BACKGROUND The complexity of laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) has prompted many laparoscopic surgeons to adopt robotic partial nephrectomy (RPN) for the treatment of small renal masses. We assessed the learning curve for an experienced laparoscopic surgeon during the transition from LPN to RPN. METHODS We compared perioperative outcomes of the first 20 patients who underwent RPN to the...

INTRODUCTION Comparison of treatments for partial nephrectomy is limited by case selection. We compared robotic (RPN), laparoscopic (LPN), and open partial nephrectomy (OPN), controlling for tumor size, patient age, sex, and nephrometry score. METHODS RPN, LPN, and OPN procedures between March 2003 and March 2010 were reviewed. All RPN and LPN were included, and 2 OPN were matched for each RP...

A 58-year-old man was referred for catheter ablation of symptomatic persistent atrial fibrillation without structural heart disease. Informed consent and local committee approval were obtained. He underwent preprocedural cardiac computed tomography (CT) angiography after administration of intravenous contrast for evaluation of left atrium and pulmonary vein (PV) anatomy. The pericardiac course ...

A simple manifestation of the memorial processes is the so called reversed postoptokinetic nystagmus (RPN), a trace phenomenon elicited in the rabbit by prolonged (60 min) optokinetic (OK) stimulation. Electrophysiological analysis of RPN indicated that the underlying neural trace is weakened, but not suppressed by spreading depression in the cerebral cortex or superior colliculus. An asymmetry...

Introduction and Objectives. Robotic partial nephrectomy with peritumoral radiofrequency ablation (RFA-RPN) is a novel clampless technique. We describe oncologic and functional outcomes in a prospective cohort. Methods. From May, 2007, to December, 2009, 49 consecutive patients with renal masses <7 cm underwent RFA-RPN. During this period, only the RFA-RPN technique was utilized for all cases o...

The ubiquitin-binding RPN-10 protein serves as a ubiquitin receptor that delivers client proteins to the 26S proteasome. Although ubiquitin recognition is an essential step for proteasomal destruction, deletion of the rpn-10 gene in yeast does not influence viability, indicating redundancy of the substrate delivery pathway. However, their specificity and biological relevance in higher eukaryote...

The interplay between the stochastic intensity fluctuation of Raman pump laser and cross-phase modulation (XPM) effect in transmission optical fiber leads to additional phase noise, namely, relative phase noise (RPN) of signal in multi-level modulated coherent optical communication system. Both theoretical analysis and quantitative simulation have been performed to investigate the characteristi...

The RPN indicates how potentially difficult it is for a given system to achieve the desired performance robustly. It reflects both the attainable performance of a system and its degree of directionality. Two new indices, RPN ratio and RPN difference are introduced to quantify how realizable a given desired performance can be. The predictions made by RPN are verified by closed-loop simulations. ...

BACKGROUND Administration of a recombinant peptide of Periostin (rPN) has recently been shown to stimulate cardiomyocyte proliferation and angiogenesis after myocardial infarction (MI) [1]. However, strategies for targeting the delivery of rPN to the heart are lacking. Intrapericardial administration of drug-eluting hydrogels may provide a clinically viable strategy for increasing myocardial re...

The surgical management of small renal masses has continued to evolve, particularly with the advent of the robotic partial nephrectomy (RPN). Recent studies at high volume institutions utilizing near infrared imaging with indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescent dye to delineate renal tumor anatomy has generated interest among robotic surgeons for improving warm ischemia times and positive margin ra...