Inje University (인제대학교) is a private university founded in 1932, located in Gimhae, South Korea. As of Aug, 2009, it had 874 faculty members, 230 staff members, 14,373 Undergraduate students and 1,458 Graduate students. The University has 8 colleges, 14 schools and 33 departments. The founding mission is to save the world through love and virtue. The educational goals are: to preserve nature; to value human lives and philanthropy. The school precepts are honesty, sincerity, and diligence.
Dioxins are persistent organic pollutants generated during waste incineration that can potentially affect human health. Residents living near municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) may be chronically exposed to dioxins, necessitating a comprehensive evaluation of their potential health effects. In this study, we evaluated the association between ambient and serum dioxin concentrations around MSWIs. The study included 65 female homemakers in their 40s and 50s, with 35 and 30 participants from the exposure (near MSWIs) and control (far from MSWIs) areas, respectively. Seventeen dioxin congeners in the serum samples were analyzed using high-resolution gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. A questionnaire was administered to determine the food preferences and general information. Ambient dioxin concentration data around the exposure and control areas were obtained from local government environmental impact assessment reports. Differences in total serum dioxin toxic equivalency concentrations (ΣTEQ) according to participant and food preference characteristics were compared. Principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted to evaluate the distribution patterns of ambient and serum dioxin concentrations. Serum ΣTEQ was significantly higher in the exposure area (4.548 pg WHO-TEQ/g lipid) than the control area (1.955 pg WHO-TEQ/g lipid). Total ambient dioxin ΣTEQ was higher in the exposure area. Significant differences were not observed in serum ΣTEQ according to the participants’ characteristics and food preferences. PCA results showed that ambient and serum dioxin concentrations had distinct distribution patterns but did not differ between the exposure and control areas. Serum ΣTEQ was significantly higher in residents in the exposure area, suggesting the influence of ambient dioxin levels near MSWIs.
The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is a highly selective interface that protects the central nervous system but is vulnerable to chemical- and nanomaterial-induced dysfunction. Therefore, candidate nanocarriers should be evaluated not only for delivery performance, but also for cellular safety and barrier compatibility under physiologically relevant conditions. This study aimed to assess the cellular safety and barrier integrity associated with reassembled yeast vacuoles (ReV) compared with normal vacuoles (NorV) in an astrocyte-supported in vitro BBB model, while examining the mechanism by which these carriers influence daunorubicin (DNR) handling under barrier conditions. In vitro BBB models were established using human brain microvascular endothelial cells (hCMEC/D3) as a monolayer and an astrocyte-supported Transwell co-culture model with human astrocytes seeded on the underside of the membrane. DNR was tested as a free drug or as loaded into ReV or NorV. Endothelial drug-associated fluorescence and transport-related signals were evaluated by fluorescence-based permeability testing and quantitative image analysis. Barrier integrity was monitored using transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER), and endothelial viability was assessed using an MTT assay. TEER remained stable following treatment, indicating no measurable barrier disruption under the tested conditions. MTT analysis showed no significant reduction in hCMEC/D3 viability within the tested dose range. In the monolayer BBB model, the intracellular DNR-associated fluorescence was comparable among the formulations. In contrast, in the astrocyte-supported BBB model, DNR@ReV produced a markedly higher endothelial DNR-associated fluorescence than free DNR or DNR@NorV. Reassembled yeast vacuoles support DNR handling in an astrocyte-supported in vitro BBB model while maintaining endothelial viability and barrier integrity, providing a toxicology-relevant platform for screening yeast-derived nanocarriers for central nervous system-oriented.
Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), the most severe complication of herpes zoster, causes persistent neuropathic pain that impairs quality of life. This study investigated alterations in structural brain connectivity in patients with PHN using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and examined associations with symptom severity. We enrolled 42 patients with PHN and 41 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. All participants underwent DTI, and data were analyzed using DSI Studio. Graph-theoretical network metrics were computed to assess global and local structural connectivity. PHN symptom severity was evaluated using the Douleur Neuropathique en 4 (DN4) questionnaire. A significant group difference was found in global structural connectivity, with patients showing lower global efficiency (0.564 vs. 0.569, p = 0.001) and higher characteristic path length (1.904 vs. 1.889, p = 0.002) than controls. Significant local connectivity differences were also observed, with lower betweenness centrality in the right (29.965 vs. 55.609, p < 0.001) and left (25.298 vs. 46.267, p < 0.001) caudate nuclei in patients. In DN4-stratified analyses, the high DN4 group showed higher betweenness centrality in the right anterior circular sulcus of the insula (28.939 vs. 3.774, p < 0.001), and DN4 scores negatively correlated with clustering coefficient (r = − 0.316, p = 0.041) and transitivity (r = − 0.350, p = 0.023). PHN was associated with altered structural brain network topology, including lower global efficiency and reduced caudate betweenness centrality. Greater neuropathic pain severity was linked to lower segregation-related metrics. These findings highlight distinct alterations in global and local structural connectivity in PHN and may inform future biomarker-oriented studies. This study identified reduced global efficiency and reduced caudate betweenness centrality using DTI-based connectomic analysis.
Argon plasma coagulation (APC) has been proposed for the treatment of gastric low-grade dysplasia (LGD), but comparative data with endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) are insufficient. We investigated the clinical outcomes of APC, EMR, and ESD for small gastric LGD. We retrospectively included 2128 patients treated with APC (n = 799), EMR (n = 404), or ESD (n = 925) for gastric LGD ≤ 20 mm at 12 tertiary centers in Korea between 2017 and 2021. Local recurrence and adverse events (AEs) were evaluated. To minimize selection bias, inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was applied. The overall incidence of AEs was significantly lower in the APC group (0.8
We report 2 cases of cervical myelopathy treated using a posterior cervical muscle-preserving interspinous process approach with decompression. This technique allows effective central decompression while preserving the extensor musculature and the anchoring function of the spinous processes. The first case involved a 64-year-old woman with multilevel cervical stenosis and myelopathy who underwent decompression at C5-7. The second case involved a 70-year-old woman with C4-5 ossification of the yellow ligament and progressive left arm weakness who underwent single-level decompression. Notably, neither case exhibited significant foraminal stenosis. In both procedures, a small midline incision was made to expose the interspinous space, followed by retraction of the interspinalis cervicis using a blunt mini-Gelpi retractor and undercutting decompression performed with a Kerrison punch and a high-speed drill. No intraoperative complications were observed. Postoperatively, both patients demonstrated neurological and functional improvement, including increased modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association and 36-Item Short Form health survey scores, decreased visual analogue scale pain scores, and preserved cervical alignment without evidence of dynamic instability on flexion-extension radiographs. The accompanying surgical videos illustrate the operative steps in detail and highlight the advantages of this minimally invasive technique for both single-level and multilevel decompression.
