Purpose: To identify US findings suggestive of malignancy in thyroid nodules with follicular lesions of undetermined significance (FLUS) or follicular neoplasm (FN) on fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and evaluate the diagnostic performance. Materials and Methods: Seventy FLUS (n = 57) or FN (n = 13) nodules on FNAC that underwent surgical excision between February 2018 and November 2020 were selected. US findings were retrospectively reviewed. Orientation, margin, echogenicity, calcification, additional findings of the rim, echogenicity, heterogeneity of the solid portion, and the ratio of anterior posterior diameter to lateral diameter (criteria) were assessed. The diagnostic performances of US findings, criteria, and the Korean Society of Thyroid Radiology Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (K-TIRADS) were evaluated using logistic regression analysis. Results: Microcalcification, homogeneous solid echotexture, and thickened rims were suggestive of malignancy. Our criteria showed a highest area under the ROC curve (AUC) value of 0.771, sensitivity of 97.14%, accuracy of 77.14%, positive predictive value of 93.33%, negative predictive value of 95.24%, and specificity of 97.14%. The criteria showed a significantly higher AUC value than K-TIRADS. Conclusion US findings of homogenous solid portions, thick rims, and microcalcifications suggested malignancy in nodules with FLUS or FN on FNAC. These additional US findings could improve the diagnostic performance of K-TIRADS.

Purpose: To identify US findings suggestive of malignancy in thyroid nodules with follicular lesions of undetermined significance (FLUS) or follicular neoplasm (FN) on fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and evaluate the diagnostic performance. Materials and Methods: Seventy FLUS (n = 57) or FN (n = 13) nodules on FNAC that underwent surgical excision between February 2018 and November 2020 were selected. US findings were retrospectively reviewed. Orientation, margin, echogenicity, calcification, additional findings of the rim, echogenicity, heterogeneity of the solid portion, and the ratio of anterior posterior diameter to lateral diameter (criteria) were assessed. The diagnostic performances of US findings, criteria, and the Korean Society of Thyroid Radiology Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (K-TIRADS) were evaluated using logistic regression analysis. Results: Microcalcification, homogeneous solid echotexture, and thickened rims were suggestive of malignancy. Our criteria showed a highest area under the ROC curve (AUC) value of 0.771, sensitivity of 97.14%, accuracy of 77.14%, positive predictive value of 93.33%, negative predictive value of 95.24%, and specificity of 97.14%. The criteria showed a significantly higher AUC value than K-TIRADS. Conclusion US findings of homogenous solid portions, thick rims, and microcalcifications suggested malignancy in nodules with FLUS or FN on FNAC. These additional US findings could improve the diagnostic performance of K-TIRADS.

Purpose: To identify US findings suggestive of malignancy in thyroid nodules with follicular lesions of undetermined significance (FLUS) or follicular neoplasm (FN) on fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and evaluate the diagnostic performance. Materials and Methods: Seventy FLUS (n = 57) or FN (n = 13) nodules on FNAC that underwent surgical excision between February 2018 and November 2020 were selected. US findings were retrospectively reviewed. Orientation, margin, echogenicity, calcification, additional findings of the rim, echogenicity, heterogeneity of the solid portion, and the ratio of anterior posterior diameter to lateral diameter (criteria) were assessed. The diagnostic performances of US findings, criteria, and the Korean Society of Thyroid Radiology Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (K-TIRADS) were evaluated using logistic regression analysis. Results: Microcalcification, homogeneous solid echotexture, and thickened rims were suggestive of malignancy. Our criteria showed a highest area under the ROC curve (AUC) value of 0.771, sensitivity of 97.14%, accuracy of 77.14%, positive predictive value of 93.33%, negative predictive value of 95.24%, and specificity of 97.14%. The criteria showed a significantly higher AUC value than K-TIRADS. Conclusion US findings of homogenous solid portions, thick rims, and microcalcifications suggested malignancy in nodules with FLUS or FN on FNAC. These additional US findings could improve the diagnostic performance of K-TIRADS.

Insomnia is a prevalent disorder that affects 4% to 22% of the population in the United States. While cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) remains the gold standard for non-pharmacological treatment, accessibility barriers exist owing to a shortage of trained professionals and high costs. This review examines the efficacy of the individual components of CBT-I as stand-alone interventions to improve treatment accessibility, digital CBT-I, and other non-pharmacological interventions. Guidelines from organizations such as the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and, European Sleep Research Society, along with recent meta-analyses, support the effectiveness of these components as stand-alone treatments. Sleep restriction therapy and stimulus control therapy show promise as effective interventions. Although recommended by certain guidelines, relaxation therapy has yielded mixed results. Sleep hygiene education, a common component of CBT-I, has not demonstrated significant efficacy as a stand-alone treatment. Cognitive strategies have shown promise in recent studies. Sufficient clinical evidence supports the efficacy of digital CBT-I in treating insomnia. Internationally, various platforms for digital CBT-I have already been developed and are in use, and in South Korea, some digital CBT-I software programs have received digital therapeutic device approval in 2023. This review highlights the potential of individual components of CBT-I as effective stand-alone interventions for insomnia, as well as digital CBT-I, emphasizing their importance for improving the accessibility of non-pharmacological insomnia treatments in clinical settings where full CBT-I may not be available.

Objective: The rapid societal changes have underscored the importance of effective stress detection and management. Chronic mental stress significantly contributes to both physical and psychological illnesses. However, many individuals often remain unaware of their stress levels until they face physical health issues, highlighting the necessity for regular stress monitoring. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of vocal biomarkers in detecting stress levels among healthy Korean employees and to contribute to digital healthcare solutions. Methods: We conducted a multi-center clinical study by collecting voice recordings from 115 healthy Korean employees under both relaxed and stress-induced conditions. Stress was induced using the socially evaluated cold pressor test. The Emphasized Channel Attention, Propagation and Aggregation in Time delay neural network (ECAPA-TDNN) deep learning architecture, renowned for its advanced capabilities in analyzing person-specific voice features, was employed to develop stress prediction scores. Results: The proposed model achieved a 70% accuracy rate in detecting stress. This performance underscores the potential of vocal biomarkers as a convenient and effective tool for individuals to self-monitor and manage their stress levels within digital healthcare frameworks. Conclusion The findings emphasize the promise of voice-based mental stress assessments within the Korean population and the importance of continued research on vocal biomarkers across diverse linguistic demographics.

Objectives: ：Among the various risk factors for suicide, geographic factors have different effects on males and females. This study aimed to identify differences between genders in spatiotemporal dependence and spatiotemporal patterns of suicide mortality over the preceding decade. Methods: ：This research analyzed the age-adjusted suicide mortality rate per 100,000 population, spanning from 2012 to 2021, for intentional suicides across each administrative district (229 Si, Gun, Gu) in Korea. Data were sourced from the National Statistical Office of the Korean Statistical Information Service. The Moran’s I in-dex for spatial autocorrelation of the suicide mortality rates was computed. An emerging hot spot analysis was conducted to examine the community-level spatiotemporal distribution patterns, thus providing insight into the re-gional clustering characteristics that reflect the temporal-spatial clusters of suicide mortality rates. Results: ：TIn males, the Moran’s I indices were almost above 0 (p-value<0.05) for most years, indicating sig-nificant spatial autocorrelation. Conversely, no significant regional clustering was observed among females dur-ing the same period. The emerging hot spot analysis, focusing on the temporal trends in the spatial distributionof male suicide mortality rates from 2012 to 2021, identified two distinct time series patterns and a total of 12 hot spot areas: seven new spots and five sporadic spots. Conclusions ：This study is the first to intuitively demonstrate the disparities in spatiotemporal dependencies and patterns of suicide mortality rates in Korea between genders. The findings highlight the necessity for tailoredsuicide prevention strategies that are sensitive to gender differences.

Insomnia is a prevalent disorder that affects 4% to 22% of the population in the United States. While cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) remains the gold standard for non-pharmacological treatment, accessibility barriers exist owing to a shortage of trained professionals and high costs. This review examines the efficacy of the individual components of CBT-I as stand-alone interventions to improve treatment accessibility, digital CBT-I, and other non-pharmacological interventions. Guidelines from organizations such as the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and, European Sleep Research Society, along with recent meta-analyses, support the effectiveness of these components as stand-alone treatments. Sleep restriction therapy and stimulus control therapy show promise as effective interventions. Although recommended by certain guidelines, relaxation therapy has yielded mixed results. Sleep hygiene education, a common component of CBT-I, has not demonstrated significant efficacy as a stand-alone treatment. Cognitive strategies have shown promise in recent studies. Sufficient clinical evidence supports the efficacy of digital CBT-I in treating insomnia. Internationally, various platforms for digital CBT-I have already been developed and are in use, and in South Korea, some digital CBT-I software programs have received digital therapeutic device approval in 2023. This review highlights the potential of individual components of CBT-I as effective stand-alone interventions for insomnia, as well as digital CBT-I, emphasizing their importance for improving the accessibility of non-pharmacological insomnia treatments in clinical settings where full CBT-I may not be available.

Purpose: Over the past decade, interest in exosomes as therapeutics has surged. In particular, stem-cell–derived exosomes may be more effective as a treatment for liver disease than the stem cells themselves. We have previously developed human chemically derived hepatic progenitors (hCdHs) from human hepatocytes. hCdHs can differentiate into hepatocytes and cholangiocytes, regenerating the liver in mouse models. In this study, we evaluated the mitigating effects of hCdHs-derived exosomes (hCdHs-exo) on liver damage and compared them with those of exosomes from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs-exo). Methods: Exosomes were isolated from hCdHs and BMMSCs by culturing cells in large quantities and separating the exosomes from the culture medium using ultracentrifugation. Isolated exosomes were characterized by various methods before experimental use. In vitro, the ability of exosomes to inhibit activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) by transforming growth factor beta 1 was evaluated. In vivo, exosomes were injected into mice with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4 )-induced liver damage, and their effectiveness in mitigating liver damage was assessed by histological staining and biochemical analysis. Results: The analyses confirmed the successful isolation of exosomes from both cell types. In vitro, hCdHs-exo significantly reduced the levels of transcription factors and activation markers in induced HSCs. In vivo, hCdHs-exo effectively alleviated liver damage caused by CCl4 . Furthermore, both in vitro and in vivo studies confirmed that hCdHs-exo had a greater effect in alleviating liver damage than did BMMSCs-exo. Conclusion These results demonstrate that hCdHs-exo, similarly to hCdHs, have superior efficacy in alleviating liver damage compared with BMMSCs-exo.

Objectives: ：Among the various risk factors for suicide, geographic factors have different effects on males and females. This study aimed to identify differences between genders in spatiotemporal dependence and spatiotemporal patterns of suicide mortality over the preceding decade. Methods: ：This research analyzed the age-adjusted suicide mortality rate per 100,000 population, spanning from 2012 to 2021, for intentional suicides across each administrative district (229 Si, Gun, Gu) in Korea. Data were sourced from the National Statistical Office of the Korean Statistical Information Service. The Moran’s I in-dex for spatial autocorrelation of the suicide mortality rates was computed. An emerging hot spot analysis was conducted to examine the community-level spatiotemporal distribution patterns, thus providing insight into the re-gional clustering characteristics that reflect the temporal-spatial clusters of suicide mortality rates. Results: ：TIn males, the Moran’s I indices were almost above 0 (p-value<0.05) for most years, indicating sig-nificant spatial autocorrelation. Conversely, no significant regional clustering was observed among females dur-ing the same period. The emerging hot spot analysis, focusing on the temporal trends in the spatial distributionof male suicide mortality rates from 2012 to 2021, identified two distinct time series patterns and a total of 12 hot spot areas: seven new spots and five sporadic spots. Conclusions ：This study is the first to intuitively demonstrate the disparities in spatiotemporal dependencies and patterns of suicide mortality rates in Korea between genders. The findings highlight the necessity for tailoredsuicide prevention strategies that are sensitive to gender differences.

Objective: The rapid societal changes have underscored the importance of effective stress detection and management. Chronic mental stress significantly contributes to both physical and psychological illnesses. However, many individuals often remain unaware of their stress levels until they face physical health issues, highlighting the necessity for regular stress monitoring. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of vocal biomarkers in detecting stress levels among healthy Korean employees and to contribute to digital healthcare solutions. Methods: We conducted a multi-center clinical study by collecting voice recordings from 115 healthy Korean employees under both relaxed and stress-induced conditions. Stress was induced using the socially evaluated cold pressor test. The Emphasized Channel Attention, Propagation and Aggregation in Time delay neural network (ECAPA-TDNN) deep learning architecture, renowned for its advanced capabilities in analyzing person-specific voice features, was employed to develop stress prediction scores. Results: The proposed model achieved a 70% accuracy rate in detecting stress. This performance underscores the potential of vocal biomarkers as a convenient and effective tool for individuals to self-monitor and manage their stress levels within digital healthcare frameworks. Conclusion The findings emphasize the promise of voice-based mental stress assessments within the Korean population and the importance of continued research on vocal biomarkers across diverse linguistic demographics.