Prevalence and impacts of male urinary incontinence on quality of life, mental health, work limitation, and health care seeking in China, Taiwan, and South Korea (LUTS Asia): Results from a cross-sectional, population-based study.

PURPOSE: Male urinary incontinence (UI) is a global health issue associated with bothersome symptoms which affect daily life. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of male UI in China, Taiwan, and South Korea and to determine if UI is an independent risk factor affecting the health-related quality of life (HRQoL), mental health, work limitations, and healthcare seeking behavior. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A post-hoc analysis was conducted on the LUTS Asia database which was collated from a cross-sectional, population-based internet survey in China, Taiwan, and South Korea. Prevalence of male UI was assessed, and the effect on HRQoL, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) depression and anxiety scores, work performance, and healthcare seeking behaviors was determined using univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: A total of 4,076 male participants were surveyed. Prevalence of male UI was 17.3%. UI adversely affected the HRQoL in both physical and mental domains. Both multivariate and univariate analyses showed that male UI could be correlated with a negative effect on the HADS anxiety and depression scores. Multivariate analysis suggested that work difficulties were correlated to the presence of UI. Up to 28% of participants who reported urge UI only did not adopt any management measures. CONCLUSIONS: UI is common in men over 40 years and adversely impacts HRQoL. It is an independent risk factor for anxiety and depression and may cause significant work limitations. Despite these negative effects, many men still do not seek any intervention.

Three-axis rapid steering of optically propelled micro/nanoparticles.

This paper presents the design and implementation of a three-axis steering system, wherein a micro/nanoparticle is optically trapped and propelled to serve as a measurement probe. The actuators in the system consist of a deformable mirror enabling axial steering and a two-axis acousto-optic deflector for lateral steering. The actuation range is designed and calibrated to be over 20 microm along the two lateral axes and over 10 microm along the axial direction. The actuation bandwidth of the two lateral axes is over 50 kHz and the associated resolution is 0.016 nm (1sigma). The axial resolution is 0.16 nm, while the bandwidth is enhanced to over 3 kHz by model cancellation method. The performance of the three-axis steering system is illustrated by three sets of experiments. First, active Brownian motion control of the trapped probe is utilized to enhance trapping stability. Second, a large range three-dimensional (3D) steering of a 1.87 microm probe, contouring a complex 3D trajectory in a 6 x 6 x 4 microm3 volume, is demonstrated. Third, a closed-loop steering is implemented to achieve improved precision.