimizing staging accuracy and refining surgical margins.

Age-related amyloid beta dynamics modeled with the generalized additive model for location, scale, and shape (GAMLSS) across diverse populations: Cross-sectional trajectories and longitudinal validation.

Introduction: We developed and validated age-related amyloid beta (Aβ) positron emission tomography (PET) trajectories using a statistical model in cognitively unimpaired (CU) individuals.

Methods: We analyzed 849 CU Korean and 521 CU non-Hispanic White (NHW) participants after propensity score matching. Aβ PET trajectories were modeled using the generalized additive model for location, scale, and shape (GAMLSS) based on baseline data and validated with longitudinal data.