Hepatitis B vaccinations among Koreans: Results from 2005 Korea National Cancer Screening Survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Liver cancer is one of most commonly diagnosed cancers among Koreans. Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major risk factor for liver cancer. HBV infection can be prevented by effective screening and vaccination programs. The purpose of this study is to examine the status of HBV infection and the predictors associated with HBV vaccination.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study population was derived from the 2005 Korea National Cancer Screening Survey (KNCSS). The KNCSS is an annual cross-sectional survey that uses a nationally-representative random sampling to investigate cancer screening rates. A total of 1,786 Koreans over 40 years of age participated in this study.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of all the participants, 5.9% reported HBV positive (HBsAg+, HBsAb-), 41.8% were HBV negative but protected (HBsAg-, HBsAb+), and 52.3% were unprotected (HBsAg-, HBsAb-). Among unprotected individuals (n = 934), 23.1% reported to have received the vaccination. About half of those who had vaccinations completed the 3-shot vaccine series. In multiple analyses, education, having private cancer insurance, alcohol use, having regular check-up, and doing regular exercise were associated with completed HBV vaccination.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study result suggests that we need a liver cancer education program to increase HBV awareness and to increase the liver cancer prevention message among low educated populations.</p

Concordant or Discordant? Imaging-Pathology Correlation in a Sonography-Guided Core Needle Biopsy of a Breast Lesion

An imaging-guided core needle biopsy has been proven to be reliable and accurate for the diagnosis of both benign and malignant diseases of the breast, and has replaced surgical biopsy. However, the possibility of a false-negative biopsy still remains. Imaging-pathology correlation is of critical importance in imaging-guided breast biopsies to detect such a possible sampling error and avoid a delay in diagnosis. We will review five possible categories and corresponding management after performing an imaging-pathology correlation in a sonography-guided core needle biopsy of a breast lesion, as well as illustrate the selected images for each category in conjunction with the pathologic finding. Radiologists should be familiar with the imaging features of various breast pathologies and be able to appropriately correlate imaging findings with pathologic results after a core needle biopsy

US-Guided Vacuum-Assisted Biopsy of Microcalcifications in Breast Lesions and Long-Term Follow-Up Results

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the use of an ultrasonography (US)-guided vacuum-assisted biopsy for microcalcifications of breast lesions and to evaluate the efficacy of the use of US-guided vacuum-assisted biopsy with long-term follow-up results. Materials and Methods US-guided vacuum-assisted biopsy cases of breast lesions that were performed between 2002 and 2006 for microcalcifications were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 62 breast lesions were identified where further pathological confirmation was obtained or where at least two years of mammography follow-up was obtained. These lesions were divided into the benign and malignant lesions (benign and malignant group) and were divided into underestimated group and not-underestimated lesions (underestimated and not-underestimated group) according to the diagnosis after a vacuum-assisted biopsy. The total number of specimens that contained microcalcifications was analyzed and the total number of microcalcification flecks as depicted on specimen mammography was analyzed to determine if there was any statistical difference between the groups. Results There were no false negative cases after more than two years of follow-up. Twenty-nine lesions were diagnosed as malignant (two invasive carcinomas and 27 carcinoma in situ lesions). Two of the 27 carcinoma in situ lesions were upgraded to invasive cancers after surgery. Among three patients diagnosed with atypical ductal hyperplasia, the diagnosis was upgraded to a ductal carcinoma in situ after surgery in one patient. There was no statistically significant difference in the number of specimens with microcalcifications and the total number of microcalcification flecks between the benign group and malignant group of patients and between the underestimated group and not-underestimated group of patients. Conclusion US-guided vacuum-assisted biopsy can be an effective alternative to stereotactic-guided vacuum-assisted biopsy in cases where microcalcifications are visible with the use of high-resolution USope

Coexistence of Two Forms of LTP in ACC Provides a Synaptic Mechanism for the Interactions between Anxiety and Chronic Pain

SummaryChronic pain can lead to anxiety and anxiety can enhance the sensation of pain.　Unfortunately, little is known about the synaptic mechanisms that mediate these re-enforcing interactions. Here we characterized two forms of long-term potentiation (LTP) in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC); a presynaptic form (pre-LTP) that requires kainate receptors and a postsynaptic form (post-LTP) that requires N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors. Pre-LTP also involves adenylyl cyclase and protein kinase A and is expressed via a mechanism involving hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels. Interestingly, chronic pain and anxiety both result in selective occlusion of pre-LTP. Significantly, microinjection of the HCN blocker ZD7288 into the ACC in vivo produces both anxiolytic and analgesic effects. Our results provide a mechanism by which two forms of LTP in the ACC may converge to mediate the interaction between anxiety and chronic pain

Determinants of penetrance and variable expressivity in monogenic metabolic conditions across 77,184 exomes

Penetrance of variants in monogenic disease and clinical utility of common polygenic variation has not been well explored on a large-scale. Here, the authors use exome sequencing data from 77,184 individuals to generate penetrance estimates and assess the utility of polygenic variation in risk prediction of monogenic variants

Theoretical study on enhancement of heat transfer of nanofluids with functionalized graphene flakes in confined nanopipe system

In order to find a suitable type of nanoparticles to improve the heat transfer of nanofluids, the role of nanoparticles should be elucidated. The nanoparticles are known to affect the heat transfer, and here we investigated the role of nanoparticles using a nanopipe model system. Specifically, the heat transfer phenomena of nanofluids containing hydrophobic (i.e., hydrogenated) and hydrophilic (i.e., carboxylated) functionalized graphene flakes (GFs) were compared. Confined nanopipe (i.e., 325 K) with a diameter of 400 ?? system were adopted for the heat transfer and coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CGMD) simulations were performed. In the nanofluids, GF-concentrated layer was formed near the pipe wall, which induced the high HTC value of nanofluids. We found that after the thermal change of fluid became constant (i.e., thermally fully developed region), the thermal boundary layer was maintained for 100 ?? due the GF-concentrated layer. The thermal boundary layer and HTC was thicker and higher when using carboxylated GF, which was more soluble in the coolant