Primary Squamous Cell Carcinoma in the Testis: A Case Report

A 51-yr-old man presented with an enlarged right testis for two months. The radically resected testis showed a relatively well-circumscribed ovoid mass, nearly replacing the normal architecture with central cystic changes. Microscopically, the mass was composed of ovoid shaped tumor cells of a moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The central portion of the mass was filled with well-formed laminated keratinous materials and the remnant cavity lined by dysplastic squamous epithelium, indicated SCC may be derived from an epidermal cyst. SCC is among the most common types of neoplasm afflicting human beings, but it is rare in the testis. To our knowledge, this is the second report of the testicular squamous cell carcinoma occurring in a patient without other primary tumors, and the firstly reported case in Korea

Huge carotid body paraganglioma

A 33-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with a slow-growing mass in the left side of her neck. The mass was found to be a huge (73 × 56 × 54 mm) carotid body paraganglioma. Another 21 mm-size tumor was incidentally detected at the right carotid bifurcation. She had hoarseness and Horner's syndrome of her left side. Both tumors were surgically removed. There were no cerebrovascular complications but some neurologic complications occurred when the left tumor was removed

Exposure to ambient fine particulate matter is associated with changes in fasting glucose and lipid profiles: a nationwide cohort study

Ambient fine particulate matter is a rising concern for global public health. It was recently suggested that exposure to fine particulate matter may contribute to the development of diabetes and dyslipidaemia. This study aims to examine the potential associations of ambient particulate matter exposure with changes in fasting glucose and lipid profiles in Koreans. We used the data from the National Health Insurance Service–National Sample Cohort (NHIS-NSC), a nationwide database representative of the Korean population. A total of 85,869 individuals aged ≥20 years were included. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to assess the associations between exposure to particulate matter and changes in fasting glucose and lipid profiles at 2-year intervals after adjusting for confounders. Significant associations were observed between an increase in interquartile range for particulate matter < 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) and elevated levels of fasting glucose and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p for trend = 0.015 and 0.010, respectively), while no association for particulate matter sized 2.5–10 μm in diameter (PM10–2.5) was noted after adjusting for the other covariates. Sub-group analyses showed stronger associations in individuals who were older (≥60 years) or physically inactive. Fine particulate matter exposure affects worsening fasting glucose and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, with no evidence of an association for coarse particulate matter

First-time comparison between NO2 vertical columns from GEMS and Pandora measurements

The Geostationary Environmental Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) is a UV&ndash;visible spectrometer onboard the GEO-KOMPSAT-2B satellite launched into geostationary orbit in February 2020. To evaluate GEMS NO2 column data, comparison was carried out using NO2 vertical column density (VCD) measured using direct-sunlight observations by the Pandora spectrometer system at four sites in Seosan, South Korea, during November 2020 to January 2021. Correlation coefficients between GEMS and Pandora NO2 data at four sites ranged from 0.35 to 0.48, with root mean square errors (RMSEs) from 4.7 &times; 1015 molec. cm-2 to 5.5 &times; 1015 molec. cm-2 for cloud fraction (CF) &lt; 0.7. Higher correlation coefficients of 0.62&ndash;0.78 with lower RMSEs from 3.3 &times; 1015 molec. cm-2 to 4.3 &times; 1015 molec. cm-2 were found with CF &lt; 0.3, indicating the higher sensitivity of GEMS to atmospheric NO2 in less-cloudy conditions. Overall, GEMS NO2 column data tend to be lower than those of Pandora due to differences in representative spatial coverage, with a large negative bias under high-CF conditions. With correction for horizontal representativeness in Pandora measurement coverage, the correlation coefficients range from 0.69 to 0.81 with RMSEs from 3.2 &times; 1015 molec. cm-2 to 4.9 &times; 1015 molec. cm-2 were achieved for CF &lt; 0.3, showing the better correlation with the correction than that without the correction.</p

First-time comparison between NO2 vertical columns from Geostationary Environmental Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) and Pandora measurements

The Geostationary Environmental Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) is a UV-visible (UV-Vis) spectrometer on board the GEO-KOMPSAT-2B (Geostationary Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite 2B) satellite launched into a geostationary orbit in February 2020. To evaluate the GEMS NO2 total column data, a comparison was carried out using the NO2 vertical column density (VCD) that measured direct sunlight using the Pandora spectrometer system at four sites in Seosan, South Korea, from November 2020 to January 2021. Correlation coefficients between GEMS and Pandora NO2 data at four sites ranged from 0.35 to 0.48, with root mean square errors (RMSEs) from 4.7×1015 to 5.5×1015 molec. cm−2 for a cloud fraction (CF) &lt;0.7. Higher correlation coefficients of 0.62–0.78 with lower RMSEs from 3.3×1015 to 5.0×1015 molec. cm−2 were found with CF &lt;0.3, indicating the higher sensitivity of GEMS to atmospheric NO2 in less cloudy conditions. Overall, the GEMS NO2 total column data tended to be lower than the Pandora data, owing to differences in the representative spatial coverage, with a large negative bias under high CF conditions. With a correction for horizontal representativeness in the Pandora measurement coverage, correlation coefficients ranging from 0.69 to 0.81, with RMSEs from 3.2×1015 to 4.9×1015 molec. cm−2, were achieved for CF &lt;0.3, showing a better correlation with the correction than without the correction.</p