Development and Initial Evaluation of a Cost-Effective Force Sensor for Ureteroscopic Application.

Retrograde intrarenal surgery is the gold-standard treatment for most kidney stones. During ureteroscopy, ureteral access sheath insertion at forces greater than 8.0 Newtons (N) risks high-grade ureteral injury.

An Overview of the Effect of Aging on the Female Urethra.

Urethral function declines by roughly 15% per decade and profoundly contributes to the pathogenesis of urinary incontinence. Individuals with poor urethral function are more likely to fail surgical management for stress incontinence that focus on improving urethral support. The reduced number of intramuscular nerves and the morphologic changes in muscle and connective tissue collectively impact urethral function as women age.

Body composition and metabolic syndrome in patients with type 1 diabetes.

Background: In recent years, the prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome in type 1 diabetes (T1DM) patients has gradually increased. Insulin resistance in T1DM deserves attention. It is necessary to clarify the relationship between body composition, metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance in T1DM to guide clinical treatment and intervention.

Dysfunction of the aging female mouse urethra is associated with striated muscle loss and increased fibrosis: an initial report.

The decline of urethral function with advancing age plays a major role in urinary incontinence in women, impairing quality of life and economically burdening the health care system. However, none of the current urinary incontinence treatments address the declining urethral function with aging, and the mechanisms by which aging impacts urethra physiology remain little known or explored. Here, we have compared functional, morphometric, and global gene expression of urethral tissues between young and old female mice.

Efficient and Accurate Computed Tomography-Based Stone Volume Determination: Development of an Automated Artificial Intelligence Algorithm.

Purpose: Given the shortcomings of current stone burden characterization (maximum diameter or ellipsoid formulas), we sought to investigate the diagnostic accuracy and precision of a University of California, Irvine-developed artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm for determining stone volume determination.

Materials And Methods: A total of 322 noncontrast CT scans were retrospectively obtained from patients with a diagnosis of urolithiasis. The largest stone in each noncontrast CT scan was designated the "index stone.

Electromotive Drug Administration in the Porcine Renal Pelvis: First Report.

Electromotive Drug Administration (EMDA) amplifies drug delivery deep into targeted tissues. We tested, for the first time, the ability of EMDA to deliver methylene blue into the urothelium of the renal pelvis. In an anesthetized female pig, both proximal ureters were transected two inches distal to the ureteropelvic junction.

The Potent Anti-Tumor Effects of Rhodiola Drinking Are Associated with the Inhibition of the mTOR Pathway and Modification of Tumor Metabolism in the UPII-Mutant Ha-Ras Model.

SHR-5 has been used as an "adaptogen" for enhancing physical and mental performance and for fighting stress in the healthy population. The purpose of this study is to determine the chemopreventive efficacy of SHR-5 for superficial bladder cancer and to investigate the underlying mechanisms of action. UPII-mutant Ha-ras bladder-cancer-transgenic mice, that developed low-grade and noninvasive papillary transitional urothelial cell carcinoma, were fed with 1.

Electromotive Drug Administration in the Ureter in an Animal Model: Initial Report.

Electromotive drug administration (EMDA) delivers a drug deeply into targeted tissues, such as the bladder. EMDA has never been applied to the ureter. In four porcine ureters, a unique EMDA catheter containing a silver conducting wire was advanced for the infusion of methylene blue.

Surface-Treated Pellethanes: Comparative Quantification of Encrustation in Artificial Urine Solution.

Encrustation of implanted urinary tract devices is associated with significant morbidity. Pellethane is a polyether-based compound noted for its strength, porosity, and resistance to solvents. We assessed Pellethane thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) with and without surface coatings 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether (TETRA) for the potential to resist encrustation in an artificial urine environment.

The Energy Density and Treatment Times Are the Main Factors That Affect the Efficacy of Long-Pulsed 1,064-nm Nd:YAG Laser Treatment for Onychomycosis Caused by Trichophyton rubrum.

Background: No optimal regimen exists for the LPNYL (long-pulsed 1,064-nm neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser) for treating onychomycosis.

Objective: To establish an optimal LPNYL treatment regimen for onychomycosis caused by Trichophyton rubrum (OCTr).

Patients And Methods: First, 511 infected nails of 177 patients were treated using LPNYL with orthogonally designed regimens according to various energy densities, spot sizes, pulse widths, and treatment times.

A retrospective, single-center cohort study on 65 patients with primary retroperitoneal liposarcoma.

Primary retroperitoneal liposarcoma (PRPLS) is the most common soft tissue malignancy of the retroperitoneum. To determine the pathological features and the curative effects of surgery in patients with PRPLS, and to elucidate key prognostic factors, the present study retrospectively analyzed the clinical cases of 65 patients with PRPLS. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that vimentin and Ki-67 are better indicators for PRPLS immunohistochemical diagnosis compared with S-100 protein.

Aptamers: The "evolution" of SELEX.

It has been more than two decades since the first aptamer molecule was discovered. Since then, aptamer molecules have gain much attention in the scientific field. This increasing traction can be attributed to their many desirable traits, such as 1) their potentials to bind a wide range of molecules, 2) their malleability, and 3) their low cost of production.

Scinderin promotes the invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer cells and predicts the outcome of patients.

Invasion and metastasis are major malignant characteristics of human gastric cancer (GC), but the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. Recent studies have shown that scinderin (SCIN), an actin severing and capping protein that regulates the actin cytoskeleton, is involved in the proliferation and migration of certain cancer cells. Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate the potential role of SCIN in the invasion and metastasis of human GC cells and to evaluate its prognostic value for GC patients.

Different effect of handle region peptide on β-cell function in different sexes of rats neonatally treated with sodium L-glutamate.

BACKGROUND The (pro)renin receptor ((P)RR) was reported to be expressed in various tissues including the pancreas, and handle region peptide (HRP) is believed to block the function of (P)RR. This study aimed to investigate the effect of HRP on the glucose tolerance status and β-cell function of female rats, neonatally treated with sodium L-glutamate (MSG) and to compare with the previously reported HRP effect on male rats. MATERIAL AND METHODS Female MSG rats aged 8 weeks were divided into MSG control group and HRP treated group and the normal SD rats served as control.