Role of Informal Social Control in Predicting Racist Hate Speech on Online Platforms: Collective Efficacy and the Theory of Planned Behavior.

Drawing on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the present study examined the relative importance of informal social control and social cohesion/trust in the behavioral intention to post online race-related hate speech. A conceptual framework of a mediation model was validated on data from 809 survey respondents, and age, gender, Internet usage, and the number of posts representing racist hate speech on online platforms in a 1-year period were controlled for as demographic data. Twenty-six measurement items were designed to measure the four TPB constructs of attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control (PBC), and behavioral intention, as well as the two action-oriented variables of social cohesion/trust and informal social control. Partial least-squares structural equation modeling analysis was conducted to test a series of research hypotheses, and the findings were as follows: (a) informal social control partially mediated the relationships between behavioral intention to post online race-related hate speech and both attitude and subjective norm; (b) informal social control fully mediated the influence of PBC on behavioral intention; and (c) social cohesion/trust did not significantly mediate any of the relationships between behavioral intention and attitude, subjective norm, or PBC. The results indicate that the willingness to intervene in informal social control plays an important role in preventing unwelcome online activity.

A multicenter study of interobserver variability in pathologic diagnosis of papillary breast lesions on core needle biopsy with WHO classification.

BACKGROUND: Papillary breast lesions (PBLs) comprise diverse entities from benign and atypical lesions to malignant tumors. Although PBLs are characterized by a papillary growth pattern, it is challenging to achieve high diagnostic accuracy and reproducibility. Thus, we investigated the diagnostic reproducibility of PBLs in core needle biopsy (CNB) specimens with World Health Organization (WHO) classification. METHODS: Diagnostic reproducibility was assessed using interobserver variability (kappa value, κ) and agreement rate in the pathologic diagnosis of 60 PBL cases on CNB among 20 breast pathologists affiliated with 20 medical institutions in Korea. This analysis was performed using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for cytokeratin 5 (CK5) and p63. The pathologic diagnosis of PBLs was based on WHO classification, which was used to establish simple classifications (4-tier, 3-tier, and 2-tier). RESULTS: On WHO classification, H&E staining exhibited 'fair agreement' (κ = 0.21) with a 47.0% agreement rate. Simple classifications presented improvement in interobserver variability and agreement rate. IHC staining increased the kappa value and agreement rate in all the classifications. Despite IHC staining, the encapsulated/solid papillary carcinoma (EPC/SPC) subgroup (κ = 0.16) exhibited lower agreement compared to the non-EPC/SPC subgroup (κ = 0.35) with WHO classification, which was similar to the results of any other classification systems. CONCLUSIONS: Although the use of IHC staining for CK5 and p63 increased the diagnostic agreement of PBLs in CNB specimens, WHO classification exhibited a higher discordance rate compared to any other classifications. Therefore, this result warrants further intensive consensus studies to improve the diagnostic reproducibility of PBLs with WHO classification.

Optically transparent and very thin structure against electromagnetic pulse (EMP) using metal mesh and saltwater for shielding windows.

An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) with high energy can damage electronic equipment instantly within a wide range of thousands of kilometers. Generally, a metal plate placed inside a thick concrete wall is used against an EMP, but it is not suitable for an EMP shielding window, which requires not only strong shielding effectiveness (SE) but also optical transparency (OT). In this paper, we propose a very thin and optically transparent structure with excellent SE for EMP shielding window application. The proposed structure consists of a saltwater layer held between two glass substrates and two metal mesh layers on the outside of the glass, with a total thickness of less than 1.5 cm. The SE and OT of the structure are above 80 dB and 45%, respectively, which not only meet the requirement of EMP shielding for military purposes but also retain the procedure of good observation. Moreover, the OT of the structure can be significantly improved using only one metal mesh film (MMF) layer, while the SE is still maintained high to satisfy the required SE for home applicants. With the major advantages of low cost, optical transparency, strong SE, and flexible performance, the proposed structure can be considered a good solution for transparent EMP shielding windows.

A Prospective Validation and Observer Performance Study of a Deep Learning Algorithm for Pathologic Diagnosis of Gastric Tumors in Endoscopic Biopsies.

PURPOSE: Gastric cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Northeast Asia. Population-based endoscopic screenings in the region have yielded successful results in early detection of gastric tumors. Endoscopic screening rates are continuously increasing, and there is a need for an automatic computerized diagnostic system to reduce the diagnostic burden. In this study, we developed an algorithm to classify gastric epithelial tumors automatically and assessed its performance in a large series of gastric biopsies and its benefits as an assistance tool. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Using 2,434 whole-slide images, we developed an algorithm based on convolutional neural networks to classify a gastric biopsy image into one of three categories: negative for dysplasia (NFD), tubular adenoma, or carcinoma. The performance of the algorithm was evaluated by using 7,440 biopsy specimens collected prospectively. The impact of algorithm-assisted diagnosis was assessed by six pathologists using 150 gastric biopsy cases. RESULTS: Diagnostic performance evaluated by the AUROC curve in the prospective study was 0.9790 for two-tier classification: negative (NFD) versus positive (all cases except NFD). When limited to epithelial tumors, the sensitivity and specificity were 1.000 and 0.9749. Algorithm-assisted digital image viewer (DV) resulted in 47% reduction in review time per image compared with DV only and 58% decrease to microscopy. CONCLUSIONS: Our algorithm has demonstrated high accuracy in classifying epithelial tumors and its benefits as an assistance tool, which can serve as a potential screening aid system in diagnosing gastric biopsy specimens.

Multilayered salt water with high optical transparency for EMI shielding applications.

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding for visual observation applications, such as windows utilized in military or aerospace, is important but difficult to realize due to conventional materials having difficulty in achieving sufficient transparency and EMI shielding simultaneously. In this paper, we present multilayered structures based on salt water for simultaneous highly optical transparency (OT) and EM shielding effectiveness (SE) performance. In the proposed structures, planar acrylic and glass were used as two types of clear substrates to hold salt water. The measured OT of both acrylic/salt water/acrylic and glass/salt water/glass structures was higher than 90% with a nearly uniform light transmission, which introduced a negligible impact on optical observation. Furthermore, both simulations and experimental results demonstrated that the SE of the multilayer structure was higher than 20 dB in the X-band from 7.5 to 8.5 GHz. Moreover, the SE was significantly enhanced by increasing the thickness of the salt water layer. Especially, both OT and SE of the multilayered structures were improved simultaneously by increasing the salinity of the salt water. These proposed structures demonstrate great potential in EMI shielding observation applications.

Expression of activated Notch1 and Hey1 in papillary thyroid carcinoma.

AIMS: The Notch signalling pathway is involved in normal development as well as tumorigenesis. However, it is unclear whether Notch activation is related to diverse clinicopathological factors in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). METHODS AND RESULTS: We examined the relationship between clinicopathological factors and the expression of activated Notch1 and Hey1, which are indicators of Notch signalling pathway activation, in 109 PTC cases. Activated Notch1 showed strong, moderate and weak expression in 23, 48 and 36 cases, respectively. Its expression was related significantly to histopathological variants (P = 0.007), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.016), BRAF mutation (P = 0.036) and extent of surgery (P = 0.014). Hey1 immunostaining could be divided into two groups: positive and negative, with 26 and 83 cases, respectively. Its expression was related significantly to histopathological variants (P = 0.026), extrathyroidal extension (P = 0.005), BRAF mutation (P = 0.048) and recurrence or soft tissue metastasis (P = 0.000). Multivariate analysis revealed that tumour size (>1 cm), Hey1 immunoreactivity and the presence of lymph node metastasis were associated significantly with recurrence or soft tissue metastasis (odds ratio = 7.38, 4.28 and 12.00, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Thus, we found that activation of Notch signalling was correlated significantly with clinicopathological parameters. Therefore, Notch signalling could be a useful prognostic marker in patients with PTC.

The Role of Notch1 Signaling in Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma.

PURPOSE: The Notch signaling pathway is widely expressed in normal, reactive, and neoplastic tissues; however, its role in thyroid tissues has not been fully elucidated. Therefore, this study was conducted to characterize the expression of the Notch signaling pathway in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) cells and anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Expression of activated Notch1 in ATC and PTC paraffin-embedded tissues was determined by immunohistochemistry. The small interfering RNA techniquewas employed to knock down Notch1 expression in ATC and PTC cell lines. RESULTS: The expression of activated Notch1 was higher in ATC cases than in PTC cases. Inhibition of Notch1 significantly reduced proliferation and migration of ATC cells, but not PTC cells. In addition, inhibition of Notch1 in ATC cells significantly reduced the expression of key markers of epithelial-mesenchymal transition and cancer stem cells. Conversely, changes in the expression of these proteins were not observed in PTC cells. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that Notch1 expression plays different roles in tumor progression in ATC and PTC cells. We also found that Notch1 expression was significantly related to the highly invasive or proliferative activity of ATC cells.

Expression of cancer stem cell markers and epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related factors in anaplastic thyroid carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is an undifferentiated tumor of the thyroid that has poor prognosis owing to its aggressive behavior and resistance to current treatments. We hypothesized that the stem cell properties induced by the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was one of reasons for the dismal outcome of ATC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Paraffin blocks and slides of 17 ATC cases were retrieved. We also collected 60 cases of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) for comparison. We used immunohistochemistry to examine the expression of multiple markers of cancer stem cells and EMT-activating transcriptional factors. RESULTS: Majority of ATC cases showed loss of epithelial (E)-cadherin expression (15/17); however, all PTC cases (60/60) retained E-cadherin expression. EMT-activating transcription factors, such as snail and slug, were more frequently expressed in ATC than PTC cases (35.3% versus 6.7%, 76.5% versus 5%, respectively). Cancer stem cell markers such as CD133 and nestin were more highly expressed in ATC than PTC (52.9% versus 5%, 52.9% versus 0%, respectively). CONCLUSION: We found that the expression of EMT-related factors and stem cell markers was higher in ATC than PTC. We therefore conclude that stemness induced by EMT plays an important role in the pathogenesis of ATC.

Perirenal (18)F-FDG Uptake in a Patient with a Pheochromocytoma.

Increased (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake of brown fat on (18)F-FDG positron emission tomography (PET) originating from physiological activation is a common incidental finding and is usually located in the neck, shoulder, and supraclavicular areas. We present a case of an incidental pheochromocytoma showing diffusely increased (18)F-FDG uptake in bilateral perirenal fat tissue as well as supraclavicular and paravertebral fat tissue on (18)F-FDG PET/CT. The patient had no clinical symptoms except hypertension, and a pheochromocytoma was confirmed in a postsurgical specimen. A pheochromocytoma should be considered a cause in cases of increased (18)F-FDG uptake of perirenal brown fat.

Primary myxoid leiomyoma of the liver.

Herein, we report a case of primary myxoid leiomyoma of the liver. A 60-year-old woman complained of upper abdominal fullness. Computed tomography showed a solid tumor (8 cm) in the liver. The patient underwent right hepatectomy and histological findings from the resected specimen revealed scattered bland spindle cells in a background of exuberant myxoid material. The tumor cells were immunoreactive for smooth muscle actin and desmin. No other lesions were found elsewhere in the body. Thus, the tumor was diagnosed as a primary myxoid leiomyoma of the liver.

Fine needle aspiration cytology of parathyroid lesions.

BACKGROUND: There has been an increase in the use of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) for the diagnosis of parathyroid lesions (PLs). Differentiation between a thyroid lesion and a PL is not easy because of their similar features. We reviewed parathyroid aspirates in our institution and aimed to uncover trends in diagnostic criteria. METHODS: We selected 25 parathyroid aspirates (from 6 men and 19 women) confirmed surgically or immunohistochemically from 2006 to 2011. RESULTS: Major architectural findings of PLs include scattered naked nuclei, loose clusters, a papillary pattern with a fibrovascular core, tight clusters, and a follicular pattern. These architectures were commonly admixed with one another. Cytological features included anisokaryosis, stippled chromatin, a well-defined cell border, and oxyphilic cytoplasm. Eighteen of the 25 patients were diagnosed with PL using FNAC. Seven patients had been misdiagnosed with atypical cells (n=2), benign follicular cells (n=2), adenomatous goiter (n=2) and metastatic carcinoma (n=1) in FNAC. Using clinicoradiologic data, the sensitivity of the cytological diagnosis was 86.7%. The cytological sensitivity decreased to 50% without this information. CONCLUSIONS: FNAC of PL is easily confused with thyroid lesions. A combination of cytological parameters and clinical data will be required to improve the diagnostic sensitivity of PLs.

Fine-needle aspiration cytology of pleomorphic carcinomas of the lung.

BACKGROUND: Pleomorphic carcinoma (PC) is a rare pulmonary malignancy. Because of its rarity and histological heterogeneity, cytopathologists might suspect PC only rarely on the basis of its cytological specimen. In addition, cytological findings from fine needle aspiration (FNA) specimens have rarely been described. Hence, we investigated the cytological features of FNA in the cases of PC. METHODS: We reviewed 7 FNA specimens of PC. The patients had undergone surgical resection at the Korea Cancer Center Hospital between 2007 and 2011. The cytological features of PC were assessed and compared with the histopathological features of the corresponding surgical specimen. Immunocytochemical analysis with cytokeratin and vimentin was performed on the cell blocks. RESULTS: The tumor cells were either dispersed or arranged in loose aggregates, and generally lacked any glandular or squamous differentiation. Pleomorphic or spindle shape tumor cells were observed, and mono-, bi-, or multi-nucleated giant cells were frequently observed. The background showed necrosis and contained numerous lymphocytes and neutrophils. Immunocytochemically, the tumor cells were positive for cytokeratin and vimentin. CONCLUSIONS: PC displays characteristic cytological features. It might therefore be possible to make an accurate diagnosis of PC by assessing the degree of nuclear atypia.