Background: Water electrospray technology has been developed and extensively studied for its physical properties and potential application as a non-chemical biocide against airborne pathogens. However, there are still concerns regarding the safety and potential toxicity of inhaling water electrospray (WE) particles. To address these potential hazards and offer insights into the impact of WE on humans, we analyzed the immunopathological response to WE by employing an intranasal challenge C57BL/6 mouse model. This analysis aimed to compare the effects of WE with those of sodium hypochlorite (SH), a well-known biocidal agent. Results: The study findings suggest that the WE did not trigger any pathological immune reactions in the intranasal-challenged C57BL/6 mouse model. Mice challenged with WE did not experience body weight loss, and there was no increase in inflammatory cytokine production compared to SH-treated mice. Histopathological analysis revealed that WE did not cause any damage to the lung tissue. In contrast, mice treated with SH exhibited significant lung tissue damage, characterized by the infiltration of neutrophils and eosinophils. Transcriptomic analysis of lung tissue further confirmed the absence of a pathological immune response in mice treated with WE compared to those treated with SH. Upon intranasal challenge with WE, the C57BL/6 mouse model did not show any evidence of immunopathological damage. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that WE is a safe technology for disinfecting airborne pathogens. It demonstrated little to no effect on immune system activation and pathological outcomes in the intranasal challenge C57BL/6 mouse model. These findings not only support the potential use of WE as an effective and safe method for air disinfection but also highlight the value of the intranasal challenge of the C57BL/6 mouse model in providing significant immunopathological insights for assessing the inhalation of novel materials for potential use.

Background: It has become important to identify and manage risk factors for subclinical atrial fibrillation (AF) with an increase in its detection rate. Thus, this research aimed to investigate whether alcohol consumption contrib‑ utes to the development of subclinical AF. Methods: This prospective study enrolled 467 patients without AF from a multicenter pacemaker registry. The incidence of subclinical AF (episodes of atrial rate > 220 beats per minute without symptoms) was compared between alcohol-drinking and non-drinking groups. Results: During followup (median 18 months), the incidence and risk of long-duration atrial high-rate episodes (AHRE) ≥ 24 h were increased in the alcohol group compared to the non-alcohol group [5.47 vs. 2.10 per 100 personyears, adjusted hazard ratio (HR), 2.83; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.14–7.04; P = 0.03]. After propensity score match‑ ing, the incidence and risk of long-duration AHRE were higher in the alcohol group (6.97 vs. 1.27 per 100 personyears, adjusted HR, 7.84; 95% CI, 1.21–50.93; P = 0.03). The mean burden of long-duration subclinical AF was higher in the alcohol group than in the non-alcohol group (0.18 vs. 1.61% during follow-up, P = 0.08). Conclusion Alcohol consumption was associated with an increased risk of subclinical AF. Long-duration AHRE inci‑ dence and AHRE burden were higher in alcohol drinkers than in non-drinkers.

Background: Genetic studies are clinically recommended in some cases of inherited arrhythmia syndromes. Nextgeneration sequencing (NGS) would be helpful because of its high analytical throughput and relative speed. This study aimed to assess the mutation-detection yield obtained by NGS compared with conventional Sanger sequencing method. Methods: Patients with aborted sudden cardiac death and their families who underwent gene sequencing tests for inherited arrhythmia syndromes were retrospectively and enrolled in this study from 2017 to 2022 at Chonnam National University Hospital. We evaluated NGS study results of 17 patients (NGS group) and Sanger study results of 19 patients (Sanger group). Results: 64.7% of NGS and 94.7% of Sanger group were probands. Type 1 Brugada pattern ECG was more frequent in NGS group (64.7% vs. 21.1%; p = 0.007). BrS was the most common disorder in NGS group (76.5%), and idiopathic ventricular fibrillation was the most common one in Sanger group (63.2%). Mutations with uncertain significance were the most common ones in NGS group (89.5%), and pathogenic or likely pathogenic mutations were the most common ones in Sanger group (45.7%). When positive yield was defined as the ratio of pathogenic or likely pathogenic mutations that were detected by sequencing, the yields were 10.5% and 45.7% in NGS and Sanger groups, respectively. The NGS arrhythmia panel did not cover two inherited arrhythmia-related mutations (RYR1, APOA5) that were detected by the Sanger method. The extended NGS arrhythmia panel was able to detect 84.8% of inherited arrhythmia-related mutations that were detected in Sanger group. Conclusions NGS study has some limitations in obtaining the full genetic data of probands. Well-designed NGS panels are needed to increase the efficiency of the NGS study. With the well-designed panels, large-scale gene sequencing can efficiently and rapidly be applied in real clinical practices, especially in inherited fatal arrhythmia syndromes that have a high detection yield in genetic analyses.

Since its debut in the biomedical research fields in 1981, zebrafish have been used as a vertebrate model organism in more than 40,000 biomedical research studies. Especially useful are zebrafish lines expressing fluorescent proteins in a molecule, intracellular organelle, cell or tissue specific manner because they allow the visualization and tracking of molecules, intracellular organelles, cells or tissues of interest in real time and in vivo. In this review, we summarize representative transgenic fluorescent zebrafish lines that have revolutionized biomedical research on signal transduction, the craniofacial skeletal system, the hematopoietic system, the nervous system, the urogenital system, the digestive system and intracellular organelles.

Since its debut in the biomedical research fields in 1981, zebrafish have been used as a vertebrate model organism in more than 40,000 biomedical research studies. Especially useful are zebrafish lines expressing fluorescent proteins in a molecule, intracellular organelle, cell or tissue specific manner because they allow the visualization and tracking of molecules, intracellular organelles, cells or tissues of interest in real time and in vivo. In this review, we summarize representative transgenic fluorescent zebrafish lines that have revolutionized biomedical research on signal transduction, the craniofacial skeletal system, the hematopoietic system, the nervous system, the urogenital system, the digestive system and intracellular organelles.

Purpose: To analyze differences in clinical outcomes of arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction between remnant-preserving and non-preserving methods. Methods: International electronical databases PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane central database from January 1966 to December 2017 were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies that compared differences of clinical outcomes of ACL reconstruction with and without remnant preservation. A metaanalysis of these studies was performed to compare clinical outcomes. Subgroup analyses were conducted to evaluate the role of methodological quality in primary meta-analysis estimates. Results: Five RCTsand six observational studies were included in this meta-analysis and subgroup analysis. The remnant-preserving method in arthroscopic ACL reconstruction showed a statistically significant difference compared to the non-preserving method regarding arthrometric evaluation (side-to-side difference). Lachman test, Lysholm scores, and IKDC subjective scores showed statistically minor difference in meta-analysis, but showed no significant difference in subgroup analysis. Remained parameters including pivot shift test, IKDC grades, incidence of cyclops lesion showed no statistically differences in meta-analysis or subgroup analysis. Conclusions: This meta-analysis with subgroup analysis showed that arthroscopic remnant-preserving ACL reconstruction provided statistically significant but limited clinical relevance in terms of arthrometric evaluation. Results of Lachman test, Lysholm scores, and IKDC subjective scores demonstrated statistically minor differences.