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Dragonet fishes (Callionymidae) are benthic inhabitants of shallow waters, even in tidal pools, down to depths below 900 m in all subtropical, tropical and temperate oceans. The family comprises 200 species in 20 genera worldwide, of which 18 species in 6 genera occur in Korea. Classification within the family Callionymidae has been controversial because of the differing proposals of Fricke and Nakabo (Fishes of Japan with pictorial keys to the species, 1983). For example, Fricke suggested genus Repomucenus and Bathycallionymus, whose genera contains most callionymid species in Korean waters, as junior synonym of genus Callionymus while Nakabo (Fishes of Japan with pictorial keys to the species, 1983) suggested as valid. In such cases, when classifications of adults have taxonomic contention, examination of larval characters may prove informative. Therefore, in this study, the authors conducted comprehensive molecular and morphological analyses on larvae and juveniles of five species in the genus Repomucenus and discussed their taxonomic status within the family Callionymidae. Larval and juvenile callionymids show high morphological similarities during their ontogenetic development. Nonetheless, the following morphological differences were observed in melanophore distribution and preopercular spine development: (a) stellate or punctate melanophores in Bathycallionymus kaianus vs. branched melanophores in genus Repomucenus, (b) melanophores on the abdominal cavity gradually disappearing in B. kaianus vs. gradually becoming prominent in Repomucenus and (c) preopercular spine development giving rise to one perpendicular spine in B. kaianus vs. two or three spines in Repomucenus. Molecular analysis based on 16S ribosomal RNA showed similar results to the morphological analysis. Genera Bathycallionymus and Repomucenus showed significant genetic distance (d = 0.113-0.120); moreover, genus Callionymus, which was suggested as a senior synonym of genus Bathycallionymus and Repomucenus by Fricke (Journal of Natural History, 2014, 48, 2419-2448), also showed considerable difference (d = 0.226-0.246). In the present study, the monophyly of genus Repomucenus seemed well supported by the results of morphological and molecular analyses of larval stage Callionymidae., (© 2021 Fisheries Society of the British Isles.)

Background: Several studies comparing internal and external stents have been conducted with the aim of reducing pancreatic fistula after PD. There is still no consensus, however, on the appropriate use of pancreatic stents for prevention of pancreatic fistula. This multicenter large cohort study aims to evaluate whether internal or external pancreatic stents are more effective in reduction of clinically relevant pancreatic fistula after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD)., Methods: We reviewed 3149 patients (internal stent n = 1,311, external stent n = 1838) who underwent PD at 20 institutions in Japan and Korea between 2007 and 2013. Propensity score matched analysis was used to minimize bias from nonrandomized treatment assignment. The primary endpoint was the incidence of clinically relevant pancreatic fistula. This study was registered on the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN000032402)., Results: After propensity score matched analysis, clinically relevant pancreatic fistula occurred in more patients in the external stents group (280 patients, 28.7%) than in patients in the internal stents group (126 patients, 12.9%) (OR 2.713 [95% CI, 2.139-3.455]; P < 0.001). In subset analysis of a high-risk group with soft pancreas and no dilatation of the pancreatic duct, clinically relevant pancreatic fistula occurred in 90 patients (18.8%) in internal stents group and 183 patients (35.4%) in external stents group. External stents were significantly associated with increased risk for clinically relevant pancreatic fistula (OR 2.366 [95% CI, 1.753-3.209]; P < 0.001)., Conclusion: Propensity score matched analysis showed that, regarding clinically relevant pancreatic fistula after PD, internal stents are safer than external stents for pancreaticojejunostomy., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 IAP and EPC. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

To understand the genetic diversity and dispersal history of Schlegel's Japanese gecko ( Gekko japonicus ), we performed genetic analyses and paleo-species distributional modelling. For the genetic analysis, we analyzed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) (cytochrome b [ Cytb ] and NADH dehydrogenase 2 [ ND2 ]) and seven microsatellite loci of 353 individuals from 11 populations (2 east coast China, 4 west and central coast Japan and 5 Korea). For the paleo-species distribution modelling, we used 432 occurrence data points (125 China, 291 Japan and 16 Korea) over the Pleistocene and Holocene. China is inferred to be the source population, which had higher genetic diversity (mtDNA) and more private alleles (mtDNA) compared to Japanese and Korean populations. Differences between the three counties were very small in the mtDNA haplotype network despite some genetic structure among the three countries. Microsatellite analysis inferred that genetic exchange has actively occurred among the Chinese, Japanese and Korean populations. Suitable habitats in Japan should have been plentiful by the mid-Holocene, but have only recently become available in Korea. These results suggest that dispersal of G. japonicus occurred after the Holocene warming from the east coast of China to the west and central coasts of Japan and Korea, and gene flow is actively occurring among the three countries.

Background: In our previous randomised phase 2 study for patients with gemcitabine-refractory advanced pancreatic cancer, S-1 plus leucovorin improved progression-free survival compared with S-1 alone. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of TAS-118 (S-1 plus leucovorin) versus S-1 in overall survival (OS)., Patients and Methods: This randomised, open-label, phase 3 study was conducted at 58 centres in Japan and Korea. Patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer that progressed during first-line gemcitabine-based chemotherapy or recurred during or after post-operative gemcitabine-based adjuvant treatment were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either S-1 (40-60 mg, twice daily for 4 weeks in a 6-week cycle) or TAS-118 (S-1 40-60 mg plus leucovorin 25 mg, twice daily for 1 week in a 2-week cycle). The primary end-point was OS., Results: A total of 603 patients were randomised, and 300 and 301 patients received TAS-118 and S-1, respectively. There was no difference in OS between groups (median OS for TAS-118 versus S-1, 7.6 months versus 7.9 months; hazard ratio [HR], 0.98 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.82-1.16]; P = 0.756). Progression-free survival was significantly longer with TAS-118 than S-1 (median, 3.9 months versus 2.8 months; HR, 0.80 [95% CI, 0.67-0.95]; P = 0.009). There were interactions between Japan and Korea (P = 0.004) and between unresectable and recurrent disease (P = 0.025) in OS. Incidence, profile and severity of adverse events were similar between groups., Conclusion: TAS-118 did not improve OS in patients with gemcitabine-refractory advanced pancreatic cancer compared to S-1. Further studies are needed to find patients who have benefit from adding leucovorin to S-1., (Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae), is an economically damaging pest that feeds on most thin-skinned fruits. It was originally native to a few Asian countries, including Korea, but is now found in North America and Europe. In this study, we sequenced portions of the mitochondrial (mt) COI and ND4 genes from a total of 195 individuals collected mainly from Korea. We then combined GenBank-registered COI sequences from all ancestral-range and introduced-range populations with our own COI data to assess the worldwide diversity, divergence, and relatedness of SWD haplotypes. A total of 139 haplotypes were obtained from the concatenated COI and ND4 sequences. Most haplotypes were confined to single localities, but 12 of them were found in more than two localities, and one haplotype (SWDCN61) was found from Korea to Canada. A dataset combining GenBank sequences with our own data identified a total of 94 worldwide COI haplotypes with a maximum sequence divergence (MSD) of 5.433% (32 bp). Although most haplotypes were found in only a single country, a few haplotypes were found commonly in China, Korea, and Japan; these occurred at a higher frequency and were often involved in introductions. A rough estimate of genetic diversity in each country showed higher diversity in ancestral distributional ranges, but the invasion over Asian countries seems to have been substantial because haplotype diversity was only 2.35 to 3.97-fold lower in the U.S.A, Canada, and Italy than that in the populations' ancestral ranges.

The olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) is a cultivated marine species that is economically important in Korea and Japan. Several bacterial pathogens have caused severe mortalities in farmed olive flounder, especially Streptococcus parauberis. We collected 145 S. parauberis isolates from diseased olive flounders from 2003 to 2008 in Jeju Island, South Korea and characterized them by Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI TOF MS) and by serology. The serological analysis divided the isolates into serotype I (62.1%) and serotype II (36.6%) and the proteome analysis divided the isolates into cluster 1 (43.4%) and cluster 2 (56.6%). All cluster 1 isolates had serotype I, but cluster 2 consisted of serotype I (32.9%), serotype II (64.6%), and others (2.5%). Further detailed analysis of the mass spectra led to identification of several specific m/z peaks that enabled discrimination between cluster 1 and 2 and between serotype I and II within cluster 2. Our results suggest that MALDI TOF MS analysis has potential as an alternative method for the rapid and reliable identification of the fish pathogen S. parauberis., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Recent evidence from several relatively small nested case-control studies in prospective cohorts shows an association between longer telomere length measured phenotypically in peripheral white blood cell (WBC) DNA and increased lung cancer risk. We sought to further explore this relationship by examining a panel of seven telomere-length associated genetic variants in a large study of 5,457 never-smoking female Asian lung cancer cases and 4,493 never-smoking female Asian controls using data from a previously reported genome-wide association study. Using a group of 1,536 individuals with phenotypically measured telomere length in WBCs in the prospective Shanghai Women's Health study, we demonstrated the utility of a genetic risk score (GRS) of seven telomere-length associated variants to predict telomere length in an Asian population. We then found that GRSs used as instrumental variables to predict longer telomere length were associated with increased lung cancer risk (OR = 1.51 (95% CI = 1.34-1.69) for upper vs. lower quartile of the weighted GRS, p value = 4.54 × 10(-14) ) even after removing rs2736100 (p value = 4.81 × 10(-3) ), a SNP in the TERT locus robustly associated with lung cancer risk in prior association studies. Stratified analyses suggested the effect of the telomere-associated GRS is strongest among younger individuals. We found no difference in GRS effect between adenocarcinoma and squamous cell subtypes. Our results indicate that a genetic background that favors longer telomere length may increase lung cancer risk, which is consistent with earlier prospective studies relating longer telomere length with increased lung cancer risk., (Published 2014. This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain of the United States of America.)

In response to increasing trends in sulfur deposition in Northeast Asia, three countries in the region (China, Japan, and Korea) agreed to devise abatement strategies. The concepts of critical loads and source-receptor (S-R) relationships provide guidance for formulating such strategies. Based on the Long-range Transboundary Air Pollutants in Northeast Asia (LTP) project, this study analyzes sulfur deposition data in order to optimize acidic loads over the three countries. The three groups involved in this study carried out a full year (2002) of sulfur deposition modeling over the geographic region spanning the three countries, using three air quality models: MM5-CMAQ, MM5-RAQM, and RAMS-CADM, employed by Chinese, Japanese, and Korean modeling groups, respectively. Each model employed its own meteorological numerical model and model parameters. Only the emission rates for SO(2) and NO(x) obtained from the LTP project were the common parameter used in the three models. Three models revealed some bias from dry to wet deposition, particularly the latter because of the bias in annual precipitation. This finding points to the need for further sensitivity tests of the wet removal rates in association with underlying cloud-precipitation physics and parameterizations. Despite this bias, the annual total (dry plus wet) sulfur deposition predicted by the models were surprisingly very similar. The ensemble average annual total deposition was 7,203.6 ± 370 kt S with a minimal mean fractional error (MFE) of 8.95 ± 5.24 % and a pattern correlation (PC) of 0.89-0.93 between the models. This exercise revealed that despite rather poor error scores in comparison with observations, these consistent total deposition values across the three models, based on LTP group's input data assumptions, suggest a plausible S-R relationship that can be applied to the next task of designing cost-effective emission abatement strategies.

Background & Aims: There are limited data describing the performance of Fuji Intelligent Color Enhancement (FICE, EC 590 ZW; Fujinon Inc, Saitama, Japan) for differentiating polyp histologies during screening colonoscopy. We evaluated the ability of an endoscopist to diagnose small polyp histology during a screening colonoscopy using FICE., Methods: A prospective study was performed on 763 consecutive, asymptomatic subjects who were undergoing screening colonoscopy. Pit patterns and vascular patterns were used to predict the histology of 525 polyps (mean size, 4.5 ± 2.2 mm, 315 adenomas) of less than 10 mm using FICE with high magnification and without. The performances of the FICE analyses were calculated and compared with the results from the histopathology., Results: The overall accuracy achieved by FICE with high magnification in the diagnosis of adenomas of less than 10 mm (87.0%) was significantly greater than that achieved without high magnification (80.4%; P < .05). Moreover, the improvement of accuracy attained when using high-magnification FICE was most pronounced and significant compared without using high-magnification FICE in the diagnosis for diminutive polyps (≤5 mm; 85.4% vs 79.1%; P < .05). Among all types of adenomas, the sensitivity of FICE was lowest for sessile serrated adenomas (38.5% vs 89.4%; P < .01), even when FICE was used with high magnification., Conclusions: FICE with high magnification is better for differentiating the histology of small polyps during screening colonoscopy than FICE without high magnification, especially for diminutive polyps. Large-scale studies are needed to improve the identification of serrated adenomas and small diminutive polyps using FICE., (Copyright © 2011 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Major artery aneurysms may be found incidentally while evaluating moyamoya disease (MMD). The purpose of this study was to delineate the prevalence and characteristics of these uncommon aneurysms with a brief mention of their management and outcomes., Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of 249 adult patients who were diagnosed with non-hemorrhagic MMD. Cerebral angiograms obtained at the time of initial diagnosis were carefully reviewed to identify incidental aneurysms located on a major intracranial artery or near its tributaries. Aneurysms originating from distal peripheral arteries or moyamoya vessels were ineligible for this study., Results: Nine patients (3.6%) were found to have 13 major artery aneurysms, 7 (54%) of which were located in the posterior circulation, especially in older patients with bilateral MMD. The sizes of all aneurysms were less than 10 mm. Surgical clipping was performed on two aneurysms, and endovascular coiling on six (five posterior circulation aneurysms). Ischemic complications occurred in two patients after clipping of an anterior communicating artery aneurysm and in one patient after the second coiling of a recanalized basilar tip aneurysm., Conclusions: Incidental major artery aneurysms can be found in 3.6% of adult patients with non-hemorrhagic MMD, an observed frequency that increases with age. About half of these aneurysms are located in the posterior circulation, particularly in older patients with bilateral MMD. Considering the risks of treatment-related complications, more information about the natural course of these aneurysms is needed to design proper management strategies both for the aneurysms and MMD.

The average prevalence of reported foodborne illness from 1981 to 1995 was 2.44 per 100,000 population in Korea, and 28.01 in Japan. The mean case fatality rate in Korea was 0.74% and in Japan, 0.03%. When both prevalence and case fatality rates in Korea and Japan were compared during the same period, the prevalence in Japan was much higher than that in Korea. However, the case fatality rate of patients in Korea was much higher than that in Japan. The distribution of monthly and seasonal patterns of foodborne illness outbreaks strongly indicate the outbreaks may be associated with climatic conditions, frequencies of national holidays, and vacation seasons. Comparison study indicates that the foodborne illness outbreaks in Korea most frequently involved homemade foods (47% of the total cases); in Japan, restaurants accounted for 31.3%. Foodborne illness cases of bacterial origin in Korea were 59.3% of the total and included Salmonella spp. (20.7%). Vibrio (17.4%), Staphylococcus (9.7%), pathogenic Escherichia coli (2.4%), and other species (9.1%); in Japan, 72.8% of the total cases and the majority of the bacterial foodborne illness was caused by Vibrio (32.3%), Staphylococcus (15.9%), Salmonella (14.2%), pathogenic E. coli (3.0%), and other species (7.2%). In conclusion, the outbreaks of foodborne illness in Korea and Japan may be mainly caused by improper food handling, and their occurrences may be differentiated according to food sources.

This study evaluated the clothing colors in the elderly. We took photos using the elderly as models, displayed them on a computer screen, and produced 75 colors of the clothing in the elderly using computer graphics. The 75 colors were evaluated by Japanese and Korean elderly women. We compared the ideal colors for and the colors actually worn by elderly people in Japan and Korea. Japanese and Korean elderly women differed concerning their ideal clothing color and their most often worn color. The images concerning clothing colors also differed between the two groups, suggesting differences in their views related to clothing. Japanese elderly women tended to view clothing as a means of expressing their individuality, while Korean elderly women tended to view clothing as a means of expressing their character.

This study evaluated the clothing colors in the elderly. We took photos using the elderly as models, displayed them on a computer screen, and produced 75 colors of the clothing in the elderly using computer graphics. The 75 colors were evaluated by Japanese and Korean female students. We compared the ideal colors for and the colors actually worn by elderly people in Japan and Korea. Korean students tended to evaluate high value colors positively, while Japanese students tended to evaluate low value colors positively. When asked to choose the ideal clothing color for elderly people, the choices differed between the Korean student group and the Japanese student group. The images held concerning these colors also differed between the two groups. When selecting the ideal color to be worn by elderly people, Japanese students attached importance to taste, brilliance, functionality and comfort. On the other hand, Korean students attached importance to commonness and inactivity when selecting the ideal clothing color for elderly people. Thus, in the present study, the evaluation of the clothing colors for elderly people differed between Japanese and Korean students.