The optimal stent pusher position to achieve successful ureteral stent insertion under fluoroscopic guidance.

Objective: To examine factors to predict the optimal stent pusher position when inserting ureteral stents under fluoroscopy.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 327 patients who underwent ureteral stent insertion. We considered the pubic bone as a useful anatomical landmark to insert ureteral stents under fluoroscopic guidance.

Re-salvage focal low-dose rate brachytherapy for local recurrence of prostate cancer after salvage focal low-dose rate brachytherapy.

Introduction: Salvage brachytherapy represents an effective treatment for local recurrence of prostate cancer after prior external beam radiotherapy. However, the optimal therapeutic strategies for local recurrence after salvage brachytherapy have not yet been determined.

Case Presentation: We describe the case of a 77-year-old man who underwent re-salvage focal low-dose rate brachytherapy for local recurrence after carbon ion radiotherapy and salvage focal low-dose rate brachytherapy.

Evaluation of ureteral injuries caused by ureteral access sheath insertion during ureteroscopic lithotripsy.

Objective: To evaluate ureteral injuries caused by insertion of a 13-Fr ureteral access sheath and identify factors (other than pre-stenting) that are predictive of ureteral injury.

Methods: We enrolled 201 patients who underwent ureteroscopic lithotripsy (URSL). We excluded 80 patients who underwent ureteral stent insertion before URSL, 10 patients who did not use a ureteral access sheath, and 2 patients in whom a ureteral access sheath could not be inserted.

Comparison of Empower and M-arm for One-surgeon Basketing in Ureteroscopic Lithotripsy: A Simulator Study by Non-doctors.

Objective: To compare the Empower and M-arm for stone retrieval during ureteroscopic lithotripsy in a simulator.

Methods: We used flexible ureteroscopy to compare use of the Empower and use of the M-arm, both of which are one-surgeon basketing techniques. LithoVue and ZeroTip stone extraction devices were used.

Prospective randomized controlled trial comparing a ureteral stent crossing versus not crossing the bladder midline.

Purpose: To evaluate the correlation between the position of a ureteral stent and stent-related symptoms in a single-center randomized study.

Methods: A total of 113 patients who required ureteral stent placement after lithotripsy were randomized at a 1:1 ratio into groups with stents crossing and not crossing the bladder midline. The ureteral stent remained in place until postoperative day 14, when we obtained each patient's International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), overactive bladder symptom score (OABSS), and visual analog scale (VAS) pain score.

Effectiveness and Safety of Ureteroscopic Lithotripsy in Young, Old-Old, and Oldest Old Patients.

To investigate the efficacy and safety of ureteroscopic lithotripsy (URSL) in young, old-old, and oldest old patients. We enrolled 157 patients who underwent URSL. We divided the patients into young (<65 years), old-old (65-84 years), and oldest old (≥85 years) groups and compared the safety of surgery between young old-old and young oldest old, separately.

The nightside cloud-top circulation of the atmosphere of Venus.

Although Venus is a terrestrial planet similar to Earth, its atmospheric circulation is much different and poorly characterized. Winds at the cloud top have been measured predominantly on the dayside. Prominent poleward drifts have been observed with dayside cloud tracking and interpreted to be caused by thermal tides and a Hadley circulation; however, the lack of nightside measurements over broad latitudes has prevented the unambiguous characterization of these components.

[EFFECTIVENESS AND SAFETY OF TRANSURETHRAL ENUCLEATION WITH BIPOLAR (TUEB) IN THE ELDERLY (OVER 80 YEARS OLD)].

(Objective) The number of elderly people is increasing in Japan, and there are many reports on the safety and effectiveness of treatment for the elderly. As the number of elderly men with benign prostatic hyperplasia is increasing, it is necessary to consider surgical treatment for the elderly. We analyzed the treatment outcome of transurethral enucleation with bipolar (TUEB), and investigated the effectiveness and safety of TUEB in the elderly (over 80 years old) at Saiseikai Izuo Hospital.

Complete intraureteral stent placement relieves daytime urinary frequency compared with conventional placement in patients with an indwelling ureteral stent: post-hoc analysis of a randomized, controlled trial.

A previous randomized, controlled trial had demonstrated that complete intraureteral stent placement (CIU-SP) was superior to conventional stent placement (C-SP) in terms of improvement of stent-related urinary symptoms. However, it is unclear as to which subdomain symptom and cohort could benefit the most from CIU-SP compared to C-SP in urinary symptoms while considering the baseline urinary status. To determine this, a post-hoc analysis was performed using data from a previous study (CIU-SP group, n = 39; C-SP group, n = 41).

How waves and turbulence maintain the super-rotation of Venus' atmosphere.

Venus has a thick atmosphere that rotates 60 times as fast as the surface, a phenomenon known as super-rotation. We use data obtained from the orbiting Akatsuki spacecraft to investigate how the super-rotation is maintained in the cloud layer, where the rotation speed is highest. A thermally induced latitudinal-vertical circulation acts to homogenize the distribution of the angular momentum around the rotational axis.

Highly porous nature of a primitive asteroid revealed by thermal imaging.

Carbonaceous (C-type) asteroids are relics of the early Solar System that have preserved primitive materials since their formation approximately 4.6 billion years ago. They are probably analogues of carbonaceous chondrites and are essential for understanding planetary formation processes.

Efficacy and Safety of Complete Intraureteral Stent Placement versus Conventional Stent Placement in Relieving Ureteral Stent Related Symptoms: A Randomized, Prospective, Single Blind, Multicenter Clinical Trial.

Purpose: We compared the efficacy and safety of complete and conventional stent placement to relieve ureteral stent related symptoms.

Materials And Methods: We randomized 85 patients who required ureteral stent placement after lithotripsy into an intraureteral or a conventional stent placement group. The ureteral stent remained in place until postoperative day 14.

Chronological changes in epidemiological characteristics of lower urinary tract urolithiasis in Japan.

Objectives: To determine changes and trends in the annual incidence and epidemiological aspects of lower urinary tract stones in Japan.

Methods: Data about patients who had been diagnosed by urologists in 2015 with first and recurrent lower urinary tract stones were collected from 301 hospitals approved by the Japanese Board of Urology. The estimated annual incidence according to sex, age and stone composition was compared with previous nationwide surveys between 1965 and 2005.

Ureteral wall thickness as a significant factor in predicting spontaneous passage of ureteral stones of ≤ 10 mm: a preliminary report.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical significance of ureteral wall thickness (UWT) for predicting spontaneous passage (SP) of uncomplicated ureteral stones of ≤ 10 mm.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 418 patients with a diagnosis of uncomplicated ureteral stones who presented to Kori Hospital from 2011 to 2018. The maximum stone diameter and UWT at the stone site were measured from axial computed tomography images.

Venus looks different from day to night across wavelengths: morphology from Akatsuki multispectral images.

Since insertion into orbit on December 7, 2015, the Akatsuki orbiter has returned global images of Venus from its four imaging cameras at eleven discrete wavelengths from ultraviolet (283 and 365 nm) and near infrared (0.9-2.3 µm), to the thermal infrared (8-12 µm) from a near-equatorial orbit.

Effect of Protective Lead Curtains on Scattered Radiation Exposure to the Operator During Ureteroscopy for Stone Disease: A Controlled Trial.

Objective: To evaluate a reduction in the total radiation dose to the operator during ureteroscopy (URS) for stone disease by using protective lead curtains.

Materials And Methods: Two studies were planned to compare scattered radiation doses without (nonprotective lead curtain [n-LC] group) and with protective lead curtains (lead curtain [LC] group). In study 1, we measured the spatial distribution of the scattered radiation dose using a human phantom simulating URS for stone management for both groups.

Comparison of Silodosin Monotherapy vs Silodosin With Tadalafil Add-on Therapy in Patients With Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of add-on therapy with the phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor tadalafil for patients with lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH) treated with the α-adrenoceptor blocker silodosin.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed 103 patients with LUTS/BPH with an International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) of >8 after ≥4 weeks of silodosin treatment from April 2016 through December 2016 at Kori Hospital. The patients subsequently received silodosin 4.

Preoperative sexual status of Japanese localized prostate cancer patients: comparison of sexual activity and EPIC scores.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between sexual activity and sexual function using questionnaires distributed to middle-aged Japanese patients with localized prostate cancer.

Methods: A total of 145 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy were enrolled in the survey reported on herein. Sexual activity and sexual function were investigated via the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC) and an original self-reported questionnaire.