The prognostic relevance of psammoma bodies and ultrasonographic intratumoral calcifications in papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Background: Although psammoma bodies (PB) are found in up to 50 % of papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC), their clinicopathological significance remains uncertain. The aim of the present study was to determine the clinicopathological significance of PB and the correlation between PB and ultrasonographic intratumoral calcification in PTC.

Methods: The clinicopathological parameters, ultrasonographic calcifications, and the presence of PB were evaluated in 258 surgically resected conventional PTC.

Detection of BRAF V600E mutation with thyroid tissue using pyrosequencing: comparison with PNA-clamping and real-time PCR.

We used pyrosequencing, peptide nucleic acid (PNA)-clamping polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and real-time PCR to detect the BRAF V600E mutation and to investigate the prognostic effect of the BRAF V600E mutation in paraffin block specimens from 100 patients diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma. Positive rates of PNA-clamping PCR, real-time PCR, and pyrosequencing were 66%, 70%, and 68%, respectively. Pyrosequencing and PNA-clamping PCR detected mutant type in a 99:1 (wild-type: mutant) DNA concentration, and PNA-clamping PCR detected mutant type in a 99.

Imaging features to distinguish malignant and benign branch-duct type intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms of the pancreas: a meta-analysis.

Objective: To systematically determine the imaging findings for distinguishing malignant and benign branch-duct type intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (BD-IPMNs), including mixed type, and their diagnostic value through meta-analysis of published studies.

Background: Management of BD-IPMNs, including mixed type, largely relies on imaging findings. The current knowledge on imaging findings to distinguish malignant and benign BD-IPMNs has weak evidence and is mostly from scattered individual retrospective studies.

Xanthogranulomatous inflammation in terminal ileum presenting as an appendiceal mass: case report and review of the literature.

Xanthogranulomatous inflammation (XGI) is a rare benign inflammatory disease characterized by aggregation of lipid-laden foamy macrophages. This disease entity has been described in various organs but most commonly in the kidney and gallbladder. The occurrence of this disease in the lower gastrointestinal tract is extremely rare.

Hepatocellular carcinoma composed of two different histologic types: imaging features on gadoxetic acid-enhanced liver MRI.

In gadoxetic acid–enhanced liver magnetic resonance imaging(MRI), it is known that the pseudoglandular type of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) may demonstrate high signal intensity on 20-minutes delayed imaging unlike the microtrabecular counterpart. Herein we report a case of HCC which consisted of mixed components of hypo- and hyper-intensity in the hepatobiliary phase of gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI, focusing on its imaging findings and pathologic features.

Activation of nuclear factor-κB contributes to growth and aggressiveness of papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) is involved in proliferation, angiogenesis, and metastasis in various malignancies; however, the role of NF-κB in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) has not been fully elucidated. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the role and clinicopathological significance of the NF-κB signaling pathway in PTC. We investigated NF-κB RelA expression in 122 patients with conventional PTC by immunohistochemistry, and evaluated the correlation between RelA expression and clinicopathological parameters, including BRAF(V600E) mutation.

Pure intrasellar meningioma located under the pituitary gland: case report.

Most intrasellar meningiomas are located in the subdiaphragmatic and supraglandular region because they originate from the diaphragma sellae. Subglandular meningiomas located under the pituitary gland are extremely rare. Intrasellar meningiomas in the subdiaphragmatic and subglandular region probably originate from the dura in the sellar floor.

3-D worm tracker for freely moving C. elegans.

The manner in which the nervous system regulates animal behaviors in natural environments is a fundamental issue in biology. To address this question, C. elegans has been widely used as a model animal for the analysis of various animal behaviors.

Fasting blood sugar and serum triglyceride as the risk factors of colorectal adenoma in korean population receiving screening colonoscopy.

In several previously reported studies, metabolic syndrome (MS) was found to be associated with colorectal adenomas. While the incidence of colorectal adenoma is growing in Korean population, there are only few studies that examined the association between MS and colorectal adenoma in Korea. The aim of this study was to investigate relationships between prevalence of colorectal adenoma and MS components.

Ventricular tachyarrhythmias in a patient with Andersen-Tawil syndrome.

Andersen-Tawill syndrome (ATS), a rare autosomal dominant disorder, is characterized by periodic paralysis, dysmorphic features and cardiac arrhythmias. This syndrome is caused by mutations of KCNJ2 gene, which encodes inward rectifying potassium channel. Here, we report an 18-year-old girl who was presented with life-threatening cardiac arrhythmia and acute respiratory distress.

Brain and skin metastasis from urothelial carcinoma of the bladder.

Brain and skin metastasis from urothelial carcinoma of the bladder is rare. There have been few case reports of the clinical course of patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma of the brain and skin. In the present case, a 60-year-old man had undergone radical cystectomy with an ileal conduit owing to urothelial carcinoma (T1N0M0).

Shape-controlled synthesis of Pt nanocrystals: the role of metal carbonyls.

Well-controlled synthesis of nanocrystals is necessary to unambiguously correlate the structural properties of nanocrystals with the catalytic properties. The most common low-index surfaces are (111) and (100). Therefore, model materials with {111} and {100} facets are highly desirable, in order to understand the catalytic properties of (111) and (100) surfaces for various structure-sensitive reactions.

A Case of Peritoneal Tuberculosis Developed after Infliximab Therapy for Refractory RA.

Recently, interferon gamma releasing assay has been recommended to compensate the tuberculin skin test (TST) for screening for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). Although it improved the detection of LTBI before treatment with tumor necrosis factor blocker, its application to immune suppressed patients is limited. We report a case of peritoneal tuberculosis (TB) developed in a patient who tested positive for TST and QuantiFERON-TB Gold (QFT-G) before infliximab therapy, to emphasize the importance of monitoring during treatment.

Development of an automated data processing method for sample to sample comparison of seized methamphetamines.

The information about the sources of supply, trafficking routes, distribution patterns and conspiracy links can be obtained from methamphetamine profiling. The precursor and synthetic method for the clandestine manufacture can be estimated from the analysis of minor impurities contained in methamphetamine. Also, the similarity between samples can be evaluated using the peaks that appear in chromatograms.

Diagnostic and prognostic relevance of MMP-11 expression in the stromal fibroblast-like cells adjacent to invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast.

Background: Matrix metalloproteinase 11 (MMP-11) is a matrix degrading enzyme known to be involved in the remodeling of extracellular matrix proteins. This enzyme recently has been reported to play a key role in tumor progression and results in poor clinical outcomes for several different types of tumors.

Methods: A total of 192 patients diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma between 2000 and 2005 were included in this study.

Extranodal follicular dendritic cell sarcoma with rapid growth in parapharynx: a case report.

Follicular dendritic cell sarcoma (FDCS) is a rare malignancy arising from the antigen-presenting cells in the lymph node and extranodal tissue. We describe a 31-year-old male patient who presented with a swelling of the left parapharynx. The radiologic findings showed a 4.

Fast microtomography using bright monochromatic x-rays.

A fast microtomography system for high-resolution high-speed imaging has been developed using bright monochromatic x-rays at the BL29XU beamline of SPring-8. The shortest scan time for microtomography we attained was 0.25 s in 1.

Is use of PPIs related to increased intraepithelial lymphocytes in the colon?

Background: The use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) is thought to increase the incidence of microscopic colitis (MC), although the exact mechanisms are not fully understood. Increased infiltration of intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) is a pathologic finding of MC (including collagenous or lymphocytic colitis).

Aims: We investigated whether PPI use is associated with increased IEL infiltration and inflammation in the lamina propria.

Diagnostic and prognostic relevance of Cullin1 expression in invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast.

Background: Cullin1 (Cul1) is a matrix degrading enzyme known to be involved in the remodelling of extracellular matrix proteins. This enzyme has recently been reported to play a key role in tumour progression and its presence is associated with poor clinical outcome for several different types of tumours.

Methods: 159 patients diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma between 2000 and 2005 were studied.

Aggressive classical Kaposi's sarcoma mimicking malignant lymphoma.

Classical Kaposi's sarcoma is an unusual multifocal neoplasm of vascular endothelial cell origin, and considered a less malignant, slowly-progressing tumor. Although visceral involvement is occasionally seen in HIV/AIDS patients with KS, tumor dissemination to visceral lymph nodes in classical KS is very rare. A 72-year-old woman without any other relevant past medical history presented with anorexia, weight loss, night sweats, and skin eruptions.

An explanation for camera perspective bias in voluntariness judgment for video-recorded confession: Suggestion of cognitive frame.

Three experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that difference in voluntariness judgment for a custodial confession filmed in different camera focuses ("camera perspective bias") could occur because a particular camera focus conveys a suggestion of a particular cognitive frame. In Experiment 1, 146 juror eligible adults in Korea showed a camera perspective bias in voluntariness judgment with a simulated confession filmed with two cameras of different focuses, one on the suspect and the other on the detective. In Experiment 2, the same bias in voluntariness judgment emerged without cameras when the participants were cognitively framed, prior to listening to the audio track of the videos used in Experiment 1, by instructions to make either a voluntariness judgment for a confession or a coerciveness judgment for an interrogation.

Cross talk between engulfment receptors stabilin-2 and integrin αvβ5 orchestrates engulfment of phosphatidylserine-exposed erythrocytes.

Efficient cell corpse clearance is critical for health in organisms. Apoptotic cells displaying phosphatidylserine (PS) are recognized by engulfment receptors and ingested through two conserved pathways. In one pathway, engulfment receptor brain-specific angiogenesis inhibitor 1 (BAI-1) or integrin functions upstream of ELMO/DOCK180 and activate the small GTPase Rac1.

Synthesis, shape control, and methanol electro-oxidation properties of Pt-Zn alloy and Pt3Zn intermetallic nanocrystals.

We report the first synthesis of highly monodisperse Pt(3)Zn nanocrystals (NCs). Shape-controlled synthesis generates cubic and spherical Pt-Zn NCs. Reaction temperature is the key to incorporate Zn into Pt, even in the absence of a strong reducing agent.

Cystic pilomatrixoma of the wrist mimicking a ganglion cyst in a child.

We describe a patient with a cystic pilomatrixoma mimicking a ganglion cyst on ultrasound. A 9-year-old boy had a subcutaneous mass on his left wrist. Ultrasound displayed a well-defined, multilobulated anechoic mass containing a few internal septa between the extensor pollicis longus and the extensor carpi radialis longus tendons.