Lymph Node Dissection in Testicular Cancer: The State of the Art and Future Perspectives.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This narrative review provides a comprehensive overview of the evolving role of retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) in the management of testicular cancer (TC). It explores the significance of RPLND as both a diagnostic and therapeutic tool, highlighting its contribution to accurate staging, its impact on oncological outcomes, and its influence on subsequent treatment decisions. RECENT FINDINGS: RPLND serves as an essential diagnostic procedure, aiding in the precise assessment of lymph node involvement and guiding personalized treatment strategies. It has demonstrated therapeutic value, particularly in patients with specific risk factors and disease stages, contributing to improved oncological outcomes and survival rates. Recent studies have emphasized the importance of meticulous patient selection and nerve-sparing techniques to mitigate complications while optimizing outcomes. Additionally, modern imaging and surgical approaches have expanded the potential applications of RPLND. In the context of TC management, RPLND remains a valuable and evolving tool. Its dual role in staging and therapy underscores its relevance in contemporary urological practice. This review highlights the critical role of RPLND in enhancing patient care and shaping treatment strategies, emphasizing the need for further research to refine patient selection and surgical techniques.

Influence of soil contamination with PAH on microbial community dynamics and expression level of genes responsible for biodegradation of PAH and production of rhamnolipids.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of bioaugmentation and addition of rhamnolipids on the biodegradation of PAHs in artificially contaminated soil, expression of genes crucial for the biodegradation process (PAHRHDαGN, PAHRHDαGP), and the synthesis of rhamnolipids as well as population changes in the soil bacterial metabiome. The positive effect of bioaugmentation and addition of rhamnolipids on the bioremediation of the majority of PAHs was confirmed during the early stages of treatment, especially in case of the most structurally complicated compounds. The results of metagenomic analysis indicated that the initial changes in the soil metabiome caused by bioaugmentation diminished after 3 months and that the community structure in treated soil was similar to control. The survival period of bacteria introduced into the soil via bioaugmentation reached a maximum of 3 months. The increased expression of genes observed after addition of PAH into the soil also returned to the initial conditions after 3 months.

Evaluating robustness of a diesel-degrading bacterial consortium isolated from contaminated soil.

It is not known whether diesel-degrading bacterial communities are structurally and functionally robust when exposed to different hydrocarbon types. Here, we exposed a diesel-degrading consortium to model either alkanes, cycloalkanes or aromatic hydrocarbons as carbon sources to study its structural resistance. The structural resistance was low, with changes in relative abundances of up to four orders of magnitude, depending on hydrocarbon type and bacterial taxon. This low resistance is explained by the presence of hydrocarbon-degrading specialists in the consortium and differences in growth kinetics on individual hydrocarbons. However, despite this low resistance, structural and functional resilience were high, as verified by re-exposing the hydrocarbon-perturbed consortium to diesel fuel. The high resilience is either due to the short exposure time, insufficient for permanent changes in consortium structure and function, or the ability of some consortium members to be maintained during exposure on degradation intermediates produced by other members. Thus, the consortium is expected to cope with short-term exposures to narrow carbon feeds, while maintaining its structural and functional integrity, which remains an advantage over biodegradation approaches using single species cultures.

High Voltage Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) as a New Method for Detection of PAH During Screening for PAH-Degrading Microbial Consortia.

The search for new bacterial consortia capable of removing PAH from the environment is associated with the need to employ novel, simple, and economically efficient detection methods. A fluorimetric method (FL) as well as high voltage electrochemiluminescence (ECL) on a modified surface of an aluminum electrode were used in order to determine the changes in the concentrations of PAH in the studied aqueous solutions. The ECL signal (the spectrum and emission intensity for a given wavelength) was determined with the use of an apparatus operating in single photon counting mode. The dependency of ECL and FL intensity on the concentration of naphthalene, phenanthrene, and pyrene was linear in the studied concentration range. The biodegradation kinetics of the particular PAH compounds was determined on the basis of the obtained spectroscopic determinations. It has been established that the half-life of naphthalene, phenanthrene, and pyrene at initial concentrations of 50 mg/l (beyond the solubility limit) reached 41, 75, and 130 h, accordingly. Additionally, the possibility of using ECL for rapid determination of the soluble fraction of PAH directly in the aqueous medium has been confirmed. Metagenomic analysis of the gene encoding 16S rRNA was conducted on the basis of V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene and allowed to identify 198 species of bacteria that create the S4consortium. The consortium was dominated by Gammaproteobacteria (78.82 %), Flavobacteria (9.25 %), Betaproteobacteria (7.68 %), Sphingobacteria (3.76 %), Alphaproteobacteria (0.42 %), Clostridia (0.04 %), and Bacilli (0.03 %).