Utilization of Laboratory Tests for Tuberculosis and Mycobacterial Disease in Korea

AbstractObjectivesIn Korea, a large portion of tuberculosis (TB) patients are diagnosed and treated in private institutes. Laboratory tests are crucial for TB control. There are many possible problems using laboratory tests in the private sector. In this study, we aimed to investigate the characteristics and trends of utilizing laboratory tests for TB and mycobacterial diseases in the private sector by analyzing the National Health Insurance (NHI) database.MethodsAfter selecting TB or other mycobacteria-related test items, we searched the number and cost of each item on the website of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service using the code of each test from 2007 to 2012.ResultsOur data revealed that the number and cost of tests drastically increased between 2007 and 2012. Culture and molecular tests primarily contributed to the tremendous increases. For each year, concentrated smearing and fluorochrome staining were more commonly used. The number of serologic tests for latent TB infection stagnated, despite the expansion of contact investigation.ConclusionThe NHI data could be considerably useful for understanding the utilization trends of laboratory tests for TB and mycobacterial diseases in Korea. Our data showed that TB laboratory systems have recently improved. In this study, many issues were noticed. Therefore, solutions to these issues are required and the continued monitoring of NHI data regarding laboratory diagnosis

Optimal Guaranteed Service Time and Service Level Decision with Time and Service Level Sensitive Demand

We consider a two-stage supply chain with one supplier and one retailer. The retailer sells a product to customer and the supplier provides a product in a make-to-order mode. In this case, the supplier’s decisions on service time and service level and the retailer’s decision on retail price have effects on customer demand. We develop optimization models to determine the optimal retail price, the optimal guaranteed service time, the optimal service level, and the optimal capacity to maximize the expected profit of the whole supply chain. The results of numerical experiments show that it is more profitable to determine the optimal price, the optimal guaranteed service time, and the optimal service level simultaneously and the proposed model is more profitable in service level sensitive market

Toward a Standardized Strategy of Clinical Metabolomics for the Advancement of Precision Medicine

Despite the tremendous success, pitfalls have been observed in every step of a clinical metabolomics workflow, which impedes the internal validity of the study. Furthermore, the demand for logistics, instrumentations, and computational resources for metabolic phenotyping studies has far exceeded our expectations. In this conceptual review, we will cover inclusive barriers of a metabolomics-based clinical study and suggest potential solutions in the hope of enhancing study robustness, usability, and transferability. The importance of quality assurance and quality control procedures is discussed, followed by a practical rule containing five phases, including two additional "pre-pre-" and "post-post-" analytical steps. Besides, we will elucidate the potential involvement of machine learning and demonstrate that the need for automated data mining algorithms to improve the quality of future research is undeniable. Consequently, we propose a comprehensive metabolomics framework, along with an appropriate checklist refined from current guidelines and our previously published assessment, in the attempt to accurately translate achievements in metabolomics into clinical and epidemiological research. Furthermore, the integration of multifaceted multi-omics approaches with metabolomics as the pillar member is in urgent need. When combining with other social or nutritional factors, we can gather complete omics profiles for a particular disease. Our discussion reflects the current obstacles and potential solutions toward the progressing trend of utilizing metabolomics in clinical research to create the next-generation healthcare system.11Ysciescopu

Ab initio study of the effect of water adsorption on the carbon nanotube field-effect transistor

We perform density-functional calculations to investigate the effect of adsorbed water molecules on carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Noting that the H2 O molecule has much wider energy gap than the CNT, we find that the charge transfer between them is negligible. We discuss that several recent publications, which claimed a substantial electron transfer from the water molecule to the CNT, have been based on incautious interpretations of the Mulliken population analysis. We suggest that the effect of humidity on nanotube devices may be attributed to various indirect effects enhanced by water vapors, rather than the carrier generations by the physisorbed H2 O molecules.open292

Glutaric Aciduria Type 1 in Korea: Report of Two Novel Mutations

Glutaric aciduria type I (GA I) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by a deficiency of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase. Although over 400 patients confirmed as GA I have been reported, reports from the Asian population had contributed to the minor proportion. We recently diagnosed two cases of GA I confirmed with mutational analysis. Here, we present their rather atypical clinical presentations with genetic characteristics for the first time in Korea. Profound developmental delay from birth, association of hearing loss, and neurological improvement after surgical intervention, were considered to be different clinical features from most reported cases. One patient was a compound heterozygote for p.Ser139Leu and p.Asp220Tyr, and the other for p.Ser139Leu and Glu160X. The mutations of the two alleles (p.Asp220Tyr and p.Glu160X) were novel and reports of p.Ser139Leu were rare both in Western and other Asian populations. These might suggest different genetic spectrum of Korean GA I patients