Robot-assisted laparoscopic varicocelectomy in a pediatric population.

Purpose: To present our experience with robot-assisted laparoscopic varicocelectomy in a pediatric population.

Methods: We reviewed 49 consecutive cases performed by the same experienced surgeon. One-to-four veins were ligated at the internal ring of the inguinal canal, while the testicular artery and lymphatics were spared.

Multidrug resistance protein 1 silencing in osteosarcoma and chondrosarcoma cell lines.

Background: The poor response of metastatic osteo- and chondrosarcomas to chemotherapy could be the result of multidrug resistance (MDR), which may be overcome through the use of small interfering RNA (siRNA). However, several methodologic questions remain unresolved.

Aims: To test the toxicity of three commonly used siRNA transfection reagents and apply the least toxic reagent to investigate the siRNA-induced MDR1 mRNA knockdown.

IFCC reference procedures for measurement of the catalytic concentrations of enzymes: corrigendum, notes and useful advice. International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC)--IFCC Scientific Division.

The primary reference measurement procedures (PRMPs) for the international standardization of catalytic concentration measurements of alpha-amylase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), creatine kinase (CK), gamma-glutamyltransferase and lactate dehydrogenase have been performed in reference laboratories for several years. The IFCC Committee on Reference Systems for Enzymes and two reference laboratories, with official accreditation for the PRMPs, have collected useful information on some of the steps of the reference procedures that require special attention. This document comprises errata corrige for minor mistakes in published PRMPs for AST and CK.

The advantages of MRI in the detection of occult hip fractures.

While the displaced hip fracture can be visualized easily by plain radiography, the non-displaced fracture may be radiographically occult and require different imaging modalities, e.g., MRI for proper visualization.

Malaria in the WHO European Region (1971-1999).

The number of autochthonous reported cases of malaria fell from 90 506 to 37 170 between 1996 and 1999 in the WHO European Region. There has been, however, an eight-fold increase in imported cases since the 1970s: 1500 cases were reported in 1972, 13 000 cases in 1999. France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom are the west European countries with the largest numbers of cases.