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Objective: We investigated the effectiveness of removing lost intrauterine devices (IUDs) that had been in place for over 10 years, using Lin's biopsy grasper in an office setting. Methods:This single-centre, retrospective study conducted between March 2006 and June 2018 included 49 women who had had an IUD in place for contraception for more than 10 years and who underwent removal of the lost IUD using Lin's biopsy grasper under transabdominal sonography without use of a tenaculum, anaesthesia and analgesia, after dilation of the cervical os and hysteroscopy. Results: The women's median age was 52 years (range 34-80 years) and the median duration of insertion was 17 years (range 10-43 years). Forty-eight (98%) women had their lost IUD removed using Lin's biopsy grasper. Among the removed IUDs, there were eight FD-1 IUDs with a string, 13 FD-1 IUDs without a string, 13 Chinese IUDs, seven Ota ring IUDs, three KS ring IUDs, two Saf-T-Coil IUDs, two Lippe loop IUDs and one Wing IUD. All women tolerated the procedure and there were no major operative complications. Conclusions: Lin's biopsy grasper was effective in removing IUDs that had been in place for a long time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intermetallic compounds are usually considered as deleterious phase in alloy designing and processing since their brittleness leads to poor ductility and premature failure during deformation of the alloys. However, several studies recently found that some alloys containing large amounts of NiAl-type intermetallic particles exhibited not only high strength but also good tensile ductility. To clarify the role of the intermetallic particles in the excellent tensile properties of such alloys, the tensile deformation behavior of an ultrafine-grained Fe-Mn-Al-Ni-C alloy containing austenite matrix and B2 intermetallic particles was investigated by using in situ synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction in the present study. The elastic stress partitioning behavior of two constituent phases during tensile deformation were quantitively measured, and it was suggested that B2 particles played an important role in the high strength and large tensile ductility of the material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ARID1A mutation is frequently found in clear cell ovarian cancer (CCC) and endometrioid ovarian cancer (EC). Anti-PD-1 monotherapy has been found to have limited efficacy in epithelial ovarian cancer; however, anti-PD-1 therapy showed significant clinical benefit in some CCC. We sought to define the relationship of ARID1A mutation/ARID1A expression to the immunogenic profile of different histologic subtypes of ovarian cancer. We performed next-generation sequencing of 160 cancer-related genes. Also, we analyzed the immunohistochemical status of ARID1A, PD-L1, and CD8 with survival in different histologic subtypes of ovarian cancer in a total of 103 cases. ARID1A mutation was found in 0% of the high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC) (n = 36), 41.5% of the CCC (n = 41), 45.0% of the EC (n = 20), and 33.3% of the mucinous ovarian cancer (MC) (n = 6) cases. ARID1A loss was found in 19.4% of the HGSC, 75.6% of the CCC, 60.0% of the EC and 0% of the MC cases. ARID1A mutation was found to be associated with high PD-L1 (p < 0.001) or CD8 levels (p < 0.001) in CCC but not in other histologic subtypes. Meanwhile, ARID1A loss was associated with high PD-L1 or CD8 levels in CCC (p < 0.001) and HGSC (p < 0.001) but not in EC and MC. In addition, ARID1A mutation was associated with high tumor mutation burden in CCC (p = 0.006). ARID1A mutation/ARID1A expression is associated with immune microenvironmental factors in CCC but not in EC. ARID1A status can be a biomarker for selecting candidates for immune checkpoint blockade in CCC. • ARID1A mutation was identified in 41.5 and 45.0% of clear cell and endometrioid ovarian cancer patients, respectively. • ARID1A mutation/ARID1A loss is associated with positive PD-L1 or CD8 levels in clear cell ovarian cancer. • ARID1A mutation is associated with a high tumor mutation burden in clear cell ovarian cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]