Modification of the surface plasmon enhanced optical forces on metal nanorod pairs by axial rotation and by dielectric intralayer

We investigate numerically the effect of axial rotation and the presence of a dielectric intralayer on the spectral behavior of the optical force on a gold nanorod pair. The frequency spectrum of the optical force is obtained through the Maxwell stress tensor formulation and the full vectorial solution of electromagnetic waves. The common and the relative forces, which are defined through the optical force acting on each nanorod, are computed for different axial rotations and for different permittivity and thickness of the dielectric intralayer. We found that both the misalignment and the dielectric intralayer can be utilized to tailor the magnitude and direction of the relative optical force, providing a tunable attractive or repulsive response between the nanorods. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Relationship between Response to PDE5 Inhibitors and Penile Duplex Doppler Ultrasound in Erectile Dysfunction

The relationship between the results of penile duplex Doppler ultrasound (PDDU) and response to vardenafil was investigated in patients diagnosed with erectile dysfunction (ED). Data from 148 patients with ED were analyzed retrospectively. Patients who did not respond to therapy were classified in to Group I (n = 32), those who responded partially were classified into Group II (n = 40), and complete responders were classified into Group III (n = 76). Age, comorbidities, and vascular and penile pathologies were compared among the three groups. While diabetes mellitus (DM) and dyslipidemia positivity adversely affected the response to treatment, the presence of hypertension (HT), Peyronie’s disease and priapism increased the therapeutic response to the treatment (p < 0.05). Arterial insufficiency was present in 20 (30.3%), 25 (37.9%) and 21 (31.8%) of the patients in Group I, Group II and Group III, respectively (p = 0.001). Venous insufficiency was observed in three (14.3%) patients in Group I and in eight (85.7%) patients in Group III (p = 0.001). Arterial/venous insufficiency was seen in 9 (30%), 14 (46.7%) and 7 (23.3%) of the patients in Group I, Group II and Group III, respectively (p = 0.001). The response rate to treatment was highest in normal patients according to PDDU, followed by patients with venous insufficiency. In addition, it was found that DM decreased the response to treatment, whereas the response increased in cases with HT, priapism and Peyronie’s disease

Generalizing redundancy elimination in checking sequences

Based on a distinguishing sequence for a Finite State Machine (FSM), an efficient checking sequence may be produced from the elements of a set of –sequences and a set ET of T–sequences, that both recognize the states, and elements of EC which represents the transitions in the FSM. An optimization algorithm may then be used to produce a reduced length checking sequence by connecting the elements of , ET , and EC using transitions taken from an acyclic set E ′′. It is known that only a subset E′C of EC is sufficient to form a checking sequence. This paper improves this result by reducing the number of elements in E′C that must be included in the generated checking sequence

Comparison of response to treatment of unilateral and bilateral varicocelectomy

WOS: 000395632600024PubMed: 28263485Background/aim: We aimed to compare the results of unilateral and bilateral varicocele surgery. Materials and methods: In two referral hospitals, the data of 180 patients who were treated with unilateral and bilateral microscopic varicocelectomy were retrospectively analyzed. Sperm parameters and spontaneous pregnancy rates were compared in patients who underwent bilateral and unilateral microscopic varicocelectomy. Results: The mean age was 29.6 (17- 46) years. While 82 patients underwent unilateral varicocelectomy (Group I), 98 patients underwent bilaterally varicocelectomy (Group II). Forty (48.8%) spontaneous pregnancies occurred in Group I and 59 (60.2%) in Group II. When we analyzed sperm parameters, the rate of increase in the number of sperm in spermiograms was 17% in Group I and 27.5% in Group II. The rate of increase in sperm mobility was 58.5% and 50% in Group I and II, respectively. The improvement rate in sperm morphology was 46.3% in Group I and 56.1% in Group II. There were no significant differences between all these parameters. Conclusion: In light of our results, although pregnancy rates seemed to be higher in patients who underwent bilateral varicocelectomy, these results were not statistically significant. Improvement rates in sperm parameters were similar between the patients who underwent unilateral and bilateral varicocelectomy

The relationship between the severity of erectile dysfunction and aortic stiffness

Demirelli, Erhan/0000-0002-0187-2156WOS: 000514117700001PubMed: 32072659Aortic stiffness increases in patients with erectile dysfunction (ED) but it is not known whether aortic stiffness affects the degree of ED. In the present study, we aimed to determine whether there is any relationship between aortic stiffness and the severity of ED. Patients with ED were divided into 3 groups according to the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) scores. Mild ED was named as group 1, moderate ED as group 2 and severe ED as group 3. The values of fasting blood glucose (FBG), serum lipid values, total testosterone (T. tes), and free testosterone (F tes) were recorded. Aortic stiffness was determined by pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIX) measurements. The mean or median values of the laboratory parameters among the groups were similar (p > .05). No statistical difference was found between the groups in terms of AIX value (p = .386). Mean PWV values were calculated as 7.26, 8.30 and 8.78 in group 1, group 2 and group 3 respectively. PWV values were significantly different between groups (p < .0001). PWV values were found to be increased with increasing severity of erectile dysfunction.Scientific Project Office of Giresun University [SAG-BAP-A-200515-30]Scientific Project Office of Giresun University, Grant/Award Number: SAG-BAP-A-200515-3

The time of spontaneous resolution of monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (MNE) is familial

Sarikaya, Selcuk/0000-0001-6426-1398; Aykac, Aykut/0000-0001-7078-0135WOS: 000355885000014PubMed: 25661820Purpose: To investigate whether or not the age of spontaneous resolution of monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (MNE) was familial. Patients and Methods: A questionnaire was administered to more than 1,500 people, and 100 appropriate participants were identified from four referral hospitals. We included the participants who had MNE and whose parents also had MNE with spontaneous resolution. Then the association between the spontaneous resolution time of MNE in parents and that in their children was investigated. Results:The mean ages of spontaneous resolution were 10.7 (10-30 years), 9.4 (6-17 years) and 10.9 (6-18 years) in participants, their mothers and their fathers, respectively. According to the statistical analysis, there was a positive correlation between participants and both their mothers and fathers (p 0.05). Conclusion: As a conclusion, the age of spontaneous resolution of MNE is familial. Although the exact reasons of spontaneous resolution still remain a mystery; further genetic investigations may be able to resolve this mystery. (C) 2015 S. Karger AG, Base

Categorization of ureteroscopy complications and investigation of associated factors by using the modified Clavien classification system

Akbas, Alpaslan/0000-0003-1470-5952WOS: 000374327500015PubMed: 27513242Background/aim: The purpose of the present study was to review the complications of ureteroscopy (URS) by using the modified Clavien classification system (MCCS) and to investigate the factors associated with complications. Materials and methods: Data regarding 811 patients who underwent URS for ureteral calculus were analyzed. Peroperative and postoperative complications were recorded. The patients were divided into seven groups depending on the severity of the complications. The association of sex, stone size, number, and localization with each MCCS grade was also evaluated. Results: The average age was 45 years. The success of the procedure after one session was 93.5%. Complications were recorded in 57.9% of the patients. According to the MCCS, grade I, II, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, IVb, and V complications were documented in 29.8%, 7.1%, 8.6%, 11%, 0%, 1.2%, and 0% of the patients, respectively. The factors associated with the complications graded by MCCS were sex, stone size, number of stones, and localization. In addition, in multivariate analysis, history of previous surgeries for urolithiasis, orifice dilatation, and instrument size were associated with complications. Conclusion: According to MCCS, sex, history of previous surgeries for urolithiasis, orifice dilatation, size of the instrument, stone size, number of stones, and localization are associated with different grades of complications in URS