Alginate/CuO-gCN composite: a novel, reusable, non-toxic photocatalyst for methylene blue degradation.

Increasing industrial contamination necessitates development of sustainable water treatment solutions. Photocatalysis is a green technology utilizing light-activated materials (photocatalysts), which can degrade pollutants into harmless by-products. It is an emergent need to develop a photocatalyst that presents a significant advancement for sustainable water treatment and non-toxic to the environment.

A Case of "Nonunion Distal Tibia and Fibula Malleoli Fracture with posterior Malleoli Fracture" Treated with Ilizarov: A Case Report.

Introduction: Orthopedic surgeons have long acknowledged the difficulty of treating distal tibia and fibula fractures with posterior malleoli fractures in individuals with medical comorbidities due to a lack of inadequate blood supply. Aged Type 2 diabetic individuals, with distal tibia and fibula fracture with posterior malleoli fracture, are more prone to complications such as non-union, wound infection, and delayed bone healing. It is debatable whether surgical or non-invasive treatment is preferable for diabetic complex fractures.

Novel Diagnostic Imaging Approach for Patients With Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection: The Utility of 18 F-FDG PET Imaging.

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is an underdiagnosed etiology of acute coronary syndrome in women. Accurate diagnosis remains challenging but is imperative for treatment and prevention. We show here the utility of 18 F-FDG PET imaging in SCAD diagnosis.

Comparison of tumor response following conventional versus drug-eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization in early- and very early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective: To compare the safety of conventional transarterial chemoembolization (cTACE) vs drug-eluting bead TACE (DEB-TACE) in very early- and early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: Data of patients with early- and very early-stage HCC treated with cTACE or DEB-TACE were evaluated retrospectively in this study. A total of 40 patients were included, 20 treated with cTACE and 20 with DEB-TACE.

Prospective, Randomized Comparison of Dual-Lumen Single-Lumen Flexible Ureteroscopes in Proximal Ureteral and Renal Stone Management.

We sought to compare the safety, efficacy, efficiency, and surgeon experience during upper urinary tract stone management with single-lumen (SLFU) dual-lumen flexible ureteroscopes (DLFU). Seventy-nine patients with proximal ureteral or renal stone burden <2 cm were randomized to a SLFU or DLFU. We recorded times for ureteroscopy (URS), laser lithotripsy, stone basketing, as well as intraoperative and postoperative complications.

The Ophthalmology Mini-Elective Gives Vision to Preclinical Medical Students.

Introduction: Ophthalmology education during medical school is often very limited. To provide exposure to areas beyond its standard curriculum, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine offers mini-elective courses in various disciplines. We developed such a course to provide instruction in the basics of clinical ophthalmology to interested preclinical medical students.

First reported case of penile epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma.

Epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma (EMC) of the penis is a rare malignant tumor which has not previously been described in the literature. Genetic associations exist in EMC that could potentially help guide early diagnosis and treatment of this type of penile cancer. This serves as the first reported case of such cancer of the penis, and highlights the indolent course it takes to presentation, and the need for an appropriate histopathologic evaluation for the correct diagnosis.

Proteus mirabilis Keratitis: Risk Factors, Clinical Features, Treatment Outcomes, and Microbiological Characteristics.

Purpose: To characterize the risk factors, clinical presentations, management choices, and outcomes of Proteus mirabilis keratitis.

Methods: In this retrospective study, 26 culture-proven cases of P. mirabilis infections were diagnosed and treated between 1998 and 2019 at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Ureteral Access Sheath Deployment: How Much Force Is Too Much? Initial Studies with a Novel Ureteral Access Sheath Force Sensor in the Porcine Ureter.

Ureteral injuries can occur during ureteral access sheath (UAS) deployment. The force exerted during deployment and the amount of force that results in ureteral injury is yet to be accurately quantitated. In this feasibility study, we developed and then tested a novel force-sensing device in our animal laboratory to identify the threshold force that results in a porcine ureteral injury.

Evaluation of Urology Residency Training and Perceived Resident Abilities in the United States.

Objective: To identify differences and potential deficiencies in urology residency training programs in the United States as they are perceived by residents/recent graduates and program directors.

Materials And Methods: A 45-question and 38-question survey was sent to chief residents/recent graduates and program directors, respectively, at all 120 US urology programs regarding prior medical education, urologic training curricula, and perceived surgical proficiency, among other topics.

Results: Survey response rate was 58% and 52% for residents and program directors, respectively.

Pilot Assessment of Immersive Virtual Reality Renal Models as an Educational and Preoperative Planning Tool for Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy.

Background: Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) requires the urologist to have detailed knowledge of the stone and its relationship with the renal anatomy. Immersive virtual reality (iVR) provides patient-specific three-dimensional models that might be beneficial in this regard. Our objective is to present the initial experience with iVR in surgeon planning and patient preoperative education for PCNL.

Pretreatment Diagnosis of the Small Renal Mass: Status of Renal Biopsy in the United States of America.

Introduction: We surveyed United States of America-based urologists to characterize practice patterns and indications to perform a renal mass biopsy for small renal masses.

Materials And Methods: Members of the American Urological Association who practice in the United States were invited to participate in a 11-question web-based survey that was distributed via SurveyMonkey from December 2016 to January 2017.

Results: There were 1131 respondents.

The Fusiform and Occipital Face Areas Can Process a Nonface Category Equivalently to Faces.

The fusiform and occipital face areas (FFA and OFA) are functionally defined brain regions in human ventral occipitotemporal cortex associated with face perception. There is an ongoing debate, however, whether these regions are face-specific or whether they also facilitate the perception of nonface object categories. Here, we present evidence that, under certain conditions, bilateral FFA and OFA respond to a nonface category equivalently to faces.

Medical impulsive therapy (MIT): the impact of 1 week of preoperative tamsulosin on deployment of 16-French ureteral access sheaths without preoperative ureteral stent placement.

Introduction And Objectives: Medical expulsive therapy is based on pharmacologic ureteral relaxation. We hypothesized this concept may facilitate the deployment of the large 16 French (F) ureteral access sheath (UAS) when patients are intentionally pre-treated with oral tamsulosin, i.e.

Procedural Module: Flexible Cystoscopy.

Introduction: Cystoscopy is a basic urologic skill necessary for the endoscopic evaluation of the urethra and bladder. Presented is a step-by-step guide for flexible cystoscopy of the male and female patient.

Materials/methods: Routine flexible cystoscopy was performed on a male patient with a history of upper tract urothelial carcinoma and a female patient as part of a hematuria evaluation.

Multi-institutional Evaluation of Upper Urinary Tract Biopsy Using Backloaded Cup Biopsy Forceps, a Nitinol Basket, and Standard Cup Biopsy Forceps.

Objective: To compare the performance of 3 contemporary ureteroscopic biopsy devices for the histopathologic diagnosis of upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC).

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 145 patients who underwent 182 urothelial biopsies using 2.4F backloaded cup biopsy forceps, a nitinol basket, or 3F standard cup biopsy forceps at 3 tertiary academic centers between 2011 and 2016.

Three-dimensional evaluation of perirenal fat volume in patients with nephrolithiasis.

The concept of adipose tissue as an organ unto itself represents a new medical construct; already differences in the volume of perirenal fat around a tumor-bearing kidney have been described. We hypothesized that renal calculi may have similar impact on perirenal fat or alternatively abnormalities in urinary metabolites may be the result of perirenal fat affecting renal metabolism and subsequent stone formation. Accordingly, we conducted a study utilizing three-dimensional imaging software to evaluate perirenal fat volume (PFV) in patients with nephrolithiasis.

Crowdsourcing Evaluation of Ureteroscopic Videos Using the Post-Ureteroscopic Lesion Scale to Assess Ureteral Injury.

Introduction And Objectives: We hypothesized that crowdsourcing assessments could be applied to the Postureteroscopic Lesion Scale (PULS) for ureteral injury.

Methods: At a single institution, we prospectively digitally recorded 14 ureters at the terminal portion of standard ureteroscopic procedures. Each recording was reviewed by 10 global experts to determine a mean PULS score.

Acute Appendicitis: An Extracolonic Manifestation of Colitis.

The current report is the case of a 30-year-old male patient who presented with symptomatology suggestive of appendicitis. However, careful history-taking and laboratory tests led to the diagnosis of colitis, resulting in successful nonsurgical management of this patient. Although both appendicitis and colitis are common conditions, they are rarely diagnosed concurrently.

Prevalence of Protective Shielding Utilization for Radiation Dose Reduction in Adult Patients Undergoing Body Scanning Using Computed Tomography.

Purpose: Ionizing radiation is implicated in nearly 2% of malignancies in the United States; radiation shields prevent unnecessary radiation exposure during medical imaging. Contemporary radiation shield utilization for adult patients in the United States is poorly defined. Therefore, we evaluated the prevalence of protective shielding utilization in adult patients undergoing CT scans in United States' hospitals.

A Normalization Framework for Emotional Attention.

The normalization model of attention proposes that attention can affect performance by response- or contrast-gain changes, depending on the size of the stimulus and attention field. Here, we manipulated the attention field by emotional valence, negative faces versus positive faces, while holding stimulus size constant in a spatial cueing task. We observed changes in the cueing effect consonant with changes in response gain for negative faces and contrast gain for positive faces.

Spatial Mechanisms within the Dorsal Visual Pathway Contribute to the Configural Processing of Faces.

Human face recognition is often attributed to configural processing; namely, processing the spatial relationships among the features of a face. If configural processing depends on fine-grained spatial information, do visuospatial mechanisms within the dorsal visual pathway contribute to this process? We explored this question in human adults using functional magnetic resonance imaging and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in a same-different face detection task. Within localized, spatial-processing regions of the posterior parietal cortex, configural face differences led to significantly stronger activation compared to featural face differences, and the magnitude of this activation correlated with behavioral performance.

Retinal Structures and Visual Cortex Activity are Impaired Prior to Clinical Vision Loss in Glaucoma.

Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide and its pathogenesis remains unclear. In this study, we measured the structure, metabolism and function of the visual system by optical coherence tomography and multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging in healthy subjects and glaucoma patients with different degrees of vision loss. We found that inner retinal layer thinning, optic nerve cupping and reduced visual cortex activity occurred before patients showed visual field impairment.

Oral Dispersible System: A New Approach in Drug Delivery System.

Dosage form is a mean used for the delivery of drug to a living body. In order to get the desired effect the drug should be delivered to its site of action at such rate and concentration to achieve the maximum therapeutic effect and minimum adverse effect. Since oral route is still widely accepted route but having a common drawback of difficulty in swallowing of tablets and capsules.