Minimally invasive treatments for lower ureteral strictures

То make better the results of operations in patients with strictures in the distal part of the ureter we offer a new miniinvasive method of surgical treatment - the open retroperitoneoscopy, which gives the opportunity to make ureteroneocystostomy and ureteroureteroanastomosis with using two intermuscle canals. We determine the recommendations for minimally invasive or endoscopic (alternative) method of treatment and make the compared analysis of both methods of treatment.Для улучшения результатов оперативного лечения стриктур нижней трети мочеточника предлагается современный малоинвазивный метод хирургического лечения - открытая ретроперитонеоскопия, который позволяет успешно выполнить как уретеровезикоанастомоз (УВА), так и прямой уретеро-уретероанастомоз с использованием двух межмышечных раневых каналов. Кроме того, определены показания к малоинвазивному или эндоскопическому (альтернативному) методу. Проводится сравнительный анализ результатов обоих способов коррекции стриктур мочеточника

Tactics of surgical treatment of emergency conditions in patients with urolithiasis

The clinic urology UGMA a retrospective analysis of the methods of providing emergency care to patients with urolithiasis, determined the indications for urgent drainage of the urinary tract. For this purpose, most often use the method of percutaneous nephrostomy. Disintegration of ureteral stones with obstruction removal ureteralnoy preferably carried out by using the contact ureterolitotripsii. Currently, endoscopic surgery is the method of choice, and the share of conventional open surgery does not exceed 4%.В клинике урологии УГМА проведен ретроспективный анализ методов оказания неотложной помощи пациентам с мочекаменной болезнью, определены показания к неотложному дренированию мочевыводящих путей. С этой целью наиболее часто используемметод перкутанной нефростомии. Дезинтеграцию камней мочеточника с устранением уретеральной обструкции осуществляем преимущественно с помощью контактной уретеролитотрипсии. В настоящее время эндоскопические операции являются методом выбора, а доля обычных открытых операций не превышает 4%

Associations between Vaginal Microbiota and Cervicitis

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2023Background: Cervicitis is defined as the inflammation of the cervix. Many cases of cervicitisare caused by sexually transmitted infections (STIs); however, a substantial portion of cervicitis cases have no known etiology. Cervicitis is also known to be associated with bacterial vaginosis (BV), a clinical condition characterized by the transition of the vaginal microbiota from being Lactobacilli dominated to having higher bacterial diversity. In this analysis, we investigated the relationship between specific vaginal bacterial species and cervicitis. Methods: For this cross-sectional analysis, we utilized data from participants in the placebo armof the Preventing Vaginal Infections trial. During bimonthly pelvic exams, cervicovaginal swabs were collected, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays were used to measure the concentrations of specific taxa. For the exposure, concentrations for each bacterial taxon were categorized into tertiles; samples with concentrations below the lower limit of quantitation were classified as not detectable and served as the reference group. Cervicitis was defined as having 30 or more polymorphonuclear leukocytes per high power field on microscopy on cervical Gram stain. We used Poisson GEE models to evaluate the association between bacterial concentration, categorized as tertiles, and cervicitis prevalence and estimate prevalence ratios. Results: In the analysis adjusting for sexually transmitted infections, vaginal washing, andcondom use, certain BV-associated bacteria had one or more tertiles that were associated with an increased detection of cervicitis, including BVAB1, Megasphaera species, and Mageeibacilus indolicus. Only the highest tertiles of Lactobacillus iners and Lactobacillus jensenii were associated with an increased detection of cervicitis. Conclusions: Presence of certain BV-associated species and Lactobacillus species in the vaginamay contribute to cervicitis. This analysis was limited to Kenya and the US, and given differences of vaginal microbiota by region, additional studies are needed to understand if these associations are present in other regions. Further study is also needed to explore the role of lactobacilli in cervicitis

Biomorphic Hyper-Redundant Snake Robot: Design, Prototyping, and Locomotion Performance Demonstration

This thesis focuses on the design, construction, and control of a roboticsnake. Relevant theoretical and practical aspects of the mechanical,electrical, and algorithmic design of the robot are described. Mechanically, therobot is a modular multi-segment mechanism, in which each segment is a 2-DOF (two degrees-of-freedom) universal joint driven by two motors. Most ofthe structural and mechancal parts were designed in Solidworks and 3D-printed, while others were standard off-the-shelf components such as screwsand bearings. The motors are RC servo motors. The angular displacementcommand for each servo motor is calculated by a central pattern generatorfrom a vector of motion parameters. These parameters are transmittedwirelessly from a handheld device to the robot. By varying the motionparameters, the robot is capable of several modes of locomotion, includingslithering forward or in reverse, steering to either side, rolling sideways, orside-winding sideways

Ultrasonic Absorption in Polymer Gel Dosimeters

Ultrasonic absorption in polymer gel dosimeters was investigated. An ultrasonic interferometer was used to study the frequency (f) dependence of the absorption coefficient (α) in a polyacrylamide gel dosimeter (PAG) in the frequency range 5-20 MHz. The frequency dependence of ultrasonic absorption deviated from that of an ideal viscous fluid. The presence of relaxation mechanisms was evidenced by the frequency dependence of α/f2 and the dispersion in ultrasonic velocity. It was concluded that absorption in polymer gel dosimeters is due to a number of relaxation processes which may include polymer-solvent interactions as well as relaxation due to motion of polymer side groups. The dependence of ultrasonic absorption on absorbed dose and formulation was also investigated in polymer gel dosimeters as a function of pH and chemical composition. Changes in dosimeter pH and chemical composition resulted in a variation in ultrasonic dose response curves. The observed dependence on pH was considered to be due to pH induced modifications in the radiation yield while changes in chemical composition resulted in differences in polymerisation kinetics.9 page(s

Scientific Reports / Effect of two (short-term) storage methods on load to failure testing of murine bone tissue

Since mechanical testing of bone quality is often delayed following euthanasia, the method of bone storage is of high importance in animal studies. Different storage methods may cause a change in the properties of bone tissue during mechanical testing. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the biomechanical effects of two different fixation methods for bone tissue. We hypothesized that there is a difference between the load to failure values between the two groups. The tibias of fifteen 18-week-old female C57BL/6 mice were harvested and randomly allocated to three different groups with varying storage methods: (1) frozen at 80C, (2) paraformaldehyde working solution, and (3) native group. A storage time of two weeks prior to testing was chosen for groups 1 and 2. In group 3, referred to as the “native group”, bones were immediately tested after the harvesting procedure. The comparison of the mean load to failure of all 3 groups (group 1: 28.7N6.1N, group 2: 23.8N3.8N and group 3: 23.7N5.7N) did not reveal a significant difference. There was also no difference in strength or stiffness. The findings of the present study demonstrate that the two most common storage methods, do not have an influence on the biomechanical properties of murine bone over a two week period.(VLID)493217