Leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein coupled receptor 5 enriched organoids under chemically-defined growth conditions.

An organoid is a complex, multi-cell three-dimensional (3D) structure that contains tissue-specific cells. Epithelial stem cells, which are marked by leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein coupled receptor 5 (Lgr5), have the potential for self-renewal and expansion as organoids. However, in the case of intestinal organoids from Lgr5-EGFP-IRES-CreERT2 transgenic mice, in vitro expansion of the Lgr5 expression is limited in a culture condition supplemented with essential proteins, such as epidermal growth factor (E), noggin (N), and R-spondin 1 (R). In this study, we hypothesized that self-renewal of Lgr5+ stem cells in a 3D culture system can be stimulated by defined compounds (CHIR99021, Valproic acid, Y-27632, and A83-01). Our results demonstrated that dissociated single cells from organoids were organized into a 3D structure in the four compounds containing the ENR culture medium in a 3D and two-dimensional (2D) culture system. Moreover, the Lgr5 expression level of organoids from the ENR- and compound-containing media increased. Furthermore, the conversion of cultured Lgr5+ stem cells from 2D to 3D was confirmed. Therefore, defined compounds promote the expansion of Lgr5+ stem cells in organoids.

Processing of Shakespearean functional shift as a semantic anomaly in L2 English: Evidence from an ERP study.

Functional shift, a productive word formation in English, converts the functional status of a word without changing its form. A previous event-related potential study reported that functional shift elicited left anterior negativity (LAN) and P600 effects in first language processing, suggesting that shifted words triggered syntactic processes in native English speakers. Using the same materials and experimental methods, this study investigated the processing of functional shift in English as a second language, asking Korean learners of English to make acceptability judgments of sentences containing a functional shift, a semantic incongruity, a double violation, or no violation. The results revealed that functional shift elicited significant N400 effects, indicating that Korean participants processed functionally shifted words as semantic anomalies. Our finding points to the possibility that the mental representation of functional shift differs in L1 and L2.

Conization using electrosurgical conization and cold coagulation for international federation of gynecology and obstetrics stage IA1 squamous cell carcinomas of the uterine cervix.

OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of electrosurgical conization and cold coagulation as definitive treatments for patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage IA1 squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix and a resection margin free from (micro)invasive carcinoma after conization. METHODS: Patients with stage IA1 cervical squamous cell carcinoma without lymphovascular space invasion who had been treated by electrosurgical conization and cold coagulation and who wanted to preserve fertility (or only undertake conservative treatment) were followed up without further surgical intervention. Patients with invasive or microinvasive carcinoma at resection margins or positive endocervical resection margins were excluded from the study. Cervicovaginal smears and colposcopic examination were performed at regular intervals. Disease recurrence was defined as a histologic diagnosis of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2 or higher-grade lesions. RESULTS: A total of 85 patients enrolled were deemed eligible to be involved in the study. The median follow-up period was 81.0 months (range, 13-127 months). Nineteen of the 85 patients had exocervical resection margins. There was one case of recurrence, which was node-positive invasive cancer recurrence (1.2%, 1/85), in patients with negative resection margins. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that electrosurgical conization with cold coagulation is a feasible treatment and could be used as a definitive therapy for patients with stage IA1 cervical squamous cell carcinoma without lymphovascular space invasion. In addition, patients having cervical intraepithelial neoplasias 2 and 3 at exocervical resection margins could be followed up carefully without further treatment after conization and cold coagulation.

Xpert CARBA-R Assay for the Detection of Carbapenemase-Producing Organisms in Intensive Care Unit Patients of a Korean Tertiary Care Hospital.

Carbapenemase-producing organisms (CPO) are rapidly disseminating worldwide, and their presence in tertiary care hospitals poses a significant threat to the management of nosocomial infections. There is a need to control CPO, especially in intensive care unit (ICU) patients, because these organisms are resistant to most ß-lactam antibiotics and are easily transmitted. At present, the identification of CPO is time-consuming; hence, this study focused on the use of the Xpert CARBA-R assay (Cepheid, USA) to determine intestinal colonization rates of CPO in patients admitted to the ICU of a tertiary care hospital in Korea. Forty clinical stool samples were collected and inoculated both in a CARBA-R cartridge and in conventional culture plates. The CARBA-R assay required only ~one hour to screen CPO, while the time required for conventional culture was over three days. We also found that the prevalences of intestinal colonization by carbapenem-resistant organisms and Enterobacteriaceae were 17.5% (7 out of 40) and 7.5% (3 out of 40), respectively. Among the colonizing strains, three that contained carbapenemase, including Klebsiella pneumonia carbapenemase (KPC), and imipenem (IMP) and Verona integron-mediated metallo-ß-lactamase (VIM) were found. With its convenience, the Xpert CARBA-R assay can be included in CPO surveillance strategies.