Taehoon Kim

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether action observational training (AOT) plus brain-computer interface-based functional electrical stimulation (BCI-FES) has a positive influence on motor recovery of paretic upper extremity in patients with stroke. This was a hospital-based, randomized controlled trial with a blinded assessor. Thirty patients with a first-time stroke were randomly allocated to one of two groups: the BCI-FES group (n = 15) and the control group (n = 15). The BCI-FE

The increase of hypertension duration was associated with the increased risk of ischaemic stroke. However, this long-term effect of hypertension duration can be attenuated by long-term strict SBP control throughout the entire duration of hypertension.

Background and Purpose— The CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc stroke score (congestive heart failure, hypertension, age ≥75 (doubled), diabetes mellitus, prior stroke or transient ischemic attack (doubled), vascular disease, age 65–74, female) is used in most guidelines for risk stratification in atrial fibrillation (AF), but most data for this score have been derived in Western populations. Ethnic differences in stroke risk may be present. Our objective was to investigate risk factors for stroke in AF and appli

BACKGROUND: Although atrial fibrillation (AF) has a risk of cognitive dysfunction, it is not clear whether AF catheter ablation improves or worsens cognitive function. This prospective case-control study sought to assess the 1-year serial changes in the cognitive function with or without AF catheter ablation. METHODS: We evaluated the Montreal Cognitive Assessment score in 308 patients (71.4% male, 60.6±9.1 years of age, 34.1% persistent AF) who underwent AF ablation (ablation group) and 50 AF p

The combination of axial and 3D images in helical CT angiography is helpful in the assessment of a total anomalous pulmonary venous connection containing the individual pulmonary vein, and this combination can be a good diagnostic tool in preoperative evaluation of neonates and infants with a total anomalous pulmonary venous connection.

Background and Purpose— As the threshold of stroke risk for initiating oral anticoagulants is lowered after the introduction of the nonvitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants, the focus of stroke prevention in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation has shifted away from predicting high-risk patients toward initially identifying patients with a truly low risk of ischemic stroke, who do not need antithrombotic therapy. We tested the predictive ability of the congestive heart failure, hyper

Acoustic biomarkers may be useful to accurately predict the severity of SDB based on the patient's breathing sounds during sleep, without conducting attended full-night PSG. This study implies that any device with a microphone, such as a smartphone, could be potentially utilized outside specialized facilities as a screening tool for detecting SDB.

Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs) have emerged as a critical piece of technology for a wide range of maritime applications, including environmental monitoring, resource exploration, and catastrophe avoidance. An Energy Efficient Unequal Multilevel Clustering (EEUMC) algorithm tailored to UWSNs is proposed in this study. The EEUMC's primary purpose is to enhance the efficiency of data movement inside the network while decreasing the amount of energy lost. The proposed method employs a m

AIMS: Although electrically reconnected pulmonary veins (PV) are the main mechanism of atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence, PV isolation (PVI) is well-preserved in certain patients who undergo a repeat procedure. We explored the association between PV reconnection and clinical outcomes after a second ablation. METHODS AND RESULTS: This observational cohort study included 143 patients (79.0% male, 56.1 ± 10.0 years old, 65.0% paroxysmal AF) who underwent a second procedure. Pulmonary vein isolati

AIMS: Although the concept of radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) for atrial fibrillation (AF) was derived from maze surgery, it is unclear if linear ablation in addition to circumferential pulmonary vein isolation (CPVI) reduces the recurrence rate in patients with paroxysmal AF. Therefore, we compared clinical outcomes of CPVI with additional linear ablations (Dallas lesion set) and CPVI in a prospective randomized controlled study among patients with paroxysmal AF. METHODS AND RESULTS: Th

BACKGROUND: Online haemodiafiltration (OL-HDF) may improve middle molecular clearance in contrast to conventional haemodialysis (HD). However, OL-HDF requires higher convective flows and cannot sufficiently remove large middle molecules. This study evaluated the efficacy of a medium cut-off (MCO) dialyser in removing large middle molecular uraemic toxins and compared it with that of conventional high-flux (HF) dialysers in HD and predilution OL-HDF. METHODS: Six clinically stable HD patients wit

BACKGROUND: Heat shock factors (Hsfs) and Heat shock proteins (Hsps) belong to an essential group of molecular regulators involved in controlling cellular processes under normal and stress conditions. The role of Hsfs and Hsps is well known in model plant species under diverse stress conditions. While plants Hsfs are vital components of the signal transduction response to maintain cellular homeostasis, Hsps function as chaperones helping to maintain folding of damaged and newly formed proteins d

BACKGROUND: Although circumferential pulmonary vein isolation (CPVI) catheter ablation may not be sufficient for long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation (L-PeAF), it is not clear which ablation strategy is beneficial in addition to CPVI. We sought to investigate whether additional complex fractionated atrial electrogram (CFAE)-guided ablation improves clinical outcomes in L-PeAF patients who exhibit continuous atrial fibrillation (AF) after CPVI and linear ablation (Line). METHODS AND RESUL

Background and Purpose— Although older age is one of the most important risk factor for stroke in atrial fibrillation (AF), the appropriate age threshold (eg, CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score [congestive heart failure, hypertension, age ≥75 years (doubled), diabetes mellitus, prior stroke or transient ischemic attack (doubled), vascular disease, age 65–74 years, female], 1 point for age 65–74 years, 2 points for age ≥75 years) for increased risk is controversial because actual age thresholds may differ be