nondimensional analysis of fractional order pdd1 2 control of purely inertial systems

The paper discusses the performance of thePDD1/2control scheme, which is an extension of the classical PD scheme with the introduction of the half-derivative term. The comparison between the PD and thePDD1/2schemes is performed with reference to a second-order purely inertial system, using a dimensionless approach for the sake of generality. The influences of the sampling time and of the saturation are taken into account. The results show that the introduction of the half-derivative term, in proper combination with the derivative term, reduces the settling time under the same conditions of maximum control output and null overshoot

Obesity and kidney stone disease. A systematic review

INTRODUCTION: Currently, abdominal obesity has reached an epidemic stage and obesity represents an important challenge for worldwide health authorities. Epidemiologic studies have demonstrated that the stone risk incidence increases with Body Mass Index, through multiple pathways. Metabolic syndrome and diabetes are associated with an increased renal stones disease incidence. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the prevalence, morbidity, risk factors involved in the association between obesity and urolithiasis. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: The search involved finding relevant studies from MEDLINE, EMBASE, Ovid, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, Google Scholar, and individual urological journals between January 2001 and May 2017. The inclusion criteria were for studies written in the English language, reporting on the association between obesity and urinary stones. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: The underlying pathophysiology of stone formation in obese patients is thought to be related to insulin resistance, dietary factors, and a lithogenic urinary profile. Uric acid stones and calcium oxalate stones are observed frequently in these patients. Insulin resistance is thought to alter the renal acid-base metabolism, resulting in a lower urine pH, and increasing the risk of uric acid stone disease. Obesity is also associated with excess nutritional intake of lithogenic substances and with an increase in urinary tract infection incidence. Recent studies highlighted that renal stone disease increases the risk of myocardial infarction, progression of chronic kidney disease, and diabetes. Contemporary, bariatric surgery has been shown to be associated with hyperoxaluria and oxalate nephropathy. Certainly, the many health risks of obesity, including nephrolithiasis, will add more burden on urologists and nephrologists. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity related nephrolithiasis seems to necessitate weight loss as primary treatment, but the recognition of the associated complications is necessary to prevent induction of new and equally severe medical problems. The optimal approach to obesity control that minimizes stone risk needs to be determined in order to manage obesity-induced renal stones disease

Is there a place for nutritional supplements in the treatment of idiopathic male infertility?

Objective: Infertility affects 15% of couples in fertile age. Male factor is a cause of infertility in almost half of cases, mainly due to oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (OAT). The purpose of this study is to review the effects of nutritional supplements as medical treatment for idiopathic male infertility. Material and methods: A Pub Med and Medline review of the published studies utilizing nutritional supplements for the treatment of male infertility has been performed. Results: Clinical trials on Vitamin E, Vitamin A, Vitamin C. Arginine, Carnitine, N-Acetyl-Carnitine, Glutathione, Coenzyme Q10, Selenium and Zinc were reviewed. Although there is a wide variability in selected population, dose regimen and final outcomes, nutritional supplements both alone and in combination seems to be able to improve semen parameters (sperm count, sperm motility and morphology) and pregnancy rate in infertile men. Conclusions: There are rising evidences from published randomized trials and systematic review suggesting that nutritional supplementation may improve semen parameters and the likelihood of pregnancy in men affected by OAT. This improvement, however, is not consistent and there is a wide variation in the treatment regimens used. Well designed and adequately powered RCTs are needed to better clarify the role of nutritional supplements as treatment for male infertility

COVID-19 Detection from Mass Spectra of Exhaled Breath

According to the World Health Organization, the SARS-CoV-2 virus generated a global emergency between 2020 and 2023 resulting in about 7 million deaths out of more than 750 million individuals diagnosed with COVID-19. During these years, polymerase-chain-reaction and antigen testing played a prominent role in disease control. In this study, we propose a fast and non-invasive detection system exploiting a proprietary mass spectrometer to measure ions in exhaled breath. We demonstrated that infected individuals, even if asymptomatic, exhibit characteristics in the air expelled from the lungs that can be detected by a nanotech-based technology and then recognized by soft-computing algorithms. A clinical trial was ran on about 300 patients: the mass spectra in the 10-351 mass-to-charge range were measured, suitably pre-processed, and analyzed by different classification models; eventually, the system shown an accuracy of 95% and a recall of 94% in identifying cases of COVID-19. With performances comparable to traditional methodologies, the proposed system could play a significant role in both routine examination for common diseases and emergency response for new epidemics.Comment: 15 page

7U-Thulium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate (7U-ThuLEP): description of the technique

Objective: To present a modification to the classical ThuLEP technique, called 7U-ThuLEP and to compare its clinical intra- and post-operative outcomes to those of conventional ThuLEP in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS)

Application and uses of electronic noses for clinical diagnosis on urine samples: A review

The electronic nose is able to provide useful information through the analysis of the volatile organic compounds in body fluids, such as exhaled breath, urine and blood. This paper focuses on the review of electronic nose studies and applications in the specific field of medical diagnostics based on the analysis of the gaseous headspace of human urine, in order to provide a broad overview of the state of the art and thus enhance future developments in this field. The research in this field is rather recent and still in progress, and there are several aspects that need to be investigated more into depth, not only to develop and improve specific electronic noses for different diseases, but also with the aim to discover and analyse the connections between specific diseases and the body fluids odour. Further research is needed to improve the results obtained up to now; the development of new sensors and data processing methods should lead to greater diagnostic accuracy thus making the electronic nose an effective tool for early detection of different kinds of diseases, ranging from infections to tumours or exposure to toxic agents

B-TURP versus HoLEP. Peri-operative outcomes and complications in frail elderly (>75 y.o.) patients. A prospective randomized study

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the peri-operative and functional results between trans-urethral resection of the prostate (TURP) and holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) associated with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in middle-old patients. Materials and methods: This prospective single-center study included patients over 75 years old treated with B-TURP or HoLEP for BPH associated with LUTS with prostate volume (PV) <100 mL. Primary endpoints were the intra-operative blood loss, percentage of loss of hemoglobin, blood transfusion, complications, and the comparison of functional outcomes. All patients were evaluated at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months of follow-up. Results: Overall, 96 patients undergoing HoLEP and 104 B-TURP were eligible and enrolled for the study. Post-operative results showed statistically significant differences between the two groups, all in favor of HoLEP group, specifically in terms of removed prostate tissue, PV reduction rate, hemoglobin values at 24 h, hemoglobin loss, operative time, length of hospitalization, days of catheterization, and urinary flow rates. There was no significant difference in terms of postvoid residual urine volume, perioperative complication, blood transfusion, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), and IPSS quality of life scores. Conclusions: In middle-old patients, the HoLEP technique represents a prostate size-independent treatment option with a more favorable safety profile defined by less bleeding, lower blood transfusions, and a significantly lower hemoglobin drop than B-TURP

Three-dimensional virtual reconstruction with DocDo: A novel interactive tool to score renal mass complexity

The pre-operative knowledge of the complexity of a renal mass is the cornerstone to plan a partial nephrectomy(PN) [1]. Given the multiple issues characterizing it - size, protrusion out from renal parenchyma, longitudinal and coronal location, proximity to the hilum - nephrometric scoring systems have been proposed during the last decade[2, 3]; RENAL and PADUA classifications are the mostly used [4-6]

Successful treatment with pollen extract of hematospermia in patients with xanthogranolomatous prostatitis

Introduction: The aim of this study was to report our experience in the management of hematospermia observed in 16 patients suffering from xanthogranulomatous prostatitis. Methods: Recurrent episodes of hematospermia were the onset symptom in all patients, and in 25% of patients it was combined with fever. All patients reported PSA value elevation and the digital rectal examination (DRE) revealed an increase of the gland size and of its consistency in all cases. In all patients, the hematospermia was treated with the oral administration of two tablets of pollen extract in a single (1 g) dose daily for 30 days. Results: Sixteen patients were observed between 2008 and 2016, referring hematospermia, progressive lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), and serum PSA level increase. To exclude the prostate cancer presence all patients were submitted to transperineal TRUS guided biopsy. In all the patients complete resolution of hematospermia was achieved treatment with pollen extract. All patients were subsequently treated for LUTS (alpha-adrenergic blockers), but none reported any significant improvement of symptoms. Basing on these pieces of evidence, after 90 days of alpha-blockers therapy, all patients underwent bipolar TURP. Histological examination of resected prostatic tissue revealed in all patients the diagnosis of xanthogranulomatous prostatitis. Conclusions: Patients with xanthogranulomatous prostatitis especially experience irritative symptoms, sometimes combined with fever or hematospermia. Hematospermia as the onset symptom has not been reported so far. The administration of the pollen extract for 30 days was associated with a complete resolution of hematospermia