Modified plasmakinetic enucleation and resection of the prostate by three glands: proposal of a novel anatomical treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia

Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) cannot completely resect hyperplastic tissues and is often associated with high recurrence rate and short recurrence interval. Western and Chinese scholars have reported higher incidences of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) with traditional enucleations. This study investigated the potential applicability of Modified Plasmakinetic Enucleation and Resection of the Prostate by three glands (MPKERP) in treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Between April 2020 and June 2021, 28 patients underwent MPKERP for BPH. The surgical procedures included (1) surgical capsule exploration; (2) moderate range enucleation; (3) middle gland enucleation; (4) sector resection at 12 o’clock in the lithotomy position; (5) cut residual distal urethral mucosa; (6) lateral hyperplastic glands enucleation. All 28 patients recovered well after the surgery, and the curative effect was satisfactory. The average operation time was 68.9 ± 21.8 min, the average weight of excised glands was 62.5 ± 19.1 g, the average indwelling catheter time was 4.6 ± 0.6 d, and the average bladder washing time was 28.6 ± 9.5 h. The average postoperative 1-day hemoglobin decrease was 10.2 ± 9.8 g/L. Only one severe hyperplasia patient had transient SUI (incidence rate: 3.6%). No complications, such as urethral stricture, dysuria, urinary incontinence and urinary retention, were reported during follow-up. International Prostate Symptoms Score (IPSS), quality of life (QOL), maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax) and post-void residual volume (PVR) significantly improved three months after surgery (p < 0.0001). The MPKERP can enucleate and resect the hyperplastic glands anatomically in an orderly manner and pay attention to expanding space, reducing resistance, reducing the damage of pushing and pulling, protecting the urethral sphincter complex (USC), and reducing the incidence of urinary incontinence. Altogether, our findings support MPKERP as an improved surgical technique worthy of promotion, and it is more suitable for grass-roots hospitals that lack hardware equipment

Cell responses and hemocompatibility of g-HA/PLA composites

The objective of this study was to investigate the hemocompatibility and cell responses to some novel poly(L-lactide) (PLA) composites containing surface modified hydroxyapatite particles for potential applications as a bone substitute material. The surface of hydroxyapatite (HA) particles was first grafted with L-lactic acid oligomers to form grafted HA (g-HA) particles. The g-HA particles were further blended with PLA to prepare g-HA/PLA composites. Our previous study has shown significant improvement in tensile properties of these materials due to the enhanced interfacial adhesion between the polymer matrix and HA particles. To further investigate the potential applications of these composites in bone repair and other orthopedic surgeries, a series of in vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted to examine the cell responses and hemocompatibility of the materials. In vitro experiments showed that the g-HA/PLA composites were well tolerated by the L-929 cells. Hemolysis of the composites was lower than that of pure PLA. Subcutaneous implantation demonstrated that the g-HA/PLA composites were more favorable than the control materials for soft tissue responses. The results suggested that the g-HA/PLA composites are promising and safe materials with potential applications in tissue engineering

Approaches to enhance electroluminescent efficiency of light-emitting diodes based on quasi-two-dimensional perovskite

Quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) perovskites with (Ai)2(A2)n-iPbnX3n+i multi-quantum well structures are considered as the potential electroluminescence (EL) materials due to their controllable quantum confine effect which would lead a high EL efficiency. However, the quasi-2D perovskite films fabricated with solution processing technologies consist of different n phases and orientated layers, which limits the performance of quasi-2D perovskite light- emitting diodes (PeLEDs). To improve the performance of PeLEDs, it is essential to obtain perovskite thin films with both large exciton binding energy, complete surface coverage and suitable morphology. Here some approaches are developed to improve the performance of quasi-2D PeLEDs

Dual protective role of velutin against articular cartilage degeneration and subchondral bone loss via the p38 signaling pathway in murine osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative joint condition associated with inflammation and characterized by progressive degradation of the articular cartilage and subchondral bone loss in the early stages. Inflammation is closely associated with these two major pathophysiological changes in OA. Velutin, a flavonoid family member, reportedly exerts anti-inflammatory effects. However, the therapeutic effects of velutin in OA have not yet been characterized. In this study, we explore the effects of velutin in an OA mouse model. Histological staining and micro-CT revealed that velutin had a protective effect against cartilage degradation and subchondral bone loss in an OA mouse model generated by surgical destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM). Additionally, velutin rescued IL-1β-induced inflammation in chondrocytes and inhibited RANKL-induced osteoclast formation and bone resorption in vitro. Mechanistically, the p38 signaling pathway was found to be implicated in the inhibitory effects of velutin. Our study reveals the dual protective effects of velutin against cartilage degradation and subchondral bone loss by inhibiting the p38 signaling pathway, thereby highlighting velutin as an alternative treatment for OA

Vision-related quality of life and Appearance concerns are associated with anxiety and depression after eye enucleation: A cross-sectional study

© 2015 Ye et al. Aims: To investigate the association of demographic, clinical and psychosocial variables with levels of anxiety and depression in participants wearing an ocular prosthesis after eye enucleation. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 195 participants with an enucleated eye who were attending an ophthalmic clinic for prosthetic rehabilitation between July and November 2014. Demographic and clinical data, and self-reported feelings of shame, sadness and anger were collected. Participants also completed the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire, the Facial Appearance subscale of the Negative Physical Self Scale, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Regression models were used to identify the factors associated with anxiety and depression. Results: The proportion of participants with clinical anxiety was 11.8% and clinical depression 13.8%. More anxiety and depression were associated with poorer vision-related quality of life and greater levels of appearance concerns. Younger age was related to greater levels of anxiety. Less educated participants and those feeling more angry about losing an eye are more prone to experience depression. Clinical variables were unrelated to anxiety or depression. Conclusions: Anxiety and depression are more prevalent in eye-enucleated patients than the general population, which brings up the issues of psychiatric support in these patients. Psychosocialrather than clinical characteristics were associated with anxiety and depression. Longitudinal studies need to be conducted to further elucidate the direction of causality before interventions to improve mood states are developed. Copyright

Clinical Usefulness of Measuring Red Blood Cell Distribution Width in Patients with Hepatitis B

BACKGROUND: Red blood cell distribution width (RDW), an automated measure of red blood cell size heterogeneity (e.g., anisocytosis) that is largely overlooked, is a newly recognized risk marker in patients with cardiovascular diseases, but its role in persistent viral infection has not been well-defined. The present study was designed to investigate the association between RDW values and different disease states in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected patients. In addition, we analyzed whether RDW is associated with mortality in the HBV-infected patients. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: One hundred and twenty-three patients, including 16 with acute hepatitis B (AHB), 61 with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), and 46 with chronic severe hepatitis B (CSHB), and 48 healthy controls were enrolled. In all subjects, a blood sample was collected at admission to examine liver function, renal function, international normalized ratio and routine hematological testing. All patients were followed up for at least 4 months. A total of 10 clinical chemistry, hematology, and biochemical variables were analyzed for possible association with outcomes by using Cox proportional hazards and multiple regression models. RDW values at admission in patients with CSHB (18.30±3.11%, P<0.001), CHB (16.37±2.43%, P<0.001) and AHB (14.38±1.72%, P<0.05) were significantly higher than those in healthy controls (13.03±1.33%). Increased RDW values were clinically associated with severe liver disease and increased 3-month mortality rate. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that RDW values and the model for end-stage liver disease score were independent predictors for mortality (both P<0.001). CONCLUSION: RDW values are significantly increased in patients with hepatitis B and associated with its severity. Moreover, RDW values are an independent predicting factor for the 3-month mortality rate in patients with hepatitis B

Plastic-Silicon Bonding for MEMS Packaging Application

Packaging remains as a big problem for MEMS devices&apos; application due to a series of factors, including high cost and complicated processes. We present a new way for MEMS packaging based on plastic-silicon bonding. The packaging process here does not involve high temperature or some specific equipment. In fact, as for some applications process with manual operation would be enough. Besides, it can be easily applied to a wafer scale, which means a further reduction in cost. We choose Polymethylmethacryl ate (PMMA) and Polycarbonate (PC) as our basic packaging materials and focus on the bonding technology between them and silicon. Three different bonding processes are included, with bonding strength tested in a standard way. Applications to different fluidic devices are also presented.Engineering, Electrical &amp; ElectronicMaterials Science, MultidisciplinaryCPCI-S(ISTP)

Growth and photosynthesis by Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta) in response to different stocking densities along Nan'ao Island coastal waters

Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta) is an important economic seaweed in Southern China. Its use as an alternative source of bioenergy, novel source of bioactives and possible carbon sink has been investigated. The common economic driver of these applications is biomass productivity, which requires an understanding of the effects of different cultivation densities (mat density; 4, 8 and 12 g per cluster) for offshore 'foaling raft' cultivation to maximise productivities. In the present study, the relative growth rate (RGR) and irradiance-saturated maximum photosynthetic rates (P-max) of thalli of G. lemaneiformis grown at high stocking density were lower than those of the algae grown at low stocking density. In three weather types (cloudy, overcast to clear and sunny conditions), the net photosynthetic rates (P-n) of the thalli grown at high stocking density were lower than those of the thalli cultivated at low density. The canopy P-n and increased algal gross biomass of the low-density algal mat were lower than those of the high-density algal mat The increased canopy P-n of G. lemaneiformis in the high-density algal mat decreased under cloudy conditions. We suggest that efforts should be devoted to achieving an appropriate stocking density to obtain a relatively high growth rate, photosynthetic productivity and gross biomass accumulation during G. lemaneiformis maricultivation

Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for prediction of mortality by red cell distribution width (RDW) values (green line), Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores (blue line) and their combination (red line) at admission.

<p>Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for prediction of mortality by red cell distribution width (RDW) values (green line), Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores (blue line) and their combination (red line) at admission.</p

Clinical and laboratory characteristics among patients with different red blood cell distribution width (RDW) values at admission.

*<p>Data are expressed as mean±standard deviation.</p><p>MCV, mean corpuscular volume; MELD score, model for end-stage liver disease score; RDW, red cell distribution width.</p