Trace level detection of melamine and cyanuric acid extracted from pet liquid food (milk) using a SERS Au nanogap substrate.

This study reported an application of Au nanogap substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) measurements to quantitatively analyze melamine and its derivative products at trace levels in pet liquid food (milk) combined with a waveband selection approach, namely variable importance in projection (VIP). Six different concentrations of melamine, cyanuric acid, and melamine combined with cyanuric acid were created, and SERS spectra were acquired from 550 to 1620cm. Detection was possible up to 200 pM for melamine-contaminated samples, and 400 pM concentration detection for other two groups.

Detection of Typhimurium with Gold Nanoparticles Using Quartz Crystal Microbalance Biosensor.

Demonstration of the Salmonella Typhimurium detection system was shown utilizing a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) biosensor and signal enhancement by gold nanoparticles. In this study, a benchtop system of a QCM biosensor was utilized for the detection of Salmonella Typhimurium. It was designed with a peristaltic pump system to achieve immobilization of antibodies, detection of Salmonella, and the addition of gold nanoparticles to the sensor.

Development of a smartphone-based lateral-flow imaging system using machine-learning classifiers for detection of Salmonella spp.

Salmonella spp. are a foodborne pathogen frequently found in raw meat, egg products, and milk. Salmonella is responsible for numerous outbreaks, becoming a frequent major public-health concern.

Design and application of a portable luminometer for bioluminescence detection.

The silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) for low light detection has many advantages when compared to existing photon counting detectors, such as high sensitivity, low cost, robustness, and compact hardware. To facilitate the use of SiPM as a portable, field deployable device, an electrical circuit was designed consisting of an amplifier, comparator, and microcontroller. In addition, a 3D printing was used to create a portable cradle for housing the SiPM.

Intertwined Solitons and Impurities in a Quasi-One-Dimensional Charge-Density-Wave System: In/Si(111).

Recent studies on a quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) charge-density-wave (CDW) system, In atomic wires on Si(111), have brought intriguing issues on topological solitons in quasi-1D systems: the existence of few-atom-sized solitons, chirality of solitons, and the realization of logic exploiting the chirality switching. Using scanning tunneling microscopy and first-principles calculations, we show that the previously reported "short" phase-flip defects are In adatoms and thus have nonsolitonic nature, resolving the controversy over the existence of highly localized solitons. The observed "long" phase-flip and phase-slip defects are genuine solitons with and without chirality, respectively.

KIF5B-RET Fusion gene may coincide oncogenic mutations of EGFR or KRAS gene in lung adenocarcinomas.

Background: The KIF5B-RET rearrangement is detected with the frequency of 1 ~ 2% in 'triple marker'-negative lung adenocarcinomas, i.e., EGFR, KRAS and EML4-ALK wild type.

Bee Venom Acupuncture Alleviates Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis by Upregulating Regulatory T Cells and Suppressing Th1 and Th17 Responses.

The protective and therapeutic mechanism of bee venom acupuncture (BVA) in neurodegenerative disorders is not clear. We investigated whether treatment with BVA (0.25 and 0.

Relationship between hypoparathyroidism and the number of parathyroid glands preserved during thyroidectomy.

Background: The relationship between the number of parathyroid glands preserved and hypoparathyroidism is not well understood. We sought to determine the number of parathyroid glands that need to be preserved to prevent hypoparathyroidism.

Methods: We analyzed 454 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy for papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Robotic lateral neck dissection by a gasless unilateral axillobreast approach for differentiated thyroid carcinoma: our early experience.

The aim of this study was to determine the technical feasibility and intraoperative safety of robotic lateral neck dissection in differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). We analyzed 12 patients with DTC who underwent robotic total thyroidectomy and lateral selective neck dissection by a gasless unilateral axillobreast approach. The procedure was completed successfully in all patients.

A case of auditory neuropathy with recovery of normal hearing.

Newborn hearing screening test is very important in the early diagnosis of childhood hearing loss because it affects language development. Auditory neuropathy is a spectrum disorder characterized by abnormal auditory brainstem response but preserved otoacoustic emission and cochlear microphonics. In general, auditory neuropathy patients have poor word discrimination and variable patterns of pure tone audiometry.

Clinical Application of 3D-FIESTA Image in Patients with Unilateral Inner Ear Symptom.

Background And Objectives: Unilateral auditory dysfunction such as tinnitus and hearing loss could be a warning sign of a retrocochlear lesion. Auditory brainstem response (ABR) and internal auditory canal magnetic resonance image (MRI) are suggested as novel diagnostic tools for retrocochlear lesions. However, the high cost of MRI and the low sensitivity of the ABR test could be an obstacle when assessing patients with unilateral ear symptoms.

The clinical and radiological status of contralateral ears in unilateral cholesteatoma patients.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical and radiological features and the risk of middle ear disease in the contralateral ears of unilateral cholesteatoma with clinical and radiological assessment.

Methods: Fifty-two patients with unilateral cholesteatoma and 30 control subjects underwent otoscopic and audiologic examination. Temporal bone computed tomography was performed to evaluate the pneumatization of the temporal bones, the status of anterior epitympanic space and eustachian tube.

Robotic selective neck dissection using a gasless postauricular facelift approach for early head and neck cancer: technical feasibility and safety.

Unlabelled: Abstract Background: Scarless and minimally invasive surgery is becoming popular in the head and neck area. We have developed a new robotic selective neck dissection procedure for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) to avoid a long visible lateral neck scar. Here we report on the technical feasibility and safety of our procedure.

Comparative analysis of the expression of involucrin, filaggrin and cytokeratin 4, 10, 16 in cholesteatoma.

Background And Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine whether the hyperproliferative and hyperkeratotic characters of cholesteatoma are associated with differentiation of keratinocytes in cholesteatoma by examining the localization of marker proteins, such as involucrin, filaggrin, and cytokeratins.

Materials And Methods: Immunohistochemical study was carried out in 30 cholesteatoma tissues and 10 retroauricular skins to examine the expression of involucrin, filaggrin, cytokeratin 4, 10 and 16. The staining results were graded as negative, weakly positive (<10%), moderately positive (10-70%), and strongly positive (>70%).

Sox10 controls migration of B16F10 melanoma cells through multiple regulatory target genes.

It is believed that the inherent differentiation program of melanocytes during embryogenesis predisposes melanoma cells to high frequency of metastasis. Sox10, a transcription factor expressed in neural crest stem cells and a subset of progeny lineages, plays a key role in the development of melanocytes. We show that B16F10 melanoma cells transfected with siRNAs specific for Sox10 display reduced migratory activity which in turn indicated that a subset of transcriptional regulatory target genes of Sox10 is likely to be involved in migration and metastasis of melanoma cells.

Helicobacter pylori in middle ear of children with otitis media with effusion.

Background: Otitis media with effusion (OME) is a common pediatric disease, but its pathogenesis remains uncertain. The relationship between OME and Helicobacter pylori (HP) is currently being studied, and a relationship has not yet been confirmed. The purpose of this study was to show that a relationship does exist between HP and OME.

Enhancement of Allergen-induced Airway Inflammation by NOX2 Deficiency.

Background: NADPH oxidase (NOX) modulates cell proliferation, differentiation and immune response through generation of reactive oxygen species. Particularly, NOX2 is recently reported to be important for regulating Treg cell differentiation of CD4+ T cells.

Methods: We employed ovalbumin-induced airway inflammation in wild-type and NOX2-deficient mice and analyzed tissue histopathology and cytokine profiles.

XRCC1 polymorphisms and risk of papillary thyroid carcinoma in a Korean sample.

Polymorphisms of DNA repair genes, X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 (XRCC1) might contribute to individual susceptibility to different types of cancers. We analyzed the relationship between XRCC1 polymorphisms and the risk of papillary thyroid carcinoma in a Korean sample. A hospital-based case-control study was performed in 111 papillary thyroid carcinoma patients and 100 normal control subjects.

Expression of EGFR and Microvessel Density in Middle Ear Cholesteatoma.

Objectives: Cholesteatoma destructs bony tissue by the interactions between hyperproliferative epithelial cells and subepithelial inflammatory cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and microvessel density (MVD) in middle ear cholesteatoma tissue in an effort to determine the relationship between expression of EGFR and neovascularization.

Methods: We evaluated the expression of EGFR and MVD by immunohistochemical staining for CD31 and Factor VIII in 32 cholesteatoma tissue samples and 7 normal postauricular skin samples.

IKK-β-mediated myeloid cell activation exacerbates inflammation and inhibits recovery after spinal cord injury.

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is followed by massive infiltration and activation of myeloid cells such as neutrophils and macrophages, but the functions of these cells are controversial. In this study, our objective was to elucidate the in vivo role of a signaling pathway involved in activation of these innate immune cells in SCI using myeloid cell-specific IκB kinase (IKK)-β conditional knockout (ikkβΔmye) mice. In these mice, the ikkβ gene has been specifically deleted from myeloid cells, compromising their in vivo IKK/NF-κB-dependent activation.

Increased copy number of the interleukin-6 receptor gene is associated with adverse survival in multiple myeloma patients treated with autologous stem cell transplantation.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a potent pleiotropic cytokine that regulates plasma cell (PC) growth via the IL-6 receptor (IL-6R). We hypothesized that up-regulation of IL-6R in myeloma cells might confer the growth privilege to myeloma cells over bone marrow (BM) hematopoietic cells. We investigated the frequency and prognostic implication of increased copy number of the IL-6R gene by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM).

Microglial Toll-like receptor 2 contributes to kainic acid-induced glial activation and hippocampal neuronal cell death.

Recent studies indicate that Toll-like receptors (TLRs), originally identified as infectious agent receptors, also mediate sterile inflammatory responses during tissue damage. In this study, we investigated the role of TLR2 in excitotoxic hippocampal cell death using TLR2 knock-out (KO) mice. TLR2 expression was up-regulated in microglia in the ipsilateral hippocampus of kainic acid (KA)-injected mice.

Concurrent p16 methylation pattern as an adverse prognostic factor in multiple myeloma: a methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction study using two different primer sets.

Disruption of cell cycle control genes, including p16, is known to contribute to the cancerogenesis of multiple myeloma (MM). We investigated the methylation status of p16 and its association with common cytogenetic changes, clinicolaboratory findings, and survival in MM. Methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction was performed in 99 newly diagnosed MM patients using two different sets of primers (p16M1 and p16M2).