Comparative analysis of conventional penile clamps and Uriclak device in managing male incontinence following radical, turp, or laser prostate surgery.

This article examines the impact of various prostate surgery techniques on male urinary incontinence, evaluating the feasibility, efficacy, and safety of penile clamps as a post-prostate surgery treatment. The study compares the characteristics and applications of conventional penile clamps and the Uriclak urethral compression device, highlighting their differences and potential for managing male incontinence.

Update on HPV Vaccination Policies and Practices in 17 Eastern European and Central Asian Countries and Territories.

Background: In 2021, a survey was conducted as part of the regional program of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) to assess the policies and practices relating to HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening in the 17 countries and territories included in this region. Since then, very substantial progress has been made with HPV vaccination across the region so another survey was conducted establish the current situation.

Methods: A 10 question survey covering the policies, plans and practices for HPV vaccination was prepared.

Breast and cervical cancer screening practices in nine countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia: A population-based survey.

Background: Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) countries have higher cervical and breast cancer mortality rates and later stage at diagnosis compared with the rest of WHO European Region. The aim was to explore current early detection practices including "dispensarization" for breast and cervix cancer in the region.

Methods: A questionnaire survey on early detection practices for breast and cervix cancer was sent to collaborators in 11 countries, differentiating services in the primary health setting, and population-based programs.

HPV Vaccination and Cervical Cancer Screening Policies and Practices in 18 Countries, Territories and Entities across Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Background: To assess readiness to achieve the WHO Global Strategy targets for HPV vaccination and cervical screening and to guide capacity building, the current status of these services in 18 Eastern European and Central Asian countries, territories and entities (CTEs) was evaluated.

Methods: In order to assess the current status of HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening in these 18 CTEs, a 30 question survey tool was developed, covering: national policies, strategies and plans for cervical cancer prevention; status of cancer registration; status of HPV vaccination; and current practices for cervical cancer screening and treatment of precancerous lesions. As cervical cancer prevention comes within the mandate of the United Nations Fund for Population Development (UNFPA), the UNFPA offices in the 18 CTEs have regular contact with national experts who are directly involved in cervical cancer prevention actions and are well placed to provide the data required for this survey.

Height to first pod: A review of genetic and breeding approaches to improve combine harvesting in legume crops.

Height from soil at the base of plant to the first pod (HFP) is an important trait for mechanical harvesting of legume crops. To minimise the loss of pods, the HFP must be higher than that of the blades of most combine harvesters. Here, we review the genetic control, morphology, and variability of HFP in legumes and attempt to unravel the diverse terminology for this trait in the literature.

Comparison of breast cancer and cervical cancer stage distributions in ten newly independent states of the former Soviet Union: a population-based study.

Background: Screening for breast cancer and cervical cancer in the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union is largely opportunistic, and countries in the region have among the highest cervical cancer incidence in the WHO European Region. We aimed to compare the stage-specific distributions and changes over time in breast cancer and cervical cancer incidence in the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union.

Methods: We collected breast cancer and cervical cancer incidence data from official statistics from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan for the years 2008-17 by tumour, node, metastasis (TNM) stage, and by age where population-based cancer registry data were available.

Angiogenic factors in blood serum of bone tumor patients.

It is proven that angiogenesis and cartilage resorption processes involving vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors play an important role in bone tissue regeneration and bone tumor development. A comparative analysis of VEGE VEGF-R1, VEGF-R2 and angiogenin content in blood serum of healthy persons, and patients with primary malignant, benign and borderline bone tumors was performed. 366 bone tumor patients aged 14-76 years were examined; 223 (60,9%) male and 143 (39,1%) -female.

Lignin nanotubes as vehicles for gene delivery into human cells.

Lignin nanotubes (LNTs) synthesized from the aromatic plant cell wall polymer lignin in a sacrificial alumina membrane template have as useful features their flexibility, ease of functionalization due to the availability of many functional groups, label-free detection by autofluorescence, and customizable optical properties. In this report we show that the physicochemical properties of LNTs can be varied over a wide range to match requirements for specific applications by using lignin with different subunit composition, a function of plant species and genotype, and by choosing the lignin isolation method (thioglycolic acid, phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid (Klason), sodium hydroxide lignin), which influences the size and reactivity of the lignin fragments. Cytotoxicity studies with human HeLa cells showed that concentrations of up to 90 mg/mL are tolerated, which is a 10-fold higher concentration than observed for single- or multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs).

Biocomposites of pHEMA with HA/β -TCP (60/40) for bone tissue engineering: Swelling, hydrolytic degradation, and behavior.

The field of bone and cartilage tissue engineering has a pressing need for novel, biocompatible, biodegradable biocomposites comprising polymers with bioceramics or bioglasses to meet numerous requirements for these applications. We created hydrolytically degradable hydrogel/bioceramic biocomposites, comprising poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) hydrogels and 50 wt% biphasic hydroxyapatite/β-tricalcium phosphate (60/40) through in situ polymerization. The hydrolytic degradation starts with hydrolysis of the cross-linker, -dimethacryloyl hydroxylamine, which was synthesized in house.

Preparation and properties of aligned poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)/cellulose nanowhiskers composites.

In this study a unidirectionally aligned cellulose nanowhisker (CNW) composite was developed. CNW in poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) matrix was aligned using an external electric field and the morphology and mechanical properties of the resultant anisotropic composites were studied. PHBV films with 1.

Crystallization kinetics of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)/cellulose nanowhiskers composites.

In this study, biodegradable poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) films with 1.2-4.6 wt% of cellulose nanowhiskers (CNWs) were manufactured by solution casting using N,N-dimethylformide (DMF) as the solvent.

[Evaluation of Bishkek air pollution with polyaromatic hydrocarbons].

The purpose of this study was to make a quantitative assessment and prediction of the degree of ambient air benzo(a)pyrene pollution in Bishkek and to develop environmental PAH reduction measures. Analysis of the data shows that the greatest ambient air benzo(a)pyrene pollution was observed in the central and northern parts of the town (up to 46 maximum allowable concentrations - MAC), the bedroom communities situated in the southern part of the town can be described as conditionally clean (up to 10.3 MAC).

Enhancement of the fluorescence of the beryllium-morin complex by non-ionic surfactants.

The effect of surfactants on the fluorescence of the beryllium-morin system has been studied. Non-ionic surfactants strongly enhance the fluorescence intensity of the beryllium complex. The addition of Triton X-100 makes possible the fluorimetric determination of submicrogram quantities of beryllium in feebly acidic media (pH 5.