THE ROLE OF INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGISTS IN THE TREATMENT OF COMPLICATIONS IN UROLOGIC PATIENTS.

Higher turnaround of urologic patients in the tertiary clinical center can lead to more accompanying complications, ranging from 1% to 55% for various procedures, with the incidence of vascular injuries varying from 0.43% up to 9.5%. In patients with impaired renal function, it is imperative to prevent the loss of normal kidney function and potential hemodialysis. Being minimally invasive, endovascular procedures such as renal artery embolization (RAE) can treat major and life-threatening complications, but good and prompt communication between urologists and interventional radiologist is necessary for fast and effective treatment. Absolute contraindications for RAE are the presence of acute infection and previously known anaphylactic reaction to the iodine contrast media, while previous mild or moderate allergic reactions to iodine contrast media are not contraindications for RAE. Currently used embolic agents can be divided into temporary and permanent embolization agents. While the temporary embolization agent available is a gelatin sponge that could be used as complementary material or stand-alone, for permanent embolization interventional radiologists use microparticles, microspheres, liquid embolic agents, coils, and microcoils. RAE procedures are considered to be safe with a low incidence of complications, with non-target embolization being the most serious one. Postembolization syndrome is considered to be the most common adverse effect and it involves around 90% of patients. The overall results show that RAE is a safe, minimally invasive procedure that can effectively treat significant complications caused by other urologic procedures, with the reported success rates of 87%-100%.

PERCUTANEOUS APPROACH TO THE KIDNEY: SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES OF VARIOUS TECHNIQUES - EXPERIENCE IN OSIJEK UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL CENTER.

Today, percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is a standard procedure in the treatment of large kidney stones. Development of the procedure began in 1976 with publication of the first reports, while turning point came in 1985 when the first 250 cases were described. Subsequently, PCNL has become standard in the treatment of kidney stones instead of open surgery. Numerous modifications of the procedure have been developed with advancement of modern technology. Nevertheless, there is still the necessity for clearer understanding of differences and circumstances of choice among different techniques. There are significant differences in the instruments used for the procedure, so we distinguish standard PCNL (working channel of 24-30 Fr), mini PCNL (working channel of 11-18 Fr), ultra-mini PCNL (working channel <15 Fr), and micro PCNL (working channel <6 Fr). With the development of flexible ureteroscopy (FURS), a combined method is also being developed, i.e., Endoscopic Combined IntraRenal Surgery (ECIRS, PCNL + FURS). Furthermore, each procedure can be performed in prone or supine position. The aim of this paper is to point out the similarities and differences, the advantages and disadvantages of different techniques, with an additional aim to present our experience and current standard practice in kidney stone treatment.

Immunohistochemical Expression of Wnt-4 Protein in Clear Cell Renal Carcinoma.

Wingless binding integration site proteins (Wnt) have an important role in normal kidney development and in various kidney diseases. They are required for complete epithelial differentiation and normal nephron formation. Changes in these proteins could also have important role in carcinogenesis. This study included 185 patients with clear cell renal carcinoma (ccRCC) in whom immunohistochemical expression of Wnt-4 protein in healthy and tumorous tissue after surgery was investigated. There was higher expression of Wnt-4 in healthy than in tumor tissue. No difference between Fuhrman's grade and Wnt-4 expression was found. A poor negative correlation between tumor size and Wnt-4 expression was found. Patients with suspected metastatic diseases had higher Wnt-4 expression. There was no difference in survival rates between Wnt-4 negative and positive groups. In our study we have shown that high Wnt-4 expression in healthy tissue decreases in low-grade tumors but then increases in high-grade tumors, suggesting that tumor progression requires Wnt-4 activation or reactivation.

Probing the reproducibility of leaf growth and molecular phenotypes: a comparison of three Arabidopsis accessions cultivated in ten laboratories.

A major goal of the life sciences is to understand how molecular processes control phenotypes. Because understanding biological systems relies on the work of multiple laboratories, biologists implicitly assume that organisms with the same genotype will display similar phenotypes when grown in comparable conditions. We investigated to what extent this holds true for leaf growth variables and metabolite and transcriptome profiles of three Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) genotypes grown in 10 laboratories using a standardized and detailed protocol. A core group of four laboratories generated similar leaf growth phenotypes, demonstrating that standardization is possible. But some laboratories presented significant differences in some leaf growth variables, sometimes changing the genotype ranking. Metabolite profiles derived from the same leaf displayed a strong genotype x environment (laboratory) component. Genotypes could be separated on the basis of their metabolic signature, but only when the analysis was limited to samples derived from one laboratory. Transcriptome data revealed considerable plant-to-plant variation, but the standardization ensured that interlaboratory variation was not considerably larger than intralaboratory variation. The different impacts of the standardization on phenotypes and molecular profiles could result from differences of temporal scale between processes involved at these organizational levels. Our findings underscore the challenge of describing, monitoring, and precisely controlling environmental conditions but also demonstrate that dedicated efforts can result in reproducible data across multiple laboratories. Finally, our comparative analysis revealed that small variations in growing conditions (light quality principally) and handling of plants can account for significant differences in phenotypes and molecular profiles obtained in independent laboratories.

The floral regulator LEAFY evolves by substitutions in the DNA binding domain.

The plant-specific transcription factor LEAFY controls general aspects of the life cycle in a basal plant, the moss Physcomitrella patens. In contrast, LEAFY has more specialized functions in angiosperms, where it specifically induces floral fate during the reproductive phase. This raises the question of a concomitant change in the biochemical function of LEAFY during the evolution of land plants. We report that the DNA binding domain of LEAFY, although largely conserved, has diverged in activity. On the contrary, other, more rapidly evolving portions of the protein have few effects on LEAFY activity.

An F1 genetic screen for maternal-effect mutations affecting embryonic pattern formation in Drosophila melanogaster.

Large-scale screens for female-sterile mutations have revealed genes required maternally for establishment of the body axes in the Drosophila embryo. Although it is likely that the majority of components involved in axis formation have been identified by this approach, certain genes have escaped detection. This may be due to (1) incomplete saturation of the screens for female-sterile mutations and (2) genes with essential functions in zygotic development that mutate to lethality, precluding their identification as female-sterile mutations. To overcome these limitations, we performed a genetic mosaic screen aimed at identifying new maternal genes required for early embryonic patterning, including zygotically required ones. Using the Flp-FRT technique and a visible germline clone marker, we developed a system that allows efficient screening for maternal-effect phenotypes after only one generation of breeding, rather than after the three generations required for classic female-sterile screens. We identified 232 mutants showing various defects in embryonic pattern or morphogenesis. The mutants were ordered into 10 different phenotypic classes. A total of 174 mutants were assigned to 86 complementation groups with two alleles on average. Mutations in 45 complementation groups represent most previously known maternal genes, while 41 complementation groups represent new loci, including several involved in dorsoventral, anterior-posterior, and terminal patterning.