Background: Despite advancements in laboratory animal facility management, pinworm infections remain a persistent issue in immunodeficient mouse colonies. Rapid diagnosis and treatment are crucial to mitigating potential scientific and economic consequences. Effective control requires both the administration of anthelmintic agents and rigorous environmental decontamination. However, the safety and efficacy of these treatments in genetically modified mouse models remains uncertain.Case presentation Aspiculuris tetraptera infestation was identified in multiple immunodeficient mouse models housed in a laboratory facility. Diagnosis was confirmed through fecal flotation for egg detection and necropsy for adult worm examination in the large intestines. Mice received three subcutaneous ivermectin injections at two-week intervals, coupled with environmental decontamination using ivermectin spray for four consecutive weeks. Following treatment, all colonies tested negative for A. tetraptera without any mortality. Conclusions A combination of subcutaneous ivermectin injection and environmental spray application effectively eradicated A. tetraptera infestation in immunodeficient mouse colonies. The treatment protocol led to the complete elimination of eggs and adult worms, offering a practical strategy for managing pinworm infections in genetically modified mouse models. Limitations include the small sample size, and the lack of a comprehensive evaluation of physiological and metabolic safety in immunodeficient mice. Further validation will be required to confirm the broader applicability of this approach.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are crucial mediators of intercellular communication, which facilitate the transfer of bioactive molecules such as proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. Their high biocompatibility and intrinsic targeting abilities make them promising candidates for therapeutics, drug delivery, and disease biomarkers. In liver diseases, EVs are essential in liver regeneration, fibrosis modulation, and ischemia-reperfusion injury repair, and EV-derived biomarkers have shown potential for non-invasive disease monitoring, particularly in hepatitis B virus infection, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and hepatocellular carcinoma. This review provides a comprehensive overview of EV biology, cellular sources, isolation techniques, and strategies to enhance their therapeutic potential. Furthermore, we discuss the role of EVs in liver regeneration and their clinical application in biomarker discovery. Despite significant advancements in EV-based therapies, challenges such as scalability, standardization, immunogenicity, and regulatory approval remain key hurdles for clinical translation. Future research should focus on optimizing EV bioengineering, refining isolation methods, and addressing regulatory concerns to facilitate successful application of EVs in liver disease management and precision medicine.

Objective: To investigate whether reader training improves the performance and agreement of radiologists in interpreting unenhanced breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Materials and Methods: A study of 96 breasts (35 cancers, 24 benign, and 37 negative) in 48 asymptomatic women was performed between June 2019 and October 2020. High-resolution DWI with b-values of 0, 800, and 1200 sec/mm 2 was performed using a 3.0-T system. Sixteen breast radiologists independently reviewed the DWI, apparent diffusion coefficient maps, and T1-weighted MRI scans and recorded the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) category for each breast. After a 2-h training session and a 5-month washout period, they re-evaluated the BI-RADS categories. A BI-RADS category of 4 (lesions with at least two suspicious criteria) or 5 (more than two suspicious criteria) was considered positive.The per-breast diagnostic performance of each reader was compared between the first and second reviews. Inter-reader agreement was evaluated using a multi-rater κ analysis and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Results: Before training, the mean sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the 16 readers were 70.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 59.4–79.9), 90.8% (95% CI: 85.6–94.2), and 83.5% (95% CI: 78.6–87.4), respectively. After training, significant improvements in specificity (95.2%; 95% CI: 90.8–97.5; P = 0.001) and accuracy (85.9%; 95% CI: 80.9–89.8; P = 0.01) were observed, but no difference in sensitivity (69.8%; 95% CI: 58.1–79.4; P = 0.58) was observed. Regarding inter-reader agreement, the κ values were 0.57 (95% CI: 0.52–0.63) before training and 0.68 (95% CI: 0.62–0.74) after training, with a difference of 0.11 (95% CI: 0.02–0.18; P = 0.01). The ICC was 0.73 (95% CI: 0.69–0.74) before training and 0.79 (95% CI: 0.76–0.80) after training (P = 0.002). Conclusion Brief reader training improved the performance and agreement of interpretations by breast radiologists using unenhanced MRI with DWI.

Background: Spinal anesthesia-induced hypotension (SAH) frequently occurs in older patients, many of whom have mild left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction, often asymptomatic at rest. This study investigated the association between preoperative echocardiographic measurements and SAH in older patients with mild LV diastolic dysfunction. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study using data from electronic medical records. The patients ≥ 65 years old who underwent spinal anesthesia for urologic surgery between January 2016 and December 2017 and whose preoperative echocardiography within 6 months before surgery revealed grade I LV diastolic dysfunction were recruited. SAH was investigated using the anesthesia records. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed. Results: A total of 163 patients were analyzed. SAH and significant SAH developed in 55 (33.7%) patients. The mitral inflow E velocity was an independent risk factor for SAH (odds ratio [OR], 0.886; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.845–0.929; P < 0.001). The area under the ROC curve for mitral inflow E velocity to predict SAH was 0.819 (95% CI, 0.752–0.875; P < 0.001). If mitral inflow E velocity was ≤ 60 cm/s, SAH was predicted with a sensitivity of 83.6% and specificity of 70.4%. Conclusions The preoperative mitral inflow E velocity demonstrated the greatest predictability of SAH in older patients with mild LV diastolic dysfunction. This may assist in identifying patients at high risk of SAH and guiding preventive strategies in the future.

Minimally invasive distal pancreatectomy is a safe and effective surgical approach for the treatment of distal pancreatic tumors. Recently, the da Vinci single-port (SP) system (Intuitive Surgical, Inc.) was introduced to overcome the previously known limitations of this approach.Here, we report our experience with robotic SP plus one-port splenic vessel-conserving spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy (RSP + 1 SVc-SpDP). A 38-year-old male patient was incidentally found to have a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor. On May 12, 2023, RSP + 1SVc-SpDP was performed. The robotic SP was placed at the transumbilical site, and anadditional 12-mm port was placed on the left side of the patient’s abdomen. The surgicalprocedure was based on splenic vessel-conserving, spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy.The operative time was 350 minutes, and the patient was discharged on postoperative day 8 without any complications. The initial experience of RSP + 1 SVc-SpDP using the da Vinci SP system showed the possibility of an alternative operation for distal pancreatectomy.

Background: The ratio of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) based on cystatin C and creatinine (eGFRcystatin C/eGFRcreatinine ratio) is related to accumulating atherosclerosis-promoting proteins and increased mortality in several cohorts. Methods: We assessed whether the eGFRcystatin C/eGFRcreatinine ratio is a predictor of arterial stiffness and sub-clinical atherosclerosis in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients, who were followed up during 2008 to 2016. GFR was estimated using an equation based on cystatin C and creatinine. Results: A total of 860 patients were stratified according to their eGFRcystatin C/eGFRcreatinine ratio (i.e., <0.9, 0.9–1.1 [a reference group], and >1.1). Intima-media thickness was comparable among the groups; however, presence of carotid plaque was frequent in the <0.9 group (<0.9 group, 38.3%; 0.9–1.1 group, 21.6% vs. >1.1 group, 17.2%, P<0.001). Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) was faster in the <0.9 group (<0.9 group, 1,656.3±333.0 cm/sec; 0.9–1.1 group, 1,550.5±294.8 cm/sec vs. >1.1 group, 1,494.0±252.2 cm/sec, P<0.001). On comparing the <0.9 group with the 0.9–1.1 group, the multivariate-adjusted odds ratios of prevalence of high baPWV and carotid plaque were 2.54 (P=0.007) and 1.95 (P=0.042), respectively. Cox regression analysis demonstrated near or over 3-fold higher risks of the prevalence of high baPWV and carotid plaque in the <0.9 group without chronic kidney disease (CKD). Conclusion We concluded that eGFRcystatin C/eGFRcreatinine ratio <0.9 was related to an increased risk of high baPWV and carotid plaque in T2DM patients, especially, those without CKD. Careful monitoring of cardiovascular disease is needed for T2DM patients with low eGFRcystatin C/eGFRcreatinine ratio.

Background: Microcirculatory disturbances are typically most severe during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), which occurs during cardiac surgeries. If microvascular reactivity compensates for microcirculatory disturbances during CPB, tissue hypoxemia can be minimized. The primary aim of this study was to assess whether microvascular reactivity during CPB could predict major adverse events (MAE) after cardiac surgery. Methods: This prospective observational study included 115 patients who underwent elective on-pump cardiac surgeries. A vascular occlusion test (VOT) with near-infrared spectroscopy was performed five times for each patient: before the induction of general anesthesia, 30 min after the induction of general anesthesia, 30 min after applying CPB, 10 min after protamine injection, and post-sternal closure. The postoperative MAE was recorded. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve analysis was performed for the prediction of MAE using the recovery slope. Results: Of the 109 patients, MAE occurred in 32 (29.4%). The AUROC curve for the recovery slope during CPB was 0.701 (P < 0.001; 95% CI [0.606, 0.785]). If the recovery slope during CPB was < 1.08%/s, MAE were predicted with a sensitivity of 62.5% and specificity of 72.7%. Conclusions Our study demonstrated that the recovery slope of the VOT during CPB could predict MAE after cardiac surgery. These results support the idea that disturbances in microcirculation induced by CPB can predict the development of poor clinical outcomes, thereby demonstrating the potential role of microvascular reactivity as an early predictor of MAE after cardiac surgery.

Purpose: K-MASTER project is a Korean national precision medicine platform that screened actionable mutations by analyzing next-generation sequencing (NGS) of solid tumor patients. We compared gene analyses between NGS panel from the K-MASTER project and orthogonal methods. Materials and Methods: Colorectal, breast, non–small cell lung, and gastric cancer patients were included. We compared NGS results from K-MASTER projects with those of non-NGS orthogonal methods (KRAS, NRAS, and BRAF mutations in colorectal cancer [CRC]; epidermal growth factor receptor [EGFR], anaplastic lymphoma kinase [ALK] fusion, and reactive oxygen species 1 [ROS1] fusion in non–small cell lung cancer [NSCLC], and Erb-B2 receptor tyrosine kinase 2 (ERBB2) positivity in breast and gastric cancers). Results: In the CRC cohort (n=225), the sensitivity and specificity of NGS were 87.4% and 79.3% (KRAS); 88.9% and 98.9% (NRAS); and 77.8% and 100.0% (BRAF), respectively. In the NSCLC cohort (n=109), the sensitivity and specificity of NGS for EGFR were 86.2% and 97.5%, respectively. The concordance rate for ALK fusion was 100%, but ROS1 fusion was positive in only one of three cases that were positive in orthogonal tests. In the breast cancer cohort (n=260), ERBB2 amplification was detected in 45 by NGS. Compared with orthogonal methods that integrated immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, sensitivity and specificity were 53.7% and 99.4%, respectively. In the gastric cancer cohort (n=64), ERBB2 amplification was detected in six by NGS. Compared with orthogonal methods, sensitivity and specificity were 62.5% and 98.2%, respectively. Conclusion The results of the K-MASTER NGS panel and orthogonal methods showed a different degree of agreement for each genetic alteration, but generally showed a high agreement rate.

Background: The present study investigated the role of synergistic interaction between hyperuricemia and abdominal obesity as a risk factor for the components of metabolic syndrome. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study using the data of 16,094 individuals from the seventh Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016 to 2018). The adjusted odds ratios of metabolic syndrome and its components were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression analysis. The presence of synergistic interaction between hyperuricemia and abdominal obesity was evaluated by calculating the additive scales—the relative excess risk due to interaction, attributable proportion due to interaction, and synergy index (SI). Results: There was a synergistic interaction between hyperuricemia and abdominal obesity in hypertriglyceridemia (men: SI, 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01 to 1.98; women: SI, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.02 to 2.69), and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (men: SI, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.41 to 2.91; women: SI, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.05 to 2.95). There was no significant synergistic interaction between hyperuricemia and abdominal obesity for the risk of high blood pressure (men: SI, 1.22; 95% CI, 0.85 to 1.77; women: SI, 1.53; 95% CI, 0.79 to 2.97), and hyperglycemia (men: SI, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.72 to 1.47; women: SI, 1.39; 95% CI, 0.75 to 2.57). Conclusion Hyperuricemia and abdominal obesity synergistically increased the risk of hypertriglyceridemia and low HDL-C in both sexes.