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Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the impact of anterior fibromuscular stroma preserved enucleation (AFSPE) of the prostate on serum testosterone levels in patients with benign prostatic obstruction (BPO) and to explore age‐related differences in postoperative testosterone elevation. Methods: In a retrospective analysis, 304 patients from a pool of 560 who underwent AFSPE at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital between January 2018 and December 2021 were evaluated. Patients were stratified based on preoperative testosterone levels into low (<3.5 ng/mL) and normal (≥3.5 ng/mL) groups. Serum testosterone levels were measured preoperatively, at 1.5 and 3–6 months postoperatively. Age and other demographic data were analyzed as potential factors influencing testosterone changes. Results: The low‐testosterone group (n = 90) showed significant testosterone increases, from an average of 2.61 ng/mL preoperatively to 3.3 ng/mL at 1.5 months and 3.59 ng/mL at 3–6 months postoperatively (p < 0.0001). The normal‐testosterone group (n = 214) maintained stable testosterone levels at 1.5 months but exhibited a significant rise to 6.06 ng/mL by 3–6 months (p = 0.0079). Older age was inversely associated with postoperative testosterone elevation in both groups. Improvements in nocturia were notable in both groups. Conclusions: AFSPE of the prostate significantly elevates serum testosterone levels in men with BPO, particularly benefiting those initially with low levels. Age is a crucial factor influencing postoperative testosterone changes, indicating that younger patients may benefit more from this intervention. AFSPE offers a promising approach for improving hormonal health in BPO patients, alongside alleviating urinary symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural products have attracted great interest in the development of tissue engineering. Recent studies have demonstrated that unsaturated fatty acids found in natural plant seed oil may exhibit positive osteogenic effects; however, few in vivo studies have focused on the use of plant seed oil for bone regeneration. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of seed oil found in Sapindus mukorossi (S. mukorossi) on the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells and bone growth in artificial bone defects in vivo. In this study, Wharton-jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells (WJMSCs) were co-cultured with S. mukorossi seed oil. Cellular osteogenic capacity was assessed using Alizarin Red S staining. Real-time PCR was carried out to evaluate ALP and OCN gene expression. The potential of S. mukorossi seed oil to enhance bone growth was assessed using an animal model. Four 6 mm circular defects were prepared at the parietal bone of New Zealand white rabbits. The defects were filled with hydrogel and hydrogel-S. mukorossi seed oil, respectively. Quantitative analysis of micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT) and histological images was conducted to compare differences in osteogenesis between oil-treated and untreated samples. Although our results showed no significant differences in viability between WJMSCs treated with and without S. mukorossi seed oil, under osteogenic conditions, S. mukorossi seed oil facilitated an increase in mineralized nodule secretion and upregulated the expression of ALP and OCN genes in the cells (p < 0.05). In the animal study, both micro-CT and histological evaluations revealed that new bone formation in artificial bone defects treated with S. mukorossi seed oil were nearly doubled compared to control defects (p < 0.05) after 4 weeks of healing. Based on these findings, it is reasonable to suggest that S. mukorossi seed oil holds promise as a potential candidate for enhancing bone healing efficiency in bone tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand if and why guardians access their adolescent child's electronic health record patient portal account. Guardians of transgender and gender-diverse adolescents completed a survey regarding patient portal use. Descriptive statistics were used to describe items related to guardian access to adolescent portal accounts. Of 82 respondents, 37.8% indicated they had used their child's login to access the patient portal. Most indicated they accessed their adolescent's account because their child asked them to do so. Other common reasons included being worried they might miss important health information and not realizing there was a difference between patient and proxy accounts. Results of this study provide a more detailed understanding regarding guardian access to adolescent patient portals. Findings can be used to inform adolescent patient portal design and enrollment practices that protect adolescent confidentiality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Postoperative urinary retention (PUR) is a common complication after prostate enucleation, which leads to an increased length of hospital stay and decreased postoperative satisfaction. This study determined the predictive factors of postoperative urine retention within 1 month after prostate enucleation and investigated whether PUR influences surgical outcomes at the 2-week, 3-month, and 6-month follow-up time points. Methods: Data were collected from the electronic medical records of 191 patients with benign prostatic obstruction (BPO) during October 2018 to September 2021. Of them, 180 patients who underwent thulium laser or plasma kinetic enucleation of the prostate (ThuLEP, PKEP) were separated into the PUR group (n = 24) and the non-PUR (NPUR) group (n = 156). Uroflowmetry and the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) questionnaire were followed up at 2 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months postoperatively. Results: The PUR group had a significantly higher percentage of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) than the NPUR group. Postoperatively, compared with the NPUR group, the PUR group had significantly less improvement in changes in the IPSS Quality of Life scores at 2 weeks, the total IPSS(International Prostate Symptom Score) at all follow-up times, the IPSS-S(IPSS storage subscores) at 2 weeks and 3 months, and the IPSS-V(IPSS voiding subscores) at all follow-up times. Predictive factors for PUR include lower preoperative maximum urinary flow (Qmax), lower preoperative total IPSS, and higher operation time. Conclusion: Lower preoperative Qmax, lower IPSS scores, and longer operation time were risk factors for PUR. Furthermore, PUR could be a prognostic factor for prostatic enucleation surgical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bubble‐driven microsystems inspired by the therapeutic use of microbubbles under clinical ultrasound actuation offer innovative remote manipulation in biological settings. Ultrasound‐powered microrobots, benefiting from a distribution of vibrating microbubbles (1–100 μm in diameters), exhibit localized fluid flow for self‐propulsion. Microbubbles also contribute to the design of acoustic metamaterials, where distributed actuation of bubbles enables exotic material properties (e.g., negative refractive index). Herein, a metamaterial‐inspired microrobot design, which exploits the streaming induced by the collective oscillation of microbubble arrays (> 10), is reported. Such a large distribution of bubbles offers twofold advantages: a mesoscale microrobot allowing ease of handling and motion at a considerably low acoustic driving pressure of 50 kPa. In this work, the oscillatory amplitude of a single bubble that acts as a unit cell of the metamaterial‐based microrobot is first characterized. Thereon, this amplitude is related to the flow generated by the collective vibration of all the bubbles close to the theoretically predicted resonant frequency of the bubbles. Finally, the hovering motion of the microrobot induced by the streaming and flow‐assisted debris clearance is demonstrated. Such auxiliary functionalities of the microrobot can be useful for applications like contactless sample extraction in inaccessible biological environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Double-side-emission (DSE) CdSe@CdZnSeS/ZnS quantum dot (QD) light-emitting diodes (DSE-QLEDs) with transparent nanometer-thick metal electrodes were achieved by monolayer (ML) MoS2-mediated van der Waals (vdW) epitaxy. Via the transfer of a wafer-area MoS2 film from sapphire to polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates and ZnO nanoparticle (NP) layer surfaces, flexible red DSE-QLEDs with the structure of MoS2/Au/M-PEDOT:PSS/poly-TPD/QD/ZnO NP/MoS2/Al can be readily obtained by spin-coating and thermal evaporation. The unique van der Waals epitaxy on MoS2 surfaces greatly helps the lateral film formation for both nanometer-thick Au films on flat PET substrates and Al films on the rough ZnO layer surface. The conductive Au and Al films grown on MoS2 surfaces act as effective anode and cathode electrodes for current injections of the QLEDs, respectively, while the ML MoS2 contributes to the balance of injected charges by suppressing the electron injection rate. Finally, with the 10 nm-thick Au anode and 15 nm-thick Al cathode, our flexible DSE-QLEDs exhibit a subthreshold turn-on voltage of 1.8 V, a maximum luminance of ∼83000 cd/m2, and a current efficiency of 31.9 cd/A, in which approximately 36% of total luminance is contributed from the Al cathode side emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Liver cancer is a significant health challenge worldwide, often developing in individuals with pre-existing conditions like chronic hepatitis and fatty liver. This study delves into the possible benefits of colchicine, a medication traditionally used to treat gout, in reducing the risk of developing liver cancer. By examining extensive health data from the China Medical University Hospital in Taiwan, we compared liver cancer development in two groups: one that used colchicine and another that did not. Our findings reveal that colchicine users had a 19% reduced risk of developing liver cancer, a promising indication that requires further investigation. If these findings are substantiated via further research, colchicine could become a valuable tool in preventing liver cancer, especially for those with liver conditions, potentially saving numerous lives and reducing the burden on healthcare systems. This study underlines the importance of exploring new uses for existing medications and highlights the potential impact of colchicine on liver cancer prevention. This could lead to newer, cost-effective strategies to mitigate the risks and impacts of liver cancer, bringing hope to millions worldwide. Background: Liver cancer and notably hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), results in significantly high mortality rates worldwide. Chronic hepatitis and fatty liver, recognized precursors, underscore the imperative need for effective preventive strategies. This study explores colchicine, traditionally acknowledged for its anti-inflammatory properties and investigates its potential in liver cancer prevention. Methods: Utilizing the iHi Data Platform of China Medical University Hospital, Taiwan, this study analyzed two decades of medical data, incorporating 10,353 patients each in the Colchicine and Non-Colchicine cohorts, to investigate the association between colchicine use and liver cancer risk. Results: The study identified that colchicine users exhibited a 19% reduction in liver cancer risk, with a multivariable-adjusted odds ratio of 0.81 after accounting for confounding variables. Additionally, the influence of gender and comorbidities like diabetes mellitus on liver cancer risk was identified, corroborating the existing literature. A notable finding was that the prolonged use of colchicine was associated with improved outcomes, indicating a potential dose–response relationship. Conclusions: This study proposes a potential new role for colchicine in liver cancer prevention, extending beyond its established anti-inflammatory applications. While the findings are promising, further research is essential to validate these results. This research may serve as a foundation for future studies, aiming to further explore colchicine's role via clinical trials and in-depth investigations, potentially impacting preventive strategies for liver cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Viewpoint discusses the challenges to implementing artificial intelligence–based translation in clinical settings and what health care organizations can do to mitigate these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study on urinary incontinence recovery following endoscopic enucleation of the prostate. The study analyzed the long-term effects of different surgical techniques on urinary incontinence symptoms in 316 patients. The results showed significant improvement in urinary incontinence symptoms by 6 months after surgery. The article also mentions other research on surgical treatments for benign prostatic hyperplasia that have observed similar trends in reducing urinary incontinence. The findings suggest that certain surgical approaches, such as preserving the anterior fibromuscular stroma, may enhance continence control and improve patient outcomes. [Extracted from the article]

Background and Objectives: This study evaluated and compared the surgical outcomes of retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) lithotripsy versus robot-assisted laparoscopic pyelolithotomy (RAPL) in community patients with renal pelvic stones larger than 2 cm. Materials and Methods: A total of 77 patients who underwent RIRS (RIRS group, n = 50) or RAPL (RAPL group, n = 27) at our institution between December 2016 and July 2022 were recruited. A single surgeon performed all surgical operations. Preoperative, operative, and postoperative data were recorded. The study evaluated various clinical outcomes, namely, urinary tract infections, analgesic use, emergency room readmissions, stone clearance rates, surgical complications, and medical expenditures associated with the treatment courses, and compared them between the groups. Results: The RAPL group had a larger mean stone diameter and higher degree of hydronephrosis than the RIRS group did. The RIRS group had superior outcomes regarding operative time, length of postoperative hospital stay, surgical wound pain, and medical expenditures. Regarding postoperative outcomes, comparable rates of postoperative urinary tract infection, prolonged analgesic use, and emergency room readmissions were observed between the groups. However, the RAPL group had a higher stone clearance rate than the RIRS group did (81.5% vs. 52.0%, p = 0.014). Conclusions: For the surgical treatment of renal pelvis stones larger than 2 cm, RAPL has a superior stone clearance rate than RIRS; however, RIRS achieves superior outcomes in terms of medical expenditures, length of hospital stay, and surgical wound pain. Both procedures were equally safe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The androgen-dependent or -independent pathways are regarded as primary therapeutic targets for the neoplasm of the prostate. Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue 1 (MALT1) acting as a paracaspase in the regulation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) signal transduction plays a central role in inflammation and oncogenesis in cancers. This study confirmed the potential linkages between androgen and NF-κB activation by inducing MALT1 in the androgen receptor-full length (ARFL)-positive LNCaP and 22Rv1 prostate cancer cells. Although androgen did not stimulate MALT1 expression in AR-null or ectopic ARFL-overexpressed PC-3 cells, the ectopic overexpression of the AR splicing variant 7 (ARv7) upregulated MALT1 to activate NF-κB activities in 22Rv1 and PC-3 cells. Since the nuclear translocation of p50 and p65 was facilitated by ARv7 to motivate NF-κB activity, the expressions of MALT1, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and N-myc downstream regulated 1 (NDRG1) were therefore induced in ectopic ARv7-overexpressed prostate cancer cells. Ectopic ARv7 overexpression not only enhanced 22Rv1 or PC-3 cell growth and invasion in vitro but also the tumor growth of PC-3 cells in vivo. These results indicate that an androgen receptor induces MALT1 expression androgen-dependently and -independently in ARFL- or ARv7-overexpressed prostate cancer cells, suggesting a novel ARv7/MALT1/NF-κB-signaling pathway may exist in the cells of prostate cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]