• 한국표면공학회지
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• 제43권3호
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• pp.159-164
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• 2010

Surface roughness of deposited or etched film strongly depends on ion bombardment. Relationships between ion bombardment variables and surface roughness are too complicated to model analytically. To overcome this, an empirical neural network model was constructed and applied to a deposition process of silicon nitride (SiN) films. The films were deposited by using a pulsed plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system in $SiH_4$-$NH_4$ plasma. Radio frequency source power and duty ratio were varied in the range of 200-800 W and 40-100%. A total of 20 experiments were conducted. A non-invasive ion energy analyzer was used to collect ion energy distribution. The diagnostic variables examined include high (or) low ion energy and high (or low) ion energy flux. Mean surface roughness was measured by using atomic force microscopy. A neural network model relating the diagnostic variables to the surface roughness was constructed and its prediction performance was optimized by using a genetic algorithm. The optimized model yielded an improved performance of about 58% over statistical regression model. The model revealed very interesting features useful for optimization of surface roughness. This includes a reduction in surface roughness either by an increase in ion energy flux at lower ion energy or by an increase in higher ion energy at lower ion energy flux.

• 한국동물생명공학회지
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• 제37권1호
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• pp.2-12
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• 2022

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanovesicles that carry bioactive cargoes of proteins, lipids, mRNAs, and miRNAs between living cells. Their role in cellular communication has gained the attention of several research reports globally in the last decade. EVs are critically involved in sperm functions, oocyte functions, fertilization, embryonic development, and pregnancy. The review summarizes the state-of-the-art of EVs research in the diagnostic and therapeutic (theranostic) potentials of the EVs during the pregnancy that might provide a solution for gestational disturbances such as implantation failure, maternal health problems, gestational diabetes, and preeclampsia. EVs can be found in all biological fluids of the fetus and the mother and would provide a non-invasive and excellent tool for diagnostic purposes. Moreover, we provide the current efforts in manufacturing and designing targeted therapeutics using synthetic and semi-synthetic nanovesicles mimicking the natural EVs for efficient drug delivery during pregnancy.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제68권5호
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• pp.267-272
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• 2010

Background: Pulmonary sarcoidosis often involves mediastinal or hilar lymph nodes in the lung parenchyma. Mediastinoscopy is the gold standard for diagnosis, but it is invasive and expensive. Transbronchial needle aspiration using conventional bronchoscope is less invasive than mediastinoscopy, but its diagnostic accuracy is in question due to the blind approach to targeting lymph nodes. Transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) via endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) has high diagnostic value due to direct visualization of lymph nodes and to its relatively safeness. The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness of EBUS-TBNA in the diagnosis of pulmonary sarcoidosis. Methods: Twenty-five patients with symptoms of sarcoidosis were enrolled into this study. Core tissue was obtained for a definitive diagnosis. Endobronchial biopsy, transbronchial lung biopsy, and bronchoalveolar lavage were performed to verify diagnosis. For patients without a confirmed diagnosis after the above procedures were performed, the additional procedures of mediastinoscopy or video-associated thoracoscopic surgery were performed to confirm a final diagnosis. Results: A total 25 EBUS procedures were done and 50 lymph nodes were aspirated. Thirty-three (37) out of 50 lymph nodes were consistent with non-caseating granuloma, confirming sarcoidosis as the final diagnosis. Sarcoidosis was the final diagnosis for all 25 patients, and 21 required EBUS-TBNA for a final diagnosis. There were no complications associated with the procedure. Conclusion: EBUS-TBNA is already a well-known procedure for diagnosing mediastinal or hilar lymphadenopathy. We used EBUS-TBNA for the diagnosis of pulmonary sarcoidosis and our results showed 84% diagnostic accuracy and no complications related to the procedure. EBUS-TBNA is a reliable and practical diagnostic modality in the diagnosis of pulmonary sarcoidosis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권10호
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• pp.4169-4173
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• 2014

Background: Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is highly accurate in diagnosing mediastinal lymphadenopathies of lung cancer and benign disorders. However, the utility of EBUS-TBNA in the diagnosis of mediastinal lymphomas is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic value of EBUS-TBNA in patients with suspected lymphoma. Materials and Methods: Sixty-eight patients with isolated mediastinal lymphadenopathy and suspected of lymphoma were included in the study. EBUS-TBNA was performed on outpatients under moderate sedation. The sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy of EBUS-TBNA were calculated. Results: Sixty-four patients were diagnosed by EBUS-TBNA, but four patients with non-diagnostic EBUS-TBNA required surgical procedures. Thirty-five (51.5%) patients had sarcoidosis, six (8.8%) had reactive lymphadenopathy, nine (13.3%) had tuberculosis, one (1.5%) had squamous cell carcinoma, two (2.9%) had sarcoma and fifteen (22%) had lymphoma (follicular center cell, large B-cell primary, and Hodgkin lymphomas in three, two, and ten, respectively). Of the 15 lymphoma patients, thirteen were diagnosed by EBUS and two by thoracotomy and mediastinoscopy. The sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, and diagnostic accuracy of EBUS-TBNA for the diagnosis of lymphoma were calculated as 86.7%, 100%, 96.4%, and 97%, respectively. Conclusions: EBUS-TBNA can be employed in the diagnosis of mediastinal lymphoma, instead of more invasive surgical procedures.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제21권5호
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• pp.550-560
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• 2020

Objective: To evaluate the interobserver agreement, diagnostic value, and associated clinical factors of automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) coronal features in differentiating breast lesions. Materials and Methods: This study enrolled 457 pathologically confirmed lesions in 387 female (age, 46.4 ± 10.3 years), including 377 masses and 80 non-mass lesions (NMLs). The unique coronal features, including retraction phenomenon, hyper- or hypoechoic rim (continuous or discontinuous), skipping sign, and white wall sign, were defined and recorded. The interobserver agreement on image type and coronal features was evaluated. Furthermore, clinical factors, including the lesion size, distance to the nipple or skin, palpability, and the histological grade were analyzed. Results: Among the 457 lesions, 296 were malignant and 161 were benign. The overall interobserver agreement for image type and all coronal features was moderate to good. For masses, the retraction phenomenon was significantly associated with malignancies (p < 0.001) and more frequently presented in small and superficial invasive carcinomas with a low histological grade (p = 0.027, 0.002, and < 0.001, respectively). Furthermore, continuous hyper- or hypoechoic rims were predictive of benign masses (p < 0.001), whereas discontinuous rims were predictive of malignancies (p < 0.001). A hyperechoic rim was more commonly detected in masses more distant from the nipple (p = 0.027), and a hypoechoic rim was more frequently found in large superficial masses (p < 0.001 for both). For NMLs, the skipping sign was a predictor of malignancies (p = 0.040). Conclusion: The coronal plane of ABUS may provide useful diagnostic value for breast lesions.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권22호
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• pp.9927-9931
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• 2014

The objectives of this study were to examine serum periplakin expression in patients with urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder and in normal controls, and to examine relationships with clinicopathological findings. Detection of serum periplakin was performed in 50 patients and 30 normal controls with anti-periplakin antibodies using the automatic dot blot system, and a micro-dot blot array with a 256 solid-pin system. Levels in patients with urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder were significantly lower than those in normal controls (0.31 and 5.68, respectively; p<0.0001). The area under the receiver-operator curve level for urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder was 0.845. The sensitivity and specificity, using a cut-off point of 4.045, were 83.7% and 73.3%, respectively. In addition, serum periplakin levels were significantly higher in patients with muscle-invasive cancer than in those with nonmuscle-invasive cancer (P = 0.03). In multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, none of the clinicopathological factors was associated with an increased risk for progression and cancer-specific survival. Examination of the serum periplakin level may play a role as a non-invasive diagnostic modality to aid urine cytology and cystoscopy.

• 한국의학물리학회지:의학물리
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• 제21권1호
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• pp.22-28
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• 2010

유방암 중에서 가장 발생율이 높은 침윤성 관상피암을 대상으로 생체 국소 수소핵 자기공명분광법(localized in vivo $^1H$ MRS)을 시행하여 조직학적 형태에 따른 자기공명 분광상(MR spectroscopy)의 특성을 분석하고자 본 연구를 실시하였다. 조직학적으로 침윤성 관상피암으로 진단 받은 환자 40명을 대상으로 하여 종양이 있는 부위를 실험군으로 정하였고 종양이 없는 반대쪽 부위를 대조군으로 정하여 3.0T MR scanner를 이용한 수소핵 자기공명분광영상으로 검사를 시행하여 영상 및 분광 정보를 얻었다. 유방암 환자 40명 중 34명(85%)에서 3.2 ppm 분광정점을 확인할 수 있었고 MRS상 3.2 ppm에서의 분광정점 발현여부를 유방암의 진단 기준으로 선택하는 경우 민감도는 85% (34/40), 특이도는 92.5% (37/40), 양성예측율은 100% (34/34), 음성 예측율은 86% (37/43)이었다. 정상 조직의 1.3 ppm에서의 분광정점을 진단 기준으로 정할때 민감도는 92.5% (37/40), 특이도는 85% (34/40), 양성 예측율은 100% (37/37), 음성 예측율은 91.8% (34/37)이었다. $^1H$ MRS방법이 유방암의 진단에 이용될 수 있는 가능성을 제시하였고 추후 지속적인 연구를 통해 임상적으로 진단 및 치료 판정에 널리 이용될 수 있을 것으로 사료된다.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권11호
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• pp.5811-5815
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• 2012

Background: Non-invasive oral verrucous carcinoma (OVC) and invasive well-differentiated oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) have similar histopathologic findings but different biological behavior. These two malignancies must be correctly differentiated by pathologists. The aim of this study was to determine immunohistochemical (IHC) expression of Ki67 in OVC and well-differentiated OSCC. Methods: Expression of Ki67 was evaluated by IHC in 15 cases of epithelial hyperplasia with no dysplasia (A group), 15 cases of OVC (B group), 12 cases of microinvasive OSCC(C group) and 15 cases of well-differentiated OSCC (D group). Results: There was a significant difference in Ki67 expression based on pattern distribution of immunostaining positive cells, with quantitative and semi-quantitative analyses, among the four groups ; also, between A group and each of the other three groups (P=0.0001). But there was no significant difference between B and C, C and D, and B and D groups (P>0.05). Conclusions: The three evaluation methods of Ki67 expression showed Ki67 (Mib-1) is not a good immunohistochemical marker to assess invasion status and differentiate OVC from well-differentiated OSCC; also, it cannot be used as a diagnostic tool to distinguish between variants of OSCC with similar grade.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권18호
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• pp.8299-8305
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• 2016

Background: In Egypt, breast cancer is estimated to be the most common cancer among females. It is also a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Use of circulating cell-free DNA (ccf-DNA) as non-invasive biomarkers is a promising tool for diagnosis and follow-up of breast cancer (BC) patients. Objective: To assess the role of circulating cell free DNA (nuclear and mitochondrial) in diagnosing BC. Materials and Methods: Multiplex real time PCR was used to detect the level of ccf nuclear and mitochondrial DNA in the peripheral blood of 50 breast cancer patients together with 30 patients with benign lesions and 20 healthy controls. Laboratory investigations, histopathological staging and receptor studies were carried out for the cancer group. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to evaluate the performance of ccf-nDNA and mtDNA. Results: The levels of both nDNA and mtDNA in the cancer group were significantly higher in comparison to the benign and the healthy control group. There was a statistically significant association between nDNA and mtDNA levels and well established prognostic parameters; namely, histological grade, tumour stage, lymph node status andhormonal receptor status. Conclusions: Our data suggests that nuclear and mitochondrial ccf-DNA may be used as non-invasive biomarkers in BC.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• 제21권2호
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• pp.23.1-23.10
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• 2020

The identification of biomarkers that distinguish diseased from healthy individuals is of great interest in human and veterinary fields. In this research area, a metabolomic approach and its related statistical analyses can be useful for biomarker determination and allow non-invasive discrimination of healthy volunteers from breast cancer patients. In this study, we focused on the most common canine neoplasm, mammary gland tumor, and herein, we describe a simple method using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography to determine the levels of tyrosine and its metabolites (epinephrine, 3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, and vanillylmandelic acid), tryptophan and its metabolites (5-hydroxyindolacetic acid, indoxyl sulfate, serotonin, and kynurenic acid) in canine mammary cancer urine samples. Our results indicated significantly increased concentrations of three tryptophan metabolites, 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid (p < 0.001), serotonin, indoxyl sulfate (p < 0.01), and kynurenic acid (p < 0.05), and 2 tyrosine metabolites, 3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine (p < 0.001), and epinephrine (p < 0.05) in urine samples from the mammary gland tumor group compared to concentrations in urine samples from the healthy group. The results indicate that select urinary tyrosine and tryptophan metabolites may be useful as non-invasive diagnostic markers as well as in developing a therapeutic strategy for canine mammary gland tumors.