Fate of Abstracts Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Korean Urological Association

The acceptance rate for journal publication of the abstracts presented at the annual Korean Urological Association (KUA) meeting, the time to publication, and the effect of abstract characteristics on the publication pattern were analyzed and compared with data for abstracts from other major urological meetings

Effects of Intronic and Exonic Polymorphisms of Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) Gene on Serum PON1 Activity in a Korean Population

Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) hydrolyzes a number of toxic organophosphorous compounds and reduces lipid peroxide accumulation, and PON1 genetic polymorphisms in the coding region modulate serum PON1 activity. In this study, we investigated the association between 3 polymorphisms of PON1 located in intron 5 (17899insdelTT and 17974CT) and exon 6 (192QR) and serum PON1 activity. The genetic polymorphisms and serum activity of PON1 were analyzed in 153 healthy Koreans by using a direct sequencing assay and spectrophotometric method, respectively. A significant linkage disequilibrium (LD) was observed between all tested single nucleotide polymorphisms, with the strongest LD observed between 17899insdelTT and 192QR (D' = 0.984). The 17899insdelTT, 17974CT and 192QR genetic polymorphisms were associated with significant differences in serum paraoxonase activity. In multiple regression analyses, smoking, triglyceride level, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) level, and the 17899insdelTT and 192QR genetic polymorphisms were significant determinants of serum paraoxonase activity, while age, smoking, triglyceride level, HDL level, and the 192QR genetic polymorphism were significant determinants of serum arylesterase activity. These results suggest that although the 192QR genetic polymorphism in the coding region of PON1 is primarily associated with serum PON1 activity, the intronic polymorphisms are also involved in serum PON1 activity, and this association may be mediated by LD

A simple all-fiber comb filter based on the combined effect of multimode interference and Mach-Zehnder interferometer

A polarization-dependent all-fiber comb filter based on a combination effect of multimode interference and Mach-Zehnder interferometer was proposed and demonstrated. The comb filter was composed with a short section of multimode fiber (MMF) fusion spliced with a conventional single mode fiber on the one side and a short section of a different type of optical fiber on the other side. The second type of optical fiber is spliced to the MMF with a properly designed misalignment. Different types and lengths of fibers were used to investigate the influence of fiber types and lengths on the performance of the comb filter. Experimentally, several comb filters with free spectral range (FSR) values ranging from 0.236 to 1.524 nm were achieved. The extinction ratio of the comb filter can be adjusted from 6 to 11.1 dB by varying polarization states of the input light, while maintaining the FSR unchanged. The proposed comb filter has the potential to be used in optical dense wavelength division multiplexing communication systems

A Simple All-fiber Comb Filter Based on the Combined Effect of Multimode Interference and Mach- Zehnder Interferometer

A polarization-dependent all-fiber comb filter based on a combination effect of multimode interference and Mach-Zehnder interferometer was proposed and demonstrated. The comb filter was composed with a short section of multimode fiber (MMF) fusion spliced with a conventional single mode fiber on the one side and a short section of a different type of optical fiber on the other side. The second type of optical fiber is spliced to the MMF with a properly designed misalignment. Different types and lengths of fibers were used to investigate the influence of fiber types and lengths on the performance of the comb filter. Experimentally, several comb filters with free spectral range (FSR) values ranging from 0.236 to 1.524 nm were achieved. The extinction ratio of the comb filter can be adjusted from 6 to 11.1 dB by varying polarization states of the input light, while maintaining the FSR unchanged. The proposed comb filter has the potential to be used in optical dense wavelength division multiplexing communication systems

Clinicopathological Characteristics in Combined Hepatocellular-Cholangiocarcinoma: A Single Center Study in Korea

PURPOSE: Combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma (CHCC) is an uncommon form of cancer, and its clinicopathological features have rarely been reported in detail. This study was undertaken to evaluate the clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic factors of CHCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The clinicopathological features of patients diagnosed with CHCC at Severance Hospital between January 1996 and December 2007 were retrospectively studied by comparing them with the features of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or cholangiocarcinoma (CC) who had undergone a hepatic resection during the same period. RESULTS: Forty-three patients diagnosed with CHCC were included in this study (M : F=35 : 8, median age, 55 years). According to the parameters of the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging, there were 6 (14.0%), 9 (20.9%), 25 (58.1%), and 3 (7.0%) patients with stages I, II, III, and IV cancer, respectively. Thirty-two of the 43 patients underwent resection with curative intent. After resection, 27 patients (84.4%) had tumor recurrence during the follow-up period of 18 months (range: 6-106 months), and the median time to recurrence was 13 months. Overall median survival periods after hepatic resection of CHCC, HCC and CC were 34, 103 and 38.9 months, respectively (p<0.001). The median overall survival for all patients with CHCC was 21 months, and the 5-year survival rate was 18.1%. The presence of portal vein thrombosis and distant metastasis were independent prognostic factors of poor survival. CONCLUSION: Even after curative hepatic resection, the presence of a cholangiocellular component appeared to be a poor prognostic indicator in patients with primary liver cancer.ope

Meta-analysis Followed by Replication Identifies Loci in or near CDKN1B, TET3, CD80, DRAM1, and ARID5B as Associated with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in Asians

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a prototype autoimmune disease with a strong genetic involvement and ethnic differences. Susceptibility genes identified so far only explain a small portion of the genetic heritability of SLE, suggesting that many more loci are yet to be uncovered for this disease. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies on SLE in Chinese Han populations and followed up the findings by replication in four additional Asian cohorts with a total of 5,365 cases and 10,054 corresponding controls. We identified genetic variants in or near CDKN1B, TET3, CD80, DRAM1, and ARID5B as associated with the disease. These findings point to potential roles of cell-cycle regulation, autophagy, and DNA demethylation in SLE pathogenesis. For the region involving TET3 and that involving CDKN1B, multiple independent SNPs were identified, highlighting a phenomenon that might partially explain the missing heritability of complex diseases