Oral administration of glucosylceramide ameliorates inflammatory dry-skin condition in chronic oxazolone-induced irritant contact dermatitis in the mouse ear.

Background: Irritant contact dermatitis (ICD) is an inflammatory skin disease triggered by exposure to a chemical that is toxic or irritating to the skin. A major characteristic of chronic ICD is an inflammatory dry-skin condition with associated itching. Although glucosylceramide (GlcCer) is known to improve the skin barrier function, its mechanism of action is unknown.

Characteristic features and usefulness of MRI in breast cancer in patients under 40 years old: correlations with conventional imaging and prognostic factors.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the characteristic features and usefulness of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of breast cancer in women under 40 years old that are correlated with conventional imaging and prognostic factors.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of the clinical, radiological and pathological features of patients under 40 years old with breast cancer at our institution between October 2007 and December 2010. A total of 99 women were included.

Role of sonographic elastography in the differential diagnosis of papillary lesions in breast.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance of elastography, conventional ultrasonography (US) and combined conventional US and elastography for differentiation of papillary breast lesions.

Materials And Methods: A total of 95 papillary lesions (69 benign, 20 atypical and 6 malignant) in 87 patients were examined with conventional US and elastography. We evaluated conventional US images according to the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System and internal composition (solid vs.

Lobular lesions of the breast: imaging findings of lobular neoplasia and invasive lobular carcinoma.

The clinical and radiological diagnoses of lobular neoplasia (LN) and invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) are difficult because they have no specific findings. The purpose of this study is to illustrate the imaging and pathological features of LN and ILC. For lobular lesions, imaging is the basic and essential diagnostic tool, so the understanding and effective use of multimodality imaging findings are important.

Leiomyoma of the nipple diagnosed by MRI.

Leiomyoma of the nipple is a rare, benign, non-epithelial tumor that is thought to arise from smooth muscle fibers in the subareolar tissue of the breast. We report an unusual case of leiomyoma of the nipple in a 32-year-old woman in whom the diagnosis was made by ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy. She came to our hospital complaining of a recently enlarged nipple with discharge and erosion in the region of the left nipple-areolar complex.

Significance of SUV on Follow-up F-18 FDG PET at the Anastomotic Site of Gastroduodenostomy after Distal Subtotal Gastrectomy in Patients with Gastric Cancer.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to characterize the patterns of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake on F-18 FDG positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) at the anastomotic site of gastroduodenostomy after distal subtotal gastrectomy in patients with gastric cancer.

Methods: From May 2007 to May 2010, two or more follow-up measurements using FDG PET/CT scans were done for 19 patients (11 men, 8 women; mean age, 62.0 ± 10.

Molecular and expression analysis of the farnesoid X receptor in the urochordate Halocynthia roretzi.

The farnesoid X receptors (FXRs) are the major transcriptional regulators of bile salt synthesis in vertebrates. However, the structural conservation of invertebrate FXRs has only been studied for the major model organisms and studies on additional invertebrate FXRs are clearly required to obtain better resolution of FXR phylogeny and comparative developmental insights in chordates. In the present study, the cDNA encoding the farnesoid X receptor, HrFXR, was cloned from a marine invertebrate Halocynthia roretzi.

Flexible field emission from thermally welded chemically doped graphene thin films.

Flexible field-emission devices (FEDs) based on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) emitters are fabricated by the thermal welding of RGO thin films onto a polymeric substrate. The RGO edges are vertically aligned relative to the substrate as a result of cohesive failure in the RGO layer after thermal welding. Even at large bending angles, excellent electron emission properties, such as low turn-on and threshold fields, a high emission current density, a high field enhancement factor, and long-term stability of the emission properties of RGO emitters, arise from the uniform distribution and high density of the extremely sharp RGO edges, as well as the high interfacial strength between the RGO emitters and the substrate.

Imaging features of invasive lobular carcinoma: comparison with invasive ductal carcinoma.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the imaging findings of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) compared to those of invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC).

Materials And Methods: The study included ILCs (n = 27) and IDCs (n = 85). Imaging findings were retrospectively evaluated, according to the BI-RADS lexicon.

Predictors of dietary quality in low-income pregnant women: a path analysis.

Background: Despite the potential importance of nutrition to pregnancy outcomes, little is known about the factors influencing dietary quality, especially during the first trimester.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the relationships of distress (an index of depression and stress), social support, and eating habits with dietary quality in low-income pregnant women.

Method: A cross-sectional design and path analytic methods was used in a clinic-based sample of low-income women (n = 118) in their first trimester of pregnancy.

Comparison of full-field digital mammography workstation and conventional picture archiving and communication system in image quality and diagnostic performance.

The object of this study was to compare of full-field digital mammography (FFDM) workstation and conventional picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) in image quality and diagnostic performance. We assembled 80 masses and 80 microcalcifications. Images were displayed on workstation, 5M, and 3M PACS monitors.

Clinical significance of incidental finding of focal activity in the breast at 18F-FDG PET/CT.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical significance of the incidental finding of hypermetabolic foci in the breast at (18)F-FDG PET/CT in patients with malignant disease other than breast cancer or during a screening examination.

Materials And Methods: The files of 13,897 women who underwent FDG PET/CT from November 2004 to October 2009 were retrospectively reviewed. Forty-eight patients with incidental breast uptake had undergone either tissue confirmation or clinical follow-up with additional sonographic imaging.

Postpartum cerebral angiopathy presenting with non-aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Parturition increases the risk of strokes of various types, including postpartum cerebral angiopathy (PCA), which is characterized by reversible multifocal vasoconstriction of the cerebral arteries. We describe an unusual presentation of PCA associated with postpartum non-aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). A 31-year-old multiparous woman complained of sudden headache 3 hours after an uncomplicated vaginal delivery.

Acute Marchiafava-Bignami disease with selective involvement of the precentral cortex and splenium: a serial magnetic resonance imaging study.

Introduction: Marchiafava-Bignami disease (MBD) is defined pathologically as callosal degeneration associated with chronic alcoholism. We report a patient with MBD with acute lesions confined in the precentral cortex and splenium. Various magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) modalities were performed sequentially to elucidate the pathophysiology.

Influence of the volumes of bis-acryl and poly(methyl methacrylate) resins on their exothermic behavior during polymerization.

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of the volumes of a bis-acryl resin (Luxatemp) and a poly(methyl methacrylate) resin (Jet) on their exothermic behaviors during polymerization based on vinyl group conversion. The number of vinyl groups reacted and exotherm were determined based on weight percent of methacrylate groups using FTIR spectroscopy. Temperature changes during polymerization at 23°C were recorded for 20 minutes using a multiple cavity mold overlying a thermocouple.

Age-dependent association between cigarette smoking on white matter hyperintensities.

Previous reports have shown that cigarette smoking is associated with white matter hyperintensities (WMHs). However, it remains unclear whether this is true for all ages. We investigated the association between cigarette smoking, WMHs, and age.

Hasllibacter halocynthiae gen. nov., sp. nov., a nutriacholic acid-producing bacterium isolated from the marine ascidian Halocynthia roretzi.

A Gram-negative, aerobic, ovoid to rod-shaped bacterial strain, KME 002(T) was isolated from a marine ascidian, Halocynthia roretzi, off the coast of Gangneung, Korea. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that this strain belonged to the family Rhodobacteraceae in the class Alphaproteobacteria and was closely related to the type strains of Dinoroseobacter shibae, Roseovarius crassostreae and Pseudoruegeria aquimaris with 95.0, 94.

The effect of preparation order on the crystal structure of yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal and the shear bond strength of dental resin cements.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of preparation order on the crystal structure of yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (Y-TZP) and the shear bond strength of dental resin cements.

Methods: One-hundred fifty pre-sintered Y-TZP cylinders (Ø 9mm×13.5mm) were prepared and divided into three groups (control group, SBS group and SAS group).

Ethnic-specific weight-loss interventions for low-income postpartum women: findings and lessons.

Promoting weight loss among overweight low-income postpartum women has proven difficult. The study's aims were to pilot-test ethnic-specific weight-loss interventions using randomized control-group designs for White/Anglo (n = 23), African American (n = 25), and Hispanic low-income postpartum women (n = 23) and draw lessons from psychosocial data and follow-up interviews. Interventions lasting 13 weeks were offered in group settings in the community.

Metastases to the breast from extramammary malignancies−sonographic features.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical and sonographic (US) features of metastatic tumors from extramammary malignancies to the breast.

Methods: This study included 23 patients with pathologically proven metastases in the breast. Two radiologists retrospectively analyzed the images from US (n = 23), mammography (n = 11), and MRI (n = 5) examinations according to BIRADS.

Role of sonographic elastography in the differential diagnosis of axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic utility of sonographic elastography in differentiating reactive and metastatic axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer.

Methods: A total of 64 lymph nodes (reactive, n = 33; metastatic, n = 31) from 62 patients with breast cancer were examined by both B-mode sonography and elastography from April to July 2009. Two experienced radiologists retrospectively assessed B-mode sonograms by the sum of scores for 4 criteria: short diameter, shape, hilum, and cortical thickening.

Self-cutting blades and their influence on primary stability of tapered dental implants in a simulated low-density bone model: a laboratory study.

Objective: This study tested the hypothesis that there would be differences in primary stability due to the presence of self cutting blades. We investigated the effect of a self-cutting blade implant design on the primary stability of tapered dental implants in a simulated low-density bone model.

Study Design: Implant fixtures with 2 different designs, one with self-cutting blades and the other without self-cutting blades, were fabricated in the same implant system.

A study on the fracture strength of collarless metal-ceramic fixed partial dentures.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to evaluate fracture strength of collarless metal-ceramic FPDs according to their metal coping designs.

Materials And Methods: Four different facial margin design groups were investigated. Group A was a coping with a thin facial metal collar, group B was a collarless coping with its facial metal to the shoulder, group C was a collarless coping with its facial metal 1 mm short of the shoulder, and group D was a collarless coping with its facial metal 2 mm short of the shoulder.

High-performance transparent conductive films using rheologically derived reduced graphene oxide.

In this work, we produced large-area graphene oxide (GO) sheets with fewer defects on the basal plane by application of shear stress in solution to obtain high-quality reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets without the need for post-annealing processes. This is described as rheologically derived RGO. The large-area GO sheets were generated using a homogenizer in aqueous solution, which induced slippage of the GO in the in-plane direction during the exfoliation process, in contrast with the conventional sonication method.