Benign metastasizing leiomyoma of the lung

Benign leiomyomas of the uterus are uncommonly found in association with benign smooth muscle tumors beyond the confines of the uterus. Benign metastasizing leiomyoma (BML) is a rare disease in which the lung is described to be the most afflicted extrauterine organ. We present a brief review of the literature, along with case reports for four patients who were followed up after resection of a pulmonary lesion or after pathological confirmation by biopsy. The clinical course of BML varies from chronic asymptomatic appearance to rapid progression, leading to respiratory failure and death. Our BML patients did not complain of pulmonary symptoms, such as cough, dyspnea, or chest tightness. Pathology revealed benign leiomyomas with no atypia and mitotic activity <5 per 10 high-power field. Immunohistochemical staining was positive for actin and desmin. A standard treatment for BML has not yet been established. Because of the hormone-sensitive characteristics of BML, treatments are based on hormonal manipulation along with either surgical or medical oophorectomy. Benign metastasizing leiomyoma can be observed in postmenopausal women. We observed four patients who did not receive adjuvant hormonal therapy because they were postmenopausal or perimenopausal. All patients are still healthy and show no evidence of recurrence or progression of the disease

A novel downlink beamforming scheme for FDD/SDMA systems

When beamforming is employed in the uplink without feedback channel, the beam pattern for the downlink can be generated using the weight used for uplink beamforming. However, this scheme may result in significantly performance degradation in the frequency division duplex (FDD) because of carrier frequency offset between the uplink and downlink. In this paper we propose a novel downlink beamforming algorithm based on least square method with some constraint points which have same gain in the up/downlink beam pattern. From the constraint points, we generate downlink weight and also propose how to choose the constraint points in order to satisfy the desired signal-to-interference power ratio. Simulation results show that the proposed method can sufficiently reduce the interference from other space division multiple access (SDMA) signals, providing interference-free spatial channel

Leveling of Superfilled Damascene Cu Film Using Two-Step Electrodeposition

To enhance the compatibility of electrodeposition with the chemical mechanical polishing process, we attempted to prevent step formation on active areas. In the absence of benzotriazole BTA , the step heights increased with the decrease in the pattern width and the increase in the pattern density due to the locally condensed accelerator. However, the addition of BTA significantly suppressed the deposition kinetic through the deactivation of the accelerator. The two-step electrodeposition with modulated accelerator and BTA concentrations was found to be effective in the retardation of bump formation and the prevention of bumps from growing without an impact on the superfilling

MicroRNA-143 and-145 modulate the phenotype of synovial fibroblasts in rheumatoid arthritis

Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) constitute a major cell subset of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synovia. Dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been implicated in activation and proliferation of RA-FLSs. However, the functional association of various miRNAs with their targets that are characteristic of the RA-FLS phenotype has not been globally elucidated. In this study, we performed microarray analyses of miRNAs and mRNAs in RA-FLSs and osteoarthritis FLSs (OA-FLSs), simultaneously, to validate how dysregulated miRNAs may be associated with the RA-FLS phenotype. Global miRNA profiling revealed that miR-143 and miR-145 were differentially upregulated in RA-FLSs compared to OA-FLSs. miR-143 and miR-145 were highly expressed in independent RA-FLSs. The miRNA-target prediction and network model of the predicted targets identified insulin-like growth factor binding protein 5 (IGFBP5) and semaphorin 3A (SEMA3A) as potential target genes downregulated by miR-143 and miR-145, respectively. IGFBP5 level was inversely correlated with miR-143 expression, and its deficiency rendered RA-FLSs more sensitive to TNFα stimulation, promoting IL-6 production and NF-κB activity. Moreover, SEMA3A was a direct target of miR-145, as determined by a luciferase reporter assay, antagonizing VEGF165-induced increases in the survival, migration and invasion of RA-FLSs. Taken together, our data suggest that enhanced expression of miR-143 and miR-145 renders RA-FLSs susceptible to TNFα and VEGF165 stimuli by downregulating IGFBP5 and SEMA3A, respectively, and that these miRNAs could be therapeutic targets. © 2017 KSBMB4

Glutaric Aciduria Type 1 in Korea: Report of Two Novel Mutations

Glutaric aciduria type I (GA I) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by a deficiency of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase. Although over 400 patients confirmed as GA I have been reported, reports from the Asian population had contributed to the minor proportion. We recently diagnosed two cases of GA I confirmed with mutational analysis. Here, we present their rather atypical clinical presentations with genetic characteristics for the first time in Korea. Profound developmental delay from birth, association of hearing loss, and neurological improvement after surgical intervention, were considered to be different clinical features from most reported cases. One patient was a compound heterozygote for p.Ser139Leu and p.Asp220Tyr, and the other for p.Ser139Leu and Glu160X. The mutations of the two alleles (p.Asp220Tyr and p.Glu160X) were novel and reports of p.Ser139Leu were rare both in Western and other Asian populations. These might suggest different genetic spectrum of Korean GA I patients

Ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials induced by air-conducted sound in patients with acute brainstem lesions

h i g h l i g h t s More than half of the patients with brainstem lesions showed abnormal air-conducted oVEMPs. The main lesion locations responsible for abnormal oVEMPs were the upper medial medulla, and the dorsomedial tegmentum of the pons and midbrain. Areas of the medial longitudinal fasciculus, the crossed ventral tegmental tracts and the oculomotor nucleus may carry the otolith-ocular signals required for oVEMP formation. a b s t r a c t Objective: The ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP), a recently documented otolithocular reflex, is considered to reflect the central projections of the primary otolithic afferent fibers to the oculomotor nuclei. The aim of our study is to define air-conducted sound oVEMP abnormality in patients with acute brainstem lesions and to determine the brainstem structures involved in the generation of oVEMPs. Methods: In response to air-conducted tone burst sounds (ACS), oVEMP was measured in 52 patients with acute brainstem lesions. Individualized brainstem lesions were analyzed by means of MRI-based voxel-wise lesion-behavior mapping, and the probabilistic lesion maps were constructed. Results: More than half (n = 28, 53.8%) of the patients with acute brainstem lesions showed abnormal oVEMP in response to ACS. The majority of patients with abnormal oVEMPs had lesions in the dorsomedial brainstem that contains the medial longitudinal fasciculus (MLF), the crossed ventral tegmental tract (CVTT), and the oculomotor nuclei and nerves. Conclusion: MLF, CVTT, and the oculomotor nuclei and nerves appear to be responsible for otolith-ocular responses in the brainstem. Significance: Complemented to cervical VEMP for the uncrossed otolith-spinal function, oVEMP to ACS may be applied to evaluate the crossed otolith-ocular function in central vestibulopathies