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Purpose: Ureterocele has been hypothesized to be the risk factor for febrile urinary tract infections (F-UTIs) in patients with duplex collecting systems, but this has not been proved, and our goal was to assess the relation between ureterocele with duplex collecting systems and F-UTIs. Methods: We included individual-participant data from patients seen for complicated duplex collecting systems from 2010 to 2020 retrospectively followed. Those with using continuous low-dose antibiotic prophylaxis and incompletely duplicated systems were removed from the study. The participants were divided into two cohorts according to patients with or without ureterocele. The primary endpoint of this study was recurrent F-UTIs. Results: We analyzed medical reports of 300 patients, of which 75% were female. Among the 300 patients, F-UTIs developed in 111/159 (69.8%) patients in the ureterocele group and in 69/141 (48.9%) patients in the no-ureterocele group. Univariate analysis found no discernible difference except in grade of hydronephrosis between ureterocele group and no-ureterocele group. Moreover, Cox proportional regression analysis revealed that patients of duplex system ureterocele might be intrinsically more prone to develop F-UTIs (adjusted hazard ratio 1.894; 95% CI 1.412–2.542; p < 0.001). Conclusion: Among participants with duplex systems, the risk of recurrent F-UTIs in patients with ureterocele was higher than patients without it, and mini-invasive surgical correction should be considered at young age to reduce F-UTIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monolayer MoS2 has excellent optical properties, but its low optical absorption hinders its application in optical absorbers. To improve its absorption performance, we design an aperiodic multilayer structure with monolayer MoS2, the dielectric materials Si and SiO2 arranged by Kolakoski sequence, and achieve the perfect absorption in the visible wavelength range because of its omnidirectional reflectivity. By optimizing the thicknesses of SiO2 (db), Si (dc) and the repetition number (N) of the unit cell, the absorption of the aperiodic multilayer structure can be greatly improved at normal incidence. When N is 3, this aperiodic multilayer structure achieves high absorption of up to 98% in the wavelength range from 350 to 450 nm. As N increases to 5 or 7, the average absorption of this aperiodic multilayer structure exceeds 90% in the 350–600 nm wavelength range. In addition, we verify that the broadband and high absorption obtained in this aperiodic multilayer structure is robust against the angle of incidence and polarization of the incident wave. Our results suggest an alternative configuration with monolayer MoS2 to realize the broadband and perfect absorption, which is useful for future applications in solar cell or photodetectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic pain (CP) represents a socio-economic burden for affected patients along with therapeutic challenges for currently available therapies. When conventional therapies fail, modulation of the affective pain matrix using reversible deep brain stimulation (DBS) or targeted irreversible thalamotomy by stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and magnetic resonance (MR)-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) appear to be considerable treatment options. We performed a literature search for clinical trials targeting the affective pain circuits (thalamus, anterior cingulate cortex [ACC], ventral striatum [VS]/internal capsule [IC]). PubMed, Ovid, MEDLINE and Scopus were searched (1990–2021) using the terms "chronic pain", "deep brain stimulation", "stereotactic radiosurgery", "radioneuromodulation", "MR-guided focused ultrasound", "affective pain modulation", "pain attention". In patients with CP treated with DBS, SRS or MRgFUS the somatosensory thalamus and periventricular/periaquaeductal grey was the target of choice in most treated subjects, while affective pain transmission was targeted in a considerably lower number (DBS, SRS) consisting of the following nodi of the limbic pain matrix: the anterior cingulate cortex; centromedian-parafascicularis of the thalamus, pars posterior of the central lateral nucleus and internal capsule/ventral striatum. Although DBS, SRS and MRgFUS promoted a meaningful and sustained pain relief, an effective, evidence-based comparative analysis is biased by heterogeneity of the observation period varying between 3 months and 5 years with different stimulation patterns (monopolar/bipolar contact configuration; frequency 10–130 Hz; intensity 0.8–5 V; amplitude 90–330 μs), source and occurrence of lesioning (radiation versus ultrasound) and chronic pain ethology (poststroke pain, plexus injury, facial pain, phantom limb pain, back pain). The advancement of neurotherapeutics (MRgFUS) and novel DBS targets (ACC, IC/VS), along with established and effective stereotactic therapies (DBS–SRS), increases therapeutic options to impact CP by modulating affective, pain-attentional neural transmission. Differences in trial concept, outcome measures, targets and applied technique promote conflicting findings and limited evidence. Hence, we advocate to raise awareness of the potential therapeutic usefulness of each approach covering their advantages and disadvantages, including such parameters as invasiveness, risk–benefit ratio, reversibility and responsiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To compare the clinical characteristics of pediatric urolithiasis patients with positive and negative molecular diagnoses. Methods: The clinical characteristics corresponding to pediatric urolithiasis patients that had undergone exome sequencing at our hospital between January 2016 and May 2021 were collected. Genetic analysis results were used to separate patients into positive and negative molecular diagnosis groups. Multivariate logistic regression analyses adjusted for visiting age, sex, ethnicity, province, and body mass index were used to compare differences in medical history, diagnostic imaging findings, and renal function between individuals with and without molecular diagnoses. Results: In total, 194 patients with pediatric urolithiasis of unknown etiology underwent exome sequencing and were included in the present study, of whom 63 obtained urolithiasis-related molecular diagnoses. Relative to cases without a molecular diagnosis, those with a positive molecular diagnosis were more likely to be associated with a positive family history (OR 2.84, 95% CI 1.29–6.29, p = 0.008), consanguineous parents (OR 24.7, 95% CI 1.34–454, p = 0.002), early onset (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.09–1.45, p < 0.001), nephrocalcinosis (OR 10.6, 95% CI 3.06–36.6, p < 0.001), cast stone (OR 18.9, 95% CI 4.40–81.1, p < 0.001), multiple stones (OR 13.9, 95% CI 6.39–30.2, p < 0.001), bilateral stones (OR 7.04, 95% CI 3.47–14.2, p < 0.001), a lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.07–1.28, p < 0.001), and chronic kidney disease (OR 26.9, 95% CI 1.42–526, p < 0.001). Conclusion: A positive family history, consanguineous parents, early onset, nephrocalcinosis, severe stone burden, and impaired renal function are signals of concern that are suggestive of inherited urolithiasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of inherited causes in an early onset urolithiasis cohort and each metabolic subgroup. Methods: A retrospective analysis of both metabolic and genomic data was performed for the first 105 pediatric urolithiasis patients who underwent exome sequencing at our hospital from February 2016 to October 2018. Measurements included the diagnostic yield of exome sequencing in the entire cohort and each metabolic subgroup (hyperoxaluria, hypocitraturia, hypercalciuria, hyperuricosuria and cystine stone subgroups). The conformity between molecular diagnoses and metabolic evaluation was also evaluated. Results: The present study involved a cohort of 105 pediatric patients with urolithiasis, from which diagnostic variants were identified in 38 patients (36%), including 27 primary hyperoxaluria and 11 cystinuria. In the metabolic subgroup analyses, 41% hyperoxaluria cases were primary hyperoxaluria caused by monogenic defects, and 100% of the causes of cystine stones could be explained by monogenic defects. However, no appropriate inherited causes were identified for hypocitraturia, hypercalciuria, or hyperuricosuria in the cohort. A high conformity (100%) was obtained between the molecular diagnoses and metabolic evaluation. Conclusion: Exome sequencing in a cohort of 105 pediatric patients with urolithiasis yielded a genetic diagnosis in 36% of cases and the molecular diagnostic yield varies substantially across different metabolic abnormalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jinqi Jiangtang tablet (JQJTT), a traditional Chinese herbal medicine for treating diabetes, consists of Coptis chinensis, Astragalus membranaceus, and Lonicera japonica. In this study, we developed a method using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) to analyze 21 compounds in JQJTT, belonging to five different types. Separation was performed on a C18 column (150 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm), and the mobile phase for the gradient elution consisted of 2 mM ammonium acetate and 0.1% acetic acid as an aqueous phase and acetonitrile as an organic phase. The method showed good linearity (r > 0.9954). The relative standard deviation (RSD) values for the intra- and inter-day precision were less than 4.98% and 4.93%, respectively. The recovery at three concentration levels ranged from 90.15 to 109.90%, with RSD below 4.69%. Sample solutions were proven to be stable for more than 24 h at 4 °C (RSD < 4.87%). The novel method was successfully applied to systematic quality evaluation of JQJTT based on the quantification of the 21 compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We also summarized some suggestions and concerns of this study for discussion: (1) this study can use genotype imputation to estimate unobserved genotypes, which may help researchers find more statistically significant SNP loci [[1]]. Dear Editor, Considering genetic factors, urolithiasis may be a monogenic disease or a polygenic disease. [Extracted from the article]

comprehensive study has been done to examine the feasibility of applying Eksigent ExpressLC-800 parallel μLC–UV system for the achiral method development and impurity profiling in support of pharmaceutical early development. The system evaluation was performed extensively with respect to linearity, sensitivity and reproducibility. Some real-world applications for method screening and purity assessment are also carried out to demonstrate the instrument’s versatility as well as to address the needs to further improve sensitivity and micro-column packing quality. Some thoughts on future improvement are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In previous pharmacokinetic studies tiopronin, a drug used for effective treatment of cystinuria and rheumatoid arthritis, and its metabolite 2-mercaptopropionic acid were analysed by conventional liquid chromatography with pre- and post-column derivatization and UV detection. Now a novel HPLC-coupled chemiluminescence-flow-injection analysis (CL-FIA) method has been developed for the determination of tiopronin and 2-mercaptopropionic acid in urine. The method is based on chemiluminescence from a Ce(IV) oxidation system sensitized by quinine, as proposed earlier by this group, and flow-injection analysis. The method, which has the advantages of high sensitivity and selectivity, simple sample treatment and prompt production of results, has also been preliminarily adapted for pharmacokinetic study of tiopronin in urine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]