Predicting survival in locally advanced gastric cancer using prognostic factors - neoadjuvant rectal score and downstaging depth score.

Background: Clinical prediction models are needed to accurately predict the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer who have received neoadjuvant therapy and to determine the best treatment strategies. The aim of this study is to determine the role of two prognostic factors, the neoadjuvant rectal (NAR) score and the downstaging depth score (DDS), in predicting survival in patients with gastric cancer who received neoadjuvant therapy and underwent curative gastrectomy.

Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 129 patients who had been diagnosed with primary gastric cancer and underwent radical gastrectomy after receiving neoadjuvant therapy.

Determination of risk factors for conversion from laparoscopic to open appendectomy in patients with acute appendicitis.

Background: Acute appendicitis is the most common cause of surgical emergencies. It can be difficult to distinguish cases of acute appendicitis that should be managed by laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) from those that should be managed by open surgery. This study aimed to prevent the inappropriate choice of technique and associated complications by identifying potential risk factors for conversion from laparoscopic to open appendectomy (OA) at the time of initial surgical assessment.

Preoperative ALBI grade predicts mortality in patients undergoing curative surgery for pancreatic head cancer.

The clinical significance of the albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade in patients with pancreatic head cancer (PHC) undergoing surgery is unknown. Preoperative ALBI grade is believed to be influenced by tumor burden. This study aimed to develop and validate the ALBI grade as a preoperative prognostic model for predicting the survival of patients with PHC.

Prospective Study on Avoiding Seroma Formation by Flap Fixation After Modified Radical Mastectomy.

Introduction: Seroma development after mastectomy is a common complication. Continued seroma causes increased outpatient visits, repeated aspirations, infection, delayed healing, delayed adjuvant therapy, and increased cost. Various treatments are being attempted to prevent and reduce seroma development.

Investigating Employees' Concerns and Wishes Regarding Digital Stress Management Interventions With Value Sensitive Design: Mixed Methods Study.

Background: Work stress places a heavy economic and disease burden on society. Recent technological advances include digital health interventions for helping employees prevent and manage their stress at work effectively. Although such digital solutions come with an array of ethical risks, especially if they involve biomedical big data, the incorporation of employees' values in their design and deployment has been widely overlooked.

Evaluation of complications after laparoscopic and open appendectomy by the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program surgical risk calculator.

Background: This study aims to evaluate the predictive level of the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) risk calculator for post-appendectomy complications.

Methods: A total of 292 patients who were hospitalized for general appendectomy were included in the study. The age range of the patients was 18-76 years (mean: 35.

Extreme ultraviolet microscope characterization using photomask surface roughness.

We demonstrate a method for characterizing the field-dependent aberrations of a full-field synchrotron-based extreme ultraviolet microscope. The statistical uniformity of the inherent, atomic-scale roughness of readily-available photomask blanks enables a self-calibrating computational procedure using images acquired under standard operation. We characterize the aberrations across a 30-um field-of-view, demonstrating a minimum aberration magnitude of smaller than [Formula: see text] averaged over the center 5-um area, with a measurement accuracy better than [Formula: see text].

Amplitude versus phase effects in extreme ultraviolet lithography mask scattering and imaging.

It is now well established that extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask multilayer roughness leads to wafer-plane line-width roughness (LWR) in the lithography process. Analysis and modeling done to date has assumed, however, that the roughness leading to scatter is primarily a phase effect and that the amplitude can be ignored. Under this assumption, simple scattering measurements can be used to characterize the statistical properties of the mask roughness.

Adaptive spatially resolving detector for the extreme ultraviolet with absolute measuring capability.

A spatially resolving detector for the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) and soft x-ray spectral region is presented. Principle of operation is conversion of XUV radiation to visible light by a scintillator crystal. Luminescence is detected using charge coupled device camera and imaging optics.

Nuclear signalling by tumour-associated antigen EpCAM.

EpCAM was found to be overexpressed on epithelial progenitors, carcinomas and cancer-initiating cells. The role of EpCAM in proliferation, and its association with cancer is poorly explained by proposed cell adhesion functions. Here we show that regulated intramembrane proteolysis activates EpCAM as a mitogenic signal transducer in vitro and in vivo.

Compact soft x-ray microscope using a gas-discharge light source.

We report on a soft x-ray microscope using a gas-discharge plasma with pseudo spark-like electrode geometry as a light source. The source produces a radiant intensity of 4 x 10(13) photons/(sr pulse) for the 2.88 nm emission line of helium-like nitrogen.

The cell wall of the pathogenic bacterium Rhodococcus equi contains two channel-forming proteins with different properties.

We have identified in organic solvent extracts of whole cells of the gram-positive pathogen Rhodococcus equi two channel-forming proteins with different and complementary properties. The isolated proteins were able to increase the specific conductance of artificial lipid bilayer membranes made from phosphatidylcholine-phosphatidylserine mixtures by the formation of channels able to be permeated by ions. The channel-forming protein PorA(Req) (R.