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In this paper we present a complete low-cost sensor system including fiber-optics, electronics, and data processing implemented on a simple microcontroller. The system can be operated stand-alone, showing real-time temperatures on a display or connected for data logging to a PC. Cheap ruby spheres or half-spheres from mass production are integrated in a small fiber-optic sensor head. All electronics including a high-power blue LED and a Si photodiode are easily integrated on a modified commercial add-on board on top of a Nucleo-64 development kit for STM32 microcontrollers. Temperature measurement is done by fitting the exponential decay of the ruby fluorescence after pulsed excitation. Calibration and testing was done in a climate chamber, achieving a temperature accuracy of 0.5 K within a range of -40°C to +80°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the task to look into non accessible places usually borescopes or endoscopes will be used. These scopes either have a miniature camera at their tip or use fiberoptic image [...]

Filterkerzen aus Phenolharz waren lange Zeit Standard für die Homogenisierung eines Aminkondensats, das in Beschichtungen eingesetzt wird. Der Hersteller Levaco sah sich jedoch zum Umdenken aufgefordert und setzt nun Filterkerzen aus Polyamid ein. Der Hersteller Eaton liefert dafür die Loftrex Nylon‐Filterkerzen.

Using a population-based cohort, data from 50,598 patients treated with radical prostatectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection were used to externally validate our pathologic nodal staging score model. This model allows for quantification of the likelihood that a pathologically node-negative patient will not have lymph node metastasis after surgery.

To evaluate whether surgical complications after kidney transplantation correlate with surgeon’s experience and whether individual surgeons’ complication rates improve during their learning process.

Laser-based prostatectomy for benign prostatic obstruction has emerged over the past decade as a treatment alternative to transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) and open prostatectomy. These techniques set new standards in minimally invasive surgery and aim to obviate the complications of open surgery while ensuring durability of outcomes. Enucleation, which mimics open prostatectomy in that the whole prostate adenoma is removed, and vaporization, which involves ultra-rapid heating of superficial tissue layers and subsequent ablation, are the most often used surgical techniques in laser prostatectomy. The wavelength and the power output of the laser influence the tissue–laser interactions, which determine the physical properties and the safety profile of the technique. Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) and GreenLight™laser vaporization of the prostate are the two reference techniques for laser prostatectomy, both of which have been shown to be as effective as TURP, while offering advantages in the safety profile in various randomized trials. Thulium laser enucleation of the prostate (ThuLEP) shares similarities with HoLEP and has shown encouraging results. However, more controlled trials with longer follow-up assessment are needed. Diode lasers come in various wavelengths and fibre designs and have been used for vaporization and enucleation, but require high-quality data to support their clinical use.

To give an overview and discuss the recent literature of different vaporization techniques of the prostate using laser energy or high-frequency current.

Protocol biopsies are assigned to fixed points in time after transplantation irrespective of renal function. Usually, it is not known whether there is graft dysfunction at the time of biopsy. This study analyzes repeat protocol biopsies in the absence of any clinical signs of graft dysfunction at the time of biopsy (i.e., “true surveillance biopsy”).

Different transurethral prostatic laser systems are available. In 2011, new Oxford evidence levels (LoEs) were published with significant changes compared with the former version. They are easier to use and incorporate more clinical aspects. Randomized trials of laser systems used before 2002, except Holmium laser, were not included in this critical evidence analysis, as these techniques are not in clinical use any more.

The article evaluates the new 180-watt Green Light XPS™ laser system with the MoXy™ liquid-cooled fiber.

The aim of the study was to prospectively compare the diagnostic performance of CT angiography (CTA) with MR angiography (MRA) in the preoperative assessment of living renal donors.

In this contribution, we describe an object detection method that jointly considers low-level features and higher-level object knowledge. The method partitions a stereo image sequence into its most prominent moving groups with similar 3-dimensional (3D) motion and of consistent object-specific appearance. Image segmentation is performed by a Bayesian Maximum a Posteriori estimator assigning the most probable motion profile to each image point. The motion profiles of the elaborated motion models are iteratively refined by an object tracking procedure. Additionally, the probability of salient points to belong to an object category is considered in the probabilistic framework. Our expectation on spatial continuity of objects is expressed in a Markov Random Field (MRF) model.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the early postoperative pain and pain management after standard open (ODN), hand-assisted laparoscopic (HLDN) and retroperitoneoscopic (RDN) donor nephrectomy.

Purpose:To study the feasibility and efficacy of 80 W potassium-titanyl-phosphate (KTP) laser vaporization (GreenLight PV; Laserscope®) of the prostate in patients suffering from voiding dysfunction secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) or known locally advanced prostate cancer (CaP).Patients and Methods:Sixty-five patients with symptomatic BPH (N = 57) or obstructive voiding secondary to CaP (N = 8) with a mean age of 70 ± 10 years (range 46–93 years) underwent photoselective 80 W KTP laser vaporization of the prostate. All consecutive patients, including 34 with a history of chronic urinary retention or indwelling catheter, were enrolled. Prostate specific antigen (PSA) values, prostate volume as measured by transrectal ultrasonography, urinary peak flow measurement (Qmax), postvoiding residual volume (PVR) measured transvesically, and International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) were assessed preoperatively, on the day of discharge, and 1 month and 3 months postoperatively. The mean preoperative prostate volume was 49 ± 32 cc (range 15–250 cc).Results:In all 65 patients, KTP laser vaporization was performed successfully, with a mean operating time of 57 ± 25 minutes (range 10–160 minutes). No major complication occurred intraoperatively or postoperatively, and no transfusions were necessary. All patients were catheter free after 1 month. At 1 month and 3 months, the urinary peak flow had increased from 7.7 ±.8 mL/sec preoperatively to 20.9 ± 11.6 mL/sec (-171%) and 18.2 ± 6.3 mL/sec (-136%), respectively. The IPSS decreased from 18.5 ± 6.7 to 9.2 ± 7.7 (-50%) and 7.2 ± 5.9 (-61%) at 1 and 3 months, respectively.Conclusions:A 80 W KTP laser vaporization of the prostate technique instantly removes obstructive tissue. A transurethral resection-like visible cavity is the endpoint. Immediate symptom relief is achieved in a truly minimally invasive way with a very low postoperative complication rate within 3 months' follow-up.

To deal with the problem of outliers when using particle filters in mobile robot localization, the Auxiliary Particle Filter algorithm is presented. It is shown that in addition to a more efficient estimation process also the robustness of the filter increases. The efficiency in terms of applied particles and estimation accuracy was improved by extending the one-dimensional sonar beam-used in the localization process to collect environmental information - to a two-dimensional plane scan.

A purely retroperitoneoscopic approach in living kidney donation is used by only a few centers worldwide. Data from 28 consecutive purely retroperitoneoscopic living donor nephrectomies (RLDN) were compared to the most recent 30 open living donor nephrectomies (OLDN). Right-sided donation was performed in 12 cases (43%) of the RLDN and 11 cases (37%) of the OLDN. Comparison of the results between the two groups showed a shorter operation time and hospital stay for the RLDN group (P< 0.001). Warm ischemia time was significantly shorter in the OLDN group (P< 0.02). The rate of complications did not differ significantly between the groups. No significant difference in terms of renal graft function was detected within 30 days after surgery. As a result of the direct access, RLDN is superior in terms of operation time, even to the open access on our series, while maintaining the advantage of minimal invasiveness.

The wish for a minimally invasive procedure is one of the utmost demands by all persons undergoing livingdonor nephrectomies. The retroperitoneoscopic access for this procedure has proven to be a safe, minimally invasive, and efficient approach accompanied by early mobilization and a fast return to general daily activities. The incidence of complications during and after this technically demanding operation is comparable to that of other approaches. Because of the direct anatomic approach, retroperitoneoscopic living-donor nephrectomy has become the preferred access at our institution for both donors and surgeons.

1 The effects of the fluoresceine derivative, phloxine B, on the Cl− current through the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) were examined in Xenopus oocytes expressing human CFTR. 2 In whole oocytes, the CFTR Cl− current (ICFTR) was activated by superfusion with isobutylmethylxanthine and forskolin. ICFTR was stable during activation and deactivated rapidly upon washout of the activation solution. Phloxine B slowed deactivation and, at high concentrations, inhibited ICFTR weakly. 3 In excised inside-out macropatches, ICFTR was activated by the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A (cPKA) and MgATP. Phloxine B (0.01 – 3 μM), applied after activation, increased ICFTR within 30 s followed by a slow decrease which became dominant at high concentrations. Slowing of deactivation of the CFTR was observed at all concentrations. 4 The effect of phloxine B after 30 s had a bell-shaped concentration-dependence with midpoints at 45 and 1600 nM for the stimulatory and the inhibitory limb, respectively; maximum stimulation was about 1.8 times. The slow inhibitory component, measured after 6 min, occurred with an IC50 value of ∼1 μM. 5 In the absence of cPKA, phloxine B did not stimulate ICFTR. In the presence of cPKA and MgATP, the effects of phloxine B were more prominent at low (0.02 mM) than at high ATP (2 mM). 6 The data show that phloxine B modulates ICFTR by increasing channel activity and slowing channel deactivation; at high concentrations inhibition dominates. The effects may be mediated by direct interactions with CFTR from the inside of the cell. British Journal of Pharmacology (2000) 131, 433 – 440

The effects of the fluoresceine derivative, phloxine B, on the Cl−current through the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) were examined in Xenopusoocytes expressing human CFTR.In whole oocytes, the CFTR Cl−current (ICFTR) was activated by superfusion with isobutylmethylxanthine and forskolin. ICFTRwas stable during activation and deactivated rapidly upon washout of the activation solution. Phloxine B slowed deactivation and, at high concentrations, inhibited ICFTRweakly.In excised inside‐out macropatches, ICFTRwas activated by the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A (cPKA) and MgATP. Phloxine B (0.01–3 μM), applied after activation, increased ICFTRwithin 30 s followed by a slow decrease which became dominant at high concentrations. Slowing of deactivation of the CFTR was observed at all concentrations.The effect of phloxine B after 30 s had a bell‐shaped concentration‐dependence with midpoints at 45 and 1600 nMfor the stimulatory and the inhibitory limb, respectively; maximum stimulation was about 1.8 times. The slow inhibitory component, measured after 6 min, occurred with an IC50value of ∼1 μM.In the absence of cPKA, phloxine B did not stimulate ICFTR. In the presence of cPKA and MgATP, the effects of phloxine B were more prominent at low (0.02 mM) than at high ATP (2 mM).The data show that phloxine B modulates ICFTRby increasing channel activity and slowing channel deactivation; at high concentrations inhibition dominates. The effects may be mediated by direct interactions with CFTR from the inside of the cell.

ABSTRACTUrosepsis can progress toward severe sepsis, septic shock, and, ultimately, death. Rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing is crucial to decrease mortality and morbidity. This report shows that isothermal microcalorimetry can provide an antibiogram within 7 h with a sensitivity of 95% and specificity of 91% using Vitek-2 system as a reference.

Perioperative hemorrhage is still the major complication of standard transurethral prostate resection (TURP). Potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) laser vaporization using 80 W is a novel technique that promises instant hemostatic tissue ablation. In this ex vivo investigation we compared the hemostatic properties of the 2 procedures.

Preexisting immunity to BCG improves treatment response to intravesical BCG therapy for bladder cancer in mouse models and humans.