[Basal squamous cell carcinoma of external auditory meatus: a case report].

Summary The patient developed repeated itching and scabbing at the mouth of the left external auditory canal 5 years ago. In the last two years, the tumor is enlarged. After admission, the left external auditory canal can be seen as a reddish mass, brittle and easy to bleed. CT of temporal bone showed that the soft tissue shadow of left external auricle and external auditory canal was thickened. Postoperative pathological findings: (left external auditory canal) basal cell squamous cell carcinoma. According to the history, physical examination and laboratory examination, the diagnosis is considered as basal squamous cell carcinoma of the external auditory meatus.

Note: Optimization and calibration for auto-cumulative flowmeter in horizontal oil-water two-phase flow.

This note presented the optimization and calibration for a novel auto-cumulative flowmeter (ACF) to measure the oil flow rate in horizontal oil-water two-phase segregated flow. By using the finite element method, the electrode geometry of the probe in the ACF was designed, optimized, and simulated for oil accumulation measurement. Considering the practical application of ACF, a novel circuit for ACF with the optimized geometry of the probe was designed, simulated, and analyzed. The experiment for oil-water two-phase segregated flow with the novel circuit was carried out to calibrate the ACF. The calibration results can provide a theoretical basis and technical reference for the practical application of ACF.

Clinical significance of up-regulated lncRNA NEAT1 in prognosis of ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to examine the expression levels of lncRNA NEAT1 in fresh ovarian cancer (OC) tissue and matched adjacent normal tissue specimens, and investigate the clinical significance of NEAT1 in OC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: NEAT1 levels in OC tissues and matched adjacent normal tissue specimens were tested by qRT-PCR. Then, statistical analysis was performed to explore the associations of NEAT1 expression with the clinical features and the prognosis of OC. RESULTS: NEAT1 is upregulated in ovarian cancer tissues compared with the corresponding adjacent non-neoplastic tissues. The expression level of NEAT1 was positively correlated with FIGO stage (p = 0.004), tumor grade (p = 0.009) and distant metastasis (p = 0.000). Also, the Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed that high NEAT1 expression was associated with poor prognosis in OC patients. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that NEAT1 expression level (p < 0.001) was an independent factor in predicting the overall survival of OC patients. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that NEAT1 has a potential to function as a clinical biomarker for predicting disease invasiveness and prognosis of patients with OC.

[The study on the targets of the optical evoked auditory brainstem response on the cochlea of guinea pig stimulating by infrared laser].

Objective: To identify the targets of the infrared laser stimulating on the cochlea of guinea pig which evoked auditory brainstem response (oABR), and explore the mechanisms of the infrared neurostimulation. Methods: A polished optical fiber with 200 µm diameter (NA=0.22) was planted into the scala tympani of guinea pigs to stimulate the cochlea of both the normal hearing and acute deafened guinea pigs. The direction of the fiber distal was changed to radiate different regions of the scala tympani, recording the oABR respectively. Differences of energy thresholds and amplitudes of oABR between normal hearing and acute deafened animals was concerned, and different responses were recorded as the optical path of laser fiber being changed to investigate the targets of the infrared laser stimulation. Immunofluorescence was used to detect the changes of inner and outer hair cells, and spiral ganglion neurons 7 days post-deafening, to looking for the probable association with the oABR changes at the same stimulus. SPSS 18.0 software was used to analyze the data. Results: Inner and outer hair cells were damaged in basal and middle turn, butresidual hair cells were observed in apical turn.Only when the optical fiber pointed to Rosenthal's canal stimulated the spiral ganglion region directly could the oABR be evoked. No response was recorded while the fiber pointed to other directions. Conclusion: Infrared laser stimulates cochlea evoked oABR generats from the response of spiral ganglion directly, the spiral ganglion neurons are the target of infrared stimulation.