Comparative Safety of Pulsed Field Ablation and Cryoballoon Ablation Technologies for Pulmonary Vein Isolation in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation: A Critical Literature Review and Indirect Treatment Comparison.

Introduction: Cryoballoon ablation (CBA) is a standard catheter ablation technology with demonstrated clinical effectiveness for the treatment of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF); however, it can be associated with major adverse events, including phrenic nerve paralysis. Pulsed field ablation (PFA) is a novel, minimally thermal technology with comparable effectiveness and low safety risk. This study aimed to compare the safety profiles of PFA and CBA through critical analyses of the literature and indirect treatment comparisons.

QDOT MICRO™ versus THERMOCOOL SMARTTOUCH™ and THERMOCOOL SMARTTOUCH Surround Flow in radiofrequency ablation of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

The objective of this study was to indirectly compare QDOT MICRO™ (QDOT), Thermocool SmartTouch™ (ST) and Thermocool SmartTouch Surround Flow (STSF) to treat paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Differences in baseline characteristics between study cohorts were reduced by reweighting patients using inverse probability of treatment weighting. The primary outcome was procedure time.

Prediction of face age progression with generative adversarial networks.

Face age progression, goals to alter the individual's face from a given face image to predict the future appearance of that image. In today's world that demands more security and a touchless unique identification system, face aging attains tremendous attention. The existing face age progression approaches have the key problem of unnatural modifications of facial attributes due to insufficient prior knowledge of input images and nearly visual artifacts in the generated output.

Identification of genomic regions associated with early plant vigour in lentil ().

Lentil is one of the most important food legume species, however its genetic and genomic resources remained largely uncharacterized and unexploited. In the past few years, a number of genetic maps have been constructed and marker resources have been developed in lentil. These resources could be exploited for understanding the extent and distribution of genetic variation in genus and also for developing saturated and consensus genetic maps suitable for quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping and marker-assisted selection.

Cigarette Smoking and Semen Quality: A New Meta-analysis Examining the Effect of the 2010 World Health Organization Laboratory Methods for the Examination of Human Semen.

Objective: Approximately 37% of men of reproductive age smoke cigarettes, with Europe having the highest tobacco use among all the World Health Organization (WHO) regions. Toxins from tobacco smoking can potentially affect sperm development and function, with a negative effect on semen parameters. Given the high prevalence of smoking and recent changes in the WHO laboratory methods for the examination of human semen, the role of this exposure in face of new WHO methods needs to be clarified.

Bibliometrics: tracking research impact by selecting the appropriate metrics.

Traditionally, the success of a researcher is assessed by the number of publications he or she publishes in peer-reviewed, indexed, high impact journals. This essential yardstick, often referred to as the impact of a specific researcher, is assessed through the use of various metrics. While researchers may be acquainted with such matrices, many do not know how to use them to enhance their careers.

Effect of varicocele on semen characteristics according to the new 2010 World Health Organization criteria: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

This study investigated the effects of varicocele on semen parameters in infertile men based on the new 2010 World Health Organization laboratory manual for the examination of human semen. Semen analysis results (volume, sperm count, motility, and morphology) were the primary outcomes. An electronic search to collect the data was conducted using the Medline/PubMed, SJU discover, and Google Scholar databases.

NextGen Home Sperm Banking Kit: Outcomes of Offsite vs Onsite Collection--Preliminary Findings.

Objective: To compare cryosurvival rates between remote collections with NextGen kit (offsite) and onsite collection of semen samples from infertile men and those with cancer.

Methods: Prefreeze and post-thaw sperm motility, total motile sperm, and percent cryosurvival rates were compared between samples collected from infertile men onsite at the Andrology Center (n = 10) and samples collected from infertile patients at home (offsite; n = 9), which were shipped by NextGen to our laboratory. A second group (n = 17) consisted of 10 semen samples from cancer patients collected onsite, which were compared with 7 semen samples from cancer patients shipped by the NextGen.

Characterizing semen parameters and their association with reactive oxygen species in infertile men.

Background: A routine semen analysis is a first step in the laboratory evaluation of the infertile male. In addition, other tests such as measurement of reactive oxygen species can provide additional information regarding the etiology of male infertility. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of semen parameters with reactive oxygen species (ROS) in two groups: healthy donors of unproven and proven fertility and infertile men.

Empirical treatment of low-level leukocytospermia with doxycycline in male infertility patients.

Objective: To design a retrospective study in which infertile men with a seminal leukocyte count of 0.2-1 × 10(6) white blood cells [WBC]/mL were given doxycycline to examine the potential benefits of the treatment on the improvement of semen parameters and natural pregnancy outcomes. It has been reported that even low-level leukocytospermia (0.