The Road to Doha through Seoul: The Diplomatic and Legal Implications of the Pre-COP 18 Ministerial Meeting

International climate change negotiations reached a critical crossroads in 2012. Facing the conclusion of the Kyoto Protocol and with no successor regime yet negotiated, nations have been compelled to re-engage in substantive and far-ranging discussions. The nation of Korea has distinguished itself in this process, in particular by hosting the final ministerial meeting prior to this year Conference of the Parties in Doha, Qatar. The Korean government willingness to lead has also been evidenced by Korea founding of the Global Green Growth Institute, a leading international organization in the area of environmentally responsible economic development, and Korea successful bid to host the Green Climate Fund secretariat. Korean diplomacy has aided in the consensus to extend the Kyoto Protocol and to continue efforts to implement a new climate change architecture by 2020

Prenatal Ultrasound Findings of Fetal Neoplasms

A variety of neoplasms can develop in each tetal organ. Most fetal neoplasms can be detected by careful prenatal ultrasonographic examination. Some neoplosms show specific ultrasonographic findings suggesting the differential diagnosis, but others do not. Knowledge of the presence of a neoplasm in the fetus may alter the prenatal management of a pregnancy and the mode of delivery, and facilitates immediate postnatal treatment. During the last five years, we experienced 32 cases of fetal neoplasms in a variety of organs. We describe their typical ultrasonographic findings with correlating postnatal CT, MRI, and pathologic findings

Nogo-A regulates myogenesis via interacting with Filamin-C

Among the three isoforms encoded by Rtn4, Nogo-A has been intensely investigated as a central nervous system inhibitor. Although Nogo-A expression is increased in muscles of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, its role in muscle homeostasis and regeneration is not well elucidated. In this study, we discovered a significant increase in Nogo-A expression in various muscle-related pathological conditions. Nogo−/− mice displayed dystrophic muscle structure, dysregulated muscle regeneration following injury, and altered gene expression involving lipid storage and muscle cell differentiation. We hypothesized that increased Nogo-A levels might regulate muscle regeneration. Differentiating myoblasts exhibited Nogo-A upregulation and silencing Nogo-A abrogated myoblast differentiation. Nogo-A interacted with filamin-C, suggesting a role for Nogo-A in cytoskeletal arrangement during myogenesis. In conclusion, Nogo-A maintains muscle homeostasis and integrity, and pathologically altered Nogo-A expression mediates muscle regeneration, suggesting Nogo-A as a novel target for the treatment of myopathies in clinical settings. © 2021, The Author(s).1

Application of Image Processing to Predict Compressive Behavior of Aluminum Foam

An image processing technique was used to model the internal structure of aluminum foam in finite element analysis in order to predict the compressive behavior of the material. Finite element analysis and experimental tests were performed on aluminum foam with densities of 0.2, 0.25, and 0.3 g/cm3. It was found that although the compressive strength predicted from the finite element analysis was higher than that determined experimentally, the predicted compressive stress-strain curves exhibited a tendency similar to those determined from experiments for both densities. However, the behavior of the predicted compressive stress-strain curves was different from the experimental one as the applied strain increased. The difference between predicted and experimental stress-strain curves in a high strain range was due to contact between broken aluminum foam walls by the large deformation

Urine attenuation ratio: A new CT indicator of renal artery stenosis

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of our study was to evaluate the value of a ratio of the attenuation measurements of urine in each kidney (hereafter referred to as the urine CT attenuation ratio) in the detection and lateralization of significant renal artery stenosis (RAS). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In 33 patients with suspected renovascular hypertension and 43 normotensive patients, 5-mm-thick transverse CT scans of the kidney area were obtained 4 min after helical CT angiography (CTA). The attenuation of urine in each kidney was measured, and its ratio was calculated. All 76 patients underwent intraarterial digital subtraction angiography within 2 days after the CT examination. The results of angiography were correlated with the urine attenuation ratio of both kidneys. RESULTS: Twenty-six patients showed significant RAS: unilaterally in 20 and bilaterally in six patients. Two patients showed moderate stenosis of renal arteries. The other patients with essential hypertension (n = 5) or normal blood pressure (n = 43) showed normal renal arteries. The CT attenuation of urine in each kidney was measured and its ratio calculated in all patients except four patients with unilateral RAS. The urine CT attenuation ratio in 22 patients with significant RAS ranged from 1.11 to 4.76 (mean, 2.07). The two patients with moderate RAS showed ratios of 1.83 and 1.23. The others (n = 48) had a urine CT attenuation ratio that ranged from 1.00 to 1.54 (mean, 1.07). The difference of the ratio between the RAS group and the normal group was statistically significant (p < 0.01). The mean urine CT attenuation ratio was 2.18 in patients with unilateral RAS (n = 16) and 1.75 in patients with bilateral RAS (n = 6). The difference of the ratio between the two groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.16). At a cutoff value of 1.22, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the urine CT attenuation ratio in the diagnosis of significant RAS were 95%, 96%, 91%, and 98%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The urine CT attenuation ratio is a simple and reliable indicator with which to detect and lateralize significant RAS and is a useful adjunct to helical CTA

Immunohistochemical localization of sodium-dependent L-ascorbic acid transporter 1 protein in rat kidney

Recently, two L-ascorbic acid transporters were identified; sodium-dependent vitamin C transporter (SVCT) 1 and SVCT2. The previous study suggested that SVCT protein might be present on the apical membrane in the straight segment (S3) of proximal tubule. In the present study, SVCT1 immunoreactivity (IR) was observed in the brush border of proximal straight tubules in the medullary ray of renal cortex and the outer stripe of outer medulla, while SVCT2 IR was not localized in any region of the kidney. Since the mechanism of VC reabsorption in the kidney has not been fully elucidated up to the present time, it is meaningful to demonstrate the exact cellular distribution of SVCT protein in the kidney

Role of magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography/computed tomography in preoperative lymph node detection of uterine cervical cancer

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in the preoperative detection of lymph node metastases in patients with uterine cervical cancer. STUDY DESIGN: This retrospective study reviewed patients with cervical cancer who had undergone both preoperative MRI and PET/CT before radical surgery, including lymphadenectomy between 2004-2008. RESULTS: Eighty-three patients were identified, of whom 28 (33.7%) had pelvic lymph node metastasis. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for detecting lymph node metastasis were 64.3%, 69.1%, and 67.5% for MRI, and 28.6%, 83.6%, and 65.1% for PET/CT, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristics for the MRI and PET/CT were 0.667 and 0.561, respectively (P = .013). MRI showed significantly higher sensitivity for detecting metastatic lymph nodes than PET/CT (P = .006). CONCLUSION: MRI was more sensitive than PET/CT for detecting metastatic lymph node in patients with cervical cancer.Kim SK, 2009, EUR J CANCER, V45, P2103, DOI 10.1016/j.ejca.2009.04.006Chung HH, 2008, GYNECOL OBSTET INVES, V67, P61, DOI 10.1159/000162101Yildirim Y, 2008, GYNECOL ONCOL, V108, P154, DOI 10.1016/j.ygyno.2007.09.011Choi HJ, 2006, CANCER-AM CANCER SOC, V106, P914, DOI 10.1002/cncr.21641Chou HH, 2006, J CLIN ONCOL, V24, P123, DOI 10.1200/JCO.2005.03.5964Sironi S, 2006, RADIOLOGY, V238, P272Rockall AG, 2005, J CLIN ONCOL, V23, P2813, DOI 10.1200/JCO.2005.07.166Waggoner SE, 2003, LANCET, V361, P2217Lin WC, 2003, GYNECOL ONCOL, V89, P73, DOI 10.1016/S0090-8258(03)00058-1Makhija S, 2002, GYNECOL ONCOL, V85, P53, DOI 10.1006/gyno.2001.2002.6606BELHOCINE T, 2002, GYNECOL ONCOL, V18, P87Parkin DM, 2001, INT J CANCER, V94, P153Grigsby PW, 2001, J CLIN ONCOL, V19, P3745Kupets R, 2001, CANCER, V92, P796Williams AD, 2001, AM J ROENTGENOL, V177, P343Narayan K, 2001, INT J GYNECOL CANCER, V11, P263Reinhardt MJ, 2001, RADIOLOGY, V218, P776Charron M, 2000, CLIN NUCL MED, V25, P905KLUETZ PG, 2000, CLIN POSITRON IMAGIN, V3, P223, DOI DOI 10.1016/S1095-0397(01)00055-3Takeshima N, 1999, GYNECOL ONCOL, V74, P165Sugawara Y, 1999, J NUCL MED, V40, P1125Sakuragi N, 1999, CANCER, V85, P1547Lai CH, 1999, CANCER, V85, P1537Ishikawa H, 1999, GYNECOL ONCOL, V73, P42Michel G, 1998, OBSTET GYNECOL, V91, P360Landoni F, 1997, LANCET, V350, P535Russell AH, 1996, GYNECOL ONCOL, V63, P159SUBAK LL, 1995, OBSTET GYNECOL, V86, P43AYHAN A, 1995, EUR J OBSTET GYN R B, V60, P61KIM SH, 1993, J COMPUT ASSIST TOMO, V17, P633GIRARDI F, 1993, GYNECOL ONCOL, V49, P177GIRARDI F, 1993, INT J GYNECOL CANCER, V3, P12INOUE T, 1990, CANCER, V65, P1923HRICAK H, 1988, RADIOLOGY, V166, P623NOGUCHI H, 1987, GYNECOL ONCOL, V27, P150KJORSTAD KE, 1984, CANCER, V54, P2215TANAKA Y, 1984, ACTA RADIOL ONCOL, V23, P455BALLON SC, 1981, OBSTET GYNECOL, V57, P90CHUNG CK, 1981, GYNECOL ONCOL, V12, P348LAGASSE LD, 1980, GYNECOL ONCOL, V9, P90PIVER MS, 1974, OBSTET GYNECOL, V44, P265AVERETTE HE, 1972, AM J OBSTET GYNECOL, V113, P1090

Accuracy of MR imaging for the prediction of myometrial invasion of endometrial carcinoma

OBJECTIVES: To retrospectively evaluate the accuracy of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for the prediction of depth of myometrial invasion in the preoperative assessment of women with endometrial carcinoma. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records and MR imaging reports of 120 women with pathologically-proven endometrial carcinoma who underwent preoperative pelvic MR imaging between June 1997 and February 2006. Tumor signal intensity, the appearance of the junctional zone (JZ), the presence of large polypoid tumors and leiomyomas were analyzed. Univariate logistic-regression analysis was performed to identify associations between incorrect MR staging and the study variables. RESULTS: Data from 120 patients were registered for the current study and analyzed. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the MR imaging in assessment of myometrial invasion among patients with endometrial carcinoma were: 50.6%, 89.2% and 62.5% respectively. MR differentiation of deep myometrial invasion from superficial disease had an 83.3% accuracy (100 of 120 cases). Isointense JZ to myometrium (P<0.001), and the presence of polypoid tumors (P=0.037) on MR imaging were significantly associated with an underestimation of myometrial invasion by endometrial carcinoma. CONCLUSIONS: Isointense JZ to myometrium and polypoid tumors are difficult to accurately evaluate for myometrial invasion of endometrial carcinoma by MR imaging