Polymorphism of a COLIA1 Gene Sp1 Binding Site in Korean Women with Pelvic Organ Prolapse

PURPOSE: To evaluate the possible influence of G-->T substitution at the Sp1-binding site of the COLIA1 gene on the risk of pelvic organ prolapse (POP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study group consisted of 15 women with advanced stage POP. Fifteen control subjects with uterine myomas among the postmenopausal women were matched for age and parity. DNA was obtained from peripheral blood leukocytes. The fragments of the first intron of the COLIA1 gene were amplified by real time polymerase chain reaction. The polymorphism was identified using LightCycler Technology with hybridization probes. Sequencing reactions were performed on each template using commercial primer. RESULTS: Two groups had no significant difference in medical history, surgical, and smoking history. The homozygous peaks in two groups were noted at 57 on melting curve analysis. Sequencing reactions confirmed the G/G alleles in the 30 specimens tested. We could not find any polymorphism at the Sp1-binding site in COLIA1 gene with advanced stage POP. Statistical significance was considered to be p < .05. CONCLUSION: The polymorphism of the Sp1-binding site in the COLIA1 gene did not contribute to the development of POP in Korea.ope

Tau functions as Widom constants

We define a tau function for a generic Riemann-Hilbert problem posed on a union of non-intersecting smooth closed curves with jump matrices analytic in their neighborhood. The tau function depends on parameters of the jumps and is expressed as the Fredholm determinant of an integral operator with block integrable kernel constructed in terms of elementary parametrices. Its logarithmic derivatives with respect to parameters are given by contour integrals involving these parametrices and the solution of the Riemann-Hilbert problem. In the case of one circle, the tau function coincides with Widom's determinant arising in the asymptotics of block Toeplitz matrices. Our construction gives the Jimbo-Miwa-Ueno tau function for Riemann-Hilbert problems of isomonodromic origin (Painlev\'e VI, V, III, Garnier system, etc) and the Sato-Segal-Wilson tau function for integrable hierarchies such as Gelfand-Dickey and Drinfeld-Sokolov.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figure

Magnetic Response of Hydrothermally Prepared Self-Assembled Co3O4 Nano-platelets

In the present communication, we report a strong ferrimagnetic behavior of self-assembled Co[subscript 3]O[subscript 4] nano-platelets, which most likely originates from the intrinsic spin structure of the unique Co[subscript 3]O[subscript 4] structure. The microsphere-like structures are composed of nano-platelets that are entangled together to form the organized network. These anomalous ferrimagnetic properties can be rationalized by supposing that one of the Co[superscript 3+] and one of the Co[superscript 2+] ions are switched between the octahedral and tetrahedral sites. The powder sample was also characterized by x-ray diffraction and superconducting quantum interface device magnetometry.National Research Foundation of Korea (No. 2013029776 (Mid-career Researcher Program)) Remove selectedResearch Institute for Solar and Sustainable Energies (Core Technology Development Program

Optical TCAD on the Net: A tight-binding study of inter-band light transitions in self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dot photodetectors

A new capability of our well-known NEMO 3-D simulator (Ref. Klimeck et al., 2007 [10]) is introduced by carefully investigating the utility of III–V semiconductor quantum dots as infrared photodetectors at a wavelength of 1.2–1.5 μm. We not only present a detailed description of the simulation methodology coupled to the atomistic sp3d5s∗ tight-binding band model, but also validate the suggested methodology with a focus on a proof of principle on small GaAs quantum dots (QDs). Then, we move the simulation scope to optical properties of realistically sized dome-shaped InAs/GaAs QDs that are grown by self- assembly and typically contain a few million atoms. Performing numerical experiments with a variation in QD size, we not only show that the strength of ground state inter- band light transitions can be optimized via QD size-engineering, but also find that the hole ground state wavefunction serves as a control factor of transition strengths. Finally, we briefly introduce the web-based cyber infrastructure that is developed as a government- funded project to support online education and research via TCAD simulations. This work not only serves as a useful guideline to experimentalists for potential device designs and other modelers for the self-development of optical TCAD, but also provides a good chance to learn about the science gateway project ongoing in the Republic of Korea

High-Grade Hydronephrosis Predicts Poor Outcomes After Radical Cystectomy in Patients with Bladder Cancer

We examined whether the presence and severity of preoperative hydronephrosis have prognostic significance in patients who underwent radical cystectomy for transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. The medical records of 457 patients who underwent radical cystectomy for bladder cancer between 1986 and 2005 were retrospectively reviewed. Following the Society for Fetal Urology grading system, patients were divided into low-, and high-grade hydronephrosis groups. Clinicopathologic factors associated with preoperative hydronephrosis and survival were evaluated. Of a total of 406 patients, unilateral hydronephrosis was found in 74 (18.2%), bilateral hydronephrosis in 11 (2.7%), and no hydronephoris in 321 (79.1%). Low-grade hydronephrosis was found in 57 (12.2%) patients and high-grade hydronephrosis in 28 (6%). Preoperative hydronephrosis was related to higher pT stage and lymph node invasion. In univariate analysis, the presence of hydronephrosis, hydronephrosis grade, age, pT and pN stage, tumor grade, surgical margin, number of retrieved nodes, carcinoma in situ, and lymphovascular invasion were significant prognostic factors for cancer-specific survival. In multivariate analysis, bilateral hydronephrosis and high-grade hydronephrosis remained significant predictors for decreased survival. The presence of preoperative hydronephrosis, and high-grade hydronephrosis are significant prognostic factors in patients with bladder cancer after radical cystectomy