Multicenter outcome analysis of different sheath sizes for Flexible and Navigable Suction ureteral access sheath (FANS) ureteroscopy: an EAU Endourology collaboration with the global FANS study group.

Flexible and navigable suction ureteral access sheath (FANS) is a potential game changer in flexible ureteroscopy (FURS). The influence of sheath size on outcomes needs research. The primary aim was to analyze 30-day single stage stone free status (SFS), zero fragment rate (ZFR) and complications when using 10/12Fr sheaths vis a vis other sheath sizes.

Inaugural Australian urology bootcamp for early-career medical officers: improving knowledge, skills, and confidence to prepare for registrar years.

Background: Surgical bootcamps provide hands-on learning opportunities for junior doctors and trainees in low-pressure, non-clinical environments. Participants develop skills, knowledge, and confidence in preparation for their registrar years. A number of international urology-specific bootcamps have demonstrated improvements in these technical and non-technical domains.

Acute Flaccid Myelitis Caused by West Nile Virus: A Case Report and Neuroimaging Correlate.

West Nile virus (WNV) is the most common mosquito-borne illness in the United States. Most cases remain asymptomatic or may be associated with a mild febrile illness; however, it can invade the central nervous system and cause meningoencephalitis, or rarely, acute flaccid paralysis (AFP). Here, we describe a case of WNV-associated paralysis in a previously healthy male presenting with asymmetric weakness and absent deep tendon reflexes.

Could Use of a Flexible and Navigable Suction Ureteral Access Sheath Be a Potential Game-changer in Retrograde Intrarenal Surgery? Outcomes at 30 Days from a Large, Prospective, Multicenter, Real-world Study by the European Association of Urology Urolithiasis Section.

Background And Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the stone-free status (SFS) rate and complications after flexible ureteroscopy (fURS) for treatment of renal stones using a flexible and navigable suction (FANS) ureteral access sheath.

Methods: Data for adults undergoing fURS in 25 centers worldwide were prospectively collected (August 2023 to January 2024). Exclusion criteria were abnormal renal anatomy and ureteral stones.

Intra-individual comparison of prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography/computed tomography versus bone scan in detecting skeletal metastasis at prostate cancer diagnosis.

Objectives: To compare the diagnostic performance and radiological staging impact of Ga-prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PSMA PET/CT) compared to Tc whole-body bone scan (WBBS) for the detection of skeletal metastasis in the primary staging of prostate cancer (PCa).

Patients And Methods: A prospective institutional database was retrospectively examined for patients who underwent both PSMA PET and WBBS within a 1 week interval for PCa primary staging. Lesions were categorised as 'negative', 'equivocal', or 'definite' based on nuclear medicine physician interpretation.

Distinct roles for motor cortical and thalamic inputs to striatum during motor skill learning and execution.

The acquisition and execution of motor skills are mediated by a distributed motor network, spanning cortical and subcortical brain areas. The sensorimotor striatum is an important cog in this network, yet the roles of its two main inputs, from motor cortex and thalamus, remain largely unknown. To address this, we silenced the inputs in rats trained on a task that results in highly stereotyped and idiosyncratic movement patterns.

The basal ganglia control the detailed kinematics of learned motor skills.

The basal ganglia are known to influence action selection and modulation of movement vigor, but whether and how they contribute to specifying the kinematics of learned motor skills is not understood. Here, we probe this question by recording and manipulating basal ganglia activity in rats trained to generate complex task-specific movement patterns with rich kinematic structure. We find that the sensorimotor arm of the basal ganglia circuit is crucial for generating the detailed movement patterns underlying the acquired motor skills.

Ga-PSMA PET/CT versus CT and bone scan for investigation of PSA failure post radical prostatectomy.

Objective: To evaluate the use of Gallium-68 prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography/computed tomography (Ga-PSMA PET/CT), compared with conventional CT abdomen/pelvis (CTAP) and whole body single photon emission CT bone scan (BS), for detection of local or distant metastasis following biochemical failure/recurrence in post-prostatectomy patients.

Methods: We conducted a review of our prospectively maintained, institutional database to identify 384 patients with post-prostatectomy biochemical failure/recurrence who underwent PSMA PET/CT, CTAP and BS from February 2015 to August 2017 in Nepean Hospital, tertiary referral centre. The results of the three imaging modalities were analysed for their ability to detect local recurrence and distant metastases.

Bladder infusion versus standard catheter removal for trial of void: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: To compare the efficacy and time-to-discharge of two methods of trial of void (TOV): bladder infusion versus standard catheter removal.

Methods: Electronic searches for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing bladder infusion versus standard catheter removal were performed using multiple electronic databases from dates of inception to June 2020. Participants underwent TOV after acute urinary retention or postoperatively after intraoperative indwelling catheter (IDC) placement.

A prospective, matched comparison of ultra-low and standard-dose computed tomography for assessment of renal colic.

Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of ultra-low-dose computed tomography (ULDCT) compared with standard-dose CT (SDCT) in the evaluation of patients with clinically suspected renal colic, in addition to secondary features (hydroureteronephrosis, perinephric stranding) and additional pathological entities (renal masses).

Patients And Methods: A prospective, comparative cohort study was conducted amongst patients presenting to the emergency department with signs and symptoms suggestive of renal or ureteric colic. Patients underwent both SDCT and ULDCT.

Long Pulse-Width Setting Improves Holmium-YAG Laser Lithotripsy - Enhanced Fragmentation and Retropulsion Characteristics of Renal Calculi in a Novel In-Vivo Setting.

The aim of this novel in vivo study was to characterize the effect of short pulse-width versus long pulse-width Holmium-YAG laser lithotripter settings on retropulsion and fragmentation in a real-life setting. A prospective, crossover study was conducted at a tertiary teaching hospital in NSW, Australia. Patients who underwent flexible ureteroscopy with laser lithotripsy for renal calculi in 2018 were included.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Pelvic Drain Insertion After Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy.

To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis and to assess the clinical benefit of prophylactic pelvic drain (PD) placement after robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) with pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) in patients with localized prostate cancer. An electronic search of databases, including Scopus, Medline, and EMbase, was conducted for articles that considered postoperative outcomes with PD placement and without PD (no drain) placement after RALP. The primary outcome was rate of symptomatic lymphocele (requiring intervention) and secondary outcomes were complications as described by the Clavien-Dindo classification system.

Single use versus reusable digital flexible ureteroscopes: A prospective comparative study.

Objectives: To compare the performance and surgical outcomes of two different single-use digital flexible ureteroscopes with a reusable video flexible ureteroscope.

Methods: Patients undergoing retrograde flexible ureteroscopy at Nepean Hospital, Sydney, Australia, were included in this study. Three different flexible ureteroscopes were used in this study: (i) single-use digital LithoVue (Boston Scientific, Marlborough, MA, USA); (ii) single-use digital PU3022A (Pusen, Zhuhai, China); and (iii) reusable digital URF-V2 (Olympus, Tokyo, Japan).

ENCAPSULATED 3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO) IN CHITOSAN NANOPARTICLES FOR DECORPORATION VIA INHALATION.

3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO) has been identified as an excellent alternative for DTPA for decorporating actinides, such as Pu and Am, after internal contamination. Efforts have been focused on its application through oral administration. When 3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO) was encapsulated with biocompatible, biodegradable nanoparticles made of chitosan, its release from the nanoparticles to lung fluid, observed in in vitro experiments, exhibited an extended release profile.

A Rare Case of Ureteral IgG4 Disease Masquerading as Urothelial Carcinoma.

The present paper described a rare case of ureteral IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) that mimicked urothelial carcinoma. An otherwise healthy patient presented with computed tomography, ureteroscopic, and biopsy findings that were suspicious of urothelial carcinoma. The patient received a right nephroureterectomy.

A study on the effect of the internal exposure to (210)Po on the excretion of urinary proteins in rats.

This study was designed to assess the feasibility of a noninvasive urine specimen for the detection of proteins as indicators of internal exposure to ionizing radiation. Three groups of rats (five in each group) were intravenously injected with 1601 ± 376, 10,846 ± 591 and 48,467 ± 2812 Bq of (210)Po in citrate form. A sham-exposed control group of five rats was intravenously injected with sterile physiological saline.

Motor cortex is required for learning but not for executing a motor skill.

Motor cortex is widely believed to underlie the acquisition and execution of motor skills, but its contributions to these processes are not fully understood. One reason is that studies on motor skills often conflate motor cortex's established role in dexterous control with roles in learning and producing task-specific motor sequences. To dissociate these aspects, we developed a motor task for rats that trains spatiotemporally precise movement patterns without requirements for dexterity.

EURADOS intercomparison on emergency radiobioassay.

Nine laboratories participated in an intercomparison exercise organised by the European Radiation Dosimetry Group (EURADOS) for emergency radiobioassay involving four high-risk radionuclides ((239)Pu, (241)Am, (90)Sr and (226)Ra). Diverse methods of analysis were used by the participating laboratories for the in vitro determination of each of the four radionuclides in urine samples. Almost all the methods used are sensitive enough to meet the requirements for emergency radiobioassay derived for this project in reference to the Clinical Decision Guide introduced by the NCRP.

Canada's efforts in developing capabilities in radiological population monitoring.

Population monitoring is an important component of radiological and nuclear emergency preparedness and response. Since 2002, Canada has been investing in developing national capabilities in radiological population monitoring. This paper summarizes Canada's efforts in developing methods and techniques in biological dosimetry and in vivo and in vitro bioassay techniques.

International workshop on emergency radiobioassay: considerations, gaps and recommendations.

An international workshop on emergency radiobioassay was held in Ottawa, Canada, 1-3 September 2010. Sixty-five scientists and public health officials from five countries attended the workshop and gave 36 presentations. During the workshop, many considerations were raised, gaps identified, and recommendations given for emergency radiobioassay for both preparedness and response in case of a radiological or nuclear incident.

Evaluating the performance of the ORTEC® Detective™ for emergency urine bioassay.

The performance of the ORTEC(®) Detective™ as a field deployable tool for emergency urine bioassay of (137)Cs, (60)Co, (192)Ir, (169)Yb and (75)Se was evaluated against ANSI N13.30. The tested activity levels represent 10 % RL (reference level) and 1 % RL defined by [Li C.