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AbstractBackground and Purpose:Vascular pseudoaneurysm is a well-documented complication that results after injury to an arterial wall. We review the urologic literature for all reported postprocedural and post-traumatic cases of pseudoaneurysm.Methods:A comprehensive review of the peer-reviewed literature was performed for reported cases of vascular pseudoaneurysm, with emphasis on clinical presentation and treatment options.Results:Vascular pseudoaneurysm is a high-pressure collection of blood that communicates directly with an arterial vessel. The clinical presentation varies, depending on the location and size of the lesion, and can be quite dramatic and potentially life threatening. There may be an increasing incidence of pseudoaneurysms after minimally invasive and laparoscopic techniques. Selective and superselective embolization is the preferred treatment for patients with vascular pseudoaneurysms.Conclusions:Vascular pseudoaneurysm is an important but rare complication that is increasingly reported after minimally invasive urologic surgery. This diagnosis necessitates a high index of suspicion and radiologic acumen. Treatment is individually tailored to each patient, but selective embolization appears to be the standard of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catastrophic declines of amphibian populations have been reported from upland areas around the world, yet within regions not all species have been affected. Herein, we examine the relationships between conservation status and ecological traits for over 60 amphibian species from upland areas of eastern Australia. Among the 24 phylogenetic groups examined, eight groups contained only declining species, eight groups contained both declining and non-declining species and eight groups had no declining species, suggesting species declines are influenced by their evolutionary history. Declines have been reported for only one species (Philoria frosti) of 20 species (i.e. from genera Assa, Cophixalus, Austrochaperina and remaining Philoria/Kyaranus) with direct development in the terrestrial environment. Of the remaining 40 species that include an aquatic stage in the life history, species-specific traits associated with declines suggest species with stream-dwelling tadpoles are more likely to be declining than species that breed in ephemeral and isolated ponds. However, low ovarian clutch size is the most important ecological trait significantly associated with the tendency for a species to be declining (independent of phylogeny). Species with restricted geographic ranges are also more likely to be declining than widespread species (independent of phylogeny). While ovarian clutch size and geographic range are correlated they are both good predictors for the likelihood of decline for upland species independent of their phylogenetic history. We propose that low ovarian clutch size is an index of low fecundity, and indicates a reduction in population resilience, making those species more susceptible to population declines and extinction than highly fecund species. This provides the first ecological explanation for why some species are declining while other sympatric species are not. Geographic range provides an easily applied tool that can be used to predict the likelihood of species decline in other regions. These results support the hypothesis that a causal factor may be affecting all species of frogs, yet only those species with naturally low population resilience are susceptible to declines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is now widely accepted that global climate change is affecting many ecosystems around the globe and that its impact is increasing rapidly. Many studies predict that impacts will consist largely of shifts in latitudinal and altitudinal distributions. However, we demonstrate that the impacts of global climate change in the tropical rainforests of northeastern Australia have the potential to result in many extinctions. We develop bioclimatic models of spatial distribution for the regionally endemic rainforest vertebrates and use these models to predict the effects of climate warming on species distributions. Increasing temperature is predicted to result in significant reduction or complete loss of the core environment of all regionally endemic vertebrates. Extinction rates caused by the complete loss of core environments are likely to be severe, nonlinear, with losses increasing rapidly beyond an increase of 2 °C, and compounded by other climate-related impacts. Mountain ecosystems around the world, such as the Australian Wet Tropics bioregion, are very diverse, often with high levels of restricted endemism, and are therefore important areas of biodiversity. The results presented here suggest that these systems are severely threatened by climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractWe describe a modern use of laparoscopic renal descensus during the reconstruction of the upper urinary tract. The patient is a 76-year-old mononephric man with recurrent carcinoma in situin the distal ureter. Using the described technique, we produced an additional 8 to 10 cm of ureteral length and performed a simple ureteroneocystotomy instead of using a traditional psoas hitch and Boari flap creation, bowel interposition, or autotransplantation. Laparoscopic renal descensus is an uncommonly used but simple procedure that may prevent the need for bladder mobilization or Boari flap creation, particularly in the setting of a hostile pelvis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subspecies amphochloraof the Lewin's Honeyeater (Meliphaga lewinii) is confined to a small isolated population in the McIlwraith Range, Cape York Peninsula, north-eastern Australia. The population is poorly known but is thought to be restricted to elevations above 500m. We aimed to establish reliable estimates of population size and geographical range to enable a better evaluation of the conservation status of the subspecies. We also sought to quantify elevational patterns of density within the range and test the hypothesis that climate is the dominant factor governing range limits. We estimate the area of occupancy to be 183km2, pending the investigation of three small fragments of predicted suitable habitat in mountain ranges to the north of the McIlwraith Range. Our count data indicate that the population probably consists of fewer than 5000 individuals (best estimate=4666 individuals, 95% confidence intervals (CI)=2868–7591). Highest densities were observed in a geographically limited subset of the range above 650m. Independent validation of our species-climate distribution model suggests that the restricted spatial distribution of the subspecies is attributable to climate associations and implies that warm temperatures in particular act to restrict the lower elevational limit of the subspecies. We discuss the implications of these findings for the future survival of M. l. amphochlorain the context of contemporary climate warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Various techniques have been described for laparoscopic nephroureterectomy. We reviewed our initial experience of laparoscopic nephroureterectomy with robot-assisted extravesical excision of the distal ureter and bladder cuff.Materials and Methods Nine consecutive patients aged 43 to 83 years underwent laparoscopic nephroureterectomy for transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) between August 2005 and March 2007. The first five patients were repositioned after laparoscopic nephrectomy from flank to lithotomy position to dock the robot for excision of the distal ureter and bladder cuff by a single surgeon. In contrast, the last four patients remained in flank position throughout the entire procedure, with the robot docked in flank position following laparoscopic nephrectomy. A two-layer closure re-approximated the cystotomy and a urethral catheter was left in place for a mean of 5 days.Results Eight men and one woman with a mean age of 64.2 years and mean body mass index (BMI) of 28.4 kgm2underwent flexible cystoscopy and laparoscopic nephroureterectomy for five right-sided and four left-sided tumors. Mean operative time was 303 minutes (range 210–430 minutes), estimated blood loss was 211 mL (range 50–700 mL), and mean length of hospital stay was 2.3 days. Pathologic staging revealed T3for five (55.6), Tafor two (22.2), carcinoma in situ(CIS) for two (22.2) patients, and high-grade disease for seven (77.8) patients. With a mean follow-up of 16.2 months (range 4.3–24.3 months), three patients with a history of bladder cancer have experienced recurrence in the bladder, and one of the three has also developed metastatic disease.Conclusions Laparoscopic nephroureterectomy with robot-assisted extravesical excision of the distal ureter and bladder cuff appears to be a feasible alternative for patients with TCC of the upper urinary tract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper based on a presentation at the 19th International Conference on Chemical Thermodynamics (ICCT-19), 30 July to 4 August 2006, Boulder, CO, USA. Other presentations are published in this issue, pp. 1345-1462.The Evans-Searles fluctuation theorem (ESFT) has been shown to be applicable in the near- and far-from-equilibrium regimes for systems with both constant and time-dependent external fields. The derivations of the ESFT have assumed that the external field has a definite parity under a time-reversal mapping. In the present paper, we confirm that the time-reversibility of the system dynamics is a necessary condition for the ESFT to hold. The manner in which the ESFT fails for systems that are not time-reversible is presented, and results are shown which demonstrate that systems which fail to satisfy the ESFT may still satisfy the Crooks relation (CR). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SmithMagenis syndrome (SMS) and duplication 17p11.2 (dup17p11.2) syndrome are multiple congenital anomalies/mental retardation disorders resulting from either a deletion or duplication of the 17p11.2 region, respectively. The retinoic acid induced 1 (RAI1) gene is the causative gene for SMS and is included in the 17p11.2 region of dup17p11.2 syndrome. Currently SMS and dup17p11.2 syndrome are diagnosed using a combination of clinically recognized phenotypes and molecular cytogenetic analyses such as fluorescent in situhybridization (FISH). However, these methods have proven to be highly expensive, time consuming, and dependent upon the low resolving capabilities of the assay. To address the need for improved diagnostic methods for SMS and dup17p11.2 syndrome, we designed a quantitative real-time PCR (Q-PCR) assay that measures RAI1copy number using the comparative Ctmethod, Ct. We tested our assay with samples blinded to their previous SMS or dup17p11.2 syndrome status. In all cases, we were able to determine RAI1copy number status and render a correct diagnosis accordingly. We validated these results by both FISH and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA). We conclude that Q-PCR is an accurate, reproducible, low-cost, and reliable assay that can be employed for routine use in SMS and dup17p11.2 diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a quantitative spectroscopic study of 27 red supergiants (RSGs) in the Sculptor Galaxy NGC 300. J-band spectra were obtained using KMOS on the Very Large Telescope and studied with state of the art synthetic spectra including NLTE corrections for the strongest diagnostic lines. We report a central metallicity of [Z] = −0.03 ± 0.05 with a gradient of −0.083 ± 0.014 [dex/kpc], in agreement with previous studies of blue supergiants and H ii-region auroral line measurements. This result marks the first application of the J-band spectroscopic method to a population of individual RSG stars beyond the Local Group of galaxies and reveals the great potential of this technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]