Michael E. Rezaee¹, Annah J. Vollstedt¹, Tammer Yamany², Manoj Monga^3,4, Amy Krambeck^4,5, Ojas Shah^4,6, Roger L. Sur^3,4, Anna M. Zampini^4,7, Kymora B. Scotland^4,8, Ben H. Chew^4,8, Brian H. Eisner^2,4, Vernon M. Pais Jr^1,4

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.28, No.1, pp. 10516-10521, 2021

Abstract Introduction: To assess the relationship between pain after ureteral stent removal and patient and procedural factors.
Materials and methods: A validated survey designed to assess the relationship between quality of life and treatment decisions in kidney stone disease was randomly distributed to patients with a history of a ureteral stent in seven medical centers across North America participating in an endourology research collaborative between July 2016 and June 2018. The primary outcome was increased pain after ureteral stent removal. Statistical analyses were performed using Chi-square and multiple logistic regression.
Results: A total of 327 surveys were analyzed. Twenty… More >

José María Esbrí^*, Alba Martinez-Coronado, Sofía Rivera Jurado, Eva García-Noguero, Pablo Higueras

Energy Engineering, Vol.118, No.4, pp. 1223-1235, 2021, DOI:10.32604/EE.2021.015781 - 31 May 2021

Abstract Mercury (Hg) is a global pollutant that is subject to strict regulations to reduce anthropogenic emissions. The production of energy represents an important activity that leads to Hg emissions into the atmosphere. Of all the systems used, IGCC plants are the most promising for reducing Hg emissions, since it is possible to remove Hg from syngas prior to combustion. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the presence of Hg in the main streams of an experimental IGCC plant (ELCOGAS, Puertollano) in order to quantify Hg emissions and investigate the possibility of reducing… More >

Chung-Il Kim¹, Jehyeok Rew², Yongjang Cho², Eenjun Hwang^2,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.68, No.3, pp. 3447-3463, 2021, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2021.017633 - 06 May 2021

Abstract Image inpainting is an interesting technique in computer vision and artificial intelligence for plausibly filling in blank areas of an image by referring to their surrounding areas. Although its performance has been improved significantly using diverse convolutional neural network (CNN)-based models, these models have difficulty filling in some erased areas due to the kernel size of the CNN. If the kernel size is too narrow for the blank area, the models cannot consider the entire surrounding area, only partial areas or none at all. This issue leads to typical problems of inpainting, such as pixel More >

Muhammad Kashif¹, Ayyaz Hussain², Asim Munir¹, Abdul Basit Siddiqui³, Aaqif Afzaal Abbasi⁴, Muhammad Aakif⁵, Arif Jamal Malik⁴, Fayez Eid Alazemi⁶, Oh-Young Song^7,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.67, No.2, pp. 2123-2139, 2021, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2021.014782 - 05 February 2021

Abstract Expression detection plays a vital role to determine the patient’s condition in healthcare systems. It helps the monitoring teams to respond swiftly in case of emergency. Due to the lack of suitable methods, results are often compromised in an unconstrained environment because of pose, scale, occlusion and illumination variations in the image of the face of the patient. A novel patch-based multiple local binary patterns (LBP) feature extraction technique is proposed for analyzing human behavior using facial expression recognition. It consists of three-patch [TPLBP] and four-patch LBPs [FPLBP] based feature engineering respectively. Image representation is… More >

Purushottam Sharma¹, Mohammed Alshehri^2,*, Richa Sharma¹, Osama Alfarraj³

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.66, No.1, pp. 885-901, 2021, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2020.012251 - 30 October 2020

Abstract Low back pain (LBP) is a morbid condition that has afflicted several citizens in Europe. It has negatively impacted the European economy due to several man-days lost, with bed rest and forced inactivity being the usual LBP care and management steps. Direct models, which incorporate various regression analyses, have been executed for the investigation of this premise due to the simplicity of translation. However, such straight models fail to completely consider the impact of association brought about by a mix of nonlinear connections and autonomous factors.In this paper, we discuss a system that aids decision-making… More >

Seo Woo Han, Doug Young Suh^*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.66, No.1, pp. 213-228, 2021, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2020.012223 - 30 October 2020

Abstract Inpainting has been continuously studied in the field of computer vision. As artificial intelligence technology developed, deep learning technology was introduced in inpainting research, helping to improve performance. Currently, the input target of an inpainting algorithm using deep learning has been studied from a single image to a video. However, deep learning-based inpainting technology for panoramic images has not been actively studied. We propose a 360-degree panoramic image inpainting method using generative adversarial networks (GANs). The proposed network inputs a 360-degree equirectangular format panoramic image converts it into a cube map format, which has relatively More >

Robert J. Evans¹, Tyler Overholt¹, Marc Colaco¹, Stephen J. Walker^1,2

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.27, No.1, pp. 10125-10129, 2020

Abstract Introduction: Botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) is currently used as a fourth-line therapeutic option for interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) management. The purpose of this study was to determine if BTX-A injection can mitigate pain and if injection location (i.e., trigone-including versus trigone-sparing injection template) impacts treatment efficacy and/or treatment complications profile.
Materials and methods: Female IC/BPS patients refractory to conservative management strategies were prospectively enrolled and asked to complete a baseline history and physical exam, post-void residual (PVR) urine volume determination, O’Leary Sant (OLS) questionnaire, and Pelvic Pain and Urgency/Frequency Symptom Scale (PUF) questionnaire. Participants were randomly… More >

Tyler L. Overholt¹, Robert J. Evans¹, Bruce A. Lessey³, Catherine A. Matthews¹, Katherine N. Hines¹, Gopal Badlani¹, Stephen J. Walker^1,2

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.27, No.3, pp. 10257-10262, 2020

Abstract Introduction: Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) and endometriosis are coexistent diagnoses in 48%-65% of women with chronic pelvic pain (CPP), suggesting that dual screening may be warranted. To further investigate the clinical relationship and risk factors between these two conditions, we performed a retrospective review of our large IC/BPS patient data registry.
Materials and methods: We evaluated IC/BPS patients who were prospectively enrolled into our registry who completed validated questionnaires and underwent therapeutic hydrodistension, during which anesthetic bladder capacity (BC) and Hunner’s lesion (HL) status were recorded. Demographic/medical history were reviewed. IC/BPS patients with co-occurring endometriosis diagnosis… More >

Thenappan Chandrasekar^1,*, Lydia Glick², Daniella Wong², Timothy M. Han², Joon Yau Leong², Misung Yi³, James R. Mark¹, Mark J. Mann¹, Edouard J. Trabulsi¹, Costas D. Lallas¹

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.27, No.3, pp. 10250-10256, 2020

Abstract Introduction: To evaluate the impact of an “opt-in” non-narcotic postoperative pain regimen on narcotic utilization and patient-reported pain scores.
Materials and methods: A prospective, non-blinded pre- and post-interventional trial was conducted, including a lead-in period for baseline evaluation. The intervention group received a new pain protocol prioritizing non-narcotic medications, an “opt-in” requirement for opiates, and standardized patient education. Study outcomes included opiate prescription and utilization (measured in Morphine Equivalent Doses) and reported pain scores on postoperative day (POD) 1, discharge, and follow-up.
Results: At discharge, 70% fewer patients were prescribed any opioids (ARR: -0.7; p < 0.001); the… More >

Andrew Stamm, Basil Ferenczi, Christopher Porter, Paul Kozlowski, Ryan Donahue, John Corman

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.27, No.5, pp. 10363-10368, 2020

Abstract Introduction: Continence and catheter-related pain following prostatectomy are significant patient concerns, and it is unknown whether catheter size impacts these variables. In this study, patients undergoing prostatectomy were randomized to receive either a 16 French or 20 French catheter to assess the impact of catheter size on postoperative continence and pain.
Materials and methods: Patients were prospectively randomized to receive either a 16 French or a 20 French latex catheter at the completion of prostatectomy. Subjects were asked on postoperative day 7 to report their average catheter-related pain and the amount of opioid medication used. International Prostate… More >