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Abstract Objective To evaluate the efficacy of urethral-sparing laparoscopic simple prostatectomy (US-LSP) for the treatment of large-volume (>80 ml) benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with asymptomatic urethral stricture (urethral lumen > 16 Fr) after urethral stricture surgery. Methods We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of 39 large-volume BPH patients with asymptomatic urethral stricture after urethral stricture surgery who underwent US-LSP from January 2016 to October 2021. Postoperative follow-ups were scheduled at 1, 3, and 6 months. Results All patients affected by significant BPH-related lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) including 22 cases with asymptomatic anterior urethral stricture and 17 cases with asymptomatic posterior urethral stricture. Median operative time was 118 min (interquartile range [IQR]100–145). Median estimated blood loss was 224 ml (IQR: 190–255). 33 patients(84.6%) avoided continuous bladder irrigation. Postoperative complications occurred in 5 patients (12.8%), including 4 cases with Clavien-Dindo grade 1 and grade 2 and 1 case with grade 3a. During follow-up, US-LSP presented statistically significant improvements in LUTS compared to baseline (P

Abstract Aim This study aimed to explore whether the addition of sarcopenia and visceral adiposity could improve the accuracy of model predicting progression-free survival (PFS) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods In total, 394 patients with HCC from five hospitals were divided into the training and external validation datasets. Patients were initially treated by liver resection or transarterial chemoembolization. We evaluated adipose and skeletal muscle using preoperative computed tomography imaging and then constructed three predictive models, including metabolic (ModelMA), clinical–imaging (ModelCI), and combined (ModelMA−CI) models. Their discrimination, calibration, and decision curves were compared, to identify the best model. Nomogram and subgroup analysis was performed for the best model. Results ModelMA−CI containing sarcopenia and visceral adiposity had good discrimination and calibrations (integrate area under the curve for PFS was 0.708 in the training dataset and 0.706 in the validation dataset). ModelMA−CI had better accuracy than ModelCI and ModelMA. The performance of ModelMA−CI was not affected by treatments or disease stages. The high-risk subgroup (scored > 198) had a significantly shorter PFS (p

Malignant tumors are major causes of morbidity and mortality in China. Despite advances in surgical, radiological, chemotherapeutic, molecular targeting, and immunotherapeutic treatments, patients with malignant tumors still have poor prognoses. Low-dose-rate brachytherapy, specifically 125I seed implantation, is beneficial because of its high local delivery dose and minimal damage to surrounding tissues. Consequently, it has gained increasing acceptance as a treatment modality for various malignant tumors. In this study, we explored the fundamental principles, clinical applications, and new technologies associated with 125I radioactive seed implantation.

BackgroundNumerous studies have ignored the influence of underdeveloped urban surroundings on the physical health of China’s ageing population. Lanzhou is a typical representative of a less developed city in China.MethodsThis study investigated the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and built environment amongst older adults in regions of different socio-economic statuses (SES) using data from medical examinations of older adults in Lanzhou, as well as calculating community built environment indicators for regions of different SES based on multiple linear regression models.ResultsResults showed that age and underlying disease were negatively associated with overall older adult BMI in the study buffer zone. Land use mix, number of parks and streetscape greenery were positively associated with older adult BMI. Street design and distance to bus stops were negatively connected in low SES regions, but population density and street design were negatively correlated in high SES areas.ConclusionThese findings indicate that the built environment of SES regions has varying impacts on the BMI of older persons and that planners may establish strategies to lower the incidence of obesity amongst older adults in different SES locations.

ObjectivesTo evaluate the effects of mirabegron in the treatment of overactive bladder syndrome (OAB) after radical prostatectomy (RP).Patients and methodsA total of 108 post-operative RP patients were randomly assigned to either the mirabegron (study) or the placebo (control) group. The Overactive Bladder Syndrome Self-Assessment Scale (OABSS) was selected as the primary endpoint, and the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and Quality of Life (QOL) score were selected as secondary endpoints. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26, and the treatment effects were compared between the two groups using independent samples t-test.ResultsIn total, 55 patients were included in the study group and 53 patients in the control group. The mean age was(70.08 ± 7.54)years. There was no statistical difference in the baseline data between the two groups. OABSS scores decreased significantly in the study group compared to the control group during drug treatment (6.67 ± 1.06 vs. 9.14 ± 1.83, p < 0.01) and were better than the control group during the follow-up at week 8 and week 12. In addition, the decrease in IPSS scores (11.29 ± 3.89 and 15.34 ± 3.54, p

Abstract During the firing process, the gun barrel bears the thermal and chemical erosion of high‐temperature gunpowder gas and the wear of the rotation band. The forced cone tended to the most severely worn part of the barrel, which directly affects the life of the barrel. Combined with the erosion test and wear test of gun steel materials, this research studied the forcing cone of a medium caliber naval gun barrel. With the commercial finite element software ABAQUS as the platform, we took advanced adaptive mesh method combined with secondary development technology. This method used in our study in order to better realize the numerical simulation of the radial erosion wear of the forced projectile cone in the continuous firing environment. At the same time, we compared the numerical simulation with the actual firing test data, and proposed a new calculation method of barrel life. In conclusion, the results of this study showed that this method can better calculate the radial erosion wear of the forced cone, and provide guidance for improving the life of the gun barrel in the future.

Abstract The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of a novel biomimetic poly‐l‐lactide (PLLA) nanofiber membrane in repairing anterior urethral strictures from both preclinic and clinic. Biomimetic PLLA membrane was fabricated layer by layer according to the structure of human extracellular matrix. Microstructure, tensile strength, and suture retention strength were fully assessed. Before the clinical application, the safety and toxicology test of the biomimetic PLLA membrane was performed in vitro and in experimental animals. The patients underwent urethroplasty used dorsal onlay or lateral onlay technique. Then, they were followed up for 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and then annually after the surgery. The mechanical experiments showed well property for application. Biomimetic PLLA membrane was safe according to the in vitro and animal studies. Then, a total of 25 patients (mean age 48.96 years) were included in the study from September 2016 to December 2018. After a mean follow‐up of 33.56 months, 20 patients successfully treated with biomimetic PLLA membrane. Five patients (2 bulbar and 3 penile) suffered postoperational urethral stricture recurrence. None of infection or urinary fistula or any other adverse events related to the use of biomimetic PLLA membrane were observed during the follow‐up period for all patients. The preliminary result confirmed the feasibility and efficacy of the biomimetic PLLA membrane as a novel material for anterior urethral repair. The long‐term effects with more patients should be investigated in further studies.

Background: Advancement in the treatment of glioma has been vacant since temozolomide has proved its therapeutic value in glioblastoma in 2005. Aim: To help investigators understand the landscape of glioma clinical research, we analyzed the characteristics and trends of globally registered glioma trials in the past decades. Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis of glioma trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov between January 2006 and December 2021. Characteristics regarding phase, enrollment number, study design and type, funding source, tumor site, pathology, patient status, age of population, trial purpose, and participating country were abstracted, and chronological shifts were analyzed. Results: There were 1531 registered glioma trials involved 58 participating countries. The trial purpose concerning surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, tumor-treating fields, immunotherapy, other antiglioma therapy and non-antiglioma research trial accounts for 3.5%, 6.5%, 9.5%, 28.9%, 2.0%, 16.4%, 12.5%, and 20.6%, respectively. In the past 16 years, the numbers of chemotherapy and targeted therapy trials declined; tumor-treating fields and immune checkpoint inhibitor application trials sprang at the latter half period; Immunotherapy, other antiglioma therapy and non-antiglioma research trials escalated (all above p trend

Abstract Background Accidental drowning of children under five is a serious problem in China. The present study analyzed data on environmental and sociodemographic factors and on primary caregivers of drowned children to understand factors that may contribute to this problem. Methods The present study collected information on 563 cases of drowning in children under five from October 1, 2015, to September 30, 2016, in 334 sampling districts in China. Primary caregivers were interviewed individually using the Drowning Mortality among Children under 5 Questionnaire. Results Most drowned children under 5 years old were boys, and 71.6% lived within 100 m of a body of water. The drownings primarily occurred in ponds, canals, rivers, and wells, and over 90% of these water bodies had no safety measures. There were 28.1% of primary caregivers who did not provide full-time care for the children, and 83.1% of them had no knowledge of first aid skills for drowning. Conclusion Encouraging kindergarten enrollment and providing safety education for children may reduce drowning in children under 5 years of age. Public water body protection measures should be strengthened to prevent children from drowning. Encouraging primary caregivers to care full-time for the children and learning first aid skills for drowning may also help reduce fatalities.

Metabolic reprogramming is considered to be a hallmark of cancer, and increased glutamine metabolism plays an important role in the progression of many tumors, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Targeting of glutamine uptake via the transporter protein ASCT2/SLC1A5 (solute carrier family 1 member 5) is considered to be an effective strategy for the treatment of malignant tumors. Here, we demonstrate that Ag120 (ivosidenib), a mutant isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) inhibitor approved for the treatment of certain cancers, acts as an ASCT2 inhibitor in CRC cells. Ag120 blocked glutamine uptake and metabolism, leading to reduced cell proliferation, elevated autophagy, and increased oxidative stress in CRC cells in vitro and in vivo, potentially via the ERK and mTOR signaling pathways. These effects occurred independently of mutant IDH1 activity and were supported by experiments with ASCT2-depleted or -overexpressing cells. These data identify a novel mechanism of Ag120 anti-tumor activity and support further exploration of ASCT2 inhibitors for cancer therapy.

PurposeWe performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare external beam radiation therapy modalities for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with macrovascular invasion (MVI).MethodsStudies were selected from online databases from the date of inception to November 2021. The outcomes of interest were overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR), and local control rate (LCR).ResultsForty-four studies (n = 3730) were selected from 1050 articles. The pooled 1-year OS were 60.9%, 45.3%, and 44.9 for particle radiotherapy (PRT) group, conventional radiotherapy (CRT), and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) group, respectively; p = 0.005 and 0.002 for PRT vs. CRT and SBRT, respectively. Both the PRT group and the SBRT group have the advantage over the CRT group in the pooled ORR. The PRT group showed significantly higher than the CRT group (p = 0.007) in LCR. For combination therapy, CRT plus transarterial chemoembolization can prolong survival than CRT alone (p = 0.006 for 1-year OS; p = 0.014 for 2-year OS). Among grade ≥ 3 complications, the most frequent type of toxicity in CRT, SBRT, PRT group was hematological toxicity, hepatotoxicity, dermatological toxicity, respectively.ConclusionsAmong patients with HCC with MVI, the 1-year OS and the 2-year OS were both higher in the PRT group than in the CRT, SBRT groups. The ORR was similar between the PRT and SBRT groups. The combination therapy based on radiotherapy is expectable. PRT is associated with less complications than photon radiotherapy.

Previous works in low-rank matrix recovery literature focused on the study of the partially perturbed low-rank matrix recovery model y=A(X)+ω, where y∈RM is the observed vector, A:Rm×n→RM is the measurement operator, X∈Rm×n is the matrix to be recovered, and ω∈RM is the additive noise. However in practice A may only represent a perturbed version of the measurement operator since it models a physical phenomena and there is no guarantee that the desired conditions such as the restricted isometry property (RIP) hold. Similar to the measurement matrix X∈Rm×n, in a variety of application scenarios, it may also be corrupted by noise. In this paper we introduce the completely perturbed low-rank matrix model by incorporating to the partially perturbed model a non zero perturbation E:Rm×n→RM into the measurement operator A which results in a multiplicative noise, and a noise Z∈Rm×n into the measurement matrix X. First by extending the results of Zhou et al. (2016) we explore the RIP constants of our new proposed model. Then based on the RIP we establish a sufficient condition for robust and stable recovery of low-rank matrices and give an upper bound estimation of the recovery error in the completely perturbed context. The analysis has shown that our model after whitening is equivalent to the partially perturbed model the only distinction is noise variance increase which has a sever impact on the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR).

Background: Models predicting future macrovascular invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma are constructed to assist timely interventions. Methods: A total of 366 HCC cases were retrospectively collected from five Chinese hospitals between April 2007 and November 2016: the training dataset comprised 281 patients from four hospitals; the external validation dataset comprised 85 patients from another hospital. Multi-task deep learning network-based models were constructed to predict future macrovascular invasion. The discrimination, calibration, and decision curves were compared to identify the best model. We compared the time to macrovascular invasion and overall survival using the best model and related image heterogeneity scores (H-score). Then, we determined the need for a segmentation subnet or the replacement deep learning algorithm by logistic regression in screening clinical/radiological factors. Finally, an applet was constructed for future application. Findings: The best model combined clinical/radiological factors and radiomic features. It achieved best discrimination (areas under the curve: 0·877 in the training dataset and 0·836 in the validation dataset), calibration, and decision curve. Its performance was not affected by the treatments and disease stages. The subgroups had statistical significance for time to macrovascular invasion (training: hazard ratio [HR] = 0·073, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0·032–0·167, p < 0·001 and validation: HR = 0·090, 95%CI: 0·022–0·366, p < 0·001) and overall survival (training: HR = 0·344, 95%CI: 0·246–0·547, p < 0·001 and validation: HR = 0·489, 95%CI: 0·279 – 0·859, p = 0·003). Similar results were achieved when the patients were subdivided by the H-score. The subnet for segmentation and end-to-end deep learning algorithms improved the performance of the model. Interpretation: Our multi-task deep learning network-based model successfully predicted future macrovascular invasion. In high-risk populations, besides the current first-line treatments, more therapies may be explored for macrovascular invasion.

The address one of the major challenges facing the lithium metal anode, here the authors use lithiophilic montmorillonite as an additive to the ether-based electrolyte to regulate the lithium ion concentration on the anode surface, facilitating uniform lithium deposition.

Abstract It is a rapidly developed subject in expanding the fundamental properties and application of two‐dimensional (2D) materials. The weak van der Waals interaction in 2D materials inspired researchers to explore 2D heterostructures (2DHs) based broadband photodetectors in the far‐infrared (IR) and middle‐IR regions with high response and high detectivity. This review focuses on the strategy and motivation of designing 2DHs based high‐performance IR photodetectors, which provides a wide view of this field and new expectation for advanced photodetectors. First, the photocarriers' generation mechanism and frequently employed device structures are presented. Then, the 2DHs are divided into semimetal/semiconductor 2DHs, semiconductor/semiconductor 2DHs, and multidimensional semi‐2DHs; the advantages, motivation, mechanism, recent progress, and outlook are discussed. Finally, the challenges for next‐generation photodetectors are described for this rapidly developing field.

Objective. To investigate the synergistic effects of IκBα overexpression and poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid)-curcumin nanoparticles (PLGA-Cur-NPs) on prostate cancer (PC) and reveal the underlying mechanisms of cooperative sensitization induced by curcumin. Methods. Proliferation and apoptosis rate in IκBα overexpressed and PLGA-Cur-NPs-treated PC cells were detected by MTT and flow cytometry assay. The expression levels of IκBα, apoptosis-related, and signaling proteins were measured by western blotting assay. Results. PC cell proliferation was significantly inhibited by the overexpression of IκBα. The apoptosis rate of PC cells was significantly increased at a high concentration of curcumin exposure, while the activation of NF-κB pathway was obviously inhibited. In addition, PLGA-Cur-NPs treatment synergistic with IκBα overexpression enhanced the apoptosis of PC cells by suppressing the NF-κB pathway activation. Conclusion. IκBα overexpression synergistic with PLGA-Cur-NPs could obviously inhibit proliferation, induce apoptosis, and suppress the activation of NF-κB pathway in PC cells. These findings may provide an experimental basis to establish the tumor gene therapy combined with traditional Chinese medicine treatment, thus promoting the clinical application of both tumor gene therapy and anti-tumor Chinese medicine.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used to treat disorders in China for ~1,000 years. Growing evidence has shown that the active ingredients from TCM have antibacterial, antiproliferative, antioxidant, and apoptosis-inducing features. However, poor solubility and low bioavailability limit clinical application of active compounds from TCM. “Nanoformulations” (NFs) are novel and advanced drug-delivery systems. They show promise for improving the solubility and bioavailability of drugs. In particular, “smart responsive NFs” can respond to the special external and internal stimuli in targeted sites to release loaded drugs, which enables them to control the release of drug within target tissues. Recent studies have demonstrated that smart responsive NFs can achieve targeted release of active compounds from TCM at disease sites to increase their concentrations in diseased tissues and reduce the number of adverse effects. Here, we review “internal stimulus–responsive NFs” (based on pH and redox status) and “external stimulus–responsive NFs” (based on light and magnetic fields) and focus on their application for active compounds from TCM against tumors and infectious diseases, to further boost the development of TCM in modern medicine.

To date, the decellularized scaffold has been widely explored as a source of biological scaffolds for regenerative medicine. However, the acellular matrix derived from natural tissues and organs has a lot of defects, including the limited amount of autogenous tissue and surgical complication such as risk of blood loss, wound infection, pain, shock, and functional damage in the donor part of the body. In this study, we prepared acellular matrix using adipose-derived stem cell (ADSC) sheets and evaluate the cellular compatibility and immunoreactivity. The ADSC sheets were fabricated and subsequently decellularized using repeated freeze-thaw, Triton X-100 and SDS decellularization. Oral mucosal epithelial cells were seeded onto the decellularized ADSC sheets to evaluate the cell replantation ability, and silk fibroin was used as the control. Then, acellular matrix was transplanted onto subcutaneous tissue for 1 week or 3 weeks; H&E staining and immunohistochemical analysis of CD68 expression and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) were performed to evaluate the immunogenicity and biocompatibility. The ADSC sheet-derived ECM scaffolds preserved the three-dimensional architecture of ECM and retained the cytokines by Triton X-100 decellularization protocols. Compared with silk fibroin in vitro, the oral mucosal epithelial cells survived better on the decellularized ADSC sheets with an intact and consecutive epidermal cellular layer. Compared with porcine small intestinal submucosa (SIS) in vivo, the homogeneous decellularized ADSC sheets had less monocyte-macrophage infiltrating in vivo implantation. During 3 weeks after transplantation, the mRNA expression of cytokines, such as IL-4/IL-10, was obviously higher in decellularized ADSC sheets than that of porcine SIS. A Triton X-100 method can achieve effective cell removal, retain major ECM components, and preserve the ultrastructure of ADSC sheets. The decellularized ADSC sheets possess good recellularization capacity and excellent biocompatibility. This study demonstrated the potential suitability of utilizing acellular matrix from ADSC sheets for soft tissue regeneration and repair.

In the era of big data, the multi-modal data can be seen everywhere. Research on such data has attracted extensive attention in the past few years. In this paper, we investigate the perturbations of compressed data separation with redundant tight frames via Φ̃-Iq-minimization. By exploiting the properties of the redundant tight frame and the perturbation matrix, i.e., mutual coherence, null space property, and restricted isometry property, the condition on reconstruction of sparse signal with redundant tight frames is established, and the error estimation between the local optimal solution and the original signal is also provided. Numerical experiments are carried out to show that Φ̃-Iq-minimization is robust and stable for the reconstruction of sparse signal with redundant tight frames. To our knowledge, our works may be the first study concerning the perturbations of the measurement matrix and the redundant tight frame for compressed

This paper discusses the recovery of signals that are nearly sparse with respect to a tight frame D by means of the l1-analysis approach. We establish several new sufficient conditions regarding the D-restricted isometry property to ensure stable reconstruction of signals that are approximately sparse with respect to D. It is shown that if the measurement matrix Φ fulfills the condition δts 1-analysis approach. In the case of D = I, the bound is sharp (see Cai and Zhang's work). In addition, numerical simulations are conducted to indicate that the l1-analysis method can stably reconstruct the sparse signal in terms of tight frames.

Abstract We introduce logarithmic generalized Maxwell distribution motivated by Vodă (Math. Rep. 11:171-179, 2009), which is an extension of the generalized Maxwell distribution. Some interesting properties of this distribution are studied and the asymptotic distribution of the partial maximum of an i.i.d. sequence from the logarithmic generalized Maxwell distribution is gained. The expansion of the limit distribution from the normalized maxima is established under the optimal norming constants, which shows the rate of convergence of the distribution for normalized maximum to the extreme limit.

In this study, theabrownin from Liupao tea was extracted and separated into extractable (FTB) and non-extractable (BTB) fractions using methanol. The composition of the two fractions was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, sodium dodecyl-sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), Western blot, and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC-HRMS). The study found that the theabrownin was a polyhydroxyl aromatic compound complexed with nitrogen compounds, including proteins, amino acids, and peptides. Electrophoresis showed two protein bands with molecular masses ranging from 63 to 75 kDa, which were generally diffuse long strip-shaped and may be modified by polyphenols and other substances. Non-targeted metabolomics identified 297 compounds. A total of 137 significantly differential compounds between FTB and BTB were selected using the cutoff of fold change (FC) > 2 or FC < 0.5 and P < 0.05, the major ones being phenolics (37). Principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) revealed that catechin, 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid, gallic acid, 4-hydroxycoumarin, and caffeic acid could be used to discriminate between FTB and BTB and may be the major non-extractable phenolics of theabrownin. This study contributes to the understanding of protein-polyphenol complexes in dark tea and encourages further research of the composition and functional activity of theabrownin in dark tea.

Abstract Let { X n , n ≥ 1 } $\{X_{n},n\geq1\}$ be an independent and identically distributed random sequence with common distribution F obeying the lognormal distribution. In this paper, we obtain the exact uniform convergence rate of the distribution of maxima to its extreme value limit under power normalization.

Electrical breakdown behaviors of nanopaper prepared from nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) were investigated. Compared to conventional insulating paper made from micro softwood fibers, nanopaper has a dramatically enhanced breakdown strength. Breakdown field of nanopaper is 67.7 kV/mm, whereas that of conventional paper is only 20 kV/mm. Air voids in the surface of conventional paper are observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Further analyses using mercury intrusion show that pore diameter of conventional paper is around 1.7 μm, while that of nanopaper is below 3 nm. Specific pore size of nanopaper is determined to be approximately 2.8 nm by the gas adsorption technique. In addition, theoretical breakdown strengths of nanopaper and conventional paper are also calculated to evaluate the effect of pore size. It turns out that theoretical values agree well with experimental data, indicating that the improved strength in nanopaper is mainly attributed to the decreased pore size. Due to its outstanding breakdown strength, this study indicates the suitability of nanopaper for electrical insulation in ultra-high voltage convert transformers and other electrical devices.

Nanocellulose-modified presspaper is a promising solution to achieve cellulose insulation with better performance, reducing the risk of electrical insulation failures of a converter transformer. Predicting the dielectric properties will help to further design and improvement of presspaper. In this paper, a multivariable method was adopted to determine the effect of softwood fiber on the macroscopic performance of presspaper. Based on the parameters selected using the optimum subset method, a multiple linear regression was built to model the relationship between the fiber properties and insulating performance of presspaper. The results show that the fiber width and crystallinity had an obvious influence on the mechanical properties of presspaper, and fiber length, fines, lignin, and nanocellulose had a significant impact on the breakdown properties. The proposed models exhibit a prediction accuracy of higher than 90% when verified with the experimental results. Finally, the effect of nanocellulose on the breakdown strength of presspaper was taken into account and new models were derived.