Nonspherical Particle Stabilized Emulsions Formed through Destabilization and Arrested Coalescence.

To form nonspherical emulsion droplets, the interfacial tension driving droplet sphericity must be overcome. This can be achieved through interfacial particle jamming; however, careful control of particle coverage is required. In this work, we present a scalable novel batch process to form nonspherical particle-stabilized emulsions.

Current Challenges in Microcapsule Designs and Microencapsulation Processes: A Review.

Microencapsulation is an advanced methodology for the protection, preservation, and/or delivery of active materials in a wide range of industrial sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, fragrances, paints, coatings, detergents, food products, and agrochemicals. Polymeric materials have been extensively used as microcapsule shells to provide appropriate barrier properties to achieve controlled release of the encapsulated active ingredient. However, significant limitations are associated with such capsules, including undesired leaching and the nonbiodegradable nature of the typically used polymers.

Impact of surface free energy on electrostatic extraction of particles from a bed.

Hypothesis: Electrostatic extraction of particles from a bed to a pendent droplet to form liquid marbles has previously been investigated with respect to particle conductivity, size and shape, however, interparticle forces have not been specifically interrogated. If cohesion is the dominant force within the particle bed, then particles will be more readily extracted with reduced surface free energy.

Experiments: Glass particles were surface-modified using various alkyltrichlorosilanes.

BRIGHTLIGHT researchers as 'dramaturgs': creating from complex research data.

Background: BRIGHTLIGHT is a national evaluation of cancer services for young people aged 13-24 years in England. It is a mixed methods study with six interlinked studies aiming to answer the question: do specialist cancer services for teenagers and young adults add value? http://www.brightlightstudy.

Influence of particle size on extraction from a charged bed - toward liquid marble formation.

The interactions between particles and the role of their physical properties are not well understood for the electrostatic formation of liquid marbles. Here we focus initially on the impact of increasing particle diameter (notionally 20 to 140 μm) on the ease of particle extraction from an advancing bed of charged particles beneath an earthed, suspended water droplet. A larger particle diameter increased the ease of extraction, due to decreased interparticle cohesion, with increased potential applied to the particle bed.

An Electrostatic Method for Manufacturing Liquid Marbles and Particle-Stabilized Aggregates.

We have developed a method for transferring particles from a powder bed to a liquid droplet using an electric field. This process has been used to create liquid marbles with characteristics not normally found in those formed by direct contact methods such as rolling. It has also been used to manufacture hydrophilic particle-liquid aggregates and more complex layered aggregates incorporating both hydrophobic and hydrophilic particles.

Sex, Body Image, and Relationships: A BRIGHTLIGHT Workshop on Information and Support Needs of Adolescents and Young Adults.

Purpose: Discovering sexuality and romantic relationships are important development milestones in adolescence and young adulthood. A cancer diagnosis imposes obstacles for young people such as changes in their sexual function due to the disease and/or side effects of treatment, body image concerns, and interpersonal relationship difficulties. This can cause psychological distress and can impact on quality of life.

Presentation and Surgical Management of Duodenal Duplication in Adults.

Duodenal duplications in adults are exceedingly rare and their diagnosis remains difficult as symptoms are largely nonspecific. Clinical presentations include pancreatitis, biliary obstruction, gastrointestinal bleeding from ectopic gastric mucosa, and malignancy. A case of duodenal duplication in a 59-year-old female is presented, and her treatment course is reviewed with description of combined surgical and endoscopic approach to repair, along with a review of historic and current recommendations for management.

Can a Quality Collaborative Build Value in Global Surgery? Results From a Single State Experience.

Background: Surgery is a critical component of global health care worldwide. Little is known about global surgery participation among surgeons in Connecticut. The goal of this pilot survey project was to determine the breadth of global surgery experience in our state.

[Actual controversies about circumcision].

Introduction: Circumcision, the oldest and most frequently performed surgery in the world, is the subject of controversies. The aim of this study was to conduct a general review of circumcision in the light of the ten questions most frequently raised in the medical community.

Methods: Automated search of scientific articles published has been used by interviewing computer databases Medline and Embase from 1990 to 2013.

Bacterial hypermutation: clinical implications.

Heritable hypermutation in bacteria is mainly due to alterations in the methyl-directed mismatch repair (MMR) system. MMR-deficient strains have been described from several bacterial species, and all of the strains exhibit increased mutation frequency and recombination, which are important mechanisms for acquired drug resistance in bacteria. Antibiotics select for drug-resistant strains and refine resistance determinants on plasmids, thus stimulating DNA recombination via the MMR system.

[Prognostic value of erythrocyte polyamines levels in renal cell carcinoma. Prospective study in 418 cases].

Objectives: Polyamines: Spermine (Spm) and Spermidine (Spmd), are essential for cell proliferation and differentiation. A measurement of erythocytes polyamines (EPA) was developed in our institution. Our objective was to evaluate this marker as a new prognostic factor in renal cell carcinoma.

Absence of VHL gene alteration and high VEGF expression are associated with tumour aggressiveness and poor survival of renal-cell carcinoma.

Background: The von Hippel-Lindau gene (VHL) alteration, a common event in sporadic clear-cell renal-cell carcinoma (CCRCC), leads to highly vascularised tumours. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the major factor involved in angiogenesis, but the prognostic significance of both VHL inactivation and VEGF expression remain controversial. The aims of this study were to analyse the relationship between VHL genetic and epigenetic alterations, VHL expression and VEGF tumour or plasma expression, and to analyse their respective prognostic value in patients with CCRCC.

Reciprocal activating interaction between 6-sulfo LacNAc+ dendritic cells and NK cells.

Dendritic cells (DCs) display an extraordinary capacity to induce T-cell responses providing the opportunity of DC-based cancer vaccination strategies. Additional findings indicate that DCs may also play a crucial role for the activation of natural killer (NK) cells, which are important effectors in innate antitumor immunity. However, studies investigating the interaction between native human DCs and NK cells are limited.

Prognostic variables to predict cancer-related death in incidental renal tumours.

Objective: To identify, in a large multicentre series of incidental renal tumours, the key factors that could predict cancer-related deaths, as such tumours have a better outcome than symptomatic tumours and selected patients are increasingly being included in watchful-waiting protocols.

Patients And Methods: Data from 3912 patients were extracted from three international kidney-cancer databases. Age, gender, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS), Tumour-Node-Metastasis (TNM) stage, tumour size, Fuhrman grade, and final pathology were recorded.

[Comparison of antimicrobial susceptibility of 1,217 Escherichia coli isolates from women with hospital and community-acquired urinary tract infections].

Introduction: The treatment of urinary tract infection (UTI) in women is based mainly on empirical antibiotic therapy. It requires up-to-date knowledge of the susceptibility patterns of the bacteria most commonly identified in that setting. The aim of this prospective study was to measure the antibiotic susceptibility of Escherichia coli isolates responsible for UTIs in women from a single area and to compare it in hospital and community settings.

Prognostic impact of tumor size on pT2 renal cell carcinoma: an international multicenter experience.

Purpose: The current tumor classification for renal cell carcinoma classifies pT2 tumors as larger than 7 cm in greatest dimension and limited to the kidney. We examined the current pT2 tumor classification of renal cell carcinoma and determined whether a tumor size cutoff exists that would improve prognostic accuracy.

Materials And Methods: We studied 706 patients with pT2 renal cell carcinoma treated with surgical extirpation at 9 international academic centers.

Does localized prostate cancer exist?

Does localized prostate cancer exist, and how do we diagnose it? Early diagnosis and screening programs for prostate cancer (PC) have led to a greater proportion of patients with a low-stage disease at diagnosis. More men are treated with curative intent by radical prostatectomy (RP), external beam radiotherapy, or brachytherapy. However, a substantial percentage of patients still experience a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) relapse within 5 years.

[National prospective survey on the surgical quality of renal transplants in France. Study conducted by the Association Française d'Urologie Transplantation Committee].

Study Objective: The objective of this prospective study was to describe the nature of the lesions observed during brain-dead cadavre donor kidney harvesting in France and to identify the risk factors for these lesions.

Material And Methods: A questionnaire elaborated by the AFU Transplantation Committee concerning the quality of kidneys harvested from cadavre donors was sent to all centres performing renal transplantation in France in 2000. This prospective study was conducted over a period of 1 year and concerned the overall multi-organ harvesting procedure based on all data concerning the renal parenchyma, arteriovenous and ureteric characteristics, and the outcome of the transplants.

Prognostic relevance of tumour size in T3a renal cell carcinoma: a multicentre experience.

Objective: To evaluate the prognostic role of tumour size in pathological stage T3a renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with fat invasion only and to assess whether this subgroup maintains its relevance over the other pathological stages.

Methods: We retrospectively studied 2113 patients from eight international institutions who were treated by surgical resection for T2-4 RCC. Disease-specific survival (DSS) was evaluated with univariate and multivariate analyses.

[Acute and chronic prostatitis, how will we manage it ten years from now?].

Pelvic pain syndrom arises in an increasing number of men during their life. The present classification of prostatitis in four categories facilitates a comprehensive review of its diagnosis and treatment. The development of techniques related to molecular biology will favour a deeper knowledge in the future.

Estrogens and aspects of prostate disease.

Estrogens have long been associated with the processes involved in prostate carcinogenesis, particularly in cancer suppression. However, the synergistic influence of low concentrations of estrogens, together with androgens, in promoting aberrant growth of the gland has also been recognized. As new insights into the complex molecular events implicated in growth regulation of the prostate are revealed, the role of the estrogens has become clearer.