Location of the umbilicus in Korean women and its changes after breast reconstruction with an ipsilateral pedicled rectus abdominis musculocutaneous flap

Background The umbilicus makes an important contribution to the natural appearance of the abdomen. To date, studies on its position in Korean women are lacking, and no standards have been established. The purpose of this study was to investigate the position of umbilicus in Korean women and to review changes in its position after ipsilateral pedicled rectus abdominis musculocutaneous (IP-RAM) flap. Methods This research consisted of two studies. In first study, 100 females who visited the emergency department with gastroenteritis between 2007 and 2011 were included. In second study, 40 women who underwent IP-RAM flap in the same period were included. Using abdominal computed tomography, we measured the distance between xiphoid process and umbilicus, represented by value a, and the distance between umbilicus and symphysis pubis, represented by value b. Thus, the location of the umbilicus was represented by the ratio a/b. The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation test and paired t-test. Results In study 1, the mean value of a/b was 1.07. Pearson correlation test revealed a significant correlation between age and a/b. In study 2, the mean value of a/b was 1.16 in preoperative measurements and 1.01 in postoperative measurements. The paired t-test showed a significant difference between preoperative and postoperative measurements, indicating cephalic migration of the umbilicus after surgery. Conclusions The natural position of the umbilicus showed caudal migration with aging. Additionally, in a comparison of preoperative and postoperative measurements in patients who underwent IP-RAM flap, cephalic migration of the umbilicus was observed after surgery

Neurological and neurobehavioral assessment of experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage

About 50% of humans with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) die and many survivors have neurological and neurobehavioral dysfunction. Animal studies usually focused on cerebral vasospasm and sometimes neuronal injury. The difference in endpoints may contribute to lack of translation of treatments effective in animals to humans. We reviewed prior animal studies of SAH to determine what neurological and neurobehavioral endpoints had been used, whether they differentiated between appropriate controls and animals with SAH, whether treatment effects were reported and whether they correlated with vasospasm. Only a few studies in rats examined learning and memory. It is concluded that more studies are needed to fully characterize neurobehavioral performance in animals with SAH and assess effects of treatment

Implication of Mitochondrial Cytoprotection in Human Islet Isolation and Transplantation

Islet transplantation is a promising therapy for type 1 diabetes mellitus; however, success rates in achieving both short- and long-term insulin independence are not consistent, due in part to inconsistent islet quality and quantity caused by the complex nature and multistep process of islet isolation and transplantation. Since the introduction of the Edmonton Protocol in 2000, more attention has been placed on preserving mitochondrial function as increasing evidences suggest that impaired mitochondrial integrity can adversely affect clinical outcomes. Some recent studies have demonstrated that it is possible to achieve islet cytoprotection by maintaining mitochondrial function and subsequently to improve islet transplantation outcomes. However, the benefits of mitoprotection in many cases are controversial and the underlying mechanisms are unclear. This article summarizes the recent progress associated with mitochondrial cytoprotection in each step of the islet isolation and transplantation process, as well as islet potency and viability assays based on the measurement of mitochondrial integrity. In addition, we briefly discuss immunosuppression side effects on islet graft function and how transplant site selection affects islet engraftment and clinical outcomes

Implication of Mitochondrial Cytoprotection in Human Islet Isolation and Transplantation

Islet transplantation is a promising therapy for type 1 diabetes mellitus; however, success rates in achieving both short-and longterm insulin independence are not consistent, due in part to inconsistent islet quality and quantity caused by the complex nature and multistep process of islet isolation and transplantation. Since the introduction of the Edmonton Protocol in 2000, more attention has been placed on preserving mitochondrial function as increasing evidences suggest that impaired mitochondrial integrity can adversely affect clinical outcomes. Some recent studies have demonstrated that it is possible to achieve islet cytoprotection by maintaining mitochondrial function and subsequently to improve islet transplantation outcomes. However, the benefits of mitoprotection in many cases are controversial and the underlying mechanisms are unclear. This article summarizes the recent progress associated with mitochondrial cytoprotection in each step of the islet isolation and transplantation process, as well as islet potency and viability assays based on the measurement of mitochondrial integrity. In addition, we briefly discuss immunosuppression side effects on islet graft function and how transplant site selection affects islet engraftment and clinical outcomes

Relationship Between Sarcopenia and Prognosis in Patient With Concurrent Chemo-Radiation Therapy for Esophageal Cancer

Background: Sarcopenia, defined as skeletal muscle loss, has been known as a poor prognosis factor in various malignant diseases The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of sarcopenia on prognosis in patients with esophageal cancer who received concurrent chemo- and radiotherapy (CCRT).Methods: We retrospectively collected clinical data of 287 patients with esophageal cancer who were treated by definite CCRT at Gangnam Severance and Severance hospital from August 2005 to December 2014. The cross-sectional area of muscle at the level of the third lumbar vertebra was measured using pre- and post-CCRT computed tomography images. Sarcopenia was defined as skeletal muscle index <49 cm2/m2 for men and of <31 cm2/m2 for women by Korean-specific cutoffs. Overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) were analyzed according to sarcopenia.Results: Sarcopenia identified before CCRT did not affect OS and PFS. However, patients with post-CCRT sarcopenia showed shorter OS and PFS than patients without it (median OS: 73 months vs. 28 months; median PFS: 34 months vs. 25 months, respectively). Post-CCRT sarcopenia was an independent prognostic factor of poor OS (hazards ratio: 1.697; 95% confidence interval: 1.036–2.780; P = 0.036). In multivariate analysis, male sex (P = 0.004) and presence of CCRT-related complications, such as esophagitis or general weakness were significantly associated with post-CCRT sarcopenia (P = 0.016).Conclusions: Sarcopenia after CCRT can be a useful predictor for long-term prognosis in patients with esophageal cancer. To control CCRT-related complications may be important to prevent skeletal muscle loss during CCRT

A case study on testing English grammatical collocation use of university students in Korea

This paper explores the grammatical collocation use of adult learners at high-intermediate and advanced level. English being a foreign language in Korea, learners necessarily need linguistic knowledge of English. This paper focuses on English verbs and the following elements in particular. Considering that English verb-particle collocations represent English grammatical collocations, a set of multiple-choice written test of 96 items and a questionnaire was designed to test learners' knowledge and use of English verbs and their following particles. Seventeen undergraduate students at Seoul National University participated in the test. Despite their high English proficiency level, many of them showed the lack of knowledge and appropriate use of English verb-particle collocations

Critical Success Factors of a Design Startup Business

Recent trends of new venture startups have paved the way for the expansion of the design industry and opened new windows of opportunity for the traditionally small and non-specialized design business. In this environment, design startups are rapidly growing in modern society, and thus meeting the needs of consumers through the development of innovative products, processes, and services. This study aims to determine the critical success factors affecting design startups. To this end, the concept and success variables of startup businesses were studied based on previous research, and then key success factors of design startups were identified. A total of 24 experts, from 12 design-based small venture startups and 12 technology-based small and medium startups, were surveyed regarding their priorities related to these factors, using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The results suggest that idea commercialization is the most important success factor as an innovation criterion among the four success criteria of design startups. Hence, entrepreneurial conditions, such as goal-orientation and entrepreneurs’ competence, are important success factors for design startups

Treatment of Diabetic Foot Ulcer Using Matriderm In Comparison with a Skin Graft

BackgroundFor patients with neuropathy, vasculopathy, and impairment of wound healing, treatment of a diabetic foot ulcer poses many challenges. A large number of dermal analogues have been invented in an effort to overcome these challenges. Matriderm, a dermal analogue, is made from bovine collagen and elastin. This study was conducted in order to evaluate the effectiveness of Matriderm for treatment of diabetic foot ulcers, in comparison with skin grafting.MethodsSixty patients with diabetic foot ulcer were included in this prospective study. The average age of the patients, who had type II diabetes mellitus, was 58 years old. The patients were allocated to an experimental or control group with their consents. The patients were selected with their consent for inclusion in an experimental group and a control group. Patients in the experimental group received a Matriderm appliance and a split-thickness skin graft, while those in the control group received only a split-thickness skin graft.ResultsA shorter hospitalization period (7.52 weeks) was observed in the experimental group than in the control group (9.22 weeks), and a shorter period of time (8.61 weeks) was required for complete healing, compared with the control group (12.94 weeks), with statistical significance (P<0.05). A higher elasticity ratio of the affected side to the non-affected side was observed in the experimental group, compared with the control group (P<0.01).ConclusionsMatriderm enables effective healing and improves elasticity in treatment of patients with diabetic foot ulcer

Label-free photoacoustic expansion histopathology with enhanced temporal and spatial resolution

Ultraviolet photoacoustic microscopy (UV-PAM) provides label-free imaging of cell nuclei with the superior optical absorption of DNAs and RNAs. UV-PAM does not require any additional staining process to visualize the structures of tissues and cells. However, conventional UV-PAM is limited in imaging speed to be used in real pre-clinical and clinical situations. To overcome this limitation, we developed an UV-PAM adopting a high-speed scanning module. We demonstrated the applicability of the system as an intraoperative surgical margin assessment tool by imaging formalinfixed paraffine-embedded (FFPE) sections of human colon cancer tissues and comparing these results to conventional optical microscopic images. Additionally, three more types of cancerous tissue such as liver, uterus, and kidney were photoacoustically examined. The imaging results successfully showed the characteristic features of cancerous and normal tissues, allowing rapid diagnosis of cancer. UV-PAM has achieved sufficient spatial resolution to distinguish the individual nuclei in human tissue, but it is challenging to resolve the closely adjacent nuclei. Therefore, we applied tissue expansion technology, which enables nanoscale imaging of subcellular components beyond the resolution of optical microscopy, to our developed system. A mouse brain section was physically expanded by hydrogel-tissue hybridization, and consequently distances between cell nuclei in the tissue increased. We could separate densely distributed nuclei in the hippocampus of mouse brain better compared to conventional UV-PAM. In short, we developed a novel PA imaging system with the enhanced temporal and spatial resolution by combining fast scanning modality and tissue expansion technology with UV-PAM. ? COPYRIGHT SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.1