Women's Reasons to Seek Bariatric Surgery and Their Expectations on the Surgery Outcome - a Multicenter Study from Five European Countries.

Purpose: Understanding patients' reasons for having bariatric surgery and their expectation on surgery outcomes is important to provide the best clinical practice and reduce unrealistic expectations. It is unknown if reasons and expectations differ between countries. We aimed to investigate the reasons for seeking bariatric surgery and expectations of surgical outcomes among patients in five European countries.

Semi-nested RT-PCR enables sensitive and high-throughput detection of SARS-CoV-2 based on melting analysis.

Background: Asymptomatic transmission was found to be the Achilles' heel of the symptom-based screening strategy, necessitating the implementation of mass testing to efficiently contain the transmission of COVID-19 pandemic. However, the global shortage of molecular reagents and the low throughput of available realtime PCR facilities were major limiting factors.

Methods: A novel semi-nested and heptaplex (7-plex) RT-PCR assay with melting analysis for detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA has been established for either individual testing or 96-sample pooled testing.

Use of machine learning in prediction of granule particle size distribution and tablet tensile strength in commercial pharmaceutical manufacturing.

In the manufacturing of pharmaceutical Oral Solid Dosage (OSD) forms, Particle Size Distribution (PSD) and Tensile Strength (TS) are common in-process tests that are controlled in order to achieve the quality targets of the end-product. The Quality by Design (QbD) concept elaborates process understanding and sufficient controls. However, for older pharmaceutical products upscaled to commercial phase with Quality by Testing (QbT) approach, the knowhow of the product-specific critical parameters is often limited.

Effect of operating air pressure on tribochemical silica-coating.

Objective: Alumina and zirconia are inert to conventional etching and need to be initially conditioned with, for example, silicatization. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of operating air pressure of tribochemical silica-coating method on the shear bond strength of composite resin to ceramic substrates.

Material And Methods: Alumina (Procera Alumina, Nobel Biocare) and zirconia (LAVA; 3M ESPE and Procera Zirconia; Nobel Biocare) were airborne particle silica-coated (CoJet; 3M ESPE) using selected, clinically available air pressures of 150, 220, 300, and 450 kPa.

Evaluation of resin adhesion to zirconia ceramic using some organosilanes.

Objectives: This study evaluated and compared the effect of three trialkoxysilane coupling agents on the bond strength of a Bis-GMA-based unfilled resin and a dimethacrylate-based resin composite luting cement to a zirconia ceramics (Procera AllZircon, Nobel Biocare, Göteborg, Sweden).

Methods: Six square-shaped zirconia specimens were used for each test group, a total of 72 specimens. The specimens in each group were all assigned to air-borne alumina particle abrasion followed by tribochemical silica-coating and silanization with 1 vol% solutions of 3-methacryloyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane, 3-acryloyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane, or 3-isocyanatopropyltriethoxysilane in an ethanol-water mixture.

Radiofrequency endovenous obliteration versus stripping of the long saphenous vein in the management of primary varicose veins: 3-year outcome of a randomized study.

We evaluated the 3-year outcome of a series of patients with primary varicose veins who were randomized to radiofrequency endovenous obliteration vs. stripping of the long saphenous vein (LSV). Twenty-eight patients were included in the study: 15 were randomized to the radiofrequency endovenous obliteration procedure and 13 to LSV stripping.

Endovenous obliteration versus conventional stripping operation in the treatment of primary varicose veins: a randomized controlled trial with comparison of the costs.

Objective: The aim of this randomized study was to compare a new method of endovenous saphenous vein obliteration (Closure System, VNUS Medical Technologies, Inc, Sunnyvale, Calif) with the conventional stripping operation in terms of short-term recovery and costs.

Methods: Twenty-eight selected patients for operative treatment of primary greater saphenous vein tributary varicose veins were randomly assigned to endovenous obliteration (n = 15) or stripping operation (n = 13). Postoperative pain was daily assessed during the 1st week and on the 14th postoperative day.