Association of Body Composition Changes with the Development of Diabetes Mellitus: A Nation-Wide Population Study.

Background: We investigated the association between body composition changes and new-onset diabetes mellitus (DM) development according to the body mass index (BMI) in a longitudinal setting in the general Korean population. Methods: From 2010 to 2011 (1st) and 2012 to 2013 (2nd), we included 1,607,508 stratified random sample participants without DM from the National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening dataset of Korean. The predicted appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (pASMMI), body fat mass index (pBFMI), and lean body mass index (pLBMI) were calculated using pre-validated anthropometric prediction equations. A prediction equation was constructed by combining age, weight, height, waist circumference, serum creatinine levels, alcohol consumption status, physical activity, and smoking history as variables affecting body composition. Results: Decreased pASMMI (men: hazard ratio [HR], 0.866; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.830 to 0.903; P<0.001; women: HR, 0.748; 95% CI, 0.635 to 0.881; P<0.001), decreased pLBMI (men: HR, 0.931; 95% CI, 0.912 to 0.952; P<0.001; women: HR, 0.906; 95% CI, 0.856 to 0.959; P=0.007), and increased pBFMI (men: HR, 1.073; 95% CI, 1.050 to 1.096; P<0.001; women: HR, 1.114; 95% CI, 1.047 to 1.186; P=0.007) correlated with the development of new-onset DM. Notably, only in the overweight and obese BMI categories, decreases in pASMMI and pLBMI and increases in pBFMI associated with new-onset DM, regardless of gender. Conclusion: Decreased pASMMI and pLBMI, and increased pBFMI with excess fat accumulation may enhance the risk of newonset DM. Therefore, appropriate changes in body composition can help prevent new-onset DM.

Association of decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate with lung cancer risk in the Korean population.

Objectives: Inconsistent results are available regarding the association between low estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and lung cancer risk. We aimed to explore the risk of lung cancer according to eGFR category in the Korean population. Methods: We included 358,293 adults who underwent health checkups between 2009 and 2010, utilizing data from the National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort. Participants were categorized into 3 groups based on their baseline eGFR, as determined using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation: group 1 (eGFR ≥90 mL/min/1.73m2), group 2 (eGFR ≥60 to <90mL/min/1.73m2), and group 3 (eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73m2). Incidences of lung cancer were identified using the corresponding codes from the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were employed to calculate the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for lung cancer incidence up to 2019. Results: In multivariate analysis, group 2 exhibited a 26.5% higher risk of developing lung cancer than group 1 (HR, 1.265; 95% CI, 1.189 to 1.346). Furthermore, group 3 demonstrated a 72.5% elevated risk of lung cancer relative to group 1 (HR, 1.725; 95% CI, 1.577 to 1.887). Among participants with dipstick proteinuria of 2+ or greater, group 3 faced a significantly higher risk of lung cancer than group 1 (HR, 2.928; 95% CI, 1.375 to 6.237). Conclusion: Low eGFR was significantly associated with increased lung cancer risk within the Korean population. A particularly robust association was observed in individuals with severe proteinuria, emphasizing the need for further investigation.

Decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate increase the risk of pancreatic cancer: A nationwide retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Decreased kidney function is a putative risk factor for various cancers. However, few studies have investigated the association between a decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and incident pancreatic cancer. We aimed to investigate the risk of incident pancreatic cancer according to eGFR categories. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, we included 359 721 adults who underwent health checkups in 2009 or 2010 by using the Korean National Health Insurance Database. The study population was categorized into four groups by eGFR (mL/min/1.73 m2 ) using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation: group 1 (eGFR < 45), group 2 (eGFR ≥ 45 to < 60), group 3 (eGFR ≥ 60 to < 90), and group 4 (eGFR ≥ 90). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to determine the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the incidence of pancreatic cancer until 2019 by comparing the eGFR groups. RESULTS: During the 3 493 589.05 person-years of follow-up, 1702 pancreatic cancer cases were identified. Compared with group 4 (eGFR ≥ 90), HRs and 95% CIs for the incidence of pancreatic cancer were 1.39 (1.24-1.56) for group 3 (eGFR ≥ 60 to < 90), 1.79 (1.47-2.16) for group 2 (eGFR ≥ 45 to < 60), and 2.05 (1.62-2.60) for group 1 (eGFR < 45) in the multivariate adjusted model. CONCLUSIONS: Decreased eGFR was significantly associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer in Korean population. Further studies are needed to investigate the relationship between a decreased eGFR and the risk of pancreatic cancer in other ethnic groups.

Association Between Eight Autoimmune Diseases and Thyroid Cancer: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

Background: It has often been reported that thyroid-specific autoimmune diseases (ADs), such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis and Graves' disease, could increase the risk of thyroid cancer, but the association between other ADs beyond thyroid and thyroid cancer has not been well investigated. This study aimed to examine the risk of thyroid cancer in patients with eight ADs compared with those without ADs. Methods: This nationwide retrospective matched cohort study was conducted to investigate the relationship of eight ADs (Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Graves' disease, type 1 diabetes mellitus, Sjogren's disease, inflammatory bowel disease [IBD], vitiligo, systemic lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis [RA]) with the risk of incident thyroid cancer using the National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort. The Cox-proportional hazard model was used to estimate the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) and confidence intervals (CI) for thyroid cancer in relation to each of AD compared with control group without AD. Results: During the average follow-up of 9.49 years, 138 thyroid cancer cases were newly developed in control group and 268 cases were occurred in group with 8 ADs. For all of study participants, the risk of thyroid cancer was significantly increased in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HR = 2.10 [1.57-2.81]), Graves' disease (HR = 2.67 [1.99-3.62]), IBD (HR = 2.06 [1.50-2.83]), vitiligo (HR = 1.71 [1.13-2.59]), RA (HR = 1.76 [1.07-2.90]), and total of 8 ADs (HR = 1.97 [1.60-2.42]) compared with control group without ADs. When ADs were divided into three types, thyroid-specific ADs (HR = 2.37 [1.85-3.03]) showed the strongest and significant association with thyroid cancer, followed by local ADs (HR = 1.83 [1.41-2.38]), and systemic ADs (HR = 1.77 [1.14-2.74]). Conclusions: Specific ADs-especially for thyroid-specific AD, vitiligo, IBD, and RA-were associated with increased risk for thyroid cancer.

Changes in smoking status, amount of smoking and their relation to the risk of microvascular complications in men with diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Smoking is a definite risk factor for macrovascular complications in diabetes mellitus (DM). However, the effect of smoking on microvascular complications is inconclusive. METHOD: Study participants were 26,673 diabetic men who received health check-up both in 2003-2004 and 2009, excluding women. Assessing smoking status (never, quitting and current) at 2003-2004 and 2009, changes in smoking status were categorised into 7 groups (never - never, never - quitting, never - current, quitting-quitting, quitting-current, current-quitting and current-current). Smoking amount was categorised into never, light (0-10 pack years), moderate (10-20 pack years), and heavy smoking (>20 pack years) based on 2009 data. They were followed-up until 2013 to identify incident microvascular complications. We calculated the adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) (adjusted HR [95% CI]) for incident microvascular complications according to changes in smoking status and smoking amount. RESULTS: Current-quitting (1.271 [1.050-1.538]), current-current (1.243 [1.070-1.444]) and heavy smoking (1.238 [1.078-1.422]) were associated with an increased risk of overall microvascular complications. The risk of nephropathy increased in current-current smoking (1.429 [1.098-1.860]) and heavy smoking (1.357 [1.061-1.734]). An increased risk of neuropathy was observed in current-quitting smoking (1.360 [1.076-1.719]), current-current smoking (1.237 [1.025-1.492]) and heavy smoking (1.246 [1.048-1.481]). However, we couldn't see the interpretable findings for the association between smoking and retinopathy. CONCLUSIONS: Lasting and heavy smoking increases the risk of microvascular complications, including nephropathy and neuropathy. Quitting smoking and reducing smoking amount are imperative in preventing microvascular complications in DM patients.

Mild magnetic hyperthermia is synergistic with an antibiotic treatment against dual species biofilms consisting of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa by enhancing metabolic activity.

OBJECTIVE: The wound biofilm infections that develop tolerance to standard-of-care antimicrobial treatment has been increasing. The objective of this study was to demonstrate a proof-of-concept of mild magnetic nanoparticle (MNP)/alternating magnetic field (AMF) hyperthermia as an anti-biofilm therapy against multispecies biofilm infections. METHODS: Using both an in vitro cell culture and in vivo murine model of wound infection, we investigated whether MNP/AMF hyperthermia applied at a mild thermal dosage would be synergistically effective against dual species biofilm infection consisting of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa when combined with a broad-spectrum antibiotic, ciprofloxacin (CIP). RESULTS: The combined treatment of MNP/AMF hyperthermia and CIP to the wounds of diabetic mice (db/db mice) significantly reduced the CFU number of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa by 2-log and 3-log, respectively, compared to the untreated control group, whereas either mild MNP/AMF hyperthermia or CIP treatment alone had little effect on the eradication of both bacteria. Our gene microarray data obtained from the culture of S. aureus biofilm suggest that mild MNP/AMF could shift the expression of genes for cellular respiration from anaerobic fermentation to an aerobic glycolytic/tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) pathway, implicating that the beneficial effect of mild MNP/AMF hyperthermia on the increased susceptibility of biofilm bacteria to an antibiotic treatment is associated with an increased metabolic activity. CONCLUSION: Our results support the translational potential of mild MNP/AMF as an adjunctive therapy that can be combined with a broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment for the management of wound biofilm infections associated with multispecies bacteria.

Mortality of Deep Brain Stimulation and Risk Factors in Patients With Parkinson's Disease: A National Cohort Study in Korea.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate 1) long-term outcomes of deep brain stimulation (DBS), such as mortality after DBS as well as the causes of death, 2) demographic and socioeconomic factors influencing mortality, and 3) comorbidities affecting mortality after DBS in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). METHODS: This study analyzed the National Health Insurance Service-National Health Information Database. Data on patients with PD diagnosis codes from 2002 to 2019 were extracted and analyzed. Data on the causes of death were obtained by linking the causes of death to data from Statistics Korea. The Kaplan-Meier method with the log-rank test was used for survival analysis. Multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and their 95% confidence intervals. Regarding comorbidities such as PD dementia and fracture, which did not satisfy the assumption for the proportional HR, time-dependent Cox analysis with the Mantel-Byar method was used. RESULTS: From 2005 to 2017, among 156,875 patients diagnosed with PD in Korea, 1,079 patients underwent DBS surgery, and 251 (23.3%) had died by 2019. The most common cause of death (47.1%) was PD. In the multivariate Cox regression analysis, the higher the age at diagnosis and surgery, the higher the mortality rate. The men and medical aid groups had significantly higher mortality rates. PD dementia and fracture were identified as risk factors for mortality. CONCLUSION: Older age at diagnosis and surgery, being male, the use of medical aid, and the comorbidity of dementia and fractures were associated with a higher risk of mortality after DBS in patients with PD. Neurologists should consider these risk factors in assessing the prognosis of PD patients undergoing DBS.

Association of periodontitis with menopause and hormone replacement therapy: a hospital cohort study using a common data model.

PURPOSE: The present study was designed to compare the incidence of periodontitis according to menopausal status and to investigate the possible effect of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on periodontitis in postmenopausal women using a common data model (CDM) at a single institution. METHODS: This study involved retrospective cohort data of 950,751 patients from a 20-year database (2001 to 2020) of Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital converted to the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership CDM. One-way analysis of variance models and the χ² test were used to analyze the statistical differences in patient characteristics among groups. A time-dependent Cox regression analysis was used to calculate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals, and P values less than 0.05 were considered to indicate statistical significance. RESULTS: Of the 29,729 patients, 1,307 patients were diagnosed with periodontitis and 28,422 patients were not. Periodontitis was significantly more common among postmenopausal patients regardless of HRT status than among the non-menopausal group (P<0.05). Time-dependent Cox regression analysis showed that the postmenopausal patients had a significantly higher chance of having periodontitis than non-menopausal patients (P<0.05), but after adjustment for age, body mass index, and smoking status, the difference between the non-menopausal and post-menopausal HRT-treated groups was insignificant (P=0.140). CONCLUSIONS: Postmenopausal women had a significantly greater risk of periodontitis than non-menopausal women. Additionally, the use of HRT in postmenopausal women could reduce the incidence of periodontitis.

The risk of gastric cancer according to changes in smoking status among Korean men.

OBJECTIVES: Smoking is a risk factor for gastric cancer. Studies have shown that the risk of gastric cancer can vary by smoking status and smoking amount at a single point in time. However, few data have been reported about the effect of changes in smoking status over time on the risk of gastric cancer. METHODS: This study collected data from the National Health Insurance Corporation in Korea on 97,700 Korean men without gastric cancer who underwent health check-ups from 2002 to 2013. The smoking status (never smoked, quit smoking, and currently smoking) of study participants was assessed in 2003-2004 and 2009, and the results were categorized into 7 groups: never-never, never-quit, never-current, quit-quit, quit-current, current-quit, and current-current. Participants were followed until 2013 to identify incident gastric cancer. A multivariate Cox proportional hazard model was used to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for incident gastric cancer according to changes in smoking status and smoking amount (pack-years). RESULTS: Compared with group 1 (never-never), participants currently smoking in 2009 (never-current, quit-current, and current-current) had higher HRs for gastric cancer (never-quit: 1.077; 95% CI, 0.887 to 1.306, never-current: 1.347; 95% CI, 0.983 to1.846, quit-quit: 1.086; 95% CI, 0.863 to 1.366, quit-current: 1.538; 95% CI, 1.042 to 2.269, current-quit: 1.339; 95% CI, 1.077 to 1.666, and current-current: 1.589; 95% CI, 1.355 to 1.864, respectively). The risk for gastric cancer was highest in heavy smokers, followed by moderate smokers. CONCLUSIONS: In all categories of smoking status, current smoking was associated with the highest risk of gastric cancer. Heavy smoking was associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer, even in former smokers.

Fasting blood glucose and risk of incident pancreatic cancer.

BACKGROUND: The number of patients with diabetes and impaired fasting blood glucose in Korea is rapidly increasing compared to the past, and other metabolic indicators of population are also changed in recent years. To clarify the mechanism more clearly, we investigated the association between fasting blood glucose and incidence of pancreatic cancer in this retrospective cohort study. METHODS: In Korea National Health Information Database, 19,050 participants without pancreatic cancer in 2009 were enrolled, and followed up until 2013. We assessed the risk of incident pancreatic cancer according to the quartile groups of fasting blood glucose level (quartile 1: <88 mg/dL, quartile 2: 88-97 mg/dL, quartile 3: 97-109 mg/dL and quartile 4: ≥109 mg/dL). Multivariate Cox-proportional hazard model was used in calculating hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for incident pancreatic cancer. RESULTS: Compared with quartile1 (reference), unadjusted HRs and 95% CI for incident pancreatic cancer significantly increased in order of quartile2 (1.39 [1.01-1.92]), quartile3 (1.50 [1.09-2.07]) and quartile4 (2.18 [1.62-2.95]), and fully adjusted HRs and 95% CI significantly increased from quartile2 (1.47 [1.05-2.04]), quartile3 (1.61 [1.05-2.04]) to quartile4 (2.31 [1.68-3.17]). CONCLUSION: Fasting blood glucose even with pre-diabetic range was significantly associated with the incident pancreatic cancer in Korean.

Change in smoking status and its relation to the risk of gastroduodenal ulcer in Korean men.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Smoking is associated with the increased risk of gastroduodenal ulcer. However, although smoking status can vary over time, most of studies have analyzed this association with smoking status at a single point of time. We analyzed the risk of gastroduodenal ulcer according to change in smoking status for more than 5 years. METHODS: Study participants were 43 380 Korean adults free of gastroduodenal ulcer who received health check-up between 2002 and 2013. Through evaluating their smoking status (never, quitter, and current) at 2003-2004 and 2009, they were categorized them into seven groups (never-never, never-quitter, never-current, quitter-quitter, quitter-current, current-quitter, and current-current) and monitored until 2013 to identify incident gastroduodenal ulcer. Cox-proportional hazard model was used to calculate the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for incident gastroduodenal ulcer according to changes in smoking status and smoking amount. RESULTS: Compared with never-never group (reference), other groups had the significantly increased adjusted HRs and 95% CI for gastroduodenal ulcer. In particular, participants with current smoking (never-current, quitter-current, and current-current) had the relatively higher HRs than other groups (never-quitter: 1.200 [1.070-1.346], never-current: 1.375 [1.156-1.636], quitter-quitter: 1.149 [1.010-1.306], quitter-current: 1.325 [1.058-1.660], current-quitter: 1.344 [1.188-1.519], and current-current: 1.379 [1.256-1.513]). Heavy smoker had the highest risk for gastroduodenal ulcer, followed by moderate and light smoker. CONCLUSION: People who ever experienced smoking had increased risk of gastroduodenal ulcer. Out of smoking status, current smoking is more associated with the increased risk of gastroduodenal ulcer than past smoking.

Bowel Preparation and Subsequent Colonoscopy Is Associated with the Risk of Atrial Fibrillation: A Population-Based Case-Crossover Study.

This study aimed to clarify the association of the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) with bowel preparation and subsequent colonoscopy through population-based case-crossover analysis. Patients who developed new-onset AF after undergoing colonoscopy following bowel preparation were included. For each patient, one hazard period and four control periods were matched at specified time windows. Among 189,613 patients with AF, 84 patients (mean age: 72.4 years) finally met the inclusion criteria. Most patients used polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based solutions (2 L PEG + ascorbic acid (n = 56), 4 L PEG (n = 21)) as purgatives and had hypertension (n = 75). A significant association of bowel preparation and colonoscopy with AF occurrence was found in all time windows. The proportion of patients with bowel preparation and colonoscopy was higher during the hazard period than during the control periods. In the 1-, 2-, 4-, 8-, and 12-week time windows, the proportions were 11.9% vs. 4.2%, 13.1% vs. 4.8%, 16.7% vs. 6.3%, 28.6% vs. 11.9%, and 29.8% vs. 14.0%, and the odd ratios (ORs) were 3.11, 3.01, 3.00, 2.96, and 2.61, respectively. Bowel preparation and undergoing colonoscopy was associated with the risk of AF and this examination need to be performed with caution especially in elderly patients with hypertension.

Discussing POLST-facilitated hospice care enrollment in patients with terminal cancer.

PURPOSE: A multicenter prospective study to evaluate the feasibility of Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) in oncology practice was conducted between June and December 2017. Factors associated with POLST completion and follow-up outcomes were analyzed. METHODS: Patients with terminal cancer, aged ≥ 20 years and capable of communicating, were enrolled from seven hospitals. Demographic data were collected and updated in February 2021. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Among 336 patients, 105 (31.3%) completed POLST, which was more common in male (p = 0.029), patients with better performance (p < 0.001), longer duration of follow-up (p = 0.037), and those living with children (p = 0.023). Male (odds ratio [OR], 2.30; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17-3.51; p = 0.012), having good performance status (OR, 2.38; 95% CI, (1.35-4.19); p = 0.003), transferred from other departments (OR, 0.50; 95% CI, (0.26-0.98); p = 0.045), and living with children (OR, 1.94; 95% CI, (1.11-3.47); p = 0.020) were significant predictors of POLST completion. Patients who completed POLST were more likely to enroll in hospice care (p = 0.012) or experience out-of-hospital death (p = 0.016) at end-of-life (EOL). POLST completion showed a strong association with hospice enrollment at EOL (OR, 2.61; 95% CI, (1.08-6.32); p = 0.033). CONCLUSION: Gender, patient performance, timing of POLST discussion, and type of household were associated with POLST completion. Earlier discussions on POLST could reinforce hospice enrollment or non-aggressive EOL care.

The association of pancreatic cancer incidence with smoking status and smoking amount in Korean men.

OBJECTIVES: Our study examined the dose-response relationship between smoking amounts (pack-years) and the risk of developing pancreatic cancer in Korean men. METHODS: Of 125,743 participants who underwent medical health checkups in 2009, 121,408 were included in the final analysis and observed for the development of pancreatic cancer. We evaluated the associations between smoking amounts and incident pancreatic cancer in 4 groups classified by pack-year amounts. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of incident pancreatic cancer by comparing groups 2 (<20 pack-year smokers), 3 (20-≤40 pack-year smokers), and 4 (>40 pack-year smokers) with group 1 (never smokers). RESULTS: During 527,974.5 person-years of follow-up, 245 incident cases of pancreatic cancer developed between 2009 and 2013. The multivariate-adjusted HRs (95% CIs) for incident pancreatic cancer in groups 2, 3, and 4 were 1.05 (0.76 to 1.45), 1.28 (0.91 to 1.80), and 1.57 (1.00 to 2.46), respectively (p for trend=0.025). The HR (95% CI) of former smokers showed a dose-response relationship in the unadjusted model, but did not show a statistically significant association in the multivariate-adjusted model. The HR (95% CI) of current smokers showed a dose-response relationship in both the unadjusted (p for trend=0.020) and multivariate-adjusted models (p for trend=0.050). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of developing pancreatic cancer was higher in current smokers status than in former smokers among Korean men, indicating that smoking cessation may have a protective effect.

The effects of smoking habit change on the risk of depression-Analysis of data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service.

BACKGROUND: We examined the effects of smoking habit change on the risk of depression using the National Health Insurance Service-National Health Screening Cohort database of Korea. METHODS: This nationwide population-based cohort study included 88,931 men aged 40 years or older. The participants were divided into baseline heavy (≥20 cigarettes/day), moderate (10-19 cigarettes/day), and light (<10 cigarettes/day) smokers, quitters, and never smokers. Smokers were then categorized as continual smokers, reducers, quitters, and non-smokers based on the two-year change in smoking status between the first and second health examinations. The participants were followed from the index date to 2013 to assess depression status. Cox proportional models were used to examine the effects of smoking habit change on the risk of depression. RESULTS: After a median 7.7 years of follow-up, 2,833 depression cases were identified. Never smokers and long-term quitters had a lower risk of depression than heavy continual smokers (hazard ratio, HR 0.817; 95% CI, confidence interval 0.689-0.967 and HR: 0.691; 95% CI: 0.559-0.853, respectively). Short-term quitters and reducers had a lower risk of depression, but it was not significant. The influence of smoking on depression was prominent among men in their 50 s (HR: 0.585; 95% CI: 0.419-0.820 in long-term quitters, HR:.0.738; 95% CI: 0.570-0.954 in never smokers). LIMITATIONS: The information about smoking habits was based on self-reported questionnaires. This study examined only men because the smoking rate among women in Korea is very low. CONCLUSIONS: This population-based study found that never smokers and long-term quitters have lower risk of depression. The risk of depression decreased when the amount of smoking decreased, but the difference was not statistically significant. Furthermore, more attention should be paid to middle-aged men when formulating smoking cessation policies.

Daily Vigorous Intensity Physical Activity and Its Preventive Effect on Pancreatic Cancer.

PURPOSE: There has been accumulating evidence for the preventive effect of high physical activity on cancer. However, it is still unclear which level of physical activity is associated with the decreased risk of pancreatic cancer. The purpose of current study is to assess the association between the frequency of vigorous intensity physical activity and the risk of pancreatic cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The nationwide retrospective cohort study was conducted using the National Health Information Database. Study participants were 220,357 Koreans who received health check-up in 2009. They were divided into four groups by the weekly frequency of vigorous intensity physical activity longer than 20 minutes (group 1, no vigorous intensity physical activity (reference); group 2, 1-3 days; group 3, 4-5 days and group 4, 6-7 days). Cox proportional hazard model was used to calculate the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for incident pancreatic cancer (adjusted HRs [95% CI]) according to the weekly frequency of vigorous intensity physical activity. RESULTS: For 4.38 years' follow-up on average, 377 cases of pancreatic cancer developed. Subjects without incident pancreatic cancer had more favorable metabolic condition and higher physical activity than subjects with incident pancreatic cancer. Adjusted HRs and 95% CI indicated that only group 4 was significantly associated with the decreased risk of pancreatic cancer (group 1, reference; group 2, 1.10 [0.86-1.40]; group 3, 0.75 [0.45-1.25] and group 4, 0.47 [0.25-0.89]). CONCLUSION: In this nationwide representative cohort study, near daily vigorous intensity physical activity showed the preventive effect on pancreatic cancer.

Prussian Blue Nanolayer-Embedded Separator for Selective Segregation of Nickel Dissolution in High Nickel Cathodes.

Transition metal layered oxides (LiNixCoyMn1-x-yO2, NCM) have been considered as one of the most promising cathodes for lithium-ion batteries used in long-mileage electric vehicles and energy storage systems. Despite its potential interest, dissolved transition metal (TM) ions toward anode sides can catalyze parasitic reactions such as electrolytic decomposition and dendritic Li growth, ultimately leading to catastrophic safety hazards. In this study, we demonstrate that Prussian Blue (PB) nanoparticles anchored to a commercial PE separator significantly reduce cell resistance and effectively suppress TM crossover during cycling, even under harsh conditions that accelerate Ni dissolution. Therefore, using a PB-coated separator in a harsh condition to intentionally dissolve Ni2+ ions at a high cutoff potential of 4.6 V, NCM||graphite full cells maintain 50.8% of their initial capacity at the 150th cycle. Scalable production of PB-coated separator through the facile synthetic methods can help establish a new research direction for the design of high-energy-density batteries.

Harnessing the toxicity of dysregulated iron uptake for killing Staphylococcus aureus: reality or mirage?

Iron is essential for all forms of life including pathogenic bacteria. However, iron is also a double-edged sword in biology, as increase of iron uptake can result in reactive oxygen species (ROS)-triggered cell death from the iron-catalyzed Fenton reaction. In this study, we demonstrate that iron-hinokitiol, Fe(hinok)3, a neutral Fe(III) complex formed with the naturally occurring metal chelator hinokitiol; (2-hydroxy-4-isopropyl-2,4,6-cycloheptatrien-1-one) can harness the clear ability, due to its high lipophilicity and the nonpolar nature, to penetrate the cell membrane of Staphylococcus aureus (SA) and exhibit potent antimicrobial activity that is enhanced by approximately 10 000 times as compared with hinokitiol itself. Additionally, this Fe(III) complex shows a strong ability to inhibit biofilm formation. More importantly, the development of resistance in SA toward this complex is considerably hampered in comparison with that toward ciprofloxacin. The in vivo evaluation of antimicrobial efficacy in the murine model of skin wound infection by SA confirms that the treatment with a single dose of this complex can reduce the bacterial burden by 83%, demonstrating the therapeutic potential of Fe(hinok)3 in treating skin and soft tissue infections.

An aluminum lining to the dark cloud of silver resistance: harnessing the power of potent antimicrobial activity of γ-alumina nanoparticles.

Although a biologically nonessential element in living organisms, aluminum is notably nontoxic to eukaryotic cells and has a venerable history of medicinal use. We demonstrate that polyethylene glycol-coated γ-alumina nanoparticles (Al2O3-NPs) with an average size of 15 nm prepared from a commercial bulk γ-alumina (γ-Al2O3) via the top-down sonication technique exhibit antibacterial activity that is comparable to that of AgNPs against both the Gram-negative drug-susceptible Pseudomonas aeruginosa (DSPA) and multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (DRPA) bacteria, while the antibacterial activity of such Al2O3-NPs considerably surpasses that of AgNPs against both the Gram-positive methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (DSSA) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria. We also demonstrate that the DSPA bacteria sequentially exposed to Al2O3-NPs for 30 days show no indication of resistance development. Furthermore, such Al2O3-NPs can completely overcome the drug resistance developed in the conventional antibiotic ciprofloxacin-resistant and AgNP-resistant mutants without developing Al resistance.