Del-1 on circulating EVs is a promising marker to improve identification of patients with early-stage breast cancer and distinguish breast cancer from benign breast tumors and noncancerous diseases.

The taxonomic position of a marine, gliding, pink-pigmented, aerobic, heterotrophic and Gram-negative bacterium was established using a polyphasic approach. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that the strain was a member of the phylum ‘Bacteroidetes’ in which it occupied a separate lineage. The predominant cellular fatty acids were C15 : 0 iso, C17 : 0 iso 3-OH, summed feature 3 and summed feature 4. The DNA G+C content was 48·7 mol%. Phylogenetic evidence and the results of phenotypic, genotypic and chemotaxonomic analyses strongly support the assignment of the newly isolated bacterium as a member of a novel genus and species, for which the name Pontibacter actiniarum gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is KMM 6156T (=KCTC 12367T=LMG 23027T). It is also proposed that the illegitimate names Reichenbachia and Reichenbachia agariperforans are replaced with Reichenbachiella and Reichenbachiella agariperforans, respectively.

Most studies of bowel habits have been conducted in Western countries. This study was conducted to estimate the epidemiology of constipation and the discrepancy between self-reported constipation and bowel habits in Koreans. Telephone interviews regarding bowel habits were conducted with a total of 1029 individuals in Korea, 15 years of age or older. Subjects were given a questionnaire which asked about bowel symptoms, sociodemographic associations, laxative use, and physician visits. Of all subjects 95.6% had a defecation frequency of between three per week and three per day. The prevalence was 16.5% for self-reported constipation, 9.2% for functional constipation (FC), and 3.9% for constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-C). Of subjects' self-reporting constipation, proportions of FC and IBS-C were 21.8% and 23.5%, respectively. Of subjects excluding self-reported constipation, the proportion of FC was 6.8%. Prevalences of self-reported constipation and IBS-C were higher in females than in males (P < 0.001). Of subjects' self-reporting constipation, 8.2% used laxatives. We conclude that constipation is a common problem in the general Korean population.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted from cancer cells have potential for generating cancer biomarker signatures. Fibronectin (FN) was selected as a biomarker candidate, due to the presence in surface on EVs secreted from human breast cancer cell lines. A subsequent study used two types of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) to determine the presence of these proteins in plasma samples from disease-free individuals (n=70), patients with BC (n=240), BC patients after surgical resection (n=40), patients with benign breast tumor (n=55), and patients with non-cancerous diseases (thyroiditis, gastritis, hepatitis B, and rheumatoid arthritis; n=80). FN levels were significantly elevated (p<. 0001) at all stages of BC, and returned to normal after tumor removal. The diagnostic accuracy for FN detection in extracellular vesicles (ELISA method 1) (area under the curve, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.76 to 0.86; sensitivity of 65.1% and specificity of 83.2%) were also better than those for FN detection in the plasma (ELISA method 2) (area under the curve, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.72 to 0.83; sensitivity of 69.2% and specificity of 73.3%) in BC. The diagnostic accuracy of plasma FN was similar in both the early-stage BC and all BC patients, as well as in the two sets. This liquid biopsy to detect FN on circulating EVs could be a promising method to detect early breast cancer.

Robotic thyroidectomy using BABA is an effective and comparable treatment option. J. Surg. Oncol. 2015 111:135-140.