scored for the presence and absence of UUT urothelial tumour by two radiologists, retrospectively and independently, and while unaware of the demographic and clinical information. The reference standards were the histopathology and clinical follow-up. RESULTS MDCTU CONCLUSIONThis study validates quantitatively the use of MDCTU for diagnosing UUT urothelial tumour.

Background: Fluid intake and diet are thought to influence kidney stone risk. However, prospective studies have been limited to small samples sizes and/or restricted measures. Objective: To investigate whether fluid intake and dietary factors are associated with the risk of developing a first kidney stone. Design, setting, and participants: Participants were selected from UK Biobank, a populationbased prospective cohort study. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: Cox proportional hazards models were used to investigate the association between fluid intake and dietary factors and the risk of a first incident kidney stone, ascertained from hospital inpatient records. Results and limitations: After exclusion, 439 072 participants were available for the analysis, of whom 2057 had hospital admission with an incident kidney stone over a mean of 6.1 yr of follow-up. For every additional drink (200 ml) consumed per day of total fluid, the risk of kidney stones declined by 13% (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.87, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.85-0.89). Similar patterns of associations were observed for tea, coffee, and alcohol, although no association was observed for water intake. Fruit and fibre intake was also associated with a lower risk (HR per 100 g increase of fruits per day = 0.88, 95% CI 0.83-0.93, and HR per 10 g fibre per day = 0.82, 95% CI 0.77-0.87), whereas meat and salt intake was associated with a higher risk (HR per 50 g increase in meat per week = 1.17, 95% CI 1.05-1.29, and HR for always vs never/ rarely added salt to food = 1.33, 95% CI 1.12-1.58). Vegetable, fish, and cheese intake was not associated with kidney stone risk. Conclusions: The finding that high intake of total fluid, fruit, and fibre was associated with a lower risk of hospitalisation for a first kidney stone suggests that modifiable dietary factors could be targeted to prevent kidney stone development. Patient summary: We found that higher intake of total fluid, specifically tea, coffee, and alcohol (but not water), and consumption of fruit and foods high in fibre are linked with a reduced likelihood of developing kidney stones.

The aim of these experiments was to examine the role of the arcuate nucleus in the control of seasonal cycles of body weight, feed intake, moulting and reproduction in the Siberian hamster. The arcuate nucleus has previously been implicated as a central site where systemic feedback signals (e.g. leptin) might act to regulate feed intake and body weight, so it was predicted that hamsters with lesions of this structure would be unable to display the inhibitory effects of short days on these parameters. In the first series of studies, lesions that destroyed approximately 80% of the cells in the arcuate nucleus were produced by treating hamsters neonatally with monosodium glutamate (MSG; 4 mg/g body weight sc), and vehicle- and MSG-treated males were raised from birth in long days (LD) or short days (SD). In hamsters raised in LD, the initial gain in body weight and testicular growth were significantly reduced by MSG treatment, however, growth rate and testis weight were still significantly greater than in vehicle- or MSG-treated hamsters raised in SD. In the second study, hamsters treated neonatally with vehicle or MSG were raised in LD for 8 weeks and, subsequently, approximately half in each group were transferred to SD for 18 weeks. As expected, vehicle-treated hamsters showed a characteristic decline in body weight when exposed to SD, while those remaining in LD continued to increase body weight. Feed intake decreased in parallel with the decline in body weight in SD, a complete moult to the white winter pelage occurred by 16 weeks in SD, and testicular regression occurred. Responses to SD also occurred in the MSG-treated hamsters: body weight decreased in SD but increased in their lesioned litter mates remaining in LD, and feed intake paralleled body weight changes in these groups. The moult to winter pelage was significantly retarded in MSG-treated hamsters transferred to SD. The testes were completely regressed in sham- and MSG-treated hamsters exposed to SD, whereas testes weights in MSG-treated hamsters maintained in LD were intermediate between those in vehicle-treated hamsters in SD and LD. Thus, despite initial effects on growth, the MSG-treated hamsters bearing substantial lesions of the arcuate nucleus were able to show appropriate responses to photoperiod, although not always of the same magnitude as the unlesioned controls. We conclude that feedback mechanisms operating via the arcuate nucleus are not the major regulators of seasonal cycles of body weight, feed intake, pelage and reproduction.

Inter-rater reliability of the endoscopically assessable PULS was high among urologists with different levels of experience in different countries worldwide. The validated PULS system may be used for standardized reporting of ureteral lesions/injuries after ureteroscopy. In addition, PULS will enable more selective standardization of indications for postoperative DJ stenting based on the randomized controlled trials.

The upper urinary tract (UUT) consists of kidneys and ureters, and is an integral part of the human urogenital system. Yet malfunctioning and complications of the UUT can happen at all stages of life, attributed to reasons such as congenital anomalies, urinary tract infections, urolithiasis and urothelial cancers, all of which require urological interventions and significantly compromise patients' quality of life. Therefore, many models have been developed to address the relevant scientific and clinical challenges of the UUT. Of all approaches, fluid mechanical modeling serves a pivotal role and various methods have been employed to develop physiologically meaningful models. In this article, we provide an overview on the historical evolution of fluid mechanical models of UUT that utilize theoretical, computational, and experimental approaches. Descriptions of the physiological functionality of each component are also given and the mechanical characterizations associated with the UUT are provided. As such, it is our aim to offer a brief summary of the current knowledge of the subject, and provide a comprehensive introduction for engineers, scientists, and clinicians who are interested in the field of fluid mechanical modeling of UUT. This article is categorized under: Cancer > Biomedical Engineering Infectious Diseases > Biomedical Engineering Reproductive System Diseases > Biomedical Engineering