Micropatterns of Non‐Circular Droplets of Nanostructured PS‐b‐PEO Copolymer by Solvent‐Assisted Wetting on a Chemically Periodic Surface

A method to fabricate micropatterns of non‐circular droplets of a self‐assembled block copolymer by solvent‐assisted wetting on chemically periodic surface is presented. The block copolymer is dewetted on a topographic pre‐pattern to form an array of microdroplets with a sphere‐capped shape and circular contact line. The droplets are then transferred onto a chemically periodic Au line pattern microcontact‐printed with two types of self‐assembled monolayers (SAMs). Solvent vapor application provides sufficient mobility to the block copolymer molecules to induce spreading of the transferred droplets, resulting in two types of non‐circular microdroplet growth. The growth behavior depends on the size of initial droplets relative to periodic line width and on the initial registries of as‐transferred droplets.     

Churg–Strauss Syndrome Associated with Rapid Deterioration of Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction and Conduction Disturbance

Cardiac involvement in Churg–Strauss syndrome (CSS) is a major cause of mortality. Here we report a case of a 75‐year‐old woman with eosinophilic endomyocarditis due to CSS. An electrocardiogram showed intraventricular conduction delay, and echocardiography showed an impaired relaxation pattern and biventricular apical thickening. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed subendocardial delayed enhancement with biventricular apical thrombi. Endomyocardial biopsy showed perivascular eosinophilic infiltration. Despite resolution of the hypereosinophilia after steroid therapy, her left ventricular (LV) diastolic function worsened into a restrictive pattern and she died with a ventricular escape rhythm on her 14th day in the hospital. This case is unusual in that there was rapid progression of the LV diastolic dysfunction and conduction disturbance due to CSS.     

Trends of robotic-assisted surgery for thyroid,colorectal, stomach and hepatopancreaticobiliary cancer: 10 year Korea trend investigation

BackgroundThe current position of robotic surgery in the field of minimally invasive surgery remains ambiguous. We evaluated long-term trends of robotic general surgery and the future direction of its development.MethodsData on robotic cancer surgeries between 2005 and 2014 were retrospectively collected by volunteer institutions in the Republic of Korea. Spearman's correlation and logistic regression analyses were used to compare robotic and laparoscopic surgery trends in general surgery.ResultsThe odds that robotic surgery was performed instead of laparoscopic surgery significantly decreased in the fields of colorectal, stomach, and hepato-biliary-pancreatic surgery (odds ratio [OR]: 0.95, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.93–0.97; OR: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.88–0.92; and OR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.65–0.78, respectively), except for thyroid surgery (OR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.25–1.30). Of the total numbers of each procedure, proportions of robotic intersphincteric resections, abdominoperineal resections, and pylorus-preserving surgery performed significantly increased (r = 0.98, P < .001; r = 0.78, P = .01; and r = 0.86, P = .007, respectively).ConclusionsThe use of robotic surgery failed to preponderate that of laparoscopic surgery, except for thyroid surgery. Robotic surgery is increasingly preferred for limited fields or complex surgeries, but the use of robotics in simple surgeries has decreased.     

Effects of proton pump inhibitor use on risk of Clostridium difficile infection: a hospital cohort study

Journal of Gastroenterology - Although there are several studies on the association between use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and increased Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) risk, detailed...     

The Efficacy of Lymph Node Embolization Using N-Butyl Cyanoacrylate Compared to Ethanol Sclerotherapy in the Management of Symptomatic Lymphorrhea after Pelvic Surgery

Purpose

To compare the efficacy of lymph node (LN) embolization using N-butyl cyanoacrylate versus ethanol sclerotherapy in the management of symptomatic postoperative pelvic lymphorrhea.