QCD sum rules for magnetically induced mixing between ηc and J/ψ.

We investigate the properties of charmonia in strong magnetic fields by using QCD sum rules. We show how to implement the mixing effects between η(c) and J/ψ on the basis of field-theoretical approaches, and then show that the sum rules are saturated by the mixing effects with phenomenologically determined parameters. Consequently, we find that the mixing effects are the dominant contribution to the mass shifts of the static charmonia in strong magnetic fields.

Identifying multiquark hadrons from heavy ion collisions.

Identifying hadronic molecular states and/or hadrons with multiquark components either with or without exotic quantum numbers is a long-standing challenge in hadronic physics. We suggest that studying the production of these hadrons in relativistic heavy ion collisions offers a promising resolution to this problem as yields of exotic hadrons are expected to be strongly affected by their structures. Using the coalescence model for hadron production, we find that, compared to the case of a nonexotic hadron with normal quark numbers, the yield of an exotic hadron is typically an order of magnitude smaller when it is a compact multiquark state and a factor of 2 or more larger when it is a loosely bound hadronic molecule. We further find that some of the newly proposed heavy exotic states could be produced and realistically measured in these experiments.

Investigation of the location of the ureteral stone and diameter of the ureter in patients with renal colic.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study were to evaluate the location of ureteral stones and the diameter of the ureter in patients with renal colic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 95 consecutive patients who presented to the emergency department with renal colic in whom urinary stones were diagnosed by computed tomography between January 2009 and August 2009. The size and location of the stones were investigated. The length and diameter of unaffected ureters were also measured. RESULTS: The mean size of the stones was 4.87+/-3.49 mm (range, 0.9-22 mm). Stones were located at ureterovesical junction (UVJ) in 44 cases (46.3%), proximal ureter in 29 (30.5%), distal ureter in 16 (16.8%), ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) in 5 (5.2%), and the ureter crossing external iliac vessel (UEIV) in 1 case (1%). The mean length of the ureter was 226.8+/-20.8 mm (range, 175-286 mm). The mean diameter of the ureter was 3.40+/-0.61 mm (range, 1.9-5.3 mm). The mean diameter of the UEIV was 3.28+/-0.59 mm (range, 2.2-5.3 mm). CONCLUSIONS: The UPJ and UEIV were not common sites of ureteral stones. The smaller the stones, the closer to the UVJ that the stones were located. Spontaneous passage of the stones was most frequently observed for stones in the UVJ. The UEIV was not significantly narrower than the other parts of the ureter.

Predictors of Postoperative Voiding Dysfunction following Transobsturator Sling Procedures in Patients with Stress Urinary Incontinence.

PURPOSE: We evaluated the influence of preoperative physical examination (PE) and urodynamic study (UDS) findings on objective postoperative bladder emptying, the subjective development of bladder storage symptoms, and patient-reported success of correction of stress urinary incontinence (SUI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 2007 to August 2008, a total of 159 female patients with SUI underwent transobturator midurethral sling surgery (TOT). The patients were selected for SUI, with no overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms, no detrusor overactivity (DO) on UDS, no pelvic organ prolapse, and no history of prior anti-incontinence surgery. Of these patients, 128 patients (aged 38-74 years; mean age, 51.8±7.1 years) with follow-up of at least 12 months were included in the analysis. All patients had PE and UDS findings, including Q-tip testing, free maximal flow rates (Qmax), filling cystometry, Valsalva leak point pressure, detrusor pressure at maximal flow, and maximal urethral closing pressure. The primary outcome was postoperative voiding dysfunction, defined as the subjective feeling of not empting one's bladder completely and a postvoid residual ≥100 ml. A secondary outcome, "cure" of SUI, was defined as "a negative result on the cough stress test and no subjective complaint of urine leakage." We analyzed the preoperative parameters by univariate and multivariate regression for voiding dysfunction, de novo OAB, cure rate, and the patients' satisfaction. RESULTS: Patients with a preoperative Qmax < 15 ml/s (7 patients) had a tendency for postoperative voiding dysfunction compared with those with a Qmax 15 ml/s (15 patients) (35.0% vs. 13.9%, respectively; p=0.046). No other preoperative parameters had a statistically significant influence on postoperative voiding dysfunction. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that Qmax was a good predictor because the area under the ROC curve value of Qmax was 0.81 (95% CI: 0.73 to 0.89, p<0.001). The univariate and multivariate analysis of the preoperative PE and UDS parameters demonstrated that no significant differences and no independent risk factors were related to the postoperative de novo OAB, cure rate, or the patients' satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that preoperative UDS results, especially Qmax, could be used to predict postoperative voiding dysfunction after the TOT procedure.

Functional assessment staging (FAST) in Korean patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Functional Assessment Staging (FAST) was devised to meet the need for a more brief patient-derived rating scale for evaluating changes in functional performance and activities of daily living skills in all the stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). FAST was administered to 464 patients with probable AD according to the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Diseases and Stroke/Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association (NINCDS-ADRDA) criteria. The patients were also evaluated using the Korean version of the Mini-Mental Status Examination (K-MMSE), the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), the Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB), the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS), the Barthel Activities of Daily Living (B-ADL), and the Seoul-Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (S-IADL). For patients with moderate to severe dementia, the Korean versions of the Severe Impairment Battery (SIB-Ko) and Baylor profound mental status examination (BPMSE-Ko) were also administered. There were significant correlations between the FAST and the K-MMSE scores (r= - 0.71, p< 0.001), between the FAST and the SIB-Ko scores (r= - 0.54, p< 0.001) and between the FAST and the BPMSE-Ko scores (r=- 0.46, p< 0.001). The FAST was also correlated with the CDR, the CDR-SB, the B-ADL, and the S-IADL (p< 0.001). Ultimately, FAST is a reliable and valid assessment technique for evaluating functional deterioration in AD patients throughout the disease course. Moreover, the findings of the present study suggest that the FAST elucidates a characteristic pattern of progressive, ordinal, and functional decline in AD in Korean AD patients with dementia.

A biochemical mechanism for resistance of intervertebral discs to metastatic cancer: Fas ligand produced by disc cells induces apoptotic cell death of cancer cells.

Metastatic spinal cancer is characterized by the maintenance of normal disc structure until the vertebral body is severely destroyed by cancer cells. Anatomic features of the discs have been thought to be the main factor which confer the discs their resistance to metastatic cancer. However, little is known about the biochemical mechanism to prevent or attenuate the local infiltration of cancer cells into the discs. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether Fas ligand (FasL) produced by disc cells can kill Fas-bearing breast cancer cells by Fas and FasL interaction. Two human breast cancer cells (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) were obtained and cultured (1 x 10(6) cells/well), and the expression of Fas was investigated by western blot analysis. Annulus fibrosus cells were isolated and cultured, and the presence of FasL was quantified in the supernatants of three different numbers of annulus fibrosus cells (1x, 2x, and 4 x 10(6) cells/well) by ELISA assay. The MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cancer cells were cultured with supernatants of annulus fibrosus cells for 48 h. As controls, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cancer cells were also cultured by themselves for 48 h. Finally, we determined and quantified the apoptosis rates of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cancer cells by Annexin V-FITC and PI and TUNEL at 48 h, respectively. The expression of Fas was identified in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cancer cells. The mean concentrations of FasL in supernatants of annulus fibrosus cells (1x, 2x, and 4 x 10(6) cells/well) were 10.8, 29.6, and 56.4 pg/mL, respectively. After treatment with the supernatant of three different numbers of annulus fibrosus cells, the mean apoptosis rate of MCF-7 cancer cells was increased (2.8%, P < 0.01; 6.7%, P < 0.001; 31.0%, P < 0.001) in a dose-dependent manner of FasL compared to that of control (1.1%). The mean apoptosis rate of MDA-MB-231 cancer cells was also increased (5.7%, P < 0.01; 11.1%, P < 0.001; 25.3%, P < 0.001) in a dose-dependent manner of FasL compared to that of control (2.1%). TUNEL also demonstrated direct evidence of apoptosis of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cancer cells. Our results demonstrate that Fas-bearing cancer cells undergo apoptosis by FasL produced by disc cells, which may be considered as a potential biochemical explanation for the disc's resistance to metastatic cancer.