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Purpose:We performed a comparative analysis of the plasma levels of antithrombin (AT) III, plasminogen, fibrinogen, and D-dimer among patients with and without clinically localized prostate cancer to investigate the clinical significance of the coagulation profile in prostate cancer. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was performed in which plasma levels of AT III, plasminogen, fibrinogen, and D-dimer were assessed in patients before they underwent prostate biopsy. According to the results of the biopsy, the patients were categorized into the cancer group or the control group. Levels of the four coagulation factors were then compared between the cancer and control groups. Also, levels of the four coagulation factors were correlated with tumor stage and grade in the cancer group. Results: The cancer group had significantly lower levels of AT III activity and higher plasma D-dimer levels than did the control group (p=0.007 and p=0.018, respectively). Within the cancer group, no significant differences were observed in the levels of AT III, plasminogen, fibrinogen, or D-dimer between those with a pathological Gleason score of ≥7 and otherwise. Regarding pathologic stage of prostate cancer, the subjects with organ-confined disease and those with extraprostatic extension of a tumor demonstrated no significant differences in the preoperative levels of the four coagulation factors analyzed. Conclusions: Our results suggest that plasma levels of AT III and D-dimer are altered in patients with prostate cancer. Further study is needed to elucidate the underlying mechanism and clinical significances of such a phenomenon among patients with clinically localized prostate cancer.

PurposeTraditionally, an interval of 4 to 6 weeks has been recommended after prostate biopsy before open radical prostatectomy. However, such an interval is not explicitly specified in robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP). This study was designed to determine whether the interval from prostate biopsy to RALP affects surgical difficulties.Materials and MethodsBetween January 2008 and May 2009, a total of 237 men underwent RALP in our institution. The interval from biopsy to RALP was categorized as follows: ≤ 2 weeks, >2 to ≤ 4 weeks, >4 to ≤ 6 weeks, >6 to ≤ 8 weeks, and >8 weeks. Multivariate analysis was used to identify whether the interval from prostate biopsy to RALP was an independent predictor of operative time, estimated blood loss (EBL), margin positivity, continence, and potency.ResultsAmong the 5 groups, there were no significant differences in age, body mass index (BMI), preoperative serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA), prostate volume, or preoperative International Index of Erectile Dysfunction-5 score (all p>0.05). In the multivariate analysis, operative time was significantly associated with prostate volume. EBL was associated with prostate volume and BMI. Margin positivity was associated with preoperative serum PSA, prostate volume, and biopsy Gleason score. Postoperative continence and potency were significantly associated with age. However, in univariate and multivariate analyses, the interval from biopsy to RALP was not significantly associated with operative time, EBL, margin positivity, postoperative continence, or potency (all p>0.05).ConclusionsOur data suggest that the interval from prostate biopsy to RALP is not related to surgical difficulties.

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Compost has been widely used in order to promote vegetation growth in post-harvested and burned soils. The effects on soil microorganisms were scarcely known, so we performed the microbial analyses in a wildfire area of the Taebaek Mountains, Korea, during field surveys from May to September 2007. Using culture-dependent and -independent methods, we found that compost used in burned soils influenced a greater impact on soil fungi than bacteria. Compost-treated soils contained higher levels of antifungal strains in the genera Bacillus and Burkholderia than non-treated soils. When the antifungal activity of Burkholderia sp. strain O1a_RA002, which had been isolated from a compost-treated soil, was tested for the growth inhibition of bacteria and fungi isolated from burned soils, the membrane-filtered culture supernatant inhibited 19/37 fungal strains including soil fungi, Eupenicillium spp. and Devriesia americana; plant pathogens, Polyschema larviformis and Massaria platani; an animal pathogen, Mortierella verticillata; and an unidentified Ascomycota. However, this organism only inhibited 11/151 bacterial strains tested. These patterns were compatible with the culture-independent DGGE results, suggesting that the compost used in burned soils had a greater impact on soil fungi than bacteria through the promotion of the growth of antifungal bacteria. Our findings indicate that compost used in burned soils is effective in restoring soil conditions to a state closer to those of nearby unburned forest soils at the early stage of secondary succession.