274 research outputs found
Large Oncocytic Adrenocortical Tumor with Uncertain Malignant Potential
Oncocytoma is a neoplasm consisting of oncocytes that is found in the salivary gland, kidney, and thyroid. Adrenocortical oncocytoma is particularly uncommon, and most cases reported are benign and nonfunctioning. Here, we report a 20 cm adrenal mass associated with necrosis that was identified as an oncocytic adrenocortical tumor with uncertain malignant potential through histopathological evaluation after its resection
Transient receptor potential channel TRPV4 mediates TGF-Ī²1-induced differentiation of human ventricular fibroblasts
Background: Cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) are principal extracellular matrix-producing cells. In response to injury, CFs transdifferentiate into myofibroblasts. Intracellular calcium (Ca2+) signaling, involved in fibroblast proliferation and differentiation, is activated in fibroblasts through transient receptor potential (TRP) channels, but the function of these channels has not been investigated in human ventricular CFs. Under evaluation in this study, was the role of TRP channels in the differentiation of human ventricular CFs induced by transforming the growth factor beta (TGF-Ī²), a pro-fibrotic cytokine.
Methods: Human ventricular CFs were used in this study. The differentiation of CFs into myofibroblast was induced with TGF-Ī² and was identified by the expression of smooth muscle actin.
Results: Results indicate that Ca2+ signaling was an essential component of ventricular CF difĀferentiation. CFs treated with TGF-Ī² demonstrated increased expression of a TRP channel, TRPV4, both at the mRNA and protein levels, which corresponded with CF-myofibroblast trans-differentiation, as evidenced by the upregulation of Ī±-smooth muscle actin, a myofibroblast marker, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, which are fibrogenesis markers. An agonist of TRPV4 induced the conversion of CFs into myofibroblasts, whereas itās antagonist as well a Ca2+ chelating agent reduced it, indicating that the Ca2+ influx throughTRPV4 is required for CF trans-differentiation. Overall, these results demĀonstrate that TRPV4-mediated Ca2+ influx participates in regulating the differentiation of human ventricular CFs into myofibroblasts through the MAPK/ERK pathway.
Conclusions: Overall, these results demonstrate that TRPV4-mediated Ca2+ influx participates in regulating the differentiation of human ventricular CFs into myofibroblasts through the MAPK/ERK pathway
Attributable fraction of tobacco smoking on cancer using population-based nationwide cancer incidence and mortality data in Korea
Smoking is by far the most important cause of cancer that can be modified at the individual level. Cancer incidence and mortality rates in Korea are the highest among all Asian countries, and smoking prevalence in Korean men is one of the highest in developed countries. The purpose of the current study was to perform a systematic review and provide an evidence-based assessment of the burden of tobacco smoking-related cancers in the Korean population. Sex- and cancer-specific population-attributable fractions (PAF) were estimated using the prevalence of ever-smoking and second-hand smoking in 1989 among Korean adults, respectively, and the relative risks were estimated from the meta-analysis of studies performed in the Korean population for ever-smoking and in the Asian population for passive smoking. National cancer incidence data from the Korea Central Cancer Registry and national cancer mortality data from Statistics Korea for the year 2009 were used to estimate the cancer cases and deaths attributable to tobacco smoking. Tobacco smoking was responsible for 20,239 (20.9%) cancer incident cases and 14,377 (32.9%) cancer deaths among adult men and 1,930 (2.1%) cancer incident cases and 1,351 (5.2%) cancer deaths among adult women in 2009 in Korea. In men, 71% of lung cancer deaths, 55%-72% of upper aerodigestive tract (oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus and larynx) cancer deaths, 23% of liver, 32% of stomach, 27% of pancreas, 7% of kidney and 45% of bladder cancer deaths were attributable to tobacco smoking. In women the proportion of ever-smoking-attributable lung cancer was 8.1%, while that attributable to second-hand smoking among non-smoking women was 20.5%. Approximately one in three cancer deaths would be potentially preventable through appropriate control of tobacco smoking in Korean men at the population level and individual level. For Korean women, more lung cancer cases and deaths were attributable to second-hand than ever-smoking. Effective control programs against tobacco smoking should be further developed and implemented in Korea to reduce the smoking-related cancer burden
KMT-2016-BLG-1107: A New Hollywood-Planet Close/Wide Degeneracy
We show that microlensing event KMT-2016-BLG-1107 displays a new type of
degeneracy between wide-binary and close-binary Hollywood events in which a
giant-star source envelops the planetary caustic. The planetary anomaly takes
the form of a smooth, two-day "bump" far out on the falling wing of the light
curve, which can be interpreted either as the source completely enveloping a
minor-image caustic due to a close companion with mass ratio , or
partially enveloping a major-image caustic due to a wide companion with
. The best estimates of the companion masses are both in the planetary
regime ( and ) but differ by an even larger factor than the mass ratios due to
different inferred host masses. We show that the two solutions can be
distinguished by high-resolution imaging at first light on next-generation
("30m") telescopes. We provide analytic guidance to understand the conditions
under which this new type of degeneracy can appear.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in A
KMT-2018-BLG-1990Lb: A Nearby Jovian Planet From A Low-Cadence Microlensing Field
We report the discovery and characterization of KMT-2018-BLG-1990Lb, a Jovian
planet orbiting a late M dwarf
, at a distance
(D_L=1.23_{-0.43}^{+1.06}\,\kpc), and projected at times the
snow line distance, i.e., a_{\rm snow}\equiv 2.7\,\au (M/M_\odot), This is
the second Jovian planet discovered by KMTNet in its low cadence () fields, demonstrating that this population will be well
characterized based on survey-only microlensing data.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures, 4 table
Decreased Pattern-Recognition Receptor-Mediated Cytokine mRNA Expression in Obese Children With Otitis Media With Effusion
ObjectivesTo assess innate and humoral immune responses in middle ear effusion of obese pediatric patients with otitis media with effusion (OME).MethodsWe evaluated 219 children with OME, of whom 21 were obese and 198 were non-obese. We compared the expression in middle ear effusion of mRNAs encoding toll-like receptors (TLR) 2, 4, 5, and 9; nucleotide-binding oligomerization domains (NOD) 1 and 2; retinoic acid-inducible gene (RIG)-I; interleukins (IL)-6, -10, and -12; interferon (IFN)-Ī³; and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-Ī± mRNAs. We also compared the expression of immunoglobulins IgG, IgA, and IgM and the bacterial detection rate in the two groups.ResultsTLR2-mediated expression of IL-6 mRNA, TLR4-mediated expression of IL-6 and IL-10 mRNA, TLR5-mediated expression of IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-Ī± mRNA, TLR9-mediated expression of IL-6 mRNA, and NOD2-mediated expression of IL-6, IL-12, and TNF-Ī± mRNA were significantly lower in obese than in non-obese children (P0.05).ConclusionMean body mass index was higher and pattern-recognition receptor-mediated cytokine mRNA expression was lower in obese than in non-obese children with OME
Determination of the three-dimensional structure of hordothionin-Ī± by nuclear magnetic resonance
Extrasinonasal infiltrative process associated with a sinonasal fungus ball: does it mean invasive fungal sinusitis?
PURPOSE:Invasive fungal sinusitis (IFS) has rarely been reported to develop from non-IFS. The purpose of this study was to disclose the nature of the extrasinonasal infiltrative process in the presence of a sinonasal fungus ball (FB).METHODS:We retrospectively reviewed the medical records, computed tomography, magnetic resonance images of 13 patients with sinonasal FB and the extrasinonasal infiltrative process. Based on histology and clinical course, we divided the extrasinonasal infiltrative process into IFS and the nonfungal inflammatory/infectious process (NFIP). The images were analyzed with particular attention to the presence of cervicofacial tissue infarction (CFTI).RESULTS:Of the 13 patients, IFS was confirmed in only one, while the remaining 12 were diagnosed to have presumed NFIP. One patient with IFS died shortly after diagnosis. In contrast, all 12 patients with presumed NFIP, except one, survived during a mean follow-up of 17 months. FB was located in the maxillary sinus (n=4), sphenoid sinus (n=8), and both sinuses (n=1). Bone defect was found in five patients, of whom four had a defect in the sphenoid sinus. Various sites were involved in the extrasinonasal infiltrative process, including the orbit (n=10), intracranial cavity (n=9), and soft tissues of the face and neck (n=7). CFTI was recognized only in one patient with IFS.CONCLUSION:In most cases, the extrasinonasal infiltrative process in the presence of sinonasal FB did not seem to be caused by IFS but probably by NFIP. In our study, there were more cases of invasive changes with the sphenoid than with the maxillary FB
KMT-2018-BLG-1292: A Super-Jovian Microlens Planet in the Galactic Plane
We report the discovery of KMT-2018-BLG-1292Lb, a super-Jovian planet orbiting an F or G dwarf , which lies physically within {\cal O}(10\,\pc) of the
Galactic plane. The source star is a heavily extincted luminous
giant that has the lowest Galactic latitude, , of any planetary
microlensing event. The relatively blue blended light is almost certainly
either the host or its binary companion, with the first explanation being
substantially more likely. This blend dominates the light at band and
completely dominates at and bands. Hence, the lens system can be probed
by follow-up observations immediately, i.e., long before the lens system and
the source separate due to their relative proper motion. The system is well
characterized despite the low cadence -- of
observations and short viewing windows near the end of the bulge season. This
suggests that optical microlensing planet searches can be extended to the
Galactic plane at relatively modest cost.Comment: 35 pages, 3 Tables, 8 figure
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