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OBJECTIVE This study aimed to examine the degree of clinical and functional improvement after paliperidone long-acting injectable (LAI) administration according to the duration of illness. METHODS Patients with schizophrenia diagnosed by ICD-10 criteria who were planned to start once-monthly paliperidone LAI were recruited from 2010 to 2017. Clinical and functional changes were measured every 4 weeks using the Clinical Global Impressions-Severity of Illness scale (CGI-S) and Personal and Social Performance scale (PSP), respectively, for 6 months after paliperidone LAI initiation. Improvements after starting paliperidone LAI were compared among patients with duration of illness < 3 years, ≥ 3 and < 10 years, and ≥ 10 years. RESULTS A total of 1,166 participants (duration of illness < 3 years, n = 240; 3 ≤ duration of illness < 10 years, n = 442; duration of illness ≥ 10 years, n = 484) were enrolled. The total olanzapine-equivalent doses of antipsychotics and the LAI monotherapy proportion at the final visit were significantly different among the 3 duration of illness groups (dose: F₂,₁₁₆₃ = 18.41, P < .001; monotherapy: χ²₂ = 11.73, P = .003). The changes in CGI-S score were significantly different according to the duration of illness, and those with duration of illness < 3 years showed the best improvement (group × week: χ²₁₂ = 25.33, P = .013). All 3 groups showed significantly improved PSP scores (week: χ²₆ = 294.2, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Starting paliperidone LAI significantly improved clinical and functional outcomes in patients with schizophrenia, especially those with shorter duration of illness. These findings suggest that LAI antipsychotic administration may be considered in early-stage schizophrenia for improved outcomes.

Childhood Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder whose symptoms include the inability to focus, impulsivity, and extremely active behavior. Advanced Test of Attention (ATA) is used to diagnose ADHD by measuring the patient’s impulse rate, average response rate, standard deviation rate, and omission rate during visual and auditory stimulation. However, ATA metrics are often skewed due to long task times and level of difficulty. We recruited healthy and ADHD children to monitor their performance during ATA. This work highlights diffuse optical tomography’s capability in providing cerebral perfusion changes to supplement ATA results for monitoring the cognitive effects of ADHD.

Forest biomass has recently been highlighted as a renewable energy source in South Korea. As the Renewable Energy Certificate weight has been revised to encourage the use of forest biomass for energy production, forest operations have focused on the development of new technologies and harvesting methods for the extraction and utilization of forest biomass. This study examined the application of a drum chipper to forest biomass and analyzed the effects of screen size (40, 50, 65, and 80 mm) on productivity, cost, and particle size distribution. When the screen size was 40 mm to 65 mm, the chipping productivity improved by up to 3.6 times, the fuel consumption decreased by up to 29.7%, and the chipping cost was reduced by up to 31.9%. The fines content tended to decrease with an increase in screen size. The size of woodchips was less than 100 mm in length and ranged from 10 to 63 mm. The 65 mm screen was the most effective (e.g., producing optimal wood chip size at an acceptable production rate) for the chipping operation. Harvesting methods and drying time are also important factors that determine the utilization efficiency of forest biomass. Therefore, further research should be focused on the effect of moisture content on chipping productivity, power required, and fine particle size in forest biomass productions.

Background Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) contains heterogeneous subtypes with various molecular dysregulation at the gene, protein and microRNA levels. Compared with the GCB subtype, the non-germinal center B-like (non-GCB)/activated B cell-like (ABC) subtype exhibits frequent progression despite standard immunochemotherapy. We aimed to investigate the effects of miR-197 on the progression and chemosensitivity of DLBCL with respect to the GCB and non-GCB/ABC subtypes. Methods To screen distinctively expressed microRNAs, microRNA expression patterns were analyzed in 10 DLBCL cases by microarray chip assays. Using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), associations between miR-197 expression levels and clinicopathologic variables were investigated in 51 DLBCL tissue samples. The effects of miR-197 on doxorubicin chemosensitivity were investigated using the OCI-Ly1 and SUDHL9 cell lines. Results MicroRNA expression profiling by hierarchical clustering revealed that miR-197 was one of the distinctively expressed microRNAs in DLBCL. Quantitative analysis using qRT-PCR revealed that miR-197 levels were not correlated with clinicopathologic variables, including the international prognostic index, but low miR-197 levels were significantly associated with lymphoma progression defined by refractoriness, relapse or death in the rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP)-treated subgroup (n = 43; p = 0.004). Among the three molecular groups, i.e., the GCB, non-GCB/miR-197low and non-GCB/miR-197high groups, progression was most frequently observed in the non-GCB/miR-197low group in the full cohort (p = 0.013) and the R-CHOP cohort (p = 0.008). In survival analysis, low miR-197 levels were independently predictive of shorter progression-free survival in the R-CHOP cohort (p = 0.031; HR = 27.9) and the non-GCB subgroup (p = 0.037; HR = 21.5) but not in the GCB subgroup. Using SUDHL9 (ABC type) and OCI-Ly1 (GCB type) cells, the effects of doxorubicin on reducing cell viability were enhanced by miR-197 transfection. In apoptosis assays, miR-197 transfection enhanced doxorubicin-induced apoptosis in SUDHL9 cells but not in OCI-Ly1 cells, suggesting a chemosensitizing effect of miR-197 in ABC DLBCL. Conclusions These results suggest the role of miR-197 as a biomarker with potential therapeutic implications. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12967-018-1537-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Recently, the genetic alterations associated with tumor progression and impaired host immunity against transformed cells draw increased attention. Here, we characterized the differential gene expression patterns and protein expression in tumor-free lymph node from recurrent and non-recurrent tumors to identify independent prognostic markers for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). A cDNA microarray analysis was performed to identify the differentially expressed genes in regional tumor-free lymph nodes from OSCC patients with and without recurrence. Then, the protein expression of the selected genes was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in 60 OSCC patients to determine their association with survival. Widespread down-regulation of genes involved in antigen processing and recognition in lymph nodes was a distinctive feature. In univariate Kaplan–Meier analysis, lower expression of CD40L and CD80 in tumor-free lymph nodes was significantly correlated with poorer survival. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, CD40L was identified as an independent prognostic marker of disease-free survival. Our data indicate that impaired host immunity (decreased CD40L expression) along with the TNM staging might be an important factor determining the prognosis of OSCC.

Purpose To evaluate the prognostic value of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in patients with extrahepatic bile duct (EHBD) cancer undergoing surgical resection and adjuvant radiotherapy. Methods Between January 2000 and August 2006, patients who underwent complete resection followed by adjuvant radiotherapy for EHBD cancer were enrolled in this study. The expression of MMP-9 was assessed with immunohistochemical staining. The prognostic values of the MMP-9 expression and other clinicopathologic factors were evaluated in univariate and multivariate analyses. Results Sixty-six patients were included in this study. All received radiotherapy with a median dose of 40 Gy (range, 40–56), and 61 patients received concomitant fluoropyrimidine chemotherapy. MMP-9 was highly expressed in 33 patients (50.0%). MMP-9 expression was significantly associated with locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRRFS) and overall survival (OS) but not with distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS). The 5-year LRRFS and OS rates were 50.8% versus 86.5% (p = .0281), and 23.3% versus 68.1% (p = .0087) in patients with low and high expression of MMP-9, respectively. Among the clinicopathologic factors, tumor location was associated with DMFS and OS (p = .0292 and .0003, respectively). Nodal stage and histologic differentiation showed significant association with DMFS (p = .0277 and .0060, respectively). Based on multivariate analysis for OS, tumor location was the only significant prognostic factor (p = .0021), while MMP-9 expression showed marginal significance (p = .0633). Conclusion MMP-9 expression is a useful prognostic factor for predicting LRRFS and OS in patients with EHBD cancer after surgical resection and adjuvant radiotherapy.

Background Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) expressed by endothelial cells catalyzes the metabolism of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), which are vasoactive agents. Methods We used a unilateral ureteral obstruction mouse model of kidney fibrosis to determine whether inhibition of sEH activity reduces fibrosis, the final common pathway for chronic kidney disease. Results sEH activity was inhibited by continuous release of the inhibitor 12-(3-adamantan-1-ylureido)-dodecanoic acid (AUDA) for 1 or 2 weeks. Treatment with AUDA significantly ameliorated tubulointerstitial fibrosis by reducing fibroblast mobilization and enhancing endothelial cell activity. In an in vitro model of endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) using human vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs), AUDA prevented the morphologic changes associated with EndMT and reduced expression of fibroblast-specific protein 1. Furthermore, HUVECs activated by AUDA prevented the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of tubular epithelial cells in a co-culture system. Conclusion Our findings suggest that regulation of sEH is a potential target for therapies aimed at delaying the progression of kidney fibrosis by inhibiting EndMT and EMT.

Epstein-Barr virus (human herpesvirus-4) is very common virus that can be detected in more than 95% of the human population. Most people are asymptomatic and live their entire lives in a chronically infected state (IgG positive). However, in some populations, the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been involved in the occurrence of a wide range of B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders (LPDs), including Burkitt lymphoma, classic Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and immune–deficiency associated LPDs (post-transplant and human immunodeficiency virus–associated LPDs). T-cell LPDs have been reported to be associated with EBV with a subset of peripheral T-cell lymphomas, angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphomas, extranodal nasal natural killer/T-cell lymphomas, and other rare histotypes. This article reviews the current evidence covering EBV-associated LPDs based on the 2016 classification of the World Health Organization. These LPD entities often pose diagnostic challenges, both clinically and pathologically, so it is important to understand their unique pathophysiology for correct diagnoses and optimal management.

Here, we describe our experience with secondary neurolymphomatosis (NL) in non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients, with the emphasis on the diagnosis process. A retrospective chart review of 12 patients from 3 tertiary academic centers between January 2005 and December 2015 was conducted. Secondary NL was diagnosed within a median interval of 10 months (range 5-41 months) after initial diagnosis of NHL. Painful neuropathy was present in 66.7%, but the diagnosis of NL was delayed in nine out of 12 patients (75.0%) by median of 2 months. Diagnostic modalities included CSF analysis performed in nine patients (75.0%), electrodiagnostic studies in seven (58.3%), radiologic studies in all, and nerve biopsy in two (16.7%). The diagnostic yield was 100.0% (15/15) for FDG-PET/CT and 75.0% (9/12) for MRI. Our experience emphasizes the importance of clinical suspicion of NL in patients with previous history of NHL and selection of diagnostic modality with the greatest clinical utility.

Molecular pathologic testing plays an important role for the diagnosis, prognostication and decision of treatment strategy in lymphoproliferative disease. Here, we briefly review the molecular tests currently used for lymphoproliferative disease and those which will be implicated in clinical practice in the near future. Specifically, this guideline addresses the clonality test for B- and T-cell proliferative lesions, molecular cytogenetic tests for malignant lymphoma, determination of cell-of-origin in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and molecular genetic alterations incorporated in the 2016 revision of the World Health Organization classification of lymphoid neoplasms. Finally, a new perspective on the next-generation sequencing for diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic purpose in malignant lymphoma will be summarized.

// Hyojin Kim 1 , Jeong Mi Yang 1 , Yan Jin 1 , Sanghoon Jheon 2 , Kwhanmien Kim 2 , Choon Taek Lee 3 , Jin-Haeng Chung 1 , Jin Ho Paik 1 1 Department of Pathology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea 2 Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea 3 Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea Correspondence to: Jin Ho Paik, email: paikjh@snu.ac.kr Jin-Haeng Chung, email: chungjh@snu.ac.kr Keywords: microRNA, lung cancer, adenocarcinoma, miR-342-3p, ALK Received: May 30, 2016 Accepted: December 01, 2016 Published: December 27, 2016 ABSTRACT Lung adenocarcinoma has distinctive clinicopathological features that are related to specific genetic alterations, including EGFR and KRAS mutations and ALK rearrangement. MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate many important biological processes and influence cancer phenotypes. This study retrospectively investigated microRNA expression profiles, and their clinicopathological implications, in lung adenocarcinoma according to genetic status ( EGFR , KRAS , ALK , and triple negative). A total of 72 surgically resected lung adenocarcinoma specimens (19 EGFR- mutated, 17 KRAS -mutated, 16 ALK -rearranged, and 20 triple negative cancers) were screened for 23 microRNAs using quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. We then evaluated the associations between the microRNA expressions and the cancers’ genetic and clinicopathological features. Eight microRNAs were associated with clinicopathological features, such as male sex and ever-smoker status (high miR-373-3p, miR-1343-3p, miR-138-1-3p, and miR-764; low miR-27b-3p) and vascular invasion (high miR-27b-3p; low miR-1343-3p and miR-764). Clustering and discriminant analyses revealed that the microRNA expression patterns in the ALK group were different from those in the EGFR and KRAS groups. Five microRNAs (high miR-1343-3p; low miR-671-3p, miR-103a-3p, let-7e, and miR-342-3p) were especially distinctive in the ALK group, compared to the EGFR and KRAS groups. Moreover, a significant association was observed between ALK -rearrangement, decreased miR-342-3p expression, and immunohistochemical loss of E-cadherin. Therefore, microRNA expression profiles appear to have distinctive clinicopathological implications in ALK- rearranged lung adenocarcinoma. Furthermore, the association of ALK rearrangement, decreased miR-342-3p expression, and E-cadherin loss might indicate that miR-342-3p is involved in the ALK -associated phenotypes and epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

Interest in the production of renewable energy using forest biomass is increasing in South Korea, and improved knowledge on operations logistics to lower biomass harvesting costs is needed. This study aimed to build a low-cost forest-biomass harvesting system by analyzing the costs of two integrated (cut-to-length and whole-tree) harvesting systems for logs and logging residues. Two integrated harvesting systems were carried out in the clear-cut mixed forest on a steep slope. Compared to the cut-to-length system that separately extracts logs and logging residues in a forest, the cable whole-tree harvesting system can save $8.8/green weight ton (Gwt) because it requires no additional yarding operation cost of logging residues. Moreover, a breakeven analysis shows that the required machine utilization rates that favor whole-tree harvesting systems over cut-to-length harvesting were more than 70% for cable harvesting systems. The introduction of the whole-tree harvesting system is, therefore, required to produce forest biomass at a low cost. In the future, studies on forest-biomass processing and transportation systems will be needed to provide a biomass feedstock supply cost from stump to biomass power plant.

Background Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) lymphadenitis is an under-recognized entity, and data of the true burden in children are limited. Without a high index of suspicion, diagnosis may be delayed and microbiological detection is challenging. Here, we report a cluster of NTM lymphadenitis experienced in Korean children. Methods Subjects under 19 years of age diagnosed with NTM lymphadenitis during November 2016–April 2017 and April 2018 were included. Electronic medical records were reviewed for clinical, laboratory and pathological findings. Information regarding underlying health conditions and environmental exposure factors was obtained through interview and questionnaires. Results A total of ten subjects were diagnosed during 18 months. All subjects were 8–15 years of age, previously healthy, male and had unilateral, nontender, cervicofacial lymphadenitis for more than 3 weeks with no significant systemic symptoms and no response to empirical antibiotics. Lymph nodes involved were submandibular (n = 8), preauricular (n = 6) and submental (n = 1). Five patients had two infected nodes and violaceous discoloration was seen in seven subjects. Biopsy specimens revealed chronic granulomatous inflammation and acid-fast bacteria culture identified Mycobacterium haemophilum in two cases and NTM polymerase chain reaction was positive in two cases. Survey revealed various common exposure sources. Conclusion NTM lymphadenitis is rare but increasing in detection and it may occur in children and adolescents. Diagnosis requires high index of suspicion and communication between clinicians and the laboratory is essential for identification of NTM., Graphical Abstract

We developed a single-camera two-channel hemodynamic imaging system that uses near-infrared light to monitor the mouse brain in vivo with an exposed, un-thinned, and intact skull to explore the effect of Parkinson's disease on the resting state functional connectivity of the brain. To demonstrate our system's ability to monitor cerebral hemodynamics, we first performed direct electrical stimulation of an anesthetized healthy mouse brain and detected hemodynamic changes localized to the stimulated area. Subsequently, we developed a unilaterally lesioned 6-hydroxydopamine (hemi-parkinsonian) mouse model and detected the differences in functional connectivity between the normal and hemi-parkinsonian mouse brains by comparing the hemispheric hemodynamic correlations during the resting state. Seed-based correlation for the oxy-hemoglobin channel from the left and right hemispheres of healthy mice was much higher and more symmetric than in hemi-parkinsonian mice. Through a k-means clustering of the hemodynamic signals, the healthy mouse brains were segmented according to brain region, but the hemi-parkinsonian mice did not show a similar segmentation. Overall, this study highlights the development of a spatial multiplexing hemodynamic imaging system that reveals the resting state hemodynamic connectivity in healthy and hemi-parkinsonian mice.

The head-up tilt table test (HUT) is one of the primary clinical examinations for evaluating orthostatic intolerance (OI). HUT can be divided into three phases: dynamic tilt phase (supine to tilt up), static tilt phase (remain tilted at 70°), and post tilt phase (tilt down back to supine position). Commonly, blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) are monitored to observe for OI symptoms, but are indirect measurements of cerebral perfusion and can lead to inaccurate HUT evaluation. In this study, we implemented a 108-channel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) probe to characterize HUT performance by monitoring cerebral hemodynamic changes for healthy controls (HCs), OI patients with normal HUT results, and OI patients with positive HUT results: vasovagal syncope (VS), postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), orthostatic hypotension (OH), and orthostatic hypertension (OHT). By the end of the static tilt phase, OI patients typically did not show a complete recovery back to baseline cerebral oxygenation and total blood volume compared to HCs. We characterized the return to cerebral homeostasis by polynomial fitting total blood volume changes and determining the inflection point. The OI patients with normal HUT results, VS, OH, or OHT showed a delay in the return to cerebral homeostasis compared to the HC group during HUT.

In this paper, we propose a design of monitoring equipment that verifies 8K UHD video service provided in various forms to enable stable transmission and reception on real-time. It is implemented to be able to receive 8K video transmitted in a divided form by heterogeneous network.

Background Antitumor immune response of programmed cell death ligand (PD-L1) has shown clinical value not only in Hodgkin lymphoma and EBV-associated lymphomas but also in EBV-negative diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) of non-germinal center B cell-like (non-GCB) subtype. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is known to induce PD-L1 in immune cells and its activated form, phosphorylated STAT3 (pSTAT3), is also frequently expressed in non-GCB DLBCL. Herein, we investigated associations between PD-L1 expression/gene alteration, pSTAT3 expression and clinicopathologic variables in EBV-negative DLBCL. Methods In 107 cases of DLBCLs with non-GCB subtype (67%; 72/107), GCB subtype (25%; 27/107) and unclassifiable cases (8%; 8/107), we performed PD-L1 and pSTAT3 immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization for PD-L1 gene translocation and copy number gain/amplification. Results PD-L1 was expressed in tumor cells (PD-L1t) in 21% (23/107; 30% cutoff), immune cells (PD-L1i) in 36% (38/107; 20% cutoff), and pSTAT3 in tumor nuclei in 41% (44/107; 40% cutoff). PD-L1 gene alteration was observed in 10% (10/102) including translocation in 6% (6/102) and copy number gain/amplification in 4% (4/102). Non-GCB subtype was associated with PD-L1t and pSTAT3 (p = 0.006 and p = 0.042), and tended to have PD-L1 gene alteration (p = 0.058). Tumoral PD-L1 expression without gene alteration (PD-L1t+ GA−) correlated with pSTAT3-positive tumor cell proportions (%) (p = 0.033). In survival analysis, pSTAT3 expression independently predicted shorter PFS in total cohort (p = 0.017) and R-CHOP-treated group (p = 0.007), and in pSTAT3-negative R-CHOP-treated subset, PD-L1 expression in immune cells (PD-L1i) correlated with shorter PFS (p = 0.042). Conclusions Gene alteration and protein expression of PD-L1 and pSTAT3 expression were closely related in DLBCL and constituted features of non-GCB subtype. In addition to known clinical significance of pSTAT3, immune cell expression of PD-L1 (PD-L1i) had also clinical value in pSTAT3-dependent manner. These findings may provide an insight into immunotherapeutic strategy and risk stratification in DLBCL patients. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12967-018-1689-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a pathologically heterogeneous disease with different prognoses according to its molecular profiles. Despite the broad usage of 18F-fluoro-2-dexoxy-d-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), previous studies that have investigated the value of interim 18F-FDG PET/CT in DLBCL have given the controversial results. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of interim 18F-FDG PET/CT in DLBCL according to germinal center B cell-like (GCB) and non-GCB molecular profiling. We enrolled 118 newly diagnosed DLBCL patients treated with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone (R-CHOP). Interim 18F-FDG PET/CT scans performed after 2 or 3 cycles of R-CHOP treatment were evaluated based on the Lugano response criteria. Patients were grouped as GCB or non-GCB molecular subtypes according to immunohistochemistry results of CD10, BCL6, and MUM1, based on Hans’ algorithm. In total 118 DLBCL patients, 35 % were classified as GCB, and 65 % were classified as non-GCB. Interim PET/CT was negative in 70 %, and positive in 30 %. During the median follow-up period of 23 months, the positive interim 18F-FDG PET/CT group showed significantly inferior progression free survival (PFS) compared to the negative interim 18F-FDG PET/CT group (P = 0.0004) in entire patients. A subgroup analysis according to molecular profiling demonstrated significant difference of PFS between the positive and negative interim 18F-FDG PET groups in GCB subtype of DLBCL (P = 0.0001), but there was no significant difference of PFS between the positive and negative interim 18F-FDG PET groups in non-GCB subtype of DLBCL. Interim 18F-FDG PET/CT scanning had a significant predictive value for disease progression in patients with the GCB subtype of DLBCL treated with R-CHOP, but not in those with the non-GCB subtype. Therefore, molecular profiles of DLBCL should be considered for interim 18F-FDG PET/CT practice.

Obesity is the state of excessive body fat accumulation and is mainly caused by consuming more calories than are burned through physical activity. Herbal acupuncture (HA), also known as pharmacopuncture, has been increasingly used in clinics of Korean medical to alleviate obesity. This review analyzed four clinical studies and 16 animal studies on the effectiveness of HA as a treatment for obesity. Clinical evidence suggests that various kinds of HA might be beneficial for treating obesity; however, further investigations with well-designed, evidence-based, randomized clinical trials are needed. Animal studies support the idea that HA might be beneficial for the treatment of obesity and provide possible mechanisms, such as anti-inflammation, antioxidation, modulating lipid metabolism and so on, to explain the effect of HA on obesity. This review, based on the evidence collected, suggests that HA could have a beneficial effect for alleviating obesity by modulating inflammation, oxidative stress, lipid metabolism, leptin, and the insulin signal.

In this paper, the hierarchical space time cyclic delay diversity (H-STCDD) scheme is proposed. Proposed scheme uses hierarchical modulation and achieves approximately full rate. It also uses a cyclic delay diversity scheme, which improves the benefit of channel coding particularly in high SNR environment between source to relay and source to destination. According to simulation result, proposed scheme has up to 2.2 dB better BER performance than conventional cooperative scheme at BER of 10ź3 and has similar BER performance with the STCDD scheme particularly in high SNR environment between source to relay and source to destination. Throughput of the proposed scheme is better than those of other cooperative schemes. Therefore proposed scheme is more efficient than other cooperative scheme and can be efficiently used in high SNR environment between source to relay and source to destination.

Aims To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) expression in the tumour microenvironments of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Methods and results Tumour tissues from 126 DLBCL patients were immunostained for PD-L1 and PD-1. The expression of PD-L1 by tumour cells and/or tumour-infiltrating immune cells (mainly macrophages) was evaluated, and the number of tumour-infiltrating PD-1(+) cells was assessed. PD-L1 expression in tumour cells was observed in 61.1% of DLBCLs, with a weak intensity in 29.4%, moderate intensity in 21.4% and strong intensity in 10.3% of cases. Strong PD-L1 expression in tumour cells was associated significantly with the presence of B symptoms (adjusted P = 0.005) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection (adjusted P = 0.015), and tended to be higher in activated B cell-like immunophenotype (16.7%) than germinal centre B cell-like immunophenotype (2.5%) (adjusted P = 0.271). DLBCLs with PD-L1 expression in tumour cells/macrophages showed similar clinicopathological characteristics. The quantity of PD-1(+) tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes correlated positively with the level of PD-L1 expression in tumour cells (P = 0.042) or in tumour cells/macrophages (P = 0.03). Increased infiltration of PD-1(+) cells was associated with prolonged progression-free survival (P = 0.005) and overall survival (P = 0.026) in DLBCL patients treated with rituximab-cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone (R-CHOP), whereas PD-L1 expression had no prognostic significance. Conclusions PD-L1 and PD-1 were expressed variably in DLBCLs by tumour cells and tumour-infiltrating immune cells and might be potential therapeutic targets using PD-1/PD-L1 blockade.

Significance: Monitoring of cerebral perfusion rather than blood pressure changes during a head-up tilt test (HUTT) is proposed to understand the pathophysiological effect of orthostatic intolerance (OI), including orthostatic hypotension (OH), in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. Aim: We aim to characterize and distinguish the cerebral perfusion response to a HUTT for healthy controls (HCs) and PD patients with OI symptoms. Approach: Thirty-nine PD patients with OI symptoms [10 PD patients with OH (PD-OH) and 29 PD patients with normal HUTT results (PD-NOR)], along with seven HCs participated. A 108-channel diffuse optical tomography (DOT) system was used to reconstruct prefrontal oxyhemoglobin (HbO), deoxyhemoglobin (Hb), and total hemoglobin (HbT) changes during dynamic tilt (from supine to 70-deg tilt) and static tilt (remained tilted at 70 deg). Results: HCs showed rapid recovery of cerebral perfusion in the early stages of static tilt. PD-OH patients showed decreasing HbO and HbT during dynamic tilt, continuing into the static tilt period. The rate of HbO change from dynamic tilt to static tilt is the distinguishing feature between HCs and PD-OH patients. Accordingly, PD-NOR patients were subgrouped based on positive-rate and negative-rate of HbO change. PD patients with a negative rate of HbO change were more likely to report severe OI symptoms in the COMPASS questionnaire. Conclusions: Our findings showcase the usability of DOT for sensitive detection and quantification of autonomic dysfunction in PD patients with OI symptoms, even those with normal HUTT results.

Although C1q nephropathy (C1qN) was introduced three decades ago, the clinical significance and renal outcomes of C1qN remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics of C1qN, including renal outcomes, by performing a matched comparison within a multicenter cohort. We enrolled 6,413 adult patients who underwent kidney biopsy between January 2000 and January 2018 at three tertiary hospitals in Korea. We compared the clinical characteristics of 23 patients with C1qN with those of patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) or minimal change disease (MCD) who were matched by age, sex, diabetic status, and a period of biopsy. Histological and clinical parameters in patients with C1qN were also evaluated according to the different pathological phenotypes. For a mean follow-up period of 92 months, 4 patients with C1qN (17.4%) developed end-stage renal disease (ESRD). None of the matched patients with MCD had ESRD, but 7 (30.4%) of patients with FSGS progressed to ESRD, which was not different from that of C1qN patients (p = 0.491). Laboratory and pathological findings, except segmental glomerulosclerosis, were not notably different between FSGS and C1qN. The presence of segmental glomerulosclerosis, mesangial hypercellularity, and podocyte effacement did not affect both the short- and long-term renal outcomes in patients with C1qN. Our study showed that the renal outcomes of C1qN are comparable with those of FSGS, and not with MCD. Specific pathological findings, including segmental glomerulosclerosis in C1qN, were not associated with renal outcomes, which may suggest homogeneity in the clinical features of C1qN.

BACKGROUND Altered microRNA expression is associated with cancer progression. This study investigated the prognostic significance of microRNA-155-5p (miR-155-5p), a well-known oncomiR, in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS miR-155-5p expression was assessed using quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction in 68 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded OSCC specimens. E-Cadherin immunohistochemistry was conducted to correlate epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) with miR-155-5p expression. RESULTS Elevated miR-155-5p was associated with higher pathological TNM stage (p=0.048) and relapse (p=0.029). High miR-155-5p expression, along with angiolymphatic invasion and advanced stage, was a statistically significant prognostic factor for poorer disease-free survival. In patients with stage I-II disease, high miR-155-5p was the only significant prognostic factor (p=0.033). A significant negative correlation was observed between miR-155-5p and E-cadherin expression (p=0.015), suggesting a possible role for miR-155-5p in EMT. CONCLUSION miR-155-5p expression might contribute to EMT-associated OSCC progression and serve as a biomarker for predicting relapse, especially for patients with early-stage OSCC.

DNA methylation is a pivotal epigenetic modification of DNA that regulates gene expression. Abnormal regulation of gene expression is closely related to carcinogenesis, which is why the assessment of DNA methylation is a key factor in cancer research. Terahertz radiation may play an important role in active demethylation for cancer therapy because the characteristic frequency of the methylated DNA exists in the terahertz region. Here, we present a novel technique for the detection and manipulation of DNA methylation using terahertz radiation in blood cancer cell lines. We observed the degree of DNA methylation in blood cancer at the characteristic resonance of approximately 1.7 THz using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. The terahertz results were cross-checked with global DNA methylation quantification using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We also achieved the demethylation of cancer DNA using high-power terahertz radiation at the 1.7-THz resonance. The demethylation degrees ranged from 10% to 70%, depending on the type of cancer cell line. Our results show the detection of DNA methylation based on the terahertz molecular resonance and the manipulation of global DNA methylation using high-power terahertz radiation. Terahertz radiation may have potential applications as an epigenetic inhibitor in cancer treatment, by virtue of its ability to induce DNA demethylation, similarly to decitabine.

In this paper, we propose encapsulation methods for free-viewpoint video streaming services. The proposed methods are more efficient for view synthesis, which is one of the essential techniques to implement free-viewpoint services. By using these methods, users can reliably receive free-viewpoint video streaming services.

A single camera near infrared hemodynamic imaging system was developed to analyze the effects hemi-Parkinson's disease on the functional organization of the brain using seed-based connectivity mapping during resting state.

Background Oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSC) continues to increase in incidence with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Despite the good overall prognosis, it needs to assess the risk of not only survival, but also the risk of local, regional, or distant treatment failure to guide de-intensification regimens. This study aimed to investigate the expression of estrogen receptor (ER) and programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) proteins according to the status of HPV infection and their prognostic implication in OPSCC patients. Methods Consecutive 80 patients diagnosed with OPSCC with surgical treatment from 2004 to 2017 were included. Immunohistochemistry for ER and PD-L1 was performed formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded tissues. HPV status assessed with p16 immunohistochemistry and HPV DNA testing. Results ER and PD-L1 expression were observed in 37.5% (30/80) and 60% (48/80), respectively. Both ER and PD-L1 protein expression were higher in HPV-positive OPSCC than in HPV-negative subgroup (47.5% vs. 9.5% for ER, 66.1% vs. 42.9% for PD-L1). There was no significant association between ER and PD-L1 expression (correlation coefficient: 0.105, p > 0.05). Using Kaplan-Meier curves, PD-L1 expression was associated with longer recurrence-free duration (p = 0.013), whereas ER expression was associated with prolonged overall survival (p = 0.043). In subgroup analysis, PD-L1 expression was found to be an independent excellent prognostic factor for recurrence-free duration in HPV-positive OPSCC (p = 0.002, HR = 0.085 [0.018-0.399]). ER expression also tended to be associated with longer overall survival in the HPV-positive OPSCC subgroup, but no statistical significance was observed. In HPV-negative subgroup, both ER and PD-L1 expression were not associated with any clinicopathologic factor nor survival. Conclusions ER and PD-L1 expression can be complementary prognostic factors in HPV-positive OPSCC. It may allow us to investigate the independent role of anti-hormone receptors and the tumor microenvironment in the treatment of OPSCC. Legal entity responsible for the study The authors. Funding Has not received any funding. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Owing to the increase in consumption of multimedia content and the improvement of device capacity, user demand for high-quality content has increased. However, it is difficult to transport such large amounts of content over the existing broadcasting network with limited bandwidth. To provide high-definition broadcasting, some studies suggest methods of transporting multimedia over heterogeneous networks after encoding content hierarchically. MPEG Media Transport (MMT), standardized by Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), is a solution that enables large-volume media transport over heterogeneous networks such as digital broadcasting networks and packet-switched networks. In the case of delivering a scalable encoded video over different networks, synchronization of each stream is an important issue. MMT defines a synchronization scheme, but does not contain sufficient functions to implement it. In this paper, we propose a synchronization scheme for media streams that are encoded hierarchically, divided into layers, and transported over heterogeneous networks. We implement our scheme using MMT and HTTP, and experimented using three encapsulated video streams with different durations. As a result, we show that the proposed scheme can reduce the waiting time to display high-quality video, relative to Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP-Scalable Video Coding (DASH-SVC) by requesting segments of enhanced layers after calculating the transmission time. Additionally, we find out that the selection of durations have a relation to the characteristics of the video.

A social network game (SNG) is the result of a combination of a life simulation game and a social networking service. These types of games are particularly popular among women. This phenomenon calls for research that focuses on the motivation behind playing SNGs, the factors that make SNGs absorbing and, particularly, the space decorating features of SNGs. The current study investigates people's experience with the space decorating features of SNGs and their motivation for playing these games. It observes the behaviors of SNG players, which were typed through Q methodology. Moreover, it specifically analyzes the motivation behind the playing of space-decorating SNGs. The study concludes that most of players were more absorbed in the space-decorating features of these games than they were in their social networking features. This also affects a player's continued playing of these games. This study proves that this phenomenon is related to players' desires for self-representation.

// Heounjeong Go 1,2,3,* , Ji-Young Jang 1,2,4,* , Pil-Jong Kim 5 , Young-Goo Kim 1,2,4 , Soo Jeong Nam 1,2 , Jin Ho Paik 6 , Tae Min Kim 7 , Dae Seog Heo 7 , Chul-Woo Kim 1,2,4 and Yoon Kyung Jeon 1,2,4 1 Department of Pathology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea 2 The Tumor Immunity Medical Research Center, Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea 3 Department of Pathology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea 4 The Tumor Microenvironment Global Core Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea 5 Biomedical Knowledge Engineering Laboratory, Seoul National University School of Denistry, Seoul, South Korea 6 Department of Pathology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, South Korea 7 Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Yoon Kyung Jeon, email: // Keywords : diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, miR-21, miR-17-92 cluster, miR-155, FOXO1 Received : January 17, 2015 Accepted : March 11, 2015 Published : March 30, 2015 Abstract The prognostic implications of miR-21, miR-17-92 and miR-155 were evaluated in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients, and novel mechanism by which miR-21 contributes to the oncogenesis of DLBCL by regulating FOXO1 and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway was investigated. The expressions of miR-21, miR-17-92 and miR-155 measured by quantitative reverse-transcription-PCR were significantly up-regulated in DLBCL tissues (n=200) compared to control tonsils ( P= 0.012, P= 0.001 and P

Even if the demands for ultra-high-quality multimedia contents are increasing, it is difficult to produce , encode, play and transport ultra-high-quality contents under the existing broadcasting environment. By the reason, various technologies for the UHD contents have been developed in order to satisfy the user's needs. In this paper, we propose a design methodology of a broadcasting system, which consists of two parts, for UHD services with two parts. At the transmit part of the proposed system can encode a video into several layered-bitstreams hierarchically, and then transport each bitstream over heterogeneous networks. The receiver part can play the received video by composing the separated bitstreams. The proposed system can adaptively provide both HD and UHD contents according to user's reception conditions by using the heterogeneous networks.

Purpose Because the brain can divide into many separate regions structurally and these regions don’t exist independently in terms of their function, there are some tendencies between these regions.

Background Because further treatment plans depends on lymph node (LN) status after neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy (CRT), the accurate characterization of LN is important. Purpose To evaluate the diagnostic performance of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) for LN characterization after CRT and to compare the performance with that of LN size. Material and Methods Fifty-three patients (36 men, 17 women; mean age, 58 years; age range, 34–79 years) who underwent CRT and subsequent surgery were included. All patients underwent 1.5-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Each regional LN on post-CRT MRI was identified in consensus by two radiologists after reviewing the pre-CRT MRI. The ADC value and size in each LN was measured. To compare the mean ADC values and sizes of the metastatic and non-metastatic LNs after CRT, the t-test was used. To calculate the performance, a ROC curve analysis was performed. The histopathological examinations served as the reference standard. Results A total of 115 LNs (29 metastatic and 86 non-metastatic) were matched and analyzed. The mean ADC of the metastatic LNs was significantly higher than that of the non-metastatic LNs (1.36 ± 0.27 × 10–3mm2/s; 1.13 ± 0.23 × 10–3mm2/s, P Conclusion The performance of ADC for LN characterization after CRT was comparable to that of LN size.

This paper proposes a method providing diversity gain using small base stations in a cell coverage in order to improve diversity gain. The small base stations and the conventional base station consist a virtual MIMO array by using the cooperative communication scheme. Also, transmission diversity scheme is applied. A mobile user can receive the signals having the improved reliability by the applied transmission diversity scheme and the cooperative communication scheme. Ⅰ. 서 론