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ObjectiveAlthough there have been remarkable achievements in the molecular landscape of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in recent years, bringing advances in the understanding of its pathogenesis, development and progression, little has been applied in the prognosis and choosing the optimal treatment. In this study, we explored the influence of the stress induced phosphoprotein 1 (STIP1), which is frequently reported to be highly expressed in many cancers, in OSCCs.MethodsSTIP1 expression was assessed in the TCGA database and in two independent cohorts by immunohistochemistry. Knockdown strategy was applied in OSCC cell lines to determine the impact of STIP1 on viability, proliferation, migration and invasion. The zebrafish model was applied for studying tumor formation and metastasis in vivo. The association of STIP1 and miR-218-5p was explored by bioinformatics and mimics transfection.ResultsSTIP1 was highly expressed in OSCCs and significantly associated with shortened survival and higher risk of recurrence. STIP1 down-regulation decreased proliferation, migration and invasion of tumor cells, and reduced the number of metastases in the Zebrafish model. STIP1 and miR-218-5p were inversely expressed, and the transfection of miR-218-5p mimics into OSCC cells decreased STIP1 levels as well as proliferation, migration and invasion.ConclusionOur findings show that STIP1 overexpression, which is inversely associated with miR-218-5p levels, contributes to OSCC aggressiveness by controlling proliferation, migration and invasion and is a determinant of poor prognosis.

High dose rate brachytherapy (HDR) is an internal based radiation treatment for prostate cancer. The treatment can deliver radiation to the site of dominant tumor growth within the prostate. Imaging methods to delineate the dominant tumor are imperative to ensure the maximum success of HDR. This paper investigates the feasibility of using electrical impedance tomography (EIT) as the main imaging modality during robot-aided internal radiation therapy. A procedure utilizing brachytherapy needles in order to perform EIT for the purpose of robot-aided prostate cancer imaging is proposed. It is known that cancerous tissue exhibits different conductivity than healthy tissue. Using this information, it is hypothesized that a conductivity map of the tissue can be used to locate and delineate cancerous nodules via EIT. Multiple experiments were conducted using eight brachytherapy needle electrodes. Observations indicate that the imaging procedure is able to observe differences in tissue conductivity in a setting that approximates transperineal HDR and confirm that brachytherapy needles can be used as electrodes for this purpose. The needles can access the tissue at a specific depth that traditional EIT surface electrodes cannot. The results indicate the feasibility of using brachytherapy needles for EIT for the purpose internal radiation therapy.

The sustained increase in new cases of COVID-19 across the world and potential for subsequent outbreaks call for new tools to assist health professionals with early diagnosis and patient monitoring. Growing evidence around the world is showing that lung ultrasound examination can detect manifestations of COVID-19 infection. Ultrasound imaging has several characteristics that make it ideally suited for routine use: small hand-held systems can be contained inside a protective sheath, making it easier to disinfect than X-ray or computed tomography equipment; lung ultrasound allows triage of patients in long term care homes, tents or other areas outside of the hospital where other imaging modalities are not available; and it can determine lung involvement during the early phases of the disease and monitor affected patients at bedside on a daily basis. However, some challenges still remain with routine use of lung ultrasound. Namely, current examination practices and image interpretation are quite challenging, especially for unspecialized personnel. This paper reviews how lung ultrasound (LUS) imaging can be used for COVID-19 diagnosis and explores different image processing methods that have the potential to detect manifestations of COVID-19 in LUS images. Then, the paper reviews how general lung ultrasound examinations are performed before addressing how COVID-19 manifests itself in the images. This will provide the basis to study contemporary methods for both segmentation and classification of lung ultrasound images. The paper concludes with a discussion regarding practical considerations of lung ultrasound image processing use and draws parallels between different methods to allow researchers to decide which particular method may be best considering their needs. With the deficit of trained sonographers who are working to diagnose the thousands of people afflicted by COVID-19, a partially or totally automated lung ultrasound detection and diagnosis tool would be a major asset to fight the pandemic at the front lines.

Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy is the standard surgical procedure used to remove large kidney stones. PCNL procedures have a steep learning curve; a physician needs to complete between 36 and 60 procedures, to achieve clinical proficiency. Marion Surgical K181 is a virtual reality surgical simulator, which emulates the PCNL procedures without compromising the well-being of patients. The simulator uses a VR headset to place a user in a realistic and immersive operating theater, and haptic force-feedback robots to render physical interactions between surgical tools and the virtual patient. The simulator has two modules for two different aspects of PCNL kidney stone removal procedure: kidney access module where the user must insert a needle into the kidney of the patient, and a kidney stone removal module where the user removes the individual stones from the organ. In this paper, we present user trials to validate the face and construct validity of the simulator. The results, based on the data gathered from 4 groups of users independently, indicate that Marion's surgical simulator is a useful tool for teaching and practicing PCNL procedures. The kidney stone removal module of the simulator has proven construct validity by identifying the skill level of different users based on their tool path. We plan to continue evaluating the simulator with a larger sample of users to reinforce our findings.