Purpose: This paper proposes a method to convert the measurement of the humerus from conventional two-dimensional (2D) to threedimensional (3D) measurements and apply it to clinical environments for diagnosis and surgery to improve results. Materials and Methods: In the developed software application, reflection and registration functions were implemented to quantify the difference between both sides of the humerus. Consistent measurements of the humerus were taken by defining the reference axis based on the Principal Component Analysis and aligning the humerus model with respect to the reference axis. Subsequently, the length, volume, the largest cross-sectional area in the head and condyle region, the position ratio of the largest cross-sectional area compared to the longitudinal length in the head and condyle region, and length and angle measurement between markups determined in the head and condyle region were examined. In addition, the automatic extraction of the head and groove, landmarks of the humerus proximal, was implemented. This study applied 40 humerus models (20 males and 20 females) to evaluate the measurements and automatic landmarkdetermination methods for humerus. Results: The measurements by this software application could provide consistent measurements of the same humerus. In addition, the position ratio of the largest cross-sectional area compared to the longitudinal length in the head and condyle region, proposed through this study, provides a similar ratio regardless of gender and side. Conclusion The software application developed in this study could measure the humerus and analyze its shape using an objective, reliable, and automatic method in a 3D environment. If the results of this study are applied to real clinical trials, diagnosis, and surgery could be conducted based on objective measurements, and improved results would be achieved. In addition, the study method could be expanded to other fields, such as orthopedics.

Purpose: This paper proposes a method to convert the measurement of the humerus from conventional two-dimensional (2D) to threedimensional (3D) measurements and apply it to clinical environments for diagnosis and surgery to improve results. Materials and Methods: In the developed software application, reflection and registration functions were implemented to quantify the difference between both sides of the humerus. Consistent measurements of the humerus were taken by defining the reference axis based on the Principal Component Analysis and aligning the humerus model with respect to the reference axis. Subsequently, the length, volume, the largest cross-sectional area in the head and condyle region, the position ratio of the largest cross-sectional area compared to the longitudinal length in the head and condyle region, and length and angle measurement between markups determined in the head and condyle region were examined. In addition, the automatic extraction of the head and groove, landmarks of the humerus proximal, was implemented. This study applied 40 humerus models (20 males and 20 females) to evaluate the measurements and automatic landmarkdetermination methods for humerus. Results: The measurements by this software application could provide consistent measurements of the same humerus. In addition, the position ratio of the largest cross-sectional area compared to the longitudinal length in the head and condyle region, proposed through this study, provides a similar ratio regardless of gender and side. Conclusion The software application developed in this study could measure the humerus and analyze its shape using an objective, reliable, and automatic method in a 3D environment. If the results of this study are applied to real clinical trials, diagnosis, and surgery could be conducted based on objective measurements, and improved results would be achieved. In addition, the study method could be expanded to other fields, such as orthopedics.

Purpose: This paper proposes a method to convert the measurement of the humerus from conventional two-dimensional (2D) to threedimensional (3D) measurements and apply it to clinical environments for diagnosis and surgery to improve results. Materials and Methods: In the developed software application, reflection and registration functions were implemented to quantify the difference between both sides of the humerus. Consistent measurements of the humerus were taken by defining the reference axis based on the Principal Component Analysis and aligning the humerus model with respect to the reference axis. Subsequently, the length, volume, the largest cross-sectional area in the head and condyle region, the position ratio of the largest cross-sectional area compared to the longitudinal length in the head and condyle region, and length and angle measurement between markups determined in the head and condyle region were examined. In addition, the automatic extraction of the head and groove, landmarks of the humerus proximal, was implemented. This study applied 40 humerus models (20 males and 20 females) to evaluate the measurements and automatic landmarkdetermination methods for humerus. Results: The measurements by this software application could provide consistent measurements of the same humerus. In addition, the position ratio of the largest cross-sectional area compared to the longitudinal length in the head and condyle region, proposed through this study, provides a similar ratio regardless of gender and side. Conclusion The software application developed in this study could measure the humerus and analyze its shape using an objective, reliable, and automatic method in a 3D environment. If the results of this study are applied to real clinical trials, diagnosis, and surgery could be conducted based on objective measurements, and improved results would be achieved. In addition, the study method could be expanded to other fields, such as orthopedics.

Purpose: This paper proposes a method to convert the measurement of the humerus from conventional two-dimensional (2D) to threedimensional (3D) measurements and apply it to clinical environments for diagnosis and surgery to improve results. Materials and Methods: In the developed software application, reflection and registration functions were implemented to quantify the difference between both sides of the humerus. Consistent measurements of the humerus were taken by defining the reference axis based on the Principal Component Analysis and aligning the humerus model with respect to the reference axis. Subsequently, the length, volume, the largest cross-sectional area in the head and condyle region, the position ratio of the largest cross-sectional area compared to the longitudinal length in the head and condyle region, and length and angle measurement between markups determined in the head and condyle region were examined. In addition, the automatic extraction of the head and groove, landmarks of the humerus proximal, was implemented. This study applied 40 humerus models (20 males and 20 females) to evaluate the measurements and automatic landmarkdetermination methods for humerus. Results: The measurements by this software application could provide consistent measurements of the same humerus. In addition, the position ratio of the largest cross-sectional area compared to the longitudinal length in the head and condyle region, proposed through this study, provides a similar ratio regardless of gender and side. Conclusion The software application developed in this study could measure the humerus and analyze its shape using an objective, reliable, and automatic method in a 3D environment. If the results of this study are applied to real clinical trials, diagnosis, and surgery could be conducted based on objective measurements, and improved results would be achieved. In addition, the study method could be expanded to other fields, such as orthopedics.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate if short-term serum thyroglobulin (Tg) elevation after radioiodine administration can predict successful radioiodine remnant ablation (RRA) and whether comparable RRA effectiveness is exhibited between a group administered with recombinant human thyrotropin (rhTSH) and a group experiencing thyroid hormone withdrawal (THW), in preparation for RRA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed on 39 patients in the rhTSH group and 46 patients in the THW group. They were treated for differentiated thyroid carcinoma by total or near total thyroidectomy, and referred for RRA between 2003 and 2006 (the rhTSH group) and between January and June of 2006 (the THW group). They were assessed for serum Tg levels just before I-131 administration (TgD0), reassessed 9 days later (TgD9), and again 6-12 months later. RESULTS: RRA was successful in 64 (37 from the THW group and 27 from the rhTSH group) of the total 85 patients. The success rates of RRA had no statistically significant differences between the two groups. In both groups, TgD9/TgD0 values were significantly higher in the RRA success group (the rhTSH group; P=0.03, the THW group; P=0.04). By combining cutoff values of TgD0 and TgD9/TgD0, the successful RRA value was determined to be 96.7% (29/30) with TgD0< or =5.28 ng/mL and TgD9/TgD0>4.37 in both groups (the rhTSH group; 100% (16/16), the THW group; 92.9% (13/14)). Using logistic multivariate analysis, only TgD0 was independently associated with successful RRA. CONCLUSION: We may predict successful ablation by evaluating short-term serum Tg elevation after I-131 administration for RRA, in both rhTSH and THW patients.
Humans ; Multivariate Analysis ; Retrospective Studies ; Thyroglobulin ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroidectomy ; Thyrotropin ; Thyrotropin Alfa

No abstract available.
Aneurysm* ; Neck* ; Rupture*

OBJECTIVE: Concurrent low brain and high liver uptake are sometimes observed on fluorine-18-labeled fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET). We investigated the potential clinical significance of this uptake pattern related to metabolic syndrome (MS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed data from 264 consecutive males who had undergone general health check-ups, including FDG PET/CT scans. After an overnight fast, the men had their peripheral blood drawn and the levels of various laboratory parameters measured; an FDG PET/CT scan was performed on the same day. We measured the maximum standardized uptake values of the brain and liver from regions of interest manually placed over the frontal cortex at the level of the centrum semiovale and the right lobe of the liver parenchyma, respectively. RESULTS: Fasting blood glucose (FBG; odds ratio [OR] = 1.063, p < 0.001) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c; OR = 3.634, p = 0.010) were the strongest predictive factors for low brain FDG uptake, whereas waist circumference (OR = 1.200, p < 0.001) and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (OR = 1.012, p = 0.001) were the strongest predictive factors for high liver uptake. Eleven subjects (4.2%) showed concurrent low brain and high liver FDG uptake, and all but one of these subjects (90.9%) had MS. Systolic blood pressure, waist circumference, FBG, triglyceride, alanine aminotransferase, insulin resistance (measured by homeostasis model assessment), insulin, HbA1c, and body mass index were higher in subjects with this FDG uptake pattern than in those without (all, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Concurrent low brain and high liver FDG uptake were closely associated with MS. Moreover, subjects with this pattern had higher values for various cardiovascular risk factors than did those without.
Alanine Transaminase ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Brain* ; Fasting ; Frontal Lobe ; Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Insulin ; Insulin Resistance ; Liver* ; Male ; Odds Ratio ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Positron-Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors* ; Triglycerides ; Waist Circumference

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and accuracy of a new portable ultrasonography-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (USg-HIFU) system with a 3-dimensional (3D) electronic steering transducer, a simultaneous ablation and imaging module, real-time cavitation monitoring, and 3D image reconstruction algorithms. METHODS: To address the accuracy of the transducer, hydrophones in a water chamber were used to assess the generation of sonic fields. An animal study was also performed in five pigs by ablating in vivo thighs by single-point sonication (n=10) or volume sonication (n=10) and ex vivo kidneys by single-point sonication (n=10). Histological and statistical analyses were performed. RESULTS: In the hydrophone study, peak voltages were detected within 1.0 mm from the targets on the y- and z-axes and within 2.0-mm intervals along the x-axis (z-axis, direction of ultrasound propagation; y- and x-axes, perpendicular to the direction of ultrasound propagation). Twenty-nine of 30 HIFU sessions successfully created ablations at the target. The in vivo porcine thigh study showed only a small discrepancy (width, 0.5-1.1 mm; length, 3.0 mm) between the planning ultrasonograms and the pathological specimens. Inordinate thermal damage was not observed in the adjacent tissues or sonic pathways in the in vivo thigh and ex vivo kidney studies. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that this new USg-HIFU system may be a safe and accurate technique for ablating soft tissues and encapsulated organs.
Ablation Techniques ; Animal Experimentation ; Animals ; Equipment and Supplies ; High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Ablation ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted* ; Kidney ; Sonication ; Swine* ; Thigh ; Transducers ; Ultrasonography* ; Water

We report two cases of gingival plasma cell granuloma in a 34-yr-old and 40-yr-old two male renal transplant recipients with cyclosporine A (CsA)-induced gingival overgrowth (GO). Histologically, these lesions were composed of mature plasma cells, showing polyclonality for both lambda and kappa light chains and fibrovascular connective tissue stroma. In addition to the fact that CsA-induced plasma cell granuloma is rare, the salient features of our cases were the secretion of interleukin-6 and overexpression of phospholipase C-gamma1 of the tumor cells, which may explain the mechanisms of CsA- induced GO.
Cyclosporine/adverse effects ; Female ; Gingival Diseases/*chemically induced/enzymology/immunology/pathology ; Granuloma, Plasma Cell/*chemically induced/enzymology/immunology/pathology ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Immunosuppressive Agents/adverse effects ; Interleukin-6/metabolism ; Kidney Transplantation ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phospholipase C gamma ; Type C Phospholipases/metabolism

PURPOSE: To obtain basic information for studies of male sexual dysfunction, we investigated the prevalence and the risk factors of erectile dysfunction(ED) in Korean young men via an Internet survey. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In June 2006, 23594 subjects aged from 20 to 59, who had registered with an internet research company, were asked to join our study if they had had stable sexual activities more than once a month for the past 6 months. Questions covered demographic characteristics, sexual life, International Index of Erectile Function(IIEF), and International Prostatic Symptom Score(IPSS). RESULTS: A total of 601 subjects completed the questionnaires. The prevalence of self-reported ED was 6.7%. The proportion of men with self-reported ED was 3.7% in the 20-29 age group, 6.0% in the 30-39 age group, and 9.5% in the 40-49 age group. The overall prevalence of ED assessed by IIEF-EF domain score of < or = 25 was 41.0%. We found a statistically significant correlation between men with self-reported ED and lower IIEF-EF domain scores. Self-reported ED was significantly associated with aging, smoking, lower education, and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Lower IIEF-EF domain scores were correlated with higher IPSS total, voiding and storage scores. CONCLUSIONS: ED in Korean young men is common and closely associated with LUTS. An Internet survey requires less man power, less time, and less research funds than classical survey methods such as mail or interview surveys. These study results will be useful as basic data for future studies of young Korean men's sexual function
Aging ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Education ; Erectile Dysfunction* ; Financial Management ; Humans ; Internet ; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms ; Male ; Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 1 ; Postal Service ; Prevalence* ; Risk Factors* ; Sexual Behavior ; Smoke ; Smoking