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Patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) often fail to complete full-course chemotherapy with a standard dose due to various reasons. This study aimed to determine whether body composition affects chemotherapy adherence in patients with CRC. The medical records of 107 patients with stage III CRC who underwent adjuvant folinic acid, fluorouracil and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) chemotherapy at a single center between 2014 and 2018 were analyzed retrospectively. Blood test results for selected immunonutritional markers were analyzed and body composition was measured through computed tomography. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed on low and high relative dose intensity (RDI) groups, based on an RDI of 0.85. In the univariate analysis, a higher skeletal muscle index was correlated with a higher RDI (p = 0.020). Psoas muscle index was also higher in patients with high RDI than in those with low RDI (p = 0.026). Fat indices were independent of RDI. Multivariate analysis was performed for the aforementioned factors and results showed that age (p = 0.028), white blood cell count (p = 0.024), and skeletal muscle index (p = 0.025) affected RDI. In patients with stage III CRC treated with adjuvant FOLFOX chemotherapy, a decrease in RDI was related to age, white blood cell count, and skeletal muscle index. Therefore, if we adjust the drug dosage in consideration of these factors, we can expect an increased treatment efficiency in patients by increasing chemotherapy compliance.

Hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm is a rare but potentially life-threatening condition that usually occurs after trauma. Early recognition and prompt management are essential for preventing catastrophic consequences, such as hemoperitoneum. We report a rare case of liver abscess caused by Klebsiella oxytoca resulting in hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm without iatrogenic injury. The unique feature of the present case is that the abscess cavity itself became a pseudoaneurysm as a result of fistula formation with the hepatic artery. Vascular complications should be considered in patients with unfavorable clinical course even in the absence of iatrogenic injury. Endovascular treatment is safe and effective.

Objective: Due to rapid economic return, mixed crop-swine farming systems in Korea have become more intensive. Intensive farming practices often cause nutrient surpluses and lead to environmental pollution. Nutrient budgets can be used to evaluate the environmental impact and as a regulatory policy instrument for nutrient management. This study was conducted to select a nutrient budgeting approach applicable to the mixed crop-swine farms in Korea and suggest an effective manure treatment method to reduce on-farm nutrient production.Methods: In this study, we compared current and ideal gross nutrient balance (GNB) approaches of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and soil system budget (SSB) approach with reference to on-farm manure treatment processes. Data obtained from farm census and published literature were used to develop the farm nutrient budgets.Results: The average nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) surpluses were approximately 11 times and over 7 times respectively higher in the GNB approaches than the SSB. After solid-liquid separation of manure, during liquid composting a change in aeration method from intermittent to continuous reduced the N and P loading about 50% and 47%, respectively. Although changing in solid composting method from turning only to turning+aeration improved the N removal efficiency by 30.5%, not much improvement in P removal efficiency was observed.Conclusion: Although the GNB approaches depict the impact of nutrients produced in the mixed crop-swine farms on the overall agricultural environment, the SSB approach shows the partitioning among different nutrient loss pathways and storage of nutrients within the soil system; thus, can help design sustainable nutrient management plans for the mixed cropswine farms. The study also suggests that continuous aeration for liquid composting and turning+aeration for solid composting can reduce nutrient loading to the soil.

Chest computed tomography demonstrated a suspected primary tumor in the upper sternal body of a 48-year-old woman who presented with sternal pain. After being diagnosed with chondrosarcoma, she underwent sternal resection. Subsequent chest wall reconstruction was performed after careful planning using a bone cement block made of polypropylene mesh and polymethylmethacrylate. The block was fixed to the manubrium and ribs using the SternaLock System. She was discharged following an uneventful postoperative recovery, and is currently undergoing follow-up.

Extramedullary myeloma refers to the presence of myeloma deposits outside the skeletal system and typically indicates a poor prognosis associated with shorter overall survival and progression-free survival. We report a case of extramedullary myeloma with extensive, abdominal multi-organ involvement mimicking lymphoma at initial diagnosis. Bulky retroperitoneal masses with severe diffusion restriction and patency of encased vessels can be MR findings of both myeloma and lymphoma. Radiologic findings such as arterial hyperenhancement, obstructive uropathy, and the lack of associated lymphadenopathy may favor a diagnosis of myeloma over lymphoma.

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Mroginski, Adam, Amoyal, Barnoy, Bondar, ... Schapiro. (2020). Frontiers in Multiscale Modeling of Photoreceptor Proteins. Photochemistry and Photobiology, 97(2):243-269, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/php.13372. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited. This perspective article highlights the challenges in the theoretical description of photoreceptor proteins using multiscale modeling, as discussed at the CECAM workshop in Tel Aviv, Israel. The participants have identified grand challenges and discussed the development of new tools to address them. Recent progress in understanding representative proteins such as green fluorescent protein, photoactive yellow protein, phytochrome, and rhodopsin is presented, along with methodological developments.

Simple Summary Odor emission from swine production facilities can irritate the people living in surrounding areas, although the farmers consider odor emission as a part of farming practice. Despite the governmental and institutional efforts, odor-related complaints from the neighborhood communities around the swine farms are rapidly increasing and have been identified as a key concern to sustaining progress of the swine industry globally. Bio-liquor circulation systems (BCSs) in swine farms have become popular among the farmers as an odor reduction technology in Korea. However, due to the lack of appropriate operating strategies, the odor reduction capacity of BCSs is often depleted. In this lab-scale study, a real-time control strategy based on oxidation–reduction potential (ORP) and pH (mV) time profiles was developed and applied for BCS operation. This study shows the potential effectiveness of using ORP and pH (mV) time profiles as operational parameters for the BCS to improve swine manure properties in slurry pits and thus reduce odor emission. Abstract In this study, an attempt was made to develop a real-time control strategy using oxidation–reduction potential (ORP) and pH (mV) time profiles for the efficient operation of bio-liquor circulation system (BCS) in swine farms and its effectiveness in reducing odor emission through improving manure properties in the slurry pit was evaluated. The lab-scale BCS used in this study comprised a bioreactor and a slurry pit. The bioreactor was operated in a sequence of inflow of swine manure → anoxic phase → aerobic phase → circulation to the slurry pit. The improvement in swine manure properties was elucidated by comparing the results of the BCS slurry pit (circulation type, CT) and conventional slurry pit (non-circulation type, NCT). The results revealed that the ORP time profile successfully detected the nitrate knee point (NKP) in the anoxic phase. However, it was less stable in detecting the nitrogen break point (NBP) in the aerobic phase. The pH (mV) time profile showed a more efficient detection of NBP. Compared to the NCT slurry pit, concentrations of ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N) and soluble total organic carbon (STOC) and other analyzed swine manure properties were much lower in the CT slurry pit. In the aspect of odor reduction, around 98.3% of NH3 was removed in the CT slurry pit. The real-time controlled BCS can overcome the drawbacks of fixed time-based BCS operation and therefore can be considered as a useful tool to reduce odor emission from intensive swine farming operations. However, further studies and refinement in control algorithms might be required prior to its large-scale application.

Chronic intradiploic organizing hematoma of the skull is a rare lesion that usually presents as a progressively growing mass after head trauma, thus making it difficult to diagnose. To date, only nine cases that have been histopathologically confirmed as organizing hematoma of the skull have been reported in the literature. Herein, we describe a case of a chronic organizing hematoma involving the right parietal bone, presenting as a slowly growing mass in a 54-year-old man. The lesion was also visualized on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a zero echo time sequence. In this case report, we emphasize that chronic intradiploic organizing hematoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a palpable scalp mass. We also highlight the importance of meticulous radiological review in the context of appropriate clinical suspicion and the usefulness of the zero TE sequence in evaluating calvarial lesions.

Teaching point: A fibroepithelial polyp is an intraluminal, long, slender neoplasm that frequently occurs in the ureteropelvic junction and upper ureter.

The agricultural sector is considered one of the major sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally. The livestock industry as a significant contributor, is accounting for about 18% of GHG emissions measured in carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent from agricultural practices. Depending on farming practices and climatic conditions, GHGs such as methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from livestock agriculture can vary significantly. Country-specific emission factors are, therefore, needed for a precise estimation of GHG emissions and to avoid uncertainties. This study was aimed at estimating the CH4 and N2O emission fluxes from Hanwoo (the most famous and popular Korean native cattle) manure management systems. CH4 and N2O emission fluxes from litter in the Hanwoo cattle barn and composting lot were monitored and calculated for 52 weeks using the dynamic chamber method. The calculated monthly average fluxes of CH4 and N2O from litter in the cattle barn ranged from 0.0 to 30.0 &plusmn, 13.7 and 0.896 &plusmn, 0.557 to 2.925 &plusmn, 2.853 &mu, g/m2 s, respectively during the whole measurement period. While during the composting period, the monthly average of CH4 and N2O emission fluxes were varied from 1.449 &plusmn, 0.783 to 86.930 &plusmn, 19.092 and 0.511 &plusmn, 0.410 to 2.629 &plusmn, 1.105 &mu, g/m2 s, respectively. The calculated emission fluxes of CH4 and N2O from manure management systems in this study were almost 5.4 and 2.1 times, respectively higher than the values reported for the Asian, South and North American countries in the 2006 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. Overall, this study initiates the process along with signifies the importance of developing country-specific GHG inventories for the effective reduction of GHG emissions from the livestock sector in Korea.

Teaching Point: The typical imaging features of a retroperitoneal solitary fibrous tumor are relatively large-sized, have a well-defined margin, an avidly heterogeneous enhancement on arterial phase, a prolonged enhancement on delayed phase, and serpentine vessels along the periphery of the tumor.

Recanalization of a completely occluded vertebral artery, which involves ruptured vertebral dissecting aneurysm, to a normal configuration is rare. Here we report the case of a recanalized vertebral artery dissecting aneurysm in a 51-year-old woman that was treated using endovascular trapping and the right vertebral artery was completely occluded. Six months after the procedure, transfemoral cerebral artery angiography showed a normal configuration of the antegrade recanalized vertebral artery. We also suggest three possible mechanisms for the phenomenon of antegrade recanalization, of which we consider the water-hammer effect mechanism to be the most probable. Endovascular trapping, regardless of the presence of a true or false lumen, is capable of providing promising results and good prognosis through antegrade revascularization or complete occlusion. Keywords: Recanalization, Vertebral artery dissecting aneurysm, Endovascular trapping, Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Struvite crystallization using fluidized bed reactors (FBRs) is one of the most commonly used methods for nutrient recovery from different waste streams. However, struvite recovery from swine wastewater containing much higher solids using FBR has not been studied extensively. In this study, we therefore designed and optimized the key operating conditions parameters, i.e., pH (9.0, 9.5, and 10.0), circulation rate (CR) (1.5, 3.0, and 4.5 L/Lreactor&middot, h), and hydraulic retention time (HRT) (1, 3, and 5 h) of FBR to ensure efficient nutrient removal and struvite crystallization from swine wastewater using response surface methodology (RSM) with central composite design (CCD) as experimental design. A magnesium/phosphorus (Mg/P) molar ratio of 1.3 was maintained with MgCl2 according to ortho-phosphate (O-P) concentration of influent and an air diffuser was set to supply air with 0.03 L air/Lreactor&middot, min. The O-P recovery efficiency of over 91% was achieved through the entire runs. Among the operational parameters, pH did not show any significant effect on NH4-N recovery, particle size, and struvite production rate (SPR). The optimal CR over 2.94 L/Lreactor&middot, h was found to be appropriate for efficient removal of nutrients and struvite crystallization. While optimizing the HRT, priority of the process operation such as the production of larger struvite particles or increased struvite productivity should be considered. Therefore, the optimal operational parameters of pH 9.0, CR &gt, 2.94 L/Lreactor&middot, h, and HRT of 1 or 5 h were chosen to obtain better responses through RSM analyses. The findings of this study would be useful in designing and operating either pilot- or full-scale FBR for struvite crystallization from swine wastewater.

The burden of asthma in the elderly is increasing, but the etiology of asthma in the elderly is not clearly understood. Recent studies have reported the epidemiological link between metabolic syndrome (MS) and asthma, but it has rarely been studied in the elderly. This study investigated the association between MS and asthma and the contribution of insulin resistance (IR) and systemic inflammation to this MS-asthma association in the elderly. Our study analyzed 4,060 elderly participants (≥65 years old) from a cross-sectional survey, the Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey 2007–2012. Mediation analyses were performed to examine whether IR and systemic inflammation mediates the MS-asthma association. Participants with MS had significantly higher prevalence of asthma (adjusted odds ratio = 1.34; 95% confidence interval = 1.09–1.64), and those who had greater waist circumference and lower HDL-C were especially likely to have asthma. Participants with IR and systemic inflammation were associated with higher prevalence of asthma. Prevalence of IR and systemic inflammation were higher in participants with MS or with each MS component. The MS-asthma association was substantially mediated by IR and systemic inflammation. Our study showed a significant association between MS and asthma in the elderly. MS might affect asthma through both IR and systemic inflammation.

Background The results differ among published studies regarding exposure to meconium and the risk of developing autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Purpose The present study pooled all of the epidemiologic studies retrieved from broader databases on the association between meconium exposure and risk of developing ASD in children. Methods The Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases were searched without language restrictions for articles published between their inception to February 20, 2020, using relevant keywords. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated as random-effect estimates of the associations among studies. A subgroup analysis was conducted to explore any potential sources of heterogeneity among studies. Results The pooled estimate of OR reported a weakly significant association between meconium exposure and ASD development in children (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.03–1.24). There was low heterogeneity among the articles reporting risk for ASD among children (I2=19.3%; P=0.259). The results of subgroup analysis based on meconium exposure showed a significant association between a meconium-stained neonate and ASD development (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.11–1.24). Couclusion Meconium exposure was weakly associated with an increased risk of ASD. However, more evidence based on large prospective cohort studies is required to provide conclusive evidence about whether meconium exposure is associated with an increased risk of ASD development.

Teaching Point: The typical CT finding of internal supravesical hernia is a herniated and dilated bowel loop beneath a compressed urinary bladder.

Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) indicates the metastasis of a malignant neoplasm to the peritoneal surface. PC can be incidentally detected before discovery of the primary malignancy during an imaging study. There are other conditions that can mimic PC, such as pseudomyxoma peritonei, peritoneal lymphomatosis, peritoneal malignant mesothelioma, leiomyomatosis peritonealis disseminata, and tuberculous peritonitis. These diseases may appear similar on computed tomography (CT), but there are some clues for the differential diagnosis. This article will describe the CT findings of PC and its mimics for the differential diagnosis.

Biomass conversion via pyrolysis has been regarded as a promising solution for bio-oil production. Compared to fossil fuels, however, the pyrolysis bio-oils from biomass are corrosive and unstable due to relatively high oxygen content. Thus, an upgrading of bio-oil is required to reduce O component while improving stability in order to use it directly as fuel sources or in industrial processes for synthesizing chemicals. The catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is considered as one of the promising methods for upgrading pyrolysis bio-oil. In this research, the HDO was studied for various catalysts (HZSM-5, metal, and metal-phosphide catalysts) to improve the quality of bio-oil produced by fast pyrolysis of Saccharina japonica (SJ) in a fluidized-bed reactor. The HDO processing was carried out in an autoclave at 350 °C and different initial pressures (3, 6, and 15 bar). During HDO, the oxygen species in the bio-oil was removed primarily via formation of CO2 and H2O. Among the gases produced through HDO, CO2 was observed to be most abundant. The C/O ratio of produced bio-oil increased when CoMoP/γ-Al2O3, Co/γ-Al2O3, Fe/γ-Al2O3, or HZSM-5 was used. The Co/γ-Al2O3 resulted in higher HDO performance than other catalysts. The bio-oil upgraded with Co/γ-Al2O3 showed high HHV (34.41 MJ/kg). With the use of catalysts, the kerosene-diesel fraction (carbon number C12–C14) was increased from 36.17 to 38.62–48.92 wt.%.

Main teaching point: The typical imaging feature of intravascular leiomyosarcoma is a heterogeneous enhancing mass within an expanded vessel.

Main teaching point: Right paraduodenal hernia typically occurs in the fossa of Waldeyer, with the herniated bowel sac located posterior to the right colic artery and vein.

Apart from using as fertilizer for plants, the application of struvite may be expanded to animal feed industries through proper pre-treatment. This study aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of using pre-treated struvite (microwave irradiated struvite (MS) and incinerated struvite (IS)) in animal feeds. For safety assessment, an in vivo toxicity experiment using thirty female Sprague Dawley rats (average body weight (BW) of 200 &plusmn, 10 g) was conducted. The rats were randomly divided into five groups, including a control. Based on the BW, MS and IS were applied daily by oral administration with 1 and 10 mg kg&minus, 1-BW (MS1 and MS10, IS1 and IS10) using dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a vehicle. A series of jar tests were conducted for four hours to check the solubility of the MS and IS at different pH (pH 2, 4, and 5) and compared to a commercial P source (monocalcium phosphate, MCP, control). The toxicity experiment results showed no significant differences among the treatments in BW and organ (liver, kidney, heart, and lung) weight of rats (p &gt, 0.05). There were no adverse effects on blood parameters and the histopathological examination showed no inflammation in the organ tissues in MS and IS treated groups compared to the control. In an in vitro solubility test, no significant difference was observed in ortho-phosphate (O-P) solubility from the MCP and MS at pH 2 and 4 (p &gt, 0.05), while O-P solubility from MS at pH 5 to 7 was higher than MCP and found to be significantly different (p &lt, 0.05). O-P solubility from IS was the lowest among the treatments and significantly different from MCP and MS in all the experiments (p &lt, 0.05). The results of this study not only suggest that the struvite pre-treated as MS could be a potential alternative source of P in animal feed but also motivate further studies with more stringent designs to better examine the potential of struvite application in diverse fields.

Nanoporous carbon, including redox-active functional groups, can be a promising active electrode material (AEM) as a positive electrode for lithium-ion batteries owing to its high electrochemical performance originating from the host-free surface-driven charge storage process. This study examined the effects of the nanopore size on the pseudocapacitance of the nanoporous carbon materials using nanopore-engineered carbon-based AEMs (NE-C-AEMs). The pseudocapacitance of NE-C-AEMs was intensified, when the pore diameter was &ge, 2 nm in a voltage range of 1.0~4.8 V vs Li+/Li under the conventional carbonate-based electrolyte system, showing a high specific capacity of ~485 mA&middot, h&middot, g&minus, 1. In addition, the NE-C-AEMs exhibited high rate capabilities at current ranges from 0.2 to 4.0 A&middot, 1 as well as stable cycling behavior for more than 300 cycles. The high electrochemical performance of NE-C-AEMs was demonstrated by full-cell tests with a graphite nanosheet anode, where a high specific energy and power of ~345 Wh&middot, kg&minus, 1 and ~6100 W&middot, Kg&minus, 1, respectively, were achieved.

Congenital anomalies and anatomic variants of the pancreas are various and not uncommon. Recent advances in imaging modalities and their increasing accessibility have led increased opportunity to detect anomalies and variants of the pancreas. It is important to recognize pancreatic anomalies because, if they cause symptoms, they can be fixed. In addition, the presence of anatomic variants can affect surgical or interventional planning, and they can also cause unexpected post-operative complications. In this essay, we review the embryogenesis of the pancreas and describe imaging findings of various congenital anomalies and anatomic variants in the pancreas.

Painful legs and moving toes (PLMT) syndrome is characterized by spontaneous movements of the digits and pain in one or both lower extremities. Of the reported cases, a majority of the patients was female, and the mean age of onset was 58 years. Only one pediatric case has been reported so far. Herein, we report the first adolescent case of PLMT in Korea. A 16-year-old girl complained of tingling pain in the left leg and involuntary movement of the ipsilateral great toe one month after a second untethering surgery. Three years ago, she had undergone untethering surgery to correct lipomeningomyelocele at the S2 level of the conus medullaris. At that time, she was diagnosed with polyradiculopathy at the left L5 level with axonal involvement. We diagnosed her with PLMT syndrome and prescribed gabapentin. Her symptoms diminished within a day. Complete relief from involuntary movement of the toe was achieved within four months. PLMT is a rare syndrome but it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of children and adolescents with limb pain and spontaneous movement in their toes.

Unexpected reactor accidents and radioisotope production and consumption have led to a continuous increase in the global-scale contamination of radionuclides. In particular, anthropogenic radioiodine has become critical due to its highly volatile mobilization and recycling in global environments, resulting in widespread, negative impact on nature. We report a novel biostimulant method to effectively scavenge radioiodine that exhibits remarkable selectivity for the highly difficult-to-capture radioiodine of >500-fold over other anions, even under circumneutral pH. We discovered a useful mechanism by which microbially reducible copper (i.e., Cu2+ to Cu+) acts as a strong binder for iodide-iodide anions to form a crystalline halide salt of CuI that is highly insoluble in wastewater. The biocatalytic crystallization of radioiodine is a promising way to remove radioiodine in a great capacity with robust growth momentum, further ensuring its long-term stability through nuclear I− fixation via microcrystal formation.

A simple one-stage solution-based method was developed to produce graphene nanoribbons by sonicating graphite powder in organic solutions with polymer surfactant. The graphene nanoribbons were deposited on silicon substrate, and characterized by Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. Single-layer and few-layer graphene nanoribbons with a width ranging from sub-10 nm to tens of nm and length ranging from hundreds of nm to 1 {\mu}m were routinely observed. Electrical transport properties of individual graphene nanoribbons were measured in both the back-gate and polymer-electrolyte top-gate configurations. The mobility of the graphene nanoribbons was found to be over an order of magnitude higher when measured in the latter than in the former configuration (without the polymer electrolyte), which can be attributed to the screening of the charged impurities by the counter-ions in the polymer electrolyte. This finding suggests that the charge transport in these solution-produced graphene nanoribbons is largely limited by charged impurity scattering., Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Nanotechnology 2011