New Generation University College

About: New Generation University College is a education organization based out in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cancer. The organization has 17440 authors who have published 28460 publications receiving 667288 citations. The organization is also known as: National University College.

Long-term outcomes after laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer: a large-scale multicenter retrospective study

Abstract: Recently, the number of laparoscopic procedures for gastric cancer has increased rapidly. Laparoscopic surgery is reported to have many advantages over open gastrectomy with oncologic safety in early gastric cancer. However, there were few reports on long-term outcomes of laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy (LAG) for advanced gastric cancer (AGC). The aim of this study was to investigate long-term survival outcomes after LAG for AGC. The data of 1,485 patients who underwent LAG between April 1998 and December 2005 by ten surgeons at ten hospitals were collected retrospectively. Among them, 239 patients who were diagnosed with AGC on final pathologic examination were enrolled in the present study to investigate long-term clinical outcomes. The ratio of male to female patients was 151:88 and the mean age was 57.1 years. One hundred ninety-three subtotal gastrectomies, 41 total gastrectomies, and 5 proximal gastrectomies were performed. D1 + α, D1 + β, and D2 lymph node dissections were performed for 14, 62, and 163 cases, respectively. The median follow-up period was 55.4 months. The overall 5-year survival rate of the 239 AGC patients was 78.8% and the disease-specific 5-year survival rate was 85.6%. The 5-year survival rates of the TNM staging system’s (7th ed.) stages were 90.5% (stage Ib, n = 86), 86.4% (stage IIa, n = 53), 78.3% (stage IIb, n = 44), 52.8% (stage IIIa, n = 24), 52.9% (stage IIIb, n = 24), and 37.5% (stage IIIc, n = 8) (p < 0.001). The long-term survival outcome rates of LAG for AGC in the present study were comparable to those previously reported for open gastrectomy. Based on the present results, a well-designed phase III trial comparing LAG and open gastrectomy for AGC will be needed to affirm the validity of LAG for AGC.

Electromechanical cardioplasty using a wrapped elasto-conductive epicardial mesh

Abstract: Heart failure remains a major public health concern with a 5-year mortality rate higher than that of most cancers. Myocardial disease in heart failure is frequently accompanied by impairment of the specialized electrical conduction system and myocardium. We introduce an epicardial mesh made of electrically conductive and mechanically elastic material, to resemble the innate cardiac tissue and confer cardiac conduction system function, to enable electromechanical cardioplasty. Our epicardium-like substrate mechanically integrated with the heart and acted as a structural element of cardiac chambers. The epicardial device was designed with elastic properties nearly identical to the epicardial tissue itself and was able to detect electrical signals reliably on the moving rat heart without impeding diastolic function 8 weeks after induced myocardial infarction. Synchronized electrical stimulation over the ventricles by the epicardial mesh with the high conductivity of 11,210 S/cm shortened total ventricular activation time, reduced inherent wall stress, and improved several measures of systolic function including increases of 51% in fractional shortening, ~90% in radial strain, and 42% in contractility. The epicardial mesh was also capable of delivering an electrical shock to terminate a ventricular tachyarrhythmia in rodents. Electromechanical cardioplasty using an epicardial mesh is a new pathway toward reconstruction of the cardiac tissue and its specialized functions.

Sterile intra-amniotic inflammation in asymptomatic patients with a sonographic short cervix: prevalence and clinical significance.

Abstract: Objective: To determine the frequency and clinical significance of sterile and microbial-associated intra-amniotic inflammation in asymptomatic patients with a sonographic short cervix.Methods: Amniotic fluid (AF) samples obtained by transabdominal amniocentesis from 231 asymptomatic women with a sonographic short cervix [cervical length (CL) ≤25 mm] were analyzed using cultivation techniques (for aerobic and anaerobic as well as genital mycoplasmas) and broad-range polymerase chain reaction (PCR) coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (PCR/ESI-MS). The frequency and magnitude of intra-amniotic inflammation [defined as an AF interleukin (IL)-6 concentration ≥2.6 ng/mL], acute histologic placental inflammation, spontaneous preterm delivery (sPTD), and the amniocentesis-to-delivery interval were examined according to the results of AF cultures, PCR/ESI-MS and AF IL-6 concentrations.Results: Ten percent (24/231) of patients with a sonographic short cervix had sterile intra-amniotic in...

Simvastatin induces apoptosis in human colon cancer cells and in tumor xenografts, and attenuates colitis‐associated colon cancer in mice

Abstract: Statins, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors could be associated with the risk reduction of colorectal cancer. We previously demonstrated that simvastatin inhibits NF-kappaB signaling in human intestinal epithelial cells and ameliorates acute murine colitis. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of simvastatin on the apoptotic pathways related to NF-kappaB signaling in colon cancer cells, and on anticancer effects in 2 different animal models. We treated cell lines (COLO 205 and HCT 116) with simvastatin or vehicle and determined apoptosis by cell cycle analysis, Annexin V-FITC staining, caspase-3 activity assay and confocal microscopy. We assessed the expression of antiapoptotic factors by RT-PCR and Western blotting. In the colitis-associated colon cancer (CAC) model, we induced colonic tumors in C57/BL6 mice by azoxymethane and dextran sulfate sodium administration, and evaluated simvastatin's effect on tumor growth. In the xenograft model, we evaluated its effect on the inoculated tumor growth. In both cell lines, simvastatin caused dose- and time-dependent cell death. Annexin V staining significantly increased after simvastatin treatment. It augmented caspase-3 activity and downregulated the expression of Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, cIAP1 and cFLIP. In the CAC model, simvastatin significantly reduced tumor development. In the xenograft model, tumors from animals treated with simvastatin had smaller volumes, larger necrotic areas, lower expression of VEGF and higher apoptotic scores. In conclusion, simvastatin inhibited colon cancer development by induction of apoptosis and suppression of angiogenesis. These results suggest that simvastatin could be a potential chemopreventive and therapeutic agent of CAC as well as de novo colon cancer.