Effect of body mass and physical activity at younger age on the risk of prostatic enlargement and erectile dysfunction : Results from the 2018 #Controllati survey

Objective: Overweight and low physical activity (PA) increase the risk of prostatic enlargement and erectile dysfunction (ED). Less clear is the role of these factors at young age on the lifelong risk. Materials and methods: During June 2018 the Italian Society of Urologists organized the month of Male Urologic Prevention "#Controllati". Men aged 18 years or more were invited to attend urologic centers for a visit and counselling about urologic/andrologic conditions. Each participating man underwent a physical examination and was asked about urologic symptoms, sexual activity and possible related problems. Results: We analyzed data from 2786 men, aged 55.1 years (SD 10.9, range 19-97). A total of 710 (25.5%) subjects had a diagnosis of prostatic enlargement and 632 (22.7%) of DE. Overweight/obese men were at increased risk of prostatic enlargement and ED with corresponding odds ratio (0R) in comparison with normal or underweight men, being respectively 1.18 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.00-1.44) and 1.69 (95% CI 1.39-2.05). The OR of prostatic enlargement in comparison with men reporting at age 25 a BMI < 25.0 was 1.22 (95% CI 1.01-1.51) for men with a BMI at 25 years of age 65 25; the corresponding OR value for ED was 1.17 (0.92- 1.48). Considering total PA at diagnosis, the OR of prostatic enlargement in comparison with no or low PA, was 0.69 (95%CI 0.55-0.86) for men reporting moderate PA and 0.75 (95%CI 0.58-0.98) for those reporting intense PA. When we considered PA at 25 years of age, the OR of subsequent diagnosis of prostatic enlargement, in comparison with men reporting no/low PA at 25 years of age was 0.81 (95%CI 0.63-1.04) for men reporting moderate PA and 0.70 (95%CI 0.52-0.99) for those reporting intense PA. Conclusions: These findings underline the utility of encouraging healthy lifestyle habits among young men in order to reduce the subsequent risk of prostatic enlargement and ED

The impact of ventral oral graft bulbar urethroplasty on sexual life

Objective: To evaluate the pre- and postoperative aspects of sexual life (SL) in patients with bulbar urethral stricture who underwent ventral oral graft urethroplasty. Methods: Between 2009 and 2010, 52 men (mean age 36 years) were enrolled in our prospective study to ascertain sexual disorders before and after surgery. The validated Male Sexual Health Questionnaire-Long Form (MSHQ-LF) was completed pre- and postoperatively; the unvalidated but adapted Post-Urethroplasty Sexual Questionnaire (PUSQ) was completed postoperatively. Data were compared using the non parametric Wilcoxon test. Results: Before urethroplasty, most of the patients reported sexual disorders, in particular reduced ejaculatory stream (85%); many of them (35%) feared the risk of a postoperative worsening in the quality of SL. After urethroplasty, nobody reported a worsened erection, while most of the patients noticed a significant improvement in erection, ejaculation, relationship with their partner, sexual activity, and desire. Modifications in the scrotoperineal sensitivity were reported by 42% and 15% noticed esthetic changes without impact on SL. All patients reported an improvement in quality of life (QOL) and were satisfied with the outcome of urethroplasty. Conclusion: Urethral stricture disease may be responsible for sexual disorders that have a significant impact upon SL. Patients confessed a marked anxiety tackling urethroplasty and declared that one of their deepest fears regarded a potential further deterioration in the quality of SL. At short-term follow-up, the minimally invasive ventral graft urethroplasty does not cause sexual complications, apart from the post-ejaculation dribbling. On the contrary, this technique showed to restore SL in all its aspects

Comparison between Two Different Two-Stage Transperineal Approaches to Treat Urethral Strictures or Bladder Neck Contracture Associated with Severe Urinary Incontinence that Occurred after Pelvic Surgery: Report of Our Experience

Introduction. The recurrence of urethral/bladder neck stricture after multiple endoscopic procedures is a rare complication that can follow prostatic surgery and its treatment is still controversial. Material and Methods. We retrospectively analyzed our data on 17 patients, operated between September 2001 and January 2010, who presented severe urinary incontinence and urethral/bladder neck stricture after prostatic surgery and failure of at least four conservative endoscopic treatments. Six patients underwent a transperineal urethrovesical anastomosis and 11 patients a combined transperineal suprapubical (endoscopic) urethrovesical anastomosis. After six months the patients that presented complete incontinence and no urethral stricture underwent the implantation of an artificial urethral sphincter (AUS). Results. After six months 16 patients were completely incontinent and presented a patent, stable lumen, so that they underwent an AUS implantation. With a mean followup of 50.5 months, 14 patients are perfectly continent with no postvoid residual urine. Conclusions. Two-stage procedures are safe techniques to treat these challenging cases. In our opinion, these cases could be managed with a transperineal approach in patients who present a perfect operative field; on the contrary, in more difficult cases, it would be preferable to use the other technique, with a combined transperineal suprapubical access, to perform a pull-through procedure

Antineutrinos from Earth: A reference model and its uncertainties

We predict geoneutrino fluxes in a reference model based on a detailed description of Earth's crust and mantle and using the best available information on the abundances of uranium, thorium, and potassium inside Earth's layers. We estimate the uncertainties of fluxes corresponding to the uncertainties of the element abundances. In addition to distance integrated fluxes, we also provide the differential fluxes as a function of distance from several sites of experimental interest. Event yields at several locations are estimated and their dependence on the neutrino oscillation parameters is discussed. At Kamioka we predict N(U+Th)=35 +- 6 events for 10^{32} proton yr and 100% efficiency assuming sin^2(2theta)=0.863 and delta m^2 = 7.3 X 10^{-5} eV^2. The maximal prediction is 55 events, obtained in a model with fully radiogenic production of the terrestrial heat flow.Comment: 24 pages, ReVTeX4, plus 7 postscript figures; minor formal changes to match version to be published in PR

The performance of magnetorheological fluid in squeeze mode

Abstract: In magnetorheological (MR) fluid, the rheological properties can be changed in a controlled way, the changes being reversible and dependent on the strength of the magnetic field. The fluids have potentially beneficial applications when placed in various geometrical arrangements. The squeeze mode is a geometrical arrangement where two flat parallel solid surfaces, facing each other, are pushed towards each other by an external force operating at right angles to the surfaces. The liquid initially in the gap between them is free to move away from this increasingly small gap, and it does so by flowing parallel to the surfaces, and collecting in a region where it is no longer in the gap between them. The performance of an MR fluid in compression ( squeeze) mode has been studied with the magnetic field being generated by a coil carrying different magnitudes of DC electrical current. A test rig was designed to perform this operation with the flat surfaces being horizontal and being pushed together in a vertical direction and the liquid being forced to move in all directions in a horizontal plane. The rig operated by decreasing the size of the gap at a constant rate. For each trial the current in the coil was kept constant and the instantaneous compressive force was recorded. When plotting compressive stress against compressive strain for each trial, the slope of the curve was found to be larger in general when the current was larger. This was an expected result; however, the behaviour is more complicated than this. For a significant range of values of compressive strain, the slope falls to zero, so that the compressive stress shows no increase during this period while the compressive strain continues to increase. The details of this behaviour are strongly dependent on the initial size of the ga

Enfoques teóricos para elaborar modelos de interpretación: el tipo urbano en América Latina

El proyecto de investigación sobre tipos urbanos en Latinoamérica parte de pensar que este instrumento nos permiten reconocer a todos los elementos que caracterizan a una comunidad. Lo común ha sido estudiar a los distintos casos, con miradas extrarregionales que nos proponen otros enfoques de las construcciones sociales urbanas. Si la forma urbana hoy puede leerse como el resultado de la disposición de elementos e interacciones y el soporte físico-natural y la cosmovisión que la sociedad construye, ¿con qué enfoque debería abordarse el estudio de la ciudad latinoamericana y cómo la identidad que está presente/ausente en ella? ¿cuál enfoque sería el adecuado para asociarlo a realidades tan diferentes? Comprendiendo a la ciudad actual como resultado de desintegraciones, fragmentos y la permanente dicotomía entre presente y preexistencias, el respeto por el legado busca anclarse en diversas identidades, aunque esas identidades deban polemizar para encontrar respuestas y redefinirse. Tomando como espacio geográfico y cultural del territorio latinoamericano, el tema-problema del proyecto se centra en la verificación de la pertinencia de la transferencia de las metodologías extra-regionales en el análisis de los tipos urbanos paradigmáticos en Latinoamérica para la adaptación y/o propuesta de métodos propios que permitan la construcción de modelos urbanos locales sustentables, y a la vez retomar una mirada crítica a modo de diagnóstico sobre la enseñanza de la historia del urbanismo de América Latina. Muchos son los autores que, desde diversas ópticas, nos proponen sus metodologías para ver y reconocer a las ciudades. Y de ellos, escasos latinoamericanos son los que sugieren miradas locales. Por eso, este enfoque intenta construir modelos urbanos para su estudio y enseñanza, en relación con su región y cultura, que interpreten la cartografía histórica y la gráfica digital, verificando la visibilidad de la identidad en relación con su patrimonio material e inmaterial en cada caso, y su relación con la planificación urbana. El análisis de Córdoba inicia la experimentación hacia estos modelos gráficos-conceptuales, para seguir con otros casos –como Caral, Tilcara, el Shinkal, Teotihuacán, Quito, Antigua, Ambul, Potosí, Puebla, Santa Fe la vieja, Mendoza, en la primera etapa-, que permitirán la consecuente relación y comparación, para verificar el modelo. El presente trabajo muestra algunos avances en el marco del Proyecto de Investigación Consolidar financiado por SECYT UNC. Se parte de una propuesta sobre distintas etapas de evolución, crecimiento y modificación de la ciudad que permita aplicar –desde una interpretación propia, gráfica y conceptual-, la lectura territorial elaborada por Milton Santos (el espesor histórico del territorio desde fijos y flujos, rigurosidades e inercias dinámicas), y otras metodologías de análisis urbano –como las elaboradas por Kevin Lynch, Philippe R. Panerai, Rob Krier, Christopher Alexander, entre otros-.Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanism