Enhancement of photovoltaic parameters of thermally stable graphene/LaVO3semitransparent solar cell by employing interfacial graphene quantum dots.

Semitransparent solar cells are attracting attention not only for their visual effects but also for their ability to effectively utilize solar energy. Here, we demonstrate a translucent solar cell composed of bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl)-amide (TFSA)-doped graphene (Gr), graphene quantum dots (GQDs), and LaVO3. By introducing a GQDs intermediate layer at the TFSA-Gr/LaVO3interface, we can improve efficiency by preventing carrier recombination and promoting charge collection/separation in the device. As a result, the efficiency of the GQDs-based solar cell was 4.35%, which was higher than the 3.52% of the device without GQDs. Furthermore, the average visible transmittance of the device is 28%, making it suitable for translucent solar cells. The Al reflective mirror-based system improved the power conversion efficiency by approximately 7% compared to a device without a mirror. Additionally, the thermal stability of the device remains at 90% even after 2000 h under an environment with a temperature of 60 °C and 40% relative humidity. These results suggest that TFSA-Gr/GQDs/LaVO3-based cells have a high potential for practical use as a next-generation translucent solar energy power source.

Oral Protein Supplements Might Improve Nutritional Status and Quality of Life in Elderly Patients after Standard Pancreatic Resection.

Elderly patients who undergo pancreaticoduodenectomy (PPPD) or distal pancreatectomy (DP) experience not only a reduction in protein intake but also a decrease in protease secretion, leading to impaired protein digestion and absorption. This increases the risk of malnutrition and creates a dual burden of sarcopenia. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial examined the impact of protein supplements on the nutritional status and quality of life (QoL) of elderly patients after PPPD and DP surgeries. For six weeks, the case group (CG; n = 23) consumed protein supplements containing 18 g of protein daily, while the placebo group (PG; n = 18) consumed a placebo with the same amount of carbohydrate. In elderly patients where protein digestion and intake were compromised, the CG showed significantly higher protein intake (77.3 ± 5.3 g vs. 56.7 ± 6.0 g, p = 0.049), improved QoL, better nutritional status, and faster walking speed compared to the PG. Protein intake was positively correlated with muscle mass and phase angle. Protein supplementation may not only increase protein intake but also improve clinical outcomes such as walking speed, nutritional status, and QoL in elderly post-surgical patients at high risk of sarcopenia. Further studies are needed to determine the optimal dosage and long-term effects.

Digital Health Empowerment in Surgery: Exploring Total Hip Arthroplasty as a Model for Transformation.

In the realm of modern healthcare, digital health solutions are poised to transform patient care, particularly in surgical interventions such as Total Hip Arthroplasty. Through a scoping review of 40 studies, this paper identifies six categories of digital interventions tailored for pre- and post-operative care in THA, spanning (Tele-)Rehabilitation, (Tele-)Monitoring and -Communication, Mobile Applications and Patient Portals, Digital Patient Assessment and Outcome Measurement, as well as Biomechanics and Robotics. These solutions, ranging from AI-driven communication tools to weight-shifting robot control systems, promise a more patient-centered, efficient, and accessible healthcare model. The paper concludes by advocating for continued exploration and development of digital health solutions to improve surgical outcomes and patient experiences across various medical contexts.

The association between sleep quality and accelerated epigenetic aging with metabolic syndrome in Korean adults.

BACKGROUND: Healthy sleep is vital for maintaining optimal mental and physical health. Accumulating evidence suggests that sleep loss and disturbances play a significant role in the biological aging process, early onset of disease, and reduced lifespan. While numerous studies have explored the association between biological aging and its drivers, only a few studies have examined its relationship with sleep quality. In this study, we investigated the associations between sleep quality and epigenetic age acceleration using whole blood samples from a cohort of 692 Korean adults. Sleep quality of each participant was assessed using the validated Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), which encompassed seven domains: subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbance, use of sleep medication, and daytime dysfunction. Four epigenetic age accelerations (HorvathAgeAccel, HannumAgeAccel, PhenoAgeAccel, and GrimAgeAccel) and the pace of aging, DunedinPACE, were investigated for epigenetic aging estimates. RESULTS: Among the 692 participants (good sleepers [n = 441, 63.7%]; poor sleepers [n = 251, 36.3%]), DunedinPACE was positively correlated with PSQI scores in poor sleepers ( γ =0.18, p < 0.01). GrimAgeAccel ( ß =0.18, p = 0.02) and DunedinPACE ( ß =0.01, p < 0.01) showed a statistically significant association with PSQI scores only in poor sleepers by multiple linear regression. In addition, every one-point increase in PSQI was associated with a 15% increase in the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) among poor sleepers (OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.03-1.29, p = 0.011). In MetS components, a positive correlation was observed between PSQI score and fasting glucose ( γ = 0.19, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that worsening sleep quality, especially in poor sleepers, is associated with accelerated epigenetic aging for GrimAgeAccel and DundinePACE with risk of metabolic syndrome. This finding could potentially serve as a promising strategy for preventing age-related diseases in the future.

High-Efficiency In Vitro Root Induction in Pear Microshoots (Pyrus spp.).

Extensive research has been conducted on the in vitro mass propagation of pear (Pyrus spp.) trees through vegetative propagation, demonstrating high efficiency in shoot multiplication across various pear species. However, the low in vitro rooting rates remain a significant barrier to the practical application and commercialization of mass propagation. This study aims to determine the favorable conditions for inducing root formation in the in vitro microshoots of Pyrus genotypes. The base of the microshoots was exposed to a high concentration (2 mg L-1) of auxins (a combination of IBA and NAA) for initial root induction at the moment when callus formation begins. The microshoots were then transferred to an R1 medium (1/2 MS with 30 g L-1 sucrose without PGRs) to promote root development. This method successfully induced rooting in three European pear varieties, one Asian pear variety, and a European-Asian hybrid, resulting in rooting rates of 66.7%, 87.2%, and 100% for the European pear (P. communis), 60% for the Asian pear (P. pyrifolia), and 83.3% for the hybrid pear (P. pyrifolia × P. communis) with an average of 25 days. In contrast, the control group (MS medium) exhibited rooting rates of 0-13.3% after 60 days of culture. These findings will enhance in vitro root induction for various pear varieties and support the mass propagation and acclimatization of pear. The in vitro root induction method developed in this study has the potential for global commercial application in pear cultivation.

Micropropagation and Shoot Tip Cryopreservation of 'Sunny Gold' Freesia.

Cryopreservation is a promising method for the long-term preservation of plant germplasm, especially for vegetatively propagated species like freesias. In this study, we investigate streamlining the cryopreservation process for 'Sunny Gold' Freesia, starting from effective in vitro initiation and proliferation using various plant growth regulator combinations. We also assess the impact of subculture on regrowth rates after cryopreservation. The shoot tips were successfully initiated in vitro after sterilization. The shoots were multiplied an average of three times in media containing N6-benzyladenine and kinetin. The regrowth rates of non-cryopreserved shoot tips excised from different subculture cycles did not differ significantly, with rates of 44% observed for plants from more than five subcultures and 47% for those from three subcultures. However, only the shoot tips excised from cultures subjected to three subculture cycles were able to recover after cryopreservation, with a regrowth rate of 31%. Our findings lay the groundwork for the development of an efficient cryopreservation protocol for freesias in the future.

Genome- and epigenome-wide association studies identify susceptibility of CpG sites and regions for metabolic syndrome in a Korean population.

BACKGROUND: While multiple studies have investigated the relationship between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its related traits (fasting glucose, triglyceride, HDL cholesterol, blood pressure, waist circumference) and DNA methylation, our understanding of the epigenetic mechanisms in MetS remains limited. Therefore, we performed an epigenome-wide meta-analysis of blood DNA methylation to identify differentially methylated probes (DMPs) and differentially methylated regions (DMRs) associated with MetS and its components using two independent cohorts comprising a total of 2,334 participants. We also investigated the specific genetic effects on DNA methylation, identified methylation quantitative trait loci (meQTLs) through genome-wide association studies and further utilized Mendelian randomization (MR) to assess how these meQTLs subsequently influence MetS status. RESULTS: We identified 40 DMPs and 27 DMRs that are significantly associated with MetS. In addition, we identified many novel DMPs and DMRs underlying inflammatory and steroid hormonal processes. The most significant associations were observed in 3 DMPs (cg19693031, cg26974062, cg02988288) and a DMR (chr1:145440444-145441553) at the TXNIP, which are involved in lipid metabolism. These CpG sites were identified as coregulators of DNA methylation in MetS, TG and FAG levels. We identified a total of 144 cis-meQTLs, out of which only 13 were found to be associated with DMPs for MetS. Among these, we confirmed the identified causal mediators of genetic effects at CpG sites cg01881899 at ABCG1 and cg00021659 at the TANK genes for MetS. CONCLUSIONS: This study observed whether specific CpGs and methylated regions act independently or are influenced by genetic effects for MetS and its components in the Korean population. These associations between the identified DNA methylation and MetS, along with its individual components, may serve as promising targets for the development of preventive interventions for MetS.

Probabilistic monitoring of meteorological drought impacts on water quality of major rivers in South Korea using copula models.

The impacts of drought range from water supply for humans to ecosystems. Drought affects river water quality by disturbing the hydrological regime in a variety of ways, and can degrade water quality by reducing surface and groundwater availability. In particular, drought-induced low flows, reduced nutrient dilution, and extreme increases in water temperature affect various water quality parameters in streams. Furthermore, the effects of drought on stream water quality may vary from season to season and from stream segment to stream segment, which requires careful investigation. In this study, Environmental Drought Condition Index - water quality (EDCI-wq) is proposed using a bivariate copula joint probability model between meteorological drought index and river water quality. Using this, environmental drought with respect to water quality is defined, and it is confirmed that environmental drought with respect to water quality can be routinely monitored through time series analysis and mapping of the proposed EDCI-wq. In addition, in order to express the environmental drought condition more explicitly to the general public, the environmental drought condition is graded into four classes based on the EDCI-wq. Furthermore, the sensitivity of river water quality to meteorological drought was estimated using the copula joint probability model, which allowed us to identify river segments that are relatively more sensitive to meteorological drought events.

Self-powered semitransparent WS2/LaVO3vertical-heterostructure photodetectors by employing interfacial hexagonal boron nitride.

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor and LaVO3materials with high absorption coefficients in the visible light region are attractive structures for high-performance photodetector (PD) applications. Insulating 2D hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) with a large band gap and excellent transmittance is a very attractive material as an interface between 2D/semiconductor heterostructures. We first introduce WS2/h-BN/LaVO3semitransparent PD. The photo-current/dark current ratio of the device exhibits a delta-function characteristic of 4 × 105at 0 V, meaning 'self-powered'. The WS2/h-BN/LaVO3PD shows up to 0.27 A W-1responsivity (R) and 4.6 × 1010cm Hz1/2W-1detectivity (D*) at 730 nm. Especially, it was confirmed that theD* performance improved by about 5 times compared to the WS2/LaVO3device at zero bias. Additionally, it is suggested that the PD maintains 87% of its initialRfor 2000 h under the atmosphere with a temperature of 25 °C and humidity of 30%. Based on the above results, we suggest that the WS2/h-BN/LaVO3heterojunction is promising as a self-powered optoelectronic device.

Semitransparent Solar Cells Employing n-Type Graphene on LaVO3.

To effectively utilize solar energy, semitransparent solar cells are essential in various fields such as building-integrated solar power generation and portable solar chargers. We report triethylenetetramine (TETA)-doped graphene (Gr) transparent conductive electrode (TCE)-based LaVO3 semitransparent solar cells. To optimize the Gr TCE, we varied the TETA molar concentration (nD) from 0.1 to 0.3 mM. TETA-doped Gr (TETA-Gr)/LaVO3 semitransparent solar cells exhibit the highest 1.45% efficiency and 62% average visible transmittance at nD = 0.2 mM. These results indicate that the TETA-Gr/LaVO3 structure not only harvests solar energy in the ultraviolet-visible region but also exhibits translucency, thanks to the thin film. Thanks to its translucent properties, we improved the power conversion efficiency (PCE) to 1.99% by adding an Al reflective mirror to the semitransparent cells. Finally, the device's PCE loss is only within 3% for 3000 h in air, suggesting good durability.

Highly stable semitransparent multilayer graphene/LaVO3vertical-heterostructure photodetectors.

A heterostructure composed of a combination of semi-metallic graphene (Gr) and high-absorption LaVO3is ideal for high-performance translucent photodetector (PD) applications. Here, we present multilayer Gr/LaVO3vertical-heterostructure semitransparent PDs with various layer numbers (Ln). AtLn= 2, the PD shows the best performance with a responsivity (R) of 0.094 A W-1and a specific detectivity (D*) of 7.385 × 107cm Hz1/2W-1at 532 nm. Additionally, the average visible transmittance of the PD is 63%, i.e. it is semitransparent. We increased photocurrent (PC) by approximately 13%, from 0.564 to 0.635µA cm-2by using an Al reflector on the semitransparent PD. The PC of an unencapsulated PD maintains about 86% (from 0.571 to 0.493µA cm-2) of its initial PC value after 2000 h at 25 °C temperature/30% relative humidity, showing good stability. This behavior is superior to that of previously reported graphene-based PDs. These results show that these PDs have great potential for semitransparent optoelectronic applications.

Transethnic meta-analysis of exome-wide variants identifies new loci associated with male-specific metabolic syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a group of very common human conditions promoting strong understand the impact of rare variants, beyond exome-wide association studies, to potentially discover causative variants, across different ethnic populations. OBJECTIVE: We performed transethnic, exome-wide MetS association studies on MetS in men. METHODS: We analyzed genotype data of 5302 European subjects (2658 cases and 2644 controls), in the discovery stage of the European METabolic Syndrome In Men study, generated from exome chips, and 2481 subjects (714 cases and 1767 controls), in the replication stage, across 6 independent cohorts of 5 ancestries (T2D-GENES consortium), using whole-exome sequencing. We therefore evaluated gene-level and variant-level associations, of rare variants for MetS, using logistic regression (LR) and multivariate analyses (MulA). RESULTS: Gene-based association found the gene for the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) (from MulA, p value = 4.67 × 10-9; from LR, p value = 0.009) to well associate with MetS. At two missense variants, from 8 rare variants in CETP, Ala390Pro (rs5880) (from MulA, p value = 1.28 × 10-7; from LR, p value = 1.34 × 10-4) and Arg468Gln (rs1800777) (from MulA, p value = 2.40 × 10-5; from LR, p value = 1.49 × 10-3) significantly associated with MetS across five ancestries. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight novel rare variants of genes that confer MetS susceptibility, in Europeans, that are shared with diverse populations, emphasizing an opportunity to further understand the biological target or genes that underlie MetS, across populations.

The Importance of Nutrition in Neurological Disorders and Nutrition Assessment Methods.

Neurological disorders can change patients' nutritional status by directly or indirectly affecting dietary intake through mechanisms such as dysphagia, movement disorders, cognitive impairment, and depression. Malnutrition contributes to complications, resulting in delayed rehabilitation and increased morbidity and mortality. It is important to prevent malnutrition in patients with neurological disorders and to improve their nutritional status by identifying nutritional deterioration at an early stage and implementing appropriate nutritional interventions. This review examines the nutritional screening and assessment process in patients with neurological disorders, with a particular focus on stroke patients undergoing rehabilitation. Nutritional assessment, the first step of clinical nutrition management, identifies nutritional problems and their causes, signs, and symptoms through an overall evaluation including anthropometric measurements, dietary assessments, biochemical assessment, nutrition-related physical examinations, and functional assessment data. Based on the assessment, a nutritional intervention plan is established. By synthesizing the assessment results of selected subjective and objective indicators, nutritional screening tools to screen patients at risk of malnutrition and nutritional assessment tools to diagnose malnutrition were developed. It is important to use those tools with a clear understanding of their characteristics and scope.

Development of a Prediction Model to Estimate the Glycemic Load of Ready-to-Eat Meals.

The glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) of a single food item has been used to monitor blood glucose level. However, concerns regarding the clinical relevance of the GI or GL have been raised on their applicability to a combination of several foods consumed as meal. This study aimed to investigate the glycemic response after consuming commercially purchased ready-to-eat meal and to develop the GL prediction formula using the composition of nutrients in each meal. Glycemic responses were measured in healthy adults with various mixed meals comprising approximately 25 g, 50 g, and 75 g of carbohydrates. After fasting, participants consumed test meals, and the glycemic response was measured for a subsequent 120 min. The GI and GL values for mixed meals were calculated as area under curve for each participant. For the prediction formula, 70 mixed meals were analyzed, of which the GI and GL values of 64 participants were used. The prediction formula produced was as follows: GL = 19.27 + (0.39 × available carbohydrate) - (0.21 × fat) - (0.01 × protein2) - (0.01 × fiber2). We hope that this prediction formula can be used as a useful tool to estimate the GL after consuming ready-to-eat meals.

Multidisciplinary aerodigestive program at a children's hospital: A protocol for a prospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Children with complex chronic multisystemic diseases frequently require care from multiple pediatric subspecialists. The aerodigestive program is a multidisciplinary program that diagnoses and treats pediatric patients with complex multi-systematic problems affecting airway, breathing, feeding, swallowing, or growth. The aim of this study is to present the protocol of the aerodigestive program of a children's hospital. METHODS AND DESIGN: This study is a prospective study to evaluate and compare the overall improvement of patients' objective and subjective conditions before and after the AeroDigestive Team (ADT) program. Among children from 1 month to 18 years of age, patients with complex problems of the airway, breathing, feeding, swallowing, or growth meeting at least two parameters of the inclusion criteria were enrolled. The overall process included referral based on the inclusion criteria, enrollment of ADT program with informed consents, interview and questionnaire for assessing patients' medical condition, prescheduling appointment, multi-specialists' evaluation, monthly team meetings, wrap-up discussion with the patients and family, therapeutic intervention, and follow-up at 6 months with the assessment of outcome measures. The outcome was evaluated objectively and subjectively. The objective outcome measure was divided into surgical or medical intervention, assessment of changes in medical condition, and follow-up study. Both caregiver interviews and questionnaires using a scoring system were used as subjective outcome measures before and after the ADT program. Children were scheduled to be followed-up at 6 months after the interventions or ADT meeting. DISCUSSION: The aerodigestive program is expected to provide comprehensive and multidisciplinary management of children with complex airway and digestive tract disorders.

The Homocysteine and Metabolic Syndrome: A Mendelian Randomization Study.

Homocysteine (Hcy) is well known to be increased in the metabolic syndrome (MetS) incidence. However, it remains unclear whether the relationship is causal or not. Recently, Mendelian Randomization (MR) has been popularly used to assess the causal influence. In this study, we adopted MR to investigate the causal influence of Hcy on MetS in adults using three independent cohorts. We considered one-sample MR and two-sample MR. We analyzed one-sample MR in 5902 individuals (2090 MetS cases and 3812 controls) from the KARE and two-sample MR from the HEXA (676 cases and 3017 controls) and CAVAS (1052 cases and 764 controls) datasets to evaluate whether genetically increased Hcy level influences the risk of MetS. In observation studies, the odds of MetS increased with higher Hcy concentrations (odds ratio (OR) 1.17, 95%CI 1.12-1.22, p < 0.01). One-sample MR was performed using two-stage least-squares regression, with an MTHFR C677T and weighted Hcy generic risk score as an instrument. Two-sample MR was performed with five genetic variants (rs12567136, rs1801133, rs2336377, rs1624230, and rs1836883) by GWAS data as the instrumental variables. For sensitivity analysis, weighted median and MR-Egger regression were used. Using one-sample MR, we found an increased risk of MetS (OR 2.07 per 1-SD Hcy increase). Two-sample MR supported that increased Hcy was significantly associated with increased MetS risk by using the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method (beta 0.723, SE 0.119, and p < 0.001), the weighted median regression method (beta 0.734, SE 0.097, and p < 0.001), and the MR-Egger method (beta 2.073, SE 0.843, and p = 0.014) in meta-analysis. The MR-Egger slope showed no evidence of pleiotropic effects (intercept -0.097, p = 0.107). In conclusion, this study represented the MR approach and elucidates the significant relationship between Hcy and the risk of MetS in the Korean population.

Development of a Multidisciplinary Aerodigestive Program: An Institutional Experience.

We share our experience on the implementation of a multidisciplinary aerodigestive program comprising an aerodigestive team (ADT) so as to evaluate its feasibility. We performed a retrospective chart review of the patients discussed at the monthly ADT meetings and analyzed the data. A total of 98 children were referred to the ADT during the study period. The number of cases increased steadily from 3.5 cases per month in 2019 to 8.5 cases per month in 2020. The median age of patients was 34.5 months, and 55% were male. Among the chronic comorbidities, neurologic disease was the most common (85%), followed by respiratory (36%) and cardiac (13%) disorders. The common reasons for consultation were suspected aspiration (56%), respiratory difficulty (44%), drooling/stertor (30%), regurgitation/vomiting (18%), and feeding/swallowing difficulty (17%). Following discussions, 58 patients received active interventions, including fundoplication, gastrostomy, laryngomicrosurgery, tracheostomy, and primary dilatation of the airway. According to the questionnaire of the caregiver, the majority agreed that the main symptoms and quality of life of patients had improved (88%), reducing the burden on caregivers (77%). Aerodigestive programs may provide comprehensive and multidisciplinary management for children with complex airway and digestive tract disorders.

Nutrition Intervention Process for Heart Failure Patients according to Their Nutritional Problems.

Patients with heart failure (HF) need nutritional management such as sodium restriction and healthy eating habits to relieve symptoms and to manage chronic disease. This case study examined 3 patients who had different nutritional problems and responded positively to the nutrition management program. Patient 1 and 2 had high levels of energy intake and were obese. Patient 1 had a habit of irregular binge eating and frequently consumed sweetened snacks and fast foods. He was advised to eat regular 3 meals per day with balanced food choices. He decreased his energy consumption to the recommenced intake and his body mass index had dropped to 22.9 kg/m2 by his second follow-up visit. Patients 2 ate 3 meals regularly but ate a large amount of food. Although he decreased his energy intake to 97% of the recommended intake, he should be advised to increase his protein intake at the 1st follow-up session because he decreased his protein intake less than 90% of the recommended amount. Patient 3 reduced food intake by half due to dyspnea caused by HF before hospitalization, but symptoms improved after discharge and his energy as well as sodium intake increased. In the second follow-up, his nutritional diagnosis was excessive sodium intake and nutritional intervention was performed to reduce sodium intake. This study showed that additional nutritional problems might arise throughout the nutritional intervention process. Therefore, follow-up nutritional counseling should be held to evaluate the compliance with the nutrition management guidelines and to decide whether additional nutrition problems are suggested.

Effects of Intensive Individualized Nutrition Counseling on Nutritional Status and Kidney Function in Patients With Stage 3 and 4 Chronic Kidney Disease.

OBJECTIVE: Although dietary modification is a critical component of chronic kidney disease (CKD) management, compliance with dietary recommendations is often suboptimal. This prospective intervention study was conducted to evaluate the effects and adherence of intensive, individualized nutrition counseling in CKD patients from a single nation Asian ethnic group. METHODS: Patients with Stages 3 and 4 CKD were recruited from a tertiary hospital outpatient clinic in Korea. The intensive group received 3 monthly sessions of individualized intensive nutrition counseling. The control group received a one-time group program. The intensive group was compared with the control group at 3 months. RESULTS: A total of 59 patients were enrolled, and 42 (71.2%) completed the study (23/32 of the intensive group; 19/27 of the control group). The mean age of the patients was 64.7 ± 12.5 years, and 81% were male. The most common nutritional diagnosis was an excessive intake of sodium (Na, 97.6%), followed by potassium (K, 78.6%), protein (52.4%), and phosphorus (P, 31.0%). After 3 months of nutrition counseling, K and P intakes decreased significantly in both the intensive group (K, 2,760.9 ± 677.4 vs. 1,500.7 ± 398.5 mg/d, P < .001; P, 1,010.5 ± 247.4 vs. 631.3 ± 178.1 mg/d, P < .001) and the control group (K, 2,090.8 ± 765.3 vs. 1,703.9 ± 490.0 mg/d, P = .036; P, 807.2 ± 163.8 vs. 679.1 ± 175.9 mg/d, P = .044). Meanwhile, protein (68.3 ± 21.8 vs. 45.4 ± 10.1 g/d, P = .001), Na (4,009.8 ± 1,418.2 vs. 2,224.6 ± 759.8 mg/d, P < .001), and energy intakes (1,857.1 ± 411.5 vs. 1,273.7 ± 231.5 kcal, P < .001) decreased in the intensive group, but were comparable in the control group. Notably, BMI decreased (BMI, 25.4 ± 2.5 vs. 24.9 ± 2.9 kg/m2, P = .014) while eGFR (43.1 ± 11.8 vs. 48.9 ± 13.7 mL/min/1.73m2, P = .002) improved significantly in the intensive group only. CONCLUSION: Intensive individualized nutrition counseling results in better adherence to dietary recommendations and improvement in kidney function in CKD patients.

First Report of Fusarium Wilt Caused by Fusarium equiseti on Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitate L.) in Korea.

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitate L.) is an important vegetable crop that is widely cultivated throughout the world. In August 2019, wilting symptoms on cabbage (stunted growth, withered leaves, and wilted plants) were observed in a cabbage field of Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, with an incidence of 5 to 10%. To identify the cause, symptomatic root tissue was excised, surface-sterilized with 70% ethanol, and rinsed thrice with sterile distilled water. The samples were dried on blotter paper, placed onto potato dextrose agar (PDA), and incubated at 25°C for 1 week. Five morphologically similar fungal isolates were sub-cultured and purified using the single spore isolation method (Choi et al. 1999). The fungus produced colonies with abundant, loosely floccose, whitish-brown aerial mycelia and pale-orange pigmentation on PDA. Macroconidia had four 4 to six 6 septa, a foot-shaped basal cell, an elongated apical cell, and a size of 20.2 to 31.8 × 2.2 to 4.1 µm (n = 30). No microconidia were observed. Chlamydospores were produced from hyphae and were most often intercalary, in pairs or solitary, globose, and frequently formed chains (6.2? to 11.7 µm, n = 10). Based on these morphological characteristics, the fungus was identified as Fusarium equiseti (Leslie and Summerell 2006). A representative isolate was deposited in the Korean Agricultural Culture Collection (KACC48935). For molecular characterization, portions of the translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF-1α) and second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (RPB2) genes were amplified from the representative isolate using the primers pair of TEF-1α (O'Donnell et al. 2000) and GQ505815 (Fusarium MLST database), and sequenced. Searched BLASTn of the RPB2 sequence (MT576587) to the Fusarium MLST database showed 99.94% similarity to the F. incarnatum-equiseti species complex (GQ505850) and 98.85 % identity to both F. equiseti (GQ505599) and F. equiseti (GQ505772). Further, the TEF-1α sequence (MT084815) showed 100% identity to F. equiseti (KT224215) and 99.85% identity to F. equiseti (GQ505599), respectively. Therefore, the fungus was identified as F. equiseti based on morphological and molecular identification. For pathogenicity testing, a conidial suspension (1 × 106 conidia/ml) was prepared by harvesting macroconidia from 2-week-old cultures on PDA. Fifteen 4-week-old cabbage seedlings (cv. 12-Aadrika) were inoculated by dipping roots into the conidial suspension for 30 min. The inoculated plants were transplanted into a 50-hole plastic tray containing sterilized soil and maintained in a growth chamber at 25°C, with a relative humidity of >80%, and a 12-h/12-h light/dark cycle. After 4 days, the first wilt symptoms were observed on inoculated seedlings, and the infected plants eventually died within 1 to 2 weeks after inoculation. No symptoms were observed in plants inoculated with sterilized distilled water. The fungus was re-isolated from symptomatic tissues of inoculated plants and its colony and spore morphology were identical to those of the original isolate, thus confirming Koch's postulates. Fusarium wilt caused by F. equiseti has been reported in various crops, such as cauliflower in China, cumin in India, and Vitis vinifera in Spain (Farr and Rossman 2020). To our knowledge, this is the first report of F. equiseti causing Fusarium wilt on cabbage in Korea. It This disease poses a threat to cabbage production in Korea, and effective disease management strategies need to be developed.