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BackgroundTravel-related risks for infectious diseases vary depending on travel patterns such as purpose, destination, and duration. In this study, we describe the patterns of travel and prescription of vaccines as well as malaria prophylaxis medication (MPM) at a travel clinic in South Korea to identify the gaps to fill for the optimization of pre-travel consultation.Materials and methodsA cohort of travel clinic visitors in 2011 was constructed and early one-third of the visitors of each month were reviewed. During the study period, 10,009 visited the travel clinic and a retrospective chart review was performed for 3,332 cases for analysis of travel patterns and prescriptions.ResultsPeople receiving yellow fever vaccine (YFV) (n = 2,933) were traveling more frequently for business and tourism and less frequently for providing non-medical service or research/education compared to the 399 people who did not receive the YFV. Overall, most people were traveling to Eastern Africa, South America, and Western Africa, while South-Eastern Asia was the most common destination for the non-YFV group. Besides YFV, the typhoid vaccine was the most commonly prescribed (54.2%), while hepatitis A presented the highest coverage (74.7%) considering the natural immunity, prior and current vaccination history. Additionally, 402 (82.5%) individuals received a prescription for MPM among the 487 individuals travelling to areas with high-risk of malaria infection. Age over 55 was independently associated with receiving MPM prescription, while purpose of providing service and travel duration over 10 days were associated with no MPM prescription, despite travelling to high-risk areas.ConclusionEastern Africa and South America were common travel destinations among the visitors to a travel clinic for YFV, and most of them were travelling for tourism and business. For the individuals who are traveling to areas with high-risk for malaria, more proactive approach might be required in case of younger age travelers, longer duration, and travel purpose of providing service to minimize the risk of malaria infection.

Background: Rapid reduction of leukemic cells in the bone marrow during remission induction chemotherapy (RIC) can lead to significant complications such as tumor lysis syndrome (TLS). We investigated whether prephase steroid treatment before RIC could decrease TLS incidence and improve overall survival in pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Methods: Data were extracted from the Common Data Model databases in two tertiary-care hospitals in Seoul, South Korea. Patients were classified into the treated or untreated group if they had received RIC with prephase steroid treatment ≥ 7 days before RIC in 2012– 2021 or not, respectively. Stabilized Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting (sIPTW) was applied to ensure compatibility between the treated and untreated groups. The incidence of TLS within 14 days of starting RIC, overall survival (OS), and the incidence of adverse events of special interest were the primary endpoints. Multiple sensitivity analyses were performed. Results: Baseline characteristics were effectively balanced between the treated (n=308.4) and untreated (n=246.6) groups after sIPTW. Prephase steroid treatment was associated with a significant 88% reduction in the risk of TLS (OR 0.12, 95% CI: 0.03– 0.41). OS was numerically greater in the treated group than in the untreated group although the difference was not statistically significant (HR 0.64, 95% CI 0.25– 1.64). The treated group experienced significantly elevated risks for hyperbilirubinemia and hyperglycemia. The reduction in TLS risk by prephase steroid treatment was maintained in all of the sensitivity analyses. Conclusion: Prephase steroid treatment for ≥ 7 days before RIC in pediatric patients with ALL reduces the risk of TLS, while careful monitoring for toxicities is necessary. If adequately analyzed, real-world data can provide crucial effectiveness and safety information for proper management of pediatric patients with ALL, for whom prospective randomized studies may be difficult to perform for ethical and practical reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metastasis to the penis from renal cell carcinoma (RCC) or any other primary cancer site is unusual; when it does occur, it often involves multiple organs. A 75-year-old man presented with penile pain and swelling. Three months earlier, he had open radical nephrectomy with thrombectomy and was diagnosed with clear-cell RCC with tumor thrombosis in the inferior vena cava. The follow-up imaging indicated metastasis to the penis, prompting a total penectomy due to worsening pain. The excised mass displayed features consistent with metastatic RCC. This case underscores the need to consider rare metastatic sites, such as the metastasis of RCC to the penis, in RCC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is a widely studied material with many attractive properties such as its photocatalytic features. However, its commercial use is limited due to issues such as deactivation in the visible spectrum caused by its wide bandgap and the short lifetime of photo-excited charge carriers. To overcome these challenges, various modifications could be considered. In this study, we investigated copper doping and electron beam treatment. As-spun TiO2 nanofibers were fabricated by electrospinning a TiO2 sol, which obtained viscosity through a polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) matrix. Cu-doped TiO2 nanofibers with varying dopant concentrations were synthesized by adding copper salts. Then, the as-spun nanofibers were calcined for crystallization. To evaluate photocatalytic performance, a photodegradation test of methylene blue aqueous solution was performed for 6 h. Methylene blue concentration was measured over time using UV-Vis spectroscopy. The results showed that Cu doping at an appropriate concentration and electron-beam irradiation showed improved photocatalytic efficiency compared to bare TiO2 nanofibers. When the molar ratio of Cu/Ti was 0.05%, photodegradation rate was highest, which was 10.39% higher than that of bare TiO2. As a result of additional electron-beam treatment of this sample, photocatalytic efficiency improved up to 8.93% compared to samples without electron-beam treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thoracican barnacles are a diverse group of marine organisms for which the availability of genome assemblies is currently limited. In this study, we sequenced the genomes of two neolepadoid species (Ashinkailepas kermadecensis, Imbricaverruca yamaguchii) from hydrothermal vents, in addition to two intertidal species. Genome sizes ranged from 481 to 1054 Mb, with repetitive sequence contents of 21.2% to 50.7%. Concordance rates of orthologs and heterozygosity rates were between 82.4% and 91.7% and between 1.0% and 2.1%, respectively, indicating high genetic diversity and heterozygosity. Based on phylogenomic analyses, we revised the nomenclature of cement genes encoding cement proteins that are not homologous to any known proteins. The major cement gene, CP100A, was found in all thoracican species, including vent‐associated neolepadoids, and was hypothesised to be essential for thoracican settlement. Duplicated genes, CP100B and CP100C, were found only in balanids, suggesting potential functional redundancy or acquisition of new functions associated with the calcareous base. An ancestor of CP52 genes was duplicated dynamically among lepadids, pollicipedids with multiple copies on a single scaffold, and balanids with multiple sequential repeats of the conserved regions, but no CP52 genes were found in neolepadoids, providing insights into cement gene evolution among thoracican lineages. This study enhances our understanding of the adhesion mechanisms of thoracicans in underwater environments. The newly sequenced genomes provide opportunities for studying their evolution and ecology, shedding light on their adaptation to diverse marine environments, and contributing to our knowledge of barnacle biology with valuable genomic resources for further studies in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]