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Background: Adenofibroma is a benign tumor composed histologically of epithelial elements and mesenchymal stroma. Carcinosarcoma is a malignant neoplasm that contains elements of carcinoma and sarcoma. Carcinosarcoma arising from adenofibroma of the uterus has never been reported in the literature in English language. Case Presentaion: We report a case of a 56-year-old woman who complained vaginal spotting persisting for several months. We described here for the first time a case of malignant transformation of uterine endometrial adenofibroma into carcinosarcoma that was depicted as a multilocular cystic lesion with enhancing solid portions and stalk-like structure between the myometrium and endometrial mass.

Uterine sarcomas include leiomyosarcoma, smooth muscle tumor of uncertain malignant potential, endometrial stromal sarcoma, undifferentiated sarcoma, carcinosarcoma, adenosarcoma, and rhabdomyosarcoma. Leiomyosarcomas are the most common uterine sarcomas and list some potential others. Uterine sarcomas have a wide histopathological spectrum that may display various imaging features, making the preoperative diagnosis challenging. The purpose of this review was to discuss the clinical features of uterine sarcomas, as well as their imaging appearances and characteristics. From this, practitioners can ensure that suspicious sonographic findings of uterine sarcomas, including a large-size, heterogeneous echotexture, central cystic change or necrosis, and hypervascularity, are recognized to facilitate further evaluation. Familiarity with the clinical presentations and imaging features of uterine sarcomas can lead to a more accurate diagnosis and appropriate management.

Purpose: This study investigated risk factors for hyperechoic pancreas (HP) on ultrasonography (US) according to HP severity.Methods: Between December 2008 and February 2014, 1,459 subjects who underwent abdominal US as part of health examinations were retrospectively included. Two radiologists assessed and categorized the severity of HP as normal, mild, moderate, and severe. Subjects were allocated to two groups as follows: fatty pancreas 1 (FP1; mild to severe HP) and fatty pancreas 2 (FP2; moderate to severe HP). Clinico-metabolic parameters such as the body mass index and blood test profile of subjects with normoglycemia and prediabetes/diabetes were compared (normal vs. FP1; normal or mild HP vs. FP2). Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the associations between HP, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and diabetes/prediabetes with adjustment for clinico-metabolic parameters.Results: Of the 1,459 subjects, 71.2% and 40.4% showed HP and NAFLD on US, respectively. Normoglycemia and prediabetes/diabetes were present in 74.3% and 25.7% of subjects, respectively. Univariable analysis revealed that all the clinico-metabolic parameters were significantly associated with HP (all P

This study aimed to investigate the utility of adding superb microvascular imaging (SMI) to B-mode ultrasound (US) for distinguishing between benign and malignant thyroid nodules and evaluate the usefulness of SMI quantification of nodular vascularity for diagnosing thyroid cancer. The malignancy likelihood was scored for 3 datasets before versus after additional color Doppler imaging or SMI using 4-scale visual analysis (i.e., B-mode US alone, B-mode US + color Doppler image, and B-mode US + SMI). Further, the SMI pixel count was measured in the region of interest, including the whole nodule, on the longitudinal view. It was compared between benign and malignant nodules and analyzed according to the US patterns of thyroid nodules based on the Korean thyroid imaging reporting and data system. We calculated the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values, sensitivities, and specificities. There was no significant difference in the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values among B-mode, B-mode + color Doppler, and B-mode + SMI. However, the SMI pixel count was significantly higher in malignant thyroid nodules than in benign ones. The optimal cut-off value for the SMI pixel count for predicting malignant thyroid nodules obtained using a receiver operating characteristic curve was 17 (40.54% in sensitivity, 91.3% in specificity). Analysis based on the US pattern of thyroid nodules revealed significant differences in the nodules with low-to-intermediate suspicious US features between malignant and benign nodules. Quantification analysis of vascularity using SMI can differentiate malignant thyroid nodules from benign ones.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the severity of hyperechoic pancreas (HP) on ultrasonography (US) and glycemic progression.Methods: In total, 1,386 participants who underwent abdominal US as part of health examinations between December 2008 and May 2014 were included in this retrospective study. We classified pancreatic echogenicity on a 4-point scale, and compared it using two distinct criteria: fatty pancreas (FP) 1 criterion (normal vs. ≥mild HP) and FP2 criterion (normal/mild HP vs. ≥moderate HP). According to the presence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), participants were subdivided into four groups: non-NAFLD and non-HP, isolated NAFLD, isolated HP, and HP with NAFLD. Glycemic progression was defined as progression from normoglycemia to prediabetes or diabetes or progression from prediabetes to diabetes.Results: During the follow-up (median, 5.9 years), 262 of the 1,386 participants developed glycemic progression. Using FP2, the probability of glycemic progression across the four subgroups showed cumulative aggravation for NAFLD and HP (all P

The viscous thermal flow behavior and mechanical property of [Fe0.6Co0.15B0.2Si0.05] (100−x)Tax (x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) soft magnetic amorphous ribbons were studied. The characteristics of melt-spun amorphous ribbons were measured by using vibration sample magnetometer (VSM), nanoindentation, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermo-mechanical analysis (TMA) to study the effects of Ta content variation on the thermal stability, mechanical, and soft magnetic properties. We observed that the nanoindentation hardness, Young's modulus, and glass transition and crystallization temperatures were improved by the addition of Ta. Using dilatometry measurement, TMA, by heating at a constant rate under tension mode, we examined not only the glass transition and crystallization behaviors but also the possibility of coexistence of multiple amorphous phases.

During the last 5 years, there has been a marked rise in publications regarding exosomes. Exosomes find potential applications as diagnostic biomarkers, therapeutics, drug delivery vehicles, and functional cosmetics and several exosome-based therapies are under clinical trials. Exosomes are nanosized vesicles that contain cell-derived lipid membranes, nucleic acids, and proteins, and are released from the cells of origin, circulate in eukaryotic fluids, and are taken up by recipient cells. The originating cell can be engineered to express specific genes, which enhance immunity, cross-presentation of antigens, or cell targeting by exosomes. Various methods using centrifugation, size-exclusion chromatography, filtration, precipitation, affinity, and microfluidics have been assessed for the isolation and purification of exosomes from biological samples. In addition, exosomes have advantages as drug delivery systems, with biocompatibility, preservation of cargo drugs during circulation in physiological fluids, uptake into the target cells, and drug release after endosomal escape. In this review, we discuss the various aspects of pharmaceutical investigation into exosomes with special focus on engineering, production, characterization, biological activities, applications of exosomes as drug delivery systems, and regulations for evaluation of exosome products.

We studied the thermal and the magnetic properties of (Co1−xFex)72B19.2Si4.8Ta4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) alloy ribbons. These Co-based and Fe-based melt-spun ribbons were produced by using an arc-melting furnace and the melt-spinning technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) peaks indicated that the ribbons had both an amorphous phase and a partial crystalline phase. The thermal properties, such as the crystallization temperatures (Tx), were determined by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The magnetic properties, such as the saturation magnetization (Ms), were measured by using a vibration sample magnetometer (VSM). The Ms values increased to 1.39 T for Co43.2Fe28.8B19.2Si4.8Ta4 (x = 0.4), decreased for Co36Fe36B19.2Si4.8Ta4 (x = 0.5), and then increased again to 1.5 T for Fe72B19.2Si4.8Ta4 (x = 1.0).