This research group (forensic research via omics markers in environmental health vulnerable areas: FROM) aimed to develop biomarkers for exposure to environmental hazards and diseases, assess environmental diseases, and apply and verify these biomarkers in environmentally vulnerable areas. Environmentally vulnerable areas—including refineries, abandoned metal mines, coal-fired power plants, waste incinerators, cement factories, and areas with high exposure to particulate matter—along with control areas, were selected for epidemiological investigations. A total of 1,157 adults, who had resided in these areas for over 10 years, were recruited between June 2021 and September 2023. Personal characteristics of the study participants were gathered through a survey. Biological samples, specifically blood and urine, were collected during the field investigations, separated under refrigerated conditions, and then transported to the laboratory for biomarker analysis. Analyses of heavy metals, environmental hazards, and adducts were conducted on these blood and urine samples. Additionally, omics analyses of epigenomes, proteomes, and metabolomes were performed using the blood samples. The biomarkers identified in this study will be utilized to assess the risk of environmental disease occurrence and to evaluate the impact on the health of residents in environmentally vulnerable areas, following the validation of diagnostic accuracy for these diseases.

This research group (forensic research via omics markers in environmental health vulnerable areas: FROM) aimed to develop biomarkers for exposure to environmental hazards and diseases, assess environmental diseases, and apply and verify these biomarkers in environmentally vulnerable areas. Environmentally vulnerable areas—including refineries, abandoned metal mines, coal-fired power plants, waste incinerators, cement factories, and areas with high exposure to particulate matter—along with control areas, were selected for epidemiological investigations. A total of 1,157 adults, who had resided in these areas for over 10 years, were recruited between June 2021 and September 2023. Personal characteristics of the study participants were gathered through a survey. Biological samples, specifically blood and urine, were collected during the field investigations, separated under refrigerated conditions, and then transported to the laboratory for biomarker analysis. Analyses of heavy metals, environmental hazards, and adducts were conducted on these blood and urine samples. Additionally, omics analyses of epigenomes, proteomes, and metabolomes were performed using the blood samples. The biomarkers identified in this study will be utilized to assess the risk of environmental disease occurrence and to evaluate the impact on the health of residents in environmentally vulnerable areas, following the validation of diagnostic accuracy for these diseases.

This research group (forensic research via omics markers in environmental health vulnerable areas: FROM) aimed to develop biomarkers for exposure to environmental hazards and diseases, assess environmental diseases, and apply and verify these biomarkers in environmentally vulnerable areas. Environmentally vulnerable areas—including refineries, abandoned metal mines, coal-fired power plants, waste incinerators, cement factories, and areas with high exposure to particulate matter—along with control areas, were selected for epidemiological investigations. A total of 1,157 adults, who had resided in these areas for over 10 years, were recruited between June 2021 and September 2023. Personal characteristics of the study participants were gathered through a survey. Biological samples, specifically blood and urine, were collected during the field investigations, separated under refrigerated conditions, and then transported to the laboratory for biomarker analysis. Analyses of heavy metals, environmental hazards, and adducts were conducted on these blood and urine samples. Additionally, omics analyses of epigenomes, proteomes, and metabolomes were performed using the blood samples. The biomarkers identified in this study will be utilized to assess the risk of environmental disease occurrence and to evaluate the impact on the health of residents in environmentally vulnerable areas, following the validation of diagnostic accuracy for these diseases.

This research group (forensic research via omics markers in environmental health vulnerable areas: FROM) aimed to develop biomarkers for exposure to environmental hazards and diseases, assess environmental diseases, and apply and verify these biomarkers in environmentally vulnerable areas. Environmentally vulnerable areas—including refineries, abandoned metal mines, coal-fired power plants, waste incinerators, cement factories, and areas with high exposure to particulate matter—along with control areas, were selected for epidemiological investigations. A total of 1,157 adults, who had resided in these areas for over 10 years, were recruited between June 2021 and September 2023. Personal characteristics of the study participants were gathered through a survey. Biological samples, specifically blood and urine, were collected during the field investigations, separated under refrigerated conditions, and then transported to the laboratory for biomarker analysis. Analyses of heavy metals, environmental hazards, and adducts were conducted on these blood and urine samples. Additionally, omics analyses of epigenomes, proteomes, and metabolomes were performed using the blood samples. The biomarkers identified in this study will be utilized to assess the risk of environmental disease occurrence and to evaluate the impact on the health of residents in environmentally vulnerable areas, following the validation of diagnostic accuracy for these diseases.

Background: Emergency reoperation is considered to be a quality indicator in surgery. We analyzed the risk factors for emergency reoperations. Methods: Patients who underwent emergency operations from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2017, at our hospital were reviewed in this retrospective study. Multivariate logistic regression was performed for the perioperative risk factors for emergency reoperation. Results: A total of 1,481 patients underwent emergency operations during the study period. Among them, 79 patients received emergency reoperations. The variables related to emergency reoperation included surgeries involving intracranial and intraoral lesions, highest mean arterial pressure ≥ 110 mmHg, highest heart rate ≥ 100 /min, anemia, duration of operation ＞120 min, and arrival from the intensive care unit (ICU). Conclusions The type of surgery, hemodynamics, hemoglobin values, the duration of surgery, and arrival from ICU were associated with emergency reoperations.

Apoptosis has an important role in maintaining tissue homeostasis in cellular stress responses such as inflammation, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and oxidative stress. T-cell death-associated gene 51 (TDAG51) is a member of the pleckstrin homology-like domain family and was first identified as a pro-apoptotic gene in T-cell receptor-mediated cell death. However, its pro-apoptotic function remains controversial. In this study, we investigated the role of TDAG51 in oxidative stress-induced apoptotic cell death in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). TDAG51 expression was highly increased by oxidative stress responses. In response to oxidative stress, the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species was significantly enhanced in TDAG51-deficient MEFs, resulting in the activation of caspase-3. Thus, TDAG51 deficiency promotes apoptotic cell death in MEFs, and these results indicate that TDAG51 has a protective role in oxidative stress-induced cell death in MEFs.
Animals ; *Apoptosis ; Embryo, Mammalian/*cytology ; Fibroblasts/enzymology/*metabolism/pathology ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Intracellular Space/metabolism ; Mice ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/metabolism ; NF-kappa B/metabolism ; *Oxidative Stress/genetics ; Reactive Oxygen Species/*metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Transcription Factors/*deficiency/genetics/metabolism

The purpose of our study was to create a novel rat aorta stent implantation model. Stainless steel bare metal stents (BMS) or paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) were implanted in male Sprague-Dawley rats (BW 400 +/- 20 g). Two and four weeks after stent implantation, the aorta were collected, fixed with 2% glutaraldehyde, and cut into two segments. One segment was used for scanning electron microscopy analysis to evaluate re-endothelialization, and the other segment was used to calculate the neointimal area. At 2 weeks after stenting, the appearance of neointimal hyperplasia was less in the PES group than in the BMS group. At 4 weeks after stenting, no significant difference in neointimal hyperplasia was observed between two groups. On the other hand, the PES group showed more thrombus formation and less re-endothelialization compared to the BMS group. This study demonstrated the ability of a novel rat model of aorta stenting via a common carotid artery to measure the efficacy and safety of commercially available drug-eluting stents.
Angioplasty/*methods ; Animals ; Aorta, Thoracic/*surgery/ultrastructure ; Coronary Artery Disease/*surgery ; *Drug-Eluting Stents ; Histocytochemistry ; Male ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Models, Animal ; Neointima/pathology ; Paclitaxel/*administration & dosage ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

BACKGROUND: Severe alopecia areata (AA) is difficult to treat. Treatment modalities such as topical and systemic immune modulators, corticosteroids and topical sensitizers have been tried. Among them, encouraging RESULTS have been reported with high dose pulse corticosteroid therapy. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a high dose corticosteroid pulse therapy in patients with severe AA compared with a group treated with oral cyclosporine with low dose corticosteroid. METHODS: A total of 105 patients with severe AA were treated with high dose corticosteroid pulse therapy and 41 patients those were treated with oral cyclosporine (3~5 mg/kg/day) with low dose methylprednisolone (2.5~5 mg/day). RESULTS: Therapeutic effect of high dose corticosteroid pulse therapy was better in shorter disease duration (<6 months, 81.4%;>6~12 months, 52.6%;>13 months, 37.3%) and less extensive type (AA multiplex, 80.0%; alopecia totalis, 41.2%; alopecia universalis, 27.8%). Therapeutic effect of oral cyclosporine with low dose corticosteroid therapy was better in less extensive type (AA multiplex, 75.0%; alopecia totalis, 41.2%; alopecia universalis, 25.0%). Disease duration did not significantly affect treatment response. High dose corticosteroid pulse therapy was more effective method (65.7%) than combination regimen of oral cyclosporine with low dose methylprednisolone (46.3%), especially in the case of shorter disease duration (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: High dose corticosteroid pulse therapy might be a more effective therapy for severe AA than other treatments, especially when in the acute stage (<6 months).
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Alopecia ; Alopecia Areata ; Cyclosporine ; Humans ; Methylprednisolone

Factor XI deficiency (also called Hemophilia C) rarely occurs among ethnicities other than Ashkenazi Jews. A boy was scheduled for frontoethmoidectomy due to bilateral chronic rhinosinusitis. He was incidentally found to have factor XI deficiency due to prolonged aPTT on preoperative laboratory finding. His medical history reveals frequent epistaxis 2 or 3 times per day and his factor XI and XII activity were 17% (normal; 60-140%) and 34% (normal; 60-140%), respectively on furthermore laboratory evaluation. He was diagnosed as hereditary factor XI deficiency. He underwent the operation with administration of the fresh frozen plasma without complication.
Epistaxis ; Factor XI ; Factor XI Deficiency ; Hemophilia A ; Humans ; Jews ; Plasma

BACKGROUND: Androgenic alopecia (AGA) is characterized by the local and gradual transformation of terminal scalp hair into vellus hair, which has a shorter and thinner shaft. It is the most common form of hair loss in people with a genetic predisposition for baldness. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence, AGA type, family history, co-morbidity diseases, stress factors and endocrine factors of AGA patients. METHODS: We examined a total of 432 male and female AGA patients who visited for two years at the Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Chung-Ang University. RESULTS: There were 2.06 times more men (291 patients) than women (141 patients) among the study subjects. Most of the men were in their twenties (108, 37.1%), however, most of the women were in their forties (42, 29.7%). In the 291 male patients, Norwood class IIIv was dominant (120 patients, 41.2%). In the 141 female patients, Ludwig class I was dominant (87 patients, 61.7%). 219 (75.2%) of the 291 male patients and 81 (73.6%) of the 141 female patients had a family history of AGA. 224 (76.9%) of the 291 male patients and 101 (53.4%) of the 141 female patients had a co-morbidity disorder. The most common among these disorders in both the male and female patients was seborrheic dermatitis. Stress factors were observed in 162 (55.6%) of the 291 male patients and in 78 (55.3%) of the 141 female patients. The most common stress factor in both the male and female patients was work tasks. The serum testosterone levels was increased in 51 (17.5%) of the 291 male patients and in 20 (14.1%) of the 141 female patients. CONCLUSION: Most of the study results are compatible with those of our previous study. Yet the following results were different: (1) the number of female AGA patients in their forties is increasing; and (2) stress was found to be associated with AGA in both the male and female patients.
Alopecia ; Dermatitis, Seborrheic ; Dermatology ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Hair ; Humans ; Male ; Prevalence ; Scalp ; Testosterone