Kimura's disease: clinical and imaging parameters for the prediction of disease recurrence

Kimura's disease is a rare chronic inflammatory disorder with a high rate of recurrence. The clinical and imaging features of Kimura's disease have been documented in the literature, but the relationship between these features and disease recurrence is still unclear. We conclude that disease duration of greater than 5 years, bilateral involvement, a lesion diameter of greater than 3 cm, a blood eosinophil count greater than 20%, and ill-defined lesions are predictive factors for the recurrence of Kimura's disease.     

Evaluation of a program on self‐esteem and ego‐identity for Korean nursing students

Nursing students with high levels of self‐esteem and a strong ego‐identity maintain a level of self‐integrity that enables them to participate successfully in shared group values and interests while simultaneously meeting their own needs. Self‐esteem and ego‐identity are associated with academic achievement, major (area of study) satisfaction, and life satisfaction in undergraduate students. This study evaluated a brief group program for Korean nursing students that focused on promoting positive self‐esteem and ego‐identity development. Twenty‐three Korean nursing school students participated. Changes in the students' ego‐identity and self‐esteem were quantitatively examined. Scores for ego‐identity and self‐esteem increased significantly for the students who participated in the group, while scores in the control group remained the same. The program is judged as an effective method for nursing educators or college mental health providers to utilize in order to promote affirmative ego‐identity and self‐esteem in nursing students. Additionally, the program contributes to helping students achieve developmental goals during their college life.     

抑制糜酶活性对动脉粥样硬化早期仓鼠腹主动脉血流动力学的影响

目的 探讨抑制糜酶活性对仓鼠动脉粥样硬化病变腹主动脉血流动力学的影响。方法 42只8周龄雄性叙利亚金黄仓鼠随机分为A、B、C三组，各14只。A组为高脂对照组，B组采用高脂喂养＋曲尼司特灌胃，C组为正常对照组。分别在第0周和第12周末进行血脂检测，并应用多普勒超声检测各组仓鼠腹主动脉收缩期峰值血流速度（SV）、舒张末期血流速度（DV）、平均血流速度（MV）、搏动指数（PI）和阻力指数（RI）。第12周末处死仓鼠，采用体外灌流技术检测腹主动脉的糜酶活性及血管紧张素转换酶（ACE）活性。结果 12周后，A、B两组与C组比较，总胆固醇、甘油三酯、低密度脂蛋白均显著增高（P〈0.01）。多普勒超声检测显示，B组较A组SV、MV、PI和RI显著降低（P〈0．01），DV显著增高（P〈0．05）。A、B两组腹主动脉糜酶活性均较C组显著增高（分别升高63％、20％，P〈0．01），B组糜酶活性与A组比较显著降低26％（P〈0．01），ACE活性轻度增高，但组间比较差异无统计学意义（P〉（0．05）。糜酶活性与血流动力学指标SV、PI和RI呈正相关（r分别为0．47、0．60和0．61，P〈0．01）。结论 抑制糜酶活性可显著改善仓鼠动脉粥样硬化病变腹主动脉的血流动力学水平，进而延缓动脉粥样硬化病变的发展。     

呼吸功能锻炼对食管癌病人肺功能的影响

近年来，尽管胸外科手术的操作及麻醉技术有所提高，但术后呼吸系统并发症，如肺部感染等的发生率还相对较高。许多食管癌病人既往有吸烟史及慢性阻塞性肺疾病史，肺功能受到了不同程度的损害，加之食管癌手术创伤人、时间长，术中挤压肺叶以扩大手术视野，游离食管等操作会损伤或刺激肺门及支气管，反射性地引起呼吸道分泌物增加，均影响了肺膨胀，使有效的呼吸面积减少。为改善病人的肺功能，提高病人对手术的耐受性，术前进行呼吸肌及呼吸功能锻炼，可使肺功能得到小同程度的改善。现报告如下。     

Predictive value of pretreatment metabolic activity measured by fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in patients with metastatic advanced gastric cancer: the maximal SUV of the stomach is a prognostic factor

Purpose

Few studies have evaluated metabolic activity by ¹⁸F-FDG PET as a prognostic factor in advanced gastric cancer (AGC). We investigated its prognostic role in metastatic AGC.

Methods

We enrolled 82 patients with metastatic AGC, who were treatment-naive and underwent pretreatment ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT scanning. In each patient, the maximal standardized uptake value (SUVmax) was measured in each target lesion. Stomach_SUVmax was defined as SUVmax in the stomach, while Total_SUVmax was defined as the highest SUVmax among all the target lesions.

Results

The stomach was the organ most frequently displaying the highest SUVmax among all the target lesions (in 67.1?% of patients). A Total_SUVmax value of 11.5 was the value with the maximum sum of sensitivity and specificity from receiver-operating characteristic curves for progression-free survival (PFS). PFS was significantly longer in patients with a Total_SUVmax value <11.5 than in those with a Total_SUVmax value ≥11.5 (P?=?0.023); however, overall survival (OS) was not (P?=?0.055). A Stomach_SUVmax value of 6.0 was derived by similar methods. PFS and OS were significantly longer in those with a Stomach_SUVmax value <6.0 than in those with a Stomach_SUVmax value ≥6.0 (P?=?0.001 and P?=?0.006, respectively). Furthermore, those with a low Total_SUVmax and those with a low Stomach_SUVmax showed better chemotherapeutic responses (P?=?0.016 and P?=?0.034, respectively). Among patients with histologically undifferentiated carcinomas, those with lower Total_SUVmax and those with lower Stomach_SUVmax showed longer median PFS (P?=?0.027 and P?=?0.005, respectively) and OS (P?=?0.009 and P <0.001, respectively). Multivariate analysis demonstrated Stomach_SUVmax as an independent predictor of PFS (P?=?0.002) and OS (P?=?0.038).

Conclusion

Pretreatment metabolic activity may be a useful prognostic marker in patients with metastatic AGC undergoing palliative chemotherapy. Notably, Stomach_SUVmax was the single, most robust factor predicting prognosis.     

Aberrant LRP16 protein expression in primary neuroendocrine lung tumors

Background: The Leukemia related protein 16 gene (LRP16) localized on chromosome 11q12.1, is an important estrogen-responsive gene and a crucial regulator for NF-kB activation. LRP16 is frequently expressed in human cancers; however, the LRP16 gene remains unexplored in lung neuroendocrine tumors. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of LRP16 expression in primary lung neuroendocrine tumors. Methods: lung neuroendocrine tumors were analyzed for LRP16 gene expression by two-step non-biotin immunohistochemical method. Results: Fifty of ninety (55.6%) cases of neuroendocrine lung tumors tested were positive for LRP16 protein by immunohistochemistry. The expression of LRP16 was mainly located in cytoplasm and nucleus of tumor cells. LRP16 protein was corresponding to tumor type and clinical stage, as well as survival time. Conclusions: The results indicate that abnormal LRP16 expression is noted in neuroendocrine lung tumors and the expression can give insight into the pathogenesis of the disease. The LRP16 protein may serve as a potential marker in predicting prognosis of neuroendocrine lung tumors.     

B7-H6 expression correlates with cancer progression and patient’s survival in human ovarian cancer

B7-H6, a newly identified B7 family member molecule, binds to its receptor on NK cells, NKp30, and then triggers the anti-tumor NK cell cytotoxicity and leads to the cytokine secretion. As of now, numerous studies have demonstrated that the higher B7-H6 expression could be found in certain human cancers and have important clinical significance. In our present study, we carried out the tissue microarray and the immunohistochemistry assay to investigate the clinical significance of B7-H6 expression in human ovarian cancer. Our results showed that the positive B7-H6 staining was predominantly observed on the membrane and in the cytoplasm of the ovarian cancer cells. In order to further investigate the correlation between clinical parameters and the B7-H6 protein levels in the ovarian tissues, we categorized all the 110 patients into two major subgroups according to the intensity of B7-H6 immunohistochemical staining, i.e., the lower B7-H6 expression group, 34 cases (0 ≤ H-score < 100), and the higher B7-H6 expression group, 76 cases (H-score ≥ 100), and we found that B7-H6 expression in the ovarian cancer tissues is significantly correlated with distant metastasis status (P = 0.028) and FIGO stage (P = 0.031), whereas it is not correlated with patient’s age, tumor size, tumor location, pathological stage or nodal metastasis. The survival analysis demonstrated that the overall survival rate of the subgroup with lower B7-H6 expression is significantly better than that of the subgroup with higher B7-H6 expression (P = 0.0456, Hazard Ratio: 1.707, 95% CI, 1.010-2.885). Thus, our present data revealed that higher B7-H6 expression in ovarian cancer tissues was positively correlated with tumor metastasis and cancer progression, and supports the notion that B7-H6 expression is involved in the progression of human ovarian cancer, the detailed mechanism merits further investigation.     

ALEX1 may be a novel biomarker for human cervical squamous cell carcinoma

The armadillo repeat proteins were first found in armadillo gene of Drosophila. Since then a number of proteins containing armadillo repeats have been noticed and studied. These proteins that consist of 6 to 13 armadillo repeat domains are classified as family of armadillo repeat proteins. Recently, several studies indicated that armadillo repeat family of proteins play an important role in the tumorigenesis and maintenance of tissue integrity. ALEX1 (Arm protein lost in epithelial cancers, on chromosome X), contains two armadillo repeats domains, is expressed different in normal and carcinomas tissues. Several studies have found that ALEX1 protein lost in tumors that originated in epithelial tissues. We evaluated the ALEX1 protein expression in 53 cervical cancers and in 53 non-cancerous cervical tissues from patients and adjacent non-cancerous tissues using immunohistochemistry Results: ALEX1 protein expression is significantly increased in 53 cervical cancers tissues compared with non-cancerous tissues. We found, for the first time, that ALEX1 protein expression in cervical cancers tissues is higher than non-cancerous tissues. It is suggested that the ALEX1 protein is associated with tumorigenesis in cervical cancer and we speculate that the ALEX1 may plays a role as an oncogene in cervical cancer. Moreover, ALEX1 may serve as a novel potential diagnostic biomarker in identifying cervical cancer.     

Converting diameter measurements of Pinus radiata taken at different breast heights

Two compatible conversion factors for converting diameter measurements taken at different breast heights were derived for Pinus radiata using taper data from more than 3000 trees. The two breast heights used for conversion were 1.3 and 1.4 m above ground, as defined in Australia and New Zealand, two major radiata-growing countries in the world. The conversion factors were estimated through three alternative statistical methods including simple least squares regression, seemingly unrelated regression and errors-in-variables models. The three sets of estimates were almost identical and had similar conversion accuracy, although the second method was slightly better. The conversion factors were more accurate than overbark taper equations used for the same purpose. The factor was 0.9916 for converting diameter measured at 1.3 to that at 1.4 m above ground, and the inverse of this value, 1.0084, was for the vice versa. When calculating tree and stand volume and biomass using equations with diameter at a different breast height as a predictor to that of the input data, the bias, either over or under estimation, could be between 1.67% and 2.00% without conversion. These conversion factors will facilitate the sharing of data among radiata growing countries with different definitions of breast height, but more importantly it will help correct the bias in stand volume and biomass estimation caused by the seemingly negligible difference in breast height when software for forest resource management and decision support developed in one country is applied in another. Such bias when accumulated over a large management area may not be financially insignificant for an astute forest management agency.     

Measurement of Opening and Closing Angles of Aortic Valve Prostheses In Vivo Using Dual-Source Computed Tomography: Comparison with Those of Manufacturers' in 10 Different Types

Objective

The aims of this study were to compare opening and closing angles of normally functioning mechanical aortic valves measured on dual-source computed tomography (CT) with the manufacturers'' values and to compare CT-measured opening angles according to valve function.

Materials and Methods

A total of 140 patients with 10 different types of mechanical aortic valves, who underwent dual-source cardiac CT, were included. Opening and closing angles were measured on CT images. Agreement between angles in normally functioning valves and the manufacturer values was assessed using the interclass coefficient and the Bland-Altman method. CT-measured opening angles were compared between normal functioning valves and suspected dysfunctioning valves.

Results

The CT-measured opening angles of normally functioning valves and manufacturers'' values showed excellent agreement for seven valve types (intraclass coefficient [ICC], 0.977; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.962-0.987). The mean differences in opening angles between the CT measurements and the manufacturers'' values were 1.2° in seven types of valves, 11.0° in On-X valves, and 15.5° in ATS valves. The manufacturers'' closing angles and those measured by CT showed excellent agreement for all valve types (ICC, 0.953; 95% CI, 0.920-0.972). Among valves with suspected dysfunction, those with limitation of motion (LOM) and an increased pressure gradient (PG) had smaller opening angles than those with LOM only (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Dual-source cardiac CT accurately measures opening and closing angles in most types of mechanical aortic valves, compared with the manufacturers'' values. Opening angles on CT differ according to the type of valve dysfunction and a decreased opening angle may suggest an elevated PG.