Diversified Traditional Wooden Implements Used in Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Practices in Ladakh

The traditional wooden tools are the necessities of the daily life of the people of Ladakh region and are linked directly with geographical conditions of the region. A lot of diversity in the wooden tools used by the tribal farmers of Ladakh since ancient times is observed. The tools are made up of different, locally available materials in a unique fashion by the localites. These wooden implements are preferred over modern one’s because of their multipurpose uses. Secondly these traditional implements find wide applicability in the region because of steep terrain, where the scope of mechanized farm implements is very limited. In the present study few important traditional tools of Ladakh have been presented. The important tools viz; chepo, shak, zungba, rzgeem, saddle, khem, khaczhay, thougk, gourgur, butter churner, plough, smeing, rbhat, grookook etc. have been described in detail in this paper

Prostate myths: What is the prostate awareness in the general male population in Turkey? [Prostat mitleri: Türkiye'deki genel erkek popülasyonundaki prostat farkındalığı nedir?]

Results: A total of 1004 men between the ages of 18-70 were included in the study (mean age 38.0±12.9 years). Of those included, 20.2% were primary school graduates, 8.6% were secondary school graduates, 25.5% were high school graduates, 39.8% were university graduates, and 5.8% had a doctorate or higher education. Of all 1004 men, 31.5% had seen a urologist or attended an interview with a close relative for a PDs-related visit in a urologist’s office; 56.2% reported “prostate” as a disease and only 16.5% as an organ. In terms of beliefs, 50.2% believed that all men had a “prostate,” 5.4% said that sexual activity would cause PDs, 13% thought that sexual activity would prevent PD, 24.9% reported that a rectal exam would affect sexual activity, and 63.5% believed that urinating when squatting would prevent prostate hyperplasia. Prostate cancer transmission to sexual partners was marked as true by 5% of the men. As many as 41.3% of the participants believed that early prostate surgery for BPH would prevent prostate cancer, and 13% reported that sexual activity ceases with prostate surgery and that retrograde ejaculation or anejaculation is the end of sexual activity in men.Conclusion: The survey clearly showed that prostate awareness is still very unsatisfactory in the Turkish male population and that urologists need to better inform the general population. PD knowledge is still lacking throughout all education levels. This is a unique study showing a cross-sectional analysis of the Turkish community; however, the applicability of these results to other communities should be evaluated.Material and methods: A cross-sectional population sampling was performed in the general population for men between the ages of 18-70 with a survey conducted by medical students. The survey consisted of 15 questions addressing different aspects of PDs and common misinformation in the general population. All participants were stratified according to age, degree of education, occupation and whether the person himself or a close relative had visited a urologist for PDs. All questionnaires were anonymous, and patients were informed about the confidentiality of the results.Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate prostate awareness in the general male population and discover the common misinformation about prostate diseases (PDs). © 2014 by Turkish Association of Urology

Open, laparoscopic and robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy: comparative analysis of operative and pathologic outcomes for three techniques with a single surgeon' s experience

Abstract. -OBJECTIVE: To compare outcomes of open (O-), laparoscopic (L-) and robotassisted laparoscopic (RAL-) radical prostatectomy (RP) performed by the same surgeon. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From May 1999 to Abbreviations PCa: Prostate cancer; RP = Radical prostatectomy; ORP = Open radical prostatectomy; LRP = Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy; RALRP = Robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy; BMI = Body-mass index; PSA = Prostate specific antigen; TRUS = Transrectal ultrasound; P-Bx = Prostate biopsy; EBL = Estimated blood loss; TNM = Tumor-Node-Metastasis; AJCC = American Joint Committee on Cancer; PSM = Positive surgical margin; LC = Learning curve

Effect of sildenafil on platelet function and platelet cGMP of patients with erectile dysfunction

To investigate the effect of sildenafil on platelet function and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) levels in patients with erectile dysfunction, we evaluated the association between erectile function and platelet responses after administration of 100 mg sildenafil. Erectile responses were monitored after 8 daily doses of the drug. Adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and collagen-induced platelet aggregation and simultaneous adenosine triphosphate (ATP) release and cGMP levels were determined before and after sildenafil therapy. Basal levels for platelet aggregation, ATP release and cGMP were compared with age-matched controls. There was no difference among basal levels of platelet responses between patients and controls, except for ADP-induced platelet aggregation (P = 0.04). It was significantly higher in the patient group. Analysis of the responses to sildenafil revealed that for the patients who showed a positive erectile response, there was a significant increase in platelet cGMP (P = 0.028) and a decrease in ADP-induced platelet aggregation (P = 0.04). However, for those who showed a negative or poor erectile response, there was no change in platelet cGMP levels and platelet functions. Sildenafil did not affect collagen-induced platelet responses although cGMP levels of the responders increased. It is concluded that sildenafil increases platelet cGMP in the patients with positive erectile response. Therefore, it has been speculated that platelet cGMP may be used as an index for erectile response. © 2015 Blackwell Verlag GmbH