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Peanut ( Arachis hypogaea L.) is one of the most profitable upland crops, yielding 10,711 tonnes in an area of 4,062 ha in the Republic of Korea (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs 2023). In September 2023, dark gray spots surrounded by yellow halos were observed on the peanut leaves over an area of 880 m 2 at the National Institute of Crop Science (35°50'31.4"N 127°02'41.0"E), with a disease incidence up to 80%. Early symptoms appeared as small, brown, circular or irregular spots that enlarged and were surrounded by chlorotic halos. Leaf cuttings (5 mm x 5 mm) from five symptomatic plants were surface-sterilized with 70% EtOH for 1 min, followed by 1% NaClO for 1 min, and rinsed 3 times with sterile water. The pieces were placed on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) and incubated at 25 °C in the dark for 3 days. Three isolates obtained by single-spore isolation were designated as F23025, F23026, and F23027. Two isolates, F23025 and F23026 were deposited in the Korean Agricultural Culture Collection (https://genebank.rda.go.kr) under the accession numbers 410722 and 410723. Fungal colonies were initially white and turned sooty gray after 5 days. Conidia were unicellular, brown to black, and spherical or sub-spherical with 6.8 μm to 14.3 μm (mean = 11.1 μm ± 1.8, n = 50). The morphology of the three isolates was identical and showed the same characteristics as Nigrospora oryzae (Ellis 1971; Hudson 1963). For molecular identification, the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region (GenBank accession PP388306 and PP574448), beta tubulin (PP397027 and PP580108), and translation elongation factor 1- ɑ (PP397028 and PP580109) of isolates F23025 and F23026 were amplified and sequenced with primers of ITS5/ITS4, Bt2a/Bt2b, EF1-727F/EF2, respectively and showed high identity of 99.62% (530 bp/532 bp), 100% (384/384), and 99.79% (475/476) with N. oryzae strain LC2693 (GenBank accessions KX985994, KY019471, and KY019299, respectively). Multilocus sequence analysis showed isolates F23025 and F23026 were on the same clade with N. oryzae strain LC2693. To determine the pathogenicity to peanut, a conidial suspension (1 x 10 6 conidia/mL) was sprayed onto leaves of five 3-week-old plants 'Sewon' grown in pots, while sterile distilled water was sprayed onto two plants used as negative control. Sprayed plants were placed in a dew chamber at 25℃ for two days and grown in a growth chamber at 25℃ and 80% of relative humidity with a 16L:8D cycle. Two weeks later, dark spots with chlorotic halos appeared only on leaves sprayed with conidia, and no symptoms on leaves sprayed with sterile distilled water. The pathogenicity test was repeated three times, and each time the pathogen was re-isolated and identified by ITS sequence, thus fulfilling Koch's postulates. Nigrospora species are cosmopolitan, and some species have a wide host range as plant pathogens. Recently, two species of the genus Nigrospora, N. sphaerica and N. aurantiaca , were reported to cause peanut leaf blight in China (Liu et al. 2020; He et al. 2023). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of N. oryzae causing leaf spot to A. hypogaea L. in the Republic of Korea. As identifying new pathogens and registering fungicides to control them are important for the continued cultivation of peanut, this report will help in that endeavor.

Background/Objectives : Self-recognition of recurrent myocardial infarction (re-MI) may be essential for reducing prehospital time contrast to awareness of re-MI symptoms. However, data on the current status and clinical impact of self-recognition of re-MI are limited in the contemporary period. Thus, this study aimed to increase this body of knowledge. Methods : We enrolled 1018 patients with re-MI using data from the Korean Registry of Acute Myocardial Infarction for Regional Cardiocerebrovascular Centres. The patients were classified into self-recognised MI and unrecognised MI groups, and the differences between them were compared. Results : The rate of self-recognition among the patients with previous experience of MI was only 52.4%. Among the patients with re-MI, factors associated with self-recognition included recent first MI within 3 years, prior dyslipidaemia, two or more MI symptoms, and the male gender ( p < 0.05). Factors associated with a lack of recognition were older age (≥70 years), prior stroke, and cancer history ( p < 0.05). The proportion of symptoms-to-emergency room arrival time within 90 min among the patients with ST-elevation MI was significantly higher in the self-recognised group than in the unrecognised group (52.6% vs. 31.6%, p < 0.001). The self-recognised group showed a lower in-hospital mortality rate (1.5% vs. 6.2%, p < 0.001), and this benefit was maintained even after 1 year (hazard ratio: 0.53; p < 0.001). Conclusions : Only half of the patients who previously experienced a MI recognised a re-MI when it occurred. This recognition reduced prehospital delay and led to higher survival rates, which highlights the importance of patient education as well as objective monitoring devices, irrespective of individual recognition ability for immediate response.

The emergence of rice black-streaked dwarf virus (RBSDV) poses a significant threat to global cereal crop cultivation, necessitating the urgent development of reliable detection and quantification techniques. This study introduces a reliable approach for the precise and sensitive quantification of the RBSDV in cereal crop samples, employing a reverse transcription digital polymerase chain reaction (RT-dPCR) assay. We assessed the specificity and sensitivity of the RT-dPCR assay proposed for precise RBSDV detection and quantification. Our findings demonstrate that RT-dPCR was specific for detection of RBSDV, with no cross-reactivity observed with other viruses infecting cereal crops. The RT-dPCR sensitivity was over 10 times that of RT-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). The detection limit of RT-dPCR was 0.096 copies/μl. In addition, evaluation of RT-dPCR assay with field samples was conducted on 60 different cereal crop samples revealed that RT-dPCR (45/60) exhibited superior accuracy compared with RT-qPCR (23/60). In this study, we present a specific and accurate RT-dPCR assay for the detection and quantification of RBSDV.

Background: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is the cornerstone intervention for cardiac arrest, with extracorporeal CPR (ECPR) demonstrating enhanced survival and neurologic outcomes in in-hospital cardiac arrest. This study explores the time interval between CPR initiation and the onset of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in ECPR recipients, investigating its impact on survival outcomes., Methods: This retrospective analysis included 1950 adults who received CPR at a single medical center between March 2019 and April 2023. Data from 198 adult patients who had ECMO inserted during CPR were analyzed. The interval from CPR initiation to ECMO initiation was quantified and categorized as ≤20, 20-40, and >40 min. Cox regression analysis assessed associations between CPR-to-ECMO time and short- and long-term mortalities., Results: Among the 198 patients who underwent ECPR, 116 (58.6%) experienced 30-day mortality. Initiation of ECMO within 20 min occurred in 46 (23.2%), whereas 74 (37.4%) had ECMO initiated after 40 min. Cox regression revealed a significant association between time from CPR to ECMO initiation and 30-day mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [HR]: 2.20 in >40 min, HR: 2.63 in 20-40 min, p = 0.006) and 6-month mortality (HR: 1.81, in >40 min, HR: 1.99 in 20-40 min, p = 0.021)., Conclusions: This study revealed that, in ECPR recipients, a shorter duration between CPR initiation and ECMO flow commencement is associated with improved short- and long-term patient prognoses. These findings emphasize the critical role of timely ECMO application in optimizing outcomes for patients undergoing ECPR., (© 2024 The Association for the Publication of the Journal of Internal Medicine.)

Study Objective: Asystole is the most common initial rhythm in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) but indicates a low likelihood of neurologic recovery. This study aimed to develop a novel scoring system to be easily applied at the time of emergency department arrival for identifying favorable neurologic outcomes in OHCA survivors with an asystole rhythm., Methods: This study is a secondary analysis based on a previously collected nationwide database, targeting nontraumatic adult OHCA patients aged ≥18 years with an asystole rhythm who achieved return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) between January 2016 and December 2020. The primary outcome was a favorable neurologic outcome defined as Cerebral Performance Categories scores of 1 or 2 at hospital discharge. A prediction model was developed through multivariable logistic regression analysis in a derivation cohort in the form of a scoring system (WBC-ASystole). The performance and calibration of the model were tested using an internal validation cohort., Results: Among 19,803 OHCA patients with survival to hospital admission, 6,322 had asystole, and 285 (4.5%) achieved good neurologic outcomes. Factors associated with favorable outcomes included age, witness arrest, bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation, time from call to hospital arrival, and out-of-hospital ROSC achievement. The WBC-ASystole score, totaling 11 points, exhibited a predictive performance with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.80 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.76 to 0.83) and 0.79 (95% CI 0.74 to 0.83) in the derivation and validation cohorts, respectively. After categorizing patients into 3 groups based on probability for good neurologic outcomes, the sensitivity and specificity were as follows: 0.98 (95% CI 0.97 to 0.99) and 0.09 (95% CI 0.09 to 0.10) for the very low predicted probability group (WBC-ASystole ≤2), 0.85 (95% CI 0.82 to 0.89) and 0.54 (95% CI 0.53 to 0.55) for the low predicted probability group (WBC-ASystole 3 to 4), and 0.36 (95% CI 0.34 to 0.39) and 0.93 (95% CI 0.92 to 0.93) for fair predicted probability group (WBC-ASystole≥5), respectively., Conclusions: Although external validation studies must be performed, among OHCA patients with asystole, the WBC-ASystole scoring system may identify those patients who are likely to have a favorable neurologic outcome., (Copyright © 2024 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This study investigated the role of O-GlcNAc cycling in Alzheimer's disease-related changes in brain pathophysiology induced by chronic REM sleep deprivation (CSD) in mice. CSD increased amyloid beta (Aβ) and p-Tau accumulation and impaired learning and memory (L/M) function. CSD decreased dendritic length and spine density. CSD also increased the intensity of postsynaptic density protein-95 (PSD-95) staining. All of these Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenic changes were effectively reversed through glucosamine (GlcN) treatment by enhancing O-GlcNAcylation. Interestingly, the lelvel of O-GlcNAcylated-Tau (O-Tau) exhibited an opposite trend compared to p-Tau, as it was elevated by CSD and suppressed by GlcN treatment. CSD increased neuroinflammation, as indicated by elevated levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein and IBA-1-positive glial cells in the brain, which were suppressed by GlcN treatment. CSD promoted the phosphorylation of GSK3β and led to an upregulation in the expression of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress regulatory proteins and genes. These alterations were effectively suppressed by GlcN treatment. Minocycline not only suppressed neuroinflammation induced by CSD, but it also rescued the decrease in O-GlcNAc levels caused by CSD. Minocycline also reduced AD neuropathy without affecting CSD-induced ER stress. Notably, overexpressing O-GlcNAc transferase in the dentate gyrus region of the mouse brain rescued CSD-induced cognitive dysfunction, neuropathy, neuroinflammation, and ER stress responses. Collectively, our findings reveal that dysregulation of O-GlcNAc cycling underlies CSD-induced AD pathology and demonstrate that restoration of OGlcNAcylation protects against CSD-induced neurodegeneration., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The objective of this study was to examine the impact of lactitol on constipation caused by loperamide in Sprague Dawley rats, with a particular emphasis on its underlying mechanisms and potential health advantages. The lactitol effectively improved fecal parameters, intestinal tissue structure, and the expression of constipation-related gene expression and proteins. Lactitol alleviated fecal weight and water content altered by loperamide and enhanced gastrointestinal transit. The administration also restored mucosal and muscular layer thickness. Mechanistically, lactitol upregulated the mRNA expression and/or protein levels of mucins (MUC2 and MUC4), occludin, claudin-1, and zonula occludens, indicating improved intestinal barrier function. Lactitol positively regulated the composition of cecal microbiota, leading to an increased relative abundance of Bifidobacterium , Lactobacillus , and Romboutsia . Conversely, lactitol decreased the relative abundance of Prevotella , Aerococcus , Muribaculum , Blautia , and Ruminococcus . This study demonstrated the potential of lactitol to relieve constipation by modulating the gut microbiota. These findings suggest that lactitol is an alternative to traditional laxatives and has potential as a health-promoting food sweetener.

Iliac artery angioplasty with stenting is an effective alternative treatment modality for aortoiliac occlusive diseases. Few randomized controlled trials have compared the efficacy and safety between self-expandable stent (SES) and balloon-expandable stent (BES) in atherosclerotic iliac artery disease. In this randomized, multicenter study, patients with common or external iliac artery occlusive disease were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either BES or SES. The primary end point was the 1-year clinical patency, defined as freedom from any surgical or percutaneous intervention due to restenosis of the target lesion after the index procedure. The secondary end point was a composite event from major adverse clinical events at 1 year. A total of 201 patients were enrolled from 17 major cardiovascular intervention centers in South Korea. The mean age of the enrolled patients was 66.8 ± 8.5 years and 86.2% of the participants were male. The frequency of critical limb ischemia was 15.4%, and the most common target lesion was in the common iliac artery (75.1%). As the primary end point, the 1-year clinical patency as primary end point was 99% in the BES group and 99% in the SES group (p > 0.99). The rate of repeat revascularization at 1 year was 7.8% in the BES group and 7.0% in the SES group (p = 0.985; confidence interval, 1.011 [0.341-2.995]). In our randomized study, the treatment of iliac artery occlusive disease with self-expandable versus balloon-expandable stent was comparable in 12-month clinical outcomes without differences in the procedural success or geographic miss rate regardless of the deployment method in the distal aortoiliac occlusive lesion (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01834495)., (© 2024. Springer Nature Japan KK, part of Springer Nature.)

Lightweight structural materials are commonly used as effective fillers for advanced composites with high toughness. This study focused on enhancing the toughness of direct-spun carbon nanotube yarns (CNTYs) by controlling the micro-textural structure using a water-gap-based direct spinning. Drawing inspiration from the structural features of natural spider silk fibroin, characterized by an α-helix in the amorphous region and β-sheet in the crystalline region, multiscale bundles within CNTYs are reorganized into a unique nano-coil-like structure. This nano-coiled structure facilitated the efficient dissipation of external mechanical loads through densification with the rearrangement of multiscale bundles, improving specific strength and strain. The resulting CNTYs exhibited exceptional mechanical properties with toughness reaching 250 J g -1 , making them promising alternatives to commercially available fibers in lightweight, high-toughness applications. These findings highlight the significance of nano-coiling engineering for emulating bio-inspired micro-textural structures, achieving remarkable enhancement in the toughness of CNTYs., (© 2024 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Glutathione (GSH) is indispensable for maintaining redox homeostasis in biological fluids and serves as a key component in cellular defense mechanisms. Accurate assessment of GSH relative to its oxidized counterpart, glutathione disulfide (GSSG), is critical for the early diagnosis and understanding of conditions related to oxidative stress. Despite existing methods for their quantification, the label-free and simultaneous measurement of GSH and GSSG in biological fluid presents significant challenges. Herein, we report the use of an alpha-hederin (Ah) nanopore for the direct measurement of the GSH:GSSG ratio in simulated biological fluid, containing fetal bovine serum (FBS). This system hinges on detecting characteristic relative ion blockades (ΔI/I o ) as GSH and GSSG molecules pass through the Ah nanopore under an applied electric field. The distinct current blockage signals derived from the translocation of GSH and GSSG enabled us to determine the molar ratio of GSH and its oxidized form. Notably, the interactions between the hydroxyl groups of the sugar moiety lining the nanopore's inner surface and the sulfhydryl group of GSH significantly influence the translocation dynamics, resulting in a longer translocation time for GSH compared to GSSG. The Ah nanopore technology proposed in this study offers a promising approach for real-time, single molecule-level monitoring of glutathione redox status in biological fluids, eliminating the need for labeling or extensive sample preparation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Research on prognostic factors for good outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors is lacking. We assessed whether normal levels of normal neuron-specific enolase (NSE) value would be useful for predicting good neurological outcomes in comatose OHCA survivors treated with targeted temperature management (TTM). This registry-based observational study with consecutive adult (≥18 years) OHCA survivors with TTM who underwent NSE measurement 48 hours after cardiac arrest was conducted from October 2015 to November 2022. Normal NSE values defined as the upper limit of the normal range by the manufacturer (NSE <16.3 μg/L) and guideline-suggested (NSE < 60 μg/L) were examined for good neurologic outcomes, defined as Cerebral Performance Categories ≤2, at 6 months post-survival. Among 226 OHCA survivors with TTM, 200 patients who underwent NSE measurement were enrolled. The manufacturer-suggested normal NSE values (<16.3 μg/L) had a specificity of 99.17% for good neurological outcomes with a very low sensitivity of 12.66%. NSE <60 μg/L predicted good outcomes with a sensitivity of 87.34% and specificity of 72.73%. However, excluding 14 poor-outcome patients who died from multi-organ dysfunction excluding hypoxic brain injury, the sensitivity and specificity of normal NSE values were 12.66% and 99.07% of NSE < 16.3 μg/L, and 87.34% and 82.24% of NSE < 60 μg/L. The manufacturer-suggested normal NSE had high specificity with low sensitivity, but the guideline-suggested normal NSE value had a comparatively low specificity for good outcome prediction in OHCA survivors. Our data demonstrate normal NSE levels can be useful as a tool for multimodal appropriation of good outcome prediction., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Kim et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The likelihood of neurological recovery after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) may be influenced by advanced age. This study aims to evaluate the impact of advanced age on neurological recovery in elderly OHCA survivors treated with targeted temperature management (TTM). This retrospective observational study, using a nationwide population-based OHCA registry, was conducted from January 2016 to December 2020. Non-traumatic elderly (≥ 65 years) comatose OHCA survivors treated with TTM were categorized according to age (65-69, 70-74, 75-79, and ≥ 80 years). Among 23,336 admitted OHCA patients, 3,398 were treated with TTM. Excluding 2,033 non-elderly patients, 1,365 were analyzed. Among the four groups, the rate of good neurological outcomes decreased by advanced age (24.2%, 16.1%, 11.4%, and 5.9%, respectively), which was also observed after subgroup analysis based on the initial shockable (40.6%, 31.5%, 28.6%, and 14.9%, respectively) and non-shockable rhythm (10.6%, 7.2%, 4.1%, and 3.4%, respectively). Multivariate analysis showed the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for good neurological outcome decreased as age increased (65-69: reference, 70-74: aOR 0.70, 75-79: aOR 0.49, and ≥ 80 years: aOR 0.25). The optimal age cutoffs for good outcomes in elderly OHCA survivors with shockable and non-shockable rhythm were 77 and 72 years, respectively. The neurologic recovery rate in OHCA survivors treated with TTM gradually decreased with increasing age. However, even patients aged ≥ 80 years with shockable rhythm had a good neurologic outcome of 14.9% compared with patients aged 65-69 years with non-shockable rhythm (10.6%)., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Medicina Interna (SIMI).)

Importance: Data are limited regarding the effects of intravascular imaging guidance during complex percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with diabetes., Objective: To compare the clinical outcomes of intravascular imaging-guided vs angiography-guided complex PCI in patients with or without diabetes., Design, Setting, and Participants: This prespecified secondary analysis of a subgroup of patients in RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI (Randomized Controlled Trial of Intravascular Imaging Guidance Versus Angiography-Guidance on Clinical Outcomes After Complex Percutaneous Coronary Intervention), an investigator-initiated, open-label multicenter trial, analyzed enrolled patients who underwent complex PCI at 20 sites in Korea from May 2018 through May 2021. Eligible patients were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to undergo either the intravascular imaging-guided PCI or angiography-guided PCI. Data analyses were performed from June 2023 to April 2024., Interventions: Percutaneous coronary intervention was performed either under the guidance of intravascular imaging or angiography alone., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was target vessel failure (TVF), defined as a composite of cardiac death, target vessel-related myocardial infarction, or target vessel revascularization., Results: Among the 1639 patients included in the analysis (mean [SD] age, 65.6 [10.2] years; 1300 males [79.3%]), 617 (37.6%) had diabetes. The incidence of TVF was significantly higher in patients with diabetes than patients without diabetes (hazard ratio [HR], 1.86; 95% CI, 1.33-2.60; P < .001). Among patients without diabetes, the intravascular imaging-guided PCI group had a significantly lower incidence of TVF compared with the angiography-guided PCI group (4.7% vs 12.2%; HR, 0.41 [95% CI, 0.25-0.67]; P < .001). Conversely, in patients with diabetes, the risk of TVF was not significantly different between the 2 groups (12.9% vs 12.3%; HR, 0.97 [95% CI, 0.60-1.57]; P = .90). There was a significant interaction between the use of intravascular imaging and diabetes for the risk of TVF (P for interaction = .02). Among patients with diabetes, only those with good glycemic control (hemoglobin A1c level ≤7.5%) and who achieved stent optimization by intravascular imaging showed a lower risk of future ischemic events (HR, 0.31; 95% CI, 0.12-0.82; P = .02)., Conclusions and Relevance: In this secondary analysis of a subgroup of patients in the RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI trial, intravascular imaging guidance reduced the risk of TVF compared with angiography guidance in patients without diabetes (but not in patients with diabetes) during complex PCI. In patients with diabetes undergoing complex PCI, attention should be paid to stent optimization using intravascular imaging and glycemic control to improve outcomes., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03381872.

Background: It is unclear whether the beneficial effects of intravascular imaging-guided stent optimization vary by clinical presentation during complex percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)., Objectives: In this prespecified, stratified subgroup analysis from RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI (Randomized Controlled Trial of Intravascular Imaging Guidance versus Angiography-Guidance on Clinical Outcomes After Complex PCI), we sought to compare the outcomes between intravascular imaging vs angiography guidance according to clinical presentation., Methods: Patients with complex coronary artery lesions were randomly assigned to undergo either intravascular imaging-guided PCI or angiography-guided PCI in a 2:1 ratio. The primary endpoint was target vessel failure (TVF), which is a composite of cardiac death, target vessel-related myocardial infarction, or clinically driven target vessel revascularization., Results: Of 1,639 patients, 832 (50.8%) presented with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and 807 (49.2%) with chronic coronary syndrome. During a median follow-up of 2.1 years (Q1-Q3: 1.4-3.0 years), there was no significant interaction between the treatment effect of intravascular imaging and clinical presentation (P for interaction = 0.19). Among patients with ACS, the incidences of TVF were 10.4% in the intravascular imaging group and 14.6% in the angiography group (HR: 0.74; 95% CI: 0.48-1.15; P = 0.18). Among patients with CCS, the incidences of TVF were 5.0% in the intravascular imaging group and 10.4% in the angiography group (HR: 0.46; 95% CI: 0.27-0.80; P = 0.006). Achieving stent optimization by intravascular imaging resulted in a reduced risk of TVF among patients with ACS who were randomly assigned to intravascular imaging-guided PCI for complex coronary lesions (optimized vs unoptimized, 6.5% vs 14.1%; HR: 0.49; 95% CI: 0.27-0.87; P = 0.02) but not those with CCS (5.4% vs 4.7%, HR: 1.18; 95% CI: 0.53-2.59; P = 0.69)., Conclusions: No significant interaction was observed between the benefits of intravascular imaging and clinical presentation in the risk of TVF. Stent optimization by intravascular imaging was particularly important for ACS patients. (Intravascular Imaging- Versus Angiography-Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention For Complex Coronary Artery Disease [RENOVATE]; NCT03381872)., Competing Interests: Funding Support and Author Disclosures This trial is investigator initiated with grant support from Abbott Vascular and Boston Scientific. The sponsors were not involved with the protocol development or study process, including site selection, management, data collection, or analysis of the results. Dr Chan Joon Kim has received research grants from Basic Science Research Program, National Research Foundation of Korea, Ministry of Education, Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Chong Keun Dang Pharm, Handoc Kalos Medical, Donga-ST, and Boryung Corporation. Dr Joo Myung Lee has received institutional research grants from Abbott Vascular, Boston Scientific, Philips Volcano, Terumo Corporation, Zoll Medical, and Donga-ST. Dr Hyeon-Cheol Gwon has received institutional research grants from Abbott Vascular, Boston Scientific, and Medtronic Inc. Dr Joo-Yong Hahn has received institutional research grants from the National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency, Ministry of Health and Welfare (Korea), Abbott Vascular, Biosensors, Boston Scientific, Daiichi-Sankyo, Donga-ST, Hanmi Pharmaceutical, and Medtronic Inc. All other authors have reported that they have no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Wasabi, a Brassicaceae member, is well-known for its unique pungent and hot flavor which is produced from glucosinolate (GSL) degradation. Myrosinase (MYR) is a principle enzyme catalyzing the primary conversion of GSLs to GSL hydrolysis products (GHPs) which is responsible for plant defense system and food quality. Due to the limited information in relation to MYRs present in wasabi (Wasabia japonica M.), this study aimed to identify the MYR isogenes in W. japonica and analyze their roles in relation to GSL metabolism., Results: In results, WjMYRI-1 was abundantly expressed in all organs, whereas WjMYRI-2 showed only trace expression levels. WjMYRII was highly expressed in the aboveground tissues. Interestingly, WjMYRII expression was significantly upregulated by certain abiotic factors, such as methyl jasmonate (more than 40-fold in petioles and 15-fold in leaves) and salt (tenfold in leaves). Young leaves and roots contained 97.89 and 91.17 µmol‧g -1 of GSL, whereas less GSL was produced in mature leaves and petioles (38.36 and 44.79 µmol‧g -1 , respectively). Similar pattern was observed in the accumulation of GHPs in various plant organs. Notably, despite the non-significant changes in GSL production, abiotic factors treated samples enhanced significantly GHP content. Pearson's correlation analysis revealed that WjMYRI-1 expression significantly correlated with GSL accumulation and GHP formation, suggesting the primary role of WjMYRI-1-encoding putative protein in GSL degradation. In contrast, WjMYRII expression level showed no correlation with GSL or GHP content, suggesting another physiological role of WjMYRII in stress-induced response., Conclusions: In conclusions, three potential isogenes (WjMYRI-1, WjMYRI-2, and WjMYRII) encoding for different MYR isoforms in W. japonica were identified. Our results provided new insights related to MYR and GSL metabolism which are important for the implications of wasabi in agriculture, food and pharmaceutical industry. Particularly, WjMYRI-1 may be primarily responsible for GSL degradation, whereas WjMYRII (clade II) may be involved in other regulatory pathways induced by abiotic factors., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background and Objectives: Accumulating evidence shows that sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) reduce adverse cardiovascular outcomes. However, whether SGLT2i, compared with other antidiabetic drugs, reduce the new development of atrial fibrillation (AF) is unclear. In this study, we compared SGLT2i with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4is) in terms of reduction in the risk of AF in individuals with type 2 diabetes., Methods: We included 42,786 propensity score-matched pairs of SGLT2i and DPP-4i users without previous AF diagnosis using the Korean National Health Insurance Service database between May 1, 2016, and December 31, 2018., Results: During a median follow-up of 1.3 years, SGLT2i users had a lower incidence of AF than DPP-4i users (1.95 vs. 2.65 per 1,000 person-years; hazard ratio [HR], 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.55-0.97; p=0.028]). In individuals without heart failure, SGLT2i users was associated with a decreased risk of AF incidence (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.52-0.94; p=0.019) compared to DPP-4i users. However, individuals with heart failure, SGLT2i users was not significantly associated with a change in risk (HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.44-2.44; p=0.936)., Conclusions: In this nationwide cohort study of individuals with type 2 diabetes, treatment with SGLT2i was associated with a lower risk of AF compared with treatment with DPP-4i., Competing Interests: The authors have no financial conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024. The Korean Society of Cardiology.)

Importance: There have been heterogeneous results related to sex differences in prognosis after percutaneous coronary artery intervention (PCI) for complex coronary artery lesions., Objective: To evaluate potential differences in outcomes with intravascular imaging-guided PCI of complex coronary artery lesions between women and men., Design, Setting, and Participants: This prespecified substudy evaluates the interaction of sex in the investigator-initiated, open-label, multicenter RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI randomized clinical trial, which demonstrated the superiority of intravascular imaging-guided PCI compared with angiography-guided PCI in patients with complex coronary artery lesions. The trial was conducted at 20 sites in Korea. Patients with complex coronary artery lesions undergoing PCI were enrolled between May 2018 and May 2021, and the median (IQR) follow-up period was 2.1 (1.4-3.0) years. Data were analyzed from December 2022 to December 2023., Interventions: After diagnostic coronary angiography, eligible patients were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive intravascular imaging-guided PCI or angiography-guided PCI. The choice and timing of the intravascular imaging device were left to the operators' discretion., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was target vessel failure, defined as a composite of cardiac death, target vessel-related myocardial infarction, or clinically driven target vessel revascularization. Secondary end points included individual components of the primary end point., Results: Of 1639 included patients, 339 (20.7%) were women, and the mean (SD) age was 65.6 (10.2) years. There was no difference in the risk of the primary end point between women and men (9.4% vs 8.3%; adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.39; 95% CI, 0.89-2.18; P = .15). Intravascular imaging-guided PCI tended to have lower incidence of the primary end point than angiography-guided PCI in both women (5.2% vs 14.5%; adjusted HR, 0.34; 95% CI, 0.15-0.78; P = .01) and men (8.3% vs 11.7%; adjusted HR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.49-1.05; P = .09) without significant interaction (P for interaction = .86)., Conclusions and Relevance: In patients undergoing complex PCI, compared with angiographic guidance, intravascular imaging guidance was associated with similar reduction in the risk of target vessel failure among women and men. The treatment benefit of intravascular imaging-guided PCI showed no significant interaction between treatment strategy and sex., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03381872.

With the analysis of nationwide health claim data, treatment with the composite agent of SERMs and vitamin D reduces the risk of osteoporotic fracture and hip fracture better compared to SERMs treatment in women with osteoporosis aged ≥ 50 years., Purpose: This study compared the potential of the composite agent of selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) and vitamin D (SERM + VitD) with that of SERMs-only for fracture prevention and mortality reduction in women aged ≥ 50 years., Methods: The incidence of osteoporotic fracture (fractures of the vertebrae, hip, wrist, or humerus) and all-cause death after treatment with SERM + VitD and SERMs were characterized using the Korean National Health Insurance Service database 2017-2019. The participants were divided into two groups (SERM + VitD vs SERMs). After exclusion and propensity score matching, 2,885 patients from each group were included in the analysis. Fracture incidence was compared between groups. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to compare mortality. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to compare the risks of fracture occurrence and mortality between the groups., Results: The incidence rate (138.6/10,000 vs. 192.4/10,000 person-years), and risk of osteoporotic fractures (hazard ratio [HR], 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.61-0.97; p = 0.024) were lower in the SERM + VitD group than in the SERMs group. Analysis for specific fractures showed a lower hazard of hip fracture in the SERM + VitD group (HR, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.09-0.71; p = 0.009). No difference was observed between the groups regarding mortality., Conclusion: The risk of osteoporotic fractures, especially hip fractures, was lower in the SERM + VitD group than in the SERMs group. Therefore, the composite agent of SERMs and vitamin D can be considered as a viable option for postmenopausal women with a relatively low fracture risk., (© 2024. International Osteoporosis Foundation and Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation.)

This study aimed to elucidate the role of O-GlcNAc cycling in 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced Parkinson's disease (PD)-like neurodegeneration and the underlying mechanisms. We observed dose-dependent downregulation of O-GlcNAcylation, accompanied by an increase in O-GlcNAcase following 6-OHDA treatment in both mouse brain and Neuro2a cells. Interestingly, elevating O-GlcNAcylation through glucosamine (GlcN) injection provided protection against PD pathogenesis induced by 6-OHDA. At the behavioral level, GlcN mitigated motor deficits induced by 6-OHDA, as determined using the pole, cylinder, and apomorphine rotation tests. Furthermore, GlcN attenuated 6-OHDA-induced neuroinflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction. Notably, augmented O-GlcNAcylation, achieved through O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) overexpression in mouse brain, conferred protection against 6-OHDA-induced PD pathology, encompassing neuronal cell death, motor deficits, neuroinflammation, and mitochondrial dysfunction. These collective findings suggest that O-GlcNAcylation plays a crucial role in the normal functioning of dopamine neurons. Moreover, enhancing O-GlcNAcylation through genetic and pharmacological means could effectively ameliorate neurodegeneration and motor impairment in an animal model of PD. These results propose a potential strategy for safeguarding against the deterioration of dopamine neurons implicated in PD pathogenesis., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: The early prediction of the need for massive transfusions (MTs) and the preparation of blood products are essential for managing patients with primary postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). Thromboelastography (TEG) enables a thorough evaluation of coagulation status and is useful for guiding the treatment of hemorrhagic events in various diseases. We investigated the role of TEG in predicting the need for MT in patients with primary PPH., Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted in the emergency department (ED) of a university-affiliated, tertiary referral center between November 2015 and August 2023. TEG was performed upon admission. We defined MT as the requirement for transfusion of more than 10 units of packed red blood cells within the first 24 h. The primary outcome was the need for MT., Results: Among the 184 patients with initial TEG, 34 (18.5%) required MT. Except for lysis after 30 min, the MT and non-MT groups had significantly different TEG values. Based on multivariate analysis, an angle < 60 was an independent predictor of MT (odds ratio (OR) 7.769; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.736-22.062), along with lactate (OR, 1.674; 95% CI, 1.218-2.300) and shock index > 0.9 (OR, 4.638; 95% CI, 1.784-12.056). Alpha angle < 60 degrees indicated the need for MT with 73.5% sensitivity, 72.0% specificity, and 92.3% negative predictive value., Conclusions: Point-of-care testing of TEG has the potential to be a useful tool in accurately predicting the necessity for MT in ED patients with primary PPH at an early stage.

BACKGROUND The modified shock index (MSI) is calculated as the ratio of heart rate (HR) to mean arterial pressure (MAP) and has been used to predict the need for massive transfusion (MT) in trauma patients. This retrospective study from a single center aimed to compare the MSI with the traditional shock index (SI) to predict the need for MT in 612 women diagnosed with primary postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) at the Emergency Department (ED) between January 2004 and August 2023. MATERIAL AND METHODS The patients were divided into the MT group and the non-MT group. The predictive power of MSI and SI was compared using the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value were calculated. RESULTS Out of 612 patients, 105 (17.2%) required MT. The MT group had higher median values than the non-MT group for MSI (1.58 vs 1.07, P<0.001) and SI (1.22 vs 0.80, P<0.001). The AUC for MSI, with a value of 0.811 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.778-0.841), did not demonstrate a significant difference compared to the AUC for SI, which was 0.829 (95% CI, 0.797-0.858) (P=0.066). The optimal cutoff values for MSI and SI were 1.34 and 1.07, respectively. The specificity and PPV for MT were 77.1% and 40.2% for MSI, and 83.2% and 45.9% for SI. CONCLUSIONS Both MSI and SI were effective in predicting MT in patients with primary PPH. However, MSI did not demonstrate superior performance to SI.

Background: Although clinical benefits of intravascular imaging-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with complex coronary artery lesions have been observed in previous trials, the cost-effectiveness of this strategy is uncertain., Methods: RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI (Randomized Controlled Trial of Intravascular Imaging Guidance vs Angiography-Guidance on Clinical Outcomes After Complex Percutaneous Coronary Intervention) was conducted in Korea between May 2018 and May 2021. This prespecified cost-effectiveness substudy was conducted using Markov model that simulated 3 states: (1) post-PCI, (2) spontaneous myocardial infarction, and (3) death. A simulated cohort was derived from the intention-to-treat population, and input parameters were extracted from either the trial data or previous publications. Cost-effectiveness was evaluated using time horizon of 3 years (within trial) and lifetime. The primary outcome was incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), an indicator of incremental cost on additional quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained, in intravascular imaging-guided PCI compared with angiography-guided PCI. The current analysis was performed using the Korean health care sector perspective with reporting the results in US dollar (1200 Korean Won, ₩=1 dollar, $). Willingness to pay threshold was $35 000 per QALY gained., Results: A total of 1639 patients were included in the trial. During 3-year follow-up, medical costs ($8661 versus $7236; incremental cost, $1426) and QALY (2.34 versus 2.31; incremental QALY, 0.025) were both higher in intravascular imaging-guided PCI than angiography-guided PCI, resulting incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $57 040 per QALY gained within trial data. Conversely, lifetime simulation showed total cumulative medical cost was reversed between the 2 groups ($40 455 versus $49 519; incremental cost, -$9063) with consistently higher QALY (8.24 versus 7.89; incremental QALY, 0.910) in intravascular imaging-guided PCI than angiography-guided PCI, resulting in a dominant incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. Consistently, 70% of probabilistic iterations showed cost-effectiveness of intravascular imaging-guided PCI in probabilistic sensitivity analysis., Conclusions: The current cost-effectiveness analysis suggests that imaging-guided PCI is more cost-effective than angiography-guided PCI by reducing medical cost and increasing quality-of-life in complex coronary artery lesions in long-term follow-up., Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT03381872., Competing Interests: Disclosures Dr Hahn received an Institutional Research Grant from National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea, Abbott Vascular, Biosensors, Boston Scientific, Daiichi Sankyo, Donga-ST, and Medtronic Inc. Dr Gwon received an Institutional Research Grant from Abbott Vascular, Boston Scientific, and Medtronic Inc. Dr Joo Myung Lee received an Institutional Research Grant from Abbott Vascular, Boston Scientific, Philips Volcano, Terumo Corporation, Donga-ST, and Zoll Medical. The other authors report no conflicts.

Although percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for chronic total occlusion (CTO) has been increasing in recent years, CTO PCI is still one of the most challenging procedures with relatively higher rates of procedural complications and adverse clinical events after PCI. Due to the innate limitations of invasive coronary angiography, intravascular imaging (IVI) has been used as an adjunctive tool to complement PCI, especially in complex coronary artery disease. Considering the complexity of CTO lesions, the role of IVI is particularly important in CTO intervention. IVI has been a useful adjunctive tool in every step of CTO PCI including assisted wire crossing, confirmation of wire location within CTO segment, and stent optimization. The meticulous use of IVI has been one of the greatest contributors to recent progress of CTO PCI. Nevertheless, studies evaluating the role of IVI during CTO PCI are limited. The current review provides a comprehensive overview of the mechanistic advantages of IVI in CTO PCI, summarizes previous studies and trials, and presents future perspective of IVI in CTO PCI.

This study aimed to investigate the regulation of fucoxanthin (FX) biosynthesis under various nitrogen conditions to optimize FX productivity in Phaeodactylum tricornutum . Apart from light, nitrogen availability significantly affects the FX production of microalgae; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In batch culture, P. tricornutum was cultivated with normal (NN, 0.882 mM sodium nitrate), limited (LN, 0.22 mM), and high (HN, 8.82 mM) initial nitrogen concentrations in f/2 medium. Microalgal growth and photosynthetic pigment production were examined, and day 5 samples were subjected to fucoxanthin-chlorophyll a/c -binding protein (FCP) proteomic and transcriptomic analyses. The result demonstrated that HN promoted FX productivity by extending the exponential growth phase for higher biomass and FX accumulation stage (P1), showing a continuous increase in FX accumulation on day 6. Augmented FX biosynthesis via the upregulation of carotenogenesis could be primarily attributed to enhanced FCP formation in the thylakoid membrane. Key proteins, such as LHC3/4, LHCF8, LHCF5, and LHCF10, and key genes, such as PtPSY , PtPDS , and PtVDE, were upregulated under nitrogen repletion. Finally, the combination of low light and HN prolonged the P1 stage to day 10, resulting in maximal FX productivity to 9.82 ± 0.56 mg/L/day, demonstrating an effective strategy for enhancing FX production in microalgae cultivation.

Elevated blood glucose is associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis. Data from the current study showed that glucosamine (GlcN), a normal glucose metabolite of the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway (HBP), promoted lipid accumulation in RAW264.7 macrophage cells. Oleic acid- and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced lipid accumulation was further enhanced by GlcN in RAW264.7 cells, although there was no a significant change in the rate of fatty acid uptake. GlcN increased acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC), fatty acid synthase (FAS), scavenger receptor class A, liver X receptor, and sterol regulatory elementbinding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) mRNA expression, and; conversely, suppressed ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA-1) and ABCG-1 expression. Additionally, GlcN promoted O-GlcNAcylation of nuclear SREBP-1 but did not affect its DNA binding activity. GlcN stimulated phosphorylation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and S6 kinase. Rapamycin, a mTOR-specific inhibitor, suppressed GlcN-induced lipid accumulation in RAW264.7 cells. The GlcN-mediated increase in ACC and FAS mRNA was suppressed, while the decrease in ABCA-1 and ABCG-1 by GlcN was not significantly altered by rapamycin. Together, our results highlight the importance of the mTOR signaling pathway in GlcN-induced macrophage lipid accumulation and further support a potential link between mTOR and HBP signaling in lipogenesis. [BMB Reports 2024; 57(2): 92-97].

Background: Although benefits of intravascular imaging (IVI) in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have been observed in previous studies, it is not known whether changes in contemporary practice, especially with application of standardized optimization protocols, have improved clinical outcomes., Objectives: The authors sought to investigate whether clinical outcomes of IVI-guided PCI are different before and after the application of standardized optimization protocols in using IVI., Methods: 2,972 patients from an institutional registry (2008-2015, before application of standardized optimization protocols, the past group) and 1,639 patients from a recently published trial (2018-2021 after application of standardized optimization protocols, the present group) were divided into 2 groups according to use of IVI. The primary outcome was 3-year target vessel failure (TVF), a composite of cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction, or target vessel revascularization., Results: Significant reduction of TVF was observed in the IVI-guided PCI group compared with the angiography-guided PCI group (10.0% vs 6.7%; HR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.61-0.97; P = 0.027), mainly driven by reduced cardiac death or myocardial infarction in both past and present IVI-guided PCI groups. When comparing past IVI and present IVI groups, TVF was significantly lower in the present IVI group (8.5% vs 5.1%; HR: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.42-0.94; P = 0.025), with the difference being driven by reduced target vessel revascularization in the present IVI group. Consistent results were observed in inverse-probability-weighting adjusted analysis., Conclusions: IVI-guided PCI improved clinical outcomes more than angiography-guided PCI. In addition, application of standardized optimization protocols when using IVI further improved clinical outcomes after PCI. (Intravascular Imaging- Versus Angiography-Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention For Complex Coronary Artery Disease [RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI]; NCT03381872; and the institutional cardiovascular catheterization database of Samsung Medical Center: Long-Term Outcomes and Prognostic Factors in Patient Undergoing CABG or PCI; NCT03870815)., Competing Interests: Funding Support and Author Disclosures The RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI trial is investigator-initiated with grant support from Abbott Vascular and Boston Scientific. Other than providing financial support, the sponsors were not involved with protocol development or the study process, including site selection, study management, data collection, and analysis of the results. Prof Gwon has received institutional research grants from Boston Scientific, Genoss, and Medtronic Inc. Prof Hahn has received institutional research grants from National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Korea, Abbott Vascular, Biosensors, Boston Scientific, Daiichi Sankyo, Donga-ST, Hanmi Pharmaceutical, and Medtronic Inc. Dr J.M. Lee has received institutional research grants from Abbott Vascular, Boston Scientific, Philips Volcano, Terumo Corporation, Zoll Medical, and Donga-ST. All other authors have reported that they have no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aims: Heavy alcohol consumption is an established risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the association between habitual changes in heavy habitual drinkers and incident AF remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether absolute abstinence or reduced drinking decreases incident AF in heavy habitual drinkers., Methods and Results: Atrial fibrillation-free participants with heavy alcohol consumption registered in the Korean National Health Insurance Service database between 2005 and 2008 were enrolled. Habitual changes in alcohol consumption between 2009 and 2012 were classified as sustained heavy drinking, reduced drinking, and absolute abstinence. The primary outcome measure was new-onset AF during the follow-up. To minimize the effect of confounding variables on outcome events, inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) analysis was performed. Overall, 19 425 participants were evaluated. The absolute abstinence group showed a 63% lower incidence of AF (IPTW hazard ratio: 0.379, 95% confidence interval: 0.169-0.853) than did the sustained heavy drinking group. Subgroup analysis identified that abstinence significantly reduced incident AF in participants with normal body mass index and without hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidaemia, heart failure, stroke, chronic kidney disease, or coronary artery disease (all P-value <0.05). There was no statistical difference in incident AF in participants with reduced drinking compared with sustained heavy alcohol group., Conclusion: Absolute abstinence could reduce the incidence of AF in heavy alcohol drinkers. Comprehensive clinical measures and public health policies are warranted to motivate alcohol abstinence in heavy drinkers., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: None declared., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)

Peanut ( Arachis hypogaea L.) has long been cultivated worldwide as an important crop for oil and protein production. Among the various diseases in peanut plants, wilt diseases caused by soil-borne pathogens such as Ralstonia solanacearum and Verticillium dahliae are especially destructive and substantially diminish both quantity and quality in peanut production (Kokalis-Burelle et al., 1997; Thiessen et al., 2012). In July 2022, wilt symptoms were observed in 1 to 3% of the area of peanut fields in Yeoju-si, Korea (37°23´04.0˝N; 127°33´43.0˝E). The xylem in the stems of the wilted plants was dark brown at the soil-surface, which is a representative symptom of vascular wilt pathogens (Yadeta et al. 2013). To isolate the causative pathogens, the stems exhibiting dark lesions were disinfected with 1% NaOCl for 1 min, rinsed with sterile distilled water, and placed on potato dextrose agar medium. The plates were incubated at 25℃ for 2 days, and white hyphae that grew out from the tissues were subcultured twice on V8 juice agar (V8A) medium. Among the 3 isolates, morphological characteristics of the representative strain YJ1-2 were observed under a microscope. The sporangia were terminal intercalary, filamentous, inflated lobulate, and ranging from 37.4 to 73.6 μm in diameter. The antheridia were diclinous, with clavate, elongate, and crook-necked shapes. The oogonia were mostly globose, with an average of 27.1 μm (range from 20.2 to 35.2 μm, n = 50) in diameter, and mated with one to several antheridia. Both plerotic or aplerotic oospores were observed. Overall, the morphological characteristics of the sporangia, antheridia, oogonia, and oospores indicated that YJ1-2 belongs to the genus Pythium . To genetically characterize YJ1-2, genomic DNA was extracted using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide buffer, and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I ( cox1 ) gene were amplified by PCR using primer sets ITS4/ITS5 and OomCoxI-Levlo/ OomCoxI-Levup, respectively (White et al., 1990; Robideau et al. 2011), sequenced, and identified using BLASTN (NCBI, National Center for Biotechnology Information). The ITS sequence (NCBI Acc. No. OR125595) of YJ1-2 has 99% similarity with that of P. myriotylum isolate PY39 (NCBI Acc. No. KX671096). A neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree was constructed from aligned cox1 sequence (NCBI Acc. No. OR224334) of the 10 Pythium species strains including YJ1-2 by CLUSTALW method was used as an outgroup. The YJ1-2 was most closely related to P. myriotylum isolate PM30 (NCBI Acc. No. MT823167). To substantiate the pathogenicity of YJ1-2, the crown roots of peanut plants grown in pots for 4 weeks were wounded using a sterile tweezer, and the mycelial plugs of YJ1-2 cultured for 5 days on V8A were inoculated on the wounds. The inoculated plants were cultivated in a growth chamber at 30℃ and 70% relative humidity with a 12-h photoperiod. The infected peanut plants exhibited wilt symptoms 11 days after inoculation, consistent with the initial observation, while uninoculated plants remained healthy. To satisfy Koch's postulates, white mycelia were re-isolated from the stems of inoculated plants and axenically cultured in V8A. The morphologies and ITS sequences of the re-isolates were consistent with those of YJ1-2. P. myriotylum has been reported as a causal pathogen of peanut pod rot in the United States and China. However, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of wilt disease in peanut plants caused by P. myriotylum in Korea. To prevent the incidence of wilt disease, we will continue our investigations to develop control strategies, including the selection of appropriate agrochemicals.

Background: The predictive value of the respiratory rate‑oxygenation (ROX) index for a high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) in patients with COVID-19 with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF) may differ from patients without COVID-19 with AHRF, but these patients have not yet been compared. We compared the diagnostic accuracy of the ROX index for HFNC failure in patients with AHRF with and without COVID-19 during acute emergency department (ED) visits., Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of patients with AHRF treated with an HFNC in an ED between October 2020 and April 2022. The ROX index was calculated at 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 h after HFNC placement. The primary outcome was the failure of the HFNC, which was defined as the need for subsequent intubation or death within 72 h. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate discriminative power of the ROX index for HFNC failure., Results: Among 448 patients with AHRF treated with an HFNC in an ED, 78 (17.4%) patients were confirmed to have COVID-19. There was no significant difference in the HFNC failure rates between the non-COVID-19 and COVID-19 groups (29.5% vs. 33.3%, p = 0.498). The median ROX index was higher in the non-COVID-19 group than in the COVID-19 group at all time points. The prognostic power of the ROX index for HFNC failure as evaluated by the area under the ROC curve was generally higher in the COVID-19 group (0.73-0.83) than the non-COVID-19 group (0.62-0.75). The timing of the highest prognostic value of the ROX index for HFNC failure was at 4 h for the non-COVID-19 group, whereas in the COVID-19 group, its performance remained consistent from 1 h to 6 h. The optimal cutoff values were 6.48 and 5.79 for the non-COVID-19 and COVID-19 groups, respectively., Conclusions: The ROX index had an acceptable discriminative power for predicting HFNC failure in patients with AHRF with and without COVID-19 in the ED. However, the higher ROX index thresholds than those in previous publications involving intensive care unit (ICU) patients suggest the need for careful monitoring and establishment of a new threshold for patients admitted outside the ICU., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Previous studies demonstrated a J-shaped relationship between low diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and adverse clinical outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) that was sensitive to revascularization. Hypothesized herein, was that this relationship differs between patients with multivessel disease (MVD) and those with single-vessel disease due to differing degrees of myocardial ischemic burden., Methods: Among 9,983 AMI patients from the Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry database who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention and were followed up for a median duration of 3.2 years, average on-treatment DBP was calculated at admission, discharge, and every scheduled visit and divided into these parameters: < 70 mmHg, 70-74 mmHg, 75-79 mmHg, and ≥ 80 mmHg. The relationship between average on-treatment DBP and clinical outcomes including all-cause death, cardiovascular (CV) death, non-CV death, and hospitalization for heart failure was analyzed using the Cox regression models adjusted for clinical covariates., Results: In patients with MVD, all-cause death (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.47; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.06-2.04, p = 0.012) and CV death (HR: 1.59; 95% CI: 1.02-2.46, p = 0.027) were significantly increased in patients with a DBP < 70 mmHg, showing a J-shaped relationship. However, these findings were not significant for single-vessel disease. On a sensitivity analysis excluding subjects with a baseline SBP < 120 mmHg, an increased risk of a low DBP < 70 mmHg remained in MVD., Conclusions: The J-shaped relationship between low DBP and adverse clinical outcomes in AMI patients who underwent revascularization persisted in MVD, which has a high ischemic burden. These high-risk patients require cautious treatment.

Background: The RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI (Randomized Controlled Trial of Intravascular Imaging Guidance Versus Angiography-Guidance on Clinical Outcomes After Complex Percutaneous Coronary Intervention) demonstrated that intravascular imaging-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) improved clinical outcome compared with angiography-guided PCI for patients with complex coronary artery lesions. This study aims to assess whether the prognostic benefit of intravascular imaging-guided procedural optimization persists in patients undergoing PCI for left main coronary artery disease., Methods: Of 1639 patients enrolled in the RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI, 192 patients with left main coronary artery disease were selected for the current prespecified substudy. Selected patients were randomly assigned to either the intravascular imaging-guided PCI group (n=138) or the angiography-guided PCI group (n=54). The primary end point was target vessel failure defined as a composite of cardiac death, target vessel-related myocardial infarction, or clinically driven target vessel revascularization., Results: At a median follow-up of 2.1 years (interquartile range 1.1 to 3.0 years), intravascular imaging-guided PCI was associated with lower incidence of primary end point compared with angiography-guided PCI (6.8% versus 25.1%; hazard ratio, 0.31 [95% CI, 0.13-0.76]; P =0.010). This significant reduction in primary end point was mainly driven by a lower risk of cardiac death or spontaneous target vessel-related myocardial infarction (1.6% versus 12.7%; hazard ratio, 0.16 [95% CI, 0.03-0.82]; P =0.028). Intravascular imaging-guided PCI was independently associated with a lower risk of primary end point, even after adjusting for various clinical factors (hazard ratio, 0.29 [95% CI, 0.12-0.72]; P =0.007)., Conclusions: Intravascular imaging-guided PCI showed clinical benefit over angiography-guided PCI for left main coronary artery disease in reducing the risk of cardiac death, target vessel-related myocardial infarction, or target vessel revascularization., Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT03381872., Competing Interests: Disclosures Dr Lee received an Institutional Research Grant from Abbott Vascular, Boston Scientific, Philips Volcano, Terumo Corporation, Zoll Medical, and Donga-ST. Dr Hahn received an Institutional Research Grant from National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Korea, Abbott Vascular, Biosensors, Boston Scientific, Daiichi Sankyo, Donga-ST, Hanmi Pharmaceutical, and Medtronic, Inc. Dr Gwon received an Institutional Research Grant from Boston Scientific, Genoss, and Medtronic, Inc. The other authors report no conflicts.

In present study, icariin (ICA)/tannic acid (TA)-nanodiamonds (NDs) were prepared as follows. ICA was anchored to ND surfaces with absorbed TA (ICA/TA-NDs) and we evaluated their in vitro anti-inflammatory effects on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated macrophages and in vivo cartilage protective effects on a rat model of monosodium iodoacetate (MIA)-induced osteoarthritis (OA). The ICA/TA-NDs showed prolonged release of ICA from the NDs for up to 28 days in a sustained manner. ICA/TA-NDs inhibited the mRNA levels of pro-inflammatory elements, including matrix metalloproteinases-3 (MMP-3), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and increased the mRNA levels of anti-inflammatory factors (i.e., IL-4 and IL-10) in LPS-activated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Animal studies exhibited that intra-articular injection of ICA/TA-NDs notably suppressed levels of IL-6, MMP-3, and TNF-α and induced level of IL-10 in serum of MIA-induced OA rat models in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, these noticeable anti-inflammatory effects of ICA/TA-NDs remarkably contributed to the protection of the progression of MIA-induced OA and cartilage degradation, as exhibited by micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), gross findings, and histological investigations. Accordingly, in vitro and in vivo findings suggest that the prolonged ICA delivery of ICA/TA-NDs possesses an excellent latent to improve inflammation as well as defend against cartilage disorder in OA.

Importance: As patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are more likely to have complex coronary lesions, intravascular imaging guidance in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for this population could be potentially beneficial., Objectives: To investigate whether the outcomes of intravascular imaging-guided procedural optimization would be different according to the presence of CKD., Design, Setting, and Participants: This was a prespecified substudy of RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI, a recently published multicenter randomized clinical trial in Korea studying the benefits of intravascular imaging for complex coronary lesions. Patients with complex coronary lesions, with or without CKD, were enrolled between May 2018 and May 2021. Data were analyzed from January to June 2023., Interventions: PCI in each group was done either under the guidance of intravascular imaging or angiography alone., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was target vessel failure (TVF) at the 3-year point, defined as a composite of cardiac death, target vessel-related myocardial infarction, or clinically driven target vessel revascularization., Results: A total of 1639 patients (1300 male [79.3%]) treated with PCI for complex coronary lesions were stratified into CKD (296 participants) and non-CKD (1343 participants) groups. The mean (SD) age of each group was 70.3 (9.4) and 64.5 (10.1) years, and mean (SD) estimated serum creatinine was 2.9 (5.3) and 0.8 (0.2) mg/dL for CKD and non-CKD groups, respectively. Intravascular imaging-guided revascularization was associated with significantly lower incidence of the primary end point compared with angiography-guided revascularization in both CKD (13.3% vs 23.3%; hazard ratio [HR], 0.51; 95% CI, 0.27-0.93; P = .03) and non-CKD (6.4% vs 9.9%; HR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.44-0.99; P = .05) groups. The significantly lower incidence of the primary end point was mainly associated with the lower risk of cardiac death or target vessel-related myocardial infarction (9.4% vs 22.2%; HR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.20-0.76; P = .006) in the CKD group and by target vessel revascularization (3.0% vs 5.5%; HR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.30-0.99; P = .05) in the non-CKD group. Those with a glomerular filtration rate of at least 30 mL/min/1.73m2 and less than 60 ml/kg/1.73m2 showed the greatest benefit from imaging-guided complex PCI (8.8% vs 21.2%; HR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.11-0.68; P = .02)., Conclusions and Relevance: In this prespecified cohort substudy of the Randomized Controlled Trial of Intravascular Imaging Guidance versus Angiography-Guidance on Clinical Outcomes After Complex Percutaneous Coronary Intervention trial, intravascular imaging guidance showed clinical benefit over angiography guidance in reducing the risk of TVF, regardless of the presence of CKD. The greatest benefits of imaging-guided complex PCI were observed in stage 3 CKD., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03381872.

This study delves into the complex landscape of viral infections in tomatoes ( Solanum lycopersicum ) using available transcriptome data. We conducted a virome analysis, revealing 219 viral contigs linked to four distinct viruses: tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV), southern tomato virus (STV), tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), and cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). Among these, ToCV predominated in contig count, followed by STV, TYLCV, and CMV. A notable finding was the prevalence of coinfections, emphasizing the concurrent presence of multiple viruses in tomato plants. Despite generally low viral levels in fruit transcriptomes, STV emerged as the primary virus based on viral read count. We delved deeper into viral abundance and the contributions of RNA segments to replication. While initially focused on studying the impact of sound treatment on tomato fruit transcriptomes, the unexpected viral presence underscores the importance of considering viruses in plant research. Geographical variations in virome communities hint at potential forensic applications. Phylogenetic analysis provided insights into viral origins and genetic diversity, enhancing our understanding of the Korean tomato virome. In conclusion, this study advances our knowledge of the tomato virome, stressing the need for robust pest control in greenhouse-grown tomatoes and offering insights into virus management and crop protection.

Various kinds of plastics have been developed over the past century, vastly improving the quality of life. However, the indiscriminate production and irresponsible management of plastics have led to the accumulation of plastic waste, emerging as a pressing environmental concern. To establish a clean and sustainable plastic economy, plastic recycling becomes imperative to mitigate resource depletion and replace non-eco-friendly processes, such as incineration. Although chemical and mechanical recycling technologies exist, the prevalence of composite plastics in product manufacturing complicates recycling efforts. In recent years, the biodegradation of plastics using enzymes and microorganisms has been reported, opening a new possibility for biotechnological plastic degradation and bio-upcycling. This review provides an overview of microbial strains capable of degrading various plastics, highlighting key enzymes and their role. In addition, recent advances in plastic waste valorization technology based on systems metabolic engineering are explored in detail. Finally, future perspectives on systems metabolic engineering strategies to develop a circular plastic bioeconomy are discussed.

Plant transcriptomes offer a valuable resource for studying viral communities (viromes). In this study, we explore how plant transcriptome data can be applied to virome research. We analyzed 40 soybean transcriptomes across different growth stages and identified six viruses: broad bean wilt virus 2 (BBWV2), brassica yellow virus (BrYV), beet western yellow virus (BWYV), cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), milk vetch dwarf virus (MDV), and soybean mosaic virus (SMV). SMV was the predominant virus in both Glycine max (GM) and Glycine soja (GS) cultivars. Our analysis confirmed its abundance in both, while BBWV2 and CMV were more prevalent in GS than GM. The viral proportions varied across developmental stages, peaking in open flowers. Comparing viral abundance measured by viral reads and fragments per kilobase of transcript per million (FPKM) values revealed insights. SMV showed similar FPKM values in GM and GS, but BBWV2 and CMV displayed higher FPKM proportions in GS. Notably, the differences in viral abundance between GM and GS were generally insignificant based on the FPKM values across developmental stages, except for the apical bud stage in four GM cultivars. We also detected MDV, a multi-segmented virus, in two GM samples, with variable proportions of its segments. In conclusion, our study demonstrates the potential of plant transcriptomes for virome research, highlighting their strengths and limitations.

Competing Interests: Disclosures Dr Joo Myung Lee received institutional research grants from Abbott Vascular, Boston Scientific, Philips Volcano, Terumo Corporation, Zoll Medical, and Donga-ST. Dr Joo-Yong Hahn received institutional research grants from National Evidence-Based Healthcare Collaborating Agency; Ministry of Health & Welfare, Korea; Abbott Vascular; Biosensors; Boston Scientific; Daiichi Sankyo; Donga-ST; Hanmi Pharmaceutical; and Medtronic Inc. Dr Hyeon-Cheol Gwon received institutional research grants from Boston Scientific, Genoss, and Medtronic Inc. The other authors declare that there are no competing interests to declare.

Purpose: Cephalomedullary (CM) nailing is widely performed in treatment of elderly patients with femoral intertrochanteric fractures. However, in cases of fixation failure, re-operation is usually necessary, thus determining factors that may contribute to fixation failure is important. In this study, we examined factors affecting the occurrence of fixation failure, such as age or fracture stability, after CM nailing in elderly patients., Materials and Methods: This study was conducted retrospectively using registered data. From April 2011 to December 2018, CM nailing was performed in 378 cases diagnosed with femoral intertrochanteric fractures, and 201 cases were finally registered. Cases involving patients who were bed-ridden before injury, who died from causes unrelated to surgery, and those with a follow-up period less than six months were excluded., Results: Fixation failure occurred in eight cases. Comparison of the surgical success and fixation failure group showed that the mean age was significantly higher in the fixation failure group compared with the control group (81.3±6.4 vs. 86.4±6.8; P =0.034). A significantly high proportion of unstable fractures was also observed (139/54 vs. 3/5; P =0.040), with a significantly high ratio of intramedullary reduction (176/17 vs. 5/3; P =0.034). A significantly higher ratio of unstable fractures compared with that of stable fractures was observed in the intramedullary reduction group (132/49 vs. 10/10; P =0.033)., Conclusion: Fixation failure of CM nailing is likely to occur in patients who are elderly or have unstable fracture patterns. Thus, care should be taken in order to avoid intramedullary reduction., Competing Interests: CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Sang-Min Kim has been an editorial board member since January 2022, but had no role in the decision to publish this article. No other potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported., (Copyright © 2023 by Korean Hip Society.)

Wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important staple crops in the world, along with maize and rice. More than 50 plant viruses are known to infect wheat worldwide. To date, there are no studies on the identification of viruses infecting wheat in Korea. Therefore, we investigated virome in wheat from three different geographical regions where wheat is mainly cultivated in Korea using Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT) sequencing and Illumina sequencing. Five viral species, including those known to infect wheat, were identified using high-throughput sequencing strategies. Of these, barley virus G (BVG) and Hordeum vulgare endornavirus (HvEV) were consistently present in all libraries. Sugarcane yellow leaf virus (SCYLV) and wheat leaf yellowing-associated virus (WLYaV) were first identified in Korean wheat samples. The viruses identified by ONT and Illumina sequencing were compared using a heatmap. Though the ONT sequencing approach is less sensitive, the analysis results were similar to those of Illumina sequencing in our study. Both platforms served as reliable and powerful tools for detecting and identifying wheat viruses, achieving a balance between practicality and performance. The findings of this study will provide deeper insights into the wheat virosphere and further help improve disease management strategies.

Background: Data regarding clinical outcomes after intravascular imaging-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for complex coronary-artery lesions, as compared with outcomes after angiography-guided PCI, are limited., Methods: In this prospective, multicenter, open-label trial in South Korea, we randomly assigned patients with complex coronary-artery lesions in a 2:1 ratio to undergo either intravascular imaging-guided PCI or angiography-guided PCI. In the intravascular imaging group, the choice between intravascular ultrasonography and optical coherence tomography was at the operators' discretion. The primary end point was a composite of death from cardiac causes, target-vessel-related myocardial infarction, or clinically driven target-vessel revascularization. Safety was also assessed., Results: A total of 1639 patients underwent randomization, with 1092 assigned to undergo intravascular imaging-guided PCI and 547 assigned to undergo angiography-guided PCI. At a median follow-up of 2.1 years (interquartile range, 1.4 to 3.0), a primary end-point event had occurred in 76 patients (cumulative incidence, 7.7%) in the intravascular imaging group and in 60 patients (cumulative incidence, 12.3%) in the angiography group (hazard ratio, 0.64; 95% confidence interval, 0.45 to 0.89; P = 0.008). Death from cardiac causes occurred in 16 patients (cumulative incidence, 1.7%) in the intravascular imaging group and in 17 patients (cumulative incidence, 3.8%) in the angiography group; target-vessel-related myocardial infarction occurred in 38 (cumulative incidence, 3.7%) and 30 (cumulative incidence, 5.6%), respectively; and clinically driven target-vessel revascularization in 32 (cumulative incidence, 3.4%) and 25 (cumulative incidence, 5.5%), respectively. There were no apparent between-group differences in the incidence of procedure-related safety events., Conclusions: Among patients with complex coronary-artery lesions, intravascular imaging-guided PCI led to a lower risk of a composite of death from cardiac causes, target-vessel-related myocardial infarction, or clinically driven target-vessel revascularization than angiography-guided PCI. (Supported by Abbott Vascular and Boston Scientific; RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03381872)., (Copyright © 2023 Massachusetts Medical Society.)

Artemisia argyi ( A. argyi ) is a medicinal plant belonging to the Asteraceae family and Artemisia genus . Flavonoids abundant in A. argyi are associated with anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antioxidative effects. Eupatilin and jaceosidin are representative polymethoxy flavonoids with medicinal properties significant enough to warrant the development of drugs using their components. However, the biosynthetic pathways and related genes of these compounds have not been fully explored in A. argyi. This study comprehensively analyzed the transcriptome data and flavonoids contents from four different tissues of A. argyi (young leaves, old leaves, trichomes collected from stems, and stems without trichomes) for the first time. We obtained 41,398 unigenes through the de-novo assembly of transcriptome data and mined promising candidate genes involved in the biosynthesis of eupatilin and jaceosidin using differentially expressed genes, hierarchical clustering, phylogenetic tree, and weighted gene co-expression analysis. Our analysis led to the identification of a total of 7,265 DEGs, among which 153 genes were annotated as flavonoid-related genes. In particular, we were able to identify eight putative flavone-6-hydroxylase ( F6H ) genes, which were responsible for providing a methyl group acceptor into flavone basic skeleton. Furthermore, five O -methyltransferases ( OMT s) gene were identified, which were required for the site-specific O -methylation during the biosynthesis of eupatilin and jaceosidin. Although further validation would be necessary, our findings pave the way for the modification and mass-production of pharmacologically important polymethoxy flavonoids through genetic engineering and synthetic biological approaches., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be constructed as potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Lee, Won, Ban, Park, Kim, Kim, Choi, Kim, Lee and Jung.)

Background: Vitamin D is an important immune modulator and is associated with susceptibility to infection. However, past studies have reported inconsistent results regarding the association between vitamin D deficiency and mortality in patients with sepsis, and early-stage data regarding septic shock are limited. This study aimed to determine the relationship between vitamin D deficiency on admission to the emergency department (ED) and mortality in patients with septic shock., Methods: We analyzed prospectively collected data on adult patients with septic shock who were treated with protocol-driven resuscitation bundle therapy in the ED between September 2019 and February 2021. Septic shock was defined by the sepsis-3 definition and vitamin D deficiency was defined as a 25-hydroxyvitamin D <20 ng/ml. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality., Results: A total of 302 patients were included, 236 (78.1%) patients had vitamin D deficiency; it was significantly higher in non-survivors than in survivors (89.3% vs. 73.9%, P = 0.004). Mortality was higher in vitamin D deficient patients than in non-deficient patients (31.8% vs. 13.6%, P = 0.004). In multivariate analysis, vitamin D deficiency (odds ratio [OR], 2.43; 95 % confidence interval [CI], 1.03-5.74), hyperlactatemia (OR, 3.65; 95 % CI, 1.95-6.83), Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores (OR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.09-1.36), and albumin levels (OR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.21-0.73) were significantly associated with 30-day mortality., Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency was prevalent in patients with septic shock visiting the ED and was associated with mortality., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None declared., (Copyright © 2022 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The marine carotenoid fucoxanthin (FX) has various health benefits but suffers from poor bioavailability. We hypothesize that the bioavailability of FX in microalga Phaeodactylum tricornutum extract (PE) could be improved through nanoencapsulation. Here, we developed two types of nanoparticles: one consisting of alginate and casein (A-C-PE, 246 nm diameter, 79.6% encapsulation efficiency) and the other A-C-PE coated with chitosan (CS-A-C-PE, 258 nm, 78.1%). Both types of nanoparticles incorporating PE showed controlled FX release during simulated gastrointestinal digestion, as well as 1.8-fold improvement of membrane permeability in Caco-2/TC7 cells compared to non-encapsulated PE. Pharmacokinetic behavior of two FX metabolites (fucoxanthinol and amarouciaxanthin A) in mouse plasma was monitored after oral administration. The results showed that 31.8-332.1% more FX metabolites from the nanoparticles were absorbed into plasma than those from PE. In conclusion, encapsulation of PE in both types of nanoparticles significantly promoted the bioavailability of FX., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Inflammatory environments provide vital biochemical stimuli (i.e., oxidative stress, pH, and enzymes) for triggered drug delivery in a controlled manner. Inflammation alters the local pH within the affected tissues. As a result, pH-sensitive nanomaterials can be used to effectively target drugs to the site of inflammation. Herein, we designed pH-sensitive nanoparticles in which resveratrol (an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compound (RES)) and urocanic acid (UA) were complexed with a pH-sensitive moiety using an emulsion method. These RES-UA NPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, zeta potential, and FT-IR spectroscopy. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of the RES-UA NPs were assessed in RAW 264.7 macrophages. The NPs were circular in shape and ranged in size from 106 to 180 nm. The RES-UA NPs suppressed the mRNA expression of the pro-inflammatory molecules inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages in a concentration-dependent manner. Incubation of LPS-stimulated macrophages with RES-UA NPs reduced the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in a concentration-dependent manner. These results suggest that pH-responsive RES-UA NPs can be used to decrease ROS generation and inflammation.

Ligularia fischeri , a leafy edible plant found in damp shady regions, has been used as an herbal medicine and is also consumed as a horticultural crop. In this study, we investigated the physiological and transcriptomic changes, especially those involved in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, induced by severe drought stress in L. fischeri plants. A distinguishing characteristic of L. fischeri is a color change from green to purple due to anthocyanin biosynthesis. We chromatographically isolated and identified two anthocyanins and two flavones upregulated by drought stress using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance analyses in this plant for the first time. In contrast, all types of caffeoylquinic acids (CQAs) and flavonol contents were decreased under drought stress. Further, we performed RNA sequencing to examine the molecular changes in these phenolic compounds at the transcriptome level. In an overview of drought-inducible responses, we identified 2,105 hits for 516 distinct transcripts as drought-responsive genes. Moreover, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with phenylpropanoid biosynthesis accounted for the greatest number of both up- and downregulated DEGs by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis. We identified 24 meaningful DEGs based on the regulation of phenylpropanoid biosynthetic genes. Potential drought-responsive genes included upregulated flavone synthase ( LfFNS , TRINITY DN31661 c0 g1 i1) and anthocyanin 5- O -glucosyltransferase ( LfA5GT1 , TRINITY DN782 c0 g1 i1), which could contribute to the high levels of flavones and anthocyanins under drought stress in L. fischeri . In addition, the downregulated shikimate O -hydroxycinnamolytransferase ( LfHCT , TRINITY DN31661 c0 g1 i1) and hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA quinate/shikimate transferase ( LfHQT4 , TRINITY DN15180 c0 g1 i1) genes led to a reduction in CQAs. Only one or two BLASTP hits for LfHCT were obtained for six different Asteraceae species. It is possible that the HCT gene plays a crucial role in CQAs biosynthesis in these species. These findings expand our knowledge of the response mechanisms to drought stress, particularly regarding the regulation of key phenylpropanoid biosynthetic genes in L. fischeri ., Competing Interests: Author 'DYK is employed by Euseed Inc. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Park, Kwon, Koo, Truong, Hong, Choi, Moon and Kim.)

Rice panicle blast is one of the most serious diseases threatening stable rice production by causing severe damage to rice yields and quality. The disease is easy to occur under low air temperature and frequent heavy rainfall during the heading season of rice. In 2021, a rice panicle blast severely occurred in the Jeonbuk province of Korea. The incidence area of panicle blast accounted for 27.7% of the rice cultivation area of Jeonbuk province in 2021, which was 13.7-times higher than in 2019 and 2.6-times higher than in 2020. This study evaluated the incidence areas of rice panicle blast in each region of Jeonbuk province in 2021. The weather conditions during the heading season of rice, mainly cultivated rice cultivars, and the race diversity of the Jeonbuk isolates were also investigated. It will provide important information for the effective control of the rice panicle blast.

Soybean mosaic virus (SMV) of the genus Potyvirus is an important virus in cultivated soybeans. Here, we obtained 7 SMV genomes from soybean germplasms using RNA sequencing and conducted a comprehensive evolutionary and phylogenetic study of 143 SMV genomes derived from 10 plant species and 12 countries. The phylogenetic tree we constructed using coding DNA sequences revealed the existence of nine clades of SMV isolates/strains. Recombination analysis revealed 76 recombinant events and 141 recombinants in total. Clades 1 and 3 contain the most common SMV pathotypes, including G1 through G7, which are distributed worldwide. Clade 2 includes several Chinese SMV pathotypes. The SMV isolates were further divided into two groups. The SMV isolates in the first group, including clades 8 and 9, were identified from Pinellia and Atractylodes species, whereas those in the second group (clades 1 through 7) were mostly found in cultivated soybeans. The SMV polyprotein undergoes positive selection, whereas most mature proteins, except for the P1 protein, undergo negative selection. The P1 protein of SMV isolates in group 1 may be highly correlated with host adaptation. This study provides strong evidence that recombination and plant hosts are powerful forces driving the genetic diversity of the SMV genome.

Background: Previously conducted physician-centered trials on the usefulness of vasopressin have yielded negative results; thus, patient-oriented trials have been warranted. We hypothesize that Augmented-Medication CardioPulmonary Resuscitation could be helpful for selected patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA)., Methods: This is a double-blind, single-center, randomized, placebo-controlled trial conducted in the emergency department in a tertiary, university-affiliated hospital in Seoul, Korea. A total of 148 adults with non-traumatic OHCA who had initial diastolic blood pressure (DBP) < 20 mm Hg via invasive arterial monitoring during the early cardiac compression period were randomly assigned to two groups. Patients received a dose of 40 IU of vasopressin or placebo with initial epinephrine. The primary endpoint was a sustained return of spontaneous circulation. Secondary endpoints were survival discharge, and neurologic outcomes at discharge., Results: Of the 180 included patients, 32 were excluded, and 148 were enrolled in the trial. A sustained return of spontaneous circulation was achieved by 27 patients (36.5%) in the vasopressin group and 24 patients (32.4%) in the control group (risk difference, 4.1%; P = .60). Survival discharge and good neurologic outcomes did not differ between groups. The trial group had significantly higher median DBPs during resuscitation than the control group (16.0 vs. 14.5 mm Hg, P < 0.01). There was no difference in end-tidal carbon dioxide, acidosis, and lactate levels at baseline, 10 min, and end-time., Conclusion: Among patients with refractory vasodilatory shock in OHCA, administration of vasopressin, compared with placebo, did not significantly increase the likelihood of return of spontaneous circulation., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objective Clinical trials on demodynamic-directed cardiopulmonary resuscitation have been limited. The aim of this study is to investigate whether Augmented-Medication CardioPulmonary Resuscitation (AMCPR) would improve the odds of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Methods This is a double-blind, single-center, randomized placebo-controlled trial that will be conducted in the emergency department of a tertiary, university-affiliated hospital in Seoul, Korea. A total of 148 adult patients with nontraumatic, nonshockable, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest who have an initial diastolic blood pressure above 20 mmHg will be randomly assigned to two groups of 74 patients (a 1:1 ratio). Patients will receive an intravenous dose of 40 IU of vasopressin with epinephrine, or a placebo with epinephrine. The primary endpoint is a sustained ROSC (over 20 minutes). Secondary endpoints are enhanced diastolic blood pressure, end-tidal carbon dioxide levels, acidosis, and lactate levels during resuscitation. Discussion AMCPR is a trial about tailored medication for select patients during resuscitation. This is the first randomized control trial to identify patients who would benefit from vasopressin for achieving ROSC. This study will provide evidence about the effect of administration of vasopressin with epinephrine to increase ROSC rate. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03191240. Registered on June 19, 2017.