To investigate the learning curve for robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) for pathologic T2 disease, we examined differences in perioperative outcomes according to time period.
...Between July 2005 and June 2008, a total of 307 consecutive patients underwent RALP for prostate cancer and 205 patients had pathologic T2 disease. Patients were grouped into 6-month time periods. We collected and examined the patient's perioperative data including age, body mass index (BMI), prostate-specific antigen (PSA), operation time, estimated blood loss, and positive surgical margin.
There were no significant differences among the groups in age (p=0.705), BMI (p=0.246), PSA (p=0.425), or prostate volume (p=0.380). Operation time (p<0.001) and estimated blood loss (p<0.001) decreased significantly with time. The positive surgical margin rate also showed a decreasing trend, but this was not significant (p=0.680).
Operation time and estimated blood loss had a steep learning curve during the early 24 cases and then stabilized. A positive surgical margin rate, however, did not have a significant learning curve, although the positive surgical margin decreased continuously.
While evaporation technology was used for many years in the metallization of microelectronic devices, the current state-of-the-art manufacturing system for metallization is sputtering systems with ...high throughput. To provide ideal mass-production solutions, SUNIC continually has optimized and extended the SUNICOAT series. In this paper, we introduce several sputtering systems among the SUNICOAT series with production solutions for metallization of microelectronics, especially UBM and SAW filter. SUNIC has developed and supplied SUNICOAT IS-3000 with high throughput and reliability for UBM process and SUNICOAT 4000 with below 1% uniformity for SAW filter devices. Furthermore, SUNICOAT 4000V with below 0.5% uniformity is being developed.
AIM: To investigate the eradication rate and histological changes after Helicobacter pylori(H. pylori) eradication treatment following subtotal gastrectomy for gastric cancer.METHODS: A total of 610 ...patients with H. pylori infection who had undergone surgery for either early or advanced gastric adenocarcinoma between May 2004 and December 2010 were retrospectively studied. A total of 584 patients with proven H. pylori infection after surgery for gastric cancer were enrolled in this study. Patients received a seven day standard triple regimen as first-line therapy and a 10 d bismuthcontaining quadruple regimen as second-line therapy in cases of eradication failure. The patients underwent an esophagogastroduodenoscopy(EGD) between six and 12 mo after surgery, followed by annual EGDs. A further EGD was conducted 12 mo after confirming the result of the eradication and the histological changes. A gastric biopsy specimen for histological examination and Campylobacter-like organism testing was obtained from the lesser and greater curvature of the corpus of the remnant stomach. Histological changes in the gastric mucosa were assessed using the updated Sydney system before eradication therapy and at follow-up after 12 mo.RESULTS: Eradication rates with the first-line and second-line therapies were 78.4%(458/584) and 90%(36/40), respectively, by intention-to-treat analysis and 85.3%(458/530) and 92.3%(36/39), respectively, by per-protocol analysis. The univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that Billroth Ⅱ surgery was an independent factor predictive of eradication success in the eradication success group(OR = 1.53, 95%CI: 1.41-1.65, P = 0.021). The atrophy and intestinal metaplasia(IM) scores 12 mo after eradication were significantly lower in the eradication success group than in the eradication failure group(0.25 ± 0.04 vs 0.47 ± 0.12, P = 0.023; 0.27 ± 0.04 vs 0.51 ± 0.12, P = 0.015, respectively). The atrophy and IM scores 12 mo after successful eradication were significantly lower in the Billroth Ⅱ group than in the Billroth I group(0.13 ± 0.09 vs 0.31 ± 0.12, P = 0.029; 0.32 ± 0.24 vs 0.37 ± 0.13, P = 0.034, respectively).CONCLUSION: Patients with H. pylori following subtotal gastrectomy had a similar eradication rate to patients with an intact stomach. H. pylori eradication is recommended after subtotal gastrectomy.
AIM:To investigate moxifloxacin-containing triple therapy as second-line treatment for Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori)infection following failed first-line treatment.METHODS:The sample included 312 ...patients for whom first-line treatment failed between January 2008and May 2013;27 patients were excluded,and a total of 285 patients received 7-or 14-d moxifloxacincontaining triple therapy as second-line treatment for H.pylori infection.First line regimens included 7-d standard triple(n=172),10-d bismuth-containing quadruple(n=28),14-d concomitant(n=37),or14-d sequential(n=48)therapy.H.pylori status was evaluated using 13C-urea breath testing 4 wk later,aftercompletion of the treatment.The primary outcome was the H.pylori eradication rate analyzed using intentionto-treat(ITT)and per protocol(PP)analyses.The secondary outcome was the occurrence of serious adverse events.Demographic and clinical factors were analyzed using Student’s t-tests and Pearson’sχ2 tests according to first-and second-line regimens.A P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.RESULTS:The eradication rate of moxifloxacincontaining triple therapy was 68.4%(ITT;95%CI:62.8-73.5)and 73.9%(PP;95%CI:68.3-78.8).The eradication rate was significantly higher with 14 d compared to 7 d of treatment(77.5%vs 62.5%,P=0.017).Peptic ulcer patients had a higher eradication rate than the patients without ulcers(82.9%vs 70.6%,P=0.046).The demographic and clinical characteristics were not significantly different between the groups according to first-line therapies.ITT and PP analyses of the moxifloxacin-containing triple therapy indicated the following eradication rates:70.9%(95%CI:63.8-77.2)and 77.2%(95%CI:70.1-83.1)for standard triple;67.9%(95%CI:51.5-84.2)and 67.9%(95%CI:51.5-84.2)for bismuth-containing quadruple;60.4%(95%CI:46.3-73.0)and 70.7%(95%CI:54.0-80.9)for sequential;and 67.6%(95%CI:51.5-80.4)and67.6%(95%CI:51.5-80.4)for concomitant therapy.There were no statistically significant differences in the efficacy of the first-line regimens(P=0.492).The most common adverse event was diarrhea.There were no serious adverse events and no significant differences in the frequency of side effects between the first-and second-line regimens(28.7%vs 26.1%,respectively).CONCLUSION:Moxifloxacin-containing triple therapy as second-line treatment resulted in low eradication rates.There were no differences in the efficacy between the first-line regimens in South Korea.
AIM： To determine intestinal permeability, the serum tumor necrosis factor （TNF）-α level and urine nitric oxide （NO） metabolites are altered in liver cirrhosis （LC） with or without ascites. METHODS： ...Fifty-three patients with LC and 26 healthy control subjects were enrolled in the study. The intestinal permeability value is expressed as the percentage of polyethylene glycol （PEG） 400 and 3350 retrieval in 8-h urine samples as determined by high performance liquid chromatography. Serum TNF-α concentrations and urine NO metabolites were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） and Greiss reaction method, respectively. RESULTS： The intestinal permeability index wassignificantly higher in patients with LC with ascites than in healthy control subjects or patients with LC without ascites （0.88 ± 0.12 vs 0.52 ± 0.05 or 0.53 ± 0.03, P 〈 0.05） and correlated with urine nitrite excretion （r = 0.98）. Interestingly, the serum TNF-α concentration was significantly higher in LC without ascites than in control subjects or in LC with ascites （198.9 ± 55.8 pg/mL vs 40.9 ± 12.3 pg/mL or 32.1 ± 13.3 pg/mL, P 〈 0.05）. Urine nitrite excretion was significantly higher in LC with ascites than in the control subjects or in LC without ascites（ 1170.9± 28.7 μmol/L vs 903.1 ± 55.1 μmol/L or 956.7 ± 47.7 μmol/L, P 〈 0.05）. COMCLUSIOM： Increased intestinal macromolecular permeability and NO is probably of importance in the pathophysiology and progression of LC with ascites, but the serum TNF-α concentration was not related to LC with ascites.
Clusterin, a protein associated with multiple functions, is expressed in a wide variety of mammalian tissues. Although clusterin is known to be involved in neurodegenerative diseases, ageing, and ...tumorigenesis, a detailed analysis of the consequences of gain- or loss-of- function approaches has yet to be performed to understand the underlying mechanisms of clusterin functions. Since clusterin levels change in neurological diseases, it is likely that clusterin contributes to cell death and degeneration in general. Zebrafish was investigated as a model system to study human diseases. During development, zebrafish clusterin was expressed in the notochord and nervous system. Embryonic overexpression of clusterin by mRNA microinjection did not affect axis formation, whereas its knock-down by anti-sense morpholino treatment resulted in neuronal cell death. To analyze the function of clusterin in neurodegeneration, a transgenic zebrafish was investigated, in which nitroreductase expression is regulated under the control of a neuron-specifc huC promoter which is active between the stages of early neuronal precursors and mature neurons. Nitroreductase turns metronidazole into a cytotoxic agent that induces cell death within 12 h. After metronidazole treatment, transgenic zebrafish showed neuron-specific cell death. Interestingly, we also observed a dramatic induction of clusterin expression in the brain and spinal cord in these fish, suggesting a direct or indirect role of clusterin in neuronal cell death and thus, more generally, in neurodegeneration.
We investigated the functional outcomes regarding erectile function and urinary continence up to 5 years following radical prostatectomy （RP） in a cohort of Korean men. We retrospectively analyzed ...the clinicopathologic data of 85 Korean men who received open uni- or bilateral nerve-sparing RP for clinically localized prostate cancer and were followed up for at least 5 years postoperatively. From medical records, patients＇ status regarding urinary and erectile function at baseline and postoperative followups after RP was assessed. At 24 and 60 months after RP, proportions of subjects continent （no pads used） were 89.4% and 97.6%, respectively （P = 0.007）. Excluding subjects （n = 24） who preoperatively reported having severe erectile dysfunction or lacked relevant informations, proportions of subjects capable of having vaginal intercourse regardless of erectile aid usage were 47.5% and 37.7% at 24 and 60 months from RP, respectively （P = 0.022）. Patient＇s age at surgery （P = 0.047） and salvage radiation therapy （P = 0.026） were observed to be significant predictors of having erections sufficient for intercourse at 60 months from RP in multivariate analysis. Our results showed that while patients＇ postoperative status regarding urinary continence at 2 years from RP is generally maintained or improved at 5 year point, erectile function was observed to significantly declined from 2 years to 5 years following RP. Such decline in erectile function following RP may be more significant among men who were relatively older at surgery or those who received salvage therapy during postoperative follow-ups.
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