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Strategies for the enhancement of gas sensing properties, and specifically the improvement of gas selectivity of metal oxide semiconductor nanowire (NW) networks grown by chemical vapor deposition and thermal evaporation, are reviewed. Highly crystalline NWs grown by vapor-phase routes have various advantages, and thus have been applied in the field of gas sensors over the years. In particular, n-type NWs such as SnO2, ZnO, and In2O3 are widely studied because of their simple synthetic preparation and high gas response. However, due to their usually high responses to C2H5OH and NO2, the selective detection of other harmful and toxic gases using oxide NWs remains a challenging issue. Various strategies—such as doping/loading of noble metals, decorating/doping of catalytic metal oxides, and the formation of core–shell structures—have been explored to enhance gas selectivity and sensitivity, and are discussed herein. Additional methods such as the transformation of n-type into p-type NWs and the formation of catalyst-doped hierarchical structures by branch growth have also proven to be promising for the enhancement of gas selectivity. Accordingly, the physicochemical modification of oxide NWs via various methods provides new strategies to achieve the selective detection of a specific gas, and after further investigations, this approach could pave a new way in the field of NW-based semiconductor-type gas sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Natural history of young patients with bladder cancer has not yet been known. So this study aimed to understand characteristics and prognosis of patients less than 40 years with bladder cancer. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 42 patients (group 1) less than 40 years with bladder cancer followed up for 6 months at least from October 1998 to January 2010. As controlled group (group 2) consisted 44 patients of 60 years or more who had same condition as above mentioned from January to December 2009 was set. Tumor size and number, pathological results, urine cytology results and recurrence rate were reviewed. Results: The mean ages and the gender distribution in the two groups showed no difference. Tumor size (P = 0.021) and number (P = 0.016) in group 1 was smaller than control. The proportion of muscle invasive type was not significant, but pTa in group 1 was occupied larger portion than group 2 (P = 0.01). Group 1 had more low grade cancer (P = 0.013), and lower recurrence rate (7.1%) than group 2 (38.6%) (P = 0.001). In addition, the mean recurrence free duration of group 1 and 2 were 37.7 ± 6.3 and 9.9 ± 2.5 months, respectively. Group 1 showed later relapse than group 2 (P = 0.002). No progression in stage at recurrence was in group 1, but 1 case had progression in group 2. In grade, 1 case was worsen in group 1 and 3 cases were worsen in group 2. Conclusions: These results suggested that young patients with bladder cancer was expected better prognosis than older patients [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cd1-xMnxS (x = 0.1−0.3) nanowires were synthesized by using the chemical vapor deposition method. They all consist of a single-crystalline wurtzite CdS structure with a [010] or [011] growth direction. The X-ray diffraction pattern reveals the contraction of the lattice constants due to the incorporation of Mn. The Mn2+ emission at ∼2.15 eV, originating from the d−d (4T1 → 6A1) transition, appears below 50−80 K. Its decay time is in the range of 0.55−1 ms, showing a decrease with increasing Mn content. The Mn doping reduces significantly the decay time of band-edge emission from 590 ps to 20−30 ps. Upon applying magnetic field (up to 7 T), the Mn2+ emission is suppressed and donor−acceptor pair emission becomes dominant, suggesting the energy transfer from the band electrons to the Mn2+ ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

R-curve behavior of Si3N4-BN composites and monolithic Si3N4 for comparison was investigated. Si3N4-BN composites showed a slowly rising R-curve behavior in contrast with a steep R-curve of monolithic Si3N4. BN platelets in the composites seem to decrease the crack bridging effects of rod-shaped Si3N4 grains for small cracks, but enhanced the toughness for long cracks as they increased the crack bridging scale. Therefore, fracture toughness of the composites was relatively low for the small cracks, but it increased significantly to ∼8 MPa·m½ when the crack grew longer than 700 μm, becoming even higher than that of the monolithic Si3N4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We aimed to analyze the characteristics and management of bladder and urethral injuries in Korea by use of the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) database. Materials and Methods: Data from the NHIS database representative of all cases of Korean bladder injury (n=4,631) and urethral injury (n=17,858) reported between 2012 and 2016 were analyzed. We used the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, clinical modification codes to identify the diagnoses. Results: A total of 491 males (1.97/100,000) and 590 females (2.39/100,000) experienced bladder injury in 2012, and 449 males (1.76/100,000) and 624 females (2.47/100,000) in 2016. The risk of bladder injury was higher in female than in male (hazard ratio [HR], 1.267; p<0.001). The annual incidence of bladder injury did not increase (HR, 0.992; p=0.409). A total of 2,886 (62.3%) patients were managed with conservative treatment, and 1,745 (37.7%) patients underwent surgical treatment. A total of 4,114 males (16.5/100,000) and 285 females (1.2/100,000) had urethral injury in 2012, while 4,465 males (17.5/100,000) and 303 females (1.2/100,000) had urethral injury in 2016. The incidence of urethral injury is increasing annually (HR, 1.010; p=0.036). Conclusions: The incidence of urethral injury increased continuously over the years studied, whereas that of bladder injury remained unchanged in Korea. The incidence of bladder injury was higher in females, and more than 90% of total urethral injuries were reported in males. This is the first study to evaluate the epidemiology of bladder and urethral injury using a nationwide population database. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Korean Association of Urogenital Tract Infection and Inflammation and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency updated the Korean sexually transmitted infections (STIs) guidelines to respond to the changing epidemiologic trends, evolving scientific evidence, and advances in laboratory diagnostics and research. The main recommendations in the Mycoplasma genitalium infection parts of the Korean STIs guidelines 2023 revision are as follows: 1) For initial treatment: azithromycin 500 mg orally in a single dose, then 250 mg once daily for 4 days. 2) In case of treatment failure or recurrence, a macrolide susceptibility/resistance test is required, when susceptibility/resistance test is not feasible, doxycycline or minocycline 100 mg orally twice daily for 7 days, followed by azithromycin 1 g orally on the first day, then azithromycin 500 mg orally once daily for 3 days and then a test-of-cure should be considered 3 weeks after completion of therapy. 3) In case of macrolide sensitivity, doxycycline or minocycline 100 mg orally twice daily for 7 days, followed by azithromycin 1 g orally initial dose, then azithromycin 500 mg orally once daily for 3 days. 4) In case of macrolide resistance, doxycycline or minocycline 100 mg orally twice daily for 7 days, followed by moxifloxacin 400 mg orally once daily for 7 days. In the Korean STIs guideline 2023, macrolide resistance-guided antimicrobial therapy was emphasized due to the increased prevalence of macrolide resistance worldwide. Therefore, in case of treatment failure or recurrence, a macrolide susceptibility/resistance test is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cd-doped -MnS nanowires (av diam 70 nm) were synthesized by the chemical vapor deposition of MnCl2/CdS powders. They all consisted of single-crystalline rock-salt MnS structures with the 111 growth direction. The X-ray diffraction pattern analysis indicates that 10% Cd doping would expand the lattice constants by 0.3%. As the content of Cd increases, the band edge emission band (2.9 eV) of photoluminescence becomes broader, and the Mn2emission band (1.6 eV), which emerged at temperatures below ∼150 K, decreases in intensity. The decay time of the 1.6 eV band decreases from 40 to 30 s when the Cd doping is increased from 0 to 10%. In contrast to the bulk (TN 150 K), the MnS nanowires were found to be paramagnetic with antiferromagnetic interactions. These distinctive magnetic properties of the nanowires have a strong correlation with their photoluminescence, which could be influenced by the nanosize effect and the Cd doping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilayered piezoelectric micro-diaphragms have been successfully fabricated by micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) processing. The micro-diaphragms consisted of diol based sol-gel derived Pb(Zr 0.52 Ti 0.48 )O 3 (PZT) capacitor, sputtered Pt electrode, and low temperature oxide(LTO)/SiN x /Si substrate. The PZT film exhibited (111) oriented structure. The dielectric constant and loss of the PZT thin films were 800 and 3% at 100&nvsim; 100 kHz, respectively. The remanent polarization was 20 μ C/cm 2 . The lateral dimension of the PZT film was varied relative to the square-shaped supporting membrane with 300 or 400 μ m length. The relative size (ratio of lateral dimensions) of the PZT film to the supporting membrane was varied from 0.7 to 1.1 to investigate its influence on the system performance. The micro-diaphragm exhibited mechanical displacement from 0.067 to 0.135 μ m at 15 V and had a maximum displacement at a ratio of relative size of 0.8, regardless of the lateral size of the supporting membrane. The fundamental resonant frequency of the micro-diaphragm which has 300 μ m length supporting membrane was in the range of 348 kHz to 365 kHz, depending on the relative size. As the PZT size increased relative to the supporting membrane, the resonant frequency decreased and reached a minimum at the relative size of 0.8. The micro-diaphragm with the supporting membrane (400 μ m length) had a lower resonant frequency, i.e., 251&nvsim;270 kHz, but showed a similar behavior to the micro-diaphragm with the supporting membrane (300 μ m length) in relation to the resonant frequencies with the relative size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-density Zn0.85In0.15O and Zn0.75In0.25O nanowires were synthesized by thermal evaporation method. They consist of single-crystalline wurtzite ZnO structure with uniform [010] growth direction. X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals the structural defects caused by the In incorporation. X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS) analysis suggests that In withdraw the electrons from Zn and increase the dangling-bond O 2p states. The lower energy shift and green-band enhancement of photoluminescence are well correlated with the results of XRD and XPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Three-quarters of aged men experience lower urinary tract symptoms with benign prostate hypertrophy (BPH). Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) and holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) are standard endosurgical procedures in patients with BPH. Previous studies reported better results in patients undergoing HoLEP than in those undergoing TURP. Methods: This study compared the efficiency and safety of conventional morcellation and morcellation performed after X-incision during enucleation, a newly added technique in HoLEP. Overall, 174 patients were selected as the final study population. The populations were stratified with respect to resected volumes. A t-test were used to compare the conventional morcellation and X-incision procedure groups. Results: In morcellation times and rates, there were significant differences in stratified resected mass (g) between the groups. The results also showed a decreased incidence of bladder injury as a surgical complication. Conclusion: We believe morcellation performed after X-incision procedure during enucleation is efficient and safe for older adults with BPH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This retrospective study examined the safety and efficacy of transurethral enucleation with bipolar energy (TUEB) for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), based on initial experiences. Methods: In this study, 2 surgeons performed TUEB on 23 patients between January 2014 and April 2017. The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), quality of life (QoL), digital rectal examination, transrectal ultrasonography, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, maximum flow rate (Qmax), and postvoid residual urine (PVR) were used as variables. Resected prostate volume (g), resection time, efficiency of resection, change in hemoglobin, and indwelling Foley catheter duration were used to assess the efficacy of TUEB. Foley catheter reinsertion rate, occurrence of urethral or bladder neck stricture, urinary incontinence, and bladder injury were evaluated as complications of TUEB. Results: Mean age was 70.3±8.3 years. Mean prostate volume was 55.1±33.9 g. Preoperative and 1-month postoperative PSA, IPSS, QoL, Qmax, and PVR data were collected and showed significant difference. Resected prostate volume, resection time, resection efficiency, indwelling Foley catheter duration, and change in hemoglobin values were 22.9±14.7 g, 109.6±60.3 minutes, 0.23±0.13 g/min, 4.7±4.7 days, and 0.9±0.7 g/dL, respectively. Following TUEB, incontinence occurred in 2 patients and acute urinary retention in 2 (8.7%). Conclusion: Our initial experience suggests that TUEB is efficient and safe for patients with BPH. However, the study was limited by the small number of subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To assess the functional outcomes and morbidity in patients undergoing holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) with and without previous transurethral prostate surgery. Methods: Patients were stratified into two groups, 558 patients who underwent primary HoLEP (group I) and 50 patients who underwent 'secondary-HoLEP' with prior transurethral prostate surgery (group II). Results: There were no significant differences in the preoperative parameters (median age, International Prostate Symptom Score [IPSS], prostate-specific antigen [PSA], prostate volume, maximum urinary flow rate [Qmax], and postvoid residual urine volume [PVR]). No significant intraoperative differences were noted in the use of total energy, resected volume, enucleation time, resection efficiency, and mean catheterization time. There were significant improvements in Qmax, PVR, and IPSS in both groups. Complications in groups I and II included 19 (3.1%) and 1 (2.0%) bladder injuries, 25 (4.4%) and 2 (4.0%) recatheterization for transient voiding difficulty, 20 (3.5%) and 2 (4%) cases of severe hematuria requiring additional treatment, and 5 (0.8%) and 0 cases for remorcellation due to remaining adenoma. Transient incontinence was the most common complication for both groups I and II, 30 cases (5.4%) and 3 cases (6.0%) respectively. Urinary tract infection showed improvement subsequent to antibiotic treatment. During the 6 month follow-up period, urethral stricture occurred in 7 cases (1.3%) for group I and in 1 case (2.0%) for group II. Conclusion: There were no significant differences in functional outcomes and morbidity between the two groups. 'Secondary- HoLEP' seems to be effective and safe for patients with prior BPH surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly sinterable gadolinia doped ceria (GDC) powders are prepared by carbonate coprecipitation and applied to the GDC interlayer in Ni–YSZ (yttria stabilized zirconia)-supported tubular solid oxide fuel cell in order to prevent the reaction between YSZ electrolyte and LSCF (La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3−δ) cathode materials. The formation of highly resistive phase at the YSZ/LSCF interface was effectively blocked by the low-temperature densification of GDC interlayer using carbonate-derived active GDC powders and the suppression of Sr diffusion toward YSZ electrolyte via GDC interlayer by tuning the heat-treatment temperature for cathode fabrication. The power density of the cell with the configuration of Ni–YSZ/YSZ/GDC/LSCF–GDC/LSCF was as high as 906 mW cm−2, which was 2.0 times higher than that (455 mW cm−2) of the cell with the configuration of Ni–YSZ/YSZ/LSM(La0.8Sr0.2MnO3−δ)–YSZ/LSM at 750 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We attempted to evaluate the perioperative complications of holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) for benign prostatic hyperplasia by using the modified Clavien classification system (MCCS). Materials and Methods: Targeting 402 patients who underwent HoLEP for benign prostatic hyperplasia performed by a single surgeon between July 2008 and January 2011, we investigated complications that occurred during and within 1 month after surgery and classified them into grade I to grade V on the basis of the MCCS. If two or more complications occurred in one patient, each complication was graded and counted. Results: The mean age, prostate volume, operation time, hospital stay, and average follow-up period of 402 patients who underwent HoLEP were 68.8 years (range, 52-84 years), 53.2 g (range, 23-228 g), 58.2 minutes (range, 20-230 minutes), 4.5 days (range, 2-7 days), and 9 months (range, 4-27 months), respectively; 78 complications occurred in 71 of the patients (morbidity rate, 17.6%). In MCCS grade I, complications occurred in 54 cases (69.2%); in grade II, complications occurred in 19 cases (24.3%); in grade III, complications occurred in 4 cases (5.1%); and in grade IV, 1 patient required intensive care unit care because of cerebral infarction (1.2%). There were no grade V complications. Conclusions: The HoLEP-based MCCS complications classification was performed very quickly. However, MCCS, when compared with other measures of endoscopic prostate surgery experiences, including HoLEP, exposed the lack of accuracy in low grade classification and the inability to include late complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jang K-S, Song Y S, Jang S-H, Min K-W, Na W, Jang S M, Jun Y J, Lee K H, Choi D & Paik S S (2010) Histopathology 56, 229–239 Clinicopathological significance of nuclear PTEN expression in colorectal adenocarcinoma Aims: Tumour suppressor phosphatase and tensin homologue ( PTEN) is an important negative regulator for the PIP3/Akt signalling pathway that promotes cell proliferation and inhibits apoptosis. Inactivation of PTEN by mutation, deletion and promoter hypermethylation has been demonstrated in a range of cancers. The aim was to investigate whether the loss of nuclear PTEN protein expression correlates with conventional clinicopathological parameters and patient survival. Methods and results: Immunohistochemistry staining for PTEN was performed on a tissue microarray of 19 samples of normal colonic mucosa, 14 adenomatous polyps, 482 adenocarcinomas and 56 metastatic lymph nodes. All 19 normal colonic mucosa samples (100%) were positive and 12 (85.7%) out of 14 adenomatous polyps were positive for PTEN. However, only 241 (50.0%) of the 482 colorectal adenocarcinomas and 26 (46.4%) of the 56 metastatic lymph nodes were positive for PTEN. Loss of PTEN expression was related to defective mismatch repair protein expression and colonic localization rather than rectal localization. On univariate survival analysis, patients with PTEN− adenocarcinoma revealed a poor overall and disease-free survival ( P = 0.030 and P = 0.046, respectively). On multivariate analysis, a significant difference was observed in patients with stage II cancer that was not observed in other stages. Conclusions: Nuclear PTEN expression gradually decrease during the normal–adenoma–adenocarcinoma–metastasis sequence, which suggests an important role for PTEN in carcinogenesis. Moreover, loss of nuclear PTEN expression was a marker of poor clinical outcome in patients with stage II colorectal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]