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Percutaneous cervical discectomy (PCD) has been developed as an effective treatment option for soft cervical disc herniation. However, no prognostic study of this procedure has yet been made. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the surgical outcome of PCD and to determine the factors predicting excellent outcome. A retrospective review was performed of 111 consecutive patients who underwent PCD with a mean follow-up period of 49.4 months (range, 29–64 months). Under local anesthesia, a percutaneous anterior approach was followed by discectomy with microforceps and endoscopic Ho:YAG laser. The surgical outcomes of the 111 patients based on the Macnab criteria were excellent in 52 patients (46.9%), good in 37 (33.3%), fair in 9 (8.1%), and poor in 13 (11.7%), thereby indicating a symptomatic improvement in 88.3% of the patients. In this study, the two major factors predicting an excellent long-term outcome were the symptom of radiating arm pain (P=0.02) and the location of lateral disc herniation (P<0.02). Proper patient selection remains critical for the success of this minimally invasive procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a widespread pathogen that is responsible for severe disease in immunocompromised individuals and probably, associated with vascular disease in the general population. There is increasing evidence that cells of the innate immune system play a key role in controlling this important pathogen. This is particularly evident in the experimental murine CMV (MCMV) model of infection which has revealed an important role for natural killer (NK) cells in controlling early viral replication after infection with MCMV. In this model, different strains of inbred mice exhibit striking differences in their level of susceptibility to MCMV infection. Genetic studies, performed almost 10 years ago, revealed that this pattern of susceptibility/resistance can be attributed to a single genetic locus termed Cmv1 and recently several groups that have been working on the mapping and identification of Cmv1 have met with success. Interestingly, Cmv1 is allelic to a member of the Ly49 gene family, which encode activating or inhibitory transmembrane receptors present on the surface of NK cells. All Ly49 receptors characterized to date interact with MHC class I molecules on potential target cells, resulting in the accumulation of signals to the NK to either 'kill' or 'ignore' the cell based upon the repertoire of MHC class I molecules expressed. The identification of Cmv1 as Ly49H, a stimulatory member of the Ly49 family, adds an interesting twist to the Ly49 story. Although the ligand of Ly49H is not yet known, there is already compelling evidence that the ligand is upregulated on vitally infected cells, resulting in specific activation of Ly49H-expressing NK cells. This review provides an historical perspective of the MCMV infection model from its inception to the discovery of the gene responsible for the phenotype and provides a basis for further experiments aimed at understanding the role of NK cells, in general, and Ly49H, in particular, in mediating resistance... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Despite ethnic differences in cortisol sensitivity, only one study in Caucasians has assessed trabecular bone score (TBS) in patients with subclinical hypercortisolism (SH). We showed that both subtle cortisol excess and reduced adrenal androgen may contribute to impaired bone quality in Asian women with SH.Introduction: One study in Caucasians has assessed trabecular bone score (TBS), an index of bone microstructure, in adrenal incidentaloma (AI) patients with subclinical hypercortisolism (SH). There are ethnic differences in cortisol sensitivities between Caucasian and Asian populations. We investigated the associations of cortisol and the adrenal androgen dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S) with TBS in AI patients with SH, adrenal Cushing’s syndrome (CS), and nonfunctional AI (NFAI).Methods: We measured TBS, cortisol levels after the overnight 1 mg dexamethasone suppression test (1 mg DST), and cortisol/DHEA-S in 61 patients with SH (30 men; 31 women), 19 with adrenal CS (4 men; 15 women), and 355 with NFAI (213 men; 142 women).Results: After adjusting for confounders, the serum cortisol level after 1 mg DST was inversely correlated with TBS in men (β = −0.133, P = 0.045) and women (β = − 0.140, P = 0.048). Higher cortisol/DHEA-S ratio was associated with lower TBS in women (β = − 0.252, P < 0.001), but not men. This inverse association of cortisol/DHEA-S ratio in women remained statistically significant after adjusting for the serum cortisol level after 1 mg DST (β = − 0.221, P = 0.008). Compared with women with NFAI, women with SH had 2.2% lower TBS (P = 0.040). Deteriorated bone microstructure (TBS < 1.230) was associated with the serum cortisol level after 1 mg DST (odds ratio [OR], 2.18; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04-4.53) and cortisol/DHEA-S ratio (OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.03-4.08).Conclusions: Subtle cortisol excess in both genders and reduced DHEA-S, especially in women, may contribute to impaired bone quality in Asian patients with SH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structures under a wide range of temperatures have been challenged by thermal problems. In order to assess the safety of structures in a thermal environment, thermal deformation and stress of structures should be determined by analysis and/or experimental method. This article presents a measurement method of the thermal deformation and stress of a double ring structure, which uses the digital image correlation method (DIC). The stress distribution of the double ring was obtained using a two‐dimensional stress–strain relation. Efforts to remove measurement noise in the calculation of strain and stress are explained in detail. In order to verify the proposed measurement method, a finite element analysis of the double ring structure was performed using ABAQUS software. The results of DIC‐based measurement and finite element analysis were found to be in good agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the clinical analysis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) of the sinonasal tract, including the survival rate and treatment outcome. Fifty patients who had previously received a diagnosis of extranodal NHL of the sinonasal cavity from May 1992 to April 2001 were included. We reviewed the patients' clinical characteristics and the survival rates, retrospectively. Of 50 patients, 49 were classified as having extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma and only one patient as having diffuse large B cell (DLBC) lymphoma according to the new WHO classification. Even though higher mortality rates were observed in patients receiving chemotherapy alone than in those receiving chemotherapy and radiation therapy in the advanced stage, the combination treatment of chemotherapy and radiation therapy failed to demonstrate a significantly higher survival rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Analyses using the largest Korean cohort of adrenal incidentaloma (AI) revealed that subtle cortisol excess in premenopausal women and reduced dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S) in postmenopausal women and men are associated with bone mineral density (BMD) reduction in Asian patients with subclinical hypercortisolism (SH). Introduction: Few studies evaluated bone metabolism in Asians with SH. We investigated associations of cortisol and DHEA-S, an adrenal androgen, with BMD in Asians with AI, with or without SH. Methods: We used cross-sectional data of a prospective multicenter study from Korea. We measured BMD, bone turnover markers, cortisol levels after 1-mg dexamethasone suppression test (1-mg DST), DHEA-S, and baseline cortisol to DHEA-S ratio (cort/DHEA-S) in 109 AI patients with SH (18 premenopausal, 38 postmenopausal women, and 53 men) and 686 with non-functional AI (NFAI; 59 premenopausal, 199 postmenopausal women, and 428 men). Results: Pre- and postmenopausal women, but not men, with SH had lower BMDs at lumbar spine (LS) than those with NFAI (P = 0.008~0.016). Premenopausal women with SH also had lower BMDs at the hip than those with NFAI (P = 0.009~0.012). After adjusting for confounders, cortisol levels after 1-mg DST demonstrated inverse associations with BMDs at all skeletal sites only in premenopausal women (β = − 0.042~− 0.033, P = 0.019~0.040). DHEA-S had positive associations with LS BMD in postmenopausal women (β = 0.096, P = 0.001) and men (β = 0.029, P = 0.038). The cort/DHEA-S had inverse associations with LS BMD in postmenopausal women (β = − 0.081, P = 0.004) and men (β = − 0.029, P = 0.011). These inverse associations of cort/DHEA-S remained significant after adjusting for cortisol levels after 1-mg DST (β = − 0.079~− 0.026, P = 0.006~0.029). In postmenopausal women, the odds ratios of lower BMD by DHEA-S and cort/DHEA-S was 0.26 (95% CI, 0.08–0.82) and 3.40 (95% CI, 1.12–10.33), respectively. Conclusion: Subtle cortisol excess in premenopausal women and reduced DHEA-S in postmenopausal women and men may contribute to BMD reduction in Asians with SH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnetostriction and dynamic magnetomechanical properties of the directionally solidified Tb0.33Dy0.67Fey/Epoxy composite were investigated as a function of volume fraction of RFe2 under a magnetic field. This composite was fabricated by infiltrating epoxy after extracting a eutectic phase of the directionally solidified Tb0.33Dy0.67Fey. It was found that the magnetostriction of the composite is higher than that of the as-grown specimens, and the maximum magnetostrictive strain of the sample, which has a volume fraction of 0.72, showed about 1000 ppm at H3=80 kA/m and an optimum preload of 8 MPa. Furthermore, the dynamic magnetomechanical properties of the composite Tb0.33Dy0.67Fey, which is the sensitivity of the strain to the applied field, increased by about two times that of as-grown samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the differences in insulin resistance and postprandial triglyceride response between hypertensive patients with or without hypertriglyceridaemia. Anthropometric, body composition, and blood pressure examination; Metabolic assessments; Baseline clinical characteristics of the patients.

Two sentences in the Discussion section were incorrect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the current–voltage characteristics of a carbon nanotube in a single electron transistor structure with alternating gate voltage. A continuous current enhancement effect with increasing frequency of the applied gate voltage up to 13 MHz is reported. Assuming that I=nef, more than 1000 electrons are driven to flow across the source–drain channel at VDS=100 mV, 13 MHz of gate voltage (Vp-p=2 V) and T=1.8 K. The continuous current enhancement is explained by the broadening effect of the discrete energy levels of the finite-length carbon nanotube. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a letter to the editor of the "Leukemia" journal reacting to an article on BRAF gene mutations in acute leukemias.

Fe[sub 0.7]Al[sub 0.3] is a reentrant spin glass, which undergoes a transition from a paramagnet to a disordered ferromagnet at T[sub c] ∼ 500 K; at a lower temperature the spins progressively freeze and it exhibits a spin-glass-like behavior. In the ferromagnetic phase spin waves with a q² dispersion axe observed at small q, which broaden rapidly and become diffusive beyond a critical wave vector q[sub 0]. On cooling the spin waves also disappear and a strong elastic central peak develops. For measurements around the (1,1,1) Bragg peak, a new sharp excitation is observed which has a linear dispersion behavior. It disappears above T[sub c], but persists throughout the spin-glass phase. It is not present in the stoichiometric Fe[sub 3]Al material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]