Development of a Micro/Nano Probing System Using Double Elastic Mechanisms.

To meet the requirement of high precision measurement of coordinate measurement machine system, a compact microprobe has been designed for 3D measurement in this paper. Aiming to reduce the influences of signal coupling during the probing process, the probe has been designed by adopting two elastic mechanisms, in which the horizontal and vertical motions of the probe tip can be separated by differential signals of quadrant photodetectors in each elastic mechanism. A connecting rod has been designed to transfer the displacement of the probe tip in vertical direction from lower to upper elastic mechanisms. The sensitivity models in horizontal and vertical directions have been established, and the sensor sensitivity has been verified through experiments. Furthermore, the signal coupling of three axes has been analyzed, and mathematical models have been proposed for decoupling. The probing performance has been verified experimentally.

Application of ultra pulse CO2 lattice laser in the treatment of female urinary incontinence.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to explore the application of CO2 lattice laser in the treatment of mild and moderate urinary incontinence in female patients. METHODS: We analyzed the clinical data of 33 female patients with mild to moderate urinary incontinence from a prospective cohort study, who were treated with FemiLift CO2 lattice laser instrument (Alma Laser Ltd, Caesarea, Israel) at our hospital from January 2018 to December 2018. All the female patients were married and fertile, with a mean age of (43.15±6.49) years old (35-62 years old). There were 18 participants with mild urinary incontinence and 15 with moderate urinary incontinence. All participants received laser treatment 3 times, with an interval of 30 days. The International Consultation of Incontinence Questionnaire- Short Form (ICIQ-SF) survey was conducted before the treatment, 3 months after, and 6 months after the treatment. A 1-hour urine pad test was used to quantify the leakage of urine. Residual urine and urine routine examination were performed to exclude other combined diseases. RESULTS: After 3 times of treatment with FemiLift CO2 laser, 13 cases were cured in 3 months, and 16 cases were cured in 6 months. 10 cases and 15 cases were significantly improved in 3 or 6 months, respectively. 2 patients had no significant changes, and no adverse reactions were recorded. The pad test showed that the symptom of all 33 patients were significantly improved, and the average scores of ICIQ-SF were significantly decreased (P<0.05) from 12.36 (Grade I) and 15.67 (Grade II) (5-21) before treatment to 3.73(Grade I) and 5.49 (Grade II) (1-12) after 6 months of therapy. CONCLUSIONS: The CO2 lattice laser is safe and effective in the treatment of mild and moderate urinary incontinences in female patients, which can effectively improve the symptom of urinary leakage without obvious adverse reactions.

High-Precision Fabrication of Micro Monolithic Tungsten Ball Tips via Arc Discharge and the Taguchi Method.

A micro ball tip is a core component of high precision coordinate measuring machines. The present micro ball tips cannot satisfy the high-precision measuring requirements of high aspect ratio microstructures due to their large diameter and low accuracy. In the previous study, we fabricated a micro monolithic tungsten ball tip by using arc discharge and surface tension principles. However, the fabrication success rate of forming a micro ball tip is less than 10%. In the present study, the Taguchi method has been applied to increase the fabrication success rate, and it has increased to 57.5%. The output response is evaluated in terms of the diameter, roundness, and center offset of the tungsten probe ball tips. The smaller-the-better signal-to-noise ratio is applied to analyze the influence of various parameters. The proposed parameters can be used to increase the fabrication success rate and accuracy of the monolithic probe ball tip.

HPV16 E6 regulates the proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis of cervical cancer cells by downregulating miR-504.

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 infection is a necessary condition for the pathogenesis and development of cervical cancer. The E6 protein is expressed by the HPV16 E6 gene and promotes malignant phenotype transformation, which is an important mechanism for the occurrence and development of cervical cancer. MicroRNA-504 (miR-504) has been reported as an oncogene or tumor suppressor gene; the expression of miR-504 in cervical cancer has been found to be negatively correlated with HPV infection. However, the relationship between HPV16 E6 and miR-504 and the role of miR-504 in cervical cancer are not clear. In the current study, we observed the effect of HPV16 E6 on the expression of miR-504 in cervical cancer cells, and analyzed whether HPV16 E6 affects proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis in cervical cancer cells by regulating the expression of miR-504. METHODS: Cervical cancer cells (SiHa) were divided into four groups: the empty vector group, E6 overexpression group, E6 overexpression + miR-NC group, and E6 overexpression+miR-504 group. The expressions levels of HPV16 E6 mRNA and miR-504 were detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the expression level of HPV16 E6 protein was detected by Western blot. Cell proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis were detected by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, Tastelessly, and flow cytometry, respectively. RESULTS: The expression level of miR-504 was significantly decreased in E6 overexpression cells compared to the control cells (P<0.05); the overexpression of miR-504 with miR-504 mimic significantly reversed the downregulation of miR-504 in E6 overexpression SiHa cells (P<0.05). MTT and Transwell assays showed that the overexpression of E6 significantly increased proliferation and invasion of SiHa cells (P<0.05). The overexpression of miR-504 reversed the role of HPV16 E6 on the proliferation and invasion in E6 overexpression SiHa cells, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Further analysis showed that the overexpression of E6 significantly reduced apoptosis of SiHa cells (P<0.05). The overexpression of miR-504 reversed the role of HPV16 E6 on apoptosis in E6 overexpression SiHa cells, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: HPV16 E6 may promote the proliferation and invasion, and inhibit the apoptosis, of cervical cancer SiHa cells by downregulating miR-504 expression.

A randomized clinical study of the treatment of white lesions of the vulva with a fractional ultrapulsed CO2 laser.

BACKGROUND: White lesions of the vulva are a common vulvar disease of unclear etiology. Although a variety of treatments have been used to treat the disease in clinical practice, there is currently a lack of effective radical therapies. This study aimed to compare the feasibility and effectiveness of fractional ultrapulsed CO2 laser with that of high-intensity focused ultrasound in the treatment of white lesions of the vulva. METHODS: A total of 60 patients with pruritus vulvae who were treated at the Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Cervical Diseases in our hospital between December, 2017, and December 2018 were enrolled in this study. The possibility of malignant lesions of the vulva was ruled out by histopathological diagnosis following colposcopic biopsy. The patients were randomly divided into two groups: a laser treatment group (group L, n=30) and a focused ultrasound treatment group (group U, n=30). The patients were monitored for changes in signs and symptoms during and after treatment, and the treatment outcomes of the two groups were compared. RESULTS: The local symptoms of pruritus were alleviated by both the fractional ultrapulsed CO2 laser and high-intensity focused ultrasound. The patients in group L had no significant adverse reactions during the operation and needed no special postoperative treatment. The total effective rate in group L was 96.7%. In group U, five patients felt mild burning during the operation, painful blisters arose on the skin of the ablated area, and long-lasting local edema was observed. Seven patients had subcutaneous nodules. The total effective rate in group U was 90.0%. CONCLUSIONS: Fractional ultrapulsed CO2 laser is a minimally invasive, effective, and safe treatment for white lesions of the vulva. It causes few complications and does not affect the daily and working life of patients. Therefore, it should be widely applied in clinical practice.

Treatment of plasmablastic lymphoma with multiple organ involvement.

We herein report the case of a 50-year-old woman who presented with persistent fever and a large mass in her right breast. Haematology, liver function, and other blood test results were abnormal. Computed tomography and positron emission tomography indicated that the lesion had spread to multiple organs. Immunohistochemical staining confirmed that the patient had plasmablastic lymphoma, an invasive and rare form of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and an underlying infection by the Epstein-Barr virus. After three rounds of CHOPE chemotherapy, followed by hyperCVAD and ESHAP, the patient achieved rapid and complete remission. This case is unusual in that the patient presented with a large breast mass and her recovery was extremely rapid.