Safety and Effectiveness of Meatal Mobilization (MEMO) Technique for Glandular, Coronal, and Subcoronal Hypospadias Repair in Children: A 5-Year Single-Center Study with 105 Hypospadias.

Background: This study aims to compare outcomes of treatment, in terms of early and late complications, between the Snodgrass and meatal mobilization (MEMO) techniques in children operated on because of distal hypospadias.

Methods: The medical records of 127 children who underwent glandular, coronal, or subcoronal hypospadias repair between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 105 children met the inclusion criteria and were included in further analysis.

Safety and Effectiveness of Triclosan-Coated Polydioxanone (PDS Plus) versus Uncoated Polydioxanone (PDS II) Sutures for Prevention of Surgical Site Infection after Hypospadias Repair in Children: A 10-Year Single Center Experience with 550 Hypospadias.

Aim: Triclosan is an antiseptic substance that has been shown in preclinical studies to reduce bacterial load in the wound and slow bacterial growth by inhibiting fatty acid synthesis. It is claimed that the coating protects against colonization of the tissue around the suture. This study aimed to compare the safety and efficacy of triclosan-coated polydioxanone versus uncoated polydioxanone sutures for the prevention of surgical site infections (SSIs) following hypospadias repair in children.

Same-Day Discharge after Laparoscopic Appendectomy for Simple Appendicitis in Pediatric Patients-Is It Possible?

(1) Background: One-day surgery has been widely adopted for many elective laparoscopic procedures in pediatric patients. Recently, the same protocol has been investigated for some emergency procedures, such as laparoscopic appendectomy. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of discharge from hospital within 24 h in pediatric patients who received laparoscopic appendectomy for uncomplicated acute appendicitis.

Laser-puncture of the ureterocele in neonatal patients significantly decreases an incidence of de novo vesico-ureteral reflux than electrosurgical incision.

Introduction: Endoscopic laser-puncture or electrosurgical incision are the most commonly used minimaly invasive approaches for the treatment of the ureterocele. Both techniques are mainly successful in decompressing of ureteroceles, but the consequence of such treatment may be formation of de novo vesicoureteral reflux and febrile urinary tract infection which could impact the final results.

Objective: To compare outcomes of treatment of two endoscopic techniques used in management of neonatal patients with intravesical ureterocele.

Cancer cells escape autophagy inhibition via NRF2-induced macropinocytosis.

Many cancers, including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), depend on autophagy-mediated scavenging and recycling of intracellular macromolecules, suggesting that autophagy blockade should cause tumor starvation and regression. However, until now autophagy-inhibiting monotherapies have not demonstrated potent anti-cancer activity. We now show that autophagy blockade prompts established PDAC to upregulate and utilize an alternative nutrient procurement pathway: macropinocytosis (MP) that allows tumor cells to extract nutrients from extracellular sources and use them for energy generation.

Fructose stimulated de novo lipogenesis is promoted by inflammation.

Benign hepatosteatosis, affected by lipid uptake, de novo lipogenesis and fatty acid (FA) oxidation, progresses to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) on stress and inflammation. A key macronutrient proposed to increase hepatosteatosis and NASH risk is fructose. Excessive intake of fructose causes intestinal-barrier deterioration and endotoxaemia.

Laparoscopic Versus Open High Ligation for Adolescent Varicocele: A 6-year Single Center Study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of high ligation in adolescents with varicocele between open and laparoscopic surgical approaches.

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: The study was conducted from January 2012 to January 2018, with median follow-up of 36 months, in the division of pediatric surgery at tertiary-care hospital.

The Fire within: Cell-Autonomous Mechanisms in Inflammation-Driven Cancer.

Inflammatory cells are important for tumor initiation and promotion, providing cancer cells with cytokines that enhance cell proliferation and survival. Although malignant epithelial cells were traditionally considered to be on the receiving end of these microenvironmental interactions, recent studies show that epithelial cells can undergo inflammatory reprogramming on their own. Such epigenetic switches are often triggered by chronic tissue injury and play important roles in tissue repair.

Stress-Activated NRF2-MDM2 Cascade Controls Neoplastic Progression in Pancreas.

Despite expression of oncogenic KRAS, premalignant pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia 1 (PanIN1) lesions rarely become fully malignant pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The molecular mechanisms through which established risk factors, such as chronic pancreatitis, acinar cell damage, and/or defective autophagy increase the likelihood of PDAC development are poorly understood. We show that accumulation of the autophagy substrate p62/SQSTM1 in stressed Kras acinar cells is associated with PDAC development and maintenance of malignancy in human cells and mice.

Endoscopic placement of double-J ureteric stents in children as a treatment for primary hydronephrosis.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy and potential complications of double-J ureteric stents in the treatment of primary hydronephrosis in pediatric patients.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective case-records review of 133 patients (45 girls and 88 boys) treated because of primary hydronephrosis with double-J ureteric stents, in Department of Pediatric Surgery, Split University Hospital, between December 1997 and December 2014, was performed. Success of treatment, results of follow up investigations and complications were recorded.

Hepatic Cholesterol-25-Hydroxylase Overexpression Improves Systemic Insulin Sensitivity in Mice.

Obesity is a major risk factor for several diseases including diabetes, heart disease, and some forms of cancer and due to its rapidly increasing prevalence it has become one of the biggest problems medicine is facing today. All the more surprising, a substantial percentage of obese patients are metabolically healthy when classified based on insulin resistance and systemic inflammation. Oxysterols are naturally occurring molecules that play important role in various metabolic and inflammatory processes and their levels are elevated in patients suffering from obesity and diabetes.

Management of acute scrotum in children: a 25-year single center experience on 558 pediatric patients.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to analyze management and outcomes of treatment in patients with acute scrotum.

Material And Methods: From January 1990 until January 2015 case records of 558 patients who underwent surgery for acute scrotum were retrospectively reviewed. Mean age was 12 years old.

Targeting Inflammation in Cancer Prevention and Therapy.

Inflammation is associated with the development and malignant progression of most cancers. As most of the cell types involved in cancer-associated inflammation are genetically stable and thus are not subjected to rapid emergence of drug resistance, the targeting of inflammation represents an attractive strategy both for cancer prevention and for cancer therapy. Tumor-extrinsic inflammation is caused by many factors, including bacterial and viral infections, autoimmune diseases, obesity, tobacco smoking, asbestos exposure, and excessive alcohol consumption, all of which increase cancer risk and stimulate malignant progression.

Mast cells are not associated with systemic insulin resistance.

Background: Infiltration of white adipose tissue (WAT) by inflammatory cells in obesity is considered to be a key event in the development of insulin resistance. Recently, mast cells (MCs) have been identified as new players in the pathogenesis of obesity. We aimed to investigate the relationship between MCs and various inflammatory markers in serum and WAT and to determine the role of MCs in the aetiology of insulin resistance.

Mass Spectrometry-Based Visualization of Molecules Associated with Human Habitats.

The cars we drive, the homes we live in, the restaurants we visit, and the laboratories and offices we work in are all a part of the modern human habitat. Remarkably, little is known about the diversity of chemicals present in these environments and to what degree molecules from our bodies influence the built environment that surrounds us and vice versa. We therefore set out to visualize the chemical diversity of five built human habitats together with their occupants, to provide a snapshot of the various molecules to which humans are exposed on a daily basis.

Comparison of dextranomer/hyaluronic acid based bulking agents in the treatment of vesicoureteral reflux in children: Deflux versus Vurdex.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to compare the clinical efficacy of two similar tissue bulking agents, Deflux and Vurdex, used for a treatment of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) in our institution.

Material And Methods: The case records of 104 children, treated endoscopically for primary VUR from January 2010 to January 2015, were retrospectively reviewed. Most of the patients were treated with Deflux until 2012, when use of Vurdex was started.

Correction: Circulating Inflammatory Mediators as Potential Prognostic Markers of Human Colorectal Cancer.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Circulating Inflammatory Mediators as Potential Prognostic Markers of Human Colorectal Cancer.

Background: Cytokines and chemokines in the tumor microenvironment drive metastatic development and their serum levels might mirror the ongoing inflammatory reaction at the tumor site. Novel highly sensitive tools are needed to identify colorectal cancer patients at high risk of recurrence that should be more closely monitored during post-surgical follow up. Here we study whether circulating inflammatory markers might be used to predict recurrence in CRC patients.

BAG3 promotes pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma growth by activating stromal macrophages.

The incidence and death rate of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) have increased in recent years, therefore the identification of novel targets for treatment is extremely important. Interactions between cancer and stromal cells are critically involved in tumour formation and development of metastasis. Here we report that PDAC cells secrete BAG3, which binds and activates macrophages, inducing their activation and the secretion of PDAC supporting factors.

Basal autophagy maintains pancreatic acinar cell homeostasis and protein synthesis and prevents ER stress.

Pancreatic acinar cells possess very high protein synthetic rates as they need to produce and secrete large amounts of digestive enzymes. Acinar cell damage and dysfunction cause malnutrition and pancreatitis, and inflammation of the exocrine pancreas that promotes development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), a deadly pancreatic neoplasm. The cellular and molecular mechanisms that maintain acinar cell function and whose dysregulation can lead to tissue damage and chronic pancreatitis are poorly understood.

Dual prognostic significance of tumour-associated macrophages in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma treated or untreated with chemotherapy.

Objective: Tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) play key roles in tumour progression. Recent evidence suggests that TAMs critically modulate the efficacy of anticancer therapies, raising the prospect of their targeting in human cancer.

Design: In a large retrospective cohort study involving 110 patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), we assessed the density of CD68-TAM immune reactive area (%IRA) at the tumour-stroma interface and addressed their prognostic relevance in relation to postsurgical adjuvant chemotherapy (CTX).

Heme oxygenase-1 drives metaflammation and insulin resistance in mouse and man.

Obesity and diabetes affect more than half a billion individuals worldwide. Interestingly, the two conditions do not always coincide and the molecular determinants of "healthy" versus "unhealthy" obesity remain ill-defined. Chronic metabolic inflammation (metaflammation) is believed to be pivotal.

Lipoprotein(a) is not related to markers of insulin resistance in pregnancy.

Background: Dyslipidemia, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease is a common finding in patients with type 2 diabetes and among women with gestational diabetes. Elevated levels of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] are linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, its relationship with insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes is controversial and unproven.

Differential geometric analysis of alterations in MH α-helices.

Antigen presenting cells present processed peptides via their major histocompatibility (MH) complex to the T cell receptors (TRs) of T cells. If a peptide is immunogenic, a signaling cascade can be triggered within the T cell. However, the binding of different peptides and/or different TRs to MH is also known to influence the spatial arrangement of the MH α-helices which could itself be an additional level of T cell regulation.