Extension of efficacy range for targeted malaria-elimination interventions due to spillover effects.

Malaria-elimination interventions aim to extinguish hotspots and prevent transmission to nearby areas. Here, we re-analyzed a cluster-randomized trial of reactive, focal interventions (chemoprevention using artemether-lumefantrine and/or indoor residual spraying with pirimiphos-methyl) delivered within 500 m of confirmed malaria index cases in Namibia to measure direct effects (among intervention recipients within 500 m) and spillover effects (among non-intervention recipients within 3 km) on incidence, prevalence and seroprevalence. There was no or weak evidence of direct effects, but the sample size of intervention recipients was small, limiting statistical power.

Programming Spatial Cell Sorting by Engineering Cadherin Intracellular Activity.

The spatial sorting of cells into appropriate tissue compartments is essential for embryogenesis and tissue development. Spatial cell sorting is controlled by the interplay between cell surface affinity and intracellular mechanical properties. However, intracellular signaling that can sufficiently sort cell populations remains unexplored.

Japanese survey of perioperative complications and ureteral stricture after ureteroscopy with laser lithotripsy for upper urinary tract stones in multicenter collaborative study.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate perioperative complications and the details of postoperative ureteral stricture after ureteroscopy with laser lithotripsy (URS-L) for upper urinary tract stones in Japan.

Methods: Patient data on intra- and postoperative complications after ureteroscopy using URS-L were retrospectively collected from multiple centers in Japan between April 2017 and March 2020 with the cooperation of the Japanese Society of Endourology and Robotics. Data included the number of patients undergoing URS-L, number and type of intra- and postoperative complications, and detailed characteristics of postoperative ureteral stricture.

Insecticide susceptibility status of Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes and the effect of pre-exposure to a piperonyl butoxide (PBO) synergist on resistance to deltamethrin in northern Namibia.

Background: Pyrethroid-based indoor residual spraying (IRS) and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) have been employed as key vector control measures against malaria in Namibia. However, pyrethroid resistance in Anopheles mosquitoes may compromise the efficacy of these interventions. To address this challenge, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the use of piperonyl butoxide (PBO) LLINs in areas where pyrethroid resistance is confirmed to be mediated by mixed function oxidase (MFO).

Targeted malaria elimination interventions reduce infections up to 3 kilometers away.

Malaria elimination interventions in low-transmission settings aim to extinguish hot spots and prevent transmission to nearby areas. In malaria elimination settings, the World Health Organization recommends reactive, focal interventions targeted to the area near malaria cases shortly after they are detected. A key question is whether these interventions reduce transmission to nearby uninfected or asymptomatic individuals who did not receive interventions.

Surgical resection in patient with teratoma with somatic-type malignancy transformed into rhabdomyosarcoma resulted in long-term survival.

Introduction: Testicular germ cell tumors with somatic-type malignancy, wherein teratomas transform into sarcomas, is drug resistant and has a poor prognosis.

Case Presentation: A 43-year-old man presented with a left testicular tumor, multiple pulmonary metastases, and mediastinal and para-aortic lymph node metastases. The testicular tumors were diagnosed as germ cell tumors.

Baseline characterization of entomological drivers of malaria transmission in Namibia: a targeted operational entomological surveillance strategy.

Background: Namibia's focus on the elimination of malaria requires an evidence-based strategy directed at understanding and targeting the entomological drivers of malaria transmission. In 2018 and 2019, the Namibia National Vector-borne Diseases Control Program (NVDCP) implemented baseline entomological surveillance based on a question-based approach outlined in the Entomological Surveillance Planning Tool (ESPT). In the present study, we report on the findings of the ESPT-based NVDCP on baseline vector species composition and bionomic traits in malaria endemic regions in northern Namibia, which has the aim of generating an evidence base for programmatic decision-making.

Comparison of Mirabegron and Vibegron in Women With Treatment-Naive Overactive Bladder: A Randomized Controlled Study.

Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of mirabegron versus vibegron in postmenopausal women with treatment-naïve overactive bladder (OAB).

Methods: We conducted a prospective randomized controlled study of women with treatment-naïve OAB. The patients received mirabegron or vibegron at 50 mg daily for 12 weeks by a stratified randomized method.

Enantioseparation of 3-Hydroxycarboxylic Acids via Diastereomeric Salt Formation by 2-Amino-1,2-diphenylethanol (ADPE) and Cinchonidine.

Enantioseparation of 3-hydroxycarboxylic acids via diastereomeric salt formation was demonstrated using 2-amino-1,2-diphenylethanol (ADPE) and cinchonidine as the resolving agents. Racemic 3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutanoic acid (-), 3-hydroxy-4-(4-chlorophenyl)butanoic acid (-), and 3-hydroxy-5-phenylpentanoic acid (-) were efficiently resolved using these resolving agents. Moreover, the successive crystallization of the less-soluble diastereomeric salt of and cinchonidine using EtOH yielded pure ()- · cinchonidine salt in a high yield.

Human and vector behaviors determine exposure to Anopheles in Namibia.

Background: Although the Republic of Namibia has significantly reduced malaria transmission, regular outbreaks and persistent transmission impede progress towards elimination. Towards an understanding of the protective efficacy, as well as gaps in protection, associated with long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), human and Anopheles behaviors were evaluated in parallel in three malaria endemic regions, Kavango East, Ohangwena and Zambezi, using the Entomological Surveillance Planning Tool to answer the question: where and when are humans being exposed to bites of Anopheles mosquitoes?

Methods: Surveillance activities were conducted during the malaria transmission season in March 2018 for eight consecutive nights. Four sentinel structures per site were selected, and human landing catches and human behavior observations were consented to for a total of 32 collection nights per site.

Comparison of full-dose gemcitabine/cisplatin, dose-reduced gemcitabine/cisplatin, and gemcitabine/carboplatin in real-world patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma.

Background: While gemcitabine/cisplatin (GC) is the gold standard regimen for patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma (aUC), either dose-reduced GC or gemcitabine/carboplatin (GCa) is an alternative option for "cisplatin-unfit" patients. However, few studies have compared outcomes with these commonly used regimens in the real-world setting.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients with aUC who received full-dose GC, dose-reduced GC, or GCa as first-line salvage chemotherapy at two university hospitals between 2016 and 2020.

Cost and cost effectiveness of reactive case detection (RACD), reactive focal mass drug administration (rfMDA) and reactive focal vector control (RAVC) to reduce malaria in the low endemic setting of Namibia: an analysis alongside a 2×2 factorial design cluster randomised controlled trial.

Objectives: To estimate the cost and cost effectiveness of reactive case detection (RACD), reactive focal mass drug administration (rfMDA) and reactive focal vector control (RAVC) to reduce malaria in a low endemic setting.

Setting: The study was part of a 2×2 factorial design cluster randomised controlled trial within the catchment area of 11 primary health facilities in Zambezi, Namibia.

Participants: Cost and outcome data were collected from the trial, which included 8948 community members that received interventions due to their residence within 500 m of malaria index cases.

Does metabolic syndrome influence the efficacy of mirabegron treatment in female patients with overactive bladder?

Introduction And Hypothesis: We aimed to determine whether the presence of metabolic syndrome (MS) affects the efficacy of mirabegron in treatment-naïve women with overactive bladder (OAB).

Methods: Women being treated with mirabegron 50 mg were allocated to MS and non-MS groups, and the efficacy of treatment of OAB was compared using the OAB symptom score (OABSS) and a 3-day voiding diary before and 12 weeks after starting treatment. The Wilcoxon signed-rank and Mann-Whitney U tests and multivariate logistic regression were used for statistical analyses, and a p-value < 0.

Clinical validity of non-contrast-enhanced VI-RADS: prospective study using 3-T MRI with high-gradient magnetic field.

Objectives: To develop a modified Vesical Imaging Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) without dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging (DCEI), termed "non-contrast-enhanced VI-RADS (NCE-VI-RADS)", and to assess the additive impact of denoising deep learning reconstruction (dDLR) on NCE-VI-RADS.

Methods: From January 2019 through December 2020, 163 participants who underwent high-gradient 3-T MRI of the bladder were prospectively enrolled. In total, 108 participants with pathologically confirmed bladder cancer by transurethral resection were analyzed.

Laparoscopic retroperitoneal lymph node dissection versus open retroperitoneal lymph node dissection for testicular cancer: A comparison of clinical and perioperative outcomes.

Objective: This study was performed to evaluate the clinical and perioperative outcomes of laparoscopic retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (L-RPLND) and open retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (O-RPLND) performed by one surgeon at a single center.

Methods: We evaluated 30 patients with stage IIA germ cell tumors who underwent retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (15 underwent L-RPLND and 15 underwent O-RPLND) at our institution between April 1, 2010 and March 31, 2018. The clinical parameters were compared between patients who underwent L-RPLND using the retroperitoneal approach and those who underwent O-RPLND using the transperitoneal approach.

Proposal for a New Vesical Imaging-Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS)-Based Algorithm for the Management of Bladder Cancer: A Paradigm Shift From the Current Transurethral Resection of Bladder Tumor (TURBT)-Dependent Practice.

Transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) is the essential first step in the current algorithm for the management of bladder cancer (BC). However, despite its necessity and significance, TURBT has several limitations, including cost, hospitalization, anesthesia, potential complications such as bladder perforation, and delay to radical cystectomy. The Vesical Imaging Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) was developed to standardize the reporting of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging for BC, and its diagnostic accuracy to predict muscle invasion has been validated.

Long-Term Outcomes of Longitudinal Efficacy Study With Tolvaptan in ADPKD.

Introduction: The effects of long-term and uninterrupted tolvaptan treatment on autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) are unclear. Therefore, a more than 3-year continuous treatment study was performed.

Methods: From the Kyorin University cohort, 299 patients were surveyed and 179 patients were indicated for tolvaptan having a total kidney volume (TKV) ≥750 ml, TKV slope ≥5%/yr, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥15 ml/min per 1.

Genomic analysis of circulating tumor cells in adenosquamous carcinoma of the prostate: a case report.

Background: Adenosquamous carcinoma of the prostate (ASCP) is an extremely rare and aggressive prostate cancer variant, whose genomic characteristics have not been elucidated. Although liquid biopsy of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is an emerging topic in oncology, no study has assessed CTCs in patients with ASCP.

Case Presentation: A 76-year-old man presented with discomfort in his urethra.

Emergent transcatheter arterial embolization to control critical blood pressure fluctuation associated with hypercatecholaminemic crisis in a patient with an unruptured retroperitoneal paraganglioma.

Pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma (PPGL)-related hypercatecholaminemic crisis is a rare lethal condition caused by uncontrolled catecholamine secretion, occasionally leading to critical fluctuation in blood pressure (BP). Emergent transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) has been employed for spontaneous PPGL rupture, but never, to our knowledge, for critical fluctuation in BP associated with PPGL-related hypercatecholaminemic crisis. We describe here our experience utilizing this method to control critical fluctuation in BP associated with this crisis in a 44-year-old man with an unruptured retroperitoneal paraganglioma.

Pigmented median raphe cyst of the penis that developed after middle age without infection or trauma history.

Introduction: Median raphe cysts are rare benign lesions of the male genitalia that can develop anywhere along the midline from meatus to anus. They are believed to be caused by a defect in closure of median raphe during embryonic development. These cysts commonly appear in childhood or adolescence, although some are diagnosed after middle age, typically triggered by infection or trauma.

Imaging Identification of Rapidly Progressing Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease: Simple Eligibility Criterion for Tolvaptan.

Background: Tolvaptan was approved for the treatment of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). However, the official indication of "rapidly progressive disease" is described differently in the clinical guidelines. We aim to define "rapidly progressive disease" by risk of ESRD, which is evaluated using estimated height-adjusted total kidney volume (HtTKV) growth rate.

Effects on Depression and Anxiety After Mid-Urethral Sling Surgery for Female Stress Urinary Incontinence.

Purpose: Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common health-related problem in the female population and has a negative impact on many aspects of patients' quality of life including mental problems. This study evaluated the mental effects of mid-urethral sling (MUS) surgery in female patients with stress UI or stress UI-dominant mixed UI.

Patients And Methods: Women with stress UI or stress UI-dominant mixed UI who underwent MUS surgery and were enrolled in this study and followed up for 12 months.

Prospective Validation of Vesical Imaging-Reporting and Data System Using a Next-Generation Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scanner-Is Denoising Deep Learning Reconstruction Useful?

Purpose: The Vesical Imaging Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) was launched in 2018 to standardize reporting of magnetic resonance imaging for bladder cancer. This study aimed to prospectively validate VI-RADS using a next-generation magnetic resonance imaging scanner and to investigate the usefulness of denoising deep learning reconstruction.

Materials And Methods: We prospectively enrolled 98 patients who underwent bladder multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging using a next-generation magnetic resonance imaging scanner before transurethral resection of bladder tumor.