Boundary Setting for Ecosystem Services by Factor Analysis: A Case Study in Seocheon, South Korea

Ecosystem service assessment maps are an important form of data, showing the flow and characteristics of ecosystem services. However, there has been a lack of research on the spatial boundaries of synergetic and trade-off relationships among different types of ecosystem services based on the microscopic characteristics of ecosystem maps. Therefore, the boundaries of ecosystems were identified in this study using factor analysis of indicators in ecosystem service maps. Ecosystems were mapped for each indicator in each cell, and then factor analysis was used to combine all indicators into one map. Analysis of Seocheon in central South Korea shows the boundaries of two ecosystem types: a mountainous region with abundant underground water and carbon stocks that lack rice paddies, and flatlands with high crop production and a lack of scenic views. The spatial types of ecosystems in which synergy and trade-offs occur were identified by indicator, and these can be used as evidentiary material for spatial planning in order to maximize the function of each ecosystem service

Feasibility of extracting cancer stage and metastasis codes from health insurance claims of outpatients and expressibility in ICD-11: a cross-sectional study using national health insurance data from South Korea

Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the incidence of health insurance claims recording the cancer stage and TNM codes representing tumor extension size (T), lymph node metastasis (N), and distant metastasis (M) for patients diagnosed with cancer and to determine whether this extracted data could be applied to the new ICD-11 codes.Design A cross-sectional study design was used, with the units of analysis as individual outpatients. Two dependent variables were extraction feasibility of cancer stage and TNM metastasis information from each claim. Expressibility of the two variables in ICD-11 was descriptively analysed.Setting and participants The study was conducted in South Korea and study participants were outpatients: lung cancer (LC) (46616), stomach cancer (SC) (50103) and colorectal cancer (CC) (54707). The data set consisted of the first health insurance claim of each patient visiting a hospital from 1 July to 31 December 2021.Results The absolute extraction success rates for cancer stage based on claims with cancer stage was 33.3%. The rates for stage for LC, SC and CC were 30.1%, 35.5% and 34.0%, respectively. The rate for TNM was 11.0%. The relative extraction success rates for stage compared with that for CC (the reference group) were lower for patients with LC (adjusted OR (aOR), 0.803; 95% CI 0.782 to 0.825; p<0.0001) but higher for SC (aOR 1.073; 95% CI 1.046 to 1.101; p<0.0001). The rates of TNM compared that for CC were 40.7% lower for LC (aOR, 0.593; 95% CI 0.569 to 0.617; p<0.0001) and 43.0% lower for SC (aOR 0.570; 95% CI 0.548 to 0.593; p<0.0001). There were limits to expressibility in ICD-11 regarding the detailed cancer stage and TNM metastasis codes.Conclusion Extracting cancer stage and TNM codes from health insurance claims were feasible, but expressibility in ICD-11 codes was limited. WHO may need to create specific cancer stage and TNM extension codes for ICD-11 due to the absence of current rules in ICD-11

Engineering of daidzein 3’-hydroxylase P450 enzyme into catalytically self-sufficient cytochrome P450

<p>Abstract</p> <p>A cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme, 3’-daidzein hydroxylase, CYP105D7 (3’-DH), responsible for daidzein hydroxylation at the 3’-position, was recently reported. CYP105D7 (3’-DH) is a class I type of CYP that requires electrons provided through electron transfer proteins such as ferredoxin and ferredoxin reductase. Presently, we constructed an artificial CYP in order to develop a reaction host for the production of a hydroxylated product. Fusion-mediated construction with the reductase domain from self-sufficient CYP102D1 was done to increase electron transfer efficiency and coupling with the oxidative process. An artificial self-sufficient daidzein hydroxylase (3’-ASDH) displayed distinct spectral properties of both flavoprotein and CYP. The fusion enzyme catalyzed hydroxylation of daidzein more efficiently, with a <it>k</it>_cat/K_m value of 16.8 μM^-1 min^-1, which was about 24-fold higher than that of the 3’-DH-camA/B reconstituted enzyme. Finally, a recombinant <it>Streptomyces avermitilis</it> host for the expression of 3’-ASDH and production of the hydroxylated product was developed. The conversion that was attained (34.6%) was 5.2-fold higher than that of the wild-type.</p