Urology is an ancient academic discipline, and its rapid development is due to the combination between medicine and engineering. The development of urology in China is an example of the combination of industry-academia-research based on the progress of science and technology. This paper mainly summarizes the recent advances of interdisciplinary combination between medicine and engineering in urology.
Regulatory T cells (Treg) are critical for regulation of tolerance, control immune responses to self-antigens thereby preventing autoimmunity, and limiting responses to foreign antigens thereby minimizing T cell-mediated immunopathology. Recent data indicate that suppression of organ-specific autoimmunity is dependent on the antigen specificity of Treg. An emerging model of Treg action is that organ-specific Treg acquire suppressive activity through activation by dendritic cells expressing specific antigens. Thus, the efficacy of Treg-based therapy should be increased by using antigen-specific Treg rather than polyclonal Treg. It is necessary to identify relevant antigens and to expand antigen-specific Treg from polyclonal populations. Here, we discuss recent techniques for expansion of antigen-specific Treg, function and antigen specificity of Treg and the therapeutic potential of Treg in controlling autoimmune disease and inducing transplant tolerance.
Objective To assess the effectiveness of increasing water intake for the prevention of urinary calculi and its recurrence. Methods We defined the searching area, which included Medline, Embase, Cochrane CCTR and CBMA, and found the relevant materials by computer search and document search. At least two reviewers assessed trials quality and extracted data independently. Results A total of 4 studies met the inclusion criteria (I RCT, I CCT and 2 prospective cohort studies). Meta-analysis’ results showed that the aggregate OR and 95%CI of the effect of increasing water intake for the prevention of urinary calculi were 0.64 and 0.53-0.77; the aggregate OR and 95%CI of the effect of increasing water intake for the prevention of recurrence were 0.56 and 0.37-0.84; increasing water intake can prolong the recurrence interval (P=0.016). Each result had statistical significance. Conclusion Increasing water intake can prevent urinary calculi and its recurrence. Increasing water intake can prolong the recurrence interval.
ObjectiveTo summarize and analyze the clinical characteristics of patients with thyroiditis who would be misdiagnosed with thyroid tumor easily. MethodThe clinical data of 19 patients with thyroiditis who were misdiag-nosed with thyroid tumor in our department from 2009 to 2012 were analyzed retrospectively. ResultsAll of 19 patients underwent surgery, among which 8 cases were diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis after operation, 10 cases diagnosed with subacute thyroiditis, and 1 case diagnosed with suppurative thyroiditis.Different surgery program such as the biopsy or wedge resection was adopted to the subacute thyroiditis and the chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis respec-tively. ConclusionSometimes, it is very difficult to distinguish atypical thyroiditis from thyroid tumor so that we must pay attention to the patients who had nontumorous characteristics in order to decrease the misdiagnosis.
Objective To compare and assess the efficacy of ventral/dorsal onlay graft urethroplasty in the treatment of urethral stricture. Methods We searched pertinent English literature via MEDLINE (1966 to 2007), EMBASE (1977 to 2007) and The Cochrane Library (Issue 4, 2007) for the use of ventral/dorsal graft urethroplasty in the reconstruction of urethral defect associated with urethral stricture. Data were extracted by two reviewers independently and analyzed by SPSS 13.0 software. Results A total of 50 studies involving 1 264 patients were included. Ventral onlay graft urethroplasty was used in 751 patients with a success rate of 82.6%, while dorsal onlay graft urethroplasty was used in 513 patients with a success rate of 86.9% (ventral vs. dorsal, χ2=4.432, P=0.035). Oral mucosa graft had the highest success rate (88.1%) of all grafts, and the success rate of free skin graft onlay urethroplasty was associated with the location of graft placement (ventral vs. dorsal, P=0.016). Concerning the location of stricture, urethroplasty for bulbar urethral stricture achieved the best results, with a success rate of 87.7%, which was also associated with the location of graft placement (ventral vs. dorsal, P=0.025). Conclusion Dorsal onlay graft urethroplasty is better than ventral onlay. It is better to place the free skin graft in the dorsal part of urethra. Bulbar urethral stricture is more suitable for graft onlay urethroplasty than penile urethral stricture.
Three dimensional (3D) bioprinting is a new biological tissue engineering technology in recent years. The development of 3D bioprinting is conducive to solving the current problems of clinical tissue and organ repairing. This article provides a review about the clinical and research status of 3D bioprinting and urinary system reconstruction. Furthermore, the feasibility and clinical value of 3D bioprinting in urinary system reconstruction will be also discussed.