Role of urine glycosaminoglycan levels in the diagnosis and follow-up in men with lower urinary tract symptoms.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate whether urinary glycosaminoglycans (GAG) levels reflect clinical status in men with lower urinary tract symptoms and if they could be used as a marker in management of overactive bladder (OAB). METHODS: A total of 34 patients were recruited who were admitted with LUTS and diagnosed as having clinically bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) due to prostate enlargement. These newly diagnosed, never treated patients underwent routine investigation, consisting of history, physical examination, PSA, ultrasound, uroflowmetry, assessment of symptoms scored by both International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and Marmara- Overactive Bladder Questionnaire (M-OBQ). The patients were divided into two groups as those with an initial M-OBQ score < 12 (group 1) and ≥ 13 (group 2). Alfa blocker was initiated in eligible patients. Further evaluations included prostate volume measurement, pre- and post-treatment urinary GAG levels, IPSS and M-QAOB values and maximum urine flow rate (Qmax). RESULTS: Before treatment, urinary GAG level was 21.5 mg/gCr (6.1-45.5) in Group 1, and 23.35 mg/gCr (15.6-32.6) in Group 2 (p =0.845). After the treatment, the GAG level in Group 1 and Group 2 were found to be 19.8 mg/gCr (7.4-70.5) and 18 (7.6- 41.7), respectively (p = 0.511). No difference in GAG levels was found in subgroup analysis for patients with or without OAB. CONCLUSIONS: In recent years, there have been many studies investigating the relationship between LUTS and urinary markers. However, in our prospective study, no relationship was found between pre- and post- treatment urinary GAG levels in patients with LUTS with or without OAB.

Enhanced study design for acute inhalation studies with hydrophobic surface-treated particles to determine toxicological effects including suffocation.

High concentrations of low-density particles may cause effects in acute inhalation toxicity studies which can be easily underestimated or misinterpreted following strictly the OECD TG 436, i.e., limited parameters as mortality and gross lesions will be evaluated only. Seven particle types (synthetic amorphous silica (SAS) HMDZ-SAS, silica gel, pyrogenic SAS, and precipitated SAS, calcium carbonate, aluminum oxide pyrogenic alumina, organic red pigment) were chosen at the highest technically feasible concentration of approximately 500 mg/m3 for acute inhalation studies with an expanded endpoint setup. Therefore additional parameters and a thorough histopathological evaluation of an extensive set of organs, including the respiratory tract emphasizing the nasal cavities were added. Six Crl:WI rats per study were exposed for four hours from which three animals were sacrificed after 24 hours and three animals after 14 days. HMDZ-SAS caused early death in all animals due to blockage of the nasal passages caused by its hydrophobicity. For all other Si-containing compounds, histology revealed minor inflammatory and reactive lesions in lungs after 24 hours that were still present after 14 days, except in silica gel-treated animals. After 14 days, for pyrogenic SAS, precipitated SAS, and pyrogenic alumina, granulomas formed in the BALT and lung-associated lymph nodes. In contrast, the calcium carbonate induced almost no findings, and the red pigment (also tested for the additional dose of 1000 mg/m3) stuck partially to the nasal mucosa without causing pathological damage and partly entered the lungs without showing any adverse effects. The results of the present study highlight the advantage of improving the rather simple study design of acute inhalation studies by implementing an extended study design.

Nanobodies to multiple spike variants and inhalation of nanobody-containing aerosols neutralize SARS-CoV-2 in cell culture and hamsters.

The ongoing threat of COVID-19 has highlighted the need for effective prophylaxis and convenient therapies, especially for outpatient settings. We have previously developed highly potent single-domain (VHH) antibodies, also known as nanobodies, that target the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein and neutralize the Wuhan strain of the virus. In this study, we present a new generation of anti-RBD nanobodies with superior properties. The primary representative of this group, Re32D03, neutralizes Alpha to Delta as well as Omicron BA.2.75; other members neutralize, in addition, Omicron BA.1, BA.2, BA.4/5, and XBB.1. Crystal structures of RBD-nanobody complexes reveal how ACE2-binding is blocked and also explain the nanobodies' tolerance to immune escape mutations. Through the cryo-EM structure of the Ma16B06-BA.1 Spike complex, we demonstrated how a single nanobody molecule can neutralize a trimeric spike. We also describe a method for large-scale production of these nanobodies in Pichia pastoris, and for formulating them into aerosols. Exposing hamsters to these aerosols, before or even 24 h after infection with SARS-CoV-2, significantly reduced virus load, weight loss and pathogenicity. These results show the potential of aerosolized nanobodies for prophylaxis and therapy of coronavirus infections.

Successful Treatment of Detachment of the Incision after Al-Ghorab Procedure: A Case Report and Review of Literature.

Al-Ghorab procedure is known as open distal shunt for the treatment of ischemic priapism. In the literature, no information in terms of complications is available in three of fourteen studies. In the remaining eleven studies, complications occurred in five studies only. Here we present a case report describing successful treatment of detachment of the incision after Al-Ghorab procedure.

YouTube is inadequate as an information source on delayed ejaculation.

The prevalence of delayed ejaculation in sexually active men is reportedly 3%. Due to its rarity and uncertain definitions, people seek information about delayed ejaculation on the internet. YouTube is one of the largest video platforms preferred global for gathering medical information. We aimed to determine the quality of YouTube videos on delayed ejaculation. YouTube search was performed with the keywords "delayed and retarded ejaculation", and we recorded the first 400 videos according to relevance. The search results were saved in the playlist, and the first 400 videos were evaluated by two independent urologists. DISCERN and Global Quality Scale (GQS) were used to assess the reliability and quality of videos. Repeated (n = 17), off-topic (n = 279), non-English videos (n = 37), and videos with no audio (n = 16) were excluded from the study. The remaining 51 videos were evaluated. DISCERN and GQS scores were statistically significantly associated with video durations (r = 0.329, P = 0.018 and r = 0.349, P = 0.012; respectively). A statistically significant association was also observed between and DISCERN and GQS scores with video power index values (r = 0.466, P = 0.001 and r = 0.422, P = 0.002; respectively). 62.7% (n = 32) videos were low quality, 23.5% (n = 12) were intermediate quality, and 13.7% (n = 7) were high quality according to the GQS. Most of the YouTube content on delayed ejaculation was of poor quality. Physicians should be aware of this situation, and take the lead in bringing high-quality videos about delayed ejaculation to the community.

Sperm concentration and semen volume increase after smoking cessation in infertile men.

Smoking has negative reproductive consequences. This study investigated the effect of smoking cessation on the main semen parameters. We included 90 participants who applied to our infertility clinic and smoked at least 20 cigarettes a day for at least 1 year. Of the 90 participants, 48 were in the study group and 42 were in the control group. Semen analysis was performed before and at least 3 months after quitting smoking in the study group. Semen analysis was repeated at baseline and at least 3 months later in the control group. Semen parameters such as volume, sperm concentration, total sperm count, morphology, and motility were evaluated according to the World Health Organization criteria. Patient characteristics as well as the duration of the smoking period, the number of cigarettes smoked per day and the time elapsed since smoking cessation were recorded. The mean age of the participants was 34.69 ± 5.3 years, and the duration of infertility was 34.12 ± 12.1 months (n = 90). The number of cigarettes smoked per day was 30.14 ± 6.69, and the smoking time was 8.31 ± 3.53 years. The average time to quit smoking was 104.2 ± 11.51 days (n = 48). A significant increase in semen volume, sperm concentration and total sperm count was observed 3 months after smoking cessation (2.48 ± 0.79 ml vs. 2.90 ± 0.77 ml, p = 0.002; 18.45 × 106/ml ± 8.56 vs. 22.64 × 106/ml ± 11.69, p = 0.001; 45.04 ± 24.38 × 106 vs. 65.1 ± 34.9 × 106, p < 0.001, respectively). This study showed that smoking cessation had a positive effect on sperm concentration, semen volume, and total sperm count. Although smoking cessation contributed positively to sperm motility and morphology, the difference was not statistically significant.

Desires and attitudes of outpatients and physicians regarding the use of teleurology during the pandemic: a prospective survey study.

OBJECTIVE: It is not known to date how many patients admitted to urology outpatient clinics are willing to use telemedicine. We aimed to investigate knowledge levels and attitudes concerning the utilization of teleurology by patients applying to urology outpatient clinics. METHODS: This prospective multicentre survey study included 334 patients aged 18-65 years who applied to an urology outpatient clinics. The patients were asked questions about their attitudes and expectations regarding teleurology. Diseases were divided into seven subgroups due to the broad spectrum of diagnoses. Physicians' and patients' opinions on whether it was possible to manage the current medical condition via teleurology were recorded. RESULTS: 69.5% of patients stated that they had sufficient technical skills to use teleurology by themselves for medical examination. 55.4% of patients and 78.4% of physicians responded that the existing complaints were suitable for teleurology. Both patients and physicians deemed genital system diseases and urinary tract infections suitable for teleurology (p<0.001, p<0.001 for physicians, and p<0.001, p<0.001 for patients), whereas urine transport, storage and emptying disorders (p=0.003) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (p=0.029) were deemed to be suitable for teleurology only by the physicians. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that (i) the majority of our patient population has a telecommunications infrastructure suitable for teleurology, (ii) teleurology has aroused interest among patients, particularly during the pandemic period, and (iii) physicians and patients have high expectations that the problem can be solved with teleurology in suitable patients.

Effects of butein on renal ischemia/reperfusion injury: An experimental study.

OBJECTIVES: Renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is a common cause of acute kidney injury. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of butein on renal I/R injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-seven rats were randomly allocated to three groups (n = 9): a sham group, a renal I/Runtreated (control) group, and a renal I/R-butein group. The sham group underwent only opening and closing of the peritoneum. In the control group, an experimental I/R model was created and 1 cc isotonic saline was applied to the peritoneum. In the butein group, the experimental I/R model was created and 1 mg/kg butein was administered intraperitoneally 15 minutes before the beginning of ischemia. The left kidneys of the rats were histopathologically examined for tissue damage caused by I/R. RESULTS: Histopathological examination of the tissue damage revealed that all kidneys in the sham group were normal. By contrast, 2 in the control group (22.2%) had small focal damaged areas, 1 (11.1%) had < 10% cortical damage, 5 (55.6%) had 10-25% cortical damage, and 1 (11.1%) had 25-75% cortical damage. The butein group had 1 (11.1%) normal kidney, 2 (22.2%) with small focal damaged areas, 4 (44.4%) with < 10% cortical damage, and 2 (22.2%) with 10-25% cortical damage. Tissue damage was significantly lower in the sham group than in the control and butein groups (p < 0.01). No statistically significant differences were observed in the histopathology of the control and butein groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Intraperitoneal administration of butein had no significant effect on renal tissue injury.

Protective effect of chlorogenic acid on renal ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats.

OBJECTIVES: Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is a common cause of renal injury and to date, many pharmacological agents have been identified to decrease I/R injury. One of the potential compound that can target I/R injury is chlorogenic acid (CGA). It has potent antiinflammatory, antibacterial, anti-oxidant, analgesic and antipyretic activities in in vitro experiments and in vivo animal models. The aim of the study was to investigate the protective characteristic of CGA on renal I/R injury. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 24 rats were randomly allocated to three groups (n = 8): Sham, I/R+CGA and I/R groups. CGA was administered intraperitoneally at a dose of 20 mg/kg, 10 min before reperfusion. I/R injury was achieved by clamping the left renal artery for 45 minutes, followed by reperfusion for 4 hours. The left kidneys of the rats were examined for tissue damage by histopathological and biochemical examination. For histological evaluation, EGTI scoring system was used. For biochemical examination total oxidant status, total antioxidant status and oxidative stress index were used. The power analysis indicated that 8 subjects per group would be required to produce 80% chance of achieving statistical significance at p < 0.05 level. The results are expressed as mean ± SD. Mann- Whitney U was performed for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Histopathological examination of the tissue damage revealed that all kidneys in the sham group were normal. I-R group had significantly higher histopathological scores than other groups. Histopathological improvement was seen after CGA treatment. TAS, TOS and OSI values of I-R group were significantly higher than sham group (0.88 vs 0.76 (p: 0.004), 13.8 vs 7.04 (p: 0.021) and 0.15 vs 0.09 (p: 0.034), respectively). In CGA treated group TAS, TOS and OSI levels were 0.84, 6.47 and 0.07, respectively. CGA treatment resulted in significant improvement in TOS and OSI parameters. CONCLUSIONS: CGA treatment provided marked improvement in renal histology and suppressed oxidative stress. Thus, CGA may have a protective effect in renal tissue against I/R injury.

Does duration of stenting increase the risk of clinical infection?

OBJECTIVE: We investigated when an indwelling ureteral catheter should be withdrawn for infection and evaluated the importance of urinary cultures in identifying colonized microorganisms and define the bacterial flora encountered in the study. Moreover, this study tried to determine the clinical role of stent culture in clinical practice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted between June 2018 and February 2019. Patients with ureteral stent implantation after endoscopic ureteral stone treatment were divided into two groups and each group consisted of 45 patients. Ureteral catheter was removed 15 and 30 days after ureteral stone treatment in group 1 and 2, respectively, and transferred for microbiological examination. The urine culture was obtained before and after ureteral stent implantation. The groups were compared in terms of demographics, urine and catheter cultures results. Urine analysis and catheter culture results were also compared. RESULTS: Demographic data of patients were similar in both groups. 3 patients in group 1 and 12 patients in group 2 had positive urine culture before catheter retraction; 2 of 45 and 6 of 45 patients had positive catheter culture in group 1 and 2, respectively. Although 2 patients in group 1 and 4 patients in group 2 had urine culture sterile, they had growth in catheter culture. In Group 1, 1 of the microorganisms was E. fecalis and 1 was E. coli. In Group 2, 2 cases were E. fecalis, 3 were E. coli and 1 was MRSE. There was no significant difference between the urine analysis results of the patients before catheter retraction and catheter culture positivity. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-operative urine culture does not exclude catheter colonization, and the prolonged duration of the catheter associated with greater colonization and may be associated urinary tract infection. Ureteral catheter should be removed as early as possible.

Bulk-boundary correspondence in soft matter.

Bulk-boundary correspondence is the emergence of features at the boundary of a material that are dependent on and yet distinct from the properties of the bulk of the material. The diverse applications of this idea in topological insulators as well as high energy physics prove its universality. However, whether a form of bulk-boundary correspondence holds also in soft matter such as gels, polymers, lipids, and other biomaterials is thus far unknown. Aerosil-dispersed liquid crystal gels provide a good testing ground to explore the relation between the controlled variations of the aerosil density within the liquid crystal bulk and the surface topography of the sample. Here we report on a direct observation of such a correspondence where the controlled strength of random disorder created by aerosil dispersion in the bulk liquid crystal is correlated with the fractal dimension of the surface. We obtained the surface topography of our gel samples with different quenched random disorder strengths by using atomic force microscope techniques, and computed the fractal dimension for each sample. We found that an increase of the aerosil gel density in the bulk corresponds to an increase in the fractal dimension at the surface. From our results emerges a method to acquire the bulk properties of soft matter such as density, randomness, and phase merely from the fractal dimension of the surface.

A family of binary magnetic icosahedral quasicrystals based on rare earths and cadmium.

Examples of stable binary icosahedral quasicrystals are relatively rare, and at present there are no known examples featuring localized magnetic moments. These would represent an ideal model system for attaining a deeper understanding of the nature of magnetic interactions in aperiodic lattices. Here we report the discovery of a family of at least seven rare earth icosahedral binary quasicrystals, i-R-Cd (R = Gd to Tm, Y), six of which bear localized magnetic moments. Our work highlights the importance of carefully motivated searches through phase space and supports the proposal that, like icosahedral Sc12Zn88 (ref. ), binary quasicrystalline phases may well exist nearby known crystalline approximants, perhaps as peritectically forming compounds with very limited liquidus surfaces, offering very limited ranges of composition/temperature for primary solidification.