A Review of Recent Advancements in Sensor-Integrated Medical Tools.

A medical tool is a general instrument intended for use in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in humans or other animals. Nowadays, sensors are widely employed in medical tools to analyze or quantify disease-related parameters for the diagnosis and monitoring of patients' diseases. Recent explosive advancements in sensor technologies have extended the integration and application of sensors in medical tools by providing more versatile in vivo sensing capabilities. These unique sensing capabilities, especially for medical tools for surgery or medical treatment, are getting more attention owing to the rapid growth of minimally invasive surgery. In this review, recent advancements in sensor-integrated medical tools are presented, and their necessity, use, and examples are comprehensively introduced. Specifically, medical tools often utilized for medical surgery or treatment, for example, medical needles, catheters, robotic surgery, sutures, endoscopes, and tubes, are covered, and in-depth discussions about the working mechanism used for each sensor-integrated medical tool are provided.

Mental Health and Personality Characteristics of University Students at Risk of Smartphone Overdependence.

The purpose of this study was to verify the relationship between the risk of smartphone dependence, mental health, and personality traits in university students using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF), and to identify the MMPI-2-RF scales that can predict the risk of smartphone dependence. Of the 772 university students who participated in the study, 163 were in the smartphone overdependence group, accounting for 21.1% of the total survey respondents, which was one in five of those surveyed. High T-scores on the measure indicate greater psychopathology. The smartphone overdependence group had significantly higher T-scores than the general user group on all but three of the MMPI-2-RF scales, and the degree of smartphone overdependence was positively correlated with scores on these scales. There was no difference between the dependent and non-dependent groups on the interpersonal passivity, aesthetic-literary interest, and aggression scales, and scores on these three were not correlated with smartphone dependence. Among the MMPI-2-RF scales, those found to predict the risk of smartphone overdependence were the emotional/internalizing problems, behavioral/externalizing problems, antisocial behavior, cognitive complaints, helplessness/hopelessness, inefficacy, juvenile conduct problems, aggression, interpersonal problems, disconstraint, negative emotionality/neuroticism, and introversion/low positive introversion/low positive emotionality scales. Based on these findings, we propose that effective prevention and intervention for smartphone overdependence must be comprehensive and holistic rather than focusing on specific aspects of mental health or personality. The implications of the findings are discussed.

Sensitive electrochemical immunosensor to detect prohibitin 2, a potential blood cancer biomarker.

Blood cancers are difficult to cure completely and frequently show a poor prognosis. Recently, prohibitin 2 (PHB2) has been shown to be a potential biomarker for blood cancers. Sandwich ELISA can be used as a reference method for quantitative analysis of PHB2; however, ELISA can be challenging for early diagnosis and continuous monitoring method due to the need for large sample volumes (25 µL <), technical expertise, complex procedure, relative high cost, and non-portability. Thus, this study developed a sensitive and time efficient electrochemical immunosensor for detecting PHB2 from a blood cancer patient. It is a simple and portable platform consisting of a disposable electrode and blood sample volume of 4 µL. The sensor uses a gold nanostructured electrode and square wave voltammetry (SWV) measurement of a horseradish peroxidase (HRP) label to amplify the electrochemical signal. The immunosensor could quantitatively detect PHB2 with high sensitivity (limit of detection [LoD] = 0.04 ng/mL) and satisfactory reproducibility (relative standard deviation [RSD] <5.2%). The sensor achieved an LoD of 0.63 ng/mL with satisfactory recovery (89.1-104.7%) and reproducibility (RSD <6.4%) with PHB2 spiked into white blood cell (WBC) lysates. When the sensor was compared to a reference ELISA to determine the PHB2 concentrations in WBC lysate samples from healthy patients and those with blood cancer, the correlation coefficient (R2) was 0.996. A 3.3-fold difference was detected in the measured PHB2 concentration between blood cancer patients and healthy individuals. Accordingly, this study suggests a sensitive and accurate analytical method for quantitatively detecting the PHB2 in blood samples.

A Keyword Analysis Study on Postpartum Obesity Using Big Data.

This study selected Google and Naver, the most recognizable Internet portals in Korea, as subjects for analysis. "Postpartum obesity" and "postpartum depression" were used as keywords for data collection. This study aimed to provide basic data for solving maternal problems using big data. Keywords related to postpartum obesity were collected from the portal site Google from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019. The collected data were analyzed through simple frequency analysis, N-gram analysis, and keyword network. This study can be used as basic data for postpartum obesity-related programs or academic research. It is also expected to be used for research on the development of a mobile-based customized healthcare system focused on maternal health. Previous papers and data are still insufficient at solving the physical and mental problems related to postpartum obesity and depression. It is necessary to find ways to continuously integrate and collect data from mothers across the country.

Discovery of novel potent migrastatic Thiazolo[5,4-b]pyridines targeting Lysyl-tRNA synthetase (KRS) for treatment of Cancer metastasis.

Recently, non-canonical roles of Lysyl-tRNA Synthetase (KRS), which is associated with cell migration and cancer metastasis, have been reported. Therefore, KRS has emerged as a promising target for the treatment of cell migration-related diseases, especially cancer metastasis, although the satisfying chemical inhibitors targeting KRS have not yet been identified. Here, we report the discovery of novel, mechanistically unique, and potent cell migration inhibitors targeting KRS, including the chemical and biological studies on the most effective N,N-dialkylthiazolo [5,4-b]pyridin-2-amine (SL-1910). SL-1910 exhibited highly potent migration inhibition (EC50 = 81 nM against the mutant KRS-overexpressed MDA-MB-231 cells) and was superior to the previously reported KRS inhibitor (migration inhibitory EC50 = 8.5 µM against H226 cells). The KRS protein binding study via fluorescence-based binding titration and KRS protein 2D-NMR mapping study, in vitro concentration-dependent cell migration inhibition, and in vivo anti-metastatic activity of SL-1910, which consists of a new scaffold, have been reported in this study. In addition, in vitro absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion studies and mouse pharmacokinetics experiments for SL-1910 were conducted.

Revision surgery for failed anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with extension deficiency.

BACKGROUND: Some patients with recurrent symptomatic instability after primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction have an extension deficiency (ED). This study (a) compared preoperative clinical conditions between the ED and non-ED groups undergoing revision ACL reconstruction, (b) documented clinical and arthroscopic findings in ACL-reconstructed patients with reinstability and ED, and (c) determined whether the ED could be resolved and whether the clinical results of revision surgery differed between the ED and non-ED groups. METHODS: This study included 58 patients who underwent revision ACL reconstruction. Patients were divided into the ED and non-ED groups. Preoperatively, the demographics and clinical conditions of the two groups were compared. Intraoperatively, the pathological structures that related to ED were documented. After surgery, the degree of postoperative ED and functional outcomes were compared between the two groups at 2-year follow-up. RESULTS: The International Knee Documentation Committee subjective score and SF-36 physical component summary scores were worse in the ED group than the non-ED group preoperatively (54 vs 48 [P = 0.014]; 42 vs 39 [P = 0.031], respectively). Intraoperatively, the ED group showed significantly more frequent graft malposition (50% vs 5%), anvil osteophytes (44% vs 0%), and scarring around posterior intercondylar notch (100% vs 0%). However, there was no difference in the degree of postoperative ED and functional outcome between the two groups at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: ED in patients with recurrent instability after primary ACL reconstruction could be treated with good clinical result by addressing the pathological conditions causing ED in addition to ACL re-reconstruction.

Smartphone use and smartphone addiction in middle school students in Korea: Prevalence, social networking service, and game use.

This study aimed to examine smartphone use patterns, smartphone addiction characteristics, and the predictive factors of the smartphone addiction in middle school students in South Korea. According to the Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale scores, 563 (30.9%) were classified as a risk group for smartphone addiction and 1261 (69.1%) were identified as a normal user group. The adolescents used mobile messengers for the longest, followed by Internet surfing, gaming, and social networking service use. The two groups showed significant differences in smartphone use duration, awareness of game overuse, and purposes of playing games. The predictive factors of smartphone addiction were daily smartphone and social networking service use duration, and the awareness of game overuse.

Attenuated Readiness Potential in the Absence of Executive Dysfunction in Adults With ADHD.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with ADHD display a decreased contingent negative variation in Go/NoGo tasks. It is unclear whether the attenuation is due to deficits of executive function or to disorder of motor planning. The readiness potential (RP) recorded during self-initiated movements could cast light on this question. METHOD: RP was recorded in 25 stably medicated adult ADHD patients and 21 healthy controls matched for age, education, and verbal IQ. Participants also completed neuropsychological tests of executive function. RESULTS: Compared with healthy controls, ADHD patients showed significantly diminished RP peaks and also decreased negativity in preparation of the movement at frontal locations. There were no significant group differences with regard to tests of executive function. CONCLUSION: In adults with ADHD, deficits of motor organization are also manifest in situations not involving external stimulus processing. The attenuated RP occurred in the absence of executive dysfunction. Results are consistent with partial independence between motor and executive dysfunction in ADHD.

The development of a diagnostic reference level on patient dose for CT examination in Korea.

The purpose of this research is to develop a diagnostic reference level for computed tomography (CT) suitable for Korean medical purposes. The direction of CT application and details on patient dose were investigated by survey, and the dose measurement is targeted in general hospitals registered with the Korean Hospital Association. The dose measurement was done with head and body phantom, and an accurate dosimeter was utilised in medical institutions that participated in the survey. The survey and dose measurements on the patient dose showed that the 75th percentiles in the distribution of weighted CT dose index (CTDIw) were 50.5 and 45.4 mGy for the head and 14.4 and 25.30 mGy for the body portions, respectively. Based on these research data, the target patient doses that are believed to be achievable for CT examination in Korean circumstances are about 48 +/- 4 mGy in the head and 20 +/- 8 mGy in the body.