Can Robotic Gastrectomy Surpass Laparoscopic Gastrectomy by Acquiring Long-Term Experience? A Propensity Score Analysis of a 7-Year Experience at a Single Institution

Hong, Sung-Soo,Son, Sang-Yong,Shin, Ho-Jung,Cui, Long-Hai,Hur, Hoon,Han, Sang-Uk The Korean Gastric Cancer Association 2016 Journal of gastric cancer Vol.16 No.4

Purpose: It is hypothesized that robotic gastrectomy may surpass laparoscopic gastrectomy after the operators acquire long-term experience and skills in the manipulation of robotic arms. This study aimed to evaluate the long-term learning curve of robotic distal gastrectomy (RDG) for gastric cancer compared with laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (LDG). Materials and Methods: From October 2008 to December 2015, patients who underwent LDG (n=809) were matched to patients who underwent RDG (n=232) at a 1:1 ratio, by using a propensity score matching method after stratification for the operative year. The surgical outcomes, such as trends of operative time, blood loss, and complication rate, were compared between the two groups. Results: The RDG group showed a longer operative time (171.3 minutes vs. 147.6 minutes, P<0.001) but less estimated blood loss (77.6 ml vs. 116.6 ml, P<0.001). The complication rate and postoperative recovery did not differ between the two groups. The RDG group showed a longer operative time and similar estimated blood loss compared with the LDG group after 5 years of experience (operative time: 159.2 minutes vs. 136.0 minutes in 2015, P=0.003; estimated blood loss: 72.9 ml vs. 78.1 ml in 2015, P=0.793). Conclusions: In terms of short-term surgical outcomes, RDG may not surpass LDG after a long-term experience with the technique.

Excessive mechanical strain accelerates intervertebral disc degeneration by disrupting intrinsic circadian rhythm

Ding Sheng-Long,Zhang Tai-Wei,Zhang Qi-Chen,Ding Wang,Li Ze-Fang,Han Guan-Jie,Bai Jin-Song,Li Xi-Lei,Dong Jian,Wang Hui-Ren,Jiang Li-Bo 생화학분자생물학회 2021 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.53 No.-

Night shift workers with disordered rhythmic mechanical loading are more prone to intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). Our results showed that circadian rhythm (CR) was dampened in degenerated and aged NP cells. Long-term environmental CR disruption promoted IDD in rats. Excessive mechanical strain disrupted the CR and inhibited the expression of core clock proteins. The inhibitory effect of mechanical loading on the expression of extracellular matrix genes could be reversed by BMAL1 overexpression in NP cells. The Rho/ROCK pathway was demonstrated to mediate the effect of mechanical stimulation on CR. Prolonged mechanical loading for 12 months affected intrinsic CR genes and induced IDD in a model of upright posture in a normal environment. Unexpectedly, mechanical loading further accelerated the IDD in an Light-Dark (LD) cycle-disrupted environment. These results indicated that intrinsic CR disruption might be a mechanism involved in overloading-induced IDD and a potential drug target for night shift workers.

Roles of NMDA NR2B Subtype Receptor in Prefrontal Long-Term Potentiation and Contextual Fear Memory

Zhao, Ming-Gao,Toyoda, Hiroki,Lee, Yong-Seok,Wu, Long-Jun,Ko, Shanelle W.,Zhang, Xue-Han,Jia, Yongheng,Shum, Fanny,Xu, Hui,Li, Bao-Ming,Kaang, Bong-Kiun,Zhuo, Min Elsevier 2005 Neuron Vol.47 No.6

<P><B>Summary</B></P><P>Cortical plasticity is thought to be important for the establishment, consolidation, and retrieval of permanent memory. Hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP), a cellular mechanism of learning and memory, requires the activation of glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. In particular, it has been suggested that NR2A-containing NMDA receptors are involved in LTP induction, whereas NR2B-containing receptors are involved in LTD induction in the hippocampus. However, LTP in the prefrontal cortex is less well characterized than in the hippocampus. Here we report that the activation of the NR2B and NR2A subunits of the NMDA receptor is critical for the induction of cingulate LTP, regardless of the induction protocol. Furthermore, pharmacological or genetic blockade of the NR2B subunit in the cingulate cortex impaired the formation of early contextual fear memory. Our results demonstrate that the NR2B subunit of the NMDA receptor in the prefrontal cortex is critically involved in both LTP and contextual memory.</P>

Changes in Markers of Liver Function in HCV 1b Patients with Compensated Cirrhosis Treated with Ombitasvir/Paritaprevir/ Ritonavir plus Dasabuvir with Ribavirin

( Jeong Heo ),( Yan Luo ),( Wan-long Chuang ),( Jidong Jia ),( Kwang-hyub Han ),( Ming-lung Yu ),( Hong Tang ),( Young-suk Lim ),( Cheng-yuan Peng ),( Min Xu ),( Maorong Wang ),( Bo Fu ),( Niloufar Mo 대한간학회 2017 춘·추계 학술대회 (KASL) Vol.2017 No.1

Aims: Patients chronically infected with HCV are at risk of developing extrahepatic manifestations of HCV as well as progressing to compensated or decompensated cirrhosis and HCC. Although current treatments have high rates of SVR, relatively little is known about possible regression of liver fibrosis after achieving an SVR. The ONYX-II trial examined the efficacy and safety of ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir plus dasabuvir + ribavirin (RBV) in Asian patients with HCV genotype 1b infection and compensated cirrhosis. Here we report changes in key markers of liver fibrosis and function. Methods: Patients with chronic HCV GT1b infection and compensated cirrhosis were enrolled in China, South Korea and Taiwan and received 12 weeks of OBV/PTV/r (25 mg/150 mg/100 mg once daily) and DSV (250 mg twice daily) with weight-based RBV. The primary objective of ONYX-II was to assess efficacy (SVR12) and safety of the regimen. Changes in markers of liver fibrosis and function between baseline (BL) and post-treatment week (PTW) 12 are presented. Results: Overall, 104 patients were enrolled and treated in ONYX-II. All patients (104/104, 100%) achieved SVR12. BL and PTW12 data for FibroTest score, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin, albumin, platelet count and alpha fetoprotein (AFP) are shown in Table 1. All selected parameters showed numerical improvements between BL and PTW12. Mean ALT and AST levels returned to within normal range and FibroTest scores demonstrated a numerical improvement, suggesting improvement in liver status. The complete set of data between BL and PTW12 will be presented for these parameters and other liver composite parameters at the conference. Conclusions: Measurement of key liver function markers during the ONYX-II trial showed a numerical improvement within 12 weeks of completion of treatment in HCV GT1b-infected patients with compensated cirrhosis. Further follow-up of these patients will determine the long-term durability of these changes.

Small activating RNA induced expression of VHL gene in renal cell carcinoma

Kang, Moo Rim,Park, Ki Hwan,Lee, Chang Woo,Lee, Myeong Youl,Han, Sang-Bae,Li, Long-Cheng,Kang, Jong Soon Elsevier 2018 The international journal of biochemistry & cell b Vol.97 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Recent studies have reported that chemically synthesized double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs), also known as small activating RNA (saRNAs), can specifically induce gene expression by targeting promoter sequences by a mechanism termed RNA activation (RNAa). In the present study, we designed 4 candidate saRNAs targeting the Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) gene promoter. Among these saRNAs, dsVHL-821 significantly inhibited cell growth by up-regulating VHL at both the mRNA and protein levels in renal cell carcinoma 769-P cells. Functional analysis showed that dsVHL-821 induced apoptosis by increasing p53, decreasing Bcl-xL, activating caspase 3/7 and poly-ADP-ribose polymerase in a dose-dependent manner. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis revealed that dsVHL-821 increased the enrichment of Ago2 and RNA polymerase II at the dsVHL-821 target site. In addition, Ago2 depletion significantly suppressed dsVHL-821-induced up-regulation of VHL gene expression and related effects. Single transfection of dsVHL-821 caused long-lasting (14 days) VHL up-regulation. Furthermore, the activation of VHL by dsVHL-821 was accompanied by an increase in dimethylation of histone 3 at lysine 4 (H3K4me2) and acetylation of histone 4 (H4ac) and a decrease in dimethylation of histone 3 at lysine 9 (H3K9me2) and lysine 27 (H3K27me2) in the dsVHL-821 target region. Taken together, these results demonstrate that dsVHL-821, a novel saRNA for VHL, induces the expression of the VHL gene by epigenetic changes, leading to inhibition of cell growth and induction of apoptosis, and suggest that targeted activation of VHL by dsVHL-821 may be explored as a novel treatment of renal cell carcinoma.</P>

Genetic Screening for Mutations in the Chip Gene in Intracranial Aneurysm Patients of Chinese Han Nationality

Su, Li,Zhang, Yuan,Zhang, Chun-Yang,Zhang, An-Long,Mei, Xiao-Long,Zhao, Zhi-Jun,Han, Jian-Guo,Zhao, Li-Jun Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.3

We performed a case-control study to investigate whether SNPs of CHIP might affect the development of IA in Chinese Han nationality. We believe we are the first to have screened IA patients for mutations in the CHIP gene to determine the association with these variants. The study group comprised 224 Chinese Han nationality patients with at least one intracranial aneurysm and 238 unrelated healthy Han nationality controls. Genomic DNA was isolated from blood leukocytes. The entire coding regions of CHIP were genotyped by PCR amplification and DNA sequencing. Differences in genotype and allele frequencies between patients and controls were tested by the chi-square method. Genotype and allele frequencies of the SNP rs116166850 was demonstrated to be in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. No significant difference in genotype or allele frequencies between case and control groups was detected at the SNP. Our data do not support the hypothesis of a major role for the CHIP gene in IA development in the Chinese Han population.

Benchtop fabrication of three-dimensional reconfigurable microfluidic devices from paper-polymer composite.

Han, Yu Long,Wang, Wenqi,Hu, Jie,Huang, Guoyou,Wang, Shuqi,Lee, Won Gu,Lu, Tian Jian,Xu, Feng Royal Society of Chemistry 2013 Lab on a chip Vol.13 No.24

<P>We presented a benchtop technique that can fabricate reconfigurable, three-dimensional (3D) microfluidic devices made from a soft paper-polymer composite. This fabrication approach can produce microchannels at a minimal width of 100 μm and can be used to prototype 3D microfluidic devices by simple bending and stretching. The entire fabrication process can be finished in 2 hours on a laboratory bench without the need for special equipment involved in lithography. Various functional microfluidic devices (e.g., droplet generator and reconfigurable electronic circuit) were prepared using this paper-polymer hybrid microfluidic system. The developed method can be applied in a wide range of standard applications and emerging technologies such as liquid-phase electronics.</P>

Genetic Analysis of Growth Response to Cold Water Irrigation in Rice

Han, Long-Zhi,Koh, Hee-Jong The Korean Society of Crop Science 2000 Korean journal of crop science Vol.45 No.1

This study was carried out to obtain the basic information for breeding cold-tolerant rice varieties with high yield-productivity through wide crosses between indica and japonica rice. Genetic analysis was conducted using 55 F$_1$s obtained from half-diallel crosses among eleven cultivars of various origin including indica and japonica rice. Screening for cold tolerance was done with cold-water irrigation after transplanting until ripening stage. Both general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) effects were highly significant in all characters associated with dry matter accumulation at 30 and 50days after cold-water irrigation (DAC). The variance of GCA was much larger than that of SCA in plant height, shoot dry weight per plant (DWP), crop growth rate (CGR) and cold-water response index (CRI) of these characters except CRI of shoot dry weight per plant. The DWP, CGR and CRI of these characters of Gaochan 102, Tong88-7 and TR22183 were markedly higher than those of the others. GCA effects of these varieties on DWP, CGR and their CRI were also higher than those of the others, indicating that they are useful as promising parents for breeding cold-tolerant varieties. Analysis of genetic parameters for 11$\times$11 half-diallel F$_1$s revealed that inter-locus gene interaction were concerned in the expression of plant height at 50 DAC, CRI of DWP at 50 DAC, and CRI of CGR, and that intra-locus gene interaction for plant height and the other characters were partial dominance and over-dominance, respectively. Narrow-sense heritability (h$^2$$_{N}$) was the highest in plant height as 0.729, and the lowest in CRI of DWP at 30 DAC as 0.048, suggesting that selection for cold tolerance will be quite effective in case that the selection criterion is the performance itself.f.

Integration of Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) and WAN, WiMAX and LTE

( Long Hu ),( Ong Mau Dung ),( Qiang Liu ),( Tao Han ),( Yantao Sun ) 한국인터넷정보학회 2013 KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Syst Vol.7 No.5

Nowadays, wireless communication has a great advantage in technology. We use wireless devices almost in all expected life such as: entertainment, working and recently in the healthcare area, where Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) become a hot topic for researchers and system designers. Recent work on WBANs focus on related issues to communication protocol, especially ZigBee network is fine tuned to meet particular requirements in healthcare area. For example, some papers present real-time patient monitoring via ZigBee communication given the short distance between body sensors and remote devices, while the other work solve the limited coverage problem of Zigbee by designing mechanisms to relay Zigbee data to other types of wire or wireless infrastructure. However, very few of them investigate the scenarios of ZigBee coexisting or integrated with other networks. In this paper, we present the real-time data transmission from ZigBee end devices to Wide Area Network (WAN), Worldwide interoperation for microwave access network (WiMAX) and Long Term Evolution network (LTE). We provide in detail the ZigBee gateway components. Our simulation is conducted by OPNET, we visualize many topology network scenarios in ZigBee hybrid system. The results in simulation show that ZigBee end devices can successfully transmit data in real-time to other network end devices.

Genetic Analysis of Growth Response to Cold Water Irrigation in Rice

Long-Zhi Han,Hee-Jong Koh 韓國作物學會 2000 Korean journal of crop science Vol.45 No.1

This study was carried out to obtain the basic information for breeding cold-tolerant rice varieties with high yield-productivity through wide crosses between indica and japonica rice. Genetic analysis was conducted using 55 F1 s obtained from half-diallel crosses among eleven cultivars of various origin including indica and japonica rice. Screening for cold tolerance was done with cold-water irrigation after transplanting until ripening stage. Both general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) effects were highly significant in all characters associated with dry matter accumulation at 30 and 50days after cold-water irrigation (DAC). The variance of GCA was much larger than that of SCA in plant height, shoot dry weight per plant (DWP), crop growth rate (CGR) and cold-water response index (CRI) of these characters except CRI of shoot dry weight per plant. The DWP, CGR and CRI of these characters of Gaochan 102, Tong88-7 and TR22183 were markedly higher than those of the others. GCA effects of these varieties on DWP, CGR and their CRI were also higher than those of the others, indicating that they are useful as promising parents for breeding cold-tolerant varieties. Analysis of genetic parameters for 11~times 11 half-diallel F1 s revealed that inter-locus gene interaction were concerned in the expression of plant height at 50 DAC, CRI of DWP at 50 DAC, and CRI of CGR, and that intra-locus gene interaction for plant height and the other characters were partial dominance and over-dominance, respectively. Narrow-sense heritability (h2 N ) was the highest in plant height as 0.729, and the lowest in CRI of DWP at 30 DAC as 0.048, suggesting that selection for cold tolerance will be quite effective in case that the selection criterion is the performance itself.f.