Sung-Yong Shin

INTRODUCTION: As epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is a metabolically active visceral fat, potential interaction between EAT and myocardium is strongly suggested. The aims of this study were to determine whether the amount and regional distribution of EAT are related to the chronicity of atrial fibrillation (AF) and left atrial (LA) remodeling. METHODS AND RESULTS: This study consisted of 40 subjects with paroxysmal AF (PAF) and 40 with persistent AF (PeAF). Eighty subjects with no history of AF w

In order to elucidate the structure-antibiotic activity relationship of cecropin A-magainin 2 and cecropin A-melittin hybrid peptides, several truncated peptides and the analogues with amino acid substitutions were synthesized and their antibacterial, antitumor and hemolytic activities of were examined. Cecropin A-magainin 2 hybrid analog, L16-CA(1-8)-MA(1-12) (termed as L-CA-MA in this study: KWKLFKKIGIGKFLHLAKKF-NH2), is known to have potent antibacterial and antitumor activity with less hemol

BACKGROUND: Although atrial fibrillation (AF) is a risk factor for endothelial dysfunction (ED), the effect of catheter ablation (CA) on AF-associated ED has not been evaluated. The aims of this study are to determine if the degree of ED predicts the outcome of AF ablation and to evaluate whether ED can be improved through restoring sinus rhythm (SR) by successful CA. METHODS: This study prospectively enrolled 80 subjects who underwent CA for AF (paroxysmal AF = 61, persistent AF = 19). Eighty s

Background Stroke and thromboembolic events may still occur in “clinically low‐risk” atrial fibrillation ( AF ) patients as categorized by CHA 2 DS 2 ‐ VAS c score. Our aim was to assess the proportion of “clinically low‐risk” patients using a nongender CHA 2 DS 2 ‐ VAS c (ie, CHA 2 DS 2 ‐ VA ) score of 0 to 1 among patients who experienced AF ‐associated stroke and to identify markers associated with stroke in “clinically low‐risk” patients. Methods and Results We retrospectively recruited nonv

Importance: The association between smoking cessation and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in relation to cumulative smoking exposure remains poorly understood. Objective: To evaluate the associations among smoking cessation, lifetime smoking burden, and CVD risk according to the number of years elapsed after smoking cessation. Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective cohort study of the Korean National Health Insurance Service database investigated smoking duration and intensity b

Phloroglucinol could be a safe and beneficial option for the management of overall IBS symptoms in patients with IBS-D. Further large scaled studies are warranted.

Probiotic treatment changes some composition of fecal bacteria in patients with IBS-D. <i>E. faecalis</i> and <i>L. lactis</i> may be prediction biomarkers for non-response to probiotics. Increased abundance of <i>F. sccharivorans</i> is correlated to symptom improvement by probiotics in patients with IBS-D.

Abstract Inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) is an imaging technique which generates a two‐dimensional (2D) high resolution image of a target. In general, ISAR image is often adequate to discriminate various missiles, military aircraft, and civilian aircraft and so on. However, if the target has complicated motion such as pitching, yawing, rolling, and maneuvering, ISAR image is not enough to classify among these targets. This article presents high resolution techniques for application in mo

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The fecal microbiota of Korean patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) was investigated with respect to disease phenotypes and taxonomic biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of IBD. METHODS: Fecal samples from 70 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients, 39 Crohn's disease (CD) patients, and 100 healthy control individuals (HC) were collected. The fecal samples were amplified via polymerase chain reaction and sequenced using Illumina MiSeq. The relationships between fecal bacte

AIMS: Left atrial (LA) fibrosis caused by various pathological stimuli is a common finding. However, the difference of atrial remodelling via haemodynamic change in diverse cardiomyopathy has not been elucidated. METHODS AND RESULTS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (6-8 weeks, n = 180) were randomly assigned to three groups and corresponding sham control groups: (i) ischaemic cardiomyopathy, (ii) left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), and (iii) dilated cardiomyopathy. At 12 weeks after operation, atrial f

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study assessed the efficacy and safety of adalimumab (ADA) and explored predictors of response in Korean patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). METHODS: A prospective, observational, multicenter study was conducted over 56 weeks in adult patients with moderately to severely active UC who received ADA. Clinical response, remission, and mucosal healing were assessed using the Mayo score. RESULTS: A total of 146 patients were enrolled from 17 academic hospitals. Clinical respo