Dissolved major and trace geochemical dynamics in Antarctic lacustrine systems.

Clearwater Mesa (James Ross Island, northeast Antarctic Peninsula) provides a unique opportunity to study solute dynamics and geochemical weathering in the pristine lacustrine systems of a high latitude environment. In order to determine major controls on the solute composition of these habitats, a geochemical survey was conducted on 35 lakes. Differences between lakes were observed based on measured physico-chemical parameters, revealing neutral to alkaline waters with total dissolved solids (TDS) < 2500 mg L.

Silicon isotopes in Arctic and sub-Arctic glacial meltwaters: the role of subglacial weathering in the silicon cycle.

Glacial environments play an important role in high-latitude marine nutrient cycling, potentially contributing significant fluxes of silicon (Si) to the polar oceans, either as dissolved silicon (DSi) or as dissolvable amorphous silica (ASi). Silicon is a key nutrient in promoting marine primary productivity, contributing to atmospheric CO removal. We present the current understanding of Si cycling in glacial systems, focusing on the Si isotope (δSi) composition of glacial meltwaters.

Design and rationale for the "Me & My Heart" (eMocial) study: A randomized evaluation of a new smartphone-based support tool to increase therapy adherence of patients with acute coronary syndrome.

A novel smartphone-based patient support tool was developed to increase the adherence to antiplatelet therapy and lifestyle changes in patients after coronary angioplasty for acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The eMocial study (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02615704) investigates whether an electronic support tool will improve adherence to comedication and lifestyle changes in ACS patients.

Comparative Cost-effectiveness of Surgery, Collagenase Clostridium Histolyticum, and Penile Traction Therapy in Men with Peyronie's Disease in an Era of Effective Clinical Treatment.

Background: Traditionally, surgery has been considered the gold standard treatment for Peyronie's disease (PD). Less-invasive alternatives, such as collagenase Clostridium histolyticum (CCH) and traction therapy, have been proposed and proven effective.

Aim: To compare cost-effectiveness of management options for PD.

Extending the temperature sensing range using Eu luminescence up to 865 K in a single crystal of EuPO.

Temperature evaluation through the measurement of emission intensities (the intensity ratio method) requires two distinct bands, one of which is used as a reference, and the emission intensity of the other is monitored as a function of a change in temperature. Herein, we report the influence of the excitation wavelength and a coupling scheme between the lanthanoid and defect emission from the host lattice to extend the temperature sensing range by using a single crystal of europium(iii) phosphate. The temperature dependence of the emission intensity was studied for different excitation wavelengths: 365 (intraconfigurational 4f2 excitation), 338 (defect excitation), and 254 nm (O2- → Eu3+ charge-transfer excitation), in the temperature range 293-865 K.

Multicenter Investigation of Fungal Infections of Inflatable Penile Prostheses.

Background: Fungal infections of inflatable penile prostheses (IPPs) are inadequately understood in the literature.

Aim: To review a multi-institution database of IPP infections to examine for common patient and surgical factors related to IPP fungal infections.

Methods: This is a retrospective Institutional Review Board-approved analysis of 217 patients at 26 institutions who underwent salvage or device explant between 2001 and 2018.

Resident Impact on Patient & Surgeon Satisfaction and Outcomes: Evidence for Health System Support for Urology Education.

Objective: To assess the effect of resident involvement on patient and physician satisfaction, we evaluated the outcomes from a private urology group both prior to and after initiation of resident coverage.

Methods: Urologic procedures completed by attending surgeons without residents from October 2010 to December 2011 were compared to the same surgeons working with residents from January 2012 to March 2013. Surgical case times, postoperative complications, readmission rate, length of stay, Press-Ganey consumer assessments, resident and physician self-report of training quality and quality of life were collected.

Toward Bridging the Simulated-to-Real Gap: Benchmarking Super-Resolution on Real Data.

Capturing ground truth data to benchmark super-resolution (SR) is challenging. Therefore, current quantitative studies are mainly evaluated on simulated data artificially sampled from ground truth images. We argue that such evaluations overestimate the actual performance of SR methods compared to their behavior on real images.

Surgical Management of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Attributed to Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: AUA Guideline Amendment 2019.

Purpose: Male lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is common in men and can have negative effects on quality of life (QoL). It is the hope that this Guideline becomes a reference for effective evidence-based surgical management of LUTS/BPH.

Materials And Methods: The evidence team searched Ovid MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality database to identify studies indexed between January 2007-September 2017.

Multicenter investigation on the influence of climate in penile prosthesis infection.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) infection, time of year, climate, temperature and humidity. This is a retrospective IRB-approved analysis of 211 patients at 25 institutions who underwent salvage procedure or device explant between 2001 and 2016. Patient data were compiled after an extensive review of all aspects of their electronic medical records.

Von Willebrand Factor Mediates Pneumococcal Aggregation and Adhesion in Blood Flow.

is a major cause of community acquired pneumonia and septicaemia in humans. These diseases are frequently associated with thromboembolic cardiovascular complications. Pneumococci induce the exocytosis of endothelial Weibel-Palade Bodies and thereby actively stimulate the release of von Willebrand factor (VWF), which is an essential glycoprotein of the vascular hemostasis.

Efficacy of Combined Collagenase Clostridium histolyticum and RestoreX Penile Traction Therapy in Men with Peyronie's Disease.

Background: Previous studies of penile traction therapy (PTT) devices have demonstrated limited/no efficacy when combined with intralesional therapies for Peyronie's disease (PD). Recently, randomized data have demonstrated the efficacy of a novel PTT device, RestoreX, developed in cooperation with the Mayo Clinic, in men with PD.

Aim: To assess the safety and efficacy of treatment with the RestoreX device plus collagenase Clostridium histolyticum (CCH) compared with CCH alone and CCH with other PTT devices.

Penile Prosthesis Infection: Myths and Realities.

Penile prosthesis infection is the most significant complication following prosthesis implant surgery leading to postoperative morbidity, increased health care costs, and psychological stress for the patient. We aimed to identify risk factors associated with increased postoperative penile prosthesis infection. A review of the literature was performed PubMed using search terms including inflatable penile prosthesis, penile implant, and infection.

Outcomes of a Novel Penile Traction Device in Men with Peyronie's Disease: A Randomized, Single-Blind, Controlled Trial.

Purpose: Current penile traction therapy devices have significant limitations, including the need to use them for 3 to 8 hours per day. Given these issues, the novel RestoreX® penile traction therapy device was developed in cooperation with Mayo Clinic.

Materials And Methods: We performed a randomized, controlled, single-blind, intent to treat trial (ClinicalTrials.

Safety and Efficacy of Collagenase Clostridium Histolyticum in Peyronie's Disease Men With Ventral Curvatures.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of collagenase clostridium histolyticum (CCH) in men with ventral penile curvatures secondary to Peyronie's Disease (PD).

Methods: A prospective registry has been maintained of PD men undergoing CCH at our institution. Curvature assessments and subjective questioning were obtained at baseline and following 2 and 4 injection series.

CNNs for automatic glaucoma assessment using fundus images: an extensive validation.

Background: Most current algorithms for automatic glaucoma assessment using fundus images rely on handcrafted features based on segmentation, which are affected by the performance of the chosen segmentation method and the extracted features. Among other characteristics, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are known because of their ability to learn highly discriminative features from raw pixel intensities.

Methods: In this paper, we employed five different ImageNet-trained models (VGG16, VGG19, InceptionV3, ResNet50 and Xception) for automatic glaucoma assessment using fundus images.

Scrotoplasty at Time of Penile Implant is at High Risk for Dehiscence in Diabetics.

Introduction: Scrotoplasty has become a common practice during insertion of penile prosthesis, improving patient perception of penile length. Previous reports on scrotoplasty outcomes have only focused on the perceived benefits. The risk of wound complications after scrotoplasty is unknown.

Homophilic protein interactions facilitate bacterial aggregation and IgG-dependent complex formation by the Streptococcus canis M protein SCM.

Streptococcus canis is a zoonotic agent that causes serious invasive diseases in domestic animals and humans, but knowledge about its pathogenic potential and underlying virulence mechanisms is limited. Here, we report on the ability of certain S. canis isolates to form large bacterial aggregates when grown in liquid broth.

Contribution of Human Thrombospondin-1 to the Pathogenesis of Gram-Positive Bacteria.

A successful colonization of different compartments of the human host requires multifactorial contacts between bacterial surface proteins and host factors. Extracellular matrix proteins and matricellular proteins such as thrombospondin-1 play a pivotal role as adhesive substrates to ensure a strong interaction with pathobionts like the Gram-positive Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus. The human glycoprotein thrombospondin-1 is a component of the extracellular matrix and is highly abundant in the bloodstream during bacteremia.

Effect of Charge Transfer upon Li- and Na-Ion Insertion in Fine-Grained Graphitic Material as Probed by NMR.

We investigated the insertion-extraction behaviors of Li and Na ions in graphitic materials using solid-state NMR. A unique advantage of high-degree C-isotope enrichment of graphitic material allowed sensitive and metastable graphite intercalation compounds to be measured in a short time. Ex situ C magic-angle spinning NMR spectra of C fine-grained graphite are presented as a function of state-of-charge.

Damage Control Considerations During IPP Surgery.

Purpose Of Review: This review summarizes the latest reports in inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) complication management.

Recent Findings: IPP complications are rare, and reports are limited to retrospective studies. However, recent multi-institutional studies and use of national databases have provided further insight into risk factors for complications.

A Methylcellulose Hydrogel as Support for 3D Plotting of Complex Shaped Calcium Phosphate Scaffolds.

3D plotting is an additive manufacturing technology enabling biofabrication, thus the integration of cells or biologically sensitive proteins or growth factors into the manufacturing process. However, most (bio-)inks developed for 3D plotting were not shown to be processed into clinically relevant geometries comprising critical overhangs and cavities, which would collapse without a sufficient support material. Herein, we have developed a support hydrogel ink based on methylcellulose (mc), which is able to act as support as long as the co-plotted main structure is not stable.