A Unique Case of Unprovoked Pulmonary Venous Thrombosis in a Postpartum Female Following COVID-19 Infection.

SARS-CoV-2 can induce a hypercoagulable state, occasionally resulting in pulmonary venous thrombosis (PVT) due to inflammation and endothelial injury. Documented cases of PVT with active COVID-19 and post-COVID are rare. We report a 40-year-old postpartum female with unprovoked PVT following a recent nonhospitalized COVID-19 infection.

Utilization of a Virtual Tumor Board for the Care of Patients With Renal Masses: Experience From a Quality Improvement Collaborative.

Introduction: Multidisciplinary tumor board meetings are useful sources of insight and collaboration when establishing treatment approaches for oncologic cases. However, such meetings can be time intensive and inconvenient. We implemented a virtual tumor board within the Michigan Urological Surgery Improvement Collaborative to discuss and improve the management of complicated renal masses.

Real-world Practice Stone-free Rates After Ureteroscopy: Variation and Outcomes in a Surgical Collaborative.

Background: Studies assessing the stone-free rate (SFR) after ureteroscopy are limited to expert centers with varied definitions of stone free. Real-world data including community practices related to surgeon characteristics and outcomes are lacking.

Objective: To evaluate the SFR for ureteroscopy and its predictors across diverse surgeons in Michigan.

Initial Management of Indeterminate Renal Lesions in a Statewide Collaborative: A MUSIC-KIDNEY Analysis.

Purpose: Renal masses can be characterized as "indeterminate" due to lack of differentiating imaging characteristics. Optimal management of indeterminate renal lesions remains nebulous and poorly defined. We assess management of indeterminate renal lesions within the MUSIC-KIDNEY (Michigan Urological Surgery Improvement Collaborative-Kidney mass: Identifying and Defining Necessary Evaluation and therapY) collaborative.

Appropriateness Criteria for Ureteral Stent Omission following Ureteroscopy for Urinary Stone Disease.

Objective: To bridge the gap between evidence and clinical judgement, we defined scenarios appropriate for ureteral stent omission after uncomplicated ureteroscopy (URS) using the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method (RAM). We retrospectively assessed rates of appropriate stent omission, with the goal to implement these criteria in clinical practice.

Methods: A panel of 15 urologists from the Michigan Urological Surgery Improvement Collaborative (MUSIC) met to define uncomplicated URS and the variables that influence stent omission decision-making.

Variation and Correlation in Postoperative Imaging After Shockwave Lithotripsy and Ureteroscopy by Treatment Modality: Results of a Statewide Clinical Registry.

Objective: To understand how patient, practice/urologist-level factors impact imaging after ureteroscopy (URS) and shockwave lithotripsy (SWL).

Methods: Using the Reducing Operative Complications from Kidney Stones (ROCKS) clinical registry from the Michigan Urological Surgery Improvement Collaborative (MUSIC), we identified patients undergoing URS and SWL between 2016-2019. Frequency and modality of 60-day postoperative imaging was assessed.

Prognostic value of E-Cadherin and its tumor suppressor role in Saudi women with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer.

Unlabelled: The extracellular matrix (ECM) disruption and cytoskeleton reorganization are crucial events in tumor proliferation and invasion. E-Cadherin (E-CAD) is a member of cell adhesion molecules involved in cell-cell junctions and ECM stability. The loss of E-CAD expression is associated with cancer progression and metastasis.

Synthesis and Characterization of Titanium Dioxide Hollow Nanofiber for Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue Dye.

Environmental crisis and water contamination have led to worldwide exploration for advanced technologies for wastewater treatment, and one of them is photocatalytic degradation. A one-dimensional hollow nanofiber with enhanced photocatalytic properties is considered a promising material to be applied in the field. Therefore, we synthesized titanium dioxide hollow nanofibers (THNF) with extended surface area, light-harvesting properties and an anatase-rutile heterojunction via a template synthesis method and followed by a calcination process.

Assessment of prognostic value of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase 3 (TIMP3) protein in ovarian cancer.

: TIMP3 is a multifunctional proteolytic enzyme belonging to TIMPs family and acts as a potent inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). TIMP3 possesses a tumor suppresive function by directly promoting tumor cell apoptosis, preventing angiogenesis and extracellular matrix remodelling. The lower expression of TIMP3 was associated with poor prognosis and overall survival in various cancer types.

Understanding Ureteral Access Sheath Use Within a Statewide Collaborative and Its Effect on Surgical and Clinical Outcomes.

Ureteral access sheaths (UASs) are frequently used during ureteroscopy (URS), but their use is not without potential risk. We investigated patterns of UAS use and associated outcomes across practices in Michigan within a quality improvement collaborative. The Michigan Urological Surgery Improvement Collaborative (MUSIC) Reducing Operative Complications from Kidney Stones (ROCKS) initiative maintains a web-based, prospective clinical registry of patients undergoing URS for urinary stone disease (USD).

Ureteroscopy in Patients Taking Anticoagulant or Antiplatelet Therapy: Practice Patterns and Outcomes in a Surgical Collaborative.

Purpose: AUA guidelines recommend ureteroscopy as first line therapy for patients on anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy and advocate using a ureteral access sheath. We examined practice patterns and unplanned health care use for these patients in Michigan.

Materials And Methods: Using the Michigan Urological Surgery Improvement Collaborative (MUSIC) clinical registry we identified ureteroscopy cases from 2016 to 2019.

Overtreatment and Underutilization of Watchful Waiting in Men With Limited Life Expectancy: An Analysis of the Michigan Urological Surgery Improvement Collaborative Registry.

Objective: To determine rates of watchful waiting (WW) vs treatment in prostate cancer (PCa) and limited life expectancy (LE) and assess determinants of management.

Materials And Methods: Patients diagnosed with PCa between 2012 and 2018 with <10 years LE were identified from the Michigan Urologic Surgery Improvement Collaborative registry. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with management choice among NCCN low-risk PCa patients.

Deciphering the Association of Cytokines, Chemokines, and Growth Factors in Chondrogenic Differentiation of Human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Using an Osteochondral Culture System.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative joint disorder associated with degradation and decreased production of the extracellular matrix, eventually leading to cartilage destruction. Limited chondrocyte turnover, structural damage, and prevailing inflammatory milieu prevent efficient cartilage repair and restoration of joint function. In the present study, we evaluated the role of secreted cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors present in the culture supernatant obtained from an osteochondral model of cartilage differentiation using cartilage pellets (CP), bone marrow stem cells (BM-MSCs), and/or BM-MSCs + CP.

Bacterial Interactions as Detected by Pooled Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing (P-AST) in Polymicrobial Urine Specimens.

Introduction: Antimicrobial susceptibility is well characterized in monomicrobial infections, but bacterial species often coexist with other bacterial species. Antimicrobial susceptibility is often tested against single bacterial isolates; this approach ignores interactions between cohabiting bacteria that could impact susceptibility. Here, we use Pooled Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing to compare antimicrobial susceptibility patterns exhibited by polymicrobial and monomicrobial urine specimens obtained from patients with urinary tract infection symptoms.

Multiplex PCR Based Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Analysis Compared to Traditional Urine Culture in Identifying Significant Pathogens in Symptomatic Patients.

Objective: To evaluate whether multiplex PCR-based molecular testing is noninferior to urine culture for detection of bacterial infections in symptomatic patients.

Methods: Retrospective record review of 582 consecutive elderly patients presenting with symptoms of lower urinary tract infection (UTI) was conducted. All patients had traditional urine cultures and PCR molecular testing run in parallel.

Paraneoplastic syndromes in lung cancer and their management.

Paraneoplastic syndromes are most frequently associated with lung cancer. This review considers a variety of paraneoplastic syndromes associated with lung cancer and discusses their pathophysiology, clinical features and management options.

Prognostic value of Osteopontin (SPP1) in colorectal carcinoma requires a personalized molecular approach.

Stratification of colorectal cancer for better management and tangible clinical outcomes is lacking in clinical practice. To reach this goal, the identification of reliable biomarker(s) is a prerequisite to deliver personalized colorectal cancer theranostics. Osteopontin (SPP1) is a key extracellular matrix protein involved in several pathophysiological processes including cancer progression and metastasis.

Hepato-protective effect of Allium sativum against immobilization stress in rats.

The purpose of the current study was to examine immobilization stress-induced antioxidant defense changes and estimation of the antioxidant potential of pre and post stress treatment of aqueous garlic extract in rat's liver. For this purpose, male Albino Wistar rats were treated with aqueous garlic extract both pre and after 6 h of immobilization stress. Pro-oxidant status of rat liver was evaluated by determining the levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), glucose, uric acid and the activities of super oxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST).

Recovery of urinary function after robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy versus radical perineal prostatectomy for early-stage prostate cancer.

Introduction: Robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) has largely replaced open radical prostatectomy in many centers. Radical perineal prostatectomy (RPP) is another less invasive approach that has not been widely adopted. RPP offers excellent exposure of the urinary sphincter and bladder neck that may provide good urinary function outcomes.

A novel homozygous mutation in SZT2 gene in Saudi family with developmental delay, macrocephaly and epilepsy.

Epileptic encephalopathies are genetically heterogeneous disorders which leads to epilepsy and cause neurological disorders. Seizure threshold 2 (SZT2) gene located on chromosome 1p34.2 encodes protein mainly expressed predominantly in the parietal and frontal cortex and dorsal root ganglia in the brain.

Role of Nanodiamonds in Drug Delivery and Stem Cell Therapy.

Context: The use of nanotechnology in medicine and more specifically drug delivery is set to spread rapidly. Currently many substances are under investigation for drug delivery and more specifically for cancer therapy.

Evidence Acquisition: Nanodiamonds (NDs) have contributed significantly in the development of highly efficient and successful drug delivery systems, and in stem cell therapy.