Are background breast parenchymal features on preoperative breast MRI associated with disease-free survival in patients with invasive breast cancer?

Objective: To evaluate whether breast parenchymal features of the contralateral breast on preoperative MRI are associated with primary breast cancer characteristics and disease-free survival (DFS) in women with invasive breast cancer.

Materials And Methods: Women with newly diagnosed invasive breast cancer who underwent preoperative breast MRI followed by surgery were retrospectively evaluated. Background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) on dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI and background diffusion signal (BDS) on diffusion-weighted MRI of the contralateral breast were qualitatively assessed using a four-category scale: minimal, mild, moderate, or marked.

Comparison of Fused Diffusion-Weighted Imaging Using Unenhanced MRI and Abbreviated Post-Contrast-Enhanced MRI in Patients with Breast Cancer.

: To determine the percentage of breast cancers detectable by fused diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) using unenhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and abbreviated post-contrast-enhanced MRI. : Between October 2016 and October 2017, 194 consecutive women (mean age, 54.2 years; age range, 28-82 years) with newly diagnosed unilateral breast cancer, who underwent preoperative 3.

Recent Advances in Sensor-Actuator Hybrid Soft Systems: Core Advantages, Intelligent Applications, and Future Perspectives.

The growing demand for soft intelligent systems, which have the potential to be used in a variety of fields such as wearable technology and human-robot interaction systems, has spurred the development of advanced soft transducers. Among soft systems, sensor-actuator hybrid systems are considered the most promising due to their effective and efficient performance, resulting from the synergistic and complementary interaction between their sensor and actuator components. Recent research on integrated sensor and actuator systems has resulted in a range of conceptual and practical soft systems.

Changes in kinetic heterogeneity of breast cancer via computer-aided diagnosis on MRI predict the pathological response to neoadjuvant systemic therapy.

Objective: To evaluate whether the computer-aided diagnosis (CAD)-extracted kinetic heterogeneity of breast cancer on MRI and changes therein during treatment were associated with the pathological response to neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NST).

Materials And Methods: Consecutive patients with invasive breast cancer, who underwent NST followed by surgery between 2014 and 2020, were retrospectively evaluated. Using a commercial CAD system, kinetic features (angiovolume, peak enhancement, delayed enhancement profiles, and kinetic heterogeneity) of breast cancer were assessed with pre- and mid-treatment MRI.

Diffusion Kurtosis MR Imaging of Invasive Breast Cancer: Correlations With Prognostic Factors and Molecular Subtypes.

Background: The associations between diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI)-derived parameters and clinical prognostic factors of breast cancer have not been fully evaluated; this knowledge may have implications for outcome prediction and treatment strategies.

Purpose: To determine associations between quantitative diffusion parameters derived from DKI and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and the prognostic factors and molecular subtypes of breast cancer.

Study Type: Retrospective.

Tumor stiffness measured by shear-wave elastography: association with disease-free survival in women with early-stage breast cancer.

Objective: To determine whether shear-wave elastography (SWE)-measured tumor stiffness is associated with disease-free survival in females with early-stage invasive breast cancer.

Methods: This retrospective study included 202 consecutive females (mean age, 52.9 years; range, 25-84 years) with newly diagnosed T1-two breast cancer who underwent preoperative SWE between April 2015 and January 2016.

Characterization of breast cancer subtypes based on quantitative assessment of intratumoral heterogeneity using dynamic contrast-enhanced and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging.

Objective: To investigate whether intratumoral heterogeneity, assessed via dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), reflects the molecular subtypes of invasive breast cancers.

Material And Methods: We retrospectively evaluated data from 248 consecutive women (mean age ± standard deviation, 54.6 ± 12.

Ultrafast Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI Using Compressed Sensing: Associations of Early Kinetic Parameters With Prognostic Factors of Breast Cancer.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether early kinetic parameters derived from ultrafast dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) using compressed sensing are associated with prognostic factors for breast cancer. We evaluated 201 consecutive women (mean age, 54.6 years) with breast cancer (168 invasive, 33 ductal carcinoma in situ) who underwent both ultrafast DCE-MRI using compressed sensing (temporal resolution, 4.

Fusion of high b-value diffusion-weighted and unenhanced T1-weighted images to diagnose invasive breast cancer: factors associated with false-negative results.

Objectives: We sought factors associated with false-negative results in the diagnosis of invasive breast cancer via non-contrast breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using fused high b-value diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and unenhanced T1-weighted images (T1WI).

Methods: Between 2018 and 2019, 316 consecutive women (mean age, 54.6 years) with invasive breast cancer who underwent preoperative breast MRI, including fused high b-value DWI and unenhanced T1WI, were retrospectively evaluated.

Weekend catch-up sleep is associated with reduced metabolic derangements in Korean adults.

Background: Deficits in sleep are associated with metabolic derangements, but the effect of sleep supplementation on metabolic derangements remains to be elucidated. This study aimed to investigate whether weekend catch-up sleep is associated with metabolic derangements in Korean adults.

Methods: A total of 10,749 individuals over 40 years old were identified from the 2016-2017 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Kinetic Heterogeneity of Breast Cancer Determined Using Computer-aided Diagnosis of Preoperative MRI Scans: Relationship to Distant Metastasis-Free Survival.

Background Higher peak enhancement and washout component values measured on preoperative breast MRI scans with computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) are presumed to be associated with worse recurrence-free survival. Purpose To investigate whether CAD-extracted kinetic features of breast cancer and the heterogeneity of these features at preoperative MRI are associated with distant metastasis-free survival in women with invasive breast cancer. Materials and Methods Consecutive women with newly diagnosed invasive breast cancer who underwent preoperative MRI were retrospectively evaluated between 2011 and 2012.

Polymyxin B hemoperfusion as a feasible therapy after source control in abdominal septic shock.

Background: Polymyxin B hemoperfusion (PMX-HP) has been used as a treatment for intra-abdominal septic shock by absorbing and removing endotoxins of gram-negative bacilli.

Aim: To investigate the clinical efficacy of PMX-HP in patients with gram-negative septic shock who underwent abdominal surgery.

Methods: From January 2012 to December 2018, patients who had septic shock secondary to peritonitis were enrolled.

Expression of Neurotrophic Factors, Tight Junction Proteins, and Cytokines According to the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Subtype and Sex.

Background/aims: Emerging evidence shows that the mechanism of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is associated with neurotrophic factors and tight junction proteins (TJPs). It is known that there are sex differences in the pathophysiology of IBS. The aim of the present study is to determine expression levels of neurotrophic factors, TJPs, and cytokines according to IBS subtype and sex.

Diffusion-weighted MRI of estrogen receptor-positive, HER2-negative, node-negative breast cancer: association between intratumoral heterogeneity and recurrence risk.

Objectives: To investigate possible associations between quantitative apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) metrics derived from whole-lesion histogram analysis and breast cancer recurrence risk in women with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative, node-negative breast cancer who underwent the Oncotype DX assay.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted on 105 women (median age, 48 years) with ER-positive, HER2-negative, node-negative breast cancer who underwent the Oncotype DX test and preoperative diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Histogram analysis of pixel-based ADC data of whole tumors was performed, and various ADC histogram parameters (mean, 5th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 95th percentiles of ADCs) were extracted.

Identification of Hemodynamic Risk Factors for Apnea Test Failure During Brain Death Determination.

Objective: An apnea test is essential step for diagnosing brain death and is known to be relatively safe. However, various complications such as hypoxia, arrhythmias, and hypotension could occur. Herein, we identified risk factors of failed apnea test and determined their optimal cutoff values.

Myxedema coma precipitated by diabetic ketoacidosis after total thyroidectomy: a case report.

Background: Myxedema coma is profound decompensated hypothyroidism usually precipitated by stressors, and its occurrence in association with total thyroidectomy or metabolic disorders, such as diabetic ketoacidosis, is unusual.

Case Presentation: A 43-year-old Asian man with history of total thyroidectomy who was scheduled for a second radioactive iodine therapy presented to our hospital with decreased mental status and hyperglycemia. He had a history of thyroid cancer but did not have diabetes mellitus.

Clinical features and outcomes of abdominal tuberculosis in southeastern Korea: 12 years of experience.

Background: Abdominal tuberculosis (TB) is an uncommon form of infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Korea. In this study, we aimed to highlight the clinical features, diagnostic methods, and outcomes of abdominal TB over 12 years in Southeastern Korea.

Methods: A total of 139 patients diagnosed as having abdominal TB who received anti-TB medication from January 2005 to June 2016 were reviewed.

Successful biliary cannulation by the rendezvous technique via percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage: A report of two cases.

Reports of the rendezvous technique via percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage are very rare because of difficulties with insertion of the guidewire from the gallbladder into the common bile duct. In particular, our report includes a case with distal common bile duct stricture. To our knowledge, such a case has never been previously reported.

Hepatitis C virus genotype 3 was associated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in Korea.

Although hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 3 infection is thought to be an important risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), current evidence is limited because only a few Western studies have evaluated the occurrence of HCC in patients with HCV genotype 3 infection. We evaluated the impact of genotype 3 and non-3 on HCC incidence and on disease progression in chronic HCV patients; this is the first study reporting such findings in an Asian population. We performed a retrospective cohort study using the data of 1448 consecutive chronic HCV patients evaluated at three centres in Korea between January 2005 and December 2016.

Proinflammatory Effects of Calprotectin in Graves' Orbitopathy.

: Early detection and control of inflammation are important to manage Graves' orbitopathy (GO). We investigated the effects of calprotectin (S100A8/A9) on orbital fibroblast inflammation and GO pathogenesis.: We measured serum calprotectin, and mRNA expression in orbital fat/connective tissue from GO patients and healthy controls, and proinflammatory cytokines in primary cultured orbital fibroblasts.

Primary Gastric Small Cell Carcinoma (Presenting as Linitis Plastica) Diagnosed Using Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Biopsy: A Case Report.

Small cell carcinomas are the most aggressive, highly malignant neuroendocrine tumors; among these, gastric small cell carcinoma (GSCC) is extremely rare. Here we report a case of a patient with primary GSCC, presenting as linitis plastic, who was diagnosed using endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided biopsy. With undiagnosed linitis plastica, an 80-year-old woman was referred to our institution.