Microorganism survived in the root canal after root canal cleaning and shaping procedure is a main cause of root canal treatment failure. There are several mechanisms for the bacteria to survive in the root canal after chemomechanical preparation and root canal irrigation. Bacteria organized as biofilm has been suggested as an etiology of persistent periapical lesion. Recent studies were focus on removal of Enterococcus faecalis biofilm due to the report that the persistence of this bacteria after root canal treatment may be associated with its ability to form biofilm. Several investigations demonstrated that current root canal treatment protocol including use of NaOCl, EDTA and Chlorhexidine as irrigants is quite effective in eliminating E. faecalis biofilm. However, this microorganism still can survive in inaccessible areas of root canal system and evade host immune response, suppress immune activity and produce biofilm. Up to date, there is no possible clinical method to completely get rid of bacteria from the root canal. Once the root canal treatment failure occurred, and conventional treatment incorporating current therapeutic protocol has failed, periapical surgery or extraction should be considered rather than prolong the ineffected retreatment procedure.
Bacteria ; Biofilms ; Chlorhexidine ; Clinical Protocols ; Dental Pulp Cavity ; Drug Combinations ; Edetic Acid ; Enterococcus ; Enterococcus faecalis ; Piperonyl Butoxide ; Pyrethrins ; Retreatment ; Treatment Failure

PURPOSE: A laparoscopic appendectomy is now commonly performed. The push in recent years toward reducing the number of ports required to perform this surgery has led to the development of a single-port laparoscopic appendectomy (SPA). We compared postoperative pain after an SPA using a glove port with a percutaneous organ-holding device (group 1) with that of an SPA using a commercially-available multichannel single-port device (group 2). METHODS: Between March 2010 and July 2011, a retrospective study was conducted of a total of 77 patients who underwent an SPA by three surgeons at department of surgery, Kangbuk Samsung Medical Center. Thirty-eight patients received an SPA using a glove port with a percutaneous organ-holding device. The other 39 patients received an SPA using a commercially-available multichannel single port (Octo-Port or SILS Port). Operative details and postoperative outcomes were collected and evaluated. RESULTS: There were no differences in the mean operative times, times to pass gas, postoperative hospital stays, or cosmetic satisfaction scores between the two groups. The pain score in the first 24 hours after surgery was higher in group 2 than group 1 patients (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the trocar used in group 2 was more expensive than that used in group 1. CONCLUSION: An SPA using a glove port with a percutaneous organ-holding device was associated with a lower pain score during the first 24 hours after surgery because of the shorter fascia incision length and a cheaper cost than an SPA using a commercially-available multichannel single-port device.
Appendectomy* ; Fascia ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Operative Time ; Pain, Postoperative ; Retrospective Studies ; Surgical Instruments

Purpose: As the aging of society progresses, the proportion of extremely older lung cancer patients has also increased; However, studies of these patients with non–small cell lung cancer are limited. Therefore, we investigated the initial treatment modalities and survival outcomes for patients aged 80 years or over. Materials and Methods: We included a multicenter retrospective cohort from the Korean Association for Lung Cancer Registry, which surveys 10% of the newly diagnosed lung cancer patients across 52 hospitals in Korea. We analyzed and compared the 2014–2016 data of the non–small cell lung cancer patients aged ≥ 80 years and those aged < 80 years. Results: Of the 6,576 patients reviewed, 780 patients were aged ≥ 80 years, and 5,796 patients were aged < 80 years. In the patients aged ≥ 80 years, surgery and radiation therapy resulted in longer patient survival among those with a resectable tumor (stage I–II) than the best supportive care (median survival, not reached [surgery] vs. 32.2 months [radiation therapy] vs. 11.43 months [best supportive care]). The duration of survival in patients with advanced-stage (IV) lung cancers was higher after chemotherapy than after the best supportive care (median survival, 8.63 months vs. 2.5 months). Patients with stage IV adenocarcinoma who received targeted therapy had better survival than those who did not (median survival, 9.0 months vs. 4.3 months). Conclusion Even in extremely older patients, active treatments, such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, can result in better survival outcomes than the best supportive care.

Aspergillus species play a crucial role in terrestrial environments as degraders and are well known for producing various secondary metabolites. Recently, Aspergillus species have been discovered in marine environments, exhibiting adaptability to high salinity and producing diverse secondary metabolites with valuable properties. However, limited research has focused on their marine diversity, leading to inaccurate species identification. The current study addresses this gap by investigating diverse marine habitats in the Republic of Korea, including sediment, seawater, seaweed, and marine animals. From three coasts of the Korean Peninsula, 472 Aspergillus strains were isolated from the various marine habitats. A total of 41 species were accurately identified using multigenetic markers: internal transcribed spacer, calmodulin, and b-tubulin. The findings underscore the importance of accurate iden tification and provide a basis for elucidating the functional role of marine-derived Aspergillus species in marine ecosystems.

Celiac artery aneurysms are rare, their incidence being reported as only 4% of all visceral artery aneurysms. Atherosclerosis and medial degenerative changes are recognized main pathogenesis. They are usually asymptomatic and diagnosed incidentally, but the mortality rate of ruptured celiac artery aneurysm is approximately 80%. So one should give an aggressive surgical aid to the patients. We report 2 cases of celiac artery aneurysm which were successfully treated by elective aneurysmorrhaphy and anerysmectomy with aortoceliac bypass graft.
Aneurysm* ; Arteries ; Atherosclerosis ; Celiac Artery ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mortality ; Transplants

PURPOSE: To investigate the feasibility and safety of solo surgery with single-port laparoscopic appendectomy, which is termed herein solo-SPLA (solo-single-port laparoscopic appendectomy). METHODS: This study prospectively collected and retrospectively analyzed data from patients who had undergone either non-solo-SPLA (n = 150) or solo-SPLA (n = 150). Several devices were utilized for complete, skin-to-skin solo-SPSA, including a Lone Star Retractor System and an adjustable mechanical camera holder. RESULTS: Operating times were not significantly different between solo- and non-solo-SPLA (45.0 +/- 21.0 minutes vs. 46.7 +/- 26.1 minutes, P = 0.646). Most postoperative variables were also comparable between groups, including the necessity for intravenous analgesics (0.7 +/- 1.2 ampules [solo-SPLA] vs. 0.9 +/- 1.5 ampules [non-solo-SPLA], P = 0.092), time interval to gas passing (1.3 +/- 1.0 days vs. 1.4 +/- 1.0 days, P = 0.182), and the incidence of postoperative complications (4.0% vs. 8.7%, P = 0.153). Moreover, solo-SPLA effectively lowered the operating cost by reducing surgical personnel expenses. CONCLUSION: Solo-SPLA economized staff numbers and thus lowered hospital costs without lengthening of operating time. Therefore, solo-SPLA could be considered a safe and feasible alternative to non-solo-SPLA.
Analgesics ; Appendectomy* ; Hospital Costs ; Humans ; Incidence ; Postoperative Complications ; Prospective Studies ; Retrospective Studies

Phage display technology provides a powerful tool to screen a library for a binding molecule via an enrichment process. It has been adopted as a critical technology in the development of therapeutic antibodies. However, a major drawback of phage display technology is that because the degree of the enrichment cannot be controlled during the bio-panning process, it frequently results in a limited number of clones. In this study, we applied next-generation sequencing (NGS) to screen clones from a library and determine whether a greater number of clones can be identified using NGS than using conventional methods. Three chicken immune single-chain variable fragment (scFv) libraries were subjected to bio-panning on prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Phagemid DNA prepared from the original libraries as well as from the Escherichia coli pool after each round of bio-panning was analyzed using NGS, and the heavy chain complementarity-determining region 3 (HCDR3) sequences of the scFv clones were determined. Subsequently, through two-step linker PCR and cloning, the entire scFv gene was retrieved and analyzed for its reactivity to PSA in a phage enzyme immunoassay. After four rounds of bio-panning, the conventional colony screening method was performed for comparison. The scFv clones retrieved from NGS analysis included all clones identified by the conventional colony screening method as well as many additional clones. The enrichment of the HCDR3 sequence throughout the bio-panning process was a positive predictive factor for the selection of PSA-reactive scFv clones.
Antibodies ; Bacteriophages ; Chickens ; Clone Cells* ; Cloning, Organism ; Complementarity Determining Regions ; DNA ; Escherichia coli ; Immunoenzyme Techniques ; Mass Screening ; Methods ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; Single-Chain Antibodies

Japanese encephalitis (JE) cases have been increasingly reported recently especially in Seoul and its vicinity. Pigs are known as amplifying host of JE virus (JEV), but do not play an important role in these recent events because pig-breeding is not common in Seoul. The distribution and the density of migratory birds are correlated with JE cases in cities and they might be highly potential hosts contributing to transmit JEV in metropolitan areas. JE genotype and sero-prevalence in birds should be determined for the verification of the transmission route of JEV in the recent sporadic occurrence of JE cases in Seoul.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Birds ; Encephalitis, Japanese ; Genotype ; Humans ; Korea ; Seoul ; Swine

The recognition of emotional facial expressions is critical for our social interactions. While some prior studies have shown that a high anxiety level is associated with more sensitive recognition of emotion, there are also reports supporting that anxiety did not affect or reduce the sensitivity to the recognition of facial emotions. To reconcile these results, here we investigated whether the effect of individual anxiety on the recognition of facial emotions is dependent on the emotion category and the race of the target faces. We found that, first, there was a significant positive correlation between the individual anxiety level and the recognition sensitivity for angry faces but not for sad or happy faces. Second, while the correlation was significant for both low- and high-intensity angry faces during the recognition of the observer's own-race faces, there was significant correlation only for low-intensity angry faces during the recognition of other-race faces. Collectively, our results suggest that the influence of anxiety on the recognition of facial emotions is flexible depending on the characteristics of the target face stimuli including emotion category and race.
Anxiety ; Continental Population Groups ; Facial Expression ; Humans ; Interpersonal Relations

Hydnum is a genus of ectomycorrhizal fungi belonging to the Hydnaceae family. It is widely distributed across different regions of the world, including North America, Europe, and Asia; however, some of them showed disjunct distributions. In recent years, with the integration of molecular techniques, the taxonomy and classification of Hydnum have undergone several revisions and advancements. However, these changes have not yet been applied in the Republic of Korea. In this study, we conducted an integrated analysis combining the mor phological and molecular analyses of 30 specimens collected over a period of approximately 10 years in the Republic of Korea. For molecular analysis, the sequence data of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, the large subunit of nuclear ribosomal RNA gene (nrLSU), and a portion of translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1) were employed as molecular markers. Through this study, we identified eight species that had previously not been reported to occur in the Republic of Korea, including one new species, Hydnum paucispinum.A taxonomic key and detailed descriptions of the eight Hydnumm species are provided in this study.