The study aimed to delve into the incidence and risk factors associated with myocarditis and pericarditis following SARS-COV-2-19 vaccination, addressing a notable gap in understanding the safety profile of vaccinations. Through meticulous data selection from the National Health Insurance System (NHIS) database of Korea, the researchers employed both a case-crossover study and a nested case-control design to analyze temporal patterns and risk factors related to carditis occurrences post-immunization. Key findings revealed a significant association between SARS-COV-2-19 vaccination and the occurrence of carditis, with a strong temporal correlation observed within 10 days post-vaccination. Noteworthy factors contributing to carditis risk included the duration between vaccination and carditis, specific comorbidities and medication use. The study concluded by recommending an extended post-vaccination surveillance duration of at least 10 days and underscored the importance of considering individual medical histories and concurrent medication use in assessing vaccine-induced carditis risk. This study might contribute to understanding vaccine safety profiles and emphasizes the significance of comprehensive post-vaccination monitoring protocols.

A simulation method has been developed to efficiently evaluate the motion of colloidal particles in a low-Reynolds-number confined microchannel flow using a Lagrangian-based approach. In this method, the background velocity within the channel, in the absence of suspended particles, is obtained from a fluid dynamics solver and is used to update the velocity at the particle centres using the Stokesian dynamics (SD) method, which incorporates multi-body hydrodynamic interactions. As a result, instead of computing the momentum of both the fluid and particles throughout the entire computational domain, the microscopic balance equation is solved only at the particle centres, increasing the computational efficiency. To accommodate complex boundary conditions within the SD framework, imaginary particles are placed on the channel walls, allowing the mobility relation to be reformulated to apply velocity constraints to immobilized wall particles. By employing this constrained SD approach, global mobility interactions that need to be computed at each time step are limited to the interior particles, resulting in a significant reduction in computational cost. The efficiency of this study is demonstrated through case studies on particulate flows in contraction and cross-flow microchannels. By using colloidal particles that incorporate Brownian motion and inter-particle attraction, observations through the entire stages of fouling dynamics are possible, from particle inflow to channel blockage. The fouling patterns observed in the simulations are consistent with experiments conducted under the same flow conditions. This study provides an efficient approach for analysing the effect of hydrodynamic interactions on particle dynamics in microfluidics and materials processing fields while allowing for predictions about structural changes over long-time scales, including complex phenomena such as clogging.

The intensity attenuation of a high-power laser is a frequent task in the measurements of optical science. Laser intensity can be attenuated by inserting an optical element, such as a partial reflector, polarizer or absorption filter. These devices are, however, not always easily applicable, especially in the case of ultra-high-power lasers, because they can alter the characteristics of a laser beam or become easily damaged. In this study, we demonstrated that the intensity of a laser beam could be effectively attenuated using a random pinhole attenuator (RPA), a device with randomly distributed pinholes, without changing the beam properties. With this device, a multi-PW laser beam was successfully attenuated and the focused beam profile was measured without any alterations of its characteristics. In addition, it was confirmed that the temporal profile of a laser pulse, including the spectral phase, was preserved. Consequently, the RPA possesses significant potential for a wide range of applications.

The importance of Se in human health has received much attention due to its antioxidant properties when it is consumed at an appropriate level. However, the existing evidence is limited to obtain an effective conclusion for colorectal cancer (CRC). Notably, an adequate intake of Se was reported for Koreans. Furthermore, cytokine secretion and immune function may be affected by dietary Se. Our study aimed to explore whether Se potentially reduces CRC risk and whether the IL10 rs1800871 polymorphism has an effect on this association. We designed a case–control study with 1420 cases and 2840 controls. A semi-quantitative FFQ was used to obtain information on Se intake. We determined IL10 rs1800871 through genetic analysis. Different models were developed to explore Se intake related to CRC risk by calculating OR and 95 % CI using unconditional logistic regression. A reduced risk of CRC was found as Se intake increased, with an OR (95 % CI) of 0·44 (0·35, 0·55) (Pfor trend < 0·001). However, this association seems to be allele-specific and only present among risk variant allele carriers (GA/GG) with a significant interaction between dietary Se and IL10 rs1800871 (Pfor interaction = 0·043). We emphasised that a reduction in CRC risk is associated with appropriate Se intake. However, the IL10 rs1800871 polymorphism has an impact on this reduction, with a greater effect on variant allele carriers. These findings suggest the importance of considering an individual’s genetic characteristics when developing nutritional strategies for CRC prevention.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on treatment outcomes in critically ill patients with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) bloodstream infection (BSI). This single-centre, retrospective cohort study was conducted in a 1,048-bed university-affiliated tertiary hospital in the Republic of Korea from January 2021 to March 2022. The study participants included consecutive hospitalised adult patients (aged ≥18 years) in the intensive care unit with CRAB monomicrobial BSI. During the study period, a total of 70 patients were included in our study, and 24 (34.3%) were diagnosed with COVID-19. The 28-day mortality rate was 64.3%. In the multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis, diagnosis of COVID-19 (hazard ratio (HR), 2.91; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.45–5.87), neutropenia (HR, 2.76; 95% CI: 1.04–7.29), Pitt bacteraemia score (per point; HR, 1.30; 95% CI: 1.19–1.41), and appropriate definite antibiotic therapy (HR, 0.31; 95% CI: 0.15–0.62) were independent predictors of 28-day mortality in patients with CRAB BSI. In conclusion, our findings suggested that COVID-19 has a negative prognostic impact on patients with CRAB BSI. Further study is needed to investigate the specific mechanisms of how COVID-19 worsens the prognosis of CRAB infection.

Acid–base disequilibrium is a contributor to cancer development because it affects molecular activities such as insulin-like growth factor 1 levels and adiponectin production. However, evidence of an association of diet-induced acid–base imbalance with colorectal cancer (CRC) is limited. We examined whether colorectal carcinogenesis is attributable to a diet with a high acid load. We recruited a total of 923 CRC cases and 1846 controls at the National Cancer Center in Korea for inclusion in a case–control study. We collected information on nutrient intake and specific clinical parameters of CRC by using a semiquantitative FFQ and medical records, respectively. Potential renal acid load (PRAL) and net endogenous acid production (NEAP) were used to estimate diet-dependent acid load. We used an unconditional logistic regression model to analyse the association. Dietary acid load scores had a positive association with the odds of CRC (OR = 2·31 (95 % CI 1·79, 2·99) and OR = 2·14 (95 % CI 1·66, 2·76) for PRAL and NEAP, respectively, Pfor trend < 0·001). A stronger positive association was observed for females (OR = 3·09, 95 % CI 1·93, 4·94) than for males (OR = 1·71, 95 % CI 1·27, 2·31). Furthermore, acidogenic diets appeared to affect rectal cancer more strongly than colon cancer in females. Our study contributes to reinforcing epidemiological evidence regarding a detrimental effect of acidogenic diets on colorectal carcinogenesis. Thus, it is important to pay attention to the balance of acidogenic (e.g. poultry and red meat) and alkalinogenic foods (e.g. fruits and vegetables) in CRC prevention, especially for females.

In this review, we introduce our recent applications of deep learning to solar and space weather data. We have successfully applied novel deep learning methods to the following applications: (1) generation of solar farside/backside magnetograms and global field extrapolation based on them, (2) generation of solar UV/EUV images from other UV/EUV images and magnetograms, (3) denoising solar magnetograms using supervised learning, (4) generation of UV/EUV images and magnetograms from Galileo sunspot drawings, (5) improvement of global IRI TEC maps using IGS TEC ones, (6) one-day forecasting of global TEC maps through image translation, (7) generation of high-resolution magnetograms from Ca II K images, (8) super-resolution of solar magnetograms, (9) flare classification by CNN and visual explanation by attribution methods, and (10) forecasting GOES solar X-ray profiles. We present major results and discuss them. We also present future plans for integrated space weather models based on deep learning.

The aim of this study is to examine the empirical insulinemic potential consisting of dietary and lifestyle factors and the interactive effect with the common genetic susceptibility locus rs2423279 on the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). This case–control study was conducted with 923 CRC patients and 1846 controls. The empirical measures for assessing the insulinemic potential, namely, the empirical dietary index for hyperinsulinemia (EDIH), for insulin resistance (EDIR), the empirical lifestyle index for hyperinsulinemia (ELIH), and for insulin resistance (ELIR), were calculated based on semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire and lifestyle questionnaire. A genetic variant of rs2423279 was genotyped. The CRC patients were more likely to score in the highest quartile for the ELIH (OR 2·90, Q4 v. Q1, 95 % CI (2·01, 4·19), P for trend < 0·001), EDIR (OR 3·32, Q4 v. Q1, 95 % CI (2·32, 4·74), P < 0·001) and ELIR (OR 2·79, Q4 v. Q1, 95 % CI (1·96, 3·97), P < 0·001) than the controls. The significant effect between the ELIR, which assesses dietary and lifestyle patterns related to insulin resistance, and C allele carriers of rs2423279 was stronger than that for homozygous T allele carriers (OR 2·50, 95 % CI (1·78, 3·51), P for interaction = 0·034). The empirical insulinemic potential for insulin resistance might have interactive effects with the rs2423279 polymorphism on the risk of CRC. The results of this study suggest the basis of the metabolic impact of the insulin response on colorectal carcinogenesis.

Nosocomial transmission of COVID-19 among immunocompromised hosts can have a serious impact on COVID-19 severity, underlying disease progression and SARS-CoV-2 transmission to other patients and healthcare workers within hospitals. We experienced a nosocomial outbreak of COVID-19 in the setting of a daycare unit for paediatric and young adult cancer patients. Between 9 and 18 November 2020, 473 individuals (181 patients, 247 caregivers/siblings and 45 staff members) were exposed to the index case, who was a nursing staff. Among them, three patients and four caregivers were infected. Two 5-year-old cancer patients with COVID-19 were not severely ill, but a 25-year-old cancer patient showed prolonged shedding of SARS-CoV-2 RNA for at least 12 weeks, which probably infected his mother at home approximately 7–8 weeks after the initial diagnosis. Except for this case, no secondary transmission was observed from the confirmed cases in either the hospital or the community. To conclude, in the day care setting of immunocompromised children and young adults, the rate of in-hospital transmission of SARS-CoV-2 was 1.6% when applying the stringent policy of infection prevention and control, including universal mask application and rapid and extensive contact investigation. Severely immunocompromised children/young adults with COVID-19 would have to be carefully managed after the mandatory isolation period while keeping the possibility of prolonged shedding of live virus in mind.

Large herbivores can disperse seeds over long distances through endozoochory. The Korean water deer (Hydropotes inermis argyropus), an internationally vulnerable species but locally considered a vermin, is a potential endozoochorous seed dispersal vector. In this study, feeding experiments were conducted to test the efficiency of seed dispersal through gut ingestion by the Korean water deer, its temporal pattern and the effect of gut passage on seed recovery and germination rate. Eight plant species, including species that formerly germinated from its faeces, were used to feed three Korean water deer. Once the deer had consumed all the provided seeds, their faeces were collected after 24, 48, 72 and 96 h. The collected faeces were air-dried, and the number of seeds retrieved from the faeces was counted every 24 h (0–24, 24–48, 48–72 and 72–96 h). Among the eight plant species, six species were retrieved with intact seeds. Panicum bisulcatum had the highest recovery rate of 33.7%, followed by Amaranthus mangostanus (24.5%) and Chenopodium album (14.4%). Most of the seeds were recovered within the 24–48 h time interval. Germination tests were conducted on the ingested and uningested seeds for the four species which had a sufficient recovery rate. The effects of gut passage on seed germination differed according to plant species. The germination rate substantially decreased after gut passage. The results suggest that the Korean water deer can disperse seeds, potentially over long distances albeit at a high cost of low seed recovery and germination rate.

Background: After the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreak in Korea in 2015, the government newly established the additional reimbursement for infection prevention to encourage infection control activities in the hospitals. The new policy was announced in December 2015 and was implemented in September 2016. We evaluated how infection control activities improved in hospitals after the change of government policy in Korea. Methods: Three cross-sectional surveys using the WHO Hand Hygiene Self-Assessment Framework (HHSAF) were conducted in 2013, 2015, and 2017. Using multivariable linear regression model including hospital characteristics, we analyzed the changes in total HHSAF scores according to the survey time. Results: In total, 32 hospitals participated in the survey in 2013, 52 in 2015, and 101 in 2017. The number of inpatient beds per infection control professionals decreased from 324 in 2013 to 303 in 2015 and 179 in 2017. Most hospitals were at intermediate or advanced levels of progress (90.6% in 2013, 86.6% in 2015, and 94.1% in 2017). In a multivariable linear regression model, the total HHSAF scores were significantly associated with hospital teaching status (β coefficient of major teaching hospital, 52.6; 95% CI, 8.9–96.4; P = .018), bed size (β coefficient of 100-bed increase, 5.1; 95% CI, 0.3–9.8; P = .038), and survey time (β coefficient of 2017 survey, 45.1; 95% CI, 19.3–70.9; P = .001). Conclusions: After the national policy implementation, the number of infection control professionals increased, and the promotion of hand hygiene activities was strengthened in Korean hospitals.

Funding: None

Disclosures: None