The Development of a Permanent Implantable Spacer with the Function of Size Adjustability for Customized Treatment of Regurgitant Heart Valve Disease.

The Pivot Mandu is an innovative device featuring a leak-tight adjustable 3D balloon spacer, incorporating inner mesh support, an outer e-PTFE layer, and a compliant balloon in the middle layer with a specialized detachable system. To assess its feasibility, proof of concept was rigorously evaluated through bench testing and survival porcine animal experiments. The results demonstrated successful remote inflation of the balloon system, with the balloon spacer exhibiting sustained patent and functional integrity over an extended observation period of up to 6 months.

Reducing Moisture Absorption in Polypropylene Nanocomposites for Automotive Headlamps Using Hydrophobicity-Modified Graphene/Montmorillonite.

Polypropylene (PP) is used as a housing material in automotive headlamps but can cause fogging as a result of absorbed moisture and temperature differences between the exterior and interior of the housing. In this study, PP was combined with a graphene/montmorillonite hybrid (MMT-G) to yield a nanocomposite with reduced moisture absorption. Crucially, the modified nanofiller had low hydrophilicity and good compatibility with the PP matrix.

Ultrasound-guided needle biopsy of large thyroid nodules: Core needle biopsy yields more reliable results than fine needle aspiration.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to compare the false negative rate, sensitivity and false positive rate of ultrasound (US)-guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) with those of US-guided core needle biopsy (CNB) for large thyroid nodules ≥2.0 cm, which reportedly have an increased risk of thyroid malignancy.

Methods: We retrospectively studied surgically confirmed thyroid nodules that had preoperative US-guided FNA or CNB between March 2005 and December 2013.

Recent Surface Water Extent of Lake Chad from Multispectral Sensors and GRACE.

Consistent observations of lakes and reservoirs that comprise the majority of surface freshwater globally are limited, especially in Africa where water bodies are exposed to unfavorable climatic conditions and human interactions. Publicly available satellite imagery has increased the ability to monitor water bodies of various sizes without much financial hassle. Landsat 7 and 8 images were used in this study to estimate area changes around Lake Chad.

Diagnostic Usefulness of Combination of Diffusion-weighted Imaging and T2WI, Including Apparent Diffusion Coefficient in Breast Lesions: Assessment of Histologic Grade.

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the diagnostic values of a combination of diffusion-weighted imaging and T2-weighted imaging (DWI-T2WI) with dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI), and to evaluate the correlation of DWI with the histologic grade in breast cancer.

Materials And Methods: This study evaluated a total of 169 breast lesions from 136 patients who underwent both DCE-MRI and DWI (b value, 1000s/mm). Morphologic and kinetic analyses for DCE-MRI were classified according to the Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System.

The Association between Motor Laterality and Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson's Disease.

Background And Purpose: The relationship between the side of motor symptoms and cognitive impairment has rarely been reported in Parkinson's disease (PD). We aimed to estimate the influence of motor laterality on cognition in PD patients.

Methods: We enrolled 67 patients with PD, and they were divided into two groups according to side of symptom onset or predominant motor symptom presentation (right and left).

Association between Hypertriglyceridemia and Lacunar Infarction in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Background: Although recent studies have shown that the elevation of serum triglyceride (TG) is related to the increased incidence of ischemic stroke, the relationship between hypertriglyceridemia and subtypes of ischemic stroke is largely unknown. This study attempted to evaluate whether hypertriglyceridemia is associated with lacunar stroke in diabetes mellitus (DM).

Methods: A total of 2141 consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke were enrolled from March 2005 to April 2014, excluding the subjects with undetermined/other determined etiology or no lipid data.

Thyroid nodules ≤ 5 mm on ultrasonography: are they "leave me alone" lesions?

The incidence of small thyroid malignancy has increased. However, there is no evidence-based guideline for managing thyroid nodules ≤ 5 mm on ultrasonography (US). We evaluated how to manage thyroid nodules ≤ 5 mm.

Clinical Implication of Highly Sensitive Detection of the BRAFV600E Mutation in Fine-Needle Aspirations According to the Thyroid Bethesda System in Patients With Conventional Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.

Background: We investigated the additional diagnostic yield of the mutation test and evaluated the frequency of the BRAF mutation in conventional PTC (cPTC) according to ultrasound (US) features and the Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology (BSRTC) based on the BRAFV600E mutation status.

Materials And Methods: During the study period, 279 patients who underwent FNA with an additional BRAFV600E mutation test were diagnosed as cPTC after surgery. We analyzed the association between the mutation and several clinical factors.

Implication of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in cryptogenic ischemic stroke.

Background And Purpose: Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) is a predictor for atrial fibrillation (AF). This study was aimed to investigate whether LVDD in cryptogenic ischemic stroke (CS) could be a clue to stroke mechanism.

Methods: The clinical and echocardiographic findings of 1589 consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack between 2004 and 2013 were reviewed.

Real-time elastography in the evaluation of diffuse thyroid disease: a study based on elastography histogram parameters.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of quantitative histogram parameters using real-time tissue elastography (RTE) in the diagnosis of patients with diffuse thyroid disease. One hundred and sixteen patients (mean age, 43.7 ± 10.

Can ultrasound be as a surrogate marker for diagnosing a papillary thyroid cancer? Comparison with BRAF mutation analysis.

Purpose: We investigated the merit of ultrasound (US) features and BRAF(V600E) mutation as an additional study of cytology and compared the diagnostic performances of cytology alone, cytology with US correlation, cytology with BRAFV600E mutation, and a combination of cytology, US, and BRAFV600E mutation all together.

Materials And Methods: This study included 185 patients (mean age, 48.4 years; range 20-77 years) with 191 thyroid nodules who underwent US-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) with an additional BRAFV600E mutation test.

Additional BRAF mutation analysis may have additional diagnostic value in thyroid nodules with "suspicious for malignant" cytology alone even when the nodules do not show suspicious US features.

The BRAF(V600E) mutation test has been more effective in thyroid nodules with suspicious US features than ones without suspicious features. Therefore, we investigated the role of the BRAF(V600E) mutation as an additional study to cytology in diagnosing a thyroid nodule without suspicious US features. This study was performed at Severance hospital from December 2010 through February 2012.

Adventitial cystic disease of the femoral vein: a case report with the CT venography.

Fewer than 20 cases of adventitial cystic disease of the vein have been reported in the worldwide literature. This small number of reported cases may be due not only to the disease's low incidence, but also to the difficulty in making the proper diagnosis. Many techniques have been used to investigate this disease, but venography has been the traditional diagnostic tool.

Centrosome impairments and consequent cytokinesis defects are possible mechanisms of taxane drugs.

Taxol and taxotere are two of the most promising anticancer drugs. To determine the mechanisms responsible for cell death after exposure to low doses of taxane, PC3 cells were treated with taxol and taxotere, and observed with immunofluoroscence microscopy. Pericentriolar material dissociation and blockage of normal centrosome separation were found to result in two different abnormal spindle types; multipolar and monopolar spindles, respectively.