Serum prostate-specific antigen value adjusted for non-cancerous prostate tissue volume in patients undergoing radical prostatectomy： a new predictor of biochemical recurrence in localized or locally advanced prostate cancer

The aim of this study was to investigate the significance of serum prostate-specific antigen （PSA） value adjusted for total tumor volume （PSA/tumor volume） and serum PSA value adjusted for non-cancerous prostate tissue volume （NCPV） （PSA/NCPV） as a predictor of pathological findings and clinical outcome after radical prostatectomy. Clinical and pathological data of 407 patients （median age： 66.5 years; range： 41.8--85.7 years） were reviewed retrospectively. The median follow-up period was 18. I months （range： 1.0- 107.8 months）. Biochemical recurrence was defined as detectable PSA levels （greater than 0.2 ng ml-1） and the time of biochemical recurrence was taken to be the first time PSA became detectable. In the multivariate model, PSA/NCPV was an independent predictor of extracapsular extension and positive surgical margin （P〈O.05）, but PSA/tumor volume was not. Kaplan-Meier curves revealed that PSA/NCPV correlated with biochemical recurrence-free survival （P〈O.O01; log-rank test） but PSA/tumor volume did not （P=0.275; log-rank test）. PSA/NCPV was also a significant independent prognostic factor for biochemical recurrence-free survival on multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis （P=0.004, relative risk=2.42）. Our findings suggest that PSA/NCPV is associated independently with extracapsular extension and surgical margin status and may be an independent prognostic variable of PSA recurrence after radical prostatectomy.

Segmented tomographic evaluation of structural degradation of carbon support in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

The variation of the three-dimensional(3D)structure of the membrane electrode of a fuel cell during proton exchange cycling involves the corrosion/compaction of the carbon support.The increasing degradation of the carbon structure continuously reduces the electrocatalytic performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEM-FCs).This phenomenon can be explained by performing 3D tomographic analysis at the nanoscale.However,conventional tomographic approaches which present limited experimental feasibility,cannot perform such evaluation and have not provided sufficient structural information with statistical significance thus far.Therefore,a reliable methodology is required for the 3D geometrical evaluation of the carbon structure.Here,we propose a segmented tomographic approach which employs pore network analysis that enables the visualization of the geometrical parameters corresponding to the porous carbon structure at a high resolution.This approach can be utilized to evaluate the 3D structural degradation of the porous carbon structure after cycling in terms of local surface area,pore size distribution,and their 3D networking.These geometrical parameters of the carbon body were demonstrated to be substantially reduced owing to the cycling-induced degradation.This information enables a deeper understanding of the degradation phenomenon of carbon supports and can contribute to the development of stable PEM-FC electrodes.

Adsorption Characteristics of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxybutric Acid Using Bamboo Activated Carbon in a Fixed Bed

Adsorption and desorption characteristics of 2,4-dichlorophenoxybutyric acid (2,4-DB) from aqueous solution on bamboo activated carbon (BAC) were studied in a fixed bed adsorber. The adsorption equilibrium capacity of 2,4-DB on BAC increased with decreasing initial pH of the solution and with a maximum adsorption capacity of 1.61 mol/kg. The adsorption rate of 2,4-DB on BAC could be best fitted by the pseudo first-order model. The adsorption model based on the linear driving force approximation (LDFA) was used for simulating the adsorption behavior of the 2,4-DB in a fixed bed. More than 95% desorption of 2,4-DB was obtained using distilled water.

Role of inhibiting LIM-kinase2 in improving erectile function through suppression of corporal fibrosis in a rat model of cavernous nerve injury

We evaluated whether LIM-kinase 2 inhibitor （LIMK2i） could improve erectile function by suppressing corporal fibrosis through the normalization of the Rho-associated coiled-coil protein kinase 1 （ROCK1）/LIMK2/Cofilin pathway in a rat model of cavernous nerve crush injury （CNCl）. Sixty 11-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided equally into five groups： sham surgery （S）, CNCl （I）, and CNCl treated with low-dose （L）, medium-dose （M）, and high-dose （H） LIMK2i. The L, M, and H groups were treated with a daily intraperitoneal injection of LIMK2i （2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 mg kg-1 body weight, respectively） for 1 week after surgery. The erectile response was assessed using electrostimulation at 1 week, postoperatively. Penile tissues were processed for Masson＇s trichrome staining, double immunofluorescence, and Western blot assay. Erectile responses in the H group improved compared with the I group, while the M group showed only partial improvement. A significantly decreased smooth muscle/collagen ratio and an increased content of fibroblasts positive for phospho-/IMK2 were noted in the I group. The M and H groups revealed significant improvements in histological alterations and the dysregulated LIMK2/Cofilin pathway, except for LIMK2 phosphorylation in the M group. The inhibition of LIMK2 did not affect the ROCK1 protein expression. The content of fibroblasts positive for phospho-LIMK2 in the H group returned to the level found in the S group, whereas it did not in the M group. However, the L group did not exhibit such improvements. Our data suggest that the inhibition of LIMK2, particularly with administration of 10.0 mg kg^-1 body weight LIMK2i, can improve corporal fibrosis and erectile function by normalizing the LIMK2/Cofilin pathway.

Patient-reported ejaculatory function and satisfaction in men with lower urinary tract symptoms/benign prostatic hyperplasia

This study aimed to investigate perceived ejaculatory function/satisfaction before treatment for lower urinary tract symptoms （LUTS）/benign prostatic hyperplasia （BPH） and to identify associations between specific categories of ejaculatory dysfunctions （EjDs） and LUTS. A total of 1574 treatment-naive men with LUTS/BPH were included in this study. All patients underwent routine evaluation for LUTS/BPH including the International Index of Erectile Function and a 5-item questionnaire developed to assess ejaculatory volume/force/pain/satisfaction/latency time. Patients who had sexual intercourse over the past 4 weeks were classified as sexually active group. A total of 783 patients were categorized as sexually active group. Decreased ejaculatory volume and force were reported by 53.4% and 55.7% of 783 sexually active men, respectively, There was a strong correlation between ejaculatory volume and force. Ejaculatory pain/discomfort, premature ejaculation （PE）, and delayed ejaculation （DE） were reported in 41,0%, 16.3%, and 41.4% of the patients, respectively. Over 40.0% of men without decreased ejaculation volume/force were satisfied with ejaculatory function, whereas approximately 6.0% of men with decreased volume/force were satisfied with ejaculatory function. About 30.0% of men with decreased volume/force had orgasmic dysfunction, while approximately 10.0% of men without decreased volume/force did. Decreased ejaculatory volume or force was associated with LUTS severity after adjusting for other influential factors including testosterone level, erectile function, and prostate size on ultrasonography, but PE or DE or ejaculatory pain/discomfort was not. In conclusion, a considerable portion of men with LUTS/BPH appear to have a variety of EjDs. Ejaculatory volume/force and satisfaction/orgasm do not always appear to be concordant. Ejaculatory volume or force is independently associated with LUTS severity, whereas PE or DE or ejaculatory pain/discomfort is not.