Comparison of laparoscopic ureterolithotomy and retrograde lithotripsy in the treatment of proximal ureteral stones

The current approach in the surgical treatment of ureteral calculi involves the use of endourological procedures such as retrograde ureteroscopy with lithotripsy or percutaneous antegrade lithotripsy in the proximal ureter. Ureterolithotomy as a treatment method is of an auxiliary nature and is used when endourological intervention is impossible or in case of intraoperative collisions during access conversion. However, there are several comparative studies on lithotripsy and lithotomy.The aim. Comparative analysis of the outcomes of laparoscopic lithotomy and retrograde lithotripsy in the surgical treatment of proximal ureteral calculi, as well as the search for predictors of prolonged disability.Materials and methods. A prospective randomized multicenter study included 53 patients with an established diagnosis of ureterolithiasis who were treated in the period 2018–2021 in urological hospitals in Irkutsk. All patients were divided into two comparison groups: Lithotomy group (group 1; n = 30) and Lithotripsy group (group 2; n = 23).Results. When analyzing the results of the study, it was found that the level of complications of class II–III according to Clavien – Dindo was statistically comparable in both groups (p > 0.05). However, in absolute and relative terms, the prevalence of this indicator was noted during retrograde ureterolithotripsy. According to hard endpoints (reoperation, presence of residual stones or migration during the operation), 29 (96.6 %) patients of group 1 and 17 (73.4 %) patients of group 2 (p = 0.514) were successfully operated on.Conclusion. Laparoscopic ureterolithotomy may be offered to patients with large proximal ureteral stones as an alternative treatment option with better residual stone freedom but generally similar overall outcomes and complication rates

Current Issues in Terminology and Classification of Hereditary Disorders at Endocrine Cancer

Significant interest in the problem of genetic oncological diseases is due to an increase in the frequency of their detection, existing difficulties of early recognition, disagreements in the clinical and morphological criteria for diagnosis and evaluation of prognostic factors, the absence of generally accepted standards of treatment and objective assessment of their results.The introduction of new diagnostic technologies into clinical practice (molecular genetic studies, the ability to determine a wide range of hormones and peptides, immunohistochemical determination of general and specific markers, modern methods of topical diagnostics, etc.) allowed us to identify a specific genetic substrate of various types of endocrine organ tumors, previously unknown nosological forms, improve the ability to predict the disease on the preclinical level, to assess their place and importance in the structure of general oncopathology.The issues of terminology, classification, criteria for the degree of malignancy and prognostic factors of hereditary endocrine diseases are particularly relevant. The article presents and analyzes the modern classification and terminological definitions of this group of diseases. The problem of hereditary endocrine tumor diseases and syndromes associated with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) and multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes (MEN-syndromes) has been described. In conclusion, the situation with the study of this problem in the Russian Federation is analyzed

Neutron diffraction, magnetic, and magnetoelectric studies of phase transitions in multiferroic Mn0.90Co0.10WO4

We have studied various spontaneous and magnetic-field-induced phase transitions in single crystals of multiferroic Mn0.9Co0.1WO4 using magnetic and magnetoelectric measurements and neutron diffraction. Compared to pure MnWO4, our data consistently confirm that the anisotropic Co2+ ions induce reorientation of the spin cycloid structure to the ac plane and reveal Pa and Pc components of spontaneous electric polarization.Field-induced phase transitions accompanied by anomalies of magnetic susceptibility and suppression of both Pa and Pc polarizations have been observed for H∥c (∼3 T) and H∥a (∼8.5 T). Neutron diffraction has revealed that in both cases the spin cycloid plane flops in direction almost perpendicular to H, i.e., close to the ab and bc planes, respectively. Parameters describing the magnetic structures including wave vectors, orientations of the main elliptical axes, etc., have been determined in all spontaneous and field-induced states

Association of cardiovascular biomarkers with myocardial and coronary imaging characteristics in patients having acute myocardial infarction and type 2 diabetes mellitus

Aim. To assess the dynamic changes and clinical significance of biomarkers of inflammatory processes in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) with/ or without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) at various stages of treatment.Methods. 96 patients with acute MI after pPCI were examined. The level of inflammation markers was measured 4 times: before pPCI (first day from admission to the hospital), on the third day, 7–10 days (before discharge from the hospital) and 40–45 days after pPCI.Results. All groups of patients with MI showed an increase in the plasma activity of biomarkers of inflammatory processes. After pPCI for 40–45 days, there is a significant difference in the concentration of biomarkers, depending on the comorbid T2DM presence. Strong associations were found between cardiovascular biomarkers and post-MI cardiac remodeling and coronary atherosclerosis progression.Conclusion. The assessment of the levels of biomarkers of inflammatory processes may have additional clinical value in estimating the course of MI, including patients with T2DM at the postinfarction stages. Aim. To assess the dynamic changes and clinical significance of biomarkers of inflammatory processes in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) with/ or without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) at various stages of treatment.Methods. 96 patients with acute MI after pPCI were examined. The level of inflammation markers was measured 4 times: before pPCI (first day from admission to the hospital), on the third day, 7–10 days (before discharge from the hospital) and 40–45 days after pPCI.Results. All groups of patients with MI showed an increase in the plasma activity of biomarkers of inflammatory processes. After pPCI for 40–45 days, there is a significant difference in the concentration of biomarkers, depending on the comorbid T2DM presence. Strong associations were found between cardiovascular biomarkers and post-MI cardiac remodeling and coronary atherosclerosis progression.Conclusion. The assessment of the levels of biomarkers of inflammatory processes may have additional clinical value in estimating the course of MI, including patients with T2DM at the postinfarction stages.

Some results of test beam studies of Transition Radiation Detector prototypes at CERN

Operating conditions and challenging demands of present and future accelerator experiments result in new requirements on detector systems. There are many ongoing activities aimed to develop new technologies and to improve the properties of detectors based on existing technologies. Our work is dedicated to development of Transition Radiation Detectors (TRD) suitable for different applications. In this paper results obtained in beam tests at SPS accelerator at CERN with the TRD prototype based on straw technology are presented. TRD performance was studied as a function of thickness of the transition radiation radiator and working gas mixture pressure

Influence of injected metoprolol and high-dosage statin therapy on some markers of early myocardial remodeling in acute coronary syndrome

Aim of the study was to evaluate of the effect of intravenous metoprolol tartrate administered before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), in combination with long-term use of high-dose atorvastatin, on dynamic changes in biochemical and ultrasound markers, as well as on the outcomes of early myocardial remodeling in patients with ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction (MI). Material and methods. A prospective randomized clinical trial included 136 patients with MI. The terms of the study were 35 ± 5 (from 30 to 40) days from the moment of admission to the hospital. The first group (control) included patients who received standard interventional and drug treatment at the hospital and outpatient post-infarction stages. The second group (exposure) included individuals who received a single intravenous injection of metoprolol tartrate before PCI, followed by a switch to oral metoprolol succinate on a systemic basis. These patients, as well as in the first group, regularly received all components of the basic drug therapy, including atorvastatin at a dose of 80 mg per day for one month from the onset of MI. On the 1st-2nd day of MI and a month later, plasma levels of biochemical biomarkers were assessed in patients; on the 1st, 10th day and one month later, ultrasound markers were evaluated using echocardiography. Upon the follow-up clinical outcomes of post-infarction myocardial remodeling were analyzed. Results. We confirmed that the use of a single intravenous injection of metoprolol tartrate (5–15 mg) in acute myocardial infarction before PCI against the background of high-dose atorvastatin (80 mg/day) for one month from the onset of myocardial infarction demonstrated convincing efficacy in relation to the prevention of early myocardial remodeling, which we assessed by the dynamics of ultrasound markers, as well as by the plasma activity of all three key biochemical markers in comparison with the control group of patients. Conclusions. The use of a single intravenous injection of metoprolol tartrate in the acute phase of MI against the background of high-dose atorvastatin for one month from the onset of MI is a highly effective pharmacological method for preventing the formation of early postinfarction myocardial remodeling

Identification of particles with Lorentz factor up to 10410^{4} with Transition Radiation Detectors based on micro-strip silicon detectors

This work is dedicated to the study of a technique for hadron identification in the TeV momentum range, based on the simultaneous measurement of the energies and of the emission angles of the Transition Radiation (TR) X-rays with respect to the radiating particles. A detector setup has been built and tested with particles in a wide range of Lorentz factors (from about $10^3$ to about $4 \times 10^4$ crossing different types of radiators. The measured double-differential (in energy and angle) spectra of the TR photons are in a reasonably good agreement with TR simulation predictions.Comment: 31 pages, 12 figures, paper published on Nuclear Instruments & Methods