Laparoscopic intracorporeal ileal ureter replacement: multi-institutional data from 102 patients.

OBJECTIVE: To present long-term results of our laparoscopic intracorporeal ileal ureter replacement (LIUR) cohort, including more complex cases of laparoscopic ileocalycostomy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We collected records of patients undergoing LIUR. Follow-up included a chemical profile and urine cultures. Imaging consisted of renal ultrasonography, excretory urography, cystography, and computer tomographic or magnetic resonance urography. RESULTS: One hundred and two patients were included. Stricture location was left (46.1%), right (39.2%), or bilateral (14.7%). No open conversion was performed. Seventy-four patients (72.5%) underwent a total ureteral unit removal. The mean operative time was 289.4 (120 - 680) minutes. The estimated blood loss was 185.2 (10-400) mL. Three patients had intraoperative complications, and fifteen had early postoperative complications. The mean postoperative hospital stay was 12.2 (7-35) days. The mean follow-up duration period was 37.7 (12-162) months. Most patients' follow-up was uneventful (88%), and seven patients presented with Grade 2 late complications. CONCLUSIONS: Intracorporeal laparoscopic ileal ureteral replacement in cases of extensive ureteral lesions offers optimal long-term outcomes and a low complication rate. Ileocalycostomy constitutes a viable option in the small group of patients with long proximal ureteral strictures and intrarenal pelvis.

A Study on the Behavior of Cadmium in the Soil Solution-Plant System by the Lysimeter Method Using the 109Cd Radioactive Tracer.

In soils, cadmium (Cd) and its compounds, originating from industrial activities, differ both in mobility as well as in their ability to permeate the soil solution from naturally occurring cadmium compounds (native Cd). Therefore, the determination of the parameters of cadmium mobility in soils and its accumulation by plants in the soil-soil solution-plant system is very important from both scientific and practical viewpoints. 109Cd was used as a radioactive tracer to study the processes of the transition of Cd into the aqueous phase and its uptake by plants over the course of a vegetative lysimeter experiment. Using sequential extraction according to the Tessier-Förstner procedure and modified BCR schemes, certain patterns were determined in the distribution of Cd/109Cd among their forms in various compounds in the soil, along with the coefficients of the enrichment of native stable Cd with radioactive 109Cd. It was shown that the labile pool of stable Cd compounds (29%) was significantly smaller than that of radioactive 109Cd (69%). The key parameters characterizing the migration capacity of Cd in the soil-soil solution-plant system were determined. It was found that the distribution coefficient of native Cd between the soil and the quasi-equilibrium lysimeter solution exceeded the similar value for the 109Cd radionuclide by 2.2 times, and the concentration coefficients of Cd and 109Cd in the barley roots were 9 times higher than in its vegetative parts. During the experiment, the average removal of Cd (109Cd) from the soil by each barley plant was insignificant: 0.002 (0.004)%. Based on the results of 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy of a lyophilized sample of the high-molecular-weight dissolved organic matter (HMWDOM) of the soil solution, its components were determined. It transpired that the isolated lyophilized samples of HMWDOM with different molecular weights had an identical structural and functional composition. The selective sorption parameters of the HMWDOM and humic acid (HA) with respect to Cd2+ ions were determined by the isotope dilution method.

Laparoscopic totally intracorporeal ileal ureter replacement: a multi-institutional study.

OBJECTIVE: To prove the feasibility, as well as the reproducibility of laparoscopic totally intracorporeal ileal ureter replacement (LIUR), by presenting a multicenter patient cohort with a long follow-up. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Records of patients undergoing different types of ureteral replacements have been collected. Follow-up included a chemical profile and urine cultures. Imaging consisted of renal ultrasonography and excretory urography, as well as a cystography or an isotopic renography when indicated. RESULTS: Forty patients were included in the study. Twelve underwent a right, 20 a left, and eight a bilateral laparoscopic ureteral replacement. The mean procedure time was 335 (150-680) minutes and the mean estimated blood loss was 221 (50-400) mL. Only three patients presented intraoperative complications, which were managed immediately, and three patients presented a Clavien III postoperative complication. Abdominal drains and nephrostomy tubes were removed after 24-36 h and 7-10 days, respectively. The mean hospital stay was 13.5 (10-35) days. Follow-up was at least six months. CONCLUSIONS: LIUR constitutes a feasible and reproducible method for the restoration of long ureteral defects.

Zinc Plant Uptake as Result of Edaphic Factors Acting.

The influence of soil characteristics on the lability and bioavailability of zinc at both background and phytotoxic concentrations in Albic Retisol soil (Loamic, Ochric) was studied using various methods. Ranges of insufficient, non-phytotoxic, and phytotoxic zinc concentrations in soil solutions were established in an experiment with an aqueous barley culture. It was experimentally revealed that for a wide range of non-toxic concentrations of Zn in the soil corresponding to the indicative type of plant response, there was constancy of the concentration ratio (CR) and concentration factor (CF) migration parameters. As a result, a new method for assessing the buffer capacity of soils with respect to Zn (PBCZn) is proposed. The transformation processes of the chemical forms and root uptake of native (natural) zinc contained in the Albic Retisol (Loamic, Ochric) through the aqueous culture of barley were studied using a cyclic lysimetric installation and radioactive 65Zn tracer. The distribution patterns of Zn(65Zn) between different forms (chemical fractions) in the soil were established using the sequential fractionation scheme of BCR. The coefficients of distribution and concentration factors of natural Zn and 65Zn, as well as accumulation and removal of the metal by plants were estimated. The values of the enrichment factor of natural (stable) Zn contained in sequentially extracted chemical fractions with the 65Zn radioisotope were determined and the amount of the pool of labile zinc compounds in the studied soil was calculated.

VAV1-overexpressing YT cells display improved cytotoxicity against malignant cells.

Immunotherapy based on adoptive transfer of genetically engineered T- and NK-cells is an area of active ongoing research and has proven highly efficacious for patients with certain B-cell malignancies. Use of NK cells and NK cell lines as carriers of chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) appears particularly promising, as this opens an opportunity for moving the therapy from autologous to the allogeneic (universal) format. This "off-the-shelf" approach is thought to significantly reduce the price of the treatment and make it available to many more patients in need. Yet, the efficacy of CAR-NK cells in vivo presently remains low, and boosting the activity of CAR NK cells via stronger tumor homing, resistance to tumor microenvironment, as well as greater cytotoxicity may translate into improved patient outcomes. Here, we established a derivative of a human NK cell line YT overexpressing a positive regulator of cytotoxicity, VAV1. Activity of YT-VAV1 cells obtained was assayed in vitro against several cancer cell lines and primary patient-derived cancer cells. YT-VAV1 cells outperform parental YT cells in terms of cytotoxicity.

The study of the combined effect of soil properties on the rate of diffusion of 60Co.

The direct estimation of the value of the diffusion component of mass transfer of pollutants in arable soil horizons is an important task of scientific and applied importance. The values of effective diffusion coefficients of 60Co radionuclide (Deff) in water-saturated samples of different soils with disturbed structure and the same initial bulk density were obtained during the laboratory experiment. Of particular interest is the assessment of the contribution of individual specific characteristics of soils that have undergone the gleying process to the regulation of Deff60Co.There was noted a significant variability of Deff60Co for investigated soils due to different soil characteristics. To assess this, influence a statistical approach has been used, where edaphic factors representing the most important characteristics of the soils acted as independent variables (predictors), and the dependent (resulting) variable was Deff60Co. The contributions of each of the selected indicators of soils state (independent variables) in varying of Deff60Co were also identified. During the experiments, there was revealed a particularly strong increase in the Deff60Co for soils with a high Eh, ΣFr.<0.01 mm and decrease in the absolute value of the dependent variable with two predictors: pHH2O and P2O5mobile in conditions of excessive moisture. Based on the study of the dependence between the main physicochemical soil properties and the magnitude of effective diffusion coefficients (Deff60Co), the selected physicochemical characteristics of soils were ranked by the degree of influence on the value of the dependent variable: pHH2O > Eh > ΣFr.<0.01 mm > P2O5mobile > Corg.At the same time, the multiple linear regression analysis of the obtained data showed statistical significance for two independent predictors of the model (pHH2O and ΣFr.<0.01 mm). As a result, semi-partial determination coefficients responsible for the share of the total variation of the dependent variable due to the statistically significant corresponding independent variables (pHH2O and ΣFr.<0.01 mm) were calculated based on the data presented.