A platform for non-local thermodynamic equilibrium atomic physics research using the buried layer target approach at a kJ level laser facility.

We present a design and first use of a kJ level laser facility for research of non-local thermodynamic equilibrium atomic physics using the buried layer target method. The target design included a metal layer buried inside a plastic tamper with thicknesses tailored to the expected laser intensities. The target was illuminated from each side by two laser beams with intensities of 0.

A nomogram to predict "pure" vs. "mixed" uric acid urinary stones.

Purpose: Uric acid stones (UAS) can be treated non-invasively by oral chemolysis. However, it is crucial to identify individuals who are most likely to benefit from this approach, specifically, patients with pure UAS. The aim of this study was to develop a nomogram that can differentiate between pure and mixed UAS.

Transformations in Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Surgical Practices: A Longitudinal Study of Trends and Predictions.

Introduction: The workload for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) surgery is expected to rise with an increase in life expectancy and a growing population. Surgical modalities for BPH have evolved, shifting toward minimally invasive transurethral procedures. This study aimed to investigate the trends in BPH surgical procedures across medical centers in Israel.

Comparison of EEP and TURP long-term outcomes: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To compare long-term reoperation rate and functional outcomes between EEP (endoscopic enucleation of the prostate) and TURP (transurethral resection of the prostate).

Evidence Acquisition: A systematic literature review of Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science was conducted with primary outcome assessed being reoperation rate and secondary outcomes after a long term (> 3 years) being functional outcomes or related values (prostate volume, PSA level, etc.).

Sub-annual bomb radiocarbon records from trees in northern Israel.

Spatial and temporal variations in the atmospheric bomb radiocarbon make it a very useful tracer and a dating tool. With the introduction of more atmospheric bomb radiocarbon records, the spatial and temporal changes in bomb radiocarbon are becoming clearer. Bomb radiocarbon record from a pine tree in the northern Israel region shows that the ΔC level in the region is closer to the northern hemisphere zone (NH) 1 as compared to the northern hemisphere zone (NH) 2.

Effect of F11 Receptor/Junctional Adhesion Molecule-A-derived Peptide on Neointimal Hyperplasia in a Murine Model.

Purpose: To determine whether inhibition of the F11 receptor/JAM-A (F11R) using F11R-specific antagonist peptide 4D results in inhibition of smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation and migration in vivo, known as neointimal hyperplasia (NIH), using a mouse focal carotid artery stenosis model (FCASM).

Materials And Methods: The mouse FCASM was chosen to test the hypothesis because the dominant cell type at the site of stenosis is SMC, similar to that in vascular access stenosis. Fourteen C57BL/6 mice underwent left carotid artery (LCA) partial ligation to induce stenosis, followed by daily injection of peptide 4D in 7 mice and saline in the remaining 7 mice, and these mice were observed for 21 days and then euthanized.

Deep learning for video-based automated pain recognition in rabbits.

Despite the wide range of uses of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) as experimental models for pain, as well as their increasing popularity as pets, pain assessment in rabbits is understudied. This study is the first to address automated detection of acute postoperative pain in rabbits. Using a dataset of video footage of n = 28 rabbits before (no pain) and after surgery (pain), we present an AI model for pain recognition using both the facial area and the body posture and reaching accuracy of above 87%.

Retrograde intrarenal surgery for lower pole stones utilizing stone displacement technique yields excellent results.

Objective: To evaluate the long-term stone-free rate (SFR) of retrograde intra-renal surgery (RIRS) in the treatment of lower pole renal calculi using only basket relocation and identify independent predictors of stone-free status.

Methods: All consecutive patients undergoing RIRS lower pole renal calculi at a single high-volume tertiary center were analyzed retrospectively. Lower pole stones were relocated to the upper pole, where laser lithotripsy was performed.

Calibration of image plate and back illuminated charge coupled device detectors at the thermal emission band of high Z target laser produced plasmas (80-800 eV).

We present a systematic method to absolutely calibrate detector efficiency vs photon energy using a laser produced plasma broadband x-ray source, a gold standard calibrated detector, and transmission gratings (TGs) as dispersive elements. Calibration uses one calibrated TG and a calibrated gold standard detector on one channel and a second calibrated TG and a detector to be calibrated on the other channel. Both channels simultaneously view the laser-produced plasma x-ray source from the same angle with respect to the laser beam and the planar target normal.

Laser produced soft x-ray source diagnostics with temporal, spectral, and spatial resolution.

We demonstrate the use of three diagnostic tools which simultaneously view the target from nearly the same direction, and their results are combined to provide temporally, spectrally, and spatially resolved absolutely calibrated target emission information. To demonstrate this capability, Au targets were irradiated by 1.8 kJ, 3 ns laser pulses to produce broadband soft x-ray emission in the 0.

Endoscopic Management of Low-Grade Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma: Characterizing the Long-term Burden of Care in Comparison to Radical Nephroureterectomy.

Objective: To compare procedure burden, oncologic, surgical and renal-function outcomes between patients with low-grade upper urothelial cancer (UTUC) who were referred for either radical management (RM) or kidney-sparing endoscopic management (EM).

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data of all patients treated for UTUC at our tertiary medical center between 2000 and 2018 and selected patients diagnosed with unilateral low-grade UTUC.

Results: Twenty-four patients were treated with EM and 37 with RM.

Primary Chemoablation of Low-Grade Intermediate-Risk Nonmuscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer Using UGN-102, a Mitomycin-Containing Reverse Thermal Gel (Optima II): A Phase 2b, Open-Label, Single-Arm Trial.

Purpose: Low-grade intermediate-risk nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer (LG IR NMIBC) is a recurrent disease, thus requiring repeated transurethral resection of bladder tumor under general anesthesia. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of UGN-102, a mitomycin-containing reverse thermal gel, as a primary chemoablative therapeutic alternative to transurethral resection of bladder tumor for patients with LG IR NMIBC.

Materials And Methods: This prospective, phase 2b, open-label, single-arm trial recruited patients with biopsy-proven LG IR NMIBC to receive 6 once-weekly instillations of UGN-102.

Use of electromagnetic stimulation on an Enterococcus faecalis biofilm on root canal treated teeth in vitro.

Root canal disinfection is of utmost importance in the success of the treatment, thus, a novel method for achieving root canal disinfection by electromagnetic waves, creating a synergistic reaction via electric and thermal energy, was created. To study electromagnetic stimulation (EMS) for the disinfection of root canal in vitro, single rooted teeth were instrumented with a 45.05 Wave One Gold reciprocating file.

Measurement of L-shell emission from mid-Z targets under non-LTE conditions using Transmission Grating Spectrometer and DANTE power diagnostics.

In this work, we present the measurement of L-band emission from buried Sc/V targets in experiments performed at the OMEGA laser facility. The goal of these experiments was to study non-local thermodynamic equilibrium plasmas and benchmark atomic physics codes. The L-band emission was measured simultaneously by the time resolved DANTE power diagnostic and the recently fielded time integrated Soreq-Transmission Grating Spectrometer (TGS) diagnostic.

Time-dependent soft and hard x-ray measurements using streak and x-ray diode array diagnostic systems.

High-temperature, high-density experiments require a simultaneous understanding of temporal and spectral regions. The spectral x-ray streak camera (SXSC) is a new high-temporal-resolution spectral x-ray diagnostic system that allows researchers to differentiate between soft and hard x-ray regions. The diagnostic offers three spectral channels with a wide spectral range, one direct channel that includes a filter and two indirect channels that include both mirrors and filters.

Discovery of annual growth in a modern olive branch based on carbon isotopes and implications for the Bronze Age volcanic eruption of Santorini.

The volcanic eruption of Santorini in the Bronze Age left detectable debris across the Mediterranean, serving as an anchor in time for the region, synchronizing chronologies of different sites. However, dating the eruption has been elusive for decades, as radiocarbon indicates a date about a century earlier than archaeological chronologies. The identification of annual rings by CT in a charred olive branch, buried alive beneath the tephra on Santorini, was key in radiocarbon dating the eruption.

data: treatment with the F11R/JAM-A peptide 4D decreases mortality and reduces the generation of atherosclerotic plaques in ApoE-deficient mice.

The data in this article focus on the F11 Receptor (F11R/JAM-A; Junctional Adhesion Molecule-A; JAM-A, F11R), a cell adhesion protein constitutively expressed on the membrane surface of circulating platelets and localized within the tight junctions of healthy endothelial cells (ECs). Previous reports have shown that F11R/JAM-A plays a critical role in the adhesion of platelets to an inflamed endothelium due to its' pathological expression on the luminal surface of the cytokine-inflamed endothelium. Since platelet adhesion to an inflamed endothelium is an early step in the development of atherosclerotic plaque formation, and with time, resulting in heart attacks and stroke, we conducted a long-term, study utilizing the atherosclerosis-prone ApoE mice to attempt a blockade of the formation of atherosclerotic plaques by preventing the adhesion of platelets to the inflamed vasculature .

Tubeless supra-costal percutaneous nephrolithotomy is associated with significantly less hydrothorax: a prospective randomized clinical study.

Objectives: To evaluate prospectively whether a tubeless (JJ stent-only) percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) might reduce the risk of hydrothorax, compared to an approach where a nephrostomy tube is left.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a two-arm open-label prospective randomized study (NCT02036398) comparing tubeless supra-costal PCNL (with a JJ stent only) to standard PCNL (with nephrostomy tube and JJ stent) using intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) analyses. All patients underwent a standard single-stage prone supra-costal procedure with single-tract access.

Comparative analysis for different designs of two-dimensional binary sinusoidal transmission gratings.

Diffraction gratings serve as a suitable optical element for spectral analysis, as light is spatially separated by its constituting wavelengths. Unlike conventional bar gratings that produce many high-diffraction orders, sinusoidal gratings enable suppression of the high orders, leaving only the first order. This makes the sinusoidal grating a promising candidate for spectral analysis for a wide range of wavelengths.

Long-Term Adherence to Medications in Secondary Prevention of Urinary Tract Stones.

To reduce the high recurrence rate of nephrolithiasis, patients are routinely prescribed secondary chemoprevention therapy with alkali citrate (Alkasolve; Sam-On Ltd) for uric acid stones and hypocitraturia or hydrochlorthiazide (Disothiazide; Dexcel Ltd) for hypercalciuria. However, data on adherence to these regimens are limited. The aim of this study was to assess rates of long-term adherence to alkali citrate and hydrochlorothiazide and reasons for nonadherence.

A peptide antagonist of F11R/JAM-A reduces plaque formation and prolongs survival in an animal model of atherosclerosis.

Background And Aims: The F11 Receptor (F11R), AKA Junctional Adhesion Molecule-A (JAM-A) (F11R/JAM-A), is an adhesion protein constitutively expressed on the membrane surface of circulating platelets and the luminal surface of inflamed endothelial cells (EC). Platelet adhesion to an inflamed endothelium is one of the early steps of atherosclerotic plaque formation. Our previous studies, conducted with cultured EC in vitro, have demonstrated the expression of F11R/JAM-A on the luminal surface of inflamed EC, platelet adhesion to inflamed EC through F11R/JAM-A interactions, and inhibition of this interaction by the presence of F11R/JAM-A antagonistic peptide (F11Rpeptide 4D).

A combined sinusoidal transmission grating spectrometer and x-ray diode array diagnostics for time-resolved spectral measurements in laser plasma experiments.

A new system which combines two independent diagnostic devices on the same line of sight is used to measure the X-ray spectrum in the 50-1000 eV regime. The first device is an array of six channels of time-resolved X-ray diodes (XRD's), arranged to cover the spectral band with low spectral resolution (λ/Δλ ∼ 3). The second device is a time-integrated sinusoidal transmission grating spectrometer (STGS) with a wide spectral range coverage and moderate spectral resolution (λ/Δλ ∼ 30).

Radiocarbon analysis of modern olive wood raises doubts concerning a crucial piece of evidence in dating the Santorini eruption.

Charred olive wood is abundant in the archaeological record, especially around the Mediterranean. As the outermost ring closest to the bark is assumed to represent the latest time that the tree was alive, the radiocarbon date obtained from the outermost rings of an olive branch buried during the Santorini volcanic eruption is regarded as crucial evidence for the date of this cataclysmic event. The date of this eruption has far reaching consequences in the archaeology of the Aegean, Egypt and the Levant, and the understanding of their interconnections.