Influence of Body Mass Index,Smoking, and Blood Pressure on Survival of Patients with Surgically-Treated,Low Stage Renal Cell Carcinoma: A 14-Year Retrospective Cohort Study

The association of body mass index, smoking, and blood pressure, which are related to the three well-established risk factors of renal cell carcinoma, and survival in patients with renal cell carcinoma is not much studied. Our objective was to evaluate this association. A cohort of 1,036 patients with low stage (pT1 and pT2) renal cell carcinoma who underwent radical or partial nephrectomy were enrolled. We retrospectively reviewed medical records and collected survival data. The body mass index, smoking status, and blood pressure at the time of surgery were recorded. Patients were grouped according to their obesity grade, smoking status, and hypertension stage. Survival analysis showed a significant decrease in overall (P = 0.001) and cancer-specific survival (P < 0.001) with being underweight, with no differences of smoking status or perioperative blood pressure. On multivariate analysis, perioperative blood pressure ≥ 160/100 mmHg (HR, 2.642; 95% CI, 1.221-5.720) and being underweight (HR, 4.320; 95% CI, 1.557-11.984) were independent predictors of overall and cancer-specific mortality, respectively. Therefore, it is concluded that being underweight and perioperative blood pressure ≥ 160/100 mmHg negatively affect cancer-specific and overall survival, respectively, while smoking status does not influence survivals in patients with renal cell carcinoma.     

The effect of drug dose and duration of adjuvant Amoxicillin-plus-Metronidazole to full-mouth scaling and root planing in periodontitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Clinical Oral Investigations - The aim is to explore the optimal drug dose and duration of adjunctive Amoxicillin-plus-Metronidazole (AMX/MET) to full-mouth scaling and planing (FMSRP) in...     

Wear of 3D printed and CAD/CAM milled interim resin materials after chewing simulation

PURPOSEThe purpose of this in vitro study was to investigate the wear resistance and surface roughness of three interim resin materials, which were subjected to chewing simulation.MATERIALS AND METHODSThree interim resin materials were evaluated: (1) three-dimensional (3D) printed (digital light processing type), (2) computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) milled, and (3) conventional polymethyl methacrylate interim resin materials. A total of 48 substrate specimens were prepared. The specimens were divided into two subgroups and subjected to 30,000 or 60,000 cycles of chewing simulation (n = 8). The wear volume loss and surface roughness of the materials were compared. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way analysis of variance and Tukey''s post-hoc test (α=.05).RESULTSThe mean ± standard deviation values of wear volume loss (in mm³) against the metal abrader after 60,000 cycles were 0.10 ± 0.01 for the 3D printed resin, 0.21 ± 0.02 for the milled resin, and 0.44 ± 0.01 for the conventional resin. Statistically significant differences among volume losses were found in the order of 3D printed, milled, and conventional interim materials (P<.001). After 60,000 cycles of simulated chewing, the mean surface roughness (Ra; μm) values for 3D printed, milled, and conventional materials were 0.59 ± 0.06, 1.27 ± 0.49, and 1.64 ± 0.44, respectively. A significant difference was found in the Ra value between 3D printed and conventional materials (P=.01).CONCLUSIONThe interim restorative materials for additive and subtractive manufacturing digital technologies exhibited less wear volume loss than the conventional interim resin. The 3D printed interim restorative material showed a smoother surface than the conventional interim material after simulated chewing.     

A Nationwide Study on the Incidence of Breast Cancer in Korean Women with Osteoporosis Receiving Raloxifene Treatment

PurposeRaloxifene is a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), and raloxifene treatment for osteoporosis is reimbursable under the Korean National Health Insurance. Evidence suggests that SERMs use reduces the risk of breast cancer in Asian population. Herein, we retrospectively investigated the protective effect of raloxifene on breast cancer rates in Korean population.MethodsUsing the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service database, we selected women with osteoporosis aged 50 years and above. Patients treated for at least 2 years with raloxifene were assigned to the user group, whereas the remaining patients were assigned to the non-user group. The effect on breast cancer risk was assessed using the Cox proportional-hazards model with a time-dependent covariate to adjust for immortal time bias.ResultsA total of 322,870 women who were registered between 2010 and 2011 were included. The user group comprised 0.7% (n = 2,307) of the total population. The mean age was 65.7 ± 8.0 years and 67.2 ± 8.6 years in the user and non-user groups, respectively (p < 0.001). There was no difference in the previous use of estrogen replacement between the 2 groups (p = 0.087). The incidence of breast cancer per 1,000 person-years was 0.49 (n = 8) and 0.68 (n = 1,714) in the user and non-user groups, respectively (hazard ratio [HR], 0.63, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.32–1.27). HR decreased with increase in the treatment duration, but this change was not statistically significant (HR, 1.00, 95% CI, 0.32–3.11 in 2–3 years; HR, 0.63, 95% CI, 0.20–1.94 in 3–4 years; and HR, 0.41, 95% CI, 0.10–1.65 in 4–5 years).ConclusionLong-term treatment with raloxifene in women with osteoporosis was not significantly associated with a reduction in breast cancer rates. However, further investigation is required for a conclusive proof.     

The location and morphometry of the thyroid isthmus in adult Korean cadavers

The thyroid isthmus has different measurements in its width, height, and thickness, and its location with respect to the tracheal rings has been inconsistent, among the anatomical literature. This study was performed to clarify the location and morphometric characteristics of the thyroid isthmus. One hundred thyroid isthmuses of adult Korean cadavers (gender 58 males and 42 females, mean age 62.9 years, range 19–94 years) were used for this study. The distances from the inferior border of the cricoid cartilage to the superior and inferior margins of the isthmus were 4.9 ± 3.7 and 20.8 ± 5.8 mm, respectively. The width, height, and thickness of the thyroid isthmus were 11.1 ± 6.2, 15.9 ± 5.8 and 3.4 ± 1.7 mm, respectively. The thyroid isthmus was located on the 2nd to 4th, 1st to 3rd, and 1st to 4th tracheal rings, in 22, 18 and 18 % of the specimens, respectively. These results are expected to further the current knowledge of the location and morphometry of the thyroid isthmus and provide helpful information for surgical procedures in this region.     

Highly crystalline nickel hexacyanoferrate as a long-life cathode material for sodium-ion batteries

Prussian blue analogs (PBAs) are attractive cathode candidates for high energy density, including long life-cycle rechargeable batteries, due to their non-toxicity, facile synthesis techniques and low cost. Nevertheless, traditionally synthesized PBAs tend to have a flawed crystal structure with a large amount of [Fe(CN)₆]⁴⁻ openings and the presence of crystal water in the framework; therefore the specific capacity achieved has continuously been low with poor cycling stability. Herein, we demonstrate low-defect and sodium-enriched nickel hexacyanoferrate nanocrystals synthesized by a facile low-speed co-precipitation technique assisted by a chelating agent to overcome these problems. As a consequence, the prepared high-quality nickel hexacyanoferrate (HQ-NiHCF) exhibited a high specific capacity of 80 mA h g⁻¹ at 15 mA g⁻¹ (with a theoretical capacity of ∼85 mA h g⁻¹), maintaining a notable cycling stability (78 mA h g⁻¹ at 170 mA g⁻¹ current density) without noticeable fading in capacity retention after 1200 cycles. This low-speed synthesis strategy for PBA-based electrode materials could be also extended to other energy storage materials to fabricate high-performance rechargeable batteries.

A low-speed synthesis strategy was designed to fabricate Prussian blue analog based electrode materials for high-performance rechargeable batteries.     

Distinguishing between halogenated alkanes containing the same halogen based on the reaction kinetic parameter using negative ion mobility spectrometry at atmospheric pressure

Electron adsorption ionization ion mobility spectrometry can be used to detect halogen-containing volatile organic compounds with high sensitivity. However, this traditional electron attachment detection method cannot distinguish between volatile organic compounds containing the same halogen. For different organic compounds containing the same halogen, the product ions formed by the dissociation electron attachment process are the same. In this article, we propose a novel negative corona discharge ion mobility spectrometry method to distinguish between and detect halogenated alkanes containing the same halogen according to the different electron attachment rates and reaction kinetic parameters of the different halogenated alkanes. Although these halogenated alkanes, which contain the same halogen, produce the same type of ions through the electron attachment process, their electron attachment rates are different from each other. In this work, the kinetic information is used as the fingerprint information for the tested samples to distinguish different halogenated alkanes. Five halogenated alkanes were successfully detected using this method. The results show that the method based on the electron attachment rate constant is feasible for the determination of halogenated alkanes containing the same halogen.

Electron attachment ionization ion mobility spectrometry can be used to detect halogen-containing volatile organic compounds with high sensitivity.