PURPOSE: T1G3 bladder tumor has an incidence ranging from 6 to 23% of all superficial bladder tumors, a recurrence rate of 50 to 74%, and a rate of up to 50% for progression to invasive cancer after transurethral resection (TUR) followed by intravesical BCG instillation. We evaluated the recurrence and progression rates after TUR followed by BCG intravesical instillation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 30 patients with T1G3 transitional cell carcinoma (TCCa); a group consisting of 14 papillary, 14 non-papillary and 2 mixed TCCa. We evaluated the tumor recurrence and progression rates in relation with the patients' age, tumor multiplicity and configuration. Mean patients' age was 63.2 years and mean follow-up duration was 32.2 months. All patients received TUR and BCG intravesical instillation. RESULTS: Eleven cases (36.7%) had recurrence after a mean interval of 8.3 months, and 6 cases (20%) had progression after a mean interval of 10.2 months. The mean age appears to be a predictive factor of tumor recurrence, but not progression. All cases of non-papillary TCCa progressed to invasive bladder cancer. Two-year cumulative recurrence-free survival was 66.7% and progression-free survival was 83.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated the high recurrence rate and progression potential of T1G3 bladder tumor. In cases of tumor recurrence during the follow-up period in elderly patients and in cases of reported non-papillary TCCa, close observation is recommended and early cystectomy should be considered.
Administration, Intravesical* ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell ; Cystectomy ; Disease-Free Survival ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mycobacterium bovis* ; Recurrence* ; Retrospective Studies ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms* ; Urinary Bladder*

A solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is now commonly accepted to derive from mesenchymal cells differentiating toward fibroblast or myofibroblast. Although the extrapleural manifestations of SFT have been documented in almost all sites, an SFT arising in the genitourinary tract is extremely rare, with less than 10 cases having been reported. The histopathological criteria between a benign and a malignant SFT are obscure, and their biological behaviors remain controversial. The choice of treatment of an SFT remains to be clarifies. Herein, a case of a bladder SFT, well encased within the submucosa and bladder muscle, is reported. The SFT of bladder was completely excised, and there was no evidence of recurrence after 15 months of follow-up.
Fibroblasts ; Follow-Up Studies ; Mesoderm ; Myofibroblasts ; Recurrence ; Solitary Fibrous Tumors* ; Urinary Bladder*

PURPOSE: The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) is generally self- administrated; however, it is doubtful that the self-administrated IPSS score correctly reflects patients' symptoms; therefore, the difference in the IPSS self-administrated score and physician-interviewed patients was studied. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 202 patients completed two IPSS questionnaires during the same office visit, one by self-administration and the other by physician-interview, at two medical centers, one located in an urban area and the other in a rural area. The mean total symptom score and the score for each question, and the quality of life score were compared between the two modes of administration. A multi-logistical regression analysis was performed to identify differences due to the effects of age, the order of administration, location and educational level. RESULTS: The mean total symptom score and quality of life score were higher in the self-administrated than physician-interviewed group (14.16 vs. 13.07, p=0.001, 3.27 vs. 3.2, p=0.090). The residual sense (2.03 vs. 1.97, p=0.20), frequency (2.07 vs. 1.97, p=0.026), interruption (1.83 vs. 1.61, p=0.002), urgency (1.89 vs. 1.55, p=0.001), weak stream (2.74 vs. 2.60, p=0.042), hesitancy (1.77 vs. 1.59, p=0.005) and nocturia (1.82 vs. 1.77, p=0.12) were also higher in the self-administrated group. The multi- logistical regression analysis revealed statistically significant differences in relation to age and location. CONCLUSIONS: The self-administrated IPSS score was higher than the physician-interview score, especially in relation to an older age and an urban location. Therefore, active intervention should be considered during the administration of the IPSS, especially for old aged patients living in urban areas.
Humans ; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms* ; Nocturia ; Office Visits ; Prostate* ; Quality of Life ; Questionnaires ; Rivers ; Urinary Tract

Swine hepatitis E virus (HEV) is widespread throughout pigs in both developing and industrialized countries. This virus is an important zoonotic agent and a public concern worldwide. Infected pigs are asymptomatic, so diagnosing swine HEV relies on detection of the virus or antibodies against the virus. However, several obstacles need to be overcome for effective and practical serological diagnosis. In this study, we developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that used a purified recombinant capsid protein of swine HEV. The potential clinical use of this assay was evaluated by comparing it with a commercial kit (Genelabs Technologies, Diagnostics, Singapore). Results of the ELISA were highly correlated with those of the commercial kit with a sensitivity of 97% and specificity of 95%. ROC (receiving operator characteristic) analysis of the ELISA data produced a value of 0.987 (95% CI, 0.977~0.998, p < 0.01). The cut-off value for the ELISA was also determined using negative pig sera. In summary, the HEV-specific ELISA developed in the present study appears to be both practical and economical.
Animals ; Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic/*analysis/blood/genetics ; Capsid Proteins/*genetics/metabolism ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/*methods/veterinary ; Hepatitis E/diagnosis/immunology/*veterinary/virology ; Hepatitis E virus/genetics/*isolation & purification/metabolism ; Immunoglobulin G/blood/genetics ; ROC Curve ; Recombinant Proteins/genetics/metabolism ; Swine ; Swine Diseases/*diagnosis/immunology/virology

A multiplex PCR protocol was established to simultaneously detect major bacterial pathogens in olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) including Edwardsiella (E.) tarda, Streptococcus (S.) parauberis, and S. iniae. The PCR assay was able to detect 0.01 ng of E. tarda, 0.1 ng of S. parauberis, and 1 ng of S. iniae genomic DNA. Furthermore, this technique was found to have high specificity when tested with related bacterial species. This method represents a cheaper, faster, and reliable alternative for identifying major bacterial pathogens in olive flounder, the most important farmed fish in Korea.
Animals ; Edwardsiella tarda/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Enterobacteriaceae Infections/diagnosis/microbiology/*veterinary ; Fish Diseases/*diagnosis/microbiology ; Fisheries/*methods ; *Flatfishes ; Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction/economics/*veterinary ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Streptococcal Infections/diagnosis/microbiology/*veterinary ; Streptococcus/genetics/*isolation & purification

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the perception of and treatment pattern with regard to the four important issues in the management of lupus nephritis (LN), and to identify which parts of the LN treatment are difficult for physicians to carry out in clinical practice. METHODS: Four steps were carried out: pre-survey, LN symposium, post-survey, and meeting after the symposium.The two surveys were conducted with the same contents regarding renal biopsy, induction and maintenance treatment for class III and IV LN, and treatment for class V LN. The results of the first survey and the changes in opinion reflected in the second survey were comparatively analyzed. RESULTS: In the first survey, most of the respondent physicians replied that they would immediately conduct biopsy in the case of significant proteinuria. For the induction treatment of class III and IV LN, most of the respondent physicians selected high-dose cyclophosphamide. Mycophenolate mofetil and steroid combination therapy were selected for the maintenance treatment, and tacrolimus for the treatment of class V LN. There was a controversy in the drug selection, however, especially on the maintenance treatment of class III and IV LN and on the treatment of non-responsive class V LN. CONCLUSION: Some discrepancies were found in the treatment of LN in the real world. Although no recommendation was made for Korean LN patients in this study, the study results will help physicians select the most reasonable treatment for Korean LN patients based on experts' experiences and objective evidence.
Biopsy ; Cyclophosphamide ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Humans ; Lupus Nephritis ; Mycophenolic Acid ; Proteinuria ; Tacrolimus

Germanium biotite, a natural mineral, has been used as a feed supplement to reinforce innate immune ability. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of germanium biotite on the adsorptive and inhibition of growth abilities against Escherichia (E.) coli and Salmonella spp. in vitro. Two strains of enterotoxigenic E. coli and four strains of two Salmonella serotypes (Salmonella Derby and Salmonella Typhimurium), major bacterial diarrheal pathogens, were used for this experiment. The absorptive ability of germanium biotite against most Salmonella used in present experiment was observed weakly. The germanium biotite, however, showed significant effect of bacterial growth inhibition in most experiment bacteria. These results suggest that the use of the germanium biotite as feed supplement could alleviate diarrhea following inhibition of bacteria growth. It is also presumed that antibiotics usage for farm animals, considered as causes of antibiotic residue in meat and emerging antibiotic resistance, could be reduced through the use of germanium biotite as a feed supplement, in place of antibiotics used for the prevention of diarrhea.
Aluminum Silicates ; Animals, Domestic ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacteria ; Diarrhea ; Drug Resistance, Microbial ; Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli ; Escherichia ; Ferrous Compounds ; Germanium ; Hypogonadism ; Meat ; Mitochondrial Diseases ; Ophthalmoplegia ; Salmonella

Field efficacy of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli-specific phage (PhiCJ19) as a feed additive was evaluated in weaning piglets. Fifty-four piglets at 3~4 weeks old were allocated in three different groups and two of them were fed with bacteriophage at different concentrations (10(6) PFU/kg feed and 10(8) PFU/kg feed, respectively) for 30 days. Body weight and feed intake were measured at 10 days interval and body condition and fecal score were inspected every day. Based on the measurement, feed conversion rate (FCR) and average daily gain (ADG) of each group during 30 days were analyzed. The analysis suggests that the bacteriophage may help the improvement of FCR and ADG at 10(8) PFU/kg of bacteriophage feeding group in 30 days. A result from analysis of fecal score indicates that the bacteriophage also may help to relieve the intermittent diarrhea in post-weaning stage. Those results suggest that bacteriophage might help the growth of piglets in post-weaning stage.
Bacteriophages ; Body Weight ; Diarrhea ; Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli ; Escherichia ; Weaning

OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed at identifying a correlation between polycystic ovarian morphology (PCOM) and the severity of primary dysmenorrhea in young Korean women. METHODS: A total of 592 patients who visited a tertiary hospital from March 2008 to March 2015 for dysmenorrhea were examined. After excluding those with secondary causes of menstrual pain (for example, myoma, adenomyosis, endometriosis, and pelvic inflammatory disease), 361 women were recruited and retrospectively analyzed. Severe dysmenorrhea was defined as a visual analog scale (VAS) score ≥6. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 23.0±4.0 years, the average menstrual cycle length was 34.4±23.7 days, and the average pain intensity was VAS 6.7±0.1 at baseline. PCOM was assessed by ultrasound in 54 women (15%). Patients with severe menstrual pain were more likely to have irregular menstrual cycles (P=0.03) and heavy menstrual flow (P=0.01) than those with mild menstrual pain. After adjusting for weight, height, menstrual cycle interval, and menstrual flow in the logistic regression analysis, PCOM (odds ratio [OR], 2.26; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05–4.97; P=0.04) and heavy menstrual flow (OR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.05–3.28; P=0.04) were found to be significant independent factors influencing pain. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that PCOM may have a correlation with the severity of primary dysmenorrhea. Since PCOM may play a role in the development of menstrual pain, patients with PCOM should be under active surveillance with resources for prompt pain management readily available. It may also be necessary to further investigate the molecular mechanisms of pain development in primary dysmenorrhea.
Adenomyosis ; Dysmenorrhea ; Endometriosis ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Menstrual Cycle ; Menstruation Disturbances ; Myoma ; Pain Management ; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ; Retrospective Studies ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Ultrasonography ; Visual Analog Scale

Background: Inflammation induces dysfunction of endothelial cells via inflammatory cell adhesion, and this phenomenon and reactive oxygen species accumulation are pivotal triggers for atherosclerosis-related vascular disease. Although exosomes are excellent candidate as an inhibitor in the inflammation pathway, it is necessary to develop exosome-mimetic nanovesicles (NVs) due to limitations of extremely low release rate and difficult isolation of natural exosomes. NVs are produced in much larger quantities than natural exosomes, but due to the low flexibility of the cell membranes, the high loss caused by hanging on the filter membranes during extrusion remains a challenge to overcome. Therefore, by making cell membranes more flexible, more efficient production of NVs can be expected. Methods: To increase the flexibility of the cell membranes, the suspension of umbilical cord-mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) was subjected to 5 freeze and thaw cycles (FT) before serial extrusion. After serial extrusion through membranes with three different pore sizes, FT/NVs were isolated using a tangential flow filtration (TFF) system. NVs or FT/NVs were pretreated to the human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs), and then inflammation was induced using tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Results: With the freeze and thaw process, the production yield of exosome-mimetic nanovesicles (FT/NVs) was about 3 times higher than the conventional production method. The FT/NVs have similar biological properties as NVs for attenuating TNF-α induced inflammation. Conclusion We proposed the efficient protocol for the production of NVs with UC-MSCs using the combination of freeze and thaw process with a TFF system. The FT/NVs successfully attenuated the TNF-α induced inflammation in HCAECs.