Applicability Evaluation of Surface and Sub-Surface Defects for Railway Wheel Material Using Induced Alternating Current Potential Drops.

The majority of catastrophic wheelset failures are caused by surface opening fatigue cracks in either the wheel tread or wheel inner. Since failures in railway wheelsets can cause disasters, regular inspections to check for defects in wheels and axles are mandatory. Currently, ultrasonic testing, acoustic emissions, and the eddy current testing method are regularly used to check railway wheelsets in service. Yet, in many cases, despite surface and subsurface defects of the railroad wheels developing, the defects are not clearly detected by the conventional non-destructive inspection system. In the present study, a new technique was applied to the detection of surface and subsurface defects in railway wheel material. The results indicate that the technique can detect surface and subsurface defects of railway wheel specimens using the distribution of the alternating current (AC) electromagnetic field. In the wheelset cases presented, surface cracks with depths of 0.5 mm could be detected using this method.

A Retrospective CBCT Study of the Relationship between Mandibular Symphysis Bone Density and Mandibular Growth Direction.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this retrospective study was to investigate the relationship between mandibular symphysis bone density (BD) and mandibular growth direction in adolescent patients by facilitating the measurement of cortical and cancellous BDs at the mandibular symphysis using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). STUDY DESIGN: 224 adolescent patients (98 males and 126 females) were categorized by sex, age, and mandibular growth direction. Cortical and cancellous BDs were measured along with a sagittal slice at multiple locations. RESULTS: Females exhibited higher cortical BD than males at menton (Me, P =0.002). Patients with a posterior growth direction exhibited a higher cortical BD than those with anterior and normal growth direction at Me (P <0.021, P <0.001, respectively), pogonion (Pog, P =0.037, P =0.037, respectively) and genion (Ge, P =0.007, P =0.008, respectively). Patients with a posterior growth direction exhibited a higher cortical BD than those with anterior growth direction at B point (P =0.009). CONCLUSIONS: Significant differences in BD were identified across anthropometric categories. These findings may be useful in determining mandibular growth direction in adolescents.

Primary malignant melanoma of cervix and vagina.

Primary malignant melanoma (MM) accounts for 1% of all cancers, and only 3% to 7% of these tumors occur in the female genital tract. Data are limited with respect to the basis for treatment recommendations because of the rarity of MM. The overall prognosis of melanomas of the female genital tract is very poor. Two cases of MM of the female genital tract are presented. The first case is of a 70-year-old female patient who complained of left thigh pain and underwent magnetic resonance imaging that showed cervical cancer with involvement of the vagina, bladder, and parametrium, in addition to multiple bony metastases of the proximal femur, acetabulum, and both iliac bones. The second case is of a 35-year-old female patient who suffered from vaginal bleeding for 5 months, and she was diagnosed as having primary vaginal melanoma. The patient underwent radical surgery and two additional surgeries because of recurrence of cancer in both inguinal areas. After surgery, the patient received adjuvant immunotherapy, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. In both the aforementioned cases, the pathologic diagnosis was made after immunohistochemical analysis, i.e., the tumor cells were stained with HMB-45 and S100, and were found to be positive for both immunostains.

Detecting Asymptomatic Recurrence in Early-Stage Endometrial Cancer: The Value of Vaginal Cytology, Imaging Studies, and CA-125.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of vaginal cytology, imaging modalities, and serum CA-125 in detecting asymptomatic recurrence during posttreatment surveillance for early-stage endometrial cancer. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients with stage I to II endometrial cancer who received primary surgical treatment at Seoul National University Hospital between 2000 and 2011. Clinicopathologic characteristics and surveillance test data were obtained from medical records. The total numbers of vaginal cytologies, imaging studies, and serum CA-125 levels performed during surveillance or until recurrence were evaluated, and the number of tests needed to detect each asymptomatic recurrence was calculated. RESULTS: A total of 389 patients were identified, together with a total of 3323 vaginal cytologies, 1025 chest x-rays, 1177 abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans, 98 magnetic resonance imaging scans, 163 positron emission tomography/CT scans, 298 ultrasonographies, and 3335 serum CA-125 results obtained during the surveillance period. Recurrence was detected in 14 patients (3.6%). Ten of these cases were asymptomatic, of which six were identified through CT scans and four were identified through elevated serum CA-125 levels. Most of the patients (7/10) with asymptomatic recurrences had localized recurrence patterns, five of whom underwent curative-intent resection and survived. The number of CA-125 tests needed to identify 1 asymptomatic recurrence was 839, whereas the number of CT scans needed to achieve the same result was 196. Other imaging modalities and vaginal cytology did not detect asymptomatic recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: For posttreatment surveillance in early-stage endometrial cancer, vaginal cytology and imaging modalities such as chest x-ray, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography/CT, and ultrasonography have low utility. Routine CT scans and serum CA-125 testing may be useful for detecting asymptomatic recurrence.

Aggressive angiomyxoma of the vulva: A case report.

Aggressive angiomyxoma (AA) is an unusual mesenchymal tumor. AA occurs most commonly in women of reproductive age and is located in the perineal or pelvic region. This is a distinct soft tissue tumor that has a prominent myxoid matrix and numerous thin-walled blood vessels and may have an aggressive local recurrence. The tumors have the characteristics of large size (usually greater than 10 cm) and slow growth, and are not painful. The standard treatment for AA is total excision and close follow-up. We announce a case of a 35 year-old female presenting with a pedunculated AA on the right labium majora that has not relapsed for seven years.

Angiomyofibroblastoma of the vulva.

Angiomyofibroblastoma (AMFB) is an uncommon benign mesenchymal tumor. AMFB occurs almost in the vulvo-vaginal area of women. The gross features of AMFB are well-circumscribed so it clinically is often thought as Bartholin gland cyst or aggressive angiomyxoma. Usually, most tumors grow slowly, and patients do not feel pain. It also has low tendency for local recurrence. The histologic findings of the tumors are abundant thin-walled blood vessels with hypocellular and hypercellular areas. Almost all tumor cells have immunoreactivity for both desmin and vimentin. It also has estrogen and/or progesterone receptors, but staining for cytokeratin is negative. Here is a case of AMFB of the vulva occurring in a 40-year-old woman, involving the right labia majora. The patient described that her vulva mass grew in about few months. The maximum dimension of the tumor was measured as 2 cm, and we resected the tumor one month after as her second visit.

Parathyroid hormone-related protein drives a CD11b+Gr1+ cell-mediated positive feedback loop to support prostate cancer growth.

In the tumor microenvironment, CD11b(+)Gr1(+) bone marrow-derived cells are a predominant source of protumorigenic factors such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMP), but how distal tumors regulate these cells in the bone marrow is unclear. Here we addressed the hypothesis that the parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) potentiates CD11b(+)Gr1(+) cells in the bone marrow of prostate tumor hosts. In two xenograft models of prostate cancer, levels of tumor-derived PTHrP correlated with CD11b(+)Gr1(+) cell recruitment and microvessel density in the tumor tissue, with evidence for mediation of CD11b(+)Gr1(+) cell-derived MMP-9 but not tumor-derived VEGF-A. CD11b(+)Gr1(+) cells isolated from mice with PTHrP-overexpressing tumors exhibited relatively increased proangiogenic potential, suggesting that prostate tumor-derived PTHrP potentiates this activity of CD11b(+)Gr1(+) cells. Administration of neutralizing PTHrP monoclonal antibody reduced CD11b(+)Gr1(+) cells and MMP-9 in the tumors. Mechanistic investigations in vivo revealed that PTHrP elevated Y418 phosphorylation levels in Src family kinases in CD11b(+)Gr1(+) cells via osteoblast-derived interleukin-6 and VEGF-A, thereby upregulating MMP-9. Taken together, our results showed that prostate cancer-derived PTHrP acts in the bone marrow to potentiate CD11b(+)Gr1(+) cells, which are recruited to tumor tissue where they contribute to tumor angiogenesis and growth.

Comparison between zotarolimus-eluting stents and first generation drug-eluting stents in the treatment of patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to compare the two year efficacy and safety of zotarolimus-eluting stents (ZES) and first-generation DES, sirolimus- (SES) and paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES), in an all-comer registry receiving primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). METHODS: A total of 711 consecutive STEMI patients (ZES: 135, SES: 427, and PES: 149), who underwent primary PCI between January 2005 and June 2008 were enrolled from three centers. In our study, the efficacy analysis endpoint was target vessel failure (cardiac death, target vessel related myocardial infarction, and ischemia-driven target vessel revascularization) at 2 years. The safety analysis endpoint was a composite of all cause death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and stent thrombosis within 2 years. RESULTS: At 2 years, the rates of target vessel failure in the ZES, SES, and PES groups were 14.8%, 12.9%, and 19.5%, respectively (p=0.141). The rates of composite safety endpoints at 2 years were not different among the three groups (ZES 8.1% vs. SES 13.1% vs. PES 16.8%, p=0.102). However, when comparing the two groups, ZES was safer than PES (adjusted HR 0.48, 95% CI 0.24-0.98, p=0.046). There was also a non-significant trend in favor of ZES in the rate of stent thrombosis (ZES 1.5% vs. SES 2.3% vs. PES 4.7%, p=0.186). CONCLUSION: In the treatment of STEMI patients, ZES showed similar and acceptable efficacy compared to first-generation DES (SES and PES) up to 2 years. In addition, ZES seems to be more favorable than PES in terms of safety.