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In order to formulate and implement a community-based suicide prevention program, as well as evaluate the effectiveness of these programs, it is necessary to understand the epidemiological characteristics of self-harm. Clinical data were collected from the National Emergency Department Information System (NEDIS) data panel in Korea for patients seen after self-harm episodes. Socioeconomic factors were collected from Statistics Korea. Variables representing SP provisions (SPPs) were collected from the Korea Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Increasing the number of mental health providers resulted in lower annual emergency department visit rate after self-harm (VRSH) in the entire population, as well as in both the young and elderly populations. An increase in the mental health budget led to a significant reduction in VRSHs. However, the number of suicide prevention centers did not have any significant association with the VRSH. This study also provides substantial evidence that community-based SPPs are effective in preventing self-harm., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Evidence of microplastics in humans has recently been demonstrated. The primary route of human exposure to microplastics is consumption of contaminated food and water. However, quantitative estimations of exposure to microplastics are limited, which hinders human health risk assessments. In this study, abundances of microplastics were measured in eight food types, comprising 90 products of table salts, soy sauces, fish sauces, salted seafood, seaweed, honey, beer, and beverage. Aggregate human exposure to microplastics via food consumption was assessed based on the number and mass of microplastics, using deterministic calculations and Monte Carlo simulations. The determinations revealed that average adult Koreans likely ingest 1.4 × 10 -4 and 3.1 × 10 -4  g of microplastics per week, respectively. These results are orders of magnitude smaller than earlier estimates of 0.1-5 g of microplastics per week that likely chose experimental outliers. Therefore, careful selection of literature data and estimation methods is needed to provide more realistic exposure estimations from microplastic counts. This study extends our understanding of MP occurrence in food and provides a more thorough estimate of aggregate microplastic exposure via food consumption., 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 © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Previous studies reported that changes in weather and phases of moon are associated with medical emergencies and injuries. However, such studies were limited to hospital or community level without explaining the combined effects of weather and moon phases. We investigated whether changes in weather and moon phases affected emergency department (ED) visits due to fall injuries (FIs) based on nationwide emergency patient registry data., Methods: Nationwide daily data of ED visits after FI were collected from 11 provinces (7 metropolitan cities and 4 rural provinces) in Korea between January 2014 and December 2018. The daily number of FIs was standardized into FI per million population (FPP) in each province. A multivariate regression analysis was conducted to elucidate the relationship between weather factors and moon phases with respect to daily FPP in each province. The correlation between weather factors and FI severity was also analyzed., Results: The study analyzed 666,912 patients (418,135 in metropolitan and 248,777 in rural areas) who visited EDs on weekdays. No regional difference was found in age or gender distribution between the two areas. Precipitation, minimum temperature and wind speed showed a significant association with FI in metropolitan areas. In addition, sunshine duration was also substantial risk factors for FI in rural areas. The incidence of FIs was increased on full moon days than on other days in rural areas. Injury severity was associated with weather factors such as minimum temperature, wind speed, and cloud cover., Conclusion: Weather changes such as precipitation, minimum temperature, and wind speed are associated with FI in metropolitan and rural areas. In addition, sunshine duration and full moon are significantly associated with FI incidence only in rural areas. Weather factors are associated with FI severity., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Burkholderia glumae causes panicle blight of rice (grain rot in Japan and Korea), and the severity of damage is increasing worldwide. During 2017 and 2018, 137 isolates of B . glumae were isolated from symptomatic grain rot of rice cultivated in paddy fields throughout South Korea. Genetic diversity of the isolates was determined using transposase-based PCR (Tnp-PCR) genomic fingerprinting. All 138 isolates, including the B . glumae BGR1 strain, produced toxoflavin in various amounts, and 17 isolates produced an unidentified purple or orange pigment on Luria-Bertani medium and casamino acid-peptone-glucose medium, respectively, at 28°C. Transposase-based PCR genomic fingerprinting was performed using a novel primer designed based on transposase ( tnp ) gene sequences located at the ends of the toxoflavin efflux transporter operon; this method provided reliable and reproducible results. Through Tnp-PCR genomic fingerprinting, the genetic groups of Korean B . glumae isolates were divided into 11 clusters and three divisions. The Korean B . glumae isolates were mainly grouped in division I (73%). Interestingly, most of the pigment-producing isolates were grouped in divisions II and III; of these, 10 were grouped in cluster VIII, which comprised 67% of this cluster. Results of a phylogenetic analysis based on tofI and hrpB gene sequences were consistent with classification by Tnp-PCR genomic fingerprinting. The BGR1 strain did not belong to any of the clusters, indicating that this strain does not exhibit the typical genetic representation of B . glumae . B. glumae isolates showed diversity in the use of carbon and nitrogen sources, but no correlation with genetic classification by PCR fingerprinting was found. This is the first study to analyze the geographical distribution and genetic diversity of Korean B . glumae isolates.

Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) causes clinical diseases and mortality in a wide variety of salmonid species. Here, we studied transcriptional responses in rainbow trout infected by the IHNV-Nagano strain isolated in Korea. RNA-seq-based transcriptome analysis of head kidney tissues cataloged differentially expressed genes. Enrichment analysis of gene ontology annotations was performed, and a total of fifteen biological process terms were commonly identified at all time points. In the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis, pathogen recognition receptor (PRR) signaling pathways such as the retinoic-acid-inducible gene-I-like receptor signaling pathway and the Toll-like receptor signaling pathway were identified at all time points. The nucleotide-binding oligomerization-domain-like receptor signaling pathway and cytosolic DNA-sensing pathway were identified at days 1 and 3. Protein-protein interaction network and centrality analyses revealed that the immune system, signaling molecules, and interaction pathways were upregulated at days 1 and 3, with the highest centrality of tumor necrosis factor. Cancer, cellular community, and endocrine system pathways were downregulated, with the highest centrality of fibronectin 1 at day 5. STAT1 was upregulated from days 1 to 5 with a high centrality. The reproducibility and repeatability of the transcriptome analysis were validated by RT-qPCR. IHNV-Nagano infection dynamically changed the transcriptome profiles in the head kidney of rainbow trout and induced a defense mechanism by regulating the immune and inflammatory pathways through PRR signaling at an early stage. Downregulated pathways involved in extracellular matrix formation and focal adhesion at day 5 indicated the possible failure of wound healing, which is important in the pathogenesis of IHNV infection.

Objective: To investigate the effects of Korean Magnolia obovata crude extract (KME) on plateletderived growth factor (PDGF)-BB-induced proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs)., Methods: KME composition was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). VSMCs were isolated from the aorta of a Sprague-Dawley rat, incubated in serum free-Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium in the presence or absence of KME (10, 30, 100, and 300 μg/mL), then further treated with PDGF-BB (10 ng/mL). VSMC proliferation was detected using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay and VSMC migration was determined using the Boyden chamber and scratch wound healing assays. Western blot analysis was used to detect phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases 1 and 2 (p-ERK1/2), protein kinase B (p-Akt), and stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (p-SAPK/JNK). The antimigration and proliferation effects of KME were tested using aortic sprout outgrowth., Results: The HPLC analysis identified honokiol (0.45 mg/g) and magnolol (0.34 mg/g) as the major components of KME. KME (30, 100, and 300 μg/mL) significantly decreased the proliferation and migration of PDGF-BB-stimulated (10 ng/mL) VSMCs and the PDGF-BB-induced phosphorylation of EKR1/2, Akt, and SAPK/JNK (P<0.05). Furthermore, PDGF-BBinduced VSMCs treated with 300 μg/mL of KME showed reduction in aortic sprout outgrowth., Conclusion: KME could inhibit abnormal proliferation and migration of VSMCs by down-regulating the phosphorylation of EKR1/2 and Akt. Thus, KME might be a functional food for preventing vascular disorders.

This is the first report of bacterial center blackening in muskmelon fruit caused by Pseudomonas oryzihabitans, which is known as an opportunistic pathogen of humans and warm-blooded animals. The aim of this study was to investigate the microbiological characteristics of this infection. Bacterial center blackening, which can cause aversion in consumers, was observed in muskmelon fruit in South Korea in the fall of 2017. Symptoms included severe black pigmentation in the pulp surrounding the seeds inside muskmelon fruit. Dark brown pigmentation and gram-negative, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped pseudomonads were consistently recovered from the black pigmented pulp tissue of muskmelons. The symptoms after artificial inoculation were the same as those of the natural infection, while the control fruit exhibited no symptoms of infection. Using pathogenicity tests, analytical profile index (API) tests, whole-cell matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), and 16S rRNA gene and gyrB region sequencing, the dominant species was identified as P. oryzihabitans. The recent outbreak indicates that P. oryzihabitans poses a potential threat to the global production and transportation of muskmelon as well as food safety., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)