Democracy and Reform in Korea: A Systems Perspective

2000A reform process in democratic societies tends to generate a number of surprises, paradoxes, instabilities, and emergent properties. Taking advantage of the complex systems approach, this paper wishes to argue that the reform process occurring in democratic societies should be regarded as a self-organizing process. The policy implication is that a self-referential situation in which the political community as a whole can enact situations in which it is possible for it to experience the disappointing feelings corresponding to deficient social, political, and economic structures should be generated and exploited fruitfully. Moreover, the idea of self-organization has another implication for the reformists. The reformists' role is not to provide a blueprint of what the political community must eventually become, but rather to guide the community in generating self-referential experience by going through disappointing experiences which would break up existing structures

Extension of the crRNA enhances Cpf1 gene editing in vitro and in vivo.

Engineering of the Cpf1 crRNA has the potential to enhance its gene editing efficiency and non-viral delivery to cells. Here, we demonstrate that extending the length of its crRNA at the 5 end can enhance the gene editing efficiency of Cpf1 both in cells and in vivo. Extending the 5 end of the crRNA enhances the gene editing efficiency of the Cpf1 RNP to induce non-homologous end-joining and homology-directed repair using electroporation in cells. Additionally, chemical modifications on the extended 5 end of the crRNA result in enhanced serum stability. Also, extending the 5 end of the crRNA by 59 nucleotides increases the delivery efficiency of Cpf1 RNP in cells and in vivo cationic delivery vehicles including polymer nanoparticle. Thus, 5 extension and chemical modification of the Cpf1 crRNA is an effective method for enhancing the gene editing efficiency of Cpf1 and its delivery in vivo

Comparison of the clinical outcomes between antiviral-naïve patients treated with entecavir and lamivudine-resistant patients receiving adefovir add-on lamivudine combination treatment

Background/Aims To analyze the effects of preexisting lamivudine (LAM) resistance and applying antiviral treatment (adefovir [ADV] add-on LAM combination treatment) on long-term treatment outcomes, and comparing the clinical outcomes of antiviral-naïve chronic hepatitis B patients receiving entecavir (ETV) monotherapy. Methods This study enrolled 73 antiviral-naïve patients who received 0.5-mg ETV as an initial therapy and 54 patients who received ADV add-on LAM combination treatment as a rescue therapy from July 2006 to July 2010. Results During 24-month treatments, the decreases in serum log10HBV-DNA values (copies/mL) were significantly greater in the antiviral-naïve patients treated with ETV than the patients receiving ADV add-on LAM combination treatment. The biochemical response rates for alanine aminotransferase normalization at 6 months (ETV) and 12 months (ADV add-on LAM) were 90.4% (66/73) and 77.8% (42/54), respectively (P=0.048). A Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that the rates of serologic response, viral breakthrough, and emergence of genotypic resistance did not differ significantly between the two patient groups. There were also no significant intergroup differences in the rates of disease progression (PD) and new development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Conclusion The long-term clinical outcomes of antiviral-naïve patients treated with ETV and LAM-resistant patients receiving ADV add-on LAM combination treatment were comparable in terms of the emergence of HCC and disease progression

Pre-Engraftment Syndrome after Unrelated Cord Blood Transplantation: A Predictor of Engraftment and Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease

AbstractPre-engraftment syndrome (PES) is poorly characterized, and its clinical significance and the prognostic impact after unrelated cord blood transplantation (CBT) are unclear. To address these issues, we retrospectively analyzed the incidence, risk factors, and clinical outcomes of PES in unrelated CBT recipients. Data of 381 patients who received unrelated CBT from 18 medical centers in Korea were reviewed. PES was defined as unexplained fever >38.3°C not associated with infection, and/or unexplained skin rash with or without evidence of fluid retention before neutrophil recovery. PES developed in 102 patients (26.8%) at a median of 7 days after CBT. Of these patients, 74 patients (72.5%) received intravenous corticosteroid at a median dose of 1 mg/kg/day, and of these, 95% showed clinical improvement. Risk factors for developing PES included low risk disease, myeloablative conditioning, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis without methotrexate or corticosteroid, and >5.43 x 107/kg infused nucleated cells. Absence of PES was one of the risk factors for graft failure in multivariate analysis. The cumulative incidence of grade II to grade IV acute GVHD by 100 days after CBT was higher in patients with PES than in those without PES (56.0% versus 34.4%, P < .01). PES was not associated with chronic GVHD, treatment-related mortality, relapse, or overall survival. PES seems to be common after CBT and may be associated with enhanced engraftment without significant morbidity

Вихретоковый анизотропный термоэлектрический первичный преобразователь лучистого потока

Представлена оригинальная конструкция первичного преобразователя лучистого потока, который может служить основой для создания приемника неселективного излучения с повышенной чувствительностью

Genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma in East Asia and comparison with a European population.

Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common type of lung cancer. Known risk variants explain only a small fraction of lung adenocarcinoma heritability. Here, we conducted a two-stage genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma of East Asian ancestry (21,658 cases and 150,676 controls; 54.5% never-smokers) and identified 12 novel susceptibility variants, bringing the total number to 28 at 25 independent loci. Transcriptome-wide association analyses together with colocalization studies using a Taiwanese lung expression quantitative trait loci dataset (n = 115) identified novel candidate genes, including FADS1 at 11q12 and ELF5 at 11p13. In a multi-ancestry meta-analysis of East Asian and European studies, four loci were identified at 2p11, 4q32, 16q23, and 18q12. At the same time, most of our findings in East Asian populations showed no evidence of association in European populations. In our studies drawn from East Asian populations, a polygenic risk score based on the 25 loci had a stronger association in never-smokers vs. individuals with a history of smoking (Pinteraction = 0.0058). These findings provide new insights into the etiology of lung adenocarcinoma in individuals from East Asian populations, which could be important in developing translational applications

Genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma in East Asia and comparison with a European population

Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common type of lung cancer. Known risk variants explain only a small fraction of lung adenocarcinoma heritability. Here, we conducted a two-stage genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma of East Asian ancestry (21,658 cases and 150,676 controls; 54.5% never-smokers) and identified 12 novel susceptibility variants, bringing the total number to 28 at 25 independent loci. Transcriptome-wide association analyses together with colocalization studies using a Taiwanese lung expression quantitative trait loci dataset (n = 115) identified novel candidate genes, including FADS1 at 11q12 and ELF5 at 11p13. In a multi-ancestry meta-analysis of East Asian and European studies, four loci were identified at 2p11, 4q32, 16q23, and 18q12. At the same time, most of our findings in East Asian populations showed no evidence of association in European populations. In our studies drawn from East Asian populations, a polygenic risk score based on the 25 loci had a stronger association in never-smokers vs. individuals with a history of smoking (P interaction  = 0.0058). These findings provide new insights into the etiology of lung adenocarcinoma in individuals from East Asian populations, which could be important in developing translational applications

Ramucirumab plus docetaxel versus placebo plus docetaxel in patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma after platinum-based therapy (RANGE): a randomised, double-blind, phase 3 trial

Few treatments with a distinct mechanism of action are available for patients with platinum-refractory advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma. We assessed the efficacy and safety of treatment with docetaxel plus either ramucirumab-a human IgG1 VEGFR-2 antagonist-or placebo in this patient population

International Consensus Statement on Rhinology and Allergy: Rhinosinusitis

Background: The 5 years since the publication of the first International Consensus Statement on Allergy and Rhinology: Rhinosinusitis (ICAR‐RS) has witnessed foundational progress in our understanding and treatment of rhinologic disease. These advances are reflected within the more than 40 new topics covered within the ICAR‐RS‐2021 as well as updates to the original 140 topics. This executive summary consolidates the evidence‐based findings of the document. Methods: ICAR‐RS presents over 180 topics in the forms of evidence‐based reviews with recommendations (EBRRs), evidence‐based reviews, and literature reviews. The highest grade structured recommendations of the EBRR sections are summarized in this executive summary. Results: ICAR‐RS‐2021 covers 22 topics regarding the medical management of RS, which are grade A/B and are presented in the executive summary. Additionally, 4 topics regarding the surgical management of RS are grade A/B and are presented in the executive summary. Finally, a comprehensive evidence‐based management algorithm is provided. Conclusion: This ICAR‐RS‐2021 executive summary provides a compilation of the evidence‐based recommendations for medical and surgical treatment of the most common forms of RS