ARPES detection of superconducting gap sign in unconventional superconductors.

The superconducting gap symmetry is crucial in understanding the underlying superconductivity mechanism. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) has played a key role in determining the gap symmetry in unconventional superconductors. However, it has been considered so far that ARPES can only measure the magnitude of the superconducting gap but not its phase; the phase has to be detected by other phase-sensitive techniques.

Volunteer Plants' Occurrence and the Environmental Adaptability of Genetically Modified Fodder Corn upon Unintentional Release into the Environment.

The number of corn cultivars that have been improved using genetically modified technology continues to increase. However, concerns about the unintentional release of living-modified organisms (LMOs) into the environment still exist. Specifically, there are cases where LMO crops grown as fodder are released into the environment and form a volunteer plant community, which raises concerns about their safety.

Risk Factors and Patterns of Locoregional Recurrence after Radical Nephrectomy for Locally Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Purpose: We aimed to investigate the risk factors and patterns of locoregional recurrence (LRR) after radical nephrectomy (RN) in patients with locally advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 245 patients who underwent RN for non-metastatic pT3-4 RCC from January 2006 to January 2016. We analyzed the risk factors associated with poor locoregional control using Cox regression.

A Phase II Trial of Tipifarnib for Patients with Previously Treated, Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma Harboring Mutations.

Purpose: To assess the antitumor activity and safety of tipifarnib, a highly potent and selective farnesyltransferase inhibitor, we performed a phase II clinical trial in patients with advanced and refractory urothelial carcinoma harboring missense mutations.

Patients And Methods: A total of 245 adult patients with previously treated, advanced urothelial carcinoma entered the molecular screening program including . Those with missense mutations or :rs2075606 received oral tipifarnib 900 mg twice daily on days 1-7 and 15-21 of 28-day treatment cycles.

Role of Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Advanced Stage Upper Urinary Tract Urothelial Carcinoma after Radical Nephroureterectomy: Competing Risk Analysis after Propensity Score-Matching.

: To determine whether adjuvant chemotherapy (ACH) influences cancer-specific mortality, bladder cancer-specific mortality, and other-cause mortality in patients with locally advanced upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) following radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) through the use of competing risk analysis. : Among 785 patients with UTUC who underwent RNU from 1994 through 2015, we analyzed 338 individuals with locally advanced UTUC (pathologic T3-T4 and/or positive lymph nodes) without distant metastases. Patients were classified into two groups according to receipt of ACH.

Novel Predictive Models of Early Death Less Than 1 Year in Patients With Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma After Treatment With First-line Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors.

Background: We aimed to develop a modified International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium (IMDC) model that can predict early death less than 1 year in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) after receiving first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs).

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed records of patients with mRCC treated with first-line TKIs at our institution between 2007 and 2012. The primary endpoint was the rate of early death within 1 year after first-line TKI administration.

Genomic analysis of Korean patients with advanced prostate cancer by use of a comprehensive next-generation sequencing panel and low-coverage, whole-genome sequencing.

Purpose: To analyze the characteristics of somatic mutations and copy number alterations (CNAs) in Korean patients with advanced prostate cancer (PCa) by use of the Oncomine Comprehensive Panel (ThermoFisher Scientific) and low-coverage, whole-genome sequencing (LC-WGS).

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed PCa tissues obtained from 14 patients with advanced PCa (metastatic tumor, 12 [85.7%]; nonmetastatic castration-resistant PCa, 1 [7.

A retrospective feasibility study of biweekly docetaxel in patients with high-risk metastatic castration-naïve prostate cancer.

Background: Results from randomized phase III trials have shown that thrice-weekly docetaxel added to androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) has a significant impact on the survival of patients with metastatic castration-naïve prostate cancer (mCNPC) and established early chemotherapy as part of the standard of care for high-risk disease. Controversy remains, however, because some patients experience critical toxicities related to docetaxel. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the feasibility and adverse events of biweekly-administered docetaxel in patients with previously-untreated, high-risk mCNPC.

Impact of adjuvant chemotherapy on oncologic outcomes following radical nephroureterectomy for patients with pT3NanyM0 upper tract urothelial carcinoma: A retrospective cohort study.

Objective: We investigated the impact of cisplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) on oncologic outcomes including recurrence-free survival (RFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) for patients with pT3NanyM0 upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC).

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 293 patients who underwent RNU for UTUC between 1995 and 2017. Clinicopathologic characteristics of patients were examined and compared according to the use of AC.

Transperitoneal radical nephroureterectomy is associated with worse disease progression than retroperitoneal radical nephroureterectomy in patients with upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma.

This study aimed to compare the oncologic outcomes between retroperitoneal radical nephroureterectomy (rRNU) and transperitoneal radical nephroureterectomy (tRNU) for the treatment of patients with upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). Medical records of 743 eligible patients who underwent rRNU or tRNU between 1995 and 2015 were reviewed retrospectively. Progression-free survival (PFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS) were compared according to the surgical approach using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Giant proximity effect in single-crystalline MgB bilayers.

Although giant proximity effect (GPE) can shed important information on understanding superconducting pairing mechanisms and superconducting electronics, reports on the GPE are few because the fabrication of the junctions with GPE is technologically difficult. Here, we report a GPE in the single-crystalline MgB bilayers (S'/S), where the S' is the damaged MgB layer by cobalt (Co)-ion irradiation and the S is the undamaged MgB layer. Superconducting properties of the S' is remarkably degraded by the irradiation, whereas those of the S is uninfluenced by the irradiation.

Establishment and Validation of Extra-transitional Zone Prostate Specific Antigen Density (ETzD), a Novel Structure-based Parameter for Quantifying the Oncological Hazard of Prostates with Enlarged Stroma.

Extra-transitional zone density (ETzD), a novel parameter is proposed to stratify the deviation of prostate specific antigen (PSA) due to structural change according to stromal hyperplasia of prostate. ETzD was conducted on a concept to estimate the PSA density (PSAD) after hypothetical enucleation of the transitional zone of an enlarged prostate by a non-linear regression prediction model with intrinsic linearity, from the retrospective analysis of PSA change observed actual enucleation by laser. The performance to predict the presence and severity of malignancy was validated by two cohorts of 3,440 prostate biopsies and 2,783 radical prostatectomy specimens.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the role of curcumin in prostate cancer patients with intermittent androgen deprivation.

Background: The anti-cancer activities of curcumin are well-documented from preclinical studies using prostate cancer models. Our objective was to evaluate the anti-cancer activity of oral curcumin in patients with prostate cancer.

Methods: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was performed on patients with prostate cancer who received intermittent androgen deprivation (IAD).

Novel therapeutic roles of MC-4 in combination with everolimus against advanced renal cell carcinoma by dual targeting of Akt/pyruvate kinase muscle isozyme M2 and mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 pathways.

Current clinical trials of new anticancer therapies against metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC), including molecular-targeted therapies, have not shown promise. The purpose of this study was to preclinically assess the antitumor effects of MC-4, a partially purified material of Artemisia annua L., as a monotherapy or in combination with the known mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) inhibitor, everolimus, against Caki-1 (Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL)+/+) and 786-O (VHL-/-) human RCC cells.

The clinical usefulness of natural killer cell activity in patients with suspected or diagnosed prostate cancer: an observational cross-sectional study.

Purpose: To investigate the clinical usefulness of natural killer cell activity (NKA) for detection of prostate cancer (PCa) and prediction of Gleason grade.

Patients And Methods: We prospectively enrolled 221 patients who underwent transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy for suspected PCa due to elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) >2.5 ng/mL or abnormal findings on digital rectal examination (n=146), or who were diagnosed with PCa (n=75) between 2016 and 2017.

Changeable Conditional Survival Rates and Associated Prognosticators in Patients with Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Receiving First Line Targeted Therapy.

Purpose: In this study we evaluated conditional survival probabilities in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma who underwent first line tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy. We also identified predictors of conditional survival with time.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed clinical data on 1,659 individuals with metastatic renal cell carcinoma in the Korean Renal Cancer Study Group database, of whom the records of 1,131 were finally analyzed.

Prognostic impact of the pretreatment aspartate transaminase/alanine transaminase ratio in patients treated with first-line systemic tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Objectives: To examine the prognostic role of the pretreatment aspartate transaminase/alanine transaminase or De Ritis ratio in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma receiving first-line systemic tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy.

Methods: We retrospectively searched the medical records of 579 patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma who visited Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea, from January 2001 through August 2016. After excluding 210 patients, we analyzed 360 patients who received first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy.

Role of PI-RADS Version 2 for Prediction of Upgrading in Biopsy-Proven Prostate Cancer With Gleason Score 6.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System version 2 (PI-RADSv2) on prediction of postoperative Gleason score (GS) upgrading for patients with biopsy GS 6 prostate cancer.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 443 patients who underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and radical prostatectomy for biopsy-proven GS 6 prostate cancer between January 2011 and December 2013. Preoperative clinical variables and pathologic GS were examined, and all MRI findings were assessed with PI-RADSv2.

Comparisons of oncological outcomes and perioperative complications between laparoscopic and open radical nephrectomies in patients with clinical T2 renal cell carcinoma (≥7cm).

Purpose: Although minimal invasive techniques have been widely accepted in contemporary urology, the perioperative outcomes of laparoscopy in patients with clinical T2 renal cell carcinoma (RCC) have not been clearly evaluated. We aimed to compare the outcomes of laparoscopic radical nephrectomy (LRN) with those of open radical nephrectomy (ORN) in patients with clinical T2 RCC.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of 835 patients who underwent radical nephrectomy for localized clinical T2 RCC (≥7 cm).

Molecular Characterization of Urothelial Carcinoma of the Bladder and Upper Urinary Tract.

Purpose: A better understanding of the molecular basis of urothelial carcinoma (UC) is needed to refine the clinical decision-making process.

Methods And Materials: We performed next-generation sequencing to investigate the mutational and transcriptional profiles of commonly mutated genes in UC using Ampliseq v2. Copy number variations (CNVs) were detected with nCounter assay.

Comparative rates of upstaging and upgrading in Caucasian and Korean prostate cancer patients eligible for active surveillance.

Purpose: To investigate the impact of race on the risk of pathological upgrading and upstaging at radical prostatectomy (RP) in an Asian (Korean) and Western (Caucasian) cohort eligible for active surveillance (AS).

Materials And Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of 854 patients eligible for AS who underwent RP in United States (n = 261) and Korea (n = 593) between 2006 and 2015. After adjusting for age, PSA level, and prostate volume, we utilized multivariate logistic regression analysis to assess the effect of race on upgrading or upstaging.

Predictive Factors for Achieving Superior Pentafecta Outcomes Following Robot-Assisted Partial Nephrectomy in Patients with Localized Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Purpose: To examine the perioperative outcomes following robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) in patients with localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and to identify the predictors of Pentafecta achievement following RAPN.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data from 362 patients with RCC who underwent RAPN from 2008 to 2016. The criteria for Pentafecta achievement were defined as the Trifecta [warm ischemic time (WIT) ≤25 minutes, negative surgical margin, and no significant perioperative complications]; with the addition of renal function preservation, including over 90% preservation of the estimated glomerular filtration rate (e-GFR); and no stage upgrade of chronic kidney disease at 1 year after surgery.

Prognostic Significance of Pre- to Postoperative Dynamics of the Prognostic Nutritional Index for Patients with Renal Cell Carcinoma Who Underwent Radical Nephrectomy.

Background: This study aimed to examine the prognostic role of Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) dynamics in the pre- and postoperative periods for patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who undergo radical nephrectomy (RN).

Methods: The study analyzed 324 patients with RCC who underwent RN. The overall population was classified into four groups according to four types of pre- to postoperative PNI dynamics as follows: group 1 (low → low PNI), group 2 (low → high PNI), group 3 (high → low PNI), and group 4 (high → high PNI).

A retrospective feasibility study of biweekly, reduced-dose docetaxel in Asian patients with castrate-resistant, metastatic prostate cancer.

Background: The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of reduced dose, biweekly docetaxel chemotherapy for Korean patients with castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 48 patients with metastatic CRPC who were treated with a biweekly regimen (intravenous docetaxel 40 mg/m on day 1 plus prednisolone 5 mg twice daily) between 2012 and 2015 at Samsung Medical Center (Seoul, Korea). Prior to the adoption of a biweekly regimen in Oct 2013, our institutional standard chemotherapy was docetaxel 75 mg/m every 3 weeks for patients with CRPC (n = 24).