Ureteral stent related symptoms: A comparative study Bellos, Themistoklis Ch; Manolitsis, Ioannis S; Katsimperis, Stamatios N ...
Archivio italiano di urologia, andrologia,
2024-Mar-04, Letnik:
96, Številka:
1
Journal Article
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In urology, ureteral stents are used to treat obstructive diseases. Hematuria (54%), fever, discomfort, and lower urinary system symptoms are the predominant symptoms related to ureteral stent.
This ...article links stent symptoms to double-j width and length, as well as patient's height, weight, and body mass index (BMI). Ureteric Stent Symptoms Questionnaire (USSQ) was used to measure ureteral stent symptoms at 1st and 4th week of stent in situ as well as the 4th week after pigtail removal.
A 200-patient prospective study, where patients were allocated into four groups following ureteral stent insertion depending on the stent characteristics. Those groups were: 4.8 Fr./26 cm (Group A), 4.8 Fr./28 cm (Group B), 6 Fr/26 cm (Group C), and 6 Fr/28 cm (Group D).
Men comprised 53.5% of 200 patients. Participants had an average age of 49 ± 15.5 years, height of 175 ± 8.94 cm, and BMI of 23.8 ± 7.6 cm. The laboratory results were identical between groups. At the first and fourth week, groups had similar urine symptoms, pain severity, health status and occupational activities. The difference in pain location was statistically significant. Group A had 82.4% renal back pain in the first week, whereas Group B had 68.8%, Group C 31.3% and Group D 62.5 (p=0.04). At the fourth week, 64.7% of Group A patients reported kidney front pain, compared to 100% of Group B, 93.3% of Group C, and 100% of Group D (p=0.04). There was statistical significance in the sexual activity of the patients. 24.4% of Group C patients stopped sexual activity before stent installation, compared to 10.6%, 8.3%, and 6.4% of the other groups (p=0.03). A moderate percentage of patients had active sexual activity at week 4 (Group A: 7.8%, Group B: 5.8%, Group C: 8.2%, Group D: 4.1%), p=0.83. In multivariate analysis, urinary catheter group, age, weight, height, and BMI did not significantly affect urine index score (UIS), pain index score (PIS), general health (GH), quality of work (QW), and quality of sex (QS).
Despite various attempts to establish the best ureteral stent, the effect of double-j stent physical features on stent-related symptoms remained unknown. No verdict is conceivable without adequate empirical data.
A novel double hydrophilic poly(N,N‐diethylacrylamide)‐poly(acrylic acid)‐poly(N,N‐diethylacrylamide) (PDEAAm‐PAA‐PDEAAm) triblock copolymer was synthesized by sequential anionic polymerization and ...modification of the poly(tert‐butyl acrylate) middle block by selective hydrolysis and neutralization to its ionic functions. Due to the pH‐sensitivity of the PAA central block and the thermo‐sensitivity of the PDEAAm end‐blocks, it exhibits responsive behavior in aqueous media. At low temperatures and high pH, it is molecularly dissolved while at temperatures above the LCST of the PDEAAm end‐blocks, a sol–gel transition was observed which should be ascribed to the formation of a three‐dimensional transient network comprising PDEAAm hydrophobic physical crosslinks interconnected by PAA negatively charged elastic chains. The sol–gel transition and the rheological properties of the physical gel are strongly influenced by the presence of salt.
Temperature induced sol–gel transition in PDEAAm‐PAA‐PDEAAm aqueous solutions.
Nanostructure evolution and adsorption kinetics during carbon nanoparticle layer by layer (LbL) assembly are investigated for thin film coating applications that require high through-plane electrical ...conductivity. Two types of nanoparticles are evaluated: 5–10
nm thick stacks of graphene sheets (graphene nanoplatelets) and 20
nm diameter amorphous carbon spheres. Electrostatic interactions between the carbon nanoparticles and a cationic polyacrylamide binder are systematically altered by varying the carbon nanoparticle suspending media composition and quantified with electrophoretic mobility zeta potential (
ζ) measurements. Suspension pH is used to control the nanoparticle surface charge density through dissociation of hydrolyzed surface groups while the addition of alcohol is used to enhance electrostatic interactions by altering the dielectric constant of the medium. Alcohol and pH are found to have opposing effects with respect to the packing density and through-plane conductivity of the polyelectrolyte–nanoparticle structures formed. Such behavior is ascribed to steric effects associated with the heterogeneous dispersion of weakly acidic functional groups on the hydrolyzed carbon nanoparticles surface; whose dissociation regulates electrostatic interaction with the cationic polyelectrolyte binder during LbL assembly. Complete dissociation of these groups in the absence of alcohol yields more densely packed polyelectrolyte–nanoparticle structures with as much as 40% reduction in through-plane conductivity.
In the fir forest of Mount Parnis 67.67% of the overstorey trees were found infected by the mistletoe (
Viscum album). The “6-class” rating system was used to quantify the degree of tree infection. ...The most intensive mistletoe infection was observed on old age trees. Extensive tree mortality was observed during the years 2000–2002. Low precipitation in two consecutive years (2000–2001) was an important parameter that affected tree mortality. Fir trees were attacked by the bark beetles
Phaenops knoteki (Buprestidae) and
Pityokteines spinidens (Scolytidae). Mistletoe is an important factor that reduces tree vigour and predisposes trees to beetle attacks during periods of low precipitation. Tree mortality was correlated with the degree of mistletoe infection. During a 5-year-period (1998–2002), mortality of trees with heavy and medium mistletoe infection was 44.44%, while mortality of trees with light infection was 9.5% and that of the non-infected trees 4.66%.
Purpose:
Modern clinical accelerators are capable of producing ion beams from protons up to neon. This work compares the depth dose distribution and corresponding dose averaged linear energy transfer ...(LET) distribution, which is related to the biological effectiveness, for different ion beams (1H, 4He, 6Li, 8Be, 10B, 12C, 14N, and 16O) using multi-energetic spectra in order to configure spread-out Bragg peaks (SOBP).
Methods:
Monte Carlo simulations were performed in order to configure a 5 cm SOBP at 8 cm depth in water for all the different ion beams. Physical dose and dose averaged LET distributions as a function of depth were then calculated and compared. The superposition of dose distribution of all ions is also presented for a two opposing fields configuration. Additional simulations were performed for12C beams to investigate the dependence of dose and dose averaged LET distributions on target depth and size, as well as beam configuration. These included simulations for a 3 cm SOBP at 7, 10, and 13 cm depth in water, a 6 cm SOBP at 7 depth in water, and two opposing fields of 6 cm SOBP.
Results:
Alpha particles and protons present superior physical depth dose distributions relative to the rest of the beams studied. Dose averaged LET distributions results suggest higher biological effectiveness in the target volume for carbon, nitrogen and oxygen ions. This is coupled, however, with relatively high LET values—especially for the last two ion species—outside the SOBP where healthy tissue would be located. Dose averaged LET distributions for8Be and 10B beams show that they could be attractive alternatives to 12C for the treatment of small, not deeply seated lesions. The potential therapeutic effect of different ion beams studied in this work depends on target volume and position, as well as the number of beams used.
Conclusions:
The optimization of beam modality for specific tumor cites remains an open question that warrants further investigation and clinically relevant results.
•The vehicle stock imbalance problem in one-way vehicle sharing systems is addressed.•User-based vehicle relocations are used to avoid supply-and-demand mismatches.•Dynamic allocations of vehicles to ...users are based on incentivization schemes.•Price incentives reward users acting in favor of the system.•Incentives are based on the priorities of vehicle relocations among stations.
The asymmetric demand-offer problem represents a major challenge for one-way vehicle sharing systems (VSS) affecting their economic viability as it necessitates the engagement of considerable human (and financial) resources in relocating vehicles to satisfy customer demand. In this paper, we propose a novel approach which involves user-based vehicle relocations to address supply-and-demand mismatches; in our approach, VSS users are offered price incentives so as to accept picking up their vehicle from an oversupplied station and/or to drop it off to an under-supplied station. The system incentivizes users based on the priorities of vehicle relocations among stations, taking into account the fluctuating demand for vehicles and parking places at different stations over time. A graph-theoretic approach is employed for modeling the problem of allocating vehicles to users in a way that maximizes the profit of the system taking into account the budget the VSS can afford to spend for rewarding users, as well as the users’ strategic behavior. We present two different schemes for incentivizing users to act in favour of the system. Both schemes consider budget constraints and are truthful and budget-feasible. We have extensively evaluated our approach through simulations which demonstrated significant gain with respect to the number of completed trips and system revenue. We have also validated our approach through pilot trials conducted in a free-floating e-motorbike sharing system in the framework of an EU-funded research project.
Purpose: Although the buccal fat pad (BFP) was originally used as an alternative method for the closure of small to medium-sized oroantral and oronasal communications, its use has now been extended ...to use after excision of oral malignancies. This report describes experience with this technique.
Patients and Methods: The BFP was used as a pedicled graft to reconstruct medium-sized surgical defects of the oral soft and hard tissues in 15 patients suffering from oral malignant tumors. Six of the defects were in the maxilla, 3 in the retromandibular area, and 6 in the cheek and oral commissure. The BFP was left uncovered to epithelialize in 14 patients, and in one it was covered with lyophiliazed dura.
Results: The BFP healed without complications within 3 to 4 weeks in 13 patients, whereas in 2 patients with maxillary defects there was partial loss of the graft, requiring the additional use of an obturator in 1 case and a tongue flap in another to prevent oronasal leakage. Harvesting the graft proved to be extremely easy, and care was only necessary to avoid severing the supporting vascular plexus and the thin capsule covering the BFP.
Conclusions: The findings support the view that the BFP is a useful, easy, and uncomplicated alternative method for the reconstruction of small to medium-sized surgical defects of the oral hard and soft tissues.
This work describes an experimental procedure with potential to assess the overall accuracy associated with gamma knife clinical applications, from patient imaging and dosimetry planning to patient ...positioning and dose delivery using the automated positioning system of a Leksell Gamma Knife model C. The VIPAR polymer gel-MRI dosimetry method is employed due to its inherent three-dimensional feature and linear dose response over the range of gamma knife applications. Different polymer gel vials were irradiated with single shot gamma knife treatment plans using each of the four available collimator helmets to deliver a maximum dose of 30 Gy. Percentage relative dose results are presented not only in the form of one-dimensional profiles but also planar isocontours and isosurfaces in three dimensions. Experimental results are compared with corresponding Gammaplan treatment planning system calculations as well as acceptance test radiochromic film measurements. A good agreement, within the experimental uncertainty, is observed between measured and expected dose distributions. This experimental uncertainty is of the order of one imaging pixel in the MRI gel readout session (<1 mm) and allows for the verification of single shot gamma knife applications in terms of acceptance specifications for precision in beam alignment and accuracy. Averaging net R(2) results in the dose plateau of the 4 mm and 18 mm collimator irradiated gel vials, which were MR scanned in the same session, provides a crude estimate of the 4 mm output factor which agrees within errors with the default value of 0.870.
Online monitoring of the stopping distribution of particle beams used for radiotherapy provides the possibility of detecting possible errors in dose deposition early during a given treatment session, ...and may therefore help to improve the quality of the therapy. Antiproton annihilation events produce several long-range secondary particles which can be detected in real time by standard high energy particle physics detector systems. In this note, Monte Carlo calculations are performed in order to study the feasibility of real-time imaging by detecting charged pions produced during antiproton irradiation of typical biological targets. A simple treatment plan in a water phantom is simulated and the results show that by detecting pi+/- the position and the size of the planned target volume can be located with precision in the order of 1 mm.
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