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Background and Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effect of stenting‐related factors, including endoscopists' expertise, on clinical outcomes after bridge‐to‐surgery (BTS) stenting for obstructive colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods: We analyzed BTS stenting‐related factors, including stenting expertise and the interval between stenting and surgery, in 233 patients (63 [13] years, 137 male) who underwent BTS stenting for obstructive CRC. We evaluated the influence of these factors on post‐BTS stenting clinical outcomes such as stent‐related complications and cancer recurrence. Results: The interval between stenting and surgery was ≤ 7 days in 79 patients (33.9%) and > 7 days in 154 patients (66.1%). BTS stenting was performed by endoscopists with ≤ 50, 51–100, and > 100 prior stenting experiences in 94, 43, and, 96 patients, respectively. The clinical success rate of BTS stenting was 93.1%. Stent‐related and postoperative complications developed in 19 (8.2%) and 20 (8.6%) patients, respectively. Cancer recurrence occurred in 76 patients (32.6%). Short BTS interval of ≤ 7 days increased the risk of postoperative complications (odds ratio [OR], 2.61 [1.03–6.75]; P = 0.043). Endoscopists' stenting experience > 100 showed greater clinical success of stenting (OR, 5.50 [1.45–28.39]; P = 0.021) and fewer stent‐related complications (OR, 0.26 [0.07–0.80]; P = 0.028) compared with stenting experience ≤ 50. BTS stenting‐related factors did not affect long‐term oncological outcomes. Conclusion: Greater expertise of endoscopists was associated with better short‐term outcomes, including high stenting success rate and low rate of stent‐related complications after BTS stenting for obstructive CRC. An interval of > 7 days between BTS stenting and surgery was required to decrease postoperative complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Software‐defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) help reduce the operating expenditure (OPEX) and capital expenditure (CAPEX) as well as increase the network flexibility and agility. However, since the network is more dynamic and heterogeneous than before, operators have problems to cope with the increased complexity of managing virtual networks and machines. This complexity is paired with strict time requirements for making management decisions; traditional mechanisms that rely on, for example, integer linear programming (ILP) models are no longer feasible. Machine learning has emerged as one of the possible solution to address network management problems to get near‐optimal solutions in a short time. However, applying machine learning to network management is also not simple and has many challenges. Especially, understanding the network environment is an important problem for designing a machine learning model. In this paper, we proposed to use graph neural network (GNN) for virtual network function (VNF) management. The proposed model solves the complex VNF management problem in a short time and gets near‐optimal solutions. We developed a model by taking into account various network environment conditions so that it can be applied in the actual network environment. Also, through in‐depth experiments, we suggested the direction of the machine learning‐based network management method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intraoperative bleeding during laser treatment of benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) often impedes cystoscopic vision, necessitating the use of conventional hemostatic devices. This study proposes an optical technique to improve the efficacy of photothermal hemostasis of bleeders during laser prostatectomy by temporally modulating a 532 nm laser beam. A perfused porcine kidney model is established to quantitatively investigate various optical pulse patterns and irradiation modes. Thermal simulations demonstrate a high success rate of complete hemostasis achieved by the modulated 532 nm pulse pattern. In comparison to the irradiation modes typically employed for hemostasis, the modulated 532 nm mode exhibits a short coagulation time and minimal thermal injury. ex vivo and in vivo cystoscopic observations validate the clinical feasibility of the proposed optical energy modulation method to regulate intraoperative bleeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) is a hybrid imaging modality with high resolution and sensitivity that can be beneficial for cancer staging. Due to insufficient endogenous photoacoustic (PA) contrast, the development of exogenous agents is critical in targeting cancerous tumors. The current study demonstrates the feasibility of marine-oriented material, astaxanthin, as a biocompatible PA contrast agent. Both silicon tubing phantoms and ex vivo bladder tissues are tested at various concentrations (up to 5 mg/ml) of astaxanthin to quantitatively explore variations in PA responses. A Q-switched Nd : YAG laser ( λ = 532 nm) in conjunction with a 5 MHz ultrasound transducer is employed to generate and acquire PA signals from the samples. The phantom results presented that the PA signal amplitudes increase linearly with the astaxanthin concentrations (threshold detection = 0.31 mg/ml). The tissue injected with astaxanthin yields up to 16-fold higher PA signals, compared with that with saline. Due to distribution of the injected astaxanthin, PAI can image the margin of astaxanthin boles as well as quantify their volume in 3D reconstruction. Further investigations on selective tumor targeting are required to validate astaxanthin as a potential biocompatible contrast agent for PAI-assisted bladder cancer detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of thermal therapeutic methods have been investigated to treat bladder tumors but often cause bowel injury and bladder wall perforation due to high treatment dosage and limited clinical margins. The objective of the current study is to develop a dual-thermal modality to deeply coagulate the bladder tumors at low thermal dosage and to evaluate therapeutic outcomes with high contrast photoacoustic imaging (PAI). High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is combined with 532 nm laser light to enhance therapeutic depth during thermal treatments on artificial tumor-injected bladder tissue ex vivo. PAI is employed to identify the margins of the tumors pre- and post-treatments. The dual-thermal modality achieves 3- and 1.8-fold higher transient temperature changes and 2.2- and 1.5-fold deeper tissue denaturation than laser and HIFU, respectively. PAI vividly identifies the position of the injected tumor and entails approximately 7.9 times higher image contrast from the coagulated tumor as that from the untreated tumor. Spectroscopic analysis exhibits that both 740 nm and 760 nm attains the maximum photoacoustic amplitudes from the treated areas. The proposed PAI-guided dual-thermal treatments (laser and HIFU) treatments can be a feasible therapeutic modality to treat bladder tumors in a controlled and efficient manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On page 10, an equation label (13) was inadvertently added on an incorrect displayed equation. In Kim et al,[1] the following errors were published on page 10 and Tables 6 to 10. While on Tables 6 to 10, the word "Data center" was mistakenly changed to "Data left" throughout the article. [Extracted from the article]

Sea fog occurs frequently around the Korean Peninsula during April to July and is considered a major marine meteorological disaster, causing serious transport accidents and socioeconomic losses. Fog-related marine accidents represent 29.5% of the total marine accidents in Korea, which mainly occur along domestic ship routes during night time. In this study, an algorithm for sea fog monitoring using information technologies was developed to reduce fog-related marine accidents and to manage marine transportation, offshore and coastal fisheries, and naval operations. A dual channel difference (DCD) method using the 3.9 and 10.8 µm channels and texture-related measurements from the Multi-functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT) is applied to detect sea fog. To delineate the probable area of sea fog, the threshold value of − 2.0 K on the DCD is regarded as an indication of areas of sea fog and low cloud. A Laplacian calculation of the 10.8 µm brightness temperature is proposed as the texture-related measurement for sea fog. The threshold value of the Laplacian calculation is 0.1. An algorithm based on a combination of information technology (IT)-based navigation and sea fog detection technologies was developed to provide warnings to sea-going ships that may encounter fog-related danger. The algorithm checks the geometric relationship between the detected sea fog area and parameters related to the ship, such as its current position, sailing direction and speed, and sailing route. If the algorithm determines that the ship may be in danger, a warning is provided to the ship and a change of route is recommended. Copyright © 2012 Royal Meteorological Society [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Zn (II), Pd (II) and Cd (II) complexes, [(L)nMX2]m (L = L‐a–L‐c; M = Zn, Pd; X = Cl; M = Cd; X = Br; n, m = 1 or 2), containing 4‐methoxy‐N‐(pyridin‐2‐ylmethylene) aniline (L‐a), 4‐methoxy‐N‐(pyridin‐2‐ylmethyl) aniline (L‐b) and 4‐methoxy‐N‐methyl‐N‐(pyridin‐2‐ylmethyl) aniline (L‐c) have been synthesized and characterized. The X‐ray crystal structures of Pd (II) complexes [L1PdCl2] (L = L‐b and L‐c) revealed distorted square planar geometries obtained via coordinative interaction of the nitrogen atoms of pyridine and amine moieties and two chloro ligands. The geometry around Zn (II) center in [(L‐a)ZnCl2] and [(L‐c)ZnCl2] can be best described as distorted tetrahedral, whereas [(L‐b)2ZnCl2] and [(L‐b)2CdBr2] achieved 6‐coordinated octahedral geometries around Zn and Cd centers through 2‐equivalent ligands, respectively. In addition, a dimeric [(L‐c)Cd(μ‐Br)Br]2 complex exhibited typical 5‐coordinated trigonal bipyramidal geometry around Cd center. The polymerization of methyl methacrylate in the presence of modified methylaluminoxane was evaluated by all the synthesized complexes at 60°C. Among these complexes, [(L‐b)PdCl2] showed the highest catalytic activity [3.80 × 104 g poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/mol Pd hr−1], yielding high molecular weight (9.12 × 105 g mol−1) PMMA. Syndio‐enriched PMMA (characterized using 1H‐NMR spectroscopy) of about 0.68 was obtained with Tg in the range 120–128°C. Unlike imine and amine moieties, the introduction of N‐methyl moiety has an adverse effect on the catalytic activity, but the syndiotacticity remained unaffected. Zn (II), Pd (II) and Cd (II) complexes with 4‐methoxy‐N‐(pyridin‐2‐ylmethylene)aniline exhibited diverse coordination geometries. Higher activity with modest syndiotacticity has been displayed by Pd (II) initiators towards MMA polymerization compared with its Zn (II) and Cd (II) analogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of late transition metal complexes, [(bpma)Co(μ–Cl)Cl]2, [(bpma)Cu(μ–Cl)Cl]2, [(bpma)Zn(μ–Cl)Cl]2 and [(bpma)Cd(μ–Br)Br]2 (where bpma is 4‐bromo‐N‐((pyridin‐2‐yl)methylene)benzenamine) have been synthesized and structurally characterized. The X‐ray structures of dimeric complexes [(bpma)M(μ–X)X]2 (M = Co, Cu and Zn, X = Cl; M = Cd, X = Br) showed a distorted 5‐coordinate trigonal bipyramidal geometry involving two nitrogen atoms of N,N‐bidentate ligand, two bridged and one terminal halogen atoms. The complex [(bpma)Cu(μ–Cl)Cl]2 revealed the highest catalytic activity for the polymerisation of methyl methacrylate in the presence of modified methylaluminoxane with an activity of 9.14 × 104 g PMMA/mol·Cu·h at 60 °C and afforded syndiotactic poly (methylmethacrylate) (rr = 0.69). Novel late transition metal complexes with 4‐bromo‐N(2‐pyridinylmethylene) benzenamine presented distorted trigonal bipyramidal geometries. Cu (II) initiator effectively catalysed MMA and yielded syndio‐enriched PMMA. The activity of synthesized complexes can be considered as a function of electronic density around the metal centre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]