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Purpose: The accurate detection and quantification of hepatic steatosis using a noninvasive method are important for the management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the accuracy of the ultrasound-measured attenuation coefficient (AC) in the evaluation of hepatic steatosis.Methods: The PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched for prospective studies reporting the diagnostic accuracy of AC for assessing hepatic steatosis. The meta-analytic pooled sensitivity and specificity of AC for any grade of steatosis (S≥1) and advanced steatosis (S≥2) were estimated using a bivariate random-effects model. Meta-regression analysis was conducted to investigate the causes of heterogeneity among studies.Results: Thirteen studies including 1,509 patients were identified. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of AC for S≥1 were 76% (95% confidence interval [CI], 73% to 80%; I2=43%) and 84% (95% CI, 77% to 89%; I2=74%), respectively, while for S≥2 they were 87% (95% CI, 83% to 91%; I2=0%) and 79% (95% CI, 75% to 83%; I2=59%), respectively. Study heterogeneity was associated with body mass index (BMI) and the prevalence of steatosis or significant fibrosis.Conclusion: AC can be clinically useful for assessing hepatic steatosis, with good overall diagnostic performance. The data reported in the published literature differed according to BMI and the prevalence of steatosis or significant fibrosis, and careful interpretation with consideration of these factors might be needed.

Objective : Endovascular mechanical thrombectomy (MT) has been regarded as one of the standard treatments for acute ischemic stroke caused by large vessel occlusion. Despite the wide use of stent retrievers for MT, arterial intimal damage caused when deployed stent is pulled has been a certain disadvantage. We hypothesized that statin could protect and stabilize vessel damage after endovascular MT using a stent retriever. In this animal study, we observed the protective effects of the statins towards MT-induced vessel wall injury.Methods : Twenty-eight carotid arteries of fourteen rabbits were used in the experiments with MT using stent retriever. We divided the rabbits into four groups as follows : group 1, negative control; group 2, positive control; group 3, statin before MT; and group 4, statin after MT. After MT procedures, we harvested the carotid arteries and performed histomorphological and immunohistochemical analyses.Results : In histomorphological analysis with hematoxylin and eosin and Masson’s trichrome stain, significant intimal thickening (p

Background Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (HOA) is a rare clinical condition including an abnormal periosteal reaction in the long bones that causes painful swelling and tenderness of the extremities, digital clubbing, arthritis, synovitis, and joint effusions. Most cases are associated with tumorous conditions and most commonly with lung cancer. HOA has been rarely reported in association with other cancers. Case A patient with a history of recurrent renal cell carcinoma was referred to our clinic with bilateral leg pain, knee joint effusion, and arthritis. Simple radiography and bone scintigraphy confirmed a diagnosis of HOA. Oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, joint fluid aspiration, and intra-articular injection of pain medications were found to be effective in the management of HOA pain. Conclusions HOA prognosis depends on the underlying disease, therefore, cancer treatment is critical. This case demonstrates the need to consider HOA in patients with various malignancies who present with bone or joint pain of the extremities.

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is proven useful to differentiate benign and malignant soft tissue tumors (STTs). Radiomics utilizing a vast array of extracted imaging features has a potential to uncover disease characteristics. We aim to assess radiomics using DWI can outperform the conventional DWI for STT differentiation. In 151 patients with 80 benign and 71 malignant tumors, ADCmean and ADCmin were measured on solid portion within the mass by two different readers. For radiomics approach, tumors were segmented and 100 original radiomic features were extracted on ADC map. Eight radiomics models were built with training set (n = 105), using combinations of 2 different algorithms—multivariate logistic regression (MLR) and random forest (RF)—and 4 different inputs: radiomics features (R), R + ADCmin (I), R + ADCmean (E), R + ADCmin and ADCmean (A). All models were validated with test set (n = 46), and AUCs of ADCmean, ADCmin, MLR-R, RF-R, MLR-I, RF-I, MLR-E, RF-E, MLR-A and RF-A models were 0.729, 0.753 0.698, 0.700, 0.773, 0.807, 0.762, 0.744, 0.773 and 0.807, respectively, without statistically significant difference. In conclusion, radiomics approach did not add diagnostic value to conventional ADC measurement for differentiating benign and malignant STTs.

Objective Preoperative prediction of the arachnoid membrane descent in pituitary surgery is useful for achieving gross total removal and avoiding cerebrospinal fluid leakage resulting from tearing of the arachnoid membrane in the chiasmatic cistern. In this study, we analyzed the patterns of arachnoid membrane descent during or after pituitary tumor surgery and identified the factors related to this descent. Methods Analysis was restricted to pituitary macroadenomas not extending into the third ventricle or over the internal carotid artery. To minimize confounding factors, patients who underwent revision surgery, those who had a torn arachnoid during operation or small medial diaphragma sellae (DS) opening, and subtotal resections were excluded. We enrolled 41 consecutive patients in this retrospective analysis. The degree of arachnoid descent was categorized using intraoperative videos. Preoperative magnetic resonance findings, including tumor height, suprasellar extension, and variables including DS area and medial opening size, tumor composition, and displacement of the pituitary stalk and gland were evaluated to determine their correlations with arachnoid membrane descent. Results Arachnoid membrane descent was significantly correlated with DS area and medial opening size. Based on T2-weighted images (T2WI) magnetic resonance (MR) images, tumor composition was significantly associated with arachnoid membrane descent. Other factors were not significantly correlated with arachnoid membrane descent. Conclusion T2WI of tumor composition and preoperative MR imaging of DS area and medial opening provided valuable information regarding arachnoid membrane descent. These parameters may serve as fundamental measures to facilitate complete resection of pituitary macroadenomas.

Pancreatic metastasis from malignant phyllodes tumor (PT) of the breast is rare, and only a few cases have been reported in the literature. Here, we report a case of pancreatic metastasis from malignant PT of the breast in a 48-year-old woman. She had had three episodes of recurrence of malignant PT in her right breast. She presented with epigastric pain for 2 months. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a 6 cm-sized, well-defined, heterogeneous mass with peripheral enhancement in the body of the pancreas. Endoscopic ultrasonography-guided fine-needle aspiration was performed, and the pathologic report suggested spindle cell mesenchymal neoplasm. Subsequently, surgical excision was performed, and the mass was confirmed as a metastatic malignant PT. The imaging findings are discussed and the literature is briefly reviewed in this report.

Objectives. This study was conducted evaluate the efficacy of electromyography (EMG) using transcartilaginous (TC) electrodes through the thyroid cartilage and perichondrium.Methods. We prospectively collected EMG data from intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) of 54 nerves at risk in 38 patients during thyroidectomy. We followed standardized IONM procedures in all operations. EMG signals from both endotracheal tube (ET) electrodes and TC needle electrodes were recorded simultaneously. We compared the characteristics of the EMG signals and the efficacy of both methods.Results. Significantly higher mean EMG amplitudes were recorded by TC electrodes than by ET electrodes in all four-step procedures (V1-R1-R2-V2, P

This study analyzes the factors affecting residence duration by household type, considering children and income levels, using residential movement panel data from 2008 to 2017 in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, and Cox"s proportional hazard model. The main findings are as follows. First, the residential duration of low-income households with children is shorter than that of high-income households without children. Second, low-income households with children have shorter stays when their incomes decrease, and their household members increase. Third, low-income households without children have shorter stays if they have a lower income and live in larger-dwelling units, in apartments or in Seoul. Therefore, housing stabilization policies should be enforced differently depending on household characteristics. Additionally, these findings suggest that housing policies should be strengthened for households with low-income levels and many children. Housing welfare policies focusing on income, housing size, housing type, and residential area could be enhanced after increasing the housing stability of low-income households without children. These findings show that the factors affecting residential duration differ according to household characteristics. The results of this study could serve to justify various housing welfare policies from an evidence-based approach.

I want to analyze LG G5 advertisement, because LG G5 is different from other companies’ mobile phones. When LG G5 was released newly, LG G5 had special functions, unique designs, and several additional device and modular types. Therefore, LG G5 advertisement is worth researching. This research attempts to discover the perceived meaning in G5’s advertisement of LG. At the elaborations of research problem, two research questions arise as follows (1) how meaning is in the advertisement created through verbal expression (2) how meaning is in the advertisement supported by visual expression. The theories used are semiotics, signification, denotation and connotation. Methods are descriptive qualitative. The findings imply that LG G5 is a symbol of happiness, enjoyment, and an icon of fancy and modernity by the verbal expression. In addition, this shows LG G5’s brand image as LG is technology innovation company, as well as a company that support happiness in people’s life by verbal and non-verbal expression.Keywords: Visual and verbal images, life, good, happiness, phone, modular type

Objective This study examined the diagnostic validity of a three-item ultra-brief screening tool for online gaming disorder in line with the gaming disorder criteria in the International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision.Methods The Three-item Gaming disorder Test-Online-Centered (TIGTOC) was composed of three items using a four-point Likert scale selected from the Internet Game Use-Elicited Symptom Screen (IGUESS). Among a cohort of 2319 young-adolescent Internet users, the baseline data of 228 healthy controls and 45 Internet-gaming-disorder cases were analyzed. Receiver operation characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed using mental health specialists’ diagnoses as the gold standard.Results The ROC curve analysis showed an area under the curve of 86%. Using a cut-off score of 4 from a full range of 0–9, the sensitivity, specificity, and Cronbach’s α were 72%, 90%, and 0.811, respectively. TIGTOC scores was positively associated with time spent on online gaming, depressive symptoms, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms, and addictive Internet use.Conclusion The TIGTOC appears to be a brief, valid, and reliable screening tool for online gaming disorder within the community or in primary care settings.

BACKGROUND Multiparametric MRI provides complementary information for the diagnosis and management of multiple myeloma (MM). PURPOSE To evaluate the association of prognostic factors of MM and parameters derived from intravoxel-incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging (IVIM-DWI) and multiecho (ME) Dixon. STUDY TYPE Retrospective. POPULATION In all, 78 MM patients. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCES T1 -weighted turbo spin-echo sequences (TSE), IVIM-DWI, ME 3D gradient echo sequence with multistep adaptive fitting at 3T. ASSESSMENT The region of interest (ROI) on the vertebral body was independently measured on four parametric maps (Dslow , Dfast and perfusion fraction [f], and proton-density fat-fraction [Ff] maps) by two readers. All patients were categorized into three groups based on the International Staging System (ISS). STATISTICAL TESTS Three groups were compared using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post-hoc tests with Bonferroni correction. Logistic regression analysis was performed to predict the advancement of disease (early vs. advanced). Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to find the deterministic parameters. RESULTS Dslow and Ff were significantly different among ISS-1 (n = 38), ISS-2 (n = 22), and ISS-3 (n = 18) groups in both readers: 0.36, 0.41, and 0.58 × 10-3 mm2 /s for Dslow (P

이 연구에서는 e스포츠와 스포츠와의 관계를 보다 명확히 규명하여, e스포츠의 학문적 정당성을 확보하는 데 목적이 있다. e스포츠는 스포츠를 구성하는 대부분의 핵심요소를 내재하고 있다. 유희성, 경쟁성, 대중성, 신체성이 바로 그것이다. 그럼에도 불구하고 제기되는 몇 가지 제한점 중 대표적인 것은 규칙의 부재와 영원성이 보장되지 않는다는 점이다. 이러한 요소들을 당장 해결하고 극복하기는 쉽지 않다. 하지만 그에 대한 대비가 없다면 e스포츠의 학문적 체계화 및 스포츠로서의 정당성을 주장하는데 허점이 될 수 있는 상황이다. 따라서 이 연구에서는 이러한 허점을 보완하기 위한 과제를 크게 3가지로 구분하여 제시하였다. 첫째, e스포츠와 게임의 구분이 선행되어야 한다. 둘째, 규칙의 부재 및 심판의 역할이 부족하다면, 그것을 대체할 수 있는 방안을 마련할 필요가 있다. 셋째, 영원성이 보장되지 못한다면, 지금과 같이 e스포츠라는 큰 틀 안에서 새로운 세부종목으로 이루어지는 경기의 정당성을 학문적으로 제시하고 공론화시킬 필요가 있다. 이러한 과정들이 이루어진다면 e스포츠의 학문적 기반을 마련하고 스포츠의 범주에 부합할 수 있는 정당성을 가질 수 있을 것이라 생각한다.

Enhanced terahertz (THz) wave generation was demonstrated in nonlinear organic crystals through refractive index engineering, which improved phase matching characteristics substantially. Unlike conventional low-bandgap nonlinear organic crystals, the newly designed benzimidazolium-based HMI (2-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxystyryl)-1,3-dimethyl-1H-benzoimidazol-3-ium) chromophore possesses a relatively wide bandgap. This reduces the optical group index in the near-infrared, allowing better phase matching with the generated THz waves, and leads to high optical-to-THz conversion. A unique feature of the HMI-based crystals, compared to conventional wide-bandgap aniline-based crystals, is their remarkably larger macroscopic optical nonlinearity, a one order of magnitude higher diagonal component in macroscopic nonlinear susceptibility than NPP ((1-(4-nitrophenyl)pyrrolidin-2-yl)methanol) crystals. The HMI-based crystals also exhibited much higher thermal stability, with a melting temperature Tm above 250 C, versus aniline-based crystals (116 C for NPP). With pumping at the technologically important wavelength of 800 nm, the proposed HMI-based crystals boosted high optical-to-THz conversion efficiency, comparable to benchmark low-bandgap quinolinium crystals with state-of-the-art macroscopic nonlinearity. This performance is due to the excellent phase matching enabled by decreasing optical group indices in the near-infrared through wide-bandgap chromophores. The proposed wide-bandgap design is a promising way to control the refractive index of various nonlinear organic materials for enhanced frequency conversion processes.