Effectiveness of vaccination and quarantine policies to curb the spread of COVID-19

A pandemic, the worldwide spread of a disease, can threaten human beings from the social as well as biological perspectives and paralyze existing living habits. To stave off the more devastating disaster and return to a normal life, people make tremendous efforts at multiscale levels from individual to worldwide: paying attention to hand hygiene, developing social policies such as wearing masks, social distancing, quarantine, and inventing vaccines and remedy. Regarding the current severe pandemic, namely the coronavirus disease 2019, we explore the spreading-suppression effect when adopting the aforementioned efforts. Especially the quarantine and vaccination are considered since they are representative primary treatments for block spreading and prevention at the government level. We establish a compartment model consisting of susceptible (S), vaccination (V), exposed (E), infected (I), quarantined (Q), and recovered (R) compartments, called SVEIQR model. We look into the infected cases in Seoul and consider three kinds of vaccines, Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca. The values of the relevant parameters are obtained from empirical data from Seoul and clinical data for vaccines and estimated by Bayesian inference. After confirming that our SVEIQR model is plausible, we test the various scenarios by adjusting the associated parameters with the quarantine and vaccination policies around the current values. The quantitative result obtained from our model could suggest a guideline for policy making on effective vaccination and social policies.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Analysis of closed medical litigation in urology

Purpose: The objective of this study was to provide a descriptive understanding of the characteristics of malpractice litigation re-lated to urology by examining court cases.Materials and Methods: A total of 6,074 court cases related to medical malpractice litigation filed between 2005 and 2010 were received from the Lower Courts, the Appellate Courts, and the Supreme Court of Korea. Of the received cases, 34 urology-related civil proceedings were analyzed. The following information was compiled and investigated from the cases: background, age and sex of patient, categorization of the defendant, opinion of the court, amount claimed and awarded in damages, type of medical treatment involved, and negative effects resulting from the medical accident.Results: The average amount in damages paid out to plaintiffs in this research was 27,186,504±32,371,008 Korean won (KRW) (range, 1,000,000–100,000,000 KRW). A total of 9 of the 34 analyzed cases (26.5%) ruled in favor of the plaintiff, with all 9 cases involving a surgery. An analysis of the surgery sites further revealed that the penis was the most frequently litigated over site of surgery, making up 14 of the 35 sites (40.0%).Conclusions: Information regarding urology malpractice lawsuits should be made available to help prevent further disputes and litigation. Continuous efforts must be expended in the prevention of accidents and disputes, alongside research into urology-re-lated cases beyond 2010. Extensive cause analysis and recurrence prevention methods must also be researched to enhance overall patient safety

The hazardous interactions of copper-dyed patient gowns with MRI: Two cases of superficial abdominal burns

Magnetic resonance imaging is a commonly used imaging modality in medical procedures. Despite its prevalent use, unexpected adverse events such as burns can occur during an MRI procedure. The majority of the transmitted Radio Frequency power can be converted into heat within the patient's tissue due to resistive losses, leading to such incidents. In this study, we present an intriguing case of a patient who experienced an MRI-induced burn, presumably caused by the copper dye in the patient's gown. Notably, we observed frequent distortion of the MR image due to the patient's gown. The awareness and understanding of such potential adverse events are critical for clinicians and technicians to prevent future occurrences. Through this study, we aim to contribute to this critical area of patient safety during MRI procedures

Lower Extremity Salvage with Thoracodorsal Artery Perforator Free Flap in Condition of Symmetrical Peripheral Gangrene

Symmetrical peripheral gangrene (SPG) is rare but devastating complication which is characterized by symmetrical ischemic change of the distal extremities. In this report, we describe our management protocol for SPG, focusing on surgical approaches. Between January 2007 and February 2016, 10 thoracodorsal artery perforator (TDAP) free flaps were performed in 6 patients with SPG. Three patients were male and mean age was 56 (range, 44–69) years. All the patients were in shock. The causes of shock were sepsis in 4 cases, respiratory arrest in 1 case, and hypovolemia in 1 case. Eight transmetatarsal amputations and 2 Lisfranc amputations were performed. Flap sizes ranged from 7 × 11 cm to 25 × 15 cm. There were 3 cases of partial necrosis of the flap: two healed conservatively with dressings and one required skin graft. Three of the patients were later able to walk independently at Functional Ambulation Classification (FAC) level 6, one patient could walk independently on level surfaces at FAC level 5, and 2 could walk independently using walking aids, classified at FAC level 4. The average follow-up period was 18 (range, 6–54) months. In patients with SPG, minimal bone amputation and foot salvage with TDAP flaps were successful. Separate reconstruction of bone and soft tissue had good outcomes

video (smart window display).mp4

This video shows the operation of a smart window display in which electrochromic device (ECD) and transparent organic light-emitting diode (TOLED) are combined. The smart window display shows or blocks the image of the rear side of the display panel depending on the on / off status of the ECD and displays the logo on the panel according to the on / off status of the TOLED

Incidence of Viral Diseases on Red Pepper in Yeongyang-Gun, Gyeongbuk Provice

Incidence of virus diseases in red pepper of open field in Yeongyang-Gun, Gyeongbuk Province was investigated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in 2012-2016. The infection rate of Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Broad bean wilt virus 2 (BBWV2), Pepper mottle virus, Potato virus Y, Pepper mild mottle virus and Tomato spotted wilt virus was 46.1%, 41.5%, 2.0%, 2.0%, 4.4% and 0.1% respectively. Incidence rate of single and mixed infection was 31.2% and 62.6%. Most of single infections were CMV and BBWV2. Among mixed infections, the incidence rate of CMV+BBWV2 mixed infection was the highest as 49.3% and most of mixed infections of triplex and tetraplex included CMV+BBWV2 mixed infection. CMV single infection caused mosaic, chlorosis, yellowing and vein necrosis and BBWV2 single infection induced cholosis and mosaic. CMV+BBWV2 mixed infection caused severe mosaic with chlorosis or malformation

Prognostic Implications of and Relationship Between CpG Island Hypermethylation and Repetitive DNA Hypomethylation in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

PURPOSE: This study aims to determine the relationship between CpG island DNA hypermethylation and global genomic DNA hypomethylation and their prognostic implications in hepatocellular carcinoma. The association of DNA methylation changes with clinicopathologic factors and the chronological ordering of DNA methylation changes along multistep hepatocarcinogenesis were also assessed. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Hepatocellular carcinoma (n = 20) and nonneoplastic liver samples (n = 72) were analyzed for their methylation status at 41 CpG island loci and 3 repetitive DNA elements (LINE-1, ALU, and SAT2) using MethyLight or combined bisulfite restriction analysis. After selection of 19 CpG island loci showing cancer-specific DNA methylation, another set of 99 hepatocellular carcinoma samples was analyzed for these loci. RESULTS: The number of methylated genes in hepatocellular carcinoma was significantly higher in hepatocellular carcinoma patients with a cirrhotic liver than in hepatocellular carcinoma patients with a noncirrhotic liver (9.9 versus 7.0, P = 0.001). Hepatocellular carcinoma from female patients showed a higher number of methylated genes than hepatocellular carcinoma from male patients (11.2 versus 8.4, P = 0.006). The genes CRABP1 and SYK showed significant association between CpG island hypermethylation and patients' poor survival. SAT2 hypomethylation occurred earlier than LINE-1 or ALU hypomethylation along the multistep hepatocarcinogenesis. Depending on the type of CpG island locus, a direct, inverse, or no relationship between CpG island hypermethylation and repetitive DNA hypomethylation was observed in hepatocellular carcinomas. CONCLUSION: The varying relationships between the hypermethylation of individual CpG island loci and the hypomethylation of repetitive elements suggests that they are not mechanically linked. SYK and CRABP1 hypermethylation may serve as useful tumor markers for prognostication of hepatocellular carcinoma patients.21C Frontier Functional Human Genome Project from theMinistry of Science & Technology in Korea (FG07-11-02 to G.H.K.)

Suppression of halide migration and immobile ionic surface passivation for blue perovskite light-emitting diodes

Cs-based perovskite nanocrystals (PeNCs) have been considered to be excellent emitters for perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) due to their remarkable optoelectronic properties. Still, their poor optical properties are mainly attributed to the deeper defect states induced by the chlorine content, which has hampered the realization of the full potential of blue PeLEDs. Herein, we propose a surface passivation strategy by employing potassium thiocyanate, which is an immobile passivating material (IPM) that considerably improved the structure of the PeNCs by filling halide vacancies and uncoordinated halide sites. Indeed, the photoluminescence quantum yield of the IPM-introduced PeNCs was significantly enhanced to 74.1% compared to that of the reference PeNCs (34.0%). Besides, K+ seized the halide ions in the PeNCs, thereby resulting in excellent colloidal stability. Overall, the PeLEDs achieved an external quantum efficiency of 2.04% and an elongated operating lifetime. Our strategy provides a simple way for breaking down the hurdles limiting the practicability of PeLEDs in display applications

CpG methylation in exon 1 of transcription factor 4 increases with age in normal gastric mucosa and is associated with gene silencing in intestinal-type gastric cancers

Transcriptional factor 4 (TCF4), encoding a basic helix-loop-helix transcriptional factor, has recently been demonstrated as a causative gene for Pitt-Hopkins syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disease. Examination of gastric cancers using the restriction landmark genomic scanning technique revealed methylation at a NotI enzyme site in TCF4 intron 8 and further identified CpG dinucleotide hypermethylation in TCF4 exon 1, strongly associated with gene silencing in gastric cancer cell lines. Treatment with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine and/or trichostatin A restored TCF4 expression in TCF4-silenced gastric cancer cell lines. Real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis of 77 paired primary gastric tumor samples revealed that 38% of analyzed tumors had a >2-fold decrease in TCF4 expression compared with adjacent normal-appearing tissue, and the decrease significantly correlated with increased CpG methylation in TCF4 exon 1. Clinicopathologic data showed that decreased TCF4 expression occurred significantly more frequently in intestinal-type (22/37, 59%) than in diffuse-type (7/37, 19%) gastric cancers (P = 0.0004) and likewise more frequently in early (12/18, 67%) than in advanced (17/59, 29%) gastric cancers (P = 0.004). CpG methylation markedly increased with patient age among normal-appearing tissues, suggesting that CpG methylation in gastric mucosa may be one of the earliest events in carcinogenesis of intestinal-type gastric cancers. Furthermore, ectopic expression of TCF4 decreased cell growth in a gastric cancer cell line, and the knock down of TCF4 using small interfering RNA increased cell migration. Based on these results, we propose that the observed frequent epigenetic-mediated TCF4 silencing plays a role in tumor formation and progression.21C Frontier Functional Human Genome Project (FG08-11-01) from the Ministry of Science and Technology of Korea