Background The INBUILD trial investigated the efficacy and safety of nintedanib versus placebo in patients with progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) other than idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We aimed to establish the effects of nintedanib in subgroups based on ILD diagnosis. Methods The INBUILD trial was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group trial done at 153 sites in 15 countries. Participants had an investigator-diagnosed fibrosing ILD other than IPF, with chest imaging features of fibrosis of more than 10% extent on high resolution CT (HRCT), forced vital capacity (FVC) of 45% or more predicted, and diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLco) of at least 30% and less than 80% predicted. Participants fulfilled protocol-defined criteria for ILD progression in the 24 months before screening, despite management considered appropriate in clinical practice for the individual ILD. Participants were randomly assigned 1:1 by means of a pseudorandom number generator to receive nintedanib 150 mg twice daily or placebo for at least 52 weeks. Participants, investigators, and other personnel involved in the trial and analysis were masked to treatment assignment until after database lock. In this subgroup analysis, we assessed the rate of decline in FVC (mL/year) over 52 weeks in patients who received at least one dose of nintedanib or placebo in five prespecified subgroups based on the ILD diagnoses documented by the investigators: hypersensitivity pneumonitis, autoimmune ILDs, idiopathic non-specific interstitial pneumonia, unclassifiable idiopathic interstitial pneumonia, and other ILDs. The trial has been completed and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02999178.

Testicular cancer (TCa) has a relatively rare incidence and mortality, but has not been thoroughly evaluated. We analyzed global variations and recent trends in TCa incidence and mortality.Age-standardized rates (ASRs) of TCa incidence and mortality were retrieved from the GLOBOCAN 2012 database. Temporal patterns were assessed using data obtained from the Cancer Incidence in Five Continents (volumes I–X) and World Health Organization Mortality databases. The incidence and mortality trends over the last 10 years were analyzed using join point analysis.Western and Northern Europe had the highest incidence of TCa (ASR = 8.7 and 7.2, respectively), with most countries showing an increase in incidence rates except for China, which had a stable incidence. Incidence rates were markedly increased in Southern European countries (average annual percent change of 6.8% in Croatia and 6.1% in Spain) but were attenuated in western Europe. The highest mortality rates were observed in western Asia (ASR = 0.7), with most countries showing a decrease in mortality.While the incidence of TCa has increased, mortality from TCa has decreased in most countries. More socioeconomically developed countries had a higher incidence of TCa with lower mortality.

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The global prevalence of diabetes is rapidly increasing. Studies support the necessity of screening and interventions for prediabetes, which could result in serious complications and diabetes. This study aimed at developing an intelligence-based screening model for prediabetes. Data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) were used, excluding subjects with diabetes. The KNHANES 2010 data (n = 4685) were used for training and internal validation, while data from KNHANES 2011 (n = 4566) were used for external validation. We developed two models to screen for prediabetes using an artificial neural network (ANN) and support vector machine (SVM) and performed a systematic evaluation of the models using internal and external validation. We compared the performance of our models with that of a screening score model based on logistic regression analysis for prediabetes that had been developed previously. The SVM model showed the areas under the curve of 0.731 in the external datasets, which is higher than those of the ANN model (0.729) and the screening score model (0.712), respectively. The prescreening methods developed in this study performed better than the screening score model that had been developed previously and may be more effective method for prediabetes screening.

BackgroundKnee osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease of adults worldwide. Since the treatments for advanced radiographic knee OA are limited, clinicians face a significant challenge of identifying patients who are at high risk of OA in a timely and appropriate way. Therefore, we developed a simple self-assessment scoring system and an improved artificial neural network (ANN) model for knee OA.MethodsThe Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES V-1) data were used to develop a scoring system and ANN for radiographic knee OA. A logistic regression analysis was used to determine the predictors of the scoring system. The ANN was constructed using 1777 participants and validated internally on 888 participants in the KNHANES V-1. The predictors of the scoring system were selected as the inputs of the ANN. External validation was performed using 4731 participants in the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI). Area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic was calculated to compare the prediction models.ResultsThe scoring system and ANN were built using the independent predictors including sex, age, body mass index, educational status, hypertension, moderate physical activity, and knee pain. In the internal validation, both scoring system and ANN predicted radiographic knee OA (AUC 0.73 versus 0.81, p<0.001) and symptomatic knee OA (AUC 0.88 versus 0.94, p<0.001) with good discriminative ability. In the external validation, both scoring system and ANN showed lower discriminative ability in predicting radiographic knee OA (AUC 0.62 versus 0.67, p<0.001) and symptomatic knee OA (AUC 0.70 versus 0.76, p<0.001).ConclusionsThe self-assessment scoring system may be useful for identifying the adults at high risk for knee OA. The performance of the scoring system is improved significantly by the ANN. We provided an ANN calculator to simply predict the knee OA risk.

In our study, the majority of patients who once developed paranasal sinusitis associated with dental implants required surgical treatment. Findings of paranasal sinus CT may be important in determining treatment option.

BackgroundWith the rapid increasing use of third generation (3 G) mobile phones, social concerns have arisen concerning the possible health effects of radio frequency-electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) emitted by wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) mobile phones in humans. The number of people, who complain of various symptoms such as headache, dizziness, and fatigue, has also increased. Recently, the importance of researches on teenagers has been on the rise. However, very few provocation studies have examined the health effects of WCDMA mobile phone radiation on teenagers.MethodsIn this double-blind study, two volunteer groups of 26 adults and 26 teenagers were simultaneously investigated by measuring physiological changes in heart rate, respiration rate, and heart rate variability for autonomic nervous system (ANS), eight subjective symptoms, and perception of RF-EMFs during sham and real exposure sessions to verify its effects on adults and teenagers. Experiments were conducted using a dummy phone containing a WCDMA module (average power, 250 mW at 1950 MHz; specific absorption rate, 1.57 W/kg) within a headset placed on the head for 32 min.ResultsShort-term WCDMA RF-EMFs generated no significant changes in ANS, subjective symptoms or the percentages of those who believed they were being exposed in either group.ConclusionsConsidering the analyzed physiological data, the subjective symptoms surveyed, and the percentages of those who believed they were being exposed, 32 min of RF radiation emitted by WCDMA mobile phones demonstrated no effects in either adult or teenager subjects.

Fe element was partially substituted by Zr and Co in an attempt to enhance the glass-forming ability, and mechanical and soft magnetic properties of Fe74-xNb6B17Y3(Zr, Co)x (x = 3, 5, 8) amorphous alloys. Both partial replacements resulted in the enhancement of the glass-forming ability, and 3-mm diameter rods with a fully amorphous structure were prepared by a copper mold casting method. Zr and Co containing Fe-based bulk amorphous alloys exhibited high compressive fracture strength of about 4 and 3.5 GPa, respectively. However, Zr and Co induced different effects on the magnetic properties. Whereas the partial replacement of Fe by Zr was found to decrease dramatically the saturation magnetization, the partial replacement of Fe by Co provided an increase of about 25% of the saturation magnetization.