Doreen A. Ezeife¹, Brendon Josh Morganstein², Steven Yip¹, Malcolm Ryan², Jennifer H. Law², Amy Yimin Guan³, Lisa W. Le³, Aaron R. Hansen², Adrian Sacher², Georg A. Bjarnason⁴, Mark K. Doherty⁴, Natasha B. Leighl²

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.28, No.4, pp. 10762-10767, 2021

Abstract Introduction: Advances in novel treatment options may render renal cell cancer (RCC) patients susceptible to the financial toxicity (FT) of cancer treatment, and the factors associated with FT are unknown.
Materials and methods: Eligible patients were ≥ 18 years old and had a diagnosis of stage IV RCC for at least 3 months. Patients were recruited from Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre (Toronto, Canada). FT was assessed using the validated Comprehensive Score for Financial Toxicity (COST) instrument, a 12-question survey scored from 0-44, with lower scores reflecting worse FT. Patient and treatment characteristics,… More >

Albert S. Lee, Hans G. Pohl, H. Gil Rushton, Tanya D. Davis

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.28, No.4, pp. 10750-10755, 2021

Abstract Introduction: To examine the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the presentation, management and outcome of testicular torsion at our institution.
Materials and methods: A retrospective review of a prospectively maintained testicular torsion database was performed. Patients ≤ 18 years of age evaluated in our emergency room between 3/11/2020 to 10/1/2020 (during-COVID-19) and the same period in 2018 and 2019 (pre-COVID-19) with US diagnosed and OR confirmed testicular torsion were included. Basic demographics, timing of presentation, referral rate, time to OR and orchiectomy rate were extracted and compared. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: A total of… More >

Emily Nguyen¹, Michelle Minkovich¹, Olusegun Famure¹, Yanhong Li¹, Anand Ghanekar^1,2, Markus Selzner^1,2,*, S. Joseph Kim^1,3,*, Jason Y. Lee^1,4

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.28, No.5, pp. 10848-10857, 2021

Abstract Introduction: Following kidney transplantation, lymphoceles can impact patient and graft outcomes, while resulting in significant hospital resource utilization. We aimed to characterize the incidence, risk factors, outcomes, and clinical management of lymphoceles among kidney transplant recipients and review impact on health system utilization at a high-volume center.
Materials and methods: We conducted a single-center, observational cohort study on adults transplanted between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2017. Incidence, risk factors, and clinical outcomes were assessed using the Kaplan-Meier product-limit method, multivariable logistic regression model, and Cox proportional hazards model, respectively.
Results: Lymphoceles developed in 72 of 1881… More >

Sheila Mallenahalli¹, Matthew Fifolt², Mohan Gundeti³, Yegappan Lakshmanan⁴, Patricio Gargollo⁵, Michael C. Ost⁶, Pankaj P. Dangle⁷

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.28, No.5, pp. 10834-10840, 2021

Abstract Introduction: To better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has forced rapid operational changes in the global healthcare industry, changes implemented on an individual, institutional basis must be considered. There currently is not adequate literature about the overall impact COVID-19 has had on pediatric urology services worldwide. We believe that they have dramatically decreased during the COVID-19 crisis, but have adapted to accommodate changes. We hypothesize that patient care was widely variant due to inadequate standardized recommendations or crisis planning.
Materials and methods: A web-based survey was deployed to 377 pediatric urologists globally via email to analyze COVID-19’s… More >

Furkan Dursun¹, Ahmed Elshabrawy¹, Hanzhang Wang¹, James Oelsen¹, Michael Liss^1,2, Dharam Kaushik^1,2, Chethan Ramamurthy^1,2, Ronald Rodriguez¹, Ahmed M. Mansour^1,2,3

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.28, No.5, pp. 10806-10816, 2021

Abstract Introduction: To investigate the impact of facility type and volume on survival in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC).
Materials and methods: We investigated the National Cancer Database for patients with mRCC. Patients were stratified according to treatment facility type (academic vs. non-academic) and facility volume (high, intermediate, and low). Kaplan-Meier survival estimates and Cox proportional hazard models were fitted to evaluate overall survival (OS) as a function of facility type, volume, and different treatment modalities.
Results: A total of 27,598 patients were identified, of which 10,938 (40%) were treated at academic centers (AC) and 16,131 (60%)… More >

Jingjing Zhao^1,*, Guangda Lu², Qing Zhang³, Wenchao Du⁴

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.129, No.2, pp. 519-539, 2021, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2021.017268 - 08 October 2021

Abstract As a typical brittle material, glass is widely used in construction, transportation, shipbuilding, aviation, aerospace and other industries. The unsafe factors of glass mainly come from its rupture. Thus, establishing a set of prediction models for the cracks growth of glass under dynamic load is necessary. This paper presents a contact damage model for glass based on the ordinary state-based peridynamic theory by introducing a contact force function. The Hertz contact (nonembedded contact) problem is simulated, and the elastic contact force is determined by adjusting the penalty factor. The proposed model verifies the feasibility of More >

JAVARIA AFZAL^1,2,#, XIUKANG WANG^3,*, MUHAMMAD HAMZAH SALEEM^4,#, XUECHENG SUN¹, SHAHID HUSSAIN⁵, IMRAN KHAN⁶, MUHAMMAD SHOAIB RANA¹, SHAKEEL AHMED⁷, SAMRAH AFZAL AWAN⁶, SAJID FIAZ⁸, OMAR AZIZ⁹, KASHIF ALI KUBAR¹⁰, SHAFAQAT ALI^11,12, CHENGXIAO HU^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.45, No.6, pp. 1631-1649, 2021, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.014934 - 01 September 2021

Abstract Soil contamination with toxic heavy metals [such as cadmium (Cd)] is becoming a serious global problem due to rapid development of social economy. Iron (Fe), being an important element, has been found effective in enhancing plant tolerance against biotic and abiotic stresses. The present study investigated the extent to which different levels of Ferrous sulphate (FeSO₄) modulated the Cd tolerance of rice (Oryza sativa L.), when maintained in artificially Cd spiked regimes. A pot experiment was conducted under controlled conditions for 146 days, by using natural soil, mixed with different levels of CdCl₂ [0 (no Cd), 0.5… More >

Zheng Liu¹, Juanjuan Song¹, Hui Wu^2,*, Xiaomin Gu², Yuanjun Zhao³, Xiaoguang Yue⁴, Lihua Shi¹

Computer Systems Science and Engineering, Vol.39, No.3, pp. 391-401, 2021, DOI:10.32604/csse.2021.014527 - 12 August 2021

Abstract Finance is the core of modern economy, and a strong country cannot do without the support of financial system. With the rapid development of economy and society, the traditional financial services can not support the increasingly large and complex economic system. As a brand-new format, financial technology can help the financial industry to restructure and upgrade. At the same time, as an international consensus, green development is the only way for China to achieve sustainable development. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to study the impact of finance on the regional development of green… More >

J. Kananathan^1,2, M. Samykano^2,*, K. Kadirgama³, D. Ramasamy², M. M. Rahman²

Energy Engineering, Vol.118, No.5, pp. 1305-1315, 2021, DOI:10.32604/EE.2021.016131 - 16 July 2021

Abstract Fused deposition modeling (FDM)-3D printing has been the favored technology to build functional components in various industries. The present study investigates infill percentage and infill pattern effects on the printed parts’ impact properties through the 3D printing technique using coconut wood-filled PLA composites. Mathematical models are also proposed in the present study with the aim for future property prediction. According to the ASTM standard, fifteen specimens with different parameter combinations were printed using a low-cost FDM 3D printer to evaluate their impact properties. Statistical analysis was performed using MINITAB to validate the experimental data and… More >

Zihao Wang, Dunxi Yu^*, Jingkun Han, Jianqun Wu

Energy Engineering, Vol.118, No.5, pp. 1267-1276, 2021, DOI:10.32604/EE.2021.016107 - 16 July 2021

Abstract Typical biomass torrefaction is a mild pyrolysis process under conditions of ordinary pressure, low temperature (200–300°C) and inert atmosphere. Torrefaction is considered to be a competitive technology for biomass pretreatment, but its impacts on the emissions of particulate matter from biomass combustion are worthy of further study. In this paper, three kinds of biomass, i.e., bagasse, wheat straw and sawdust were selected for torrefaction pretreatment and the impacts of torrefaction on the emission characteristics of PM₁₀ from biomass combustion were investigated. The combustion experiments were carried out on a drop tube furnace. The combustion-generated particulate and… More >