Ultrasound-guided Aspiration of the Iatrogenic Pneumothorax Caused by Paravertebral Block -A Case Report-

Thoracic paravertebral block is performed for the treatment of patients with chronic pain, such as complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and post-herpetic neuralgia. Thoracic paravertebral block can result in iatrogenic pneumothorax. Because pneumothorax can develop into medical emergencies and needle aspiration or chest tube placement may be needed, early diagnosis is very important. Recently, thoracic ultrasonography has begun to be used to diagnose pneumothorax. In addition, ultrasound-guided aspiration can be an accurate and safe technique for treatment of pneumothorax, as the needle position can be followed in real time. We report a case of iatrogenic pneumothorax following thoracic paravertebral block for the treatment of chronic pain due to CRPS, treated successfully by ultrasound-guided aspiration

Nutritional characteristics of horsemeat in comparison with those of beef and pork

This study was conducted to determine the nutritional characteristics of horsemeat and bone meal in comparison with those of beef and pork presented by Dietary Reference Intakes For Koreans. Longissimus muscle and large metacarpal bone samples were collected from 20 fattened Jeju horses. Muscle samples were subjected to proximate analysis, assays for fatty acid profile and minerals, and bone samples to mineral assays. Horsemeat had similar levels of protein (21.1 vs 21.0 or 21.1%) and lower levels of fat (6.0 vs 14.1 or 16.1%) compared with beef or pork, respectively. Horsemeat had much higher levels of palmitoleic (8.2 vs 4.4 or 3.3%) and α-linolenic (1.4 vs 0.1 or 0.6%) acids than beef or pork, respectively. Linoleic acid was much higher in horsemeat (11.1%) and pork (10.1%) than in beef (1.6%). PUFA:SFA and n-6:n-3 ratios in horsemeat were 0.29 and 10.2, respectively. There were no big differences in mineral contents between horsemeat, beef and pork. For daily recommended mineral intakes of male adults (Dietary Reference Intakes For Koreans), phosphorus, sodium, potassium, iron, zinc and copper can be provided up to 24, 2.5, 6.7, 21, 26 and 40%, respectively, by 100 g raw horsemeat, but calcium and manganese levels are negligible. Horse cannon bone had much higher mineral contents especially in calcium (10,193 mg/100 g), phosphorus (5,874 mg/100 g) and copper (0.79 mg/100 g). Thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and retinol contents were 0.20, 0.21, 1.65 mg/100 g and 30 µg/100 g, respectively. But ascorbic acid and beta-carotene were not detected. Our data demonstrated that higher levels of palmitoleic and α-linolenic acid in horsemeat than in beef and pork may be beneficial for human health. Horsemeat and bone meal are a good source of some minerals and vitamins

Chlorophyll and Total Suspended Materials Concentrations and Remote Sensing Reflectance Data measured at the Red Tide Area of Jinhae, Geoje, and East Sea during August from 1998 to 2003 and August 2013

The chlorophyll and total suspended materials concentrations and remote sensing reflectance data were observed for red tides occurring every summer in waters around the Korean Peninsula. In observation area and date, the field survey were performed (1) in the Jinhae and Geoje coasts during August 1998, August 1999, August 2001, and August 2003, (2) in East Sea coast during August 2013. The remote sensing reflectance data were obtained from portable spectroradiometer. The chlorophyll concentration data were obtained from spectrophotometric method and the total suspended materials concentration data were obtained from filter-weight difference method. The remote sensing reflectance data were validated using Moon et al.(2012). The chlorophyll concentration data were validated using baseline correction and subtraction of 750 nm value, and the total suspended materials concentration data were validated using variation of humidity

Algorithm to estimate daily PAR at the ocean surface from GOCI data: description and evaluation

Photosynthetically available radiation (PAR) reaching the ocean surface controls phytoplankton growth, primary productivity, and evolution within marine ecosystems. Therefore, accurate daily PAR estimates are important for a broad range of marine biology and biogeochemistry applications. In this study, hourly data from Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI), the world’s first geostationary ocean color sensor, was employed to estimate daily mean PAR at the ocean surface around the Korean Peninsula using a budget model based on plane-parallel theory. In situ PAR data collected from two ocean research stations (Socheong-cho and Ieodo) were used to evaluate the accuracy of the GOCI PAR estimates. First, the instantaneous in situ measurements were checked for calibration and exposure errors against Second Simulation of the Satellite Signal in the Solar Spectrum (6S) radiative transfer calculations under the clearest sky conditions and adjusted to eliminate biases. After adjustment, the root-means-square error (RMSE) between 6S and in situ PAR data was reduced from 6.08 (4.81%) and 3.82 (3.93%) mol/m2/day to 2.85 (2.26%) and 1.74 (1.21%) mol/m2/day at the Socheong-cho and Ieodo stations, respectively, and the coefficient of determination R2 was 0.99. Then, the GOCI daily mean PAR estimated by the initial algorithm were corrected using the 2015 adjusted in situ daily PAR measurements collected under clear-sky conditions. The daily mean PAR values derived from GOCI data in all conditions were improved after the correction, with RMSE reduced from 4.58 (8.30%) to 2.57 (4.65%) mol/m2/day and R2 = 0.97. The comparison statistics were similar for 2015 and 2016 combined, with RMSE of 2.52 (4.38%) and mean bias error (MBE) of –0.40 (–0.70%), indicating that the correction was also effective in cloudy conditions. On the other hand, daily PAR estimates from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) yielded larger RMSE of 6.24 (10.40%) mol/m2/day and MBE of –2.49 (–4.15%) mol/m2/day (MODIS) and RMSE of 3.71 (6.51%) mol/m2/day and MBE of –2.65 (–4.65%) mol/m2/day (AHI) against in situ measurements. The GOCI-based daily PAR model developed in this study is reliable and suitable for investigating the marine environment around the Korean Peninsula

The 70-Gene Prognostic Signature for Korean Breast Cancer Patients

Purpose: A 70-gene prognostic signature has prognostic value in patients with node-negative breast cancer in Europe. This diagnostic test known as “MammaPrint TM (70-gene prognostic signature)” was recently validated and implementation was feasible. Therefore, we assessed the 70-gene prognostic signature in Korean patients with breast cancer. We compared the risk predicted by the 70-gene prognostic signature with commonly used clinicopathological guidelines among Korean patients with breast cancer. We also analyzed the 70-gene prognostic signature and clinicopathological feature of the patients in comparison with a previous validation study. Methods: Forty-eight eligible patients with breast cancer (clinical T1-2N0M0) were selected from four hospitals in Korea. Fresh tumor samples were analyzed with a customized microarray for the 70-gene prognostic signature. Concordance between the risk predicted by the 70-gene prognosti

Pseudomonas aeruginosa Eliminates Natural Killer Cells via Phagocytosis-Induced Apoptosis

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) is an opportunistic pathogen that causes the relapse of illness in immunocompromised patients, leading to prolonged hospitalization, increased medical expense, and death. In this report, we show that PA invades natural killer (NK) cells and induces phagocytosis-induced cell death (PICD) of lymphocytes. In vivo tumor metastasis was augmented by PA infection, with a significant reduction in NK cell number. Adoptive transfer of NK cells mitigated PA-induced metastasis. Internalization of PA into NK cells was observed by transmission electron microscopy. In addition, PA invaded NK cells via phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) activation, and the phagocytic event led to caspase 9-dependent apoptosis of NK cells. PA-mediated NK cell apoptosis was dependent on activation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). These data suggest that the phagocytosis of PA by NK cells is a critical event that affects the relapse of diseases in immunocompromised patients, such as those with cancer, and provides important insights into the interactions between PA and NK cells

Phase II randomized trial of neoadjuvant metformin plus letrozole versus placebo plus letrozole for estrogen receptor positive postmenopausal breast cancer (METEOR)

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited.Abstract Background Neoadjuvant endocrine therapy with an aromatase inhibitor has shown efficacy comparable to that of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with postmenopausal breast cancer. Preclinical and clinical studies have shown that the antidiabetic drug metformin has anti-tumor activity. This prospective, multicenter, phase II randomized, placebo controlled trial was designed to evaluate the direct anti-tumor effect of metformin in non-diabetic postmenopausal women with estrogen-receptor (ER) positive breast cancer. Methods/Design Patients meeting the inclusion criteria and providing written informed consent will be randomized to 24 weeks of neoadjuvant treatment with letrozole (2.5 mg/day) and either metformin (2000 mg/day) or placebo. Target accrual number is 104 patients per arm. The primary endpoint will be clinical response rate, as measured by calipers. Secondary endpoints include pathologic complete response rate, breast conserving rate, change in Ki67 expression, breast density change, and toxicity profile. Molecular assays will be performed using samples obtained before treatment, at week 4, and postoperatively. Discussion This study will provide direct evidence of the anti-tumor effect of metformin in non-diabetic, postmenopausal patients with ER-positive breast cancer. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT0158936

Phase II randomized trial of neoadjuvant metformin plus letrozole versus placebo plus letrozole for estrogen receptor positive postmenopausal breast cancer (METEOR)

This study is being supported by grant no 04-2012-0290 from the SNUH Research fund and by the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) grant funded by the Korea government(MSIP)(No. 2013005540). Letrozole and metformin are being supplied by the pharmaceutical company, Shin Poong Pharm. Co., Ltd.Background : Neoadjuvant endocrine therapy with an aromatase inhibitor has shown efficacy comparable to that of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with postmenopausal breast cancer. Preclinical and clinical studies have shown that the antidiabetic drug metformin has anti-tumor activity. This prospective, multicenter, phase II randomized, placebo controlled trial was designed to evaluate the direct anti-tumor effect of metformin in non-diabetic postmenopausal women with estrogen-receptor (ER) positive breast cancer. Methods/Design : Patients meeting the inclusion criteria and providing written informed consent will be randomized to 24 weeks of neoadjuvant treatment with letrozole (2.5 mg/day) and either metformin (2000 mg/day) or placebo. Target accrual number is 104 patients per arm. The primary endpoint will be clinical response rate, as measured by calipers. Secondary endpoints include pathologic complete response rate, breast conserving rate, change in Ki67 expression, breast density change, and toxicity profile. Molecular assays will be performed using samples obtained before treatment, at week 4, and postoperatively. Discussion : This study will provide direct evidence of the anti-tumor effect of metformin in non-diabetic, postmenopausal patients with ER-positive breast cancer. Trial registration : ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01589367Peer Reviewe

Evaluation of Stray Light Correction for GOCI Remote Sensing Reflectance Using in Situ Measurements

The Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) is the world’s first ocean color sensor in geostationary orbit. Although the GOCI has shown excellent radiometric performance with little long-term radiometric degradation and a high signal-to-noise ratio, there are radiometric artefacts in GOCI Level 1 products caused by stray light detected within the GOCI optics. To correct the radiometric bias, we developed an image-based correction algorithm called the correction of the interslot discrepancy using the minimum noise fraction transform (CIDUM) in a previous study and evaluated its performance with respect to the physical radiometric quantity stored in Level 1 products, i.e., top-of-atmosphere radiance. This study evaluated the performance of the CIDUM algorithm in terms of remote sensing reflectance, which is one of the most important products in ocean color remote sensing. The resultant CIDUM-corrected remote sensing reflectance products were validated using both relative (within the image) and absolute references (in situ measurements). Image validation showed that CIDUM corrected the bias in remote sensing reflectance (up to 20%) and reduced the bias to ≤5% in the tested image. In situ validation showed that relative uncertainty was reduced by around 10% within the visible bands and the correlation between the in situ and GOCI radiometric data was enhanced