Projection in Future Drought Hazard of South Korea Based on RCP Climate Change Scenario 8.5 Using SPEI

The Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) analysis was conducted using monthly precipitation data and temperature data on a 12.5 km × 12.5 km resolution based on a Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 8.5 climate change scenario, and the characteristics of drought were identified by the threshold. In addition, the changes in drought severity and intensity were projected using the threshold based on the run-length concept and frequency analysis. As a result of the analysis, the probability density function of the total drought and maximum drought intensity moved the upper tail for the upcoming years, and the average drought intensity was also projected to become stronger in the future than in the present to the right side. Through this, it could be projected that the drought scale and frequency and the drought intensity will become severer over South Korea because of future climate change

Superior Vena Cava Syndrome Caused by Encircling Soft Tissue

Superior vena cava syndrome can occur from benign conditions that might not alter life expectancy. Here we present a case of a superior vena cava (SVC) obstruction caused by soft tissue encircling the SVC, which was strongly suspected of being an unusual focal type of fibrosing mediastinitis. A 39-year-old man with no prior medical history presented with a four-week history of facial plethora, headache and dilated veins of the neck with a dark purple color change on the anterior chest wall. Radiology examinations, including venography, and computed tomography with a 3-dimensional volume-rendering image of the chest, had revealed severe narrowing of the SVC due to tiny encircling soft tissue and collateral vessels. A total occlusion of the SVC occurred as a result of a thrombus that developed within 1 day after the diagnostic SVC angiogram. The patient underwent stent deployment three days after the administration of thrombolytic therapy

A Wearable Wrist Band-Type System for Multimodal Biometrics Integrated with Multispectral Skin Photomatrix and Electrocardiogram Sensors

Multimodal biometrics are promising for providing a strong security level for personal authentication, yet the implementation of a multimodal biometric system for practical usage need to meet such criteria that multimodal biometric signals should be easy to acquire but not easily compromised. We developed a wearable wrist band integrated with multispectral skin photomatrix (MSP) and electrocardiogram (ECG) sensors to improve the issues of collectability, performance and circumvention of multimodal biometric authentication. The band was designed to ensure collectability by sensing both MSP and ECG easily and to achieve high authentication performance with low computation, efficient memory usage, and relatively fast response. Acquisition of MSP and ECG using contact-based sensors could also prevent remote access to personal data. Personal authentication with multimodal biometrics using the integrated wearable wrist band was evaluated in 150 subjects and resulted in 0.2% equal error rate ( EER ) and 100% detection probability at 1% FAR (false acceptance rate) ( PD.1 ), which is comparable to other state-of-the-art multimodal biometrics. An additional investigation with a separate MSP sensor, which enhanced contact with the skin, along with ECG reached 0.1% EER and 100% PD.1 , showing a great potential of our in-house wearable band for practical applications. The results of this study demonstrate that our newly developed wearable wrist band may provide a reliable and easy-to-use multimodal biometric solution for personal authentication

The role of 99mTc-DPD bone SPECT/CT in the management of growth disturbance of the long bones in pediatric patients: a retrospective observational study

Backgrounds Determining the precise localization of diseased physes is crucial for guiding the treatment of growth disturbances. Conventional radiography, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging only provide information on physeal anatomy. Planar bone scintigraphy and bone single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) resolutions are suboptimal for clinically managing growth disturbances. Bone SPECT/CT, which provides high-resolution functional information, can be a useful tool for evaluating growth disturbances. The purposes of this study were to identify the conditions in which bone SPECT/CT outperforms planar scintigraphy or SPECT for evaluating the location and activity of diseased physes and to assess surgical outcomes using bone SPECT/CT findings in pediatric patients experiencing long bone growth disturbances. Methods Fifty-nine patients who underwent bone SPECT/CT between January 2018 and January 2021 to evaluate physeal activity using technetium-99 m-labeled 2,3-dicarboxypropane-1,1-diphosphonate (99mTc-DPD) were included. The proportions of patients for whom certain modalities provided sufficient data for selecting treatment plans for growth disturbances were compared based on the site of the diseased physis, growth disturbance cause, and shape of deformity (i.e., SPECT/CT vs. planar scintigraphy and SPECT/CT vs. SPECT). For assessing surgical outcomes, progression of post-surgical deformity was investigated by measuring the angles reflecting the degree of deformity, iliac crest height difference, or ulnar variance on radiographs. Results Bone SPECT/CT was sufficient for selecting a treatment plan, but planar scintigraphy or SPECT alone was insufficient in every 10 patients with diseased physes inside the femoral head (p = 0.002) and in every six with physes that were severely deformed or whose locations were unclear on conventional radiography (p = 0.03). In the proximal or distal tibia, where the tibial and fibular physes often overlapped on planar scintigraphy due to leg rotation, bone SPECT/CT was sufficient in 33/34 patients (97%), but planar scintigraphy and SPECT were sufficient in 10/34 (29%) (p < 0.001) and 24/34 (71%) patients, respectively (p = 0.004). No progression or deformity recurrence occurred. Conclusions Bone SPECT/CT may be indicated in proximal femoral growth disturbance, when the physis is unclear on conventional radiography or severely deformed, the leg exhibits rotational deformity, or the patient is noncompliant

as a Causative Agent for Soft Rot of Radish in Korea

In October 2021, soft rot disease seriously affected radish crop in Dangjin, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea. The infected radishes were stunted and turned dark green, with yellowish leaf foliage. A slimy, wet, and decayed pith region was observed in the infected roots. The bacterial strain KNUB-03-21 was isolated from infected roots. The biochemical and morphological characteristics of the isolate were similar to those of Pectobacterium brasiliense. Phylogenetic analysis based on the sequences of the 16S rRNA region and the concatenated DNA polymerase III subunit tau (dnaX), leucine-tRNA ligase (leuS), and recombinase subunit A (recA) genes confirmed that the isolate is a novel strain of P. brasiliense. Artificial inoculation of radish with P. brasiliense KNUB-03-21 resulted in soft rot symptoms similar to those observed in infected radish in the field; subsequently, P. brasiliense KNUB-03-21 was reisolated and reidentified. To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. brasiliense as a causal pathogen of radish soft rot in Korea

Primary Malignant Pericardial Mesothelioma Presenting as Acute Pericarditis

We report on a 21-year-old man with fever, dyspnea, and pleuritic chest pain. An electrocardiography showed ST elevation in multiple lead and thoracic echocardiography revealed moderate pericardial effusion. He was initially diagnosed with acute pericarditis, and treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and colchicines with clinical and laboratory improvement. After 1 month of medication, his symptoms recurred. An echocardiography showed constrictive physiology and the patient was treated with steroid on the top of current medication. The patient had been well for 7 months until dyspnea and edema developed, when an echocardiography showed marked increased pericardial thickness and constriction. Pericardial biopsy was performed and primary malignant pericardial mesothelioma was diagnosed. Malignancy should be considered in the differential diagnosis of recurrent pericarditis

Tumor immune profiles noninvasively estimated by FDG PET with deep learning correlate with immunotherapy response in lung adenocarcinoma

Rationale: The clinical application of biomarkers reflecting tumor immune microenvironment is hurdled by the invasiveness of obtaining tissues despite its importance in immunotherapy. We developed a deep learning-based biomarker which noninvasively estimates a tumor immune profile with fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Methods: A deep learning model to predict cytolytic activity score (CytAct) using semi-automatically segmented tumors on FDG-PET trained by a publicly available dataset paired with tissue RNA sequencing (n = 93). This model was validated in two independent cohorts of LUAD: SNUH (n = 43) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort (n = 16). The model was applied to the immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) cohort, which consists of patients with metastatic LUAD who underwent ICB treatment (n = 29). Results: The predicted CytAct showed a positive correlation with CytAct of RNA sequencing in validation cohorts (Spearman rho = 0.32, p = 0.04 in SNUH cohort; spearman rho = 0.47, p = 0.07 in TCGA cohort). In ICB cohort, the higher predicted CytAct of individual lesion was associated with more decrement in tumor size after ICB treatment (Spearman rho = -0.54, p < 0.001). Higher minimum predicted CytAct in each patient associated with significantly prolonged progression free survival and overall survival (Hazard ratio 0.25, p = 0.001 and 0.18, p = 0.004, respectively). In patients with multiple lesions, ICB responders had significantly lower variance of predicted CytActs (p = 0.005). Conclusion: The deep learning model that predicts CytAct using FDG-PET of LUAD was validated in independent cohorts. Our approach may be used to noninvasively assess an immune profile and predict outcomes of LUAD patients treated with ICB.

Aldosterone Modulates Cell Proliferation and Apoptosis in the Neonatal Rat Heart

In the present study, we investigated whether and how the mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist spironolactone affects cardiac growth and development through apoptosis and cell proliferation in the neonatal rat heart. Newborn rat pups were treated with spironolactone (200 mg/kg/d) for 7 days. The cell proliferation was studied by PCNA immunostaining. The treatment with spironolactone decreased proliferating myocytes by 32% (P<0.05), and reduced myocytes apoptosis by 29% (P<0.05). Immunoblot and immunohistochemistry for the expression of p38, p53, clusterin, TGF-β2, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase were performed. In the spironolactone group, p38, p53, clusterin, and TGF-β2 protein expression was significantly decreased (P<0.05). These results indicate that aldosterone inhibition in the developing rat heart induces cardiac growth impairment by decreasing proliferation and apoptosis of myocytes

Comparison of CPR quality and rescuer fatigue between standard 30:2 CPR and chest compression-only CPR: a randomized crossover manikin trial

Objective We aimed to compare rescuer fatigue and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) quality between standard 30:2 CPR (ST-CPR) and chest compression only CPR (CO-CPR) performed for 8 minutes on a realistic manikin by following the 2010 CPR guidelines. Methods All 36 volunteers (laypersons; 18 men and 18 women) were randomized to ST-CPR or CO-CPR at first, and then each CPR technique was performed for 8 minutes with a 3-hour rest interval. We measured the mean blood pressure (MBP) of the volunteers before and after performing each CPR technique, and continuously monitored the heart rate (HR) of the volunteers during each CPR technique using the MRx monitor. CPR quality measures included the depth of chest compression (CC) and the number of adequate CCs per minute. Results The adequate CC rate significantly differed between the 2 groups after 2 minutes, with it being higher in the ST-CPR group than in the CO-CPR group. Additionally, the adequate CC rate significantly differed between the 2 groups during 8 minutes for male volunteers (p =0.012). The number of adequate CCs was higher in the ST-CPR group than in the CO-CPR group after 3 minutes (p =0.001). The change in MBP before and after performing CPR did not differ between the 2 groups. However, the change in HR during 8 minutes of CPR was higher in the CO-CPR group than in the ST-CPR group (p =0.007). Conclusions The rate and number of adequate CCs were significantly lower with the CO-CPR than with the ST-CPR after 2 and 6 minutes, respectively, and performer fatigue was higher with the CO-CPR than with the ST-CPR during 8 minutes of CPR.OAIID:RECH_ACHV_DSTSH_NO:220142014020983001RECH_ACHV_FG:RR00200001ADJUST_YN:EMP_ID:A080158CITE_RATE:2.025FILENAME:comparison of cpr quality and rescuer fatigue between st-cpr and cc-only cpr_a randomized crossover manikin trial_scand j trauma resusc emerg med_2014.pdfDEPT_NM:의학과EMAIL:[email protected]_YN:YFILEURL:https://srnd.snu.ac.kr/eXrepEIR/fws/file/d98e73fe-13a9-4bea-b265-cb96af10284f/linkCONFIRM: