In-stent restenosis-prone coronary plaque composition: A retrospective virtual histology-intravascular ultrasound study

  Background: The mechanism of in-stent restenosis (ISR) is multifactorial, which includes biological, mechanical and technical factors. This study hypothesized that increased inflammatory reaction, which is known to be an important atherosclerotic process, at a culprit lesion may lead to higher restenosis rates. Methods: The study population consisted of 241 patients who had undergone percutaneous coronary intervention with virtual histology-intravascular ultrasound (VH-IVUS) and a 9-month follow-up coronary angiography. Compared herein is the coronary plaque composition between patients with ISR and those without ISR. Results: Patients with ISR (n = 27) were likely to be older (66.2 ± 9.5 years vs. 58.7 ± 11.7 years, p = 0.002) and have higher levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP, 1.60 ± 3.59 mg/dL vs. 0.31 ± 0.76 mg/dL, p < 0.001) than those without ISR (n = 214). VH-IVUS examination showed that percent necrotic core volume (14.3 ± 8.7% vs. 19.5 ± 9.1%, p = 0.005) was higher in those without ISR than those with ISR. Multivariate analysis revealed that hs-CRP (odds ratio [OR] 3.334, 95% con­fidence interval [CI] 1.158–9.596, p = 0.026) and age (OR 3.557, 95% CI 1.242–10.192, p = 0.018) were associated with ISR. Conclusions: This study suggests that ISR is not associated with baseline coronary plaque composition but is associated with old age and increased expression of the inflammatory marker of hs-CRP. (Cardiol J 2018; 25, 1: 7–13

Remarkable Effect of Gefitinib Retreatment in a Lung Cancer Patient With Lepidic Predominat Adenocarcinoma who had Experienced Favorable Results From Initial Treatment With Gefitinib: A Case Report

Gefitnib is an oral agent of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, and it has a certain efficacy against non-small cell lung cancer. There are some reports that the non-small cell lung cancer patients who experienced disease progression after responding to gefitinib were again sensitive to re-administration of gefitinib following temporary cessation of gefitinib. This is the case report showing a remarkable effect of gefitinib re-treatment in a patient with metastatic invasive adenocarinoma who had experienced favorable results from the initial treatment with gefitinib

Unilateral Biportal Endoscopic Translaminar Keyhole Approach to Treat High-grade Up-migrated Lumbar Disc Herniation: Technical Note

The incidence of lumbar disc fragment migration is approximately 35%–72% of which 34% are high-grade up-migrated discs. Translaminar keyhole approach is a minimally invasive and true tissue sparing technique which has been applied to approach migrated disc herniation. The unilateral biportal endoscopic approach is an emerging technique among endoscopic spine surgery that combines the advantages of microscopic surgery with endoscopic surgery. In this technical report we demonstrate the surgical technique of performing the translaminar keyhole approach with unilateral biportal endoscopic spine surgery to treat high-grade up-migrated discs. As far as we know, this is the first technical report of unilateral biportal endoscopy with translaminar keyhole approach to treat high-grade up migrated lumbar disc herniation

MMP-Inhibitory Effects of Flavonoid Glycosides from Edible Medicinal Halophyte Limonium tetragonum

Limonium tetragonum has been well-known for its antioxidative properties as a halophyte. This study investigated the antimetastasis effect of solvent-partitioned L. tetragonum extracts (LTEs) and isolated compounds on HT1080 mouse melanoma cell model with a focus on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity and TIMP and MAPK pathways. Upregulation and stimulation of MMPs result in elevated degradation of extracellular matrix which is part of several complications such as metastasis, cirrhosis, and arthritis. The anti-MMP capacity of LTEs was confirmed by their MMP-inhibitory effects, regulation of MMP and TIMP expression, and suppression of MAPK pathway. Among all tested LTEs, 85% aq. MeOH and n-BuOH were found to be most active fractions which later yielded two known flavonoid glycosides, myricetin 3-galactoside and quercetin 3-o-beta-galactopyranoside. Anti-MMP potential of the compounds was confirmed by their ability to regulate MMP expression through inhibited MAPK pathway activation. These results suggested that L. tetragonum might serve as a potential source of bioactive substances with effective anti-MMP properties

Solitary Metastasis of Bronchogenic Adenocarcinoma to the Internal Auditory Canal: A Case Report

We report a patient with an isolated metastasis to the internal auditory canal (IAC) of bronchogenic adenocarcinoma. A 58-yr-old man who had received 6-cycle of chemotherapy under diagnosis of non-small cell lung carcinoma (T4N2M0) two years ago was referred to our department with vertigo, right-sided facial paralysis and right-sided hearing loss. A provisional diagnosis of vestibular schwannoma or meningioma involving right IAC was made from magnetic resonance imaging. The patient underwent a translabyrinthine removal of the tumor. Histopathological study of the resected lesion showed a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma compatible with bronchogenic origin. The patient died 9 months after surgery from extensive brain metastasis despite postoperative radiation therapy. In patients with a previous history of treatment of malignancy elsewhere in the body, the possibility of IAC metastasis must be considered when an IAC lesion is detected

Comparing the Performance of Machine Learning and Deep Learning Algorithms in Wastewater Treatment Process

This study assessed the performance of single and modified algorithms based on machine learning and deep learning for wastewater treatment process. More specifically, this study adopted support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), and artificial neural network (ANN) for machine learning as well as long short-term memory (LSTM) for deep learning. The performance of these (single) algorithms were compared with that of modified ones processed through hyperparameter tuning, ensemble learning (only for machine learning), and multi-layer stacking (i.e., two layers of LSTM units). The daily effluent of wastewater treatment process observed between 2017 and 2022 in the Cheong-Ju National Industrial Complex was used as input to all tested algorithms, which was evaluated with respect to mean squared error. For the model performance evaluation, discharge and biochemical oxygen demand are selected as dependent variables out of nine measured parameters. Results showed that the performance of any machine learning algorithms was superior to their competitor LSTM. This is mainly attributed to a small amount of input data provided to the LSTM algorithm and unstable effluent wastewater characteristics. Meanwhile, hyperparameter tuning improved the performance of all tested algorithms. However, ensemble learning for machine learning and two-layer stacking for LSTM generally resulted in performance degradation as compared to that of single algorithms, regardless of dependent variables. Therefore, this calls for a careful design and evaluation of modified algorithms, specifically for model architecture and performance improvement processes

A Case of Wilson's Disease in Patient with Mildly Elevated Liver Enzymes

Wilson's disease is an autosomal recessive disorder affecting copper transport; it results in the accumulation of copper in the liver, brain, and other organs. Wilson's disease is the most common inherited liver disease with more than 500 cases reported in Korea. An impairment in biliary excretion process leads to copper accumulation in the liver, which progressively damages the liver, leading to cirrhosis. Since effective treatment is available for this disease, early and correct diagnosis is very important. Here, we report a case of Wilson's disease with mildly elevated liver enzyme levels in a 29-year-old breast-feeding woman with weight loss

Atomic arrangement of van der Waals heterostructures using X-ray scattering and crystal truncation rod analysis

Vanadium diselenide (VSe2) has intriguing physical properties such as unexpected ferromagnetism at the two-dimensional limit. However, the experimental results for room temperature ferromagnetism are still controversial and depend on the detailed crystal structure and stoichiometry. Here we introduce crystal truncation rod (CTR) analysis to investigate the atomic arrangement of bilayer VSe2 and bilayer graphene (BLG) hetero-structures grown on a 6H-SiC(0001) substrate. Using non-destructive CTR analysis, we were able to obtain electron density profiles and detailed crystal structure of the VSe2/BLG heterostructures. Specifically, the out-of-plane lattice parameters of each VSe2 layer were modulated by the interface compared to that of the bulk VSe2 1T phase. The atomic arrangement of the VSe2/BLG heterostructure provides deeper understanding and insight for elucidating the magnetic properties of the van der Waals heterostructure.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figure