Engineering Pancreatic Islets to Transiently Codisplay on Their Surface Thrombomodulin and CD47 Immunomodulatory Proteins as a Means of Mitigating Instant Blood-Mediated Inflammatory Reaction following Intraportal Transplantation.

Most pancreatic islets are destroyed immediately after intraportal transplantation by an instant blood-mediated inflammatory reaction (IBMIR) generated through activation of coagulation, complement, and proinflammatory pathways. Thus, effective mitigation of IBMIR may be contingent on the combined use of agents targeting these pathways for modulation. CD47 and thrombomodulin (TM) are two molecules with distinct functions in regulating coagulation and proinflammatory responses.

A novel agonist of 4-1BB costimulatory receptor shows therapeutic efficacy against a tobacco carcinogen-induced lung cancer.

Immunotherapy utilizing checkpoint inhibitors has shown remarkable success in the treatment of cancers. In addition to immune checkpoint inhibitors, immune co-stimulation has the potential to enhance immune activation and destabilize the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. CD137, also known as 4-1BB, is one of the potent immune costimulatory receptors that could be targeted for effective immune co-stimulation.

Engineering pancreatic islets with a novel form of thrombomodulin protein to overcome early graft loss triggered by instant blood-mediated inflammatory reaction.

The instant blood-mediated inflammatory reaction (IBMIR) is initiated by innate immune responses that cause substantial islet loss after intraportal transplantation. Thrombomodulin (TM) is a multifaceted innate immune modulator. In this study, we report the generation of a chimeric form of thrombomodulin with streptavidin (SA-TM) for transient display on the surface of islets modified with biotin to mitigate IBMIR.

The statuses of HER2 expression and mismatch repair in endometrial clear cell carcinoma.

High-grade endometrial carcinomas (HGEC) are difficult to classify. With the current use of HER2-based therapy in serous carcinoma, a diagnosis of clear cell carcinoma (CCC) has the potential to exclude patients from receiving therapy. Therefore, we examined HER2 expression in our CCC patients.

A hydrogel platform for co-delivery of immunomodulatory proteins for pancreatic islet allografts.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D), an autoimmune disorder in which the insulin-producing β-cells in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas are destroyed, afflicts over 1.6 million Americans. Although pancreatic islet transplantation has shown promise in treating T1D, continuous use of required immunosuppression regimens limits clinical islet transplantation as it poses significant adverse effects on graft recipients and does not achieve consistent long-term graft survival with 50%-70% of recipients maintaining insulin independence at 5 years.

FasL microgels induce immune acceptance of islet allografts in nonhuman primates.

Islet transplantation to treat insulin-dependent diabetes is greatly limited by the need for maintenance immunosuppression. We report a strategy through which cotransplantation of allogeneic islets and streptavidin (SA)-FasL-presenting microgels to the omentum under transient rapamycin monotherapy resulted in robust glycemic control, sustained C-peptide levels, and graft survival in diabetic nonhuman primates for >6 months. Surgical extraction of the graft resulted in prompt hyperglycemia.

Visual clarity of irrigants used during flexible ureterorenoscopy: an in vitro comparison.

Introduction: Saline solution is the standard irrigant used during ureteroscopy. However, there is an opinion that water has better visual clarity. We aimed to compare the visual clarities of saline, water, and 5% mannitol as an irrigant during ureteroscopy.

NLRP7 plays a functional role in regulating BMP4 signaling during differentiation of patient-derived trophoblasts.

Complete hydatidiform mole (HM) is a gestational trophoblastic disease resulting in hyperproliferation of trophoblast cells and absence of embryo development. Mutations in the maternal-effect gene NLRP7 are the major cause of familial recurrent complete HM. Here, we established an in vitro model of HM using patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived trophoblasts harboring NLRP7 mutations.

Comparison of suture material for vesico-urethral anastomosis in robotic radical prostatectomy.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to compare outcomes after vesicourethral anastomosis (VUA) with barbed suture (BS) and non-barbed monofilament suture (NBS) in robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALRP) in a match - pairs design.

Material And Methods: Medical recordings of 385 consecutive patients with prostate carcinoma have been evaluated, and 70 patients who have undergone RALRP-BS were compared with 70 patients with RALRP-NBS in a matched - pairs design. Preoperative clinical parameters (age, prostate-specific antigen, clinical stage, Gleason score of the prostate biopsy, and prostate volume) and operative data (operation, docking, console, posterior reconstruction (PR), anastomosis times, duration of catheter, length of hospital stay, estimated blood loss, time to perform the anastomosis and its quality) were evaluated, as well as postoperative parameters (pathological stage, Gleason score, specimen weight, follow-up duration, biochemical recurrence, complication rates, and duration of postoperative analgesic treatment).

Vaginocutaneous fistula: A rare long-term complication of transobturator tape procedure for stress urinary incontinence.

Introduction: Synthetic mid-urethral slings are currently the most common performed surgical procedure for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence. The transobturator mid-urethral sling technique has been widely accepted owing to its high success and low complication rates. Although complications are rarely seen, it may cause significant morbidity.

The evaluation of the effectiveness of Gilaburu (Viburnum opulus L.) extract in the medical expulsive treatment of distal ureteral stones.

Objective: Medical expulsive therapy is an important non-invasive treatment modality that facilitates the passage of ureteral stones. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of Gilaburu (Viburnum opulus) extract in the treatment of distal ureteral stones <10 mm.

Material And Methods: Data of 103 patients were retrospectively analyzed.

Endoscopic, Single-Session Management of Encrusted, Forgotten Ureteral Stents.

Remained or forgotten ureteral double-J stents may cause serious complications. Removing of an encrusted, forgotten stent can be challenging. We present our experience with heavily encrusted ureteral stents and discuss the endourologic treatment options as well as their effectivity.

Laparoscopic Transperitoneal Nephrectomy in Non-functioning Severe Hydronephrotic Kidneys With or Without Renal Stone.

Aim To investigate the effects of the additional presence of nephrolithiasis on the results of laparoscopic simple nephrectomy in patients with severe hydronephrotic non-functional kidneys. Patients and methods A total of 43 patients in whom severe hydronephrosis had been determined on spiral computerized tomography, who had a renal function of lower than 10% according to the dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) renal scintigraphy, and who had undergone a laparoscopic simple nephrectomy due to persistent renal pain and/or recurrent urinary tract infection and/or unresolved hypertension with multidrug treatment, were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups based on the presence of renal stone as those with stone formation (Group 1) and those without stone formation (Group 2).

Protective Effect of All-Trans Retinoic Acid in Cisplatin-Induced Testicular Damage in Rats.

Purpose: To investigate the effects of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) in cisplatin (CP)-induced testicular damage in rats.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-eight male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: Control, ATRA alone, ATRA+CP, and CP alone. Body weight, testicular weight, sperm count, sperm motility, percentage of abnormal sperm, total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), oxidative stress index (OSI) in testicular tissue, and testicular histopathology were compared among groups.

Smartphone-based stent tracking application for prevention of forgotten ureteral double-J stents: a prospective study.

Purpose: Retained or forgotten ureteral stents (FUS) have a potential to cause significant morbidity as well as medico-legal issues and increased cost. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and usefulness of smartphone-based Ureteral Stent Tracker (UST) application and compare the results with basic appointment card system to prevent FUS, prospectively.

Materials And Methods: A total of 90 patients who underwent ureteroscopic stone treatment procedure with indwelling DJ stents were equally distributed into two groups.

The efficacy and safety of bilateral same-session ureteroscopy with holmium laser lithotripsy in the treatment of bilateral ureteral stones.

Background: A staged ureteroscopic procedure is the generally preferred method in the treatment of bilateral ureteral stones due to the risk of bilateral injury. In this study we aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of bilateral same-session ureteroscopy (BS-URS) in terms of complications, operation time, serum creatinine, hospital stay and stone-free rates.

Methods: A total of 75 patients who underwent BS-URS and holmium laser lithotripsy were evaluated, retrospectively.

All-trans retinoic acid prevents cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) use on cisplatin (CP)-induced nephrotoxicty. Twenty-eight rats were randomly divided into four groups. The rats in the control group were injected a single dose of 1 ml/kg saline intra-peritoneally (IP) during 10 days.

Evaluation of Factors Affecting Lymph Node Metastasis in Clinical Stage I-II Epithelial Ovarian Cancer.

Background: Systematic lymphadenectomy is useful for accurate staging of early-stage ovarian cancer and has obvious prognostic value. Accurate staging may prevent unnecessary postoperative chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the rate of lymph node involvement and factors affecting it in clinically early-stage epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC; stages I, II).

Validation of the Turkish version of the Wisconsin stone-quality of life questionnaire.

Objective: We validated the Turkish version of the Wisconsin Stone-Quality of Life (WISQoL) questionnaire for male and female patients with kidney stones.

Material And Methods: The Turkish version of the WISQoL questionnaire was developed following a well-established multistep process. A total of 84 patients with kidney stones completed the Turkish WISQoL questionnaire, including the other validated questionnaires as The Short Form Health Survey (SF-36 v2) and Beck's Depression Inventory.

Can concurrent high-risk endometrial carcinoma occur with atypical endometrial hyperplasia?

Background: This study investigated the frequency of high-risk cancer types in hysterectomy material obtained from patients who were diagnosed with atypical endometrial hyperplasia (AEH) by endometrial sampling.

Materials And Methods: A total of 227 patients with AEH were retrospectively included in the study. Hysterectomy material was examined as both perioperative frozen section (FS) and paraffin-embedded permanent section (PS).

Giant malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the testis.

We present a case of malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the testis in a 59 year- old male who admitted to our hospital with left testicular painless mass presenting for two months. A scrotal ultrasound examination and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a 9 cm left testicular solid mass. Serum tumor markers were unremarkable.

Impact of poor glycemic control of type 2 diabetes mellitus on serum prostate-specific antigen concentrations in men.

Background: To evaluate the impact of poor glycemic control of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) on serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentrations in men.

Methods: We performed a prospective analysis of 215 consecutive patients affected by erectile dysfunction (ED). ED was evaluated using the IIEF-5 questionnaire and the poor glycemic control (PGC) of T2DM was assessed according to the HbA1c criteria (International Diabetes Federation).

Preoperatively Assessable Clinical and Pathological Risk Factors for Parametrial Involvement in Surgically Treated FIGO Stage IB-IIA Cervical Cancer.

Objective: Determining the risk factors associated with parametrial involvement (PMI) is of paramount importance to decrease the multimodality treatment in early-stage cervical cancer. We investigated the preoperatively assessable clinical and pathological risk factors associated with PMI in surgically treated stage IB1-IIA2 cervical cancer.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of women underwent Querleu-Morrow type C hysterectomy for cervical cancer stage IB1-IIA2 from 2001 to 2015.

Listening to music during shock wave lithotripsy decreases anxiety, pain, and dissatisfaction : A randomized controlled study.

Background: We analyzed the effects of music on pain, anxiety, and overall satisfaction in patients undergoing a shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) procedure.

Methods: A total of 200 patients scheduled to undergo SWL were included in this study. Group 1 consisted of 95 patients who listened to music during the SWL session while group 2 included 105 patients who did not listen music during the procedure.

Impact of personalized three-dimensional -3D- printed pelvicalyceal system models on patient information in percutaneous nephrolithotripsy surgery: a pilot study.

Objective: To investigate the impact of personalized three dimensional (3D) printed pelvicalyceal system models on patient information before percutaneous nephrolithotripsy surgery.

Material And Methods: Patients with unilateral complex renal stones with indicatation of percutaneous nephrolithotripsy surgery were selected. Usable data of patients were obtained from CT scans as Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) format.