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Hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome P-encoded protein HBV DNA polymerase (Pol) has long been known as a reverse transcriptase during HBV replication. In this study, we investigated the impact of HBV Pol on host cellular processes, mainly apoptosis, and the underlying mechanisms. We showed a marked reduction in apoptotic rates in the HBV Pol-expressed HepG2 cells compared to controls. FUT-175 ic50 Moreover, a series of assays, i.e., yeast two-hybrid, GST pull-down, co-immunoprecipitation, and confocal laser scanning microscopy, identified the host factor eEF1A2 to be associated with HBV Pol. Furthermore, knockdown of eEF1A2 gene by siRNA abrogated the HBV Pol-mediated anti-apoptotic effect with apoptosis induced by endoplasmatic reticulum (ER) stress-inducer thapsigargin (TG), thus suggesting that the host factor eEF1A2 is essential for HBV Pol’s anti-apoptosis properties. Our findings have revealed a novel role for HBV Pol in its modulation of apoptosis through integrating with eEF1A2.Petroleum-contaminated soil is considered among the most important potential anthropogenic atmospheric methane sources. Additionally, various rhizoremediation factors can affect methane emissions by altering soil ecosystem carbon cycles. Nonetheless, greenhouse gas emissions from soil have not been given due importance as a potentially relevant parameter in rhizoremediation techniques. Therefore, in this study we sought to investigate the effects of different plant and soil amendments on both remediation efficiencies and methane emission characteristics in dieselcontaminated soil. An indoor pot experiment consisting of three plant treatments (control, maize, tall fescue) and two soil amendments (chemical nutrient, compost) was performed for 95 days. Total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) removal efficiency, dehydrogenase activity, and alkB (i.e., an alkane compound-degrading enzyme) gene abundance were the highest in the tall fescue and maize soil system amended with compost. Compost addition enhanced both the overall remediation efficiencies, as well as pmoA (i.e., a methane-oxidizing enzyme) gene abundance in soils. Moreover, the potential methane emission of diesel-contaminated soil was relatively low when maize was introduced to the soil system. After microbial community analysis, various TPH-degrading microorganisms (Nocardioides, Marinobacter, Immitisolibacter, Acinetobacter, Kocuria, Mycobacterium, Pseudomonas, Alcanivorax) and methane-oxidizing microorganisms (Methylocapsa, Methylosarcina) were observed in the rhizosphere soil. The effects of major rhizoremediation factors on soil remediation efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions discussed herein are expected to contribute to the development of sustainable biological remediation technologies in response to global climate change.A 62 year old man with a history of weight loss and left flank pain did a renal ultrasound that showed a heterogeneous formation involving the left kidney compatible with a solid lesion…Vasectomy is a surgical procedure applied to the male, from a certain age in order to assist contraceptive care…

Horseshoe kidney is the most common renal fusion anomaly. Its peculiar anatomical characteristics increase the risk of lithiasis formation and always entails a surgical challenge for its treatment.

We present the cases of men with horseshoe kidneys diagnosed by CT one case of alarge pyelic lithiasis with others of a smaller size in the calyces, and the other of a big solitary lithiasis in renal pelvis.RESULTS We performed a laparoscopic pyelolitectomy to remove the pyelic lithiasis and we used a flexible cystoscope through a trocar to extract the calyceal stones. The postoperative period was uneventful without evidence of urinary leakage or residual lithiasis.CONCLUSIONS The laparoscopic approach to lithiasisis a suitable alternative in especially complex cases such as horseshoe kidney. The use of a flexible cystoscope allows to navigate through the renal cavities and extract the lithiasis which cannot be accessed through laparoscopic instruments, improving the efficiency of this approach.

We present the cases of men with horseshoe kidneys diagnosed by CT one case of alarge pyelic lithiasis with others of a smaller size in the calyces, and the other of a big solitary lithiasis in renal pelvis. RESULTS We performed a laparoscopic pyelolitectomy to remove the pyelic lithiasis and we used a flexible cystoscope through a trocar to extract the calyceal stones. The postoperative period was uneventful without evidence of urinary leakage or residual lithiasis. CONCLUSIONS The laparoscopic approach to lithiasisis a suitable alternative in especially complex cases such as horseshoe kidney. The use of a flexible cystoscope allows to navigate through the renal cavities and extract the lithiasis which cannot be accessed through laparoscopic instruments, improving the efficiency of this approach.

The recto-vesical fistula (FRV) that follows a radical prostatectomy is an unusual complication and involves a difficult management. A wide variety of surgical aggressive repair techniques are described in literature, including end-colostomy. Furthermore, non-invasive procedures are barely documented. We present 2 cases with an early diagnosis of postoperative FRV resolved with minimally invasive treatment, with the aim to place theset echniques in the therapeutic range.

In both two cases, the diagnosis of VRF was clinical and radiological. First symptoms occurred heterogeneously since one of the fistulas was secondary to rectal perforation and second was evident after removing the bladder catheter in a uneventful postoperative period. Exploration techniques showed low diameter fistulous orifices in both cases. The conservative treatment consisted in the use of transrectal endoscopic approach and minimally invasive techniques for the closure of the fistulous orifice and a prolonged use of the bladder cathoscopic closure of iatrogenic fistulas should be claimed as a therapeutic opportunity, although, more experience is needed to state this treatment as a gold standard technique.

To investigate the factors affecting surgical success rates and duration of operation in retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) without fluoroscopy in children. The aim of the study was to demonstrate the efficacy of RIRS without fluoroscopy on the treatment of renal stones in children.MATERIALS ANDMETHODS All RIRS procedures were performed on pediatric patients at our clinic from August 2013 to January 2017. We studied 52 pediatric patients who had one stone in one kidney and underwent one session. We mapped the kidney collecting system anatomically, and stone localization was defined according to this mapping. Size and localization of the stone, placement of preoperative J stent, use of ureteral access sheath (UAS), and surgical success rates were recorded. The effects of these factors on surgical success rates and the duration of the operations were analyzed.

Each patient underwent RIRS once. Of these 52 pediatric patients, 23 (44%) were between 0-5 years of age children (Group 1), 13 (25%) were between 6-11 years of age children (Group 2), and 16 (31%) were between 11-17 years of age children (Group 3).