Training in robotics: The learning curve and contemporary concepts in training.

Objective: To define the learning curve of robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery for prostatectomy (RALP) and upper tract procedures, and show the differences between the classical approach to training and the new concept of parallel learning.

Methods: This mini-review is based on the results of a Medline search using the keywords 'da Vinci', 'robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery', 'training', 'teaching' and 'learning curve'.

Results: For RALP and robot-assisted upper tract surgery, a learning curve of 8-150 procedures is quoted, with most articles proposing that 30-40 cases are needed to carry out the procedure safely.

Bringing excellence into urology: How to improve the future training of residents?

The Problem: The demographic development of society leads to an increased demand for physicians. Particularly in the surgical disciplines, there is a noticeably declining interest among graduates from medical schools worldwide. For reasons discussed in detail, this applies especially to urology.

Hyoscine N-butylbromide (Buscopan®) in the treatment of acute ureteral colic: what is the evidence?

Objective: To investigate the evidence for the use of hyoscine N-butylbromide (HBB) in the treatment of acute renal colic.

Methods: A literature search was performed using the keywords 'hyoscine N-butylbromide', 'ureteral colic', 'spasmolytic', 'anticholinergic' and 'analgesia'. The articles were given the appropriate level of evidence according to the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine Levels of Evidence guidelines.

NOTCH2 and FLT3 gene mis-splicings are common events in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML): new potential targets in AML.

Our previous studies revealed an increase in alternative splicing of multiple RNAs in cells from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) compared with CD34(+) bone marrow cells from normal donors. Aberrantly spliced genes included a number of oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, and genes involved in regulation of apoptosis, cell cycle, and cell differentiation. Among the most commonly mis-spliced genes (>70% of AML patients) were 2, NOTCH2 and FLT3, that encode myeloid cell surface proteins.

Insights into adhesion biology using single-molecule localization microscopy.

Focal adhesions are complex multi-protein structures that mediate cell adhesion and cell migration in multicellular organisms. Most of the protein components involved in focal adhesion formation have been identified, but a major challenge remains: determination of the spatial and temporal dynamics of adhesion proteins in order to understand the molecular mechanisms of adhesion assembly, maturation, signal regulation, and disassembly. Progress in this field has been hampered by the limited resolution of fluorescence microscopy.

The cell-free fetal DNA fraction in maternal blood decreases after physical activity.

Objective: If noninvasive prenatal testing using next generation sequencing is to be effective for pregnant women, a cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) fraction above 4% is essential unless the depth of sequencing is increased. This study's objective is to determine whether physical activity has an effect on the proportion of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) arising from the fetus (fetal fraction).

Methods: Nine pregnant women carrying male fetuses at gestational age 12(+0)  weeks to 14(+6)  weeks were included.

Strategy for naturelike designer transcription factors with reduced toxicity.

For clinical applications, the biological functions of DNA-binding proteins require that they interact with their target binding site with high affinity and specificity. Advances in randomized production and target-oriented selection of engineered artificial DNA-binding domains incited a rapidly expanding field of designer transcription factors (TFs). Engineered transcription factors are used in zinc-finger nuclease (ZFN) technology that allows targeted genome editing.

NEDD9 regulates 3D migratory activity independent of the Rac1 morphology switch in glioma and neuroblastoma.

Unlabelled: Metastasizing tumor cells must transmigrate the dense extracellular matrix that surrounds most organs. The use of three-dimensional (3D) collagen gels has revealed that many cancer cells can switch between different modes of invasion that are characterized by distinct morphologies (e.g.

Two-week test-retest stability of the cold pressor task procedure at two different temperatures as a measure of pain threshold and tolerance.

Background: The cold pressor task (CPT) was originally developed as a clinically indicative cardiovascular test, and quantifies vascular response and pulse excitability when a subject's hand is immersed into ice water. Since the test procedure results in a gradually increasing cold pain, the CPT has been widely used as a nociceptive stimulus in experimental studies on adults and children.

Aim: To evaluate the test-retest stability of response patterns using the CPT as a measure of pain threshold and pain tolerance.

A self-expanding thermolabile nitinol stent as a minimally invasive treatment alternative for ureteral strictures in renal transplant patients.

Background And Purpose: Ureteral obstruction in renal transplant allografts secondary to strictures can pose a challenging problem. Its incidence is reported between 0.5% and 4.

The Post-Ureteroscopic Lesion Scale (PULS): a multicenter video-based evaluation of inter-rater reliability.

Purpose: The Post-Ureteroscopic Lesion Scale (PULS) offers a simple grading system for the description of ureteral lesions after ureteroscopy. In this article, we present the results of a video-based multicenter evaluation of the inter-rater reliability of clinically important PULS grades 0-3.

Methods: Video sequences at the end of ureteroscopy (final passage) were recorded for 100 consecutive patients at a single institution and assessed by experienced urologists (n = 20) and senior residents (n = 17) at 19 international centers.

Simultaneous determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their chlorination by-products in drinking water and the coatings of water pipes by automated solid-phase microextraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

In this study, an automated method for the simultaneous determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their chlorination by-products in drinking water was developed based on online solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The main focus was the optimisation of the solid-phase microextraction step. The influence of the agitation rate, type of fibre, desorption time, extraction time, extraction temperature, desorption temperature, and solvent addition was examined.

Impact of ADHD symptoms on autism spectrum disorder symptom severity.

Despite the official exclusion criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the DSM-IV and ICD-10, patients with ASD often show ADHD symptoms. We aimed to examine the potential influence of ADHD symptoms on autistic psychopathology in a large sample of patients with ASD. We tested the hypothesis that patients with ASD and an additional ADHD (ASD+) would show a higher severity of autistic symptoms than those with ASD only (ASD-).

Is drinking water a major route of human exposure to alkylphenol and bisphenol contaminants in France?

The main objective of this study was to evaluate potential exposure of a significant part of the French population to alkylphenol and bisphenol contaminants due to water consumption. The occurrence of 11 alkylphenols and bisphenols was studied in raw water and treated water samples from public water systems. One sampling campaign was performed from October 2011 to May 2012.

A model to assess the feasibility of shifting reaction equilibrium by acetone removal in the transamination of ketones using 2-propylamine.

Acetone removal by evaporation has been proposed as a simple and cheap way to shift the equilibrium in the biocatalytic asymmetric synthesis of optically pure chiral amines, when 2-propylamine is used as the amine donor. However, dependent on the system properties, this may or may not be a suitable strategy. To avoid excessive laboratory work a model was used to assess the process feasibility.

Cultured allogenic keratinocytes for extensive burns: a retrospective study over 15 years.

Unlabelled: The aim was to review the use and indications of cultured allogenic keratinocytes (CAlloK) in extensive burns and their efficiency.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study comprised 15 years (1997-2012).

Inclusion Criteria: all patients who received CAlloK.

Long-term results of surgical treatment of vocal fold nodules.

Objectives/hypothesis: To evaluate the long-term outcome of patients with vocal fold nodules treated by surgery alone, or by a combination of surgery and voice therapy and to identify factors associated with long-term recurrent dysphonia.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Methods: All patients who had undergone surgery for vocal fold nodules in a tertiary care hospital between 1996 and 2006 were contacted.

The current role of percutaneous chemolysis in the management of urolithiasis: review and results.

The treatment of urolithiasis has changed dramatically over the past several decades. Novel technologies have led to new management protocols. Percutaneous chemolysis as a primary or adjuvant treatment for urinary tract stones has widely been neglected.

The risk variant in ODZ4 for bipolar disorder impacts on amygdala activation during reward processing.

Objectives: Bipolar disorder is a severe mood disorder, which normally begins during adolescence or early adulthood and has a heritability of up to 80%. The largest genome-wide association analysis of bipolar disorder recently identified a new genome-wide associated variant in OZD4 (rs12576775). The aim of the present study was to further elucidate the role of this risk variant in the disease process using an imaging genetics approach.

Effect of temperature on the release of intentionally and non-intentionally added substances from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles into water: chemical analysis and potential toxicity.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of temperature on the release of PET-bottle constituents into water and to assess the potential health hazard using in vitro bioassays with bacteria and human cell lines. Aldehydes, trace metals and other compounds found in plastic packaging were analysed in PET-bottled water stored at different temperatures: 40, 50, and 60°C. In this study, temperature and the presence of CO2 increased the release of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and antimony (Sb).

From gene to brain to behavior: schizophrenia-associated variation in AMBRA1 alters impulsivity-related traits.

Recently, genome-wide association between schizophrenia and an intronic variant in AMBRA1 (rs11819869) was reported. Additionally, in a reverse genetic approach in adult healthy subjects, risk allele carriers showed a higher medial prefrontal cortex blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response during a flanker task examining motor inhibition as an aspect of impulsivity. To test whether this finding can be expanded to further aspects of impulsivity, we analysed the effects of the rs11819869 genotype on impulsivity-related traits on a behavioral, temperament and neural level in a large sample of healthy adolescents.

C/EBPα is required for development of dendritic cell progenitors.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are master regulators of the immune system, but molecular regulation of early DC differentiation has been poorly understood. Here, we report that the transcription factor C/EBPα coordinates the development of progenitor cells required for production of multiple categories of DCs. C/EBPα was needed for differentiation from stem/progenitor cells to common DC progenitors (CDPs), but not for transition of CDP to mature DCs.