An Analysis of Renal and Surgical Outcomes of Patients with and without Preoperative Ureteral Stenting before Nephron-Sparing Surgery for Renal Malignancies of Higher Complexity by Using a Propensity Score-Based Approach.

Introduction: This study aims to evaluate the impact of preoperative ureteral stenting on post-operative outcomes, especially the incidence of urinoma, in patients with complex renal tumours undergoing nephron-sparing surgery (NSS).

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 35 patients received preoperative ureteral stenting prior to NSS for complex tumours at the University Hospital of Würzburg between 2002 and 2021. A control group of 115 patients was established through 1:3 propensity score matching based on age, gender, T-stage, and RENAL score.

A Propensity Score-Based Comparison regarding Renal, Functional, and Surgical Outcome of Continent Cutaneous Urinary Diversions in Patients with Benign Chronic Bladder Diseases and Patients with Bladder Cancer.

Introduction: Continent cutaneous urinary diversion post-cystectomy is an established approach addressing both oncological and functional indications. However, there is a noticeable gap of evidence when it comes to comparing outcomes between these indications, especially concerning the technique of Mainz pouch I (MPI). This study aimed to close the gap by analyzing the long-term functional and renal outcomes of patients with MPI after cystectomy due to both benign and malign bladder pathologies.

Refluxing versus Non-Refluxing Ureteric Implantation in Continent Cutaneous Urinary Diversion: A Propensity-Scored Comparison regarding Long-Term Renal, Metabolic, and Functional Outcomes of Patients with Ileocecal Pouch.

Introduction: Studies comparing refluxing versus non-refluxing ureteric implantation in continent cutaneous urinary diversion (CCUD) are scarce and often characterized by heterogeneous study populations. This work therefore aimed at comparing both techniques regarding long-term outcomes in a propensity-scored approach.

Methods: We identified n = 19 patients, totaling n = 38 renal units (RU), who underwent CCUD surgery at our hospital out of a pool of 120 patients.

Bedouin mothers' sense of authentic inner compass as a parenting resource: Relations with autonomy-supportive parenting and adolescents' well-being.

Introduction: Sense of authentic inner compass (AIC) is the feeling that one knows what is important to oneself because one has values, aspirations, and goals with which one deeply identifies. Past research demonstrated the benefits of AIC, but there is no published research on parental dispositions promoting youth AIC. To increase knowledge of this issue, we examined whether mothers' sense of AIC is associated with a corresponding sense of AIC in their children, and explored autonomy-supportive child-rearing practices that may serve as pathways linking mothers' AIC with adolescents' AIC and subsequent well-being.

Troubleshooting of failed continence mechanisms in the ileocecal pouch: Operative technique and long-term results of the intussuscepted ileal nipple valve.

Objectives: To provide a detailed step-by-step operative technique, and to report on long-term functional and metabolic outcomes in secondary continence mechanisms in the form of secondary intussuscepted ileal nipple valves in revisional surgery of ileocecal pouches.

Methods: From May 1997 to May 2015, 18 female and 10 male patients suffering from dysfunctional primary continence mechanisms of their ileocecal pouch underwent revisonal surgery to create a secondary ileal nipple valve at our tertiary referral center. The average follow-up period was 65.

Clarifying the connection between parental conditional regard and contingent self-esteem: An examination of cross-lagged relations in early adolescence.

Objective: Relations between parental conditional regard (PCR) and children's motivational and emotional functioning have been demonstrated by past research. However, most available studies relied on cross-sectional correlational data, leaving open the causal direction of these relations. In the present article, we sought to contribute to this topic and examined the longitudinal connection between PCR and adolescents' contingent self-esteem (CSE) over time.

Psychological Impact of Corona Lockdown in Germany: Changes in Need Satisfaction, Well-Being, Anxiety, and Depression.

All over the world; measures have been implemented to contain the novel Sars-CoV-2 virus since its outbreak in the beginning of 2020. These measures-among which social distancing and contact restrictions were most prominent-may have an overall effect on people's psychological well-being. The present study seeks to examine whether lockdown measures affected people's well-being; anxiety; depressive symptoms during the lockdown and whether these effects could be explained by reduced satisfaction of the basic psychological needs of autonomy and relatedness.

The Importance of Students' Motivation for Their Academic Achievement - Replicating and Extending Previous Findings.

Achievement motivation is not a single construct but rather subsumes a variety of different constructs like ability self-concepts, task values, goals, and achievement motives. The few existing studies that investigated diverse motivational constructs as predictors of school students' academic achievement above and beyond students' cognitive abilities and prior achievement showed that most motivational constructs predicted academic achievement beyond intelligence and that students' ability self-concepts and task values are more powerful in predicting their achievement than goals and achievement motives. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the reported previous findings can be replicated when ability self-concepts, task values, goals, and achievement motives are all assessed at the same level of specificity as the achievement criteria (e.

Prospective and retrospective study of videoconference telemedicine follow-up after elective neurosurgery: results of a pilot program.

Existing literature suggests that use of telemedicine during postoperative appointments can increase access to care and is valued by patients and providers alike. While research examining the clinical equivalency of telemedicine visits for postoperative care has been growing, few studies have reported on telemedicine follow-up after neurosurgery. This study examined if a videoconferencing visit could substitute for an in-person clinic visit for elective neurosurgical cases in the USA.

Historical data analyses and scientific knowledge suggest complete removal of the abnormal toxicity test as a quality control test.

In the early 1900s, the abnormal toxicity test (ATT) was developed as an auxiliary means to ensure safe and consistent antiserum production. Today, the ATT is utilized as a quality control (QC) release test according to pharmacopoeial or other regulatory requirements. The study design has not been changed since around 1940.

Performance-approach and performance-avoidance classroom goals and the adoption of personal achievement goals.

Background: Students' perceptions of classroom goals influence their adoption of personal goals. To assess different forms of classroom goals, recent studies have favoured an overall measure of performance classroom goals, compared to a two-dimensional assessment of performance-approach and performance-avoidance classroom goals (PAVCG).

Aims: This paper considered the relationship between students' perceptions of classroom goals and their endorsement of personal achievement goals.

Symbiotic Streptomycetes provide antibiotic combination prophylaxis for wasp offspring.

Beewolf digger wasps cultivate specific symbiotic bacteria (Streptomyces spp.) that are incorporated into the larval cocoon for protection against pathogens. We identified the molecular basis of this protective symbiosis in the natural context and demonstrate that the bacteria produce a 'cocktail' of nine antibiotic substances.

Dobutamine echocardiography and resting-redistribution thallium-201 scintigraphy predicts recovery of hibernating myocardium after coronary revascularization.

The value of dobutamine echocardiography and resting thallium-201 scintigraphy to predict reversal of regional left ventricular wall motion dysfunction after revascularization in patients with chronic coronary artery disease was assessed. Improvement in wall motion during dobutamine echocardiography and normal or mildly decreased uptake on thallium-201 scanning are strong predictors of reversible left ventricular dysfunction. Dobutamine echocardiography and resting thallium-201 scanning are simple and safe methods of assessing hibernating myocardium.

Transcutaneous cardiac pacing during thoracic surgery. Feasibility and hemodynamic evaluation by transesophageal echocardiography.

Background: Occasionally, emergency perioperative pacing is necessary. Transcutaneous cardiac pacing is noninvasive, safe, and readily available. Its feasibility and hemodynamic effects during thoracic surgery and one-lung ventilation have not been established.

Left ventricular outflow tract obstruction following repair of pneumococcal mitral annular abscess.

An unusual case of a mitral annular abscess caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae was diagnosed by transesophageal echocardiography. The patient underwent surgical resection of the abscess and developed outflow tract obstruction. This is an unusual complication of the surgical procedure.

Using contrast material-enhanced echocardiography to identify abnormal pulmonary arteriovenous connections in patients with hypoxemia.

The phenomenon of abnormal pulmonary arteriovenous connections in patients with acquired lung disease rarely has been reported. We report three patients with acquired lung disease and hypoxia that did not respond to the administration of 100 percent oxygen. Contrast-material-enhanced echocardiography demonstrated intrapulmonary right-to-left shunting in all three patients.

Doppler echocardiography versus cardiac catheterization in the evaluation of valvular heart disease: do we have a gold standard?

Definitive evaluation of valvular heart disease is traditionally accomplished by cardiac catheterization. Recent advances in Doppler echocardiography allow noninvasive assessment of valvular heart disease with a high degree of accuracy compared to the cardiac catheterization gold standard. Doppler echocardiography may occasionally yield erroneous results due to technical difficulties in the performance of the study.

Transesophageal echocardiography is superior to transthoracic echocardiography in the diagnosis of sinus venosus atrial septal defect.

The purpose of this study was to compare transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography in the diagnosis of various types of atrial septal defects. Forty-one adult patients with the clinical diagnosis of atrial septal defect were studied by transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography (30 women, 11 men; 18 to 81 years of age). Transthoracic echocardiography demonstrated the atrial septal defect in 33 patients (secundum type in 28, primum type in 3 and sinus venosus type in 2).

Clinical evaluation of high-frequency (ultrasonic) mechanical débridement in the surgical treatment of calcific aortic stenosis.

Repair of aortic valve stenosis due to calcific degeneration may lead to hemodynamic and clinical improvement without the problems inherent with prosthetic valves. We have evaluated the use of a device capable of débriding calcium, the Cavitron ultrasonic aspirator (CUSA), as an adjunct to mechanical débridement in the repair of calcific aortic stenosis. Ten patients (five women), ages 63 to 83 years, were studied by M-mode, two-dimensional, and Doppler echocardiography before and an average of 26 (range 3 to 124) days after this procedure.

Transesophageal echocardiography to detect atrial clots in candidates for percutaneous transseptal mitral balloon valvuloplasty.

Left atrial thrombi are common in patients with mitral stenosis. When percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty is performed on such patients, there is a potential risk of thrombus dislodgment and embolization. In this study conventional transthoracic echocardiography and transesophageal echocardiography were performed for percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty on 19 consecutive candidates (6 men, 13 women, 23 to 81 years old).

The anatomy of the interatrial septum: a transesophageal echocardiographic study.

Transesophageal echocardiography provides a unique view of the IAS. We reviewed results of 119 transesophageal studies (1) to study the detailed anatomy of the IAS, and (2) to determine the thickness of the IAS at different times during the cardiac cycle, (3) the effect of age, and (4) the thickness of the IAS in relation to various disease states. From the transesophageal view the IAS extends from the right posteriorly toward the left and anteriorly.

Diagnosis of unexpected atrial septal defect by inspired hydrogen appearance time in adult patients referred for cardiac catheterization.

Atrial septal defects may have clinical consequences regardless of their size. We evaluated the incidence of clinically unsuspected atrial septal defects in 4,411 consecutive adult patients referred for cardiac catheterization by the previously validated method of inspired hydrogen appearance time. Oximetry was performed only when an abnormally short inspired hydrogen appearance time was measured.

Dynamic left ventricular outflow obstruction after aortic valve replacement: a Doppler echocardiographic study.

An 81-year-old woman with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis underwent aortic valve replacement. The postoperative course was complicated by new subvalvular left ventricular outflow tract obstruction created by systolic anterior motion of the anterior mitral leaflet. The condition was recognized by echocardiography and was successfully treated medically.