Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) has emerged as a social issue as e-cigarette use is rapidly increasing worldwide and is related to many deaths in the United States. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of EVALI in South Korea of a 24-year-old man with acute respiratory symptoms and a history of e-cigarette use. Chest CT revealed diffuse bilateral ground-glass opacities with subpleural sparing, airspace consolidation, and centrilobular micronodules as typical patterns of EVALI with organizing pneumonia and diffuse alveolar damage. Infection was excluded with meticulous laboratory examinations, and the patients’ illnesses were not attributed to other causes. EVALI was diagnosed by meeting the diagnostic criteria with consistent clinico-radiologic findings through a multidisciplinary approach. Radiologists should have good knowledge of EVALI radiologic findings and play a cardinal role in the proper diagnosis and management of EVALI.

The target of rapamycin (TOR) signaling pathway is a conserved pathway that regulates eukaryotic cell growth in response to environmental cues. Chemical genomic approaches that profile rapamycin sensitivity of yeast deletion strains have given insights into the function of TOR signaling pathway. In the present study, we analyzed the rapamycin sensitivity of yeast deletion library strains on synthetic medium. As a result, we identified 130 strains that are hypersensitive or resistant to rapamycin compared with wild-type cells. Among them, 36 genes are newly identified to be related to rapamycin sensitivity. Moreover, we found 16 strains that show alteration in rapamycin sensitivity between complex and synthetic media. We suggest that these genes may be involved in part of TOR signaling activities that is differentially regulated by media composition.
Cues ; Eukaryotic Cells ; Saccharomyces ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; Sirolimus ; Yeasts

Mental health is influenced by the gut-brain axis; for example, gut dysbiosis has been observed in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).Gut microbial changes by fecal microbiota transplantation or probiotics treatment reportedly modulates depressive symptoms. However, it remains unclear how gut dysbiosis contributes to mental dysfunction, and how correction of the gut microbiota alleviates neuropsychiatric disorders. Our previous study showed that chronic consumption of Lactobacillus reuteri ATG-F4 (F4) induced neurometabolic alterations in healthy mice. Here, we investigated whether F4 exerted therapeutic effects on depressive-like behavior by influencing the central nervous system. Using chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) to induce anhedonia, a key symptom of MDD, we found that chronic F4 consumption alleviated CUS-induced anhedonic behaviors, accompanied by biochemical changes in the gut, serum, and brain. Serum and brain metabolite concentrations involved in tryptophan metabolism were regulated by CUS and F4. F4 consumption reduced the elevated levels of serotonin (5-HT) in the brain observed in the CUS group. Additionally, the increased expression of Htr1a, a subtype of the 5-HT receptor, in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of stressed mice was restored to levels observed in stress-naïve mice following F4 supplementation. We further demonstrated the role of Htr1a using AAV-shRNA to downregulate Htr1a in the mPFC of CUS mice, effectively reversing CUS-induced anhedonic behavior. Together, our findings suggest F4 as a potential therapeutic approach for relieving some depressive symptoms and highlight the involvement of the tryptophan metabolism in mitigating CUS-induced depressive-like behaviors through the action of this bacterium.

Background: Fontan-associated liver disease (FALD) is a hepatic disorder caused by hemodynamic changes and systemic venous congestion following the Fontan procedure. FALD includes liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), both of which may require liver transplantation (LT). However, the Fontan circulation, characterized by elevated central venous pressure and reduced cardiac output, is a challenging issue for surgeons and anesthesiologists.Case: We report a living-donor LT for the treatment of HCC. The patient was a 24-year-old male who underwent the Fontan procedure for pulmonary atresia and right ventricle hypoplasia. We focused on maintaining enough blood volume for cardiac output without causing pulmonary edema, as the patient is not well adapted to changes in volume. Owing to a multidisciplinary approach, the surgery was successfully performed without fatal adverse events. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first case of isolated LT in a recipient who became an adult after having undergone the Fontan procedure.

This study investigated the association between serum phosphate level and mortality in acute kidney injury (AKI) patients undergoing continuous kidney replacement therapy (CKRT) and evaluated whether this association differed according to disease severity. Methods: Data from eight tertiary hospitals in Korea were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were classified into four groups (low, normal, high, and very high) based on their serum phosphate level at baseline. The association between serum phosphate level and mortality was then analyzed, with further subgroup analysis being conducted according to disease severity. Results: Among the 3,290 patients identified, 166, 955, 1,307, and 862 were in the low, normal, high, and very high phosphate groups, respectively. The 90-day mortality rate was 63.9% and was highest in the very high group (76.3%). Both the high and very high groups showed a significantly higher 90-day mortality rate than did the normal phosphate group (high: hazard ratio [HR], 1.35, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21–1.51, p < 0.001; very high: HR, 2.01, 95% CI, 1.78–2.27, p < 0.001). The low group also exhibited a higher 90-day mortality rate than did the normal group among those with high disease severity (HR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.09–1.99; p = 0.01) but not among those with low disease severity. Conclusion: High serum phosphate level predicted increased mortality in AKI patients undergoing CKRT, and low phosphate level was associated with increased mortality in patients with high disease severity. Therefore, serum phosphate levels should be carefully considered in critically ill patients with AKI.

Objective : To investigate the effect of different decontamination methods, including photodynamic therapy, sandblasting and titanium curette, on titanium surface morphology and bacterial adhesion for the treatment of peri-implant disease. Methods: Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) and Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn) were inoculated on the surface of polished titanium specimens, and titanium specimen surfaces were treated with different decontamination methods after incubation. The titanium specimens were divided into a no-treatment control group, photodynamic group, sandblasting group and titanium curette group according to different decontamination methods. The changes in titanium surface roughness were observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the remaining bacteria on the titanium surface were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and live/dead bacteria staining tests. After reinoculation of Pg and Fn, bacterial readhesion was observed on the surface of decontaminated titanium specimens. Results : The AFM results showed that the surface roughness of the titanium curette group was significantly higher than that of the no-treatment control group, photodynamic group and sandblasting group (P<0.05), and there was no statistically significant difference between the no-treatment control group, photodynamic group and sandblasting group (P>0.05). The results of contact angle measurement showed that the surface contact angle of each treatment group was smaller than that of the no-treatment control group (P<0.05). The SEM results obtained after the titanium specimen surface was decontaminated showed that the number of bacteria on the no-treatment control group surface was higher and the bacteria were relatively concentrated. The bacteria on the surface of the photodynamic group, sandblasting group and titanium curette group were scattered and distributed in small numbers, and most bacteria on the surface of the photodynamic group were ruptured. The results of the live/dead bacteria staining experiment showed that the percentage of dead bacteria on the surface of the photodynamic group was significantly higher than that of the no-treatment control group, sandblasting group and titanium curette group (P<0.05). The remaining bacteria on the surface of the sandblasting group and titanium curette groups were mainly live bacteria. The remaining bacterial adhesion on the surface was significantly reduced for the sandblasting group compared to the no-treatment control group and the photodynamic and titanium curette groups (P<0.05). SEM and live/dead bacteria staining results of bacterial readhesion on the surface of titanium specimens showed that there was an aggregation of Pg on the surface of the titanium curette group, and its surface bacterial adhesion was significantly higher than that of the no-treatment control group, photodynamic group and sandblasting group. Conclusion In mechanical decontamination, sandblasting machines are a better option than photodynamic therapy and titanium curettes; however, sandblasting does not remove all bacterial contamination. For sterilization, photodynamic therapy is more effective than sandblasting and titanium curettes. A combination of sandblasting and photodynamic therapy methods for the treatment of peri-implant disease may be considered in clinical practice.