Congenital midline cervical cleft is a rare congenital disease. The disease is often misdiagnosed as a branchial cleft deformity, thyroglossal duct cyst, or other skin diseases. It has the following characteristics: skin defect at the midline of the anterior neck, a skin tag at the upper end of the lesion, and a blind sinus tract at the caudal aspect with or without mucoid discharge. Treatment is usually for aesthetic purposes; therefore, early surgical en bloc resection with Z-plasty or W-plasty is recommended to reduce recurrence and scar formation.

Purpose: Identifying current practices in acute stroke imaging is essential for establishing optimal imaging protocols. We surveyed and assessed the current status of acute stroke imaging for endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) at tertiary hospitals throughout South Korea. Materials and Methods: An electronic questionnaire on imaging protocols for EVT in patients with acute ischemic stroke was e-mailed to physicians at 42 registered tertiary hospitals, and their responses were collected between February and March 2020. Results: Of the 36 hospitals participating in the survey, 69% (25/36) adopted computed tomography (CT)-based protocols, whereas 31% (11/36) adopted magnetic resonance (MR)-based protocols. Non-enhanced CT (NECT) was the initial imaging study at 28%, NECT with CT angiography (CTA) at 36%, and NECT with CTA and CT perfusion (CTP) at 33% of hospitals. Perfusion imaging was performed at 61% (22/36), CTP at 44% (16/36), and MR perfusion at 17% (6/36) of hospitals. Multiphase CTA was performed at 67%, single-phase CTA at 11%, time-of-flight MR angiography (MRA) at 8%, contrast-enhanced MRA at 8%, and both at 6% of hospitals. For late time window stroke, 50% of hospitals used identical imaging protocols to those for early time window stroke, 39% used additional MR imaging (MRI), and 6% converted the imaging strategy from CT to MRI. Post-processing programs were used at 28% (10/36), and RAPID software at 14% (5/36) of hospitals, respectively. Most hospitals (92%) used the same imaging protocols for posterior and anterior circulation strokes. Conclusion Our multicenter survey demonstrated considerable heterogeneity in acute stroke imaging protocols across South Korean tertiary hospitals, suggesting that hospitals refine their imaging protocols according to hospital-specific conditions.

Three neonatal pigs from the same litter in a domestic farm were born with skin lesions. Grossly, multiple wellcircumscribed, round papules distributed over the skin of the three piglets. Two piglets were submitted for a diagnosis of skin disease.Microscopically, epidermal hyperplasia with ballooning degeneration of stratum spinosum keratinocytes was observed. Some keratinocytes contained eosinophilic intracytoplasmic inclusions and a central nuclear vacuole and chromatin margination. Swinepox (SWP) virus was detected by polymerase chain reaction and nucleotide sequencing, and Staphylococcus hyicus was isolated in skin lesions. Based on the gross findings and laboratory results, these piglets were diagnosed with congenital SWP with a secondary staphylococcal infection.

Three neonatal pigs from the same litter in a domestic farm were born with skin lesions. Grossly, multiple wellcircumscribed, round papules distributed over the skin of the three piglets. Two piglets were submitted for a diagnosis of skin disease.Microscopically, epidermal hyperplasia with ballooning degeneration of stratum spinosum keratinocytes was observed. Some keratinocytes contained eosinophilic intracytoplasmic inclusions and a central nuclear vacuole and chromatin margination. Swinepox (SWP) virus was detected by polymerase chain reaction and nucleotide sequencing, and Staphylococcus hyicus was isolated in skin lesions. Based on the gross findings and laboratory results, these piglets were diagnosed with congenital SWP with a secondary staphylococcal infection.

The incidence of adult eosinophillic esophagitis has been on the increase greatly in recent years, but the disease has been rarely reported in Korea. Eosinophilic esophagitis is a chronic inflammatory disease causing dysphagia and food impaction. A round ring, longitudinal furrows and mucosal friability are the major findings seen by endoscopy. Eosionophilc esophagitis is confirmed by pathology when more than 20 eosinophils are found on microscopy with use of a high power field. We experienced three cases of eosinophilic esophagitis with complaints of dysphagia.
Adult ; Deglutition Disorders ; Endoscopy ; Eosinophilic Esophagitis ; Eosinophils ; Esophagitis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Microscopy

The role of neuroimaging in patients with acute ischemic stroke has been gradually increasing. The ultimate goal of stroke imaging is to make a streamlined imaging workflow for safe and efficient treatment based on optimized patient selection. In the era of multimodal comprehensive imaging in strokes, imaging based on computed tomography (CT) has been preferred for use in acute ischemic stroke, because, despite the unique strengths of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), MRI has a longer scan duration than does CT-based imaging. However, recent improvements, such as multicoil technology and novel MRI acceleration techniques, including parallel imaging, simultaneous multi-section imaging, and compressed sensing, highlight the potential of comprehensive MR-based imaging for strokes. In this review, we discuss the role of stroke imaging in acute ischemic stroke management, as well as the strengths and limitations of MR-based imaging. Given these concepts, we review the current MR acceleration techniques that could be applied to stroke imaging and provide an overview of the previous research on each essential sequence: diffusionweighted imaging, gradient-echo, fluid-attenuated inversion recovery, contrastenhanced MR angiography, and MR perfusion imaging.

Objective: To demonstrate the sonoanatomy of the medial antebrachial cutaneous nerve (MACN) in the elbow region using high-resolution ultrasonography (HRUS) to identify areas at a high risk of MACN injury. Methods: A total of 44 arms were included in the study. In the supine position, the participants’ arms were abducted 45° with the elbow fully extended. The MACN was visualized in the transverse view. The anterior branch of the MACN (ABMACN), posterior branch of the MACN (PBMACN), and location of the branching sites were determined. The distance between the ABMACN and superficial veins, including the basilic vein (BV) and median cubital veins (MCV) was measured. For the PBMACN, the distance to the ulnar nerve (UN) and to BV were measured. Results: The MACN was subdivided into 2.18±1.00 branches, including ABMACN and PBMACN. The ABMACN and PBMACN were subdivided into 1.60±0.78 and 1.07±0.25 branches, respectively. The branching point of the MACN was 8.40±2.42 cm proximal to the interepicondylar line (IEL). We demonstrated that the ABMACN is located close to the BV and MCV in the elbow region, and the PBMACN was located approximately 1 cm and 0.8 cm anterior to the UN and posterior to the BV at the IEL level, respectively. Conclusion Considering the location of the MACN, including ABMACN and PBMACN, clinicians can perform invasive procedures around the elbow region more carefully to lower the risk of MACN injury.

The concept of cellular reprogramming was developed to generate induced neural precursor cells (iNPCs)/dopaminergic (iDA) neurons using diverse approaches. Here, we investigated the effects of various nanoscale scaffolds (fiber, dot, and line) on iNPC/iDA differentiation by direct reprogramming. The generation and maturation of iDA neurons (microtubule-associated protein 2-positive and tyrosine hydroxylase-positive) and iNPCs (NESTIN-positive and SOX2-positive) increased on fiber and dot scaffolds as compared to that of the flat (control) scaffold. This study demonstrates that nanotopographical environments are suitable for direct differentiation methods and may improve the differentiation efficiency.
Cellular Reprogramming ; Nanofibers ; Neurons ; Tyrosine

The role of neuroimaging in patients with acute ischemic stroke has been gradually increasing. The ultimate goal of stroke imaging is to make a streamlined imaging workflow for safe and efficient treatment based on optimized patient selection. In the era of multimodal comprehensive imaging in strokes, imaging based on computed tomography (CT) has been preferred for use in acute ischemic stroke, because, despite the unique strengths of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), MRI has a longer scan duration than does CT-based imaging. However, recent improvements, such as multicoil technology and novel MRI acceleration techniques, including parallel imaging, simultaneous multi-section imaging, and compressed sensing, highlight the potential of comprehensive MR-based imaging for strokes. In this review, we discuss the role of stroke imaging in acute ischemic stroke management, as well as the strengths and limitations of MR-based imaging. Given these concepts, we review the current MR acceleration techniques that could be applied to stroke imaging and provide an overview of the previous research on each essential sequence: diffusionweighted imaging, gradient-echo, fluid-attenuated inversion recovery, contrastenhanced MR angiography, and MR perfusion imaging.

Purpose: To propose standardized and feasible imaging protocols for constructing artificial intelligence (AI) database in acute stroke by assessing the current practice at tertiary hospitals in South Korea and reviewing evolving AI models. Materials and Methods: A nationwide survey on acute stroke imaging protocols was conducted using an electronic questionnaire sent to 43 registered tertiary hospitals between April and May 2021. Imaging protocols for endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) in the early and late time windows and during follow-up were assessed. Clinical applications of AI techniques in stroke imaging and required sequences for developing AI models were reviewed. Standardized and feasible imaging protocols for data curation in acute stroke were proposed. Results: There was considerable heterogeneity in the imaging protocols for EVT candidates in the early and late time windows and posterior circulation stroke. Computed tomography (CT)-based protocols were adopted by 70% (30/43), and acquisition of noncontrast CT, CT angiography and CT perfusion in a single session was most commonly performed (47%, 14/30) with the preference of multiphase (70%, 21/30) over single phase CT angiography. More hospitals performed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based protocols or additional MRI sequences in a late time window and posterior circulation stroke. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) were most commonly performed MRI sequences with considerable variation in performing other MRI sequences. AI models for diagnostic purposes required noncontrast CT, CT angiography and DWI while FLAIR, dynamic susceptibility contrast perfusion, and T1-weighted imaging (T1WI) were additionally required for prognostic AI models. Conclusion Given considerable heterogeneity in acute stroke imaging protocols at tertiary hospitals in South Korea, standardized and feasible imaging protocols are required for constructing AI database in acute stroke. The essential sequences may be noncontrast CT, DWI, CT/MR angiography and CT/MR perfusion while FLAIR and T1WI may be additionally required.