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Radical hysterectomy and immediate sacral colpopexy using autologous fascia lata could be considered a treatment option for cervical cancer complicated by severe and symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse.

Aim Endocervical curettage (ECC) at the time of conization has been reported to be effective for diagnosing cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and/or early stage cervical cancer. We aimed to verify the accuracy of ECC with conization. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the records of 540 patients with suspected neoplastic cervical lesions who underwent conization at the Yokohama City University Hospital from January 2008 to December 2015. To validate the effectiveness of ECC for evaluating endocervical lesions, histopathologic findings from ECC samples were compared with those from endocervical specimens obtained by conization. In patients who subsequently underwent hysterectomy, specimens of residual endocervical stump lesions were compared with the specimens obtained by ECC. Results ECC was performed in 58.9% of patients who underwent conization. Positive findings were only observed in 7.9%, while negative findings were found in 67.3% of ECC samples; however, 24.8% of the samples were inadequate for diagnosis. None of the patients had an upgraded diagnosis according to ECC results. The sensitivity of ECC in predicting endocervical stump lesions that were identified by conization specimens was 25.0%, the specificity was 94.2% and the positive predictive value was 55.0% (κ = 0.238; P < 0.001). ECC samples yielded a sensitivity of 42.9%, a specificity of 83.9%, and positive predictive value of 54.5% (κ = 0.284; P = 0.053) in predicting residual endocervical lesions in the uterus. Conclusions As it offers low sensitivity and positive predictive value, ECC at the time of conization is of limited benefit for evaluating endocervical lesions.

Thin semiconducting barium titanate ceramic bars consisting of single grains joined together in series have been prepared, and the positive temperature coefficient of resistivity (PTCR) characteristics of strictly single-grain boundaries in the materials were investigated. The resistivity (R)-temperature (T) characteristics obtained for the present samples can be classified into typically three categories: (1) normal type PTCR characteristics, similar to those observed in usual ceramic samples, (2) saw-tooth type PTCR characteristics, characterized by an abrupt increase in resistivity by more than three orders of magnitude at the Curie point, immediately follwoed by a monotonous decrease in it, and (3) flat type R–T characteristics, with substantially little or no resistivity jump. Of these R–T characteristics, normal type PTCR characteristics were the most frequently observed (about 60%; a total of 65 samples were examined). Flat type R–T characteristics were least frequently (about 10%) observed. Single boundaries with these three types of PTCR characteristics exhibited essentially the same ferroelectric capacitance–temperature characteristic; this demonstrates that the temperature dependence of the dielectric constant above the Curie point was not responsible for the PTCR anomalies. Single boundaries with normal and saw-tooth type PTCR characteristics showed significantly nonlinear current-voltage characteristics above the Curie point, which may be interpreted to be caused by a current strongly affected by traps (or surface acceptor states) present at the grain boundaries.