Comparing oncological outcomes of robotic versus open surgery in the treatment of endometrial cancer.

Purpose: Robotic surgery has been incorporated in the treatment of endometrial cancer, with evidence suggesting that minimal access surgery offers advantages over laparotomy including less blood loss, lower rate of perioperative complications, and accelerated postoperative recovery. The laparoscopic approach to cervical cancer (LACC) study has recently demonstrated inferior survival outcomes in cervical cancer patients treated with minimal access surgery including robotic surgery. It is, therefore, imperative that further evaluation of the latter in endometrial cancer is performed.

Management of unscheduled bleeding on HRT: A joint guideline on behalf of the British Menopause Society, Royal College Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy, Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health, Royal College of General Practitioners and Getting it Right First Time.

Unscheduled bleeding on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can affect up to 40% of users. In parallel with the increase in HRT prescribing in the UK, there has been an associated increase in referrals to the urgent suspicion of cancer pathway for unscheduled bleeding. On behalf of the British Menopause Society (BMS) an expert review panel was established, including primary and secondary care clinicians with expertise in the management of menopause, with representatives from key related organisations, including the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists, the British Gynaecological Cancer Society, British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy, Royal College of General Practitioners and Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health, and service development partners from NHS England and GIRFT (Getting it Right First Time).

Team Behavior and Performance: An Exploration in the Context of Professional Rugby Union.

Purpose: To explore complex system behavior and subsequent team performance in professional rugby union.

Methods: Here, we present 2 studies. In the first, we used global positioning system technology to measure player clustering during stoppages in play in nearly 100 games of professional rugby union to explore team (complex system) behavior and performance.

A Two-Step Discrete Cosine Basis Oriented Motion Modeling Approach for Enhanced Motion Compensation.

Video coding algorithms attempt to minimize the significant commonality that exists within a video sequence. Each new video coding standard contains tools that can perform this task more efficiently compared to its predecessors. Modern video coding systems are block-based wherein commonality modeling is carried out only from the perspective of the block that need be coded next.

Hamstring musculotendon mechanics of prospectively injured elite rugby athletes.

The musculotendon mechanics of the hamstrings during high-speed running are thought to relate to injury but have rarely been examined in the context of prospectively occurring injury. This prospective study describes the hamstring musculotendon mechanics of two elite rugby players who sustained hamstring injuries during on-field running. Athletes undertook biomechanical analyses of high-speed running during a Super Rugby pre-season, prior to sustaining hamstring injuries during the subsequent competition season.

An efficient hybrid method for 3D to 2D medical image registration.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present a method for registration of 3D computed tomography to 2D single-plane fluoroscopy knee images to provide 3D motion information for knee joints. This 3D kinematic information has unique utility for examining joint kinematics in conditions such as ligament injury, osteoarthritis and after joint replacement.

Methods: We proposed a non-invasive rigid body image registration method which is based on two different multimodal similarity measures.

Characterization of geometric variance in the epithelial nerve net of the ctenophore Pleurobrachia pileus.

Neuroscience lacks a diverse repertoire of model organisms, resulting in an incomplete understanding of the general principles of neural function. Ctenophores display many neurobiological and experimental features which make them a promising candidate to fill this gap. They possess a nerve net distributed across their body surface in the epithelial layer.

Absence of monitoring in withdrawal of clinically-assisted nutrition and hydration (CANH) and other treatments: a cause for concern?

Since 2018, there has been no requirement to bring decisions about the withdrawal of clinically-assisted nutrition and hydration (CANH) in patients with persistent disorders of consciousness before the courts, providing that the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) are fulfilled. Subsequent British Medical Association and Royal College of Physicians guidance on CANH withdrawal recommended standards of record keeping and internal and external audit to ensure local decision making was compliant with the MCA to safeguard patients. The scope of the guidance also included patients with stroke and neurodegenerative disorders.

A biomimetic urethral model to evaluate urinary catheter lubricity and epithelial micro-trauma.

The standard method of evaluating the lubricity of intermittent urinary catheters with coefficient of friction (CoF) testing is not physiologically relevant, while there is also a dearth of published research on catheter-associated urethral micro-trauma. We developed a novel human urethral epithelial cell-seeded model of the urethra to replace the rubber counter-surface used in standard CoF testing. This cell-seeded model, in conjunction with a novel testing device, allows an investigation of catheter-associated epithelial micro-trauma in vitro for the first time.

The Flexiscope: a low cost, flexible, convertible and modular microscope with automated scanning and micromanipulation.

With technologies rapidly evolving, many research institutions are now opting to invest in costly, high-quality, specialized microscopes which are shared by many researchers. As a consequence, the user may not have the ability to adapt a microscope to their specific needs and limitations in experimental design are introduced. A flexible work-horse microscopy system is a valuable tool in any laboratory to meet the diverse needs of a research team and promote innovation in experimental design.

Measurement of Quasi-Static 3-D Knee Joint Movement Based on the Registration From CT to US.

The measurement of quasi-static 3-D knee joint movement is an important basis for studying the mechanism of knee joint injury. Most of the existing measurement methods make use of computed tomography (CT) and nuclear magnetic resonance (MR) imaging technology and hence have the disadvantages of invasiveness, ionizing radiation, low accuracy, and high cost. To overcome those drawbacks, this article innovatively proposes a 3-D motion measurement system for the knee joint based on the registration of CT images to ultrasound (US) images.

Validation of a method to measure three-dimensional hip joint kinematics in subjects with femoroacetabular impingement.

Introduction: A kinematic measurement method combining dynamic motion and imaging, which captures the behaviour of the hip at terminal motion, may offer improved diagnostic accuracy and enhance our understanding of the mechanics of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI).

Methods: 3 embalmed cadaveric hip/pelvis specimens with implanted Roentgen Stereophotogrammetric Analysis (RSA) beads were mounted on a custom rig and imaged with a fluoroscope in four poses to simulate a clinical impingement examination: in hip extension and in three positions: near impingement, early impingement and late impingement while simulating a flexion/adduction/internal rotation manoeuvre. Hip joint kinematics were measured using 2 methods and compared: RSA (gold standard) and a custom 3-dimensional to 2-dimensional (3D-2D) image registration method which matches 3D models developed from CT to 2D fluoroscopic images.

The projection of anorectal afferents to cortex of the rat: Comparison of two methods of cortical mapping.

Background: The rat has served usefully as a model for fecal incontinence and exploration of the mechanism of action of sacral neuromodulation. However, there is a gap in knowledge concerning representation(s) on the primary sensory cortex of this anatomical region.

Methods: Multi-electrode array (32 channels) and intrinsic optical signal (IOS) processing were used to map cortical activation sites following anorectal electrical stimulation in the rat.