PURPOSE: The purpose of our study was to identify the CT findings that help detect pleural dissemination from lung cancer and to evaluate the usefulness of selected diagnostic criteria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After a computerized database search of 606 patients who had undergone thoracotomy for primary lung cancer, 23 patients were identified as h aving surgically documented pleural dissemination. From the same database, 50 patients without pleural dissemination during thoracotomy were randomly selected as controls. Preoperative CT scans and medical records were rev i ewed retrospectively, and findings were compared between the two groups. RESULT: One or more of three types of pleural thickening (plaque-like, nodular, and fissural) were identified on CT as the most discriminating finding (sensitivity, 74 % ; specificity, 60 %; p = 0.007). The following findings were also significantly discriminating (p<0.05): contiguity of primary tumor with the pleural surface as seen on CT; adenocarcinoma in cell type; and a peripheral tumor defined as one in which bronchoscopy revealed no endobronchial lesion. The use of combinations of these findings in addition to pleural thickening rendered diagnostic criteria more specific at the cost of the sensitivity. CONCLUSION: During preoperative CT evaluation of lung cancer, the recognition of subtle pleural thickening helps detect pleural dissemination. The likelihood that subtle pleural thickening represents pleural dissemination is increased when a primary tumor is contiguous with the pleural surface, is an adenocarcinoma, or is peripherally located.
Adenocarcinoma ; Bronchoscopy ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Medical Records ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Thoracotomy ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

PURPOSE: To see the stability and error in the diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging technique in the experimental models and to observe the signal intensities in the early cerebral lesions of the animal models. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Diffusion coefficients of acetone and distilled water were measured by diffusion-weighted MR image and were compared with actual values. Differentiation of diffusion from perfusion were done at the resin flow phantom. The signal intensities caused by early parenchymal changes were measured in normal, hypovolemic, and embolic, and dead animal models by using diffusion-weighted image and compared with pathoIogic finding and vital staining. RESULTS: Diffusion coefficients of acetone and distilled water were 4.48 x 10-3 and 2.72 x 10-3 which were very close to the actual values. Diffusion-weighted MR image obtained at flow phantom was not affected by flow (perfusion) at the 100-400 of b-factor range. Animal study done at that b-factor range revealed a significant signal difference between the left and right sides only at the embolic model induced by polyvinyl alchol particles (p<0.05). These changes were not detected in microscopic finding but could be identified in vital staining. CONCLUSION: Diffusion-weighted MR image can be used to detect early parenchymal change when the appropriate b-factor range was applied.
Acetone ; Animals ; Diffusion* ; Hypovolemia ; Models, Animal ; Models, Theoretical* ; Perfusion ; Polyvinyls ; Water

PURPOSE: To assess the MR findings of siliconomas (silicone granulomas) in patients with interstitial silicone injection mammoplasty. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Women with interstitial silicone injection mammoplasty were referred for this study on the basis of clinical findings of palpable mass. Nine patients with 18 augmentated breasts underwent axial and sagittal MR imaging, and the results were analysed in terms of their size, shape, margin, signal intensity, enhancement pattern, distribution and adjacent parenchymal distortion. We undertook in-vitro MR imaging of silicone, paraffin, fat, and water, and then compared their signal intensities at each sequence. RESULTS: Siliconomas were seen as well-defined low-signal-intensity nodules at T1WI and high-signal-intensity nodules at T2WI. There was no demonstrable contrast enhancement. Where there was breast cancer in which heterogeneous signal intensity was observed at T1 -and T2WI, together with heterogeneous enhancement, siliconomas were well differentiated from the tumor mass. At in-vitro MR imaging of silicone, paraffin, fat and water, paraffin showed a very low signal intensitiy at all pulse sequences but silicone showed low signal intensity at T1-fat-suppressed T1WI and high signal intensity at T2-and water-suppressed T2WI. CONCLUSION: MRI allows clear differentiation of siliconoma from fat and fibroglandular tissue, and can therefore, reveal anatomical details and detect lesions in patients with interstitial silicone injection mammoplasty.
Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mammaplasty* ; Paraffin ; Silicones* ; Water

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical symptoms of patients with dry eyes, based on the ocular surface disease index (OSDI) and analyze the relationship between OSDI and various ocular surface parameters. Methods: This was a retrospective study that included 45 eyes of 45 dry eye patients who visited the Seoul Nune Eye Hospital from August 2017 to December 2017. The patients were assessed by non-invasive keratography for the first break-up time, lipid layer thickness (LLT), tear osmolarity, tear matrix metalloproteinase-9 immunoassay as well as with the conventional Schirmer I test and fluorescein break-up time. The patient’s symptoms were evaluated by the OSDI questionnaires and correlations were analyzed based on the parameters described above. Results: There were significant negative correlations between OSDI and non-invasive keratography for the first break-up time (p = 0.038, r = -0.330), and LLT (p = 0.005, r = -0.426). However, there were no significant correlations between OSDI and fluorescein break-up time, Schirmer I score, and tear osmolarity (p = 0.173, 0.575, and 0.844 respectively). OSDI was not significantly different between matrix metalloproteinase-9 positive and negative groups (p = 0.768). Conclusions Non-invasive examinations such as non-invasive keratograph break-up time and interferometry of LLT can be efficient tools for evaluating dry eye symptoms.

PURPOSE: To evaluate factors influencing the CT assessment of mediastinal lymph node metastasis in patientswith non-small cell lung cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CT scans of 198 patients who had undergone thoracotomyand mediastinal lymph node dissection for non-small cell lung cancer were retrospectively evaluated using a sizecriterion of > or = 10mm in the short axis. To evaluate the accuracy of CT in diagnosing lymph node metastasis on anodal station-by-station basis, CT and pathological results were correlated. Analysis included a comparison of thesensitivity and specificity of CT according to 1) cell type of tumor, squamous cell carcinoma versusadenocarcinoma (excluding bronchioloalveolar cell carcinoma) ; 2) histologic differentiation;3) tumor size;4)central and peripheral of the tumor;5) the presence or absence of obstructive pneumonitis and/or atelectasis;6)the presence or absence of prior granulomatous disease. RESULTS: The overall sensitivity, Specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of CT in diagnosing mediastinal lymph node metastasis were 65%,84%, 43%, and 93%, respectively. Sensitivity for squamous cell carcinoma (72%) was significantly higher than thatfor adenocarcinoma(44%)(p<0.01). Higher specificities were noted in patients without obstructive pneumonitisand/or atelectasis(91% versus 75%)(P<0.01), and with a peripherally located tumor (90% versus 82%)(P<0.01).sensitivity and specificity were not appreciably altered by other variables. CONCLUSION: In the CT assessment ofmediastinal lymph node metastasis the cell type of adenocarcinoma adversely affected sensitivity, with a highfrequency of normal-sized metastatic nodes. Obstructive pneumonitis caused by central tumor adversely affectedspecificity with the frequent occurrence of hyperplastc nodes.
Adenocarcinoma ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes* ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Pneumonia ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Although cases of von Hippel-Lindau syndrome are not rare, the fact that hemangioblastomans can occur at sites in the nervous system other than the cerebellum is not appreciated. We are reporting a case of VHL complex in 23-year-old male. In this case, there were multiple cerebellar hemangioblastomas, retinal angiomas, multiple spinal hemangioblastomas, syringomyelia, and papillary cystadenoma of epididymis. There was no evidence of polycythe mia or abnormality of other organs. Large cystic cerebellar hemangioblastomas were removed surgically and papillary cystadenoma of epididymis were excised, too. Total laminectomy of T2, T3 and T4 revealed abnormal meningeal varicosities, enlarged spinal cord, inra-axial hemangioblastomas, and syringomyelia.
Cerebellum ; Cystadenoma, Papillary ; Epididymis ; Hemangioblastoma ; Hemangioma ; Humans ; Laminectomy ; Male ; Nervous System ; Retinaldehyde ; Spinal Cord ; Syringomyelia ; von Hippel-Lindau Disease ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: Citron seed oil (CSO) has been reported to have high antioxidant activity. However, the composition and other biologically activities of CSO have not been reported. In this study, we confirmed the fatty acid composition of CSO, which may be beneficial to vascular disease and obesity. METHODS: We investigated the oil composition of CSO using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, and cytotoxicity was confirmed by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Nitric oxide (NO) production in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) was measured using Griess reagent, and lipid accumulation and leptin secretion in 3T3-L1 cells were measured by Oil-Red O staining and commercial ELISA kit, respectively. RESULTS: GC-MS analysis indicated that CSO contains several components, including linoleic acid, oleic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, linolenic acid, palmitoleic acid, and arachidic acid. In physiological activity analysis, CSO did not induce cytotoxic effects in HUVECs and 3T3-L1 cells. Further, CSO significantly induced nitric oxide and leptin secretion as well as inhibited lipid accumulation. CONCLUSION: CSO increased NO release, inhibited lipid accumulation, and induced leptin secretion, suggesting it may be useful for the management of vessels and weight gain. Although further studies are required to investigate the safety and mechanism of action of CSO, our results show that the composition and physiological activity of CSO are sufficient for its use as functional edible oil.
3T3-L1 Cells ; alpha-Linolenic Acid ; Cell Count ; Chromatography, Gas ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells ; Leptin* ; Linoleic Acid ; Mass Spectrometry ; Nitric Oxide* ; Obesity

This study was conducted in order to compare the biological activities of leaf and root water extracts of Smilax china L. (SC) by measuring the total polyphenol and flavonoid contents, anti-oxidant activity, inhibitory effect on alpha-glucosidase, and anti-inflammatory gene expression. The total polyphenol and flavonoid contents of SC leaf (SCLE) and root (SCRE) water extracts were 127.93 mg GAE/g and 39.50 mg GAE/g and 41.99 mg QE/g and 1.25 mg QE/g, respectively. The anti-oxidative activities of SCLE and SCRE were measured using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) radical scavenging activity assay and reducing power assay. Both SCLE and SCRE scavenged radicals in a concentration-dependent manner, and SCLE showed stronger radical scavenging activity and reducing power than SCRE; however, both SCLE and SCRE exhibited lower activities than ascorbic acid. Compared to the anti-diabetic drug acarbose, which was used as a positive control, SCLE and SCRE exhibited low alpha-glucosidase inhibition activities; nevertheless, the activity of SCLE was 3.7 fold higher than that of SCRE. Finally, SCLE caused significantly decreased expression of the LPS-induced cytokines, iNOS, and COX-2 mRNA in RAW264.7 cells, indicating anti-inflammatory activity. These results indicate that SCLE might be a potential candidate as an anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic, and anti-inflammatory agent.
Acarbose ; alpha-Glucosidases ; Ascorbic Acid ; Biphenyl Compounds ; China ; Cytokines ; Gene Expression ; Picrates ; RNA, Messenger ; Smilax ; Water

PURPOSE: Poncirus trifoliata has been reported to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immune activities. However, its anti-obesity activity and the mechanism by which the water extract of dried, immature fruit of Poncirus trifoliata (PF-W) acts are not clear. This study suggests a potential mechanism associated with the anti-obesity activity of PF-W. METHODS: We measured the effect of PF-W on lipoprotein lipase (LPL) regulation using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and an activity assay. The LPL regulation mechanism was examined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to measure the mRNA expression of biomarkers related to protein transport and by western blot for analysis of the protein expression of the transcription factor CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein (C/EBPbeta) RESULTS: The total polyphenol and flavonoid content of PF-W was 52.15 +/- 4.02 and 6.56 +/- 0.47 mg/g, respectively. PF-W treatment decreased LPL content in media to 58 +/- 5% of that in control adipocyte media, and increased LPL content to 117 +/- 3.5% of that in control adipocytes, but did not affect the mRNA expression of LPL. PF-W also increased the mRNA expression of sortilin-related receptor (SorLA), a receptor that induces endocytosis and intracellular trafficking of LPL, in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Finally, cell fractionation revealed that PF-W treatment induced the expression of C/EBPbeta, a SorLA transcription factor, in the nuclei of 3T3-L1 adipocytes. CONCLUSION: The LPL secretion and activity assay showed PF-W to be an LPL secretion inhibitor, and these results suggest the potential mechanism of PF-W involving inhibition of LPL secretion through C/EBPbeta-mediated induction of SorLA expression.
Adipocytes ; Biomarkers ; Blotting, Western ; CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Proteins ; Cell Fractionation ; Endocytosis ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Fruit ; Lipoprotein Lipase* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Poncirus* ; Protein Transport ; Reverse Transcription ; RNA, Messenger ; Transcription Factors ; Water*