Effects of different combinations of radical nephroureterectomy and bladder cuff excision procedures for upper tract urothelial carcinoma on bladder recurrence

ABSTRACT Purpose: To compare the effects of different combinations of radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) and bladder cuff excision (BCE) surgical procedures on intravesical recurrence (IVR) in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). Materials and Methods: This retrospective observational study included 452 patients who underwent RNU with BCE for UTUC between January 2010 and December 2020. The patients were classified into three groups based on different combinations of RNU and BCE surgical procedures: open RNU with open BCE (group 1, n=104), minimally invasive (MIS) RNU with open BCE (group 2, n=196), and MIS RNU with intracorporeal BCE (group 3, n=152). Data on demographics, body mass index, history, preoperative renal function, perioperative status, tumor characteristics, histopathology, and recurrence conditions were collected. Multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to determine the impact of the surgical procedures on IVR. P-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: After a median follow-up of 29.5 months, the IVR rate was 29.6% and the IVR-free survival rate was the lowest in group 2 (group 1 vs. group 2 vs. group 3: 69.0% vs. 55.1% vs. 67.5%; log-rank P=0.048). The overall survival rate was comparable among the three groups. Multivariate analysis revealed that group 2 had a significantly higher risk of IVR than group 1 (hazard ratio=1.949, 95% confidence interval=1.082–3.511, P=0.026), while groups 1 and 3 had similar risks. Conclusions: For patients with UTUC, MIS RNU with open BCE is associated with a higher risk of IVR than open RNU with open BCE and MIS RNU with intracorporeal BCE

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Tourism Market Disturbance, Tourism Price and the Exchange Rate Target Zone

本文主要探討在資本完全移動的情況下，政府藉由財政政策設立匯率目標區時，當經濟體系面臨來自旅遊業市場之隨機干擾時，匯率是否會因為設立匯率目標區而變得相對穩定以及是否必須付出旅遊財價格波動幅度作為代價，本文發現：(1)當旅遊業市場出現隨機干擾時，政府宣示實施匯率目標區，是否具有蜜月效果，須視財富效果的相對大小而定。(2)財富效果相對較大的情況下，匯率是否存在蜜月效果以及旅遊財價格穩定與否需進一步視本國旅遊消費支出之相對大小而定。(3)財富效果相對較小的時候，匯率必定存在蜜月效果；而其旅遊財價格是否穩定需視旅遊財價格之預期變動與匯率之預期變動相對大小而定。Under the assumption of free movement of capital, governments normally set up the exchange rate target zone via the fiscal policy when their economies facing the tourism market disturbance. This paper shows how the establishment of exchange rate target zone to affect the stability of the exchange rate and to raise the possibility of paying a larger volatility of tourism price to the economy. We found that whether the honeymoon effect from the exchange rate target zone exists depending on the relative magnitude of wealth effect. Moreover, under the situation of a larger wealth effect, the relative domestic tourism expenditure determines not only the existence of honeymoon effect, but also the stabilities of the exchange rate and tourism price. In contrast to above situation, the exchange rate does exist the honeymoon effect when the relative wealth effect is smaller. Further, the stability of tourism price will be decided by the expected changes of both tourism price and exchange rate