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Background When early‐stage lung cancer is diagnosed, the recommended treatment is anatomical resection using video‐assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) or robotic lobectomy. However, nonanatomical resection, known as wedge resection (WR), which is performed to diagnose pulmonary nodules, can be problematic for clinicians performing VATS or robotic‐assisted thoracic surgery (RATS). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of VATS WR using multiplanar computed tomography reconstruction (CT MPR)‐fluoroscopy after CT guided microcoil localization to achieve complete pulmonary nodule resection. Methods Between January 2016 to December 2020, the medical records of patients who underwent CT‐guided microcoil localization for suspicious malignant pulmonary nodules and VATS WR with CT MPR and intraoperative fluoroscopy were retrospectively reviewed. Results All 130 patients successfully underwent CT‐guided localization. The success rate of VATS WR with CT MPR‐intraoperative fluoroscopy was 98.5%. Mean operation time was 58 min (range 50–84 min). The postoperative complication rate was 3.1%, and no major postoperative complications were reported. The mean postoperative length of hospital stay was 4.7 days (range 4–8 days). Conclusions VATS WR using CT MPR‐fluoroscopy after CT guided microcoil localization is a safe and highly effective approach for complete pulmonary nodule resection. However, even in uniport VATS or recently performed robotic surgery, localization and resection of nonvisible, nonpalpable pulmonary nodules is a challenging problem. Consequently, satisfactory outcomes can be expected if this technique is used for suspicious malignant pulmonary nodule resection., VATS wedge resection with CT multiplanar reconstruction‐fluoroscopy is a safe and highly effective approach for complete pulmonary nodule resection. It will help clinicians perform uniportal VATS or robotic surgery for the localization and resection of nonvisible, nonpalpable pulmonary nodules.

BACKGROUND A hook wire has been most widely used for computed tomography (CT)-guided localization before video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). However, microcoils have been suggested to replace wires. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy, VATS procedure time, and excised volume of specimens of CT-guided localization using a hook wire and microcoil. METHODS The medical records of 106 patients with 110 pulmonary nodules who underwent CT-guided localization using a hook wire (group A) or microcoil (group B) before VATS performed between March 2013 and January 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS The procedure success rate was 100% in both groups. Dislodgement occurred in four patients in group A and not in group B. Patient pain score was significantly lower for group B than group A (4.0 vs. 6.3; P

INTRODUCTION The aim of this study was to investigate the association between Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) gene polymorphisms and human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cervical neoplasia in Korean women. MATERIAL AND METHODS Peripheral blood samples collected from 127 patients with HPV-related cervical neoplasia and 175 healthy women were genotyped for the TLR2 -16934, +1350, intron1, and 3' untranslated region (UTR) polymorphisms using the polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism method. RESULTS The TLR2 -16934 A/A, intron1 A/A, and +1350 T/C genotypes were more frequent in patients than in controls [odds ratio (OR) = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.302-3.475, p = 0.002; OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.168-3.169, p = 0.010; and OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.211-3.123, p = 0.006, respectively]. The frequencies of the TLR2 + 1350 C and 3'UTR G alleles were also higher in patients (OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.236-3.121, p = 0.004 and OR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.005-3.076, p = 0.046, respectively). The genotype frequencies of TLR2 -16934 A/A and intron1 A/A increased with increasing oncogenic risk of the HPV genotype, as follows. low-risk type < high-risk type < HPV-16 and/or HPV-18 type (p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS Our study provides the first evidence that TLR2 gene polymorphisms are associated with high-risk type HPV-related cervical neoplasia and may play an important role in susceptibility to HPV infection. Further large-scale and functional studies are needed to confirm the role of TLR2 gene polymorphisms in HPV-related cervical neoplasia.

A significant improvement in surface morphology of ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) film was achieved with hydrogen heat treatment of nanodiamond (ND) seed particles. By hydrogen heat treatment, the average size of ND aggregates was greatly reduced from ∼2 µm to ∼55 nm as the ND surfaces were modified to hydrogen-containing functionalities. Si surfaces seeded with the hydrogen heat-treated ND seeds showed very high seeds densities up to ∼1011 cm−2. The grown UNCD film with ND seeds treated at 600 °C provided a very smooth surface morphology consisted of small and uniformly distributed grains compared to the film grown with untreated ND seeds. AFM scan image of the grown UNCD films seeded with untreated and hydrogen heat-treated ND particles.

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings are getting new trends for cutting tool applications. In this research work, the DLC coatings were deposited on 15 × 15 × 5-mm tungsten carbide cobalt substrates with variation of bias voltage from 0 to 500 V. The DLC films of 400 nm were deposited using filter cathode vacuum arc system, and 100-nm chromium interlayer was deposited by sputtering. The optimized conditions for plasma pretreatment at different argon flow rates and deposition rates with bias variation were found. The effect of bias voltage on microstructure, tribology, adhesion, and mechanical properties were evaluated. The characterization techniques employed were field emission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, wear test, SEM, scratch test, and nano-indentation. The effect of substrate pretreatment on film adhesion was also evaluated. It was observed that etching rate increased with the increase in Ar flow rate while DLC deposition and sputtering rates decreased with increase in the bias voltage. The characterization suggests the DLC coatings deposited at 0 V bias as optimum condition because of showing the best results among all other conditions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The diamond like carbon coatings (DLC) of 400 nm thickness was deposited by filtered cathodic vacuum arc system. The argon plasma etched and non-etched tungsten carbidecobalt (WC-Co) and stainless steel (SUS) were used as substrates. The chromium was deposited as an interlayer for diamond like carbon coatings on the etched and non-etched WC-Co and SUS substrates. The present research is to evaluate the effect of argon plasma etching of the substrates on microstructure, tribology and adhesion strength of DLC coatings. The films were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, tribology and scratch tests. The Raman studies showed the broad peak ∼1550 cm −1 indicates the formation of amorphous carbon or diamond-like carbon. It was found that the DLC coatings on the plasma etched substrates of WC-Co and SUS have shown the low friction coefficient of ∼0.12–0.14. The DLC coatings on plasma etched substrates of WC-Co have better adhesion strength. The results showed that the argon plasma etching of substrate reduces the surface roughness to ∼2.5 nm, resulting in smooth morphology, good adhesion and wear resistance as compared to DLC coating on non-etched substrates. The scanning electron microscopic studies showed that the DLC coated specimens with plasma etched substrates have minimum damage as compared to the DLC coated non etched substrates.

A new dual-band Wilkinson divider structure is proposed for the arbitrary power division ratio and matched output ports.The compact dual-band stubbed Π sections are employed in both the Wilkinson divider and the output matching section. It has simple structure based on the compact open stub topology and the overall divider length can be reduced in half as compared with similar works based on the two cascaded section transformers. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 52: 1187–1190, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.25119

A new dual-band operation scheme is proposed for the branch-line coupler using two center-tapped branches. The proposed coupler has two branches with a stub line attached at the center. Only two stubs are required for the dual-band operation, which reduces the circuit complexity and minimizes the structural change from the conventional branch-line coupler. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 3136–3139, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23924

We previously reported that PEGylated conjugated linoleic acid (PCLA) as a pro-drug treatment of cultures of 3T3-L1 cells containing differentiated adipocytes caused de-differentiation by downregulation of PPARγ2-induced adipogenesis, and cell apoptosis induced by PCLA was lower than that induced by conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) owing to the biocompatible and hydrophilic properties of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). To further investigate our previous observations, the present study is designed to evaluate the lipolytic action of PCLA and its role in biochemical signaling pathways of 3T3-L1 cells when compared to the CLA itself. Although both CLA and PCLA stimulated lipolysis, our results indicated a sensitivity difference between CLA and PCLA treatment: a time-dependent effect on lipolysis and p-extracellular signal-related kinases (ERK) expression was observed for PCLA-treated, but not for CLA-treated cultures. Also, the induction by PCLA of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK)/ERK mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation was linked to secretion of adipo-cytokines, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-8 (IL-8), in time-dependent manners. Interestingly, adenylyl cyclase inhibitor, 2′, 5′-dideoxyadenosine (DDA), pre-treatment did not prevent PCLA-stimulated lipolysis. In fact, isoproterenol, but not PCLA, caused a significant increase in cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels, suggesting that the PCLA-induced lipolysis was not mediated in the conventional cAMP-dependent pathway and the cAMP was the intracellular mediator for isoproterenol-induced lipolysis. Overall, our findings provide support for a role for PCLA as a pro-drug in the regulation of metabolism in adipose tissue. J. Cell. Physiol. 214: 283–294, 2008. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The increased use of umbilical cord blood (UCB) raises issues regarding the quality of cryopreserved UCB. This study investigated whether early apoptosis of CD34+ cells is part of the functional heterogeneity of cryopreserved UCB. Annexin V binding of CD34+ PI(-) cells showed wide variations in both fresh and cryopreserved UCBs, with greater variation among units frozen for > 5 years. Xenotransplantation of sorted cells into non-obese diabetic severe combined immunodeficient mice demonstrated that the Annexin V assay identified most repopulating activities in UCB units. Thus, early apoptosis of CD34+ cells could influence the outcome of transplantation using cryopreserved UCB.