• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.135-144
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• 2021

This study determined the antibiotic resistance patterns of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus from the raw meat and feces of three game species from three different farms across South Africa. The Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method was used according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute 2018 guidelines. E. coli was tested against ampicillin, ceftazidime, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulphafurazole and tetracycline. S. aureus was tested against tetracycline, erthromycin, vancomycin, penicillin, oxacillin and cefoxitin. There were no significant differences in the E. coli antibiotic resistance profiles between the meat and fecal samples (except towards ceftazidime where 5% of the meat isolates were resistant and 0% of the fecal isolates). The S. aureus meat isolates showed high (75%) resistance towards penicillin and on average, 13% were resistant to oxacillin/ cefoxitin, indicating methicillin resistance. The results from this study indicate that there is incidence of antibiotic resistant bacteria from the feces and meat of wildlife species across South Africa, suggesting that cross contamination of the meat occurred during slaughter by antibiotic resistant bacteria from the abattoir personnel or equipment and or from carcass fecal matter. In addition, the results highlight the importance of food safety and hygiene procedures during slaughter to prevent cross-contamination of antibiotic resistant bacteria, as well as pathogens, onto raw meat.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.161-167
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• 2022

Congenital web formations are extremely rare anomalies of the extrahepatic biliary tree. We herein report a case of common bile duct septum combined with multiple intrahepatic bile duct strictures in a 74-year-old female patient who was successfully treated with radiological intervention. The patient initially visited the hospital because of upper abdominal pain. Imaging studies revealed multifocal strictures with dilatation in both intra- and extrahepatic ducts; the final clinical diagnosis was congenital common bile duct web combined with multiple intrahepatic duct strictures. Surgical treatment was not indicated because multiple biliary strictures were untreatable, and the disease was clinically diagnosed as benign. The multiple strictures were extensively dilated twice through bilateral percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) for 2 months. After 1 month of observation, PTBD catheters were successfully removed. The patient is doing well at 6 months after completion of the radiological intervention, with the maintenance of normal liver function. Congenital web of the bile duct is very rare, and its treatment may vary depending on the patterns of biliary stenosis. In cases where surgical intervention is not indicated for congenital web and its associated disease, radiological intervention with balloon dilatation can be a viable therapeutic option.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.101-109
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• 2022

Objective: Y chromosome microdeletions are the second most common genetic cause of male infertility after Klinefelter syndrome. The aim of this study was to determine the patterns of Y chromosome microdeletions among infertile Mongolian men. Methods: A descriptive study was performed on 75 infertile men from February 2017 to December 2018. Y chromosome microdeletions were identified by polymerase chain reaction. Semen parameters, hormonal levels, and testis biopsy samples were examined. Results: Among 75 infertile men, two cases of Y chromosome microdeletions were identified. The first case had an AZFa complete deletion and the other had an AZFc partial deletion. This study found that the proportion of Y chromosome microdeletions among infertile Mongolian men was 2.66%. Conclusion: The findings can be applied to in vitro fertilization and assisted reproductive technology, and our results will help clinicians improve treatment management for infertile Mongolian couples.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.145-153
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• 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the influencing factors of breast cancer recurrence by comparing the risk factors and lifestyle patterns related to breast cancer in Korean women with and without recurrence. Methods: This cross-sectional survey comprised 241 Korean women diagnosed with breast cancer who had received follow-up treatment. Participants were recruited from a university hospital in Seoul and an online social media platform for breast cancer patients. Data were collected either via online or a paper survey, using a structured questionnaire that included general and disease-related characteristics and lifestyle behaviors. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, univariate analysis, and logistic regression. Results: Recurrence of breast cancer was influenced by four factors; childbirth experience, consumption of green/yellow vegetables, drinking behavior, and recovery from fatigue after sleep. Prevalence of recurrent breast cancer was associated with no childbirth experience (OR=2.29, p=.010), fewer green/yellow vegetables (OR=0.71, p=.008), drinking behavior (OR=0.24, p=.001), and a lower level of recovery from fatigue after sleep (OR=0.51, p<.001). Conclusion: Aside from having experienced childbirth, this study identified several modifiable factors that influence breast cancer recurrence. Increasing green/ yellow vegetable intake, alleviating fatigue, and reducing alcohol intake are important. Intervention strategies in clinical research and practice can be applied to address risk factors and reduce the prevalence of recurrent breast cancer.

• Journal of Korean Foot and Ankle Society
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.136-142
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• 2022

Lateral compartment syndrome of the lower leg is rarely observed. Hence, there may be difficulty in diagnosis as its clinical patterns are different and more complicated than usual. We report two rare cases of a 20-year-old and a 28-year-old diagnosed with isolated lateral compartment syndrome who had either a surgical or conservative treatment. The comparison was done by analyzing the progression of neurological manifestation, electromyography, and nerve conduction study for two years. In the final follow-up, the patient who underwent the surgical treatment showed a shorter recovery time. However, both patients showed a full recovery from neurologic deficits.

• Proceedings of the ESK Conference
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• 1996.10a
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• pp.21-25
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• 1996

The Electomyographic (EMG) signals of flexor-extensor muscle pairs were investigated to identify the neural excitation pattern of low-back pain (LBP) patients during a repetitive bending motion. New parameters and EMG normalization technique were developed to quantitatively represent the difference of temporal EMG patterns between ten healthy subjects and ten LBP patients. Flexor-extensor muscle pairs such as rectus abdominis(RA)-erector spinae (ES at LS), external oblique(EO)-internal oblique(IO), rectus femois (quadriceps: QUD)-biceps femoris(hamstrings:HAM), and tibialis anterior(TA)-gastrocnemius(GAS) pairs of muscles were selected in this study. Results indicated that the temporal EMG pattern such as the peak timing difference of QUD-HAM muscle pair and the duration of coexcitation of ES-RA muscle pair showed a statistically isgnificant difference between healthy subjects and LBP patients. These results indicated that the new technique and parameters could be used as a diagnostic tool especially for LBP patients with soft tissue injuries that are rarely dentified by traditional imaging techniques such as X-ray, CT scan or MRI. Improtantly, the new EMG technique did not require the maximal volutary contraction(MVC) measure for normalization that helped patients minimize the pain experience during and after the session. Further study needs to be made to validate and refine this method for clinical application.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.23-32
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• 2023

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly infectious respiratory disease caused by a severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). SARS-CoV-2 infection may cause clinical manifestations of multiple organ damage, including various neurological syndromes. There are currently two oral antiviral drugs-Paxlovid and molnupiravir-that are recognized to treat COVID-19, but there are still no drugs that can specifically fight the challenges of SARS-CoV-2 variants. Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor pyrin domain-containing-3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is a multimolecular complex that can sense heterogeneous pathogen-associated molecular patterns associated with neurological disorders. The NLRP3 activation stimulates the production of caspase-1-mediated interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-18, and other cytokines in immune cells. Panax (P.) ginseng is a medicinal plant that has traditionally been widely used to boost immunity and treat various pathological conditions in the nervous system due to its safety and anti-inflammatory/oxidant/viral activities. Several recent reports have indicated that P. ginseng and its active ingredients may regulate NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the nervous system. Therefore, this review article discusses the current knowledge regarding the pathogenesis of neurological disorders related to COVID-19 and NLRP3 inflammasome activation and the possibility of using P. ginseng in a strategy targeting this pathway to treat neurological disorders.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2023

Pancreatic cancer treatment has advanced. In particular, effective chemotherapy regimen development has fundamentally altered the therapeutic concept and strategy for pancreatic cancer treatment. Consequently, the prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer has gradually improved. Conversion surgery for locally advanced pancreatic cancer may offer long-term survival or even a full recovery in some individuals. In contrast, metastatic pancreatic cancer has long been considered a surgical contraindication because aggressive surgical resection of the metastatic lesions does not prolong patient survival. Unexpectedly positive benefits of anticancer therapy in recent clinical experience were observed even with metastatic pancreatic cancer. To date, little evidence presented the success of surgical resection for metastatic pancreatic cancer treatment in such rare cases. However, hope and concern are growing that surgical intervention, even in patients with metastatic cancer, may result in favorable outcomes. Several studies suggested different surgical intervention effects depending on metastasis sites and patterns. Thus, this review summarizes the current status of surgery in the multidisciplinary treatment of oligometastatic pancreatic cancer and discusses future perspectives.

• International journal of advanced smart convergence
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.61-68
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• 2024

In the quest for advancing diabetes diagnosis, this study introduces a novel two-step machine learning approach that synergizes the probabilistic predictions of Logistic Regression with the classification prowess of Random Forest. Diabetes, a pervasive chronic disease impacting millions globally, necessitates precise and early detection to mitigate long-term complications. Traditional diagnostic methods, while effective, often entail invasive testing and may not fully leverage the patterns hidden in patient data. Addressing this gap, our research harnesses the predictive capability of Logistic Regression to estimate the likelihood of diabetes presence, followed by employing Random Forest to classify individuals into diabetic, pre-diabetic or nondiabetic categories based on the computed probabilities. This methodology not only capitalizes on the strengths of both algorithms-Logistic Regression's proficiency in estimating nuanced probabilities and Random Forest's robustness in classification-but also introduces a refined mechanism to enhance diagnostic accuracy. Through the application of this model to a comprehensive diabetes dataset, we demonstrate a marked improvement in diagnostic precision, as evidenced by superior performance metrics when compared to other machine learning approaches. Our findings underscore the potential of integrating diverse machine learning models to improve clinical decision-making processes, offering a promising avenue for the early and accurate diagnosis of diabetes and potentially other complex diseases.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.1114-1130
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• 2023

Magnetic resonance neurography (MRN) is increasingly used to visualize peripheral nerves in vivo. However, the implementation and interpretation of MRN in the brachial and lumbosacral plexi are challenging because of the anatomical complexity and technical limitations. The purpose of this article was to review the clinical context of MRN, describe advanced magnetic resonance (MR) techniques for plexus imaging, and list the general categories of utility of MRN with pertinent imaging examples. The selection and optimization of MR sequences are centered on the homogeneous suppression of fat and blood vessels while enhancing the visibility of the plexus and its branches. Standard 2D fast spin-echo sequences are essential to assess morphology and signal intensity of nerves. Moreover, nerve-selective 3D isotropic images allow improved visualization of nerves and multiplanar reconstruction along their course. Diffusion-weighted and diffusion-tensor images offer microscopic and functional insights into peripheral nerves. The interpretation of MRN in the brachial and lumbosacral plexi should be based on a thorough understanding of their anatomy and pathophysiology. Anatomical landmarks assist in identifying brachial and lumbosacral plexus components of interest. Thus, understanding the varying patterns of nerve abnormalities facilitates the interpretation of aberrant findings.