Purpose: To develop a denoising convolutional neural network-based image processing technique and investigate its efficacy in diagnosing breast cancer using low-dose mammography imaging. Materials and Methods: A total of 6 breast radiologists were included in this prospective study. All radiologists independently evaluated low-dose images for lesion detection and rated them for diagnostic quality using a qualitative scale. After application of the denoising network, the same radiologists evaluated lesion detectability and image quality. For clinical application, a consensus on lesion type and localization on preoperative mammographic examinations of breast cancer patients was reached after discussion. Thereafter, coded low-dose, reconstructed full-dose, and full-dose images were presented and assessed in a random order. Results: Lesions on 40% reconstructed full-dose images were better perceived when compared with low-dose images of mastectomy specimens as a reference. In clinical application, as compared to 40% reconstructed images, higher values were given on full-dose images for resolution (p < 0.001); diagnostic quality for calcifications (p < 0.001); and for masses, asymmetry, or architectural distortion (p = 0.037). The 40% reconstructed images showed comparable values to 100% full-dose images for overall quality (p = 0.547), lesion visibility (p = 0.120), and contrast (p = 0.083), without significant differences. Conclusion Effective denoising and image reconstruction processing techniques can enable breast cancer diagnosis with substantial radiation dose reduction.

BACKGROUND: Many hyaluronic acid (HA)-based anti-adhesive agents have been commercialized for clinical use in the pharmaceutical market. But their efficacy in arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs remains elusive. To determine their efficacy, we performed a comparative analysis of the effects of two hyaluronate/carboxymethylcellulose (CMC)-based anti-adhesive agents, Protescal and Guardix. METHODS: We recruited a total of 256 patients who had received an arthroscopic rotator cuff repair at our hospital between January 2014 and March 2015. Among them, 96 patients fulfilled the study's selection criteria and were enrolled as the final population sample. Thirty patients who had received a postoperative injection of Protescal were allocated into Group A. Another 30 patients who had received a postoperative injection of Guardix were allocated into Group B. As controls, 36 patients who did not receive any injection were allocated into Group C. The patients included in this study were aged between 19 and 75 years. For the clinical assessment, we measured the following clinical parameters—the visual analogue scale for pain (PVAS), the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, and the constant score, as well as passive range of motions (ROMs)—at three time-points (preoperatively, 2-month postoperatively, and 6-month postoperatively). RESULTS: We found that Group A compared to Group B tended to show a swifter recovery in passive anterior elevation and in internal rotation by the 2-month postoperative follow-up, but the differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the effects of HA/CMC-based injections were minimal after arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs.
Elbow ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hyaluronic Acid ; Patient Selection ; Retrospective Studies* ; Rotator Cuff* ; Shoulder ; Surgeons

No abstract available.
Nevus, Blue* ; Prurigo*

No abstract available.
Nevus, Blue* ; Prurigo*

BACKGROUND: Many hyaluronic acid (HA)-based anti-adhesive agents have been commercialized for clinical use in the pharmaceutical market. But their efficacy in arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs remains elusive. To determine their efficacy, we performed a comparative analysis of the effects of two hyaluronate/carboxymethylcellulose (CMC)-based anti-adhesive agents, Protescal and Guardix. METHODS: We recruited a total of 256 patients who had received an arthroscopic rotator cuff repair at our hospital between January 2014 and March 2015. Among them, 96 patients fulfilled the study's selection criteria and were enrolled as the final population sample. Thirty patients who had received a postoperative injection of Protescal were allocated into Group A. Another 30 patients who had received a postoperative injection of Guardix were allocated into Group B. As controls, 36 patients who did not receive any injection were allocated into Group C. The patients included in this study were aged between 19 and 75 years. For the clinical assessment, we measured the following clinical parameters—the visual analogue scale for pain (PVAS), the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, and the constant score, as well as passive range of motions (ROMs)—at three time-points (preoperatively, 2-month postoperatively, and 6-month postoperatively). RESULTS: We found that Group A compared to Group B tended to show a swifter recovery in passive anterior elevation and in internal rotation by the 2-month postoperative follow-up, but the differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the effects of HA/CMC-based injections were minimal after arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs.
Elbow ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hyaluronic Acid ; Patient Selection ; Retrospective Studies ; Rotator Cuff ; Shoulder ; Surgeons

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to analyze biomechanical properties of a novel wedge locking plate in medial open wedge high tibial osteotomy (OWHTO) in a porcine tibial model. METHODS: A uniform 8-mm OWHTO was performed in 12 porcine tibiae. Six of them were subsequently fixed with the plate without a wedge, whereas the other 6 were additionally reinforced with a metal wedge of 8 mm. Biomechanical properties (stiffness, displacement of the osteotomy gap, and failure load) were evaluated under axial load. The different modes of failure were also investigated. RESULTS: The plate showed an axial stiffness of 2,457 ± 450 N/mm with a wedge and 1,969 ± 874 N/mm without a wedge. The maximum failure load was 5,380 ± 952 N with a wedge and 4,354 ± 607 N without a wedge. The plate with a wedge had a significantly greater failure load and significantly less displacement of medial gap at failure than that without a wedge (p = 0.041 and p = 0.002, respectively). The axial stiffness was not different between the two types of fixation. Most failures were caused by lateral cortex breakage and there was no implant failure. CONCLUSIONS: The novel wedge locking plate showed excellent biomechanical properties and an additional wedge provided significant improvement. This plate can be a good fixation method for OWHTO.
Knee ; Methods ; Osteotomy ; Tibia

No abstract available.
Hyaluronic Acid* ; Injections, Intra-Articular*

No abstract available.
Adenocarcinoma* ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Prostatic Neoplasms

BACKGROUND: The multiple allergosorbent test chemiluminescent assay (MAST-CLA) is a simple system with high sensitivity and specificity for measuring total and allergen-specific IgE antibodies in patients with allergic skin diseases such as urticaria. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate total IgE class, allergen frequencies, and their correlations in MAST-CLA in acute and chronic urticaria. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study using medical documents of 2,028 urticaria patients (average age= 34.85 years) who visited Yonsei Wonju Severance Christian Hospital, Yeongseo Province, Korea, between 2003 and 2012. Positive rates of specific IgE and total serum IgE levels in acute and chronic urticaria patients were analyzed. RESULTS: Among the total 2,028 patients, 1,263 (62.3%) had acute urticaria, and 765 (37.7%) had chronic urticaria. The number of patients with higher than class 2 level of serum total IgE was 1,496 (73.8%): 964 (76.3%) of the acute urticaria group and 532 (69.5%) of the chronic urticaria group. More than half of the patients (1,048; 51.7%) showed a positive reaction to at least one allergen-specific IgE. The positive rate of acute urticaria was 53.0% and chronic urticaria 49.5%. In both acute and chronic urticaria, the most commonly detected allergen was Dermatophagoides farinae, followed by D. pterony and house dust. Most patients showed lower positive reactions to food allergens. Peach was the most common food allergen in both groups. Of the patients who showed positive total IgE, 40.4% did not react to any allergen-specific IgE. Also, 26.3% of the patients who were negative for total IgE showed a positive reaction to more than one allergen-specific IgE. The level of total IgE and the number of positive allergen-specific IgE responses were positively correlated in both acute and chronic urticaria patients. CONCLUSION: Our results showed that the positive rate of total IgE was higher in acute urticaria patients than in chronic urticaria patients. Both acute and chronic urticaria patient groups showed the highest positive rates for D. farinae. Positive rates for response to food allergens, such as soybean, chicken, yeast, tuna, and salmon, were lower in the chronic urticaria group. For inhalant allergens, the positive rates of response to white oak and Aspergillus were higher in the acute urticaria group. The level of total IgE and the number of positive allergen-specific IgE responses showed a positive correlation in both groups. Thus, MAST-CLA appears to be a simple and convenient method for determining causative allergens in the occurrence and exacerbation of urticaria, but other studies are necessary to confirm these preliminary findings.
Allergens ; Antibodies ; Aspergillus ; Chickens ; Dermatophagoides farinae ; Dust ; Gangwon-do ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Korea ; Luminescent Measurements ; Prunus persica ; Retrospective Studies ; Salmon ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Skin Diseases ; Soybeans ; Tuna ; Urticaria* ; Yeasts

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: In order to improve inter-rater reliability and minimize diagnosis of undetermined etiology for stroke subtype classification, using a stroke registry, we developed and implemented a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based algorithm for acute ischemic stroke subtype classification (MAGIC). METHODS: We enrolled patients who experienced an acute ischemic stroke, were hospitalized in the 14 participating centers within 7 days of onset, and had relevant lesions on MR-diffusion weighted imaging (DWI). MAGIC was designed to reflect recent advances in stroke imaging and thrombolytic therapy. The inter-rater reliability was compared with and without MAGIC to classify the Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST) of each stroke patient. MAGIC was then applied to all stroke patients hospitalized since July 2011, and information about stroke subtypes, other clinical characteristics, and stroke recurrence was collected via a web-based registry database. RESULTS: The overall intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) value was 0.43 (95% CI, 0.31-0.57) for MAGIC and 0.28 (95% CI, 0.18-0.42) for TOAST. Large artery atherosclerosis (LAA) was the most common cause of acute ischemic stroke (38.3%), followed by cardioembolism (CE, 22.8%), undetermined cause (UD, 22.2%), and small-vessel occlusion (SVO, 14.6%). One-year stroke recurrence rates were the highest for two or more UDs (11.80%), followed by LAA (7.30%), CE (5.60%), and SVO (2.50%). CONCLUSIONS: Despite several limitations, this study shows that the MAGIC system is feasible and may be helpful to classify stroke subtype in the clinic.
Arteries ; Atherosclerosis ; Classification* ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Magic ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Recurrence ; Stroke* ; Thrombolytic Therapy