Purpose: This study aimed to comprehensively evaluate the factors influencing the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of community-dwelling older adults living alone, using data from the ninth Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA). Methods: A secondary analysis of the ninth KLoSA dataset from 2022 was conducted. The study sample comprised 1,038 community-dwelling older adults living alone. The dependent variable of this study was OHRQoL, while the independent variables included socio-demographic, oral health-related, general health-related, and health behavior-related characteristics. Factors influencing OHRQoL were assessed using a complex samples general linear model with the Bonferroni correction in IBM SPSS/Win 26.0. Results: The average OHRQoL score was 37.47±0.35 out of 60. The factors influencing the OHRQoL of community-dwelling older adults living alone included age (≥85 years) (t=-3.03, p=.003), wearing dentures (t=-2.11, p=.035), difficulty in daily activities due to vision impairment (t=-2.26, p=.024), difficulty in daily activities due to hearing impairment (t=-2.21, p=.028), and depression (t=-8.38, p<.001). Conclusion Based on our findings, to improve the OHRQoL of community-dwelling older adults living alone, it is necessary to consider psychological factors, such as depression, when developing ongoing oral health-management programs aimed at improving OHRQoL. Additional considerations include effective management of dentures and addressing difficulties in daily activities due to vision and hearing impairments.

Background and Objectives: The popliteal artery is generally regarded as a “no-stent zone.”Limited data are available on the outcomes of drug-coated balloons (DCBs) for popliteal artery disease. This study aimed to evaluate the 12-month clinical outcomes among patients who received DCB treatment for atherosclerotic popliteal artery disease. Methods: This prospective, multicenter registry study enrolled 100 patients from 7 Korean endovascular centers who underwent endovascular therapy using IN.PACT DCB (Medtronic) for symptomatic atherosclerotic popliteal artery disease. The primary endpoint was 12-month clinical primary patency and the secondary endpoint was clinically driven target lesion revascularization (TLR)–free rate. Results: The mean age of the study cohort was 65.7±10.8 years, and 77% of enrolled patients were men. The mean lesion length was 93.7±53.7 mm, and total occlusions were present in 45% of patients. Technical success was achieved in all patients. Combined atherectomy was performed in 17% and provisional stenting was required in 11%. Out of the enrolled patients, 91 patients completed the 12-month follow-up. Clinical primary patency and TLR-free survival rates at 12 months were 76.0% and 87.2%, respectively. A multivariate Cox regression analysis identified female and longer lesion length as the significant independent predictors of loss of patency. Conclusions DCB treatment yielded favorable 12-month clinical primary patency and TLRfree survival outcomes in patients with popliteal artery disease.

Purpose: This study aimed to comprehensively evaluate the factors influencing the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of community-dwelling older adults living alone, using data from the ninth Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA). Methods: A secondary analysis of the ninth KLoSA dataset from 2022 was conducted. The study sample comprised 1,038 community-dwelling older adults living alone. The dependent variable of this study was OHRQoL, while the independent variables included socio-demographic, oral health-related, general health-related, and health behavior-related characteristics. Factors influencing OHRQoL were assessed using a complex samples general linear model with the Bonferroni correction in IBM SPSS/Win 26.0. Results: The average OHRQoL score was 37.47±0.35 out of 60. The factors influencing the OHRQoL of community-dwelling older adults living alone included age (≥85 years) (t=-3.03, p=.003), wearing dentures (t=-2.11, p=.035), difficulty in daily activities due to vision impairment (t=-2.26, p=.024), difficulty in daily activities due to hearing impairment (t=-2.21, p=.028), and depression (t=-8.38, p<.001). Conclusion Based on our findings, to improve the OHRQoL of community-dwelling older adults living alone, it is necessary to consider psychological factors, such as depression, when developing ongoing oral health-management programs aimed at improving OHRQoL. Additional considerations include effective management of dentures and addressing difficulties in daily activities due to vision and hearing impairments.

Background and Objectives: The popliteal artery is generally regarded as a “no-stent zone.”Limited data are available on the outcomes of drug-coated balloons (DCBs) for popliteal artery disease. This study aimed to evaluate the 12-month clinical outcomes among patients who received DCB treatment for atherosclerotic popliteal artery disease. Methods: This prospective, multicenter registry study enrolled 100 patients from 7 Korean endovascular centers who underwent endovascular therapy using IN.PACT DCB (Medtronic) for symptomatic atherosclerotic popliteal artery disease. The primary endpoint was 12-month clinical primary patency and the secondary endpoint was clinically driven target lesion revascularization (TLR)–free rate. Results: The mean age of the study cohort was 65.7±10.8 years, and 77% of enrolled patients were men. The mean lesion length was 93.7±53.7 mm, and total occlusions were present in 45% of patients. Technical success was achieved in all patients. Combined atherectomy was performed in 17% and provisional stenting was required in 11%. Out of the enrolled patients, 91 patients completed the 12-month follow-up. Clinical primary patency and TLR-free survival rates at 12 months were 76.0% and 87.2%, respectively. A multivariate Cox regression analysis identified female and longer lesion length as the significant independent predictors of loss of patency. Conclusions DCB treatment yielded favorable 12-month clinical primary patency and TLRfree survival outcomes in patients with popliteal artery disease.

Background and Objectives: The popliteal artery is generally regarded as a “no-stent zone.”Limited data are available on the outcomes of drug-coated balloons (DCBs) for popliteal artery disease. This study aimed to evaluate the 12-month clinical outcomes among patients who received DCB treatment for atherosclerotic popliteal artery disease. Methods: This prospective, multicenter registry study enrolled 100 patients from 7 Korean endovascular centers who underwent endovascular therapy using IN.PACT DCB (Medtronic) for symptomatic atherosclerotic popliteal artery disease. The primary endpoint was 12-month clinical primary patency and the secondary endpoint was clinically driven target lesion revascularization (TLR)–free rate. Results: The mean age of the study cohort was 65.7±10.8 years, and 77% of enrolled patients were men. The mean lesion length was 93.7±53.7 mm, and total occlusions were present in 45% of patients. Technical success was achieved in all patients. Combined atherectomy was performed in 17% and provisional stenting was required in 11%. Out of the enrolled patients, 91 patients completed the 12-month follow-up. Clinical primary patency and TLR-free survival rates at 12 months were 76.0% and 87.2%, respectively. A multivariate Cox regression analysis identified female and longer lesion length as the significant independent predictors of loss of patency. Conclusions DCB treatment yielded favorable 12-month clinical primary patency and TLRfree survival outcomes in patients with popliteal artery disease.

Purpose: This study aimed to comprehensively evaluate the factors influencing the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of community-dwelling older adults living alone, using data from the ninth Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA). Methods: A secondary analysis of the ninth KLoSA dataset from 2022 was conducted. The study sample comprised 1,038 community-dwelling older adults living alone. The dependent variable of this study was OHRQoL, while the independent variables included socio-demographic, oral health-related, general health-related, and health behavior-related characteristics. Factors influencing OHRQoL were assessed using a complex samples general linear model with the Bonferroni correction in IBM SPSS/Win 26.0. Results: The average OHRQoL score was 37.47±0.35 out of 60. The factors influencing the OHRQoL of community-dwelling older adults living alone included age (≥85 years) (t=-3.03, p=.003), wearing dentures (t=-2.11, p=.035), difficulty in daily activities due to vision impairment (t=-2.26, p=.024), difficulty in daily activities due to hearing impairment (t=-2.21, p=.028), and depression (t=-8.38, p<.001). Conclusion Based on our findings, to improve the OHRQoL of community-dwelling older adults living alone, it is necessary to consider psychological factors, such as depression, when developing ongoing oral health-management programs aimed at improving OHRQoL. Additional considerations include effective management of dentures and addressing difficulties in daily activities due to vision and hearing impairments.

Background and Objectives: The popliteal artery is generally regarded as a “no-stent zone.”Limited data are available on the outcomes of drug-coated balloons (DCBs) for popliteal artery disease. This study aimed to evaluate the 12-month clinical outcomes among patients who received DCB treatment for atherosclerotic popliteal artery disease. Methods: This prospective, multicenter registry study enrolled 100 patients from 7 Korean endovascular centers who underwent endovascular therapy using IN.PACT DCB (Medtronic) for symptomatic atherosclerotic popliteal artery disease. The primary endpoint was 12-month clinical primary patency and the secondary endpoint was clinically driven target lesion revascularization (TLR)–free rate. Results: The mean age of the study cohort was 65.7±10.8 years, and 77% of enrolled patients were men. The mean lesion length was 93.7±53.7 mm, and total occlusions were present in 45% of patients. Technical success was achieved in all patients. Combined atherectomy was performed in 17% and provisional stenting was required in 11%. Out of the enrolled patients, 91 patients completed the 12-month follow-up. Clinical primary patency and TLR-free survival rates at 12 months were 76.0% and 87.2%, respectively. A multivariate Cox regression analysis identified female and longer lesion length as the significant independent predictors of loss of patency. Conclusions DCB treatment yielded favorable 12-month clinical primary patency and TLRfree survival outcomes in patients with popliteal artery disease.

Purpose: It is unclear whether performing endosonography first in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with radiological N1 (rN1) has any advantages over surgery without nodal staging. We aimed to compare surgery without endosonography to performing endosonography first in rN1 on the overall survival (OS) of patients with NSCLC. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of patients with rN1 NSCLC between 2013 and 2019. Patients were divided into ‘no endosonography’ and ‘endosonography first’ groups. We investigated the effect of nodal staging through endosonography on OS using propensity score matching (PSM) and multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression analysis. Results: In the no endosonography group, pathologic N2 occurred in 23.0% of patients. In the endosonography first group, endosonographic N2 and N3 occurred in 8.6% and 1.6% of patients, respectively. Additionally, 51 patients were pathologic N2 among 249 patients who underwent surgery and mediastinal lymph node dissection (MLND) in endosonography first group. After PSM, the 5-year OSs were 68.1% and 70.6% in the no endosonography and endosonography first groups, respectively. However, the 5-year OS was 80.2% in the subgroup who underwent surgery and MLND of the endosonography first group. Moreover, in patients receiving surgical resection with MLND, the endosonography first group tended to have a better OS than the no endosonography group in adjusted analysis using various models. Conclusion In rN1 NSCLC, preoperative endosonography shows better OS than surgery without endosonography. For patients with rN1 NSCLC who are candidates for surgery, preoperative endosonography may help improve survival through patient selection.

Purpose: The positions of the mandibular foramen (MnF) and the lingula affect the success rate of inferior alveolar nerve block. The objective of this study was to investigate aspects of the MnF and the lingula relevant for mandibular block anesthesia using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and Methods: Fifty CBCT scans were collected from a picture archiving and communications system. All scans were taken using an Alphard Vega 3030 (Asahi Roentgen Co. Ltd., Kyoto, Japan). Fifty-eight MnFs of 30 subjects were included in the study. The position of the MnF, the size of the MnF, the position of the lingula, the size of the lingula, and the shape of the lingula were measured and recorded. All data were statistically analyzed at a significance level of p<0.05. Results: The position of MnF was 0.1 mm and 0.8 mm below the occlusal plane in males and females, respectively. The horizontal position of the MnF was slightly anterior to the center of the ramus in males and in the center in females (p<0.05). The vertical position of the MnF was lower in females than in males (p<0.05). The MnF was an oval shape with a longer anteroposterior dimension. The height of the lingula was 9.3 mm in males and 8.2 mm in females. The nodular type was the most common shape of the lingula, followed by the triangular, truncated, and assimilated types. Conclusion CBCT provided useful information about the MnF and lingula. This information could improve the success rate of mandibular blocks.

Somatic cell nuclear transfer allows generation of genetically identical animals using donor cells derived from animals with particular traits. To date, few studies have investigated whether or not these cloned dogs will show identical behavior patterns. To address this question, learning, memory and exploratory patterns were examined using six cloned dogs with identical nuclear genomes. The variance of total incorrect choice number in the Y-maze test among cloned dogs was significantly lower than that of the control dogs. There was also a significant decrease in variance in the level of exploratory activity in the open fields test compared to age-matched control dogs. These results indicate that cloned dogs show similar cognitive and exploratory patterns, suggesting that these behavioral phenotypes are related to the genotypes of the individuals.
Animals ; Clone Cells* ; Dogs* ; Genome ; Genotype ; Humans ; Learning* ; Memory* ; Phenotype ; Tissue Donors