The Shehata technique for undescended testes that cannot be brought into the scrotum in one operation-a case series and meta-analysis.

Background: Fowler-Stephens orchiopexy is commonly used for testes that cannot be brought into the scrotum in one operation. However, this surgical technique may result in a higher rate of testicular atrophy postoperatively. Methods: During the period between 2019 and 2023, we analyzed the cases of 20 patients in whom the Shehata technique was applied for testes that could not be brought into the scrotum in one operation, and we conducted a meta-analysis to explore the incidence of testicular atrophy vis-à-vis the Shehata technique and Fowler-Stephens orchiopexy. Results: The average age of the 20 patients was 3.78 (0.76-11.42) years. The blood supply to the testes was satisfactory, with the absence of atrophy, and the testes could be brought into the scrotum in stage II surgery. A postoperative reexamination with ultrasound revealed that the testes were securely positioned within the scrotum, with good blood supply and no atrophy, which was in contrast to their condition before the operation. The volume of the testes postoperatively was significantly greater than that of the preoperative testes (p = 0.009). There were no statistically significant differences in the growth rate of volume of the testes between the surgically treated side and the contralateral side (p = 0.25). The meta-analysis showed that the Shehata technique resulted in a lower incidence of testicular atrophy compared with Fowler-Stephens orchiopexy (p = 0.01). Conclusions: The Shehata technique preserves the main vessels of the testes with a lower incidence of testicular atrophy, which may be a valid and safe alternative to the Fowler-Stephens technique.

Toward Noise-Resistant Graph Embedding With Subspace Clustering Information.

Most existing approaches of attributed network embedding often combine topology and attribute information based on the homophily assumption. In many real-world networks, such an assumption does not hold since the nodes are usually associated with many noisy or irrelevant attributes. To tackle this issue, we propose a noise-resistant graph embedding method, called NGE, by leveraging the subspace clustering information (i.e., the formation of communities is driven by different latent features in distinct subspaces). Specifically, we first construct a tensor to represent a given attributed network and then map it into different feature subspaces to capture community structure via tensor decomposition. For structure embedding, the link-level and community-level constraints are imposed. For attribute embedding, the feature-selection constraint is used to reinforce the relationship between topology and noise-removal attributes. By learning structure and attribute embedding with subspace clustering information, NGE can benefit both community detection, link prediction, and node classification. Extensive experimental results have demonstrated the superiority of NGE over many state-of-the-art approaches.

Event-Triggered Output-Feedback Control for Synchronization of Delayed Neural Networks.

This article proposes a novel discrete event-triggered scheme (DETS) for the synchronization of delayed neural networks (NNs) using the dynamic output-feedback controller (DOFC). The proposed DETS uses both the current and past samples to determine the next trigger, unlike the traditional event-triggered scheme (ETS) that uses only the current sample. The proposed DETS is employed in a dual setup for two network channels to significantly reduce redundant data transmission. A DOFC is designed to achieve the synchronization of the NNs. Stability criteria of the synchronisation error system are derived based on the Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional method, and the co-design of the DOFC and DETS parameters are accomplished using the Cone-complementarity linearization (CCL) approach. The effectiveness and advantages of the proposed method are illustrated considering an example of the chaotic system.

A sum-based discrete event-triggered dynamic output feedback control for interval type-2 fuzzy systems.

The current study concentrates on the event-based controller design for nonlinear networked systems characterized by the interval type-2 (IT2) fuzzy model. An innovative sum-based discrete event-triggered mechanism (SDETM), whose triggering condition includes several previous measurement samples, is proposed. Compared to the traditional event-triggered mechanism (ETM), the novel SDETM requires less network resources consumption. A dynamic output feedback controller (DOFC) is designed to achieve stability of the system. A novel stability criteria is established via the Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional method with the prescribed H∞ performance. Co-design of the DOFC and SDETM parameters is carried out using the cone complimentarity linearization (CCL) algorithm. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated with two practical cases.

In Situ Hydrogen Peroxide Production for Selective Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol over a Pd@Hierarchical Titanium Silicalite Catalyst.

Using in situ generated H2O2 is potentially an effective approach for benzyl alcohol selective oxidation. While the microporous titanium silicate (TS-1) supported with Pd is promising for selective oxidation, the Pd particles are preferentially anchored on the external surface, which leads to the problems such as non-uniform dispersion and low thermal stability. Here, we prepared a Pd@HTS-1 catalyst in which the Pd subnanoparticles were encapsulated in the channels of the hierarchical TS-1 (HTS-1), for benzyl alcohol selective oxidation with in situ produced H2O2. We find that the oxidation rate of benzyl alcohol by in situ H2O2 over the Pd@HTS-1 is up to 4268.8 mmol h-1 kgcat -1, and the selectivity of benzaldehyde approaches 100%. In contrast to the conventional Pd/HTS-1, the present Pd@HTS-1 benefits the benzyl alcohol selective oxidation due to the increased dispersion of Pd particles (forming uniformly dispersed subnano-sized particles), as well as the confinement effect and hierarchical porosity of the HTS-1 host. We further suggested that hydrogen peroxide produced in situ from the molecular hydrogen and oxygen over the Pd sites can be spilled over to the framework Ti4+ sites, forming the Ti-OOH active species, which selectively oxidizes the chemisorbed benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde on the Pd sites.

The effectiveness and safety of topical ß-receptor blocker in treating superficial infantile haemangiomas: A meta-analysis including 20 studies.

AIMS: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of topical ß-receptor blocker in treating superficial infantile haemangiomas (SIH) and compare the effectiveness and safety of topical ß-receptor blocker against other therapies. METHODS: A search of the literature using PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Review database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang were performed to identify the studies that estimated the effectiveness and safety of topical ß-receptor blocker in treating SIH, the fixed-effect or random-effects meta-analytical techniques were applied to assess the outcomes. RESULTS: Twenty studies, involving 2098 patients, were included to conduct this analysis. Topical propranolol and topical timolol were discovered to be as effective as oral propranolol in treating SIH (propranolol, odds ratio [OR] = 0.486, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.165, 1.426, P = .189; timolol, OR = 0.955; 95%CI 0.700, 1.302; P = .769), and topical timolol was more effective than topical imiquimod (OR = 2.561; 95%CI 1.182, 5.550; P = .017), observation (OR = 18.458; 95%CI 5.660, 60.191; P < .001) and topical saline solutions (OR = 19.193; 95%CI 8.837, 41.683; P < .001) in treating SIH. The comparison between topical propranolol and oral propranolol led to no discovery of significant difference in the incidence of adverse effects (OR = 1.258; 95%CI 0.471, 3.358; P = .647). Compared with oral propranolol, topical timolol was associated with fewer incidences of adverse effects (OR = 0.191; 95%CI 0.043, 0.858; P = .031). No significant difference in the incidence of adverse effects was found when topical timolol and topical imiquimod were compared (OR = 0.077; 95%CI 0.005, 1.206; P = .068). CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis provided evidence that topical ß-receptor blockers (propranolol and timolol), especially timolol, may replace oral propranolol as a first-line treatment for SIH.