Robotic distal ureterectomy with psoas hitch and ureteroneocystostomy: Surgical technique and outcomes

AbstractUse of the da Vinci® surgical robotic system has expanded to numerous upper and lower urinary tract procedures. We describe our surgical technique and perioperative outcome of robotic distal ureterectomy with psoas hitch and ureteroneocystostomy for distal ureteral pathologies. Eight patients with a median age of 69.5 years old underwent robotic distal ureterectomy with psoas hitch and ureteroneocystostomy between April 2009 and August 2014. The entirety of all cases was performed robotically by a single surgeon at a tertiary academic medical center. Median operative time was 285 min (range: 210–360 min), estimated blood loss was 50 mL (range: 50–75 mL) and median length of hospital stay was 2.5 days (range: 1–6 days). There was one post-operative complication, a readmission for dehydration (Clavien I). It suggests that robotic distal ureterectomy with psoas hitch and ureteroneocystostomy is a safe and effective minimally invasive alternative for patients with distal ureteral pathology

Information journeys in digital archives

Archival collections have particular properties that make physical and intellectual access difficult for researchers. This generates feelings of uncertainty in the researchers leading to a large burden of enquiries to the archive, many routine. In this thesis I investigate the information seeking behaviours of archival researchers and the distinct properties of the archive first through the respective literatures and then through a series of five studies. Using systems, data and researchers from the National Archives, these studies examine the nature of the enquiries archives receive across many channels, the in-person interactions between archivists and researchers in the reading rooms and the unmediated search behaviours of archival researchers. I proceed to outline the barriers inhibiting research progress and the techniques or 'regulators' used by researchers to surmount or mitigate these barriers. In the final two studies I develop and attempt to validate an instrument for measuring uncertainty in information seeking in large digital collections. This three factor (disorientation, prospect and preparedness) scale of archival uncertainty allows improvements to online archival systems to be effectively tested before implementation. I also propose system properties which seem likely to assist researchers to make progress given these factors and which could be tested using this instrument

Following Display Rules in Good or Bad Faith?: Customer Orientation as a Moderator of the Display Rule-Emotional Labor Relationship

Organizational display rules (e.g., “service with a smile”) have had mixed relationships with employee emotional labor—either in the form of “bad faith” surface acting (suppressing or faking expressions) or “good faith” deep acting (modifying inner feelings). We draw on the motivational perspective of emotional labor to argue that individual differences in customer orientation will directly and indirectly relate to these acting strategies in response to display rules.With a survey of more than 500 working adults in customer contact positions, and controlling for affective disposition, we find that customer orientation directly increases “good faith” acting while it moderates the relationship of display rules with “bad faith” acting

The effect of an acute bout of resistance exercise on carotid artery strain and strain rate

Arterial wall mechanics likely play an integral role in arterial responses to acute physiological stress. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the impact of low and moderate intensity double-leg press exercise on common carotid artery (CCA) wall mechanics using 2D vascular strain imaging. Short-axis CCA ultrasound images were collected in 15 healthy men (age: 21 ± 3 years; stature: 176.5 ± 6.2 cm; body mass; 80.6 ± 15.3 kg) before, during, and immediately after short-duration isometric double-leg press exercise at 30% and 60% of participants’ one-repetition maximum (1RM: 317 ± 72 kg). Images were analyzed for peak circumferential strain (PCS), peak systolic and diastolic strain rate (S-SR and D-SR) and arterial diameter. Heart rate (HR), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) were simultaneously assessed and arterial stiffness indices were calculated post hoc. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed that during isometric contraction, PCS and S-SR decreased significantly (P < 0.01) before increasing significantly above resting levels post-exercise (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01 respectively). Conversely, D-SR was unaltered throughout the protocol (P = 0.25). No significant differences were observed between the 30% and 60% 1RM trials. Multiple regression analysis highlighted that HR, BP and arterial diameter did not fully explain the total variance in PCS, S-SR and D-SR. Acute double-leg press exercise is therefore associated with similar transient changes in CCA wall mechanics at low and moderate intensities. CCA wall mechanics likely provide additional insight into localized intrinsic vascular wall properties beyond current measures of arterial stiffness

Utility of fatty acid profile and in vitro immune cell activation for chemical and biological standardization of Arthrospira/Limnospira

Corresponding author (NCNPR): Jin Zhang, [email protected]://egrove.olemiss.edu/pharm_annual_posters_2022/1021/thumbnail.jp

Reactivity of vanadium oxytrichloride with [beta]-diketones and diesters as precursors for vanadium nitride and carbide

Vanadium(V) oxytrichloride was reacted with 2,4-pentanedione, diethyl malonate, and diethyl succinate under inert conditions, forming compounds: dichloro(oxo)(2,4-pentanedione) vanadium(V) [1], dichloro(oxo)(diethyl malonate) vanadium(IV) [2] and dichloro(oxo)(diethyl succinate) vanadium(IV) [3]. Compounds 1–3 are coordinated to the vanadium centre through the two carbonyl oxygen atoms of the bidentate ligand. It was determined by X-ray crystallography that the structures of the resulting complexes were significantly different, resulting in a monomeric complex (1), a tetrameric ring (2) and a 1D coordination polymer (3). Following the synthesis and isolation of 1–3, they were tested as precursors for vanadium nitride and vanadium carbide by annealing under nitrogen and argon respectively at 1200 °C for 24 h. The resulting materials were characterised by: XRD, EDS, XPS and TEM

“Pincer” Pyridine–Dicarbene–Iridium and -Ruthenium Complexes and Derivatives Thereof

The cationic pincer-type complexes [IrI(CNMeC)L]X {CNMeC = [2,6-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene]-3,5-dimethylpyridine, L = CO, X = PF6 4; L = CH3CN, X = PF6 5; L = pyridine, X = BArF4, ArF = 3,5-bis-trifluoromethyl-phenyl 6}, that were obtained from [IrI(CNMeC)Cl] (1) by displacement of the chloride ligand were structurally characterized. Complexes 4 and 5 adopt square planar, in-plane distorted geometries, and in 6 the metal environment shows substantial pyramidalization. Theoretical calculations of the cations in 4 and 6 reproduce the experimental structures and rationalize their features. 1 undergoes oxidative transformations with CH2Cl2 to cis-[IrIII(CNMeC)(CH2Cl)Cl2] (7) and with PhICl2 to mer-[IrIII(CNMeC)Cl3] (8). The ruthenium derivatives trans-[RuII(CNC)Cl2L] {CNC = [2,6-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene]-pyridine, L = pyridine, 10} and [RuII(CNC)(η2,η2-nbd)](X)2. 2L (nbd = 2,5-norbornadiene, L = CH3CN, X = BF4 11), were prepared by the reaction of cis-trans-[RuCl2(nbd)(py)2] and trans-cis-[RuCl2(nbd)(pip)2] (pip = piperidine) with the ligand CNC, respectively; both adopt distorted octahedral structures. The back-bonding in 11 is comparable to that in its precursor complex, indicating minimal contribution of the NHC donors to this effect. Substitution of both chlorides in the known cis-[RuII(CNC)Cl2L] (L = PPh3) by azido ligands gave cis-[RuII(CNC)(N3)2L] (L = PPh3, 12), which by photolytic cleavage of the coordinated N3 failed to produce well-defined complexes

CRALBP supports the mammalian retinal visual cycle and cone vision

Mutations in the cellular retinaldehyde-binding protein (CRALBP, encoded by RLBP1) can lead to severe cone photoreceptor-mediated vision loss in patients. It is not known how CRALBP supports cone function or how altered CRALBP leads to cone dysfunction. Here, we determined that deletion of Rlbp1 in mice impairs the retinal visual cycle. Mice lacking CRALBP exhibited M-opsin mislocalization, M-cone loss, and impaired cone-driven visual behavior and light responses. Additionally, M-cone dark adaptation was largely suppressed in CRALBP-deficient animals. While rearing CRALBP-deficient mice in the dark prevented the deterioration of cone function, it did not rescue cone dark adaptation. Adeno-associated virus-mediated restoration of CRALBP expression specifically in Müller cells, but not retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, rescued the retinal visual cycle and M-cone sensitivity in knockout mice. Our results identify Müller cell CRALBP as a key component of the retinal visual cycle and demonstrate that this pathway is important for maintaining normal cone-driven vision and accelerating cone dark adaptation