Advanced Imaging for Localized Prostate Cancer.

Background/objectives: Prostate cancer is a prevalent malignancy often presenting without early symptoms. Advanced imaging technologies have revolutionized its diagnosis and management. This review discusses the principles, benefits, and clinical applications of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI), micro-ultrasound (microUS), and prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PSMA PET/CT) in localized prostate cancer.

Inter-reader Agreement for Prostate Cancer Detection Using Micro-ultrasound: A Multi-institutional Study.

Background And Objective: Micro-ultrasound (MUS) uses a high-frequency transducer with superior resolution to conventional ultrasound, which may differentiate prostate cancer from normal tissue and thereby allow targeted biopsy. Preliminary evidence has shown comparable sensitivity to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but consistency between users has yet to be described. Our objective was to assess agreement of MUS interpretation across multiple readers.

Ureteric wall thickness as a novel predictor for failed retrograde ureteric stent placement.

Introduction: We sought to identify predictors of failed retrograde ureteric stent (FRS) placement in the setting of obstructing ureteric calculi. In addition to patient- and stone-specific characteristics, we also considered computed tomography (CT) measures of ureteric wall thickness (UWT), as it has shown clinical potential in predicting outcomes of shockwave lithotripsy, ureteroscopy, and spontaneous stone passage.

Methods: We performed a retrospective, case-control study comparing patients who had successful retrograde stent (SRS) insertions with those who failed stent placement and ultimately required nephrostomy tube (NT) insertion (2013-2019).

Fluorine-18 Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen-1007 PET/CT vs Multiparametric MRI for Locoregional Staging of Prostate Cancer.

Importance: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) demonstrates overexpression in prostate cancer and correlates with tumor aggressiveness. PSMA positron emission tomography (PET) is superior to conventional imaging for the metastatic staging of prostate cancer per current research but studies of second-generation PSMA PET radioligands for locoregional staging are limited.

Objective: To determine the accuracy of fluorine-18 PSMA-1007 PET/computed tomography (18F-PSMA-1007 PET/CT) compared to multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the primary locoregional staging of intermediate-risk and high-risk prostate cancers.

Prostate Cancer Among Black Men in Canada.

Importance: Prostate cancer is a prevalent disease among men worldwide, exhibiting substantial heterogeneity in presentation and outcomes influenced by various factors, including race and ethnicity. Disparities in incidence, stage at diagnosis, and survival rates have been observed between Black men and those of other races and ethnicities.

Objective: To compare prostate cancer outcomes between Black men and men with other race (Asian, Hispanic, Indigenous, Middle Eastern, White, Multiracial, and Other) in a universal health care system, with race and ethnicity self-reported.

Micro-ultrasound for the detection of clinically significant prostate cancer in biopsy-naive men with negative MRI.

Introduction: Despite a negative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), some patients may still harbor clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa, Gleason grade group ≥2). High-resolution micro-ultrasound (microUS) is a novel imaging technology that could visualize csPCa that is missed by MRI.

Methods: This retrospective review included 1011 consecutive patients biopsied between September 2021 and July 2023 in Alberta, Canada.

Value of Incremental Biopsy Cores for Microultrasound Targeted Prostate Biopsies.

Objective: To determine the optimal number of cores needed during microultrasound-informed prostate biopsy for the detection of clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa, defined as Gleason Grade Group ≥2).

Methods: A retrospective review of 1011 consecutive patients between September 2021 and July 2023 at our institution were identified; 536 underwent microultrasound biopsy and 475 underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/ultrasound (US) targeted biopsy. Lesions were given a Prostate Risk Identification using Microultrasound (PRI-MUS) score, with lesions PRI-MUS ≥3 targeted.

Complication rates of ciprofloxacin alone vs. ciprofloxacin plus fosfomycin for transrectal prostate biopsy.

Introduction: Infectious complications after transrectal prostate biopsy have been increasing, driven in large part, by rates of antibiotic resistance to conventional prophylaxis, such as ciprofloxacin. This study was designed to compare conventional antibiotic prophylaxis (oral ciprofloxacin) with ciprofloxacin and fosfomycin combination therapy prior to biopsy.

Methods: This was a retrospective study looking at men between September 2021 and April 2023, who underwent transrectal prostate biopsy at several institutions in Alberta.

Ureteral Wall Thickness Is an Effective Predictor of Ureteral Stone Impaction and Management Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Purpose: Ureteral stone impaction is associated with unfavorable endourological outcomes; however, reliable predictors of stone impaction are limited. We aimed to assess the performance of ureteral wall thickness on noncontrast computed tomography as a predictor of ureteral stone impaction and failure rates of spontaneous stone passage, shock wave lithotripsy, and retrograde guidewire and stent passage.

Materials And Methods: This study was completed in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines.

Detection of clinically significant prostate cancer by micro-ultrasound-informed systematic biopsy during MRI/micro-ultrasound fusion biopsy.

Introduction: High-resolution micro-ultrasound (microUS) is a novel imaging technique that may visualize clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa), including those missed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI ), in real time during prostate biopsy.

Methods: From September 2021 to January 2022, 75 consecutive biopsy-naive men were entered into an observational cohort. All men underwent an MRI /microUS fusion prostate biopsy, completed by a single surgeon using the ExactVU device.

Micro-ultrasound Versus Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Prostate Cancer Active Surveillance.

Unlabelled: Accurate assessment of tumor grade is critical for active surveillance (AS) in prostate cancer. We compared magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and micro-ultrasound scoring (Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System [PI-RADS] v2.1 vs Prostate Risk Identification using Micro-ultrasound [PRI-MUS]) in 128 men on AS.

Evaluating the Potential for ABO-incompatible Islet Transplantation: Expression of ABH Antigens on Human Pancreata, Isolated Islets, and Embryonic Stem Cell-derived Islets.

Background: ABO-incompatible transplantation has improved accessibility of kidney, heart, and liver transplantation. Pancreatic islet transplantation continues to be ABO-matched, yet ABH antigen expression within isolated human islets or novel human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived islets remain uncharacterized.

Methods: We evaluated ABH glycans within human pancreata, isolated islets, hESC-derived pancreatic progenitors, and the ensuing in vivo mature islets following kidney subcapsular transplantation in rats.

Human ACE2 receptor polymorphisms and altered susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2.

COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. The viral spike (S) protein engages the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor to invade host cells with ~10-15-fold higher affinity compared to SARS-CoV S-protein, making it highly infectious. Here, we assessed if ACE2 polymorphisms can alter host susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 by affecting this interaction.

The Polygenic and Monogenic Basis of Blood Traits and Diseases.

Blood cells play essential roles in human health, underpinning physiological processes such as immunity, oxygen transport, and clotting, which when perturbed cause a significant global health burden. Here we integrate data from UK Biobank and a large-scale international collaborative effort, including data for 563,085 European ancestry participants, and discover 5,106 new genetic variants independently associated with 29 blood cell phenotypes covering a range of variation impacting hematopoiesis. We holistically characterize the genetic architecture of hematopoiesis, assess the relevance of the omnigenic model to blood cell phenotypes, delineate relevant hematopoietic cell states influenced by regulatory genetic variants and gene networks, identify novel splice-altering variants mediating the associations, and assess the polygenic prediction potential for blood traits and clinical disorders at the interface of complex and Mendelian genetics.

Dating genomic variants and shared ancestry in population-scale sequencing data.

The origin and fate of new mutations within species is the fundamental process underlying evolution. However, while much attention has been focused on characterizing the presence, frequency, and phenotypic impact of genetic variation, the evolutionary histories of most variants are largely unexplored. We have developed a nonparametric approach for estimating the date of origin of genetic variants in large-scale sequencing data sets.

Identifying cross-disease components of genetic risk across hospital data in the UK Biobank.

Genetic risk factors frequently affect multiple common human diseases, providing insight into shared pathophysiological pathways and opportunities for therapeutic development. However, systematic identification of genetic profiles of disease risk is limited by the availability of both comprehensive clinical data on population-scale cohorts and the lack of suitable statistical methodology that can handle the scale of and differential power inherent in multi-phenotype data. Here, we develop a disease-agnostic approach to cluster the genetic risk profiles for 3,025 genome-wide independent loci across 19,155 disease classification codes from 320,644 participants in the UK Biobank, representing a large and heterogeneous population.

Publisher Correction: Inferring whole-genome histories in large population datasets.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Witnessed Torsion in Extremely Premature Newborns: 2 Cases of Testicular Salvage in the NICU.

Neonatal testicular torsion is an uncommon event that rarely results in testicular salvage. We present 2 cases in the neonatal intensive care unit of extremely premature males (<28 weeks gestation) with witnessed testicular torsion, prompt diagnosis, surgical detorsion, and good short-term outcomes. Although an uncommon scenario, we present the feasibility of surgery in the extremely premature infant and potential for testicular salvage.

Inferring whole-genome histories in large population datasets.

Inferring the full genealogical history of a set of DNA sequences is a core problem in evolutionary biology, because this history encodes information about the events and forces that have influenced a species. However, current methods are limited, and the most accurate techniques are able to process no more than a hundred samples. As datasets that consist of millions of genomes are now being collected, there is a need for scalable and efficient inference methods to fully utilize these resources.

Adaptation to HIF1α Deletion in Hypoxic Cancer Cells by Upregulation of GLUT14 and Creatine Metabolism.

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α is a key regulator of the hypoxia response in normal and cancer tissues. It is well recognized to regulate glycolysis and is a target for therapy. However, how tumor cells adapt to grow in the absence of HIF1α is poorly understood and an important concept to understand for developing targeted therapies is the flexibility of the metabolic response to hypoxia via alternative pathways.

The power of gene-based rare variant methods to detect disease-associated variation and test hypotheses about complex disease.

Genome and exome sequencing in large cohorts enables characterization of the role of rare variation in complex diseases. Success in this endeavor, however, requires investigators to test a diverse array of genetic hypotheses which differ in the number, frequency and effect sizes of underlying causal variants. In this study, we evaluated the power of gene-based association methods to interrogate such hypotheses, and examined the implications for study design.

Multilocus tests of Pleistocene refugia and ancient divergence in a pair of Atlantic Forest antbirds (Myrmeciza).

The Atlantic Forest (AF) harbours one of the most diverse vertebrate faunas of the world, including 199 endemic species of birds. Understanding the evolutionary processes behind such diversity has become the focus of many recent, primarily single locus, phylogeographic studies. These studies suggest that isolation in forest refugia may have been a major mechanism promoting diversification, although there is also support for a role of riverine and geotectonic barriers, two sets of hypotheses that can best be tested with multilocus data.