Tumor penetration of Sub-10 nm nanoparticles: effect of dendrimer properties on their penetration in multicellular tumor spheroids.

Ultrasmall nanoparticles (NPs, <10 nm) have promise in cancer treatment, yet little is known about how NP physical properties influence penetration through solid tumors. To elucidate the role of NP size and structure, we prepared a series of sub-10 nm poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers and gold NPs (AuNP), and evaluated penetration in multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTS). Smaller generation 2 dendrimers (G2-NH, 2.

Rabbit palatum-derived mesenchymal progenitor cells tri-lineage differentiation on 2D substrates and 3D printed constructs.

Hard palate, developed by embryo neural crest stem cells, is a tissue with strong regenerative abilities. It is considered an abundant source of progenitor cells, forming various mesenchymal tissues. Rabbits are more suitable models than murine animals for regenerative preclinical study of the head and neck, owing to their larger size.

Machine Learning Model to Predict Osteoporotic Spine with Hounsfield Units on Lumbar Computed Tomography.

Objective: Bone mineral density (BMD) is an important consideration during fusion surgery. Although dual X-ray absorptiometry is considered as the gold standard for assessing BMD, quantitative computed tomography (QCT) provides more accurate data in spine osteoporosis. However, QCT has the disadvantage of additional radiation hazard and cost.

Therapeutic Cell Protective Role of Histochrome under Oxidative Stress in Human Cardiac Progenitor Cells.

Cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) are resident stem cells present in a small portion of ischemic hearts and function in repairing the damaged heart tissue. Intense oxidative stress impairs cell metabolism thereby decreasing cell viability. Protecting CPCs from undergoing cellular apoptosis during oxidative stress is crucial in optimizing CPC-based therapy.

Symptomatic Pneumocephalus After Spinal Intradural-Extramedullary Tumor Surgery.

Objective: Durotomy is a necessary procedure for resection of spinal intradural-extramedullary (IDEM) tumor. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and clinical implications of pneumocephalus after spinal IDEM tumor surgery and also the association between pneumocephalus and postoperative headache.

Methods: This prospective study was conducted in a cohort of 20 patients who were diagnosed with a spinal IDEM tumor and underwent surgical resection.

Basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor Twist1 is a novel regulator of anterior gradient protein 2 homolog (AGR2) in breast cancer.

Anterior gradient protein 2 homolog (AGR2) belongs to the disulfide isomerase family of endoplasmic reticulum proteins. Itis overexpressed in several types of solid tumors, including tumors of the prostate, lung, and pancreas. However, the role of AGR2 in breast cancer and the regulatory mechanisms underlying AGR2 protein expressionare not fullyunderstood.

Nonsurgical treatments for patients with radicular pain from lumbosacral disc herniation.

Background Context: Lumbosacral disc herniation (LDH) is one of the most frequent musculoskeletal diseases causative of sick leave in the workplace and morbidity in daily activities. Nonsurgical managements are considered as first line treatment before surgical treatment.

Purpose: This clinical practice guideline (CPG) is intended to provide physicians who treat patients diagnosed with LDH with a guideline supported by scientific evidence to assist in decision-making for appropriate and reasonable treatments.

Giant Magnetic Anisotropy Induced by Ligand LS Coupling in Layered Cr Compounds.

We propose a novel origin of magnetic anisotropy to explain the unusual magnetic behaviors of layered ferromagnetic Cr compounds (3d^{3}) wherein the anisotropy field varies from ≲0.01 to ∼3  T on changing the ligand atom in a common hexagonal structure. The effect of the ligand p orbital spin-orbit (LS) coupling on the magnetic anisotropy is explored by using four-site full multiplet cluster model calculations for energies involving the superexchange interaction at different spin axes.

Five-year follow-up outcomes of comprehensive rehabilitation in Korean siblings with cerebral, ocular, dental, auricular, skeletal anomalies (CODAS) syndrome: A case report.

Rationale: Cerebral, ocular, dental, auricular, skeletal anomalies (CODAS) syndrome is a very rare multisystem disorder, which shows malformations of the central nervous system, ears, eyes, teeth, and skeleton that was first reported in 1991. Only a few cases that sporadically occurred have been reported worldwide. The research investigating the pathogenesis and patterns of CODAS inheritance is still ongoing.

Arterial subtraction images of gadoxetate-enhanced MRI improve diagnosis of early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background & Aims: Although gadoxetate disodium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shows higher sensitivity for diagnosing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), its arterial-phase images may be unsatisfactory because of weak arterial enhancement. We investigated the clinical effectiveness of arterial subtraction images from gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MRI for diagnosing early-stage HCC using the Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) v2018.

Methods: In 258 patients at risk of HCC who underwent gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MRI in 2016, a total of 372 hepatic nodules (273 HCCs, 18 other malignancies, and 81 benign nodules) of 3.

Assessment of pressure pain thresholds in collisions with collaborative robots.

In recent years, safety issues surrounding robots have increased in importance, as more robots are in close contact with humans, both in industrial fields and elsewhere. Safety standards for industrial robots operating in specific spaces have been established, but no such standards have been specified for collaborative and service robots. To establish safety standards for such robots, we assessed pressure pain thresholds for collisions between humans and robots, under the assumption that the pain threshold is lower than the mild injury threshold.

Gadoxetic Acid-enhanced MRI of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Value of Washout in Transitional and Hepatobiliary Phases.

Background Current Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System guidelines define the washout appearance of gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI only during the portal venous phase. Defining washout only during the portal venous phase may lead to lower sensitivity for diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Purpose To compare the diagnostic performances of three gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI criteria for HCC according to the phases during which washout appearance was determined.

The Long-term Reoperation Rate Following Surgery for Lumbar Herniated Intervertebral Disc Disease: A Nationwide Sample Cohort Study With a 10-year Follow-up.

Study Design: A retrospective cohort study of a nationwide sample database.

Objective: The objective of the present study was to compare the long-term incidence of reoperation for lumbar herniated intervertebral disc disease (HIVD) after major surgical techniques (open discectomy, OD; laminectomy; percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy, PELD; fusion).

Summary Of Background Data: HIVD is a major spinal affliction; if the disease is intractable, surgery is recommended.

Improved gating device of time-of-flight ion mass analyzer for ion sources.

A gating device is a critical component in a time-of-flight (TOF) ion mass analyzer for identifying ion species extracted from ion sources according to their mass-to-charge ratio. It consists of several concentric ring electrodes to deflect as many ions as possible within a very short gate time, thus increasing the ion current collected in a Faraday cup. In this study, we further improve the ion collection efficiency of the gating device by minimizing potential distortion along the paths of ions, by modifying the structure of gate electrodes and applying a bipolar gate pulse on them.

Coherent power amplification of third-order harmonic femtosecond pulses at thin-film up-conversion nanoparticles.

Third harmonic generation (THG) is a nonlinear optical process attractive in high-resolution interfacial studies, sub-wavelength light manipulation, and bio-molecular detection due to its capability of converting low-energy quanta into a quantum of a higher energy. One of the limitations in utilizing THG is its low power conversion efficiency; thus, various THG enhancement methods have been researched by involving plasmonic coupling effects or utilizing electric band gap resonances at quantum dots or two-dimensional materials. Meanwhile, lanthanide ion-doped up-conversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) can be excited by a multi-photon process similar to THG, but its interaction or resonance with THG has not been studied to date.

Supplementation of All-Trans-Retinoic Acid Below Cytotoxic Levels Promotes Adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 Cells.

Vitamin A, referred to as retinol, is an essential nutrient that affects the cell growth and differentiation including adipogenesis. Although previous studies using supraphysiological doses (over 1 μM) of all-trans-retinoic acid (atRA) demonstrated antiadipogenic activity, effects of atRA at various levels on differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes have not been extensively investigated. Our study showed that the amount of cellular triacylglycerol (TAG) and intensities of Oil-Red-O staining were decreased by supplementing atRA (1 and 10 μM) but increased by low concentrations of atRA (0.

Responses of fish assemblage structure to large-scale weir construction in riverine ecosystems.

Worldwide, increasing amounts of dams and weirs have been established in rivers in recent decades, often with drastic effects on their ecosystems. Between late 2009 and 2011, 16 large-scale dams were built in the main channels of the four largest rivers in South Korea, eight of these along the main channel of Nakdong River (300 km, 520 km in total). We studied the effect of these constructions on the fish community in the riparian zone based on intensive fish field surveys conducted in the littoral zone during 2007-2017, analysis of fishermen's catch data and molecular analysis of the diet of the keystone species, largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides).

Surface third and fifth harmonic generation at crystalline Si for non-invasive inspection of Si wafer's inter-layer defects.

Detection of inter-layer and internal defects in semiconductor silicon (Si) wafers by non-contact, non-destructive and depth-resolving techniques with a high lateral and depth resolution is one of the challenging tasks in modern semiconductor industry. In this paper, we report that nonlinear optical harmonic generation can be of great virtue therein because it enables non-invasive inspection of inter-layer defects with sub-micrometer depth resolution in extensive penetration depth over several millimeters. Compared to existing inspection methods for inter-layer defects, such as ultrasound, photoacoustic and photothermal imaging, the proposed technique provides higher lateral and depth resolution as well as higher interfacial selectivity.

Age of Data in Contemporary Research Articles Published in Representative General Radiology Journals.

Objective: To analyze and compare the age of data in contemporary research articles published in representative general radiology journals.

Materials And Methods: We searched for articles reporting original research studies analyzing patient data that were published in the print issues of the Korean Journal of Radiology (KJR), European Radiology (ER), and Radiology in 2017. Eligible articles were reviewed to extract data collection period (time from first patient recruitment to last patient follow-up) and age of data (time between data collection end and publication).

Loss of Aquaporin-3 in Placenta and Fetal Membranes Induces Growth Restriction in Mice.

Aquaporin (AQP) 3, a facilitated transporter of water and glycerol, expresses in placenta and fetal membranes, but the detailed localization and function of AQP3 in placenta remain unclear. To elucidate a role of AQP3 in placenta, we defined the expression and cellular localization of AQP3 in placenta and fetal membranes, and investigated the structural and functional differences between wild-type and AQP3 null mice. Gestational sacs were removed during mid-gestational period and amniotic fluid was aspirated for measurements of volume and composition.

Comparison of Clinical Efficacy of Epidural Injection With or Without Steroid in Lumbosacral Disc Herniation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Epidural injection is performed for treatment of back and radicular pain in patients with lumbosacral disc herniation (LDH). Steroids are usually administered to effectively remove inflammatory mediators, and local anesthetics or saline also contribute to pain reduction by washing out chemical mediators or blocking the nociceptor activity. Controversy exists regarding whether steroids produce superior clinical effects compared with local anesthetics or saline.

Comparison of Clinical Efficacy Between Transforaminal and Interlaminar Epidural Injections in Lumbosacral Disc Herniation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Epidural injection (EI) is used to treat back or radicular pain from lumbosacral disc herniation (LDH). Although several reports have stated that the transforaminal approach in EI (TFEI) has an advantage in target specificity and yields better clinical efficacy than the interlaminar approach in EI (ILEI), other studies have indicated that the clinical efficacy of ILEI was not inferior to that of TFEI and that ILEI also has the ability to spread medication into the ventral space to a degree similar to that of TFEI. There has been controversy about whether TFEI is superior to ILEI in clinical efficacy.