Uniform and extremely small-sized iron oxide nanoparticles (ESIONs) of < 4 nm were synthesized via the thermal decomposition of iron-oleate complex in the presence of oleyl alcohol. Oleyl alcohol ...lowered the reaction temperature by reducing iron-oleate complex, resulting in the production of small-sized nanoparticles. XRD pattern of 3 nm-sized nanoparticles revealed maghemite crystal structure. These nanoparticles exhibited very low magnetization derived from the spin-canting effect. The hydrophobic nanoparticles can be easily transformed to water-dispersible and biocompatible nanoparticles by capping with the poly(ethylene glycol)-derivatized phosphine oxide (PO-PEG) ligands. Toxic response was not observed with Fe concentration up to 100 μg/mL in MTT cell proliferation assay of POPEG-capped 3 nm-sized iron oxide nanoparticles. The 3 nm-sized nanoparticles exhibited a high r(1) relaxivity of 4.78 mM(-1) s(-1) and low r(2)/r(1) ratio of 6.12, demonstrating that ESIONs can be efficient T(1) contrast agents. The high r(1) relaxivities of ESIONs can be attributed to the large number of surface Fe(3+) ions with 5 unpaired valence electrons. In the in vivo T(1)-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ESIONs showed longer circulation time than the clinically used gadolinium complex-based contrast agent, enabling high-resolution imaging. High-resolution blood pool MR imaging using ESIONs enabled clear observation of various blood vessels with sizes down to 0.2 mm. These results demonstrate the potential of ESIONs as T(1) MRI contrast agents in clinical settings.
Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is a useful tool in researches and in clinical medicine of lung diseases because the BAL fluid contains biochemical and cytological indicators of the cellular response to ...infection, drugs, or toxicants. However, the variability among laboratories regarding the technique and the processing of the BAL material limits clinical research. The aim of this study was to determine the suction frequency and lavage fraction number necessary to reduce the variability in lavage using male Sprague-Dawley rats. We compared the total cell number and protein level of each lavage fraction and concluded that more cells and protein can be obtained by repetitive lavage with a suction frequency of 2 or 3 than by lavage with a single suction. On the basis of total cell recovery, approximately 70% of cells were obtained from fractions 1∼3. The first lavage fraction should be used for evaluation of protein concentration because fractions 2∼5 of lavage fluid were diluted in manifolds. These observations were confirmed in bleomycin-induced inflamed lungs of rats. We further compared the BAL data from the whole lobes with data from the right lobes and concluded that BAL data of the right lobes represented data of the whole lobes. However, this conclusion can only be applied to general lung diseases. At the end, this study provides an insight into the technical or analytical problems of lavage study
in vivo
.
The new amorphous blue light emitting material, which is composed of biphenylenevinylene with α-phenyl as main unit and bulky triphenylsilyl as side units, is designed, synthesized and characterized. ...The tetraphenylsilane groups of tetrahedral molecular skelecton makes the material have high glass transition temperature of 130
°C and good film quality. Blue organic light emitting device (OLED) employing this compound as the emitter exhibit the maximum luminescence of 4100
cd/m
2, the maximum external quantum efficiency of 0.7% and current efficiency of 1.67
cd/A at 12.8
V.
Extracellular ATP (exATP) has been known to be a critical ligand regulating skeletal muscle differentiation and contractibility. ExATP synthesis was greatly increased with the high level of adenylate ...kinase 1 (AK1) and ATP synthase beta during C2C12 myogenesis. The exATP synthesis was abolished by the knock-down of AK1 but not by that of ATP synthase beta in C2C12 myotubes, suggesting that AK1 is required for exATP synthesis in myotubes. However, membrane-bound AK1beta was not involved in exATP synthesis because its expression level was decreased during myogenesis in spite of its localization in the lipid rafts that contain various kinds of receptors and mediate cell signal transduction, cell migration, and differentiation. Interestingly, cytoplasmic AK1 was secreted from C2C12 myotubes but not from C2C12 myoblasts. Taken together all these data, we can conclude that AK1 secretion is required for the exATP generation in myotubes.
Abstract 3999
The role of baseline spine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with multiple myeloma who have no related symptoms or signs is controversial. In the present study, we ...prospectively evaluated the diagnostic and prognostic implications of whole-spine MRI taken at the time of diagnosis in patients with multiple myeloma.
Patients who were newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma between 2004 and 2011 at Chungnam National University Hospital were enrolled. Abnormal MRI findings that were not detected in plain radiographs were analyzed and categorized as pathological fractures or extramedullary extension of the plasmacytoma. The bone marrow (BM) infiltration patterns on MRI were classified into five categories: homogenous diffuse, micronodular, macronodular, mixed, and normal appearance of the BM. The prognostic implications of the additional lesions found on MRI and the BM infiltration patterns were analyzed.
A total of 113 patients with a median age of 65 (range, 40μ–μ89) years were enrolled in the study. Pathological fractures that were not detected in the bone survey were found in 26 (23.0%) patients, including three (2.6%) patients with no related symptoms or signs. Extramedullary extension of the plasmacytoma was detected in 22 (19.5%) patients, including 15 (13.3%) with epidural extension of the tumor. Of these 22 patients, 11 (50.0%) had no relevant symptoms or signs. Neither the additional pathological fractures nor the extramedullary extensions found correlated with the international staging system stage (ISS). The presence of pathological fractures did not influence overall survival, whereas extramedullary extension of the plasmacytoma was associated with poor overall survival in multivariate analysis (HR 3.205; 95% CI, 1.430 – 9.845; P=0.042). Of the 113 patients, 35 (31.0%) had a diffuse infiltrative pattern, 39 (34.5%) had a micronodular pattern, 15 (13.3%) had a macronodular pattern, 17 (15.0%) had the mixed type, and 7 (6.2%) appeared normal. The BM infiltration patterns did not correlate with the ISS. During follow-up for a median of 21 (range 1 – 91) months, the overall survival of patients with the mixed type (median 24.0 months; 95% CI, 22.9 – 25.1) was shorter compared to those with other patterns (median 56 months; 95% CI, 48.9 – 63.1) (P=0.030). Survival differences were not found among the other patterns.
In summary, baseline spine MRI reveals not only bone lesions, but also extramedullary extension of plasmacytoma that cannot be detected in plain radiographs, even in patients with no relevant symptoms or signs. In addition, the mixed infiltration pattern on MRI is a predictor of poor overall survival. These results indicate that spine MRI should be included in the initial diagnostic investigations for patients with multiple myeloma.
No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
군집분석을 통한 한국 도시 비오톱 유형 특성분석 김진효; Jin Hyo Kim; 나정화 ...
한국조경학회지,
08/2015, Volume:
43, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
본 연구의 목적은 비오톱 유형화 방법분석, 우점 비오톱 유형분석, 도시별 인문·자연 환경적 특성분석 및 군집분석을 통해, 국내 도시 비오톱 유형 특성을 분석하고, 전국적으로 적용 가능한 국내 도시 비오톱 유형 체계를 설정해 보는데 가장 큰 의의를 두었다. 연구결과를 요약하면 다음과 같다. 먼저 비오톱 유형화 방법 분석 결과, 분류기준 및 분류위계에서 ...도시마다 차이를 보이고 있었다. 다음으로 우점비오톱 유형 분석 결과, 대부분의 도시에서 가장 많은 면적을 차지하고 있는 유형은 산림인 것으로 나타났다. 도시별 특성분석 결과, 도시들마다 상이한 결과를 보이고 있었으며, 군집분석 결과, 도시들은 총 5개의 군집으로 분류되었다. 먼저 Cluster-A의 경우, 낮은 인구수 및 도시화 현황을 보이고 있었다. 또한 타 도시와는 달리 농경지의 면적비율이 가장 높게 나타났다. 더불어 Cluster-C의 경우, 매우 높은 도시화 현황 및 인구수를 가지고 있었으며, 이러한 특성을 바탕으로, ‘산림 비오톱 중심의 광역형 도시(Large-sized metropoilitan cities-center of forest biotope area)’ 군집으로 명명하였다. 이상과 같은 본 연구의 결과는 기존 비오톱 지도의 수정 및 보완 그리고 새로운 비오톱 지도 작성 시 표준화된 비오톱 유형 체계를 바탕으로 혼란을 최소화함은 물론, 도시 특성에 맞는 유형의 세분화 및 보전이 가능하도록 하는데, 중요한 역할을 수행할 수 있을 것으로 판단된다.
The purpose of this study is to analyze the biotope characteristics of Korean cities and set up biotope type structures for Korean cities based on biotope type classification, dominant biotope type, city’s human and nature environmental characteristics and cluster analysis. The findings of the study are summarized as follows: First, regarding the analysis of biotope type classification, cities showed differences in terms of the standard of biotope classification and classification hierarchy. Next, the analysis of dominant biotope types showed the type of forest represents the largest area in most cities. Moreover, a city’s characteristic analysis revealed large differences between cities. As a result of cluster analysis, cities were classified into five clusters overall. First, Cluster A showed a lower population level and urbanization level. Unlike other cities, Cluster A revealed that it has the largest percentage of agricultural areas. Cluster C showed very high levels in terms of population amount and urbanization conditions was named the ‘Large-sized metropolitan cities-center of forest biotope area’ based on it’s characteristics. The findings of this study as summarized above are considered to play an important role in enabling detailed classification and preservation of biotope types fit for the characteristics of cities and minimizing the confusion caused by different biotope mapping methods when revising and complementing biotope maps.
Objective: To evaluate and compare the effects of two appliances on the en masse retraction of the anterior teeth anchored by temporary skeletal anchorage devices (TSADs). Methods: The sample ...comprised 46 nongrowing hyperdivergent adult patients who planned to undergo upper first premolar extraction using lingual retractors. They were divided into three groups, based on the lingual appliance used: the C-lingual retractor (CLR) group (group 1, n = 16) and two antero-posterior lingual retractor (APLR) groups (n = 30, groups 2 and 3). The APLR group was divided by the posterior tube angulation; posterior tube parallel to the occlusal plane (group 2, n = 15) and distally tipped tube (group 3, n = 15). A retrospective clinical investigation of the skeletal, dental, and soft tissue relationships was performed using lateral cephalometric radiographs obtained pretreatment and post en masse retraction of the anterior teeth. Results: All groups achieved significant incisor and canine retraction. The upper posterior teeth did not drift significantly during the retraction period. The APLR group had less angulation change in the anterior dentition, compared to the CLR group. By changing the tube angulation in the APLR, the intrusive force significantly increased in the distally tipped tube of group 3 patients and remarkably reduced the occlusal plane angle. Conclusions: Compared to the CLR, the APLR provides better anterior torque control and canine tipping while achieving bodily translation. Furthermore, changing the tube angulation will affect the amount of incisor intrusion, even in patients with similar palatal vault depth, without the need for additional TSADs.
The aim of this study is to determine the diagnostic and prognostic role of baseline spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with multiple myeloma.
We enrolled patients newly diagnosed ...with multiple myeloma from 2004-2011 at a single center. Abnormal MRI findings that were not detected in radiographs have been analyzed and categorized as malignant compression fractures or extramedullary plasmacytoma. The bone marrow (BM) infiltration patterns on MRI have been classified into five categories.
A total of 113 patients with a median age of 65 years (range, 40 to 89 years) were enrolled in the study. Malignant compression fractures not detected in the bone survey were found in 26 patients (23.0%), including three patients (2.6%) with no related symptoms or signs. Extramedullary plasmacytoma was detected in 22 patients (19.5%), including 15 (13.3%) with epidural extension of the tumor. Of these 22 patients, 11 (50.0%) had no relevant symptoms or signs. The presence of malignant compression fractures did not influence overall survival; whereas non-epidural extramedullary plasmacytoma was associated with poor overall survival in the multivariate analysis (hazard ratio, 3.205; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.430 to 9.845; p=0.042). During the follow-up for a median of 21 months (range, 1 to 91 months), overall survival with the mixed BM infiltrative pattern (median, 24.0 months; 95% CI, 22.9 to 25.1 months) was shorter than those with other patterns (median 56 months; 95% CI, 48.9 to 63.1 months; p=0.030).
These results indicate that spine MRI at the time of diagnosis is useful for detecting skeletal lesions and predicting the prognosis in patients with multiple myeloma.
The incidence of follicular lymphoma (FL) varies according to geographic location. It is the second most common non-Hodgkin lymphoma in Western countries but has a very low incidence in Asia. Thus, ...no representative data are available for FL. Therefore, we gathered our own data to build a foundation for FL research.
We collected a total of 343 patient records. The median age was 53 years, and the ratio of male to female patients was 1.4:1. Most patients received chemotherapy with or without rituximab.
The incidence of grade 1 and 2 FL was 64.9% (n = 205) and of stage III and IV was 51.2% (n = 171). The grade tended to be higher and the stage to be lower compared with Western data. In the chemotherapy group, the complete response rate was 76.0%, and the partial response rate was 17.1%. The median follow-up duration was 38.1 months. The estimated 5- and 10-year progression-free survival and overall survival rates were 68.3% and 84.9% and 63.0% and 71.3%, respectively.
We could not find definitive differences between our Korean data and the Western data, although we found some trends in the baseline characteristics. Therefore, we hope to develop an understanding of FL and perform more qualitative studies in the future.
While gastric variceal bleeding (GVB) is not as prevalent as esophageal variceal bleeding, it is reportedly more serious, with high failure rates of the initial hemostasis (>30%), and has a worse ...prognosis than esophageal variceal bleeding. However, there is limited information regarding hemostasis and the prognosis for GVB. The aim of this study was to determine retrospectively the clinical outcomes of GVB in a multicenter study in Korea.
The data of 1,308 episodes of GVB (males:females=1062:246, age=55.0±11.0 years, mean±SD) were collected from 24 referral hospital centers in South Korea between March 2003 and December 2008. The rates of initial hemostasis failure, rebleeding, and mortality within 5 days and 6 weeks of the index bleed were evaluated.
The initial hemostasis failed in 6.1% of the patients, and this was associated with the Child-Pugh score odds ratio (OR)=1.619; P<0.001 and the treatment modality: endoscopic variceal ligation, endoscopic variceal obturation, and balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration vs. endoscopic sclerotherapy, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, and balloon tamponade (OR=0.221, P<0.001). Rebleeding developed in 11.5% of the patients, and was significantly associated with Child-Pugh score (OR=1.159, P<0.001) and treatment modality (OR=0.619, P=0.026). The GVB-associated mortality was 10.3%; mortality in these cases was associated with Child-Pugh score (OR=1.795, P<0.001) and the treatment modality for the initial hemostasis (OR=0.467, P=0.001).
The clinical outcome for GVB was better for the present cohort than in previous reports. Initial hemostasis failure, rebleeding, and mortality due to GVB were universally associated with the severity of liver cirrhosis.
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