Purpose: Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the educational environment has moved toward online-based education, which may significantly impact medical students’ educational experiences. However, the same events may be understood differently by different individuals depending on their personalities. Therefore, the changing educational environment during the COVID-19 pandemic may not have been perceived equally by all students. This study aimed to investigate medical students’ personality profiles and the difference between academic burnout and engagement according to their personality profiles. Methods: During the 2021–2022 academic year, when online-based education was implemented due to the pandemic, a survey was conducted among medical students in Korea (N=325). First, we used latent profile analysis to identify the sub-types of the Big Five personalities. Second, we used analysis of variance and post hoc comparisons to study the difference between academic burnout and engagement among these sub-types. Results: The Big Five personality traits of medical students in our sample were classified into three profiles. Profiles with relatively high neuroticism, while other personality traits were low, had both the highest academic burnout and academic engagement. Alternatively, the profiles showing relatively low neuroticism, while other personality traits were high, had the lowest academic burnout and the highest academic engagement. Conclusion Personality is a stable trait that affects an individual’s behavior and response to the environment. Thus, individuals with specific personalities differ in their reactions to their environment. This may provide an advantage to some medical students’ careers.

Purpose: Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the educational environment has moved toward online-based education, which may significantly impact medical students’ educational experiences. However, the same events may be understood differently by different individuals depending on their personalities. Therefore, the changing educational environment during the COVID-19 pandemic may not have been perceived equally by all students. This study aimed to investigate medical students’ personality profiles and the difference between academic burnout and engagement according to their personality profiles. Methods: During the 2021–2022 academic year, when online-based education was implemented due to the pandemic, a survey was conducted among medical students in Korea (N=325). First, we used latent profile analysis to identify the sub-types of the Big Five personalities. Second, we used analysis of variance and post hoc comparisons to study the difference between academic burnout and engagement among these sub-types. Results: The Big Five personality traits of medical students in our sample were classified into three profiles. Profiles with relatively high neuroticism, while other personality traits were low, had both the highest academic burnout and academic engagement. Alternatively, the profiles showing relatively low neuroticism, while other personality traits were high, had the lowest academic burnout and the highest academic engagement. Conclusion Personality is a stable trait that affects an individual’s behavior and response to the environment. Thus, individuals with specific personalities differ in their reactions to their environment. This may provide an advantage to some medical students’ careers.

Purpose: Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the educational environment has moved toward online-based education, which may significantly impact medical students’ educational experiences. However, the same events may be understood differently by different individuals depending on their personalities. Therefore, the changing educational environment during the COVID-19 pandemic may not have been perceived equally by all students. This study aimed to investigate medical students’ personality profiles and the difference between academic burnout and engagement according to their personality profiles. Methods: During the 2021–2022 academic year, when online-based education was implemented due to the pandemic, a survey was conducted among medical students in Korea (N=325). First, we used latent profile analysis to identify the sub-types of the Big Five personalities. Second, we used analysis of variance and post hoc comparisons to study the difference between academic burnout and engagement among these sub-types. Results: The Big Five personality traits of medical students in our sample were classified into three profiles. Profiles with relatively high neuroticism, while other personality traits were low, had both the highest academic burnout and academic engagement. Alternatively, the profiles showing relatively low neuroticism, while other personality traits were high, had the lowest academic burnout and the highest academic engagement. Conclusion Personality is a stable trait that affects an individual’s behavior and response to the environment. Thus, individuals with specific personalities differ in their reactions to their environment. This may provide an advantage to some medical students’ careers.

Purpose: Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the educational environment has moved toward online-based education, which may significantly impact medical students’ educational experiences. However, the same events may be understood differently by different individuals depending on their personalities. Therefore, the changing educational environment during the COVID-19 pandemic may not have been perceived equally by all students. This study aimed to investigate medical students’ personality profiles and the difference between academic burnout and engagement according to their personality profiles. Methods: During the 2021–2022 academic year, when online-based education was implemented due to the pandemic, a survey was conducted among medical students in Korea (N=325). First, we used latent profile analysis to identify the sub-types of the Big Five personalities. Second, we used analysis of variance and post hoc comparisons to study the difference between academic burnout and engagement among these sub-types. Results: The Big Five personality traits of medical students in our sample were classified into three profiles. Profiles with relatively high neuroticism, while other personality traits were low, had both the highest academic burnout and academic engagement. Alternatively, the profiles showing relatively low neuroticism, while other personality traits were high, had the lowest academic burnout and the highest academic engagement. Conclusion Personality is a stable trait that affects an individual’s behavior and response to the environment. Thus, individuals with specific personalities differ in their reactions to their environment. This may provide an advantage to some medical students’ careers.

Background: Monitoring the oxygenation status is crucial during general anesthesia to ensure patient safety. Although noninvasive pulse oximetry is commonly used to monitor percutaneous oxygen saturation (SpO2), it may not accurately reflect changes in oxygen partial pressure when the latter is excessively high or low. The oxygen reserve index (ORi) provides real-time information about the oxygen reserve status.Case: We present a case of successful management of subglottic stenosis using balloon bronchoscopy in an infant with a left ventricular assist device implantation under ORi monitoring to predict hypoxemia during the surgical procedure. Conclusions Utilizing ORi monitoring during anesthesia for procedures involving apnea in critically ill infants can help predict impending desaturation before a drop in SpO2 occurs, allowing anesthesiologists to effectively anticipate and manage the apnea period. Continuous ORi monitoring offers valuable insights during surgical procedures, especially in infants with compromised respiratory and cardiovascular functions.

Purpose: Orbital fibroblasts play key roles in the pathogenesis of Graves’ orbitopathy (GO), and previous findings have shown that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and autophagy also contribute to GO. In this study, we investigated the presently unclear roles of inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1) and related autophagy processes in the pro-fibrotic mechanism of GO. Materials and Methods: Orbital adipose/connective tissues were obtained from eight GO patients and six normal individuals during surgery. GO fibroblasts were transfected with IRE1 small-interfering RNA and treated with bafilomycin A1 (Baf-A1) to evaluate the inhibitory effects of ER stress and autophagy, and protein-expression levels were analyzed through western blotting after stimulation with transforming growth factor (TGF)-β. Results: TGF-β stimulation upregulated IRE1 in GO orbital fibroblasts, whereas silencing IRE1 suppressed fibrosis and autophagy responses. Similarly, Baf-A1, an inhibitor of late-phase autophagy, decreased the expression of pro-fibrotic proteins. Conclusion IRE1 mediates autophagy and the pro-fibrotic mechanism of GO, which provides a more comprehensive interpretation of GO pathogenesis and suggests potential therapeutic targets.

Duloxetine and thioctic acid (TA) are standard drugs for treating diabetic neuropathy, a primary complication associated with diabetes. In this study, ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry methods was successfully developed and validated for quantifying duloxetine and TA in biological samples. The protein precipitation method was used to extract duloxetine, TA and their internal standards from beagle dog plasma. A Hypersil Gold C18 column (150 × 2.1 mm, 1.9 μm) was used for the experiment. Isocratic elution with 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile (A) and 0.1% formic acid (B) was used for duloxetine, whereas a gradient elution with 0.03% acetic acid (A) and acetonitrile (B) was used for TA. The validated parameters included linearity, sensitivity, accuracy, precision, selectivity, matrix effect, stability, and recovery under different conditions. The linear ranges of the calibration curves for duloxetine and TA were 5–800 ng/mL and 5–1,000 ng/mL, respectively. An intra- and inter-run precision of ± 15% can be observed in all quality control samples. These methods were successfully used for pharmacokinetics (PKs) studies in beagle dogs to compare PK differences in a fixed-dose combination including duloxetine and TA and co-administration of the 2 drugs.

Purpose: To compare serum selenium levels in Graves patients and non-Graves control participants and to evaluate associations between serum selenium levels and clinical features of Graves orbitopathy (GO). Methods: We conducted a single-center, retrospective case-control study among 33 patients with Graves disease without GO (GD), 31 patients with diagnosed GO, and 27 unaffected healthy participants enrolled between 2013 and 2020 at Severance Hospital. We compared serum selenium concentrations between the GD, GO, and healthy control groups, and analyzed associations between serum selenium and GO patients’ clinical activity scores, severity (assessed through modified NOSPECS scores), and other clinical features using multivariate linear regression analysis. Results: Mean serum selenium levels were 109.30 ± 16.39, 111.39 ± 14.04, and 126.09 ± 21.09 ng/mL in GO patients, GD patients, and healthy control participants, respectively. Mean serum selenium levels in Graves patients with and without orbitopathy were significantly lower than those in the healthy control group (p < 0.05), and mean selenium levels were slightly lower in GO than those in GD patients (p = 0.594). Serum selenium levels were significantly lower in GO patients with eyelid retraction than in patients without retraction (p = 0.038). However, serum selenium levels were not associated with clinical activity scores and modified NOSPECS scores (p = 0.241 and 0.801, respectively). Conclusions Serum selenium levels were significantly lower in Graves patients with or without GO, compared to non-Graves control participants. Selenium levels were not associated with clinical activity scores or NOSPECS scores, though we observed an association with eyelid retraction.